“It’s been likened to some of those films from the ’80s in terms of its look and appearance. That’s something that I set out to do in the sense of trying to capture some of […]
Author: Glen on the Big Smoke
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
GOLD
There’s barely an ounce of truth in Gold – it doesn’t matter. This is not, as the filmmakers have repeatedly stated, quite possibly to avoid being sued, an account of the very real 1990’s Bre-X […]
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
For even the most hardened sceptics, sometimes it’s enough for a film to just be fun. The absurdity of the Death Star’s fatal structural flaw, something that should surely have come up in quality control […]
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
It’s not easy to make a Harry Potter film without Harry Potter. Director David Yates, the veteran of now five J.K. Rowling adaptations and better-placed than anyone else to continue the franchise, can rest easy; […]
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
‘Spy hard or go home’ might have proved a nifty tagline for Keeping Up With The Joneses if this film hadn’t been able to sell itself on its star-power alone. A fun if irreverent night […]
‘SPIN OUT’ DIRECTOR TIM FERGUSON ON KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Doug Anthony All Stars veteran and now Director Tim Ferguson, fresh off the release of his first feature Spin Out explains the genesis of the new rural-set Aussie comedy, describing the rev-heavy production as a […]
DON’T BREATHE
Like any good fright, Don’t Breathe came from out of nowhere. The surprise smash, made for under $10 million, knocked Suicide Squad from the top spot at this weekend’s box office, proving that however much you hype […]
FEAR ITSELF
A film that goes bump in the night, Fear Itself is an excellent, extensive, feature visual essay on the cogs and spurs that go into making any good horror flick. Presented with deliberately unnerving narration, […]
DIRECTOR DAVID FARRIER TALKS ‘TICKLED’
“It’s about a tickling competition but then it gets a lot darker and I don’t really want them to know anything more than that.” New Zealand journalist, TV personality, andTickled director/star David Farrier sat down to […]
SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL LONG WEEKEND CHEAT SHEET
The 2016 Sydney Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday night with the world premiere of Goldstone. Starring Aaron Pedersen, David Wenham and Jacki Weaver, amongst others, the sold-out opening gala too played host to a who’s-who […]
EUROVISION ’16
Note: contains spoilers Australia was jolted awake this morning by the Eurovision grand finale; and after that vote count, there’s no way we’re going back to sleep. For the first time ever, the contest crossed […]
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
Midnight Special deserved a bigger release than it got. Straddling the commercial/arthouse divide with a combination of thrills, finely-tuned CGI, big-name actors and marvellous sci-fi abstractions, director Jeff Nichols’ latest takes you on a ride where […]
NEXT ON NETFLIX: MONARCHS, SUPERHEROES & GILMORE GIRLS
A year on from setting up shop in Australia, Netflix has gone from strength to strength. Pumping out hits like House of Cards, Daredevil, and Love; the streaming service also recently released the second series of Tina […]
NETFLIX SERIES REVIEW: LOVE
The quintessential modern-age anti-rom-com, Love works because creator Judd Apatow didn’t rush in. Revolving around LA-based thirty-somethings Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) and Gus (Paul Rust), Love diligently explores their interactions from the time they meet until a […]
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
The less said about 10 Cloverfield Lane, the better. While that might sound like a bad review, it’s not. Producer J.J Abrams made this film under wraps, with the added pressure of producing a winning […]
GRIMSBY
The kindest thing I can say about Grimsby is that it makes Bruno look good. Kicking off in the eponymously titled town, little-known outside of the UK, Borat’s Sacha Baron Cohen is Nobby: working class bloke, dad […]
HOLY SITH! FAN-MADE DARTH MAUL FILM GOES VIRAL
17 years after The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul has finally gotten the on-screen due he deserves. A fan-made short featuring Maul as we always imagined him (read: festering in a cave, only to be unleashed […]
DEADPOOL
Deadpool tries very hard to convince us that “this is a different kind of superhero story.” He’s only half right. Stuck in development hell for years, Deadpool got the go-ahead because footage from one action sequence […]
THE REVENANT: OSCAR BAIT CAUGHT IN THE WRONG TRAP
The Revenant is a visual, technical marvel which errs in only one major respect – the casting. Leo DiCaprio is everyone’s favourite to take home gold at this year’s Oscars. With five nominations to his […]
STAR WARS VII PREMIERE: THE JEDI NIGHT THAT WAS
It’s quite something to turn up at an inner-city cinema on a Wednesday night, months out from Comic-con, knowing that you won’t be the only one rocking your Jedi robes. Something we once thought consigned […]
CREED
The best Rocky film since the 1970’s, Creed has brought the series back to form. Star Sylvester Stallone wisely takes a back-seat, filling in the mentor role occupied by Mickey (Burgess Meredith) and Apollo Creed […]
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA
Films are supposed to transport us to another place, another time. Few recent efforts have done it better than this one. In the Heart of the Sea is based on the non-fiction book of the […]
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