Film

This documentary is essential viewing for budding filmmakers and young creatives alike. A quiet, patient film by Gabe Klinger, it explores the friendship and work of filmmakers Richard Linklater and James Benning. Combining filmed discussions between the pair over a few days together in Texas and extensive archival footage, Double Play: James Benning and Richard…

British/Irish biopic Jimi: All Is By My Side tells the story of celebrated guitarist Jimi Hendrix, from humble beginnings jamming in the deserted Cheetah Club in New York City through to the development of the Jimi Hendrix Experience across Europe and his performance on 4 June 1967, at the Saville Theatre, London. The film is not your…

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…

Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam has always stood out for his eccentric and distinctive style of filmmaking; always full of imagination, his films take you on an unusual, yet mostly enjoyable journey. His latest effort, The Zero Theorem, is no exception. In dystopian London, where everyone dresses like Lady Gaga and you’re asked to worship…

The Next Black is a fashion documentary that doesn’t look at what’s in style now; nor does it examine what will be fashionable in a year’s time. Instead, it looks around the corner at what is coming next by interviewing the pioneers and innovators within the industry who are using technology and new ideas to…

Belle and Sebastian is a remake of the much-loved 1960s French TV series in which a six-year-old boy befriends a wild mountain dog on the pastoral slopes of the French Alps. Since this version incorporates an additional story of Jewish fugitives attempting to cross the border into neutral Switzerland, the film comes off like a…

It’s a film which has been mostly panned by critics, but Wally Pfister’s directorial debut, the Johnny Depp-fronted Transcendence doesn’t fail to at least keep engagement consistent until the very end. Although clunky at times, and full of half-excellent performances, the film finds it’s feet in cinematography, speaking highly for Pfister’s unquestionable talent. Though visuals…

Anyone who’s chuckled madly at the 4 minute animated slices of goodness that make-up Minuscule, will no doubt be welling with excitement at the thought of a full length feature delving into this charming insect world. French creators Hélène Giraud and Thomas Szabo have taken the plunge, writing and directing a film crammed with action…

In Victoria, the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary has been conducting its Bird Rehabilitation Program at nearby Won Wron Correctional Centre for nearly two decades. One morning, whilst reading The Age, director Craig Monahan stumbled upon an article about the facility; it’s been ten long years since he read that article, and in that time, Healing has…

Raising a disobedient 7 year-old child while working shifts at a nursing home and maintaining what remains of your home after your husband is gone – killed in a car crash on the way to the hospital to deliver your unborn child – is pretty damn tough. This is what Amelia faces (Essie Davis) with…

If Jon Favreau’s film, Chef were a food it would be garlic. It’s a product adored by some, hated by others and is not rare. This light comedy with hints of drama does hit the mark, in some respects. But on other points it is a half-baked, lukewarm pie that will underwhelm fans of his…

On the surface, the promise of Daddy I’m a Zombie’s Tim Burton animation style and horror/comedy sensibilities is appealing. Given the rising popularity of animated films within the genre (such as Coraline and Paranorman), there was hope that this Spanish feature might solidly deliver the same type of visual enchantment. Unfortunately it’s unpolished production, puzzling…

The name, Belle brings to mind a beautiful, English rose. But Dido Elizabeth Belle, the real-life woman and beauty at the heart of Amma Asante’s second feature is a little more complicated than that. The illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is sent to live with her distant, aristocratic family at their estate,…

“And then man created time, and spent eternity trying to outrun it” From this opening piece of text set before a cascading cosmic landscape, it’s quite clear that Three Poems is no run of the mill short film. The debut effort from writer director Jake Houston Harris is exactly what it says it is- three…

As one of four Australian feature films at this year’s SXSW, The Infinite Man also had the pleasure of being one of the festival’s opening night presentations. The low budget film out of South Australia is the debut feature from Adelaide director Hugh Sullivan (watch our interview HERE), and in the spirit of films like…

Paul McCartney: Lives Kisses and BBC Electric Proms: Paul McCartney see the former Beatle performing songs, having fun and getting nostalgic. They also show two very different sides of Macca. The former sees him taking a leaf out of his parents’ songbook and doing covers of the easy-listening tunes that featured on his Kisses On…

