Digging For Fire (2015)

On the surface, Digging For Fire doesn’t diverge significantly from the previous Joe Swanberg flicks I’ve seen. It’s populated by funny, attractive actors (the likes of Brie Larson, Orlando Bloom, Chris Messina, Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell) casually the shooting the shit (often in various states of undress). Pretty much everyone is on the boundary…

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

There are two Pitch Perfects in Pitch Perfect 2. The first Pitch Perfect is pretty much the Pitch Perfect you’d expect – the first one all over again. This Pitch Perfect takes the Ghostbusters approach to sequels, by repeating all the same beats and bits note for note. All female a capella group the Barden…

Chris Pine in Into the Woods (2014)

Into the Woods (2014)

Musicals and I have never really been on the same wavelength. As a child I can vividly recall watching Disney classics like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and sinking in my seat when the inevitable musical numbers began. That antipathy remains, decades later. The first film I was assigned to review…

Happy Christmas (2014)

Sydney Film Festival: Happy Christmas (2014)

Improvisational comedy is fast becoming the norm. Whether it’s This is the End, Bad Neighbours or Anchorman 2, the construction is the same: narrative skeleton to keep the audience interested interspersed with some carefully-honed gags and a lot of loose improvisation, edited into something tighter. I’m not complaining, mind; I love the shooting-shit-with-your-mates vibe of…

50/50 (2011)

The producers of 50/50 had the unenviable task of turning a surprise cancer diagnosis into a light-hearted comedy (based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s own experiences with cancer), and for the most part they’ve done a good job. Appropriately, given the title, 50/50 spends half its time as a hang-out comedy (focusing on Joseph Gordon-Levitt as…