Ever since Jaws made us afraid to go into the water we’ve had any number of monster films featuring a variety of killer creatures, from sharks to killer whales to grizzly bears to rats, spiders, snakes, piranhas, and even crocodiles that all played on our fears of nature and predators. In 1980 we even had…
Who would have thought that the formation of McDonald’s would make for such an eye-catching yarn? As told in The Founder, it is a forceful drama that tells the true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Impressed…
Documentaries about actors tend to follow a well-worn path. And they often end up being more interested in glorifying their subjects than analysing them. But those charges can’t be levelled at Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, who provide a compelling look at the life and legacy of Christopher Reeve in Super/Man. Reeve, of course, was…
As has been evident from most of his films, Adam Sandler has a fascination for nostalgia of the past, and the 80s and 90s in particular. This comes across very strongly in his soundtrack choices. Pixels dives deep into the 80s vibe with its unusual take on the alien invasion/war of the worlds scenario, and…
Traditional cultural beliefs clash with modernity in the searing Norwegian drama What Will People Say (Hva Vil Folk Si). Writer and director Iram Haq’s evocative semi-autobiographical work clasps you tight as you desperately hope for a way out for a trapped teenager. As the film opens in Norway, Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) is balancing two separate…
Whether it has become an annual pilgrimage or if you are seeing it for the first time, The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol is an outstanding, heartfelt production. Each year, the starring role goes to a different actor. Now it is Erik Thompson who plays Ebenezer Scrooge with distinction. In the first Australian showing two…
Based on the book written by journalists Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill, Black Mass explores the biggest scandal in the FBI’s history when an ambitious FBI agent made a deal with a notorious gangster that eventually backfired. Black Mass looks at the rise of the notorious Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger, a thug who rose to the…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 22 November 2024. Kim Deal (above: photo by Alex de Cortehas) has shared her debut solo album Nobody Loves You More. In keeping with Deal’s meticulous approach to her art, the album was refined over several years; its oldest…
I’ve been waiting to read the final copy of The Sisters’ Song by Louise Allan for a long time. I first read this book as a beta reader for Louise about two years ago – and I still remember the day she phoned me, full of excitement, to say she had an agent. Finding my name in…
Moving from cinema releases to Netflix hasn’t really slowed Adam Sandler’s production company Happy Madison. They currently have 14 movies in the pipeline. But the latest HM production to make it to the small screen is The Wrong Missy. This crashingly predictable rom-com fails on just about every level – but completely unpredictably unearths a…
