History 80 results

Retro Movie Review – The King’s Speech

The film tells the tale of King George the VI (Colin Firth), the British royal who took over the crown under the most amazing of circumstances. It followed his brother David (Guy Pierce) and his abdication of the throne so he could marry the divorced woman Wallis Simpson and is set amidst the beginnings of World War Two. Poor George has a very bad stammer and must overcome this if he is to properly lead his people during these tumultuous times. He soon comes under the tutorship of speech ...

Retro Movie Review – The Revenant

The film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman and Babel) tells a story based on a book by Michael Punke called The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge. The book was inspired by the life of a 19th century fur trapper named Hugh Glass. The trapper profession during Glass’ lifetime was highlighted by an existence of extreme hardship from both the harshness of the land and the extremes of the weather.   //   During an excursion collecting fur pelts in the unsettled ...

Watch the trailer for Misbehaviour – starring Keira Knightley!

At the time, Miss World was the most-watched TV show on the planet with over 100 million viewers. Claiming that beauty competitions demeaned women, the newly formed Women’s Liberation Movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage and disrupting the live broadcast of the competition.   //   Not only that, when the show resumed, the result caused uproar: the winner was not the Swedish favourite but Miss Grenada, the first black woman to be crowned Miss World. ...

Retro Movie Review – Hotel Mumbai

The main trust of the film is the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. This site was chosen for its opulence and the large numbers of Westerners that stayed there. We follow the plight of the humble hotel staff, most notably Anupam Kher as head chef Hemant Oberoi and Dev Patel as Arjun, one of his waiters. The staff are presented as selfless and brave. This reality is confirmed by the high number of actual staff members that were killed in the siege while protecting their guests. &nbs...

Watch the trailer for I Am Woman!

Within weeks she was broke. Within months she was in love. Within five years she was one of the biggest superstars of her time, and an icon of the 1970s feminist movement, who wrote a song which galvanised a generation of women to fight for change.   //   I Am Woman will be released in Australia later this year. www.facebook.com/transmissionfilms

Dark Waters Movie Review

In this case, it’s the chemical company DuPont that poisoned its workers and a substantial portion of the population of a small town in West Virginia called Parkersburg during their manufacture of a product called Teflon. Through a long and protracted court battle and subsequent medical investigation, they were proven to be guilty of the willful disregard of public safety and untimely had to pay out a huge settlement.   //   Mark Ruffalo plays the lawyer Rob Bilott, a ...

In My Blood It Runs Movie Review

He is wise beyond his years but is caught between two worlds. Inside his Aboriginal roots run deep and he reacts poorly to being directed into a western education. This forced narrative is brought to its full and insidious light with a scene where he is taught about Captain Cook claiming all of Australia for the British.   //   Mixing news footage of the protests around the country to secure indigenous rights and the human right violations perpetrated on juveniles while ...

Midway Movie Review

In 1941 they started their offensive against the USA with a sneak attack on Pearl Harbour. Their hopes of a quick disabling of the American military might in the region was a stated goal. Due to the allied forces’ ability to decipher their secret communications, the American forces were able to mount a successful counter attack.   //   Emmerich wisely pares down the number of main protagonists to a small number to keep the story tightly focused. The action scenes when ...

Watch the new trailer for Midway

The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds.   //   Midway is directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Luke Kleintank, Jun Kunimura, Darren Criss, Keean Johnson, Alexander Ludwig, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson. Midway will be ...

Win double in-season tickets to Mrs Lowry & Son!

Artist L.S. Lowry (Timothy Spall) lives all his life with his over-bearing mother Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave) who constantly tries to dissuade him from pursuing his artistic ambitions, whilst never failing to remind him what a disappointment he is to her. Spending his days as a rent collector Lowry takes art classes in the evening and paints well into the early hours of the morning yearning for his work to be appreciated in London and beyond.   //   While his ...