Review

Film Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a love letter to the force that is Nicolas Cage

In the lead-up to the release of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage spoke of the countless VOD titles he had littered his filmography with over the last decade-or-so – film choices made primarily to pay off serious debt – with a positive tongue.  Whilst such trashy thrillers as Inconceivable, Trespass, and Left…

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First Impressions: A messy script doesn’t serve The First Lady, but Michelle Pfeiffer sure does!

As Gillian Anderson states – under a set of prominent teeth that appear almost caricaturish in their imagery as Eleanor Roosevelt – being a first lady isn’t a job, it’s a “circumstance”.  Such a circumstance, it would seem, that Showtime thought it only fair to showcase the women behind some of the most powerful Presidential…

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Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space Review: Good old fashioned, chaotic fun

Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space is the recent remaster of Sam and Max’s second season, originally released in 2007.  Brought back to life by Skunkape Games—a development team made up of alumni Telltale developers—who acquired the rights to the beloved 3 seasons of Sam and Max. This episodic point and click adventure game…

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Film Review: The Cellar is a haunted house effort that aims for tension over bloodshed

Whilst The Cellar won’t exactly be riding high on viewers’ lists of must-see scary movies, Brendan Muldowney‘s haunted house horror effort at least conjures an atmosphere and an unlikely climax to earn it valid points for trying. Muldowney’s script initially plays into the genre tropes we expect when Keira Woods (Elisha Cuthbert) and her family…

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Film Review: The Good Boss finds the humour in its commentary on workplace dynamics

Javier Bardem knows how to play men with a charmingly evil demeanour, and in The Good Boss (El Buen Patrón) – which reunites the actor with his Loving Pablo director Fernando León de Aranoa – his confident walk and solid grey quaff of hair lend themselves to a disarming character who uses his good standing…

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Film Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once is everything that makes cinema as magical as it truly is

The idea of a multiverse isn’t a new faction within the science-fiction film realm, but because the comic book movie has become more and more prominent in the last decade – and last year’s biggest film took the idea and ran with it to the most epic of proportions – no doubt something like Everything…

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SteelSeries Prime Mini Wireless Gaming Mouse Review: Small and mighty

SteelSeries is no stranger to creating some of the most premium gaming accessories and peripherals on the market, with their range of gaming mice providing a wide range of options for different types of gamers, from casual to hardcore. The Prime Mini Wireless however, feels like a fantastic middle ground. It’s incredibly minimal and sleek…

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Film Review: All The Old Knives is a conversational thriller intelligently carried by Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton

Despite both Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton proving their worth as action figures within the spy genre previously – Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Newton in Mission: Impossible II – All The Old Knives steps away from the action-driven physicality of the genre and opts for proceedings more in tune with a John…

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Film Review: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the most confident of the series yet

There’s a certain amount of baggage and controversy that comes with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, additives that, for the sake of the film itself, I won’t delve into; a swift google will catch you up to speed though. From the off, Fantastic Beasts was always a series that seemed a…

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Film Review: The Lost City is a playful romp elevated by the charm of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum

Reminiscent of the studio mentality of days (years, even) gone by of when the star-driven comedy was enough of a draw to reel audiences in, Adam and Aaron Nee‘s throwback romp The Lost City serves as a healthy reminder that not all playful, high-concept comedies have to exist solely for the streaming services. Resuscitating the…

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Film Review: Ambulance is pure unadulterated Michael Bayhem!

Say what you will about Michael Bay, but the man knows how to craft an action sequence.  Sure, throughout his career, said action sequences have been featured in the type of blockbusters that so often favour spectacle over substance, but he’s great at what he does and, really, no one is watching a Transformers movie…

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Film Review: Morbius; as you’d expect for a film about a living vampire, it sucks!

Whilst certain studio efforts saw their initial releases delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, few films were as hard done by as Sony’s latest Marvel entrant, Morbius.  With no less than 7 release dates to its name – it was first intended to be released in July 2020 – the living vampire can at least…

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First Impressions: Moon Knight is a stranger effort from the Marvel brand bolstered by Oscar Isaac’s dual performance

So often favouring spectacle over character development, the comic book action movie has gradually skewered its initial action-centric mentality towards a dramatic outreach (however melodramatic) that speaks to the quality talent the films so often manage to lure.  And for Marvel, not only are their films consistently cast, but their Disney+ series’ have more than…

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Film Review: The Bad Guys is a humorous crime caper fit for adults and children alike

Selling itself as “Tarantino for kids” may give parents valid reason to pause on The Bad Guys, but it’s an ultimately safe and reliable child-friendly affair that more circles the neighbourhood of the adult-aimed heist film rather than being an all out animated edition of Pulp Fiction; though its opening sequence certainly brings that effort…

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Film Review: Ti West’s X is a horny, gory throwback to the 70’s era slasher movie

Taking it back to the basics of the horror genre – i.e. sex and blood sprawled out on a big cinema screen – Ti West‘s return to the fray (his last horror effort being the 2013 found footage outing The Sacrament) indulges in the slasher mentality of eras gone by whilst fusing it with a…

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Film Review: The Duke is a crowd-pleasing affair stirred by the incomparable Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren

Blending his knack of humour, tenderness, and dramatic stakes that speaks to his strength as a storyteller, there’s a bittersweetness to Roger Mitchell‘s The Duke.  Sadly passing away prior to the film’s release, his swan song couldn’t seem more perfect as it encapsulates his talents in all the best ways possible. And The Duke just…

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Film Review: Panama indulges in an excessive aesthetic that speaks to Mel Gibson’s unbridled energy

Sporadically seen but frequently heard throughout via storytelling-like narration that speaks to the throwback era of filmmaking Panama adheres to, Mel Gibson waltzes in and out of Mark Neveldine‘s action effort with little care as to how his scene chewing is going to disrupt the heavy lifting supplied by co-star (and actual lead) Cole Hauser….

