Anyone who enjoyed Jeffrey Archer’s seven volume Clifton Chronicles will lap up his latest rags-to-riches tale which contains all of the familiar elements of his novels. It is his first stand-alone novel in a decade as the Clifton Chronicles has taken up most of his time. There is a virtuous young hero who makes his…
King Kong and Godzilla move over. There’s a new kid in town. Let me put it this way: Rampage isn’t a gentle romantic comedy. It is a CGI-driven destruction-fest with The Rock providing an endearing link between a gigantic albino gorilla and humanity. Primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) oversees the ape habitat at the San…
American Dirt opens with a scene that is as shocking as it is gripping. Eight-year-old Luca is going to the toilet when a bullet fired from downstairs narrowly misses him. The next thing he knows he is cowering in the shower with his mother Lydia; below them, assassins systematically slaughter his whole family. This is…
The treatment of indigenous Australians and their remains is in the spotlight in The Return. Inspired by Yorta Yorta man Jason Tamiru’s experiences as a repatriation worker, Torres Strait Islander playwright John Harvey recounts the dark history of Australia. It concerns grave robbers and “exotic” trophies of antiquity, being the bones of men, women and children. They…
Writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina) is a master filmmaker who steps it up a notch with the blockbuster Civil War. In the film, America is at war with itself. The President (Nick Offerman) has declared he is on the verge of victory, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Looking to take…
Gold Logie winner Tom Gleeson is highly entertaining and hilarious as he hosts the equivalent of an episode of his popular comedic ABC television show after a few minutes of stand up. In his opening, he pokes fun at 7.30 host Leigh Sales (his lead in to Hard Quiz on TV) and Eddie McGuire. He singles out…
Academy Award-winner Cameron Crowe turns his attention to second chances in this comedic romance. Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper), a celebrated military contractor, returns to the site of his greatest career triumphs – the US space program in Hawaii – and reconnects with a lost love, Tracy Woodside (Rachel McAdams). Tracy is now a mother of…
Filled with humour and pathos, Draw Two is a richly human tale. It is a compelling, beautifully crafted and superbly told story about the impact of a life changing event. In her late 20s, Riley thinks she knows which way is up. Put another way, she has built a life for herself that she likes….
After spending time with international trouble shooter Olivia Wolfe (Devour and Prey), Australian thriller writer LA Larkin returns with a slightly more grounded, but no less feisty when push comes to shove, main character in Widow’s Island. But thematically, Larkin stays on familiar ground anchoring the action around themes of climate change and the power…
A heartfelt coming of age tale in 1950s Ireland and America, Brooklyn is a story of promise and choices. Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) plays Eilis, a shy, respectful, even taciturn young woman on the verge of full-blown adulthood who sets sail from small town Ireland to Brooklyn, New York. You see, opportunities are scarce in rural…
