My Review of Blue Film (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Elliot Tuttle

Aaron (to Hank): "Maybe I'm a pervert too but at least I'm not criminally horny."

I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time. I was aware it was a movie that had a very grim subject matter and I was curious to see how exactly the topic at hand would be handled.

This movie should also be a test in just how good people's media literacy skills are because if you're one of those who thinks that a certain character's actions are condoned, I don't know what to say to you. I do actually - go back and watch the film again.

The movie opened with a webcam guy named Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore) doing a live show and taking delight in draining his paypigs. If you're aware of findom, let's just say this felt a little too well researched. It's accuracy on another level. Let's also just say that opening scene didn't feel like a parody or half assed.

Anyways, Aaron's story involved him making a house call for $50,000 to a mystery man (Reed Birney) wearing a balaclava. The mystery man was keen on getting to know Aaron, which annoyed the latter. Then there was the big reveal itself and that's where this movie began to take a darker turn.

The mystery man was a former teacher of Aaron's named, Hank Grant and getting to the grim subject matter itself, Hank had a history of inappropriate behaviour towards boys. There's repeated talk of Hank being sent to prison for attempting to assault a former classmate of Aaron's and Hank admitted that he had an attraction to a younger Aaron.

While Hank definitely tried to provide context for the way he was as well as expressing some awareness into his depravity, that didn't stop him from acting out one of his fantasies with Aaron. It's one of the most disturbing scenes in the entire film and one of several moments that also shook Aaron's own bravado.

There's frank discussions on Aaron's sexuality and whether or not being into findom empowered or weakened him. Aaron claimed it didn't weaken him while also opening up to Hank about a past lover he regretted losing. Hank also talked about renewing his faith in religion, which Aaron did seem sceptical about.

The morning after everything that transpired in the movie served a cold light on both men. Is someone like Hank capable of keeping himself in check? I doubt it. Did that night change Aaron for the better or for the worst? I think him singing in the shower was meant to show some sort of catharsis.

- Aaron's real name was Alex McConnell. He lied to Hank about his aunt being inappropriate towards him. Raphael was the guy he let slip away.

- Hank mentioned having his grandfather's name, being an abuse victim of his grandfather with his mother sacrificing him to protect Hank's siblings.

- Aaron smoked, drank, did pot but also labelled himself "California Sober". Hank had given up drinking but chugged beers when told to. Both men ate pizza.

- Hank gave Aaron the $50,000 as well as school photos of both himself and Aaron. Hank originally intended to record their encounter but changed his mind. He also talked about pederasts.

- Standout music: Isaac Eiger did a great score as well as that song Aaron was singing at the end in the shower.

- Chronology: Present day Los Angeles. Both Aaron and Hank were from Bedford. Hank now worked at the Stop N Save.

Blue Film (2025) easily will terrify more than any horror film you'll watch this year. It's easily one of the most unsettling movies I've ever watched and it's grim subject matter didn't make for easy viewing. Saying that, there needs be a conversation about Kieron Moore and Reed Birney because both men give the most compelling performances I've seen this year. They should be getting included into awards conversation but I do think the subject matter will likely derail that. This movie will definitely stay in your mind.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Blue (1993)

 

Written And Directed by Derek Jarman

Derek Jarman: "Hell on Earth is a waiting room."

I'm hoping to watch all of Jarman's filmography before this year ends but for Pride, I thought I'd take a look into his final film. Well, it's more or a documentary and a rather unconventional one to boot.

Towards the end of his life, Derek Jarman had HIV and passed away from it. This film meets documentary was a Frank discussion of the very topic of HIV and AIDS. There's a bold description of Jarman losing his sight, which also explained the chosen format for this movie.

Blue wasn't just the title of the movie. It was a character within the film itself. It's a character that fights with other colours like yellow for example. It's both character and colour throughout the movie.

