Some pieces of writing are straight forward. Others are open to interpretation. Claire Come Home is the latter. Written by Amelia Newman, it deals with relationships and mental health. Beth (Lucy Orr) met her best friend Claire (who is continually referenced but not seen) in year 7. Claire tells Beth everything. Claire’s boyfriend is Jared (Sam Dolan),…
Naturalistic performances mark writer-director Clio Barnard’s new film Ali & Ava. She crafts a gritty, working-class story born of pain. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a Pakistani-British landlord who enjoys a strong relationship with his tenants in Bradford. He also loves his music with a heavier edge. After a tragedy in their lives, Ali and his…
I’ve come to enjoy reading short stories more and more as I experiment with the form, and there was a lot for me to learn in Fine by Michelle Wright. Here’s the blurb: Fine shines a light into the quiet corners of human life. By observing the traumas, doubts and isolation of its characters, the…
– Peterloo – Only in cinemas from 16 May 2019 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Transmission Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Mike Leigh’s latest film is an epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field…
The DNA of Michael Mann’s 1995 classic Heat runs through the gritty crime drama, Den of Thieves. Los Angeles is the bank robbery capital of the US, with one committed every 48 minutes on average. Merriman (Pablo Schreiber) leads a highly organised and efficient gang of robbers. A former special ops soldier, Merriman uses his training and skills to…
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a romp in which an innocent act of cleaning rubbish leads to a whole lot of trouble. The first Goosebumps movie was a great box office success in 2015, so a sequel was inevitable. Goosebumps 2 follows the Quinn family – high school senior Sarah (Madison Iseman), her middle school…
It happened more than 55 years ago – on 15th October, 1970 – and was Australia’s worst industrial accident. I speak of the West Gate Bridge collapse. Thirty-five workers died and 18 were injured. In fact, due to several issues before the bridge fell – identified in the findings of the subsequent Royal Commission –…
I got a lump in my throat when I watched Teresa Palmer – as Michelle Payne – cross the line to become the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. That’s despite remembering a great deal about that fateful day on the first Tuesday in November 2015. I was concerned that knowledge might detract…
As many of you will know, Mary Shelley was the author of Frankenstein, arguably the first modern horror story. But this film isn’t about Dr Frankenstein or his monster. Rather director Haifaa Al-Mansour focuses on the author herself. But like many recent biopics, it’s pretty stodgy fare. Al-Mansour, the first recognised female filmmaker from Saudi…
