Tag Archives: Movie Reviews

July 06

Lady Macbeth (2016)

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a shallow Gothic tale with Shakespearean pretensions

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July 03

Chocolat (2016)

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

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June 29

A Quiet Passion (2016)

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a finely crafted portrait of the revered American poet Emily Dickinson

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June 26

Una (2016)

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

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June 22

Churchill (2017)

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an unsubtle but beautifully produced character study of Winston Churchill

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June 19

The Death & Life of Otto Bloom (2016)

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a clever mockumentary about the concept of time

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June 14

My Cousin Rachel (2017)

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superbly produced Gothic romantic thriller

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June 12

Get Me Roger Stone (2017)

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chilling case study of the Darth Vader of American politics

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June 09

Wilson (2017)

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pointless film about an obnoxious self-obsessed nobody

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June 05

Norman (2017)

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whimsical character study of a lonely Jewish fixer

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May 31

Don’t Tell (2017)

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

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May 28

The Sense of an Ending (2017)

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slow introspective study of how we make sense of our lives

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May 25

Viceroy’s House (2017)

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superbly produced epic about the last Raj.

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May 19

The Birth of a Nation (2016)

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

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May 15

Table 19 (2017)

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unexpectedly entertaining wedding sit-com.

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May 11

The Zookeeper’s Wife (2016)

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

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May 08

The Red Pill (2016)

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propaganda documentary for Men’s Rights Activists (MRA)

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May 05

Frantz (2016)

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

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May 01

Berlin Syndrome (2017)

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taut psycho-sexual thriller about captivity and madness

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April 27

Get Out (2017)

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entertaining but predictable horror spoof mixed with clever racial satire.

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April 25

Their Finest (2016)

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

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April 19

Personal Shopper (2016)

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A well-acted but unoriginal iPhone-driven ghost story

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April 17

Bitter Harvest (2017)

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

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April 10

Big Eyes (2014)

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

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April 02

Miss Sloane (2016)

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

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March 29

Land of Mine (2016)

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

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February 15

Patriots Day (2016)

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

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February 09

Fences (2016)

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

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January 14

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

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

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December 29

Paterson (2016)

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A whimsical essay into the ordinariness of human existence

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December 11

La La Land (2016)

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A beautifully filmed dazzling retro musical about young dreams.

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December 06

The Family Fang (2016)

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A twisted tale of parental abuse under the guise of art

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December 04

The Fencer (2016)

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

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November 23

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

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

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November 09

The Accountant (2016)

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

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November 03

Hell or High Water (2016)

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

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October 30

Julieta (2016)

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A darkly sensitive essay about the universal emotion of maternal guilt

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September 29

The Queen of Ireland (2015)

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

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September 26

Snowden (2016)

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

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September 23

Nerve (2016)

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A satire thriller about the herd mentality that drives social media

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September 21

Spin Out (2016)

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

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September 19

Birdman (2014)

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A stunningly successful black comedy played in emotional quicksand.

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September 16

My Scientology Movie (2016)

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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)

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

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September 12

Sully (2016)

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Masterful storytelling within a thoroughly riveting film

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September 08

Don’t Breathe (2016)

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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)

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A thoroughly engaging offbeat fable about conformity and difference

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September 01

Free State of Jones (2016)

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

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August 29

Tickled (2016)

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

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August 24

Truman (2015)

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

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August 22

High Rise (2015)

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A bleakly dark dystopian tale with a heavy handed political message

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August 17

Bad Moms (2016)

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Slapstick comedy on the shaming of stressed-out moms

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August 14

Down Under (2016)

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A comically lame quagmire of vilification and gratuitous violence.

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August 11

99 Homes (2015)

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A brutally realistic tale of GFC-greed versus moral redemption

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August 08

Embrace (2016)

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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)

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

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August 01

Weiner (2016)

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

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July 28

The Shallows (2016)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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

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July 14

Maggie’s Plan (2016)

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

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July 11

Sing Street (2016)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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

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June 16

Me Before You (2016)

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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)

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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)

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An original addition to black comedy war dramas

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June 08

Lilith’s Awakening (2016)

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

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June 06

Queen of the Desert (2015)

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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)

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A tautly directed hostage thriller with an outstanding cast

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June 01

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

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Great family fun if you are a Kiwi

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May 31

The Boy (2016)

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A horror movie with more originality than usual

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May 29

God Willing (2015)

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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)

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

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May 23

The Wave (2015)

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A highly engaging film that achieves much with little

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May 20

Mia Madre (My Mother) (2015)

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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)

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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)

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

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May 12

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)

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

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May 09

Louder Than Bombs (2015)

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

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May 05

A Month of Sundays (2016)

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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)

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

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May 02

Marguerite (2016)

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An operatic performance of pride’s folly.

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April 28

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

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This is a wonderfully filmed true story about the enobling human values of perseverance and belief in one’s self.

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April 26

Burnt (2015)

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An engaging film that will leave you feeling well fed in a cinematic kind of way.

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April 22

Infinite (2016) (Short)

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Looks at a painful subject in a poetically beautiful way.

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April 20

Rams (2016)

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An immersive insight into life on an Icelandic farm told through sensitive cinematography and understated storytelling.

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April 17

Sherpa (2015)

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Beautifully filmed story of Sherpa life and their struggle for respect.

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April 14

Labyrinth of Lies (2014)

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An investigation into the tip of an iceberg that grew until it overwhelmed a nation.

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April 11

Salt (2010)

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If you can believe the things that Jolie does in this film, narrative is the least of your concerns in this very entertaining but logic-defying film.

