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Alex First

Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.

Free Guy – movie review

Try as I really wanted to like Free Guy, I simply couldn’t … because it is one very silly movie. Two game developers – Millie (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery) – invent a video game, but their boss, Antwan (Taika Waititi), steals the idea and exploits it to makes some serious coin. The basis of…

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The Suicide Squad

I hope comic book fans find more to appreciate about James Gunn’s (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) take on The Suicide Squad than I did. I found it a garbled, at times incoherent, mess. The US government is secretly engaging the services of hardened criminals with “special skills” (read: killing). They go on perilous…

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Jungle Cruise – movie review

Jungle Cruise benefits from the talents of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. This old fashioned, far-fetched adventure fantasy is based on a Disneyland attraction that’s been operating since 1955. Set at the height of World War I, the film concerns a long-standing hunt for an elixir with remarkable healing powers. English botanist Dr Lily Houghton…

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Frozen The Musical – Her Majesty’s Theatre

Stellar lead performances, brilliant staging, evocative lighting, a healthy dollop of Disney magic and a delightful sense of humour underpin a triumphant story of sisterly love in Frozen The Musical. It is the perfect blend of comedy, emotion and theatrics, and brings to life the story of Elsa and Anna, separated by a potentially deadly curse. The…

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Shiva Baby – movie review

The sexually-charged comedy Shiva Baby is an awkward delight. Dani (Rachel Sennott) is a 20-something sugar baby, part of a close-knit Jewish community. Her highly opinionated mother Debbie (Polly Draper) loves her dearly, but is controlling and smothering. Debbie invites Dani to attend the Shiva Minyan (memorial service) for a member of the community who…

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Old – movie review

Let’s face it, growing old isn’t nice, but this offering from M. Night Shyamalan is simply ridiculous. Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca Capa (Vicky Krieps) have taken their two children, 11-year-old daughter Maddox and six-year-old Trent, on a luxurious tropical island holiday. The husband and wife are on the verge of separating, but have…

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Rosa’s Wedding – movie review

A pleasantly distracting comedy, Rosa’s Wedding centres around a hard-working woman who’s selfless to the point of exhaustion. She looks after everyone – family and friends all – other than herself. About to turn 45, Rosa (Candela Peña) works long hours as a seamstress in the wardrobe department of a film production company in Valencia….

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Perfumes – movie review

Perfumes is a gently paced, delightfully nuanced French comedy about a woman with a nose for fragrances. Anne Walberg (Emmanuelle Devos) was employed by Dior, where she created some of the world’s most popular perfumes. But now she works for an assortment of contract clients, often trying to find ways to mask undesirable smells. She…

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