Steven Spielberg must be wondering why, 43 years on, the legacy of Jaws would be such mush as The Meg. Quite frankly, I was horrified for all the wrong reasons. A deep-sea submersible has been attacked by a massive creature. It now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean…
The old saying goes that behind every great man stands a great woman. But what if the woman is doing a lot more than just “standing” there? What does a “supporter” deliver to a celebrity? And what should that “supporter” expect in return? Swedish director Björn Runge explores these questions in his thoughtful drama, The…
David Leveaux’s The Exception cleverly melds historical fact and smart fiction. This WWII spy thriller turned romantic drama showcases some fine talent, though none more so that the irrepressible Christopher Plummer. Experienced TV writer Simon Burke produced the screenplay, adapted from Alan Judd’s novel, The Kaiser’s Last Kiss. Leveaux himself is a renowned theatre director,…
Breath is a haunting and elegiac coming-of-age tale. Set on the wind-swept coast of Western Australia in the 70s, it centres on two 14-year old surf rats. Bruce Pike – aka Pikelet – (Samuel Coulter) and Ivan Loon – aka Loonie – (Ben Spence) are best friends. Pike is a good boy from a respectable…
Boyhood was a very good film, but it was bloated. Last Flag Flying, by the same director, Richard Linklater, isn’t as good. Like Boyhood, it’s also distended, but still has its moments. Three buddies who served in Vietnam together reunite after decades for one express purpose. In 2003, soft-spoken family man Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve…
Queensland Theatre is putting the emphasis on fast and furious fun at the Cremorne Theatre as the comic adaptation of John Buchan’s novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The 39 Steps, woos capacity audiences. The Master of Suspense brought John Buchan’s much loved 1915 Boys’ Own story to the big screen in 1935. But it’s a…
Mark Haddon’s best-selling award-winning novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been adapted to the stage by fellow playwright an Olivier winner himself. The novel which has become a staple of the school curriculum. Haddon himself thought the novel unadaptable, but Stephens’ version has been quite successful, remaining reasonably faithful to the novel….
Sitting there watching Fifty Shades Freed, the final instalment in the Shades of Grey trilogy, I could only think, “Lame, tame and who to blame?” So very little happens … for so much of the film. Yes, the characters have sex – most of it conventional and a few turns in the red room – but that,…
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” (part of the final movement of his Symphony No. 9) is a thorough examination of the emotion of joy as being heavenly in origin and available to mankind through a loving God. In A Clockwork Orange, however, it represents a thematic extension of 15-year-old protagonist Alex’s psychological conditioning. As the vicious…
Call Me By Your Name is a sensitive coming-of-age story. Set in Crema, a sun-drenched rural part of Italy, it deals with themes of desire, repressed sexuality and identity. James Ivory, best known for his work with the late Ishmail Merchant provides the script. He’s adapted Andre Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name. Elio Perlman (Timothee…
