The contention is hardly conventional, but the vitriol and resultant humour crafted by one of Australia’s foremost playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith (Switzerland), makes Three Little Words a most enjoyable, inflated slice-of-life reality piece. Catherine McClements plays Tess, a book editor and Peter Haughton is Curtis, a teacher. They are a happily married couple (or so it…
Hard to believe Brad Bird’s groundbreaking The Incredibles came out 14 years ago. He already had a solid reputation from his beloved The Iron Giant, but The Incredibles shot him to another level. Now Bird and an expanded team are back with Incredibles 2 – and they’ve done it again. The Incredibles 2 picks up – literally – where The Incredibles…
Three siblings, an ageing father and an impending inheritance. What could possibly go wrong? Set in a classic Queenslander in the heart of Brisbane’s Red Hill, Prospect Terrace is a bittersweet tale of a dysfunctional but relatable family. Written by Queensland playwright Angela Murphy and first performed in Cairns in late 2020 as the debut…
Arguably the most sophisticated animated feature I can immediately recall, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse lifts the bar on what’s possible in a cartoon medium. We’re introduced to Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (the voice of Shameik Moore) and the limitless potential of the Spider-Verse, where anyone can wear the mask. The movie centres on Miles’ adventures…
The Aquarius of the title is a two-storey 1940’s apartment block in the upper-class seaside district of Boa Viagem Avenue in the Brazilian city of Recife. The eponymous apartment block has been the home for Clara (played by Brazilian actress Sonia Braga), a middle-aged former music critic and breast cancer survivor, most of her life….
Inspired by the 2009 Dutch horror film The Human Centipede, Synergy Production Co. has given us a musical parody featuring the same characters. Like the movie, it concerns a deranged German surgeon – Dr Heiter – who kidnaps three tourists and conjoins them surgically, mouth to anus … I kid you not. Dr Heiter is renowned for…
Much-buzzed-about band Whitney have released their debut album, Light Upon the Lake, on Secretly Canadian via Inertia. This follows on the heels of recent inescapable single “No Woman” and a notable trip to SXSW. Light Upon the Lake marks the culmination of a short, but incredibly intense, creative period for the band. Whitney was born…
Interactive theatre can be stimulating. In the case of Day After Terrible Day, while creative, I found it totally perplexing. Upon arrival, patrons are divided into groups and led to the double doors of what turns out to be an unfinished mansion. Once ushered inside, perched on a 10-rung ladder at the back of the theatre…
Directors Elaine Bogan and Ennio Torresan deliver a charming and colourful animation in DreamWorks’ Spirit Untamed. The story concerns a feisty 13-year-old girl and a wild horse. The youngster is Lucky Prescott (the voice of Isabela Merced), who is being brought up by her aunt Cora (Julianne Moore), in a prim and proper household, governed…
Identity is the theme of a dramatic comedy about a 34-year-old who is trying to get a sense of self. Korean-born Lucy (Susanna Qian) was adopted by her quintessential Australian parents – Shirley (Maude Davey) and George (Syd Brisbane) – when she was four. She was brought up with much love in a small country town. Now, out…
