This novel is an excellent example of how a book well and gently written has just as much power to affect as one written to surprise and propel. The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant reminds us that our most meaningful interactions are those that we come to by chance, and not by design. The finding of…
I think it was Billy Connolly, most likely during one of his numerous appearances on Parky, who I once heard use the phrase ‘shortbread tin view of Scotland’. In essence, the views of Scotland on shortbread tins were idealised and far from the reality of current day Scotland. Even today, if you find an image…
What a woman! As the saying goes, they broke the mould when they created her, as shown in Matthew Walker’s documentary I’m Wanita. The Wanita of the title likes to be known as Australia’s queen of honky-tonk. In her late 40s, she’s autistic, a binge drinker, a smoker and a prostitute of 18 years who…
Woman in Gold is a wonderful and sometimes touching film. Not because of the topic as this was already highlighted in The Monuments Men, but because of the brilliant rendition Helen Mirren is showing here. A role that suits her perfectly. A distinguished elderly lady who’s a descendant of a wealthy Jewish family and who…
British intelligence is under the microscope in Black Bag. George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is an elite operative at Britain’s closely guarded National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). He can’t stand liars. He seeks them out an exposes them. That has included his own father. Now there appears to be a mole in the ranks of the…
– BlacKkKlansman – Only in cinemas from 16 August 2018 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to United Pictures International. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE From visionary director Spike Lee comes the provocative story based on Ron Stallworth’s real life as Colorado Springs’s first African-American police officer who went undercover…
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a showcase of all that is great about musical theatre. The music is outstanding – hit after glorious hit – with superb voices to match. The story is beautifully crafted, with plenty of humour, heart and pathos. The staging is colourful, the set changes frequent and seamless, and the pacing…
Absurdist and existential, Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days is a play strictly for selective tastes. That is not to overlook Judith Lucy’s stellar performance in it, rather it reflects my opinion that it will be admired by some and frustrate others. It is about the passing of time and the impact it has on us as we…
Garry Disher returns once more to the world of small town policeman Paul Hirschhausen in his latest book Consolation. Consolation appears in quick succession after the second book in this series, Peace, which itself came after a long hiatus after Bitterwash Road. Consolation shows that Disher has clearly found his groove with Hirschhausen. Once again,…
One of my favorite musical scenes in film is that long opening sequence at the beginning of the movie Once, where you can hear Glen Hansard playing guitar and singing while the camera tracks along the dark streets of Dublin before settling on the singer/songwriter busking in front of a storefront. Knowing that Hansard’s career…
