In Review
Welcome to In Review! Check out the latest reviews across film, TV, theatre and so much more…
MIFF 2023 Film Review - It’s Raining in the House
It’s Raining in the House explores the story of two Belgian teenagers who live in poverty, as they navigate the summer with an absent mother and a proclivity for getting themselves into trouble.
Film Review - Scrapper
Offbeat, endearing, and at times, soul-crushing, Charlotte Regan’s feature debut Scrapper poignantly weaves tangerine-tinged whimsy into a tale of reconciliation, effortlessly bearing the weight of immeasurable loss with a touching irreverence.
Film Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is made with passion and love for the franchise, offering a familiar but modern perspective about a group of kids who just want to fit in and throw ninja stars.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - I Used to Be Funny
Gentle, funny, and incredibly vulnerable, Ally Pankiw’s I Used To Be Funny is an unflinching look at the complexities and inconsistencies that accompany trauma recovery.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Blackberry
Continuing the stylistic trend of Johnson’s previous work, especially his sci-fi mockumentary Operation Avalanche, at times BlackBerry feels like a documentary, which suits the true story it’s based on very well.
Film Review - Haunted Mansion
Offering up serviceable (if more than a tad messy) family fun, Haunted Mansion comes close to recapturing Disney's straight to home video glory, complete with a dance party finale.
Film Review - Asteroid City
For all of its idiosyncrasies, Asteroid City is an out-of-this-world homerun for its director, ranking up there with Wes' very best.
Spanish Film Festival Review - Two Many Chefs
Two Many Chefs (2022) is Joaquín Mazón’s new comedy film that has heart but loses its edge with repetitive jokes and lazy storytelling.
Film Review - You Hurt My Feelings
You Hurt My Feelings is all about the little lies we tell the people around us, not out of malicious intent, but in order to avoid a more destructive outcome.
Film Review - Beau is Afraid
Beau Is Afraid is far from a perfect cinema-going experience, but it's nevertheless a fascinating and original one.
Film Review - A Good Person
A Good Person is a soundly crafted story of grief, addiction, forgiveness and acceptance, helmed by Florence Pugh who gives (yet another) extremely focused and moving performance.
Fantastic Film Fest 2023 Review Review - Polite Society
Where weirdness can often lose out in action films, the chaos, vibrancy, and fast-pace of Polite Society breathes new life into the genre, and serves as an excellent tone setter for what the rest of FFFA 2023 has to offer.
Feature - Fantastic Film Festival Australia 2023 Program Launch/D&D: Honour Among Thieves
Fantastic Film Festival Australia is back in town, promising cinema without restraints.
Film Review - We Are Still Here
We Are Still Here is aptly described by the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” as it doesn’t particularly stand out for its technical or creative proficiencies, but rather because the message it manages is profound.
Film Review - Magic Mike’s Last Dance
With far less stripping and far fewer banger tracks than one would expect for a movie about stripping, I declare Magic Mike’s Last Dance an official flop.
Film Review - Babylon
Rocketing off at a Scorsese-Esque pace, money changes hands, morals are compromised, and men get covered in explosive elephant diarrhoea, which sums Chazelle’s 3-hour epic up quite well as it is striking, explorative, inspired, and at times flat-out-hilarious.
Film Review - The Fabelmans
For Spielberg, the world makes sense through the dreamlike lens of filmmaking. The Fabelmans manages to conjure cinematic spectacle out of family drama with embracive character studies and an unyielding recount of bittersweet youth.
Film Review - Triangle of Sadness
Maybe skip the popcorn for this one, but make sure you climb aboard for one of the best films of the year.
Film Review - Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
What are you expecting from a Sony rendition of a decades old kid’s cartoon strip about a singing crocodile, adapted for the big screens for 2022 with Shawn Mendes taking the lead as the titular Lyle, the crocodile?