There are not a lot of movies shot in WA, and when a new one is released I want to like it. Honest, I do. Unfortunately, Blame has only three redeeming features (and I’m trying hard, folks): the trailer, the camerawork and the setting in the Perth hills. Otherwise, on every level it’s almost unbelievably awful. Dog of the Year awful. Continue reading ‘Blame’ – Movie Review →

This stunning – and I mean stunning – new Australian film presented me with quite a dilemma. It’s brilliant, lapping at the high water mark of the superb Animal Kingdom. The crafting, the writing, the performances, the score (the score!), the cinematography – all truly terrif. My dilemma? I felt accosted, traumatised, terrorised even, by the extreme violence and scenes of torture it depicts with gruesome realism. So, great as Snowtown is, I can’t recommend it to anyone seeking an enjoyable night out at the movies. Continue reading ‘Snowtown’ – Movie Review →

I knew nothing about this movie before I saw it, except that it appeared to share the most superficial of similarities with Bran Nue Dae – ie: it was a local product shot in Perth and the north of WA, with a mostly aboriginal cast. To say I didn’t think much of Bran Nue Dae is an understatement. I was hoping Mad Bastards was a whole lot better, but truth to tell my expectations were not high.

Turned out to be yet another demonstration of the folly of bringing expectations of any sort into the cinema. Continue reading ‘Mad Bastards’ – Movie Review →