Art and capitalism can be uneasy bedfellows. In our society each depends on the other to some extent. The exploitation of art in the name of money is nothing new, but things could be changing. Critical examinations are now happening around their relationship, particularly as it intersects with issues of race and power. Steven Soderbergh…
When Australian filmmaker Robert Connolly directs a feature film, audiences pay attention. His latest is The Dry, and this thriller doesn’t disappoint. Based on Jane Harper’s novel of the same title, The Dry powerfully depicts a community in crisis. Connolly’s previous feature, Paper Planes (2014) proved a surprise hit, and there’s no reason The Dry…
– Come from Away – Only at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne We have 3 double passes thanks for the performance of Come from Away on Thursday, 21 January 2021 at 7 pm. *Please make sure before you enter that you will be 1) in Melbourne, and 2) available to attend on that date* *(Tickets valid…
– High Ground – Only in cinemas from 28 January 2021 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Madman Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Set against the stunning landscapes of 1930s Arnhem Land, HIGH GROUND chronicles young Aboriginal man Gutjuk, who in a bid to save the last of…
Cinema, like any art form, has boundless capacity to surprise. Disney-Pixar has struggled a little recently (see Onward, for example). But the studio reclaims its title as the benchmark in animation with the incredible Soul. I suspect the success of Soul has a lot to do with the return of Pete Docter to the director’s…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 25 December 2020. Where The World Is Thin is the new album from Kris Drever, a writer and guitarist whose songwriting consistently sets high standards in modern folk music. Drever’s voice and guitar form a part of the backbone…
The truth, they say, can be stranger than fiction. In Lydia Dean Pilcher’s A Call to Spy, the true story of remarkable women spies might not be all that strange, but it is powerful. Virginia Hall is sometimes touted as America’s first woman spy. While the title might not be entirely accurate, she was one…
French cinematic touchstones and a powerful feminist message merge in Martin Provost’s How to be a Good Wife. This slightly bonkers film traverses similar ground to Philippa Lowthorpe’s Misbehaviour, and does it with a similarly entertaining flair. But it also leans heavily into the traditions of French farce. Provost’s previous film was the far more…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 18 December 2020. Gaspard Eden’s debut album, Soft Power, travels the backdrop of the psyche. Considering music to be the product of intuition, the self-taught Canadian singer-songwriter plays within his own subconscious, re-appropriating and transforming past experiences in an…
– Ammonite – Only in cinemas from 14 January 2021 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Transmission Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE In 1800s England, acclaimed but unrecognized fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries…
