The Son (2023) - Movie Review

Following on from their last collaboration The Father, a film so good that it nearly topped my Best Of 2021 list, writer/director Florian Zeller and co-writer Christopher Hampton have now continued their dramatising of the effects of mental illness with a new film, also based on one of Zeller’s stageplays. This one, however, hasn’t been getting the same glowing rapport; in fact, opinions on this film have been middling at best. Now, as I’ll get into, I can definitely see where the negativity is coming from and even agree with some of it… but man, when this film hits its stride, it reminds me of just how hard The Father hit on first watching it.

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism (2023) - Movie Review

There is something especially Aussie about a small-budget independent local production finding its way into the modern trend for exorcism horror… by playing into the nation’s predominant fascination with true crime stories. This is based on the real-life death of Joan Vollmer, a 49-year-old Antwerp resident who died in January of 1993. She was being exorcised by her local congregation, with her husband Ralph being the one who instigated and took part in the proceedings, and she died during the attempt. Four of those involved, including Ralph, were charged with manslaughter but ultimately walked away with such a slap on the wrist that they and their congregation “clapped, sobbed and hugged each other at the news”, with Ralph himself saying that the magistrate’s finding was the will of God

Empire Of Light (2023) - Movie Review

Well, we seem to have found my limit when it comes to movies about the magic of movies. Following up his one-shot-trick feature 1917 (and bringing back DP Roger Deakins and editor Lee Smith), Sam Mendes has decided to get in on the recent trend of storied filmmakers tipping their hats to the art form they exist in. But where directors like Steven Spielberg and George Miller and even Ti West had a sturdy head on their shoulders when tackling that level of idealism, what Mendes and company have cooked up here is… well, cooked.

Bones And All (2022) - Movie Review

Luca Guadagnino has a habit of changing my entire fucking worldview with each new film of his I watch and review. Call Me By Your Name, in the years since I first looked at, has become a rather important moment in my personal history as a Queer person, and I genuinely think I wouldn’t be in my current relationship had I not watched it (just one of many experiences that make me love this job). Suspiria, along with being that rare remake that (in my opinion) eclipses the original, is a fascinating example of filmmaking as actual witchcraft, a perspective that I’ve since added to my frequently flowery ideas about the potential of cinema. Whatever he has lined up next has big shoes to fill, clearly, but he has once again delivered an absolute winner.

Everything In Between (2022) - Movie Review

Well, we struck gold with an Aussie production last time, so let’s go for another one. A suicidal teenager (Jordan Dulieu’s Jay) meets terminally-ill 20-something Liz (Freyja Benjamin) and they teach each other about life and love and all that good stuff. Sure, it all sounds a bit sicklit-y, but hey, Babyteeth turned out great, and I seem to be on a good roll for films lately, so maybe this’ll turn out alright.

I don’t even know why I’m even pretending to give this the benefit of the doubt. In the minutes since leaving the cinema, I’ve already taken to calling this Nothing Nowhere Never, because that’s what it made me feel while watching it.

Smile (2022) - Movie Review

cw: mental illness, suicide, trauma

Ever had someone tell you to cheer up when you’re not feeling happy? Maybe they’re someone close to you and you just got done explaining the hows and whys of you not feeling happy, or maybe it’s some complete rando who sees you looking a little glum out in public. But all the same, they see you in distress and think to say that you simply shouldn’t be so down, as if you had never thought of that as an option before.

It’s the kind of advice that is arguably well-intentioned… but there’s a certain effect that comes with it. At its best, it can feel like you’re not allowed to have your own feelings, your own reactions to what’s going on, and that you just need to stop whining and put on a happy face, if not for yourself than to at least not inflict your ‘bad vibes’ on others.

But at worst, especially when it comes packaged with that same person showing off how their own forced happy face looks, there’s something almost malevolent to it. You’re feeling bad, and here’s someone just… smiling at you. Wanting you to do the same, whether you feel like it or not. And if you live with a chronic mental health condition, where these moods are a regular part of your life, all that insistence to force that happy face can feed into the much darker companions that those conditions tend to magnetise. You must be ‘normal’… or else. Or else what?

Every Breath You Take (2021) - Movie Review

It’s almost embarrassing having to admit that I’ve seen this movie. Both for myself, in that I paid money to sit through this thing, and for those involved, as this should only exist as a blip on each actor’s respective radar, not something to be remembered or directly attributed to them. But I’ve made it this far writing reviews for every new film I watch, and I’m not about to give this the satisfaction of breaking that trend, so let’s get into one of the snooziest dumpster fires I’ve seen in years.

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.

Horse Girl (2020) - Movie Review

After briefly talking about Alison Brie in my last review, I figured it’d be worth checking out her latest starring role today as well. And man, was I thrown for a loop; she is straight-up unrecognisable in this thing. I mean, I literally just watched her on the big screen just a few hours earlier, and yet seeing her in this, I had to keep reminding myself that this is the same actress who first caught my attention in Sleeping With Other People. And the content itself is reflective of that, both in that it’s a marked departure from her more comedic work, and that it’s largely about surreal disconnects from reality. Namely, her own.

Joker (2019) - Movie Review

Well… here we go. What is most likely to be the most contentious theatrical release of 2019. A film that has audiences and critics so divided that the range goes from “this film is great” to “this film will inspire mass murderers”. Not much wriggle room in there, no matter what my opinion on this is. And yeah, while I’m somewhat mandated to get into the controversy surrounding this production, that’s only half the story. The other half is the film itself, and quite frankly, this is one worth talking about one way or another because, holy shit, this is a genuinely great film.

The Predator (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: While on a mission, sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) sees an alien ship craft-land on Earth. After he is shuffled off to a military prison bus to keep him quiet about his discovery, biologist Dr. Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) examines the body retrieved from the ship... and it escapes from the facility. Quinn will have to team up with Casey as well as the other soldiers on the bus in order to stop this Predator from turning the human race into game.

Hereditary (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: After the death of her mother, Graham family matriarch Annie (Toni Collette), her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro) try to adjust to the tragedy. However, they soon discover increasingly strange disturbances going on in their house, and Annie begins to discover some strange things about her family history. It seems that the Graham family is under threat by some force, but is it something foreign to them or is it something that has been with them from the beginning?

Finding Your Feet (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: The hopeful married life of Lady Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) takes a very sudden turn when she discovers her husband (John Sessions) having an affair. Betrayed and wanting for a place to go next, she goes to her estranged sister Bif (Celia Imrie), who agrees to share her home while Sandra gets things in order. As the two reconnect and Bif gets Sandra to open up a bit through her dance group meetups, Sandra begins the long process of readjusting to the world in light of her romantic fallout.