Author: Harris Dang

Rotten Tomatoes-approved Film Critic. Also known as that handsome Asian guy you see in the cinema with a mask on.

Film Review: It’s a Wonderful Knife is a merry bloody fun slasher that totally sleighs

It’s a Wonderful Knife tells the story of Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop), a socially withdrawn teenager whose life has gone down a less than wonderful path. In the freewheeling, happy-go-lucky mountain town of Angel Falls, she manages to stop the Angel Killer, who had just gone on a massive killing spree, including the death of…

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Film Review: With its bouts of ultraviolence, hard-hitting dark humour and an unruly Lulu Wilson, beware The Wrath of Becky!

The Wrath of Becky continues the story of its titular character, played by Lulu Wilson, who reprises her role from the 2020 film, Becky. Two years on, she has moved on from foster parent to foster parent after the loss of her real parents in the events from the first film while keeping up with…

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Film Review: Love Again is everything that is expected from a rom-com that is all coming back to us now, for better or worse

Love Again tells the story of two intrepid, lovelorn strangers who find themselves back into the spotlight of love. Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) is a talented children’s author/illustrator who is undergoing a time of grief after the untimely passing of her loving fiancé John (Arinze Kene). She becomes inconsolable that her grief affects her work…

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Film Review: Beau is Afraid is the gallows humour comedy of the year

Beau is Afraid tells the story of Beau Wassermann (Joaquin Phoenix), a taciturn, socially-awkward middle-aged man who is the son of renowned and wealthy businesswoman Mona (Patti LuPone). He currently lives a broken existence, with a dilapidated apartment, constant therapy sessions (led by Stephen McKinley Henderson) and sleepless nights due to the barrage of sounds…

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Second Opinion: Why John Wick – Chapter 4 is a five star slice of nirvana for fans of action cinema

Following on from Peter’s review earlier this week, our own Harris Dang tells us why the latest installment in the John Wick series is a five star slice of nirvana for fans of action cinema… John Wick – Chapter 4 continues the story of our titular anti-hero (Keanu Reeves), who is currently at his lowest…

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Polite Society is a fun, spirited and charming genre mash-up: Sundance Film Festival Review

Polite Society tells the story of two Pakistani-Muslim sisters in London; plucky Ria (Priya Kansara), who dreams of being a stuntwoman, and Lena (Ritu Arya), her world-weary older sister who wants to be an artist. With Lena recently returned home after dropping out of art school, Ria constantly goads her into helping her make YouTube…

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Fancy Dance is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about family bonds and the trials of Indigenous women: Sundance Film Festival

Set in present day Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance follows Jax (Lily Gladstone), a Native American swindler who hustles for a living while caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), taken in following the sudden disappearance of her mother. With every spare moment spent trying to find the missing parent, time is running out…

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Fair Play is an intense, gripping thriller from Chloe Domont: Sundance Film Festival Review

Fair Play tells the story of a recently engaged young couple Emily and Luke (Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich) who both work at a corporate hedge fund in secret. As they witness a fellow employee crash and burn and is let go of their job, a new spot for PM has opened up, leaving a…

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Shayda is a touching and harrowing look into the tribulations of Iranian women: Sundance Film Festival Review

Shayda tells the story of our titular heroine (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), an Iranian woman who is living in Australia with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). She resides in a women’s shelter after having fled from Iran to hide from her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami) and she tries to establish a normal life for her…

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Run Rabbit Run trips over due to lack of originality and well-done drama: Sundance Film Festival Review

Run Rabbit Run tells the story of Sarah (Sarah Snook), a fertility doctor and single mother who is trying to maintain a carefree existence for herself and her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre). The two start to celebrate by planning Mia’s seventh birthday, with Sarah’s ex-husband Peter (Damon Herriman) his partner and their child in attendance….

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The Pod Generation is an amusing, if thematically lacking sci-fi satire on impending parenthood: Sundance Film Festival Review

Set in 22nd century New York, The Pod Generation tells the story of Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a happy couple who live in a future where technology has become overabundant in terms of efficiency and convenience. Rachel is a rising executive at the Womb Center and Alvy is a botanist with a…

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Film Review: Alluring, funny and engaging crime mystery Decision to Leave shows director Park Chan-wook at his peak

Decision to Leave tells the story of Hae-jun (Park Hae-Il), a city-based, young insomniac small-town detective. He is stuck in an uneventful job where very little crime occurs. His marriage with his restrictive partner Jung-an (Lee Jung-hyun) is without fire and lacking in passion. His only ray of hope is being in charge of a…

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Film Review: Project Wolf Hunting is cinematic nirvana for fans of action cinema and grindhouse splatter

Project Wolf Hunting tells the story about a police operation that is taking place after a disastrous prisoner transport over air travel ended disastrously due to an airport bombing. The alternate route of transportation is via freighter boat and the mission is simple – transport prisoners from the Philippines through the Pacific Ocean to South…

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Film Review: Smile trumps its lack of originality with sharp execution and a great performance from Sosie Bacon

Adapted from the short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, Smile tells the story of Rose Cutter (Sosie Bacon) – a doctor who is experiencing strange, horrifying occurrences after a traumatic incident she had with a patient who killed herself. The patient had displayed clear signs of trauma and mentioned witnessing a suicide and seeing the victim…

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Film Review: Fall delivers the expected thrills but having the suspension of disbelief for it is a very tall order

, Fall tells the story of Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), an adventurous go-getter who is always up for a challenge in service of thrills and living life to the fullest. She is happily married to the charismatic Dan (Mason Gooding, in a small role). Whilst climbing together on a cliff face with the voracious Hunter…

