Simon Foster
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
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Bilitis (1977) |
Bilitis hasn’t aged well and is only of note because it is so brazen in its depiction of one of cinema’s taboo topics. - sbs.com.au
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Chrissy Judy (2022) |
A major achievement for the multi-hyphenate, who not only gives a charming, star-making lead turn but also wrote, directed and edited this bittersweet slice of gay modern life. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 30, 2023
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65 (2023) |
65 is a taut 93 minutes of sweaty tension, appropriately scaled action and surprising tenderness. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 09, 2023
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Summoning The Spirit (2023) |
Does what it needs to as a creature feature to satiate monster-movie fans, yet also finds an emotional resonance likely to take many viewers here for genre thrills by surprise. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 07, 2023
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Avarice (2022) |
The moments that Soto and his pro team of contributors make work - solid character acting, pacy action moments and arrow-on-antagonist payback - make Avarice another mid-budget milestone for the filmmaker. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Feb 04, 2023
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True Spirit (2023) |
The production not only deeply respects [Watson's] seafaring accomplishments, but also the legacy it has afforded her name. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jan 27, 2023
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
If only James Cameron had loosened his technician’s labcoat and rediscovered the joys of storytelling with the same crisply etched clarity of his images. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Dec 15, 2022
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Poker Face (2022) |
It may, in fact, be a homage to ‘80s-era straight-to-video dreck, so perfectly does it capture that sub-genre’s faux-macho posturing, bewilderingly silly plotting and retrograde use of women in support parts. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Nov 23, 2022
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The Haunting of the Murder House (2022) |
The Haunting of the Murder House will provide giggles, gasps and groans in equal measure. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Nov 03, 2022
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One Way (2022) |
Steeped in the rain-soaked, neon-bathed lore of ‘70’s American crime-noir thrillers; it is not too hard to envision a version of One Way with Walter Hill calling the shots and a cast boasting the likes of Bruce Dern and Warren Oates. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Oct 05, 2022
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Smile (2022) |
You’ll shriek and shudder and cover your eyes but you’ll be drawn into the story of a woman facing off against an evil entity that metaphorically addresses the debilitating impact of depression and cyclical trauma. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Sep 30, 2022
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Blonde (2022) |
It is a sad, bitter, horrible tale, which is not how those invested in her legend want to see Marilyn portrayed. But it is a version of her life that is as important in its telling as the perpetuation of her screen-goddess myth. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Sep 30, 2022
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Samaritan (2022) |
Sylvester Stallone looks great for his age, and Aussie director Julius Avery is an exciting visualist whose framing and colour recalls Todd Phillip’s Joker, but in every other respect Samaritan is a pretty rote fallen super-hero adventure - Screen-Space
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| Posted Sep 10, 2022
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Pinocchio (2022) |
The story of the boy who wants to be real becomes a contradictory, even cautionary tale about how bringing life to the lifeless can go terribly wrong. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Sep 10, 2022
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The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou (2022) |
This breathtakingly lovely profile of a modern city embracing and honouring the artisans of [its] past is a fitting testament. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jul 30, 2022
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Infrared (2022) |
Add to the list of better-than-expected first-person shockers Infrared, a blackly-funny, legitimately creepy riff on paranormal investigation cable shows. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Hustle (2022) |
It’s all about Sandler...who flushes out depth and character in his shuffling, shrugging Sugarman like he was born into the part; there’s both Walter Matthau’s exasperation with life and Jack Lemmon’s understated desperation in Sandler’s performance. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jul 15, 2022
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The Phantom of the Open (2021) |
It’s all so shallow and flash-in-the-pan as to suggest there wasn’t that much to Flitcroft’s achievements or, in Rylance’s one-note portrayal, the man himself, in the first place. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jul 15, 2022
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Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
A bloated 2½ hour plod that is unforgivably dull and irreconcilably misjudged. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jun 09, 2022
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Charli XCX: Alone Together (2021) |
A celebration of voice when you feel like no one’s listening. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Jun 01, 2022
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Ariel Phenomenon (2022) |
Ariel Phenomenon segues into a potent study of how corrosive to one’s spirit the denial of truth can be. - Screen-Space
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| Posted May 25, 2022
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Ambulance (2022) |
The cracking first hour will be enough to carry most action heads through to the end, but Bays fleeting interest in his human scenery is dispiriting. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 18, 2022
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The Lost City (2022) |
There is something so refreshing in watching true movie stars give their bigscreen charisma room to breathe - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 17, 2022
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Morbius (2022) |
It is almost a shame that Morbius is tied to the Marvel universe at all, given that the inclusion brings with it franchise expectations that don't serve the characters key traits at all. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 01, 2022
