“Did that just happen?” a mischievous Michael Banks (Fraser Goodreid) wonders to sister Jane (Dorothea Seierup) after their first outing to the park with Mary Poppins sees park statutes come to life. There are lots of similar moments in Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Mary Poppins. Cheeky young Michael has some of the…
There is no subtlety in Sleepless, a gritty crime thriller starring Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) and Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Almost everyone is dirty or corrupt, or both. It is simply a case of determining the wood from the chaff. When Las Vegas cop Vincent Downs (Foxx) and his partner Sean (Tip “T.I.”…
Superheroes? Check. Evil villains? Check. Massive battles? Check. Funny jokes? Check. Must be another Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, right? Well, Avengers: Infinity War is certainly that. But this latest from Anthony and Joe Russo – who brought us the Captain America installments Winter Soldier and Civil War – is more filler than killer. Avengers:…
A haunting tale of desperation and regret, Let Him Go packs a punch. We’re in rural Montana in the early 1960s. George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) is a former lawman, but when it comes to “my way or the highway”. His wife Margaret (Diane Lane ) rules the roost. Once she gets an idea in her…
A whip smart dramatic and comedic script and a couple of stellar performances characterise a seedy story set in Singapore. Singaporean Chinese Girl (Merlynn Tong) is 14 and her brother Boy (Charles Wu) is 21. Boy moved out of home seven years ago and became a gang member, which he regards as a badge of…
Inheritance of Secrets is a layered family drama of mysteries and long held loyalties, the origins of which were born from the necessities of survival during a time of war. Feeling as alone as she has ever been, Juliet is desperate to make contact with her troubled sister Lily. Lily always found it difficult to…
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…
Rainbow’s End is a play by Jane Harrison, author of Stolen (1998). Both of these plays have become part of the school HSC syllabus. Rainbow’s End, written in 2005, is an evocation of the lives of three generations of First Nation’s women: the Yorta Yorta nation, in the 1950’s, in the northern Victoria region of…
As the program told us, when Endgame was first performed in 1957 it polarized audiences and critics alike. People saw Beckett as either a genius or a babbling fraud. I’m one of the latter. I put Beckett alongside of Picasso as a successful deceiver of people in an Emperor’s new clothes sort of way. But…
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an extraordinary triumph of talent and theatricality. It is the very finest of entertainment involving a handsome young man and a portrait that becomes a mirror to his soul. The play shines a spotlight on a world obsessed with youth and beauty. Dorian Gray is painted by his friend, artist Basil…
