Director Fatih Akin breaks a compelling storyline into three chapters in the crime drama In the Fade. Out of nowhere, Katja’s (Diane Kruger) life falls apart when her husband Nuri (Numan Acar) and little son Rocco are killed in a bomb attack. Her friends and family try to give her the support she needs. Katja somehow…
Australian rural crime author Adrian Hyland brought character Jesse Redpath from the red outback of Northern Territory to a tinder-dry Victorian country town in Canticle Creek. There was a raging bushfire in the climax to Canticle Creek but when Hyland’s follow-up The Wiregrass opens, the weather could not be more different. Jesse finds herself working…
Haley Joel Osment spoke to dead people in The Sixth Sense, but Midnight Special is a different “other world” experience for the eight-year-old at the centre of this science fiction thriller. Much of the material is perplexing for a long time. The film starts off looking anything like it turns out. So, what do we…
One of the most complex and sophisticated animated features I have seen, Zootopia pits a high achiever rabbit alongside its natural predator, a cool and wily fox. The studio has a long and storied legacy of talking animals – from Mickey Mouse’s debut short, Steamboat Willie to Bambi, Dumbo, The Jungle Book and The Lion…
Although out of favour in the US, Woody Allen is still a revered filmmaker in France. So fittingly enough, his fiftieth film as a director is actually set and shot in France. And, surprisingly enough, the dialogue is in French, with subtitles. Coup de Chance (Stroke of Luck) also turns out to be one of…
So much fun. Eddie is just perfect (bad pun for lead Eddie Perfect) as the smelly old demon Beetlejuice, in the riotous musical of the same name. Beetlejuice is bemoaning the fact that he is invisible and ignored by all unless he can get a living person to say his name three consecutive times. He…
Remembering Pirates is a new work by Christopher Harley, who gave us Blood Bank at the Ensemble Theatre late last year. The ‘core’ of the drama in this new play is similar to the last one by Mr Harley. Two brothers: one of them lost (Michael), the other (John) subsequently traumatised. (In Blood Bank, it…
After seeing this doco, I fell in love with Suzi Quatro all over again. Growing up she was the “it” girl for me – this sexy, dynamic bass player and singer with that gravelly voice … all dressed in leather. I loved songs like “Devil Gate Drive”, “48 Crash”, “The Wild One”, “Stumblin’ In” and…
If you’re into the Yuletide spirit, perhaps a British teenage zombie musical should be an early Christmas present. Yep, when you’ve seen Anna and the Apocalypse, you’ve seen it all; although perhaps you have better things to do. Director John McPhail based Anna and the Apocalypse on his BAFTA-winning short Zombie Musical. The late Ryan McHenry,…
It might just be me, but I feel like I’ve seen a lot of films lately about overcoming past trauma. Noted actor Robyn Wright makes her directorial debut in Land, another entry in that canon. She demonstrates a strong aptitude for visual storytelling. But her distinctive style can’t hide the thinness of the script. As…
