Author: Sean W. Fallon

MIFF 2017: Godspeed is Messy and Empty

MIFF 2017: Godspeed is Messy and Empty

Posted by | Aug 17, 2017 | , |

Over the next few weeks, our writer in Melbourne, Sean W. Fallon, will be covering the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and reviewing some of his favourite movies from the festival. Overview: A drug courier travels in the taxi of an unlucky cab driver. 3 Ng Film; 2016; Rated-R; 111 mins Lost: Godspeed is a very odd movie. Not much happens in it, it jumps around in time, the narrative POV shifts from character to character, and by the end the viewer is left with the sense that either they’ve just watched a movie about something that is just out of...

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MIFF 2017: The Venerable W. is a Grim Cautionary Tale

MIFF 2017: The Venerable W. is a Grim Cautionary Tale

Posted by | Aug 8, 2017 | , |

Over the next few weeks, our writer in Melbourne, Sean W. Fallon, will be covering the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and reviewing some of his favourite movies from the festival. Overview: A look at the conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma and the monk who has become the face of inciting racial hatred. Les Films du Losange, 2017; Rated-R; 107 mins. Hatred: The hate speech used by Ashin Wirathu (the titular W.) is incendiary, dangerous, and hard to hear. It is also talk that is so commonplace in modern society that I found myself seeing exact phrases and expressions that...

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Air Force One Still Flies High 20 Years Later

Air Force One Still Flies High 20 Years Later

Posted by | Jul 25, 2017 |

Air Force One was released twenty years ago. It is a movie that I return to every few years to see if it still holds up and each time the answer is a resounding yes. The premise is one that I’m surprised no one tried before 1997: terrorists hijack Air Force One and the only person who can stop them and take back the plane is the President of the United States. It’s such a fun premise that could have been very easily mishandled but instead produced one of the best action movies of the ‘90s and, for me,...

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New on Netflix Instant Streaming: Rogue One Is Beautiful and Bloodthirsty

New on Netflix Instant Streaming: Rogue One Is Beautiful and Bloodthirsty

Posted by | Jul 20, 2017 | , |

Originally published on December 14, 2016. Rogue One is now available on Netflix’s instant streaming service. Overview: A ragtag group of rebels try to steal the plans for the Empire’s newest weapon, The Death Star. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; 2016;  PG-13; 133 Minutes. Long Odds: Disney and Lucasfilm, much like the characters in the newest Star Wars film, had a huge mission. With their acquisition of the Star Wars brand, Disney announced a seemingly endless franchise with a new Star Wars movie every year for  the near future. Some chapters would be continuing episodes of the original saga while...

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The House is Perfect for Renting

The House is Perfect for Renting

Posted by | Jul 5, 2017 | , |

Overview: When their daughter’s college scholarship vanishes, two suburbanites decide to open their own casino. Warner Bros; 2017; Rated-R; 88 mins. It Is What It Is: The House is not trying to be anything it isn’t. It is not a movie that lives deeply in logic or realism, nor is it trying to reinvent the comedy wheel or say something about the world. It is simply an 88-minute machine for producing jokes one after another until the credits roll. The House’s premise is simple: parents need money for their kid’s college so they open their own casino. Hijinks ensue...

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Doctor Who Recap: The Doctor Falls

Doctor Who Recap: The Doctor Falls

Posted by | Jul 1, 2017 | ,

DOCTOR WHO – SEASON 10 EPISODE 12 THE DOCTOR FALLS WRITTEN BY STEVEN MOFFAT DIRECTED BY RACHEL TALALAY And here it is, the episode we’ve been waiting for, the episode that has caused this recapper to lose sleep all week. Will Bill come back? Will we meet the new Doctor? Will we meet an old Doctor? Will Missy fall on the side of the angels, or is there just too much devil in her? Are you ready? No, me neither. Let’s do it. Recap: We open on green fields with pastoral, Songs of Praise music playing in the background. A...

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Prevenge Sees Alice Lowe on a Rampage

Prevenge Sees Alice Lowe on a Rampage

Posted by | Jun 29, 2017 | , |

Overview: A heavily pregnant woman seeks revenge on her husband’s killer. Shudder; 2017; Rated-R; 88 mins Lowe: Alice Lowe has gradually carved out her place in the horror comedy pantheon. Starring roles in the seminal Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place and Sightseers (which she also co-wrote) have helped make her name as an actress who is equally adept at landing a joke and cutting a throat. For Prevenge she pulls triple duty as its writer, director, and star. This would be impressive enough, but when you add in the fact that she wrote, directed, and starred in the movie while...

