Rotten Tomatoes-approved Film Critic. Also known as that handsome Asian guy you see in the cinema with a mask on.
Considering the political climate that were in, you figure a mainstream comedy like Ideal Home, a film about two gay fathers that borders on stereotypes would be a bad idea. At least, that’s what people have been saying out there, due to impressions from the trailers and the posters. But considering that this is a…
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Expectations can be a very powerful thing, especially when they are low. When people are asked to survey a form of art with subject matter that doesn’t interest them, it’s very certain that they won’t like it. But there are those forms that exceed one’s expectations and manage to give a satisfying experience and what…
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Have you ever seen a film that was so unexpected in its brutality and its disturbing content that you found it unforgettable? Well, one such example screening as part of Sydney Film Festival is Isabella Eklof‘s Holiday. Judging from the poster, you would expect some sort of exploitative saga about a woman in trouble, but through…
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For those who have read my glowing review of American Honey, I praised the main actress Sasha Lane for being a natural on-screen and a talent to look out for. Flash-forward to almost two years later, we have her on-screen again in the comedy-drama The Miseducation of Cameron Post and that had me excited. But fortunately,…
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Before I start this review, it has to be said that this writer has a sick and depraved sense of humour. So stepping in to watch this sadistic horror/comedy film Piercing for Sydney Film Festival 2018, my expectations were sky-high. The feature has been adapted from a novel by acclaimed author Ryu Murakami, who is…
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It has been a very, very long 14 years, but the long-awaited sequel that many were asking for is finally here. Toy Story 4 Incredibles 2 has finally arrived! The first film was branded as the Fantastic Four film that people deserved and it catapulted the career of director Brad Bird to new heights, including…
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If one were to describe this film briefly, The Heiresses could be seen a cross between Wong Kar-wai‘s Happy Together and Albert and David Maysles‘ Grey Gardens. As Kar-wai says about the title of his film, being happy together is being happy with oneself, and it is within that context is where the journey in…
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To say that the expectations for this film are quite high is quite superfluous, but it has to be said nonetheless. We have Rachel Weisz, one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood, who’s had a great run of recent films ever since starring in the weird and sweet quasi-dystopian romance The Lobster, and still…
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Isabel Coixet has always been a talented filmmaker, making understated drama films dealing with issues like existentialism and inner turmoil to great aplomb. Although there have been some highs in her filmography like My Life Without Me and The Secret Life of Words (both starring the talented actress/director Sarah Polley), her last few films have…
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If there’s one creative collaboration that many look forward to, it’d have to be between director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. Their first collaboration was the 2007 comedy-drama Juno. With its hip dialogue, wonderful performances and a refreshing view of the coming-of-age genre (for that time), it was a critically-acclaimed hit that was a…
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With films like Sex, Lies and Videotape and King of the Hill, Steven Soderbergh is known to be one of the greatest filmmakers to come from independent cinema. But he became a bigger name when he ventured into commercial filmmaking with crime films like Out of Sight, The Limey and the Ocean’s film series. Since then,…
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Black comedies can be a very hard genre to pull off. Since it dwells within serious issues that could potentially be seen as taboos within the genre, it requires a certain balance between empathy, humour and darkness. But like all films, they have to have a certain amount of humanity for the audience to cling…
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Dear Blue, Queer cinema has came through quite well back in 2017. We’ve had great examples like Call Me By Your Name, Battle of the Sexes and Moonlight; foreign entries like BPM (Beats Per Minute), Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman and BAFTA-winning The Handmaiden and hidden indie gems like Princess Cyd, Beach Rats and God’s Own…
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Fantasy films aimed towards children can be a very tricky proposition. Usually, films of this type aim to entertain the entire family but for ones that specifically aim for children, how does one critique a film like this? Judge the film for what it is? Or judge the film through the eyes of a child?…
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2018’s anticipated teen comedy Blockers is helmed by a lot of “first-timers”. Making her directorial debut is Kay Cannon, mainly known as a scriptwriter for the successful Pitch Perfect films as well as the TV series 30 Rock. And then newcomers Jim and Brian Kehoe have made their film screenwriting debut. This can often spell disaster for a teen comedy – so…