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Film Review: Bodies Bodies Bodies proves to be as sharp as the murder weapon with its dark comedy and stellar filmmaking

Bodies Bodies Bodies tells the story of a group of exuberant 20-something youths who plan to party for the weekend in a remote mansion. Partygoers include Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), a rich kid who has a dark backstory involving drug use, her partner Bee (Maria Bakalova), a working-class reticent young woman, David (Pete Davidson), an unruly…

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Film Review: The Quiet Girl is a low-key gem that proves the smallest gestures can warm the biggest hearts

Set in 1980’s Ireland, The Quiet Girl tells the story of Cait (Catherine Clinch), an emotionally and socially withdrawn child who lives with her destitute family in a rural village. The family is vast with many siblings and are struggling financially, leaving Cait feeling neglected and forgotten. When her mother becomes pregnant again, Cait’s parents…

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Film Review: Prey is one of the best pure genre films of the year that does the Predator franchise proud

Set in the 16th century America, Prey tells the story of Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young warrior from the Comanche Nation who wants to prove her mettle in her tribe to become a hunter. She faces much discrimination from her tribe due to patriarchal norms and the like, while her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) is…

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Film Review: A brilliant Jodie Comer indicts the legal system in NT Live’s triumphant Prima Facie

Trigger warning: Sexual assault Prima Facie tells the story of Tessa (Jodie Comer), a young, tenacious and determined barrister who is at the prime of her career. With a sharp mind and an ironclad belief in the word of the law, she has never lost a case. Even when working on cases that would trigger…

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Sydney Film Festival 2022 Dispatch #1 – Family Dinner, As in Heaven and Fire of Love

Family Dinner (dir. Peter Hengl) Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Family Dinner tells the story of a reticent and obese teenager Simi who is spending her Easter Weekend at her auntie’s house. Her aunt Clara is a popular nutritionist and comes across as passive-aggressive toward her. Her partner Stefan comes off as a ladykiller as…

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Film Review: Men is a frustrating horror experience that is as meretricious as it is malleable

Men tells the story of Harper (Jessie Buckley), a distraught woman who is caught in the aftermath of her husband James (Pappa Essiedu), who had tragically committed suicide after a marital dispute. She takes it upon herself to grant herself a holiday by taking refuge in a manor by a countryside village by housesitting it….

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Film Review: The Innocents is a powerfully haunting piece of work that dives into the dark mindset of children

Set in present day Norway, The Innocents follows the story of Ida (Rakel Lenora Flottum), a young 9-year old girl who is angry with the state that she is in. Her family has moved into an apartment complex with new surroundings and she can no longer play with her older sister Anna (Alva Brunsmo Ramstad),…

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Film Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a fast, zippy and frothy sequel that runs circles around videogame film adaptations

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 picks up after the events of the first film as the titular character (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has taken the mantle of being the hero for the people in the town of Green Hills. But his recklessness and overeager bravado has consequences as he wreaks unintentional havoc while trying to do…

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Film Review: Flee is an ingenious piece of storytelling of survival and self-discovery that mixes animation and documentary brilliantly

Flee is the latest hybrid of both documentary and animation, giving it a similarity to the 2008 film Waltz with Bashir. They both involve storytelling of factual narratives through the medium of animation that stirs up the animation of audiences as the subjects recollect their experiences. In the case of Flee, the animation not only is…

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Film Review: Here Out West shows a rich tapestry of multicultural Australia that we rarely get to see on-screen

Set in present-day Western Sydney, Here Out West starts off following the story of a grandmother, who is visiting her daughter who had just given birth. The grandmother is stuck with babysitting an 8-year old neighbour and they both make a trip to the hospital. However, the relationship between the grandmother and the daughter is…

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Sharp Stick is an inconsistent, weird and endearing sophomore effort from filmmaker Lena Dunham: Sundance Film Festival Review

Multi-talent Lena Dunham is back into the realm of filmmaking after 11 years since her feature-film debut Tiny Furniture. For her latest film Sharp Stick, she writes, directs and appears in a supporting role in a story that invites discussion about sexual freedom, depiction and perceptions via gender, media, hypocrisy and empowerment. While the film…

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You Won’t Be Alone is an engagingly wistful look into humanity wrapped up as a supernatural horror: Sundance Film Festival Review

A unique if uneven take of supernatural horror told through the veil of existentialism that is frustrating, beguiling and eventually emotionally rewarding. The film follows the story of a young woman who is kidnapped from her mother by a wolf-eateress, rendered mute and then turned into a shape-shifting demon. We see her inhabit various characters…

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Piggy meshes both realistic horror and well-worn genre tropes into one aggressive experience: Sundance Film Festival Review

What make horror films successful is how it examines ideas that are truthful about the human condition with bloodcurdling, cinematic panache. In the case of Carlota Pereda’s feature-length film debut Piggy, she succeeds with flying colours. Adapted from her 2018 short film of the same name; Pereda has ample time to explore the horrors of…

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The gloriously entertaining horror flick Hatching will provide you a nice egg in this trying time: Sundance Film Festival Review

Hatching tells the story of Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), a 12-year old rising star gymnast who lives in the supposed perfect existence of domesticated suburbia; led by her image-perfectionist mother (Sophia Heikkilä), who runs a popular blog about exactly that. Tinja’s family also consists of her taciturn father (Jani Volanen) and her spoiled, irritable younger brother…

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Maika is a flawed family film that has plenty of energy and charm but not enough innovation: Sundance Film Festival Review

Maika tells the story of Hung (Truong Phu), an 8-year old boy who is grieving over the loss of his mother who had died almost a year ago due to a severe illness. One would think that this type of emotional baggage is bad enough. However, it not only rains but it pours. His best…

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