Director Robert Eggers previously gave us the supernatural stylings of 2015’s The Witch and 2019’s austere and claustrophobic The Lighthouse. Now, with The Northman, he gives us a violent, gory tale of revenge and morality set in 10th century Iceland that takes its cues from Shakespeare’s classic tale Hamlet. King Aurvandill War Raven (Ethan Hawke)…
I hope comic book fans find more to appreciate about James Gunn’s (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) take on The Suicide Squad than I did. I found it a garbled, at times incoherent, mess. The US government is secretly engaging the services of hardened criminals with “special skills” (read: killing). They go on perilous…
Hyper-violent action, humour, and a ripping soundtrack await those that venture to see Nobody. This is undoubtedly one of this year’s biggest surprise packets. “Nobody” sure becomes somebody – somebody to be reckoned with. Bob Odenkirk is Hutch Mansell, a seemingly mild-mannered husband and father whose life is drab and routine. Nothing to see here….
Tragedies and reckonings during 2020 brought the issue of sexualised violence prominently into the headlines. So Emerald Fennell’s powerful contemplation on the topic, Promising Young Woman, couldn’t be better timed. Fennell is a British actor and writer (she worked on the hit UK shows The Crown and Killing Eve), and Promising Young Woman marks her…
Vincent River is not a location; it is the name of the character at the centre of Philip Ridley’s powerful 2000 one act play of the same name that addresses homophobic-based violence, which can really be extended to include violence against any form of difference. However, even with this knowledge, Vincent’s character remains elusive as,…
It’s nearly forty years since Sylvester Stallone first shed blood as Rambo, the former Vietnam veteran and special services soldier who ran afoul of a redneck sheriff in the 1982 film First Blood. The character of Rambo was created by author David Morrell in the 1972 novel of the same name. The novel also explored…
You can’t say you don’t know what you’ll get with a John Wick movie, because that was very much established in the last two installments. The story starts with bloodied and retired super assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) just minutes away from having a $14 million bounty put on his head. He has killed a…
The intensely brutal prison drama A Prayer Before Dawn is like Kickboxer meets Midnight Express. This unflinching, hard-hitting and gritty and harrowing true story is set inside Thailand’s notorious Bang Kwang Central Prison, better known as the infamous Bangkok Hilton. Like Midnight Express, A Prayer Before Dawn is based on a real-life story. In this case,…
Blasted is a remarkably insightful and deeply traumatising work from British playwright Sarah Kane, first performed in 1995. Ian (David Woods) is a broken, middle-aged journalist. He’s brought a much younger woman, Cate (Eloise Mignon) – who he’s known for some time – to an upmarket hotel room. But when she resists his advances, he…
King of Pigs is a new Australian play by Steve Rodgers. This play targets domestic violence for discussion. Says director, Blazey Best: I’ve been hearing a lot about the ‘Epidemic’ of Family Violence and – faced with the statistics and the sheer relentless regularity of horrific stories in the news – it’s hard to dismiss…
