Australian actor-turned-director Anthony Hayes has created a pocket-style thriller that features three actors, a speedy running time and little dialogue. Ultimately about the downfall of greed, “Gold” has Zac Efron in the leading role, uncomfortable and dirty as the essence of his performance. As “Gold” introduces the audience into this not-so-distant future, the aesthetics of […]
This is a captivating murder mystery that takes place in a small town in Australia, and when childhood friend of the accused killer of his family and himself, Luke, Aaron (Bana) is asked by Luke’s father to attend the funeral, he goes. Aaron is currently a police detective in another city; he and his father had
You might have seen the disappointing 2003 flick “Ned Kelly” that’s more historically based. Even though “True History of the Kelly Gang” is far more fictionalized, it is also far more compelling. The first of the canceled theatrical releases that truly deserved to be seen on the big screen, it’s also the first VOD release
Acclaimed director Jennifer Kent has followed up international hit horror film “The Babadook” with something even more unsettling. “The Nightingale” takes the viewer deep into the Tasmanian Bush, in Colonial Australia. The controversial film premiered to accolades at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 but prompted walkouts during its Sydney, Australia premiere. “The Nightingale” depicts brutal scenes of
It doesn’t take much for actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut to sweep you off your feet. His vintage surf drama overwhelms the senses with sight and sound. Based on the novel of the same name, “Breath” is a coming of age story which uses the rugged Western Australian coast as a setting for bravery and
Room has certainly inspired similar films to come out of the woodwork. Berlin Syndrome is the latest, taking the concept of one person locked in a room against her will. Presented as a thriller, Berlin Syndrome is a cat and mouse game that never finds a profound message. Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) called this role
Producer Harvey Weinstein knew he had something good back at the 2015 Cannes film festival, where he showed raw footage of Lion to select journalists. When Garth Davis’ directorial debut made its big splash at the Toronto Film Festival in September, macho male journalists even admitted they were moved to tears by the compelling true
Two-time Oscar winner Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”, “Apocalypto”) continues his 2016 comeback, this time back in the director’s chair, for the first time in a decade. “Hacksaw Ridge” is based on the equally incredible and humbling true story of WWII Conscientious Objector Desmond T. Doss. Gibson brings together his vast war film experience to embed the
Jocelyn Moorhouse returns to film after almost twenty years away from the director’s chair. The Dressmaker is an odd film in structure, subject matter and presentation. Moorhouse describes the film as “Unforgiven with a sewing machine”. What looks like a film about a young woman returning to her miserable dusty Australian town to find love
An epic novel, Western Australia, a lighthouse, and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”) seemed like the perfect recipe (at least for me) for one of the best films of the year. When the emotionally riveting trailer for “The Light Between Oceans” debuted in spring, it seemed director Derek Cianfrance might have another Oscar