Questions of morality and decency are at the heart of an outstanding comedic drama concerning the interactions of two night security guards and two police officers in New York. Jeff (Charles Grounds) was booted out of the navy after three years for dope smoking, something his father – who was a naval hero – was…
A haunted mansion in the middle of suburban Melbourne. Who knew that was a thing in this town? The perfect venue for a creep show where things go bump in the night. It is about broken love and apparitions. There is a back story, given to us by a narrator (Mike Snell) in the hallway…
Just as it depicts Judy Garland’s life Judy, the movie, is a train wreck. In fact, I couldn’t wait for it to end. Garland wasn’t allowed to be a regular kid and was lauded over by the studio head Louis B. Mayer and her obnoxious, overbearing mother, Ethel. Given pill after pill at an early…
A hard working wife and mother has her life is turned upside down in Michal Aviad’s Working Woman. Orna (Liron Ben Shlush) is happily married to Ofer (Oshri Cohen). They have three young children. Two months ago, Ofer opened a restaurant, but the business is struggling. Middle-aged businessman Benny (Menashe Nov) offers Orna work selling…
Janine Hosking’s The Eulogy provides a compelling portrait of an virtuoso Australian pianist who died far too young. This intriguing film is among the finest documentaries of the year. The starting point is the controversial eulogy former Prime Minister Paul Keating delivered at Geoffrey Tozer’s memorial service (which the ex-PM agreed to re-enact for this…
Hustlers is a comedic drama about savvy strip club employees who turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. At the start of 2007, Destiny (Constance Wu) is struggling to make ends meet. She needs to provide for herself and her beloved grandmother, who brought her up. But it’s not easy: the managers, DJs and…
Courtney Love (Rebeka Hill) meets Lindy Chamberlain (Dana Miltins) – two women who have suffered loss and are feeling guilty because of it. The deaths that affected them happened 13 and a half years apart, one in August 1980 and the other in April 1994. A dingo took Chamberlain’s nine-week-old baby daughter Azaria, while Love’s…
A fascinating, at times most humorous insight into a dystopian future, what is in play here is a power struggle. Ultimately, Control is about attempting to subvert a dehumanising system and allowing natural instincts to dictate the way forward. The play – a world premiere work written by Keziah Warner – is divided into three…
Melbourne International Arts Festival was first staged in 1986 under a different name – Spoleto Melbourne – and has carried several other names since. Covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts and multimedia, as well as free and outdoor events, it is held every October. The 2019 Festival runs from the 2nd to the 20th of…
Black is the New White, not to be confused with the television series Orange is the New Black, is about racism, class and identity. Humour is the principle vehicle used to highlight inequity, but perhaps not as you might have expected it. Charlotte Gibson (Miranda Tapsell) is a hot shot young aboriginal lawyer who has…
