Reviews

Scrap is an honest dramedy that finds purpose in its message without succumbing to preachiness: Phoenix Film Festival Review

March 29, 2023

The unlikeable, but relatable, protagonist rings strong in Vivian Kerr‘s Scrap, a feature-length adaptation of her own similarly-named 2018 short film that she fronted as lead and writer.  For her filmic go-around, Kerr has assigned herself directorial duties as well, assuring that her character (Beth) is presented in a way that holds authenticity; whether we […]

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

March 24, 2023

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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Film Review: John Wick: Chapter 4 continues to push the boundaries of the action genre’s capabilities with a grand, operatic manus

March 23, 2023

It’s hard to believe that, at one point, 2014’s John Wick was practically considered dead on arrival.  A combination of unproven directors (eventual franchise mainstay Chad Stahelski and uncredited “co-director” David Leitch), a screenwriter with only a duo of barely-registered titles under him (Derek Kolstad), and a lead actor with a slew of underperforming box […]

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Film Review: Boston Strangler is a fascinating, yet familiar, true crime drama anchored by Keira Knightley

March 18, 2023

There’s a formula adhered to and a lack of mould breaking throughout Matt Ruskin‘s Boston Strangler, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t an effective take on an establish genre, with his script executing compelling narrative arcs and supplying the always-watchable Keira Knightley a role with sense and purpose. She stars as Loretta McLaughlin, a […]

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Film Review: Melissa Barrera is hauntingly captivating in All the World Is Sleeping, a harrowing drama on addiction and generational abuse

March 18, 2023

A harrowing tale of addiction, psychological instability, and the humanising of substance abuse, All the World Is Sleeping is a generational drama that provides no easy answers within.  Inspired by the true stories of Carly Hicks, Patricia Marez, Jade Sanchez, Myra Salazar, Kayleigh Smith, Malissa Trujillo, and Doralee Urban, a collective of New Mexico women […]

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Film Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is a journey of fantastical and comedic riches

March 17, 2023

23 years after Hollywood first attempted to adapt the Dungeons & Dragons phenomenon with an entirely forgettable fantasy that starred Jimmy Olsen from TV’s Lois & Clark, and had Marlon Wayans setting back racial stereotypes by a good few decades, the (studio) powers that be have opted to re-polish the IP, rolling the dice on […]

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Film Review: Living is an understated piece of beauty about the importance of existence

March 17, 2023

Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese film Ikiru, which in itself was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, Oliver Hermanus’s Living is an understated take on one of life’s most complicated musings: What does it mean to truly live? It’s a big question, but in the hands […]

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Film review: Of an Age is a beautifully crafted film, powered by a magnetic romance

March 16, 2023

When we spend so much time consuming global entertainment, it feels extra special to watch a beautifully told Australian story—a film that’s rich with nostalgia yet doesn’t shy away from truth. Of an Age is a stirring, gorgeously filmed queer romance, set in Melbourne during 1999. The movie follows 18-year-old amateur ballroom dancer Kol (Elias […]

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Film Review: Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a crowd-pleasing continuation of DC’s most enthusiastic superhero

March 16, 2023

Similar to how Henry Cavill’s (re)appearance as Superman was all but confirmed prior to the release of Black Adam (and then, you know, leaked in its entirety through supposed bootleg footage), which in itself was viewed as a desperate ploy to drum up interest for the Dwayne Johnson-led superhero flick, there’s a similar air of […]

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Bloody Hell is a queer-laced, coming-of-age dramedy that transforms personal trauma into relatable storytelling: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 14, 2023

Described as a “traumedy” and navigating a narrative I have no personal connection to – or even a right to comment on in all honesty – Molly McGlynn‘s Bloody Hell has the same footprints as a coming-of-age comedy, but laces such with a queer mentality and the potential dehumanising reality of when your body “rejects” […]

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Until Branches Bend is an intricate drama enhanced by its disturbing, topical personality: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 14, 2023