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There are two pleasures in life that without them, we living things would never exist: gastronomy and sexuality. And there are many talented people out there that try their best to portray their interest for it on many artistic endeavours, especially in cinema. Such talented auteurs out there are Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, The Third…
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Coming-of-age films are really coming along nicely (I know, that was lame) over the past few years, with many great films that understand what makes the genre such a well-liked genre. We have plenty of stand-out entries like Kelly Fremon Craig‘s Edge of Seventeen, Greta Gerwig‘s Lady Bird and Marielle Heller‘s The Diary of a…
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Whether it’s an old-fashioned detective story (Murder on the Orient Express), a children’s adventure (Young Sherlock Holmes), a romantic farce (Blind Detective) or a flat-out comedy (Clue), the murder mystery is the type of genre staple that can result in lots of fun, particularly if it involves audience participation. If 2018’s latest comedy Game Night can…
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Heist films are a dime-a-dozen these days. They’re the ones that fit the “put people on a mission” genre, starring a well known ensemble cast, who have been given an exciting plot where cast chemistry, filmmaking chops and fun storytelling mix together to make an entertaining night out for cinemagoers. If you think of the…
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I must be a really bad film critic since I have realised another error of my ways. After other mistakes, like never seeing a Agnes Varda film before until Faces Places, here’s another I must confess and rectify: I have never seen any of the works of Daniel Day-Lewis. Considered to be the best actor…
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It’s that fantastic time of the year again! We have another Studio Ghi–Wait a minute! This isn’t a Studio Ghibli film! It is in fact, a Studio Ponoc film. In case you don’t know, Studio Ponoc is an animation studio that was founded in 2015 by people who used to work in Studio Ghibli. One…
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It’s quite amusing that films based on videogames like Assassin’s Creed, Max Payne, Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter are complete rubbish and yet films that revolve around videogames or reflect the videogame aesthetic are a different story. With films like David Cronenberg‘s sci-fi body horror film eXistenZ (which is a spiritual followup to Videodrome),…
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As of writing this review, the Australian Parliament has passed the law, allowing same-sex marriage. What great timing, right? Anyway, Call Me By Your Name. This film has been gathering up critical buzz ever since it made its premiere splash at Sundance back in January. Then it showed at many other film festivals like Toronto…
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I don’t know how the first Paddington film became as good as it is. Considering that the trailers made it look awful and the late cast changes in regards to who provides the voice of the titular bear, I was actually expecting the worst. But to everyone’s shock, it turned out to be one of…
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Over recent years, we have seen a wide range of films tackle racism across a number of genres, from 12 Years a Slave to The Birth of a Nation, I Am Not Your Negro to Get Out, among many others. While all gained some level of critical acclaim, the former two films came under criticism…
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Takashi Miike, back in the V-cinema (straight-to-video) era, was a complete madman. Not in a human state (or maybe he is, who the hell knows?), but in his creative state, as the images and ideas he comes up with can only come from a man who is completely bonkers. This is the man who directed…
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Biopics these days feel like forced Oscar Bait; as though the formula for an award, on behalf of the actors, is to talk in a funny accent or shout. To truly nail a true character, there’s more to it than just imitation. Films like Patch Adams, Diana and even A Beautiful Mind fail to succeed…
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Ahh yes, the cinematic comedy sequel. These past several years, we have gotten many comedic sequels, whether they were made by popular demand, the means of nostalgia or the fact that Hollywood is running out of ideas. Although we have some gems like 22 Jump Street, the Kung Fu Panda films… even Men In Black 3,…
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When you hear a film that is green-lit and it is basically a vehicle for an SNL star, chances are that one would expect the film to be bad. Films like A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar and The Ladies Man are all garbage. That said, some of them do gain a cult following over…
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WARNING: May contain excessive amounts of puns. Another week, another film set in the snowy terrain. This week, we have The Snowman, a serial killer thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson and a embarrassment of talent. But unlike the prior film, The Mountain (of Cheese) Between Us, this film has achieved quite a negative reception…
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