Don't Worry Darling (2022) - Movie Review

It’s been a while since I’ve looked at a film that’s been swallowed whole by its own production drama. Paws Of Fury kinda had that same result, but the drama there was mainly background noise that you’d have to dig for. Don’t Worry Darling, on the other hand? It has been one of, if not the, most talked-about film of the year, and not even for anything do with the film’s content. Hell, the behind-the-scenes drama and marketing gaffs for this could (and has elsewhere) make for its own write-up.

But rather than just fill this review with references to #Spitgate, or how this movie feels like a movie, or hypothesising how much worse this could’ve been if Shia LaBeouf was still in it… well, outside of just mentioning them then, that’s not what I’ll be doing. Partly because, even at its most talked-about, all of this just isn’t that interesting to me (I’m not here for the gossip, I’m here for the movie), but mainly because this film is such a… bizarre creation all on its own that there’s already enough material here.

Richard Jewell (2020) - Movie Review

I find myself in a bit of an awkward position with this one. This is another one of those situations where, while watching the film and as I left the cinema, I found myself quite liking what I just saw, even if I could definitely see some flaws with it. But in-between that point and sitting down to write this review, that opinion has… changed. It has soured. It has gotten to the stage where I feel like I have some fire in my belly about this film, who made it, and what purpose it ultimately serves. Not gonna lie, I’m going for the throat with this one because I am not happy.

Booksmart (2019) - Movie Review

Between Blockers and Eighth Grade, I’m quite glad that we’re getting a bit more variety when it comes to high school-set coming of age stories on the big screen. Not only is it making the teenaged multiplex less of a sausage fest, it’s also highlighting that there’s a whole heap of narrative opportunities that we’ve been missing out on as a collective audience. What’s more, we’re once again dealing with a directorial debut in the form of Olivia Wilde. Knowing what happened last time we checked in on her cinematic efforts, not being left with any good things to say about her, I am both surprised and quite relieved that this film works out as well as it does.

The Lazarus Effect (2015) - Movie Review

At the core of humanity’s fear of all that is different and/or strange is the ultimate embodiment of that fear. The unknown to end all unknowns, the dark abyss, eternal inferno and pearly gates all wrapped into one: Death. I’ve discussed before fiction in relation to the idea of avoiding it entirely through immortality, but there still exists a certain fascination within us about what lies beyond the veil. I’d even argue that the question of what happens after that final heartbeat is the source of one of the longest-running debates in human history: Religion. Do we ascend/descend to another plane, or just rot in the ground? Personally, while we have access to enough medical technology to determine what happens to the body post-mortem, I still think we don’t have the means to absolutely determine what happens beyond that. As such, any speculation to that end is just that: Speculation. I have no more right to say that it’s abjectly wrong than anyone else does. With all this in the melting pot, time to slice into today’s film about what happens when you mess with the natural direction of life.