Sweet Country

Drawing on themes and images familiar from American Westerns, director Warwick Thornton’s story of a lawman looking for a killer is nevertheless a very Australian story. Set in the 1920s, when the land was settled by ‘white fellas’ who claimed it by the mere fact of being there, and effectively indentured the indigenous people of …

My favourite films of 2016

Being very strict with myself this year and definitely sticking to a top 10. It hasn't been easy, and you can see a ranking of my 2016 film viewing here. The top 12 and bottom 5 are in order, but the stuff in between is more of a general reflection than anything precise. One note - …

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Shit. Just. Got. Real. I'm sure I missed a whole lot of references that would have had New Zealand audiences in stitches, but this was funny, sweet and serious in equal measure. Ricky (Julian Dennison) the young boy at the heart of the tale has led a troubled existence (from which director Taika Waititi does not shy …

Jurassic World trailers

Honestly, I've watched 3 different trailers now and they're all rubbish. Either that means the film is also rubbish, or the trailer editors need to be fed to the raptors. Chris Pratt just seems to be playing the same part as in Guardians of the Galaxy. And it makes me nostalgic for Sam Neill.