What would Aussie TV be without the luminous Claudia Karvan? We’ve seen her grow up on-screen to become one of our most loved and consistent stars on the box. She and producer John Edwards’s affiliation goes back to Network Ten’s The Secret Life of Us in 2001 and now along comes BUMP, the Stan series…
All work and no play makes Christopher Robin a dull boy. AA Milne’s world is brought to life in this combination of live action and animation. Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor), the young boy who shared countless adventures with his stuffed animal friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, is now grown up. He lives in London…
Killing crooks with kindness. That is the concept behind this original animated feature, which turns traditional methods of spying on its head. Lance Sterling (the voice of Will Smith) is an elite loner – the best of the best, who does things others can’t. Mind you he doesn’t always follow the instruction of the agency…
An attractive and engaging feminist film that allows us – the audience – to really care for the characters, La Belle Saison (which translates as Summertime) is also a period piece. The year in 1971. Delphine (Izia Higelin), the daughter of hard-working farmers, moves to Paris to break free of the shackles of her parents…
What if the cartoon world turned into real life? Well, that’s what happens in Carlos Saldanha’s family-friendly fantasy Harold and the Purple Crayon. Harold (Zachary Levi) is the manifestation of the vivid imagination of writer Crockett Johnson. He’s a character in a book, who along with his buddies, Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya…
The tumultuous life of the world’s most awarded female vocalist is put under the spotlight in I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie) was the greatest voice of a generation, who enjoyed the highest of highs and succumbed to excess, indulgence and heartache. Tragically she died at 48. The fact that she had…
A beautiful, heartfelt story about the greatest racehorse on the planet, A Horse Named Winx is an emotional ride (pun fully intended). Written and narrated by Andrew Rule, and directed and produced by Janine Hosking, it tells the tale of the record-breaking mare through the people that raced her. The retired champion won her last…
Back when I was reviewing for Brisbane’s Spectrum radio show I created the “Scottie” Awards. They were based entirely on my taste in entertainment and collated basically as a tribute the people who gave me a lot of pleasure and whose work I admire. This year I have decided to revive this annual event. So…
Rudyard Kipling’s timeless tales make for engaging family entertainment and are inevitably children’s favourites, whether they be straight animation or animation combined with live action, as is the case here. Bombay-born, English writer Kipling channeled his love of India in 1894’s “The Jungle Book,” following with “The Second Jungle Book” in 1895. Though considered kids’…
