August 21

Hampstead (2017)

posted by

a lukewarm uneven British rom-com

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August 17

Wind River (2017)

posted by

a vengeance thriller with solid storytelling, exciting visuals, and well-crafted acting

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August 14

Atomic Blonde (2017)

posted by

more heroine-inflicted casualties per minute than some war movies

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August 11

The Circle (2017)

posted by

a techno-dystopian warning about digital dependence

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August 08

A Monster Calls (2016)

posted by

a gut-wrenching tale about death and grieving

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August 04

The Big Sick (2017)

posted by

a clever rom-com that laughs where few dare to tread

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July 31

A Ghost Story (2017)

posted by

a haunting reflection on grief and what lies beyond the last heartbeat

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July 28

The Man (2017)

posted by

a tense Nordic essay on ageing, art, and father-son rivalry

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July 25

Paris Can Wait (2016)

posted by

a delicious film title promising much but delivering little

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July 21

Dunkirk (2017)

posted by

a combat spectacular loosely based on Dunkirk history

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July 17

The Beguiled (2017)

posted by

a beguiling exercise in form over substance

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July 13

Maudie (2016)

posted by

a gentle portrait of a gentle artist

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July 10

It Comes at Night (2017)

posted by

a chilling dystopian tale about inner demons

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July 06

Lady Macbeth (2016)

posted by

a shallow Gothic tale with Shakespearean pretensions

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July 03

Chocolat (2016)

posted by

the funny-sad story of France’s first black circus entertainer

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June 29

A Quiet Passion (2016)

posted by

a finely crafted portrait of the revered American poet Emily Dickinson

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June 26

Una (2016)

posted by

a tense essay on moral boundaries in a child sexual abuse case

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June 22

Churchill (2017)

posted by

an unsubtle but beautifully produced character study of Winston Churchill

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June 19

The Death & Life of Otto Bloom (2016)

posted by

a clever mockumentary about the concept of time

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June 14

My Cousin Rachel (2017)

posted by

superbly produced Gothic romantic thriller

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June 12

Get Me Roger Stone (2017)

posted by

chilling case study of the Darth Vader of American politics

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June 09

Wilson (2017)

posted by

pointless film about an obnoxious self-obsessed nobody

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June 05

Norman (2017)

posted by

whimsical character study of a lonely Jewish fixer

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May 31

Don’t Tell (2017)

posted by

landmark battle between a brave abuse victim and a heartless church school

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May 28

The Sense of an Ending (2017)

posted by

slow introspective study of how we make sense of our lives

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May 25

Viceroy’s House (2017)

posted by

superbly produced epic about the last Raj.

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May 21

Snatched (2017)

posted by

mother-daughter road trip film that is a waste of comedic talent

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May 19

The Birth of a Nation (2016)

posted by

a story of how religion and sexual abuse inspired a slave rebellion.

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May 15

Table 19 (2017)

posted by

unexpectedly entertaining wedding sit-com.

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May 11

The Zookeeper’s Wife (2016)

posted by

beautifully filmed story of heroism under the Nazi occupation of Poland.

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May 08

The Red Pill (2016)

posted by

propaganda documentary for Men’s Rights Activists (MRA)

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May 05

Frantz (2016)

posted by

An exquisitely filmed essay on guilt, lies and loss in the between-wars era

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May 01

Berlin Syndrome (2017)

posted by

taut psycho-sexual thriller about captivity and madness

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April 27

Get Out (2017)

posted by

entertaining but predictable horror spoof mixed with clever racial satire.

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April 25

Their Finest (2016)

posted by

nostalgic period drama about movie-making and romance during the London Blitz.

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April 19

Personal Shopper (2016)

posted by

A well-acted but unoriginal iPhone-driven ghost story

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April 17

Bitter Harvest (2017)

posted by

An important episode in history overshadowed by a mediocre love story.

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April 13

The Country Doctor (2016)

posted by

A warm-hearted romantic drama set in a beautiful French village

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April 10

Big Eyes (2014)

posted by

The story of domestic violence behind one of the biggest art frauds in history.

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April 05

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

posted by

A dystopian masterpiece where alternative facts and fake news are weapons to crush truth

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April 02

Miss Sloane (2016)

posted by

A gripping thriller of Stiletto power, political corruption, and stopping the gun lobby.

