Tag Archives: review

The Death of Stalin – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A farcical look at the reality of when an inept leader dies and leaves a vacuum to be filled.     

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The Death of Stalin. Image Credit: Madman.

The Death of Stalin Review –

Way back in the before times, I had planned to see The Death of Stalin in cinemas, with a planned double session. However, after being emotionally obliterated by Gurrumul, that got put on hold and very came to fruition. I have kept meaning to watch it since then, but now given I have some time thanks to the current state of the world, I thought it would be the perfect time to dive in.  

In 1953, Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) was ruling the country with an iron fist, killing all those who oppose or even annoy him. There is a raucous almost frat house feel around dinner as Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and Lavrenti Beria (Simon Russell Beale). While this jocularity goes on, Stalin requests the recording of a concerto performance he just heard on Radio Moscow, one small problem. No one recorded it. Chaos erupts as Yuri Andreyev (Paddy Considine) tries to record the performance, while buses round people up across the city. It would be the worst time for something to happen to Stalin, but as the title of the film suggests that is what happens because pianist Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko) slipped a note of sedition into the recording. As Stalin read it, he suffers a cerebral haemorrhage and becomes paralysed, and no one comes to his aid till morning.

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The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the episode that any semblance of subtly gets thrown out the door.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker. Image Credit: Prime Video.

The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker Review –

The Boys is a show that has never shied away from the gore, sex, violence, subtle this is not. However, when it comes to the story, it was always framed around a simple good v bad framework. Throughout this season we have seen that there is more to that narrative as we dive down the well that is Vought, and this week the story takes all of its gloves of to show you just what it wants to say.

 So to set the scene, in last week’s episode we got to see inside Vought International’s final plan. They aim to stabilize Compound V so that it can be given to an adult and cause an instant and safe transformation to being a Supe. But that is how it is not the why. The why is that Vought is not just Nazi adjacent, it is straight-up completely Nazi. Stormfront (Aya Cash) who is leading this campaign was born in Nazi Germany, and the aim is to given powers to select people to ‘take the country back’. This week with the turning of we start with the turning of Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) and the best possible chance to take Vought down … if everyone can make it to the hearings alive. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Dirt Music – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film with an interesting cast and set up, filled with gorgeous scenery, that unfortunately grinds to a halt in the third act and never recovers.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Dirt Music. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Dirt Music Review –

When you are Tim Winton one of Australia’s most prolific and awarded writers, it stands to reason that your work is going to be adapted quite often, and we have numerous film and tv series to back that up. Two years ago, we reviewed the latest adaption from Tim Winton’s work with Breath, and today we get to look at another of his novels with Dirt Music. 

So to set the scene, we open in on the small fishing town of White Point on the West Australian coast. We see a woman called Georgie (Kelly Macdonald) with a drink in her hand standing on the balcony of a plush house up behind the dunes. She hears a dog barking, so goes down to the beach to explore, which is where she finds a dog tied to an empty boat trailer. After accidentally letting the dog go free she decides to go for a swim in the middle of the night, as one does apparently, and while diving in the waves, she comes across the boat’s owner Lu Fox (Garrett Hedlund) coming back with a boat full of poached lobsters. The same lobsters Georgie’s partner Jim (David Wenham) catches for a living.

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Romance on the Menu – Movie Review

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TL;DR – There are moments when this film comes together. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between.    

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Romance on the Menu. Image Credit: Netflix.

Romance on the Menu Review –

Do long lost relatives ever give you a call to adventure in their wills, no you neither? Well, it does seem to be a ubiquitous plot point in films. Today we explore a movie that as fate would have it has that very set up, that takes our protagonist from the hustle and bustle of New York to the calm of Australia.

So to set the scene, Caroline (Cindy Busby) works as a professional chef running a kitchen of a fine dining restaurant. The one day she took off they had a food critic come and blast the food, so she spends all her time trying to make up for that. Caroline does not have any time for love because she is too busy. However, out of the blue, Caroline receives a letter from Australia, her late aunt had left Caroline her old café in Lemon Myrtle Cove. When Caroline arrives to look over the café to get it ready to sell, she makes a fool of herself in front of Simon Cook (Tim Ross) who is both her landlord and also the cook of The Seagull Café, and yes our love interest. Well, Caroline’s plan of finishing the sale as quickly as possible is put in jeopardy when no one will renovate the café to let her sell it, so she has to take drastic measures to keep to her timeline.     

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The High Note – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A completely charming film from start to finish    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The High Note. image Credit: Universal.

Review –

Films about the music industry are tricky to pull off because they demand you have genuine emotion in a world of fake glitz and glamour. Indeed the best films in this genre either focus on a newcomer trying to break in or pulling back the curtain to reveal the reality of the industry. Today we look at a film that has elements of that outside story, but it takes a risk by centring it on the heart of the industry with all its glitz, glamour, and biases.