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The Bad Guys (2022) |
Its the perfect franchise kickstarter and the best Dreamworks cartoon since forever. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 01, 2022
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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) |
Paramount have pushed their spiky teen hero into an MCU-style end of the world effects extravaganza, banishing to the periphery all that was engaging about the first film in favour of rote heroics and tired CGI. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 01, 2022
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The Adam Project (2022) |
The first half is pure 80s-era Amblin-inspired set-up and adventure, and its the best part of the film. The second half gets clunkier, a bit too special effects-y and loses touch with its characters in favour of some heavy-handed plot resolution. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 26, 2022
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Deep Water (2022) |
Adrian Lyne's best films intellectualise the juicy plotting of your average airport novel; Deep Water just feels like an average airport novel. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 26, 2022
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Deadly Cuts (2021) |
In her feature debut, writerdirector Rachel Carey shows a lovely eye for character and crisp ear for working-class banter, but struggles with the tone of her film. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 18, 2022
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Central Park (2017) |
From the opening frames of Justin Reinsilbers slasher redux Central Park, one senses that the writer-director knows his genre tropes to the letter. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Werewolves Within (2021) |
its got less hairy, bone-cracking transformations than...The Howling or An American Werewolf in London, but that seems deliberate; as the title suggests, Werewolves Within is less about the monster manifested and more about the beast within us all. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) |
You Do You is the meaningful thematic depth of the studio's literally on-brand reboot, and that will be fine for the family audience drawn to this mostly fun, often frantic romp. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In (2021) |
Never Give In is less about the day-to-day anxiety of being at the pinnacle of a sport, more about the simple complexities of a man that helped him stay there for four decades. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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The Deep House (2021) |
What do you call two internet influencers at the bottom of a lake? If you answered, A good start, youll likely find some dark-hearted glee amongst the legit chills in The Deep House. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Val (2021) |
Embodies not only the immense talent but also the rare empathy that Val Kilmer brought to his most invested characters. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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You Cannot Kill David Arquette (2020) |
It is, in equal measure, a rousing sports-drama narrative and pure bells-&-whistles; a study in struggle and pain to achieve a personal goal and managed spectacle in the name of putting on a great show. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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When I'm a Moth (2019) |
As an imagined construct of a tiny portion of Hilary Rodhams maturing, When Im a Moth embodies the very essence of how both supporters and detractors would come to perceive Americas most popular un-elected Presidential candidate. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Kate (2021) |
Kate is a movie that nods to other, better movies, but which does enough to punch a hole in lockdown boredom. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon (2021) |
It is the indigenous-themed elements that work best in Ainbo; an over-reliance on goofy humour, the kind that assumes kids need a pratfall or an eyeroll to stay engaged, are less impactful. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Angèle (2021) |
So consumed is the film with its distillation of modern fame, it is not her pairing with superstar Dua Lipa that resonates but instead the relationship Angèle has with her affectionate, outspoken grandmother. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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West Side Story (2021) |
A dazzling, deeply respectful rendition of the Stephen SondheimArthur LaurentsLeonard Bernstein story and songbook; and, a feat of widescreen cinematic splendour unmatched since the golden era of Hollywood. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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The Requin (2022) |
Its good seeing Silverstone back in a lead role, even if she gives more than the material deserves. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Belfast (2021) |
A twee collection of Irish cliches and stunningly photographed dirt and bricks. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Uncharted (2022) |
It is wildly ironic that the only references to the action-adventure films of the past that Uncharted mimics with any skill are the ugliest, most outdated elements. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) |
Slasher films count on outwardly intelligent people putting themselves in patently dangerous situations, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre has more than its fair share of Oh my God, what an idiot! moments. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Cyrano (2021) |
Director Joe Wright does soaring lit-based romance like few others. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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Studio 666 (2022) |
On the scale of Rock Star Vanity Projects, with The Beatles A Hard Days Night at one end and Neil Diamonds The Jazz Singer at the other, Studio 666 falls somewhere in the middle. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 12, 2022
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In Corpore (2020) |
Like those independently-minded films, In Corpore may also emerge as a work that ushered in a period of social change. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 01, 2022
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Ape Canyon (2019) |
It plays cute at key moments, confidently relying on a sweet chemistry between the leads, but Ape Canyon is also a bittersweet tale of obsession. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Apr 17, 2021
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Then Came You (2020) |
[Finds] just enough heart and honesty at key moments to keep Then Came You from being just a sweetly disposable confection. - Screen-Space
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| Posted Mar 11, 2021
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