It's also a look into Jarman's life (naturally) as it depicted how he would talk about the war in Sarajevo with friends while coming to grips with being a gay man living with AIDS in 1990s London. There's talk of the amount of tablets he needed to take per day and the taste of them. It's very frank in it's handling of the subject matter. Unapologetically so.

A recurring factor in the film was Jarman's discussion of certain men - David. Howard. Graham. Terry. Paul. They're friends and former lovers and men who profoundly impacted Jarman, hence the fact that they're mentioned so frequently throughout proceedings.

- Derek Jarman narrated this film but there was also narration from Tilda Swinton, John Quentin and Nigel Terry.

- The movie's entirely a blue screen. At this point, Jarman was physically and visually impaired.

- Standout music: The use of Tibetan bells are frequent but effective.

- Chronology: 1990s London of course.

Blue (1993) made for a poignant final film from Derek Jarman. It's shorter than some of his previous efforts and the use of a blue screen throughout certainly had the desire effect. It's frank take on the director's ending days definitely struck a chord. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Lizzie (2018)

 

Written by Bryce Kass

Directed by Craig William Macneill

Lizzie: "Men don't have to know things, Bridget. Women do."

Later on this year, I intend to cover Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story but before I do such a thing, I thought I'd cover this movie. Funnily enough, two of Ryan Murphy's alumni are in this one.

First up would be Chloë Sevigny herself. She got to play Lizzie Borden herself and it's a take that's relatively sympathetic to the infamous axe murderer. Prior to the murders themselves, time was spent getting to know Lizzie as a person.

As a person, Lizzie was something of a social oddity. Her father, Andrew (Jamey Sheridan) saw her as nothing more than an embarrassment and the two of them had an openly combative relationship. Andrew didn't exactly endear himself by killing her pigeons and serving them as dinner either.

Lizzie's relationships with other family members weren't as great either. Lizzie might have been more cordial with her older sister, Emma (Kim Dickens) but she was openly hostile to stepmother, Abby (Fiona Shaw). There was also a rather venomous hatred between Lizzie and her uncle John Morse (Denis O'Hare). The latter in particular was rather misogynistic towards Lizzie.

As for the most complicated relationship of the piece - there was Lizzie's relationship with Irish maid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart). The movie did explore a romance between the two that eventually devolved in light of events. 

The movie depicted both Lizzie and Bridget being responsible for the deaths of Abby and Andrew. The latter had also been abusing Bridget, which did give her a motive to assist Lizzie. Of course both women got away with the crime before going their separate ways.

- The movie made it clear that Emma suspected Lizzie and Bridget of the crime but that she didn't want her sister punished. John was also considered a suspect.

- The photograph of Lizzie's mother, Sarah was actually a photo of the real life person. 

- Standout music: Alfredo Catalani's Ebben? Ne Andrò Lontana From 'La Wally', Act I.

- Chronology: Six months beforehand and then the murder itself on August 4th 1892. Lizzie died at the age of 66.

Lizzie (2018) turned out to be a decent portrayal of the infamous axe murderer. Solid script, direction and performances overall helped with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "Into The New World"

 

Written by Serena Wu

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Superman (to Bizarro): "Your choice will change the future in ways you and I can't imagine."

It's been two years since the second season finale and with the possibility that the show might not get a fourth season, this opening episode certainly kicked off a bit of a mission statement.

First of all, we've got a really lovely Core Four with Superman, Supergirl, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. I mean we had that since last season but it's very apparent in this opening episode and it was a nice way of freshening up the show's dynamic. 

Throw in a nice Halloween subplot and the return of Sam Lane, the crux of this episode focused on Project Calliban. It brought our Core Four together to investigate and it also introduced us to Bizarro. 

As a character, Bizarro has been tackled a lot in recent years with each version going for the sympathetic route. This show will be no different in that regard with Superman and Bizarro even teaming up against other baddies during the big scuffle.

