Almost wordless, Robot Dreams is an unexpected delight. This quite charming animated film that captures the spirit of those silent films of yesteryear. It becomes a touching ode to friendship, connection, the pain of loss, and the need to move on in life. It’s not surprising that the film was nominated for an Oscar. The…
Four actors … who break the fourth wall, track down a Melbourne man from a seven-minute rant obtained by a transcription service and give a potted history of the internet. That, in a nutshell, is the subject matter of the cleverly orchestrated play that puts the fear of God into you. In fact, humour and paranoia are…
A corpse dressed to the nines being carted around the French Riviera in a wheelchair. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty in this farcical musical comedy that reminded me of the 1989 movie Weekend at Bernie’s, that became a cult classic. It is the second time the slapstick Lucky Stiff has played in Prahran in a little…
Off-the-wall … wacky and wild, this whodunnit is so much fun. Hark back to the middle of last century. Corpus Delicti! concerns a filthy rich divorced man who is about to turn 40. John Brady (Chris Saxton) has bought himself a private tropical island – Werewolf Island – on which he has built a mansion. He has inherited a…
In his seventh year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Michael Shafar is laid back and effortlessly funny. In short, the 33-year-old knows how to entertain a crowd, as howls of laughter ring out throughout his hour-long standup routine, where nothing is sacred. He is clever and ribald and risqué. Home base – formerly Melbourne – is…
Australia’s most prolific playwright has come out of retirement and has his finger on the pulse, addressing the cost-of-living crisis. The title of his play refers to the haves and have nots in society. When David Williamson was a boy in the 1950s, the difference in salary between a worker and a managing director rarely exceeded fivefold. Now…
If I say “who you gonna call”; you say… “Ghostbusters”, right? And that kind of sums up where this franchise is at. It’s all about familiarity now. Originality and nuance have long since left the building as the producers look for ways to tap into nostalgia, while at the same time introducing a younger audience…
If you thought abusive communications were a recent thing, think again. Humans have unfortunately been sending horrible correspondence to each other basically since writing began. In the late 19th Century, these nasty notes were given a name: poison pen letters. Now they’ve largely disappeared – thanks to the Internet – replaced by the equally nasty…
A Premiership at what cost? Indeed, is snaring the feted trophy the be all and end all? The Cutting Cove Football Club, located in a small coastal town, has never won a flag, but it hired a coach known as The General (Syd Brisbane) who has. He took on the job three years ago and maintained that…
Mateship, isolation and mental health are on the line in the darkly comedic Milked. Paul Roberts (William McKenna) and Snowy (Laurence Boxhall) have been friends for years. Now in their early 20s, they live in rural Herefordshire, in the West Midlands of England. Paul has graduated from university and is busily looking for work. He has his…
