Tentpole sequels, reboots, and remakes have been dropping like flies in 2019. Godzilla: King of the Monsters has underperformed. The Secret Life of Pets 2 fell flat. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part earned less than half what its predecessor did. Hellboy was an unmitigated disaster. And X-Men: Dark Phoenix is already dead on arrival. Next up on…
There is no question that author, J.R.R Tolkien is worthy of a bio-pic. The writer is responsible for some of the most beloved fantasy epics including: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This bio-pic is a rather pedestrian telling of some of his life events and as such, is unworthy of such a…
They say if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. American photographer, Martha Cooper fits this to a tee. She has had a long and storied career capturing some fine images of urban landscapes, and changing towns and communities. Martha: A Picture Story is like a love letter to…
RJ Mitte walks the red carpet at the world premiere of Standing Up For Sunny as part of the Sydney Film Festival alongside actress Philippa Northeast and Matthew Nable.
Over the recent years, it has come to my attention that some of the most problematic films that have attained a lot of critical derision have come from films that explore the trope of magical realism. Recent efforts such as Collateral Beauty, Life Itself and The Book of Henry have tried to be life-affirming by…
Self styled country outlaw Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is out of jail and ready to chase her dreams. A talented country singer, her goal is Nashville (where else?), but Rose-Lynn is torn between starting fresh or finally taking responsibility for the life she’s made in Glasgow, involving two young children who barely know their mother….
Before I start off this review, it must be said that I have not seen any of the works by director Joanna Hogg. It wasn’t due to any prior indiscretions, rather my personal ignorance. But upon hearing the massive amounts of praise from festivals and critics all over the world for her latest film, The…
It feels absolutely wonderful to see a Vietnamese film in this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Of course, there have been many Vietnamese film in film festivals before but, with a stronger focus on genre-centric cinema over the recent year, it feels invigorating for a Vietnamese critic such as myself. This year, we have Ash Mayfair‘s…
There is no question that the late, great Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul. But what you may not know is that she was also an accomplished gospel singer; the daughter of a preacher who first developed her musical chops at church. Amazing Grace is a homage to Franklin’s past, a 1972 concert film…
Another day, another music biopic. Well, almost. Continuing the resurgence of cinematic fare concerned with the chaos that is the life of the musician, Her Smell takes inspiration from the 90s rock scene where female singers like Courtney Love, PJ Harvey, and Shirley Manson gave their male counterparts plenty of competition. With a bleached-blonde lead…
Great Britain in the late 1980s. A country in the grip of economic chaos, racial tensions, and political unrest. And a time fashion clearly forgot. It’s a setting and era cinema has covered extensively over the years. With an inviting narrative and a soundtrack filled with 80s pop and rock wonders, Blinded by the Light…
It should come as no surprise that in My Nudity Means Nothing (Ma nudité ne sert à rien) the protagonist is naked. In this case, it is the French, Underground filmmaker, Marina de Van. She holes herself up in her flat and flitters between existential angst and some serious naval gazing. All this and absolutely…
Most documentaries are good at providing observations about a subject. They are often unobtrusive and just like a fly-on-the-wall. But what do you do when you’ve chosen to chronicle an individual who is an illusionist and expert prankster by day? TV director, Ben Berman grapples with this as well as the notion of the truth…
Nathan Atkins takes us to the Australian premiere of The Secret Life of Pets 2 with Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart hitting the red carpet.
Inspiration can strike at any time. But if you’re an artist like PJ Harvey you may choose to go in search of this illusiveness. A Dog Called Money is a music documentary that depicts the process that spawned the album, The Hope 6 Demolition Project. The result is a beautifully-shot film that can be uneven…
For a movie based on a true story about an elderly British woman revealed to be a long-term spy for the Russians, one headlined by the ever-reliable Judi Dench, Red Joan sadly fails to ignite its potential. Based on a novel inspired by Melita Norwood (dubbed “The Granny Spy”), who was both a British civil…
It has been almost two decades since the X-Men franchise started and now it has finally come to an end. Over the years, we have had a series of generally positive outcomes from this franchise — a list of mostly great films and a handful of very bad ones. For every film like X2: X-Men…
Celebrities walk the red carpet for the 2019 Sydney Film Festival opening night gala and to watch the world premiere of Palm Beach directed by Rachael Ward and starring Bryan Brown, Sam Neill and Greta Scacchi. The Sydney Film Festival is on until June 16th. You can find more information HERE
It’s finally here! The Godzilla franchise continues with Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Previous director Gareth Edwards has been replaced by Michael Dougherty, best known for his horror efforts like the Halloween anthology film Trick ‘R Treat and the Christmas movie Krampus. With an all-star cast of acclaimed thespians, rising talents and franchise returnees and free reign…
Now in its 4th year, The Melbourne International Documentary Film Festival has quickly become one of the most anticipated festival on the city’s calendar, boasting World Premieres, Australian Premieres and one off chances for Victorians to see critically acclaimed documentaries on the big screen. Today we’re looking at five of the music focused docos set…
If you were to see the cast of Triple Threat, which is jam-packed with talented martial artists/established action heroes, chances are that you would be overly excited. With this much talent in an action film, how can it possibly fail? We must consider the people behind the scenes. Triple Threat has director Jesse V. Johnson,…
Only several months after cinema screens were graced with Bohemian Rhapsody and part of the journey of Queen’s meteoric rise to fame. We now have Rocketman, which examines another flamboyant and influential musician, Elton John, and unlike the former, this film decidedly takes a bit more of a leap both stylistically and also narratively. Because…
It’s almost time for the annual Sydney Film Festival (5th – 16th June), stretching almost a fortnight across Sydney’s best cinemas – including the historic State Theatre – with a hugely diverse program of films from around the world. There’s almost too many gems to get through this year, so we’ve compiled a list of…
Taron Egerton and Director Dexter Fletcher walked the blue carpet in Sydney along with other celebrities and guests for the premiere of the highly anticipated film Rocketman
It’s easy to be cynical about the Disney juggernaut of rolling out live action remakes of their classic animated properties. We’ve already had Dumbo earlier this year which was watchable but felt like a little misstep by Tim Burton. Next comes Aladdin, which along with The Lion King releasing July 17 will be the 1-2…
Tonight was a special night for a select group of lucky people who were able to watch a special preview screening of Disney‘s new live action movie Aladdin staring Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud and Will Smith as Genie. Aladdin flies into cinemas on May 23rd.
When one brings up the word “survival” in cinematic terms, usually some would think adventure stories in foreign environments like tropical islands, forests or jungles. Others would think of contained thrillers, where stories would be set in one small setting like a hostage situation in a building ala Die Hard, Under Siege or Speed. But…
Surprise blockbuster hit It slashed up the box office in 2017, making the Stephen King adaptation the most successful R-rated horror film of all time. Now, it’s finally time for the sequel, simply dubbed “Chapter Two” which heads back to Derry where the original characters – collectively, the Losers Club – are all grown up….
It’s fair to say that most people know Shakespeare and his plays. But, very little is known about the old Bard himself. All Is True is a bio-pic about ye olde William i.e. the writer in his twilight years. The result is a story that relies on some speculation and doesn’t always live up to…
After several release date pushbacks and a title change (its working title was Nasty Women, a now outdated reference to one of Donald Trump’s many insults thrown at Hillary Clinton), The Hustle finally plods into cinemas this week. A female-centric remake of 1988’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (which was itself a remake of 1964’s Bedtime Story), the film attempts…
