Men treat women badly. Indigenous Australians are often unfairly targeted. Not all men. Not all indigenous Australians. Enough though to call it out … still, regardless of all that has been said and written about these subjects. She is Vigilante deals with these issues, with strength and purpose … with drama, pathos and humour. Seven…
Master filmmaker Pedro Almodovar has crafted an intricate personal story that spans more than 50 years in Pain and Glory. Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) is a veteran film director, afflicted by multiple ailments, the worst of which is his inability to continue filming. His physical condition doesn’t allow it and, if he can’t film again,…
Doctor Sleep is the latest Stephen King novel to be made into a motion picture. It picks up the story of Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Torrance has fought…
Although it has some delightful elements, Last Christmas is an uneven mix of silliness and fun. Kate (Emilia Clarke) hasn’t exactly got her life together. She’s personable, but far from stable. She doesn’t see eye to eye with her overbearing mother, Petra (Emma Thompson), an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia. Nor is she disciplined enough…
Scientific subterfuge is at the centre of a gripping drama concerning the secret of life. We’re in London in the 1950s. Photograph 51 pivots around one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, no nonsense English woman Rosalind Franklin (Nadine Garner), who lived from 1920 to 1958. Franklin was a workaholic who was driven…
These two documentaries opened on 31 October 2019 in limited release. Both are worth searching out. Happy Sad Man An empathetic look at a number of ordinary Australians struggling with mental health issues, Happy Sad Man is a beautifully composed and moving documentary. The focus is on five men aged from their 30s to 70s,…
The 6th British Film Festival is the biggest yet. Running across seven cities (most until 24th November, 2019) and 19 cinemas, it showcases 30 films, including 16 Australian premieres. Below are reviews of some of those premieres. To download the program, for more information and bookings, go to www.britishfilmfestival.com.au Official Secrets (MA) – 112 minutes…
A multi-faceted fight for justice, which tugs at the heartstrings, is the essence of the dramatic musical Ragtime. The timeframe is the early 20th century and the piece combines fictitious representative characters with historical figures such as Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. It is a story of immigrants and African Americans facing adversary…
Coping with death and significant illness resulting in death isn’t easy for anyone. When it affects one’s nearest and dearest it is particularly harrowing. What if inside two years both your spouse of nearly four decades and adult child pass away? How would/could you handle that? In an instant, life as you had known it…
Coping with death and significant illness resulting in death isn’t easy for anyone. When it affects one’s nearest and dearest it is particularly harrowing. What if inside two years both your spouse of nearly four decades and adult child pass away? How would/could you handle that? In an instant, life as you had known it…
