When the opportunity arises for the women to win a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, they jump at the chance. With their priest’s help, the women win the trip and embark on a journey that will change their lives.

Once in Lourdes, the women are tasked with helping the sick and disabled pilgrims who come to bathe in the town’s healing springs. As they work, they reflect on their lives and search for personal miracles.

However, when they are joined by Chrissie (Laura Linney), who has returned from the U.S. after a long absence, old wounds are reopened, and the women must confront their pasts.
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“Titanic” won a record 11 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects. Upon its initial release in 1997, the film became the #1 all-time global box office champ and is currently the third highest grossing film worldwide.

Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Studios present A Lightstorm Entertainment Production, “Titanic,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, Gloria Stuart, David Warner, Victor Garber and Bill Paxton. Written and Directed by James Cameron, the film was Produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, with Rae Sanchini serving as Executive Producer.

The 25th Anniversary Re-release of Titanic – remastered in 4K 3D, will be released in Aussie cinemas February 9!
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Jewell was the security guard who was falsely accused of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia. The FBI in a rush to solve the case came up with a profile and then twisted the facts to fit their created scenario. And even though Jewell was never formally charged, the media picked up on the story and he was tried, convicted and sentenced in the press.

Eastwood’s direction is even handed and Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya and BlacKkKlansman) delivers what is by all available information an accurate portrayal of Richard Jewell and his calm demeanour but his almost complete lack of outrage over the false accusations drain the proceedings of drama. Even if this element was faithfully presented, we as an audience, right or wrong, have come to expect more fireworks and drama from these miscarriage of justice stories.

Without the overstatement of anger, what we are left with that makes an impact are the close ups of the relationships that Jewell had with his mother (played by Kathy Bates) and his lawyer Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). Both Bates and Rockwell are outstanding and provide the emotional core of the movie. As an exercise in acting, Richard Jewell is top shelf, as a damning demonstration of the excesses that both the media and the FBI are capable of, the film is less engaging.

Rob Hudson
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“There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—his report making him a hero whose swift actions save countless lives.

But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart. Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant, Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name, while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

RICHARD JEWELL is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde and Paul Walter Hauser, and will be released in Australian cinemas February 13!
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The filmmakers have wisely chosen a single case to focus on and it formed an important milestone in Bader Ginsburg’s career. In it she took on generations of prejudice based on gender in American law and won her first important case. In a life filled with many major accomplishments, trying to feature too many cases would have defused the film’s impact.

The story also sheds a spotlight on how marginalised women were in American society in the fifties, sixties and even into the seventies. The struggle of women to acquire an education, raise a family and have a career forms the backbone of this story. Overcoming intrinsic sexism also features heavily in the story arc.

Bader Ginsburg is a rock star of the legal profession and even rose to the heights of being a Supreme Court Judge, a position she still holds. On The Basis Of Sex focuses on the early flame that has burnt so bright ever since. Thanks to her tireless work on behalf on women’s rights, those roles that were so very limited and so clearly defined have slowly begun to expand.

Rob Hudson
www.OnTheBasisOfSexFilm.com.au

The inspiring true story of a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a passionate lawyer who dedicates herself to ending gender discrimination when she takes on a ground-breaking case in 1975.

At the heart of Ruth’s journey is a moving romance with her husband Marty (Hammer), her greatest ally in a partnership built on love and equality. Now an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Ruth has become an international icon. See where her story began in this stirring, heartfelt drama.

Directed by Mimi Leder (The Leftovers) and starring Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name), Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), Kathy Bates (Misery), Sam Waterson (Law & Order) and Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising).

On the Basis of Sex is in Australian Cinemas February 7, 2019!
www.OnTheBasisOfSexFilm.com.au

To enter this great competition just fill out the entry form below.

Competition will be drawn 4 February 2019, winners will be notified by mail.

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg alongside Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name) as her devoted husband, Martin Ginsburg. Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), Kathy Bates (Misery), Sam Waterston (Law & Order) and Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising) also star.

From acclaimed female director Mimi Leder (The Leftovers, Deep Impact), this equal rights story has unprecedented relevance in current times. To add to the credibility of the feature, Ruth and her children have given the film their blessing, with the script penned by Ruth’s nephew, Daniel Stiepleman.

ON THE BASIS OF SEX releases in Australian cinemas on February 7, 2019.
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While some families reminisce over eggnog and brightly wrapped presents, this family gets together with more nefarious endeavours in mind. This time out, it’s the lowest of the low, robbing a charity. The plot is ultra thin and really only used as a device for verbal humour and what humour it is. Even for those with thick skins to surprise, there are some real zingers here.

Kathy Bates gets most of the really outrageous lines and milks them for all they are worth. She also presents quite the utilitarian image of a modern mother covered in bad tattoos and with a jail-yard haircut. She redefines the term mother with hilarious results. Billy Bob returns to one of his funnier roles but is limited in his impact with a script that feeds almost all the good lines to Bates.

Films like Bad Santa 2 go a long way towards balancing out the usual saccharin holiday fare by being as shocking and darkly offensive as possible. Every holiday break film list should include some subversion and Bad Santa 2 fits that bill with aplomb.

Rob Hudson
www.badsanta2.com.au

That most of the laughs erupt between groans is only indicative of what constitutes a modern day comedy. Throw as many jokes in as fast as possible because the days of slowly building up to the big laugh are long gone.

McCarthy also one-ups the boys with a performance that is equal parts cringe comedy and social harpooning. With one of the many targets being fairly obvious, the only thing that prevents Martha Stewart from rolling in her grave is the fact she hasn’t died yet.

The rest of the cast is almost completely subservient to double M. Kristen Bell is especially underutilized as her role uncomfortably veers from loving mother to abused underling to confident women. Peter Dinklage does however hold his own as a fierce competitor with a major crush.

With a fearless script and the nerve to push things over the edge, The Boss delivers the kind of thrills not often seen in a present day comedy and even more infrequently in one starring a female comedian. For those expecting great art, better to look elsewhere but for those that want to let go and laugh, the film more often than not hits the mark.

Rob Hudson
www.thebossmovie.com.au

If the narrative sounds familiar that’s because it is. This same basic framework has been used over and over from Fame to Billy Elliot. Substitute the poor kid for a rich kid and you have Dead Poet’s Society; substitute adults for the schoolboy and you have The Full Monty. Boychoir ticks off each obligatory plot point with metronomic predictability offering no new twists to a tired formula. Everything turns out exactly how you’d expect.

The film boasts an impressive cast list including Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates and Eddie Izzard who are all solid performers but are subsisting entirely on their personal charisma here. The music is, as you would expect, divine, so choir junkies will find much to enjoy, others much less so.

While the film is well crafted with some divine music and solid performances, there’s no escaping the reality that we’ve seen this film many times before. It’s agonisingly predictable and if you’ve seen Billy Elliot you’ve seen it already.

Stuart Jamieson
www.beckerfilmgroup.com/boychoir