Review: Juror #2

Was expecting a little more from Eastwood directing. When expecting father Justin is called in for jury duty, he discovers he might have killed the victim of the case. Now it is a matter of how to continue. Directed by nonagenarian Clint Eastwood, and starring Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette JK Simmons, and Zoey Deutch, Juror…

Review: Joker – Folie à Deux

How can a film of 139 minutes achieve so little? After his killing spree, Arthur Fleck lives his life in prison. But when psychologists and a fellow rehab client, Harley, believe he can be free… Maybe there’s time for one last laugh? Returning director Todd Phillips and lead star Joaquin Phoenix are joined by Lady…

Review: Megalopolis

What an abundance of nonsense. “New Rome” is in a state of upheaval. The disillusioned public are led by the rich elite and their insane offspring, and a lone visionary is intent on changing the world forever. That summary is far too neat for what Megalopolis is. Directed by one of the literal grandfathers of…

Review: Kinds of Kindness

It makes Poor Things look positively mainstream. Comprised of three separate stories, Kinds of Kindness follows unorthodox characters in unorthodox relationships. Director Yorgos Lanthimos returns once again, with stars Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, since Poor Things earlier this year. Once again, audiences are greeted with another surrealist experience. Perhaps not as unintentionally divisive, but…

Review: The Bikeriders

Solidly performed dramatic piece of 1950s American culture. While a photographer finds himself riding with an American biker club, he interviews Kathy, a young woman also swept up into the club. She finds herself involved with Benny, a man who wants nothing more than to ride with the club.But when the club expands with more…

Review: Bob Marley – One Love

Musical biopic with a mystical edge. Could have been a little longer? It is the mid-1970s, and Jamaica is in turmoil since gaining its independence from the United Kingdom. Musical sensation and icon of the country, Bob Marley, plans to put on a show to lessen hostilities. But is his chilled demeanour more naiveté than…

Review: The Holdovers

Quirky characters, moving stories, heartache, wrapped in a cosy and familiar blanket. 1970 Christmas time, a boys boarding school must house the kids who have nowhere to go for the festive period. This task is given to one of the faculty’s older and most curmudgeonly teachers. Can any of these reluctant individuals find sympathy in…

Review: Poor Things

Beautiful, surreal, hilarious, dark, compelling. So very nearly perfect. Bella Baxter, a creation of a surgeon who creates weird chimera lifeforms, wants to be free of her “father’s” trappings and explore the world. She galivants off with a debauched lawyer, to start a journey of self-discovery. Poor Things has got a lot of coverage and…

Best and Worst of 2023

2023… It has been a difficult year for me personally, and I welcomed the increase in cinema this year since the pandemic as it was a means of escapism and distraction. But it has also been a difficult year for cinema! The start of the year (in the lead up to award season) saw several…

Review: Ferrari

Director Michael Mann can be hit or miss, but Ferrari is definitely a hit. Enzo Ferrari, owner of the most prestigious brand of race cars in Italy after the end of the war, is faced with bankruptcy if he cannot get more interest in his cars. Compounding this, his business partner and estranged wife, and…