Reviews

Ask most people what the term ‘Northern Soul’ means to them and there’s a very good chance you will be met with a blank expression. This movement, that grew from a love of American Soul music in England’s north, sprang into being in the late 60’s. With the British Mod scene on the wane, the…

Testament of Youth begins with a fleeting glimpse of the crowded streets of England on Armistice Day in 1918. Amidst the celebrations, we catch sight of the pained visage of Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander). Overwhelmed by the crowd, she seeks refuge in a nearby church and, finding solitude in an alcove, loses herself in a…

Australian audiences will be some of the first in the world to see the new The Avengers: Age of Ultron film courtesy of global positioning, time zones and release dates. All of these things combined plus the constant hype surrounding this film will no doubt ensure its rampage through the box office like an enormous…

Indie horror It Follows is simple in it’s execution but a bit complicated in it’s innovative idea, combining the sexual angst of teens with a ridiculous premise and somehow making it work through director David Robert-Mitchell’s atmospheric and effectively creepy style. Shifting the focus to the viewers’ imaginations and curiosity, using our own minds to…

The quest for the fountain of youth is always fraught with danger but did anybody ever stop to think of the possible other outcomes of remaining eternally young? Perhaps there’s something inherently beautiful in the notion of growing old. Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) born near the turn of the 20th Century suffers a near fatal…

As the days shorten, and autumn bleeds into winter, the chill temperatures are enlivened by the start of the 2015 Spanish Film Festival, running in Sydney exclusively at Palace Verona and Norton Street from 21 April until 10 May, opening at staggered dates in other cities subsequently. Amongst its offerings are the multi-Goya winning Marshland,…

While We’re Young has one shot where Josh (Ben Stiller) and Jamie (Adam Driver) are cycling towards us. Josh strains something in his back, forcing him to stop in the middle of a busy New York street. He manages a yelp to his younger friend, though Jamie hears nothing and keeps on pedaling, no hands,…

Navigating life, school and love can be tricky even for the best of us but for those with mental and social disorders it can be even harder. X+Y takes us into the fictional world of a teenage math prodigy who is diagnosed on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum at a young age and his journey to competing…

Before we start, there are three things you need to know about this film: 1. This is based on a Nicholas Sparks book 2. There are three stars here, Britt Robertson as goody-two-shoes Sophia, Scott Eastwood as Hunky Cowboy Luke and Scott Eastwood’s blue blue eyes 3. The two lead characters look really good together…

The illegitimate child of an alcoholic mother and an absent father preoccupied with his pre-existing family, youngster Stet (Garrett Wareing) spends most of his time in detention, acting out. However, he has tremendous musical talent, in which Ms. Steel (Debra Winger) recognises, and organises for him to audition for the ‘Boychoir’, fronted by the great…

It’s often been said that we know less about what goes on under water than what happens in space, and it’s this sense of unknowing, unfamiliarity and foreboding that director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) runs with in The Black Sea. Robinson (Jude Law) has just been let go from his job as…

After 7 of these things we kind of know what to expect from the Fast & Furious franchise, but the most inconsistently-titled movie franchise of all time still manages to rise from the ashes of cliche and reinvent itself time and time again. Furious 7 has been the most difficult for the successful brand and,…

Earlier this month, ahead of its May release in Australia and in the US, the new action-comedy Spy had a premiere screening at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Though seemingly unorthodox for a major release (and a mainstream comedy at that) to see a public screening so far in advance of its release,…

When it comes to true music icons, it’s fair to say they’re a rare breed – but anyone who knows Mavis Staples will tell you: she’s in a league of her own. With some sixty five years of performances behind her – and more still to come (she’s touring Australia as we publish this piece) –…

Avast, mateys! Here be SpongeBob with another cinematic adventure. This time he voyages out of water, out of time, out of earth and out of his dimension. Whatever it takes to restore the cornerstone of civilisation ­the Krabby Patty. The secret formula for this highly addictive burger has mysteriously disintegrated into thin water, and the…

