Film Review: Looper

Looper. Rated MA 15+ (strong violence). 118 minutes. Written and directed by Rian Johnson.

Verdict: A fascinating time-travel premise combined with a top cast results in a compelling drama about honour, integrity and responsibility.

Boasting a truly fascinating time-travel premise, a top-notch cast and a wicked (if not entirely unexpected) sting in its tale, Looper is marvellously involving cinema from the little-known Johnson (Brick). In a year where many of the cinematic offerings have been variations on well-worn themes, the threads of a heightened moral responsibility for the integrity of the lives we lead (and those of the people who rely on us for their very survival) that are woven through this film, are never less than utterly compelling.

Film Review: Ruby Sparks

Ruby Sparks. Rated M (coarse language, sexual references and drug use). 104 minutes. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Screenplay by Zoe Kazan.

Verdict: Be careful what you wish for.

With their breakout hit Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the husband and wife directing team of Dayton and Faris delivered a heartfelt and unconventional take on the ‘road trip film’, while debut screenwriter Michael Arndt took home the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. With Ruby Sparks, they’ve done it again – taking on a debut writer (Kazan, who also stars as Ruby), and delivering a wonderfully inventive and deceptively complex little gem of a film that successfully turns the romantic comedy genre on its head.

Film Review: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Rated PG (mild violence and crude humour). 93 minutes. Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon. Screenplay by Eric Darnell and Noah Baumbach.

Verdict: The Madagascar team are back in an inspired film that recalls the ground-breaking work of the animation master Walt Disney.

Beginning with Madagascar (2005) and a sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), this successful franchise has followed the lives of four animals – Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). Having been shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar, many miles away from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo, the series focuses on their attempts to return to the familiarity of their relatively comfortable home.

Departures: Australian film gets distribution and heads to LA

The Australian made award-winning supernatural horror film Muirhouse has this week confirmed to have signed with horror distributors Monster Pictures (distributors of The Notorious and The Human Centipede films).

Muirhouse is set to hit Australian cinemas over the coming months. This follows the announcement that the film is heading to LA at the invitation of the iconic Shriekfest Film Festival.

Film review: Kath & Kimderella

Kath & Kimderella. Rated PG (mild coarse language and nudity). 86 minutes. Directed by Ted Emery. Screenplay by Gina Riley and Jane Turner.

Verdict: A timely reminder not to take ourselves too seriously from the Kath & Kim team.

There were always going to be big expectations of the feature film (or ‘fillum’) version of the hit television series Kath & Kim – the hugely popular series that first introduced us to the foxy Kath (Jane Turner), her self-indulgent daughter Kim (Gina Riley) and Kim’s second-best friend Sharon (Magda Szubanski).

Departures: New Australian film to take on homophobia

Cinema is a powerful medium to highlight issues that no one wants to discuss. Movies give a voice to those that need it most. This was the motivation behind award-winning director and cinematographer Dean Francis’s (Road Train and Boys Grammar) choice of Drown as his next feature film project.

Based on the acclaimed play by writer Stephen Davis (Blurred and City Loop), Drown highlights jealousy, homophobic fears and unrequited lust at its most graphic level.

Film Review: The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2. Rated MA 15+ (strong action violence). 102 minutes. Directed by Simon West. Screenplay by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone.

Verdict: Hollywood’s action movie royalty blow the place – and everyone in it – to bits. Better than anyone.

Make no mistake. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jet Li are action movie royalty – and the guilty pleasure of seeing them all sharing the big screen together is impossible to resist. Between them, these men have created some of the most iconic roles in a seemingly endless list of unforgettable movies that includes Rocky, Rambo, The Terminator and Die Hard.