Sian

Inspired by the true story of an oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, DEEPWATER HORIZON chronicles the courage of those who worked on the rig, and the extreme moments of bravery and survival in the face of what would become one of the biggest man-made disasters in world history. This is the second time director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg have teamed up to make a movie about true...

I was with everyone else who, when hit with the news of a BEN-HUR reboot, cried “WHY?!” But did I speak too soon? There’s a saying “bigger than Ben-Hur” for a reason. So who would be crazy enough to tackle yet another film adaption of this already sufficiently realised story? (The novel has been adapted to film four times previously). The answer is Russian Timur Bekmambetov, a relatively unknown d...

He’s the man you love to hate….David Brent I mean (though some will argue Ricky Gervais himself also fits this description!). King of the cringe David Brent is back, but this time on the big screen. Fifteen years on from THE OFFICE’s original release on BBC Two, comes DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD. No longer an office manager, Brent is working that cringe-worthy smile by “repping”; selling cleanin...

Is THE ANGRY BIRDS movie as addictive as the Angry Birds game? It’s a tough gig coming into the animated film market. Let’s be honest; Disney Pixar is hard to match…let alone top. Anyone who gives it a go deserves a gold star for courage in my book! So, gold star to Rovio Entertainment who make their debut cinematic appearance this week with THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE. In this 3D flick, we find out the...

Audiences love an underdog; particularly a funny one.  So it seems EDDIE THE EAGLE has the perfect recipe for success. In an interview, producer Matthew Vaughn recounted watching COOL RUNNINGS with his children: “My kids were loving the film,” Vaughn said, “and I started thinking, ‘why does nobody make movies like this anymore?’ I wanted to make a movie that you could watch and just come out feeli...

Did we need a JUNGLE BOOK reboot? Not necessarily. Did we want a JUNGLE BOOK reboot? Not really. Did we love the JUNGLE BOOK reboot? Hell yeah! The recent Hollywood reboot fetish has been a heavily discussed topic. There’s plenty of strong argument both ‘for’ and ‘against’. Disney’s answer to the reboot craze appears to be live adaptations of their classic cartoons, with no less than 15 remakes sa...

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival, WIDE OPEN SKY shows us how footy and music can live in harmony – even in the Aussie outback! As a Music Teacher, I felt obligated to check this flick out. I did my duty, getting up early on my day off and making the hour-long journey to the cinema…. it was worth it. WIDE OPEN SKY tells the uplifting true story of a chil...

As a teen, one of my teachers told us about this nerd who made not one, but two massive marks on the world. This guy (Steve Jobs) she told us, created Apple and Pixar. I remember feeling torn; I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or jealous that one man got to make it big twice! STEVE JOBS is one of three feature films to be released since his death. With Danny Boyle in the director’s chair, it’...

Just about everyone I know (guys included) list THE NOTEBOOK among the great tear-jerker romance movies of modern times; does THE CHOICE offer similar heart? THE CHOICE is the latest in a long line of Nicholas Sparks’ tragic romance novels to be adapted for film. I swear Sparks is out to be the next Stephen King, with adaptations coming out of his ear’oles! THE CHOICE introduces us to Gabby and Tr...

Mid-way through last year I watch Russell Brand’s THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES, a study of the inequality of wealth in the UK and the despicable greed of ‘The Big Banks’. I always love a good British to Yankee comparison, so THE BIG SHORT was top of my list to see. THE BIG SHORT is a true story following four outsiders in the world of high finance who not only predicted the credit and housing bubble ...

Sometimes you find a movie that is smart in its dumbness. DADDY’S HOME falls into this category….just. DADDY’S HOME follows step dad of the century Brad (a nerdy Will Ferrell) whose efforts to be the perfect new papa are thwarted by the return of the kiddies’ freewheeling father, Dusty (a buff Mark Wahlberg). Dusty is determined to win back the affection of his children – and ex wife. It’s a...

Based on real events from a century ago that still resonate today, SUFFRAGETTE adopts a cleverly fictionalised angle to explore the suffrage movement – a story that has, surprisingly, barely been explored on film before. My only exposure to the suffrage movement prior this flick was Mrs Banks in Disney’s MARY POPPINS (sing it with me now: “we’re clearly soldiers in petticoats! And dauntless ...