Capote director Bennett Miller demonstrates how to take a potentially cheese-ridden real life sports story and turn it into a sharp and compelling drama, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Film reviews
Midnight in Paris — Woody Allen’s blissful stroll through cinematic yesteryear
Woody Allen’s enchanting rumination on art, romance and writing, Midnight in Paris, is the prolific 75-year-old writer/director’s best film in many years, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Our Idiot Brother movie review: not so dumb
As a character study the new film Our Idiot Brother is wonderful. As an ensemble piece about a disconnected family it fares less well but still endears, says Luke Buckmaster.
Anonymous — butchering the Bard
Director Roland Emmerich, renown for making big budget disaster pics, turns his wrecking ball towards English literature in this soporific film about how Shakespeare was a fraud, writes Luke Buckmaster.
In Time — Timberlake and Seyfried star in out of sync SCI-FI
The latest film from writer/director Andrew Niccol is an on-the-run SCI-FI starring Justin Timberlake and
Amanda Seyfried. It’s got an interesting premise but Niccol’s execution is clunky, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Contagion — cold, clinical and compelling
Matt Damon heads an impressive cast in director Steven Soderbergh’s disaster pic Contagion, which attempts to realistically explore the consequences — political and otherwise — of a global-wide super disease, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The Thing — frosty ET-infused thrills
Director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr’s unofficial remake of John Carpenter’s ET-on-ice classic The Thing has more gore and less suspense but still achieves a compelling level of psychological intensity, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Burning Man — must-see Australian drama
Writer/director Jonathan Teplitzky offsets the grimness of making a film about overcoming grief by loading it with sassy risque elements. Burning Man is a gutsy drama and a must-see Aussie film, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Red State and Take Shelter: two ripper new films
This week two scorching new films arrive in Australian cinemas: Kevin Smith’s horrific political/religious commentary Red State and Jeff Nichols’s must-see psychological mind bend Take Shelter, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Dancing with metaphor: why Footloose is a commentary on the war on drugs
The new Footloose, irrespective of its cheesy dialogue, cut-out characters and overall air of giddy celebration, is now a relatively sophisticated commentary on the war on drugs, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The Cup: slumping over the finishing line
Luke Buckmaster was hobnobbing with the rich and the horses at the premiere of new Aussie film The Cup. Sadly the free booze beforehand was the best bit of the movie…
Real Steel movie review — straight to the junkyard
Hugh Jackman’s latest bout of small-minded big budget balderdash is a boxing movie in which the boxers are robots and the human characters are clumsily written and portrayed, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Crazy, Stupid, Love — Steve Carell’s test run to triumph
Comedian Steve Carell’s endeavour to complete the transition from laugh-maker to credible dramatic performer continues in this pleasant ensemble drama that bites off a little more than it can chew, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Abducted — stolen time
Taylor “that other guy from Twilight” Lautner scores his first starring role as an on-the-run knucklehead in this daft, dull and monotonous action “thriller”, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The Cave of Forgotten Dreams — eerily beautiful
The title might sound like pretentious gobbledgook, but there is no doubting the fascinating uniqueness of filmmaker Werner Herzog’s quasi-mystical archeological documentary, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Fright Night — regurgitated blood sucking cinema
The blood and garlic splattered territory of Fright Night is revisited in this spirited remake starring a frostily charismatic Colin Farrell as a 400-year-old vampire, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The Smurfs movie review — Smurfing awful
Any movie that follows the creative template outlined by Alvin and the Chipmunks has more than a few wrongs to right. And there is an awful lot wrong with director Raja Gosnell’s big screen adaptation of The Smurfs, writes Luke Buckmaster.
The Change-Up — thumbs down
The Change-Up is a body switch comedy in the gimmicky tradition of films like Dating the Enemy and Freaky Friday. The jokes rely on crass throwaway moments and the screenplay is cloyingly sentimental, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Red State — Kevin Smith breaks bad
Writer/director Kevin Smith delivers a late career bolt from the blue with Red State, a shockingly sacrilegious scary movie about an extreme right wing church’s nefarious practices, writes Luke Buckmaster
Horrible Bosses — slightly mismanaged
Director Seth Gordon’s blokey comedy about three buddies united by contempt for their bosses has a premise audiences will either instantly relate to or feel damn fortunate that they don’t, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Priest — sloppy sin-ema
A sombre-faced Paul Bettany channels the dramatic intensity of Wilson the volleyball in his starring role as a vampire-slaying missionary in Priest, a scattered-brained monster movie with a faux religious twist, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Daily Proposition: A thrilling look at F1′s king
You don’t need to like formula one motor racing to appreciate this spectacular documentary on the life of Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna, says freelance writer Andrew Rankin.
A Serbian Film — morally irredeemable
The controversial and gratuitous A Serbian Film was banned this week in South Australia and released on DVD everywhere else. It will make even the most liberal cinephiles want to wash their eyes out, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Re-entering The Grid: revisiting Tron
Its retina-burning visual makeup instantly made Tron the stuff of cinematic legend, but is Disney’s 1982 cyber SCI-FI deserving of its status as a classic? Luke Buckmaster finds out in this week’s installment of Classic or Clunker?
Daily Proposition: Make friends with a modern rom-com
The dialogue could be bouncier, the plot a little sharper, but if you buy into the central relationship, Friends With Benefits plays unexpectedly well.
