This was the year that the Oscars themselves, rather than the jockeying between films, rocketed to the heart of the cultural conversation. A second straight year of all-white acting nominees sparked the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, raising a clamour that could not be ignored even in the glitzy surrounds of the Dolby Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. … More 2015, the Year in Film
As we enter 2016, the view across the Pacific borders on terrifying. As the presidential primaries loom, a vast swathe of the United States electorate has embraced the politics of demagogy. Supporters of Trump, Cruz and Carson cheer at each call for a ban on immigration, for war, for building walls and for registers of citizens. … More Hamilton & the Notion of a Nation
The secret of the Bond franchise’s longevity is not just in the fundamentals – the slick spy, beautiful women, grotesque villains and outrageous stunts. It’s how damn reactionary the series is. Adapting Ian Fleming’s novels went out of vogue in Sean Connery’s day, despite the occasional revival (the second half of Casino Royale) or borrowed title (thanks … More Review: Spectre
“The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine…” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a curious novel: as half-formed, ill-shaped and yet peppered with brilliance as the Creature itself. It is a rare case where the iconography of its multitude of adaptations and progeny – piling on the electrodes and burning windmills – … More Rebirthing a Monster
Many performers can, with a word or gesture, make you laugh, or cry, or squirm. Rare is the virtuoso who can harness two. Robin Williams? He was capable of all three. Film to film or show to show, he could be hilarious, or heartbreaking, or utterly terrifying. It is tempting to focus most of all … More O Captain, Our Captain
Yesterday, statements from Studio Ghibli’s general manager Toshio Suzuki on Japanese television set off a firestorm online lamenting the end of the legendary animation house. What Suzuki actually meant remains unclear – although initial reports in English claimed that the studio was being dissolved outright, subsequent translations (and the absence of a similar pandemonium in … More A Farewell to Studio Ghibli
“Do I have your vote?” Once would scarcely imagine that a film about pending unemployment and solar panels, played out over a series of fourteen (give or take) conversations, would amount to the year’s most arresting, even thrilling, cinema experience. Leave it, then, to the socially conscious Dardenne brothers of Belgium to quietly surprise. Sandra … More Review: Two Days, One Night
Calvary (2014) Written and Directed by John Michael McDonagh Filmmaker John Michael McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson, fresh off their collaboration in The Guard, re-team for this bleak comedy about a good priest with a wayward flock, looking down the barrel at death by the hands of his own community. The film opens in the confessional, … More Sydney Film Fest: Calvary & The Rover
“I want you to join me. Look at all the things that people built. You might see a mess. What I see are people inspired by each other, and by you. People take things from what you have, are making something new out of it.“ It is hard to imagine an era when films were … More Review: The Lego Movie
To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it – but, I will say he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvellous grace. Wes Anderson is one of the most honest filmmakers working today. This may appear to be an odd compliment for an artist whose films well deserve … More Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel
