True Things is the sophomore feature for director Harry Wootliff, following 2018’s Only You. Kate (played by Ruth Wilson, who also produced the film alongside Jude Law) is a self-destructive woman in her early thirties who works as a clerk in a government welfare office. She is insecure, lonely, and a little bored with her…
“Dead bodies usually mean something bad…” It’s 1945, towards the send of WWII. The German navy are even sinking hospital ships. When the film opens, a group of survivors from a sunken hospital ship are adrift somewhere in the North Atlantic. Tensions are high as they are desperately short of food and water. This motley…
Last Tango In Argentina? No, this is not a documentary about the making of Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial erotically charged drama Last Tango In Paris. Rather this documentary is a loving portrait of Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes, the most famous tango dancers in Argentina, who danced together for nearly fifty years and took…
Here’s the thing. I’ve never read a Margaret Atwood book before. Never. Having heard so much praise about her writing, I was excited when a copy of The Heart Goes Last arrived in my mailbox. Was it the best Atwood to start with? Here’s the blurb: A sinister, wickedly funny and deeply disturbing novel about a near…
“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education”: Albert Einstein In Matamoros, Mexico, an idealistic teacher by the name of Sergio Jaurez Correa arrives at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary School. It’s 2012 in a neighbourhood where poverty is entrenched, crime is rampant and corruption omnipotent. In many cases, due to basic survival…
Lots of great speculative fiction books involve steam trains. Some highlights of this China Mieville’s Iron Council, Terry Pratchett’s Raising Steam to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express. And of course, being steam driven, trains often feature in pretty much anything written in the steampunk sub-genre. Sarah Brooks’ debut draws on some of this but also on…
It’s more than fitting that the final word from Peter Corris would be curated by his wife, and long-time editor, Jean Bedford. The chosen short stories are perfect examples of his work, and the ‘ABC of Crime Writing’ is every bit as insightful, acerbic, funny and thought-provoking as you’d want it to be. The columns…
Many know the iconic cinematic phrase, ‘You can’t handle the truth!’, even if they haven’t seen the 1992 film A Few Good Men. I’m one of them. Perhaps it’s my aversion to Tom Cruise, but somehow the film passed me by, so seeing Queensland Theatre’s riveting production of Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play was a pleasant…
In Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, Fern (Frances McDormand) is a loner. The highly capable 61-year-old has little to her name. She’s averse to traditional societal norms. Now she leads a frugal, nomadic life with memories of the past with her now-departed husband. Fern has always been a free spirit. But she settled in a nondescript house…
At first, I just tried to ignore this movie and I was hoping I would come across it someday on some television channel during a quiet Saturday night. First of all because I’m not dying to see a movie with Jennifer Lawrence acting in it. Even if the antagonist is played by the charming Chris…
