In 1998, 70-year-old Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser was sued by the giant agricultural Monsanto company for “patent infringement”. That battle provides the source material for Clark Johnson’s film, Percy vs Goliath. Schmeiser grew canola crops on his property near the town of Bruno. Apparently some genetically modified canola seeds blew onto his crops and Schmeiser…
The noble sport of kings – horse racing – has produced many feelgood and inspirational dramas about champion horses and human-interest stories. We have had films about champions like Seabiscuit and Secretariat as well as our own champion Phar Lap. And there have been films like The Cup which depicted both Media Puzzle’s extraordinary win…
The New Zealand drama Cousins deals with themes of family, culture, and the impact of colonialism on the indigenous population, all of which should also resonate strongly with Australian audiences. The film is based on the 1992 novel written by Patricia Grace, which spanned several decades. Actor, playwright and writer and co-director Blair Grace-Smith (Grace’s…
Based on a true story this drama about industrial pollution and environmental damage caused by giant chemical companies. Minamata explores their greed, corruption and refusal to accept responsibility or take action. This puts the film in the same wheelhouse as films like Erin Brokovich and Dark Waters, although it is nowhere near as provocative or…
Not to be confused with the so-so 2014 supernatural themed thriller starring Eric Bana, Deliver Us From Evil is a frenetic and violent hard-boiled action thriller from Korean director Won-Chang Hong (who wrote films like The Yellow Sea). It delivers plenty of action and will delight fans of this genre. Korean action cinema seems to…
Death of a Ladies Man is a Irish/Canadian co-production starring Gabriel Byrne as Samuel O’Shea, a Montreal based lecturer and a hard-drinking womaniser. He arrives home to discover his second and much younger wife having passionate sex with a stranger in their marital bed and asks for a divorce. But this is just the start…
The Man in the Hat sounds like something from the pen of Dr Seuss. Rather this is a quirky and offbeat Tati-esque comedy about an unnamed man (played by Irish actor Ciaran Hinds) driving through the French countryside in his little Fiat 500. He drives through backroads and byways and small villages, and interacts with…
Spiral: From the Book of Saw is the ninth film in the Saw universe, and an attempt to reboot a franchise long thought moribund. It’s been over a decade since the torture porn franchise came to a conclusion with Saw: The Final Chapter, although there was the disappointing attempt at a belated reboot with 2017’s…
The trashy Fatale is a latter day noir thriller that’s part Fatal Attraction and part Basic Instinct. But the longer it goes the more convoluted its plotting becomes and some plot twists become a little too unbelievable. Derrick (Michael Ealy) is a sports agent who has built a successful business with his best friend Rafe…
After flirting with Arthurian legend and live action remakes of Disney animation Guy Ritchie returned with great success to the gangster genre with which he established his reputation with The Gentlemen in 2019. His latest film is another crime thriller; this time he gives us a solid heist thriller that will remind audiences of the…
