The Fall Guy

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★The Fall Guy

Rated: M

Directed by: David Leitch

Written by: Drew Pearce

Based on the TV Series by: Glen A. Larson

Produced by: Guymon Casady, David Leitch, Kelly McCormick

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Zara Michales, Ben Knight.

‘I’m just the stunt guy.’

Ryan Gosling as stunt man Colt Seavers to super star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) brings back the adorable to a tough guy role, ‘Did she say anything about me?’

Because after Colt breaks his back during a stunt on set, he disappears from his girlfriend, camera person, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).

Colt changes his number.

He gets a job parking cars.

Then Colt gets called back to work by Tom’s agent Gail (Hannah Waddingham) directed by none other than his ex, Jody.

Gail tells him Jody wants him back.

Colt definitely wants her back.

He just doesn’t know how to say it.  He just does things like cry his eyes out to Taylor Swift and pulls the tie under Jody’s gardening hat snug under her chin.

Did I say adorable?

I was surprised about how much of this movie is a romance between these two: stunt man and camera person turned director.

And as advertised, The Fall Guy is also a stunt movie, based on the TV series from the 80s, filmed in Sydney Australia which is pretty cool, with so very many explosions and I have to say terrible humour.

Think a Post-it note with, ‘Sell cockatoo’ written on one side and on the other, ‘Buy koala.’

The Aussie references hit like a lead balloon.

And the not so subtle dual meaning of the movie storyline and romance was overcooked, as was the fast forward dialogue.  It felt like there was one speed and it was run around, talk fast at highly agitated levels and again, explosions.  It was too much.

Colt when tied up and trying to talk his way out even talks about movies made with ‘too much.’

But I have to say those hesitations and head flicks from Gosling added just the right amount of giggle because it was subtle.

And yes, the addition of a unicorn to illustrate Colt’s state of mind was clever and genuinely funny.

So, yes there’s a lot of fun here, but unlike the stunts, not all the humour landed.

 

Civil War

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★Civil War

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Alex Garland

Written by: Alex Garland

Produced by: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Gregory Goodman

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Wagner Moura, Jefferson White, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Greg Hill, Edmund Donovan.

‘Mines ahead.’

In a word, Civil War is unflinching.

Set in the near future, the fourth film directed by Alex Garland, follows war photographer, Lee (Kirsten Dunst), along with fellow journalist Joel (Wagner Moura) and veteran journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) as they document a civil war in America.

The Western Forces, an armed alliance of states rebel against the federal government as the film opens out of focus, to a closeup of the president (Nick Offerman) prepping himself to tell lies to the nation, rehearsing in between flashes of war on the streets.

A crowd waits while soldiers hold machine guns.  The press take photos.  The soundtrack builds.  A young girl, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) with a camera gets in close to the action as pressure builds, as the violence builds with the music.

Jessie gets smacked in the face; unprotected, she puts herself in the face of violence until Lee shepherds her away.

Then a bomb explodes.

Then silence as Lee takes photos of the carnage.

Jessie wants to be just like Lee.

So when Lee and Joel decide to go to DC, to photograph and interview the president before the The Western Forces take over the capitol, forcing surrender, Jessie talks her way into coming along.

After decades of being a journalist, Sammy wants a lift a Charlottesville, not DC.  Not where journalists are views as combatants.  He doesn’t want in on their suicide pact.  And Lee doesn’t want to be burdened by a journalist who’s too old to run away.

It’s 857 miles to DC.

The countdown a timeline of the film as the four determined documenters of war make their way into an ever-increasing crisis of violence.

It gets brutal.

Civil War

There’s a callous tone to this film.  The violence has that element of senselessness that comes with war movies, Garland making a point not to sensationalise the violence, “‘It is exceptionally difficult’, Garland says, ‘to make a war movie that is, in fact, anti-war.’”

The perspective of the film is watching the journalists document the war, adding another dimension of psychological callousness, or how the callous mindset develops – Lee has a duty to record, wanting to capture that perfect shot.  The questions about what is happening is for other people to ask.

Joel is addicted to the adrenaline of being on the front line, ‘What a fucking rush.’

Jessie has never felt more alive as when she thought she was going to die.

It’s senseless and brutal.  But I couldn’t look away.

Civil War is a film that finds that edge, to walk that fine line to understand the need to document; the journalist not only risking life but also harnessing the ability to close the door on feeling empathy, even morality.

