With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their meagre earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the racing elites. Their investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks and becomes a beacon of hope in their struggling community.

Starring Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Joanna Page and Owen Teale, Dream Horse will be released in Australian cinemas June 10!
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A little knowledge of that period of Formula 1 does however enhance some of the film’s emotional impact as the sport at that time was incredibly dangerous and killed its drivers with a gruesome regularity. This knowledge puts what is a sporting event into the realm of a real life or death battle.

The film’s main protagonists couldn’t have been any different as well. The British playboy driver James Hunt (played with an impressive verve by Chris Hemsworth) was a live fast and stuff the consequences alpha male type who ran head long into the world of Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl). Lauda was an exacting Austrian who was precise, organized and made his approach to sport a very calculated one. He also had none of Hunt’s innate charm.

The two locked into a titanic battle for that year’s driver’s championship and in a case of real life being far more unbelievable than anything the Hollywood scribes could make up endured incredible hardships. As a sports film, Rush is top notch but as a study of human nature and our ultimate capabilities, it is almost overwhelming.

Rob Hudson
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Lewis’ book follows the reinvention of baseball by using computer and statistical analysis to achieve the desired individual results and bypasses the traditional way that teams scouted players and as a topic of a ‘sports movie’ presented quite the challenge. It’s to the filmmaker’s credit that a subject that could have resulted in a very dry cinema experience has been turned into such a warm human examination.

The acting is excellent throughout and Brad Pitt continues to fill out an ever evolving and interesting resume of acting jobs while Johan Hill is quite effective in one of his first serious roles. There are no real heroes or villains in the piece but that still doesn’t prevent you from rooting for Pitt’s character, Oakland A’s manger Billy Beane as he tries to reinvent the team.

In the same way that The Social Network turned zeros and ones into an engaging topic, Moneyball succeeds as both human drama and as a case study of how science changes both our business and leisure worlds. Regardless of your like or dislike of the actual game itself, Moneyball will provide a very entertaining time. As for motivating one to watch an actually game, the conundrum remains intact.

Rob Hudson
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Emma Stone is quickly becoming the Meryl of her time and she is consistently outstanding in this and pretty much every film she stars in as of late. Steve Carell is also perfectly cast as the buffoonish Bobby Riggs. Using the actual audio from the original match (recorded back in 1973) really does show how ingrained the male chauvinism was at that time.

The film plays out like a time capsule of the day and the attention to seventies detail is outstanding. Even including the old style film company logo at the start of the film. It’s these little details that really help to sell the era. As always with works of this ilk, the song selection is spot on and does a more than adequate job of setting the scene.

It’s something that a sports match that took place over forty years ago is so relevant in tone and statement to the events of today. You can watch this film and relate to it just as entertainment or see it as social statement and be more than outraged.

Rob Hudson
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With stunning visuals and a powerful score, this film should be seen on the big screen.

Waves stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedges, Alexa Demie and Renée Elise Goldsberry and will be released in Australian cinemas July 9!

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How a member of one of America’s richest families comes to murder an American Olympic star is one of the strangest tales ever told and even with the liberties taken with time lines and some of the actions on screen, the story remains true to life and true to being very bizarre.

Almost unrecognizable under make up and facial prophesises, Steve Carell as John Eleuthère du Pont drops the dry funny man stick and delivers the performance of his career, albeit a very creepy one. From his first frame to his last, he fills the screen with a sense of dread and odd demeanour. du Pont, a member of one of America’s richest families (a fortune initially made through the sale of gun powder) is surrounded by yes men and the privileges of wealth.

du Pont is a fan of wrestling, not the flashy show biz variety but of the form called Freestyle Wrestling, one of the two styles practiced in the Olympics. He comes in contact with the Schultz brothers, Mark and Dave (played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo) and gets them to join his obsession with the sport. He wealth allows him to provide training facilities and a lifestyle that the two brothers could have only dreamed about in their youth.

