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Holy Motors
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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Surrender yourself to the experience, don't expect it to make sense in terms of conventional storytelling.
Posted Apr 28, 2020
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The Stoning of Soraya M.
(2008)
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Julie Rigg
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It illuminates the sordid local politics often behind such barbaric practices -- not, in fact, prescribed by the Koran. Brace yourself.
Posted Feb 06, 2018
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Children of Men
(2006)
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Julie Rigg
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By letting his film lapse into a standard action movie, Cuaron I think has suffered a regrettable failure of imagination.
Posted Apr 01, 2015
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Folies Bergère
(2014)
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Jason Di Rosso
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A refreshingly non-judgemental film devoid of melodramatic ideas of guilt and comeuppance that tries in earnest, but always with a light touch, to comprehend the troubled hearts of its middle aged characters.
Posted Dec 22, 2014
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Dead Europe
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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It is one of the most disturbing, and intelligent, Australian films for a long time.
Posted Nov 16, 2012
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Deano and Nige's Best Last Day Ever
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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This is no ordinary buddy movie. It is, actually, an anti buddy movie, and while there are some sequences which could have been funnier, the story maintains a kind of bizarre logic which somehow speaks New Zealand.
Posted Nov 16, 2012
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Hail
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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Hail is highly recommended. If you are a true film lover, you will want to see this.
Posted Oct 26, 2012
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Killing Them Softly
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It doesn't always hit its marks, and its extensive, accomplished cast doesn't gel seamlessly, but Brad Pitt's Jackie is a well conceived centre to the drama, because he remains a riddle.
Posted Oct 12, 2012
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Lawless
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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In the climax, Hillcoat brings it all back to where it began: as a folk tale. You could read it as a tale of the triumph of the small businessman.
Posted Oct 12, 2012
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The Sapphires
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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I came out very happy, and well: the film made me feel like dancing.
Posted Aug 10, 2012
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The Campaign
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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As the plot crescendos it loses its comic edge, looking to make a point of its own about how career politics tarnishes all who come near it, and trying to score a redemptive finale.
Posted Aug 10, 2012
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Ice Age: Continental Drift
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Here, the slapstick with a dash of Homer (we even get a sequence with sirens), should work a treat for adults too.
Posted Jun 29, 2012
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Marvel's the Avengers
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Whedon is on to a winning formula.
Posted Apr 27, 2012
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Spud
(2010)
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Julie Rigg
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If there was satirical intent, it is leached from the film.
Posted Apr 20, 2012
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Life in Movement
(2010)
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Julie Rigg
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Wim Wenders's Pina, about the late Pina Bausch, has set the bar high. This one is worth treasuring, in the same canon.
Posted Apr 13, 2012
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Battleship
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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The ridiculousness of it all is either sheer joy or pure hell -- depending on how seriously you take it.
Posted Apr 13, 2012
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Rebellion
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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Rebellion is a rare piece of film making, a triumph from a director who has the skill, and the will, to commit his cinema to truth telling without compromise.
Posted Apr 13, 2012
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Mirror Mirror
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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I enjoyed the modernisation of the two characters. Roberts's wisecracking Queen, and Collins's fighting princess. Tarsem Singh brings a choice splash of Bollywood to the closing spectacle. Not bad at all, for a family outing.
Posted Mar 30, 2012
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The Hunger Games
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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The Hunger Games lacks a compelling raison d'être -- it's not much of a class critique, and even less successful as an inter-generational study of how the young struggle against the old.
Posted Mar 23, 2012
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John Carter
(2012)
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Jason Di Rosso
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At times the spectacle is captivating, but it's always just a bit too silly.
Posted Mar 09, 2012
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Any Questions for Ben?
(2012)
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Julie Rigg
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Any Questions for Ben? is watchable enough. But it could have been so much more.
Posted Feb 10, 2012
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Burning Man
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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The emotional payoff is undermined by the structural play -- a strategy that distracts rather than enhances.
Posted Nov 18, 2011
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Burning Man
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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If this film was a car, I'd say it was over-engineered. The jangling mosaic goes on so long we lose sympathy with the main character.
Posted Nov 18, 2011
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Drive
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Drive works if you succumb to its broad brush strokes of emotion, the plot propelled by vague ambition and greed, the lush cinematography and the dreamy 80s inspired synthesiser soundtrack.
