Joyous, littered with great performers and frequently unimaginative, Booksmart deserves to be seen even if it’s but patches of what came before
Author: Glen Falkenstein
Glen produces film, theatre and television news, reviews and commentary for a number of outlets, covering Festivals, interviews and events.
Glen lives in Sydney where he enjoys making short films.
Tweets @GlenFalkenstein
Stranger Things Season 3
Something cognizant, inspired and reminiscent of wondrous 80’s era-filmmaking and significantly so without being derivative. And then it started to become derivative of itself
Toy Story 4
Toy Story 4 doesn’t need to exist but I’m so glad it does
Always Be My Maybe
Netflix aren’t short on romcoms or talent. Here’s the latest and being average is about the best thing it has going for it
Marching As One On The Road To The Holy Grail
It’s important that the title was longer than the movie
Star Trek: Discovery shows everyone how it’s done
In months past Game of Thrones had a series-long finale and 22 blockbusters culminated in Endgame. Amidst it all, Star Trek: Discovery, only in it’s second season, showed everyone how it’s done
Black Mirror – Season 5
Well that was, anticlimactic
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Peter Parker says “friendly neighbourhood” Spider-Man one too many times
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
One rarely expects a film as good as ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ to come along and we are always glad when it does.
God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya
A solid premise matters little when the execution can barely match it
Julia Parnell & Martin Phillipps talk ‘The Chills’
“It’s a story about Martin taking a big look at his life after a dire medical diagnosis that forced some real change… when I walked into his life I was dropped into a place where […]
Dirty God
In a Festival beset by unnecessary controversies and ill-considered depictions of violence, Dirty God showed us how well it can be done
Ant Timpson talks ‘Come to Daddy’ and the new thriller-comedy’s International Premiere
“As a fan making a film I wanted to make something that I knew would resonate with people who are savvy and maybe a little bit discerning”
The Unknown Saint
There’s no better place for dry humour than the desert. Couldn’t resist
Hail Satan?
Possibly the only Sydney Film Festival title ever to feature a question mark
Majhid Heath talks Australian Indigenous Horror Anthology ‘Dark Place’
“Five wickedly twisted tales from the next generation of Aboriginal Writer/Directors all looking at the post-colonial Aboriginal experience through the horror genre”
Parasite
Hundreds of films screen every year at the Sydney Film Festival and you can’t always rely on the best one, or close to it, getting it’s dues
Teona Strugar Mitevska talks ‘God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya’
“It’s a story of a woman who defies the rules of the establishment, of the Church, of the State. She goes against them all in order to redefine herself in her own terms, the way […]
Standing Up For Sonny
Everyone involved in this movie wants you to like it, so, so much
RJ Mitte talks ‘Standing Up For Sonny’
Standing Up For Sonny is about Travis who is really reluctant to have a life and ends up getting a roommate who forces him to get out
The Dead Don’t Die
What a waste of everyone’s time.
Us, the cast, Jim Jarmusch; everyone except Tilda Swinton who here made magic all on her lonesome
