Now showing in cinemas across Australia:
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (M)
★ ★ ★ ★
As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince” and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort’s dark past.
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Lucky Country (M)
★★★½
A desperate family on the brink of ruin find themselves turning on each other after three strangers arrive at their farm with rumours of gold.
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My Friends, My Loves (M)
★★★
Two divorced men become a modern-day odd couple when they move in together in London’s French quarter, along with their two kids.
For session times in your area, click here.
Detailed Listings:
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Review: ★ ★ ★ ★
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Rating: M
Running Time: 153min
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, David Bradley, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Cave
Official Website: View
For session times in your area, click here.
Synopsis:
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
Worth Seeing?
Review: ★ ★ ★ ★
Here’s what I had to say:
“In the same way that Rowling’s novels matured with her readership, the films have suitably grown darker with each instalment. There’s still some kindred magic in the air, not to mention a healthy dose of humour, but Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts is easily his darkest, most mature adventure to date. That said, it’s also his best.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBGbKCm_pQQ
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Lucky Country
Review: ★★★½
Genre: Drama | Thriller | Western
Rating: M
Running Time: 96min
Director: Kriv Stenders
Cast: AdenYoung, Toby Wallace, Pip Miller
Website: View
For session times in your area, click here.
Synopsis:
Lucky Country is a gripping period western in which Aden Young stars as Nat, a small landholder barely hanging on to his patch of the bush. His daughter Sarah is just old enough to see herself as a woman, his son Tom just old enough to judge his father as a man. When three ex-soldiers arrive amidst rumours of gold, the group begins to turn on each other, and the cabin becomes a psychological battleground in which Tom’s loyalty to his father is put to the ultimate test. Director Kriv Stenders (Boxing Day, Blacktown) turns away from the rough contemporary look of his recent films to channel the visual traditions of the Heidelberg School. He mixes in a claustrophobic tension, producing a work with richly mythic resonance. Lucky Country places the fear of the bush, of being overmatched by something larger than yourself, back at the centre of Australian culture, suggesting the tenuous way that Australians might ever claim to be at home in this landscape. One day, your luck runs out… Premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival.
Worth Seeing?
Review: ★★★½
Here’s what Megan Wright had to say:
“An unusual and edgy Australian thriller from director Kriv Stenders, which encapsulates the isolation and desolation of a settler’s existence.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgTlJ7VzBI
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My Friends, My Loves
Review: ★★★
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: M
Running Time: 99min
Director: Lorraine Levy
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Virginie Ledoyen, Mar Sodupe
Language: French (Subtitles in English)
Website: View
For session times in your area, click here.
Synopsis:
Two divorced men, Mathias (Vincent Lindon) and Antoine (Pascal Elbé), become a modern-day odd couple when they move in together in London’s French quarter, along with their two kids. But while establishing house rules is easy, handling relationships with the opposite sex is another matter. Between Antoine, who has learnt to lock down his emotions so as to no longer suffer, and Mathias, who is all too quickly overcome by his, day to day life is not simple. Life for the two men and their kids is joyful chaos, however domestic bliss is jeopardised and their smart arrangement falls apart when Mathias falls for the charms of Audrey (Virginie Ledoyen), a gorgeous French ex-pat living in London.
Worth Seeing?
Review: ★★★
Here’s what Katina had to say:
“My Friends, My Loves does what it sets out to in presenting a love story with a comedic twist. Not groundbreaking for the genre, but nonetheless still a bit of fun.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTjRvz6wwnw
Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.
