Tag Archives: reviews

The Accountant 2 (The Accountant²) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A surprisingly fun romp that finds a way to make an odd 8-year-old sequel work in the context of now.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

A precise breakfast of three eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

The Accountant 2 Review –

When I got the invitation to see The Accountant 2, I was honestly surprised. I had not heard much about a sequel, and I think that the first film might have aged a bit better than some of its contemporaries. I still only have vague recollections of the movie with an interesting premise, a strong performance, but it is also profoundly messy on every level. But, even if that first film didn’t quite live up to the potential it merited, there was enough there for me to wonder what would happen if they got a second bite at the apple, and this is what we are looking at today.

So, to set the scene, it has been eight years since The Accountant and Christian “Chris” Wolff (Ben Affleck) is still auditing banks and deals for organised crime, travelling around in a trailer home, and also giving tips to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Well, the former head of the FinCEN, Raymond King (J. K. Simmons), is only semi-retired because now and again, he picks up a case that means something to him. But when a meeting with a mysterious woman (Daniella Pineda) goes wrong, he leaves a note for his successor Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to contact The Accountant. Because only they might be able to solve this puzzle.

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The Last of Us: Through the Valley [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – It shows the strength of the production team that even when you know how the narrative will go, yet you are still sitting on the edge of your chair.    

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

Abby looks out over the town of Jackson.

The Last of Us Review –

Look, I have to speak very vaguely here because we are on the wrong side of the spoiler zone, but when I said during our review of Future Days that I came into this season with a bit of apprehension, today’s episode was at the forefront of my mind. Could this adaptation pull off multiple story points that will echo not just throughout the show but out into general pop culture? Well, let’s have a look.  

So, to set the scene, while the New Year Party was meant to be a fount of joy for the community of Jackson, Wyoming, it ended in a confrontation that confirmed the fault lines that have grown between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the five years since Season One. Ellie might not know what Joel lied about, but that lie has slowly soured their relationship. But things are difficult for Jackson at the moment. It is the deep of winter, but the Infected have also been acting in different ways, and now you don’t know if you should be more concerned with things walking above or crawling below the snowline. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Last of Us: Future Days [S2E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This first episode lets us catch up with the cast and world and catch our breath before the world turns.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

A group standing around some newly dug graves.

The Last of Us Review –

While the First Season of The Last of Us was a triumph, not just for Video Game adaptations but for adaptations in general, it was one of the rare works that fundamentally understood the source material, sometimes down to a shot-for-shot recreation. But also knew when some aspects needed to be refreshed or, in the case of Long Long Time, completely rewritten from the ground up. Yet, still, I came into Season Two with more than a bit of trepidation. The adaptation of the source material is going to require some hard choices, which is not going to be popular. I was there when it was released the first time and lived through that moment of ‘less than stellar’ online discourse. Yet still, I knew I had to sit down and watch, and here we are today.   

So, to set the scene, it has been five years since Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) walked away from the Firefly facility in Salt Lake City to return to Jackson. But the legacies of what Joel did, and very much lied about, live large in those who made it out of the massacre. Jackson is one of the rare places in the old America that has survived the Cordyceps Apocalypse without being under the thumb of FEDRA. But there are more than a few stragglers out there, and there are more people than construction can keep up with. Tensions remain everywhere, and the echoes of the lies we tell have started to reverberate. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Flow (Straume) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A stunning work of animation that conveys so much without saying a word. You are brought into this story in the opening moments, and it captivates you until the final frame.  

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Cat looks up to a big sculpture of a cat.

Flow Review –

There was one film that I wanted to catch last year, but no matter how much I tried, the film festival screenings never lined up for me. Well, since then, Flow has won the Oscars for Best Animated Film and we have finally gotten a full realise here in Australia. That meant that I had to dive in and give it a watch, and I am so glad that I did.

So, to set the scene, one day, Cat (Miut) was going about its usual day, stretching and sleeping in the old sculpture studio that it calls home and then lazily dropping down to the river to catch some dinner and get something to drink. But this day, a pack of dogs were hounding everyone by the river, and Cat had to make a run for it. But just when they thought they were safe, a cacophony of noise explodes from down the river as a deer horde races away from a flood. Cat manages to escape back to their house, but the next day, the water starts lapping against the house, and for the first time, they realise that home might no longer be safe.  

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The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful return of these fun characters that knows precisely how long you can lean into the shenanigans without outstaying their welcome.      

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was given a free ticket to see this film.

The gang in a line up.

The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis Review –

Back in 2022, there was this odd kid’s animated film that came out of nowhere and quietly captured my heart. The Bad Guys was such a fun blast of energy from start to finish, and who doesn’t like a good heist? I knew that the sequel was going to come out later in 2025, but talk about my surprise when I got a sneaky reunion a touch early before I watched Dog Man.

