Incoming: Room
Room tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5 year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted Ma. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything …
DVD Review: Camp X-Ray
The War on Terror has thrown up many controversies, from the use of drone attacks to the killing of innocent civilians, but nothing has caused as much consternation as the Guantánamo Bay detention centre. Based on an American naval base in Cuba, the centre is considered to be outside of US law, allowing detainees to …
Incoming: Creed
Adonis Johnson never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa. Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis …
DVD Review: Momentum
The history of cinema is littered with films which flopped at the Box Office. Heaven’s Gate and Ishtar are two of the most famous examples but there are numerous films every year which either suffer the same fate or fail to even get a theatrical release. Granted, many of these films are absolute bilge, getting …
DVD Review: The Ninja Trilogy
Growing up in the ’80s I was one of those boys who had a fascination with martial arts films. I owned plastic nunchucks and shuriken, watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies as well as their Western imitators. I wanted to be a ninja, and not having the access to much Hong Kong cinema, I …
Incoming: The Revenant
Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of …
Incoming: Bolshoi Babylon
The Bolshoi. Symbol of Russia, a national treasure – mystical and intriguing. Recently, however, the theatre has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons: intrigue, personal attacks and management changes have created lurid headlines. Now, for the first time, the theatre directors are allowing a film crew access backstage. They see the coming …
DVD Review: My Skinny Sister
The onset of puberty is never an easy time for a young girl. This confusion and growing pains can only be exacerbated when you have an attractive slim elder sister whose sporting ability takes over much of your parents’ attention. In My Skinny Sister, director Sanna Lenken tackles the subject of anorexia and the pressures …
DVD Review: A Girl at My Door
The South East Asia region is generally very traditional and conservative in its outlook. Homosexuality, for instance, is often treated in a way that those in the West may find perplexing and retrogressive. South Korea is a prime example. Whilst not illegal in the country there’s no official acknowledgement of LGBT rights. It’s a subject …
Film Review: Partisan
The Australian film industry is having somewhat of a purple patch currently. Off the back of the huge success of George Miller’s new Mad Max outing it has been a bumper year. The likes of The Suicide Theory, The Dressmaker, Frackman and Spear are helping establish Australia one of the most vital and exciting places …