Florence Foster Jenkins Competition
From acclaimed director Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen), Meryl Streep stars in the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress and socialite who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. Convinced of her own talent, the voice Florence heard in her head was beautiful, while to everyone else it was hilarious and awful. Her husband and manager, aristocratic English actor St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), was determined to protect his beloved from the truth. ...
The Lady in the Van Movie Review
Well it was also the first time I had ever laid eyes on Maggie Smith, who played the sea goddess, Thetis. And to my 12-year-old eyes, Maggie looked positively ancient. Of course, she was a spritely 47-year-old then (I say ‘spritely’ because that's how old I am now) but she has grown older as I have grown older and, as a result, she has always looked ‘old’ to me.
At 81, it's fair to say she has earned that mantle now but one thing that has not faded with her age is her performance ...
Trumbo Movie Review
Following the Second World War many in democratic countries around the world (including Australia) became members of the Communist Party, then the party of social and economic justice. But when the former ally in the Communist regime of the USSR became the enemy of the West during the Cold War, the ground figuratively shifted beneath western Communists' feet and they became targets of suspicion within their own countries.
This is not unique to this time and place, of course; German ...
Spotlight Movie Review
As they delve further into the case they find there's much more to the story than the mere ravings of a couple of local cranks and a rogue lawyer stirring up trouble and uncover long running systemic corruption and cover up within the church. It's an investigation that would have implications right across the globe.
Right from the outset, Spotlight looks like a great film. It's economic script has a frugality which, in the beginning at least, makes it difficult to get a bead on precisely ...
Steve Jobs Movie Review
Screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin’s influence can be felt in more than just the words in the film as the Sorkinisms just keep piling up. The famous walk and talk shot is used throughout, as is the uber intelligent and quick witted conversational style. The brain pool on display is never short of exceptional as are the acting chops.
Michael Fassbender as Jobs is fantastic as is Kate Winslet as Job’s right hand woman Joanna Hoffman. Winslet’s take on Hoffman with her strange accent and ...
The Danish Girl Movie Review
The cast of The Danish Girl also features the outstanding talent of Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Gerda Wegener. Gerda is Elbe’s wife, fellow painter and long suffering supporter. Her level of support, selflessness and compassion for her husband is at the heart of the film.
With all of the pieces in place for an emotional cinema going experience, why then does the film leave the viewer feeling so detached? It’s shot beautifully, maybe too beautifully and ...
In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review
Based on the novel of the same name (author Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 non-fiction book), this template in a lesser director’s hands could have lead to a very processional outing. Howard’s film suffers from none of that limitation. The movie is a rousing edge of your seat ride that has a look and feel that takes you right into the heart of the tale of that great white monster, Moby Dick.
Chris Hemsworth leaves the fantasy world behind this time and delivers a very powerful perfor...
The Program Movie Review
The film places a bit too much emphasis on the viewer having a working knowledge of the actual story as it introduces important characters with little or no explanation. For the uninitiated, this leads to a bit of confusion. For those familiar with the story, it’s effective film making that doesn’t slow down the pace with unneeded explanations or back-stories.
Ben Foster does a good job as Armstrong even though he doesn’t look that much like him (the archive race footage comprised ...
Suffragette Competition
Directed by Sarah Gavron, alongside a team of inspiring women filmmakers, Suffragette is a thrilling drama that tracks the story of the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement; women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality - their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives. Maud ...
The Walk Movie Review
Enter Robert Zemeckis; director of numerous landmark films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back To The Future, Forest Gump and Contact but has failed to match the quality and innovation of those films for nigh on twenty years. His last film, Flight, was a reasonable attempt at recapturing prior successes but it was no Contact. The time is right - nay overdue - for a return to form.
The Walk isn't quite that film. But it is a very good film. It is imbued with the same emotional fibre of ...
