Taking on important historical figures in cinema can be fraught. Too much detail, and the film gets bogged down; too little and it’s dismissed as superficial. In recent years, a new vehicle has emerged – the snapshot biopic. Darkest Hour used it with Churchill, as did Hitchcock (2012) with, well, Hitchcock. These films take a…
Twist is contemporary take on Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist. Dickens’ tale followed a poor orphan boy lured into life of crime under the control of the elderly rogue Fagin. Twist updates the setting from the grim and bleak streets of Victorian era London to the sleek glass and concrete structures of modern-day London. In…
A fusion of dance, burlesque and circus, Matador sizzles and bedazzles. The show is characterised by pulsating, ear-pleasing beats, brilliantly choreographed, fast paced routines, superb athletic and acrobatic prowess, a phenomenal array of sensual costuming and outstanding, colourful lighting design. Written, directed and produced by Bass G Fam, Bass used his own life experiences as inspiration for…
It might just be me, but I feel like I’ve seen a lot of films lately about overcoming past trauma. Noted actor Robyn Wright makes her directorial debut in Land, another entry in that canon. She demonstrates a strong aptitude for visual storytelling. But her distinctive style can’t hide the thinness of the script. As…
The beat goes on, as does girl power. Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs blended live music with creative tap dancing the likes of which we hadn’t seen before and it was electrifying. That kicked off a quarter of a century ago. A few years earlier a British idea saw everyday objects such as rubbish bin lids, brooms, matchboxes…
– My Name is Gulpilil – Only in cinemas from 27 May 2021 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to ABCG Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE In what is very likely his final film, the great Australian actor David Gulpilil faces his own mortality: he is dying of lung…
Emma Stonex’s debut novel The Lamplighters is based loosely on the true story of the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers from a remote lighthouse in 1900. Stonex relocates the event to a more recent time and a slightly different location but maintains the mystery and the mythology that surrounds those who spent their lives to…
Passion, intellectual rigour and the Holocaust collide in Joanna Murray-Smith’s intense, high verbiage, sexually charged drama Berlin. Australian Tom (Michael Wahr) has just landed in the German capital, keen to get to know the real city, not the tourist offering. He’s directed to a small, hole in the wall bar, where he meets and is immediately drawn…
Set on the eve of WWII, Six Minutes to Midnight is a moderately engaging spy thriller. The film is set mainly in the Augusta-Victoria College, situated in a sprawling old mansion in Bexhill On Sea, near Brighton. It’s an upmarket British finishing school for the daughters and goddaughters of high-ranking Nazis. The girls are learning…
A family is traumatised by the tragic death of a child in Vaughn Stein’s Every Breath You Take. Philip (Casey Affleck) is a psychiatrist and lecturer, his wife Grace (Michelle Monaghan) a real estate agent. They have a young son, Evan (Brenden Sunderland) and he has a senior school age daughter, Lucy (India Eisley) –…
