Before the Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, Garfield the cat became an unlikely cultural icon. The droll, gluttonous, lasagna gobbling, pathologically lazy feline who hates Mondays, first appeared in the late 70’s and has been a beloved character for both children and adults ever since. Garfield’s misadventures have been adapted for various animated films, most notably in 2004’s Garfield: The
Read moreThe low-budget 80’s action-comedy TV series The Fall Guy, which starred former Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors as stuntman/ bounty hunter Colt Seavers, isn’t a show that seemed to be crying out for a cinema adaptation. It was amiable, undemanding TV, typical of mystery/crime/action shows of the late 70’s and early 80’s where everyone but the actual police solved
Read moreTennis themed romantic comedy/ drama Challengers is the latest film for Call Me By Your Name director Luca Gaudagnino. Like that film, it’s a slow burn exploration of passionate but fractured relationships. Also, as with that languid and literate film, some will be utterly seduced by it while others may find it overlong and unfocused. The film concerns a love
Read moreLast year’s standout Aussie film, Talk To Me seems to have broken ground for Aussie horror films internationally. Appearing to benefit from this is supernatural horror/comedy Late Night With the Devil which has apparently been a sensation in the US after generating a serious buzz at the South-By-South West Film Festival. The film takes what had become a slightly tired
Read moreThe Gen X nostalgia train rolls on with latest resurrection of an 80’s favourite, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The original Ghostbusters from 1984 was a fun mix of sci fi, supernatural spookiness and zany comedy. The film worked in part because of the concept and director Ivan Reitman’s deft orchestration of its various elements but mostly because of the cast: Bill
Read moreWith his perceptive and articulate dramas like Sideways, The Descendants and Nebraska, director Alexander Payne was establishing himself as one of the major film auteurs of the new millennium. His stellar reputation as a filmmaker was tarnished somewhat, though, with the 2017 sci fi themed social satire Downsizing which featured on some critics’ turkey lists. Now, he makes a welcome
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