June Again (2021) - Movie Review

Is it unfair to keep comparing this to The Father? I mean, they’re both films predominantly about the personal and familial effects of dementia, they both made it to Aussie cinemas this year, and they have diametrically opposite methodologies and tones when it comes to the subject matter. With just how highly I rate The Father, it seems like this film can’t help but underperform next to that level of efficacy. But no, I’m going to keep that contained in this paragraph, because while this isn’t as effective as The Father, it has more than enough of its own engagement value to make its mark.

The Father (2021) - Movie Review

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to look at a proper mind-screw of a film. And what’s more, this is about as far from the high-concept sci-fi trappings or Lynchian dream narratives I’ve come to associate such things with. This is as grounded as grounded gets, focusing on one man (Anthony, as played by Anthony Hopkins) as he interacts with his daughter (Olivia Colman), her husband (Rufus Sewell), and… well, beyond that point, it’s hard to tell. Because, for as domestic as this is, it might be one of the most disorienting films I’ve ever watched, let alone reviewed on here. And that's not an insult; that's me praising the fuck out of this movie.

Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020) - Movie Review

We need to laugh in the face of death. It’s something we all have waiting for us wherever the road happens to stop, and it’s the kind of terrible but inevitable event that humour was designed for. Comedy is many things to many different people, but for me, it’s how we deal with the worst that life has to offer, up to and including its end. It’s a way of coming to terms with what we must come to terms with, and learning to take things on the chin so we can carry on with however much of our lives we have left. It’s the kind of morbid cheek that I have spent most of my own life embracing in one form or another, and it’s why this documentary really stuck a chord with me.