As many of you will know, Mary Shelley was the author of Frankenstein, arguably the first modern horror story. But this film isn’t about Dr Frankenstein or his monster. Rather director Haifaa Al-Mansour focuses on the author herself. But like many recent biopics, it’s pretty stodgy fare. Al-Mansour, the first recognised female filmmaker from Saudi…
Like the original that was released in 2014, the storyline of Bad Neighbours 2 is thin but the crude language and sight gags are plentiful, with the centerpiece again being Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, along with Zac Efron. Direction is once more from Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). The tone is set from the…
Take the concept of being held against one’s will in a confined space for an extended period and add a seriously deranged personality and you have the makings of a horror thriller. But what if that deranged personality was, in fact, many people and you never knew who you were going to confront? That is…
Adapted from Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando: A Biography, first published in October 1928, Orlando: A New Musical charts the path of the eponymous hero. After being a handsome teenage boy, the aristocratic Orlando undergoes a sex change and lives on for more than 300 years. The musical is about their life and times. All five performers in it…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 8 November 2019. Ali Barter’s album Hello, I’m Doing My Best is out now. After a run around the world with shows in London, Paris, Dublin and more Barter is back in Australia as this month’s The Music Cover…
Fifty shades of bland? This offbeat film exploring a sadomasochistic relationship between two women in an unnamed community of women situated somewhere in Europe has hit local cinemas in the wake of more sexually explicit films like Blue is the Warmest Colour and Nymphomaniac, as well as a couple of other more risible films exploring…
The New Zealand drama Cousins deals with themes of family, culture, and the impact of colonialism on the indigenous population, all of which should also resonate strongly with Australian audiences. The film is based on the 1992 novel written by Patricia Grace, which spanned several decades. Actor, playwright and writer and co-director Blair Grace-Smith (Grace’s…
A superb musical score and the rich, strong and pure voice of Alinta Chidzey (Show Boat, Singin’ In The Rain, Chess, West Side Story) make the world premiere of this new Australian musical one not to be missed. CROSSxROADS is a story of love and loss with more than a touch of Sliding Doors (the…
Take Henrik Ibsen’s controversial 1881 play – a scathing commentary on morality – and move it from its original Norwegian setting to the Victorian bush in the late 19th century. That is what the award-winning team of playwright Jodi Gallagher and director/designer Steven Mitchell Wright have done with searing impact. Having spent years in Paris, widow…
A slow-moving, intense jigsaw puzzle, a mood of unease permeates nearly every scene in UNA. Based on David Harrower’s Olivier Award-winning one-act play Blackbird, the film follows a young woman’s journey to reclaim her past. Fifteen years ago, 13-year-old Una ran away with and had sex with an older man, Ray – a crime for which…
