A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Rosie Jones, “The Family” (2016) For over 20 years, the quiet town of Eildon and the Melbourne suburb of Ferny Creek played host to a bizarre…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s Speech to Senior Officers of the Military Academy of General Staff, Moscow (23 March 2017) On 23 March 2017, Russian Foreign…
Rob Marshall, “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2002) Essentially a variation on the Cinderella story through Western stereotypes about geisha and their role and function in Japanese…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Zhang Yimou, “Hero” (2002) If one needs proof that a visually gorgeous film with a good cast can ultimately be undone and wasted by a demoralising…
Ben Wheatley, “High-Rise” (2015) British author J G Ballard’s novels and short stories are famous for their perceptive originality on the condition of 20th-century humankind and…
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, “Spring” (2014) A rather long and thin character study romance that’s equal parts comedy, drama and gore-blimey slimy body horror makes up…
George A Romero, “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) Made on a minuscule budget, George A Romero’s famous horror film is proof that a large pot…
Australian and New Zealand Films
John Pilger, “The Coming War on China” (2016) Two years in the making with literally a cast of thousands involved in crowd-funding it, Pilger’s “The Coming…
Peter Weir, “The Truman Show” (1998) Once in a while Hollywood releases a film that encapsulates philosophical ideas about the purpose of life and the human…
French and French-language Films
Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, “Une Vie de Chat / A Cat in Paris” (2010) Some kitties are happy to spend their hours traipsing from one…