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March 30

What is Film Criticism? (Essay)

posted by

An essay on the origin, purpose, problems, and future of film criticism.

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March 29

Land of Mine (2016)

posted by

A brilliantly filmed pulse-racing war story that needs to be told.

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March 26

Embers (2015)

posted by

An original story about a dystopian world without memory

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March 22

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

posted by

A new take on the Gothic sanatorium horror where wellness is not what you think.

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March 20

A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

posted by

A gritty tale of drug recovery with a ginger moggie called Bob.

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March 16

Christine (2016)

posted by

A sad portrait of depression that led to a real on-air suicide.

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March 13

Collateral Beauty (2016)

posted by

A complex lyrical essay on grief psychosis

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March 09

Alone in Berlin (2016)

posted by

A story of how heroic postcards became small grains of sand in the Nazi war-machine

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March 06

Jasper Jones (2017)

posted by

A coming-of-age, thriller and rom-com mashup that looks at dysfunctional lives in an Aussie country town.

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March 02

20th Century Women (2016)

posted by

A warm funny coming-of-age story that asks “do you need a man to raise a man?”

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February 26

Silence (2016)

posted by

A monumental story of persecuted faith and colonial conflict.

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February 24

A Man Called Ove (2016)

posted by

A darkly funny portrait of love and grief in a cranky old man.

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February 22

Toni Erdmann (2016)

posted by

A quirky story about a father-daughter bond that is unorthodox and endearing.

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February 19

The Lobster (2015)

posted by

An absurdist black comedy about society’s obsession with mating.

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February 15

Patriots Day (2016)

posted by

A well-made action-packed real life disaster story overlaid with a weak ‘human interest’ melodrama.

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February 12

The Innocents (2016)

posted by

A soulful essay about atrocities committed against nuns during war.

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February 09

Fences (2016)

posted by

An intimate and densely lyrical insight into the African-American experience.

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February 05

Perfect Strangers (2016)

posted by

An entertaining and voyeuristic peek into the black-box of secrets: the iPhone.

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February 02

Hidden Figures (2016)

posted by

A feel-good bio-pic about a remarkable episode in history.

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January 30

Denial (2016)

posted by

An historical essay warning that manipulators of truth will always be among us.

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January 26

Loving (2016)

posted by

a powerful story of an ordinary couple who changed history

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January 22

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

posted by

Painful battles with inner demons made bearable by outstanding performances

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January 19

Moonlight (2016)

posted by

A tapestry of lyrical moments and finely wrought detail in a journey for self-identity

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January 17

Jackie (2016)

posted by

Natalie Portman gives a memorable performance of an unforgettable event.

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January 14

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

posted by

One big quirky, intelligent, funny coming-of-age cliche.

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January 11

Why Him? (2016)

posted by

Could have been the comedy of the year but blows itself apart with F-bombs and worse.

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January 08

Passengers (2016)

posted by

What could have been a great sci-fi ends up a rom-com space opera mashup.

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January 05

Southside with You (2016)

posted by

A warm, intelligent, well ­told story about two people who became a global power-couple in celebrity politics

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January 01

Things to Come (2016)

posted by

Post-divorce trauma has great cinematic potential but it goes nowhere in this story.

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December 29

Paterson (2016)

posted by

A whimsical essay into the ordinariness of human existence

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December 28

Rosalie Blum (2016)

posted by

A jigsaw puzzle of quirky characters connected by chance whose lives become entwined.

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December 23

Lion (2016)

posted by

An immensely satisfying cinematic experience: visually stunning, narratively powerful, and an emotional whirlwind.

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December 21

Allied (2016)

posted by

Action-packed espionage with an ordinary script and unconvincing performances

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December 18

A United Kingdom (2016)

posted by

This finely crafted portrait of love between a black king and a white woman is the outstanding bio-pic of the year.

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December 15

Queen of Katwe (2016)

posted by

Beautifully filmed, original and inspiring tale of triumph over adversity.

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December 13

Up For Love (2016)

posted by

A delightful French farce that is funny and sad and loaded with charm.

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December 11

La La Land (2016)

posted by

A beautifully filmed dazzling retro musical about young dreams.

