It becomes necessary for Hester Why to take advantage of a well-timed employment opportunity when it presents itself to her. Arriving at remote Morvoren House to take the position of nurse and ladies maid, Hester is somewhat horrified to learn that her new charge is a partially paralysed elderly woman who is almost entirely mute….
French psychedelic trio SLIFT started things off back in 2017 when they released their debut EP, Space Is The Key, via one of our favorite labels in Howlin’ Banana Records. Their debut LP, La Planète Inexplorée, then followed in 2018 and found the band exploring their garage psych sound and taking more time to experiment…
Deeply entrenched racism is at the centre of a drama in which the result is never in doubt and the journey is designed to provoke outrage. First up, there is the political issue of a civilised society condemning felons to death. Regardless of your position on that, it is difficult to feel too much sympathy…
Dry Land has much to say about abortion, female friendships and being a teenager, but it takes a long time to say it. It is the brainchild of American playwright Ruby Rae Spiegel. In 2014, Dry Land – her first full length play – premiered Off-Broadway. Spiegel was 21 years old and still a playwriting student at Yale…
You know those books that pop up so often on your feeds that you begin to feel that the universe (and lots of very savvy literary publicists) would really like you to read them? This is how I came to read The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. Having heard many good things, and with Foley’s…
Omar Sy (The Intouchables) charms as the world’s greatest, most understanding dad in Two is a Family. He’s aided by the equally effervescent Gloria Coulson, who makes her feature film debut. Samuel (Sy) enjoys a hedonistic lifestyle on the sun-drenched beaches of the French Riviera, where he uses his boss’ boat for his own pleasure….
This feelgood family film is aimed primarily at preteen girls and it explores some universal themes and delivers some positive messages about friendship, teamwork, following your dreams and overcoming adversity. But the central narrative about the triumph of the underdog is somewhat cliched and bland. Going For Gold shares a number of similarities with Raising…
Not only do recent Christmas movies tend to be more narky and mean spirited, but they also seem to be hitting cinemas earlier. Even though it is only November we have three Christmas themed films in our multiplexes. There’s Bad Moms 2, the home invasion black comedy Better Watch Out, and now we get Daddy’s…
Australian theatre doesn’t get much rawer and stirring than Barbara and The Camp Dogs now playing at The Belvoir. For 90 minutes we were entertained by an excellent all-girl pub band, we shared a road trip to the country’s top end, and we bemoaned the shameful degradation of the indigenous population. There’s so much talent…
Movies about war are generally no picnic. When done well, they’re pretty much indelible (after all, people still talk about the opening sequence in Saving Private Ryan, a film that opened in 1998). Mel Gibson has had some experience in the genre as both an actor (in We Were Soldiers) and director (Braveheart); so while…
