ideological technicalities: ‘the big four’ vs. the artist
One may accuse the noughties of many things, or perhaps of nothing at all. Being still too similar to the current decade, a lack of distance renders our target as highly ambiguous. Despite this, there are particular omnipotent forces whose influence was just so great that we are able, at this juncture, to comment upon [...]
soaps and low standards
Do we have low standards? The past few weeks have had us questioning the popularity (or lack thereof) of Australian film, literature and culture generally. There’s talk of us still subscribing to ‘Cultural Cringe’, and failing to value Australian cultural products. This analysis has been largely related to film and literature, but does it apply [...]
film review: hugo
Set in 1930s France, Hugo is the story of an orphan boy living in a Parisian train station. Having learned the trade of a clockmaker from his father, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) spends his days winding the station’s clocks, stealing food from stalls and evading the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). On the side he [...]
advance australian film (a documentary)
While Australia has produced an array of highly acclaimed features over the years, interest in Australian Cinema has been experiencing a steady decline. It’s been over 20 years since Baz Luhrman’s Strictly Ballroom (1992) reached number one at the Australian Box Office, and no other Australian film has reached these heights in audience engagement since. As an independent [...]
bechdel taser: taking the oscar bait
The first time I remember taking the bait was 2001. But I suppose what I really did was eat a bunch of bread, then find out later that fish will also eat that. Moulin Rouge was everything a barely ten-year-old with big dreams and a big stereo could ask for: bright colours, pop music, video [...]
film review: the descendants
This year’s winner of the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture- Drama, The Descendants is the story of Matt King (George Clooney), a lawyer whose extended family inherited large amounts of land on Hawaii from their ancestors. His wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) has just been in a boating accident that has left her in coma. As King [...]
bechdel taser: the muppets
My friend was super psyched to see The Muppets, simply because she really likes The Muppets. My own reasoning is more complicated. I can draw everything in my life back to Buffy. Often in writing these columns I will wonder whether I should bring up the connection to Buffy which I noticed in a nanosecond. [...]
celluloid relapse: the bitter tears of petra von kant
John Waters, spokesman-in-chief for housewives, suburban boredom and Baltimore itself, is well known to us all as the cultural monarch of the weird and perfectly wonderful. Infinitely notorious, a large portion of his oeuvre remains inaccessible to our more ‘conscientious’ citizens but for those among us who apparently remain wanting as far as a conscience [...]
film: snowtown – it tells more than just a story
Australian cinema in 2011 was dominated by Snowtown; the controversial cinematic depiction of the ‘Bodies in the Barrel’ case that is known as Australia’s worst and most infamous serial killings. Having only recently viewed the film, all I can say is that it’s the most disturbing film I have ever seen… and I’ve seen some [...]
film: moonlight cinema
Moonlight Cinema is back! Held every Summer from December through to March in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, a film under the stars is guaranteed to be an enjoyable experience for the whole family. This season kicked off with a preview of the critically acclaimed film The Descendants, starring, co-written and directed by George [...]
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