Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Official Australian release date: 4/7/24. Viewed: 7/7/24.
Director: Kevin Costner        
Actors: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jon Beavers
Genre: Drama / Western
Rating: M

‘Horizon: Chapter 1’ is a Western in every sense of the word – set in early 1860s Arizona/Utah, as white settlers try to establish a new town called “Horizon” in Apache territory, while the Civil War is being fought back East. There’s a lot of characters and storylines started, but most centre around Horizon as the focal point of the frontier and it’s attached by Native Americans. Interestingly, we don’t meet Hayes (Costner) until almost halfway through, further north in Wyoming. He comes across Marigold (Lee) and a child who are being pursued by Sykes (Beavers), setting in motion their journey.

There’s about 4 main storylines: Hayes & Marigold on the run; Frances Kittredge (Miller) & daughter Elizabeth (MacPhail) and their interactions with Lieutenant Gephart (Worthington) and Sergent Riordan (Rooker) at the Fort; then Elias (Haze) & Russell (Kellici) who are out hunting the Apache that attacked Horizon. And finally there’s the new settlers heading West on their wagons, being led by Captain Van Weyden (Wilson). It’s not all perfectly linked yet, but you can start to see how most of it will connect.

The pacing is quite good, considering it’s 3 hours, with a few slow moments, but given the amount of characters and the 4 distinct threads, it does well to give enough info, but also spend enough time on the epic landscapes of Arizona and Utah, with plenty of beauty on show. The score is particularly impressive. While it may sound long, I’m liking the idea of 4 longs films instead of a 15-part TV series. Costner has set things up well – and while this isn’t a perfect film, with no fitting ending, I’m looking forward to the next chapters.

Overall: Nice platform for a Western epic

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

 

The Promised Land

Official Australian release date: 20/6/24. Viewed: 30/6/24.

Director: Nikolaj Arcel        

Actors: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Melina Hagberg, Simon Bennebjerg

Genre: Drama / Biopic

Rating: MA

‘The Promised Land’ (‘Bastarden’ in Danish) is set in the 1750s and follows a former Army Captain, Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen) as he sets out to cultivate the inhospitable heath in Western Denmark, with it’s poor soil and bad weather. He encounters all sorts of bureaucratic, personnel and personal hurdles. This is an at-times violent battle of wills shown over a few years, all with subtitles.

His efforts are helped by two runaways, Ann Barbara (Collin) & Johannes (Andersen), priest Anton (Lindh) and then little Roma/Tater Anmai Mus (Hagberg). Kahlen is then unknowingly pitted against the entitled “county judge” Frederik de Schinkel (Bennebjerg, a great “bad guy”), who claims the heath as his own. Matters aren’t helped when de Schinkel’s supposed finance, Edel (Thorp) takes an interest in Kahlen. While it’s a brutal time and place to be alive, the cinematography is excellent and makes you want to visit (when it's not winter!).

It goes for 2 hours and doesn’t drag too much, even if at times you’re not sure what’s driving the plot forward. But it manages to fit a lot in and fits quite a few genres in: Western, revenge thriller, family-overcoming-adversity, romance and drama. The ending is mostly satisfying and while I can’t say it’s flawless, it is a well-made film, carried relentlessly forward by Mikkelsen’s determination and stare.

Overall: Solid foreign historical drama

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

A Quiet Place: Day One

Official Australian release date: 27/6/24. Viewed: 27/6/24.
Director: Michael Sarnoski        
Actors: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou, Alex Wolff
Genre: Thriller / Horror
Rating: M

‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ is the prequel to 2018’s ‘A Quiet Place’ and while we’ve seen some flashbacks to the alien invasion in the other two films, this follows Sam (Nyong’o) on her trip into New York City from her hospice (she has an undisclosed disease), which coincides with the chaos of the invasion. While we see some of the widespread destruction, we effectively follow Sam and her cat (who has the third most screentime!) as she tries to stay alive as the hundreds of blind sound-sensitive aliens attack. 

While there’s some scares, it’s not necessarily a “horror” film – only rated M after all, and a lot filmed during daylight – but does make you question how fragile civilisation sometimes seems… There’s some cameos from Hounsou and Wolff, but other than that, it’s pretty much only Sam, the cat and Eric (Quinn; Eddie from ‘Stranger Things’) on screen the entire time. Like the other films, lots of whispers and score only, as we watch the characters try to adapt.