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December 06

The Family Fang (2016)

posted by

A twisted tale of parental abuse under the guise of art

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December 04

The Fencer (2016)

posted by

A well-crafted and touching tale about heroism without glory under Stalinist rule

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November 30

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016)

posted by

An original and painfully satirical study of post-traumatic stress dis-order

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November 27

The Founder (2016)

posted by

A tale of treachery, greed and a code of ethics toxic enough to spoil a Big Mac.

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November 23

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

posted by

A confronting portrait of an ordinary man struggling for his dignity in an Orwellian world.

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November 20

Arrival (2016)

posted by

A thought-provoking story with mediocre digital effects and lots of American propaganda

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November 17

The Neon Demon (2016)

posted by

A story of hyper-vanity, deadly jealousy and a smattering of bright red cannibalism

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November 13

Elle (2016)

posted by

A look into a woman’s parallel universe as perpetrator and victim of sexual violence

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November 10

The Light Between Oceans (2016)

posted by

An epically beautiful melodrama about morality and love

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November 09

The Accountant (2016)

posted by

A mish-mash of confused storylines, random killings, and high level maths.

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November 06

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

posted by

While some wrongs are beyond the law they are never beyond primal vengeance.

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November 03

Hell or High Water (2016)

posted by

A visually engaging modern western with a post-GFC message.

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October 30

Julieta (2016)

posted by

A darkly sensitive essay about the universal emotion of maternal guilt

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October 27

Inferno (2016)

posted by

A sumptiously filmed thriller that turns into a corny parody

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October 25

I Am Not A Serial Killer (2016)

posted by

A twisted horror that pits sociopathic teenager against a senile paranormal serial killer

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October 23

The Girl on the Train (2016)

posted by

A female-driven pyschological thriller with a spectacular finale of feminine vengeance

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October 19

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

posted by

Story of a humble hero in one of the most violent sensory assaults you can experience in a cinema

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October 17

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

posted by

A digital effects spectacular of an oil-rig explosion tacked onto a modest melodrama back-story

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October 13

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

posted by

A magical world of fantasy beneath which lies true history of human atrocity

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October 10

Elvis & Nixon (2016)

posted by

A humorous historical account of an unlikely encounter between soul-mates from different worlds

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October 06

Café Society (2016)

posted by

A visually sumptuous Woody Allen comedy of melancholy and lost opportunity

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October 03

The Confirmation (2016)

posted by

A young boy learns more about human values in a weekend than many learn in a lifetime

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September 29

The Queen of Ireland (2015)

posted by

A nation’s rite of passage that celebrates diversity and the power of words

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September 26

Snowden (2016)

posted by

A bio-pic thriller about a principled romantic and modest hero

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September 23

Nerve (2016)

posted by

A satire thriller about the herd mentality that drives social media

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September 21

Spin Out (2016)

posted by

Roaring dust-storms of utes and non-stop drinking in a confusion of juvenile slapstick sketches

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September 19

Birdman (2014)

posted by

A stunningly successful black comedy played in emotional quicksand.

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September 16

My Scientology Movie (2016)

posted by

Engaging, interesting and funny, but audiences will see right through the artifice of its constructions

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September 15

Bridget Jones’ Baby (2016)

posted by

Still fighting her demons with intelligent hilarity and tugs on our heart-strings

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September 12

Sully (2016)

posted by

Masterful storytelling within a thoroughly riveting film

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September 08

Don’t Breathe (2016)

posted by

It has all been done before but this one nails it for steadily escalating tension and sustained terror

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September 05

Captain Fantastic (2016)

posted by

A thoroughly engaging offbeat fable about conformity and difference

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September 01

Free State of Jones (2016)

posted by

A film that aspires to epic-grade cinema but settles for adventure entertainment

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August 29

Tickled (2016)

posted by

Dogged investigative journalism stumbles from the innocuously weird to the bizarrely dangerous.

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August 24

Truman (2015)

posted by

An unusually intense multi-layered story about grief told with great warmth and honesty

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August 22

High Rise (2015)

posted by

A bleakly dark dystopian tale with a heavy handed political message

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August 17

Bad Moms (2016)

posted by

Slapstick comedy on the shaming of stressed-out moms

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August 14

Down Under (2016)

posted by

A comically lame quagmire of vilification and gratuitous violence.

