Biographical pictures are a dime a dozen in Hollywood; much less common is the autobiographical picture, in which a filmmaker adapts events of their own lives. It must require a major ego to film one’s own life for a paying … Continue reading REVIEW: All That Jazz (1979)
Thomas Vinterberg’s new comedy-drama is a striking piece of work. It is genuinely funny in all of the right places, yet often feels too awkward to laugh at due to its overwhelming patina of melancholy. At the same time that … Continue reading REVIEW: Another Round (2020)
Readers should note that this essay substantially reveals the storyline of the film. When English-speaking audiences discovered Japanese cinema in the early 1950s, it was through a series of acclaimed period dramas including Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon and Kenji Mizoguchi’s The … Continue reading “Do you want me that much?” | Gate of Hell (1953)
In 1968 anti-Vietnam and counter-culture protests, timed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention, were met with heavy violence from the Chicago police. Eight activists were arrested and charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot. Their … Continue reading REVIEW: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Turning 30 this year – in August, as a matter of fact – is Jocelyn Moorhouse’s superb drama Proof. It is one of my all-time favourite Australian films, and boasts superb performances by its three leads Hugo Weaving, Russell Crowe, and … Continue reading REVIEW: Proof (1991)
Les Miserables, Victor Hugo’s insanely long 1862 novel about crime and social injustice, has long been a target for adaptation. There have been at least nine feature film versions, the enormously successful Boublil and Schönberg stage musical – even four … Continue reading REVIEW: Les Miserables (1998)
Shot in 2017 but not released until now, pop musician Sia’s debut feature Music arrives on Australian screens a full month before the rest of the world. It offers audiences here an opportunity to find out precisely what all of the fuss … Continue reading REVIEW: Music (2021)
Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman made his narrative feature debut in 2018 with A Private War. It is a biographical film about American journalist Marie Colvin whose war reporting for London’s Sunday Times earned her enormous international acclaim. It is a sensational … Continue reading REVIEW: A Private War (2018)
In the hands of director Alex Cox, a potentially tacky melodrama is transformed into a tragic nightmare of muck, pain, and addiction. Sid & Nancy is often a miserable and even difficult watch, but its treatment of its subject matter feels unique … Continue reading REVIEW: Sid & Nancy (1986)
To get the mildly controversial opinion out of the way first: Robin Williams may have been a great comedian and comic actor, but he was an absolutely outstanding performer of drama. Even better, he excelled like few others when required … Continue reading REVIEW: Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