To only be the observer, a lens.

It’s disturbing.

The balance of that loss of humanity is the toll the job takes on Lee.

The superstar photographer, losing her belief in journalism.

Difficult themes to unpack and like Garland’s previous films (Men (2022), Annihilation (2018), Ex Machina (2014)) Civil War feels unique but not in a fantastical way; this time he’s grabbed the truth by the throat and has not held back shining a bright light on what people are capable of closing their eyes to – the journalists taking photos to show the world while closing their eyes to what they’re documenting.

And the point is made because this is a very well-made film: the camera work, the cast and performances, Kirsten Dunst of course, but Jesse Plemons as an unknown soldier asking the question, ‘What kind of American are you?’ is unforgettable.

Some of the images stain the mind and remain long after the credits roll.

I really don’t like war movies because of that senseless violence, but Civil War is worth seeing because there’s something different here, the unpacking of the complex psychology of the characters adds a thought-provoking darkness that is uniquely Alex Garland.

 

Monkey Man

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★★Monkey Man

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Dev Patel

Story by: Dev Patel

Screenplay Written by: Dev Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee

Produced by: Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, Anjay Nagpal

Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande.

‘It’s time to remember who you are.’

With red font and the stance of a menacing man holding a knife, I was expecting blood in Dev Patel’s directional debut.  And Monkey Man did not disappoint.  There is just the right amount of bloody action here that builds throughout the film.

Also starring, this is a different style to Patel’s previous roles, notably, Lion (2016) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

As Monkey Man, he still has those soulful eyes, here to echo the tragedy of his childhood, losing his parents and home during a land grab, a reclaiming of his parents and fellow farmers’ land for spiritual purposes.  But really, for dodgy deeds by a conducted by a corrupt guru backing bent police and the soon to be elected Sovereign Party.

Here, those soulful eyes reflect fire while his hands drip with blood.

The film opens with the legend of Hanuman, told by Monkey Man’s mother (Adithi Kalkunte) when he was a child.

Hanuman was very hungry.

A spell was cast.

He saw a shiny mango up in the sky.

Hanuman flew to grab the mango only to discover it was the sun.

So the Gods punished him.  Took his power.

Then the film cuts to Monkey Man fighting in an underground fight club.  The men wear masks.  Monkey Man wears a gorilla mask, like he’s Hanuman without his power.

The crowd roars, stamping their feet.

The manager (Sharlto Copley) tells him, ‘They fucking hate you.’

But Monkey Man doesn’t care.

If he bleeds, he gets the blood bonus.

And he needs money so he can buy a gun.

And he needs a gun to take revenge.

To get revenge he must get access to those who slaughtered his family to steal their land.

And to get access he needs to get a job at, Kings; a restaurant and club for the rich and powerful where drinks, women and drugs are served without question.

The film is a study in colour, the club drenched in red light, the film set in Mumbai (but filmed in Indonesia); a city that lends a vibrant backdrop to the constant shifting and refocussed camera work.

What stood out was the handheld cam moments, following a dog through the streets, the theft of a purse followed through a dozen hands like a cleverly orchestrated ballet.

Then the flow stops, the soundtrack lifts (fantastic soundtrack!) for a moment, breath held, before the abrupt return to the action where the jolting camera makes the movement feel like desperation.

There’s a lot of thought put into each scene, with a definite beginning, middle and end to the storyline – for me the beginning and end amazing, the transition of Monkey Man in the middle gets lost.  Like a Rocky transformation that jars with the tone of the rest of the film because what comes at the beginning and end feels unique – the transformation felt like a loss of confidence, harking back to what has already been done before.  But I get the necessary transition before the… Revenge.

‘You need to destroy in order to grow, to create space in your life.’

And Monkey Man is definitely a revenge film with the added difference of the legend of Hanuman at the storyline’s foundation.

The Gods took his power and then Monkey Man took it back.

 

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★1/2GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

Rating: M

Directed by: Adam Wingard

Screenplay Written by: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater

From a Story by: Rossio & Wingard & Barrett,

Based on the Character, Godzilla owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd.

Produced by: May Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Thomas Tull and Brian Rogers

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns and Fala Chen.

‘Aggression is his love language.’

The next instalment of the Monster verse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire opens in a familiar green.

