Film

Auguste Rodin was a renowned French sculptor who produced works like “The Thinker” and “The Kiss”. Some people even declare this artist a genius. But the same cannot be said about his eponymous bio-pic. This French film manages to make this famous man’s life seem so hollow and pedestrian that there is more life emanating…

They say that film stars don’t die in Liverpool but this bio-pic of the same name just might. Okay, that’s a bit harsh but the fact is the story is quite a basic one that could have been realised in a much better way. While the performances are top-notch you can’t help but feel like…

Rock’ n Roll is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The same can also be said about the film’s star, writer and director, Guillaume Canet. The result is an uneven French comedy and a satire that examines the worst of Hollywood and show business ego, and while it deserves points for originality, the…

If ever there was a film that did what it said on the tin then it is Finding Your Feet. This boomer rom-com and English dramedy is all about second chances and discovering your true self. The film is a pleasant and predictable one that should appeal to fans of Hampstead and The Best Exotic…

Whether it’s an old-fashioned detective story (Murder on the Orient Express), a children’s adventure (Young Sherlock Holmes), a romantic farce (Blind Detective) or a flat-out comedy (Clue), the murder mystery is the type of genre staple that can result in lots of fun, particularly if it involves audience participation. If 2018’s latest comedy Game Night can…

There’s something incredibly sweet about Lady Bird, without having the film push into over-sentimental territory. That in itself is a remarkable achievement for Greta Gerwig, who in her directorial debut has turned in an endearing and sincere coming-of-age story that, although quite monotone, springs to life with particularly powerful performances from two female actors of…

When Black Panther was announced the film was automatically destined to bear the hopes and aspirations of many. There was whispers of it finally bringing some long needed diversity to both the MCU and the film landscape. Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler would need to bring his A-game and with this film he’s successful in…

With Gurrumul, director Paul Damien Williams has created a striking and emotive portrait of one of Australia’s greatest musical talents – Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. But more than that, Gurrumul also affords us all a glimpse into the cultural life and traditions of the Yolngu people in North Eastern Arnhem Land, in what are some of…

Fans of Michael Haneke and, in particular, his earlier works should take a swift and immediate liking to Happy End and stick with the patient-testing film throughout. It’s a cynical, pointed and rather sharp jab at the hypocrisy, selfishness and tragedy of droll middle-class life; well-made, beautifully acted and painstakingly (sometimes painfully) complex, although the…

As inconsistent and creaky as the old floorboards of this film’s generic haunted house, Insidious: The Last Key is a tired though mildly inspired jolt to a franchise that could never quite match the far superior universe of The Conjuring. The fourth entry, and supposed swan song, for the Insidious series hinges itself firmly on…

Not so long ago, in a galaxy pretty close, on a planet called Earth we saw the release of Cloverfield. Ten-Years-Ago to be precise. It was a hit at the time, unique with its clever use of found footage that had not been done to death (just yet). With J.J. Abrams producing and Matt Reeves…

Heist films are a dime-a-dozen these days. They’re the ones that fit the “put people on a mission” genre, starring a well known ensemble cast, who have been given an exciting plot where cast chemistry, filmmaking chops and fun storytelling mix together to make an entertaining night out for cinemagoers. If you think of the…

I must be a really bad film critic since I have realised another error of my ways. After other mistakes, like never seeing a Agnes Varda film before until Faces Places, here’s another I must confess and rectify: I have never seen any of the works of Daniel Day-Lewis. Considered to be the best actor…

Known for his rapid-fire flair for dialogue, writer Aaron Sorkin proves ideally suited to tackling the true story of Molly Bloom.  Bloom, a former professional skier, earned her stripes working under one of the co-owners of the infamous Viper Room as she recruited high-profile talent to take part in secretive poker games in the club’s…

To think that a notorious figure like Tonya Harding could be, in any way, made out to be sympathetic is no mean feat, yet screenwriter Steven Rogers, director Craig Gillespie, and star Margot Robbie (also serving as one of the film’s producers) have achieved just that in I, Tonya. For the uninitiated, the saga of…