So to set the scene, Mags/Maggie/Margret (Dakota Johnson) works as a personal assistant to the great Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross). Grace was a musical icon in her day, but these days she spends her time touring and releasing ‘best of’ albums. Maggie has been her PA for three years, but she wants to take her carrier to the next level and has secretly been remixing Grace’s new live album in her free time. This comes to a head when Grace’s manager Jack Robertson (Ice Cube) finally convinces Grace to get someone to produce the album and Maggie has to decide if she is going to stay quiet or speak up and take her chance.

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The Boys: We Gotta Go Now – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an episode of getting all our ducks in a row, but a good version of that.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
The Boys: We Gotta Go Now. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

The Boys: We Gotta Go Now Review –

In a world where superheroes have the power to do anything they want … what is to stop them from just doing it? This is the question that The Boys has been asking for a while, and this week we get to see that the answer to that is not a whole lot.

So to set the scene, in last week’s Nothing Like it in the World everyone’s world got turned on their heads. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) got kicked out of the Seven, Homelander (Antony Starr) is continuing to lose his position on top, and Butcher (Karl Urban) lost everything because of his blind hatred of Supes. With everyone spiralling out of control, it is the perfect time for people like Stormfront (Aya Cash) to spill in and upset everything, which is precisely what happens. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Boys: Nothing Like it in the World – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the episode where we get to see the direction of the season

Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Boys: Nothing Like it in the World. Image Credit: Amazon Studios.

The Boys: Nothing Like it in the World Review –

Well, The Boys came back with a whale splatted gore explosion, but unlike last season, we are getting weekly episodes to space out the carnage. Given the places this show goes, this is very much for the best to give us some moments to breathe given what we just watched. With that in mind, let’s dive into an episode that gets ew in 4 minutes.

So to set the scene, New York is still reeling from the supposed super-terrorist attack on an apartment building. However, we know it was not the terrorist but Stormfront (Aya Cash) the newest member of The Seven with clear Nazi undertones. With the way Vought is manipulating the media not even the revelation that supers are made not born has shaken them from the prime position they are in. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Cuties (Mignonnes) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A deeply uncomfortable film exploring the over-sexualisation and control over young girls.      

Score – I am honestly not sure how to score this film

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Cuties (Mignonnes). Image Credit: Netflix.

Cuties (Mignonnes) Review –

If there has been one film in recent times that has been entirely destroyed reputationally before it even came out it was the film we are reviewing today. When Netflix released the promotional material, it was demonised across the internet, and from the excerpts Netflix decided to choose it is not hard to see why. The director was hounded off Twitter and labelled an exploitive filmmaker and more. However, those who had seen the film already made it clear that the framing used in the promotional material was not representative of the final product. Well, today we see which is right as we explore the film now it has had its official release.

So to set the scene, we open in on Amy Diop (Fathia Youssouf Abdillahi) as her family makes a new home in France after moving from Senegal. She is trapped between two worlds, the conservative world of her mother Mariam (Maïmouna Gueye), and the more liberal world she has moved into in France. She becomes drawn to some of her classmates who dance in ways that she has never seen (even if they are just the worst in every other way). These crashing worlds come into even more relief when she discovers that her father has not joined them yet because he has taken a second wife.      

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Chef’s Table: BBQ – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a beautiful look at the many factors that make up the world of BBQ.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Chef’s Table: BBQ. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

There are few series on Netflix that have captured my attention more than Chef’s Table. The exploration of food and the journey of those who make it always captures me and brings me into this world. Today we are looking at the next sort of spin-off of the series since Chef’s Table France with a look at the joy that is Barbeque.

One of the exciting things about BBQ is that it means very different things depending on what country you are in. So for this series, their interpretation of BBQ is food cooked under, above, around a fire. As will be mentioned in the series as an Australian, I grew up cooking food over an open flame, and I still try to when I get the chance. This means a series about food cooked on fire is an instant sell for me.

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The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! – TV Review

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TL;DR –  Besides one or two interesting moments, it never makes use of its formula   

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!. Image Credit; Netflix.

Review –

Back in 2017 the was this odd animated film that landed in the world. Some despised it, and I found The Boss Baby to be well just fine. Since then, I have seen it pop up occasionally on Netflix where it has done well enough for a follow-up series. Today they take another step as they take on Netflix’s newest format the interactive episode.

So to set the scene, we open in on Staci (Alex Cazares) and Jimbo (Kevin Michael Richardson) as they introduce the audience to the employer training VR simulator. You are a baby, and they are trying to find which of the 16 jobs on offer you are the best fit for. You could work out in the field, in middle management, or be the titular Boss Baby (JP Karliak) themself.

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