Author: Joel Fisher

LT (Tory Kittles) is a veteran whose demons still plague him. Having lost people close to him during his time serving his country, he turned to drugs in order to cope. However, now has a purpose and tries to put things right wherever he can by recovering people who have been kidnapped.

Then one day, Lola Gomez (Libe Barer) comes to see him and asks him to do a job for her. Her cousin has been kidnapped and due to her family’s line of work, she can’t go to the police to get her back. So, LT finds himself partnered with a drug kingpin’s daughter in order to get back an innocent girl from the wrong people. However, Lola may not be entirely prepared for what LT is willing to do.

Among the Beasts is a crime thriller written and directed by Matthew Newton. Starting out as something which audiences may have seen in things like Taken and The Equalizer, audiences may decide that they know how the plot may progress. However, with good performances from Kittles and Barer, there’s a little more nuance beyond what could have just been mindless violence.

Whilst a very typical story and one that plays out like a modern-day western, Among the Beasts doesn’t have the luxury or the ethics to focus on glorified violence. Instead, Lola plays as the conscience to the movie which puts her in deeper than she was ever prepared to go.

What starts out with her as participating in the most disturbing thing that LT has to do, Lola’s journey soon starts to make her question who she has sided with.

However, despite this message, it does feel a little like Among the Beasts is pulling its punches, especially in the final act where the violence takes over to give the audience what they want. Saying this though, Among the Beasts is a satisfying thriller which manages to do something a little differently than most in its genre.

With the hint of a sequel as well, the return of LT and his quest for redemption may not be unwelcome.

George (Maurice LaMarche) and Charlie (Charles M. Howell IV) are a writing duo who have differing tastes. George wants something that sells with commercial appeal while Charlie wants something with more substance which will give audiences something to think over while watching his play.

They can’t even decide whether they want their script to be a movie or a play in the first place, all they can agree on that it has to involve a murder. However, the more they disagree the more outlandish and far-fetched their ideas become.

Murder, Anyone? is a movie based on the play of the same name written by Gordon Bressack, directed by his son, James Cullen Bressack. With many original cast members returning and friends of Gordon amongst the cast, it serves as a fitting tribute to their friend who passed in 2019.

However, for those who are unfamiliar with Bressack’s work then there may be a lot to get through and unfortunately without going to the theatre, this may be the only way his work will be judged.

Going through the movie, George and Charlie argue about the many different directions that their script could go. They build upon characters, add various plot twists and even throw things in to make it more exciting. Serving as a writer practically talking to himself as he struggles with art versus commercialism, there’s a discussion there about being true to your vision and just giving an audience what they want.

The trouble is that the observations that are made are all too commonly considered by a wider audience anyway, which suggests that a certain fanbase may enjoy its satire while others may not. Also, turning the play into a movie has its issues because the way it’s filmed does not seem all that cinematic. Cutting back and forth between the writers and cast as they adjust their writing is funny at first, but extended scenes of actors deliberating hamming it up may grate on the audience.

However, Murder, Anyone? has good intentions and it cannot be criticised for not being made with love. A play turned movie made by friends for their good friend may find an audience, but perhaps only those who have already seen the play.

Suzano (Johnny Massaro) is a young gay man living in Brazil at the start of the eighties. He has an active sex and social life and he doesn’t realise what is just around the corner. Rose (Renata Carvalho) is a transgender woman who’s not afraid to be who she is and wears her identity with pride.

Railing against the world and its prejudices, Rose lives life out loud and be damned anybody who says she should do otherwise. However, both Suzano and Rose are about to fall ill under the AIDS virus at a time where very little was known, putting their characters are put to the test.

The First Fallen (or Os Premieros Soldados in Portugese) is a poignant and emotional story about the AIDS virus being discovered in Brazil. Showing their lives as they interact with their community, both Suzano and Rose’s stories are told while intermingling with each other. Set early on where nobody knew what to do, it tells a story of tragedy as well as strength.

