Yi (Chloe Bennet) is a young girl in recovery. She has recently lost her father and buries herself in work. She wants to earn enough money to follow her late father’s dreams of travel. Through circumstance she comes in contact with a Yeti, who is on the run after escaping from a mysterious company, who have unclear plans for this loveable animal.

Yi and her friends Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai) hit the road together with Everest, the name they give the Yeti after finding out that the world’s tallest peak is his home. As they escape the clutches of Everest’s captors, they are exposed to his magic and learn to share his love for nature.

The life lessons are delivered with a subtle touch and this keeps things from becoming too prosaic. Its entertainment component is accentuated. Abominable is beautiful to look at and charming in execution and should provide a wonderful experience for every member of the family.

Rob Hudson
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Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day…a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.

THE GOLDFINCH is directed by John Crowley and stars Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Oakes Fegley, Aneurin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Ashleigh Cummings, Willa Fitzgerald, Aimee Laurence, Denis O’Hare and Boyd Gaines.

THE GOLDFINCH releases in Australian cinemas on September 26, 2019.
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When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth.

But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.

Abominable is written and directed by Jill Culton (Open Season, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 2) and is produced by Suzanne Buirgy (Kung Fu Panda 2, Home). Peilin Chou of Pearl Studio also produces. The film is executive produced by Tim Johnson (Over the Hedge, Home, ANTZ), Frank Zhu (Checked In, Lotus Code) and Li Ruigang (Kung Fu Panda 3, The Taking of Tiger Mountain) and is co-directed by Todd Wilderman (Trolls, The Croods).

Abominable will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide beginning September 2019. In China, the film will be distributed by Pearl.
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Although this new work is far from perfect, it succeeds quite well in tying up a lot of the loose ends from the earlier films while creating a few new strands to savour. This time out the storyline features Sarah Paulson as the doctor who trying to make sense out of the main protagonist’s powers. This approach unfolds slowly and features a sting in the tail end.

Shyamalan proves adept as setting a scene with just the right amount of creepy overtones and slowly evolving backstory to give the film its forward momentum. It does help that the characters he has already created lend themselves to a myriad of different paths. This is especially true of James McAvoy’s character who has multiple personalities (the complete list is given in the final credits).

As a self contained experience, Glass succeeds admirably but the film is more enjoyable with a working knowledge of the first two parts of the trilogy. With the current easy accessibility of almost all film content, there is no reason not to catch Unbreakable and Split first.

Rob Hudson
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It has its own feel and its own pacing and in a few key moments, it has clever ties with the films that have come before. Also like a good caper, there is that substantial twist at the end that few, it any will have seen coming.

While new director Gary Ross (The Hunger Games & Pleasantville) has his own kinetic feel, the influence of Steven Soderbergh (who serves as one of the film’s producers) continues to be strongly felt. The examples of fashion are quirky and gorgeous to look at and the music is hip and propulsive.

Ocean’s 8 does more than just celebrate the current (and much needed) emergence of women to the power end of the process. It substantiates through modern day optics and some very clever cameos of past legends, that women had and continue to have the ability to satisfy audiences and still make bank.

Rob Hudson
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Tom Hanks has never been better and his visually advancing age and gruff vocal delivery helps one to see him as less of a nice guy and more as a down and dirty fighter. There are great performances everywhere, though. Even the sadly under-utilised Sarah Paulson has a short but very impactful monologue that gives the film even more purpose to the slowly awakening world of women’s rightful place in society. It also highlights Spielberg’s not so hidden agenda.

If Hollywood has truly turned the corner on its solid past, then films like this with an overt message might become the norm. If the future holds drama of this caliber, then bring it on, because a message is always more impactful when it’s delivered with this level of commitment and craft.

Look at The Post as drama of the highest order first and message cinema second. And it’s not really giving anything away but Spielberg being Spielberg can’t help himself with a coda that reinforces his message at film’s end but this time out it’s a fantastic one.
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OCEAN’S 8 is directed by Gary Ross and stars Sandra Bullock, alongside Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Richard Armitage, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, Sarah Paulson, James Corden, with Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter.

OCEAN’S 8 releases in Australian cinemas on June 7, 2018.
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Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg helms a powerhouse cast including Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in THE POST, inspired by true events.

Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race against time to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers – and their very freedom – to help bring long-buried truths to light.

DIRECTED by Steven Spielberg and STARRING Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Alison Brie, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Bob Odenkirk, and Zach Woods – The Post is IN CINEMAS JANUARY 11!
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Competition will be drawn 9 January 2018, winners will be notified by Mail. Tickets are limited for the holiday season.

Winner Best Actor – Rooney Mara – Cannes Film Festival 2015. Based on Patricia Highsmith’s novella The Price of Salt.

Set in 1950s New York, two women from very different backgrounds find themselves in the throes of love in Carol. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change.

A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens.

While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Kyle Chandler) threatens her competence as a mother when Carol’s involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) comes to light. As Carol leaves the comfort of home to travel with Therese, an internal journey of self-discovery coincides with her new sense of space.

Competition will be drawn 13 January 2016, winners will be notified by mail.