The parallels between an invasive parasite and an unwanted pregnancy are navigated with intricate delicacy and subtle terror throughout Until Branches Bend, Sophie Jarvis‘s disturbing drama that offsets its small physicality with a growingly unnerving mentality. At the centre of both converging narratives is Robin (Grace Glowicki, incredible), a fruit packing plant line worker who […]

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Cora Bora is a beautiful showcase for the comedic and dramatic sensibilities of star Megan Stalter: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 14, 2023

Whilst there’s no doubt that Megan Stalter is a talented comedienne (“Hi Gay!”, anyone?), the type of social-media-sketch-performer-turned-feature-actress trajectory isn’t always a guaranteed translation for both their respective humour and an audience’s positive reaction.  Thankfully, her starring role in Cora Bora is a more dramatic transition for the actress, displaying a more vulnerable, shaded, even […]

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Brooklyn 45 is an unbalanced, but no less enveloping supernatural thriller: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 13, 2023

Supernatural terror and deep-seated personal revelations come to light in the tonally unbalanced, but no less interesting Brooklyn 45. Written and directed by Ted Geoghegan, Brooklyn 45 gradually unravels over the course of its 90 minutes as it centres around a group of battle-hardened friends and their overdue rendezvous in a Brooklyn brownstone.  Set between […]

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Satan Wants You is a chilling, disturbing insight into the “Satanic Panic” cult of the 1980’s: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 12, 2023

Even though one of the experts interviewed in Satan Wants You expresses that the 1980’s phenomenon known as “Satanic Panic” is seen as something of a joke through the eyes of today, there’s nothing particularly funny about the accusations that were being thrown around at the time.  Perhaps it’s something of an absurdity when looking […]

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Late Night With the Devil melds modern horror sensibilities with the boldness of genre pieces gone by: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 12, 2023

“Before we continue I’d like to apologize to anyone who might be upset or offended by what you saw before the break. It’s not every day you see a demonic possession on live television.” Not the most typical sentence you’d expect to hear from a late night host, but such is the statement made by […]

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National Anthem is an exquisite, organic drama celebrating the queer rodeo collective: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 12, 2023

There’s a moment in the first half of Luke Gilford‘s exquisite looking drama National Anthem where 21-year-old construction worker Dylan (Charlie Plummer) seems perplexed that an outside group of queer rodeo performers and ranchers would find him interesting; “You haven’t met your people yet”, is the open, telling response from the captivating Sky (Eve Lindley), […]

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Only the Good Survive is a nonsensical, genre-blending fever dream bursting with creativity: SXSW Film Festival Review

March 11, 2023

Only the Good Survive is the type of film that delights in the fact that it never follows the genre path you think it should.  At one point the question is even asked if the story being relayed is “a horror or a comedy?”, and writer/director Dutch Southern, in the most nonsensical, unpredictable fashion, makes […]

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Film Review: To Leslie; Is Andrea Riseborough’s shock Oscar nomination justified?

March 9, 2023

In the lead up to the Best Actress nominations at this year’s Oscars, Andrea Riseborough was not a name oft-thrown around.  That’s not to say she didn’t deserve to be in the chatter, but after Cate Blanchett (Tár) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) continued to trade winning speeches throughout each major precursor […]

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Film Review: Danielle Deadwyler commands the emotional and infuriating Till

March 9, 2023

The murder of Emmett Till in 1955, Mississippi, still stands as one of America’s most shocking (and shameful) moments, even now almost 7 decades later.  If you’re unaware – like myself going into this stirring drama – the 14-year-old Till (Jalyn Hall) was visiting family in Mississippi, the first time he had ever really been […]

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Film Review: Scream VI is the finest and freshest the series has felt since the original

March 9, 2023

Given how meta and self-referential the Scream series has become, there’s something kind of brilliant in the familiar Ghostface vocal (again brought to sadistic life by Roger L. Jackson) exclaiming “Who gives a fuck about movies?” as he slices down on his latest victim prior to the Scream VI title card.  The answer, it would […]

