A Man Called Otto Movie Review
Otto lives a solitary life, one where he adheres to a rigid set of rules and has no patience for those that don’t follow said rules. When a new family moves into his tightly controlled world, they succeed in turning things upside down and inside out.
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The emptiness at his core is explained through a series of heartbreaking flashbacks. As you learn of all the loss Otto has suffered you begin to excuse his overtly negative nature and then have a stake in his ...
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Movie Review
Under the magician’s tutelage and showing that dance is also part of the retiles’s skill set, Lyle and Hector are ready to conquer the New York stages. Their first show sells out and everything is set for success until the curtain goes up and the stage fright sets in. Lyle (Shawn Mendes) is completely unable to let rip.
From this point on the story shifts to the arrival in the Big Apple of the Primm family. Pops is played by Scoot McNairy. Mother (Constance Wu) and their high-strung ...
Avatar: The Way of Water Movie Review
First it must be said that it looks amazing, the combination of 3D visuals with its high frame rate make almost ever frame burn into the retinas. It is so easy to get lost in James Cameron and companies’ collective vision that even the scenes solely devoted to establishing the visual world of Pandora are consistently engaging. It’s so beautiful it almost seems a shame to introduce all the conflict.
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But conflict is what sells tickets and the film’s last few ...
Violent Night Movie Review
Being that there is never too much of a bad thing to restore the balance, Violent Night blasts into this holiday season with a twisted take on old Saint-Nic. This Kris Kringle, played by Stranger Things' David Harbour packs a punch courtesy of a Nord background and a big sledgehammer.
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Centred around a rich family led by the caustic Gertrude Lightstone played by Beverly D’Angelo in uber bitch mode. This group is as dysfunctional as any in recent memory, so when ...
Margrete – Queen of the North Movie Review
With unease just under the surface and enemies all around, Margrete will have to face one of her toughest challenges. A task that will redefine her sense of self and show the ultimate strength and love for her country she possesses. A strength that comes at the cost of her feelings of motherhood.
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When watching a foreign film and recognising few if any of the actors, the ability to get lost in the story is enhanced. There isn’t the distraction of career-establi...
Bones and All Movie Review
The work has some visceral thrills that are only enhanced by the element of the unknown. The first of those moments took me by complete surprise and that feeling was more than intriguing. Having no idea of where it was going from that point on was liberating.
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That the filmakers were able to weave an almost touching love story into the mix following that shocking moment is a testament to the craft on display here. Those shocks are used so sparingly, their impact is ...
Strange World Movie Review
Using a somewhat typical mighty mouse storyline about the virtue of the family unit to make some pointed comments on the ill effects of the world’s reliance on petrol and disregard for the health of the planet is slightly unusual. This divergence is a welcome addition to the usual kiddie fare.
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This does cause things to go slightly awry in its accessibility to the very young. The high concept might leave the little ones feeling a bit left out. In many ways it is ...
The Menu Movie Review
The restaurant in the film, Hawthorne is based loosely on an actual restaurant called KOKS that was featured in the Danish documentary Nordic by Nature - Michelin Stars. It shares that establishment’s isolated island location but flips the script and introduces a real sense of peril to its diners.
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The film’s structure as it resolves works on so many levels. As social commentary, it is wickedly assertive and the comments on the anonymity that many expect from ...
Seriously Red Movie Review
When a story is built around a person finding their way in life, it’s always more engaging if you feel empathetic towards that person and it is here that Seriously Red presents several challenges. Had the character of Red been a man their behaviour would be easy to dismiss as boorish and guilty of moments of toxic masculinity.
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Flipping the script around to the female gender diffuses some of this but it’s still problematic. Within the context of those limitat...
She Said Movie Review
Change the gender and almost all of the victims in She Said could have been soldiers returning from war. They have been so traumatised by the harm done to them that just the mention of the name Weinstein brings a visceral reaction. Their PTSD is overtly visible.
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Equal parts enthralling and appalling, The film illustrates the abuses of power that were protected by faceless people on high that have left all of its victims scarred for life. The evil spectre of Harvey ...
