Dave Griffiths
Film Review: Blacklight
Director: Mark Williams Cast: Liam Neeson, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Taylor John Smith, Aidan Quinn, Claire van der Boom, Tim Draxl, Gabriella Sengos, Yael Stone, Georgia Flood, Andrew Shaw, Zac Lemons, Mel Jarnson Rating: M Running Time: 105 Australian Distributor: Rialto Distribution Over the past decade actor Liam Neeson has established himself as an action hero in sleek thrillers that you can normally guarantee are better than the stock standard films in the genre. Even his films that take a more indie approach, like The Ice Road, always seemRead More
Film Review: Licorice Pizza
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Cast: Cooper Hoffman, Alana Haim, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie, Joseph Cross, Danielle Haim, Este Haim Rating: M Running Time: 133 Australian Distributor: Universal Pictures Australia I have always been a big sucker for a good coming of age story. Whether it be one with a difference like Acolytes or one that is a little more traditional like Almost Famous I always find them intriguing to watch because I feel that it is the one genre that every filmmaker can putRead More
Film Review: Eiffel
Director: Martin Bourboulon Cast: Romain Duris, Emma Mackey, Pierre Deladonchamps, Alexandre Steiger, Armande Boulanger, Bruno Raffaelli Rating: M Running Time: 109 Australian Distributor: Studio Canal I have always had a love for the Eiffel Tower. I’ve never been there, but I do hope to change that one day, but I have always been inexplicably drawn to it. As I write this one whole wall of my lounge-room is filled with a large photography canvas of the famous structure while another canvas depicting the tower isRead More
Film Review: Red Notice
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Ritu Arya, Chris Diamantopoulos, Ivan Mbakop, Vincenzo Amato, Rafael Petardi Rating: M Running Time: 118 Australian Distributor: Netflix Not only is Netflix’s Red Notice starring three of the biggest names in Hollywood at the moment – the film itself is the most expensive Netflix film ever made with a budget of around US$160 million. The good news is that this time we also have a big budget film that works in every single way. DirectedRead More
Film Review: The Ice Road
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh Cast: Liam Neeson, Marcus Thomas, Laurence Fishburne, Amber Midthunder, Benjamin Walker, Holt McCallany Rating: PG Running Time: 103 Australian Distributor: Rialto Distribution A couple of years ago screen legend Liam Neeson dared to mention the dreaded R word – retirement. At the time he said that he wouldn’t be retiring from the big screen completely but would be pulling away from action films now he was starting to age. Well I’m not sure whether or not he found sitting in a comfy chairRead More
Film Review: Boss Level
Director: Joe Carnahan Cast: Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts, Michelle Yeoh, Annabelle Wallis, Ken Jeong, Selina Lo, Will Sasso Rating: MA Running Time: 95 Australian Distributor: Rialto Distribution / Hulu Frank Grillo! Remember the name because you are going to be hearing it quite a lot over the next decade or so. For awhile now actor Frank Grillo has been on the verge of becoming a breakout star. He’s done it the hard way – starring in the TV show Billions, plus B-GradeRead More
Film Review: Reminiscence
Director: Lisa Joy Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina de Tavira, Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria, Brett Cullen, Natalie Martinez, Angela Sarafyan Rating: M Running Time: 116 Australian Distributor: Warner Bros/Universal Pictures When Hugh Jackman hung up his Wolverine boots… um claws… he made the statement that one of the reasons for the decision was so that he could tackle very new and different roles. Of course one of his first performances outside of the Marvel universe was a return toRead More
Film Review: Out Of Death
Director: Mike Burns Cast: Jaime King, Bruce Willis, Lala Kent, Tyler Jon Olson, Michael Sirow, Kelly Greyson, Megan Leonard Rating: MA Running Time: 95 Australian Distributor: VOD through Vudu and iTunes Sometimes it is the most simplest of plots that seem to work the best. That is certainly the case for Mike Burns(Peace, Love & Beats) fictional feature debut Out Of Death that takes the western cop feel of a show like Justified and brings it to movie format. The plot itself is pretty basic. Photographer Shannon (Jaime KingRead More
Film Review: The Woman In The Window
Director: Joe Wright Cast: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Fred Hechinger, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore, Jeanine Serralles, Tracy Letts, Mariah Bozeman Rating: MA Running Time: 100 Australian Distributor: Netflix The notion that Hollywood takes an old idea and puts a modern twist on it is not new. With the recent release of director Joe Wright’s new film The Woman In The Window on Netflix it seemed like everybody wanted to point out that this was a story that they had allRead More
Film Review: The United States vs Billie Holiday
Director: Lee Daniels Cast: Andra Day, Garrett Hedlund, Trevante Rhodes, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Jordan, Evan Ross, Rob Morgan, Tone Bell, Dana Gourrier Rating: MA Running Time: 130 Australian Distributor: Universal Pictures Australia When talking about musical history a lot of people consider Elvis Presley to be the first real rock star. You could argue that title should be given to Billie Holiday though. Holiday was a rock star before rock was even thing. As a performer Holiday packed out clubs and had the paparazzi digging into herRead More