There cannot be a better metaphor for the Cold War than the game of chess. But more than the metaphor, of course, was the very real rivalry between the West and Russia across the chess board. Both of these aspects are used to great effect by Patrick Worrall in his Cold War debut The Partisan….
People and cultures collide in David Leitch’s literally fast-paced action thriller, Bullet Train. Leitch (Deadpool 2) uses his stylised but often profuse violence to great effect in this rollicking tale of intersecting characters and agendas. And while the film is hardly cerebral, I found myself swept along by it. Screenwriter Zak Olkewicz adapts Kôtarô Isaka’s…
Up until now, award winning Australian author Chris Womersley’s novels have been stand-alones. And the same could be said about his latest novel The Diplomat. But it is a sequel of sorts – to his 2013 novel Cairo. Or if not a sequel then at least a companion piece or spiritual successor. And given it…
Alice Clark-Platts’ debut novel was The Flower Girls, an unsettling look at children who kill other children. Her most recent book, The Cove takes the domestic thriller to a small island off the coast of Malaysia and then turns up the heat on all of its main characters. Expat Brits Lou and Adam live in…
Men is the third feature film from Alex Garland, best known for Ex Machina and for writing the novel The Beach, which was the source of the Danny Boyle film starring Leonardo Di Caprio. This is a creepy and unsettling film that subverts many of the usual tropes of the horror genre and is more…
– Operation Mincemeat – Only in cinemas from 12 May 2022 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Transmission Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE It’s 1943. The Allies are determined to break Hitler’s grip on occupied Europe and plan an all-out assault on Sicily, but they face an impossible…
Australian crime author Benjamin Stevenson delivered a great debut in Greenlight and followed that up with the murder mystery Either Side of Midnight. Both featured the flawed, true crime podcaster Jack Quick and centred around “impossible” murders that he has to solve. As well as having a fascinating lead character, these were both well-constructed mystery…
Rosie Andrews pulls a slight bait-and-switch in her debut novel The Leviathan. Set in the 17th Century, the first half of The Leviathan concerns itself with a possible witch trial before pivoting into something even darker. The short prologue ends with the ominous words: “She is awake.” But it will be a while before those…
Cesare Aldo is back in the sequel to DV Bishop’s historical crime debut City of Vengeance. Once again, Bishop brings the world of Sixteenth Century Florence vividly to life while delivering a well paced murder mystery While this book deals with a very different crime, Bishop keeps some of the threads hanging from his debut…
A survival story, Gold is set in an inhospitable desert in a not-too-distant dystopian future. This dark and visceral tale of greed, obsession, murder and madness comes from Anthony Hayes, an actor who has experience in directing films with dramas such as Ten Empty to his credit. Hayes co-wrote the sparse and stripped back script…