Fluorescent crystals rise towards the sky.  And somewhere in Hollow Earth, Kong runs.

Old timey music plays.

The world tilts.

That feeling of vertigo persists throughout the film as Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) continues working for Monarch with adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last of the Iwis, to monitor Kong in his new home.

The only way to stop Godzilla and Kong fighting was to keep them apart: Kong in the Hollow Earth and Godzilla on the surface, where he, ‘can fight battles we can’t.’

Monarch monitor Godzilla because he’s the alarm for any threat from a titan.

So when signals start registering that can’t be explained, and Jia starts dreaming while awake, like something’s calling her, they know when Godzilla starts charging from a nuclear reactor that something big is about to threaten the surface.

Without giving too much away, Kong and Godzilla must unite to face the threat that lurks even deeper within the earth.  Within the Subterranean Realm.  Uncharted territory closed off.  Until now.

It’s a little cheesy.

But there’s tongue-in-cheek humour sprinkled throughout, note the return of Trapper (Dan Stevens) now vet / dentist to the titans, and Podcaster Burnie (Brian Tyree Henry) who comments to Trapper, ‘I think there’s something seriously wrong with you.’

Sometimes the humour hit, sometimes it didn’t.

There’s a lot of gooey green stuff, including Kong tearing a death jackal apart over his head to cover himself in its gizzards.

And there’s a lot of blasting action trapezing across the globe, scenes shot in Hawaii, Brazil, Marocco and Iceland, the scenery spectacular to watch on the big screen.

This instalment is directed by Adam Wingard who also directed Kong Vs Godzilla (2021), so there’s a similar feeling to the action, yet there’s a refresh to the cast with Jia taking a lead role who’s enchanting in her silence.

I just didn’t warm to the story to really get behind the drama.

Kong’s facial expressions were more nuisance and there’s a lot of communication conveyed through sign and expression.

A highlight when Burnie is confronted by a tribesman, where it’s polite to make real close eye contact, the expression of the eyes the communication.  Burnie did not like the forced eye contact.  I’m still giggling at the memory of it.

I re-read my review of Godzilla Vs Kong to recall a comparison and found I was using the same language to describe Godzilla x Kong: rollercoaster, cheesy, worth seeing on the big screen.

So if you liked Adam Wingard’s previous Kong / Godzilla movie, you’ll like this one.

 

Kung Fu Panda 4

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2Kung Fu Panda 4

Rated: PG

Directed by: Mike Mitchell

Co-Directed by: Stephanie Ma Stine

Written by: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Darren Lemke

Produced by: Rebecca Huntley

Starring: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane and Ke Huy Quan.

‘There are more ways of helping people than kicking butt.’

The Dragon Warrior, AKA Po (Jack Black) returns, living the good life in the Valley of Peace.

He’s kicking back, catching rays… Literally, chasing down sting rays attempting to eat piglets.

Until rams come running telling tales (ha, ha) of the return of defeated nemesis, Tai Lung (Ian McShane) – somehow returned from the Spirit Realm.  But how?

Enter new enemy, The Chameleon (Viola Davis) – a sorcerer able to change into anything.

How do you defeat an enemy when they can be anyone?

Po, spends time with his dads: adoptive father Mr. Ping (James Hong) and biological father, Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), opening a new restaurant, using his fame to bring in customers -Po’s still ready for anything.  Except the idea of choosing his successor.

And to prove he’s still the Dragon Warrior, Po fights Zhen (Awkwafina), a pesky corsac fox attempting to steal his Staff of Wisdom.

A pesky fox, but not without talents.

Zhen’s in the know, and if freed, will help track down the formidable sorcerer, The Chamilion.

This latest instalment of Kung Fu Panda is full of wry humour.  A classic moment Po meditating to find his, ‘inner peace, inner peace… dinner please… with a side of peas…’

And there’s an underlying theme of dealing with change and growing from a seed pit into a strong tree.

This is a sweet movie that had me smiling all the way through.  Not hilarious, but kid friendly and filled with moments like a paint brush of colour across the screen to emphasize the Kung Fu action.

It’s a little sad seeing Po moving into his next stage of life, but that’s the whole point of the film, change.

Good fun for the whole family – skadoosh!

