Reviews 1048 results

Sisu Movie Review

The violence is ramped up to a ridiculous extreme but since the receivers of the carnage are Nazis you don’t feel that the actions are unwarranted. It is cartoonish in nature but always entertaining. The work is littered with nods to Quentin Tarantino so if you find that auteur's take on brutality palatable then this will be right up your alley.   //     Set in the waning days of World War II, a scorched Northern Finland provides the backdrop for the actions of ...

Scandinavian Film Festival 2023: Let The River Flow Movie Review

In Let The River Flow when you combine the sad and racist treatment of the Sámi people with the emerging personality of its main character Ester Isaksen (Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen) you have the basis for some looming signs of emotion.   //   Ester does her best to hide her ethnicity in an attempt to fit in but her undeniable sense of heritage is brought to the forefront. Her involvement in the protest of a government’s disregard for Sámi lands by building a dam that ...

Oppenheimer Movie Review

Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an exceedingly complex man and one many see as both a saint and a sinner. He was instrumental in putting the brain trust together for the Manhattan Project, The collection of minds that developed the first atomic bomb. When it was used twice to bomb the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki it divided both the world and scientific communities.   //   Oppenheimer the pragmatist saw the bomb as necessary due to the race for its completion between ...

Barbie Movie Review

With a storyline that works the angle of Barbie (Margot Robbie) becoming a sentient being who begins to question the reality of her surroundings, it opens the door for some very assertive social commentary. Ideas delivered with a sly wink via an effective monologue by America Ferrera. The fully colour-saturated look is as imbued with robust ideas as those words.   //   Casting Ryan Gosling as the Ken doll works well as he is unafraid to ham it up or play the fool and ...

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Those big risks give the action on-screen a much more visceral impact and the wow factor is elevated substantially. This is also needed as the character development in this, the seventh time out is minimal. Cruise is such a recognisable celebrity that it is difficult to see him other than himself but in that context, he rarely disappoints.   //   The storyline of Dead Reckoning revolves around a hot topic in today’s news cycle Artificial Intelligence or AI as it is ...

Insidious: The Red Door Movie Review

Insidious: The Red Door envelopes the audience with just enough information to build a sense of unease that escalate throughout its 107-minute running time. This might underwhelm those who thirst for extreme violence or novel ways of dispatching victims.   //   When you take the time and make the audience endure the pace you can build to a real climax. This is where most horror films lose the plot, too much violence and it becomes cartoonish, showing the protagonist in ...

Joy Ride Movie Review

The setup is simple Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo (Sherry Cola) are lifelong friends, having known each other since a very young age. Audrey is an overachieving lawyer and Lolo is a free spirit and struggling artist. Together they are the classic odd couple.   //   When Audrey has to travel home to China to close a big deal she brings Lolo along and chaos ensues. The film pushes the boundaries and gloriously steps over the line time and time again. It makes you realise ...

The New Boy Movie Review

His new home is run by two renegade nuns played by Cate Blanchett and Deborah Mailman. Set in rolling fields of wheat writer/director Warwick Thornton who also triples as director of photography perfectly captures the sense of isolation.   //   The boy is thrown into a way of life that is almost completely foreign to him and he keeps his distance from the other boys in the orphanage. Slowly the true nature of his character is revealed and he is shown to actually have the ...

Watch the first trailer for Drive-Away Dolls!

In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.   //   Directed by Ethan Coen, Drive-Away Dolls stars Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp and Matt Damon and will be released in Aussie cinemas September 21! www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Movie Review

After the opening WW 2 set-piece we jump forward in time to find Jones being awoken from a deep slumber by a neighbour loudly playing the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour to herald the arrival of the first men on the moon. This expensive use of a fab four tune successfully sets up the late sixties landscape, as does the slice-of-life scenes from New York City   //   Coming in contact with his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) sets in motion a contrivance that ...