Con movies are an old favourite of Hollywood. Immerging like clock work ever year with a star-studded cast of quick talking wise guys, glamorous girls, shinny backgrounds, fast-moving camera action and non-linier plots to keep audiences on their exhilarated heels. With American Hustle, director David O. Russell throws his hat in the ring of this long-standing genre.
Set in the very near future, How I Live Now depicts the outbreak of a war in England from the point of view of a rebellious American teenage girl, Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) who is sent to the British countryside to live with her Aunt (Anna Chancellor) and cousins.
Originally premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival as Two Mothers, before being released elsewhere under the (much better title) Adore, this Australian-set drama comes back to our shores with the new title Adoration.
Prisoners, directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski, focusses on a relatively simple premise. Two children go missing, and a lengthy police investigation starts. However, the film is elevated beyond the trappings of predictability and mediocrity by its layered plot, accomplished, confident direction, and compelling performances.
Rich, moving and intricately layered, Mystery Road is just shy of the masterpiece it could have been, but a thrilling movie experience none the less.
11-year-old Skunk (Eloise Laurence) witnesses a senseless, brutal attack on one of her neighbours which kickstarts series of events that change the lives of three middle-class families forever.
In case you somehow haven’t been paying attention, vampires are kind of a big deal right now. But this is not the cold, irredeemably evil, and occasionally camp vampire of years gone by. Generally speaking, modern vampires have taken the form of sensitive but slightly edgy romantic heroes, the type that feature in the fast expanding subgenre of paranormal romance films, TV shows and books.
Now Is Good, writer/director Ol Parker’s follow-up to Imagine Me and You with a script adapted from Jenny Downham’s novel, sees grown up Dakota…
Mama is a film ripe with horror clichés, some of the setups seem oddly familiar and there are scenes that leave you scratching your head with a feeling of déjà vu, swearing you’d seen what just happened in Japanese horrors The Ring or The Grudge.
Written and directed by Dan Mazer (known for his work with Sacha Baron Cohen on such films as Borat and Bruno), I Give It A Year shows you life after marriage for young impulsive couple Nat (Aussie Rose Byrne famous for being the “perfect” bridesmaid in Bridesmaids) and Josh (Rafe Spall).