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Film Review: Measure of Revenge is a hopelessly pedestrian thriller that remains only mildly steady thanks to a solely committed Melissa Leo

Whilst it’s not uncommon for usually reliable, oft-Oscar celebrated actors to slip into filmic mediocrity, Melissa Leo must’ve really needed a healthy paycheck when she opted to commit to Measure of Revenge.  Perhaps at one stage offering a script worthy of her talents, but the final 92 minute result – one which mysteriously omits a…

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Homesick finds the beauty in the bizarre tale of literally recreating one’s childhood: SXSW Film Festival Review

To call Homesick bizarre would be a colossal understatement.  And that’s meant in the most complimentary of fashions. Born – and that’s quite the fitting term when the film’s narrative is uncovered – from director Will Seefried‘s fascination with society’s urgency in recreating their childhood, Homesick takes a unique look at how one could submit…

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Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is a beautiful and heart-breaking journey into the historical relationship between America and Japan: SXSW Film Festival Review

Weaving together both historical and current events, how those events pertain to the savagery of racism over the years, and the juxtaposition of his own calming musicality, Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is a stunning documentary about Kishi Bashi‘s own personal journey in exploring his past as he looks for inspiration for his…

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Film Review: Dog is an emotionally investing feature that benefits from Channing Tatum’s charm and competence as a filmmaker

Whilst he never exactly went off the grid to warrant this a “comeback”, Channing Tatum certainly reminds us just why his likeable, some may say limitedly ranged persona was such a staple in the mid 2010’s with Dog.  Not only does it see the actor step back into leading man territory – somewhere he hasn’t…

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Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection Review: Ezio lets loose on the Nintendo Switch

I am a late bloomer when it comes to the Assassin’s Creed series. My first game was Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and I have enjoyed most of the entries since that release. When people talk about Ezio, I shrug my shoulders and tentatively agree. While there have been various remakes and remasters since, like…

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The Cow; A slow burn thriller with a wild reveal that asks more questions than it answers: SXSW Film Festival Review

For such a scrappy little feature, Eli Horowitz‘s The Cow has some impressive calibre that will no doubt help earn it some extra eyes beyond the unique indie crowd this seems tailor made for. Headlined by Winona Ryder (always a treat to see taking charge these days) and a suitably disarming Dermot Mulroney, The Cow…

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The Prank is an uneven black comedy kept afloat by the wicked Rita Moreno: SXSW Film Festival Review

A somewhat standard high-school comedy and a campy dark mystery are fused together in Maureen Bharoocha‘s ambitious offering The Prank.  Whilst much of the film rides on the fact you have to root for unlikeable archetypes – either outcast students Ben (Connor Kalopsis) and his feisty bestie Tanner (Ramona Young) or their evil-incarnate teacher (a…

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Everything Will Be Alright is a bleak yet soul-stirring drama that speaks to our universal determination: SXSW Film Festival Review

A pandemic story without exclusively being as such, Everything Will Be Alright has an everyman-type quality to it in how it presents the dilemmas the Coronavirus inflicted upon the world.  Director Farhard Pakdel fuses his narrative with a heightened sense of drama though, injecting a potentially triggering additive that further highlights how people’s realities were…

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Pretty Problems comedically indulges in the unpleasantness of the privileged: SXSW Film Festival

When watching Kestrin Pantera‘s Pretty Problems, if such titles as This Is 40, Wanderlust, The Invitation, White Lotus, and/or Schitt’s Creek come to mind, you can sit comfortably knowing that was somewhat deliberate.  Though there’s evident inspiration from such vast titles, Pretty Problems is still very much its own being; it just helps it has…

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Sissy is a gross and darkly funny horror that explores the dangers of the social influencer: SXSW Film Festival Review

Whether we like them (or follow them) or not, influencers – sorry, “content creators” – are a cultural mainstay in our society that often extends beyond the environment of social media.  In Australian horror effort Sissy, co-writers/directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes seem all too aware of the faux importance influencers place upon themselves, a…

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Slash/Back thrills with both a genuine terror and its youthful energy: SXSW Film Festival Review

Unless you’re already an established name in the industry – and even then, to some degree, getting a film off the ground can have its challenges – the process of seeing a film through its production stages is never without its hurdles.  So you can only imagine how it was for a first-time director like…

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WWE 2K22 Review: A Rey of sunshine

After a much needed year off, the WWE 2K franchise has returned with the hopes of providing a high flying, hard-hitting recreation of the iconic sport. While we won’t talk about the state the franchise has been in the past few years, it’s worth noting that WWE 2K22 marks a triumphant return for wresting games…

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Film Review: Turning Red is a fantastical family film that speaks to the tribulations of growing up

If it wasn’t for the fact that she turns into a giant red panda, the life of Turning Red‘s protagonist Meilin Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) would be considered normal.  She gets good grades at secondary school, has a trio of respectable besties, helps her mother, Ming (Sandra Oh), in running the family temple –…

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