The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (2022) - Movie Review

Time for another preview screening, this time courtesy of StudioCanal… and man, after how much he crushed it last year, I leapt at the chance to check out the next Nicolas Cage flick. When you’ve spent so many years (decades, even) being such a singular talent that you’re just as animated as any one of the roles you’ve taken up, then yeah, why not star in a movie where you’re performing as yourself? Sure, there’s films like The Weather Man, Joe, and the previously-reviewed Pig, which showed certain facets of his real-life persona, but this is as direct as it gets. And the end result, while consciously made up of a lot of familiar parts, is quite mesmerising in that way that only Cage-starring films can manage.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) - Movie Review

Another feature that Universal Pictures Australia sent me an invite to see early, and as truly thankful as I am for getting the chance to do so… I’m kinda intimidated by the prospect of critiquing this film and giving it its fair due. I’ve gone on record about how the original Matrix is one of my all-time favourite films, and I can vividly remember where I was when I first watched it, but I’ve also mentioned that the sequels didn’t really measure up to it.

I bring up that last point because, after rewatching them just a few days before going out to see the latest instalment, that opinion has drastically changed; not only are the sequels genuinely great films, but they make the first film that much better by expanding on everything that made that film work. I’ve been watching those sequels on and off for more than half of my lifetime on this earth, and it’s only now that I properly appreciate what they were going for.

As such, I’m getting the uncomfortable feeling that this will be a similar deal, and I don’t really have the time or mental capacity to squeeze several years’ worth of hindsight into my perspective on a film that will be out this week. But I must press on, because even if I end up missing a few things here and there, this is still a very interesting feature to be writing about.

Downsizing (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: As a means to combat overpopulation, a group of Norwegian scientists have come up with a ground-breaking solution: Literally shrinking the population down to a height of only five inches. Suburban couple Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey (Kristen Wiig), unsatisfied with their current living conditions, decide to take part in the procedure… only for Audrey to back out at the last minute. Now shrunken and alone, Dave takes part in this brand new miniature society, only to discover that even this scenario has its drawbacks.