Sometimes an artist’s vision is best conveyed through the use of metaphorical imagery. Reiki Tsuno is not one of those artists! Leaning bombastically far into literal chaos and absurdity, Tsuno’s Mad Cats is a high-art-meets-low-brow martial arts extravaganza that embraces melodramatic nonsense – and is all the better for it. When he receives a message…
Read More
Whilst it isn’t always moving at a tolerable pace, nor does it necessarily answer the questions it raises throughout, Rachel Lambert‘s at-times dreamy dramedy Sometimes I Think About Dying still manages an emotional resonance as it tackles social anxiety and the feeling of disconnection that can stem from such. Daisy Ridley – in a beautiful,…
Read More
The unexplained corpse of a white woman at the feet of three Black gentlemen doesn’t look good. Four dead white women looks even worse, and it’s a situation at the centre of Mahogany Drive that writer/director/star Jerah Milligan navigates with precise wit and a social commentary that doesn’t quite travel where we expect it to. Before…
Read More
If there’s one thing you can rely on when it comes to the romantic comedy genre, it’s that if there’s a wedding involved Jennifer Lopez can’t be too far from the fray. The reliable superstar knows how to play the genre game, but if any audiences are concerned that Shotgun Wedding will play things a…
Read More
An elephant graphically defecates on its unsuspecting handlers, before stomping about in an uneven state amongst a storm of fornicating bodies. An aspiring actress urinates on the face of a willing movie star in a coked-out stupor. A tuxedoed lounge singer seductively croons about petting her girlfriend’s genitalia. A party reveller bounces around on a…
Read More
“It’s an ugly book, full of selfish people who only care for themselves” isn’t exactly the sterling praise one would reap upon something as treasured as “Wuthering Heights”, but it is how author Emily Brontë’s work was described by her older, more traditional sister Charlotte upon finishing it; or, at least, that’s how Frances O’Connor…
Read More
Right from the opening of M3GAN it’s obvious what type of film Gerard Johnstone‘s A.I. horror-lite is going to be: one that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously, has its wink poised at the audience, and knows you can’t think it’s ridiculous any more than the creators already do. If its trailer didn’t already clue you…
Read More
Originally scheduled for an early release starting in January of 2022, the sudden pulling of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre from the theatrical schedule certainly didn’t bode well for a film that, from all appearances, seemed like a certified success. Yes, it wasn’t uncommon for films to shift during the time period due to the…
Read More
Kiddo, a short film written and directed by Brett Chapman, is an oddity, to say the least. And that’s meant in the most complimentary of fashions, as the supremely bizarre, always unsettling outing announces itself as an original, individually interpreted horror film that’s likely to sit differently (and divisively) with its audience. In fact, it’s…
Read More
Needle drops have become more and more of a popular addition in film over the last year. The notion of having a song not written for the film – often one that already has a sense of notoriety – and inject it into proceedings has been utilised to either enhance a physical sequence or, perhaps,…
Read More
“Mommy and Daddy will be right next to you the whole time.” From the opening line of dialogue in Steven Spielberg‘s The Fabelmans, an autobiographical coming-of-age tale that boasts itself as his first writing credit since A.I. some two decades prior, we get a sense of what’s to come as, outside a New Jersey movie house in the early…
Read More
Welcome back, Mr. Hanks. After adopting a not-so-easy to digest accent and exaggerated acting style in Baz Luhrmann’s divisive Elvis, and whatever the hell that adaptation of (not Guillermo del Toro’s) Pinocchio was, America’s loveable dad has returned for another of his committed, affable turns in Marc Foster‘s A Man Called Otto; which is rather…
Read More
Given just how successful his last film The Dry was, it’s understandable for their to be a certain expectation and closely examined look at what director Robert Connolly has on his table for his immediate follow-up. Not that you should expect a crime thriller 2.0 given he’s adapting Tim Winton‘s family-friendly short Blueback, but don’t…
Read More
The rich eat, but then suffer mercilessly in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, a wicked, at-times horrifically and humorously gross satire that takes aim at the wealthy in a manner that is deliciously void of any subtlety. Divided into three chapters – all linked by a young, glamorous couple – the film promises one observation…
Read More
Though he certainly didn’t lose any of his sense of comfort by travelling across the Atlantic for his last film – 2017’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – there’s a sense of grandeur in writer/director Martin McDonagh returning to his homeland for The Banshees of Inisherin, an impossibly funny and, at times, heartbreakingly bleak dramedy…
