In Review
Welcome to In Review! Check out the latest reviews across film, TV, theatre and so much more…
Film Review - Nuremberg
A good historical film doesn’t need to be perfectly accurate, but it does need to portray its era with enough authenticity to spark fascination and encourage viewers to learn more.
Japanese Film Fest 2025 Review - Cloud
It is clear that Cloud is a well-made film with effective cinematography and performances. It’s just a shame that the narrative isn’t stronger and more confident in what it is trying to do or say.
Film Review - Lurker
Lurker is an impressive independent film that presents itself as a cautionary tale for the modern and inter-connected world we live in today.
Film Review - Christmas Karma
Christmas Karma certainly isn’t boring, but not in the way you would want it to be.
Film Review - Two Prosecutors
A slow burn, but a gripping one, Two Prosecutors is among the most fascinating films you’ll see this year.
Film Review - First Light
Melbourne loves cinema, and yet it struggles to make films of the high standard it adores. This film is an exemption; a total leap out of the water that shows filmmakers in this city that they, too, can make a movie of the same calibre.
British Film Fest 2025 Review - The Choral
If you’re into lighthearted WWI films, chorals, the beauty of Yorkshire, and Ralph Fiennes’s captivating performance then The Choral is the film for you.
Film Review - Die, My Love
Die My Love excels as a showcase for Lawrence and Pattinson, two actors at the top of their A-game.
Film Review - Happyend
Happyend takes you through the lives of five teenagers who are navigating the turbulent waters of a near-future Japan.
Film Review - After the Hunt
Fans of Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall and Julia May Jonas’ Vladimir will enjoy After the Hunt’s refusal to do the thinking for you.
Monster Fest 2025 Film Review - Shell
Through a series of confounding creative decisions, Shell decries superficiality, yet refuses to look anything less than polished.
MIFF 2025 Film Review - It Was Just an Accident
It swings so big that its highs are much more memorable than its lows.
Film Review - The Smashing Machine
The Smashing Machine is a star turn for Dwayne Johnson, and sadly, very little else.
Film Review - Splitsville
The joy of Splitsville is in watching its craziness unfold with no indication of where it’s going next, and I hope every person's first experience with it is as exciting as mine.
MIFF 2025 Film Review - Deaf
If you’re into gorgeous Spanish cinema, understated dramas, the frustration of motherhood, and critiquing the inherent silent ableism of the hearing world, then Deaf is the film for you.
Italian Film Fest 2025 Review - Diamonds
Diamonds is about ambition, love and community. It celebrates the many hands that sew our lives together and work to create the art we pride ourselves on as a society.
MIFF 2025 Film Review - Pasa Faho
Pasa Faho, directed by Kalu Oji, is a much needed empathetic story of a father and son reconnecting across cultural divides.
Film Review - The Roses
They say all is fair in love and war. But what happens when love is war? It’s Benedict Cumberbatch versus Olivia Colman in dark comedy The Roses.
MIFF 2025 Film Review - The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo
I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful trans women on screen — and neither could the men depicted in this harrowing yet funny film.
MIFF 2025 Film Review - Urchin
Urchin isn’t concerned with a film-like “happy” conclusion to its character’s problems; it lets you marinate in the idea that things might not actually get better - and that was refreshing.