Balloon tells the true story of two East German families’ escape to the West a decade before the Wall was torn down. It’s a tense and dramatic film, with moments of melodrama. We’re in the summer of 1979. The Strelzyks and Wetzels have been working on an audacious plan for more than two years. They…
To state the bleedin’ obvious, COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the world … and comedian and songstress Tash York throws many well-chosen barbs regarding coronavirus into a powerhouse show. She’s sassy and saucy and altogether supreme as she and her two flaming red-haired drag artist sidekicks Matthew Hadgraft and Vivian Fonteyn – one on piano and the…
There are movies I really could dwell on in a lyrical way. Because it’s put together cleverly and cunningly. Or because I could empathize with the characters. Or because the humorous content was taken up throughout the story in a professional way. Call me oversensitive or sentimental. But Me and Earl and The Dying Girl…
One of several recent movies that play on nostalgia, Allied is a kind of Casablanca-lite for the undemanding viewer. Of course, director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) is an old hand at this type of film, but no amount of direction could have saved this film from its clunky – and at times incomprehensible – script….
In 2016 A Street Cat Named Bob introduced audiences to a stray ginger cat (Bob) who helped a recovering drug addict turn his life around. That movie was based on an international best seller co-written by the man whose story it told, James Bowen. It was a charmer. Now Luke Treadaway returns as Bowen in…
After spending two years in a Chinese jail for organising a protest that never happened, Lin Bo (Louis Le) has given an exclusive interview to The New Yorker. The artist explains what led to his imprisonment and interrogation, which included beatings. He speaks about the abject conditions in prison – appalling food, cockroaches aplenty and not even a…
We Will Rock You is an ambitious show, especially for an independent theatre company. Yet, despite the accordingly variable talent levels on stage, Brisbane Arts Theatre’s production serves as a treat for classic-rock fans. The Orwellian rock musical, which is filled with about two dozen Queen songs, takes place 300 years into the future of…
A wicked soundtrack and a bodacious storyline underpin Sorry to Bother You. And this subversive comedy hits many of the right notes. This is the kind of movie you’ll either love or hate. It definitely pushes boundaries. It’s fantasy, but it is also endearing. The film follows telemarketer Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) on a journey…
A deceptively clever period crime drama, director Graham Moore’s The Outfit is a slow burn mesmeriser. Set in Chicago in 1956, all the action takes place at the premises of a bespoke tailor. Leonard (Mark Rylance) is a well-spoken, nondescript British “cutter” who takes great pride and pleasure in his work. His narrative about what…
Killing crooks with kindness. That is the concept behind this original animated feature, which turns traditional methods of spying on its head. Lance Sterling (the voice of Will Smith) is an elite loner – the best of the best, who does things others can’t. Mind you he doesn’t always follow the instruction of the agency…
