Epic in scope and set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Never Look Away spans some thirty years of German history and dramatic social change. It is loosely based on the life of renowned German artist Gerard Richter, widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary artists. The film opens in Dresden in…
Wild Rose asks whether personal ambition should take a back seat to more immediate responsibilities. This feel-good story about a country music singer in the making features a stellar performance by Jessie Buckley in the lead role. In her early twenties, Rose-Lynn (Buckley) – single and with two kids under 9 – has just spent…
Prima Facie is a one-person play by Suzie Miller. It won the Griffin Award for Best Play in 2018. Tessa is a feisty young woman from a working-class background who finds her talent in the practice of law. In the journey of this play Tessa experiences what it is to be on both sides of…
A driven, high achieving woman melts down when two relationships go awry in Drive. Writer Rebecca Meston was inspired by the true story of former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak. You might remember Nowak as the person who drove non-stop for 14 hours to confront her ex-lover’s new partner. Wearing a disguise, she also a knife,…
Sleeper agents hold a weird fascination. When one is uncovered, the media seem intrigued. But of course the reality of someone playing a “long game” of espionage is often far more prosaic than sensational headlines would suggest. That reality fuels Trevor Nunn’s stagy drama, Red Joan. Lindsay Shapero wrote the original screenplay, basing it loosely…
The X-Men aren’t my favourite superhero franchise; but I’ve been happy to check in with them over the years. The original “tranche” (X-Men [2000] through X-Men: The Last Stand [2006]) and their spin-offs were pretty good, though Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was always the best thing about them. In 2011, the “throwback” series kicked off…
If you want a profound understanding of what inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you should look elsewhere. While Tolkien gives some insights into his creative mind when it comes to whole new languages, it’s essentially a tale of heartache and love. It unfolds as a dramatic and…
In Escaped Alone, society as we know it has fallen apart. Survivors are few. Four older women who are among the lucky ones reflect on times past over several summers … as the years run into one another. Vi (Margaret Mills) went to jail for six years after killing her husband. Sally (Caroline Lee) has…
According to American novelist Flannery O’Connor, “the beginning of human knowledge is through the senses”. This underpinning of human perception is at the core of playwright Elise Grieg’s world premiere work Magpie; its all-encompassing description offers theatre-goers immersion into the experience of a Brisbane summer, where thunderstorms threaten for longer than they onslaught and nothing…
In the wake of Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island (2017) comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. cinematic monsterverse. Godzilla II: King of the Monsters follows the efforts of a “crypto-zoological” agency called Monarch as its members face off against a battery of massive monsters, including the mighty Godzilla. The gargantuan collides with powerful…
