Okay, a few caveats. I am most definitely not the target audience for Trolls: World Tour – because I’m not 8 years old. That disconnect makes reviewing this film difficult, because what I see isn’t what an 8 year-old sees. The character design alone made me nauseous; but they’ll love it. The film operates on…
The outrage I felt while watching events unfold here was palpable, just as it should be. Racism, hatred, misogyny, political dirty dealings – it is all there in giant technicolour, so to speak. At the centre of proceedings is a young actor still to make it, a man who would go on to become a…
What does it mean to be Australian … to live in this country? What expectations do you have of others’ behaviour towards you … and what is the harsh reality? Who is exploiting who? Who is taking advantage and how significant is the social, class, gender, racial and cultural divide? These are some of the…
Choosing the remote island of Lark to relocate to is a decision made by the Kendricks in the wake of enormous loss. Viola and her mother Deborah will never be the same again now it is only the two of them, and the safety offered by the tiny community of Lark seems heaven sent at…
I’ve been following with interest the updates on Cassie Hamer’s debut novel After the Party. Thanks to Netgalley, I was able to read an advance copy and I’ll say now, add this to your reading lists if you are a fan of Liane Moriarty and her sister Nicola Moriarty. You’ll get a story that mixes…
Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) is back with a breathtakingly beautiful film about childhood, loss and memory. Petite Maman (which translates to Little Mummy) focuses on an eight-year-old girl’s relationship with her mother. Nelly (Josephine Sanz) has just lost her grandmother. She and her mum Marion (Nina Meurisse) and father (Stéphanie Varupenne)…
California has gone to pot and Sister Kate is front and centre of the crusade in Breaking Habits. She calls herself a nun, but she created her own ministry after her husband blindsided her. Let’s just say life hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for this former corporate high achiever. As this doco written and directed…
Christine Keighery comes from a long and successful career writing books for children and young adults into a decidedly adult book. The Half Brother, as the title suggests, sits firmly in the domestic thriller realm. That is, she takes recognisable social and family issues such as family breakdown, open relationships and forced adoption and explores…
Passion and genius are tested in a superb, intelligent and captivating creation from American playwright David Auburn. First staged on and off Broadway in 2000, Proof went on to win the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, as well as numerous other accolades. Gwyneth Paltrow was nominated for a…
In the tradition of Mafia movies like The Godfather (1972) and Goodfellas (1990) comes The Irishman. This tale is set around the fortunes of one man rising through the ranks of the organisation. And while the action centres on him, much of the plot concerns the fate of powerful Teamsters’ union boss Jimmy Hoffa. World…
