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…
Since Netflix’s launch the streaming service provider has been pumping out its own studio content to screen exclusively on its service. As the service provider grows it also attempts more ambitious projects working with directors, producers, script writers and actors of a higher calibre. We saw this in Okja that was released a couple of…
As of writing this review, the Australian Parliament has passed the law, allowing same-sex marriage. What great timing, right? Anyway, Call Me By Your Name. This film has been gathering up critical buzz ever since it made its premiere splash at Sundance back in January. Then it showed at many other film festivals like Toronto…
We really shouldn’t be overly surprised at this point when Pixar release yet another beautiful, thought provoking, emotionally stirring film. What’s more important is the respective film’s ranking in the overall studio canon, and if it will earn longevity (ala Toy Story) or leave little impression (2015’s The Good Dinosaur). Time will tell if Coco…
Just To Be Sure (Ôtez-moi d’un doute) is a French comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It deals with some important and weighty issues like: family, identity and roots but handles these in a quirky and funny way. What could have been a self-proclaimed neo-Greek tragedy actually turns out to be a fun and…
I don’t know how the first Paddington film became as good as it is. Considering that the trailers made it look awful and the late cast changes in regards to who provides the voice of the titular bear, I was actually expecting the worst. But to everyone’s shock, it turned out to be one of…
With every new Star Wars film comes the obvious comparisons to its predecessors. Yes there are epic space battles between X-Wings and Tie Fighters. Yes there are wild twirling lightsaber fights. And most importantly there is the deep, spiritual and emotional journey of our characters (some more than others). These have always and will always…
Similar to the majority of other anime titles on offer, In This Corner of the World is suitably aimed at older audiences. Whilst the animated medium usually suggests family-friendly viewing, Sunao Katabuchi‘s thematically heavy drama is more thought-provoking than visually reliant. Concerning itself predominantly with the bombing of Hiroshima towards the end of World War…
Tommy Wiseau’s laughably bad The Room has such a strong and passionate cult following that the “disasterpiece” is still being discussed, screened and dissected 14 years after its limited cinematic release. There aren’t many films that can boast that kind of staying power, existing in a singular universe where something is so bad it takes…
On paper, Wonder Wheel seems to have all of the right credentials. It’s a dramatic film set in the 1950s so it’s bound to look great. It stars Kate Winslet and is directed by Woody Allen. It is also set at the Coney Island Amusement Park. But even with all of this stuff on offer,…
Given his capable work on Tron: Legacy and Oblivion it was interesting to see what Joseph Kosinski would do with a rugged autobiographical drama like Only the Brave. The true story upon which this human versus nature story is based is rife with strong emotion; dark and inspiring with a tale of redemption embedded within,…
A performance removed from his knowing talents on Game of Thrones, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau‘s turn in Shot Caller is a strong, powerful showcase for the actor in a film worthy of seeking out during its limited season. When Ric Roman Waugh‘s film begins, Coster-Waldau’s character, Jacob Harlon, is referred to as “Money”, and his appearance checks…
As easy as it would’ve been for writer/director Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) to nail Wonder‘s sentimental subtext into the ground – those grand old morality notes like “beauty is only skin deep” and “never judge a book by its cover” are covered here nicely – there’s something alarmingly non-saccharine about the…
Given how lush Priscilla Cameron‘s debut feature The Butterfly Tree appears, it’s a real shame that the material at hand doesn’t match its aesthetic. With its jazz-influenced pop soundtrack and Baz Luhrman-like colour pallet, there’s no denying how visually appealing the film is, but it becomes strikingly evident that it’s all for show when Cameron’s…
Who ever would’ve thought the day would come that Mel Gibson would be re-established enough to earn himself a prime role in a family-aimed comedy? Whilst the controversial figure has been steadily working over the least few years, either headlining under-seen projects (Get The Gringo, Blood Father) or co-starring in ensemble pieces (Expendables 3, Machete…