Grassroots is the ‘most of this is true’ story of Grant Cogswell’s politically inexperienced and rather kooky attempt to run for Seattle City Council in 2001. Based off the novel Zioncheck for President written by his level headed buddy and campaign manager Phil Campbell, focus is cast on the lively political power struggle between the…

When people think of John, Paul, George and Ringo, a name that doesn’t immediately spring to mind is Freda Kelly. But this humble, Liverpudlian woman was the group’s secretary; manager, Brian Epstein’s assistant; and the head of their fan club for 11 years. Good Ol’ Freda is a quaint little documentary about an inspiring woman…

When audiences flocked to watch the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, they did not learn much about his one-time manager, Saul Holiff and they probably didn’t mind. But the pair had a troublesome relationship which started off with the two arguing and becoming enemies (and their association ended in a similar fashion) plus they…

Give a good-hearted frat boy a bunch of super powers and you have Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The characterisation of the timeless superhero as an off-the-wall, overconfident, but overall decent young man is in stark contrast to the awkward, mild-mannered Peter Parker we saw from Tobey Maguire and automatically puts this current franchise ahead of…

The film, Chinese Puzzle (Casse-tête chinois) could be re-named “Xavier’s Travels” or “It’s Complicated”. The French film and final instalment in director and writer, Cédric Klapisch’s trilogy puts middle-aged life and all of its vagaries and difficulties under the microscope. In some ways the John Lennon quote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re…

Ralph Fiennes takes the director’s helm a second time and reinforces his versatility portraying infamous writer Charles Dickens, in Abi Morgan’s beautifully scripted tale The Invisible Woman, an account of Dickens secret affair with young Ellen Turnen, a woman whose existence nearly faded from the pages of history. Period pieces have a misconception as appealing…

The Muppets are returning to the big screen with Muppets: Most Wanted, a sequel to 2011’s critical and box office smash The Muppets, or, as it’s humorously put in the film’s brilliantly meta opening number – the seventh sequel since their original film in 1979. But who’s counting, right? The film stars the Muppet gang…

Divergent is the latest in a line of post-apocalyptic teen dramas that have been churned through cinema since the ever-popular Twilight and Hunger Games franchises. Adapted from the novels by Veronica Roth through the eyes of director Neil Burger, Divergent plays around with some similarity to The Hunger Games via a post-“war” Chicago that is…

Stylistically, Wes Anderson remains one of the most exciting directors in the business, constantly infusing imagination into each and every one of his whimsical masterpieces. In many ways, The Grand Budapest Hotel supplants his classic works likes Fantastic Mr Fox and The Darjeeling Limited to shine as Anderson’s greatest film to date. 100 minutes just…

Stunning, visceral immersion into one of the world’s most important and historically rich cities is exactly what one will get when they settle into the IMAX to watch Jerusalem 3D. This documentary is a virtual visit to the gorgeous land and infinitely intriguing architecture, taking you through everything from the vibrant marketplaces to the historical…

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! is a documentary film, travel guide and labour of love about The Beatles. In the course of an hour the director and presenter, Fabrice Ziolkowski visits the places in Liverpool and London that were important to the Fab Four. He also does this during International Beatle Week and he discovers that the…

It’s been zombies on the brain of late (pun intended), last year was a good year for undead horror flicks with Hollywood churning out some doozies (World War Z, Warm Bodies, Contracted). This genre is tricky, because it’s been overworked so many times, but looking back on the releases above it’s clear to see something’s…

When you learn that the budget for this feature was a measly $10K, you realise what they have pulled off with feature-length film, Thale, released initially in Norway in 2012 and recently broadcast on World Movies (Foxtel). Thale is a Norwegian fantasy/horror film that brings a unique air to the hybrid genre. The film takes…

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe now officially settling in to Phase 2 of its film franchises there has been a distinct trend of darker more intense storylines coming to the fore. The Avengers really set a huge bar for them to try to match and the expectations are high. With Captain America: The Winter Soldier they…