Reviews

A low-key slice of independent cinema that you imagine wouldn’t be given as big of a spotlight had it not been for lead Jennifer Lawrence, Causeway nonetheless deserves its attention as it’s a determined and moving picture about one’s healing, both emotionally and physically. Adhering to the stripped-away mentality that drove her to her first…

A feast for the eyes and the ears, Brett Morgen‘s Moonage Daydream is a headfirst dive into the unmatched, other-worldly psyche of the one and only, David Bowie.  In some aspects Morgen – who is no stranger to the musician-centred medium, having helmed the Nirvana doco Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck – has adopted an…

There’s both a sense of adhering to the temperaments of action films gone by and embracing the current and future state of the genre present in Jalmari Helander‘s Sisu. Matching its dark sense of humour (and I mean dark) with a violently bloody mentality (and I mean bloody!), Sisu manages to present the simplest of…

Author Angie Thomas has become something of a contemporary prose lyricist for the new wave of young coloured youths through her breakout novels The Hate U Give and On The Come Up.  Breathing a certain life into their own coming of age stories, her words prove a promising soundboard for actress Sanaa Lathan‘s foray into…

Set in 1980’s Ireland, The Quiet Girl tells the story of Cait (Catherine Clinch), an emotionally and socially withdrawn child who lives with her destitute family in a rural village.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…

When so many of the exciting new projects at the moment are TV series, it feels like a rare gift to watch a movie as bold and refreshing as Three Thousand Years of Longing. The film is the story of a ‘narratologist’ named Alithea (Tilda Swinton), who travels to Istanbul for a conference and unwittingly…

When watching Mean Spirited I couldn’t help but wonder why Jeff Ryan isn’t a household name.  As a director he has worked within a duo of spaces that have well been tested – the mockumentary comedy and the found footage subsect of horror – but both this and his previous effort (YouthMin) prove he has…

It’s all too easy to wax lyrical these days about trailers spoiling and “giving too much away” for the keyboard warriors who oft decide they hate a film before they even see it.  Whilst the jury is still out on how many will dislike The Invitation, I can attest that, as far as spoilers go,…

Of all the unexpected horror sequels to come to fruition, Orphan: First Kill would be up there as one of the more unlikely titles.  Yes, it’s a prequel, first and foremost, but original star Isabelle Fuhrman is back in the unsettling role of Estonian psychopath Esther that birthed her career in 2009’s Orphan.  Why this…

Given that we’ve had a share of snakes and sharks and bears (Oh My!) over the years as the creatures that have opted to stalk various familiar-faced talent, it’s only fair that the majestic king of the jungle get their due too. If the circle of life taught us anything, it’s that what goes around…

With a rest-stop bathroom glory hole serving as a type of universal gateway between a confused, confined Ryan Kwanten and an unseen, but very heard, J.K. Simmons, one would be forgiven for thinking Glorious may be, well, just a little filthy. Sure, it’s dirty at times and leans into a gory mentality when it sees…

A meditative presence, a sometimes-actor, and now writer/director, Tyler Atkins seems to revel in the difficulty of categorisation.  And it’s that loose scrappiness that shapes his feature-length debut, Bosch & Rockit, a spirited and emotional film that’s equally as uneasy to singularly designate. Based on Atkins’ own childhood, the film flirts with multiple genre temperaments…

A gaudy game of cat-and-mouse and pseudo-philosophical musings on sexual orientation and gender sit at the core of Amanda Kramer‘s Please Baby Please, a wild but, sadly, insufferable drama that’s more sleazy than it is stylish. Set in 1950’s New York, the film reveals its bizarre, sexualised tone in its early minutes when bohemian couple…

Whilst there’s no surprise revealed in the fact that Emma Thompson truly deserves to be considered one of the greatest living actresses working today, it’s always appreciated when a performance solidifies such a statement.  And in the deliriously charming and strikingly emotional Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, Thompson turns in career-best work that leans…