Quite quick overall (100min), but still drags a bit in the middle. Not sure what’s missing – maybe Krasinski directing, maybe it feels like lower state without Emily Blunt and the kids? Maybe needed more aliens? It’s certainly not bad, with a few minor chuckles, some good jump-scares and a mostly-satisfying conclusion. Just not sure it does anything too new or adds anything to the franchise. That said, will watch the next one! (Spoiler: the cat doesn’t die)

Overall: Lupita gets a pizza

Gav's Rating: 3 stars

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Official Australian release date: 6/6/24. Viewed: 9/6/24.
Directors: Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah
Actors: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Eric Dane, Jacob Scipio
Genre: Action / Comedy
Rating: MA

‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ (or Bad Boys 4) comes only 4 years after the 3^rd film, a record turnaround-time for this franchise. It picks up the plot from that film, with Mike (Smith) and Marcus (Lawrence) dealing with the fallout of Mike’s newfound son, Armando (Scipio). They have to try to clear Captain Howard’s (Pantoliano) name, after he’s framed by the bad guy, McGrath (Dane).  

Great, opening, re-establishing Mike & Marcus’ connection, with Marcus then having an epiphany which leads to lots of funny moments throughout the film. Lots of the cast are back from the last film: new Captain, Rita (Nunez), Marcus’ son-in-law Reggie (McDonald), and young cops Kelly (Hudgens) & Dorn (Ludwig). We also have Judy (Seehorn) as Captain Howard’s daughter and Lockwood (Gruffudd) as Rita’s partner/future mayor. Everyone does their bit and no more.

When Mike & Marcus are set-up and have to save Armando, they end up on the run south of Miami. This also helps grow Mike & Armando’s characters. It then sets up the big show-down at the end in an abandoned alligator park – what could go wrong? Pretty great final act, lots of explosions, gun battles and always some comedic quips. Nothing feels too long, and there’s a bit more fun in this film than the previous one.

Overall: Best ‘Bad Boys’ since the original

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

The Garfield Movie

Official Australian release date: 30/5/24. Viewed: 1/6/24.
Director: Mark Dindal
Actors: Chris Pratt, Harvey Guillen, Samuel L Jackson, Ving Rhames
Genre: Animation / Family
Rating: G

‘The Garfield Movie’ is the first fully-CGI Garfield film, 46 years after our favourite fat-cat first appeared in newspaper comics. I can’t compare this film to the other Bill Murray films, as I haven’t seen them. This time, Garfield is voiced by Chris Pratt, who’s earning a solid living voicing lead characters in animated films – ‘The Lego Movie’, ‘Onward’, ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’. We get a nice flashback to how kitten Garfield, super-cute, and Jon (Hoult) first met and their comfortable life with dog Odie (Guillen).

The film then turns into a Mission:Impossible style heist film, as Garfield’s dad, Vic (Jackson) is blackmailed into robbing milk from a dairy, that Garfield and Odie are coerced into too. The “baddie” is Jinx (Waddingham) – a fluffy-white cat that’s straight out of Blofeld’s lap from James Bond – as well as her mean-looking dog goons, Roland (Goldstein) and Nolan (Yang). This is where we meet Otto (Rhames), the bull – very fitting having Ving Rhames in the heist part of the film! There’s lots of action and slapstick “injuries”, as Garfield, Odie and Vic break into the dairy factory and also a train.

The whole Garfield-out-of-the-house is a little different and means Jon’s not really in it much. Garfield also isn’t too surly and is actually friendly with Odie, which is nice. There’s probably not as much charm as ‘The Peanuts Movie’, but it does have a nice little story about family, with Vic and Garfield and explaining why they were separated for the kids. Some smaller kids may find parts scary, particularly the big dog and the factory scene with the cheese and knives. Nothing too hilarious, but enough laughs for the adults to keep it interesting.

Overall: Predictable kids animated adventure

Gav's Rating: 3 stars

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Official Australian release date: 23/5/24. Viewed: 25/5/24.
Director: George Miller
Actors: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Lachy Hulme
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: MA

‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ is the prequel to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, which only seems recent, but actually came out 9 years ago! This film does a great job of adding useful backstory to Furiosa (Alyla Brown when young; Taylor-Joy when a bit older), Immortan Joe (Hulme), his sons Rictus (Jones) & Scrotus (Helman) and how the Wastelands (i.e. western New South Wales) are controlled by three “outposts” - the Citadel, the Bullet-farm, and Gastown. We’re shown how Furiosa is captured by motorbike marauders when young and ends up a slave of Dementus (Hemsworth).

