Noises Off has been around for a few decades – it was written by British playwright Michael Frayn in 1982. And unlike The Play That Goes Wrong or Fawlty Towers, it feels like it. The farce appeared dated to me and it was inclined to push the envelope too far at every turn. The first act…
Much remains unanswered in the low-budget mystery-horror film, It Comes at Night. Award-winning filmmaker Trey Edward Shults follows his breakout debut Krishna with this psychological thriller. It centres on a teenage boy, Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), as he grapples with mounting terrors – both external and internal – in the aftermath of an unnamed cataclysm. Seventeen…
The most problematic of the Marvel superheroes is given a reboot in Spider-Man: Homecoming. When I say problematic, I mean because of his movie history more than anything else. In just the past 15 years, there have been no less than six movies featuring the teenage web-slinger. Sam Raimi’s 2002 – 07 trilogy starring Tobey…
The fourth Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival takes off from 11 July with a slate of 20 films from the Nordic region. The program opens with Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope. The film won Silver Bear for Best Director at this year’s Berlinale. This important and entertaining film reflects the modern day experience of…
In a tour de force performance, the multi-talented Christie Whelan Browne (The Drowsy Chaperone) takes us on a journey on Christmas Eve, while visiting her character’s dying mother. But don’t fret, Vigil is no downer. Using Steve Vizard’s words and lyrics, and composer Joe Chindamo’s original music, Whelan Browne mesmerises us, switching seamlessly from humour to…
Remember back to hazy, crazy days of the summer of 2008, when people were listening to folk music again, and we all fell in love with an indie act from Seattle that was leading the pack with their strong vocal harmonies and catch folk pop songs? Younger fans were intrigued with the new sounds that…
One of the truisms of gambling says the house always wins. However, with The House – a supposed comedy about an ordinary family that set up an illegal underground casino in the leafy streets of suburbia – it’s the audience who are the losers. Let’s face it – when was the last time Will Ferrell made…
Merrily We Roll Along is based upon a 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. George Furth (book) and Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) retained the basic structures and themes of the play but updated it to cover the period from 1957 to 1976. The musical starts in New York…
Passionate and affecting, Lady Macbeth is a tale full of lust and betrayal set in rural England in 1865. Katherine (Florence Pugh) is stifled by her loveless marriage. Her husband Boris (Christopher Fairbank) is a bitter man more than twice her age (she is 17 and he 40). His cold, unforgiving family only add to…
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…
