Review

When watching Kestrin Pantera‘s Pretty Problems, if such titles as This Is 40, Wanderlust, The Invitation, White Lotus, and/or Schitt’s Creek come to mind, you can sit comfortably knowing that was somewhat deliberate.  Though there’s evident inspiration from such vast titles, Pretty Problems is still very much its own being; it just helps it has…

Whether we like them (or follow them) or not, influencers – sorry, “content creators” – are a cultural mainstay in our society that often extends beyond the environment of social media.  In Australian horror effort Sissy, co-writers/directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes seem all too aware of the faux importance influencers place upon themselves, a…

Unless you’re already an established name in the industry – and even then, to some degree, getting a film off the ground can have its challenges – the process of seeing a film through its production stages is never without its hurdles.  So you can only imagine how it was for a first-time director like…

After a much needed year off, the WWE 2K franchise has returned with the hopes of providing a high flying, hard-hitting recreation of the iconic sport. While we won’t talk about the state the franchise has been in the past few years, it’s worth noting that WWE 2K22 marks a triumphant return for wresting games…

If it wasn’t for the fact that she turns into a giant red panda, the life of Turning Red‘s protagonist Meilin Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) would be considered normal.  She gets good grades at secondary school, has a trio of respectable besties, helps her mother, Ming (Sandra Oh), in running the family temple –…

“It was so long, I wish I’d watch paint dry instead!” Not the most encouraging way to open a review.  Though, thankfully, I’m referring to the book “The Sensible Heart”, the novel-within-the-movie that Book Of Love‘s main character has written, and not Analeine Cal y Mayor‘s film itself. Said writer is Henry Copper (Sam Claflin,…

Just over 20 years ago, I unboxed the original PlayStation and with it, two of the first games I ever played, in Tekken 3 and Gran Turismo. I still remember being amazed by the stunning visuals, if a little intimidated by the realistic gameplay. Cut to the present day. I am a car lover and…

If there’s one thing director Paul Verhoeven loves to do, it’s poke the bear.  As he has so gleefully outraged audiences and critics across his career, his latest exploitive project – the “based on a true story” nunsploitation drama(?) Benedetta – could easily be dismissed as blasphemous, but there’s also an alarming sincerity to his…

As easy as it is to wax lyrical on the fact that we have yet another iteration of the Dark Knight, The Batman, from director Matt Reeves, is unlike any we have experienced on screen thus far.  Sure, the fact that Reeves has adopted a dark temperament to lace his narrative may not be viewed…

Another day, another Bruce Willis direct-to-DVD effort that continues the odd, sad decline of his career.  Keeping in tune with the last dozen or so efforts he has sleepwalked his way through (that is if he decides to actually show up for filming that day), Willis barely registers in Gasoline Alley, the fourth collaboration with…

The core narrative of The Desperate Hour (previously screened as Lakewood at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival) is one that is ripe with tension and despair.  It’s every parent’s worst nightmare come true.  It’s a true shame then that Phillip Noyce‘s initially well-intentioned thriller devolves into absurdity, taking its serious subject matter and exploiting…

Though there’s nothing particularly original about No Exit, the sheer commitment from lead Havana Rose Liu serves the film enough benefit that its genre simplicities and narrative lunacies are somewhat forgiven. Initially, Australian filmmaker Damien Power (Killing Ground) aims for a dramatic temperament, introducing Liu’s Darby as an addict in recovery who has all but…

Films dealing with queer thematics are few and far between in mainland China.  Due to the government’s strict regime on censorship, stories detailing the LGBTQ communities are a rarity, which is why a feature like Moneyboys is all the more curious.  Though set in China, it was filmed in the neighbouring Taiwan, co-financed with European…

The release of Elden Ring had me personally excited. Not just because it was another FromSoftware game, (that’s a given) but because it truly felt like the next step forward for the SoulsBorne series, a transcendent outing into a new frontier. After spending more time than I’d like to admit with Elden Ring over the…

Arriving in cinemas today, Cyrano (you can read our review here) is the beautiful new drama from director Joe Wright, who has reinterpreted Edmond Rostand’s classic 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac as a sorrowful musical starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Peter Dinklage (TV’s Game of Thrones) as the titular poet. To coincide with…