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Film Review: Champions travels familiar territory but still lands welcome comedic shots

March 8, 2023

There was a period between the mid-to-late 90’s and into the early 2010’s that filmmaking brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly had something of a hold on the gross-out subsect of the comedy genre.  After 1994’s Dumb & Dumber (which was actually directed by a solo Peter Farrelly) their films almost became something of an event, […]

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Dreamer looks at immigration and human trafficking in a brutal, emotional manner: Mammoth Film Festival Review

March 4, 2023

The opening scrawl of Mohit Ramchandani‘s Dreamer states the horrifying statistic that there are 40 million people enslaved around the world today, and that this is more than any other time in history.  Each of those people had a dream and a destiny, and it’s Dreamer that highlights just one of those stories. Now, given […]

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Film Review: The Donor Party is one invite you can decline attending

March 3, 2023

In the early 2000’s the premise of The Donor Party probably would’ve flown, and most likely would have secured a healthy box office too, but in 2023, there’s something incredibly backwards – and, dare I say, predatory – about Thom Harp‘s comedy that clearly wants to display some type of positive message about the unconventionality […]

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Film Review: Pearl; Mia Goth is the gift that keeps on giving in demented horror prequel

March 3, 2023

If X was Ti West‘s homage to classic 70’s horror effort The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then Pearl could almost be aligned with The Wizard of Oz, just with, you know, a lot more blood and dry-humping scarecrows. The fact that X was an initial singular success story was enough of a win for independent horror […]

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Film Review: Creed III is a physical and emotional gut-punch that showcases Michael B. Jordan’s strength as a filmmaker

March 1, 2023

You have to hand it to Michael B. Jordan for even attempting to take on a project like Creed III as his directorial debut.  Considering it’s the third film in a proven franchise – itself an offshoot from a six-strong film series – and it’s coming off the back of offerings from both Ryan Coogler […]

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Film Review: Daughter navigates gender, authority and autonomy in an unnerving, claustrophobic setting

February 24, 2023

Informing us that the film is based on fact more than fiction, Daughter has a certain familiarity about it when it initially begins, horrifying us with the imagery of a woman being bludgeoned by an unknown assailant.  It’s a suitable start for Corey Deshon‘s horror-leaning effort that successfully navigates mostly a singular location, a small […]

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Film Review: Aftersun is a deceptively haunting film that lives in its silence and stillness

February 23, 2023

The plot for Aftersun is one that we have seen countless times before in one form or another: Adult reflects on a childhood trip with a parent that was often laced with memorable experiences.  It’s how writer/director Charlotte Wells chooses to frame such a story though – almost like a faded memory – that transforms […]

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Film Review: Fisherman’s Friends 2: One and All lacks any of the charm or wit of its breezy predecessor

February 23, 2023

Whilst I can see the charm that audiences fell for regarding the original Fisherman’s Friends, a 2019 “feel-good” true story dramedy about the unlikely musical success of the titular Cornish fishermen, who signed with Universal Records and garnered a Top 10 placing album with their sea shanty renditions, none of that is remotely present in […]

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Film Review: Missing is a welcome twist on the found-footage genre

February 23, 2023

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.  But what happens if the cat doesn’t come home? Such is the question posed by directing duo Will Merrick and Nicholas D. Johnson in Missing, a spiritual sequel to 2018’s technologically-inclined thriller Searching; which, wouldn’t you know it, happened to be edited by Merrick and Johnson, both […]

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Film Review: Cocaine Bear is wild, high, very bloody, darkly funny, and doesn’t play well with others

February 23, 2023

They often say that truth can be stranger than fiction, and in the case of Cocaine Bear, the truth is wild, high, very bloody, darkly funny, and doesn’t play well with others.  Of course, this is only an “inspired by” truth, the type of truth that gets gloriously twisted for the sake of bombastic entertainment.  […]

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