 

Wicked Little Letters

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★Wicked Little Letters

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Thea Sharrock

Written by: Jonny Sweet

Produced by: Graham Broadbent & Pete Czernin, Ed Sinclair, Jo Wallett

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope with Eileen Atkins and Timothy Spall, Hugh Skinner, Paul Chahidi, Jason Watkins and Alisha Weir.

‘Congratulations on your tragedy.’

Based on a true story, Wicked Little Letters opens with the statement, ‘This story is more true than you’d think.’

The pious, God-travels-through-the-just, Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and do-I-look-like-the-anonymous-type-to-you?! Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), newly arrived in Littlehampton from Ireland, are neighbours.

It’s the 1920s and they share a bathtub and privy out the back.

Rose is ah, very natural, happy to swear, pass out on the toilet, and speak her mind.  She lives with her daughter Nancy (Alisha Weir) and partner Bill (Malachi Kirby) – her husband known to have died in the war.

Ms Swan watches her from the window and delights in Rose’s bold nature.  Edith decides to take Rose under her wing – to show the way to the light, of course.

But when child services are called to Rose’s door, she turns to the likely Ms Swan, thinking it must be the God-fearing neighbour, to which Ms Swann adamantly denies.

After the incident, the poison letters addressed to Edith begin.

The letters are vicious and filled with profanities that’s jarring in the quiet house of the Swans – ‘Foxy-assed rabbit-fucker,’ a favourite line.

‘It will be the death of me’ – exclaims Edith’s mother (Emma Jones).

Edward Swan, the stern, captain of the ship, father is outraged and demands the police become involved.

It’s the 19th letter.

The obvious suspect is of course, the riotous neighbour, Rose.

And without any evidence, Rose is taken into custody.

But Woman Constable Moss (Anjana Vasan) is not convinced.

Neither are Edith’s friends who gather every week for a game of Whist.

‘Congratulations on your tragedy,’ says Kate (Lolly Adefope).  She’s the proud mother of several parakeets that can be a handful.

It’s post-war England where the women who were left to work are now expected return into polite society as delicate flowers after driving tractors in the absence of their men at war.

The women have found their strength yet are forced into submission – ‘Let the man speak,’ Ms Swan’s father tells her. Only to interrupt the policeman to say, ‘Carry on.’

Whereas Rose grew up helping her grandfather burgle houses.

It’s a guilty by reputation scenario but expands as the film digs deeper into the characters, the drama shown in the nuanced changes in facial expression, Edith’s pious words overshadowed by the flash of delight in her eyes as she reads about herself in the newspaper.

This is a lighthearted viewing, much of the humour based on the times and language like, ‘butter-my-wig’ juxtaposed with the blunt Rose and of course the delightfully explicit poison letters, ‘Dear Edith, you foxy-ass old whore, you really are a tricksy fucker.’

Not the hilarious watch I thought it would be, but there’s a lot of heart here and an interesting character study of the hypocrisy of those who are forced to deny their true nature.

 

Imaginary

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★Imaginary

Rated: M

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow

Screenplay Written by: Greg Erb, Jason Oremland, Jeff Wadlow

Produced by: Jason Blum, Paul Uddo, Jeff Wadlow

Starring: DeWanda Wise, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Betty Buckley, Tom Payne, Veronica Falcón and Samuel Salary.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t finish our game.’

I walked into Imaginary with low expectations – a killer teddy bear?

It’s got to be a parody, right?!

Aside for the overacting at times, and mention of a ventriloquist little girl because how is her imaginary friend speaking without the little girl moving her lips?

Again, I use question marks, I know.  But it’s a questionable storyline that is somewhat successful.

From the same producers as M3GAN (2023), I went back and re-read my review and I wasn’t sure how to feel about M3GAN either.  The premise is such a stretch, I wonder how it can’t be absolute trash, but somehow there’s a hook that keeps you watching.

For M3GAN, the humour made the film watchable, here, it was more about the scary, and yes, surprises along the way.

Imaginary opens quietly.  A flickering light down a hallway.  A bloodied woman escapes from a trapdoor in the wall – ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t finish our game,’ she says.

Enter Jessica (DeWanda Wise).  She has nightmares and wakes next to her husband, Max (Tom Payne).

Jessica is the stepmum to Max’s two daughters, Alice (Pyper Braun) and Taylor (Taegen Burns).

Alice is endearing.

Taylor is hard work.

Most of the film focusses on the family dynamic.

After a scary start, Imaginary unpacks the relationships of a step mum struggling with change, getting to know her new daughters while moving back to her childhood home.

