Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Albert Hughes Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Marcin Kowlaczyk, Natassia Malthe, Jens Hulten. Set during the last great Ice Age in Europe some 20,000 years ago, this epic adventure and brutal tale of survival in a harsh wilderness is a bit like a prehistoric version of The Revenant. It is also something of a coming of age tale as it follows a teen’s journey to manhood. There is also something of Jack London’s classic The Call Of The Wild about its subplot in which the boy tames a wolf and turns him into a pet, Continue reading
JIRGA – interview with Benjamin Gilmour and Sam Smith
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by GREG KING Jirga is a new Australian drama that was filmed in Pakistan by filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour. It stars Stan Smith in his feature film debut as former Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, who returns to Afghanistan after several years, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war. Greg chatted with the writer/director Benjamin Gilmour and star Sam Smith about the origins of the film, shooting in Pakistan, the challenges they faced, especially when the original financing fell through following death Continue reading
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Eli Roth Stars: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Sunny Suljic, Colleen Camp, Lorenza Izzo, Renee Elise Goldsberry. Lewis Barnavelt (played with charm by Owen Vaccaro, from the comedy Daddy’s Home and its sequel, etc) is a ten-year old orphan who is sent to live with his eccentric, kimono wearing uncle Jonathan (Jack Black, from Goosebumps, etc) in New Zebedee, Michigan. Uncle Jonathan lives in a creepy old haunted house with cobwebs, creaking doors, furniture that comes to life, and a magnificent stained- Continue reading
LADIES IN BLACK
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Bruce Beresford Stars: Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Julia Ormond, Suzie Porter, Alison McGirr, Shane Jacobson, Ryan Corr, Noni Hazlehurst, Nicholas Hammond, Vincent Perez, Luge Pegler, Celia Massingham. Sydney, summer of 1959, is the setting for this feel good local romantic drama that plays out against a backdrop of great change to the social fabric of Australia in the post WWII era. Goodes is the major fashionable department store in Sydney, catering to high end women’s fashion. Sixteen-year old Lisa Miles Continue reading
JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: David Kerr Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller, Emma Thompson, Olga Kurylenko, Jake Lacy, Charles Dance, Michael Gambon. It has been fifteen years since rubbery faced comic Rowan Atkinson (of Mr Bean and Blackadder fame) donned his licence to kill as bumbling and clueless secret agent Johnny English, a cross between James Bond, Maxwell Smart, Inspector Clouseau and Inspector Gadget. The character was initially created for a series of credit card commercials, but proved popular enough to earn his own spin off feature film. Now Continue reading
