Category: Mini Review
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Mini Review: Kokuho
Wow! The visuals, costumes, sound & score of Japan’s Kokuho are downright breathtaking at times, giving us an intimate & captivating glimpse at Kabuki theatre culture. At nearly 3 hours, it’s a LOT of movie (maybe too much), but well worth it for the Kabuki performances alone.
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Mini Review: Disclosure Day
Disclosure Day is a true Spielberg film in many of the best ways, from its themes, orchestration & general sense of wonder. But its way let down by the writing, particular in its paper thin construction of its side characters, henchmen & villain. Still an entertaining watch!
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Mini Review: Another World
Tommy Ng Kai Chung’s Another World is thematically hefty, & has some truly nail-biting action scenes, all of which tend to overpower its underlying hopeful moral. That said, it’s an absolutely breathtaking visual spectacle, and well worth watching on the biggest screen possible.
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Mini Review: 1st Kiss
Ayuko Tsukahara’s 1st Kiss is a beautifully layered romance, using a simple time travel mechanic to tell a story of grief & a rekindling of a marriage gone wrong. Blending a nice amount of humour with the right amount of Asian melodrama, its a captivating watch through & through.
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Mini Review: Scary Movie
The way 2026s Scary Movie blitzes past some of its horror references but sits so uncomfortably long on its non-horror parodies is baffling. The best moments are the self-referential ones, but those are few & far between. Instead whats left is a mostly unwanted blast from the past.
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Mini Review: Power Ballad
The ads for Power Ballad are just terrible, framing it as a silly feud comedy when it’s anything but. Instead, it’s peak John Carney, taking a simple story & using songwriting to deliver a profoundly wholesome message. Cynics be warned, this one’s not for you. But for me, it’s😍.
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Mini Review: Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is solid summer entertainment, blending the campiness of Thor with the oddball energy of Guardians, with a dash of self deprecating humour. But does it do enough to stand out from those other franchises? Probably not. Cast is great though. Even Jared Leto.
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Mini Review: Backrooms
Woah! Who knows what I was expecting walking into #Backrooms. I can’t say the plot fully coalesced for me, and there’s still plenty to ponder, for better or for worse. But for a directorial debut, the mood, tension, score and production design are stellar. Well done Kane Parsons.
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Mini Review: Tuner
Tuner has something for everyone – its a story about aging & disability, there’s music, a little romance, some weighty moments, a healthy dose of crime & a dash of thriller-like intrigue. That itself justifies a watch, even if it doesn’t do any of those things exceptionally well.
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Mini Review: Michael
The spectacle of the performances is enough to justify the ticket price, and boy does the film really do the music justice. But the #Michael biopic does little else to justify itself as a film, & has little else to say outside of what we already knew. But I still had a good time.
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