The premise of two criminal types escaping apprehension after a bout of robbery by stowing away on a bus headed to a summer camp has been done before quite a few times. The difference this time is the bus is filled with young adults with disabilities. To say that they have colourful personalities is to undersell how engaging they actually are. Their quirks and the love they show towards each other is transcendent.

The crooks, in this case, a father and son find themselves drawn to this vibrant mob for different reasons. As those differences play out you quickly look past the camp members’ disabilities and just see them for their unique and engaging personalities. Even the ones with quite annoying traits will eventually wear down your defences and win you over. This transformation is very life-affirming.

Waving your agenda in an audience’s face hardly ever yields the desired results but capture those people’s emotions first and the life lessons can be transformative. A Little Something Extra starts as a fairly straightforward dark comedy but soon transforms into something more and its power to take you along for that ride and win you over is impressive indeed.
Rob Hudson

There is sadness in both remembrance and storyline but the emotional content feels respectful and expansive. Introducing an entirely new race of people and having them be both friend and foe helps to defy expectations.

This is far and away one of the most character-driven Marvel films and it challenges the audience with a thoughtful but somewhat leisurely first few reels. When it kicks into gear, there are some well-paced and expertly executed action sequences.

By the film’s end, you are left with a feeling of the tremendous respect the filmmakers had for the man that was Chadwick Boseman and they do his memory proud. They have opened up the franchise with endless possibilities and it will be fascinating to see where they go next.
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/MarvelAUNZ/

Carmine shows Pasquale he lacks the killer instinct and is sent away to run a money laundering scheme surrounding the running of a restaurant. While there Carmine meets Consuelo (Greta Scarano). She is a headstrong chef who used to work at the restaurant that was taken over.

They butt heads as their paths cross around town but soon she is hired as head chef as Carmine sees the running of this restaurant as a way of creating something that is his and giving him the ability to excel at something. These plans come undone and a debt is owed, to Pasquale.

There are no real surprises in-store here for the viewer but it’s comforting to just sit back and enjoy a work dedicated to pure enjoyment. The Perfect Dinner is a crowd-pleasing mix of passion, food and regret and makes for a delicious meal with a side order of quirky Italian love-story details.
Rob Hudson

The Perfect Dinner screenings in Brisbane
PALACE BARRACKS
Thursday 22 September 10:30 AM
Friday 23 September 8:40 PM
Sunday 25 September 6:10 PM
Monday 3 October 2:20 PM
Thursday 6 October 11:15 AM
Sunday 9 October 1:40 PM
Thursday 13 October 3:30 PM

PALACE JAMES ST
Saturday 24 September 8:15 PM
Wednesday 28 September 11:45 AM
Saturday 1 October 8:30 PM
Sunday 2 October 11:30 AM
Friday 7 October 3:40 PM
Saturday 8 October 8:20 PM
Tuesday 11 October 11:30 AM
Saturday 15 October 3:40 PM

The Italian Film Festival runs in Brisbane from 21 September – 19 October and will take place at the Palace James Street and Palace Barracks cinemas.

Click here for more information about the festival, or head to the official website for more information and to book your tickets!
www.italianfilmfestival.com.au

If this mirrors the action of actually playing the video game, then this approach makes a little more sense. As it is the film’s main momentum is built around the on-screen chemistry of its two male leads, Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg plays Victor Sullivan a self-centred veteran fortune hunter and Holland’s Nathan Drake is the starry-eyed newbie.

The two main female characters played by Tati Gabrielle and Sophia Ali are not given that much to do but they do use what little screen time they have effectively. They engage in several kick-ass fight scenes and dupe the boys with quite a number of double and triple crosses. Antonio Banderas also hangs around as the resident bad guy.

It’s mostly harmless fun but really does strain your suspension of disbelief to breaking point. I guess not being a gamer might be a disadvantage in your enjoyment of this film as all the gamers I know universally praise the Uncharted series as an outstanding video game. Too bad that level of engagement and excitement is lessened by its transfer to the big screen.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS/

Set in the world of the theatre, both big and small we get to know the crazy menagerie of animated animals that make up the cast of a work put on by Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey). A talent scout Suki (Chelsea Peretti) who works for super promotor Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) sees the production and is unimpressed. This sets Buster on a path to eventually putting the musical on in the big smoke. A thinly disguised Las Vegas-like town called Redshore City.

