leebutler Documentary, Review

This Man’s Worth (2023) – Worthy

This Man’s Worth is available as part of the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival

Very occasionally there’s a need to give a trigger warning about what topic might come up during a review of a movie, basically a way to tell the reader ahead of time if a subject is involved that might create a mental health crisis. It’s often quick and simple and a way for you to click away but this time I have to say that while this review and this documentary deals with Suicide and if that’s triggering to you that you should absolutely avoid it, this is also a documentary about suicide that specifically requires people who might have such problems to hear its message. Basically, if you think you might be OK, it’s worth giving This Man’s Worth a try but if not… well, there’s the trigger warning.

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leebutler Action, Adventure, Animation, Review

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023) – Net Positive

Released: 1st June
Seen: 1st June

It’s kind of wild to think about how different things were in December of 2018, both in terms of general worldwide issues and in the pop-culture landscape. Obviously, we didn’t know at the time that we were about a year away from experiencing one of the biggest worldwide events in human history, weren’t to know that the simmering of fascism that popped up in small places was going to become an overwhelming constant nightmare that would seemingly never end and in the world of pop culture we’d all just experienced the absolute shock that was Infinity War. 

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leebutler Documentary, Review

Chopin: I Am Not Afraid Of Darkness (2023) – Powerful

Chopin: I Am Not Afraid Of Darkness is available as part of the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival

Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer in the 1800s who, by the time of his death at 39, had cemented his place as one of the true icons of classical music. His many assorted compositions have become staples that any person with even a mild interest in playing classical music is expected to learn, pieces of his like Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (they did not have great names for songs in those days) are not only standards for people to learn but turn up in pop culture with some regularity because they are just the perfect pieces to set the mood. Chopin’s place in history and in music is so determined that his compositions have been played just about everywhere and the documentary Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness adds three interesting new locations to that list.

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