The film compresses the real life story of almost a decade down to a matter of years and keeps the dread at the forefront. This oppressive structure is kept intact the entire film and as such it’s a very powerful experience but not a particularly fun one. For those seeking light and frivolous entertainment, perhaps best to look elsewhere but for those that want to share time with a group of actors working at their highest level telling a story so bizarre it almost defies belief, don’t miss Foxcatcher.

Rob Hudson
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His career also ran parallel to the dawn of the new media age pertaining to live sport, so his life was very well documented visually, so well in fact that the film is built entirely from actual footage from his career, while a large part of the film’s dialogue comes from Senna himself.

It’s a masterful job of blending archival footage, spoken snippets from Ayrton himself and comments from some media experts that knew him well. There is also family footage that nicely places the focus on his life away from the track and some comical footage from a number of his Brazilian television appearances.

Senna’s racing career was littered with conflicts with members of the sport’s governing body as well as with fellow drivers as his win at all cost approach helped to redefine what was once a gentleman’s sport. Most of those conflicts paled in comparison to the battles he waged with Jean-Marie Balestre, the then head of the sport’s governing body and fellow driver Alain Prost. For dramatic purposes the filmmakers have placed the most focus on the dynamics between these three.

For those very familiar with the story of Ayrton Senna’s life, the film offers a few surprises and some previously unseen footage. It also provides a stark reminder of how much was lost with Senna’s passing but what the film really excels at is introducing the uninitiated to one of the world of sport’s most charismatic and inspiring individuals.

Rob Hudson
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It first must be said that the film features some extremely graphic faux boxing footage and is not for the weak of stomach. Secondly it dips quite often into populist sentimentality. Within those constraints however, it is a very enjoyable film and mumble as he might, Stallone holds his end up quite admirably.

Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) as Adonis Johnson is Balboa’s protégé and he really sells the role with his gym sculptured bod and obvious ring training. He isn’t your typical damaged goods either as he has an intelligence and civility that is usually absent in films of this ilk.

The film offers little in the way of surprises but is very entertaining and there are some very good choice of results that add to the viewing pleasure. Not for the faint of heart with it’s audacious boxing footage, it is still very entertaining.

Rob Hudson
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The film also provides further proof (if any more is actually needed) on how fine an actor Jake Gyllenhaal has become. His take on the lead role, that of boxer Billy Hope is absolutely mesmeric. His time in the gym and time spent training to learn the techniques of boxing have paid real dividends.

Gyllenhaal fills the screen with electricity and menace and he makes the most out of what is a rather pedestrian screenplay. Sutter’s ability to plumb the depths of emotion is slight in this instance but as populist entertainment it hits most of the right marks.

This isn’t a story that challenges the viewer but one that can be completely enjoyed by the transformative nature of the performances. Don’t miss this film even if you are not that much of a fan of boxing. As an insight into the human will as told through superlative acting it is throughly engaging.

Rob Hudson
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Going In, which is currently screening on the free Red Bull app platform takes an inside look at Trek Factory Racing and their numerous squads that compete in various mountain bike competition disciplines. Trek is an American bicycle company but has a very international roster and just to make things more interesting, their most well known rider is a Swiss woman, Jolanda Neff. Her long blonde curly hair exploding out the back of her helmet is a stand out trademark.

For those that have scant knowledge of the different categories that make up the mountain bike universe, the film brings you up to speed in humorous and clever ways. It also gives you insight into how much effort is required to be competitive. These athletes need almost superhuman levels of both fitness and skill as well as a support structure that is very knowledgeable in the minutiae of required details. It all feels like a travelling circus that navigates its way from country to country.

The infectious nature of these athletes operating at the pinnacle of their ability and competing with the world’s best is a constant draw. Each team member’s personalty is given ample screen time and this helps you to get to know them. They all seem to be decent human beings and this is in stark contrast to the way certain sports promote their performers as “bad boy” types. Their positivity is demonstrative. The team’s end of year results were probably not as successful as expected but the journey to get there was a fascinating one.

Rob Hudson
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