It’s here that Alice meets the teddy bear, Chauncey.  Her new best friend.

Her imaginary friend.

‘Meet Chauncey.

He’s not imaginary.

And he’s not your friend.’

Without giving too much away, there’s more then an evil bear here; there’s thought put into childhood imagination and the relationship between children and the imagined entities that become their friends – the theory introduced by creepy neighbour, Gloria (Betty Buckley).

There’s a surreal dimension to the filming that echoed, Insidious (2010), in scratching the door to another world where those unwary get trapped.

And there’s a few surprises that keep up the entertainment, unfortunately some of those twists fell flat.

But in spite of the silly here, there’s some genuine scares, so in comparison, there’s more of a focus on the creepy here than M3GAN (which became funny more than scary).

There’s backstory to Imaginary, making the film a better watch than expected.

 

Dune: Part Two

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★1/2Dune: Part Two

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Based on the Novel by: Frank Herbert

Screenplay Written by: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts

Produced by: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick

Executive Producers: Joshua Grode, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Richard P. Rubinstein and John Harrison.

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård and Javier Bardem.

‘Power over spice is power over all.’

This is the mantra of the Harkonnens and the basis of the political intrigue in the Dune series.

It’s now the year 10,091.

Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), the daughter of The Emperor (Christopher Walken) creates a voice memo, introducing Dune: Part Two, where the entire House of Atreides have been wiped out over-night. No warning, no survivors.  Except a few.

The Harkonnens now control the harvesting of spice with the ever-present influence of the Bene Gesserit.

The extent of the Bene Gesserits’ power becoming more apparent as the prophecy of the son, known by the Fremens as Lisan al Gaib, gains momentum.

It’s Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) they believe to be the Bene Gesserit’s son, the Mahdi of the Fremen whom they believe will lead them to paradise.

An ideal originally conjured by the Bene Gesserit and encouraged by Paul Atreides’ mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) as her pregnancy continues and her daughter grows in her belly.

Paul doesn’t fail in his fulfillment as he adapts to the desert and Fremen way of life with the help of Chani (Zendaya).

Even though he’s an outsider, Chani grows to love him – he’s different to the other outsiders.  He’s sincere.

My initial thought at the end of Dune: Part One of, I hope it doesn’t get cheesy, was unwarranted because despite the glimmers of light between Paul and Chani, this is a dark journey filled with moments like the sucking of water out of the dead and… Almost dead.

The Harkonnens’ are particularly brutal, the young nephew of The Baron (Stellan Skarsgård), Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), is known by the Bene Gesserit as psychotic but manageable.

It’s a fight for survival as the Fremans sabotage the spice harvesters with the help of Paul, each success building his reputation as the Lisan al Gaib, confirming Stilgar’s (Javier Bardem) faith.  Stilagar gives him his Freman name, Paul Muad’Dib.

The build of belief catches fire, fierce stories spread about Lisan al Gaib, ‘Our resources are limited.’  Paul explains.  ‘Fear is all we have.’

Nothing can live down south without faith.  And now, instead of friends, Paul has followers.

There’s A LOT to unpack here, but at its foundation, Dune: Part Two has a heavy layer of religion and how religion is used to gain power – the ultimate power: to control the harvest of spice.

Parts of the story were glossed over, like the return of Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin).  And it’s easy to get lost in the intricacies of the story and characters, but there is absolutely never a dull moment in this film (editor: Joe Walker).

This is a vastly entertaining journey, ‘you will see the beauty and the horror,’ all in the dance of shadows over rock, the disappearance of a mother’s face into shadow after seeing her son forever changed – there’s black and white film used to portray the stark and evil of the Harkonnens alongside the red desert and solar eclipse (director of photography: Greig Fraser), flying black suits and pit fighters with black horns like insidious devils (costume designer: Jacqueline West).

All to the beat of a thumper that blends the desert and call of the worms with the beat of intrigue and violence in the capital (composer: Hans Zimmer).

This is a brutally entertaining film that lives up to the hype and is absolutely worth seeing on the big screen.

Better than Part One which is a big call because Part One was brilliant (winning six Academy Awards) and I’m guessing everyone will walk out of the cinema asking, when’s the release of Part Three?

