Tag Archives: Tom Waits

Wildwood – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A stunning work of art that moved my soul.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Cherry blossoms in Portland by the river.

Wildwood Review Introduction

Today I get to talk about one of the most interesting films I have seen in an age. A film brimming with artistic talent, emotion, and an impact that with me long after the credits rolled. It is a movie that reminds me why film exists: to delight, to confront, to uplift, and to bring the tears.

So, to set the scene, Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is at that teenage age where she is trying to isolate herself from those things that seem childish because now, she is an adult, apparently. While also simultaneously rebelling against her parents’ wisdom, a juxtaposition that is only found in teenagers. Her parents (Jake Johnson & Maya Erskine) get Prue to watch her baby brother Mac (Arthur Knight), but he can not go outside. Fast-forward to Prue taking Mac on a tour around Portland, Oregon. It is a delightful day, bar the unfortunate appearance of Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), oh and a murder of crows stealing Mac from the playground and taking him into the Impassable Wilderness, the one place her parents told her not to go.

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Licorice Pizza – Movie Review

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TL;DR – One of the funniest and engaging films I have seen this year, but also an experience that made me deeply uncomfortable in places.     

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

Licorice Pizza. Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Licorice Pizza Review –

There have been several films I have watched this year, but I don’t think any of them left such a complicated feeling with me as I left the cinema. This was a film that was a roller coaster that you strapped into at the start, and it never let you go. But it was an old roller coaster, so some sections rattle a bit more than they should (for my Brisbane fam, image the Thunderbolt towards the end of its life).

So to set the scene, we open in San Fernando Valley on a school picture day. Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) is with his friends as they prime themselves to get the best picture, while Alana Kane (Alana Haim) is working with the photo company. When Gary and Alana first meet, there is an instant connection even though they come from different worlds. Well, those worlds now collide all across 1973, Los Angeles.

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