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April 07

Eye in the Sky (2015)

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Eye in the Sky stands out as both a thoroughly gripping film and a consciousness raising experience.

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April 05

Crushed (2015)

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A daughter’s quest for the crushing truth is the binding metaphor of this story.

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March 31

Dirty Grandpa (2016)

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If you can ignore the inane smut you will find some laughs.

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March 28

The Witch (2015)

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Not your standard horror with floating sheets or flying broomstick-type special effects.

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March 21

A Bigger Splash (2015)

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Beautifully photographed Sicilian landscape dwarfs four small lives and the mess they create.

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March 17

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

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The ending transforms this film into an incoherent and unforgivable mess.

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March 14

The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)

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A sweet self-narrated story of a butterfly emerging from a lonely, self-loathing teenage-hood.

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March 10

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

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This is an hilarious take on ‘the Hollywood dream’.

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March 06

The Lady in the Van (2015)

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A slow portrait of a fractious relationship between two misfits.

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March 02

Son of Saul (2015)

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In terms of cinematography, storytelling and emotional impact, this film is a modern masterpiece.

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February 29

Ex_Machina (2015)

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A chess game of guessing what is happening, who is manipulating who, and what is the real reason Caleb is there.

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February 27

The Daughter (2015)

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A metaphorical collision between a single ray of truth and the lie that connects two families.

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February 21

Dogville (2003)

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This allegorical meditation on the nature of evil and justice is as universal as the human condition.

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February 18

Brooklyn (2015)

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A beautifully photographed and finely acted historical drama.

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February 16

Trumbo (2015)

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the story of the 1950s right-wing purge of Hollywood

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February 13

Concussion (2015)

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The story of a modest hero who inconveniently discovers why so many pro footballers were dying and it shows the pressures that were mounted to silence him.

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February 11

Holding the Man (2015)

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Based on the 1995 memoir by revered gay rights activist Timothy Conigrave, the film version struggles to avoid soapy melodrama and corny humour.

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February 07

Looking for Grace (2015)

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Looking for Grace explores random destruction in a novel way by taking a simple plotline and splitting into separate narratives that converge with deadly force.

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February 05

Anomalisa (2015)

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Angst-ridden puppets disguise a lack of humanity, morality, or narrative purpose.

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February 03

The Gift (2015)

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We all fear false knowledge: the possibility that the person we know and love is really someone very different.

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February 01

45 Years (2015)

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While it is about life-cycles and memories and marriage, it is also a gendered probe into how differently men and women are emotionally constructed.

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January 29

Spotlight (2015)

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A David and Goliath style investigative drama where brave journalism exposes systemic corruption in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston.

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January 26

Steve Jobs (2015)

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An unexpectedly unflattering and melodramatic portrait of a tortured soul.

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January 24

Last Cab to Darwin (2015)

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This film can mess with your head about the complex issue of assisted dying, but it’s an Aussie gem well worth the effort.

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January 22

The Danish Girl (2015)

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Its like watching a newborn chick push its way through the shell of an egg: one faint crack becomes several and suddenly a new life form emerges, bewildered by the public gaze and nowhere to hide.

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January 21

Truth (2015)

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Its a gripping tale about the exhilaration of the hunt for big game and the carnage that follows if you pull the wrong lion’s tail.

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January 19

Youth (2015)

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The wit and wisdom of beautiful young people cuts through the homilies of elders to stop Youth from being a maudlin tale of loss.

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January 17

Suffragette (2015)

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A tale about brave protesting women and a suffragette who threw herself under the King’s horse.

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January 16

The Intern (2015)

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Do today’s audiences really want pre-feminist stories about wise old men that step in to prop up gorgeous and successful young career women…

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January 14

Room (2015)

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Brie Larson’s acting fixates on maternal dynamics at the cost of a convincing portrayal of captivity trauma.

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January 12

The Dressmaker (2015)

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The Dressmaker is a very funny and engaging Australian farce.

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January 10

The Revenant (2015)

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This film ticks all the top boxes for storytelling, casting, filming and action. It really is an epic.

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January 09

The Martian (2015)

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Science fiction or comedy, this is neither.

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January 09

Goodnight Mommy (2014)

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This is what the horror genre is all about: bringing us close to terror, then letting us down from the ceiling, calming us with logic to make our own lives feel better.

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January 08

Carol (2015)

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This is one Blanchett film that struggles to inspire.

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January 04

The Bélier Family (2014)

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Can you imagine crying over a song you cannot hear?

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January 03

Joy (2015)

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An entertaining but clichéd story of feminine triumphalism in the fabricated-value world of television commerce

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January 01

Thelma & Louise (1991)

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One of the most remembered stories of feminist struggle in modern times

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December 24

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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A brave challenge to Hollywood’s idea of sexuality

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December 22

Lost in Translation (2010)

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A wonderfully crafted film, but unsettling in its ability to leave you yearning.

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December 22

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

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A cinematic triumph on its own merits or a beloved movie with a cult following?

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December 22

A Room in Rome (2010)

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A gem of a film that deserves more critical acclaim

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October 27

Philomena (2013)

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A story of a mother’s search for her son and the lack of compassion by religious institutions

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September 27

NEBRASKA (2013)

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A touching father and son road movie

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August 29

Struggle Street (2015)

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This is poverty-porn of the worst kind that does not even resemble a truthful documentary.

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August 22

Aussie Wedding Films

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How does Australian film represent the “white wedding” ritual?

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