Mother Mary: HBO Max Movie Review

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Sian Clifford, FKA Twigs, Alba Baptista
Director: David Lowery

Bizarre, bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, A Ghost Story's David Lowery turns his attention to a psychodrama between a pop star and her former stylist.

In search of a comeback outfit to relaunch her, Mother Mary (Hathaway, haunted and hesitant) ends up on the doorstep of Sam Anselm (Coel, blistering and mesmerising). However, before she arrives, Sam knows she's on her way, declaring her a "carcinogen, a tumour" - it's clear there's some malignant history between the pair. It's further exacerbated when a glacial Sam frostily takes on the job of the fashion emergency, picking at scabs of the past and the evident fallout.

But as the pair discuss their past and what future they may have, it soon becomes clear there's an unearthly connection between them which simply won't let go.

There's plenty of style abounding in this, with Lowery disclosing flashes of almost Strickland-esque level visual flair and channeling elements of Phantom Thread and Corsage for good measure. But while the film's first half is largely confined to an expansive two-hander set in Sam's designing barn ("I'm going through my Miss Havisham phase" she gleefully announces), the second transcends into something else entirely.

Lady Gaga-esque performances, a stock Ouija board horror moment, elements of body horror and possession all contort into something entrancing, albeit not entirely coherent. Yet there's no denying you can't ever take your eyes off the screen, even if it's because they're agog in incredulity at what's playing out.

Coel is exceptional here, taking charge of the piece and delivering a commanding performance that is swathed in contempt, scorn, bitterness and seething with anger at how she was treated for the looks she initially created for Hathaway's Mother Mary. It's a powerhouse act that's counterbalanced by a more meek and understated Hathaway who delivers the extravagant pop spectacle scenes with almost choreographed stiltedness, but is watchable nonetheless.

It's never entirely clear what Mother Mary is trying to say though. Is it a supernatural piece? Is it about birthing the creation from within? Is it about the bonds creatives and their artists share?

Lowery's not saying and it may all be dismissed as utterly preposterous. But while it's enigmatic edges frustrate, there's no denying this Mother Mary, no matter how contrary, is unlike anything you've seen on the big screen. 

JBL Live 780NC headphones: Review

There's no denying the headphone industry is swamped and customers are staying loyal to brands and manufacturers, rather than venturing into newer waters.

So what are companies to do that push out regular headsets or rely on them to bring new users in the market into their brand?

Well, if you're JBL, it seems the key is to simply keep doing what you do well, update only minor touches and plough on regardless hoping good word of mouth will spread the word.

The latest set, the JBL Live 780NC, continues to offer the kind of quality JBL has become known for, while ensuring that users get what they want and need out of headsets - chiefly, comfort, battery life and sound quality. Though for every user, that basic list will be ordered differently. 

But it does feel like some of the basics are being sacrificed for these sets.

While this over-the-ear set does feel a little like it relies more on a clamp to deliver comfort (and can occasionally irritate after hours of use), the bass does seem a little heavier than usual, and that's likely to be something that will annoy some users - especially the audiophiles out there.

But given the set looks minimalist in terms of design and seems sleek enough, there's certainly a vicarious amount of pleasure to be had from wearing them. The cups fit nicely and clamping aside, don't resonate too much on the side of your head when listening to music. All the control buttons are on the left-hand earcup and while that takes a little time to get used to, īt means that podgier fingers will need to be better trained to avoid accidents. 

However, it's in terms of the battery where the JBL Live 780NC rate. 

The company gives it around 50 hours of playback with ANC switched on and that rockets upto about 80 hours without the ANC on. Essentially, a two-week buffer of use is an incredible offering, something which is market-leading in many ways and which will be the deciding factor for many. Add in the fact that a 5-minute charge will allow for another 4 hours of sound life and you can see why this set has the edge over some of its competition.

Call quality impresses too, with an array of microphones helping to block out extraneous noise - again, this is a set that can be used for everything and intends to be so.