Posted Oct 28, 2011
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Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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If you know nothing about any of this, you'll come out of Autoluminescent with an appreciation and a sense of wonder.
Posted Oct 28, 2011
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In Time
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It brims with the energy of unrepentant rebellion, in other words, the consequences of which are politically radical (in a cartoon-like way). A cathartic experience for anyone bored with the usual Hollywood subtext.
Posted Oct 28, 2011
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The Cup
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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The hybrid feel of it all works, and the inevitable uneven moments didn't bother me, nor did the odd story clich.
Posted Oct 14, 2011
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The Hunter
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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It's a handsome, thought-provoking film, none the less, and another contribution to the re-emergence of an Australian cinema of ideas.
Posted Oct 07, 2011
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Real Steel
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Real Steel is a very strange spectacle, but only sometimes as fun as it sounds.
Posted Oct 07, 2011
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Footloose
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It feels like a film walking in the shoes of its predecessor with a slightly sassier spring in its step. But at a certain point in the final act, this remake seems to forget why we're all watching.
Posted Oct 07, 2011
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Crazy, Stupid, Love.
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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This film can only have been written by someone who has been both crazy with passion and has been to a parent-teacher night. Recommended.
Posted Sep 30, 2011
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The Sorcerer and the White Snake
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It's a sometimes charming film from the veteran action filmmaker, but remains a curiosity, lacking comic sharpness and romantic intensity.
Posted Sep 30, 2011
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Cave of Forgotten Dreams
(2010)
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Julie Rigg
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Cave of Forgotten Dreams is one of Herzog's most memorable films. Its subject, the 32,000-year-old drawings on the wall of the Chauvet Cave in southern France, is so astonishing that even Herzog's amiable sidetracks can't destroy the wonder.
Posted Sep 23, 2011
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Abduction
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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I saw it with a young male audience and most of the time they were laughing. Not at the fight scenes, but at the dialogue, and they were right -- it was frequently risible.
Posted Sep 23, 2011
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Fright Night
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Takes inspiration from the 1985 film but runs its own race with a few nice tweaks.
Posted Sep 16, 2011
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The Eye of the Storm
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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It's a rich, sad and bitchy canvas, this film. Schepisi and screenwriter Judy Morris have captured White's tone pretty well.
Posted Sep 16, 2011
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Johnny English Reborn
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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The real suspense is always watching for English to put the next foot wrong, and then retrieve his balance. I found it a hoot.
Posted Sep 16, 2011
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Zookeeper
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It isn't terrible, it's just dull.
Posted Sep 09, 2011
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Submarine
(2010)
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Julie Rigg
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See it and let Oliver Tate remind you of the teenager you once were, or knew.
Posted Sep 09, 2011
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13 Assassins
(2010)
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Julie Rigg
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I was engrossed by this film because it had tactics, strategy and characterisation.
Posted Sep 09, 2011
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13 Assassins
(2010)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It doesn't feel like the tour de force it should be.
Posted Sep 09, 2011
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Life in a Day
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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You walk out with a good feeling, having seen a lot of humanity in the almost raw.
Posted Sep 02, 2011
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Final Destination 5
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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It's a spectacle that requires a certain detachment and a strong stomach, but it's highly recommended.
Posted Sep 02, 2011
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One Day
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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A frothy cappuccino of a film with lots of tears, quivering lips and cathartic embraces and little substance.
Posted Sep 02, 2011
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The Help
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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It's well crafted and performed and well, if all the ends tie up a little too neatly and every single sub-text is spelled out, that's Hollywood for you.
Posted Sep 02, 2011
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Conan the Barbarian
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Simply put, this is a disappointment, whether you're looking for grandeur, trash or something in between.
Posted Aug 19, 2011
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Cowboys & Aliens
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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I can't think of another premise this year that promised so many schlocky high concept thrills but delivered so little.
Posted Aug 19, 2011
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Red Dog
(2011)
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Julie Rigg
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Rough-hewn as it is, it's emotionally satisfying.
Posted Aug 05, 2011
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes
(2011)
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Jason Di Rosso
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These scenes of mayhem leave you looking forward to the next film more than savouring this one.
Posted Aug 05, 2011
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Love Crime
(2010)
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Jason Di Rosso
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Unfortunately, Alain Corneau's film lacks the camera movements and swelling soundtrack to make this classic melodrama in the grand tradition. It's more akin to TV soap opera.
Posted Aug 05, 2011
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