Good documentaries are hard to come by but they are there if you look for them! Netflix have several mainstream and topical documentary series in their catalogue, and many from this year have been worth the remote control button press. The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls is a riveting sports documentary. … Continue reading Film in 2020: Five Must-See Documentaries
As is often the case, I don’t always get to see the films I was recommended or wanted to see in the year that they were made and/or released. There are just too many to get to, and anyway, I don’t get paid for reviewing films. I do this stuff for my own pleasure and … Continue reading Film in 2020: Firm Favourites among Last Year’s Late Releases
The Extraordinary (Hors Normes) Directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano. Featuring Vincent Cassel, Reda Kateb, Hélène Vincent, Bryan Mialoundama, Alban Ivanov, Benjamin Lesieur, Marco Locatelli, and Catherine Mouchet. In French with English subtitles. Showing at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2020 across Australia. This French drama was released as Hors Normes at the … Continue reading The One Review: The Extraordinary / Hors Normes (2019 Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano)
Middling films of the year There were three particular movies from three acclaimed and barrier-breaking directors that I believe could have done more than they did this year. Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma was beautiful, affecting and imbued with symbolism, but it lacked the magic of some of his earlier stuff. The Favourite by Yorgos Lanthimos was … Continue reading Review of the Year 2019 in Film
Late Night (2019, Amazon Studios) Director: Nisha Ganatra; Featuring: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Amy Ryan, Hugh Dancy, Denis O'Hare and Reid Scott. Late Night is a light comedy about the fading popularity of an opinionated host. She runs a late-night talk show, and along with her team of writers, she tries to get … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Late Night and Joker
I was very privileged to have experienced the CinefestOZ Film Festival down in the beautiful Margaret River region in South West Australia recently. It is a neatly-styled, homegrown festival with a community feel and a strong focus on Indigenous film-making. It mainly showcases Australian films, but with a tinge of international influence from the likes … Continue reading Review Special: 2019 CinefestOz Film Festival, Western Australia
Ophelia (2018, IFC Films) Directed by Claire McCarthy. Screenplay by Semi Chellas. Featuring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen and George MacKay. Ophelia is a retelling of the classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia, one of the most iconic tragic female figures in literature. But this is a retelling of her … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Ophelia and Midsommar
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019, Sony Pictures) Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern and Al Pacino. Narrated by Kurt Russell. SPOILER ALERT: Please note that some of the film's plot is discussed in detail below. Once Upon … Continue reading The One Review: Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019 Quentin Tarantino)
This science film festival was screening across Australia in May and June 2019, and will embark on a second round throughout August. And several of the films will be shown elsewhere across the world over the next year or so. The basic aim of SCINEMA is to put science back into cinema, something I would … Continue reading Review Special: SCINEMA 2019 – International Science Film Festival
Rocketman (2019, Paramount Pictures) Directed by Dexter Fletcher. Written by Lee Hall. Featuring Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Stephen Graham and Bryce Dallas Howard. After eying the trailer for Rocketman earlier this year, I had a cynical supposition that it was only attempting to jump on the bandwagon of success that greeted Bohemian Rhapsody … Continue reading The One Review: Rocketman (2019 Dexter Fletcher)
Momentary Cinema 