Movie Review: One Night Only

Movie Number 31 of 2026

The Movie: One Night Only

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Runtime: One hour 42 minutes

Opens next week. 

Stars: 4

There is a hell of a lot more to One Night Only than you initially expect. I went in thinking it was going to be a run of the mill, second-rate romantic comedy. I was very pleasantly surprised, despite the dodgy premise. Yes, it's a rom-com. It's also a very pointed social commentary if you wish to view it that way. It's also rather funny. It makes for a good film. 

If you can relax into the bizarre proposition of the film, you can enjoy it. Set in our times in New York, the country has outlawed pre-marital sex. People are tagged with these tattoos which can tell if you're married or single. However, there is one 12-hour window, once a year, where the unmarried population can do the deed without being arrested. 

We then meet Owen (Callum Turner) and Ali (Monica Barbaro). Owen has been told by his girlfriend that she wants to see somebody else on this auspicious evening. Allie, who was out to find somebody with a bit of substance with her friend, is left to her own devices. 

Of course, Owen and Allie keep running into each other over the night. There is a lot of off-colour humour, some running gags, a savvy script and in-jokes. Of course, you see it coming that Allie and Owen are made for each other - and that their attraction is not just about sex. Will Travis's script has some genuinely funny and sweet moments, which let the political subversion of the whole set up go by relatively unnoticed. Director Will Gluck has directed some of the better romantic comedies in the last few years. He brought charm to Anyone But You, and a lot of fun to Easy A. He knows what he's doing. 

What's stuck out to me was that in this period of authoritarian right-wing Christian Nationalism in America, despite the dodgy tracking, you could feasibly see something like this happening over there. What made it even more realistic is the community backlash to the mandate, and as with all political protest, the more humorous the better. This part of the film isn't rammed down your throat, but it is there, rounding out the film. 

I went in thinking it might be lame. I came out pleasantly surprised. It's a fun, easy watch even if it is a little off-colour in places. 

Today's song:

Sunday Stealing: Why not just meme...

 It's late on a Sunday. Time to get the weekly questions out of the way after a steady weekend.

Questions, as always, come from Sunday Stealing. 

When You Can't Think of Anything to Blog About ... (Normal state of affairs here)

1) Describe your typical weekend, and tell us how this weekend has been different. 

A typical weekend will have a mix of the following:

• A sleep in
• Gym
• Laundry and housework
• A meditation session every second week
• Breakfast with friends
• Reading
• Writing
• Call my mother
• Go round and see Blarney
• Talk to the cat

Most of these happen over the weekend, but there's not real order to them. 

2) What food hits your bliss spot?

 Ice cream

If you're looking for something more savoury, nothing beats a good bahn mi. I go for the barbeque chicken ones over roast pork any day. And they have to go gently on the chilli. 

3) Where did you stay on your last vacation (hotel, Airbnb/Vrbo, friends/family)?

My last big holiday was in England and France. I had a mix of accommodation, from staying with friends, to hotels, to the amazing Hotel de L'Oranges in Sommieres to a fabulous Airbnb in Paris. It was a great trip. 

4) If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours would you erase?

 You know, I'm pretty comfortable with me. It's taken me a long time to get here. Maybe I'd like to tone down the depression and the rejection sensitivity, but you know, I'm okay. 

5) Think of your friends. Tell us about the first one who popped into your head.

I'm not in the space to do that tonight as the first person to pop into my head got back in contact and other than ghosting him, I'd prefer not to think about him at the moment. I've got better things to do. 

Today's song:

Theatre Review: Funeral Flowers

The Play: Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis-Edwards

The Theatre: Red Stitch Actors Theatre St Kilda

Runtime: 60 Minutes

Until: August 23

Stars: 4.5

I love the Red Stitch Actors Theatre. They're quality. Their production of Emma Dennis-Edwards' play Funeral Flowers is everything you expect and maybe a little more. This short one-hander is extraordinary. For a short play, it packs an incredible punch. 

Angelique (Lucy Ansell) is seventeen, and she dreams of being a florist. She's from North London. To be honest, she's not having a great time of things. She's in the foster system, her mother's in prison, she's been bullied at school, her boyfriend is being needy and inconsistent... she's not had a great time of things. Her salvation is coming with her working with flowers. They give her hope, and joy and a reason to get up in the morning. 

