Tag Archives: review

Earth Abides: Alone Review – Exploring an Unique Take on Post-Apocalyptic Themes

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TL;DR – This is a good start, but it was all set up, and I will need to see how it develops before I really can take a look at it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

A mobile phone with the text message 'I Love You' on the screen.

Earth Abides Review –

Well, if there is one genre that has had an interesting way of times, it is the post-apocalyptic. On the one hand, we all just went through a pandemic, so that is very much on our minds in a way that shows like The Last of Us had to change core parts of their lore to make them work. Yet we have also found joyous explorations of comradery and self-exploration in shows like Station Eleven, which have been almost cathartic to watch. But can you find new space in that genre? That is the question we will ask today.   

So, to set the scene, the world of today is a very interconnected beast, and that brings with it a bunch of benefits and problems. In that world lives Ish (Alexander Ludwig), a geologist who lives out in the sticks, finding mineral deposits that haven’t been harvested yet. But on this day, as he tries to find some new pyrite deposits, a rattlesnake bites him and only just makes it back to his house before he passes out. He manages to ride out the poison in his cabin, barely, but when he wakes from his trauma weeks later, he comes out into a world that has dramatically changed from the one he left. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Lucky Baskha Review: Dulquer Salmaan Shines

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TL;DR – While the film could have been tightened up in the edit, some strong character development and charisma from Dulquer Salmaan helps pull you through.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Baskhar walks out of a jewellers in triumph.

Lucky Baskha₹ Review –

Today, we are looking at a film set in Mumbai that was produced entirely in Telugu. This is a combination that I have not explored before, so it immediately piqued my interest. I have been wanting to explore more of what Indian Cinema has to offer, so studying how the different language-based productions explore other parts of the country is fascinating to me, as was the film itself. Well it was once I realised that Netflix had defaulted to the Hindi dub, and a quick fix putting back to the original Telugu.

So, to set the scene, it is the 29th of March 1992, and an alarm wakes the house. As he does most days, Baskhar Kumar (Dulquer Salmaan) starts his day off with a run along Mumbai’s coastline. There are many ways to make money in the city because Bombay is the money capital of India. He lives a mostly quiet life until one day, when he is picked up by government officers and taken to the Magadha Bank. He is alleged to have committed bank fraud, a serious offence that could bring his whole family down. But then it is time to jump back to the 11th of August 1989 to find out a humble bank clerk who is in debt to just about everyone got into this position.

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Citadel: Diana Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This was a substantial improvement on Citadel’s first outing, and while it might still be struggling to find its feet, it is heading in the right direction.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

The ruined Milan Cathedral.

Citadel: Diana Review –

I was intrigued when the first announcement of this new sort of spyverse based around duelling Citadel/Manticore organisations with companies across the world creating their own shows in the greater lore. Well, it was a fascinating concept, and I love me a good spy show. Unfortunately, the first primary season was … a bit of a mixed bag, not helped by significant production issues behind the scenes. Today, we move to Italy to see the first major spin-off and see if this concept can truly be a global work.

So, to set the scene, we open with a young lady, Diana Cavalieri (Matilda De Angelis), killing someone before turning the gun on themselves to provide a wound in the arm. It is 2030 in Milano, and it has seen better days, with citizens feeling like a police state is being created one block at a time and the ruins of the Duomo being a constant reminder to all. Diana works at Manticore Italia Quatier Generale, the powerful criminal syndicate that has grown unchecked since they defeated the Citadel spy agency. But when your criminal syndicate is being run by many powerful families, friction and mistrust will naturally occur. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Moogai – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A truly emotional ride through a new mother’s hell realised when no one trusts her that something is coming for her son.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

A tree ringed with fire.

The Moogai Review –

Today, we are looking at a fascinating film that, like Cargo, started life as a short film and then was expanded into a feature. Also, much like Cargo, I have never watched a short film, so I am coming into this world without any preconceived notions about where it would go. Indeed, I only knew that it was a horror film and that the production behind it is Indigenous, a combination I had not seen much of since Cleverman, and I am glad that I made the trek to BIFF to watch this, even if it meant I did not sleep well that night.   

So, to set the scene, it is the 1970s and officers from the government were snooping around the missions, hoping to take away the kids as their fathers were away for work. Agnes (Precious Ann) and her sister (Aisha Alma) run into the bush to escape, but Agnes hides in the one cave she should not have gone into. In 2024, Sarah (Shari Sebbens) has just closed a deal at her law firm and is enjoying the highlife with her husband Fergus (Meyne Wyatt) when suddenly her baby comes without warning, and both almost lose their lives in the process. Sarah is trying to adapt to the trauma and is not helped by her birth mother, Ruth (Tessa Rose), nosing in. But as she tries to sleep, she sees white-eyed children warning her that ‘he’ is coming ‘to take her baby away’.

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Double or Nothing – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Snippets of chaos that never come together as a whole

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

The Gold Coast skyline

Double or Nothing Review –

We are currently in the midst of the Brisbane International Film Festival, or if you are friends, BIFF. It is a cozy festival where I always find a gem or two every year. Today, we are looking at a small Aussie movie filmed in my backyard (metaphorically) about what happens when you get trodden on over and over again.