Some good Aussie cameos – David Collins (half of The Umbilical Brothers) as Smeg, Dementus’ grovelling sidekick, Angus Sampson as the “Organic Mechanic”, Tim Rogers as one of Dementus’ goons and John Howard back as the “People Eater”. The film sets up well where Furiosa is from, why she’s so stoic and why she wants to escape the Citadel. It’s also good to see Hemsworth having fun and playing a semi-goofball bad guy, but with a bit of nuance (& a bit of prosthetic nose). Praetorian Jack (Burke) as the war rig driver is also good and has an important part in the final act.  

The main star though, is the car chases/stunts/explosions across the desert backdrop, with lots of motorbikes and cars as always, as well as the introduction of the war rig/semi-trailer and some inventive parachuting. Pretty crazy that this film comes 45 years after the original ‘Mad Max’ and while some if it is of an extreme scale, it’s still quite grounded and simple at it’s core, with not too much noticeable CGI. The pacing and score are good and the ending is fitting.

Overall: Another fun, action-packed outback drive

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Official Australian release date: 9/5/24. Viewed: 12/5/24.
Director: Wes Ball
Actors: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Kevin Durand
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: M

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is about ‘Planet of the Apes’ #10, and the 4^th prequel, following the recent 2011-2017 films. This film is set a couple of hundred years after Caesar and introduces new antagonist Noa (Teague) a chimp from a clan that raises eagles to fish with. His friends Laika (Berry) and Anaya (Jeffrey) set the scene of the new world well, undertaking an initiation climb to claim eggs. When their village is attacked by some bad apes, Noa sets out to free his clan.

It's easy to forget this is a post-apocalyptic film, as the CGI is so good and the apes facial expressions so human-like, but there’s some good reminders throughout, with a telescope, ships and the bones of skyscrapers now covered in plants. On his journey, Noa meets Raka (Macon), a wise orangutan that opens his eye’s to Caesar’s philosophy, and they both encounter Mae (Allan), a by-now rare talking human. The “bad” apes are being led by Proximus (Durand) and his gorilla-offsider Sylva (Darville), but suitably arrogant delusional.

Always good to have the tension as a viewer of “which side am I cheering for?” when it’s humans vs apes. Mae’s character starts off as a bit of a caricature, but evolves into something meaningful, setting up future films. Lots obviously filmed in Australia, with gum trees noticeable and lots of bushland recognisably Aussie. Final act is exciting, but a bit predictable. Noa’s character arc holds it all together nicely.

Overall: Solid start to what I assume will be a new trilogy

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

The Fall Guy

Official Australian release date: 26/4/24. Viewed: 5/5/24.
Director: David Leitch
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham
Genre: Action / Comedy
Rating: M

‘The Fall Guy’ is loosely based on a 1980s TV show that starred Lee Majors, that I haven’t seen, so I can’t compare. This film works as a tribute to stunt people that make action films exciting, while also being a fun action movie like we used to get in the late 80s/early 90s, with plenty of it’s own excellent stunts. It’s directed by Leitch, who has already proven himself with ‘Deadpool 2’, ‘John Wick’ and ‘Bullet Train’. In the film, the director is Jody (Blunt) who has a relationship with the stunt guy Colt (Gosling). Colt is the stunt man for up-and-coming actor Tom Ryder (Taylor-Johnson), perhaps a parallel of Gosling 15 years ago. Something goes wrong, and Colt ends up trying to find where Tom’s gone, while attempting to fix his relationship with Jody.

Good support cast – stunt coordinator Dan (Duke), Tom’s agent Gail (Waddingham) – and nice to see Sydney looking great as a location, even if you know the route they take on the garbage truck chase isn’t possible. I wonder if that’s what LA/Atlanta locals always feel watching films set there? Also fun to see some part of the fictional film they’re making – ‘Metal Storm’ which has nods to ‘Mad Max’ and Dune’ – at the end. The storyline is paced quite well, there’s plenty of laughs and a nice ending.

Both Blunt and Gosling are great leads and have lots of nice moments and plenty of screentime. However, the film never gets too serious or dramatic and makes sure it pays adequate homage to the stunt teams of Hollywood by having an excellent car chase, good fight scenes, exciting boar chase, superb beach-based car rollover and a great final 15min which have about 20 stunts crammed in, including a crazy car jump. The bar’s been raised for the next ‘Mission: Impossible’!

