Monsters University is a very funny film. There is an abundance of visual humour, but the writing is sharp too.
Film
REVIEW: Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach – 2013)
Frances Ha arrives with a refreshing amount of buoyancy to dance and charm its way through Quarter Life Crisis territory.
REVIEW: Mud (Jeff Nichols – 2012)
Mud is a loose amalgamation of Stand By Me and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (but minus all the slavery).
REVIEW: You’re Next (Adam Wingard – 2012)
Amongst a vocal and entertained crowd, this reviewer did not get a kick out this home invasion slasher.
REVIEW: BYZANTIUM (Neil Jordan – 2013)
Byzantium is the best feminist film you will see this year. Yes, go off and chortle into your tea. I’ll wait. You back? Good, lets continue. It’s as much of a feminist film as it…
REVIEW: The Purge (James DeMonaco – 2013)
Unfortunately The Purge is like that hot guy (or girl) that asks for your number but never calls: the concept is exciting and promising, the reality is a let down.
REVIEW: World War Z (Marc Forster – 2013) – 2nd Opinion
For a film to be based on such an acclaimed novel and to start so strongly, the biggest disappointment stems from its ability to conjure up everything we’ve already seen before.
REVIEW: Prince Avalanche [Sydney Film Festival]
[A] wonderfully executed tale of broken masculinity and unlikely friendship is strange and unforgettable.
REVIEW: For Those In Peril [Sydney Film Festival]
For Those in Peril is a visceral and complex psychological drama with an emotional intensity that continually keeps a viewer guessing.
REVIEW: World War Z (Marc Forster – 2013)
I found it to be a frighteningly visceral portrayal of a ‘Zombie-pocalypse’ in the vein of a scientific disaster film.
REVIEW: The History Of Future Folk (Jeremy Kipp Walker and John Mitchell – 2013)
Every now and then there’s a film that comes completely out of nowhere and surprises the fuck out of you. I’m talking flicks like Black Dynamite, Junebug, Eagle Vs Shark, Paper Heart and Safety Not Guaranteed. They’re small, sure, but there’s something about them that transcends the limitations of an indie film and sees it projected into that cult list of movies that only the cool people who roll their own cigarettes at parties know about. The History of Future Folk is one such film.
REVIEW: For Those In Peril [Sydney Film Festival]
For Those in Peril exceeds the promise of its lurking, murky set-up and heralds Wright’s arrival as a formidable new director.
REVIEW: The Way Way Back [Sydney Film Festival]
As one hilarious line blurs into the next hilarious line the festival audience’s waves of laughter overwhelmed the sound.
REVIEW: Upstream Color (Shane Carruth – 2013)
It’s a sumptuous enigma that’s intricately constructed and a beautifully shot film that would make Terrence Malick blush.
REVIEW: Fast & Furious 6 (Justin Lin – 2013)
Much like The Rock’s neck, the cast’s talent is missing.
REVIEW: Monsters University (2013)
Monsters University is fun, warm, subtly inspirational and proof that prequels can be done right.
REVIEW: Wadjda [Sydney Film Festival]
Beautifully crafted, admirably honest and unwaveringly optimistic, Wadjda, tells a sweet and uplifting tale of the earnest belief in life’s potential and teenage independence within a strict conservative culture.
REVIEW: The Act of Killing [Sydney Film Festival]
Documentary cinema has a new apex.
REVIEW: Museum Hours [Sydney Film Festival]
As one observes the fine details of a painting, writer/director Jem Cohen studies everyday Vienna and the core friendship of his latest feature, Museum Hours, with a pleasant sense of naturalism.
REVIEW: STOKER [Sydney Film Festival]
Stoker is a wonderfully directed gripping psychological thriller and the first English-language film by the great South Korean master Park Chan-Wook (Joint Security Area, Oldboy). Written for the screen by Wentworth Miller (best known as…
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FIVE STAR FILMS
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FIVE STAR FILMS #52: The Craft (1996)
t’s (arguably) the definitive movie about witches. Sure, Hocus Pocus was fun and sure, The Witches was creepy (nobody mention Practical Magic) BUT The Craft had every teenage girl in the nineties wanting to play light as a feather, stiff as a board at their next sleepover. It was cool, it was creepy and it was cult. It ceaselessly became a 90s classic. In the name of Manon, we look at why. Read more →
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FIVE STAR FILMS #51: The Master (2012)
(Editorial note): Months ago Nick and I were in an email exchange about whether or not we wanted a FIVE STAR FILM entry for The Master. At the time I resisted, I thought that it need Read more →
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FIVE STAR FILMS #50: The Insider (1999)
Mann’s specific cultural and historic origins are illustrated in the formal qualities and thematic philosophy of the ‘70s and this is represented directly through his characters (Bergman particularly in this film). During the 1968-1980 period American films began to speak about different hallmarks of the deconstruction of the American image, and especially the crisis of masculinity. Read more →
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FIVE STAR FILMS #49: The Descendants (2011)
It's a rare bird of a film that can elevate itself so distinctly between a first and second viewing to make a reviewer back-flip on their original estimations. The Descendants is such a film. Read more →
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FIVE STAR FILMS #48: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
"one of the greatest sci-fi action films ever made: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" Read more →
Latest Features
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INTERVIEW: Marc Forster (Director of World War Z and Quantum of Solace)
Last week I was lucky enough to be involved with four other journalists in a roundtable junket interview with the director of World War Z, Marc Forster. We fired off a couple of questions each and this is what Marc had to say about the film.
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Blake Howard’s Sydney Film Festival 2013 Diary Days 1-6
Here's some very informal, experiential musings of the 60th Sydney Film Festival - my 3rd.
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INTERVIEW: Catriona McKenzie (Director of Satellite Boy)
Catriona McKenzie is the writer/director of Satellite Boy, her award-winning debut feature, set to have a national release through Hopscotch Films on June 20.
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GWP Roundtable: What’s your favourite film adapted from a novel?
Baz Luhrmann’s version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has been released in Australia and it’s going to be a tough sell with fans of the novel, and the same goes with all adaptations.
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Alicia Malone’s Cannes Diary: Day 10
As my alarm jolted me awake this morning, five thoughts went through my head in quick succession. One: Have they done studies on how little sleep can a person survive on? Two: Am I the case study?? Three: When I get back to LA, I’m so doing a juice cleanse. Four: Oh god, that sounded really LA. Five: I wonder how early the crepe place opens?