This prequel to the charming and endearing Toy Story franchise didn’t quite give me the buzz that I was expecting. This is actually the second spinoff from Toy Story to feature Buzz Lightyear following 2000’s Buzz Lightyear of the Star Command. But this all seems like a cynical exercise to capitalise on the goodwill delivered…
A moral conundrum and the consequences choice are at the heart of The Commuter. This is the fourth collaboration between director Jaume Collet-Serra and Liam Neeson (after Unknown, Non-Stop and Run All Night). Neeson plays Michael MacCauley, a 60-year-old middle manager at a faceless insurance company. Like so many hard-working family men, he’s at financial breaking point. His son…
Everything old is new again. That popular expression could apply to the sequel to Disney’s Freaky Friday, which again features Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan and Mark Harmon. The conceit of the original, 22 years ago, was that Tess Coleman (Curtis) and her daughter, Anna (Lohan), are at loggerheads. And then, after a freak accident,…
Looney Tunes and Michael Jordan featured in the original live-action / animation blend Space Jam back in 1996. Now MJ has been replaced by another NBA superstar in LeBron James in the sequel – Space Jam: A New Legacy. James learnt the hard way that only total commitment will bring rewards. But he feels his…
An unquestionable highlight of winter in Melbourne is Lightscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Now in its fourth year, it is bigger and better than ever, with many new and captivating light installations up above, in the trees and on the ground. It is a true A-lister, suitable for the whole family and how many…
First love erupts into a fight for Country in Whitefella Yella Tree. Teen indigenous Australians from different clans meet to exchange information. Ty (Joseph Althouse) of the River mob is tall, wiry, reflective and intelligent. Neddy (Danny Howard) of the Mountain mob is slightly shorter and sturdier, a livewire who darts about. They meet beneath…
Having just sat through The World According to Dinosaurs, I am sorry to say I can’t really tell you much about the narrative, save for an extinction event. A big part of the reason is the verbiage in the work was frequently drowned out. Frankly, the sound mix was appalling. From the get-go, the narrator was swamped…
Guess it wasn’t that simple to do this. Making a film that focuses solely on an American marine named Mike (Armie Hammer) who stepped on a landmine and who doesn’t dare to take any further steps. For 90 minutes, there’s nothing else to see than this soldier who has to wait 52 hours for a…
In 1998, 70-year-old Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser was sued by the giant agricultural Monsanto company for “patent infringement”. That battle provides the source material for Clark Johnson’s film, Percy vs Goliath. Schmeiser grew canola crops on his property near the town of Bruno. Apparently some genetically modified canola seeds blew onto his crops and Schmeiser…
The Carlsberg Scandinavian Film Festival is back to warm your mid-winter at Palace Cinemas around the country from 12 July to 10 August 2022. The 2022 program includes a superb selection of the best new cinema from the Nordic region encompassing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It also features a number arriving direct from…
