A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Noh Doyeon, “Human Form” (2014) A deeply unsettling short film about a teenage schoolgirl’s quest to change her appearance through plastic surgery to attain physical beauty…
Mark Mylod, “The Menu” (2022) A satirical commentary on Western gastronomy culture – and through it, much of contemporary Western culture – “The Menu” carries a…
Faye Fillingham, “The Simulation” (2021) Initially this short seems light-hearted and amusing but on repeated viewings its dark heart is gradually revealed. A young woman, Agatha…
Alex Magaña, “Mukbang” (2022) Originating in South Korea, mukbang is an Internet-based audiovisual broadcast or blog in which the host eats various quantities of food while…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Josh Tanner, “Wandering Soul” (2016) An intensely claustrophobic film, seemingly a ghost story set during the Vietnam War, “Wandering Soul” follows two Viet Cong fighters, Dao…
Scott Woodburn, “Rick and Ruby” (2019) Playing like an episode in a never-ending road-movie series across America, “Rick and Ruby” is a buddy mini-movie packing comedy,…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Lachlan McLeod, “Clean” (2022) As this documentary demonstrates, there’s much more to the word “clean” than first appears. Initially the topic of the film was trauma…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Nik Kacevski, “Mongrel” (2021) A very minimalist little film, featuring just two actors, “Mongrel” poses the universal question of what makes someone human or less than…
Rebecca C Scott, “Together Forever” (2022) A well-made film, driven almost entirely by its characters’ dialogue, turns what could have been a maudlin romance tragedy into…
Jocelyn Stamat, “Laboratory Conditions” (2017) A very tight little film with an unexpected twist, “Laboratory Conditions” initially presents as a crime or murder mystery starting in…