Getting stuck in a haunted house has never sounded so good. Australian writer/director Sean Byrne’s (The Loved Ones) The Devil’s Candy is, for the most part, fairly recognisable horror fare. There’s a spooky house where […]
Category: Reviews
PATERSON
Adam Driver is Paterson; both his moniker and that of Paterson, New Jersey where the film is set. The point is not lost, nor thankfully overstated in Director Jim Jarmusch’s delightfully introspective comedy. Paterson is […]
THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER
A lot of folks will see this film for Robert Pattinson, but they should see it for the score. It’s rare to see such exceptional pieces of music put so deftly to use. Actor Brady […]
A FISH (MUL-GO-GI)
Neo-noir meets the great unknown in this South Korean dual drama/thriller delving into the forces of mysticism and death. Lee, Professor and husband (Lee Jang-Hoon), travels far to track down his missing wife, accompanied by […]
DEMOLITION
Jake Gyllenhaal has proven time and again his deserved status as one of Hollywood’s best leading men. Coming off a commanding turn in last year’s Southpaw, Demolition doesn’t stray too far from the boxing hit’s […]
THE BFG
It’s Steven Spielberg. Doing Roald Dahl. If you’re a fan of the book it’s exactly what you were hoping for. A tall order to adapt a story like The BFG, the project would be a […]
MAHANA
When I spoke with Mahana Director Lee Tamahori earlier this week he told me that westerns were a dead genre. Mahana may not be a western, but the genre’s spirit is alive and well in […]
I SAW THE LIGHT
A mess from start to finish, I Saw The Light tries to do way too much and tells us all too little. Tom Hiddleston’s Hank Williams biopic has one saving grace and that’s its lead. […]
THE QUEEN OF IRELAND
As topical as it is entertaining, ‘The Queen of Ireland’ has arrived in Australia just at the right time. If you follow the news at all you wouldn’t have missed the landmark vote to endorse […]
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
Richard Linklater’s throwback/period piece/love-letter to everything 80’s isn’t just a movie – it’s a party where you get to stand by the wall, drink in hand and watch as the past flashes by. A spiritual […]
GOAT
It’s hard to make a drama about a contentious subject without being too preachy or coming down on one side or another. Goat delves deeply and vividly into the rituals of college hazing, for some, […]
WEINER
“I have a virtually unlimited ability to f*#k up things day by day” You might be surprised to learn that the above statement is from a US Congressman. Trust me, it gets worse. This shockingly […]
THE COMMUNE
Not something you see with your roommates, Danish Director Thomas Vinterberg’s semi-autobiographical drama shows the best, and worst, of communal living. Inheriting a house just that little bit too big for a nuclear family, accomplished […]
IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
As you might expect from a movie submerged in its own misguided sense of profundity, it opens with a lengthy outburst of exposition, a cautionary tale both for the plot’s machinations and the insufferable whims […]
LAND OF MINE
Land of Mine, an outstanding Danish-German co-production, ventures off the beaten track of traditional war drama to new, stirring ground. Stoic Sgt Carl (Rolland Moller), charged with fourteen young German PoWs following the liberation of […]
COCONUT HERO
The spirit of Harold and Maude is alive and well in this black comedy about isolated American teenager Mike Tyson (Alex Ozerov). Possessing a morbid fascination with death, when Mike finds out he has a […]
MEKKO
Almost 50 years ago, Steve McQueen’s Bullitt famously chose genuine locations over sets, too deploying local figures in different roles to give the thriller a gritty sense of realism. Tangerine, screening at last year’s Sydney […]
UNDER THE SUN
Director and writer Vitaliy Manskiy gained special permission to produce a documentary on life in North Korea, focusing in particular on one family and their daughter’s being chosen to help celebrate the Day of the […]
THE LURE
The Lure is a Polish-vampire-romance-comedy-horror-80’s-glam-punk-musical. With mermaids. No further explanation is necessary. It defies expectation and classification. Asking someone to give you it’s elevator pitch would be an utter waste of time. On top of […]
JULIETA
Not with a bang, but with a whimper. Julieta is one of those films that are all about a few moments. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s emotionally harrowing drama builds up to several key scenes that […]
WAR ON EVERYONE
Revelling in its absolute irreverence, War on Everyone comes from very far out of left field. When nihilistic police officer Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard), says to his equally sardonic partner Bob Belano (Michael Pena), “I’ve […]
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