Author: Natalie Salvo

In the film, The Wizard of Oz Dorothy taps her ruby red slippers and says, “There’s no place like home.” But have you ever wondered where was home for those striking shoes? The documentary, The Slippers is a fascinating film that covers what became of this beloved slice of movie history in a story that…

Front is a new theatre production whose name could mean lots of different things. The band could all be a “front” for something else, a group often has a “front” man and being an artist means you have to perform on-stage “front” and centre. The play is a rocking one that takes a walk on…

Artists like Madonna, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are some of the biggest names in the music industry. But in the shadows of these successful women you will see lots of men. When you look behind-the-scenes at the music business it is one big old boys’ club but does it have to be this…

Writer and director Sofia Coppola recently became the second woman to win the best director award at Cannes. She won the gong for her latest film, The Beguiled, a gothic story about a group of isolated, Southern girls who take in a wounded solider during the American Civil War. It’s a remake of the 1971 drama/thriller…

Starring Australia’s own Naomi Watts, Gypsy is a new 10-part psychological thriller and drama series that will premiere on Netflix this Friday, June 30th. Before you binge, here are the top five things you need to know about this show: 1. The series was created by newcomer, Lisa Rubin and it sees Naomi Watts playing…

For decades the human race has benefited from someone and they didn’t even know her name. She was known simply as “HeLa” to those in the know and it was a cell line that has been used extensively in research and lead to some major medical breakthroughs. The book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks…

The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx) is a bio-pic that feels authentic because it captures the period well in a visual sense. But you also get the feeling that it is only telling a part of the story and not least because it is all about Karl Marx’s youth. This dramatic film is…

A song is as song except when it’s a Terrence Malick film. The famous director’s latest experimental offering is an absolute waste in that it is all show and no substance. It weaves together cameos from famous A-list creatives and a cast of Hollywood’s finest actors and then it does nothing. Absolutely nothing. For 129…

The story of The Go-Betweens had previously been largely untold save for Robert Forster’s autobiography, Grant & I. But the film, The Go-Betweens: Right Here is set to change that. It’s a wonderful music documentary that plays out like a love letter to a seminal, Australian band. It also dives head-first into the melodrama, adventure,…

We often make breakthroughs when we reserve judgement and keep things like fear and prejudice at bay. Yet as humans the notion of embracing ambiguity can be a hard thing to swallow because the only certain things in life are death and taxes. Matt Whale is the founder and managing director of How To Impact,…

Some people subscribe to the theory that you’ve got to suffer for your art. Two such individuals include the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop and the best-selling French novelist, Michel Houellebecq. In To Stay Alive – A Method the pair share a meeting of minds in a film that is artistic, experimental and semi-autobiographical and…

It seems that American Indians have been erased from the history books, including the chapters relating to contemporary music. Until now. The documentary, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World looks set to change all of that by celebrating the contributions of these individuals and finally giving credit where it’s due. The film is directed…

The vast majority of us are not natural born managers. Many managers have had to study, research and gain practical experience in the field before they can earn the title. But what do you do if you’re a creative practitioner, freelancer or sole trader who is in charge of their own career? The idea of…

This is not a love song- it’s a review of Public Image Limited’s (PiL) documentary. The film, The Public Image Is Rotten is one that focuses on John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten AKA the band’s one mainstay (just like The Cure’s Robert Smith). It shows an outspoken and spiky man who has tempered through age…

A Modern Man is a documentary about a handsome, contemporary classical violinist named Charlie Siem. But who is Messer Siem? Unfortunately that question is not really answered in this film because this British-Norwegian musician puts up a wall that is largely impenetrable. This film is directed by Eva Mulvad (The Good Life). It begins with…

When you consider the name Winnie Mandela do you think of the mother of a nation or a terrorist? The documentary, Winnie tends to sit in the former camp by telling this woman’s history and story from her own point-of-view. It’s fascinating to hear her out and this documentary is a long overdue one, but…

In a world where fashion can be fickle and disposable a designer like Dries van Noten is a gem. The Belgian designer has spent over three decades in the business and remans fiercely independent when other fashion houses have allowed themselves to be bought out. He rallies against the notion of fast fashion and strives…

Imagine living in a world where you found it impossible to understand your bills, where you couldn’t text people and you had difficulty getting a driver’s licence because you couldn’t pass the Ls test. For around 40-65% of Indigenous Australians this is a reality because they are functionally illiterate. The documentary film, In My Own…

For most things in life we ae encouraged to leave our judgements at the door. But this is not the case for the thrilling, gothic romance, My Cousin Rachel. In this case the lady is a woman of mystery wrapped up in a riddle and topped off by an enigma, which means you are in…

The prospect of watching a documentary on town planning probably won’t have people tripping over themselves to watch it. But when you realise that the subject of the film, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City helped preserve some significant parts of New York, it’s a different story. This film is a brief but intriguing look…

The majority of us know Mark Holden thanks to reality television. He was the touchdown-loving judge of Australian Idol and he made a number of infamous performances on Dancing With The Stars. But there are many feathers to Messer Holden’s cap and his memoir, My Idol Years touches on all of this and more, including…

Neil Finn may have said that history never repeats but former British PM and legendary statesman, Winston Churchill worried that the opposite would happen. During World War II he was concerned that the tragedy of Gallipoli would be repeated. The film Churchill is a dramatic bio-pic that examines this very issue in fine detail but…

We consider philosophers, world leaders, writers, artists, musicians and comedians as good sources of wisdom. But we don’t rate pirates, hackers and gang members quite so highly. Author Kyra Maya Phillips disagrees and thinks we should look to social misfits as sources of inspiration as she describes in her book, The Misfit Economy. The Venezuelan writer…

It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest technophobe or if you’re a digital whiz kid, there’s no denying that algorithms are becoming a pervasive part of our lives. Companies like Google know more about us than ever, Amazon can predict our shopping purchases and Facebook likes can be used to distinguish your class, race, gender…

Handsome Devil is cut from the same cloth as Sing Street and Dead Poet’s Society, but it also leaves a few things deliberately ambiguous. This is a pleasant, coming-of-age tale set in a private, all-boys boarding school in Ireland. The story ends on an encouraging and positive note where you should be yourself because it…

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer is a light comedy film about a human of New York. But he’s not just any human. The eponymous Norman is a wheeler/dealer and the undisputed king of networking. The film is what you’d get if The Ides of March were directed by…

Neruda is a film that truly embodies its subject matter. But this proves to be one double-edged sword because it is also to its betterment and detriment. This bio-pic about the eponymous, beloved Chilean poet uses the lyrical qualities the writer employed to bend the narrative in so many ways that the result is virtually…

A more appropriate title for the film Snatched would be “Botched” because this was a wasted opportunity. The movie is an uneven one starring comedian Amy Schumer and Hollywood’s own, the truly wonderful Goldie Hawn making her silver-screen comeback after a 15 year hiatus. It’s one that has some decent-enough ingredients but the overall combination…

David Bowie may have been Messer Jones, Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke. But there was no question that this chameleon artist was also one handsome and photogenic man. Blender Gallery are celebrating this with a new exhibition titled Bowie Unseen, which is also part of the Head On Photo Festival. Bowie Unseen includes…

If you don’t know the name Martin Sharp it’s still likely you’ll be familiar with his artworks. The Australian artist was responsible for designing the covers of Cream’s two studio albums, was the co-founder and principal cartoonist at Oz magazine and produced famous posters of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and more. Martin Sharp – His…