Film

For the second week running, an Australian drama about a seamstress has relegated a Hollywood blockbuster to number 2 at the box office. The Dressmaker starring Kate Winslet pulled in another impressive AU$3 million last week as it does its best numbers in Australia. The Martian is still the only real contender at this point having…

Spectre is the 24th James Bond film, 52 years into a franchise that has defined and redefined espionage thrillers, showing absolutely no signs of stopping both financially and creatively after Skyfall’s overwhelming success in 2012. Sure Daniel Craig’s iteration of Bond has given us some dull moments (see Quantum of Solace), but the 47 year…

David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel Gone Girl was a sensational suspense-driven thriller and one of last year’s cinematic standouts. The film adaptation of Flynn’s other book, Dark Places, doesn’t land with quite the same punch. The film’s source material carries it far but not far enough to compete with Fincher’s lavish production….

If you know anything about Malala Yousafzai, you would know that her story is not necessarily one of happiness, but one of suffering, struggle, but most of all inspiration. It is the powerful character and true story of this now 18-year-old girl that dominates the character-driven documentary He Named Me Malala. The documentary is directed by…

Based on Irène Némirovsky’s bestselling novel, Suite Française challenges the true nature of people through forbidden love, generosity and understanding during a time of vast demise and depression resulting from the horrors of war. Directed by Saul Dibb, it is a romantic drama set in the small French village Bussy. The film follows the tribulations of…

Over the last couple of years thanks to the wonderful team at National Theatre Live they’ve been bringing some of the greatest theatrical plays from the National Theatre in London to cinema screens across the world. For those who are unable to see these plays in the flesh, seeing them via NT: Live has been…

I know what you’re thinking. “Ryan, didn’t you just write a review for 3 Headed Shark Attack? There’s even a link right here) Yes, I did. Call me a glutton for punishment. Someone has to do it!! So this one isn’t so easy to explain if you can believe that. Bare with with me. So…

“MORE HEADS! MORE DEADS!” That’s actually the tag line on the poster of 3 Headed Shark Attack. Granted, I added the exclamation marks which may serve to prove that maybe, once and for all, even production company Asylum are getting tired of the drivel they’re producing. That, or it’s just another blunder in a series…

After four weeks on top of the box office The Martian has finally been dethroned by The Dressmaker, which is great news as Australian films continue to contribute to an already stellar year. Starring Kate Winslet and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the adaptation of the novel of the same name made AU$3.1 million while The…

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Director Christopher Landen is perhaps best known for writing four back-to-back films in the now thankfully defunct (apparently) Paranormal Activity franchise (he also directed The Marked Ones). Knowing that, you’d be forgiven for going into this horror-comedy with low expectations, even when considering the film’s title and trailer. It’s…

Comedy and tragedy go hand-in-hand in The Dressmaker, a larger-than-life, heartbreaking laugher that benefits from its brave cast and stellar wardrobe selection.  Not the warm and fuzzy dramedy some may be expecting based off its trailer, Jocelyn Moorhouse’s adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s novel is a considerably dark affair with vibrant brushes of eccentricity to keep…

Can a few dating wrongs allow you to find Mr. Right? That is the question that is asked in the British rom-com, Man Up. The film is simply one zany night stretched out to feature length. It’s an evening filled with mishaps and misadventures and it’s all madcap fun that is uncomplicated, funny and silly….

The final film in what has been one of the most epic film franchises of the past few years is almost upon us. Part 2 of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay will be in cinemas in less than a month and to celebrate Lionsgate has released a new TV spot with an even closer look at…

Going into the Vin Disel-fronted supernatural action film The Last Witch Hunter, I wasn’t quite certain what to expect. Sure, the idea of Vin Diesel as an immortal witch hunter who saved humanity from hidden supernatural threats is dumb – but as everyone familiar with horror movies knows, dumb doesn’t have to mean bad. In…

A lot of people want to live in Utopia but not many would want to work there. Or at least the “Utopia” that’s depicted in the eponymous TV show by the Working Dog production team. The series is a comedy one that feels so real it could have been a documentary if it wasn’t so…

