This is an endearing portrait of one of the world’s bravest young women. It is an insight into the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then-15-year-old (she turned 18…
M Night Shyamalan subverts the usual expectations of the fairy tale visit with kindly old grandmother with this mix of horror and uncomfortable black comedy. The subdued horror film The Visit marks a return to form of sorts for the Sixth Sense filmmaker, whose last couple of films were the awful The Last Airbender and…
J M Barrie first created the character of Peter Pan, the boy who could fly and who never grew up, back in 1902. He then featured the character in the 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, which enjoyed incredible success. Since then the character has featured in several stories, and…
Another Country is a documentary that looks at the impact that the white man’s culture has had on thousands of years of aboriginal culture. “Our culture doesn’t fit your culture,” says narrator David Gulpilil. The film is the result of a collaboration between filmmaker Rolf de Heer, his partner Molly Reynolds and Gulpilil himself, who…
I didn’t know much about the “sport” of calisthenics before entering the cinema to see this documentary. Calisthenics is a discipline unique to Australia, and it combines elements of ballet and gymnastics with colourful costumes and superb choreography. Calisthenics can be performed by individuals or by groups with perfectly choreographed routines. And every year an…
As little films go, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has pretty much swept all before it. After winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the audience award at Sundance, this charming and touching coming-of-age tale has proceeded to win over filmgoers around the globe (including taking out the audience award at…
Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby) makes his directorial debut, has written and stars in this thought-provoking psychological thriller. It asks the question, what if someone you wronged long ago re-emerged in your life through a chance encounter? Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a married couple whose lives are going pretty much as…
Is there anything that Meryl Streep cannot do? At an age when most actresses find it hard to land meaty roles or substantial character parts, Streep is a chameleon who seems to still be going strong, playing a variety of diverse and challenging roles. A case in point is her new film in which she…
John Jarratt and Kaarin Fairfax share top billing and directing credits on this twisted tale of obsession. Jarratt plays Jack, who has been keeping an eye on Emily (Fairfax) for some time. He is a stalker pushed to the brink when he finally decides to break into Emily’s home to take what he wants by…
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this fascinating but unusual coming of age documentary on the festival circuit since it won the grand jury prize at Sundance earlier this year. The film looks at six brothers from the Angulo family, who have basically been raised isolated from society. Along with their intellectually disabled…
