Review

By Elizabeth Mizon. Why, in our democracy-obsessed society, do we balk at the idea of economic democracy in our workplaces? Why do we – the majority of us wage-reliant labourers, working in organisations we have no influence in – so willingly defend and trust the capitalist business model, “the most […]

By Jude Warne.  With the recent onslaught of on-screen Sherlocks, one might wonder why a filmmaker would bring another interpretation into the mix. Why indeed. Well, with Bill Condon’s new Mr. Holmes, the why seems to be this: to present Sherlock Holmes as a regular person, i.e. a mortal human […]

By Cleaver Patterson.  In today’s age of anything goes splatterfests and in-your-face CGI, it’s perhaps hard to appreciate the full effect Tod Browning’s infamous horror classic Freaks (1932) had upon its first release. At the time, the film that was banned in many countries—it would remain unseen in Britain for […]

By Paul Risker.  From horror to comedy by way of black humour, this list reads like a roll call of honour that reiterates the importance of the Ealing canon in British cinema: Dead of Night (1945), Passport to Pimlico (1949), Whisky Galore (1949), Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) […]

A Book Review by Alison Frank.  It is difficult for a book of just over 100 pages to cover any topic in sufficient detail; a decent overview of one director’s career, perhaps, or an in-depth reading of a single film. Nevertheless, Wallflower’s Short Cuts series has the ambitious aim of […]

By Noah Charney. There are some films that you watch and repeatedly think to yourself, “Wow, that’s beautiful.” The director, cinematographer and often-overlooked location scout mesh their talents to harvest the world around them through the camera’s lens. Leaves of the Tree, the debut feature film by director Ante Novakovic, […]

By Jude Warne. Ideal film criticism is that which is as objective as possible. This is to ensure that the reader of the criticism is the recipient of factual information, from which he or she can derive a personal conclusion as to whether or not he or she might like […]

By Elias Savada. The psychological story and claustrophobic/expansive landscape seem familiar, especially for fans of the series The Killing (2011-14) and Broadchurch (2013- ), recently watched locales where anyone and everyone might be guilty. Suspects (of something) are a-plenty in this return to Australian indie cinema, after a two-decade absence, by […]

By Paul Risker. As Rebels of the Neon God (1992) opens, one cannot help but be struck by the weighty feel of the images. It is perhaps something within the shot selection in Ming-Liang Tsai’s debut (now in release in the US), the framing and positioning of the actors in relation to the […]

By John Duncan Talbird. The Showtime series Years of Living Dangerously is aware of how to make the unsexy topic of climate change both engaging and even suspenseful. Not surprising as two of its executive producers are action movie veterans, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Each episode is split into […]