|
5/5
|
85%
|
The Snowtown Murders (2012) |
"
Snowtown is an absolutely mesmerising, uncompromising crime-movie masterpiece. Understated in style, chilling in effect, devastating in impact...one of the most unnerving serial killer films ever made. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
5/5
|
92%
|
Another Year (2010) |
"
Make no mistake: Another Year is brilliant, heart-breaking, life-affirming and ceaselessly engrossing. It's as deeply felt and humane a work of cinema as anything by Zhang Yimou, Federico Fellini or Ingmar Bergman. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 28, 2011
|
|
5/5
|
96%
|
Samson and Delilah (2010) |
"
It is the most confronting, powerful, honest and important film about indigenous culture yet made in this country."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted May 14, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
94%
|
Mary and Max (2009) |
"
Only long after the film, and with considerable effort, do you have to remind yourself that what you went all weak-kneed and misty-eyed over was a blob of plasticine -- a superbly directed blob of plasticine."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Apr 17, 2009
|
|
4/4
|
——
|
Beyond Our Ken () |
"
Strongly recommended."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 19, 2008
|
|
4/4
|
97%
|
Persepolis (2007) |
"
An uplifting, funny, moving fable about the difference between the ideal of freedom and the real thing..."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 29, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
94%
|
Pina (2011) |
"
Unlike so many 3D films, Pina is a prime example of how big a difference the process can make to the film-going experience."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 18, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
87%
|
Mad Bastards () |
"
Mad Bastards is this year's Samson & Delilah; it bravely explores a host of hot-button issues with a deft blending of humour, sensitivity and often brutal frankness. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
71%
|
Kokoda (2007) |
"
One of the great strengths of Kokoda is the unflinching honesty with which it recreates the nature of the fighting. The film brims with detail that is physically, emotionally and psychologically authentic."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 31, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
90%
|
Tangled (2010) |
"
Disney's latest fairy tale makeover is a sheer delight, a solid-gold piece of family entertainment that hits just about every button you could wave a wand at."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 8, 2011
|
|
4.5/5
|
95%
|
The King's Speech (2010) |
"
The film everybody's talking about is, quite fittingly, a film about talking. And a great one, certainly as far as A-grade performance showcases go. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Dec 27, 2010
|
|
4.5/5
|
88%
|
Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
"
What really makes Inglourious Basterds stick out like a Royale with cheese...is its sheer playfulness. Tarantino does digress, as is his wont, but these are not the irritating indulgences they were in Kill Bill."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 21, 2009
|
|
4.5/5
|
94%
|
Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) (The Counterfeiter) (2007) |
"
This Oscar-winning film ranks as the most unnerving, disturbing, true-life account yet of endurance under Nazi oppression."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 8, 2008
|
|
4.5/5
|
92%
|
Million Dollar Baby (2004) |
"
Performances throughout are superb."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jan 17, 2006
|
|
3.5/4
|
19%
|
Fly Me to the Moon (2008) |
"
3-D has yet to shake its cheese factor, though, to the credit of director Ben Stassen, an Imax movie pioneer, the new digital process often works with popcorn-dropping effect."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 19, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
84%
|
Beginners (2011) |
"
A quietly moving, delicately mounted romantic drama that touches the heart with resorting to melodrama or an over-reliance on conflict. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 18, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
23%
|
The Smurfs (2011) |
"
The Smurfs will likely be the best, most enjoyable kid film of 2011. And, yes, adults have been catered for. Dive in."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 14, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
60%
|
Final Destination 5 (2011) |
"
FD5 is a perfect example of what 3D ultimately does best, which is to make you squirm, shudder and jump in your seat. Enjoy."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 14, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
76%
|
The Help (2011) |
"
if you get to the end of this movie without tearing up at least once, please check for a pulse; you might already be dead. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 2, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
81%
|
Red Dog () |
"
An instant Aussie classic, Red Dog holds up extremely well on a second viewing and should not be missed by anyone who cares about just how good Australian films can be."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 4, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
83%
|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) |
"
Having gone in with very low expectations, this reviewer was totally blown away by Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It might just be the most pleasant shock of 2011."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 4, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
90%
|
Bridesmaids (2011) |
"
Bridesmaids is just fall-down funny."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
70%
|
Oranges And Sunshine (2011) |
"
While director Jim Loach knows how to bring trying tales of deprivation and abuse to a piercing emotional pitch, more admirable is his uncanny ability to harness the power of understatement."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Cane Toads: The Conquest () |
"
Debate if you must, but Cane Toads: The Conquest just might be one of the best feature-length wildlife documentaries ever made; it's certainly one of the most entertaining - and one that easily holds up to a second screening."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
37%
|
Mars Needs Moms (2011) |
"
What really sells this fabulous, kid-friendly 3D adventure to anybody over eight (no offense, kids) is its astonishing visuals, which uses motion-capture technology to a degree that surpasses what we saw in Avatar. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Apr 13, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
79%
|
How I Ended This Summer (2010) |
"
The evocative cinematography, often showcasing the humbling scale of the landscape, perfectly counterpoints Popogrebsky's intimate, intricately observed direction. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Apr 13, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
89%
|
Waiting for Superman (2010) |
"
It's possible that one of the reasons why the film wasn't nominated for a best-documentary Oscar was because it was too horrifying."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Mar 31, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
77%
|
In A Better World (2011) |
"
There have been a lot of great films about bullying and, pound for pound, In A Better World ranks as the most intelligent, thoughtful and provocative."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Mar 31, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
127 Hours (2010) |
"
That director Danny Boyle makes us feel the shock of relief as Ralston finally pulls away from his stony prison signals just how immersive a piece of first-person story-telling this is. "
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Feb 9, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
91%
|
The Fighter (2010) |
"
Though director David O Russell does embrace the feel-good cliches embedded into movie folklore by Rocky, he does so with a rousing conviction that pushes all the right buttons."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 20, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Black Swan (2010) |
"
Full of sex, drugs, catfights, violence, hallucinations and even some choice girl-on-girl action. What more could you possibly want from a ballet movie?"
