Finding your place in the world is hard enough for most. But when dealing with teen angst and sexuality, it can be harder still. Writer/director Kerem Sanga (The Young Kieslowski) explores these fraught issues in First Girl I Loved. Anne Smith (Dylan Gelula – TV’s Casual) is a bright high school senior. She’s best friends with a…
Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Woodes is heading back on the road for her debut tour. The alter ego of Elle Graham, Woodes is bringing her organic, emotive electronica to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in July. The tour is in support of her new single “Run For It”. Last year she released her debut self-titled EP to much praise, featuring in Pigeons…
A lively French box-office hit, Monsieur Chocolat details a fascinating rise-and-fall story. This is the tale of the first popular Afro-Cuban artist on the French stage. His real name was Rafael Padilla; but he became known as Chocolat. Padilla was only nine years old when sold into slavery. He then escaped to a different life. Set…
With the successful Despicable Me franchise, new kids on the block, Illumination Studios, have rivalled animation giants Pixar and Dreamworks who once set the bar. The success of the Despicable Me franchise is largely due to the scene-stealing antics of the mischievous, diminutive and simple minded yellow creatures known as the minions, who talk in gibberish. The…
Aftermath is the story of a tragic plane crash between two commercial airliners. As a result there are 271 lives lost. Among them the wife and pregnant daughter of the Russian foreman Roman (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Don’t expect staggering images of the accident with explosive footage and anxiously screaming passengers. The only image you’ll see of the…
A low-rent noir thriller with some questionable acting, Detour nevertheless keeps the twists coming. The film focuses on Harper (Tye Sheridan – X-Men: Apocalypse), a tense, privileged young law student. The young man suspects his stepdad, Vincent (Stephen Moyer) caused a car accident, leaving Harper’s mother in a coma. Harper is livid that Vincent has barely visited his…
Melbourne alt-country favourites Miles and Simone have returned with the release of their new single “She And I”. The track was recorded with producer Dan Luscombe (The Drones, Courtney Barnett) and was birthed out of the chance discovery of a a battered old nylon-stringed classical guitar amongst boxes of old records behind the red velvet…
I Love You Now is a new Australian play by Jeanette Cronin, for two actors, Jeanette Cronin and Paul Gleeson, directed by Kim Hardwick, designed by Isabel Hudson with a lighting design by Martin Kinnane supported by co-composers and sound designers, Max Lambert and Roger Lock. Leo (Paul Gleeson) and June (Jeanette Cronin) have loved…
Director Terence Davies continues his love affair with the woman he regards as America’s greatest poet in A Quiet Passion. Born into privilege in 1803, Emily Dickinson (Cynthia Nixon) spent most of her life on her parents’ estate in Armherst, Massachusetts. In her youth, Dickinson is shown as a fiercely intelligent young woman who exchanges forthright…
A slow-moving, intense jigsaw puzzle, a mood of unease permeates nearly every scene in UNA. Based on David Harrower’s Olivier Award-winning one-act play Blackbird, the film follows a young woman’s journey to reclaim her past. Fifteen years ago, 13-year-old Una ran away with and had sex with an older man, Ray – a crime for which…
