Giles Hardie

In 2009 an Argentinian film, The Secret In Their Eyes, won the Oscar for Foreign Language Feature Film. Hollywood in its infinite wisdom has remade that film for the English-speaking market otherwise known as those-who-won’t-read-subtitles. Unsurprisingly, they have chosen to release this film, starring three Oscar mainstays – Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor […]

When Australian and Indian cinema got together and decided to have a love child, there were a few probable outcomes… Cricket. The shared passion for the sound of leather on willow was always likely to feature. Brett Lee in a leading role is the result and it has to be said he delivers as the […]

If you want to break your head, London Road wouldn’t be a bad way to start. Oddly, this is not inherently a statement about its quality, just its complication. In 2006, the bodies of five women were found in Ipswich and soon after a man living on London Road was arrested. The other residents of the road, […]

Blinky Bill is a step back in time in more ways than one. The character stems from a 1930s book series, made famous once more in the 80s by an ABC TV series and then a feature film in 1992. The computer animation style is more reminiscent of a film that came out a few years […]

Here’s the pull quote, people: Pixels – It’s not as bad as you’ve heard. Of course it isn’t. For Pixels to earn the sort of scathing reviews it has been receiving out of North America, it would have to slap each member of the audience in the face individually, arrange to have your pets murdered while you were at […]

There is an infinitesimal danger in an actress attaining the standing of Meryl Streep. Alongside the incredible body of work, the boggling amounts of talent and delightful self-deprecating charm comes the capacity to make any film into a Meryl Streep Movie, nay a Streep Cinematic Sensation. In actual fact, Ricki and the Flash is more like a […]

Holding The Man could have been a mess. The source material is a memoir cherished by the gay community, riddled with complex emotional subjectivity and fantasy, that became an acclaimed stage play. Without the deftest, most skilled individuals in key roles, this might have been a meandering and worthy emotional rollercoaster, or a methodical and […]

Cancer, euthanasia and a cab driver. It sounds like the unholy trinity of filmmaking. A veritable recipe for disaster with the dreaded terms “Australian film” and “indigenous issues” added for good measure. Yet there is something magnificent about the way in which writers Reg Gribb and Jeremy Sims (who also directs) have not merely overcome […]

Part bedroom farce, part Woody Allen wannabe, She’s Funny That Way is a funny little film that is loud and proud about being more fun than substance. Kicking off in a somewhat quirky Hollywood insider interview fashion, it is the tale of Isabella (Imogen Poots), now a big name actress who recounts the circumstances that enabled her […]

Move over Ferris Bueller, high school has a new king and the high school movie genre has a new heavyweight. Meet Malcolm and his two friends. Three self-professed high school geeks with an obsession for ‘90s hip hop who are weeks from graduating having navigated the complex dilemmas of life in a modern high school […]

Stupid? Yes. Adults only? F–k Yes. Dumb family comedy? You betcha. And, well, Chevy Chase? Yes. Though, thankfully not much. That’s right, it’s a National Lampoon’s reboot as the Griswolds 2.0 go on an ill-conceived family vacation to Wally World. While that sentence alone is about as massive as the Berlin Wall when it comes to generation […]

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is the film that leaves you wanting more. Not five minutes more. Five films more. More so than any of its predecessors this instalment establishes Ethan Hunt as James Bond 2.0 (US Spelling edition). As a stand-alone film Rogue Nation is not quite the equal of Ghost Protocol, which took action to new heights […]

It’s tempting to mouth the lazy summation “if you like Sherlock Holmes you’ll like Mr. Holmes.” Tempting, because it is true. Yet that would also do a disservice to this sumptuously crafted, artisanally layered and genuinely inspired addition to the detective’s pantheon. A better statement is this: If you didn’t think there needed to be another […]

From font choices to poster image, Paper Towns is clearly trying to riff on the success of last year’s The Fault in Our Stars, based on another novel by John Green which he wrote four years after this. The good news for fans of that film is this is a worthy follow up. The better news, for fans […]

If you’re reading this, you’re probably too old for Minions. That’s the sad reality of the spin-off from the Despicable Me franchise. The banana-loving Minions have been granted centre stage for a film – a prequel in fact – of their own, and the result is far more kids-only than either of those featuring Gru. There is always […]

In 2012 Seth MacFarlane gave us Ted, the tale of a pot smoking, foul-mouthed, womanising teddy bear still best friends (or thunderbuddies) with Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) who brought him to life with a childhood wish. It was very funny. Genuinely hysterical. In 2014 Seth MacFarlane gave us A Million Ways To Die In The West, the tale […]

So it turns out that Jurassic World, the movie, proves to be the inferior Jurassic World. Yes, the year’s biggest cinema giant is easily dwarfed – by its own spin-off game. In fact its flaws become clear when broken down to bricks. Most will be familiar with the LEGO console games that have recreated the […]

Let the film debate begin! Possible topics: When is the right time to use a star wipe? Should an ambitious stage mother let her child audition for Roman Polanski? What are the artistic merits of shooting a film in 4:3? What order do I play the Star Wars films in when I show them to […]

Entourage the movie is fun. Entourage the movie is crazy. Entourage the movie is packed full of foul-mouthed celebrity cameos. But, most of all, Entourage the movie is a bigger budgeted, longer duration, higher profile episode of Entourage the TV series. SO. Here’s the trick. If you didn’t like the series, this is not the movie for you. If you DID like the series, […]

As it launches onto and off the biggest screens around the world, there are essentially three things being said about Mad Max: Fury Road: 1. It is excellent. True. Very true. So very true. 2. It is completely insane. True. Very true and very insane. So very bonkers. 3. There’s a theory doing the rounds […]

We always talk about the films that you can take your kids to and still enjoy yourself. A Royal Night Out is the film you can take your parents to and still have a whale of a time. Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley play Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, the former of whom you now know better as […]