Despite being associated with Netflix, Mudbound is no made-for-streaming affair. Premiering to rave reviews in the earlier half of the year at Sundance, Dee Rees‘s film was snapped up by the media service after surprising snubs from the other major studio players. Rees is arguably having the last laugh though as this film more than…
Borg vs McEnroe feels like a film more tailored for the streaming services market. A minor feature that’s likely to only really be of interest to tennis fanatics, and even then they might prefer a more traditional documentary, Janus Metz Pedersen‘s drama never feels like a complete production, despite its substantial focus on Bjorn Borg…
It’s been something of an arduous trek but the Justice League have finally made their way to the big screen. Long before Joss Whedon earned the tick of approval from comic enthusiasts the world over with his take on The Avengers, George Miller (Mad Max, Happy Feet) was planning on brining the titular crew to…
Very few actors have been afforded a send-off as fitting as Harry Dean Stanton has in Lucky. Throughout his 6 decades of working across both film and television, Lucky, next to his most substantial screen-time turn in 1984’s road movie Paris, Texas, stands as a true showcase for the actor; regardless of the film arriving…
Takashi Miike, back in the V-cinema (straight-to-video) era, was a complete madman. Not in a human state (or maybe he is, who the hell knows?), but in his creative state, as the images and ideas he comes up with can only come from a man who is completely bonkers. This is the man who directed…
Kathryn Bigelow has already proven a competent and imaginative voice when tackling tough, complex subjects featuring the kind of gutsy brutality that doesn’t need excessive gore or sci-fi elements. She’s much more concerned with real-world situations, exploring human nature as a function of and reaction to extreme pressure; in some ways, it’s similar to the…
With its classic style, striking ensemble, and lack of action-heavy set pieces, Murder on the Orient Express may be a little too refined for modern audiences versed in the ways of today’s distraction-centric filmmaking where bigger and louder equals better. Despite the film being void of any staple action moment, Orient Express still delivers on…
Biopics these days feel like forced Oscar Bait; as though the formula for an award, on behalf of the actors, is to talk in a funny accent or shout. To truly nail a true character, there’s more to it than just imitation. Films like Patch Adams, Diana and even A Beautiful Mind fail to succeed…
Was rebooting the seven-film-deep Saw franchise seven years after the abysmal Saw 3D really necessary? No, not really. The gore-porn films have always been enormously successful despite a substantial drop in quality from the first two entries, so financially there’s little to lose, but the story of the “Jigsaw Killer” really has nothing left to…
Ahh yes, the cinematic comedy sequel. These past several years, we have gotten many comedic sequels, whether they were made by popular demand, the means of nostalgia or the fact that Hollywood is running out of ideas. Although we have some gems like 22 Jump Street, the Kung Fu Panda films… even Men In Black 3,…
Three Summers is a film that is as light and breezy as its title suggests. It’s also an ensemble comedy that is written and directed by the legendary, Ben Elton. The latter is known for his novels and the TV shows: The Young Ones and Blackadder. In Three Summers he creates a warm-hearted and well-intentioned…
If there was Australia’s answer to the film, Play Your Gender, then Breaking The Mould is it. This music documentary includes interviews with Australian artists about their thoughts and experiences with gender in the local industry. The film is an interesting one about our history and it is something that should help shape the conversation…
The Beatles sang “All you need is love” but they weren’t talking about movies. The film, Loving Vincent is one that is positively brimming with love. It was a labour, a passion project and it’s one of its kind that reads like a love letter to its namesake. But while the final result is something…
Thor: Ragnarok hits Australian cinemas tomorrow, and by now you’ve heard that this Marvel series’ third instalment lives up to expectations. Helmed by the great Kiwi director Taika Waititi, who assembled a cast of returning favourites and a few excellent additions from his own repertoire, Thor: Ragnarok takes the Marvel Cinematic Universe to new heights,…