Overall: Fun, classic, enjoyable action-comedy

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

Late Night with the Devil

Official Australian release date: 11/4/24. Viewed: 21/4/24.
Directors: Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes
Actors: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Rhys Auteri
Genre: Horror
Rating: MA

‘Late Night with the Devil’ is almost a “bottle episode”, taking place on a TV set of a fictional late night talk show called “Night Owls” on Halloween 1977, where host Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian) and his offsider Gus (Auteri) compete for ratings against Johnny Carson. The film makes great use of grainy 4:3 footage to show that it’s the 70s, and a brief intro sets up what’s happened to Jack and his wife Maddie (Haig) over the past few years.

Given it’s Halloween, the show’s guests are a psychic, Christou (Bazzi), a former magician and now-sceptic, Carmichael (Bliss), a parapsychologist, June (Gordon) and her teenage, potentially-possessed subject, Lilly (Torelli). The way the film follows the making of the TV show is a great concept and having the screen widen and change to black-and-white for the behind-the-scenes sections during ad-breaks is a great story-telling device. It also keeps the momentum up, as things don’t go horribly wrong all at once, but gradually get weirder/stranger…

It all moves fast at only 90min long, and is great to see Australian directors doing well (this is better than ‘100 Bloody Acres’ – filmed in Melbourne, with a majority-Aussie cast. The set design and fashion is spot on and the tone, with moments of humour an suspense well executed and balanced. Dastmalchian is great and all the cast is strong. Last 15min or so is pretty crazy and not at all predictable!

Overall: Unique and enjoyable horror premise

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Official Australian release date: 21/3/24. Viewed: 19/4/24.
Director: Gil Kenan
Actors: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard
Genre: Sci-Fi / Comedy
Rating: PG

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is technically ‘Ghostbusters’ 5, and a direct sequel to 2021’s ‘Afterlife’, which introduced us to the new Ghostbusters team of Callie (Coon), Egon Spengler’s daughter, and her kids Phoebe (Grace) & Trevor (Wolfhard), plus step-dad Gary (Rudd). This new team seems to have taken on the mantle well, and Nadeem (Nanjiani) introduces a new relic that obviously contains the “big bad ghost” that will appear at the end.

The film finds a way to bring back Ray (Aykroyd), Winston (Hudson), Janine (Potts) & Venkman (Murray), but only for minimum screentime, and not much of it together. Seems to be more of a focus on Phoebe being a teenager and not able to ghostbust and a near-pointless friendship with a ghost. There’s a few laughs throughout – Slimer’s back for a cameo, Patton Oswalt has a good exposition scene – but most laughs come from Kumail as the unwitting “fire-master”.

The main problem seems to be too much ensemble cast, so no-one gets chance to shine. After the first 15min, you almost forget Paul Rudd & Carrie Coon are even in it! And for even with the fan-service Murray, Aykroyd & Hudson provide, they’re barely used and have minimal impact in the final act. The big bad ghost is quite scary and formidable (would be even more-so to anyone under 10), and it all wraps up as expected.

Overall: Once again, not bad, but nothing special

Gav's Rating: 3 stars

Civil War

Official Australian release date: 11/4/24. Viewed: 15/4/24.
Director: Alex Garland
Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaney, Stephen McKinley Henderson
Genre: War / Drama
Rating: MA

‘Civil War’ is a “what if” scenario of a in-the-near-future of where the USA could be headed if their divisive politics continue as they have over the past decade. It starts off with the president (Offerman) practising a speech and sets up what we assume is going to be a “the people vs Trump” allegory. But then we get introduced to war photographer Lee (Dunst) and semi-protégée Jessie (Spaney) at a rally that turns violent.

We then follow a road trip of Lee, Lee’s journalist partner Joel (Moura), their older colleague Sammy (McKinley Henderson) as they show Jessie the ropes of capturing the action while trying not to get hurt or effected by it, as they travel from New York to Washington DC past some sporadic battles. Intentionally, rather than full-on action and violence, there’s lots of introspective moments and quietness, interspersed with their view of a firefight. The four main actors are all good, with Dunst not actually having many lines. Good cameos from Nelson Lee and Jesse Plemons.

We don’t see any footage of the president again or the leaders of the “Western Front”, and no backstory is given for why/how this 21^st-century civil war was started. While I appreciate that’s a different angle taken on purpose, it does leave the whole film feeling a bit pointless, as we’re left to fill in lots of blanks and the plot leans on the generic “war is bad”. There’s some good moments, especially the last 20min of action, but you’re probably better off watching the ‘The Patriot’ do justice to the actual 19^th-centiry civil war.

