Flow

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on December 11, 2025.

(G) ★★★★

Director: Gints Zilbalodis.

Finally. The gritty reboot of Madagascar we've all been waiting for.

Flow, in case you have forgotten, is the little Latvian film that beat out Pixar, Dreamworks, and Aardman to win the Best Animated Film Oscar back in March.

With no humans, no words, and no significant plot to speak of, it's an astonishingly beautiful film that shows us how effective simple storytelling can be, and reminds us how animated movies truly are a balm for the soul.

The story, in so much as there is one, is of a cat forced to give up its solitary life when rising floodwaters submerge its home. In a search for dry land, the cat ends up in a boat alongside a capybara, a ringtailed lemur, a Labrador and a secretary bird, drifting on a new ocean that seemingly covers most of the world.

Though the film is not without its drama, it's a quiet tale told at a gentle pace, yet it's never short of engrossing. It leaves plenty of questions unanswered to ensure we get a cat's-eye view of the world, and a similar level of understanding. Flow is quite clever in its ability to get you into the cat's head, and if the cat doesn't understand it, then you probably won't either.

The animation style is beautiful, and not a million miles from The Wild Robot, in that it covers its CG in painterly brushstrokes, except that Flow has an endearing added layer of pixelly imperfections. The end result has a picture book quality to it, yet is still immersive and filled with raw power.

One of the many amazing qualities of Flow is its appeal. Young kids will be mesmerised by its animal stars, while adults will be equally entranced. And don't be surprised if you find yourself trying to unravel some of the film's big unanswered questions long after the credits have rolled.

Train Dreams

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on December 11, 2025.

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Clint Bentley.

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Nathaniel Arcand, Will Patton.

"We should really get around to inventing chairs, don't you think?"

Sometimes it's hard to explain what a movie's about. Train Dreams is certainly one of the harder films to sell to a prospective watcher, but it's easily one of the best films of 2025. Maybe just go with that.

But for those desperate for more info, Train Dreams is the story of one man's life - Robert Grainier (Edgerton), an orphan who grows up to be a lumberjack in the first half of the 20th century in the American north-west. 

But in a more realistic sense, it's about the violent punctuations that mark a life, and the interconnectedness of all things. It's about love and death and grief and the meaning of life. It's about the tough existence of itinerant loggers, and about men trying to make sense of their place in an everchanging world. It's about how a man comes from nothing and quietly goes about his life in his own way. It's kind of about everything, and it's beautiful.

Stunningly shot by Bentley and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso, and soulfully scored by The National's Bryce Dessner, this is an engrossing and powerful tale that lulls you, then hits you, repeatedly. Its moments of tranquility and thoughtfulness are truly lovely and wonderful, right up to the point you get steamrolled by a random horrible moment. But hey, that's life, and hey, that's kinda what makes Train Dreams so incredible and poignant.

Central to it all is Our Joel. Edgerton has always been a real talent in everything from The Great Gatsby to Animal Kingdom, but this is the best thing he's done that I've seen. His performance has its loud moments but so much of it is behind the eyes (and matched by an eloquent narration by Patton). Edgerton is ably supported by Jones, Condon and Macy in particular, but really it feels like a one-hander, so quietly engrossing is the character of Grainier, and Edgerton rises to the occasion magnificently. 

While it's hard to sell this Everyman tale to people, there is no doubt this is one of the best films of 2025, and it will stick with you long after Nick Cave's sepuchral tones ring out on the title track.

Sinners

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on December 11, 2025.

(MA15+) ★★★★★

Director: Ryan Coogler.

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo, Peter Dreimanis, Lola Kirke, Li Jun Li, Yao.

"Yeah we look like twins, but that's only because we don't have our hats on."

It’s tempting to liken Sinners to the Tarantino/Rodriguez collab From Dusk ‘Til Dawn; another movie of two halves that suddenly explodes into a vampyric onslaught of spurting blood.

But whereas From Dusk ‘Til Dawn sinks its teeth into you literally out of nowhere with its gear-grinding tonal shift, Sinners broods and builds, hinting at the darkness on the horizon and unseen forces simmering below the surface. When it finally sinks its teeth into you, its the peak of a crescendo, not an out-of-nowhere gimmick.

Perhaps a better comparison would be Get Out, where the theme of racism collides with the genre of horror to make something astonishing and fresh. The result in both Sinners and Get Out is a movie that will stand the test of time thanks to refreshing mixes of new elements to create tension, scares, depths and even laughs in an excitingly unique way.

In Sinners, Jordan stars as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to the Deep South in 1932 to set up a juke joint. Everything seems perfect for opening night... until some uninvited guests turn up.

A truly cool soundtrack filled with Delta blues, Irish folk, and other more modern flourishes helps the heavy atmosphere of the film build like a storm that's waiting to burst, and when it finally does, the downpour is blood red. It is a film of two halves, but the tonal shift never feels wrong or off. Coogler does an astonishing job of keeping the underlying darkness consistent, and foreshadowing the increasing magical realism perfectly.

The moments of startling violence that come with the film's vampyric pay-off are very effective, but so are the character moments. Everyone in the story - from the Smokestack twins to their forgotten lovers Mary (Steinfeld) and Annie (Mosaku), from upcoming blues prodigy Preacherboy (Caton) to jaded blues legend Delta Slim (Lindo) gets their moment to shine.

The performances are top notch, especially Jordan, Steinfeld and Mosaku, but it's hard to fault a single thing in this tasty new spin on the age-old vampire movie. 

Zootopia 2

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on December 11, 2025.

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Jared Bush & Byron Howard.

Cast: (voices of) Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Danny Trejo.

Disney's Titanic was predictably cutesy.

The original Zootopia was a smart, snappy adult adventure dressed up in kids' clothing. Tackling racism, prejudice, equality and stereotyping, it merged its sharp themes with Looney Tunes-esque chases and a crim-cop pairing straight out of an '80s actioner. It's basically a cutesy version of 48 Hours, but better and deeper. Kinda.

It also boasted a marvellous setting and a host of great characters, especially its stars, the crafty crim fox Nick (Bateman) and the determined cop bunny Judy (Goodwin).

And second time around it's almost as good. The setting still sizzles with opportunity, the chemistry of its fox-rabbit pairing continues to zing, and the themes of prejudice and othering remain strong. It's also a very grown-up-friendly adventure - it's a buddy-cop movie, like something straight out of the '80s. It's basically a cutesy version of Tango & Cash. Ok, not really, but you get what I'm saying.

This time Nick and Judy are the hottest cops on the force, having busted the bad guys in the previous film. But their inherent differences are affecting their relationship, and things get worse when they begin investigating a snake - a much-maligned species with no real home in Zootopia.

The first Zootopia is a tough act to follow, but this is pretty great. It could never be as sparkling and fresh as the original, but it's as good as it could be. The mystery is engaging and entertaining, even if you pick the twist, and its message of equality is as timeless as ever.

Ke Huy Quan is a great addition as the snake, and Strathairn was born to voice animated villains. But it's all about Judy and Nick, and Batemen and Goodwin are fantastic yet again. The ups-and-downs of the relationship are beautifully played out across a nicely paced script. 

There is enough colour and movement to entertain the younger kids who can't follow the intricacies of the plot - it's not every kids movie that has property development and racism as key story points. The only other one I can think of is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. But much like that 1988 classic, Zootopia 2 is taking an adult genre and throwing it an all-ages audience with great success. There are hints at a third film, which can't come soon enough.