The way I remember it, the game of truth or dare can get you in to trouble. But hardly as much trouble as it is in the hands of a bunch of college students in this movie. For them, it becomes deadly. These friends get together for one last Spring getaway before graduation. But what…
King Kong and Godzilla move over. There’s a new kid in town. Let me put it this way: Rampage isn’t a gentle romantic comedy. It is a CGI-driven destruction-fest with The Rock providing an endearing link between a gigantic albino gorilla and humanity. Primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) oversees the ape habitat at the San…
A series of massive, crowd-pleasing chorus numbers are among the highlights of Grease: The Arena Experience. More than 500 enthusiastic youngsters join the 19-strong main cast and make a big impression. Harvest Rain Theatre Company is responsible for touring this production. They’re intent on introducing thousands of youngsters to the musical art form. For those…
Not to be confused with Blake Edwards’ slapstick Tatiesque comedy from 1968, this black comedy and social satire comes from director Sally Potter. With films like Orlando and The Tango Lesson to her credit, Potter has long been a favourite on the art house and film festival circuit. But The Party may well be one…
David O’Doherty delivers lightning-speed patter both spoken and sung – the latter with the accompaniment of an old fashioned keyboard. His latest Melbourne International Comedy Festival show is You Have To Laugh at the Forum. The Irish comedian has been plying his trade for a couple of decades now. O’Doherty won £1,000 as the best…
Who would’ve thought that Wes Anderson would write and direct a dystopian adventure film? I certainly wouldn’t have believed it. Isle of Dogs, aside from a clever oronym, is another excellent entry into Anderson’s filmography. It shows versatility to his style that may be much to the surprise of people familiar with his work. Twenty…
Twelve albums with all the original members is a rare achievement in the music world these days but that is exactly what we get here from Canada’s Sloan. The band has returned with the appropriately titled album, 12, and it is another reminder of what makes a great power pop record. With catchy anthems, memorable…
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…
Both these films are in very limited release. 1945 On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox Jewish man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary. The villagers are preparing for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. The townspeople expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men…
What is it about artists’ tendency to self-destruct? We’ve seen that in documentaries about the likes of Amy Winehouse and Brett Whiteley. Now it’s street artist Anthony Lister in Have You Seen the Listers?. There are times while watching these types of films that you want to ask the subjects what the heck they’re doing….
