Set in Galway, Ireland between May 2016 and March 2019, Duck Duck Goose explores sexual assault and its impact. I refer to the effect on the accuser and the accused, along with friends and family. Jane Scully (Rachel Nutchey) meets Chris Quinn (Mitchell Holland) in the aftermath of a house party, where Chris got wasted. Jane alleges she…
Following the award-winning Cormac Riley crime fiction series set in Ireland, Australian crime author Dervla McTiernan turned her attention to the United States. Her first novel set there was The Murder Rule, a courtroom/crime thriller based around the Innocence Project which was not all that successful. Her follow up, What Happened to Nina?, is something…
The dress code for the Brisbane Premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical is ‘Spectacular Spectacular’, which is entirely appropriate given what a glorious spectacle the show is in its every aspect. From the moment audience members enter QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, the aesthetic abundance means that there is much to absorb in Derek McLane’s lavish set…
A relentless, super intelligent mind puzzle, which gets better and better as the stakes grow, this is one of the year’s best offerings. Based upon Herman Koch’s 2009 international bestselling novel – which has been published in more than 50 countries – The Dinner is a dark, suspenseful drama about the lengths people will go…
Adapted from the bestselling novel by American author Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere was another swift and savvy snap up by Hello Sunshine, the media production company owned and founded by actor/producer Reece Witherspoon. Ng’s fictional drama of motherhood, social expectations and economic divides was optioned for TV even before it hit the bookstores in…
Believe me, I’m an avid fan of Jason Statham and won’t refuse to watch a film in which his muscularity appears. In addition, I also realise that a real Jason Statham movie won’t ask much effort from your brain. Most of his films are brainless movies in which a lascivious, well-formed beauty occurs from time…
Rosie Andrews pulls a slight bait-and-switch in her debut novel The Leviathan. Set in the 17th Century, the first half of The Leviathan concerns itself with a possible witch trial before pivoting into something even darker. The short prologue ends with the ominous words: “She is awake.” But it will be a while before those…
A film for selective tastes, this is a slow moving Chinese love story concerning joy and sadness, separation and reunion. Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming) and Feng Wanyu (Gong Li) are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner. Released during the last days…
Mark Haddon’s best-selling award-winning novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been adapted to the stage by fellow playwright an Olivier winner himself. The novel which has become a staple of the school curriculum. Haddon himself thought the novel unadaptable, but Stephens’ version has been quite successful, remaining reasonably faithful to the novel….
Talk about creative writing that starts out in one tone and suddenly becomes something entirely unexpected. That’s what you get if you know nothing about American Ultra when you enter the cinema. Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) spends most of his time getting stoned, sitting behind the register of the local convenience store and writing a…