“In the land of the blind the one eyed girl is queen”. So goes the premise to director, Nick Matthew’s feature debut, The One Eyed Girl. The winner of the Dark Matters award at Austin Film Festival in 2014 is a raw, experimental and plodding look at how and why a psychiatrist descends into the…

‘Dia de Muertos’ aka Day of the Dead has always been a great theme for films to work with, particularly animated ones. Director Jorge Gutierrez has taken the opportunity to inject the Mexican tradition’s vibrancy into The Book of Life, generating a sense of wonderment through stunning visuals and lively characters. The film’s plot revolves…

When Ryan Gosling premiered his Directorial debut Lost River to a packed house at Cannes last year, it’s fair to say the odds were stacked against him. He couldn’t have picked harsher critics to premiere his film to. This is a crowd who have rarely been fans of Actors turned Directors. Do you remember The Brave – Johnny…

Every once in a while a phrase or acronym surfaces which unjustly gives legs to a social stereo­type. In The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Director Ari Sandel applies his tongue in cheek approach to some of the more serious social undercurrents that continue to plague ‘young people’ working out their place in the world, resulting in a film…

Gang culture and it’s devastating effects are never far away from the front pages of London’s newspapers. 2008 was one of the worst years for gang-related violence. The murder of Shakilus Townsend was arguably the most shocking. Honeytrap, which is based around this murder, follows Layla (Jessica Sula), the girl who would ultimately lead this young man to…

If you can imagine the Disney fairy tale animated film of the same name brought to the screen in all its resplendent glory as live action, then Kenneth Branagh’s version certainly fulfils that. A consistently visually bold film even though it does lack a sense of originality or uniqueness in the story. Regardless it’s still…

A crude comedy starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, fraught with cliche stereotypes and offensive humour. This is going to be the description a lot of people who watch Get Hard will jump to, but – assuming they are offended by one of the many exaggerated stereotypes in the film – they will probably throw…

  For nearly 40 years, Tower Records stood as the largest and most successful record store chain in the world, regularly raking in the millions of dollars in profit per year. In 1999, they managed to pull in a staggering $1 billion dollars. Five years later, they went suddenly bankrupt. It was an astonishing rise…

Last year’s Divergent introduced us to Beatrice (later known as Tris) Prior (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) in a post-“war” Chicago split into factions which are organised around the different character traits of its citizens. You can read our Divergent review here. Still hot on the heels of the YA post-apocalyptic phenomena, Insurgent hits our screens as the much-anticipated part…

Doug Sahm lived and breathed Texas music. But he was also largely unknown outside of that particular American state. Until now. The documentary film, Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove looks at the chameleon musician and gets at the heart of all of his layers of complexity. Sahm was a charismatic bloke who…

17th Century France brings to mind a number of words, opulence, beauty, indulgence, but it was also when the Palace of Versailles and its gardens blossomed under the reign of Louix XIV and the design and construction of André Le Nôtre. But in this film with some slight tweaks on the truth, we meet Sabine…

Late in the film, iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent is rumoured to have died. A few opportunistic journalists decide to get a head­start on the obituary. They discuss their angle: take it easy on the drugs, alcohol. They agree he was a visionary, that he transformed fashion. They say they ‘liked’ him. Maybe they mean ‘admired’, since…

First-time director Yann Demange’s historical drama ‘71, about a British soldier abandoned behind enemy lines in sectarian Belfast at the start of the Troubles, received nine nominations at the British Independent Film Awards. Unlike James Sheridan’s In The Name Of The Father and Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes The Barley, ‘71 doesn’t focus on whole families being torn…

Full disclosure: Kurt Cobain has long been one of my music idols, and as a result, anything which grants any insight into his life is only going to receive the utmost of praise from me. I expected that Brett Morgen’s long in the works Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck would be no exception to this rule, but I…

Sex, Love & Therapy (Tu veux… ou tu veux pas?) contains about as much insight and laughs regarding love as a garden hose and a bread basket. This French rom-com is a superficial tale about a sex-obsessed man and woman who have to work together. It’s a complicated romantic situation but the script is simple…