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Life of the Party – movie review

In 1986 comedian Rodney Dangerfield went Back to School for one of his better comedies. Thirty years later, comic Melissa McCarthy goes back to school for the flat and largely lifeless Life of the Party . This is the third collaboration between McCarthy and her writer/director husband Ben Falcone. It follows the awful Tammy; and…

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Tully – movie review

Anyone who has ever had a newborn in the house will immediately relate to Jason Reitman’s Tully. This funny, affecting film delivers a compelling tale of motherhood in the 21st Century. Of course, it also marks the reunion of Reitman with Diablo Cody. It’s now 11 years since their breakout hit Juno, and their only…

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The Deconstruction (Eels) – music review

On the 12th Eels album in 22 years, principal singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, known as E, continues a long and lengthy practice of deconstructing the major myths of the American Dream, and the myths and fables of romance, capitalism and the pursuit of personal meaning. Deconstruction, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a philosophical or critical method…

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CLOSED: Win tickets to Hereditary

– Hereditary – Only in cinemas from 7 June 2018 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to StudioCanal. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they…

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Broken – movie review

At the risk of offending true believers, this is a church movie. It pivots around forgiveness. To the best of my knowledge, it was largely, if not entirely, funded from church resources. I dare say its key audience will be those of the faith, and ex-pat New Zealanders (it was made there, and is set…

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The Crucible (BAT) – theatre review

A crucible is a vessel in which substances are heated to high temperatures; when impure elements are melted away, only the pure parts remain. Metaphorically speaking, it therefore represents the perfect titular description for American playwright Arthur Miller’s award-winning classic The Crucible, a play which was itself written as an extended metaphor of the hysteria…

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