That’s two for two for the Philippous as far as I’m concerned. I was delightfully impressed with how much I enjoyed Talk to Me. And as soon as I discovered they had another film out there, it shot right to the top of my viewing list. And Bring Her Back, it’s an experience. It’s unnerving,…
Tag: grief
Farscape (2000) – Taking the Stone, and Crackers Don’t Matter
Chiana (Gigi Edgley) is dealt a personal blow when her brother dies, she knows this because of a personal transmitter she keeps inside her. After Crichton (Ben Browder) blows her off, she skips off Moya, and joins a group of young people on a funeral planet. Taking the Stone was written by Justin Monjo and…
The Night House (2020) – David Bruckner
Rebecca Hall turns a fantastic performance as Beth, a recently widow who is being haunted figuratively and literally as she learns dark secrets about her late husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). Living in the house that Owen built, she begins to feel a presence in the house with her, and the way corners and arches come…
Talk to Me (2022) – Danny and Micheal Philippou
The Philippou brothers deliver a fantastic Australian horror film with Talk to Me, creepy, smart, layered, and relatable characters make this one to watch, and get freaked out over. Something is sweeping the social media of the kids in a town in Australia, parties built around a ritual involving an embalmed hand, candles, and ninety…
Family Ties (1985) – Oh, Donna, Auntie Up, and Philadelphia Story
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) comes down with Daddy Fever when he helps his parents out with their Lamaze class, and becomes enchanted with the idea of becoming the father to the child of a single mother in Oh, Donna. Written by Alan Uger, this episode was first broadcast on 3 January, 1985. Initially dismissive of…
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – Ryan Coogler
The MCU’s newest entry, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is Ryan Coogler’s follow-up to his 2018 entry, Black Panther, which launched its star, Chadwick Boseman, to the status of beloved icon. Taken from us far too soon, Wakanda Forever is about the characters processing the loss of their king, T’Challa as much as it is about…
Age of Ash (2022) – Daniel Abraham
Orbit Books invited me to take a look at the first novel in The Kithamar Trilogy, a new fantasy series from author Daniel Abraham. Fantasy novels have always been a tough in for me, I enjoy Tolkien, have delved into some Terry Pratchett, and have been known to enjoy some fantasy entries in the ‘Young…
Midsommar (2019) – Ari Aster
Writer/director Ari Aster’s follow-up to his unnerving horror film, Hereditary, is another menacing, and ominous story, Midsommar. Florence Pugh stars as Dani, a traumatised young woman, who is dealing with personal grief, and a crumbling love life, when she learns that her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor) and a number of his buddies, some are doing…
TIFF 2021: Petit Maman dir. Celine Sciamma
Director Celine Sciamma delivers a gentle pontification of loss, family and understanding in this gentle, and quiet drama. When Nelly’s (Josephine Sanz) grandmother dies, she regrets the fact that she didn’t get a chance to truly say goodbye to her. While her mother (Nina Meurisse) deals with her grief, and the job of clearing out…
TIFF 2021: Dear Evan Hansen dir. Stephen Chbosky
Mental health. Suicide. Depression. Loss. Grief. Loneliness. These issues are usually trapped in the individual, and though a number of us share in these things, it’s never a shared experience. We are held in the prison of our issues, in a society where social media presentation, the illusion of life being better than it is…
The Mind Reels 