 

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★1/2

Rated: M

Directed by: Robert Connolly

Produced by: Eric Bana, Robert Connolly, Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea

Based on the novel by: Jane Harper

Screenplay by: Robert Connolly

Starring: Eric Bana, Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness.

‘How one decision, one small mistake, can change everything.’

Robert Connolly returns as director with another adaptation of a Jane Harper novel, Force of Nature.

Instead of the backdrop of The Dry, of drought and fire, Force of Nature is set in a forest with rain and the green of ferns and towering mountain ash, missing persons.  And serial killers.

Alice (Anna Torv) is a missing person under suspicious circumstances.

Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) is called from Alice’s phone but the line is bad.  Amongst the static and dropping signal all he can hear is, ‘they know.’

Called to the Giralang mountain ranges, a search has begun for Alice after she goes missing from an executive work retreat.

Also on the retreat are four other women including the CEO’s wife (Deborra-Lee Furness), all suspects, the story shown in flashbacks as each character is revealed as the mystery pieces Alice’s last moments so different threads slowly tie together as Aaron races to find Alice – missing 30 hours, exposed in the forest with a storm looming.

As Aaron searches for Alice, he’s forced to face his past as he searches for the missing woman, a person he feels responsible for, an informant he’s pushed too far.

His partner, Agent Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie) feels no guilt, following the appropriate protocols and procedures.  But Aaron knows if you push too hard, that’s when mistakes are made.  He also knows what happens when people go missing in the forest.

Filmed in the Dandenong Ranges, the mystery is deepened using the vast forest as a place where people get lost, where serial killers are known to lurk – the forest is a place where you feel like you’re being watched.  That you’re not alone.

It doesn’t take much for the paranoia to set in.

Force of Nature is a slow burn mystery with weight; the immersion into the puzzle gripping with the plot turning around blind corners so the audience doesn’t know what will happen next.

But for all the film’s promise, the suspense gets lost with each thread that becomes a dead end so that grip in the first half of the film begins to let go.

Force of Nature is well captured, the quiet, the rain, the mood set with some good reveals but the mystery gets lost in the forest of too many red herrings.

So although there’re good performances here, the story gets spread thin so instead of a big reveal there’s many little revelations that lacked punch.

Overall, a well captured, quality crime mystery that’s worth a watch.

 

Nat’s Top 5 Movies of 2023

Was a wee quiet regarding movie reviewing this year – it’s been busy!  But ITop 5 Movies 2023 still managed to get to ‘Barbenheimer’ that took over the world there for a while.  All I can say is I’m glad I managed to source a pink hair accessory for the Barbie premiere.  It was a very pink affair.  And a surprisingly refreshing feminist message that did balance in the end.  But like everyone, I’ve never seen a film so blunt – ‘I’m a man without power, does that make me a woman?’

I was more drawn to the thriller genre this year – surprise, surprise, with Saltburn blowing away the cobwebs with its sharp wit and extravagance, but let’s start the list with a documentary that I still think about, particularly while watching the TV series, The Fall of the House of Usher with the documentary about Nan showing in the background to underline the correlation her story had with the series about the evils of pharma, meet photographer and activist, Nan Goldin:

  1. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed – GoMovieReviews

For me, I was captured by those slide shows, the people in the photos like characters in the movie of Nan’s life.

It’s a heavy story, but the telling is simple, measured and driven not by the production, but what felt like Nan herself.

  1. Cairo Conspiracy – GoMovieReviews

Thought-provoking, intriguing with moments of beauty – this is a balanced film that gets you thinking.

  1. John Wick: Chapter 4 – GoMovieReviews

If you’re already a fan of the John Wick franchise, Chapter 4 is obviously a must-see and in my opinion, as good as the previous JW3: the detail, the humour, the dogs, the camera work, those shots from above a seriously successful device to show more of the action…  Action at its very best.

  1. Oppenheimer – GoMovieReviews

Complicated, suspenseful, political, scientific and psychological.  It’s a lot.

But that raging fire and those blurred edges and uncertainty around Oppenheimer’s character to then reveal the truth of all those involved in the creation of the bomb added up to a sophisticated film that demanded full attention.

Somehow, Nolan has captured an aberration using Oppenheimer as a voice.  And that takes brilliance.

  1. Saltburn – GoMovieReviews

Inviting, surprising, edgy and a pleasure to watch, like a guilty indulgence – this is a movie that keeps me coming back to the cinema wanting more.

 

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