Image via http://www.if.com.au
I like Warwick Thornton’s vision. It is an uncomfortable one for a non-Indigenous person like myself but his film should be obligatory viewing for all of us. Continue reading
Sweet Country (2017)
StandardCategory Archives: Reviews
Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) (2016)
Standard
Image via whysoblu.com
I have been waiting to watch this South Korean zombie film with my Korea-obsessed daughter and it did not disappoint. Now one of my favourite zombie movies (I’m a bit partial to Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and Warm Bodies), it had me hiding behind a cushion for most of its 118 minutes. Continue reading
John Wick (2014)
Standard
Image via http://www.johnwick.movie
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC] I am sad. My wife has died. She gave me a dog. A bad man has killed my dog. [WISTFUL MUSIC] He has stolen my car. I love that car. I drive it fast because I am sad. I am sad and angry. I am John Wick. Bam. Bam. Pew. Pew. Pew. Kapow. Blam. Blam. Continue reading
Jane Got a Gun (2015)
Standard
Image via http://www.theyoungfolks.com
But Dan got two guns. Jane, for all her prominence in the film’s title and promotional posters, doesn’t get to do much with her gun. It is her ex-lover, brooding and sweaty Dan Frost, who drives most of the action and provides the dramatic centre. Continue reading
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Standard
Image via http://www.wallpapersite.com
I could hear the fanboys (and some girls) wailing from across the globe as I left the cinema. Absolute garbage! The worst Star Wars movie ever! Such a joke! I quite liked it and perhaps for all the reasons they didn’t. Continue reading
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
Standard
Image via http://www.cosmopolitan.com
Better than Pitch Perfect 2, not as great as the original. That’s pretty much all you need to know. Continue reading
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Standard
Image via http://www.vox.com
There’s lots to love about this film from Martin McDonagh, primarily the remarkable performance of Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes. Mildred’s daughter was murdered ten months before and, frustrated at the police’s inability to find the perpetrator, she uses three billboards on a quiet road to stir up action. Continue reading
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Standard
Image via heroindex.net
Based on the graphic novel ‘The Coldest City’, this Cold War action thriller is engaging and entertaining and only occasionally lacks pace and plausibility. Charlize Theron is Lorraine Broughton, the atomic blonde of the title with a shock of white hair and the epitome of sangfroid. She’s an MI6 agent and is sent to Berlin to investigate the assassination of fellow agent and former lover James Gascoigne (Sam Hargrave). Continue reading
School Life (2016)
Standard
Image via http://www.latimes.com
Like Hotel Coolgardie, this is a documentary that positions us as silent viewers, watching everyday life unfold around us. In School Life, there is no context nor narration, we are dropped straight into a day at Headfort School, a boarding school for primary kids in Kells, Ireland. Continue reading
Loving Vincent (2017)
Standard
Image via http://www.cinemaclock.com
Like an episode of Midsomer Murders but painted, this misguided commodification of the art of Vincent Van Gogh is devoid of any real exploration of the artist or his art. Proudly stating upfront that each frame has been hand painted, the gimmick is at first intriguing but soon becomes a distraction. It can’t hide the insubstantial plot, dodgy accents and lack of drama. Continue reading
fillums 