Bran Nue Dae

It’s a film that deals with Aboriginal issues without resorting to the two easiest knee jerk arguments, either by condemning white people for destroying the indigenous population’s spirit and way of life, or blaming Aborigines for simply not ‘trying harder’ to be more white. It takes a much more original and intelligent route – everyone has work to do, and there’s no one way to do it.
Rating: 4.0 starsHoopla Factor: 4.0 stars Continue reading Bran Nue Dae

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tim Burton’s version of the Sondheim stage show is very successful indeed. Judiciously edited to work better on the screen and featuring actors with heretofore unknown skill as singers, Sweeney Todd is a bleak and bloody ride through the gothic London world of the famous barber.
Rating: 4.0 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars


The deliberately two-dimensional special effects create a wonderfully set-like London, and it’s grimy and dirty and oh so bloody. Did I mention that? Blood. Lots of it. It’s really quite insane. Some members of the audience obviously hadn’t expected quite so many buckets of the crimson fluid.
Rating: 3.5 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars Continue reading Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street