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…
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…
Whenever an evidently low-budgeted project gets itself off the ground and revels in the possibilities of creativity, rather than monetary reliance, whatever the result it’s difficult to not be somehow impressed. Such is the case with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, a high-concept time-loop effort filmed on iPhones and born from an acting workshop. It…
A film that perhaps tries a little too hard to embellish the emotionally manipulative story its true-to-life basis can conjure on its own accord, 12 Mighty Orphans’ “classic underdog” mentality is both a help and a hindrance to its overall delivery. Set during the Great Depression, Ty Roberts’ syrupy drama lays focus on the saintly…
Arguably one of the best marketing campaigns ever afforded for a blockbuster title, 2016’s Suicide Squad was ultimately a victim of its own hype. After the DC brand suffered disappointment with the reaction to Batman v Superman, David Ayer’s impressively stacked line-up of second-tier characters and their super villainous mentalities seemed poised to right the…
As much as Jungle Cruise owes its filmic inception to the success of fellow Disney-theme-park-attraction-turned-blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, this light-hearted, gloriously old-fashioned adventure is just as much in debt to such titles as The Mummy and The African Queen. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with honouring the spirit of those films in such a…
Kandisha tells the story of three young teenage women Amelie, Bintou and Morjana (Mathilde Lamusse, Suzy Bemba and Samarcande Saadi); three childhood friends who are enjoying their summer break in the dilapidated streets of Paris. Chilling out with their peers, branding walls with splatterings [sic] of graffiti; it is all about living in the moment…
Given that Snake Eyes is releasing with the subtitle G.I. Joe Origins, it would appear that Paramount have faith that the G.I. Joe brand could possibly be retooled after the 2009 and 2013 efforts (The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation, respectively) failed to truly ignite as intended. It’s a bold strategy, especially as Robert Schwentke‘s…
There’s really no other way to say it – M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old is bad. It’s very bad. In fact, in some instances it’s downright awful! Mirroring the same career slump he experienced after the 1-3 punch of The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002) with such misfires as The Lady in the Water…
There’s nothing particularly original about The Resort. In some manner hoping to be a type of The Shining-in-Hawaii set-up, Taylor Chien‘s supernatural scarer at least doesn’t tread on the expected genre trope of the found footage angle – something that this type of narrative could easily have adopted. A film that unfortunately lets itself down…
There’s often a sense of nostalgia, awe, love, respect and intrigue that goes into watching a music documentary. It’s learning about an artist we idolise, how they affected us upon that first listen, and a further understanding of their music. When it comes to The Sparks Brothers, those are indeed all sentiments adhered to, but,…
Given how well she’s utilised her heart and her humour when leaning into the action heroine outfit – see the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji franchises for reference – it makes sense that both additives be applied to Karen Gillan‘s latest genre effort, the delightfully named Gunpowder Milkshake. Initially she’s a little too cold-hearted…
With an incredibly vague premise that could read as pretentiously high-concept, Nine Days is the type of life-altering experience that, as cliched as it is to state, needs to be seen to be believed. A powerful piece of storytelling that announces writer/director Edson Oda as a major talent to keep tabs on, Nine Days centres…
Whilst subtitling the film “A New Legacy” seems a bit too confident for the team behind this Space Jam sequel, it’s arguably not straying too far from the truth in relation to its selected talent. Whilst the original film received a mixed reception upon its release in 1996, it made considerable bank and has, in…
If you want an example of the transportive power of dance then you need to look no further than Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra. This documentary packs a lot into its slender 96-minute run time, by tracing the origins of this First Nations dance troupe. This film draws together many facets and stories including the…
Eagerly awaited, though perhaps a few years too late, Marvel’s latest excursion of the bombastic kind – Black Widow – isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though as Cate Shortland‘s venture adopts a more grounded mentality (at least for the most part), playing as a type-of Bourne Identity actioner that…
Taking an activity that’s (arguably) something of a fad and morphing it for a theatrical narrative was a risk that evidently paid off for director Adam Robitel and screenwriters Bragi Schut and Maria Melnik with 2019’s Escape Room. A psychological horror film that aimed for suspense over gore, its $150 million worldwide haul practically guaranteed…
Any film that has an air of positivity about it can all too easily be framed as “the movie we need right now” coming off the global lockdown stage of the pandemic. Sure, a film that makes you laugh, smile, or cry (in the good way) is going to be enough of an escape after…
As most musicians can attest, the hopeful critical and commercial success of your debut album ultimately means very little if your sophomore record under-delivers. Such is the dilemma for Glass Heart, the fictional girl group at the centre of Jamie Adams‘ familiar-feeling Love Spreads. Seeming personal vendettas, the strain of writer’s block, and the clashing…
A sensitive subject that manages to transcend its 18 minute containment, Saul Abraham‘s Enjoy is a delicate look at depression, specifically in men, and how difficult it is to remove your own psyche from spiralling downwards. 1 in 8 men in Australia experience some form of depression or anxiety, 3 times more common than it…
On the surface Luca appears to be one of the more slight Pixar entrants. A studio that is known for its near-perfect track record, there’s a certain narrative around the brand that seems to paint any of their films that doesn’t quite reach the emotional highs of an Up or an Inside Out as a second-tier…
As melodramatic and as nonsensical as one would expect from a series that defies the laws of physics as freely as it does whilst waxing lyrical on the importance of family, Fast & Furious 9 (or F9 as it’s being marketed) is the type of ludicrous, high-octane fluff designed for the biggest of screens. Another…
To claim nothing is as it seems in Rob Schroder‘s Ultrasound would be a vast understatement. Requiring significant patience and understanding of its components, this horror/science-fiction hybrid begins on one disturbing note before unravelling into something far more psychologically mysterious. It all opens rather straightforward, however off-kilter, with Glen (Vincent Kartheiser) driving home one night…
With a title like No Future and a narrative detailing the recovery of addicts and the potential grief and fear of relapsing that comes with that territory, Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot‘s drama isn’t exactly reaching for subtlety. It’s a simplistic script that takes few risks in straying from the expected, but superb, committed performances…
Invoking notes of revenge thrillers like Death Wish and Taken, but adhering to a female edge that lends the film a more calculating temperament, Catch The Fair One is a gritty thriller that survives more on its emotional mindset rather than gratuitous violence. Headlined and anchored by real-life boxer Kali Reis (who also serves as…
There’s some magnetic performances and a dirty immersion to God’s Waiting Room that, at times, are strong enough for the film to overcome its narrative cliches and ultimate contrivance that put much of its good work at risk. As easy as it is to roll your eyes at the outline of the film being that…
Starting on a blackly comic note and ending on a vastly different one of dramatic grit, Mickey Reece‘s Agnes is a truly confounding piece. Inserting a narrative and tonal shift half-way through its proceedings, Reece has created a unique film without question, but it’s one that is likely to irk viewers who could respond so…
