The premise of Michael Moore’s (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine) latest documentary is straightforward enough, namely what could America do better? … and the results are often hilarious. Moore plays the role of “invader”, visiting several countries to see what they are doing differently and the impact that difference is having on their populace. He…
Viggo Mortensen (The Two Faces of January) stars in a tale of morality and friendship set against an unforgiving mountainous landscape during the Algerian War. The year is 1954 and the war is just starting. Remote village schoolteacher Daru (Mortensen), an ex-French Army soldier, who lost his wife a decade earlier, is caught in the…
Powerful, distressing and humorous, The Father is MTC’s best production of the season. Andre (played by John Bell – founder of Bell Shakespeare) is 80 years of age. Constantly losing his watch is the least of his worries. Although he steadfastly refuses to acknowledge it, he can no longer look after himself. His daughter Anne (Anita Hegh) is…
Drag star Trevor Ashley et al slay it in a riotously funny show that derives its conceit from Baz Luhrmann’s jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! The setting has moved from the Parisian cabaret club to the Moulin Beige in Kings Cross, run by Astrid Zeneca (with legendary Carlotta in the role). Here, the star is not…
The Norwegian comedy Diana’s Wedding really puts family values to the test. This small film offers some hard truths, wrapped in that peculiarly Scandinavian sense of humour. Director Charlotte Blom doubles as the screenwriter. She brings a sharply observational style to what is essentially a kitchen-sink dramedy, but doesn’t seek to inject any great flair…
In The Hate U Give, 16 year-old Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is caught between two worlds. She lives with her African-American family in the ironically named Garden Heights, an impoverished black neighbourhood in Georgia; but she attends Wilmington Prep, a prestigious primarily white school in a more affluent neighbourhood. At school, Starr carefully protects her…
Do you love giant robots? How about huge slobbering monsters? Buildings being smashed to pieces? The world being saved? If you said yes to any of these, then Pacific Rim: Uprising is exactly the movie for you. Director Steven S. DeKnight brings this muddled tale to the big screen with a lot of spectacle, but…
– The Breaker Upperers – Only in cinemas from 26 July 2018 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Madman Entertainment. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Fifteen years ago, Mel (Madeleine Sami) and Jen (Jackie van Beek) discovered they were being two-timed by the same man. Bitter and cynical they…
Among Alien fandom there’s a broad consensus that the canonical films are the first two: Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and James Cameron’s Aliens (1986). Fede Alvarez’s new instalment Alien: Romulus is perhaps ideally placed between the two. So it serves as a kind of sequel to Alien and a prequel to Aliens. For me at…
The emotional resonance of Les Misérables is massive in the Melbourne leg of The Arena Spectacular world tour. It is a production full of power, passion, poise and polish. It is a grand spectacle that starts with the anticipation of the audience that fills the vast space of Rod Laver Arena. Even before I enter…
