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Dear Paul Schrader,
I have just finished watching your latest film, First Reformed, which starts Ethan Hawke as the Reverend Ernst Toller, a man facing a personal crisis. I am wondering, did you intend this to be an ode to the ills and delights of patriarchy or did you think you were telling a universal story? Continue reading
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Get it? And if you love dogs AND Wes Anderson movies, it’s likely that you’ll find more enjoyment in this clever and quirky but ultimately disappointing animation than I did. Continue reading
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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
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Better than Pitch Perfect 2, not as great as the original. That’s pretty much all you need to know. Continue reading
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Cultural oppression is a battering ram that destroys everything in its path. There are those who help wield it and those who throw their hands up in protest but do nothing. So it is with the lives of Leila (Leila Hatami) and Reza (Ali Mosaffa). Married because of family expectation but finding love and companionship, their problems begin when Leila finds she can’t have children. Continue reading
Child’s Pose, Romanian Cãlin Peter Netzer’s 2013 searing exploration of maternal love, is one of my favourite films. Ana, Mon Amour treads similar ground but, in its more epic, complex and ambitious scope, ultimately fails to engage. Continue reading
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There’s a lot to like about this spooky Australian thriller, not least Adelaide Clemens’ stoic performance as twins Maude and Cleo. A sluggish pace and a muddled plot though fail to build the tension needed for this to be genuinely scary and ultimately satisfying. Continue reading
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This arthouse Todd Haynes adaptation of Brian Selznick’s graphic and text novel looks lovely but lacks the pace and complexity to keep its readership engaged. Continue reading
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Oh Ridley. You forgot what made Alien so great. It wasn’t the iconic HR Giger design, it wasn’t the special effects or complicated world-building narrative. It was two things – character and suspense. We got to know Ripley and Lambert and Kane and Ash. We cared what happened to them. We held onto our seats and sheltered behind cushions as Ripley navigated her way through the Nostromo, we cheered when she and Jonesy made their final report. Continue reading
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Another Melbourne Queer Film Festival screening and with a title like that you know it’s going to be a raunchy lesbian film. There were two queues snaking down the stairs at ACMI and I could tell at a glance that the all male one was not the one I needed. The first of two sold out sessions, my expectations were high. Sigh. Below Her Mouth is everything that Lovesong isn’t. Continue reading
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