The latest Marvel superhero movie (its 14th title) has a strong set up, cutting edge effects and a traditional good versus evil storyline. Doctor Strange deals with alternate dimensions and what is known as the multiverse (I take that to mean multiple universes). It is the story of an arrogant, self-centred, world-famous neurosurgeon, Dr Stephen…
The high-octane ride that is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is again directed by Christopher McQuarrie. He wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen. It is the seventh movie in the franchise and is the longest yet at 2 hours 43 minutes. Spectacular stunts, car chases, a runaway train heading for destruction, humour and…
My book club read books on ‘royals’ last month, and since this was on my review shelf, it was an easy choice. At the same time, I was watching TV series The Tudors, and the month before I’d finished Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. I’m in Tudor overload! Here’s the blurb: Why would a woman marry a serial…
Apart from some exaggerated teeth, Bohemian Rhapsody is an absorbing biopic of a man, his music and a complicated life. That man is of course Freddie Mercury, a supremely talented show pony. He fronted one of the most successful rock bands of all time in Queen and the film’s title is highly appropriate for what…
Sally Robbins and Steven Bradbury featured in two of the most notorious moments in Australian Olympic history. Robbins is known as “Lay Down Sally” because she gave up and lay back in her boat 250 metres from the finishing line during the women’s eights’ final at the Athens Summer Games in 2004. She was reviled for…
Set in Galway, Ireland between May 2016 and March 2019, Duck Duck Goose explores sexual assault and its impact. I refer to the effect on the accuser and the accused, along with friends and family. Jane Scully (Rachel Nutchey) meets Chris Quinn (Mitchell Holland) in the aftermath of a house party, where Chris got wasted. Jane alleges she…
Family, cultural heritage, religious observance and aspiration are the focus of The Perfume Garden. This reworked comedy was first performed a decade ago. Now, colourful Bollywood dance numbers – nine in all – have been added to the mix. Six beautifully adorned sari-clad women are joined by a beaming and elegant man. The women first appear…
A self-proclaimed daydreamer, Vivienne Westwood came from humble beginnings in the north of England. She arrived in London at age 17 during the swinging sixties. Her life changed course dramatically when she met Sex Pistols’ manager and impresario Malcolm McLaren. Their Kings Road shop launched punk and revolutionised popular culture. Over the next 40 years…
Booker Prize winning author Aravind Adiga takes on the issue of refugees and asylum seekers, focusing on Australia in his latest novel Amnesty. Set in Sydney, on a day sometime in the recent past, the book concentrates on Dhananjaya Rajaratnam, aka Danny the Cleaner, as he grapples with his duty to society and his…
There is a reason that Stephanie Lake is my favourite choreographer. In short, she is eternally creative in the work she produces. Her striking visual aesthetic elevates the art form. Fluid body movement is just the starting point. Beyond that, the key is the combination of formations she can extract from her dancers. That, together…
