Category Archives: cinema

Movie Review: Higher Ground

Higher Ground will have limited appeal to those interested in how room for doubt and exploring the nature of faith is accommodated or otherwise within the boundaries of family life confined by fundamentalist brands of evangelical Christianity, All characters are portrayed sympathetically, even those who portray the most obviously flawed expressions of their faith. ThisContinue reading “Movie Review: Higher Ground”

The Guard: Movie Review

The Guard focuses on a maverick Irish cop based in  picturesque County Galway, where Gaelic is the language of preference. With a nod to more permissive times, a well known Anglo Saxon word  serves prolifically throughout the English dialogue. In fact the length of the script would be halved if the F-bomb were extracted. Brendan GleesonContinue reading “The Guard: Movie Review”

Red Dog – Movie Review

Here’s an Oz flick that literally champions the underdog! Red Dog is the monicker given to the red kelpie that mysteriously appears and adopts the good burghers of Dampier, a mining port  in WA’s hot Pilbara region. It is based on a true story of the 70s, and the era is faithfully depicted. A commemorativeContinue reading “Red Dog – Movie Review”

Monkeying Around with Genetics

Another cinematic prequel has arisen. Many may remember the fascination we had with the late 60s TV series and eventual movie Planet of the Apes.  The plot explored what it might be like to consider a kind of reversed evolution process, where humans were a subspecies to the intelligently superior ape. Rise of the Planet ofContinue reading “Monkeying Around with Genetics”

Beginning of the Great Revival – a movie review

This Chinese blockbuster had only one patron in the large Cinema 4 at the local multiplex this morning. This is the second time in a few weeks where I’ve been the sole customer – it says something about my choice of movies, I suppose! Large attendances in China, I am led to understand, are manipulatedContinue reading “Beginning of the Great Revival – a movie review”

Super 8 – a movie review

Not my normal pick – sci-fi with a lot of teenage angst thrown in. But it’s the late 70s and there’s enough nostalgia for the technology of the era to catch a baby-boomer’s attention. Directed by J J Abrams, it seems to have been inspired by the “coming of age” flicks of the era. IContinue reading “Super 8 – a movie review”

Of Gods and Men (2010) – a review

See synopsis at Of Gods and Men (2010) – IMDb. Having written earlier this week of “receptive ecumenism” and new cross-cultural invitations to work together, this film reminds us, in its beginnings, that this is an ancient idea. We see a small Christian monastic community living harmoniously and symbiotically within a small Islamic village. Medicine, hospitalityContinue reading “Of Gods and Men (2010) – a review”

Reviewing “Oranges & Sunshine”

The trouble with reviewing a film like Oranges & Sunshine, where one is familiar with locations and back-story, is that one can be overly critical over small detail and miss the thrust and drama of the narrative. It appeared that scenes purported to be Western Australian were filmed in South Australia. Was that a stobie poleContinue reading “Reviewing “Oranges & Sunshine””

Source Code: a movie review

I was feeling starved of movies and had a couple of hours free this morning. Source Code seemed the best of the crop at the local multiplex, although the synopsis looked as though I might be in for another version of Groundhog Day. Avoiding spoilers, this wasn’t far off the mark. It involved romance, andContinue reading “Source Code: a movie review”