Going Down by Michelle Lee is a new Australian play. Last year, the Griffin Theatre presented her play, Rice. Natalie Yang (Catherine Davies), a Chinese-Australian, has written her first book, “Banana Girl”, a no-holds-barred sex memoir. No-one is really interested. On the other hand Lu Lu Jayadi (Jenny Wu), an Muslim-Australian from Indonesia, has written…
UK actor Maddie Rice delivers a pitch perfect performance in Fleabag. She doesn’t miss a beat in an absorbing hour that starts off with a job interview from hell. She says and does all the wrong things. The business owner – who turns out to have a few skeletons – wants to terminate the conversation…
Three hilarious visual gags are among the highlights in Blockers. This hit-and-miss comedy is likely to spawn a cult following like The Hangover or Bridesmaids. For decades – starting with Porky’s and extending to the likes of Superbad and American Pie – we’ve watched on-screen versions of guys boldly and bawdily celebrating the first time…
You may know Armando Iannucci from his biting satires of British and American politics via In the Loop and Veep respectively. His latest political spoof, The Death of Stalin, explores the events surrounding the passing of appalling Soviet leader Josef Stalin. But far from being a history lesson, the film resonates with contemporary relevance. In a recent interview, …
The latest from Finnish auteur Aki Karismaki, The Other Side of Hope was the opening night film at the 2017 Scandinavian Film Festival. This comedy is full of his usual droll humour, deadpan style and absurdist touches. Karismaki often pokes fun at the Finnish working class and their daily struggles. The Other Side of Hope…
While gay marriage was recognised in the United States some time ago, it hasn’t led to an influx of mainstream gay-themed movies. They remain few and far between. Something like the excellent Academy Award winner Call Me by Your Name remains in the art house space. Love, Simon breaks the mould – an openly gay…
Aardman has a rich history of creating fine animated features in movies like Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep. Although Early Man – the largest Aardman production mounted in its 40-plus year history – isn’t up there with the best of them, it still has its moments. Set in prehistoric times, the film follows the story of…
Ten minutes into Abigail’s Party, I was thinking, “if only the playwright (renowned British scribe Mike Leigh) had killed off all his characters”. Then we wouldn’t have to sit through the rest of this drivel. I was looking around, disinterested in the material. The whole sorry episode seemed simply mindless nonsense. Fast-forward another 90 minutes and I…
I walked into Peter Rabbit with low expectations about what Beatrix Potter’s beloved tales would look like on the big screen. But I left elated; and proud to be an Australian because so much Aussie talent was involved in this production. Old Mr McGregor (Sam Neill) can’t stand the thought of pesky rodents invading his precious…
This feelgood family film is aimed primarily at preteen girls and it explores some universal themes and delivers some positive messages about friendship, teamwork, following your dreams and overcoming adversity. But the central narrative about the triumph of the underdog is somewhat cliched and bland. Going For Gold shares a number of similarities with Raising…