On October 28th, the highest grossing British documentary of all time, Amy, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in Australia. The film chronicles the life – and tragic loss – of UK singer Amy Winehouse. Earlier this year, writer Carina Nilma headed along to the Sydney Film Festival to witness the first Australian screening…

Paranormal Activity has become a huge moneymaker over the years, requiring a modest budget and commanding endless profits despite quality – as if with most horror franchises – slipping fast. The film’s formula of night-vision cam jump scares quickly defined the genre in the 21st century right alongside the other big franchise of the times,…

In Frances Ha, co-writers (and real-life couple) Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig brought to the screen this generation’s twenty-something creative; simultaneously spoilt and burdened by choice. Their Frances, played adorably by Gerwig herself, was lively and resourceful, optimistic yet melancholic in her struggle to achieve some level of “success” and establishing a career post-college. Mistress America,…

If you’re the kind of person who loves, without a doubt, the idea of work-life balance, this is not the film for you. If you’re easily upset at the sight of workplace bullying, or stress caused by an unstable manager and a professional environment that breeds unhealthy well being choices, this is not the film…

It was a treat to re-live the glorious and sophisticated historical drama Vikings Season 3 in HD, while the thoughtful extras helped bring a better understanding to what creator and writer Michael Hirst was trying to achieve, leading to a greater appreciation of the show’s production and newest characters. Vikings, as many Australians will know,…

The Martian is still rolling despite a handful of new entries at the box office last week. Pulling in another cool $3.1 million, The Martian is well on its way to becoming Ridley Scott’s most successful film. Sitting on US$143 million in the USA, it sits behind Hannibal (US$165 million) and Gladiator (US$187 million). It…

Watching Bridge of Spies, I couldn’t help picturing Steven Spielberg hopefully pressing his tuxedo. Along with Lincoln (2012), it is set in shadowy rooms with windows of blinding white light, like a Polaroid of American democracy in the process of development. Again, the themes are highly relevant today, despite taking place at the height of…

Yorgos Lanthimos’ first English-language feature film is a brutal and confronting dark comedy with a touch of surrealism. In a community that is fixated on couples, a man called David (Colin Farrell) checks into a hotel where he must either find a suitable partner in 45 days, or be turned into an animal of his choice….

The trailers released for Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak make the film look like a horror-infused haunted house type film. In actual fact it’s not; well not entirely anyway, since Del Toro has instead crafted a gothic romance film that harkens back to story-telling styles of yester-year – it just so happens to be set…

In The Road Within, writer and director Gren Wells makes her Directorial debut; an adaptation of the Italian film Vincent Wants to Sea. She brings us the story of three patients at a mental wellness centre in Nevada, who escape to travel to the beaches of California to scatter the ashes of Vincent’s (Robert Sheehan, best known for this role…

In 1978, Meir Zarchi’s film I Spit On Your Grave shocked the world. It was condemned by some as ‘depraved’ and praised by others as the ‘ultimate feminist movie’. In 2010, a remake of the cult classic took revenge to a new level, before a sequel delivered twice the terror. Now, the controversial movie series…

The Martian has settled in nicely at top spot, earning a cool $4.5 million last week. The space flick is currently sitting on a $232 million worldwide gross but it still has some catching up to do to beat Gravity, its space brethren released in October of 2013. Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway have…

After seeing the trailers for Joseph Gordon Levitt’s new film The Walk,I was anticipating a complete and utter disaster that would make me wonder what I ever saw in the actor. The preview entailed horrible French accents and what appeared to be incredibly unnecessary 3D. It seemed to be Hollywood gone wild; but oh, how wrong I was….

Many gangster movies have come before that have been considered great, The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Untouchables, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and all of these have depicted the highs and lows of the lifestyle. Where Legend differs, by utilising its lead to play both main characters, by taking an American spin on the British…

I have a strange passion for trash cinema and ‘so bad-it’s good’ movies. Toss me a copy of Sharknado or a Troma film any day of the week and I’ll gladly watch it purely for the shits/giggles. But Pernicious is neither of those things. It takes itself far too seriously and is too polished to…