Like many, many people on the internet, I entered Big Little Lies season two with equal parts excitement and apprehension. On one hand: Meryl Streep! Nicole Kidman! Reese Witherspoon! How could I resist? On the other, season one was so, so good, a perfect mini-series that worked so well because of how tightly the show moved through…
5 REASONS WHY MUSIC FESTIVALS ARE BETTER ALONE
Music festivals are crazy, awesome, messy places, where there’s no phone service and everyone’s usually a little bit drunk. While going with a group can be fun, keeping the group together while everyone tries to see different acts is near impossible, and trying to coordinate with lost friends can be massively stressful. So here I…
GAME OF THRONES (S8E4): All-Male Writers Failed Its Female Characters
Like millions of people around the world, I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones. I have read all of the books, rewatch the show constantly, and have been up at 3 AM every Sunday for the past four weeks to watch the new episodes of Season 8 live. I am also a woman and…
BIG LITTLE LIES SEASON 2: Disappointing 2nd Season Fails To Justify Its Existence
Big Little Lies, like thousands of great TV shows and movies before it, has fallen victim to sequel fatigue. The first season, packed with A-List movie stars and a script that danced between witty satire of wealthy parents, and a devastating mediation on abusive relationships, can be fairly called a masterpiece. The mini-series, based on Liane Moriarty’s book…
The Bittersweet Joy of Going Home
Leaving Dublin for the last time was a bittersweet moment. As I prepared to board the first of four planes that would eventually get me home to Australia, I felt a pang of sadness that surprised me. Looking at Dublin Airport fade away from my window seat, I was reminded of the first time I…
Ramin Djawadi & The Lannister Theme: How GAME OF THRONES Told Stories Through Song
Game of Thrones is one of the most successful and influential television series of all time. The HBO program has not only changed the landscape of pop culture, becoming the most illegally streamed show in the world from 2011-2017. But it has also heralded in a new era of prestige cinematic television, as hundreds of shows…
BOOKSMART: The Best Film of the Year
I’ve never laughed so much as I did when I saw Booksmart for the first time. I’ve since seen it four times since, and each re-watch confirms its spot as my favourite film of 2019. On the night before high school graduation, Class President Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and her best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Denver) are faced with…
Glasgow Film Festival 2019 Documentaries: LAST BREATH & ARE YOU PROUD?
My first day at Glasgow Film Festival was a thrill. I attended two world premieres, both with post-show Q&A’s with the cast and directors in what looks to be a great start to what looks to be an exciting weekend. I started the festival with Are You Proud?, a documentary chronicling the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the…
Staff Inquiry: Sentimental Childhood Favorites
We’re getting nostalgic with this month’s staff inquiry, as we highlight the films that stuck out to us when we were kids and we still remember fondly today. These are sweet, instinctual loves unfettered by analytical evaluation or acutely trained senses, so it’s kind of like you’re getting a glimpse at our uninhibited selves. And…
Terror Nullius: A bold, clever and unashamedly political retelling of Australian culture.
On a rural highway in Australia we see Mad Max (Mel Gibson), sitting in his car. This image is instantly recognisable for Gibson in his trademark leather jacket and police car. George Miller’s iconic road-warrior did, after all, attain cult status and three sequels after this 1979 original. In a disorientating and meta edit, we…
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD: Visually Dazzling End To Heartfelt Trilogy
We all know the story: an animal and a kid enter into a forbidden friendship, and are forced to keep it secret from everyone they know. Dogs, Horses, Whales, Loch Ness Monsters, the movies are all more less the same. But never have we seen this story told with such visual flair and emotional heft as…
Lady Macbeth: Newcomer Florence Pugh is a Tour-De-Force in Taut Domestic Thriller
I almost didn’t see Lady Macbeth, my number one film of 2017. I watched it on a whim after an impressively tense trailer, and a positive recommendation from the Empire Podcast. And boy it did not disappoint. The story, adapted by Alice Birch from the 19th century Russian novel, is inspired by Shakespeare’s enigmatic villainess, but reimagined as…
