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…
All the Money in the World is prolific filmmaker Ridley Scott’s dramatization of the real life kidnapping of J Paul Getty III. He was the 16-year-old grandson of oil magnate J Paul Getty, the richest man in the world (Christopher Plummer). In 1973, the teenage Getty (Charlie Plummer, no relation to Christopher) was living in…
Of all the subgenres in crime fiction the accidental detective is one of the toughest to pull off as a series. Particularly when that detective is stuck in a small country town. If only because of the suspension of disbelief becomes harder as the series goes on. Even for established detectives, too much complicated crime…
Life throws up curve balls. You just never know when one will be pitched your way. So it is when thirty-something and balding Vincent Machot (Kyan Khojandi) – who has inherited his father’s hairdressing salon – goes out of his way to satisfy his mother’s food cravings. Machot cycles to the grocery store owned by…
Brisbane theatre company Shake & Stir has brought audiences many exciting theatre experiences (A Christmas Carol, Roald Dahl stories, Animal Farm). Their latest, Fourthcoming, is sure to be another hit. At various points, Fourthcoming invites audience members to use their smartphones to choose a path for the characters in the show. Whichever answer receives the…
Violence abounds in American Assassin, a revenge flick which pits the CIA against the forces that instigate terror against the west. We are introduced to Mitch Rapp, a one-of-a-kind American assassin, who possesses savage skills and a ferocious drive for payback. This is the story of a 21st century counter-terrorist spymaster-in-the-making who, in a world of…
Kenya Barris is probably the most popular TV producer you’ve never heard of. Barris made his name as a writer and producer on America’s Next Top Model. He followed that up with his “-ish” series – Black-ish, Mixed-ish and Grown-ish. Now he steps in front of the camera for probably the most meta show of…
Back in 2007, Adrian Hyland won the Ned Kelly Award for best debut crime novel for his Northern Territory set novel Diamond Dove (since renamed Moonlight Downs) followed a couple of years later by its sequel Gunshot Road. Hyland achieved further recognition for his non-fiction account of the 2009 Victorian bushfires with his 2011 book…
Anyone venturing in to see How To Be Single expecting another raunchy female centric comedy along the lines of Bridesmaids or Trainwreck will be bitterly disappointed with this formulaic and lightweight ensemble romantic comedy set against the backdrop of New York’s glamorous singles scene. How To Be Single follows four female characters as they navigate…
The Man in the Hat sounds like something from the pen of Dr Seuss. Rather this is a quirky and offbeat Tati-esque comedy about an unnamed man (played by Irish actor Ciaran Hinds) driving through the French countryside in his little Fiat 500. He drives through backroads and byways and small villages, and interacts with…
