While not exactly a shot-for-shot re-make, Gil Kenan’s version of classic supernatural-horrorPoltergeist sticks fairly close to the original, at least when it charges into the brunt of the action. The 1982 original, from horror masterminds Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg, has been cemented into popular culture so the story should be familiar to most. You…
Earlier this year Larry Heath checked out Paul Feig’s action-comedy film Spy that got a showing at the SXSW Film Festival in Texas. An unorthodox approach for a mainstream comedy however with the film set to release in Australian cinemas this week, we take a look back at Larry’s review from then. Spy reunites Feig…
Blackhat opens with exhilarating paranoia. The camera soars, impossibly, through a computer chip, where tiny lights flicker with an ominous trill. We are watching a hack that triggers the overheating of a nuclear plant in China and nullifies the warning signs. People die because of a series of numbers. A similar but harmless breach is…
There will be many adjectives thrown about when it comes to describing Mad Max Fury Road and I can guarantee you that all of them will be accurate. Breathtaking, explosive, relentless, spectacle, intense, awesome, mind-blowing, and even epic. This film lives up to all of those and quite possibly does the impressive job of surpassing…
Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story is a food documentary that will leave you being unable to look at your fridge and food in the same way again. Documentary filmmakers, Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin have put together a tight and informative look at the issue of food waste. It offers some eye-opening statistics…
Girls just wanna have fun. Except that in the film, A Royal Night Out, those two ladies are Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret at ages 19 and 14, respectively. The film is a fun and warm-hearted historic romp that does feel like it’s being played a little too safe at times. On V.E. Day (8…
In the bustling city of Sapporo, Anna (Sara Takatsuki) sits alone and silently sketches the other, happy girls. Presumably they don’t have asthma, their parents are alive and, unlike her foster parents, they don’t keep them just for the tax benefit. After she has an attack that asthma cannot fully explain, her foster mother, Yoriko…
The century is the 23rd and the world’s population is, for the most part, impoverished. In an effort to escape the rat race, the poor take jobs in dangerous extraterrestrial industries, of which even the commute, via a process of data transmission known as slipstreaming, is treacherous. Whit Carmichael (Daniel MacPherson) is one such worker….
They are back, pitches. Whether you invited them or not. As Pitch Perfect 2 opens, the Barden Bellas are at the zenith of competitive acapella group achievement, having dominated the scene imperiously since capturing the national title for the first time three years prior. However, a wardrobe malfunction of Janet-Jackson-circa-Super-Bowl-XXXVIII proportions during a televised performance,…
Charlotte Campbell-Stephen is one incredible and inspiring Australian woman. She’s also the subject of the raw and gritty documentary film, I Will Not Be Silenced. This tells the story of Campbell-Stephen’s steely resolve and determination in pursuing justice in a flawed legal environment. The film is written and directed by veteran filmmaker, Judy Rhymer. It depicts Charlotte’s…
It would be hard to deny Unfriended as an imaginative and innovative film; Director Levan Gabriadze takes an initially uninspiring concept and makes it work with admirable attention to detail and a genuine sense of tension. However, in the film’s pursuit of as much realism as possible, the viewer is left unable to escape from…
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…
