Doctor Strange dominated the box office again for the second week in a row, taking in $3.70 million this week, despite only showing at 558 screens (it opened on 643 screens last week). This makes it Marvel’s 14th consecutive #1 movie. In 2nd spot on the ladder is the Mel Gibson-directed Hacksaw Ridge, which premiered this week. It…
Taking its outlandish concept and maintaining a balance of wit and intelligence, Gavin O’Connor illustrates a sense of faith for his audience with The Accountant, allowing the film to entertain them without pandering in the process. With its sense of humour in check the film utilises Ben Affleck’s stone-cold gaze and considerable physique to the…
Better known as one of the world’s greatest fashion designers, Tom Ford proves himself every inch the competent filmmaker with Nocturnal Animals. Verifying his debut feature A Single Man was no flash in the pan either, Ford juxtaposes a relationship drama feature with a violent revenge tale in such an effortless fashion you’d swear you…
I hate to admit that I do not really know a lot about classical film noir, despite watching many films in the neo-noir genre like Brick, Sin City and of course, Veronica Mars. But what I do know are some of the main tropes of film noir: the femme fatale, the dirty cop and the…
No surprises that yet another superhero from the Marvel universe will do so well at the box office, with Doctor Strange topping the ladder, earning $6.42 million at the box office in its premiere week. The Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle has performed so well, its earnings make up a little over half of what was made at the box…
Director Andrea Arnold is probably one of the most distinct British directors working today. Her visual eye, her ability to capture slice-of-life moments in a compellingly cinematic way, and especially her way of extracting fantastic performances out of non-actors. Her films like Fish Tank (2009) and Wuthering Heights (2011) are true examples of such. Her latest…
Based on the bestselling novel by Australian author M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans, directed by Derek Cianfrance, is an Oscar-worthy heartwarming but heartbreaking film. It centres on Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) who retreats to a tiny town in Australia to forget the horrors of WWI. He gets a job as a lighthouse keeper on…
South Korean Director Jee-woon Kim’s film credits comprise an impressive catalogue of thrilling action films. His balls to the wall 2005 film A Bittersweet Life is still one of my favourite action movies; he’s payed homage to Sergio Leonne with The Good, The Bad, The Weird and in 2013 he teamed with Arnold Schwarzenegger for his…
As we now roll into Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe we are pulled to the beginning of one character’s story. Doctor Strange is Marvel’s step back to delivering an origin story for a new superhero but in some ways this film is a giant leap forward in universe building. It’s hard to fathom…
If you think Tom Cruise’s ability to pull a box office coup was over, think again. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back has only entered its first week in theatres and it’s already gained the top spot, earning $2.61 million. Whilst that’s great news for Cruise and his fans, it has, however, earned the the lowest screen average for the #1 movie…
Hitting DVD and Blu-Ray players this week is the new film Equals, another descendant of the Orwellian dystopia; one that doesn’t necessarily add to the sci-fi subgenre, but also one that doesn’t take anything away from it. Set in a post apocalyptic society, the film tracks the forbidden bond forming between Nia (Kristen Stewart) and…
Burn Burn Burn – set to screen in Australia as part of the BBC First British Film Festival – is the feature film debut from director Chanya Button and surprised me as a standout film of the “road trip” genre. Even if it did take a little long to get there, it’s the journey that…
Proving that his script work on Sicario was no fluke, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has taught an old dog some new tricks with Hell Or High Water, a should-be predictable crime tale that’s peppered with so many nuances and perceptive characters that it rises above its genre simplicities. Despite director David Mackenzie (Starred Up, Young Adam)…
When “based on a true story” flashes across the screen in the beginning moments of Masterminds, you can’t help but think that it’s trying to squeeze an easy laugh out of its audience. Somehow, whether you believe it or not, Jared Hess’s comedy adopts its premise from an actual robbery that took place in the…
Scares were flat when Stiles White made his directorial debut with 2014 film Ouija, a supernatural horror which got by commercially on its formulaic, same-same structure – and the release date being Halloween – but ultimately faltered in the face of superior genre films released that in the same year. Nothing about Ouija was particularly…