All in all, the JBL Live 780NC headphones do continue the pursuit of quality that JBL wants to achieve - it's a major disappointment that they don't come with a bag to protect them and that a USB-C charging cable is not included (something which, e-waste policies aside, feels criminal and money-grabbing), but for battery life and decent sound quality alone, these are the kind of mid-price range headsets we should have more of.

Michael: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Jafaar Jackson, Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Laura Harrier
Director: Antoine Fuqua

After much anticipation and amid rumours of substantial reshoots and accusations of fairytale storytelling, the drama of Michael Jackson's life is finally here.

Played by his nephew Jaafar Jackson, the film focuses on Michael's time in the Jackson 5, his relationship with his father (Domingo) and his attempts to break out to become a solo star.

It's perhaps befitting the film starts by blasting out 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' given the controversy and extensive third act reshoots, before racing breakneck speed through Jackson's life from humble beginnings and belt-whuppings from his dad in Gary, Indiana to his own emancipation from the yokel of the tyranny of his father.

In between it all are a plethora of favourite songs from the Jackson oeuvre, performed with gusto by Jafaar and which will no doubt leave fans in ecstasy at their faithfulness.

But here's the rub of the film - not once does it stop to give anything close to depth throughout. It's hagiography, with a splash of biography.

Unless it's to Jackson himself. 

Witness his full-frame close ups as he pines for freedom; take in his Princess Diana-like visiting to other burns victims after the Pepsi commercial leaves him on fire. The list of propaganda-led moments for the little lost boy is endless and yet never quite engaging enough to those looking for depth.

It's perhaps no real surprise that there's puddle-level depth here. At a time when a jukebox musical of his life has gone great guns on Broadway, there's obviously a desire to cash in on the nostalgia and that's what this film does.

But leaping from song to song, while scattering imagery of him reading Peter Pan, fawning over Bubbles and watching Chaplin and cartoons does not great insight provide.

And barely anyone except for Domingo's Joseph and Michael himself get any substantial time in a cursory screenplay that's more perfunctory than enlightening.

Depressingly, Michael will be massive and its penchant for avoiding the later controversies in his life smacks of woeful family intervention shaping his legacy.

The film ends with three words: His story continues. It's a James Bond-style coda (or threat) that promises more to come, but unless the full story is told (which is unlikely given legal documents and decisions), this shaping and distorting of the truth by the Jackson estate leaves a sour taste - no matter how impressive Jackson and Domingo's performances are.

Undertone: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michele Duquet
Director: Ian Tuason

The horror movie has done the idea of possessed and cursed media before.

From the likes of The Ring through to Pipes in the infamous live, spoof BBC TV drama Ghostwatch, the idea's not a new one.

But the upcoming Paranormal Activity 8 director Ian Tuason's deeply rich sound-immersive undertone hits a different note, taking on the idea of a podcast where something's not right.

Nina Kiri plays Evy, one half of a self-confessed "creepy stuff" podcast. Lodged in with her dying mother, and recording at the hour of 3am daily with her compadre Justin (DiMarco, in voice only), the pair investigate paranormal activity and tales of the weird.

Distinctly sceptical, Evy finds herself pushed to the limit when Justin offers up a series of ten recordings sent anonymously to their undertone podcast, which seem to be unexplainable. As Evy begins to investigate further, strange things begin to happen in the house, in her life and in her mind - but terrified or otherwise, she decides to push on...

When it comes to the ending of undertone, it's likely to be as polarising as that first ending of The Blair Witch Project - but what's clearer in the gradual build-up of this one-location movie are the tropes of the genre, the incredible soundscapes that Tuason develops and the committed performance of Kiri as the girl on the edge, stuck between grief and fear.

undertone isn't exactly subtle in some of its sign-posting - recording a creepy podcast at 3am, using Google searches to expose the mythology and lore of what the messages reveal and a last-minute twist is a little too obvious to anyone really paying even the most cursory attention to what's unfolding.

