Reviews

Set in 1978, the film tells the story of a mountain village of Zalava in Kurdistan that is supposedly plagued by an ancient curse. The villagers are so drawn into the story of the curse that they have been driven into the ways that veer into levels of superstition, involving the use of metals as…

Set in ‘80s West Java, Indonesia, Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash tells the story of Ajo Kawir (Marthino Lio), a tenacious street brawler who is famous for his fearless attitude. Through his many manly acts of destruction and machismo lies a condition that fuels it all – his sexual impotence. Even with numerous…

There’s a consistent thrill to Encounter, Michael Pearce‘s ambitious science fiction-leaning effort that delights in its ambiguous nature.  At least, for the most part.  Seen through the eyes of an unreliable narrator (an as expected stellar Riz Ahmed), Pearce’s film is better when it’s holding on to its secrets.  There’s something deeper and darker at…

There’s a hopeful message about tackling grief in a healthy manner and how there’s the possibility of light at the end of darkness present in the core of The Starling.  With so many promising ingredients too, Theodore Melfi‘s feel-good dramedy is likely to lure audiences in with a false sense of security, promising potential but…

The 2018 Danish thriller The Guilty was riveting, ruthless material.  This American remake, coming courtesy of director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer), is much of the same, which means those who have seen the original will find the plotting all too familiar, yet those uninitiated are likely to be wholly swept up in its…

There’s a quirky, indie comedy vibe that initially laces the opening minutes of All My Puny Sorrows that deceptively suggests what will take place over the coming 103 minutes will be an airier approach to incredibly sensitive material.  Character names are unusual – to say the least – and the dialogue is heightened, presented in…

A film that’s more interesting due to its circumstances – it was made under strict pandemic rules – rather than the actual story put forth, Ride the Eagle is sweet and well-intentioned, but can’t entirely execute its premise with any flare or depth. A take-at-face-value type dramedy, Trent O’Donnell‘s film centres on the lowly Leif…

It doesn’t take much for director James Ashcroft to create the most horrific of situations from the simplest of ingredients laid bare in the early stages of the eerie Coming Home in the Dark.  A loving family, an idyllic New Zealand locale, and a duo of passing strangers provide all that is needed for Ashcroft’s…

Contemporary music accompanying a period set film is not exactly a personality that a production should solely rely on.  And whilst this unnecessary, but completely harmless, “re-telling” of the classic Cinderella does its damnedest with admittedly catchy (and colourfully choreographed) numbers – ranging from Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” to Jennifer Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud”, by…

At one point in his career David Arquette was poised to be a potential acting force among the other stars of his generation.  He worked the indie cinema circuit, he was profiled alongside such talent as Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, and Matthew McConaughey, his work in the Scream films earned him box office clout, and…

Somehow, a festival situated in the heart of Harlem, one that featured such performers as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, and Nina Simone, had been written out of the history books.  In 1969, a year on from the assassination of Martin Luther King, over six weekends in Mount Morris Park, overseen by the liberal New York…

As easy as it would be to accuse a film like Streamline of adhering to the stereotypical tragic narrative that seems to be at the undercurrent of the majority of Australian dramas, Tyson Wade Johnston manages to include subtle commentary on the notion of toxic masculinity within the sporting field – here, specifically swimming –…

Familiar with a little father-son friction thanks to his role on TV’s Kim’s Convenience, Simu Liu experiences similar, though considerably higher emotional stakes, but no less dramatic, as the titular warrior-to-be Shang-Chi in Marvel’s latest extravagant offering, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  There’s the typical end-of-the-world dilemma to contend with, but Destin…

If you’ve ever wondered what Sir George Martin – the legendary Beatles producer – did after the Fab Four split then Under the Volcano is the film for you. Sir Martin remained prolific in the music industry and opened up his own studio-cum-playground in Montserrat. This state-of-the-art workspace was the birthplace of many hits and…

Siobhan Fallon Hogan may not be the most recognisable name, but you best believe she’s someone you notice when on screen.  Perhaps best known for her stint on Saturday Night Live, as Elaine’s roommate in TV’s Seinfeld, and films such as Men In Black, where her character was perplexed by the sugar intake of the…

