Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs over a century ago, the fictional hero Tarzan is one of the most popular fictional heroes in literature. As a child he was raised in the jungles of Africa by apes. He is intelligent, loyal, strong and courageous and fights against evil and colonial powers in deepest darkest Africa. There…
A quirky romantic comedy, Maggie’s Plan concerns a vibrant and practical thirty-something year old professional, totally comfortable in her own skin. Maggie Hardin (Greta Gerwig) is at a crossroads. She is charming and optimistic, with success in her career in education and wonderful friends, but something is missing. Her sensible nature has led her to…
Ivan Sen prefers to call his latest film Goldstone a follow up to the acclaimed and award winning thriller Mystery Road rather than a sequel, in much the same way that They Call Me Mister Tibbs was not a sequel to the Oscar winning In The Heat Of The Night. However it’s not as compelling…
In this compelling journey to seek the truth about a most heinous crime, a priest expresses a range of emotions and behavioural traits: anger, angst, mercy and retribution. Catherine McClements (Rush) is joined on stage by Johnny Carr (What Rhymes With Cars and Girls), musical director and pianist Luke Byrne, and an evocative set of…
A real online advertisement (Craigslist at 9:13am on February 13th, 2013) from a pair of twenty-something brothers looking for dates inspired Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. With literally thousands of responses, the bros quickly attracted national attention, discussing their creative dating tactics with Matt Lauer on the US Today show and with Anderson Cooper…
While an important topic, British playwright Francis Grin has failed to make the most of her canvas in constructing Flash. The subject matter is rape and rape culture, in this case specifically as it pertains to a 15-year-old boy, a thoroughly unlikeable character throughout the production’s 75-minute running time. His name is Christian (Dominic Weintraub)…
Despite the feeling of satiety when it comes to superhero movies, I still had to see this new hero from the Marvel stable. Now, you didn’t need much to persuade me to watch it. Certainly not after I saw the revealed trailer last year. Immediately I was convinced that this could become a mega blockbuster….
A richly layered, superbly written, intelligent script, powerhouse performances and highly creative set design are the hallmarks of MTC’s latest production. Skylight is mesmerising, taut and tense throughout, twisting one way and then the other, based upon the utterings of the characters, complete with liberal dollops of good humour. Helpmann Award-winner Dean Bryant returns to…
I loved Hannah Tunnicliffe’s Season of Salt and Honey, so I was more than happy to add A French Wedding to my review list. Here’s the blurb: Max is turning forty. All he wants for his birthday is for his six oldest friends to come to France to eat, dance, drink and laugh for one…
This is a new production of Carmen, by John Bell for Opera Australia (OA), opening the 2016 Winter Season. A major event , then. I had had, as a kid, a copy of an old 78 recording of Lawrence Tibbett, singing his ‘swaggering’ Escamillo’s Toreador Song – played ad nauseam , according to my siblings,…
