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Review / ‘Song to Song’ (M) ***

I KINDA regret not seeing writer/director Terrence Malick’s “To The Wonder” which, in his filmography, slots between “The Tree Of Life” (to which I gave four stars in 2011) and “Song to Song”. Malick’s style […]

Review / ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (MA) ** and a half

REALISTS among filmgoers understand that sequels often don’t deliver the same goodies as those their forebears bequeathed. This sci-fi sequel has connections to Ridley Scott’s 1982 dramatisation of Philip K Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream […]

Review / ‘Final Portrait’ (M) ****

“FINAL Portrait” is another slice of reality based on a real character, the Swiss/Italian artist Alberto Giacometti. Don’t know him? A key player in the surrealist movement, he is memorable no less for the portraits […]

Review / ‘The Dancer’ (M) *** and a half

WITH only three films since 1984, Stephanie Di Giusto isn’t a prolific filmmaker. A screenplay by Thomas Bidegain adapting a novel by Giovanni Lista about the middle years of American Marie-Louise (stage name Loie) Fuller […]

Review / ‘Flatliners’ (M) *

IN 1990, Joel Schumacher’s contemporary sci-fi fantasy “Flatliners” told how five newly graduated medicos tinkered with reincarnation of newly dead people by timely medical intervention, using themselves as guinea-pigs! That idea is no more or […]

Review / ‘Battle of The Sexes’ (PG) *** and a half

ON September 20, 1973, top-seeded woman tennis player 29-year-old Billie Jean King won $100,000 when she wiped the court in three straight sets in a challenge match against one-time world No. 1 tennis player Bobby […]

Review / ‘Mountain’ (G) *****

ASKED: “Why does anybody climb a mountain?”, George Mallory answered: “Because it’s there!” Mallory’s corpse spent 75 years on Mt Everest waiting for somebody to discover it. The only reference to Mallory I saw in […]

Review / ‘Australia Day’ (MA) ***

MIGHT Foxtel be a symbol for the future of our feature film industry? Its frequent presence in director Kriv Stenders’ film (his “Red Dog” is a symbol for the Pilbara landscape and Aussie mateship) is […]

Review / ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ (MA) ** and a half

THIS is the first (another has been announced) sequel to the 2014 comedy actioner about a secret British spy agency that operates out of a London tailoring shop. Like its predecessor, it stars Colin Firth […]

A still from the national winner, 'Late Moves'

Short Film Festival prizewinners announced

THE 22nd Canberra Short Film Festival wound up in fine style at Dendy Cinemas last night (September 17) with its announcement of the winners. Prizes were supported by film businesses, Ronin Films and DCS, along […]

Review / ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (M) ****

FOR this multi-award-winning documentary, Haiti-born Raoul Peck drew on the 30 pages of “Remember This House” that James Baldwin actually finished writing before his death. And it’s a 94-minute cracker of a movie, crammed with […]

Review / ‘mother!’ (MA) ** and a half

IN a return to independent filmmaking, writer/director Darren Aronofsky asks his audience to discover its own explanation for what he’s trying to say. In a dilapidated house in the middle of a field, writer (poetry? […]

Long list of short films in festival opening tonight

TONIGHT’S the night, as the 22nd Canberra Short Film Festival kicks off at Dendy Cinemas with the slogan ’Short Flick Big Kicks,’ featuring more local films than ever. But don’t be confused – because of […]

Arts / Launch of the ‘not just any old film festival’

IN their relentless search to create a unique event that the directors of the 21st Canberra International Film Festival, have come up with a credible combination of contemporary and retro movies for this year. With […]

Review / ‘That’s Not Me’ (MA) *** and a half

AFTER careers involving short films, this observation of a choice group of human behaviours is the first foray into the scary, big world of feature films for director Gregory Erdstein and co-writer and principal actor […]

Review / ‘The Dinner’ (MA) ****

WRITER/director Oren Moverman’s adaptation of a novel by Herman Koch is a satire of upper-middle class America. Two brothers. Paul (Steve Coogan) teaching humanities at a high school. Congressman Stan (Richard Gere), planning to announce […]

Review / ‘Tommy’s Honour’ (M) *** and a half

A ROUND or two for a pound or two. The origin of that saying is manifest in Jason Connery’s film, with a debut screenplay by Pamela Marin and Kevin Cook. By the 1860s the game […]

Albert Namatjira, artist Rex Battarbee and Namatjira family, Photo Courtesy Gayle Qarmby

Arts / Namatjira’s ‘moving’ story makes it on screen

“FROM the remote Australian desert to the opulence of Buckingham Palace” – it reads like a Hollywood promo, but every word behind the long-awaited film, “Namatjira Project”, is true. The film is in part the […]

Andrew Creer and Debby Ryan - romance blossoms

Arts / Gala screening for ‘Rip Tide’

A HUGE gala is slated for tomorrow night’s (September 5) Canberra premiere of the film, “Rip Tide”, at the National Film and Sound Archive. As reported earlier in “CityNews”, the film, which involves local company […]

Review / ‘Gifted’ (M) *** and a half

THE core of this gentle drama is not the mathematical genius of its seven-year-old central character, Mary (Mckenna Grace), but who has the right to custody of her. Shortly after Mary’s mother bore Mary by […]

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Review / ‘Song to Song’ (M) ***

Review / ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (MA) ** and a half

Review / ‘Final Portrait’ (M) ****

Review / ‘The Dancer’ (M) *** and a half

Review / ‘Flatliners’ (M) *

Review / ‘Battle of The Sexes’ (PG) *** and a half

Review / ‘Mountain’ (G) *****

Review / ‘Australia Day’ (MA) ***

Review / ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ (MA) ** and a half

Short Film Festival prizewinners announced

Review / ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (M) ****

Review / ‘mother!’ (MA) ** and a half

Long list of short films in festival opening tonight

Arts / Launch of the ‘not just any old film festival’

Review / ‘That’s Not Me’ (MA) *** and a half

Review / ‘The Dinner’ (MA) ****

Review / ‘Tommy’s Honour’ (M) *** and a half

Arts / Namatjira’s ‘moving’ story makes it on screen

Arts / Gala screening for ‘Rip Tide’

Review / ‘Gifted’ (M) *** and a half

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Josh takes the lead for Lachy’s special dog

Free flu vaccination for Canberra children

Canberra libraries close Wednesday

Grattan / McCormack has tough task to match Joyce’s 2016 electoral gold standard

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