The New Boy ★★★½ WARWICK Thornton’s voice is a powerful and important one in Australian cinema. He has made three quite shattering films about the indigenous experience in Australia’s past and present, starting with Samson and Delilah in 2009 followed by 2017’s Sweet Country. His latest, The New Boy, is […]

Thornton’s voice a powerful one

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny  ★★★★ FRANCHISES typically don’t end to the satisfaction of most. Part of that is the film-makers having run out of energy and/or ideas, but also it’s partly due to the audience not wanting to acknowledge the end of their association with the characters. […]

Fitting sign-off for screen legend

My Name is Vendetta ★★★ ITS A halcyon period for film fans with streaming services offering a wealth of international genre films. Netflix, for example, is full of crime action and thriller films from across Europe, many of which wouldn’t have seen the darkness of an Australian cinema years ago. […]

Action heaven on streaming

The Covenant ★★★ IF YOU accept the saying ‘you’re only as good as your last film’ Guy Ritchie would be in trouble. Last year’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre was very average. But if you take his last three films – adding Wrath of Man and The Gentlemen – Richie […]

Richie attempting new tricks

You Hurt My Feelings ★★★ JULIA Louis-Dreyfuss and Nicole Holofcener have proven a strong pairing in two films now. Enough Said was a great adult romance from 2013, written and directed by Holofcener and starring Seinfeld alumni Louis-Dreyfuss alongside the sadly since departed James Gandolfini. Their new effort, You Hurt […]

Louis-Dreyfuss in her groove

Extraction 2 ★★★ THE 2020 Netflix release Extraction snuck up on many critics. Star Chris Hemsworth, writer Joe Russo and ex-stuntman director Sam Hargrove proved a winning combination and the American action film was a critical and commercial success. So of course we would get Extraction 2 which basically features […]

Extraction 2’s one-take highlight

Headhunters ★★★★ ANYONE who reads crime fiction will be familiar with the work of Norway’s Jo Nesbø. The prolific author has a way of creating anti-heroes almost as warped as the antagonists they are pursuing and twisting narratives that match the darkness of his characters. There have been film adaptations […]

Headhunters the best Nesbo attempt

To Catch A Killer ★★★ I’LL basically watch anything that Ben Mendelsohn  is in. The quintessential Australian actor was finally noticed by Hollywood in 2010 with his chilling performance in the crime drama Animal Kingdom. Throughout his rise over the past 13 years he has maintained a decent balance between […]

Not quite full Mendo

Strays  ★★★ EVER wondered what your dog really thinks of you? Chances are they will love you unconditionally, just like Reggie the Terrier in Strays. But, if you have no intention of reciprocating that love, and Bug the Boxer lays out the painful truth to your Reggie, look out. That’s […]

Who let the !@#$% dogs out

Two Minute Warning ★★★½ THE 1976 thriller Two Minute Warning will never be remade in its original form. I can state that with confidence for two reasons. Firstly, the straight-forward manner in which it presents a mass killing by sniper just can’t work today. Sniper sequences do happen in modern movies […]

Two Minute Warning an original only

One Shot ★★★ ONE Shot – the title says it all. The most impressive thing about 2021 British action thriller One Shot is the fact that it is actually presented as one continuous take. Director James Nunn has made a half-dozen action movie, most of which are little-known, straight-to-streaming affairs. So […]

Ambitious action in One Shot

SOMETIMES you’re allowed to expect a little bit more. Rob Savage made a good budge horror fil called The Host released in 2020. His next film, Dashcam from 2021, wasn’t for me but others lauded it. For The Boogeyman (2023) he was given a much bigger budget and a Stephen King […]

The Boogeyman disappoints