In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on 1) Mel Gibson’s final appearance as Mad Max, 2) one of last year’s best documentaries, 3) last year’s much-discussed historical epic from Ridley Scott, 4) Danny Boyle’s directorial debut, and 5) a horror comedy cult classic.
F.A.Q.
- What are Additional Bite-Sized Reviews?
– My movie and television catch-up review series ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews‘ is an evolution of the Overview-article section previously titled ‘What I Didn’t Write About.’ In articles such as this one, I will provide my readers with my thoughts on select new films, new shows, or even classics that I feel like giving my thoughts on relatively briefly, since I don’t have the time to dedicate thorough reviews to them at this point in time. - Why do the bite-sized reviews not include either a letter grade or a review score?
– In my full and thorough reviews, I like to score or grade what I watch. But since these reviews aren’t as detailed, I think it is fairer to the films and shows to simply just decide whether or not to recommend them. I guess you could say this is the only type of review that is basically ‘scored’ with the classic thumbs-up/thumbs-down-method on my site, though sometimes my recommendation answer comes with a caveat.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome | Film | Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie | Screenplay by Terry Hayes and George Miller | Release Year: 1985 | Recommended?: Yes and no.
In Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Max Rockatansky (played by Mel Gibson) makes his way to a trading post known as ‘Bartertown’ following an attack on him in the wasteland. There, a powerful woman known as Aunty Entity (played by Tina Turner) offers to resupply him if he agrees to kill one of her main rivals. Later, Max is exiled and sent into a section of the wasteland, where he discovers a group of children who believe him to be their savior.
Beyond Thunderdome is certainly not without its moments. Frankly, I think the first 40-ish minutes are quite strong. The early Bartertown scenes are relatively gripping, and the actual Blaster-Thunderdome fight is a capital-g great action sequence that certainly looked like it had been a primary inspiration for the ‘Bonesaw Steel Cage Match’ in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), but I digress.
But, you see, the thing is that then the film changes completely when Max is exiled from Bartertown. It becomes what I initially thought felt more like Mad Max meets Hook than anything else. It is such a departure from the first 40 minutes and is tonally at odds with the series. I will say even the weaker chunks of the film have their moments, but it really is one of those instances where a significant portion of it is excellent, but then the rest of the film never gets close to that level of involvement or excitement again.
Beyond Utopia | Documentary | Directed by Madeleine Gavin| Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes.
If I remember correctly, the very first documentary that I actively sought out and was obsessed with was Mads Brügger’s The Red Chapel (orig. title: Det Røde Kapel) about a Danish filmmaker and journalist taking two comedians with him to North Korea, as he had fooled the regime into allowing them entry as a theatrical troupe interested in cultural exchange. Though occasionally also relatively funny, The Red Chapel is a very revealing film about propaganda, indoctrination, the lengths people will go to control a narrative, and also deception.
As I watched Beyond Utopia, Madeleine Gavin’s documentary about trying to save North Korean defectors, I was constantly reminded of Brügger’s film which, in comparison, is relatively superficial given his film never really (if I remember correctly) had the opportunity to burst their guided-propaganda-tour bubble. As for Beyond Utopia? Well, it feels like the definitive documentary about the cruel North Korean regime and the very real and human cost of living under it. Gavin’s documentary features incredible footage that exposes the living conditions in North Korea for what they really are, footage that details the arduous journey that defectors must go through to give themselves a chance at life, as well as several interviews that reveal how hard it is to live in that country or to know that your family and friends are forever stuck there.
It is an astoundingly good and revealing documentary that is absolutely devastating, harrowing, tense, and gripping. A must-watch that, to many, will both be eye-opening and emotionally shattering.
Napoleon | Film | Directed by Ridley Scott | Screenplay by David Scarpa | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes and no.
I am a sucker for historical epics, and I am also a big fan of Ridley Scott. So, of course, I was super excited to see what he would do with the story of Napoleon Bonaparte, the little Corsican who left a huge mark on French and world history in his function as a military leader and later Emperor of France. However, even prior to the film’s release in theaters and later on Apple TV+, it was widely known that Sir Ridley Scott intended to have a much longer director’s cut (supposedly with a four-hour run time) be released in the future. And, frankly, the overwhelming feeling that the original cut left me with was that it probably needed to be much longer. There are many things to like about the original cut, but it also just feels like an unfocused and slightly superficial stroll through history that both feels truncated, poorly paced (both rushing and dragging), and too long. That said, I am hopeful that a longer version could fix some of those issues.
