The patience of Job would be a great asset when setting out to watch this slow moving martial arts film with a young female protagonist. Set in 9th century China (towards the end of the Tang Dynasty), Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi), a general’s daughter, is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the art…
My second Escape Room experience in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs was just as intriguing as the first I had back in June. I mentioned then that mind-bending activities like this are infectious and apropos of a glass of fine wine or a mouth-watering dessert, it is hard to stop at one.So, I was unashamedly excited to…
I thought that Skyfall was one of the best Bond movies of the past fifty years, so I was eagerly looking forward to the latest instalment in this long running franchise. After all, Skyfall director Sam Mendes was back at the helm. But Spectre was a little disappointing. At 148 minutes, it is over long…
I regularly whine about the quality – or lack of it – in Australian movies. Today is the turn of a ham-fisted family comedy. Caroline Morgan (Robyn Butler) is delighted when her sister, ‘stage mum’ Beth (Portia de Rossi), brings her precocious movie star daughter, Honey (Lucy Fry) home from LA for a visit, complete…
An inane American action horror comedy, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse [note: that’s the title, punctuation error included – Ed.] focuses upon three teenagers’ attempts to hold at bay a horde of zombies who have all but taken over their small town. The trio – Ben, Carter and Augie (played respectively by Tye Sheridan,…
The Greats: masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland is one of the most significant collections of European “old master” paintings ever seen in Australia. Part of the Sydney International Art Series 2015-2016, it’s now showing at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney. Spanning a period of 400 years from the Renaissance to Impressionism,…
Terminator Genisys is at times viciously violent, features masterful special effects and a story that is confusing and convoluted. Further, it makes good on a catchphrase – “I’ll be back” – that became one of the most recognisable after it entered our lexicon when the first movie in the series was released in 1984. Arnold…
Mary-Rose MacColl’s novel In Falling Snow was one of my favourite books of 2012: “… a bittersweet, touching novel that ends with an uplifting element of hope.” The same words aptly summarise her latest novel, Swimming Home. Set in the 1920s in post-war London, this new novel also deals with themes of self-discovery, family, identity, freedom, belonging…
A fanciful, feel good very French-American romantic comedy, 5 to 7 is part Neil Simon and part Woody Allen. The film concerns a gracious, charming and respectful young man, an aspiring writer, who has a chance encounter on the streets of Manhattan with a glamorous French woman. Brian (Anton Yelchin) is 24 and Arielle (Skyfall…
To think that equal rights are still being fought for in the 21st century makes me sick. That was my mindset while watching this moving drama based upon a true story. Julianne Moore stars as Laurel Hester, a 20-plus year veteran of the New Jersey Police Department, highly regarded by all and as good a…
