As a filmmaking culture, Australia has a lot of people with great ideas. But small budgets and stingy government funding mean sometimes those ideas aren’t fully realised. And sadly, Promised is one of those. Writer-director Nick Condi’s somewhat unconventional family drama is apparently based on a true story, but its heart gets lost in a…
In Paul Greenrass’ new film, News of the World, a veteran of the Civil War travels across the country reading the news from papers he collects. Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) shares stories of disasters, politics and gossip for audiences in every town he visits. He’s mainly talking to people who are illiterate or…
Raja (Mariya Belkin) and Victor Frankel (Vladimir Friedman), a couple in their 60s, were the unsung heroes of Russian cinema. For several decades they had dubbed Hollywood epics into Russian for cinema audiences. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the couple left Russia and migrated to Israel. But like thousands of…
Call Me By Your Name is a sensitive coming-of-age story. Set in Crema, a sun-drenched rural part of Italy, it deals with themes of desire, repressed sexuality and identity. James Ivory, best known for his work with the late Ishmail Merchant provides the script. He’s adapted Andre Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name. Elio Perlman (Timothee…
Those who know the story behind The Laramie Project won’t be surprised by the clearly western-themed staging that sees Ad Astra’s intimate theatre space turned into a saloon-style bar. The cowboy country aesthetic extends to the flannelette, denim and cowboy boots of the beer drinkers. There is even a cowboy-hat-clad musician (Andrew Palmer) to add…
A young employee, Eli (Oliver Tapp), is sacked from his sales job for his intimidatory social media posts outside work to ex-girlfriend Carina. She subsequently reported him to his employer. He is angry and aggrieved and seeks her out for an explanation, but she keeps blocking him. Short of rent money and in a dark…
A slow-burning Iranian movie, Wednesday, May 9 lifts the lid on the role of women and the subjugation of them in a repressed society. It takes a while to unravel the threads, because the story is presented as a puzzle with the pieces being fitted together over time. We first meet a woman with a…
Scintillating, fast paced, brilliantly choreographed Irish tap dancing. A strong, rhythmic, ear-pleasing score. Maestros on the fiddle and flute. Elegant and evocative costumes. Mesmersing magic. That is Celtic Illusion Reimagined. This dynamic, spicy and intoxicating hour and a half stage show (excluding interval) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Celtic Illusion, the vision of creator, director,…
The main event which steers the story in The Lovely Bones is horrific and spine-chilling. And yet, it is not a tale of fear. Quite the opposite. Hope, peace and solace are recurring themes. While not uplifting, the play provides an understanding of human failings and frailties. The Lovely Bones centres around 14-year-old Susie Salmon…
– The Lighthouse – Only in cinemas from 6 February 2020 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Universal Pictures Australia. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind modern horror masterpiece The Witch, comes this hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a…
