Film Reviews
The Intouchables
Saturday, October 27th, 2012 Film Reviews,Although it should be the most depressing subject in the world there is something strangely inspiring about films that deal with disability. The Miracle Worker (1962) was a smash hit in its day, making Helen Keller into the most famous deaf and blind person in history, although she has since been overtaken by several cricket […]
Looper
Saturday, October 20th, 2012 Film Reviews,Ever since 1895 when H.G.Wells sent his Time Traveller into a bleak, dystopian future, science fiction writers have been imagining the ways civilisation can progress and decline at the same time. Before Wells the vogue was to use a vision of the future to show the ‘earthly paradise’ the world could become under socialism. If […]
Homeland
Saturday, October 20th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,Until the advent of cable TV the United States had the most facile, puritanical television in the western world. Many believe the turning point came with the premiere of The Sopranos in 1999, on the HBO network. Suddenly the Americans had produced a brilliant drama series filled with black humour, sex, violence and four letter […]
To Rome with Love
Saturday, October 20th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,First it was the Gauls and the Visigoths, now Rome has been laid waste by a new menace of unstoppable proportions – Woody Allen. Over the past few years this deadly invader has marched on London (Match Point), Barcelona (Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona), and finally, Paris (Midnight in Paris). Is no city – at least, no […]
The Words
Saturday, October 13th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,Few people write for a living but many nurture the fantasy of doing so. Many an avid reader dreams of crossing over to the other side, producing books that are admired by people just like them. The Words is a movie for these people. No genuine writer could watch this film and remain unmoved by […]
Wuthering Heights
Saturday, October 13th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,Wrap up warmly for this plunge into the wilds of old Yorkshire. Andrea Arnold’s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights is so bleak, wet, cold and gloomy it chills one to the bone. After about fifteen minutes I felt like calling for gloves and a muffler. Ten minutes later I could feel my feet sinking into […]
Searching for Sugar Man
Saturday, October 6th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,“Oh he was much bigger than the Rolling Stones,” says a South African record company executive. Bigger than Elvis, too. His debut album sold more than 500,000 copies while the republic was still grappling with Apartheid. It would be startling enough if we were talking about a white South African pop star, but the artist […]
Arbitrage
Saturday, October 6th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,Readers of the AFR probably don’t need to have the word “arbitrage” explained, but for the record, according to Wikipedia, it is “the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets.” In Nicholas Jarecki’s film, the term functions as a metaphor for a series of trade-offs conducted by hedge fund […]
Lore
Saturday, September 29th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing, Uncategorized,Cate Shortland enjoyed such extravagant success with Somersault, her debut feature of 2004, that it is no surprise she has taken her time to come up with film number two. The surprise is that she has made a German movie, not an Australian one. Although Shortland has drawn on Australian production skills and funding, Lore […]
On the Road
Saturday, September 29th, 2012 Film Reviews, Other Writing,For a book that defined a generation, On the Road has waited a long time for a definitive screen adaptation. Jack Kerouac, who launched his literary career with this benzedrine-fuelled chronicle of the Beats, imagined the story as a movie from the moment it was published. In 1957, Kerouac wrote to Marlon Brando suggesting he […]