Upgrade (★★★★) is directed by Leigh Whannell, the Australian screenwriter, director, producer, actor responsible for the Saw franchise of horror films with his friend James Wan. The near future science fiction thriller opens a thrilling car chase and predictable violence when mechanic Grey Trace (Logan Marshall Green) and his wife have their automatic car hijacked. […]
Ben Elton reached international fame for writing for the absurd television comedies The Young Ones and Blackadder. This was before he came to Australia and married Fremantle musician Sophie Gare. Living in Fremantle for much of the time, he often attended the folk music festival at Fairbridge near Pinjarra with his extended family of musicians. […]
In Steven Soderbergh’s hilarious heist film Logan Lucky (★★★★), it is fun to see actors cast in extremely different roles to what we are used to seeing them. Set at a massive Nascar speedway in West Virginia, a couple of not-so-bright desperados come up with an elaborate hare-brained plan to rob the speedway during the […]
The ancient walking, talking tree (voiced by Liam Neeson) in A Monster Calls (★★★★★) might be a monster to some children, but Conor (Lewis MacDougall) is twelve and has to deal with some grown-up things in his life. Apart from having bullying classmates, his mother (Felicity Jones) is very ill. His father (Toby Kebbell) has […]
Sammi Blood, directed by Amanda Kernell, may be located in Sweden but it is a tale of colonisation and alienation that is very close to home. Sweden’s indigenous population, the Samis (or Lapps), were nomadic reindeer herders and weren’t given any rights until the 1990s. Their children were sent to residential schools where they were […]
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (★★★★★) is an absorbing documentary about San Francisco writer Armistead Maupin whose Tales in the City became a cult television series. Tales in the City started out as an entertaining column in the Francisco Chronicle in the mid seventies that recorded the local stories of the city’s residents – […]
Women Who Kill (★★★★★) starts off with an advertisement for a hardware store – the one stop shop which has all the things required for getting that dead body off your hands. The ad is on the podcast coming out of New York by ex-partners Morgan (Ingrid Jungermann) and Jean (Ann Carr). The deadly serious […]
Sometimes, it is best to see a film with very little knowledge about the film and absolutely no expectations. Fortunately, A Ghost Story (★★★★) which is directed by David Lowry doesn’t have much hype surrounding it. Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, it is an ambitious exploration of loss and the legacy we leave behind […]
Lion | Staring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman | Opens Thursday Jan 19 | ★★★★★ Saroo Brierley’s life makes an incredibly captivating story. Last year I heard Saroo, who was adopted by an Australian couple, talking to Richard Fidler on ABC radio about his journey to find his biological family. It’s one of those tales that […]
Planning a trip to the movies? Lezly Herbert’s checked out four great films that are heading to the cinemas this month. The Handmaiden (R) ★★★★★ Directed by Park Chan-wook Sarah Waters’ Victorian tale of lesbian love Fingersmith has been transported to 1930s Korea when it was under Japanese colonial rule. Retaining all the Gothic horror […]
