Author Archives
Terror rises in It Came From Below
Plop, drip, plop are the scary sounds in It Came From Below, another story about youngsters venturing into ill-advised scenarios, in this case an underground cave. Brother and sister, somewhat estranged, come together as the sister wants to vindicate her father’s research. Coming along for the midnight picnic of the creeps is the brother’s girlfriend, […]
You Cannot Kill David Arquette and his passion
The documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette might initially be dismissed as a vanity project as David Arquette, a B-list actor best known from the Scream movies, embarks on a journey to redeem his shambling WCW (World Championship Wrestling) championship reign from nearly 20 years ago. At the time, his budding Hollywood career went off the rails […]
Cranston Academy: Monster Zone
There seems to be an increasing number of animation films that are better off as children’s afternoon specials and might only dream of theatrical release. Cranston Academy: Monster Zone is a lot of fun if you are six years old and happy to watch hours of thrilling adventures involving an intelligent but downtrodden genius hero. Six-year-olds […]
REVIEW: Michelle Brasier – Average Bear
The last thing I anticipated from a comedy show was to leave intears, to bawl my whole manipulated being out across the street from the Factory Theatre, where Michelle Brasier had just exposed her soul in the nicest possible way. I should have calcified my heart the moment when she and co-creator Tim Lancaster her […]
Hyperdream
The delineation between what is lived, what is remembered and what can be re-created are fast-disappearing borders in the digital world. Once limited to the realm of speculation, these new technologies are explored in Hyperdream, created by Adriane Daff and Mikala Westhall. In the collaborative work (actors Nat Jobe, Angela Mahlatjie and Matt Abell-King), characters are […]
REVIEW: Brodi Snook – Handful
With a languid delivery style, stand-up comedian Brodi Snook knows how to capture the audience in her show Handful, which traverses toxic relationships recounting really terrible boyfriends, until darker anecdotes emerge. Culled from an 11-month ordeal in which she deliberately sought to shrink herself whilst being harassed by an unwanted suitor, the result is a series […]
Goddess – The Elizabeth Burton Story
Running for a short season at the Old Fitz is Goddess – The Elizabeth Burton Story, performed by none other than Burton herself, once the queen of striptease in 1960s Kings Cross and overseas adventuress. The story of a woman who informed the alternative lifestyle in Kings Cross, reflects on a long career as an […]
REVIEW: Sydney Comedy Festival Gala
The opening night gala of the Sydney Comedy Festival at the State Theatre was a glimpse of the coming run of the festival, offering a dozen or so introductions to the many comedians and acts to be featured across Sydney-wide venues until May 16. The guests were in the fine hands of most capable host Randy […]
REVIEW: The Removalists
David Williamson’s The Removalists (1971) is a milestone in Australian drama, an over-the-top portrayal of toxic masculinity, police corruption engendering violence and the sly collusion women endured throughout. Not quite a tragedy, not quite a comedy, the play, on now at the New Theatre, straddles something between the two. Kenny (Alfie Gledhill) is a volatile larrikin […]
Two By Two: Overboard
The now sometimes perfected balance of creating animated movies with appeal to kids and adults has been sharpened by a booming genre, but Two By Two: Overboard” falls flat. It delivers the whistles and whimsy for the kids in what becomes a bizarre narrative arc, and it seems underdeveloped for the kids and just a wallop […]
