Brisbane theatre company Shake & Stir has brought audiences many exciting theatre experiences (A Christmas Carol, Roald Dahl stories, Animal Farm). Their latest, Fourthcoming, is sure to be another hit. At various points, Fourthcoming invites audience members to use their smartphones to choose a path for the characters in the show. Whichever answer receives the…
Relative newcomer to the Australian streaming scene, Paramount +, has bold plans. The Ten-affiliated streamer wants to embrace live sport and movies along with its TV offerings. And one of the first big-name movies to be added to the platform is Queenpins. And it’s a pretty good way to kick things off. Writer-directors Aron Gaudet…
The British Film Festival celebrates the best of British with a line-up of 31 films, many of which are screening for the first time in Australia. This year’s event includes the best in contemporary cinema, documentaries and some of the most significant British films of the 1970s on the big screen. The Festival opens with…
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…
Jake Johnson (Jurassic World) basically single-handedly carries Ride the Eagle, a quirky comedic drama born of a dysfunctional relationship. In his early 40s, Leif (Johnson) lives in a small hut in the mountains. He’s the enthusiastic bongo player for a band, whose other members are 20 years younger. Beyond that, his greatest love is his…
For the uninitiated, The Good Room’s productions can be difficult to define. The celebrated, independent company founded by Daniel Evans and Amy Ingram creates unique theatre experiences, often from community, crowd-sourced content. Continuing on from its previous Brisbane Festival successes, Let’s be Friends Furever follows a familiar format to pull together a celebration and commemoration…
It’s taken the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble until its 20th birthday year to finally mount a full production of arguably Shakespeare’s best-known play – Romeo & Juliet – and the outcome is most definitely worth the wait. Some would say that it’s hard to put a new twist on the oft-performed play, however the window dressing…
Try as I really wanted to like Free Guy, I simply couldn’t … because it is one very silly movie. Two game developers – Millie (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery) – invent a video game, but their boss, Antwan (Taika Waititi), steals the idea and exploits it to makes some serious coin. The basis of…
For quite a while now, Disney/Pixar has “owned” the animation space. The decline of Dreamworks Animation has left the field basically open to them. But competitors are emerging, including (relatively) smaller player Sony Pictures Animation. Their first animated musical, Vivo, is a swing for the fences. Vivo sees the storied Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights)…
In the 90s Renny Harlin was arguably the premier director of out-and-out action films. Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight are all his. Since then though his reputation has suffered with a succession of lower budget B-grade films and television work. His latest film is unlikely to restore his reputation though. The…
