Thriller

IMAGINARY (2024)


Meet Chauncey.
He’s not Imaginary,
And he’s not your friend.

The team at Blumhouse are amassing a veritable who’s who of malevolent and iconic horror villains that are probably being lined up to meet up in the not too distant future, either battling each other in the style of Jason vs Freddy or in a supervillains vs all humans stylee.

In fact, Chauncey the Bear, introduced here in the latest horror outing from Blumhouse has his seeds in Sir Frederick of Krueger, with the realm of imagination taking the place of the dream country of Elm Street. Add in a touch of tone from Hellraiser with Chauncey having such sights to show us and a sprinkle of Alice in Wonderland, or more like Alice in Terrorland and you have Imaginary.

Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her husband and his two daughters only to find that there is still unfinished business from her own childhood waiting to attack the youngest girl and this comes in the form of a teddy bear, Chauncey.

DeWanda Wise as Jessica in Imaginary

DeWanda Wise as Jessica in Imaginary

I’ll be real, as I sat in the darkened room watching this, I was unsure whether or not I was enjoying it.
It sets up the premise seemingly predictably, some of the acting was a bit stage-schooley at times and the main couple didn’t really have any chemistry to make me believe they were really in love, more like besties without the romance.

DeWanda Wise plays Jessica and is believable as the surrogate mother, as is Taegan Burns, who plays the teenage step daughter, Taylor. Nobody is outrightly bad but there were a few line readings that felt overly acted including from award winning actress Betty Buckley, who plays the elderly neighbour, Gloria, who may or may not be creepy (she was in one of my favourite tv shows of all time, HBO’s Oz), but as the film got going I started to appreciate it more and as it moved into the latter third, the main course of the film emerged and the imagination promised came to life. My nit pickings were a minor and all in all I had an enjoyable time watching the adventures of Chauncey the Bear and his friends.

Hide and seek Chauncey the Bear and Alice (Pyper Braun) in Imaginary

Hide and seek
Chauncey the Bear and Alice (Pyper Braun) in Imaginary

I have a podcast with my friend called Punching Up the Movie Podcast where we take a film that is revered in one way or another and one of us has a problem with it and we discuss, debate and sometimes destroy. I’d recently been thinking about how loads of people really rate Hal Ashby ( I like The Last Detail) and they especially love his film, Being There, starring Peter Sellers from 1979 and how much I didn’t like it. This is a film that I’m gonna suggest we put through the Punching Up mill. The reason I mention this is that the main character Sellers plays is called Chance and he is a gardener but is misheard at one point and is then named Chauncey Gardner.

I want to see a film where Chauncey the bear terrorises Chauncey Gardener. 

Come on A.I., make it happen….Pleeeeeaaaaase.

I'll protect you and keep you safe from harm!!!!!! Chauncey the Bear in Imaginary
I’ll protect you and keep you safe from harm!!!!!!

I reckon Chauncey the bear could take on all of the Five Nights at Freddy’s losers but maybe would meet his match against M3gan but Chauncey the bear and M3gan vs the FNAF lot….that I might even go and see.

When you pull the string on Chauncey’s back you get a piece of music that reminded me of the ‘Three more days to Halloween….Silver Shamrock’ tune from Halloween 3 Season of the Witch. When I was a child I had a Chauncey like bear and if you pulled his string it used to say “I’ll protect you, and keep you safe from harm” which is just as creepy.

The music for the film was composed by the mighty Bear McCreary whose work I first heard in 2003 with his superb score for Battlestar Galactica, the rebooted series. Here, his tone is spot on.

Written and directed by Jason Wadlow (Kick Ass 2, Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island), here he introduces us to a character that is almost guaranteed to get at least one sequel. He peppers the film with darkened, barely visible characters in the back of frame at times that inject an unsettling creepiness to the proceedings.

Look out horror franchises, Blumhouse is looking to create new I.P. with dolls and teddy bears.

Out now at a cinema near you
1 Hour 44 Mins

ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023)

Anatomy of a Fall Poster


In this gripping courtroom drama, a wife finds herself on trial, unraveling the complexities of a strained marriage between two writers living in a chalet with their son at the foot of the French Alps.

Sandra Hüller delivers an extraordinary performance in this exceptional film, showcasing her talent without relying on artifice or contrivance.
The film earned the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes last year, along with several other awards, including the New York Film Critic’s Circle award for Best Foreign Film and the Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film. 
It has just received nominations for Best Film, Hüller is nominated for Best Actress, Justine Triet for Best Director and Triet and her husband Arthur Harari, who wrote the film for Hüller, for Best Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards.

There are great performances all round. Samuel Theis plays the dead husband and brings layers and depth to the role. Swann Arlaud is Vincent Renzi, Sandra’s compassionate and gentle friend who is representing her in the court case and Milo Machado Graner who plays the couple’s son, Daniel with a journey that takes him from innocence to a certain maturity and whose visual impairment is a great metaphor for what we see or don’t see.

This is the second courtroom drama I have seen recently, the first being Argentina 1985 and although that one was based on the horrifying events of the military junta perpetrated in Argentina in the late 70s and early 80s and lots of people actually died, I was more gripped and emotionally invested in this film where only one man died and it wasn’t based in fact.

The quote, maybe mis-attributed to Stalin, “the death of one man is a tragedy and the death of millions is a statistic” rings true here.

Sandra Hüller and Swann Arlaud in Anatomy of a Fall

Sandra Hüller and Swann Arlaud in Anatomy of a Fall

Anatomy of a Fall isn’t overpowered by melodrama that Argentina 1985 slightly suffered from and was as real as it gets. When there’s an excess of sentimentality, whether it’s conveyed through music, dialogue, or overly explicit direction, it tends to distract me from the intended emotional impact.
Take, for example, the recent and excellent Society of the Snow. Here, we have a brutal real-life tale of survival and human resilience where the dialogue and music is quiet, intimate and consequently much more powerful.

After seeing Hüller’s performance in this I am greatly looking forward to seeing The Zone of Interest (which I was excited about anyways but now am doubly so) in which she also stars.
I had seen her before in Toni Erdmann but I think I saw it on a plane and for some reason wasn’t overly enamoured by the film. The performances were all good but my memory of it is hazy at best.

There is extensive plot driven use of the piece of music P.I.M.P. by The Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band, which is a steel drum version of the 50 Cent hit and this version, as well as being a joyous and playful take on a classic original tune adds an intrusiveness and potential menace in the film. Great use of music. Just a little nod to my friend Nicky Evans who introduced me to that tune in 2008, when it was released.

Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall

Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall

I saw this film in December 2023 so it was included on my list of Favourite films of 2023 which you can read HERE. Maybe it’ll make my 2024 list as well…….

This drama about the death of a father and husband that leads to the mother being accused of his murder is a masterclass in acting from all especially from Sandra Hüller, who is magnificent.
The best courtroom film I have seen for years. 
Has anyone seen it yet? What did you think? Does it deserve all the accolades? Leave a comment below.


Anatomy of a Fall is released now in Australia and is well worth searching out if you’re a fan of thrillers, court room dramas and is an absolutely engaging thriller that keeps you guessing all the way.

152 Minutes