So, to set the scene, Turbo (Andrew Ian Pope) and Nick (Rowan Howard) are cousins who never quite can get their luck together. Turbo always owes people money, and Nick is just trying to get through his parole without rocking any feathers. But they both need money to survive, and this means doing jobs for their boss, Col (John Jarratt), of a more explosive nature. But when there is a shift in management, the boys find themselves up a certain creek without a paddle.

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Last Days of the Space Age: Only Kids Dream About Being Spacemen – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an interesting, if overwhelming, exploration of the characters that we will be getting to know across the series.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ Service that viewed this series.

The Moon rising through a smashed windscreen.

Last Days of the Space Age Review –

One area that truly excites me is space, its exploration, and the history and impact that it has had on the world. Everyone can cite that one story about a pencil v pen in a spaceship or one small step for man, and that is this far removed in time from when it happened. What must the impact did those events have on the world in the years just after it happened? Well, in today’s series, we explore just that.

So, to set the scene, it is a tumultuous point in Perth’s history as several competing factors look to crash into each other just when the world’s spotlight is placed on the city. These fracture points are brought into stark highlight when a brick goes flying through the front windscreen of Tony (Jesse Spencer) and Judy Bissett’s (Radha Mitchell) as they travel at 60km an hour. How do you get on when you have a house divided? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.     

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Sector 36 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of the interception of power, corruption, and serving the community, and how all of that can be shaped by self-interest.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains Scenes that may cause distress.

Mission Children Posters.

Sector 36 Review –

Corruption is one of the worst sins that a public official could do because their job is to uphold the people under their care, and when they obfuscate that sacred oath for money, power, or friendship, everyone suffers. Corruption can happen anywhere, but what happens when you target the most vulnerable members of society who have even less of a voice than ever? Well, you have a recipe for disaster.   

So, set the scene, in Section 36 of Delhi, works Sub Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), a thoroughly corrupt police officer. Who is more interested in lecturing people on the Third Law of Motion than actually helping people. But when a girl’s hand turns up in the sewers, it puts into focus that there is a killer on the loose, not that the police want that. But that is what Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is doing, focusing on the most vulnerable members of society. He would have continued to get away with it, given the police’s incompetence, but one day, he tries to take the daughter of someone important, and ignorance is no longer an option.  

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The G – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a wonderful character piece that maybe promises a touch more on what it can deliver.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film

Two men burring a person.

The G Review –

In the current cinema landscape, it can be easy to go for style over substance. We can do the flash and bang and also the alakazam, but we linger on the surface. Things only become interesting once you dig a little deeper. Today, we look at a film that completely understands that even if it does not quite stick that landing.  

So, to set the scene, we open with two men digging in the snow, only to find them burying a body. These are people who know how to get their way. Their next victim is Ann Hunter (Dale Dickey), an elderly retiree who cares for nothing but her granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis). She is struggling to cope with the pressures of looking after her ill husband Chip (Greg Ellwand), but her life is upturned when Rivera (Bruce Ramsay) pushes them into a home with a trumped-up court order so they can steal her house. But there is no way she is going to let them do that to her.    

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The Acolyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte) – The Acolyte & Season 1– TV Review

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TL;DR – While the finale felt incredibly rushed, I did find the series to be a grand entry in the franchise.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Qimir tries to take the helmet of Osha.

The Acolyte Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what has surprisingly become one of the most controversial Star Wars entries since at least The Rise of Skywalker. I am not sure why a series that revelled in the mystical side of The Force that George Lucas loved garnered such a negative response, but here we are. Today, we will first pull apart the season finale before taking some time to explore the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Teach/Corrupt, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) promised Mae (Amandla Stenberg) that he would tell her what really happened that one fateful night all those years ago. It was a sad series of consequences that led to Sol killing the twin’s mother in Choice. But while Mae has a revelation, Osha (Amandla Stenberg) wakes up in a cave on an unknown planet, where she is captured by Qimir (Manny Jacinto), who wants her to unlock her powers. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Chained Together – Video Game Review

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TL;DR – A game that is as frustrating as it is fun. Just be sure it doesn’t end a relationship in the process.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for this game.

Skull of hell and a bone bridge.

Chained Together Review –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd game in that it is very purposely designed to cause grief. It’s like an old arcade game trying to take all your quarters, but instead of money, it is streamers yelling on Twitch. It should not have worked, but I was captured for the entire time.

So, to set the scene, Chained Together is the next in a long line of rage games that stretch back to Only Up! and Getting Over It! These use finicky controls and an odd visual environment to cause grief when you miss a jump and lose all the progress you have made. One step forward, and then a crushing fall back to Earth. The main difference this time around is that you are not climbing alone because you are chained together [said the name of the game]. Which can be a bonus or a great burden. You need to climb up all the puzzles and traps and escape hell, lest you fall back to the suffering below.

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