The Coen brothers’ latest film is a celebration of cinema’s modern and golden ages alike, with enough visual gags and surprises to keep you hooked. Set on a fictional lot, Capitol Studios’ biggest star Baird […]
MEET THE TROPFEST 2016 WINNER
Spencer Susser has taken out the top prize at the Tropfest short film festival in Sydney for his stop-motion comedy Shiny alongside filmmaking partner Daniel Cloud-Campos. He sat down to share his thoughts on the importance […]
45 YEARS
As with so many tragedies, 45 Years is all about the ending, and it does not disappoint. On the week of his 45th wedding anniversary, Geoff (Tom Courtenay) is informed that the body of his former lover has […]
CONCUSSION
Will Smith is Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist credited with the discovery of football-related brain trauma following the mental deterioration and death of several NFL stars. The film depicts his discovery, his clashes with the NFL, and aspects of […]
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 WHALE
The Whale does not sound like an attractive premise for a play. Six hundred pound Idaho local Charlie (Keith Agius), confined to his apartment, sits on the couch all day, marking essays and watching re-runs […]
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: REHASHING THE FORMULA
The greatest criticism levelled at ‘The Force Awakens’ is that it is entirely derivative. Glen Falkenstein explains why that isn’t a bad thing. Note: Contains major spoilers. J.J. Abrams has comfortably transitioned the Star […]
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 […]
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS
Note: This review does not contain spoilers, nor significant plot elements beyond that which was included in the trailers. The Force Awakens’ strongest asset and weakest attribute are the same thing; it is recognisably, and […]
THE BIG SHORT
The brilliance of The Big Short is that it doesn’t even pretend to be a story about good guys. Four market experts – brought to life by Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad […]
THEY’VE ALREADY WON
Melding multimedia with a traditional vaudeville performance, They’ve Already Won is a very modern production for the social media-savvy age. An oft criticism of theatre that it continues to rely on storytelling tropes and methods […]
THE GOOD DOCTOR
Neil Simon’s series of short plays – some macabre, some uproarious, and others filled with great slapstick – made for a very entertaining night of pathos-laden comedy. A writer relates his stories and wisdom to the […]
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 […]
SUCKER
High school student Lawrence (John Luc) goes from class cheat to professional swindler in this Australian take on the classic con movie. Having been thrown out of school, he meets ‘The Professor’ (Timothy Spall) when […]
CURTAIN
Nurse and new home owner Danni (Danni Smith) discovers a mysterious portal in, of all things, her shower. In spite of many attempts to hang up a shower curtain, it keeps getting sucked into oblivion […]
CRUSHED
Thriller, family drama and murder mystery, Ellia (Sarah Bishop) returns to her family’s vineyard in rural Australia after her father is crushed by a barrel, only to learn that members of her family are prime […]
Stretch And Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives
Biography, radio show and hip-hop anthology, documentary Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives chronicles the impact of duo Bobbito Garcia and DJ Stretch Armstrong on the music industry. Heralding their long-running show and the […]
Twelve TV shows you probably missed this year
It’s not easy for Game of Thrones fans to wait a year to find out what happened after their favourite character was killed/abandoned/maimed/left for near-certain death. In the meantime, here’s a whole pile of great […]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Don’t you hate it when the ending lets you down? The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 didn’t have to try too hard to be a popular, or even a good film. Coming off the […]
In Defence of Spectre
‘Spectre’ is aptly named – not for the criminal empire that plagued Bond’s early adventures, but for its two-syllable summary of why the super-spy’s 24th outing is one of his best. Haunted by the dead […]
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