Tom's Reviews

Otherlife is not a great film and that's a shame. It is a film with a plot of too great a scale for its own good and it misses the chance to make good of the material they had. This film looks good and I'll give it that; it has some beautiful visuals and creative set choices including a rather horrifying and claustrophobic prison. There are also some clever visual effects such as the moments when characters go in and out of Otherlife and when Otherlife begins to fail. The acting in this film is also pretty good, and it's always nice to hear Australian accents. While there are some questionable performances, the leading lady Jessica De Gouw (The Rezort), who plays Ren, is convincing every step of the way as a troubled and obsessed individual whose goal is to save her brother. A very ambitious goal I may add. But while this film's exterior is shiny and full of style, its interior feels shallow and dull. Otherlife , from director Ben C. Lucas (Wasted On The Young), follo...

I'm in love with Asperger's Are Us . It's a heart-warming and unflinchingly honest documentary with so much passion and love that watching it feels not only educational, but fun and best of all inspirational. Asperger's Are Us is a documentary by Alex Lehmann (Blue Jay) that takes a look at four friends on the Autism Spectrum and the weeks before their final comedy show. They form the Asperger's Are Us comedy troupe, and they're all incredibly funny. Through the documentary we get to see their lives, how they deal with their parents, and each other, and their goals and passions for the future.  Asperger's Are Us excels in every department. It is a beautiful looking documentary with some gorgeous looking B-roll footage of the urban landscapes; the camera, when interviewing the comedy troupe, feels alive as it follows the friends around capturing every little moment in those few weeks. It adds so much more depth than a standard form of interview wit...

The One I Love is a predictable and depressing journey. That's not to say it's bad, not in the slightest, rather it's a hard watch, but a rewarding one at that.  The One I Love is about Ethan (Mark Duplass, Blue Jay) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss, The Square) a couple who've fallen out of love, and by instruction from their therapist, retreat to a nice home to rekindle what they've lost. On the surface it sounds like a standard romantic fare, but this film is often anything but; it is a complex mystery that offers twists and turns and moments of extreme discomfort. I don't want to say too much about The One I Love, it's just more enjoyable the less you know. But, rest assured this film's main purpose is to make you sad.  The script by Justin Lader (The Discovery) tackles ordinary fears about relationships, and creates both sympathetic yet dis-likable characters. Ethan has cheated on Sophie, but Sophie's actions throughout the film are no better. ...

I'm Here is a short film by Spike Jonze (Her) and while it never left a lasting impression, it's a lovable and interesting short that is sure to entertain and make you smile while you watch it. I'm Here is a film about two robots Sheldon (Andrew Garfield, Silence) and Francesca (Sienna Guillory, High-Rise) who fall in love. The plot really is as simple as that, which is both a blessing and a problem. It doesn't feel as if Spike Jonze had anything to say with this film. On the one hand it's a  beautifully shot and written film about two lovers (who just so happen to also be robots) and on the other it is about two underdeveloped characters living in an undeveloped world. There's a lot to this movie, and none of it really melds well together. Firstly, while the characters' relationship is "cute" and the time they spend together feels romantic and makes you long for such a relationship, as people, they never really develop. Sheldon is a nice guy ...

Circle is an odd film. In regards to its technical aspects it seems somewhat lacking. Its production value appears low, its cinematography isn't perfect, its editing is standard, and its special effects (while few and far between) aren't spectacular. The acting in this movie is sub-par, and the film only lasts an hour and a half leaving not too much time to develop 50 individual characters. AND YET this film is a thrilling and unbelievably enjoyable ride for its entire run time and a film I would willingly watch more than once. Circle is a film about fifty people who find themselves trapped in a mysterious room. They can't move or they face death, they can't touch each other (or death), and every two minutes they must vote for one of them to die (so death). It's not the most original plot, but it lends itself nicely to building tension and some compelling, and not so compelling (they die) arguments. It is not really clear why they're there and it's their...