December 12th 2025
Kokuho
The Golden Spurtle
Train Dreams (streaming on Netflix)
The Lost Bus (streaming on Apple)
Another wonderful week for film. The streaming offerings just get better, while the big screen volume of films is ramping up, as is award season!
Kokuho
Dir: Sang-il Lee
Length: 178 mins
 |
© Palace - personal drama interwoven with
revelations on a traditional Japanese art form |
Say the Japanese word "kabuki" and I tend to think - "boring"! This beautiful film is anything but boring, and shows the intricate Japanese art form in an intriguing light, all set in a plot revolving around friendship, ambition, rivalry and dedication to one's art. In Nagasake in 1964 young teen Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa) witnesses the killing of his yakuze father. He is then adopted out to a family headed by a top Kabuki actor, Hanjiro Hanai (Ken Watanabe). Alongside his own son, Shunsuke (Ryuseai Yokohama), Hanjiro trains the boys rigorously, sometimes brutally, until they start to master the craft. The film then follows the lifelong friendship and rivalry of the pair. There is an intense depth to this film, which operates on many levels. First we have the showcasing of a beloved Japanese artform with its amazing costumes and vocal gymnastics. (Difficult for Westerners to understand, but this film is an eye-opener). Then the film examines the strictures of that society which make it hard for the highly talented son of a gangster to get his due respect, despite an incredible talent. Then we have the friendship and rivalry than runs over 50 years, making the film epic in its narrative, and its runtime! If you're prepared to totally immerse in a new world, you will be richly rewarded by this lovely film.4 - highly recommended
The Golden Spurtle
Dir: Constantine Costi
Length: 75 mins
 |
© Umbrella - like or loathe porridge -
this contest highlights the oat! |
Water, oatmeal and salt - the marriage of these ingredients can create the perfect porridge. But who would have thought this humble breakfast food could give rise to a world championship competition? That's exactly what this short and sweet doco deals with. In the picturesque Scottish town of Carrbridge, contestants come from all over the world to try their hand at cooking the perfect porridge in 30 minutes. This is quintessentially British fare - the usual quirky characters, an offbeat style of interviewing them, and a dramatic soundtrack designed to give a sense of grandeur and urgency to what is basically another cooking contest. But the film has its charms, as it's easy to like the characters, especially the retiring Porridge Chieftain, Charlie Miller. There is also an education in the art of porridge making. (For your enlightenment, a spurtle is a specially made stick that is considered the peak porridge stirring implement!)3 - recommended
Train Dreams
Dir: Clint Bentley
Length: 102 mins
Streaming on Netflix
 |
© Netflix - elegaic look at family, loss, progress
with a stunning lead perf from Edgerton. |
The Pacific north-west of the USA in the early part of the 20th century was indeed a tough place to live and work. Robert Grainger (Joel Edgerton) lives a hard-working simple life, working on and off in the logging industry. When he meets Gladys (Felicity Jones), they marry, have a child and build a cabin. Robert's biggest regret is that he cannot stick around for long to be with his family. When tragedy strikes, Robert retreats into a hermit's world, and by the film's conclusion, he realises that nearly half a century of progress has passed him by. I so wish I had caught this sublime film on the biggest cinema screen. It already has a Best Cinematography award for its sweeping capturing of that part of the world, especially the majestic forests of giant trees. And there are umpteen nominations for Edgerton, including a Golden Globe for 2026. This is the best performance I've seen from him, as he creates a man who is never an archetypal rough-and-tough logger, but a human being with tenderness, and ultimately a tormented soul. The film celebrates the simplicity of that forgotten life, but also what progress means, and the role nature and people play in the relentless moving forward of time. There is an intense sadness, along with deep beauty (and a couple of mysteries) in everything about this stunning film, though it may not be for viewers looking for more action.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
The Lost Bus
Dir: Paul Greengrass
Length: 102 mins
Streaming on Apple
 |
© Apple - remember to breathe as
you watch this white-knuckle true
disaster film |
Bushfire is one of the most terrifying natural disasters, and certainly makes for gripping movie-making. This white-knuckle film tells the true story of bus driver Kevin McKay (Matthew McConnaughey) who was charged with evacuating 22 schoolkids from a fire-threatened area and taking them to safety. The truth of the 2018 fire is that 85 people died, and more than 11,000 homes were lost, so the magnitude of this event cannot be understated. And so much went wrong in the evacuation attempt: gridlocked traffic caused the bus to be caught up for more than five hours, in stifling and smoke-filled surrounds. Greengrass, famous for such other nail-biters as United 93, takes a few liberties with the truth, having the bus head down a narrow rocky track to find a way through, and rocketing its way through a flame-engulfed stretch of road. Regardless, much heroism is shown by both McKay and the teacher Miss Mary (America Ferrara) who was co-opted along for the ride, and this bravery is superbly encapsulated in the film, especially in McConnaughey's blitzing come-back performance. Special effects are amazing, deftly combining real-life news footage of the fire with the film's creative content. This is truly heart-stopping watching that at times becomes almost unbearable, even if towards the end it goes a bit overboard! But, hey, isn't that what good film-making is about?
4 - highly recommended
