Like every genre of storytelling on the big and small screens, LGBT narratives are not without their cliches. Unfortunately, the strongest trope in queer media seems to misfortune – whether it’s bullying, unrequited love, parental disapproval or greater tragedies. But All About E seems determined to shatter every preconceived idea about both the stories of…
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Rosemary’s Baby gets the micro budget lesbian remake it deserves in Lyle, an unsettling domestic horror that wins in its grand ambition and unfailing earnestness – despite being somewhat lacking in genuinely terrifying scares. Leah (Gaby Hoffmann) and her partner June (Ingrid Jungermann) move to New York with their adorable toddler Lyle (Eleanor Hopkins) –…
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Attempting to intersect race, sexuality, religion and small town values, Patrik-Ian Polk’s Blackbird is a coming out and coming of age drama that’s an enjoyable watch, but ultimately proves too conventional to be truly special. Randy (Julian Walker), a devoutly Christian choirboy from small town Mississippi, is plagued by a host of personal problems –…
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One of the latest offerings from US cable giant HBO, Looking gets off to an unremarkable start but quickly becomes a hugely confident offering from the network, as it ever so gradually reveals its characters and rounds out its first season as one of the few truly authentic portraits of contemporary gay men to ever…
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“What if I could put him in front of you? The man who ruined your life.” With this line, so begins Predestination, a home grown time travel mind bender that will have you pinned to the edge of your seat. Starring Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor, and breakout star Sarah Snook, this sci fi trip from…
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Tsai Ming-Liang’s Stray Dogs is a film that begs a certain amount of prior knowledge before watching. Had I known that Tsai Ming-Liang is renowned for his lack of dialogue and still image composition, I probably would have been a little more adequately prepared for this 145 minute investment. Undeniably beautiful but a rather hard…
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One of the entries in MIFF’s Big Scene – Small Screen program, Doll & Em is an unassuming portrait of a friendship that succeeds with a delightful mix of undeniable heart and unobtrusive style. Doll (Dolly Wells) and Em (Emily Mortimer) have been best friends since childhood. When Doll unceremoniously breaks up with her boyfriend,…
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Continuing a stellar run for Australian cinema in 2014 is the fantastic low-fi apocalypse drama These Final Hours. It’s a brutally honest examination of the human condition when the end is near, that covers every emotion on the spectrum in just under ninety minutes – and a neat reimagining of a well worn genre to boot….
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Now available on DVD after screening on ABC TV last month, we had a brief chat with actor Eamon Farren (pictured above, on the right) to talk about his role as “Ava” in the made-for-TV film Carlotta. How did you come to be involved in the film? I had heard about the project & Jess’ involvement…
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The latest in a series of fantastic historical telemovies from the ABC, Carlotta is a crowd pleasing – and emotional – retelling of the life of Australia’s most famous transgender pioneer. Richard Byron (Jessica Marais) is an unhappy kid from working class Balmain, when as a teenager he finds work in a Kings Cross department…
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Performing arts has always been – and will always be – fertile ground for documentary filmmaking. Clashing egos and high stakes in the pursuit of a craft is always going to be fun for a camera to follow, and we’ve seen it work multiple times over in movies like Every Little Step, Mad Hot Ballroom,…
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2014 has insofar been somewhat of an artistic renaissance for Australian film. So far this year we’ve seen successful cinema releases of 52 Tuesdays, Tracks, The Babadook, and Healing. Sophie Hyde (52 Tuesdays) won Best Director at Sundance; David Gulpilil (Charlie’s Country) won Best Actor at Cannes. Seventeen Australian films are getting a release in…
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The pairing of culinary delights and comedy is an appetising treat in The Trip To Italy, a somewhat slight journey through the country’s finest eating spots that will satisfy any movie-lover’s palette. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play semi-fictionalised versions of themselves, on a foodie’s getaway through Italy away from the demands of family life…
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As of writing this article, Australian horror film The Babadook sits at a comfortable 100% on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes; and our very own Penny Spirou gave the film 4.5/5 in her review. Praise is pouring in from all over for this story about a widowed mother raising a young boy with behavioural issues…
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An offbeat philosophy class that posits class divisions as natural laws, Frequencies is a delightfully bizarre speculative romance that’s as big on ideas as it is small in scale. Undoubtedly the most unique love story you’ll see in cinemas this year, it plays somewhat like Shane Carruth directing Just My Luck – which turns out to be a winning…
