Category Archives: cinema

Hereafter – Film Review

The unknown matter of death continues to fascinate us, whether or not we form our view from a religious, spiritual or nihilist perspective. This film, directed by Clint Eastwood, weaves together the disparate stories of three characters, all intimately touched by death in different ways. Rising French career journalist, Marie Le Lay, survives the 2004Continue reading “Hereafter – Film Review”

True Grit – a Review

I don’t know if the Coen brothers intended it, but their remake of the 1968 Charles Portis novel made famous by John Wayne plays out like the conflicted symbiosis of  Freud’s id, ego and superego. The self-assured 14 year old Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) confidently represents the ego – self-aware and able to negotiate what sheContinue reading “True Grit – a Review”

The King’s Speech – a reflection

Jenny and I joined a theatre full of baby-boomers to take in The King’s Speech, an art movie that is giving the holiday blockbusters a run for their money. The tension is set when Australian iconoclasm meets the brittle straitjacket of the cultural accoutrement that had built up around the British Crown and ther establishment thatContinue reading “The King’s Speech – a reflection”

“Creation” – a human face for Charles Darwin

The publication of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of the Species” became a lightning rod for conflict between theists and non-theists alike that lasts to this day. Both are treated sympathetically in this exploratory dramatisation of Darwin’s home life and the struggle that surrounded his work. Against a background of the harshness of polarised positions, oneContinue reading ““Creation” – a human face for Charles Darwin”

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli joins the current spate of post-apocalyptic films, perhaps riding high on the uncertainty of the times. Is the strong violence gratuitous or meant to give expression to the ultimate manifestation of dog-eat-dog society? Are the motives behind hunger for possession of the sacred book aimed at self-aggrandisement or service  of others?Continue reading “The Book of Eli”

Movie Review: Frost/Nixon

I was in my early twenties during the Nixon years, and being half a world away, was only vaguely aware of the implications of the Watergate scandal. Thirty years later, having viewed Frost/Nixon, I recognise having gained a certain amount of understanding through hindsight.  The film takes some dramatic license as it describes some behind the scenesContinue reading “Movie Review: Frost/Nixon”

“Australia” the Movie – Kitsch or Epic?

No doubt about it – this reviewer has mixed reactions to Australia, the movie. The characters and plot devices are exaggerated caricatures of all that has been classic in cinematography and depictions of this land. At one level it comes across as a kind of “Gone with the Wind Down Under” – and in the meantimeContinue reading ““Australia” the Movie – Kitsch or Epic?”

Burn after Reading: Review

Well, it’s a Coen Brothers production, and that generally means it will be different. I went along to this with heart in mouth because we had recommended it as a high school chaplaincy fund-raiser. Many of the people I was with were senior genteel church folk, and, since booking the theatre, intelligence was coming inContinue reading “Burn after Reading: Review”