So, to set the scene, at the end of The Bad Guys, the titular bad guys discovered in themselves that even though they were going to prison, they were not, in fact, bad guys but good guys. Well, after serving their time, Mr Snake (Marc Maron), Mr Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), and Ms Tarantula (Awkwafina) are still required to visit a parole officer which they can’t miss. Which, of course, means that they are about to have a disaster of a day, which includes an unfortunate run-in with chicken nuggies.

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Dog Man – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a profoundly silly premise. However, they commit to it with such gusto that you can’t help but be brought along with it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was given a free ticket to see this film.

Dog Man jumping in the air.

Dog Man Review –

There are animation studios out there that are defined by the visual style that they use in their films. You can look at a Studio Ghibli or Pixar film and know it comes from one of those studios. This was once the case for DreamWorks Animation. However, in recent years, I have been fascinated by the different experiments that they are taking with their animation styles. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Wild Robot, and The Bad Guys have all shown this in action. Today, we get to see the next entry in this experiment with Dog Man.   

So, to set the scene, Ohkay City is under threat from Petey (Pete Davidson), the world’s most evil cat. Chief (Lil Rel Howery) sends out the only team that can take Petey down, Officer Knight (Peter Hastings) and his Golden Retriever Greg (Peter Hastings). They may be a menace, but they are the only hope the city has, that is, until tragedy strikes. A bomb set by Petey explodes badly, injuring Knight and Greg. There is no hope until a nurse has a bright idea: why don’t we attach the good dog head and the good human body, and Dog Man (Peter Hastings) was born?     

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Locked – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It was a good scenario, but it never felt like they had a good handle on what they wanted to talk about.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

A phone call appears on a car tablet.

Locked Review –

Most films need a hook to get you into the cinemas and part with your hard-earned cash. For me, sometimes that hook is a premise so interesting that you must see how they play it out. Well, Anthony Hopkins traumatising a Skarsgård locked in his car is absolutely one I had to see.  

So, to set the scene, Eddie (Bill Skarsgård) is a crook who is trying to turn his life around for his daughter Sarah (Ashley Cartwright). But the universe is not making it easy for him, and as a deadline looms, he looks to more nefarious ways to make a quick buck. Well, if someone leaves their car unlocked, well they are asking someone to come in and rummage around, and so Eddie does. The only problem is that when he tries to get out, he finds that the car is locked, his mobile can’t get a signal, and suddenly the in-car phone is ringing.

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Silent Zone – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A serviceable if somewhat frustrating zombie flick that does at least land the moments that count.  

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Bandits surround our heroes.

Silent Zone Review –

Well, the zombie film is back in vogue, and I am always interested to see how these concepts get translated across the world. Today’s film makes the most of its location work to explore a world that has fallen apart and the people trying to survive it.  

So, to set the scene, at the start of a zombie outbreak, Abby had the misfortune of watching her family get killed and try to turn on her. She would have joined the dead if it was not for a police officer, Cassius (Matt Devere), who killed her reanimated family. Ten years later, society has completely collapsed, and few survivors exist to live out a life of shrinking resources and constant threats of ferals. Abigal (Luca Papp) and Cassius live in the woods, two weeks away from an island of security. But when a scout from a herd finds them, they know time is not on their side.

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Conclave – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An exquisitely acted and produced film that takes you into a world rarely seen with the weight of a drama but with all the fascination of a political intrigue.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Red Cardinals against white marble columns.

Conclave Review –

It is tough to see honest explorations of faith and religion in modern cinema. When films exploring faith come out of Hollywood, they usually feel like hollow vessels divorced from reality. But then you watch movies that come out of the faith-based industry, and more often than not, you are watching trumped-up emotional blackmail hiding under the frame of faith. So, call me surprised when I sat down to watch Conclave and discovered something different.   

So, to set the scene, the Pope is dead, long live the Pope. If there is ever an organisation that has embraced the pomp and circumstance, it is the Catholic Church, and this happens in death just as much or even more than life. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who is Dean of the College of Cardinals, has to convene a conclave to pick the next Pope even though he feels unworthy of the task. However, as cardinals fly in from across the globe, it is clear that there is tension regarding how the Church will move forward. Will it embrace tradition or modernity? Or maybe somewhere in between.

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My Top 20 Films of 2024

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So far, in our awards, we have looked at Action, Cinematography, Costumes, Emotion, Fun, Music, Tension, Worldbuilding, Best Animation, Best of Australia & New Zealand & Best TV of 2024

However, in this last entry into our Best of 2024 awards, we crown our Best Film of 2024.

All films are subjective, so our list might look completely different from yours. Of the 116 films we reviewed last year, 110 had their Australian Theatrical/Streaming Release in 2024. This is the list from which we draw our entries, and you can see the complete list of movies HERE.

Much like last year’s list, we have had many staggered releases towards the end of the year in Australia. So we may have films here that were released in 2023 for you but 2024 for us, and there may be some omissions here because we won’t get those films until later in 2025.

Highly Commended – The Beekeeper, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fall Guy, How to Make Gravy, Inside Out 2, The King of the Indies, The Kitchen, Rebel Ridge, The Rooster,  Transformers One, Turtles All the Way Down, Twisters & Wicked   

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