Triple 9 (2016)

Modern day cops and robbers tales are all about blurring the lines between criminal and authority, which makes it a perfect fit for John Hillcoat, well known for his fascination with villians and anti-heroes. It’s a pity then that Hillcoat shortchanges himself with Triple 9, squeezing a three-hour story into a two-hour movie, and sacrificing…

Steve Jobs (2015)

Full credit to Aaron Sorkin; with Steve Jobs he manages to solve the structural problems plaguing most biopics, which struggle to accommodate the scope of a human life in a neat three act narrative. How? By literally structuring the film as three acts – three product launches – across which we come to know our…

The Dressmaker (2015)

The Dressmaker follows Myrtle Dunnage (Kate Winslet), returning from Paris to the town she grew up in, where her mother “Mad Molly” (Judy Davis) has all but lost her memory. She has to face the realisation that she may have murdered a young boy as a child, and even though she does not recall the…

Critical Dissent: Debating Insurgent with Alexandra Donald

Insurgent, the first sequel of the dystopian young adult series that began with last year’s Divergent, hasn’t exactly been welcomed with open arms by the critical community. It’s currently sitting at 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, with widespread accusations that it’s little more than a cut-rate Hunger Games clone. I’m not entirely convinced by that argument,…

Insurgent (2015)

On the surface, Insurgent appears to be a substantial upgrade to Divergent. The cast is fleshed out with the likes of Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer, we’ve got a new director (Robert Schwentke, responsible for The Time Traveller’s Wife and, uh, R.I.P.D.) and we’ve even moved to the third dimension. Visually, we’ve definitely stepped things…

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (2008)

Revolutionary Road (2008)

I don’t like to read books before watching their cinematic adaptations, because I tend to come down more harshly on the film due to the baggage of expectations. Such is the case with Sam Mendes’ interpretation of Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road. The strength of novel is that its critique of fifties suburbia is elevated by…

Commentary: The Literal Objectification of Women – How Her, Solaris and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Examine Gender Dynamics

[Note: this article contains spoilers for Her, Solaris and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] I’ve been thinking about Spike Jonze’s Her a lot lately. My review focused on the film’s romanticism, describing it as more a love story than “some thesis on relationships or futurism.” I stand by that statement; Her’s success stems from…