The Brown Note Movie Review

Believe it or not, this is the EIGHTH entry into the broadly lame Conjuring universe and it limps barely across the line on decent production values without an ounce of imagination. Vera and Patrick are a tiny bit less aggravating leads this time but it is still probably the weakest of the main three films.

Given I had trashed Guy Ritchie as a director all the way up to the unexpected evolution of his talent with The Gentlemen and consider myself a connoisseur of Jason Statham movies, I was very excited by their return together after near fifteen years apart. Sadly, after a directorialy stunning opening third, Ritchie's most stylish and fluid yet, the film has none of The Gentlemen's strong writing,...

Theater legend, Dominic Cooke's second film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the real life ordinary Joe and unintentional cold war hero, Greville Wynne, avoids the pitfalls of becoming too Ron Howard or Spielberg, to deliver a fine, satisfying period thriller with a real sting in the tale.

After 2012's fantastic teacher drama from Danish director Thomas Vinterberg and the esteemed Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, a hugely welcome return to school for the pair. Not only the best film about drinking ever and a riotous comedy but a soulful, meditative and hugely uplifting drama full of life and the human spirit awakened.

This latest relaunch and reboot looked promising through a breezily entertaining first half before falling away to not being enough of well, anything really.

Spike Lee's masterpiece given a stellar retro review. A fabulous cast of soon to be stars, vividly shot and soundtracked, in one of the most complex portrayals of a powder keg race riot ever presented. As prescient as it gets and top tier film-making across the board - a perfect 10/10.

A round up of an Oscars I would've won a fortune on by guessing every major category right. So salty right now. Including my only ever new release 10/10 review winning the three categories I said it would.

Better Call Saul's fabulous Bob Odenkirk makes the thrillingly unexpected move to action hero leading man, in this deliriously fun possible addition to the John Wick universe. It that's not enough seeing the Doc from Back To The Future blasting away with a shotgun should be plenty.

Long time (and multi Oscar nominated) producer, Robert Lorenz, tries his hand at directing a sadly very bog standard (especially up against The Grey or Cold Pursuit) Liam Neeson action film. It's slight and derivative but well made, with a touch of heartland America and a strong performance from Neeson. I was however devastated they killed of the wonderous Teresa Ruiz in the opening minutes.

I've been increasingly onboard for the Godzilla side of this equaiton (especially after King of the Monsters) but gave the ambition free Kong: Skull Island a big fat zero out of ten. Here the furry one redeems himself in a surprisingly awesome best film yet that even fixes up its human problem.

There is a criminal amount of potential left unexplored in Spanish horror auteur, Jaume Balaguero's relatively high class bank heist film. Unfortunately none of these great ideas are ever pursued and we are left with the most rote version of Ocean's 11 yet. On this awful showing I would put money of The Good Doctor star, Freddie Highmore never becoming a leading man. Unless it's playing twelve-yea...

Director Lee Isaac Chung's autobiographical film about growing up in rural Arkansas touched a nerve when a debate as to whether it was an American film or a Foreign one for awards purposes - probably an American one. It's a lovely and lyrical film that is perhaps a little too obvious and a little too Jean de Florette. A nice watch that will probably not stay with you too long.

After hating every Zack Snyder film other than Watchmen, hating the DC Universe's awful films, hating the two years of relentless spam about this movie and hating the original - I couldn't possible have anything nice to say about this film. Could I?

First time director and already acting legend Regina King may have just missed out on an Oscar nomination but she does a superb job helming this 2012 stage play adaptation, about an imagined meeting, in 1964, of four of the most prominent African-Americans alive. An outstanding script delves with enormous complexity and depth into the civil rights era and racial politics to a level not seen before...

After calling out star Carey Mulligan for shameless Oscar politicking a few weeks ago, I finally get to see this polemical nice-guy destroying debut from British director Emerald Fennel and it didn't disappoint. An incredibly relevant and wildly ambitious, risk-taking destruction of the excuses around rape-culture, entirely focused on a probable and deserving Oscar winning performance from Mulliga...

As an officiando of car crash cinema, I deliberately seek out the truly terrbile (so I can stick the boot in too!). No film of the modern era has generated quite such howling from critics as Australian singer Sia's misguided autistic triumph. Yet I can only call it as I S(ia) it. I actually kinda enjoyed it. It's badness is so wild it almost creates it's own universe but it's never dull for a seco...

The obviously talented and ambitious NZ/China newbie director, Roseanne Liang follows up the local success of her first film with this Twilight Zone referencing full bore B movie, that's far more interesting and surprising than it sounds on paper. A small budget often looks spectacular and Chloë Grace Moretz holds an entire movie together pretty much by herself in an excellent turn. Far wilder and...

It's take directer Sean Durkin nearly a decade to follow up the excellent, Elizabeth Olsen starring, Marth Marcy May Marlene, but he has done so in style with this intense psych-drama starring and excellent Jude Law and Carrie Coon as a collapsing couple. He shows great command throughout, including lifting a stoic film into crazy mania for it's final third.

It's been poorly received but this Anthony Mackie starring dystopian sci-fi war-zone pic, is a thoughtful cut-above the never-ending run of bombastic and often stupid Netflix actioners and well worth a once through - though it should wear the heady political and moral themes its tepidly offers with louder pride.

The Aussie outback is one of the most cinematic environments on earth and it's brutal history has given us many unforgettable films - sadly The Furnace is far too slight and poorly played to live up to its illustrious predecessors. Don't believe the reviews, despite an incredibly original and evocative set-up, the story is beyond rote, fairly tame and the acting decidedly average - as shown up by...

Actor Carey Mulligan (and the whole world) owe film critic Dennis Harvey a massive apology for the disgraceful act of destroying his career and reputation, to try and position themselves in this year's Oscar race. Her completely inferred response to a year old review, was nothing but the usual stories actor's, publicists and studios pump out between Christmas and February, just to put themselves i...

In all the years I've reviewed movies on the main show (posted here more recently) I've never given a perfect 10 out of 10 to a new release film before Nomadland. It's so much more than the grim, cinema verite, politicized look at America's post global financial crisis economic situation I expected. Instead I got the most insanely beautiful and artistic poem about heartland America, an optimistic...

Since Disney started meddling with them, it's been an up and down road for Pixar, with too many sequels and the once sacrosanct originals varying in quality. If there is one man to save them, it's probably director Pete Docter (Monsters Inc., Up, Inside out) who delivers another wildly imaginative and dazzlingly ambitious original concept just worthy of their other high water marks. A less stunnin...

A film that redefines what the term "hot mess" means to me and makes me think director Patty Jenkins fluked it with the superb first encounter, still the only brilliant DC Universe film. The main flaws here are terminal - awful, lazy, tonally inconsistent, repetitive and dull writing, a director with no coherent vision at all and the most glaring plot-holes and logical inconsistencies of any film...

Australia has punched well above it's weight with magnificent low-budget films this century, first with hard nosed crime dramas, then last decade with striking forays into sci-fi and horror. Even against that back-drop the major film debut from writer-director Natalie Erika James stands out as a masterpiece. Posited as a near Hereditary house-horror film, it works in seamless tandem as both a high...