Although we’re aware the Brits have some fairly arcane rules around their royals, it might come as a surprise to learn that the Americans follow similar rules for their political leaders. There’s a clearly defined line of succession in the event of a mishap befalling the President, and it stretches well beyond the Vice-President. Indeed,…
How clever and creative. Circa’s Carnival of the Animals is an engaging, endearing, comedic and delightful family show – circus with a decided difference. When we enter the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne, in the middle of a barren stage is a small stack of old-style suitcases of various sizes. As the show starts, these “props” are…
Documentary is a wonderfully flexible form, but paradoxically it rarely strays from a defined formula. You know – some establishing shots, some archival footage, some talking head interviews. But directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw obviously don’t feel beholden to those conventions. Their new film, The Truffle Hunters, is about as radical a departure from…
Based on a true story, this is a tale of one man’s obsession to build a monument to his beloved daughter. Set in France, the film begins in 1979 and pans some three decades. Joseph Cheval (played by Jacques Gamblin) is a quiet, withdrawn and solitary postman who has just buried his first wife and…
Friendly, oil-guzzling, slug-like monsters from the deep with octopus-like tentacles, and which can instinctively sniff good over evil – if you are a true believer, that is what confronts you in the family film, Monster Trucks. Teenage loner Tripp (Lucas Till) has always dreamed of escaping his confined life in a sleepy North Dakota town….
Silly in the extreme, Amy Schumer fans will, no doubt, continue to rejoice in her irreverent humour in Snatched. Schumer’s high water mark was unquestionably Trainwreck. I am now genuinely fearful that from hereon in all we will see her in is second-rate material that attempts to cash in on that movie’s announcement to the world that…
Blasted is a remarkably insightful and deeply traumatising work from British playwright Sarah Kane, first performed in 1995. Ian (David Woods) is a broken, middle-aged journalist. He’s brought a much younger woman, Cate (Eloise Mignon) – who he’s known for some time – to an upmarket hotel room. But when she resists his advances, he…
Stunning. Brilliant. Remarkable. Heather Mitchell’s portrayal of US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of the most extraordinary performances I have seen in three decades of reviewing. RBG: Of Many, One is the gold standard in how to attract, retain and mesmerise an audience … to have the crowd hanging on your every…
The Two Popes gives us the behind the scenes story of how one Pope stood aside for another in a move not seen for more than 700 years. The pair – Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) – didn’t see eye to eye on several issues and yet had mutual respect. One…
A comment often made about Bruny is that readers going in did not know it was going to be such a political read. Bruny is one of those works that very effectively puts the frighteners on for many fronts; climate change, politics, foreign investment, cultural divides – swing the proverbial, you’ll find it here. The…
