Here at The Blurb we usually concentrate on music when it comes to aural entertainment. It would however be remiss of us to ignore the fastest growing and possibly most exciting form of audio available – podcasts. For the uninitiated (and yes, I realise there probably aren’t many of you), podcasting is like radio without…
Another scintillating performance from Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) is one of the distinguishing features of The Edge of Seventeen, a first rate coming-of-age story that also features Woody Harrelson in a memorable role. Growing up is the great equaliser. No matter your family situation, walk of life, or specific personal experience, anyone who has gone…
Friendly, oil-guzzling, slug-like monsters from the deep with octopus-like tentacles, and which can instinctively sniff good over evil – if you are a true believer, that is what confronts you in the family film, Monster Trucks. Teenage loner Tripp (Lucas Till) has always dreamed of escaping his confined life in a sleepy North Dakota town….
In Norse mythology trolls were ugly, slow witted, fearsome flesh eating giants, as seen in Andre Ovredal’s 2010 horror fantasy Troll Hunter. In modern cyberspeak a troll is an individual who prowls the internet posting nasty and inflammatory remarks on community noticeboards to sow discord. In this cute and colourful animated family friendly comedy from…
Up For Love could have been re-titled The Tall and Short of It, as much is made of a little guy dating a woman significantly taller than him. While comedic, the underlying story is all about the measure of a man, having nothing to do with his height. When small time lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira)…
Cinematographer David Parker has, with his wife writer/director Nadia Tass, created some of the best Australian comedies, with the classics Malcolm and The Big Steal. But when branching out as a filmmaker on his own the results have been a little less spectacular. With The Menkoff Method Parker steps back into the director’s chair for…
A rites of passage story with strong romantic elements and a film built on the musical foundations of 1980s British bands, Sing Street focuses on the perils and wonders of teenage life. Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is one of three children living in a toxic environment. At just 15, he has a brother, six years his…
Writing is a solitary pursuit and when it comes to publication even to get to first base is not only inordinately difficult, but highly competitive. Insecurities and doubts are constant bedfellows, especially for the novice. Perfect fodder then for four up and comers, supposedly with talent, who are being told the way it is by…
For better or worse, there’s only one Woody Allen. The master of that dry, self-deprecating New York wit is back with Café Society, a film that strikes me as possibly one of his most personal — as it serves as a kind of love letter to two things Allen clearly cares deeply about – old movies…
Unashamedly, outrageously great. That description doesn’t do justice to one of the best and brightest performances I have had the good fortune to see on stage. I am talking about Callum Francis in the Australian premiere production of Kinky Boots, the musical. This is a richly colourful, most engaging, highly entertaining fish out of water…
