Push The Book of Mormon over a cliff and mix in an unhealthy dose of Avenue Q and you go some way to describing the irreverence that is Hand to God. A puppet practice workshop in a church gets shanghaied by the devil and it’s only a matter of time before proceedings spiral totally out…
Australia’s bushranger history is rich material for filmmakers. Ned Kelly’s rebellious spirit is embedded in our national psyche and he still hogs much of the limelight from that period. There have been two major films exploring Kelly’s life, and we’ve had a number of other films about famous bushrangers and that whole period of history,…
On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’s largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, an ultra deep-water drilling rig off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the story of some of the 126 crew members working aboard the Deepwater Horizon that day, caught in the most harrowing circumstances. Mark…
In a plentiful year for Australian film, Ladies in Black is the latest local story to grace our screens. Directed by iconic storyteller Bruce Beresford, Ladies in Black has the makings of the next Australian classic. Adapted from a book by Madeline St John (and subsequent successful musical, with music by Tim Finn), the story…
Of all the horror tropes, witches have had a lean run lately. Seems you can’t turn around without a new movie about zombies, vampires or ghosts being released; but witches have somehow stayed quietly in the background. Until now that is, and the release of Robert Eggers’ genuinely creepy indie film, The Witch. An audience…
“This is a joyful song,” says Nick Cave by way of introduction to “Breathless,” a song from the 2004 double album release with his full band, The Bad Seed, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus. But then in jest he adds, “So make the f*king most of it… cause it’s downhill from…” and then laughs unable…
Life in all its messiness is played out in Lyric Opera’s chamber opera The Children’s Bach. With music by Andrew Schultz and libretto by Glenn Perry, it is based on a novella of the same name by Helen Garner. Set primarily in Melbourne in the 1990s, it centres on the fraught relationships in the Fox…
Where did it all go so wrong? After several era-defining movies, the Marvel franchise seems to be sputtering. Judging by the ill-conceived and frankly illogical The Marvels, it seems to have run out of ideas for these characters. The Marvels draws together Captain Marvel (2019), the Disney + mini-series Ms Marvel and a few scattered…
After caning the majority of Australian releases recently, I am delighted to be able to sing the praises of the slow-burn thriller Berlin Syndrome. Unease permeates almost every scene. Clare (Teresa Palmer), a twenty-something Australian photojournalist, arrives in Germany on a sabbatical from work. She intends to photograph Soviet-designed architecture in the hope of publishing…
Now on their fourth album, English band Martha has perfected their indie-pop-punk formula as they have released one of their most engaging records to date. Please Don’t Take Me Back has an early DIY sound with loud crashing guitars and drums while the group comes together for a multitude of memorable harmonies that cement the…