During the one hour of the play we not only meet Angelique, but her foster carer, Sam, the feckless boyfriend, Mickey, and Angelique's downtrodden mother. We watch as Angelique makes both bad, then much better choices. She grows up a hell of a lot in this hour on the stage.

Lucy Ansell is incredible. This is a tour de force. The intimate nature of the 90-seather theatre is perfect for this play. You get to see every emotion flow over her face. Ansell's accents are spot on. I will admit that on numerous occasions I thought I was watching an old flatmate from London. 

Candy Bowers direction is perfect, bringing both the joy, despair and ultimate growth in this amazing character. Based on the life of Tottenham community leader Gina Moffatt, Funeral Flowers is a raw, lyrical and deeply human monologue about growing up, fighting back, and finding hope where it seems impossible.

This is definitely worth a look. 

I've fallen in love with the work of the Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Their work is superlative. I'll be back for more.

Today's song:

Movie Review: Spiderman - Brand New Day

 Movie Number 30 of 2026

The Movie: Spiderman: Brand New Day

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Runtime: Two hours 25 minutes

Stars: 4

I was talking to a friend earlier today. She said she'd seen the latest Spiderman film. She's not seen the ones before, nor has she been a part of the Marvel Universe. 

I might have to convert her. I say this with a big smile on my face. My friend and I talk movies a lot, so we're going to watch the other two Spiderman films (Far from Home and No Way Home) to compare and contrast. As somebody who's au fait with the Marvel Universe, recommended going through from the start - from Iron Man, so you get the gist of everything. Regardless, we've both seen this new Spiderman film, we both enjoyed it, and I'm happy to recommend it for a lot of reasons, whether you're into Marvel or not. A good action film is just that. 

Regardless of whether you're a Marvel ticket holder or not, there's a lot to enjoy in this film. You do get more out of it if you've got some knowledge of the MCU - but it's not essential. 

Spiderman: Brand New Day takes place four years after the end of No Way Home. Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland) is still fighting crime with the NYPD. He's also living the life of a recluse. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) died at the end of the last film. Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) have had their memories wiped regarding Peter - and they've been at university in Boston. It's lonely. Making matters worse Peter's spider abilities are acting up and there is a new threat in town which the perceived good guys, led by Bill Metzger (Travis Tillman) are trying to keep under wraps. 

It wouldn't be a good Marvel film if some of the old crew didn't come back. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is there to help out. The scenes with Yelena Balova/ The Black Widow (Florence Pugh) are some of the best bits of the film. And of course, there is a lot of action, as Spiderman and the crew try to work out just what is going on with this new threat - which comes in the form of Jean Grey (Sadie Sink). If you're an X-Men fan, you'll know what we're on about. Also, a shout out to Jon Bernthal who plays Frank Castle - a character from the MCU's Punisher series - he's very cool. Another character who has a great arc.

The addition of Jean Grey also signals that work is in the offing to bring the X-Men in with the New Avengers films. Just watch. 

If not, you'll work it out.

What I really liked about this film is we're seeing a man who's growing up. Peter's now a young man. Sensitive, kind and still wanting to do everything to make a better place - yet he's contemplative - and thinks things out. He sees the bigger picture. This film has a lot more going on at an emotional level - and it is wonderful to see. 

Also, the clip at the very end - after the credits - is small but informative. I will say no more. 

Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have taken Stan Lee's thoughts and run with them. This script is great. Fun and action-filled, but also contemplative. This film looks at what matters most - family and friends, and finding your place in the world.

Which, when you think about it, is what Marvel movies are all about. 

This was great. It's worth a look - particularly if you're a Marvel fan.

(And I will be gently convincing my friend to start at the start and work her way through these films. Some are fantastic, some not so good - but it's a worth universe to be a part of.)

Today's song: 

New Shrink

First consult with the new shrink tonight - shrink as in psychologist, not psychiatrist. 

I like her. She's down to earth. 

I've come out of the session with my head screwed on - first sessions are there to work out what you want, and need from the session. I'm not a puddle. Yay. 

But I've got some things to think about.

I do like the fact you need to be absolutely 100% honest with your shrink. 

It's refreshing. 

And because of this I'm going to do some more crochet and go to bed and not write any more. 

