Luke Harris
Luke is writing short stories, screenplays and film reviews when he's not at the day job or looking after the needs of his family. So one Powerball...
Heretic Review
Heretic, directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65), is a slick little chamber flick starring Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed. A welcoming old fella who has a few points to push. With sinister charm and Grant’s signature romantic persona. Heretic is a decent psychological thriller, somewhat hostage horror flick that grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go until a muddy third act shift. Some spoilers t...
Saturday Night Review
Directed by Jason Reitman, Saturday Night is a high energy and manic paced film. Perfectly capturing backstage chaos, 90 minutes before the premier of a show that nobody believes in. Everybody except producer Lorne Michaels, played by Gabe LaBelle (The Fablemans), and the clock is ticking. Saturday Night Live is an institution. Even if comedy is not your thing or you were born thirty years later, ...
He Ain’t Heavy Review
Writer and Director David Vincent Smith’s directorial debut He Ain’t Heavy is an intimate and brutal depiction of addiction and domestic violence. But, the film triumphs by playing it straight and taking no prisoners. While peeling back layers of psychological trauma and dysfunction. Some spoilers will follow. Shot in Gosnells, Western Australia. The setting, vibe and locations are instantly recog...
Comandante Review
Pierfrancesco Favino (Nostalgia, The Traitor) stars in writer-director Edoardo De Angelis’ (Indivisible, The Voice of Hope) Comandante. A dramatic account of events in the Atlantic sea during World War II. Titular Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini sinks the Belgian ship Kabalo, and Cappellini’s commander Salvatore Todaro disobeys standing orders and rescues the Kabalo’s crew. Com...
Sleeping Dogs Review
In Adam Cooper’s directorial debut Sleeping Dogs, Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Virtuosity) plays Roy. A retired Washington county homicide detective. Based on the novel The Book of Mirrors with screenplay co-written by Cooper. Roy is vulnerable and grizzled, battling Alzheimer’s disease and recovering from an experimental procedure to stimulate regrowth of neural pathways. This part of the narr...
Ka Whawhai Tonu Review
Struggle without End. Director Mike Jonathan (Cinematographer, The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari) recreates the historic battle of Ōrākau Pā, Aotearoa,1864. Where local Maori tribes unite in a last stand against Colonial forces’ ongoing confiscation of land, desecration and general campaign of violent disrespect. Ka Whawhai Tonu is predictably grim in its presentation of Maori strength and s...
Longlegs Review
Nic Cage (Mandy, Renfield) is back! Portraying the sinister powder wearing titular character Longlegs. More on him later. Longlegs is more than just another wild Nicholas Cage flick. There’s a lot of detail under the hood. Spoiler warning. Skip to the last paragraph if you wish to remain fresh. Just know that on viewing Longlegs, it’s important to remember that nothing is initially as it seems whi...
Mr Blake At Your Service! Review
Releasing today, mostly French production Mr Blake at Your Service! is an odd one. Starring John Malkovich (Red, Burn After Reading), this endearing and quirky comedy drama shirks genre tropes and fails to realise the stakes it takes an hour and fifty minutes to set up. In order to unpack this film a little some spoilers are ahead. Fair warning, it’s a little désordonné. Director Gilles Legardinie...
The Promised Land Review
Based on the 2020 novel The Captain and Ann Barbara, itself loosely based on historical events, The Promised Land brings the stoic and frequently brutal 1755 Nordic frontier to Aussie cinemas from June 20. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel with gorgeous cinematography by Rasmus Videbaek, starring a stone cold Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One) as Ludvig Kahlen and Amanda Collin (Raised by Wolves) as Ann Barbara. ...
Bad Boys: Ride or Die Review
Between thirty to forty years ago, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer dominated the summer blockbuster landscape with a long list of knockout action thrillers. Highlights featuring the likes of Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds, The Rock and Bad Boys. The two later films directed by then breakout auteur, Michael Bay (how the mighty have fallen). Flash forward to today and Ba...
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Review
Strap in scavs! On May 23rd Aussie auteur George Miller once again fangs audiences across the post apocalyptic central Australian wasteland. Expanding the rebooted universe established with 2015’s Fury Road, Furiosa gives us the full life and times of the titular antiheroine. Well, the important bits anyway. Her rise from unwilling captive snatched away from goodness, to mute feral. To praetorian ...
Abigail Review
In cinemas now, director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Ready or Not, Scream 2022) brings us Abigail. A slick action horror date night movie that delivers comedy, thrills and copious pints of shiraz. After a group of professional criminals kidnap the daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that not all is as it seems. From the get go, this cast is having a lo...