The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Review)

Harry Potter is about a nerdy 10 year-old boy who is informed by a wise and powerful wizard that he is the ‘chosen one’ fated to stop an evil force from taking over the world. In contrast, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is about a nerdy 10 year-old boy who is informed by a wise and powerful sorcerer that he is the ‘Prime Merlinian’ fated to stop an evil force from taking over the world.

Of course, the [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

Tomorrow, When The War Began (Film Review)

Ask a group of Australian teens to name one home-grown movie they’ve seen at the cinema in the last few years and you’ll likely receive a bunch of blank looks. And that’s hardly the result of ignorance. For reasons likely relating to budgetary constraints, our film industry tends not produce anything for younger action-craving demographics, which is a real shame considering how lucrative that market can be.

While far from perfect, Tomorrow, When the War Began [...]