When we first meet Ruben Guthrie (Patrick Brammall) in the film that bears his name, he’s hosting an extravagant bash in his swanky harbourside digs after winning an award for his work as an advertising creative. The evening ends with Ruben on the bottom of the pool, having thrown himself off the roof of the…
Hot Thoughts, the new album from Spoon, has just been released on the Matador/RemoteControl Records label. Produced by Spoon and Dave Fridmann, the band believe they have created the bravest, most musically inventive work of their illustrious career. In addition, Spoon have announced two intimate stripped down in-store appearances to precede their live shows in Sydney and Melbourne…
A searing, moving slice of life reality piece, this is a French coming of age tale. Marieme is a good girl – young, attractive and seemingly with the world at her feet, but her circumstances see her future all but decided. At age 16, she is the eldest of three girls in a single parent…
It is extremely satisfying to see an actor that you’ve observed bouncing around various TV shows over the years finally landing, and nailing, the peak role of his career. Billy Campbell is not a name you’ll twig to straight away until you see his sternly handsome face on the screen and then its ‘oh, THAT…
As the director of Borat and Bruno, Larry Charles can hardly be accused of playing it safe. So it is again with Dicks: The Musical. This is a hard-swearing, politically incorrect comedy, which will delight those sick and tired of woke. Dicks is the cinematic adaptation of the musical stage play F…ing Identical Twins: The…
The Murlocs are part of the current wave of Australian psychedelia that keeps rolling on. The group has that 60’s swag of the 13th Floor Elevators and the bounce of the nice guys next door like The Association. Not experiencing the 60’s for some of us music fans feels like a total missed opportunity, so…
Damn time loops. Bill Murray got stuck in one in Groundhog Day and could escape it by surrendering to love. And Tom Cruise had a less pleasant loop in Edge of Tomorrow. He died every time during an alien invasion. Samantha (Zoey Deutch) faces the same problem in Before I Fall. A night out with…
A penniless wheeler and dealer gets in with the big boys and finds himself caught up way over his head. That, in a nutshell, is what the cleverly conceived and executed mind-bender Norman is all about. Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) lives a lonely life in the margins of New York City power and money. He is a would-be…
Small Mercies by Richard Anderson is one of those books that should be mandatory reading for all Australians. I certainly hope somebody in education circles SERIOUSLY contemplates putting it into English syllabuses as I don’t think most city based Australians have a clue about the mind games that drought inflicts on people and places. I…
Vin Diesel leads a cast of renegades to try to save the world from destruction in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Yes, I know it is a well-worn plot, but I found this sequel surprisingly engaging and entertaining for the first half, even though I had no idea who was fighting whom and which sides…
