In December 2009, people around the world downloaded a game to their phones and started something of a modern phenomenon. Little green piggies had invaded, intent on stealing the eggs of some flightless birds and these birds were … ANGRY! Well, how would you feel if someone came to your home and took away your…
Non-indigenous Australians have often had a rather fraught relationship with the landscape of this continent. On one hand, its “boundless plains” offered a sense of opportunity; a chance to control the environment. But the land is also sometimes perceived as a wild place that can never be controlled. This led to a pervading sense of…
I knew very little of the Shakers before I read The Visionist … and if you’d asked what I knew, I would have said furniture. Yes, the Shakers are well known for their simple, practical but beautifully made furniture, but less is known about the religious movement itself. Reading The Visionist provided me with some insight into the movement,…
British singer Amy Winehouse found success through her songs and won numerous Grammy Awards in her brief career. She was a talented musician who succumbed to her demons and vices, and suffered from depression, addiction and even mental illness. She died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the height of her success. She was just…
Set in the icy mountains of Kenosha Utah, The Killing of Two Lovers is a gritty depiction of a married couple that have decided to spend time apart. Starring Clayne Crawford, Sepideh Moafi and Chris Coy, the film has received critical acclaim worldwide. Director Robert Machoian spoke about the film’s stylistic choices, working with his…
Gritty and unrelenting, Wind River marks the directorial debut of Taylor Sheridan. He’s the screenwriter behind Sicario and Hell or High Water; and here he weaves a tense thriller. Wind River is Sheridan’s conclusion to a thematic trilogy (with those earlier films) exploring the modern American frontier. The film explores what Sheridan calls “perhaps the most tangible remnant…
The feelgood film The Bank of Dave is based on the true story of Dave Fishwick; a businessman from Burnley, one of the most deprived towns in northern England. Dave became wealthy from running his own business selling vans to local customers, and he began loaning money to locals in need of support to help…
Christmas cheer is not all it’s cracked up to be for one “happy” couple in Clea DuVall’s holiday comedy Happiest Season. Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) live together and are in love. It is the holiday season and during a night visiting suburban homes festooned with lights, Harper invites Abby to share the…
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is the third feature from director Sophie Hyde, and like her previous two films (Animals and 52 Tuesdays), it centres around a strong female character coming to terms with her sexuality and her body. This is the first feature script written by British comedian Katy Brand, best known for…
Sixty-five minutes of glorious mayhem. That is what you get with this extraordinarily detailed production. It is set against the sprawling layout of a full house – broken into five rooms – a major video screen as a backdrop and two smaller TVs, stage left and right. The cast does a mighty job with the material, which…
