Things go bump in the night in the horror-thriller The Curse of the Weeping Woman. It’s the first feature film from director Michael Chaves. James Wan – one of the producers – made an art form out of exploiting the horror genre; specifically the Annabelle franchise. The Curse of the Weeping Woman references the spooky…
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty, and dramatic strength of the Bangarra Dance Theatre with its ingenious blending of traditional indigenous movement and modern dance. Lore was no exception. The energy and skill of the troupe and the creation of storytelling with music and dance, which is done superbly and with great…
What a phenomenal piece of writing by Andrew Bovell (who wrote the powerful Australian film Lantana, which debuted in 2001). When the Rain Stops Falling is a magnificently rendered, complex work that continually shocks and surprises. Its drip feed narrative comes together to form a most disturbing picture. It is only when the full truth outs that you…
If you like books that warm your heart, make you cry and want to read it all over again, Our Song by Dani Atkins might just hit the spot. Here’s the blurb: This is the story of Ally and Charlotte, whose paths have intersected over the years though they’ve never really been close friends. Charlotte…
Mikael Blomkvist has good reason to worry about his friend Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist has repeatedly been saved by the actions of Salander, so is fully aware of what the enigmatic I.T. genius is capable of when it comes to the crunch. Concerned that Salander may be intending to pursue those who have repeatedly come after…
With Scrublands we had the bush, with Silver we have the sea. It will be interesting to see if Hammer’s next book is set in a grotty city capital, just to complete the trifecta of the Australian way of living. Silver is set in a coastal town that is struggling to stay relevant and facing…
Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather) brings a re-imagined Roman Empire into modern times in his passion project Megalopolis. He proposes that the American Republic is not all that different from old Rome and then asks whether it will fall victim to the appetite for power of a few? Coppola began developing Megalopolis in the early…
It’s taken the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble until its 20th birthday year to finally mount a full production of arguably Shakespeare’s best-known play – Romeo & Juliet – and the outcome is most definitely worth the wait. Some would say that it’s hard to put a new twist on the oft-performed play, however the window dressing…
Angie Kim’s second novel Happiness Falls is a mystery novel revolving around a missing father but it tries to be much more than that. But by doing a kind of bait and switch and also going down a few too many expository rabbit holes, Kim sometimes loses the thread of the actual mystery. Mia Parkson…
In 1973, former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs played women’s champion Billie Jean King in a spectacular tennis match – dubbed the Battle of the Sexes – at the Houston Astrodome. Riggs was also a serial tennis hustler, gambling addict and sexist braggart. It proved a landmark that ultimately had repercussions for the status of women’s tennis and…