Lots to think about. 

Today's song:

About today

 I will tell you about my day - as I've got nothing to write about that either won't get me up on a soap box or bore you witless.

Here we go:

I scored a small pantry.

One of my neighbours was going to put it out to hard rubbish. It's the right size - I have a place in the kitchen to put it, it's white and in good knick. We'll haul it over here tomorrow night after my psych appointment. Finally, I might be able to clear my kitchen bench. The kitchen storage here is awful. Might see if my nice next-door neighbour might give us a hand. 

I finished Dungeon Crawler Carl

I needed the antithesis of the fabulous, but frightening Regime Change, the book about Trump's second term. Horrifying, car crash reading - or in my case listening. So, in a knee jerk reaction, I put on Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinneman on my audible player. First up, the audiobook version is excellent - brilliantly done. 

Admittedly, I wanted to find out about the hype. Carl is an ex-services firefighter who finds himself in a role-playing computer game with his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, after the world is destroyed. Donut talks, Carl is very resourceful, but he has no shoes or pants (he was outside trying to rescue the cat on a snowy night when the world was obliterated. The book is very violent, very funny and if you've had anything to do with computer games, you'll see the appeal. My biggest criticism is that the book has a lot of repetition. But there are now eight or nine books in the series according to AI.

• Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020)
• Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2021)
• The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (2021)
• The Gate of the Feral Gods (2021)
• The Butcher’s Masquerade (2022)
• The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (2023)
• This Inevitable Ruin (2024)
• A Parade of Horribles (2026)
• Carl’s Book of Boom (2026) 

I've read the first one. I don't need to read more. 

I hit a few personal bests at the gym tonight.

Working alone with Chuck tonight, he put me through my paces. He was mean. I did personal bests on the lat pulldown and the seated row. 52 kgs for the pull downs (8 plates) and 45 kilograms for the seated rows (7 plates). I'm getting into the realms of bloke weights. 

The cat threw up on the mat

Why can't cats throw up on the tiles. I'm getting sick of having to wash the floor mat. It covers over the phone cables. 

Nothing is better than a baked potato with baked beans and cheese for lunch.

Nuff said. 

And I heard the Dumb Ways to Die song

And felt sad, because I remember singing it with my niece, and she's no longer here. Still the best ever public service announcement - along with the dance. 

Today's song:

Today I was...

 11 a.m. I've been staring at a screen for two hours, a break was needed. 

I was in the office, sitting in my normal corral on the tenth floor. Corrals are good for focus. You don't have to look at anybody on the hot desks. The screens around the desk keep the glare from the fluorescent lighting at a minimum. A coffee and a wander were required. 

Of course, I left my desk with my headphones and phone. Work has now got an app which means your security pass is on your phone. I went down to the ground floor and looked at the queue at the atrium cafe. 

A walk outside was required. 

 I looked over at the shell of the shopfront that used to contain my favourite coffee shop. They used to do the best Melbourne Wanker coffees (my regular almond decaf latte) made by a team of Columbians. Loved that place. 

Opposite to the bunker is what I've referred to as the pretentious hipster joint. The coffee isn't bad, their Reuben sandwiches are very good, and they used to do evil donuts. The baristas wear leather bound aprons and most of the male staff have ZZ Top beards. Fucking hipsters. 

I went in. It wasn't too busy. I spied the Reuben, mentally noting that it would be there for another day. 

I ordered by coffee. 

- Hello, could I please have a large, almond, decaf latte to take away.

- Sure. What's the name for that?

- Batman. 

The woman behind the till was a little bit flummoxed. She/they looked me up and down, then grinned. 

- Excuse me?

- I'm Batman.

- Of course you are.

- Do you need me to spell it?

- Nah, I'm good. 

She/they punched my order into the POS system. I wished she/them a lovely day and waited for my coffee. 

A couple of minutes later I hear, "A Melbourne Wanker for Batman!"

- Yeah, that's mine, thank you. 

Always be polite to your barista. 

He/they gave me a quick once over and raised an eyebrow. 

I went back to the tedium that is software videos with a spring in my step. 

I think this will only work when you go to a new coffee place. It broke up the day. 

(Thanks to my friend's husband who says he's Batman at coffee shops all the time.)

Today's song: