Going the Distance (Review)

In the cinema of Hollywood, finding a film that is not about love presents a real challenge. We’ve had so-called “true love” (The Notebook) and the twisted “I’m so in love with you, I want to eat you” love (Twilight). We’ve had love based on “intense experiences” (Speed), the “oops, we’ve made a baby” love (Knocked Up). Most prolifically, we’ve had gun love (anything with Arnie). But in thinking about love [...]

Boy [2010] (Review)

Before it won the Audience Award at both the Melbourne and Sydney film festivals, Taika Waititi’s Boy became the highest grossing New Zealand film of all time. For good reason, too; this captivating coming-of-age drama tackles sobering themes with comedic sensibility, masterfully balancing big laughs and big heart without compromising either.

Piranha 3D (Review)

Piranha 3D can be summarised, and reviewed, in just two simple words:

3D boobies.

Guys, be sure to sit extra close to the front. You can thank me later. Girls, I guess it’s just you and me now.

Directed by French (mad)man Alexadre Aja (Mirrors), Piranha 3D is a tongue-in-cheek horror movie about – surprise! – flesh-eating Piranhas. And yes, it’s as tacky and silly as it sounds, but deliberately so. Just [...]

The Killer Inside Me (Review)

When Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, one of the film’s stars, Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four), reportedly walked out of the cinema half way through the screening. But who can blame her? This grim look into the psyche of a serial killer is so sadistically violent in parts, its borderline torture porn. As far as crime thrillers go, it’s also quite a bore.

The film marks the second failed attempt to adapt [...]

Four Lions (Review)

Would you laugh at a film depicting a man with explosives strapped to his body? No, probably not.

But what if he were dressed in costume like he’s come fresh from the set of Sesame Street? It’s hard not to in Four Lions, an audacious satire about the inner trials of a suicidal jihadist quintet.

The concept behind the film is certainly not easy to swallow, especially given the state of the world since, [...]

Salt (Review)

Lovers of condiments, I have some unfortunate news; Salt, the movie, has absolutely nothing to do with salt, the mineral. Well, both go great with popcorn. But that’s about it.

Lovers of action movies, however, are in luck; this full-tilt espionage thriller from Australian director Philip Noyce hits the sweet spot neglected of late by bland genre mash-ups such as Killers and Knight and Day. Unlike these films, [...]