Now what about Lex Luthor? Last time he threw his lot in with Amanda Waller and Slade Wilson. During the final scene of this episode we were getting the origin of Cyborg Superman as Lex found a use for the badly wounded and barely alive Hank Henshaw.

- Supergirl got taunted by Brainiac over her new perspective and there was the use of Dr George Otto Binder who raised Brainiac with love.

- Both Jimmy and Kara dressed as characters from Challengers Of The Unknown. Clark really liked Halloween.

- Both Superman and Supergirl got costume upgraded and the opening credits were also upgraded.

- Chronology: A while since the events of the second season.

Into The New World was a good opening episode. The Core Four dynamic worked very well and I really liked the use of Bizarro and set up for Cyborg Superman.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of It's Only The End Of The World (2016)

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Martine (to Louis): "I don't understand you. But I love you. I love you. No one will take that away from me."

Six movies into this director and I've encountered one that didn't quite click as it should've. It's a bit of a shame but I guess it was inevitable. On paper, the idea was good. The execution just didn't come together as well as previous efforts have done.

Focusing on a playwright named Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), we got to see him return home to his family after twelve years and it's a very tension filled reunion. Along with the distance of time since last seeing them, Louis's also hiding the fact that he's got a terminal illness.

Louis's family included his mother, Martine (Nathalie Baye), younger sister Suzanne (Léa Seydoux) as well as older brother, Antoine (Vincent Cassel) and thd latter's wife, Catherine (Marion Cotillard). Louis got to have moments where he would have individual conversations with each of them.

Catherine made the effort to try and fill Louis in on her family life with Antoine but the latter was convinced that Louis had no interest in their lives. Throughout the entire, Antoine was completely hostile towards his younger brother.

There's fraught moments with Suzanne and Martine as Louis tried to reconcile with both of them. An entire family lunch started off well but descended into chaos. Wanting to see an old family home brought up a lot of bad feelings for everyone.

The last few moments are brutal and frustrating. Louis never came clean to his family about having a terminal illness and his last memory of them was Antoine trying to physically assault him. It's a very nihilistic ending to the movie that didn't sit well with me.

- The movie's based on the 1990 play by Jean-Luc Lagarce. It had a French only cast this time around. Louis had a lover named Pierre, who had died.

- Since the movie's release, both Gaspard Ulliel and Nathalie Baye have sadly passed away.

- Standout music: Camille's Home Is Where It Hurts.

- Chronology: Takes place known only as "Somewhere" but was filmed where Dolan films his movies in general.

It's Only The End Of The World had a great idea and I'll credit Xavier Dolan for trying to adapt a complex play. It's just his weakest film so far, in spite of a great lead performance from Gaspard Ulliel.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Mommy (2014)

 

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Steve: "We still love each other, right?"

Die: "That's what we're best at, buddy."

I'm back on my Xavier Dolan catch up and oh look, it's another movie that delved into the theme of mother's and sons. After I Killed My Mother, what else could he possibly say on the matter?

If this movie was anything to go, apparently a lot. In this film you've got Diane "Die" Després (Anne Dorval), an advice columnist and widow with a volatile son named Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon). Let's just say their whole relationship was dysfunctional as fuck to watch.

Steve's got a history of violent outbursts and Die's no better as she physically lashed out at him during one particularly heated confrontation early in the movie. In a lot of ways, it did feel like she was enabling her son's worst impulses.

Then there's the neighbour, Kyla (Suzanne Clément). She had a husband and daughter of her own but she lost a son and she ended up being pulled into Die and Steve's orbit. There's a moment in the movie where I thought her interactions with Steve were going to seriously cross a certain line but it didn't. I was a bit relieved about that.

As the movie went along, Kyla seemed to be like a second mother (or substitute father) for Steve. That was something that Die almost seemed to encourage given the time the three were all spending with one another. Then there was Steve's attempts to take his life during a trip to the supermarket.

