Helmed by Ron Howard, Solo: A Star Wars Story combines double-crosses, action, humour and romance. This is the second break-out film in the Star Wars universe, the first being 2016’s Rogue One. Solo is the story of unpredictable – at time reckless – adventure-hound, scoundrel and maverick Han Solo. It follows his daring escapades within…
The Bookshop is set in the sleepy small coastal village of Hardborough in 1959. Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) is a war widow who relocates to this small town with the aim of opening a bookshop. She loves books and wants to share this love with the townsfolk. She takes possession of the decaying old residence…
David Leveaux’s The Exception cleverly melds historical fact and smart fiction. This WWII spy thriller turned romantic drama showcases some fine talent, though none more so that the irrepressible Christopher Plummer. Experienced TV writer Simon Burke produced the screenplay, adapted from Alan Judd’s novel, The Kaiser’s Last Kiss. Leveaux himself is a renowned theatre director,…
While it mightn’t be 28 Days Later, Cargo is an Australian zombie film with bite. It’s a survival story with a difference. Andy (Martin Freeman) and Kay (Suzie Porter) are holed up on a houseboat with their one-year-old daughter Rosie, but are fast running out of food. Something is keeping Andy from going ashore. All…
Technological endeavour and craftsmanship combine in the beautifully realised The Wizard of Oz. This fun-filled family musical will have cross-generational appeal. This London Palladium production was developed from the popular MGM movie of 1939. The movie, in turn, was based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of…
Aurore is an unobtrusive little charmer of a French comedy. Aurore (Agnes Jaoui) is a middle-aged woman with two adult children. She muddles through life as best she can. She’s a fighter, not a victim, although she experiences discrimination. Then she unexpectedly bumps into an old high school flame, Totoche (Thibault De Montalembert). She hasn’t…
Marvel’s most, um… inappropriate, superhero returns in Deadpool 2. And if you liked the original’s blend of raunchy humour and super doings, this has more of the same. David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) replaces Tim Miller in the director’s chair but the difference in style is largely imperceptible. Deadpool 2 offers pretty much a re-run of…
Love in the slaughterhouse? On Body and Soul is a quirky drama about an unlikely romance between two lonely employees in a Budapest abattoir. The film won the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; but it’s an art-house film that will have limited interest to a broader audience. Endre (Géza Morcsányi) is the…
Talk about the power and passion. Iconic Australian band Midnight Oil has always had that in spades. Now the new documentary Midnight Oil 1984 captures that in their heyday; when they were reshaping the lives of young Australians. This is a grass roots band that went about the business its own way. It didn’t chase…
In 1986 comedian Rodney Dangerfield went Back to School for one of his better comedies. Thirty years later, comic Melissa McCarthy goes back to school for the flat and largely lifeless Life of the Party . This is the third collaboration between McCarthy and her writer/director husband Ben Falcone. It follows the awful Tammy; and…
