Sian

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: If there’s one genre of film I am really excited about, it’s animation.  Seriously. Having arguably evolved more than any other type of film in the last twenty years, animation has thrived as technology has developed. But it’s not just technologically that these cartoon creations have progressed.  With each generation children become better media readers...

Every now and then you see a film that is made with a tonne of heart – UNINDIAN is one of those movies. So many of the Aussie films I’ve watched lately have gone down the ‘dark and gritty’ line, making Australia out to be a black hole of underworld crime. It’s refreshing to watch a movie at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Set in sunny Sydney, UNINDIAN follows Will, a typical Aussie guy-...

As per my tradition, I avoided all media on BLACK MASS prior to the screening. I hadn’t watched the trailer or read a synopsis – literally all I knew about the film was that Johnny Depp looked ugly in it. In fact, I was so good at avoiding all BLACK MASS info, I didn’t even realise it was based on a true story ‘til I got there. It’s a fun way of going to the cinema! BLACK MASS tells the story of W...

I saw the trailer for PEOPLE PLACES THINGS months back and it appealed to my sense of humour immediately. Yet, being a festival film, I expected the chances of an Aussie release were probably slim. I mentally catalogued it as one of those films I’d never get to see unless my local Blockbuster got more creative, or I manage to remember what on earth my iTunes password is… thankfully, I was wrong. P...

I can’t help but feel a little perplexed by the Aussie film industry and it’s fascination with crime. Is Australia riddled with this dark underworld I’m oblivious to? It all seems like sunshine, lollipops and rainbows to me. Plus, I like to think we’ve progressed a little since our convict roots….but maybe I’m just being naïve. CUT SNAKE follows  “Sparra” (Alex Russell) your typical Aussie-battler...

You gotta admire Adam Sandler; he’s had maybe five critically well received films since 1990 (he’s appeared in roughly 50 movies in that time) yet every year he keeps coming back with more. He has to be the most resilient – or stubborn – man on the planet. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Critics don’t always get it right, and this is the case with Sandler’s latest offering PIXELS....

In my teens, quirky ‘coming of age’ films were my movie of choice.  I ate them for breakfast, lunch and tea. So you could say I’m quite critical of the genre…. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL tells of Greg Gaines, an awkward high school senior whose secret to success is staying detached from everyone. He is forced to abandon this winning tactic when his mother insists he spend time with a girl in h...

I’ve never been less excited to go to the movies…but appearances can be deceiving. I wasn’t sold on the trailer for THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.  I couldn’t decide whether it looked clichéd, classy or cheesy…. or perhaps a bit of all three? Needless to say, I wasn’t overly excited to be attending the media screening. Lucky for me I was very pleasantly surprised. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E is an origin stor...

A small group of survivors in post-apocalyptic Australia seek shelter from a zombie-esque infection that has spread like a plague….sure; the story sounds familiar, but don’t write it off just yet. Screening at this year’s Revelation Perth International Film Festival is homegrown flick PLAGUE. Shot in Victoria, it is the directorial debut of Nick Kozakis and Kosta Ouzas who get oodles of brownie po...

I like Russell Brand. I like Michael Winterbottom…and I like capitalism. So THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES was a must-see in my book. Would the Brand and Winterbottom combo be able to dissuade me from my capitalist ideals? THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES is a documentary looking at the growing disparity of wealth between the economic classes (specifically in the UK, but the same principles could be applied t...

The lead up to MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was littered with disappointment. First the news that Mel Gibson would not return (I was totally up for a grisly old warrior), then the move from an Aussie location shoot to Africa…. I felt like our iconic post-apocalyptic series was slipping away from us. So how does the finished product fare? Much debate has surrounded this new installment. Was new Max, Tom Hard...

I hated myself for liking the first film and was reluctant to watch the second….so how does PITCH PERFECT 2 fare? PITCH PERFECT is the bane of every singing teacher’s existence, leading children around the world to ‘channel their inner pop star’ singing in moany, nasal voices with ill-advised vocal acrobatics. Coming from a musical background, for this reason alone I despised the idea of the first...