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 20, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Blue Valentine (2010) |
"
A beautifully directed suburban drama that propels us deep into the hearts of two troubled lovers."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Dec 27, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
90%
|
Lebanon (Levanon) (2010) |
"
Lebanon certainly qualifies as one of the best films about modern warfare with its unflinching depiction of the trade-off between duty and humanity."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Dec 1, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
80%
|
Made in Dagenham (2010) |
"
Made in Dagenham is a splendidly made feel-good film that pulses with an infectious positive energy, yet it also serves as a timely reminder that the fight these women started 42 years ago still has a long way to go."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 27, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
94%
|
The Town (2010) |
"
As far as a developing directing talent goes, The Town is to Ben Affleck what Pulp Fiction was to Quentin Tarantino. It's that good."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 22, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
53%
|
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) |
"
Perceptive, funny, unusually edgy voyage into the comic travails of schoolyard politics and childhood friendship."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 22, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
98%
|
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) |
"
A magnificently entertaining, beautifully rendered 3D adventure from Dreamworks..."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Mar 25, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
72%
|
The Boys Are Back (2009) |
"
This beautifully etched, deeply moving drama about single fatherhood [is] the best film Adelaide director Scott Hicks has made since Shine -- and the peak of Clive Owen's acting career"
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Nov 12, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
39%
|
2012 (2009) |
"
It's easy to mock throwaway blockbusters like 2012, but as enthralling, mindless entertainment, the film is difficult to fault."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Nov 12, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
80%
|
It Might Get Loud (2009) |
"
By delving into their backgrounds and character quirks, Guggenheim aims the film beyond the interests of purists, academics, fans and musicians to provide an adventure film exploring the heart of creativity."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 28, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
85%
|
Looking for Eric (2010) |
"
The result is the closest he has ever come to making a beautiful film."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Sep 24, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
83%
|
Beautiful Kate (2009) |
"
Helps redress a long-standing problem with Australian cinema by illustrating how fully developed, emotionally driven, three-act stories result in films that immerse you in their visions."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 5, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
Drag Me to Hell (2009) |
"
As its shameless, tell-all, schlock title signals, Drag Me to Hell is great fun that goes light on gore in favour of inventive freak-outs."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jul 24, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
100%
|
Two Fists, One Heart (2009) |
"
Brandishes the type of confidence, commercial appeal and clarity of vision all too seldom seen in Australian cinema. We should be producing movies like this 10 times a year, not once in a blue moon."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Mar 20, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
98%
|
The Wrestler (2008) |
"
A beautifully etched, touching essay about a damaged, desperate brute hoping for one taste of dignity and real fatherhood before his life goes down for the count for the final time."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
48%
|
Towelhead (2007) |
"
[Ball] succeeds admirably and with dramatic force, blending themes of racism, liberalism, emotional betrayal, abuse, hate speech and pedophilia into a confronting adult drama peppered with shocks and black humour."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Oct 10, 2008
|
|
4/5
|
87%
|
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Hellboy 2) (2008) |
"
The film is designed more as an ear-shattering sensory assault than a conventional narrative."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Aug 28, 2008
|
|
2.5
|
51%
|
Devil (2010) |
"
Though the poster bravely boasts this movie as being ''from the mind of M Night Shyamalan'', Devil is actually not an over-long, near-unwatchable piece of badly directed high-concept dross, but a tight little killer thriller."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Dec 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
48%
|
The Book of Eli (2010) |
"
Directors Allen and Albert Hughes stage some impressive set-pieces, including intricately choreographed fights and a stunning shoot-out covered by a single rotating camera."
—
The Age (Australia)
Posted Apr 15, 2010
|
|
|
55%
|
Australia (2008) |
"
Good, but no classic, and way, way too long."
—
The Canberra Times (Australia)
Posted Nov 17, 2008
|
63%
——
97%