However, The First Fallen is not just a story about the many people who had died due to AIDS and it isn’t meant as a way to document how it all started. Instead, it serves as a bold reminder that when the unknown strikes, people don’t seem to care.

Both Massaro and Carvalho give powerful and nuanced performances in their own ways. Rose could have been a cliched trans character fighting against the world that doesn’t understand her, but instead she is shown as someone merely who wants to exist.

As Salvano’s condition gets worse, thankfully the film does not marvel over the lengths to which Massaro went in order to portray it properly. It just shows two people trying to cling on to life with hope still in their hearts.

Using an engaging structure which brings their stories back and forth until the final act, The First Fallen shows how lives were turned upside down and taken out at a moments notice with very little care. A timely reminder that no matter what, life is precious and fleeting.

What started out as one thing, turned into something totally different for director Treasa O’Brien. Looking to do an experimental movie about the changing face of Ireland due to immigration, O’Brien was encouraged and enthralled by the people that she met and how they all shared the same morals and values.

Each of them call Ireland their home despite coming from many different countries spanning the globe. Although their stories are wide and varied, O’Brien manages to show just how similar we really are.

Town of Strangers is a documentary which was spawned from director Treasa O’Brien and became something she probably never imagined, all because of the people that she met. Initially setting up auditions set up in the town of Gort for her experimental film, O’Brien lets the audience sit back and listen to the stories which brought them all to Ireland.

Most of their stories are tinged with a hint of tragedy due to either where they came from or their family issues, but their sense of belonging and a need to be settled is something that runs through all of them.

There are many different stories ranging from a family emigrating, a father becoming estranged from his family and a woman losing touch with her mother. Showing that they may well be A Town of Strangers, but together they have found home.

Somewhat refreshingly from other documentaries that may feature immigration, Town of Strangers doesn’t want to dwell on the oppressive issues that immigrants may face. Instead, showing how they are all the same in many ways may help the audience to empathise and relate to their stories. With immigration being an issue, which is often brought up by the right as a damaging effect on our countries, A Town of Strangers just shows people as humans and doesn’t do so with a heavy hand.

With the state of the world in the way that it is right now with many divides between race, gender, sexuality and even age, O’Brien’s documentary brings everything down to a human level and celebrates our commonality rather than our differences.

Rockit (Rasmus King) is a free-spirited boy living with his dad, Bosch (Luke Hemsworth). He feels at his best when he’s surfing, but he’s also feeling the pressures of his classmates as he’s falling behind. Although his father shares a similar interest, he’s opted for a criminal past to provide for his son and it soon comes under threat when his operation is exposed.

So, taking Rockit out of school, he tells him that they’re going on an extended holiday and Rockit is delighted to be on an adventure with his dad. However, the police are on their trail and sooner or later both father and son will have to face the music.

Ocean Boy (otherwise known as Bosch & Rockit) is an Australian coming of age drama directed by Tyler Atkins and co-written by Drue Metz. Filmed along the beautiful Australian Coast, the story follows the father and son as the audience gets to know how they’ve come this far in their relationship.

Having a somewhat unconventional bond, Bosch and Rockit treat each other like best friends rather than father and son which raises questions about the boundaries that Bosch has set. They see nothing wrong with swearing and joking with each other and that raises some eyebrows of the people they meet on their journey.

The story of a father and son who bond on a journey only for the son to realise things about his father he never knew is certainly an endearing one and King plays Rockit as wide eyed and trusting which makes it believable. However, amongst the issues with the film, a younger actor could have been easier to believe as Rockit’s naivety clouds his judgment.

Also the mixture of a crime drama going on in the background and the language used in the film may not be suitable for a younger audience and the father/son journey may bore an older one. Similarly, the friendship between Rockit and Ash-Ash (Savannah La Rain) suffers because although it’s very sweet, it doesn’t ring true of people their age.

However, Bosch and Rockit is pleasant enough to watch. Although the story may fall into a lull once Hemsworth disappears, King is also shown to be more than capable in a story which, like his character, wants to be mature but doesn’t quite get there.