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Adelaide director Sophie Hyde further cements her international reputation with her latest film – a comedy-drama starring British Oscar winner Emma Thompson that is screening at this month’s online-only Sundance Film Festival.
Film & TV
From small marvels and festival gems to blockbuster movies with big-name stars, our regular film reviewer highlights some of the best movies of 2021 – and a few highly anticipated upcoming new releases.
Film & TV
Filmmaker Joel Coen’s fresh take on Shakespeare’s tale of madness and murder is a haunting, monochromatic production starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.
Far from the uninspired, soap-opera-style representation in many early films about Princess Diana’s life, the new biopic Spencer – starring Kristen Stewart – shows her as a a doomed gothic heroine trapped in a frozen Sandringham setting.
Based on a novel by Italian author Elena Ferrante, actor Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut sees a seaside holiday become the setting for an unexpected and engaging psychological unravelling.
Hallmark can be held responsible for many of the tropes of Christmas films – from snow and crackling fires, to holiday romances and happy ever after. But other streaming services are getting in on the act with feel-good festive fodder.
Wes Anderson takes his intricate storytelling style to dizzying new heights in his homage to New Yorker-style journalism.
Oscar-winning director Jane Campion’s first film in 12 years is a dark and unnerving western featuring unforgettable performances from a cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Film & TV
From his first film roles in the 1970s through to recent times, David Dalaithngu’s impact as both an actor and leader was far-reaching, writes Professor of Indigenous Studies Bronwyn Carlson: ‘He was an actor who could not be constrained.’
Film & TV
Director Denis Villeneuve’s breathtaking adaptation of Dune shows that Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 science-fiction novel was not ‘unfilmable’ after all.
Music is once again the key in Baby Driver director Edgar Wright’s latest film – a neon thriller where haunted imaginings and reality collide.
Based on a real-life story first shared in an epic Twitter thread that went viral, Zola is a high-octane ride that proves eye-popping on a number of levels.
In her new ABC TV comedy Preppers, playwright, screenwriter and actor Nakkiah Lui explores the good times, the bad times, and the end times.
Daniel Craig’s highly anticipated last Bond movie finally opens in Australian cinemas this week – our reviewer gives her verdict.
Film & TV
This year’s British Film Festival may be the best yet, with highlights including Kenneth Branagh’s love letter to his home town, a time-warp fantasy starring Anya Taylor-Joy of The Queen’s Gambit, and a ’70s line-up featuring cult classic A Clockwork Orange.
Film & TV
Prequels are risky. Playing around with the origins of something that already exists in popular culture, in this case the long-running gangster saga The Sopranos headed by murderer-in-chief Tony Soprano, can be indulgent. So does it work?
SA Film Corp chair Peter Hanlon will walk away from the board to pursue a business partnership with city-based arts and entertainment hub Light Adelaide.
Real weapons are sometimes needed for movie scenes but safety protocols should prevent the kind of tragedy that occurred on Alec Baldwin’s film set, write two Australian filmmakers who have worked with firearms.
A searing portrait of a marriage in strife reflects a recurring theme in this year’s Italian Film Festival, which also celebrates influential filmmaker Roberto Rossellini and screen goddesses including Sophie Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.
Mercury Cinema is offering a rare opportunity to see influential Asian filmmaker Wong Kar Wai’s movies on the big screen with the week-long retrospective Love and Neon. Our reviewer soaked in the beauty of two of his signature films: In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express.
Director Justin Kurzel goes where many filmmakers would fear to tread with his chilling new film – tracing events in killer Martin Bryant’s life leading up to the Port Arthur massacre.
Australia’s catastrophic Black Summer bushfires are the inspiration for a new six-part ABC drama that co-creator Tony Ayres and actor Hunter Page-Lochard say focuses on the stories of heartache and heroism of ordinary people caught up in the disaster.
Nicolas Cage makes a return to the type of interesting movies he was known for earlier in his career with a beautifully filmed story about a former city chef living in the wilderness whose rustic life is uprooted when his beloved truffle pig is stolen.
Steeped in a small-town reality with swirling latent violence, this indie gem tells a riveting story about a marriage in trouble which one partner wants to save more than the other.
Streaming services are full of retro viewing opportunities, but this is one ground-breaking crime drama that arguably still surpasses anything made since.
Be warned: This series is not family viewing. But it is extraordinary and wildly innovative.
These three offbeat – and off-the-beaten-track – series, all hosted by comedians and free to stream, will take you from the back streets of Havana to the Scottish Highlands.
In the midst of the COVID crisis, Kiwi post-pandemic comedy series Creamerie might be just what the doctor ordered – especially if she was a proponent of alternative medicine of the madcap kind.
