Biographical films can at times garner the need to intellectualise and dissect the life of the individual and the film itself, Benediction is different. Benediction is meant to be felt.

Following the true story of 21-year-old Jewish graphic artist Cioma Schönhaus as he tries to survive day to day living in Nazi Occupied Berlin in 1942, The Forger is a harrowing story of deception and survival with a surprisingly optimistic protagonist.

The highly anticipated third film of visionary Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland seemed primed and posed to be one of the most insightful, and timely, films of the year. An alluring blend of “woke” horror and psychological disturbia ready to spark riveting conversation and horrify us with the realities women must face on a day to day basis. 

It's a séance in the city.

Everyone I asked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie didn’t know it existed, and I’m ashamed to say this slipped under my radar up until its release as well. If it is destined for hidden gem status, it will fit right in with the show’s legacy in this truly underrated franchise.

More intimate, sensual and depressing than a whimsical period drama, Mothering Sunday is a breath of fresh air in a typically repetitive genre.

A testament to the quality of this film and its handling of suspense […] is that although there are missiles and all manner of other Fast and Furious-esque set pieces, nothing is more thrilling than a low-fi, nostalgic dog fight using nothing more than bullets and mean words. 

Firestarter is a disappointingly damp affair, a film that's all fuse; frustratingly flickering between stupid and boring.

Complete with a Marlon Brando surrogate and nods to B-movie exploitation, it's clear that for the most part, Pompo The Cinéphile has its heart in the right place. Viewed purely as blissful escapism, it's a sugar-coated ode to the idea that with enough passion, anyone can make it.

This is a story about how modern masculinity is killing the world, and how feminism can save it. It's a story about sex and power and trauma and resistance and persistence.

This understated, sensitive French euthanasia drama is concerned with the human implications of a socio-political issue.

Following a seemingly idyllic family as the daughter [..], winds up raising a grotesque creature with whom she shares a telepathic connection, the film uses horror as a vessel to explore themes of vanity, coming-of-age, and beauty, while also offering up a healthy dose of criticism aimed squarely at family vloggers.

Unashamedly self-indulgent and barely cognizant of any sort of budgetary limitation […], Miami Connection is wicked fun for the midnight movie crowd that'll have you puzzling over how a movie like this even got made.

A peak behind the Iron Curtain exponentially aided in submerging myself into the story, one that relished in exploring the different ways people learn to accept themselves. Some just don’t, which leads to one of the most frustrating, yet compelling, revelations Firebird presents to its audience.

Personally, the whole meta-inception-story-within-a-story is not my usual cup of tea. However, Official Competition doesn’t fade into using conventions of the trope. What separates it, is that rather than focusing on production and the movie-making process it's focused entirely on the actors and their craft. 

The bizarre true story of a WWII operation that saw British intelligence plant false documents on a corpse and leave it for the Nazis to find, Operation Mincemeat is nonetheless a very familiar piece of modern British mid-scale filmmaking.

A funny and heart-warming liberation story for women who have been afraid to ask for what they want – at home, at work and in the bedroom.

Baraka is a must-see for anyone who finds themselves with a proclivity towards social sciences, theology, or spirituality.

The novel might serve its purpose as a light read; syrupy and pleasant enough, but missing enough meat to be memorable.

Jonathan Alley’s version of David McComb’s life is poetic and striking, positioning itself as a deeply affecting Australian story.