In Review
Welcome to In Review! Check out the latest reviews across film, TV, theatre and so much more…
Film Review - The Exorcist: Believer
Despite some initial promise, The Exorcist: Believer is a half-hearted attempt at best, and complacent with mediocrity at worst.
Film Review - Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is peak escapism and enjoyment, setting an interesting tone for where James Gunn and Peter Safran take the DC universe next.
Film Review - Retribution
Few things in cinema are as certain as the Liam Neeson action movies released at least once or twice a year for the past decade and a half.
Film Review - It Lives Inside
Overall, It Lives Inside illustrates itself to be a unique conceptual endeavour which struggles under the weight of its own potential. Although somewhat competent in facets of its execution, it ultimately sabotages its potency and settles upon a derivatively restrained final product which unfortunately struggles to leave a lasting impression.
Film Review - A Haunting in Venice
Kenneth Branagh has given audiences a mixed bag with A Haunting in Venice. The film offers nothing new in terms of mystery or thrills, and wastes it’s strong ensemble cast, which is the real disappointment.
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.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Perfect Days
Can truth reveal itself in Perfect Days? Or is it a beautiful simulacrum, contemporary Japan through the gaze of the international film market?
Film Review - The Nun II
While The Nun II isn't exactly breathing new life into the genre, horror fans should find themselves satisfied, offering a course correction after the first entry underwhelmed.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Australia’s Open
Insightful, hilarious yet emotional, director Ili Baré leads the audience through a surprising journey behind one of the world’s most viewed sports competitions, The Australian Open.
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 - Past Lives
Written and directed by Celine Song, Past Lives centres on Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), former childhood sweethearts who reunite after 24 years.
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.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Hounds
Hounds, is a bleak portrayal of the criminal underbelly within the Casablancan Medina, where no man is safe from mafia led antics, and this movie gives us a peek into how drastically lives can be changed within one night.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - You’ll Never Find Me
Though it shoots well above its budget in terms of its production value, and features potentially star-making turns from its central actors, You'll Never Find Me winds up feeling more like a sheep in wolf's clothing, fizzling out before it can attempt to wow you with its hypnotic but overlong conclusion.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Late Night With the Devil
Late Night with the Devil is destined to be a halloween cult classic.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Passages
Passages is a pretty film that entertains, may make you tear up, and could make you feel ashamed just by watching Tomas run around as he does.
MIFF 2023 Film Review - Birdeater
If this scene and the overall use of tension represent the start of a pattern for Jack Clark and Jim Weir, I look forward to catching their next film.