Australian born filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell are certainly beginning to carve out a niche in Hollywood as purveyors of well crafted horror movies that have defined the genre over the past few years. They are best known as the creators of the gory Saw franchise and other formulaic scary films like Insidious and…
Colourful characters, a great soundtrack and elements of The Voice are my immediate reflections when considering Sing, the latest animation from the studio that brought us Despicable Me, The Lorax and Minions. It is the first collaboration between writer/director Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and the founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment,…
Can a movie be too smart? Apparently, it can; if it’s Alex Garland’s thoughtful sci-fi adventure, Annihilation. Paramount famously denied the film a cinema release* earlier this year, allegedly on the basis it was “too intelligent” for the average filmgoer. (How you feeling now, fellow Australians? Seems we’re too stupid.) So instead of heading into…
Allegra in Three Parts made me cry, I’m not going to hide it. Grab your tissues, because this story of a young girl (Allegra, aged 11 and three-quarters) who has to be one person for one grandmother, another for the other, and a third for her dad, really tugs at the heartstrings. Allegra’s being brought…
Confession time…. I hate interactive/immersive theatre and I’m not much of a zombie fan. Yet I didn’t hate Directors of the Extraordinary’s Containment. This zombie adventure game sees the Brisbane Powerhouse transformed into a paramilitary-protected private research facility. Scientists have been weaponising a contagion that zombifies humans… until there was a leak in the lab….
Ex Pilots began as Ethan Oliva’s solo project in 2015 with the release of Findlay, a compilation of demos from 2009. By 2019, the project evolved into a full band with the release of their excellent self-titled LP, which was remastered and reissued last year on Smoking Room. Now with a solid six-member lineup, Ex…
Love in the slaughterhouse? On Body and Soul is a quirky drama about an unlikely romance between two lonely employees in a Budapest abattoir. The film won the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; but it’s an art-house film that will have limited interest to a broader audience. Endre (Géza Morcsányi) is the…
I’m not sure what’s going on with James Wan’s blockbuster Aquaman. This is a bloated Franken-movie that cobbles together parts of many – mostly better (*cough* Black Panther *cough*) films. Yet by the time the climactic final battle takes place, I found myself cheering for our hero. How does that happen? As a director, Wan’s…
Littlies (several wearing angel wings) danced and clapped. They cheered and waved their arms about. Truth be told, so did their parents and grandparents. That is because The Australian Shakespeare Company really knows how to tap into audience sensibilities. Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, in the magnificent Ripponlea Gardens, is a treat for those after colour, movement,…
This low budget female centric film from director Jonny Leahy, a recent VCA graduate, is an honest and comical urban comedy/drama looking at the developing friendship between two troubled young women from different backgrounds. Leah (newcomer Zara Zoe) is a young woman who has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma, who has a chance encounter with…
