Cinematographer turned director Jeremy Saulnier has begun to establish himself as an exciting and inventive filmmaker on the independent scene. His previous film was Blue Ruin, an edgy and nasty little revenge thriller that played well on the festival circuit. His latest film Green Room is a smart but harrowing and intense horror thriller which…
New Zealand journalist David Farrier (TV series Short Poppies) has made a career out of looking at the weird side of life. But even he was unprepared for the fallout after stumbling upon a website about “competitive endurance tickling” in which young men were paid to be tied up and tickled, complete with some videos….
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…
Two, original, 35-minute works broken by a 20-minute interval, the first involves 22 dancers aged 10 to 17 (the youth artists) and the second 15 adults. Youngsters in various formations – all dressed in parallel versions of white and black – run, leap, tumble and turn in Happily Ever After. A series of vignettes, the scenes…
Visually spectacular with masterful special effects, but by all other measures a “no-brainer”, Australians features prominently in Gods of Egypt, the latest work from director Alex Proyas (I, Robot). The action, fantasy, adventure is set in an alternate world in which ancient gods live among mortals. This co-existence between beings has existed through centuries of…
Carpe diem is a Latin phrase meaning “seize the day”. That is exactly what small time conman Tom Ripley (Will McDonald), who works in an advertising agency, does when presented with an unlikely opportunity. It is the late 1950s. The New York native is approached by Herbert Greenleaf (Andrew McFarlane) with a proposition. Shipping magnate…
Veronica Roth has well and truly broken out of her YA phase with some recent releases that challenge genre tropes, like Poster Girl and Chosen Ones. Her latest novella When Among Crows is more down the line urban fantasy but is no less enjoyable. In it, Roth draws on the mythology of Poland and its…
Maggie Shipstead’s third novel Great Circle was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. And for good reason. This is a shaggy, great American novel spanning the last century but focussing on the golden age of aviation, stunningly written, full of rich characters and complex themes, fascinating situations, and plenty of resonance. Great Circle is built…
“She doesn’t answer. Death is never banal. If someone can live for more than fifty years without realising that, then it is beneath her dignity to teach them any better. ‘The water’s boiling. I’m making tea,’ she says. ‘Let’s talk later.’” Outside of Norway, Kjell Ola Dahl is perhaps best known for the Oslo Detective…
The third British Film Festival screens at Palace Cinemas around Australia from October 28, and according to festival director Kim Petralis, the growth of the festival in three short years has been quite staggering. When the festival started off in 2013 they had a humble 123 sessions nationally. This year, Petralis says that they are…