Creating some early hype for the Marvel fandom, the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 teaser trailer and the official movie poster were unveiled yesterday on the Official Franchise’s Facebook. With the teaser trailer leading viewers with the classic tune of Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling”, the trailer doesn’t reveal too much (as with any teaser,…
Based on the 18th book in the series by Lee Child and a follow-up to 2012’s Jack Reacher, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back sees the titular brooding anti-hero (Tom Cruise) roll into DC for a date with Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) only to find her imprisoned on espionage charges. Before long Reacher, Turner and…
It seems many are still willing to take a thrilling ride (sorry) with Emily Blunt and Co., as The Girl On The Train retained its top spot on at the box office this week, earning $2.61 million. Although the earnings were down by 35% since last week, this film still managed the best revenue retention of any…
Woody Allen’s latest film should be renamed “High Society.” This beautifully-shot comedy is a nostalgic but throwaway look at the glitz and glamour of some halcyon days in Hollywood and the smoky nightlife of New York. It’s ultimately like a pleasant and lightweight dream that celebrates money even though the thirties was synonymous for some…
Imagine a scenario where a computer virus has the ability to affect a country’s power supply. It sounds like the plot of a thrilling, science fiction film. It is frightening to think that this could be the future of cyberwarfare, especially when one considers this in light of the Stuxnet event. Zero Days is a…
Everybody has their own line with respect to what they consider funny versus what is taboo. For some people there is no topic or thing that is off limits while others believe that some subjects – irrespective of the quality of the joke –are in poor taste. The Last Laugh is a documentary that examines…
Liam Neeson’s endeavour to find his daughter seems almost trivial when compared to the inexorable force of Keanu Reeves as John Wick, seeking vengeance for the murder of his Beagle puppy named Daisy. John Wick will return in 2017 after the original sleeper hit snowballed into one of the most memorable action films of its…
With the school holidays winding down this weekend, it seems audiences were more of the MA15+ variety, as The Girl On The Train took top spot with $4 million earned this weekend. Changing the setting from England to upstate New York, the film’s screen average was among the top 10 so far this year, the best result since Suicide…
I remember when I first heard of The Da Vinci Code novel by Dan Brown, I couldn’t really understand the hype of it all and how it became a best-seller. The story felt like it was a more mature version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, since they both involve going on a quest…
Most people were introduced to James “Jim” Foley when he appeared in a bright orange jumpsuit and reports (and video) confirmed that he had been the first American citizen to be murdered by ISIS. It was a moment where the Islamic State had stripped away his humanity and reduced Foley to a casualty. In the…
Joe Cinque’s Consolation is a film that throws up a lot of questions. How much responsibility should society accept in a murder trial? Is a murder a preventable death? To what extent can we describe an inexplicable crime? This Australian film is based on some true events and is adapted from Helen Garner’s award-winning true…
With the hype likening this Tate Taylor thriller to last year’s hit Gone Girl, The Girl On The Train returns to the classic bleak style but without the twists and turns that make the genre interesting. Adapting a fan-favourite page-turner to the big screen is always a risk, especially when that adaptation involves a relocation…
Seems schoolkids – as well as parents and guardians – are really into the weird and wonderful, with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children topping the box office at $4 million this week. It beat out The Secret Life of Pets , which took an impressive $3.3 million in its foutta week of release after being at number 1 last week, following…
Whilst Tim Burton is far from being back to his winning form, Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is at least a step in the right direction for a filmmaker who has always found comfort in showcasing the weird and wonderful. Though the film slightly feels like a fantasy cash-in, much in the way features…
The trailers for the documentary Amanda Knox (which debuts on Netflix in late September) questions whether the eponymous star did or didn’t commit the murder of British exchange student, Meredith Kercher. The crime that occurred in Perugia Italy in 2007 had an investigation that had more holes than a pile of Swiss cheese. This documentary…