The movie did a good job of showing Die running out of options in order to help her son. Having him committed was the only one she had left. There's something devastating about her being all alone with Steve incarcerated and Kyla opting to move to Toronto. As for the final scene with Steve, that was certainly a way to end things.

- S-14 allowed low income families to have loved ones placed in hospitals without regard for fundamental justice. Steve has ADHD and an attachment disorder.

- There's a rather aspect ratio used for this film that took a little getting used to.

- Standout music: Counting Crows Colorblind, Ludovico Einaudi's Experience and Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.

- Chronology: Set in 2015, depicting a fictional outcome of the Canadian federal election.

Mommy (2014) continued a popular theme in Xavier Dolan's work and arguably in a darker manner than his debut film. It's a very strong film with three very compelling central performances and no easy answers given to the volatile mother/son relationship at the heart of it.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

 

Written by Neal Marshall Stevens And Richard D'Ovidio And Robb White

Directed by Steve Beck

Dennis: "Did I say there's a petting zoo downstairs? No! There are ghosts downstairs, Arthur!"

Yesterday I reviewed the much better 13 Ghosts (1960), so today it's the turn of the much inferior remake from 2001. Make no mistake, this one verged on being a right stinker.

Opening with the seeming death of ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos (F. Murray Abraham) during a junkyard mission gone wrong. For Cyrus's assistant, Dennis Rafkin (Matthew Lillard), his mission went awry and most of his team were killed.

That was the opening scene. From that point onwards, there was a focus on Cyrus's nephew, Arthur (Tony Shalhoub), his children Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alec Roberts) and the housekeeper, Maggie Bess (Rah Digga). Arthur's a widower and the loss was still pretty raw for him.

Inheriting his uncle's house from the lawyer, Ben Moss (JR Bourne) put him in a position where he'd be confronted by the exact number of ghosts as the movie's title. There's a machine that needed thirteen ghosts and it turned out that someone wasn't dead after all.

Uncle Cyrus and his partner, Kalina Oretzia (Embeth Davidtz) were determined to get a family sacrifice in order to activate the machine and access a powerful device and it almost worked as well. If only Arthur hadn't figured out how to be a better father and thus foiling Cyrus's great scheme.

Unlike the 1960 version where some of the characters were a bit more likable, this version had characters who were either bland or annoying or both. I can't think of a single I liked in this one at all.

- The ghosts varied from a First Born Son, a Torso, a Bound Woman, Withered Lover (Jean), an Angry Princess and a Torned Prince to name a few.

- James Gunn apparently did some uncredited rewrites on this film. It's definitely not his best work.

- Standout music: Tricky's Excess.

- Chronology: Arthur had been a widower for a while. Jean had died in a house fire.

This was a largely dire remake from the early 2000s. Thirteen Ghosts straight up just sucks when you compare it to the 1960 version. I almost regret bothering with this one. It's not worth your time.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of 13 Ghosts (1960)

 

Written by Robb White

Directed by William Castle 

Buck: "You really are a witch, aren't you?"

Elaine: "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies."

I opted for some 1960s horror last night and went for this one. It was something of an interesting choice. A family inherit a house and some of the former occupants still linger around the place. As they do.

The family in question are Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods), his wife Hilda (Rosemary DeCamp) as well as their children Medea (Jo Morrow) and Buck aka Arthur (Charles Herbert). The house was bequeathed to them by Cyrus's deceased uncle, Dr. Plato Zorba and came with a maid named Elaine Zacharides (Margaret Hamilton).

For most of this movie, Buck assumed that Elaine was a witch and she did nothing to correct him on the matter. In fact, she went out of her way to confirm his assumptions. At the very least, she was involved in occult activities with Plato and lawyer Benjamin Rush (Martin Milner). Yup, this was a house full of ghosts.

The one who seemed the most perceptive to the ghosts was Buck himself and he took great delight in telling his parents about the ghosts in question. There's also a subplot involving missing money that Plato had, which had Benjamin working with Buck to try and find the money. There's also a rather half baked romantic subplot with Benjamin and Medea that added little to proceedings.

