Geek of Oz

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar  is a string of expanding propositions, which if you’re onboard you’ll be treated to a fascinating film but if you’re not, then oh boy Houston we have a problem. It will more than likely be one of the years more divisive films, given its heavy reliance on scientific theories and bold choices in the storytelling department. I’m well entrenched in Camp Yay! on this one, but in fairness like most of Nolan’s work, the film has its issues. This isn’t your typical blockbuster fare, in fact you’ll have to do a little work while you’re watching it. It’s more like sitting through a lecture from a really cool teacher who’s spruiking that learning can be fun. Pretty sure this'll be near the top of my best films for the year list. Set in a not-too-distant future the world’s resources are quickly running out. Mankind is forced to explore other galaxies to find planets that may be suitable for colonisation. After receiving a strange message Cooper (Mat...

I’m not a fan of horror films. Be it the relentlessly gory slasher flick, the in-vogue zombie apocalypse tale or the traditional haunted house formula, the genre has never appealed to me. I’d like to say it’s due to my being reared on a diet of slapstick comedies and classic Hollywood flicks, but really it’s because I’m a great big wuss. So, it was with a great show of mettle, that I put aside my trepidations and dared to enter the world of Mama , the latest film by Andres Muschietti, based upon his short film of the same name released in 2008. Mama follows two young girls, Victoria and Lilly, who are abandoned in a spooky forest after the death of their parents. They are found five years later, thanks to a rescue operation orchestrated by their Uncle Jeffery (Nikolaj Coster Waldau), and resume a normal life under the his guardianship and that of his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain). But all, of course, is not what it seems …

A frustrating thing about being a film fan is watching a promising film succumb to its various flaws, like watching a car crash in slow motion, leaving it battered and bruised and ultimately unsatisfying. Lawless , the latest offering from John Hillcoat, is based upon the historical novel The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant (grandson of the main protagonists), which tells the story of the Bondurant Brothers who ran a Virginia moonshine operation during the 1930s prohibition era. The Bondurant Brothers, thanks to a few lucky escapes due mostly to rum good luck, are believed by the local county to be unkillable and untouchable. They meet their match, however, when Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pierce) is sent from Chicago to stop the flow of moonshine. A great narrative premise, and whilst brimming with potential, Lawless could not overcome its awful screenplay and chaotic editing issues. John Hillcoat is a competent director who has the critically acclaimed The Pro...