Journey’s End The true horrors of war feature in the somber WWI film, Journey’s End. The movies tells the story of a company led by the war-weary Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin), waiting to take its turn in the front-line trenches in northern France. A German offensive is imminent and the officers (played by Paul Bettany,…
Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) is back as he turns his attention to examining Donald Trump’s election win on November 9, 2016 (that’s 11/9 in American parlance). Moore travels across America to get a sense of the social, economic and political impact of the Trump presidency amidst the chaos of the new administration’s provocative tweets,…
The inspiring and humane documentary Backtrack Boys shows that there are very real and effective alternatives to juvenile detention in helping turn around the lives of troubled teenagers. In the northern NSW town of Armidale, jackaroo Bernie Shakeshaft has established a community-based organisation called Backtrack, which works with troubled boys who are on the path…
At age six months, three identical male siblings are adopted out to three different families by a now defunct adoption agency. The reason they are separated has to do with a bizarre nature-versus-nurture experiment, the results of which are never published. In a nutshell, that’s the documentary Three Identical Strangers. The trio – Edward Galland,…
A self-proclaimed daydreamer, Vivienne Westwood came from humble beginnings in the north of England. She arrived in London at age 17 during the swinging sixties. Her life changed course dramatically when she met Sex Pistols’ manager and impresario Malcolm McLaren. Their Kings Road shop launched punk and revolutionised popular culture. Over the next 40 years…
I wonder if the central figure in Ghosthunter manipulated the director to give the best possible account of himself? The man is Jason King, a security guard. He’s also a part-time ghost hunter, a service for which he only receives petrol money. King had an onerous upbringing, in which abuse was commonplace. He comes across…
Can somebody really be so selfless? The documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbour? explores a remarkable figure I had previously heard nothing about. Fred Rogers led a singular life. He was a puppeteer, minister, musician and educator. He was also a father, husband and neighbour. The gently-spoken, cardigan-wearing minister dominated children’s television in the United…
Lee Alexander McQueen set the fashion world alight when he burst onto the scene. He was also deeply troubled through various periods of his life. The beautifully shot and illustrated McQueen is a sanitised version of that life. The youngest of six children, he was born in a working-class London neighbourhood in 1969. His family…
In 1987 Pat Cash won Wimbledon, but he didn’t win the Australian male athlete of the year award. Instead, that accolade went to Wayne Gardner. That was the year Gardner became the first Australian to win the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship. The documentary Wayne charts his story from humble roots in Wollongong to the top…
With nine consecutive number 1 albums to his credit, Jimmy Barnes is one of Australia’s most popular recording artists. But there’s more to Barnes than merely being the front man of Cold Chisel, one of the country’s best rock bands, or a successful solo artist. Much of it may surprise even his fans. This painfully…
