Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Carl Hunter Stars: Bill Nighy, Sam Riley, Alice Lowe, Louis Healy, Jenny Agutter, Tim McInnerny, Alexei Sayle. The marvelous Bill Nighy is at his droll, aloof and deadpan best in this quirky, subtly observed character driven comedy/drama. Nighy plays Alan, a Scrabble-obsessed tailor who has been trying to find his oldest son Michael, who stormed out of the family home many years earlier over an argument during a game of Scrabble, never to return. Alan's relationship with his other son Peter (Sam Riley, from Control, etc) is Continue reading
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Lars Von Trier Stars: Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Bruno Ganz, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Grabol, Riley Keogh, Jeremy Davies, Ed Speleers, David Bailie. Eccentric Danish auteur Lars Von Trier makes controversial and deliberately confronting films, and his latest is likely to be divisive as well. Despite the title, The House That Jack Built is not a family friendly fairy tale. Rather this is Von Trier’s portrait of a sadistic serial killer. But Von Trier’s film is not as illuminating nor as insightful as 1986’s Henry: Portrait Of A Continue reading
MELBOURNE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL 2019 – Interview with program director Spiro Economopoulos
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by GREG KING The 29th Melbourne Queer Film festival kicks off on March 14 with a screening of John Butler’s latest film Papi Chulo at the Jam Factory in Chapel Street South Yarra followed by the after party at the Emerson Hotel. The festival features 142 films, including a number of premier screenings, gay themed dramas and comedies from around the world, including the controversial Rafiki, from Kenya; the confronting Sauvage; and My Big Gay Italian Wedding. There are some documentaries that probe the golden years of Hollywood, a documentary on homophobia in sports, Continue reading
ALLIANCE FRANCAIS FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2019 REVIEWS
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ALL FILMS REVIEWED BY GREG KING UPDATED MARCH 11, 2019 THE SISTERS BROTHERS. A revisionist slice of dark western noir, The Sisters Brothers (aka Les Freres Sisters) this is the first English language film from French director Jacques Audiard (best known for the tough A Prophet, etc). The film is set in the American Midwest during the gold rush of the 1850, and exploits many of the familiar tropes of the genre that was immensely popular in the 50s and 60s. Audiard is obviously a fan of the genre and embraces the tropes of the genre, although giving the Continue reading
EVERYBODY KNOWS
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Asghar Farhadi Stars: Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darin, Barbara Lennie, Ramon Barea, Inma Cuesta, Eduard Fernandez, Carla Campra, Jose Angel Egido, Ivan Chavero, Sergio Castellanos. This is a deliberately paced slow burn psychological thriller and muddled melodrama about family secrets, simmering resentments and a kidnapping. It is the latest film from Asghar Farhadi, the two-time Oscar winning Iranian writer/director (The Separation, etc) who usually explores class differences, the fragile relationships between Continue reading
