Lesson Plan ★★ POLISH film Lesson Plan is a barely average action/drama. After a teacher tragically dies, his friend, who happens to be a former cop, takes over his old job in hopes of catching the people responsible for his murder. Damian promises the family he will investigate and ends […]

Little to learn from Lesson Plan

The Odessa File ★★★½ THRILLER The Odessa File, released in 1974, was another attempted star-making vehicle for Jon Voight. The American actor had made Midnight Cowboy and Deliverance but these were serious films. The Odessa File, based on a Frederick Forsyth best-selling novel, was overall more of an entertainment piece. […]

Lesser Forsyth adaptation still entertaining

Dune Part Two ★★★★½ WITH Dune, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, French/Canadian Denis Villeneuve had already stamped himself as one of the current best directors of science-fiction cinema. Dune Part Two seals this reputation, even surpassing the spectacular first instalment in some respects. This visual epic continues to tell the story within the […]

Dune saga on path to being one of the greats

Here Be Dragons ★★½ AUSTRALIAN writer/director Alastair Newton Brown’s debut feature is a promising first effort. Here Be Dragons was filmed in Serbia and tells the story of a war crimes investigator’s hunt for a Serbian war criminal. When we meet David Locke at the start of the film he […]

Promising debut by Oz director

Drive Away Dolls ★★½ WHILE I definitely don’t begrudge the Coen brothers delivering separate projects, they still do their best work together. Fargo, No Country for Old Men and Miller’s Crossing are genuine modern classics while the brothers’ more outright comedies are much revered. A year or so ago Joel […]

Coen brothers better together

The Passenger ★★½ LOW budget thriller The Passenger jumps out of the blocks with a compelling opening act. Our hero is kidnapped following a shocking incident at a fast food restaurant. But, rather than wanting a hostage, the kidnapper seems more interested in making his victim deal with the problems […]

Mixed ride with The Passenger

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves ★★★ YOU don’t have to a fan of the Dungeons and Dragons game to enjoy the latest film version, Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves In fact you probably don’t even need to know it is based on a game. It’s an entertaining medieval […]

Pine shines in fantasy romp

Megalomaniac ★★★ THE Belgian film Megalomaniac is an unusual exercise in presenting a tale of real-life horror. During the 1990s a serial killer dubbed the Butcher of Mons was responsible for several murders, leaving the remains of his victims in plastic bags along roadsides. The film is set years later […]

Belgian horror a disturbing exercise

Baghead ★★½ MANY debut horror films are based on a short film previously made by the same writer/director. One of the latest in this vein is Alberto Corredor’s Baghead, a feature length expansion of his 2017 short film. The cast, which includes veterans Peter Mullan and Ned Dennehy, is fine […]

Baghead a little too empty

Bob Marley: One Love ★★★ BOB Marley probably deserves a little better in his memory than the American biopic Bob Marley: One Love delivers. The Jamaican wasn’t just a good singer and songwriter; he was an inspirational figure to a generation and beacon for societal change in his native Jamaica […]

Marley biopic lacks depth

Madame Webb ★★½ I’M going to say it…Madame Web isn’t that bad. Yes, if you’re an MCU enthusiast or comic book film fan, this movie will be pretty forgettable. It provides backstory for some B-list superheroes, whom nobody really cares about anyway, and doesn’t progress the overall franchise narrative one […]

Madame Webb isn’t awful

Sexy Beast ★★★★ DON Logan is one of the greatest villains in film history. As played by Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, Logan is a force of nature at its most ferocious and chaotic. Even though you don’t see Logan carry out much violence, the constant threat is absolutely palpable. […]

Kingsley’s villain an agent of chaos