Malignant (2021) - Movie Review

This is going to be a tricky one to write about. Partly because a lot of the immediate impact comes from a plot twist that, if you pay close enough attention to what’s happening on-screen, is actually painfully obvious. But mostly, it’s because this is one of those special films like The Angry Birds Movie 2 where, at time of writing, I’m still trying to figure out whether this film is legitimately good or so-bad-it’s-good. As someone who has long since advocated for the latter as genuine entertainment, I’m not saying that as a detraction of the production itself. Just that trying to get things straight is quite the task, for something this unashamedly batshit.

Miss Fisher & The Crypt Of Tears (2020) - Movie Review

Time to get into another cinematic continuation of an Aussie TV show that my overseas readers likely won’t have heard of, and despite me working on more local ground, I’m about as familiar with the source material as they are. Aside from vague memories of seeing my nan watching it out of the corner of my eye, I have no experience with the escapades of 1920s-era detective Phryne Fisher.

However, over the last few years, I’ve taken definite notice of lead actor Essie Davis as one of the best Australian actors working today, between her phenomenal turns in The Babadook and True History Of The Kelly Gang. As such, familiarity or no familiarity, I knew I wanted to check this out.

Palm Beach (2019) - Movie Review

With how often I’ve gotten into class divides and the frictions between the haves and have-nots in these reviews, I get the feeling I should have problems with this film right off the bat just on principle. Set in the titular Northern Beaches suburb, basically one of the poshest places in my section of the world, the story follows a group of relatively well-off older people and their struggles with growing old and the relationships they’ve made over their lifetimes. ‘Woes of the upper class’ is the kind of thing that should instantly set off my bullshit detectors, and yet, that wasn’t really a problem for me. If anything, I wish it was more egregious along those lines because that would mean actually getting a reaction out of me.

Harmony: The Five Frequencies Part 1 (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Harmony (Jessica Falkholt) was born with the ability to take away people's fear and darkness. As she struggles to survive homeless on the streets of an unforgiving city, a chance encounter with psychiatrist Beth (Jacqueline McKenzie) leads her to meeting Mason (Jerome Meyer), the first person Harmony didn't detect any fear within. It seems that these two have more connecting them than they realise, and as a dark storm approaches, they might be our only chance for salvation.

Three Summers (2017) - Movie Review

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve looked at an Aussie film, so let’s rectify that by looking at today’s film by that fabled Australian filmmaker… Ben Elton. Okay, to be fair, this is a primarily Aussie production, full of premier Aussie actors and it’s set in the outback; it’s just directed by a British guy. But not just any British guy but one of the UK’s foremost satirists. Behind such classics as The Young Ones and Blackadder, Elton’s bombastic and scathing approach to satire is genuinely impressive. Whether it was looking at 80’s punk culture with Young Ones or basically the whole of history with Blackadder, the man had a definite knack for the work, which considering how fiddly true satire can be is commendable. It also helps that he had a hand in the greenlighting of Red Dwarf, not only a strong force of sci-fi satire in its own right but an all-out classic piece of British pop culture.

 

With this kind of pedigree, and taking into account what Australian media is often best at (cultural examination), this should turn out pretty good… right?

The Water Diviner (2014) - Movie Review

Every so often, an actor will step forward and decide that they want to become a director and make their own movie. This can sometimes lead to great things: Clint Eastwood has had a very prolific and critically-praised track record of directorial efforts over the last decade or so and Ben Affleck made a major comeback in Hollywood with films like The Town and Argo. However, it can also lead to rather disastrous things: William Shatner made a dog’s breakfast out of Star Trek V, Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights is one of his many cinematic punchlines, and the less said about the brain-melting confusion that is Crispin Glover’s What Is It?, the better. Today’s film is the directorial debut of love-him-or-hate-him actor Russell Crowe.