TL;DR – We start to delve into the larger world of the parks near Westworld, and discover what everyone could be hunting this season.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
What is life, is it the drive to accumulate as much power as possible before we die, is it to live as honourably as possible, is it to care for your family at all cost, or is it to feel alive in whatever way possible? This episode looks at what drives us as humans (maybe not just humans), indeed what would you do to stay alive?
TL;DR – An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic genre from Denmark, which blends a number of common elements to make something quite interesting, if not that unique.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
The Post-Apocalyptic genre is one of those settings that can either be gold or a complete drag or in the case of one current series on TV at the moment, it could start off as gold and then drag into oblivion. At the heart of what makes these settings work is the focus on the characters and the human stories among the devastation. This is why films like Mad Max, The Matrix and shows like Jericho, and even video games like Fallout are so evocative. Today we are looking at another entry into this genre from Denmark with The Rain.
Continue readingTL;DR – This is a film exploring the beauty of the Australian coast, the trying to find your place in the world, and the damage manipulation can do.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
When you are growing up there is always those moments that define your life, the first time you do something, the friends that you ride with, and the experiences you find yourself in. However, it is also a time of great fear, what sort of person will you be, what is your future outlook going to be, and how are you going to be remembered. It is an almost universal rite of passage, but it can also lead to devastating outcomes if it all falls apart. Today we look at one of these stories set as the 1970s come to an end in the quiet coast of Western Australia. It is also a film that spends most of its time out in the open deep ocean, so there is like one of my big fears up there on the screen.
Continue readingTL;DR – This might be one of the most important cultural touchstones of Australian cinema that I have ever seen, a beautifully honest look at the intersections that exist in Australia, and a powerful call to action.
Score – 5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – Watch all the credits
Warning – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be advised that the following review contains depictions, images and voices of people who have died.
Review –
I truly did not know what to expect when I walked into the cinemas today. I had heard of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu but I honestly to my own shame while I had heard of some of his more famous songs, and the work he did in the opening song for Cleverman, it is clear that this has barely scratched the surface of his body of work. What I was not expecting was that I was about to have one of the most emotional experiences that I have ever experienced watching a work of cinema. I think I spent most of the film with tears rolling down my face. So today we will look at what I feel is one of the best cinematic touchstones to encapsulate Australia, its past, present, and future.
Continue readingTL;DR – Canadian jokes, American Jokes, and an absurd set up that somehow still works by letting all the characters shine in the absurdness of it all, oh my.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end credit scene
Review –
When a cult classic has a sequel, especially a sequel after a long time, there are the usual questions as to can it strike lightning again? Now, this is always an unfair question because if they just do the same thing as before you get hit for not innovating, and if you change it up you get hit for not respecting the original. So how do you approach a sequel with this minefield ahead of you, well the first thing is you engage with the fans from the start, which a well-crafted Indiegogo campaign clearly did, but also it is to know your strengths and play with them and Super Troopers 2 is a great example of this. Also releasing on the 4th of April, I see what you did there Super Troopers.
TL;DR – A combination of off-brand Afghani animation, smugglers on the border, and all the shenanigans.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end credit scene
Review –
Super Troopers is one of those little films that could. Fighting hard to get it financed and being turned down at every point and then finally getting it greenlit but you only have $1.2 million to put your passion project together. Well after many years a sequel is about to be released so I thought it would be good prep to take a look down memory lane at a world full of shenanigans, so, many, shenanigans.
TL;DR – Rampage knows what it is and leans into it hard, with giant monsters crashing into buildings and Dwayne Johnson being his charismatic best
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Now, this is the point at the start of the review where I talk about how there has never been a great movie adaption of a video game so far, and I talk about the problems about adapting and trot out examples like Assassin’s Creed (see review) and Tomb Raider (see review). However, this time around I don’t think I have to do that because while this is by no means a masterpiece I think it is the first film to really crack that adaption puzzle or at least the one who has got the closest to it. With that in mind, today we are going to enter the realm of giant monsters crashing into buildings, and who doesn’t love a giant monsters crashing into buildings.
Continue readingTL;DR – Despite the fact that none of this should work, it is surprisingly touching and quite funny
Score – 3 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is a Mid-Credit scene
Review –
This is a film that shouldn’t really work at all. It is smashing storylines of what feels like two completely different films from different genres together and it should be an unmitigated mess, yet somehow it all kind of works. So today we will take a look at what makes Blockers work when it really shouldn’t.
TL;DR – There are some aspects, like the animation which are superb, but also some things like some of the story aspects that leave you wondering why did they make that choice.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Hmmm, this is a difficult film to review because as much as it is unique work of art celebrating a form of animation that you don’t see much these days. It is also a deeply problematic story with regards to some aspects of its narrative and characterisation, and as such, it is hard to rectify these two halves. Well, it might be difficult, but then that is what we are here to do today so it is time to rise to the occasion and dive into the world of dogs.
Continue readingTL;DR – Blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, Blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, blllaaaare baba bi bop bum barrrr, blar, blarrrrrrr
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
Can you reboot a TV series that has been off the air for 40 years, and which the last attempt to bring it back to life on film was mixed at best and the last time on TV didn’t make it past the plot? Well, that is the question being asked here in this new Netflix series, and right from the start, we can see that Netflix is not here to play games. Today we are going to look at the pilot episode Impact, an episode that shows you how to do the first episode, and do it right.
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50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
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freelance film critic with an interest in multilingualism, feminist perspectives in cinema and crime dramas.
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