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August 11

99 Homes (2015)

posted by

A brutally realistic tale of GFC-greed versus moral redemption

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August 08

Embrace (2016)

posted by

An outstanding documentary with potential to change attitudes towards the perception of women’s bodies

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August 04

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)

posted by

Do not expect subtlety as the jokes are blatantly bawdy and beautifully bitchy.

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August 01

Weiner (2016)

posted by

A compelling documentary of a psychological train-wreck in slow motion

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July 28

The Shallows (2016)

posted by

A thin plotline and modest digital effects tell the story of an attractive woman in a bikini swimming for her life

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July 25

Heaven on Earth (2016)

posted by

The first film left audiences wanting more, the sequel is a case of ‘no more please’.

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July 21

Love & Friendship (2016)

posted by

A very funny tale of a conniving femme fatale who exploits her charm and beauty to outsmart every male she encounters

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July 18

Swiss Army Man (2016)

posted by

An absurdist film about a surreal journey with multiple endings that defies interpretation

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July 14

Maggie’s Plan (2016)

posted by

A richly satirical, funny and entertaining post-feminist comedy about sex and marriage

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July 11

Sing Street (2016)

posted by

A joyful upbeat film that expresses youth’s unshakeable belief in the power of music

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July 07

The Measure of a Man (2016)

posted by

A grindingly slow and excruciatingly realistic story that compels us to witness the indignity and ordinariness of life for those who struggle through harsh economic times

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July 04

Force Majeure (2014)

posted by

It explores the gap between who we really are and the roles we have learnt to play…

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June 30

Mustang (2015)

posted by

Both a profoundly political statement and a poetically beautiful story about femininity and feminism

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June 27

The Wait (L’attesa) (2016)

posted by

The minimalist dialogue and slow pace creates an open space into which is hung a finely wrought portrait of parental grief

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June 23

Everybody Wants Some (2016)

posted by

A tale of boys with puerile genital fixations and girls reduced to primal flesh who exist only to yield to or thwart the male sex drive.

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June 20

The Music of Strangers (2015)

posted by

A truly great documentary of inspirational musical bravado, authenticity and humanity

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June 16

Me Before You (2016)

posted by

A beautifully sugar-coated but tragic story with a deep message that increasingly demands a societal response

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June 13

Goldstone (2016)

posted by

A brilliantly photographed and entertaining crime thriller that foregrounds the spectacular Australian outback and pays respect to its ancestral heritage.

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June 09

A Perfect Day (2015)

posted by

An original addition to black comedy war dramas

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June 08

Lilith’s Awakening (2016)

posted by

A visually stunning work…full of haunting imagery and ambivalent possibilities

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June 06

Queen of the Desert (2015)

posted by

Despite its visual delights, the film feels strangely disengaged from the legend of its own Queen.

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June 02

Money Monster (2016)

posted by

A tautly directed hostage thriller with an outstanding cast

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June 01

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

posted by

Great family fun if you are a Kiwi

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May 31

The Boy (2016)

posted by

A horror movie with more originality than usual

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May 29

God Willing (2015)

posted by

A morally challenging debate between Catholicism and atheism fought out between a cool ex-con priest and an arrogant surgeon

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May 25

The Meddler (2015)

posted by

A weak script, full of clichéd melodrama, tired gags, and feigned sentimentality

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May 23

The Wave (2015)

posted by

A highly engaging film that achieves much with little

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May 20

Mia Madre (My Mother) (2015)

posted by

For audiences willing to vicariously experience a slow and dense melodrama about loss.

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May 17

Hello, My Name is Doris (2015)

posted by

A story about a pitiable lonely older woman who overreaches romantically in a very funny way

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May 15

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)

posted by

A mixed but engaging film.. not the comedy you expect

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May 12

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)

posted by

A tale of two cultures that collide in the hallowed halls of Cambridge

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May 09

Louder Than Bombs (2015)

posted by

A coming of age film thats more like a bomb about to explode

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May 05

A Month of Sundays (2016)

posted by

A thoughtful and well-acted portrait of an emotionally convoluted archetypal Australian male who borders on clinical depression

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May 02

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

posted by

A tragic tale about a mental illness that is displayed on an operatically grand scale.

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