While its plot and thickly layered Australiana are a little clichéd, Runt, from director John Sheedy, is still a very sweet, charming family film that represents another instalment in the ‘amazing animal’ film sub-genre. The title character (played by a dog named Squid) is a stray terrier who lives in the fictitious remote Australian town of Upson Downs. Having just
Read moreFor some, June Squibb will be best remembered as Bruce Dern’s long-suffering wife in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, or Sheldon’s flinty grandma in The Big Bang Theory. She’s been acting in movies since 1990 but the uneven yet touching comedy Thelma is her first leading role. Squibb plays the 90-something title character who’s still adjusting to life after her husband’s death.
Read moreStrange Darling is guaranteed to be a favourite of those who enjoy blood-soaked cinema. While it’s certainly violent and confronting, it’s also inventive in the way it gleefully plays with the conventions of the serial killer film and with audience expectations. Written and directed by JT Mollner, the film cleverly goads us into thinking in a certain way about the
Read moreThe eccentric, super rich tech entrepreneur has become a strange 21st Century icon. It should come as no surprise that one should figure as the central character in an oddball Hollywood movie. Writer/ director Zoe Kravitz’ darkly comic, at times disturbing but derivative and underweight mystery thriller Blink Twice, features one such figure in a story that has creepy resonances
Read moreIt Ends With Us adapts Colleen Hoover’s highly successful 2016 novel to the big screen. Going into this film I wasn’t familiar with the novel and based on the trailer, had some trepidation that it would be a generic romantic drama. There are familiar elements here, as well as a few clunky moments but it was a more affecting film
Read moreWriter/ Director M. Night Shyamalan has become a strange addiction for filmgoers. After the first magical rush of The Sixth Sense 25 years ago, we’ve been chasing that cinematic high ever since… but it has never come. Some of his films have started promisingly, featured some novel ideas and contained inventive visuals but they’ve invariably given way to glaring tonal
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