Nobody quite does obscure like director Peter Strickland.  Finding that delicious balance between eccentric and perverse, Flux Gourmet – set over a month-long period in an institute for sonic caterers (yes, that’s a thing) – is perhaps his funniest yet, indulging in the mischief that comes with his unique blend of deadpan dialogue and a…

Throughout Victim‘s 14 minute running time, the tension laid forth by writer/director Robin Summons is near-unbearable as it traces a radicalised teenager and his increasingly concerned mother. Offspring favourite Kat Stewart brings a sweet yet stern nature to the role of Chrissy, a single mother whose seeming one wish is to have a collected dinner…

It’s understandable to be going into a film like Nope and be expecting horror greatness, given that it’s stemming from the mind of Jordan Peele, who, with both Get Out and Us, redefined the genre with his “woke” sensibilities and penchant for symbolism and commentary. Ominous alien invasion is seemingly what’s promised here.  The trailers…

They say crime doesn’t pay, but whoever stated as such may want to have a chat with the titular criminal in John Patton Ford‘s scrappy, oft intense thriller, one that furthers Aubrey Plaza‘s hold on chaos personified characters in the off-kilter subsect of cinema. Plaza’s Emily is a former art student with a $70,000 debt…

A thriller that both leans into the formulaic mentality of the genre whilst simultaneously hoping to combat it, Watcher, from director Chloe Okuno (V/H/S/ 94), is a dread-filled effort that plays on the terrors of voyeurism. Gorgeously shot, though consistently lingering with uncertainty, Watcher lays focus on Julia (Maika Monroe, always a welcome presence in…

The type of filmmaker who’s able to create stories so bombastically silly that they are somewhat brilliant, Quentin Dupieux once again expresses straight-faced frivolity in Incredible But True, a tightly-paced (a lean 74 minutes) twilight-zoned comedy that, somehow, is one of his more level-headed features in spite of its ludicrous plot. Said ludicrous plot revolves…

In June of 2018 when thirteen members of a Thai boys’ soccer team were trapped underground in a cave that flooded out through early monsoon rains, it didn’t take long for the story rights to be snapped up by various studio heads, all looking for their own take on an initially tragic then, thankfully, happily…

With its mix of deadpan satire and high concept sci-fi – comparisons to Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2015 dystopian black comedy The Lobster feel imminent – Dual may be an off-putting experiment to many who can’t readily accept Riley Stearns‘ mentality.  It certainly helps that the film is headlined by the wonderful Karen Gillan though, delivering two…

An agonising drama if ever there was one, Mass details the type of conversation that instantly makes you feel sickeningly uncomfortable.  And then to watch it unfold in a suffocating location for 110 minutes is a test of endurance that audiences may be unprepared for. The tragedy at the centre of the conversation is one…

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…

The Hitman Vs. Assassin subsect of the action genre is one that rarely deviates from its rather tried and true formula; aside from a hefty injection of cash and a star-studded cast, something as recent as Netflix’s throwaway actioner The Gray Man is proof that the genre, even in 2022, seems comfortable resting on its…

Though What Josiah Saw may include rather expected tropes of the haunted gothic subsect of the horror genre, Vincent Grashaw‘s self-contained chiller continually subverts our expectations with a brutal eeriness that’s likely to divide its audience between those who are enveloped by its slow burn mentality and those who prefer their horrors far less subtle….

They say if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. Director, Lin Cheng-Sheng’s latest film certainly confirms this by offering up the stories of four young men who are on the spectrum. The result is a touching fly-on-the-wall documentary. Cheng-Sheng is no stranger to this particular subject matter. In 2010…

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…

Where the Crawdads Sing seemed like the type of film primed for success before it was even released.  Delia Owens‘ 2018 novel was one of those reads that became the prose to intake during its first run (boosted by Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine bookclub pick), leading it to be crowned the best-selling fiction title of…

Whilst not always the most prevalent sport to celebrate cinematically, golf has had its share of theatrical engagement over the decades; more often than not linked heavily to the comedy genre, too. Caddyshack (1980), Happy Gilmore (1996) and Tin Cup (1996) have arguably courted the most humorous notice, whilst The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)…