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Vice – movie review

Geez, you think you know a guy! Whether you loved or loathed former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, Adam McKays’ new film Vice will probably give you new insight into this enigmatic figure. Oh, and it may just illuminate some recent history as well. But the most important thing about Vice is that it’s fun. Although…

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Colette – movie review

I was totally overwhelmed by the grandeur, elegance and excitement in Colette – undoubtedly one of the films of the year. Keira Knightley stars as the title character, a French novelist whose provocative debut in the written word was falsely credited to her larger than life husband (a role filled by Dominic West). After marrying…

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Remembrance Day movies – movie review

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,…

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Madiba the Musical (Comedy Theatre) – theatre review

Melbourne has hosted the English-language debut of Madiba The Musical, after the show had previously opened in France, north Africa and the West Indies.It chronicles Nelson Mandela’s triumph-against-the-odds story. A forbidden love affair between a black man and a white woman provides a fictional parallel tale. The musical skips through much of Mandela’s historical backstory…

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Mary Shelley – movie review

As many of you will know, Mary Shelley was the author of Frankenstein, arguably the first modern horror story. But this film isn’t about Dr Frankenstein or his monster. Rather director Haifaa Al-Mansour focuses on the author herself. But like many recent biopics, it’s pretty stodgy fare. Al-Mansour, the first recognised female filmmaker from Saudi…

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LBJ – movie review

Rob Reiner directs LBJ, a biopic on the emergence of Lyndon Baines Johnson (played by Woody Harrelson) following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The story pivots around the then-contentious bill for the Civil Rights Act. It deals with Johnson’s struggles to have the bill passed in the face of opposition from powerful Senator Richard…

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Gauguin – movie review

The sad later life of French painter Paul Gauguin is brought into sharp focus in this slow-moving biopic. The year is 1891. Gauguin (Vincent Cassel) is already well known in Parisian artistic circles. But he’s tired of the so-called civilised world and its conventions. Leaving his wife Mette and five children behind, he ventures alone…

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