The Best Films of 2024... So Far
The cinematic year of 2024 was decried so early and so quickly by some that they announced that it would be the “end to theatres”. It wasn't a good sign that The Fall Guy and Furiosa disappointed…
Reviews
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“Marge, the Nineties Are Here!” Twisters is a Spiritless Spectacle that Dazzles with Digital Destruction
Universal Pictures-Warner Bros. Twisters is a strange beast of a film. It's a tentpole American summer release that just so happens to be a prestige natural disaster flick helmed by Oscar nominee…
Kinds of Kindness: Yorgos Lanthimos is Cruel to be Kind
Yorgos Lanthimos has stated that “All of my films are problematic.” Even his collaborations with Tony McNamara which are imminently more ‘audience friendly’ and Oscar garnering than his earlier work r…
The Bikeriders: Jeff Nichols’ Portrait of a Counterculture to Counterculture in the American Midwest On and Off the Road
In the early 1960s a young photography student named Danny Lyon found himself with a motorcycle club in Chicago. Originally planning to just document their activities he ended up, for a period, a full…
A Different Man is Afraid
A Different Man composites at least a half-dozen films but nevertheless stands on its own as a wholly original paranoiac satire that pays homage to ‘70s and 80s body horror before detouring into a Woo…
Whale Rider is a Story of Courage that Stands the Test of Time
Niki Caro’s delicately laced film of belief, bravery, and true leadership honours the importance of Rangatira (Chiefs) in Māori self-determination while negotiating the inherent limitations of patriar…
The Promised Land (Bastarden) is a Slice of Denmark’s Best
There is hard edged cynicism inside the romantic sweep of Nikolaj Arcel’s Bastarden known in English as The Promised Land. Both titles are apt for the 18th Century set epic. The film wears the skin of…
He Ain't Heavy is the Must See Australian Film of the Year
How do you break the back of a crisis? If you’re writer/director David Vincent Smith (DVS) you shine a spotlight on the humanity that persists through the darkest days. In his feature debut He Ain’t H…
Is Inside Out 2 Pixar's Anxiety Meltdown?
Inside Out 2 has no space to be what it is – an acceptable Pixar film which expends most of its charm and energy in the first third of the film and then dips drastically before rallying again. It’s no…
Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma Anchor a Modern and Industrial Take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Under the intelligent direction of Simon Godwin and adaptor Emily Burns, the Shakespeare Theatre Company's live production of Macbeth springs to life on both the stage and screen. Filmed live at D…
In the Room Where He Waits is One of the Best Australian Debut Features Around
The James Hotel in Brisbane looks a lot like any other mid budget hotel. It has no personality. It’s clean and anonymous. There’s nothing essentially wrong with it except Tobin Wade (Daniel Monks) can…
Richard Linklater's Hit Man is Cheeky, Hot, and a Hell of a Ride
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s Hit Man is witty, sexy, and side-splittingly funny. Although it must be said that the first conceit that anyone could find Glen Powell even in repressed academic Ga…