Film Review: The Call (2013)
byThe premise is simple: Jordan (Halle Berry) is a veteran 911 call operator who has suffered emotionally on the job after a call she was on lead to the kidnapping and brutal murder of a young girl.
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Film Review: Tabu (2012)
byFilming contemporary films in black and white, and without dialogue, can invoke feelings of nostalgia for a bygone era. Or, alternatively, they can be alienating. Tabu, a Portuguese film directed by Miguel Gomes and written by Gomes and Mariana Ricardo, takes that risk, with mixed results.
Film Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
byWith a name like Into Darkness, one may be expecting more elements of evil and anarchy. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of rampant destruction aboard the latest Star Trek vehicle, but darkness does not seem to be the proper definition. The words “Into Darkness” could really be replaced by the words “sacrificial” and “loyalty”.
Film Review: The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
byDecisions, the possibility of unforeseen, and devastating consequences resonating long after they are made, are the focus of director Derek Cianfrance’s new film The Place Beyond the Pines, written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius Marder.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne: Despite The Gods (2012)
byThe end result of this was Despite The Gods, an absorbing document of Lynch’s experience overseeing a rare collaboration between the American and Indian filmmaking worlds.
Film Review: Spring Breakers (2013)
bySpring Breakers deftly blends stylistic direction with critical, at times comic, insights into excessive youthful gratification. As the movie progresses the film becomes increasingly implausible, but it remains engaging because of its ability to undermine expectations.
Audi Festival of German Films: Shores of Hope (2012)
byLife on the Eastern side of the Berlin Wall, under the ever watchful eye of the Statsi, has proved to be a rich source of material for modern German filmmakers. Films such as Good Bye Lenin!, The Lives of Others, and the recently released Barbara have been successful with both German and international audiences in their respective takes on this era.
Audi Festival of German Films: Lost In Siberia (2012)
byThe first thing which needs to be pointed out is that Lost in Siberia is a bit of a failure as a comedy. Given that it rarely provokes much in the way of laughter, the unrelenting breeziness becomes downright annoying by the time the credits roll, and that’s assuming you’ve been forgiving enough to stay to the end and endure it’s tone-deaf attitude to matters of ethnic diversity.
Film Review: Antiviral (2012)
byHave you ever wondered what it would be like to taste your favourite celebrity? Sink your teeth into their meat? Catch their STDs? Well, Brandon Cronenberg has. In fact, if I was David Cronenberg, I’d be a little worried.
Film Review: People Like Us (2012)
byThe idea of the prodigal son returning home after an extended absence has been done a lot in movies. Because it’s so thematically rich though, unlike other plot cliché’s, it’s also been done well, memorably in movies like The Indian Runner, You Can Count on Me, No Looking Back and in Australia’s own (extremely worthy, early Russell Crowe vehicle) The Crossing.