Category: Reviews

A stage. A giant pony. A stripper pole. That’s the first and only combination prop that greets the audience at Griffin Theatre Company’s Pony.

The social impact of Everything Everywhere All At Once is clear in Polite Society, a new action comedy that blends coming of age with a toned down Kill Bill fighting scenes, culminating in an enjoyable experience for teens and young people.

Who knew the story of a marketing meeting between Nike employees and a promising new basketball player would make for such captivating entertainment?

Few times has a solo-led stage performance been as sharp and poignant in its exploration of identity than in Margaret Perry’s work

A modern take on this 1960’s Broadway show does its best with strong performances but still falters in its ethically dubious narrative

Zachary Levi returns as the happy go lucky, gullible hero in this sequel to the first Shazam film in 2019.

Champions, based on the 2018 Spanish film Campeones, is similar to countless other inspirational sports movies, with a cringy but heartfelt twist.

Campy horror returns to the big screen with Cocaine Bear, Elizabeth Bank’s newest violent comedy that does exactly what it says on the tin – provides a goofy and so-bad-its-good adventure film with a bear literally on drugs terrorizing its large cast.

The Rocky Horror Show returns to the Theatre Royal Sydney this year to celebrate 50 years since its original opening in 1973 and launched its classic cult status across the world.

Actress turned filmmaker Sarah Polley follows up her films Take This Waltz and Stories We Tell with Women Talking, an emotional and intimate story of women who debate their next decision following a series of sexual assaults in their conservative religious community.

M Night Shyamalan has created a monster. Ever since the brilliant and shocking The Sixth Sense, his following films have continuously teased mystery and horror, and almost every time, failed to deliver.

Spoiler Alert holds the key in its title. Based on the book Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello, is a moving portrayal of love in a gay relationship that is posing as an unconventional romantic comedy.

‘Arranged’ marriage takes center stage in What’s Love Got To Do With It, an unconventional rom-com that tries to both adhere to the traditions of the genre and subvert it, to mixed results and unsettling conclusions.

The debauchery and impulsiveness of the 1920s have their curtains pulled back by Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle’s newest film Babylon – a self-proclaimed “love letter to Hollywood” that combines dance, melodrama, comedy, and all too many bodily fluids in one of the most chaotic and frenetic films of the decade.

Not for years have I witnessed a crowd as enthused, joyful, and energetic as those watching M3GAN, a new installment of horror comedy creature feature in a similar vein to Chucky and Gremlins, with moments of camp and terror.

Not all European films translate well to the US when remakes come around (see: Downhill).

Director Martin McDonagh, and actors Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell reunite after the brilliant In Bruges for a hilarious and dark comedy infused with performances against a stunning backdrop.

Kim Philby may not be as infamous a name to many young TV fans, but the story of the MI6 agent and secret Soviet spy will surely garner new interest in the case as the story gets the blockbuster treatment in the new series A Spy Among Friends.

You haven’t seen young, star-crossed lovers like this before.

Journalism dramas are a much maligned and obtuse segment of film, with varying degrees of success (see: Bombshell, The Post, The French Dispatch).

Lampooning the wealthy continues to be a popular pastime in cinematic history, and The Menu is another addition to the canon that does that and more, skewering the culture of excess and entitlement of the uber-rich against the backdrop of a fine dining establishment that gives it guests more than it bargained for.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of the most intriguing mainstream actors working today, often elevating and offering a some valuable input to his films.

Bros is the brainchild of comedian Billy Eichner and is being promoted as the first major studio romantic comedy starring two gay characters.

Toxic positivity, influencer culture, and murder converge in Sissy, a new horror film with as much social commentary as fake blood splattered across the screen.

Watching Bullet Train, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a Guy Ritchie film or second-rate Tarantino rip-off.

Where The Crawdads Sing is one of the biggest books of the last decade, having enraptured millions across the globe with its writing and story by zoologist (and accused murderer) Delia Owens. But is the magic of the book lost in the transition to screen?

The Forgiven is the latest splashy narrative to be released about the tensions between the elite and the working class, mixing all the elements of a thriller, dark comedy and psychological thriller to no avail in this frustrating film.

All things the 90s takes centre stage at the State Theatre in Sydney as classic flick Cruel Intentions gets the musical treatment.

This revival of Lachlan Philpott’s play with a banging techno soundtrack reminds us to let our elders chase their dreams

The long awaited Elvis Presley film has openened on screens. Years after some of the biggest blockbusters have revisited the likes of Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and more, Elvis gets his own Hollywood treatment thanks to Baz Lurhmann’s frenetic and bombastic view of his life.

The Phantom of the Open is one of those films that leans heavily into sentimentality and endures in its goal to please crowds, with much of it owing to its captivating story and fantastic star.

How To Please A Woman isn’t what it seems from the outset.

The danger zone, aviators and Tom Cruise are back with Top Gun: Maverick in this sequel to the action classic from the 1980s – and it’s one of the best films of the year.

Henry Lawson’s 1892 classic Australian story undergoes its own postcolonial revisionism in The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson.

The Crawley family return to the big screen and the public consciousness in this follow up to the long running series and sequel to the first film with Downton Abbey: A New Age.

Nicolas Cage’s career has seen him playing a host of memorable characters and even his most recent films’ primary success has been primarily due to his commitment as an actor and his overwhelming onscreen and off-screen persona.

Big explosions, car chases and bank heists make a return to screen in Michael Bay’s latest action thriller Ambulance – the pinnacle of his fast cut, highly stylized, patriotic-infused filmmaking style.

Stage and screen fuse together in this adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic suspense comedy at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre.

Rebooting a superhero franchise is never the easiest, but writer and direct Matt Reeves takes the pressure in his stride with The Batman, a new take on the classic caped crusader.

If The Batman is the best superhero film of the year, Morbius takes the crown for the worst. Set within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, you know there’s an issue with the film when the two (two!) post-credit scenes are the best part of the whole experience and conjure more excitement than the entire film preceding.

There’s something fresh about Fresh.

With streamers like Netflix, Disney, Amazon and more pumping out movies every other week, it’s hard to differentiate the trash from the treasure.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a tale old as time yet seems to have vanished from cultural discourse in the 21st century.

If you, like me, have been bombarded by ads for Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson’s latest rom-com Marry Me and subsequently have the lowest of expectations, I hate to say it…but you can probably listen to your intuition.

Most films rarely feature people, especially women, above 60 years old. But the new Australian film, A Stitch In Time, is a reminder that this isn’t always the case.

It’s easy to reminisce on the older periods of civilisation and the thrill of the Swinging 60s in London is front and centre in Last Night in Soho, the latest from director Edgar Wright.