With an insane set design set in outer space and uninhibited by an actual budget limitation and with colours that almost sear the retinas it is visually impressive. The character animations and actions remain in the PG world and present no problems for younger minds to fully grasp. It does teach a few worthy lessons involving friendship and dedication to one’s dreams along the way.

Who would have thought that one of 2021’s most entertaining musicals would be comprised of animated animals voiced by some of Hollywood’s best-known actors and ready to break into song and dance at any moment? It’s difficult to not get involved

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

The film starts when his protest against the TV levee that the Poms inflicted back in the sixties lands him in jail where he does time. Broadbent is perfectly cast as the heart of gold Bunton as is the always impeccable Helen Mirren as his long-suffering wife Dorothy. His activities escalate until he is accused of stealing a portrait of the Duke of Wellington by the Spanish painter Goya.

Getting the components correct for a true feel-good experience is not an easy task. It’s a fine line between motivation and maudlin and The Duke is an expert at keeping that balance just right. Don’t miss the opportunity to spend some quality time with this easy going treasure of a film.
Rob Hudson

The Duke screenings in Brisbane
Palace Barracks
Wednesday 17, November 3:45 PM
Sunday 21, November 3:30 PM
Wednesday 24, November 1:30 PM
Friday 26, November 6:15 PM
Monday 29, November 10:50 AM

Palace James St
Tuesday 16, November 1:30 PM
Saturday 20, November 8:30 PM
Sunday 21, November 1:30 PM
Tuesday 23, November 1:30 PM
Saturday 27, November 5:45 PM
Tuesday 30, November 1:30 PM

The British Film Festival takes place in Brisbane from Wednesday 3 November until Wednesday 1 December and films will be shown exclusively at the Palace Barracks and James St Cinemas. Click here for more information about the festival, or head to the official website for more information and to book your tickets!
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au

The story is built around the actions of William Hawkin (Sam Hazeldine) a family man and miner rejected for active duty due to the early onset of miner’s lung. His shame at not being able to serve drives him and his men to extraordinary lengths in the undertaking. There is also a critical look at the military’s penchant for staid and possessive thought in disregarding these non enlisted men’s heroics.

Lacking the budget for big set pieces and special effects helps the film to resolve its story in more human terms and its Britishness becomes a virtue. It lets you in on a world of claustrophobic nastiness where you can almost taste the squalor. The arduous task of digging by hand under incredible stress is given full view, as is the complete lack of help or encouragement from the other troops.

The results of these men’s efforts led to the biggest manmade explosion until the atomic bombs eclipsed it decades later. It also caused over 10,000 German casualties (although those facts are now under scrutiny). The War Below pulls no punches in its depiction of the futility of the trench warfare style of combat of that awful war.
Rob Hudson

The War Below screenings in Brisbane
Palace Barracks
Monday 15, November 11:00 AM
Thursday 25, November 8:10 PM

Palace James St
Tuesday 23, November 8:00 PM
Friday 26, November 3:45 PM
Tuesday 30, November 8:15 PM

The British Film Festival takes place in Brisbane from Wednesday 3 November until Wednesday 1 December and films will be shown exclusively at the Palace Barracks and James St Cinemas. Click here for more information about the festival, or head to the official website for more information and to book your tickets!
www.britishfilmfestival.com.au

With previous film adaptations like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the park ride only provides a mere suggestion of storyline and here they have taken it to the extremes. It has given Mr. Johnson the chance to really ham it up and Ms. Blunt an opportunity to be one badass señorita. Their interpersonal relationship is played mostly for laughs.

The storyline revolves around a secret flower pedal that could help save mankind from illness and a curse that has entrapped a group of conquistadors for hundreds of years. It also gives Jesse Plemons the chance to unveil the worst accent ever as the German aristocrat Prince Joachim. Paul Giamatti doesn’t hold back in the bad accent wars as well.