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Half of a Yellow Sun should be a good film. A critically acclaimed novel, an emotionally charged historical period, an all star pedigree – on paper, you’d be forgiven for approaching the film with high expectations. Sadly, it’s an unfortunately undercooked melodrama that feels decidedly half baked. Set within 1960s Nigeria, headstrong twin sisters Olanna…
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Concert movies are a rare breed. It goes without saying that if you’re not a fan of the music of that particular musician or band, then you’re probably not going to have a fun time. Road to Austin, however, is somewhat of an oddity – because even if you’re not familiar with any of the…
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When I think about movies like Non-Stop, I like to imagine a bunch of guys in suits sitting around a table, somewhere in a Hollywood boardroom, with an elaborate multiple choice flowchart spread across the table. It’s littered with options, and the guys around the table work their way across and choose from the options. “So……
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If you’re making a film “based on a true story”, what responsibilities do you have to your true story? It’s a question that’s been raised several times over the past year – with several major details of The Butler proving to be fabricated, and the truths of 12 Years A Slave called into question, it bears discussion as to…
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Date movies are a given every Valentine’s Day. Usually doomed romances or wildly unrealistic melodramas, they serve their purpose for that one day of the year and are more often than not instantly forgotten. Despite what its When Harry Met Sally inspired poster suggests, Are We Officially Dating? (aka. That Awkward Moment) is a welcome alternative to the normal Valentine’s…
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Every year, it seems there is a film that deals with more than its fair share of controversy, and Blue is the Warmest Colour was that film in 2013. A film that needs no introduction if you’ve heard any of the stories; since its Palme d’Or win back in May, it seems Blue has barely…
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Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to see the Australian premiere of Venus in Fur in its original form as a production from Queensland Theatre Company. The play easily joined the ranks of my favourite experiences at the theatre, and completely won me over with its winning combination of comedy and drama. So when I heard that Roman…
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“Rhyme, meter, conceit. Without this balance, a poem becomes slack.” Allan Ginsberg’s poetry professor proclaims this line in the earlier moments of Kill Your Darlings, and throughout its runtime I found myself wishing that the film had heeded this advice. Kill Your Darlings is a schizophrenic trip through the origins of the Beat Generation that never…
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The grandmaster of animation, Hayao Miyazaki, made the somewhat unexpected announcement of his retirement from filmmaking a few months back when his film The Wind Rises played at the Venice Film Festival. The film’s trailer has arrived, and after great reviews from the festival circuit I’m hoping it’s a great watch. The film tells the…
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Darlene Love. Merry Clayton. Lisa Fischer. Claudia Lennear. Táta Vega. Judith Hill. Jo Lawry. Stevvi Alexander. The names of these women may not seem familiar, but I can guarantee that you have heard at least one, if not all of them sing. How? Because all of these women are backup singers, and among the most celebrated of…
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“I’m sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried. I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be right. But I wasn’t.” With these few words, so begins All Is Lost, an incredible film about one man’s struggle…
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Seeing Only Lovers Left Alive at the Brisbane International Film Festival was the best kind of surprise. The title alone had piqued my interest, and the synopsis ensured that this would at least be an unusual film, if anything. But Only Lovers Left Alive completely and utterly stole my heart right from the first frame…
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You know when you watch a film, and when someone asks you to describe what you just watched you’re completely lost for words? Ari Folman’s The Congress is one of those films. It’s a psychedelic rabbit hole that you’ll tumble down with increasing velocity, leaving logic and reason behind for an experience like no other. Robin Wright stars…
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Forget the Big Brother finale or the latest instalment of Underbelly, Australia’s television event of 2013 comes with the return of everyone’s favourite (or least favourite) polarising comedian. Chris Lilley’s Ja’mie: Private School Girl essentially picks up where we left off after Summer Heights High – it’s Ja’mie’s last year of high school, she’s the ‘quichest’ girl…
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Accompanied by the news this week that the show will live to see a season two, Thursday’s Masters of Sex brings us just one episode shy of the freshman season’s halfway mark. The show has fast established itself as the new kid on the cable drama block and here’s what we’ve seen so far….
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