Read More
Behind every true story there’s always a slew of accusations as to what is exactly fact and what’s fiction. In the case of The Lost King, a charming dramedy surrounding everywoman Philippa Langley and her search to find the grave of Richard III, there’s the historians who believes it absolves the king of the supposed…
Read More
Much like a Greatest Hits package where it’s all the beats that both fans and the casual listener are familiar with, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a glossy biopic about “The Voice”, Whitney Houston, Kasi Lemmons‘ film refuses to delve beyond a catchy hook. There’s no bridge, no worthy duets, and no deep-rooted B-side. And…
Read More
It’s always an amusing statement to hear when people say that “There are just no good movies out there.” You can cry foul on 2022 being “the worst year of movies, ever” all you want – it’s considerably not true – and, perhaps, because certain blockbusters failed to wow you or due to the endless…
Read More
My first few hours with High On Life were something different, with the final product proving to be one of the most polarizing and subjective games I’ve played in recent memory. But it’s not for the reasons you might think. High On Life ticks many of the boxes associated with the first-person shooter genre; it’s…
Read More
Eufy are no stranger to the security camera game, having previously pumped out 2 generations of security camera line-ups with varying degrees of camera quality, battery life and overall versatility. We’re taking a look at the EufyCam3 bundle, comprising of two S330 Eufy cameras and brand new Homebase 3. While I had previously been using…
Read More
Given that it has been 11 years since we last saw Puss in Boots garner his own solo outing, it’s fair for any audiences going into this one to have certain reservations. Not that the original was bad in any manner, but Puss in Boots: The Last Wish isn’t exactly a continuation many were clamouring…
Read More
The term “elevated horror” gets thrown around a lot nowadays. And as much as supposed film purists like to rib on such a phrase, it’s undeniably becoming a subgenre of the horror space, allowing dark, heavy topics and deep exploration of characters to exist within the structure of a scary story. Such is the mentality…
Read More
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve fallen out of love with Need for Speed games in recent years. It’s not that they’ve been necessarily bad, but given recently established franchises like the Forza Horizon series or the returning Gran Turismo series, Need for Speed has had seemingly little to offer the genre in…
Read More
BlueAnt’s new portable speaker range has unveiled the X1i, and in line with our recent review of the smaller X0i Bluetooth speaker, aims to pack in as much sound as possible into a slightly larger package. It is with that sentiment that the X1i follows suit in comparison to its smaller sibling, that many of…
Read More
Whilst there are those that will sternly attest that 2009’s Avatar was an impactful piece of cinema with a lasting relevance, there’s the equally valid counterpoint that beyond the special effects and its introductory lesson to the 3D technique it’s a movie that doesn’t have the emotional weight it so wants to believe it has. …
Read More
Though it’s created by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the screenwriters of the two National Treasure movies, and has links through the casting of guest-spotted performers Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha, National Treasure: Edge of History has very little of the ultimate charm and adventurous spirit of its predecessors. The films – 2004’s original and its…
Read More
BlueAnt’s new portable speaker range has unveiled the X0i mini portable Bluetooth speaker, aiming to pack in as much sound as possible into such a tiny package. Given its competition and comparisons to the JBL Go 3 in terms of price and size, the X0i provides 6W of power along with a IP56 Splashproof rating…
Read More
Whilst the general consensus is that the James Bond franchise has its large share of devoted fans – all eagerly awaiting the resilient secret agent’s next global mission – there are those that take a differing view. It’s not that they don’t like the films per se, it’s that each film release comes with the…
Read More
We recently took the time to review BlueAnt’s XT100 2.0 soundbar, coming away with mostly positive results, providing quality sound at an affordable price. Upon reviewing BlueAnt’s XT120 soundbar, this too feels like another step in the right direction, providing the same quality sound at an even more affordable price, at just AUD $279. The…
Read More
A sweeping melodrama that harkens back to a time when such tales filled local cinemas, The Road Dance would almost be a lush theatrical experience, with its traditional, old-fashioned storytelling, if it wasn’t for one crucial element of its narrative that grounds it in an unpleasant reality. Based on a novel by John McKay, itself…
Read More