Overall: Interesting concept, not fully realised

Gav's Rating: 3 stars

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

Official Australian release date: 8/2/24. Viewed: 30/3/24.
Director: Robert Connolly
Actors: Eric Bana, Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Rating: M

‘Force of Nature: The Dry 2’ comes 3 years after ‘The Dry’, and retains Detective Aaron Falk (Bana) as the lead and the flashbacks to fill in story gaps, but is otherwise a standalone film – it’s certainly not dry this time, set in the rainy Dandenong ranges of eastern Victoria. The plot this time sounds simple – 5 women on a work retreat get lost in the bush. When 4 of them are rescued, Falk and Cooper (McKenzie) set out to find the missing Alice (Torv).

As the backstory unfolds – told via each of the 4 women: Alice’s boss Jill (Furness), sister Lauren (McLeavy) and co-workers Bree (Ansell) & Beth (Stringer), we’re able to piece together that there’s more going on than anyone is initially letting on and start drawing our own conclusions. There’s also the added layer of flashback’s to Falk’s own childhood when he and his parents were camping in the same national park and had their own situation…

Probably not as good as the first film, but still a well-made Aussie drama, with lots of tension, hope, great scenery and enough storyline to keep you interested and guessing. Good cameos from Richard Roxburgh and Tony Briggs, but the film’s carried by Bana and the interaction of the 5 women and the ticking clock to find Alice before it’s too late. Not too long at just under 2 hours, solid score.

Overall: Enjoyable Aussie bush mystery.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Official Australian release date: 28/3/24. Viewed: 29/3/24.
Director: Adam Wingard
Actors: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action
Rating: M

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is the 5^th film in Warners Bros. “MonsterVerse”, and like all of them does a solid job of making giant Titans/Kaiju fight, with a bit of a storyline holding it together. Returning are Dr Andrews (Hall), head of the Titan-watch company, her adopted daughter Jia (Hottle) and Bernie (Henry), the comedic relief. The new addition is Trapper (Stevens), the vet. The plot is mostly Kong-centric, now that he lives in “hollow Earth” and Godzilla’s on the surface.

Kong finds another part of “hollow Earth” (best not to ask too many questions, as physics went out the window a long time ago in these films) that has other apes and Titans, setting in motion a big battle with the ‘Scar King’, a giant Orangutan. This necessitates a semi-forced team-up with Godzilla, with the help of an unexpected Titan. There’s some time spent on Jia’s journey, but not too much that you get bored of the humans!

As always, the CGI is pretty good, and Kong has more empathy than some human actors. Godzilla still looks great – and gets his “pink plates” upgrade. When they’re fighting each other or different Titans, it’s always pretty impressive to see. Nothing crazily spectacular here, but nor is it boring or excessively dumb. Good se of KISS’ “I Was Made For Loving You”!

Overall: Still fun monster battles

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Dune: Part Two

Official Australian release date: 29/2/24. Viewed: 29/2/24.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Actors: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem
Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama
Rating: M

‘Dune: Part Two’ comes 2.5 years after the first film, and hopefully a final film to make it a trilogy in 3-4 years. It picks up pretty much straight after the first film, with Paul (Chalamet) and his mum Jessica (Ferguson) being shown how to live in the Arrakis desert by the Fremen, particularly Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Bardem). There they continue to fight a guerrilla war against the Harkonnen.

To go along with the ‘big bad bald’ Baron (Skarsgard), we get his two nephews – the angry Beast (Bautista) and the psychotic Feyd-Rautha (Butler), who has a big role to play in the final act. We also get introduced to those pulling galactic strings from another planet, the Emperor (Walken) and his daughter, Princess Irulan (Pugh). There’s a few chess pieces in play, but even though it goes for 2 hour 40min, the pacing is generally quite fast and everything really comes together at the end, with Paul embracing his “messiah” role.

I’ll need to rewatch this, but it’s certainly up there with some of the best sci-fi films – better than the first film, and certainly an excellent sequel, similar to ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. The cinematography, costumes, score (or lack of in the final fight), set-design and CGI are all superb. It certainly makes it feel like you’ve witnessed something special and want to see what comes next.

