Wurld Series hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, and The Giant’s Lawn is the group’s third LP. The history of that region is indie lore, with bands such as The Clean, The Chills, and other associated groups with the Flying Nun record label creating a musical scene characterized by jangly guitars, DIY recording techniques, and a…
The barbarity of the Nazis comes into sharp focus in a botched attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the start of the second World War. The man at the helm is Oliver Hirschbiegel, who directed Downfall, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2005 Oscars. The centerpiece of 13 Minutes is a…
A somewhat surprisingly worthy follow up to the new age retelling of Snow White, namely 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, this has clout as well as pyrotechnics. The Huntsman: Winter’s War is billed as a prequel. It tells how the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), also known as Eric, came to be. That involves the malevolent…
Family secrets, past love, memory loss and addiction are just some of the issues explored in Sunset Strip, an Australian play by Suzie Miller, now on at the New Theatre. On the upside, this drama/comedy provides hope, inspiration and renewal. The setting is in the home of Ray (Vincent Melton), located in a rural community…
A brilliant slice of musical theatre, Once has an inspiring, ear and eye pleasing balance of heart and humour. Based on the 2007 movie by John Carney, it concerns a struggling Irish musician on the verge of giving up and an effervescent Czech woman. The latter (Stefanie Caccamo) sees the guy (Toby Francis), guitar in hand, singing…
Hands up those who thought we’d grow up to be Nancy Drew, although I will confess I was more in the Trixie Belden camp. But those books, The Secret Seven, The Famous Five and the Three Investigators series probably had a lot to do with anybody around our age addicted to mysteries, thrillers and crime…
Despite the success of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator and Mel Gibson’s visceral The Passion of the Christ, the lavish big budget Biblical epic and sword-and-sandals drama has gone the way of the once popular Western. They have become a moribund genre that holds little appeal or relevance for today’s movie going audiences raised on a diet…
A quirky, psychological drama, Cat Person takes its time to ignite but comes into its own in the third act. Margot (Emilia Jones) is a diligent, 20-year-old university student, specialising in anthropology, who has a vivid imagination. She works part-time at the candy bar in an old-style movie theatre. Into the cinema walks tall, dark,…
A poignant and amusing slice of life musical, it is not hard to see why Fun Home received five Tony Awards for the original Broadway production. That included Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Now, fortunately, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company have picked it up and done a wonderful job…
State-sanctioned lies underpin the political thriller Official Secrets. The lies cost as many as a million lives. The US and the UK were looking to justify starting a war in Iraq; with or without the backing of the UN (which wasn’t forthcoming). They do so on the pretense that the Iraqis have weapons of mass…
