Author: Richard Gray
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Paramount Super Bowl Spots 2011
For non-sport fans, the US Super Bowl is a place to catch all the latest big-budget commercials, check for wardrobe malfunctions and perhaps hear a diva making a hash of the US national anthem. For film fans, there is always the added bonus of getting an early look at some of the US summer blockbusters…
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Review: Rabbit Hole
After successfully adapting his off-Broadway play into his debut feature film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell went quiet for a few years. As the writer/director/star of the cult hit, following up the musical film was always going to be challenging, so instead he chose to challenge audiences with his 2006 effort Shortbus. Labelled…
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The Next Three Days
Since pulling off one of the greatest Oscars upsets in recent history, writer, director and producer Paul Haggis has kept a relatively low profile. After his race relations drama Crash controversially trumped Ang Lee’s lyrical Brokeback Mountain for best picture in 2006 (taking out editing and original screenplay awards as well), his cinematic output has…
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Faster
Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson graduated from a small part in The Mummy Returns to a starring role in series spin-off The Scorpion King and hasn’t looked back. Yet the past few years have seen him follow in the footsteps of Vin Diesel and Arnold Schwarzenegger into the family friendly films, from the updated version of Get Smart to…
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Sanctum
REVIEW: If you are having trouble sleeping, try drowning yourself. If that fails, see Sanctum.
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Vale John Barry (1933 – 2011)
A spy walks into view, framed by the barrel of a gun. He is underscored by a distinctively familiar tune, a few bars of strings at first, foreshadowing something big. The spy swings and fires, and the screen is filled with red as the brass band kicks in. This is, of course, the opening to the James…
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Catfish
Real or fake? It doesn’t really matter, as the tale that unfolds is such an intriguing reminder of the dangers of living in the 21st century.
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Shaolin
Despite a brief renaissance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Chinese film (and in particular, martial arts) has been strangely absent from Australian cinema screens over the last few years. Not since the world’s love affair with Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – which in turn led to wide releases of Hero and…
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Mad Bastards
While there have certainly been some big hits at the Australian box office over the last few years, it is difficult to translate the success of local produce to the international stage. It could be that the local focus of many Australian films may not appeal to international audiences, already inundated by the might of…
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Burlesque
It seems as though it is barely possible to release a pop record in the 21st century without also have a three-picture deal in the bag. Following in the footsteps of Britney Spears and Mandy Moore, former Mousketeer Christina Aguilera (or Xtina if you prefer) eyes Hollywood in Burlesque. Having already made her mark on…
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