Wish: Disney+ Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pine, Ariana DeBose, Alan Tudyk, Victor Garber
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn

Disney's latest, aimed at celebrating its 100 years of creating magic and wonder, literally takes a course into its own marketing with this extension of When you wish upon a star.

Ariana DeBose plays Asha, a young woman who lives in the kingdom of Rosas, and who is hoping to become the apprentice of the seemingly benevolent chief sorcerer King Magnifico (Pine). But when Asha discovers the king hordes his subjects' wishes after they give them to him as part of a citizenship ceremony, she becomes disillusioned that nobody will ever get their true heart's desire.

Wishing upon a star one night, Asha sets in motion a series of events that will change the kingdom of Rosas forever.

Wish is a curious mix of hand-drawn and CGI animation and appears to be part of the larger Disney 100 celebrations. Look carefully in the woodland scenes and you'll see famous inhabitants from the past - though in truth, Wish doesn't need you to look carefully as it aggressively rams down your throat its echoes of the past in ways that shun any kind of subtlety.

While it's blessed with many musical elements, Disney's Wish feels like it loses its way somewhat in the narrative and becomes more obsessed in being a celebration and a marketing exercise even though the film's heart is in the right place.

Pine and DeBose make for good leads, with Pine particularly leaning into the more malevolent edges with real ease, but Wish itself feels a little flat in parts, despite the family elements being clearly on show. Some of the magic is lost in the film, which is deeply ironic given how much the movie leans on the magic.

It's not entirely a disaster and perhaps the younger end of the audience may be charmed by some of its cuter elements; but there is a message in Wish's central story that's hard to shake.

Its citizens lose part of their soul when they give up their dreams for Magnifico - perhaps in truth, Disney has lost some of its magic for older audiences and needs to get back to providing wonder and awe, rather than just leaning heavily on nostalgia to try and drive the feelings of the past into the minds of the present and future.

Civil War: Movie Review

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Caillee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons

Director: Alex Garland

Less a polemic and more an incendiary cautionary message-led film, Alex Garland's Civil War is an assault on the senses - even if its story cliches can be seen coming a mile off.

Against a backdrop of a dystopian future America, ripped asunder by civil war, Dunst plays embittered war photographer Lee, who, along with her colleague (Moura), is determined to get to Washington D.C. with a single mission of talking to the President (Offerman, channeling obvious topical tyrants).

But there's danger along the way, from marauding military factions, to civilians taking the law into their own hands - and coupled with the fact journalists are shot on sight in DC and Lee's been landed with a young would-be photographer (Elvis' Spaeny) charge, their journey is more than just a potential suicide mission.

While throwaway lines build some context to what has been happening, and serve as chunks of exposition, Garland is less interested in hand-holding or deepening any mythology about the cessationists and more keen to focus on the visual horrors that unfold.

From men hanging from makeshift gallows in car washes, to bodies littering the ground at American institutions such as a Winter Wonderland, Civil War is essentially a travelogue masquerading as a live photo exhibition that offers horrific insight into the brutality humans can inflict on each other.

While the storyline of Lee and her unwanted protege is somewhat of a cliche, and has a trajectory you can see coming a mile off, the interaction between the group of photo journalists - the younger, the weary and the old (Henderson) - feels real, lived in and offers a dynamic that yields much reward. And a cameo by Jesse Plemons is brutally tense and shocking.

But it's in the viscera that Civil War soars.

A white-knuckle ride throughout, that offers sickening tension and knots to the stomach, Garland's view of the world is terrifying. Bombs, explosions, bullets, planes overhead and in-street fighting gives the film a raw brutality that's hard to shake - equally the needledrops throughout proffer horrifying juxtapositions of what's transpiring.

The filmmakers are not afraid to use silence to maximum effect as well - it really is a film where the soundscape and the less-is-more approach achieves more than overplaying a hand with a trite message ever could.

Best experienced with no knowledge, Civil War is a film that rises above some of its flaws. It will stay with you long after, and while its story is somewhat formulaic, it's no less compelling and galvanising than it should be.

The First Omen: Movie Review

Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga
Director: Arkasha Stevenson

Skirting dangerously close to the same ideas as Sydney Sweeney's recent release Immaculate, The First Omen delivers a slice of period chills that feels like a very slow burn in places, and feels somewhat stymied by the fact it has to segue into the 1976 original film which birthed Damien into the world.