Children’s films are usually edifying. It’s a pervasive trait in the genre that sees every Disney protagonist journey through some moral challenge and emerge kinder, more accepting or the hallmark ‘true to oneself’. But without these platitudes guiding the protagonists to their better selves, what does a children’s film really look like? David Alaux has…

While the Maze Runner franchise has been far from original, each film has delivered a healthy dose of fun and been crafted quite impressively. Gratefully, Wes Ball’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the final instalment in the series, continues that trend and offers fans a deserving farewell. It does so in the fact that it’s entirely familiar…

Man on the run. Sweet Country is based on the true, Australian story about a point in history where justice was put on trial. For this reason, it has echoes of To Kill A Mockingbird except that here, Atticus Finch isn’t a lawyer but a preacher played by Sam Neill. The result is a shockingly…

At the Golden Globes last weekend, Director Guillermo Del Toro accepted a long overdue Best Director trophy for his latest effort The Shape of Water, which has been something of a surprise award season favourite around the world, topping both the Globes and BAFTA nominations lists (among others). In the speech, which brought the film’s…

Spin-the-vase, a late night taste of fondu, and a rotting beached whale make for just some of the intricate ingredients of Stephan Elliott‘s semi-autobiographical comedy Swinging Safari, a gloriously playful film that finds both the humour and the horror of growing up in Australia in the 1970’s. As kinetic a film it may be (I…

It’s that fantastic time of the year again! We have another Studio Ghi–Wait a minute! This isn’t a Studio Ghibli film! It is in fact, a Studio Ponoc film. In case you don’t know, Studio Ponoc is an animation studio that was founded in 2015 by people who used to work in Studio Ghibli. One…

These days the words, “The Post” are more likely to get you thinking about a blog then a newspaper. In fact, Steven Spielberg’s latest film, The Post is all about history and a bygone era in print journalism. It’s a historic thriller and bio-pic that looks at how The Washington Post handled the decision to…

Winston Churchill was a leading writer and orator. So it should come as no surprise that Darkest Hour, a new biopic about the British leader sees the usual guns and weaponry synonymous with wartime films replaced with words, glorious words. While the story is not the most necessary one (as it has been told countless…

Ridley Scott made a very tough, very challenging decision in direct response to last year’s accusations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey; he decided to pull the actor from All the Money in the World entirely, even after most of the scenes had been shot (and a trailer was released), with only a month left…

Fearlessness and eagle-eyed justice drive Mildred Hayes as she takes an entire town’s police squad to task for failing to properly investigate her daughter’s rape and murder in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Martin McDonagh’s black comedy is all it has been hyped up to be: sharp, wry, nuanced, clever, hilarious and utterly compelling as…

Welcome back Pitches! So the third and final installment of the Pitch Perfect franchise is about to land with all the Barden Bellas crew returning for one more hurrah. When the first film hit cinemas in 2012 it tapped into a hot new trend of reality tv-shows and Youtube performers and Glee-style musical numbers of…

Where most foreigners settling in Japan pass their time in Japanese pubs, English schools or seeking out every piece of longstanding architecture, David Elliot-Jones spent his trying to become famous. And you’ve probably never heard of the guy, but that doesn’t mean he failed. Big in Japan opens with a preface about the seemingly endless…

Going for broke and wearing its heart on its sleeve for all to appreciate, The Greatest Showman is a corny yet engaging musical that embraces its overt positivity with stride. An enthusiastically romanticised telling of how legendary American showman P.T. Barnum (portrayed by a wholly committed Hugh Jackman) worked his way from rags to riches…

It’s quite amusing that films based on videogames like Assassin’s Creed, Max Payne, Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter are complete rubbish and yet films that revolve around videogames or reflect the videogame aesthetic are a different story. With films like David Cronenberg‘s sci-fi body horror film eXistenZ (which is a spiritual followup to Videodrome),…

There is no escaping a society defined by over-consumption, over-population, excessive stress and glaring inequality as Alexander Payne delivers a big message with a small scale, working his surrealist charm and far-flung sense of adventure into Downsizing. The long-gestating project, directed by Payne and written with frequent collaborator Jim Taylor, is a grand, and at…