But what is exceptional about it is the way it immerses you in the world. From the rattle of the breathing of Evy's mother to the ticking of the clock, to the way noise-cancelling headphones remove Evy from the world around her. It's an incredible sonic atmosphere which keeps on loading the dice and building the suspense (even if a few cursory jump scares creep in to stave off the monotony of little visually happening).

Perhaps that's the key here though - while undertone itself doesn't redefine the genre and there's a lot of exposition in the dialogue in imagery, it's incredibly effective at building a sense of foreboding and a tension that initially seems unwarranted.  

Savage House: Movie Review

Cast: Richard E Grant, Claire Foy, Robert Bathurst, Bel Powley
Director: Peter Glanz

To say that Savage House has one thing on its mind is to understate it - but where it lacks on its story commentary front, what it does have in its arsenal is two excessively watchable performances in the shape of its leads, Richard E Grant and Claire Foy.

They play the Savages, a pair of married grotesques in 18th Century Britain, who are about to fall on rack and ruin, thanks to Sir Chauncey (Grant) and his profligacy for over-spending and garish ways. With his wife Lady Savage (Foy) willing to submit to his every whim thanks to her dwindling fortune, the pair finds themselves gifted the chance to host the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Given Sir Chauncey's desire for social climbing, he sees this as a signal to potentially ruin the family for social standing, pushing for every possible frippery to ensure the visit is a success. But it could be their ruin.

There's a kind of ghastly pall that hangs over Savage House, an occasionally ribald romp of a period piece that doesn't exactly do much with its premise, but has a lot of fun going there.

It's chiefly due to Grant's flamboyant OTT performance as he debauches his way through life and the coffers of the estate. His double act with Foy, whose character doesn't emerge faultless either, makes for an endearing - and enduring - waltz through a scabrous way of life.

But Glanz, who wrote and directed the film, stops short of overly satirising events, preferring to sympathise with the leads, rather than condemn them. It's an intriguing paradigm which hits Savage House, even if it doesn't rock the foundations - it's like the film wishes to condemn them, but can't quite bring itself to do so - and there's little commentary other than how galling the social climbing classes can be.

There are some nice touches of dialogue throughout, despite a reliance on voiceover and chapters to break the film up. When asked why Lady Savage stays with her husband, she remarks that she chose him because she thought it would be fun, despite knowing and because of his ambition. It's touches like this the script could have benefited from more of, rather than just Grant commanding the screen.

Blessed with an abrasive vim and vigour, Savage House gallivants along at a pace that's enough to paper over its cracks and is raucous enough to make you glad these Savages aren't your neighbours.

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant: Movie Review

Cast: Hannah Lynch, Arlo Green, Jonny Brugh, Jackie van Beek, Yvette Parsons
Director: Thunderlips

New Zealand film continues its trend of weird body horror films with this tale of alien immaculate conception put through a prism of a mother and daughter relationship.

Mary (Lynch) is a layabout at home - content to spend her time masturbating to sci-fi anime and avoiding her overbearing mother Cynthia (Parsons, brilliant in her kookiness), she lives a socially solitary life away from anyone. But when her mother introduces herself to the new neighbour (Van Beek) and hears her son Boo (Green) is deformed, Mary finds herself on a collision course with him.

After a chance encounter in a laundromat piques both their curiosities, Mary ends up pregnant and racing against time to get an extraterrestrial lifeform out of her...

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is a gross out film in many of the expected ways, but what also emerges from this raucously funny and offbeat tentacle-obsessed tale is one of connection.

Whether it's the relationship between the mothers and both their siblings, or Mary and Boo, or even Mary and the doctor who sees her (Brugh, in fine fettle), the film makes great fist of quick quips, classic one-liners and insights into the different kind of relationships which emerge from the banalities of life.

With some truly impressive effects and a great grounded performance from Lynch, Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant does more than just prove to be a crowd-pleasing late night film. It has a heart and an inherent commitment to its premise that's infectious and enjoyable.

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is destined for cult classic status - and that's no bad thing for a film that's so clearly based in the out of this world fantasies, it's the down to earth moments which impress and endure the most.

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for times, see nziff.co.nz