Smile is a genuinely scary and engaging psychological horror movie. It centres around a hard-working therapist in an emergency psychiatric unit, named Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon). As Dr Cotter is about to leave the facility after a particularly long shift, a young graduate student Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) enters shaking and clearly traumatised. In…
A secret imaginary rendezvous between two towering but polar opposite African American leaders plays out in The Meeting. The pair lived in the same era. Both were assassinated at age 39. One preached non-violence, the other violent rebellion. I speak of Baptist minister and activist Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) and Muslim…
Cyrano is a massive triumph. The MTC production of the season. A talented cast, headlined by writer and star Virginia Gay prove that the pen is mightier than the sword. This is a contemporary rewrite of the classic play by Edmond Rostand about a French army soldier and gifted poet with a particularly large nose enamoured…
An engaging professor of parapsychology talks us through the history of ghost stories – how they came to be and how they have evolved over time. Phillip Goodman’s (Steve Rodgers) dissertation comes complete with photographic and video “evidence”. Among the most compelling is a photo of four people taken in Scotland in 1972, which, upon closer inspection,…
The second line of Peter Allen’s iconic anthem I Still Call Australia Home contains the words “From New York to Rio and old London Town”. It then goes on to say, “I still call Australia home”. Only Rio doesn’t feature in The Australia Ballet’s three parter Instruments of Dance. The triple bill has the works of resident…
Sandra Pankhurst was a remarkable woman whose life hardly followed a conventional path. She founded a successful trauma cleaning business and is a no-holds-barred public speaker. The documentary Clean starts by outlining the work undertaken by her conscientious employees. They must have a strong constitution, because this is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Blood,…
Thirteen years on, it may be difficult to recall just how spectacular and magical a movie Avatar is. I had the privilege of seeing it again in 3D and it stands up to the test of time magnificently. The technology remains wondrous. It won three Oscars, including one for visual effects. The theme of protecting…
Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone opens in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia. A disfigured witch, Maria (Anamaria Marinca), hovers over a crib. The baby’s mother pleads not to take her infant … at least until she turns 16. The God-fearing woman takes a blood oath to that effect. She…
A suspenseful thriller that stretches credibility, Fall benefits from some spectacular cinematography. So see it on the biggest screen you can. Married couple Dan (Mason Gooding) and Becky Connor (Grace Caroline Currey) are into each other and big mountain rock climbing. They share that passion with Becky’s best friend, Shiloh Hunter (Virginia Gardner). But then…
Twelve years ago, Justin (Matthew Connell) fell in love for the first time. That relationship with Jason (Lachlan Martin) lasted for 18 months. Next up, a six-and-a-half-year love affair in London with Sam (Yuchen Wang) was on the skids. And Justin also had a fourth month fling with Nick (Joss McClelland). Writer and director Justin Nott puts…
