Swinging Safari reunites writer and director Stephan Elliott with key personnel from his The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994). They include producer Al Clark, production designer Colin Gibson, costume designer Lizzy Gardiner, editor Sue Blainey and composer Guy Gross. New to the team are hair and makeup designer Rick Findlater and cinematographer Brad Shield. It’s…
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature is the sequel to 2014’s original animation. It begins with Surly Squirrel (voiced by Will Arnett), his pug friend Precious (Maya Rudolph) and his best friend Buddy the rat living it up in a recently closed nut shop. Food is abundant and life is good … until the shop…
The Alan Ayckbourn play Taking Steps, written in 1979, is the 24th opus from his ‘genius’. He’s now completed some 79 plays, the last one – so far – called Roundelay, in 2014. Taking Steps is part of a faithful commitment by The Ensemble Theatre to his work and underlines the entertainment value that he inevitably…
Now graduated from college, the Bellas are out in the real world in Pitch Perfect 3. They soon find it takes more than a cappella to get by. This is the final in the lightweight Pitch Perfect series that has already taken more than half a billion dollars at the global box office. After the highs of…
It’s a small world after all in Downsizing. In the not-too-distant future, Norwegian scientist Dr Jorgen Asbjonsen (Rolf Lassgard) comes up with a radical solution for over-population. He and his colleagues have figured out a safe way to shrink people down to 12 centimetres, thus reducing their footprint on the world. Paul Safranek (Matt Damon),…
This clever, thoroughly entertaining French comedy is the latest from co-writer and director Carine Tardieu (The Dandelions). The breakout hit of the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, Just to be Sure premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight and received multiple standing ovations. The charming rom-com is a tale of parenthood, love and family – both lost and found….
Is there anything Hugh Jackman can’t do? The Mr Nice Guy, who completed the Wolverine franchise earlier this year, can act, sing and emcee with aplomb. He’s considered, intelligent and reflective. What a CV! So, I suppose it’s only fitting these qualities are neatly packaged up in The Greatest Showman. This fanciful musical tackles another showman, Phineas Taylor…
It’s the time of year when serious Oscar contenders swamp our screens. But sometimes it’s good just to sit back, disengage your brain and indulge in something silly. For that, there’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. This is a faux-sequel to 1995’s Jumanji, a film perhaps nostalgically remembered as better than it actually was. The nostalgia…
The worldwide hit Paddington became the most successful non-US studio family film of all time. The sequel (predictably, Paddington 2) continues the story of the young Peruvian bear who came to London in search of a home. Having found that home with the Browns in Windsor Gardens, life is set for Paddington. While searching for the…
If The Room isn’t the worst commercially released movie of all time, I don’t know what is. It’s badly acted and directed, and its script doesn’t make any sense. Against all expectations though, it has developed a cult following, with midnight screenings around the world selling out. Made for a reported US$6 million (of writer, director,…