However, director Arkasha Stevenson's latest, the sixth Omen story in the franchise, benefits greatly from an impressive performance by Nell Tiger Free as novitiate Margaret, who's called to a Rome convent and orphanage by Bill Nighy's avuncular priest.

Upon her arrival, Margaret's life becomes intertwined with that of a segregated young girl and of a desperate ex-communicated priest who warns her trouble lies ahead...

With an atmosphere of foreboding and an increasing sense of tension, Stevenson's film delivers on the requisite jump scare moments you'd expect from the horror genre as well as a sense of tension - even if the film has to reach a foregone conclusion to bridge its way into the 1976 classic.

But it also benefits from the sheer physicality of Apple TV+'s Servant star Nell Tiger Free, who in one scene late in the movie blows everything off the screen with just one single moment. There's subtlety in her performance throughout though that is occasionally lacking elsewhere as the tone becomes more hysterical.

Nighy and Ineson are saddled with the great weight of exposition throughout, so much so that in its final strait, the movie becomes bogged down in its own Omen mythology as it rushes to its pre-ordained denouement.

Yet the ride to get to that point is more than satisfying thanks to its visceral and searing take on abuse within the Catholic Church.

From tensions over whether Margaret is hallucinating to explosive riots troubling 1970s Italy, the film does its best to unnerve, unhinge and generally upset. With explicit body horror moments and some deeply unsettling imagery, it largely succeeds.

But an over-reliance on schlock rather than shock cripples The First Omen from keeping its intentions pure, instead providing a devilish journey to a pre-destined point that has some bite, and is the perfect Autumn late night treat as the dark nights draw in.

Monkey Man: Movie Review

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sikandar Kher, Ashwini Kalsekar
Director: Dev Patel

Dev Patel's directorial debut takes us through the slum worlds once again en route to a revenge film via a prism of cultural sensitivity and spiritualism.

The end result is a film the essence we've seen many times before but an aesthetic that feels as fresh as it is frenetic.

Through flashbacks and glimpses Patel fleshes out his character Bobby's back story, weaving hints of Hinduism and mythology as he goes. His Bobby may have sprung to life out of tragedy and trauma but Patel keeps a strong grip on what makes his journey so compelling and humane.

Whether it's the weaving through the slums, the hints of Bollywood or humanizing the transgender /queer community, Patel's eye for clarity signals Monkey Man's difference throughout.

While there are plenty of frenetic edits, rendering neon soaked vistas or high class VIP clubs places of vibrancy and danger, Monkey Man isn't afraid to slow it down and give some of the story a chance to breathe.

But that's also to Monkey Man's detriment as the script becomes over reliant on exposition and clearly explaining the parallels between the quoted Hanuman myth and Bobby's situation.

And while it doesn't rob the film of its edge, it does serve to show how occasionally surface level and shallow it can be. That's not to say the flashbacks don't deliver the emotional payoff and explain Bobby's quest for payoff, but by their very nature they're not quite long enough to cover the occasional slow moments.

Yet, when it thrills, it does so magnificently and malevolently. Ultraviolent in parts, and pre-empting the John Wick comparisons by a throwaway reference, Patel's movie offers a glimpse of how tired tropes and genre exhaustion can be shaken up. 

It's a classy debut that offers up much in terms of vicarious over-the-top thrills, will please many audiences and shows that Patel has an eye for the fresh that will serve him well in future.

What's New on Netflix in April

Here's everything that is new on Netflix Australia & New Zealand in April.

HEARTBREAK HIGH: SEASON 2

Premieres on April 11, 2024 

All our heroes are back for Term Two at the “lowest ranking school in the district.” But fresh hotties, a new sports teacher and a mystery assailant, throw any hopes for a peaceful term into disarray, while the race for school captain is seeing dirty tactics run rife through Hartley High. Yep... It’s Term 2 bitches, and it’s more chaotic than ever. 

Starring: Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloe Hayden, Asher Yasbineck, Thomas Weatherall, Will McDonald, Sam Rechner, Josh Heuston, Gemma Chua-Tran, Bryn Chapman-Parish, Sherry-Lee Watson, Brodie Townsend, Rachel House, Angus Sampson, Chicka Ikogwe, Kartanya Maynard

REBEL MOON - PART TWO: THE SCARGIVER

Premieres on April 19, 2024 

The rebel warriors gear up for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld as unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge — and legends are made. A Zack Snyder film.

Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, Cleopatra Coleman, Stuart Martin, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Alfonso Herrera

RIPLEY

Premieres on April 4, 2024 

Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy and convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder. The limited series drama is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels.

Starring: Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn, Dakota Fanning

I WOKE UP A VAMPIRE: SEASON 2

Premieres on April 4, 2024 

Carmie starts high school, but a charming sophomore drives a wedge in her friend group. Can Carmie balance boys, school — and an ancient prophecy?

Starring: Kaileen Chang, Niko Ceci, Zebastin Borjeau

PARASYTE: THE GREY

Premieres on April 4, 2024 

When unidentified parasites violently take over human hosts and gain power, humanity must rise to combat the growing threat.

Starring: Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun

SCOOP

Premieres on April 5, 2024 

Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization gives an insider account of how the women of Newsnight secured Prince Andrew’s infamous interview.

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper, Rufus Sewell

JIMMY CARR: NATURAL BORN KILLER

Premieres on April 16, 2024 

Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.

Starring: Jimmy Carr

Country of Origin: Great Britain

OUR LIVING WORLD

Premieres on April 17, 2024 

This stunning nature series narrated by Cate Blanchett explores the intelligence, resourcefulness and interconnectedness of life on our planet.

Country of Origin: Great Britain

THE CIRCLE: SEASON 6

Premieres on April 17, 2024 

Status and strategy collide in this social experiment and competition show where online players flirt, befriend and catfish their way toward the ultimate cash prize as top influencer.

Starring: Michelle Buteau

Country of Origin: United States

DEADBOY DETECTIVES

Premieres on April 25, 2024 

Do you have a pesky ghost haunting you? Has a demon stolen your core memories? You may want to ring the Dead Boy Detectives.

Starring: George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Yuyu Kitamura

Country of Origin: United States

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis
Director: Francis Lawrence

At a bottom-bursting 2hours and 38 minutes, the Hunger Games prequel proves that bloated isn't always better, in this latest extension of the phenomenally popular Suzanne Collins series.

Set years before Katniss Everdeen brought down the Capitol and Panem, this latest focuses its attention squarely on Coriolanus Snow, the older version of whom was played by Donald Sutherland in the franchise and is embodied by Tom Blyth this time around.

With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he's assigned to mentor Rachel Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird from District 12 in the hope of reigniting the passion of the viewing public whose love of seeing people slaughtered live on TV is slowing.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is yet another exercise in dystopia, but it's also, sadly, an exercise in willpower.

Split into three distinct parts, the film often feels aimless, feels its weight and feels occasionally messy in its final unwanted act. There are also bizarrely distinctly - and perhaps unintentional - Nazi undertones as the blonde-haired Snow mentors the Roma-gypsy-like Baird ahead of the live massacre on TV.  It's an unwanted comparison perhaps, but one that springs uncomfortably to mind as the Taming of the Shrew / Pygmalion protege-mentor relationship progresses.

While Zegler has some presence and brings a different tone than Jennifer Lawrence's more gutsy Katniss, it does occasionally feel like she's silently releasing an album off the back of the film given how many songs she dispatches throughout.

Far more effective in the odd satire about media control and the power of the classes and society, but it feels old hat when compared to the energy and urgency of the original Hunger Games films.

It's also relentlessly dour throughout, with the washed out colours and dulled aesthetics almost blanching out any kind of emotional attachment to any of the proceedings. Sadly most of the 20 or so tributes feel like raced over characters and the idea of feeling anything for them in the slaughter is merely ensconced in the fact they are poorer constructs of people rather than fully-formed individuals.

Far worse is the bloated final third part of the movie which switches into an odd love story and a somehow rushed ending that doesn't entirely give Snow's backstory the edge it needs to propel him into evil. Perhaps Collins' desire to show that even the bad guys had good hearts once wasn't the strongest pull here. (Just ask Disney, who seem determined to endow their best baddies with troubled pasts to varying degrees of apathy in audiences.)

Viola Davis chews the scenery with aplomb and Jason Schwartzman brings life to his presenter, but in truth these are the few highlights that shine in amongst the bloat of the Ballad.

Perhaps splitting the narrative over two leads harmed investment in the characters, and while that may be an issue with the source material, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes can't recover from a fatal flaw that leaves it feeling more like a humourless dirge and a cash-in rather than a full narrative necessity.