Anyways the ghosts themselves are a lively enough lot. There's thirteen of them as the title promised and it's up to Elaine to try and keep them in line. Of course, it was the deceitful Benjamin that became the thirteenth ghost after his treachery and attempts to kill Buck came about. 

As for the ghosts, I liked that the ending implied they weren't gone and that only Buck and Elaine were aware of that. Buck in particular seemed rather gleeful about the idea of them sticking around. The last scene with Elaine ended it on a suitable note.

- William Castle provided the opening and closing moments trying to convince audiences that ghosts were real. He convinced me.

- There's a 2001 remake of this movie that I intend to watch later this month.

- I liked the use of the blue and red filters at different points in the film to confirm the ghosts.

- Chronology: Set during a few days upon Cyrus and his family moving into that house.

Not the spookiest ghost story I've seen but 13 Ghosts certainly made for a strong supernatural horror fest. If William Castle can't convince you of the existence of ghosts, then no one will. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Sheep Detectives (2026)

 

Written by Craig Mazin

Directed by Kyle Balda

Lily (to the flock): "Our shepherd was murdered! And we shall solve the crime!"

What would happen if you traded Babe for sheep and threw them into a Knives Out style adventure? You'd get this absolute delight of a movie and be happy for it.

Hugh Jackman has played many an interesting role in his career but we can add shepherd George Hardy to that list. He's a simple who had testy relationships with various people in his village but enjoyed nothing more than reading detective stories to his sheep. Then he's murdered and it's up to his flock to solve his murder

Yup, that's the premise of this movie. What about George's flock then? They're sort of led by Shetland sheep Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) but there also Cloud (Regina Hall), Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), Sir Richfield (Patrick Stewart), Mopple (Chris O'Dowd), Zora (Bella Ramsay), twins Reggie and Ronnie (Brett Goldstein) and Wool Eyes (Rhys Darby). There was also young lambs such as Daisy (Aroop Shergill), Oliver (Jasper Ambrose) and Pickle (Ishi Agrawal). Not to mention a winter lamb (Tommy Birchall) that was the outside of the group.

What about the actual humans of the movie? Well, you have got a somewhat well meaning but bumbling local police officer named Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun). It was up to him to solve George's murder but he really needed assistance of the woolly kind and I mean he needed it a lot. It did take him a while to get a clue.

Looking at the suspects, it was kind of obvious that journalist Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine) would turn out to be the killer as well as George's long lost son. Even I knew that long lost daughter Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon) would be innocent in spite of the evidence initially against her along with Lily not believing her at first. The winter lamb on the other hand believed in Rebecca's innocence from the get go.

The rest of the human characters took fun turns. Fellow shepherd Caleb Merrow (Tosin Cole) initially seemed like a nice guy but was in cahoots with local butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleith Hill). The Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) had a guilty conscience but helped George for a price while standoffish innkeeper Beth Pennock (Hong Chau) harboured feelings for George he didn't reciprocate.

It's a good mix of of fun but flawed characters. All of whom did present as reasonable upon the reveal that George had sold a patent for curing sheep that was worth millions. Throw in a fun supporting role from Emma Thompson as George's lawyer, Lydia Harbottle and a good time was had here.

- The winter lamb was eventually named George by Lily. Lily was named after the human George's dead wife.

- Rebecca not only kept her father's land and sheep but she also bought Caleb's sheep as well. The Sheep believed they could turn into clouds.

- Standout music: The Proclaimers I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

- Chronology: Set in the English village of Denbrook. Rebecca was in America and Elliot had been in South Africa before they arrived in Denbrook.

I really enjoyed this one. The Sheep Detectives was so much fun with a great voice cast and a great human cast to boot. It's genuinely funny, it's genuinely good natured and sweet and while I figured out who the killer was early on, building to the reveal was expertly handled.

Rating: 8 out of 10