Clik here to view.
Scorsese’s gods of the streets: From ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to...
Even in films where religion isn't front and center, Martin Scorsese's attention to ritual and devotion comes through. Apple TV+A widely circulated still from the set of Martin Scorsese’s latest film,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oscars 2024: How ‘Poor Things’ music scoring brilliantly invents a fresh...
The score of 'Poor Things,' by composer Jerskin Fendrix, is one of several Oscar-nominated scores by a composer with solid credentials in popular music. (Searchlight Pictures)At first glance the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From concert halls to movie soundtracks, Arnold Schoenberg’s legacy as a...
The composer's expressionism is often compared to paintings of his friend and fellow expressionist, Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky's 1925 painting 'Yellow-Red-Blue.' (Wikipedia)2024 marks 150 years since...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Imaginary: I research imaginary friends – here’s what the horror film gets right
I was hesitant to watch Imaginary. Not only because horror movies are often too scary for me, but also because, for the better part of my adult life, I’ve researched and studied the way children invent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The swashbuckling score for Poor Things sets the tone for an eccentric...
Note: this article contains spoilers.For as long as laureates and lyricists have probed the human condition, they’ve eulogised the hero’s journey. Typically undertaken by a trail-blazing “übermensch”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
As ‘Oppenheimer’ triumphs at the Oscars, we should ask how historical films...
Box office receipts for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer had already approached the billion-dollar mark worldwide before the 2024 Oscars ceremony.To this financial success, along with film awards for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Artdocfest is a crucial outpost of free expression on Russia’s doorstep
On the day of the funeral of Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent, the biggest festival of documentary film in the former Soviet countries opened in Latvia with a minute’s silence....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nine years after #OscarsSoWhite, a look at what’s changed
On Sunday, nine years after #OscarsSoWhite, millions of us tuned into watch the 96th annual Academy Awards — some to simply take in the spectacle. And some to see how much had changed. The hashtag...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘An exceptionally queasy atmosphere’: the unsettling new Aussie horror You’ll...
Credit Ian Routledge. Copyright Lot Film Pty LtdIn the middle of the night, during a terrible thunderstorm, a sodden stranger knocks on Patrick’s door hoping to use a phone. Insomniac Patrick (Brendan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at 20: an unflinching meditation on...
This article contains spoilers.Heartbreak is a universal experience. When a heart breaks, we vacillate between hope and fear, anger and denial and a thousand fragmentary moments of grief. Uninvited...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alien invasions, a lesbian road movie and tropical architecture – the best...
This article was first published in our email newsletter Something Good, which every fortnight brings you a summary of the best things to watch, visit and read, as recommended and analysed by academic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘To truly forget life for a while – a reprieve and a reward’: why Australians...
Khak/ShutterstockAustralians have had plenty of time in the last 100 years to work out what they value about cinema-going and why it matters. Head to any cinema and catch the Val Morgan advertising in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Road House explores what it means to be a hyper-masculine hardman in the 21st...
Through Doug Liman’s reimagining of the Patrick Swayze vehicle Road House (1989), Amazon Prime is trying to draw a distinction between “toxic” hyper-masculinity and “useful” hyper-masculinity....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – this Chinese-US blockbuster maximises the...
Seventy years after his first appearance in the 1954 Japanese film Gojira, Godzilla has become a global star. Meanwhile King Kong, his gigantic Hollywood counterpart, has been circling the globe for a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hideko Takamine at 100: six of the Japanese actor’s films that captured a...
Hideko Takamine as Carmen in Carmen Comes Home (1951).Shochiku Ofuna Studio/Wiki CommonsIn March 2024, Japanese film fans celebrated what would have been the 100th birthday of one of Japan’s most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Back to Black: Amy Winehouse biopic reviewed by an alcohol expert
Content warning: this article discusses mental health, addiction and eating disorders.Back to Black is a new biopic about the life of musician Amy Winehouse. It covers the time from when she gets her...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The power of POV: five films that put you in the shoes of otherwise...
The point-of-view (POV) shot is a filming angle that is usually used to put the viewer into the rigid perspective of how a character sees the world, either for a few scenes, or in some cases, the whole...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Taylor Swift’s homage to Clara Bow
Clara Bow appeared in 58 films in just over a decade.John Kobal Foundation/Getty ImagesOne track on Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” honors a long-celebrated, oft-miscast...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Back to Black: new biopic only bolsters the Amy Winehouse ‘trainwreck’...
When Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 in 2011, many felt the world had been robbed of one its greatest stars who had barely shown us the extent of her talent. The new biopic Back to Black – directed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sometimes I Think About Dying: finally, a film about women’s mental health...
This article contains spoilers for Sometimes I Think About Dying.Director Rachel Lambert’s sweet and sedate film Sometimes I Think About Dying frames suicidal thoughts as a strategy for survival.In the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Beautiful Game: a film about the Homelessness World Cup that’s a...
The Beautiful Game is a film of second chances — where teams of homeless men and women from around the world find that all roads lead to Rome and everything’s to play for.Starring Bill Nighy as coach...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Abigail: child vampire horror falls prey to antiquated gender stereotypes
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Abigail.The horror film Abigail sets out to offer a new and refreshing perspective on the vampire tradition. Gone are the male Draculas of old and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Challengers: new Zendaya tennis film reviewed by an expert in the psychology...
“Tennis is a relationship,” says Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) in director Luca Guadagnino’s new film Challengers. However, this relationship is not simply between the game and the player. Rather the heart of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From stereotypes to sovereignty: How Indigenous media makers assert narrative...
Indigenous media makers are successfully gaining more control over their storytelling. Here Dallas Goldtooth and Jana Schmieding as Nelson Renville and Reagan Wells in the sitcom, 'Rutherford...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tarantino abandons his tenth film – five other times Hollywood giants...
(L-R) Adil El Arbi, Sofia Coppola and Quentin Tarantino.Photographs by Kathy Hutchins/Lev Ravin/Featureflash/ShutterstockQuentin Tarantino has reportedly scrapped what was supposed to be his tenth and...
View Article