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Doctor Who Recap: World Enough and Time

Doctor Who Recap: World Enough and Time

Posted by | Jun 24, 2017 | |

DOCTOR WHO – SEASON 10 EPISODE 11 WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME WRITTEN BY STEVEN MOFFAT DIRECTED BY RACHEL TALALAY And now, the end is near. This is the one we’ve been waiting for. It’s gonna have The Master and the Mistress, it’s directed by Rachel Talalay (aka the G.O.A.T), and it’s going to put the pieces in place for the regeneration. I’m not ready, are you ready? Well, doesn’t matter. Let’s do it. Recap The TARDIS arrives in a blizzard and the Doctor falls out, injured. He begins to regenerate and screams, “Noooooo” as we cut to the opening titles....

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Doctor Who Recap: The Eaters of Light

Doctor Who Recap: The Eaters of Light

Posted by | Jun 17, 2017 |

DOCTOR WHO – SEASON 10 EPISODE 10 THE EATERS OF LIGHT WRITTEN BY RONA MUNRO DIRECTED BY CHARLES PALMER We’re very close to the end of what has been one of the best seasons of Doctor Who ever. Capaldi has finally made the role his own and Bill has been the shot of adrenaline the show needed. Next week will be the beginning of the end so let’s see what the Doctor gets up to on his last standalone adventure before regeneration beckons. Recap: We open in present day Scotland where two kids are climbing a hill so that the...

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Netflix Hidden Gem: Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau

Netflix Hidden Gem: Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau

Posted by | Jun 15, 2017 |

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr Moreau covers the making of the disaster that was 1996’s The Island of Doctor Moreau. In movie circles, the story of how the movie went off the rails is probably more well-known than the plot of the actual movie. Richard Stanley, fresh off some weird, well-made horror movies, is given the chance to direct a movie of his favourite book, The Island of Doctor Moreau. Ill-preparedness, prima donna actors, divorces, suicides, hurricanes, anti-social behaviour, and floods all combine to get Stanley kicked off the project and replaced. Lost...

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Predator – Vietnam in a Haunted House

Predator – Vietnam in a Haunted House

Posted by | Jun 12, 2017 | |

Predator was the first horror movie I ever watched. At the time, I was eight or nine, I didn’t know it was a horror movie and I don’t think my parents knew either. As far as we were concerned, if Arnie made it, then it was an action movie. It was only when I re-watched Predator recently that I saw that even though the movie is billed as a sci-fi/action movie, it’s actually a slasher flick. The greatest sci-fi horror movies are the first two Alien movies. Alien is the quintessential haunted house movie while Aliens used the xenomorphs...

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Doctor Who Recap: Empress of Mars

Doctor Who Recap: Empress of Mars

Posted by | Jun 12, 2017 |

DOCTOR WHO – SEASON 10 EPISODE 09 EMPRESS OF MARS WRITTEN BY MARK GATISS DIRECTED BY WAYNE YIP The Monks trilogy is over and we’re closing in on the end of the season and the final episodes of Peter Capaldi. Mark Gatiss returns and he is a Doctor Who writer with a hit or miss track record so let’s see what’s he got tonight. Recap: We open on a NASA control room as a group of techs wait for a transmission from their probe, Valkyrie. As the countdown nears an end we see that the Doctor, Nardole, and Bill are...

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The Mummy Gets the Dark Universe Off to a Shaky Start

The Mummy Gets the Dark Universe Off to a Shaky Start

Posted by | Jun 9, 2017 | , |

Overview: An ancient mummy awakens from her tomb and must be stopped by a thief and an archaeologist. Universal; 2017; Rated-M; 110 mins. Dark Universe: The original Universal horror movies are a wonderful collection of weird little gems filled with iconic monsters, mad scientists, and adventure. When Universal announced their Dark Universe would be a modern version of these stories set in a shared universe featuring, initially, The Mummy, the Invisible Man, Frankenstein’s monster, and Jekyll and Hyde, I was overjoyed. However, now that I’ve seen the first outing for the Dark Universe, The Mummy, I’m going to have...

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Seoul Station is Entertaining but Inessential

Seoul Station is Entertaining but Inessential

Posted by | Jun 7, 2017 | , , |

Overview: A zombie outbreak begins in Seoul, striking first at the homeless population. Next Entertainment World; 2016; 90 mins. Prequel: Though billed as a prequel to 2016’s Train to Busan, Seoul Station is its own creature. It shares a lot of DNA with its live action counterpart but both movies can exist independently of each other. It feels feels like a class of film students were given the same assignment: make a zombie movie set in Korea that says something about class. Train to Busan took the idea and made a live action movie about zombies and salary men....

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Guardians is Fast-Paced to a Fault

Guardians is Fast-Paced to a Fault

Posted by | Jun 5, 2017 | |

Overview: A team of superheroes must stop a madman from destroying Moscow. Turbo Films; 2017; Not Rated; 100 minutes. And Then: There’s a popular video on YouTube in which Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame crash a writing class at NYU. Their main script writing advice is that between each scene you should be able to put the words BUT or THEREFORE. Otherwise, you might as well just write AND THEN. Guardians is very much an AND THEN movie. Guardians is the story of a Cold War project known as Patriot that sought to create superhumans. When the...

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