Some people will be very bothered about the lack of French accents and the historical inaccuracies, but I am also willing to forgive these things as Scott never intended for it to be French and because historical films sometimes must adjust historical details to fit cinematic structures and arcs. What does work quite well is the spectacle of it all with it featuring truly epic (and sometimes quite graphically violent) depictions of war, the chaos of war, or war-time strategy. Scott definitely does the battle scenes (like Austerlitz) justice. I also want to compliment the film on its sense of humor, as it features several lines, or deliveries of lines, that are flat-out hilarious (“You think you are so great because you have boats!”). I had high expectations for Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, but while he does do a good job as the insecure and emotional historical figure, there is no denying that he is just too old for the role in the early stages of the film, which is a shame. Vanessa Kirby is also fairly good as Joséphine Bonaparte, but I always wanted more of her, and I expect the extended cut would also help to give you a better understanding of her as a person.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil | Film | Directed by Eli Craig | Screenplay by Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson | Release Year: 2010 | Recommended?: Yes.
Yeah, this absolutely lives up to its reputation as an excellent horror comedy that has a lot of fun with an effective but overused horror formula (scared students fearing ‘hillbillies’) that the film flips on its head. It is consistently funny with Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine both getting the most out of their characters as they could (I’m a sucker for comedies with Tudyk in a prominent role, as I find him to be such an effective on-screen comedian), but the graphic violence and gore effects are also well-timed and well-executed for this film’s ambitions.
Are there certain supporting characters or performances that don’t work as well as intended? Yeah, I think so, but it doesn’t take too much away from the film as it is intended as this horror parody, essentially. It’s basically a great idea for an SNL-type sketch that has been stretched as far as it can be without falling apart, and I loved that about it. What I struggled the most with, though, were the visuals and other certain technical aspects. It’s not very pleasing to look at, which I think is a little bit of a shame. Sometimes I felt that it had this sanded-off white look that I found to be quite grating. Had it had more of a professional look, I think it would’ve easily been recognized as a horror comedy classic by a wider audience than it is now.
Shallow Grave | Film | Directed by Danny Boyle | Screenplay by John Hodge | Release Year: 1994 | Recommended?: Yes.
Danny Boyle’s feature directorial debut is excellent. It’s a dark but witty low-budget crime thriller about friendship, greed, and paranoia. The fact that greed and paranoia divide his trio of leads is predictable, but the way it happens and just how much one of them breaks isn’t predictable. I do think that some character turns are a bit sharp or sudden here, but it’s perfectly entertaining all the same. The film also doesn’t outstay its welcome. Rather it has a tight runtime and the film is nicely paced. With this film, Boyle also got to flash some style (camerawork, shot compositions, reflections, imagery), which I really enjoyed noticing in his first film.
I didn’t mind that the main characters were occasionally obnoxious. They don’t need to be perfectly nice and moral beings, they’re supposed to be twenty-somethings taking what they can as they try to climb the ladder of success on their respective paths and now suddenly ‘find’ the cash they’d need to live it up in the big city without having to get another roommate. I feel like even though they’re a little over-the-top and annoying (it is a pitch-black comedy after all) there are still elements of each somewhat archetypal character that you can recognize from yourself or your friend group.
It consists of good performances from all three leads, with Eccleston and McGregor being particularly good. The former really throws himself into his character’s paranoid turn, and the latter seemingly just had a blast with the role (at the very least, I thought it was a blast to watch him be this type of character). I especially enjoyed the bit of humor in them suddenly being interviewed and assessed by the detectives in their own apartment, just like they had interviewed potential roommates earlier in the film. What a great debut!
– Reviews Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 
Great reviews as always. I actually haven’t seen any of these movies but find your assessment of “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” very interesting. I recently had an opportunity to see the first two Mad Max films to prepare for “Furiosa” and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. Poor storytelling, wooden characters and mindless action. I know I’m in the minority because these movies have a huge fan following but I could not understand their appeal. I much preferred “Furiosa” in comparison. A fantastic prequel, it managed to find a balance between action and character development missing from the other Mad Max movies. I found it easier to care for Furiosa than Max in the original movies.
Here’s my thoughts on “Furiosa”:
Thank you so much for the nice comment! I also really enjoyed Furiosa, which is probably my second favorite film in the series. Thunderdome is the one that I like the least — a tale of two halves, for sure.