Reimagining another literary masterpiece, as he did with both Pride & Prejudice and Anna Karenina (and, to a lesser extent, the ambitious but much maligned Pan), Joe Wright‘s interpretation of Edmond Rostand‘s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac is a suitably lush affair that manages to reinvigorate a tried and true story, one that we have…

Though presented in the guise of a character drama, The Novice is very much a psychological thriller detailing the compulsive, obsessive need one can hone in their attempt to perfect their field of interest.  For the central figure in Lauren Hadaway‘s dark effort, Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to the role, both physically…

Whilst C’mon C’mon is the type of film that ultimately holds you down to listen to what it has to say, Mike Mills constructs it in such a way that it’s a more emotional and gradual experience.  There’s a texture in the way he presents his narrative, culminating in a manner that when stepped away…

There’s that old chestnut saying that truth is stranger than fiction, and it would appear that no one knows this more than writer/director Wes Hurley.  An autobiographical tale of growing up queer in the USSR in the 1980’s, Potato Dreams of America is an often bizarre, occasionally sad, but completely unique feature that, however trite…

Whilst The Greenhouse isn’t always cohesive in its fantastical exploration of grief, Thomas Wilson-White‘s drama is nonetheless an impressive, ambitious debut that takes bold swings throughout its narrative, detailing how the coping mechanism regarding loss is always a uniquely and individually tailored experience. Still grieving the loss of one of her mother’s from years prior…

With the recent release of Marry Me reminding us that not all romantic comedies have to be relegated to the throw-away click-throughs of a streaming platform (I’m looking at you Netflix), I Want You Back decides to brazenly prove that a quality entrant to the genre can be released to a service – in this…

It’s almost hard to believe there was a time before Liam Neeson took an almost exclusive stance on the midrange-budgeted actioner where his character, usually an operative in some form or another, possessed enough of a skillset to inflict pain on an interchangeable villain.  It’s been the actor’s go-to for almost 15 years, and whilst…

Prior to Jennifer Lopez becoming the global icon she’s considered today, her path as an actress was one that oft travelled in directions not expected.  Sure, now we align her with romantic comedies such as The Wedding Planner, Maid In Manhattan and Second Act, but some 20-odd years ago, before she was synonymous with that…

Whilst most films set for release over the last two years were understandably shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenneth Branagh‘s Death on the Nile has been more than just a casualty of coronavirus.  Though its initial late 2020 release was pulled due to the ongoing pandemic – and industry insiders spooked by Tenet‘s “underperformance” –…

Known as the “master of disaster”, due to his penchant for predominantly large-scale destructive narratives, director Roland Emmerich has, once again, assembled an abundance of special effects, overt exposition, and stock standard human characters for his latest suspension of disbelief – Moonfall. Whilst his varied directorial career is littered with some genuine genre gems –…

They say that with ageing comes the idea of wisdom.  Whoever stated such a bumper sticker statement though clearly hadn’t met the Jackass crew, a group of middle-aged men old enough to know better, but too famous to care. A reality slapstick comedy show that heavily relied on its shock value – garnered either through…

Given that the lockdowns that every country seemed to adhere to at some stage or another since COVID-19 plagued an unsuspecting public caused many to examine their own sense of self, it’s not surprising that something like Kenneth Branagh‘s Belfast would be born from such introspection.  Written from his own perspective as a 9-year-old growing…

Whilst Resurrection never deviates from its grim examination of motherhood, Andrew Semans‘ gripping, ultimately bonkers thriller refuses to stay on the course you expect it to. Portraying very much the type of Rebecca Hall-encapsulated character that Rebecca Hall effortlessly portrays, the actress here, strong-willed and properly presented, is Margaret, a pharmaceutical company representative who offsets…

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…

Comparisons to Rob Reiner’s 1986 coming-of-age drama Stand By Me will be inevitable when discussing James Ponsoldt‘s Summering; the Sundance fixture returning to the festival following his last effort, the critically mauled 2017 Tom Hanks vehicle The Circle, the first of his filmography to not screen at the festival.  The dark elements, thematic inclinations, and…