Indigenous Australia’s fight for justice and equality is given superhero treatment in Blackie Blackie Brown. We may well be looking at the stage equivalent of the movies Deadpool or Kick-Ass. Exaggerated theatrics are liberally supplemented by evocative graphics, animation, mock television news reports, and mood lighting. The staging is most effective. A series of joined…
As many of you will know, Mary Shelley was the author of Frankenstein, arguably the first modern horror story. But this film isn’t about Dr Frankenstein or his monster. Rather director Haifaa Al-Mansour focuses on the author herself. But like many recent biopics, it’s pretty stodgy fare. Al-Mansour, the first recognised female filmmaker from Saudi…
This heart-warming film is the third – and final – film in the popular series about the adventures of a boy and his dog in the beautiful Pyrenees. Belle & Sebastian was based on the popular book by actress Cecile Aubry. The first film in this series was released in 2013. It introduced us to…
What better way to celebrate 100 years of putting smiles on faces from the ultimate dream factory than to bring a cavalcade of their timeless stories to life … on ice? I was fortunate enough to see the first Melbourne performance of Disney on Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic and I assure you that…
Cross 1989’s Tom Hanks’ comedy Turner and Hooch with Best in Show and you should have the makings of one hot-diggity-dog of a film. But potential is one thing – and the realisation of Show Dogs is something else entirely. The film features a cast of talking canine characters, including the hero Max (voiced by…
What a luscious production of the timeless classic, Swan Lake. It is, of course, the love story of Prince Siegfried and the Swan Princess Odette, torn apart by the villainous sorcerer Rothbart. But wait, there’s more. The Imperial Ice Stars’ original version of Swan Lake premiered in Australia in June 2006. It then toured world,…
Marvel movies have two kinds of superhero. You’ve got your building smashers (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk) who are into saving the world. Then you have your (ahem) smaller heroes – your Spider-Man, your Hawkeye – and the eponymous Ant-Man and the Wasp. They bring a human dimension to superheroes. They may not save the world,…
I’ve read an article somewhere titled: “10 Reasons why you should watch Braven”. I agreed with a few points. You could say the movie is a retrospective of action films from the 90s. But there are reasons enough to simply skip this mediocre action film (for you to discover these reasons while reading). It’s not…
Short and to-the-point tracks are exactly what you get on Ari Roar’s debut record Calm Down. With an average of just 1:51 per song on a 15-track record you know right away that Ari Roar is all about telling his view of the world in a very concise matter. He nails the softer indie-rock delivery…
Marjorie Prime is an American play by Jordan Harrison, that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015. The play is set in the mid-21st century. Tess (Lucy Bell) is caring for her ageing mother Marjorie (Maggie Dence). Marjorie is beginning to experience a creeping dementia. Jon (Richard Sydenham), Tess’ husband, has contacted a…