Overall: Epic that delivers

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

Next Goal Wins

Official Australian release date: 1/1/24. Viewed: 4/1/24.
Director: Taika Waititi
Actors: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane
Genre: Comedy / Biopic
Rating: PG

‘Next Goal Wins’ is Taika Waititi’s 8^th film as director, and is another heartfelt little comedy gem, much more similar to ‘Boy’ and ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ than his other films. It’s based on a true story, after the Socceroos beat American Samoa 31-0 in a World Cup Qualifier in 2001. The ‘boss’ of American Samoa Football, Tavita (Kightley) then hires semi-disgraced coach Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) to try to help them to score just one goal.

Thomas doesn’t necessarily want to be there and the reasons for his anger are slowly revealed over the course of the film. The other main character who has a nice journey is Jaiyah (Kaimana), which is portrayed very well. Sadly it was filmed in Hawaii – not American Samoa or Tonga, but still looks great and gives it a tropical Polynesian vibe. Most of the film follows common misfits-to-sporting-heroes tropes, but is still based in reality – i.e. the team doesn’t go on to win the World Cup or anything! Good support cast, with Waititi favourites Rachel House & Rhys Daby present and small roles for Will Arnett & Elizabeth Moss, and the over-zealous Australians, Angus Sampson & Luke Hemsworth.

The soundtrack is good, and the portrayal of American Samoan culture is done well, particularly the pre-match war dances. The pacing is also good, with it not being too long, and there’s a nice balance between jokes and some of the touching/character-building moments. It’s nice to see Thomas come around and the positivity and happiness all the American Samoans show him and each other. The final game is well-edited and exciting, a fitting finish.

Overall: Simple, uplifting soccer story

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

 

Migration

Official Australian release date: 26/12/23. Viewed: 3/1/24.
Directors: Ben Renner & Guylo Homsy
Actors: Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Danny DeVito, Caspar Jennings
Genre: Adventure / Family
Rating: G

‘Migration’ is a really well-made family film. It’s a simple premise about anthropomorphic ducks – the father duck, Mack (Nanjiani), wants to protect his children/chicks, Dax (Jennings) and Gwen (Gazal), and the mother duck, Pam (Banks), wants them to experience the world and gain some experience. They meet some other ducks migrating south for the winter – they’re presumably in North-Eastern USA – so they decide to do the same, with quirky uncle Dan (DeVito) in tow. 

What follows is both a semi-familiar road-trip comedy, as well as a refreshing take on family, trying new things and helping others. There’s a great support cast, as the duck family passes through New York City and meets Chump the pigeon (Awkwafina), Delroy the macaw (Key), as well as Erin the heron (Kane) and GooGoo (Mitchell) – either a goose or a white duck. There’s a nice jail-break sequence for Delroy, which sets up the human antagonist, the Chef.

For some reason the Chef also has a Chinook and hunts them down, leading to Dax and Gwen having to step-up. The animation is a nice mix of cartoonish and realistic, and it looks excellent, especially at the end. There’s no overly-scary moments, some teachable themes, the voice cast is all good and there’s consistent laughs throughout. There’s also ‘Mooned’, the 9-min ‘Despicable Me’ tie-in at the start of the film, which kids seemed to love.

Overall: Nice, fun family film

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Flynn’s rating: 4 stars.
Lucy’s rating: 5 stars.

Dream Scenario

Official Australian release date: 1/1/24. Viewed: 2/1/24.
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Michael Cera
Genre: Drama
Rating: MA

‘Dream Scenario’ is a unique concept, with thousands of people seeing Paul (Cage) in their dreams, just walking through, not really participating in the dream. This then turns him into a celebrity, something Paul, his wife Janet (Nicholson), daughters Hannah (Clement) and Sophie (Bird), and boss Brett (Meadows) aren’t prepared for, especially as he has no control over what’s happening. The film does well to purposefully not explore the how/why it’s happening and focuses on the impacts on Paul.

Odd that a lot of places are billing this as a comedy – I’d say it’s a drama, with a few little laughs, which then diverts into mild horror at the end, as the dreams inevitability turn into nightmares. Cage is good, and not totally manic, but plays a Professor and normal dad well, who ends up at his wits end. The ending is not as dark as it could’ve been, but nor is it a nice comedy ending either.

There’s some existential questions and you obviously get to ask “what would I do in this situation?” But mostly it’s probably an indictment on modern society, especially the penultimate scene. The support cast is good – should also mention Molly (Gelula) & Trent (Cera) from the PR company who play significant parts. And always good to have a Talking Heads song to wrap things up!

Overall: Interesting “what if” scenario

Gav's Rating: 3 stars