It’s disappointing that after building up Emily Blunt’s character Dr. Lily Houghton as a self-contained, self-confident superwoman they felt the need to couple her up with Johnson’s Captain Frank “Skipper” Wolff in the final scenes. It would have played out so much better if she had kept her independence. That aside Jungle Cruise is a fun bit of escapism that could have entertained and provided a signpost of female self-determination.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/DisneyAUNZ

Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto head an impressive cast, and the three play to their established strengths. Denzel is the stoic yet intense one, Rami delivers the emotion with a minimalist flair and Leto is his usual super creepy self. One wonders what dead animals he sent to the Big D and Rami this time out.

The story involves an uncaught serial killer in the Los Angeles area and the victims that have been created amongst the living and the dead. Both the police and the families left behind are heavily impacted by the wanton acts of violence. Washington’s character also holds a deep dark secret that will be revealed in time.

With films of this ilk, the ultimate success or failure of the project is usually down to the effectiveness of the final act to give validity to what has come before. And with the deliberate pace afoot here, it’s even more dependent on a big finish. And while The Little Things sets up a compelling premise and the ending has a degree of depth, it’s just not strong enough to leave more than a minor impact.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/WarnerBrosPictures

And without further ado, here are the top 10 from 2019:

10. Us
Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele returned to fill us with fright and leave behind some food for thought with his new work, Us. Set in the summer in sun drenched California this time, the terror the Wilson family has to endure while on holiday is anything but sunny.
Click here to read our full review

9. The Nightingale
Set in Tasmania in 1825, The Nightingale delivers an adventure of epic proportions. Confronting and unafraid to push the viewer to the edge of repulsion, it will most certainly leave its mark in your grey matter.
Click here to read our full review

8. Avengers: End Game
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos’ actions and restore balance to the universe.
Click here to read our full review

7. Booksmart
There is a lot more to Booksmart than it just being a female version of the typical end of High School years romp. It has a big heart and a big brain and it marks the exceptionally strong directorial debut of Olivia Wilde. She delivers a work that will resonate strongly with females but includes much to admire for men as well.
Click here to read our full review

6. Hotel Mumbai
Incredibly intense and relentless, Hotel Mumbai tells the story of the real world events that took place in India in 2008 when ten members of an Islamic terrorist organisation staged a series of attacks and bombings in the city of Mumbai. The siege lasted four days and became the focus of the world’s attention at the time.
Click here to read our full review

5. JoJo Rabbit
With a gloriously absurdest approach to films both big and small, Taika Waititi provides something that is in short supply at the moment. Using Christine Leunens’s novel Caging Skies as the nucleus for his project JoJo Rabbit finds the Kiwi in great form. Leunens’s book about a Hitler youth who finds out his mother is harbouring a young Jewish girl in their house provides the basis for a Waititi screenplay that is rich in humour and subtext.
Click here to read our full review

4. Knives Out
There is something so satisfying when a dialogue based movie truly hits its mark. In the current environment that seems to favour action based films above all else, Knives Out stands out with its delicious dialogue and ever changing finger of blame. Having the writer also be the director, in this case Rian Johnson, makes the entire exercise feels more on point. Little seems diluted from what is a classic whodunnit.
Click here to read our full review

3. The Irishman
Never has Martin Scorsese made the life of a criminal look more mundane or realistic. As you would expect in a film three and a half hours long, there is a lot of down time for the criminals. The banality and tedium of a life outside the law is presented in an unapologetic manner. These eventless moments are starkly contrasted by some of the maestro’s most graphic violence to date.
Click here to read our full review

2. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
In Quentin Tarantino’s penultimate film (if he indeed stops at ten) Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, we see quite the departure. His other films feel like they were made by someone who lived through the fantasy of film, digesting genres and regurgitating his own. The new work reflects more on his upbringing in Southern California. It’s the world he grew up in. It feels personal and forms a love letter to the Hollywood he grew up around.
Click here to read our full review

1. Parasite
It’s been a very satisfying experience watching the progression of auteur Bong Joon Ho and his most recent work Parasite finds him in absolutely top form. The film works on multiple levels and is a sharp critique on class systems.

And some honourable mentions:

Best Australian Film:
The Nightingale

Best Animated Film:
Toy Story 4

Best Documentary:
Apollo 11

Best Performance:
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

Film we where most surprised to enjoy:
Ready or Not