MudMass Effect: Paragon LostThe King of PigsThe Great GatsbyIron Man 3BrokenStar Trek Into DarknessOlympus Has Fallen

Mud  
15th June
New



The simple fact is that, when not doing romantic comedy dross, Matthew McConaughey is a fantastic actor. I would have thought that after all this time, people would realise this, but in my experience most are immediately dismissive of the guy.

Rating: Rating = 3.5
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 3.0

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost  
15th June
Out now on Blu-ray



Paragon Lost will only interest diehard fans who can't get enough of the ME universe. For everyone else, it's an underwhelming experience. Above all, people who haven’t played the games definitely shouldn't use this as a benchmark to decide whether or not to dip their toes in the franchise.

Rating: Rating = 2.0
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 2.5

The King of Pigs (Dwae-ji-ui wang
15th June
Straight to DVD



The King of Pigs is a brutal tale that is not for the faint-hearted. Whilst the pacing never feels sluggish, there is one subplot that could have easily been excised. The dénouement feels like a bit of a narrative fumble but for the most part this is compelling viewing.

Rating: Rating = 3.0
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 3.5

The Great Gatsby  
1st June



DiCaprio is in fine form as Gatsby. He gets the mix of confidence and insecurity just right, and if nothing else, it's good to see him get some scenes where he's happy (something that rarely seems to occur in his roles of late).

Rating: Rating = 3.5
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 4.0

Iron Man 3  
19th May



Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) are afforded their moments in the spotlight, and both feel integral to the script. More significantly, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) finally has something useful to do, and gets some of the film's best scenes.

Rating: Rating = 5.0
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 5.0

Broken  
15th May



The narrative frequently takes a step backwards, to cover the same short period of time from another character's perspective, and sometimes deliberately withholds information, so that you're not sure of the order of events. This works particularly well in a couple of the film's tenser scenes.

Broken is released 16th May
Rating: Rating = 4.0
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 4.0

Star Trek Into Darkness  
12th May



Moral dilemmas are something that Star Trek does well, and Into Darkness certainly features its fair share. It's no coincidence that this is about the same time that Cumberbatch takes centre stage, and his performance is near legendary - managing to be gloriously over the top yet never feeling pantomimic.

Rating: Rating = 3.5
Review by Stuart Wilson -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 3.5

Olympus Has Fallen  
3rd May
Reloaded



If the action were spectacular, then this all-round idiocy would be acceptable. It's not. In fact, most of the movie is shot in semi darkness, which means WE CAN'T EVEN SEE when Mike is shooting people in the face.

Rating: Rating = 1.5
Review by Stuart Wilson
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 1.0

Butler and Eckhart are charismatic enough to make the film watchable, at least, and this is high praise for the performers. Butler is almost perfect as the scorned but heroic action hero, and Eckhart tries hard despite working with his hands tied behind his back for much of the film (both literally and figuratively).

Rating: Rating = 2.5
Review by Mark Lavercombe -
Hoopla Factor: Hoopla Factor = 2.5




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Current releases:

Focus on Australian Film:

A Few Best Men

'aims to please'

Animal Kingdom

Out now on DVD

Bait

'wonderfully idiotic plot'

Blame

'cinematography is striking '

Dealing with Destiny

'clean and colourful'

The Great Gatsby

'pitch perfect direction'

The Hunter

'visually stunning'

Iron Sky

'sets look fantastic'

The King's Speech

Out now on DVD

Not Suitable for Children

Highly recommended romcom!

Red Hill

Out now on DVD

The Reef

'incredibly tense shark flick'

Sanctum

'some wonderfully tense scenes'

Snowtown

Out now on dvd and blu-ray

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World War Z - 20th June

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