Wicked Little Letters ★★★ OLIVIA Colman and Jessie Buckley have great fun trading barbs in the British black comedy Wicked Little Letters. Jonny Sweet’s screenplay is based on little-known true events that occurred in a small seaside town in 1920s England. Unmarried Edith Swan (Colman), who lives with her devout Christian […]

Leads enjoy their Wicked Little Letters

The Fall Guy ★★★½ STUNTMAN turned director David Leitch follows up 2022’s Bullet Train with the even more entertaining The Fall Guy. Loosely based on an adventure TV series from the 1980s, the film features two charismatic performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The action sequences come thick and fast […]

Chemistry adds to Fall Guy action

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey II ★★½ A YEAR ago I gave English slasher film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey a one-and-a-half star review and labelled it one of the worst films of 2023. For two reasons that film made money  – it cost little too make and had a novelty value. […]

Owl and Tigger join the fun

Saint Maud ★★★½ ONE of the best horror film directing debuts of recent years is 2019’s Saint Maud. If you like your horror disturbing and psychological then Rose Glass’s first film is made for you. A nurse named Katie fails to save the life of a patient in her care. Racked […]

Saint Maud is heaven sent

Immaculate ★★★ AMERICAN psychological horror film Immaculate is quite a surprise. This original screenplay by Andrew Lobel builds nicely to a very interesting premise, anchored by a surprisingly good performance from Sydney Sweeney. The third act unfortunately falls into familiar chase scares before ending on a terrific high note. The prologue […]

Immaculate a test of faith

The Trip ★★★★ NORWEGIAN writer/director Tommy Wirkola was responsible for the great 2009 horror film Dead Snow and its equally good 2014 sequel. I stumbled across The Trip on a streaming service before realising it was another of his films, from 2021. It’s a terrific, horror/thriller that is stripped back […]

The Trip travels to gore-filled destination

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism ★★★ AUSTRALIAN horror/drama Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is somewhat unique. I’ll tell you why later because that’s a spoiler for this recently-released debut film from director Nick Kozakis. The story is loosely based on actual events that occurred in the Victorian country town of Antwerp in 1993. […]

Australian take on exorcism tale

A Classic Horror Story ★★★ NETFLIX has become one of the cheapest sources of foreign horror films. Ok, many of them may be average; but there are plenty worthwhile including the 2021 Italian film A Classic Horror Story. Italian actress Matilda Lutz, who was so good in 2017’s Revenge, plays the […]

Meta additions to familiar approach

Roadhouse ★★½ SOMETIMES you just have to review a film purely from your personal perspective. I love the 1989 action drama Roadhouse for many reasons and have reviewed it previously. Doug Liman’s 2024 remake shares the name and the basic premise but it’s a different film from and for a […]

Roadhouse remake loses to original

Next Goal Wins ★★★ KIWI director Taika Waititi has attracted criticism from a few quarters of the internet lately. This seems to have flowed into criticism of his new film, sport-based comedy Next Goal Wins. Ignore those people; this is an entertaining family effort based on the true story of […]

Waititi’s latest far from an own goal

Magic ★★★½ MAGIC is one of those films that’s screaming out to be remade. This 1978 American psychological horror drama was directed by Richard Attenborough, written by William Goldman and featured Anthony Hopkins in the lead role. On its release the film wasn’t a critical or box office success but […]

Hopkins’ intense turn is magic

The Promised Land ★★★½ ONE of the hits of a very good 2023/24 Perth Film Festival was The Promised Land. This Danish film is set in 1755 and tells the story of a real person, former soldier Ludvig Kahlen, played by the always wonderful Mads Mikkelsen. Despite reaching officer ranks, Kahlen […]

Danish drama delivers on promise