One of the biggest surprises of this year’s Oscars’ nominations was Room, which picked up largely-unexpected nods for Best Picture and Best Director. Even Lenny Abrahamson, Room’s director, was surprised by his inclusion on the list (at the expense of Ridley Scott, if the pundits are to be believed). Abrahamson – who broke through with…
Given how much of my spare time I spend watching movies, it’s probably for the best that I very rarely hate films. Oh, sure, there’re plenty of movies that I find disappointing, uneven or simply boring, but generally I can find something to like. So it was with some surprise that I found myself overcome…
“Where are you going!?” “Nowhere.” Australian director Sue Brooks takes a prismatic approach to Looking for Grace, a tale of family, infidelity and theft told from a variety of perspectives. It’s not quite Rashomon, though. Fractured, non-linear narratives rely on the strength of their individual storylines as well as the whole, whether aiming for ‘everything’s…
Filmed in Supermarionation is a modest documentary about the production companies responsible for – amongst other series forgotten to anyone who isn’t old and British – Thunderbirds. Talking heads recount from the ramshackle early days of the studio (involving flagrantly terrible puppetry from amateurs who knew no better) all the way up to post-Thunderbirds series…
There was a heaviness in the air when I put on The Grey Blu-Ray. It was Monday night; not long after the news of Bowie’s death, not long after a friend’s father had passed away. The air was warped by the weight of the precariousness of life, particularly given my own circumstances; I was visiting my parents…
Over at Junkee I’ve written about Making a Murderer, examining how the series manipulates viewers and how, ultimately, those manipulations are in service of a good cause – reinforcing the presumption of innocence. Generally, this is where I’d conclude a repost here on ccpopculture; a quick gesture to the piece which should theoretically speak for…
Tom Hooper might’ve made a great painter. Like the protagonists of his latest film, Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander), he has an eye for colour and composition that produces some memorable images. But cinema is about more than striking individual images; it’s about, among many other things, how images combine and…
Brian De Palma’s films are an acquired taste. That’s especially apparent with Body Double, an uninviting experience for those unfamiliar with the director with plenty to offer those who’ve come around to his distinctive style. As a straightforward (and rather lurid) thriller, it’s somewhat unsatisfactory, hamstrung by its inherent implausibility and its leading man’s anti-charisma.…
“Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry.” The above quote appears roughly midway through The Big Short, Adam McKay’s star-studded, irreverent take on 2008’s global financial crisis. It’s an effective encapsulation of a film that operates as the rare piece of ‘edutainment’ that’s both legitimately educational and entertaining while providing a self-reflexive…
By any ‘objective’ measure, People Places Things has a terrible screenplay. It’s a romantic comedy almost completely bereft of comedy. It centres its entire first act on the challenges of being a single father – with cartoonist/teacher Will (Jemaine Clement) frantically dashing his twin daughters between work and home and school – before jettisoning any…
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