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1917 – movie review

Sam Mendes is a terrific director. American Beauty, Revolutionary Road and the Bond films Skyfall and Spectre all appear on his resume. But he exceeds even those lofty heights with his latest film, 1917. This 2-hour visual and emotional extravaganza cements Mendes’ reputation, and provides a stunning new perspective on the war movie. Much as…

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Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan

Danger Close provides an insight into the horror and heroism of the Battle of Long Tan from an Australian perspective. Although overacted, this is a movie not easily forgotten. The movie is based on the true story of that battle in South Vietnam on 18 August 1966. It saw 108 young and largely inexperienced Australians…

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Diplomacy (Ensemble) – theatre review

My 1953 edition of Webster’s Dictionary provides this definition of diplomacy: “dexterity; skill; tact; shrewdness in managing affairs of any kind”. And these are exactly the qualities which writer Cyril Gély has so cleverly enshrined in his masterpiece play Diplomacy. Originally written in French, the translation and adapted version by Julie Rose I’m sure has…

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The Aftermath – movie review

Experienced director James Kent (Testament of Youth) brings Rhidian Brook’s well-received novel to the big screen in The Aftermath. And while fans of the book will notice some glaring differences, the film nonetheless goes to some interesting places. Brook himself headed the scriptwriting team, collaborating with Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse to beef up the…

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