Over the least few years John Cena has proven himself surprisingly adroit when it comes to executing comedy.  And a film like Vacation Friends, helmed by Silicon Valley executive producer Clay Tarver and featuring co-writing credits from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Game Night), feels like the perfect vehicle to continue showcasing his wild,…

To say there was a certain amount of resistance when it came to the notion of Don’t Breathe 2 would be something of an understatement.  The idea that the original film’s villain – Stephen Lang‘s Norman, aka “The Blind Man”, who emerged from Fede Alvarez‘s tense 2016 thriller Don’t Breathe as a vile shut-in with…

When it comes to cinematic boogeymen, the creation of Candyman is undoubtedly a frontrunner.  Since first becoming the stuff of unnerving urban legend in Bernard Rose’s 1992 classic Candyman, the character itself has remained a figure of terror and now, just shy of three decades later, has been summoned once more for a new generation…

Adopting a futuristic setting and applying a noir mentality to its narrative, Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy shows bold, original footing in her debut as a feature filmmaker.  She may not always stick the landing, but it’s hard to deny her talent and evident vision with Reminiscence, a mystery thriller at its base that incorporates romance…

Jakob’s Wife tells the story of small-town couple Jakob and Anne Fedder (horror veterans Larry Fessenden and Barbara Crampton); a local minister and his dutiful wife who have been married close to 30 years. Anne feels that after all the tasks of being a housewife – including the cleaning, cooking, gardening, housekeeping and more cleaning…

The idea of marrying grief and the horror genre together isn’t exactly a bold, new concept, but thanks to a thought-provoking script (courtesy of Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski), deceptively inventive set design, and a wholly committed central turn from Rebecca Hall, The Night House explores a tested theme in a fresh manner. Hall stars…

One of the few horror efforts from 2020 that dared an American theatrical release last year – only one minor delay period and no being sold to a streaming service – Come Play, though perhaps stuck with the stigma of being a “direct to digital release” here in Australia, is a worthy scarer that utilises…

Religious principles and the notion of intolerance run thematically rampant in The Last Thing Mary Saw, a horror-leaning drama film that announces first time filmmaker Edoardo Vitaletti as an intriguing mind to keep our radar on. Opting for tension and unease rather than overt gore, Mary… is an 1843 set period chiller that opens on…

A capable cast, led by a worthy Jennifer Hudson, and a plethora of recognisable hit records may be enough to satisfy a surface level bassline when it comes to the story of soul legend Aretha Franklin, but Respect, for all its good intentions, doesn’t quite feel like the story such an icon deserves. At around…

Seemingly defined at this point in his career by the grizzly, no-nonsense avenger-types he encapsulates – first realised in the 2008 actioner Taken – The Ice Road eases up on Liam Neeson‘s menacing persona and gives his somewhat-everyman a blue collar temperament. He’s still out there risking his life, mind you, but it’s comparatively slightly…

A simple thriller that adheres to the mindset that not all genre efforts have to hone complicated narratives, Baby Money adjusts the home invasion subgenre enough for its familiarities to not feel habitual. The “baby money” of the title is the currency Minny (Danay Garcia) and her boyfriend, Gil (Michael Drayer), are in need of…

Whilst movies based on video games continue to mostly earn a reaction that’s far less enthused than their source material, the video game inspired flick is another story entirely.  Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, the latest Jumanji films (Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level), the vast amount of time-loop movies, Sucker Punch (y’all know…

With a title like Freshman Year, known originally as Shithouse, you’d be forgiven for thinking Cooper Raiff‘s debut is more akin with the juvenile comedies so many cinematic colleges have been the setting for.  Nothing could be further from the reality though, with Raiff injecting a sweetness and raw emotion into his script as it…

The tried and tested time loop narrative gets another incarnation of sorts in Matthew Butler-Hart‘s impressively made Infinitum: Subject Unknown.  Filmed during the UK’s first lockdown entirely on an iPhone, the evident budget issues that may cause ire from some eyes are all the more forgiven when looking at its scope as a whole. The…

A group of men looking to escape their everyday lives, a couple of inept gangsters, and a one-eyed killer who thirsts for his kills cross paths in Ernar Nurgaliev‘s wild horror comedy Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It. Slapstick comedy and irreverent bloodshed work hand-in-hand throughout the film’s crisp 85 minute running time, centring initially on…