Scotsman Danny Bhoy is a brilliant, easy-going, personable, eminently relatable comedian who has been plying his trade full-time around the world for 25 years. He is a beloved figure and his patter and banter are just so natural. I have witnessed none better. To see him in action is akin to getting into the cockpit…
Another formulaic survival story, The Dive is a remake of the little-seen 2020 Norwegian drama Breaking Surface, and it adds little that is new or surprising. Sisters Drew (Australian actress Sophie Lowe) and May (Louisa Krause) share a love of deep-sea diving, instilled in them from a young age by their father. Every year the…
Debate continues regarding the issue of marriage equality and same sex marriage, particularly here in Australia where our conservative politicians are slow to react to the change in public consciousness on a global basis. And those opposed to the concept still bandy about concerns about “the welfare of the children” and the lack of either…
In Greek mythology, Clytemnestra was the twin sister of the woman said to be the most beautiful in the world, Helen of Troy. Their mother was Leda. Cygnets is a new take on sibling rivalry – the pain, the pleasure, the subterfuge. It shows the two girls had different experiences with their mother. It reveals jealousy and cruelty. An…
The premise of Michael Moore’s (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine) latest documentary is straightforward enough, namely what could America do better? … and the results are often hilarious. Moore plays the role of “invader”, visiting several countries to see what they are doing differently and the impact that difference is having on their populace. He…
Double act author A J Rich (Amy Hempel and Jill Ciment) build on themes introduced in the classic 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, also known as Dangerous Liaisons. I’ve seen the 1988 film version and the play – both are fascinating – so I had high hopes for The Hand That Feeds…
The 2024 HSBC German Film Festival is back at Palace Cinemas, this year celebrating 70 years of German cinema. The 2024 line-up features six films direct from the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), a Werner Herzog retrospective, a selection of the best German films from the last 70 years and new films for budding cinephiles…
It would be easy to dismiss this charming crowd-pleasing little film as a Gallic variation of the Oscar winning Driving Miss Daisy. But this French drama, which screened during the recent Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, is so much more. Madeleine Keller (played by veteran singer and actress Line Renaud, recently seen in Call My…
In the Indiana Jones wannabe, The Lost City, Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a writer struggling to find a suitable ending for her latest potboiler. She writes Mills and Boon-like fancies, featuring long-haired hero Lothario Dash. The model she’s used on 20 front covers is Alan (Channing Tatum), who is invariably asked to rip off…
America in 1968 was a volatile and turbulent place. The country was still deeply embroiled in an unpopular and unwinnable war in Vietnam, and back home there were race riots and both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. And there were the presidential conventions in which both the Democratic Party and the Republicans…
