Toast – Starring Oscar Kennedy, Helena Bonham Carter, and Freddie Highmore. Directed by S.J. Clarkson. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Toast is now available on DVD. There are surely worse things in life than to grow up eating toast. When ruminative grandparents recount their tales of walking six miles in the snow or sharing one […]
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Rain of terror – The Eye of the Storm review
April 24, 2012 
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The Eye of the Storm – Starring Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, and Charlotte Rampling. Directed by Fred Schepisi. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. Fred Schepisi‘s lavish adaptation of Patrick White’s 1973 novel The Eye of the Storm looks good and feels arty, set in a gorgeous sprawling mansion in 1970s suburban Sydney. The melodramatic matriarch of […]
Continue readingShe once had me – Norwegian Wood review
April 16, 2012 0 Comments
Norwegian Wood – Starring Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kiko Mizuhara. Directed by Tran Anh Hung. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. When I worked in a bookstore, one of the authors customers would reliably rave about was Haruki Murakami. They always listed Norwegian Wood as one of his best novels. I haven’t read it – […]
Continue readingOne of the animals – Attenberg review
March 28, 2012 0 Comments
Attenberg – Starring Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, and Giorgos Lanthimos. Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. Attenberg is now available on DVD. Attenberg will appeal to you if you like architecture, animal documentaries, and awkwardly choreographed dance sequences. The title comes from the wildlife films of Sir David Attenborough – who surely […]
Continue readingIgnorance is bliss – Our Idiot Brother review
March 20, 2012 0 Comments
Our Idiot Brother – Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel. Directed by Jesse Peretz. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Ned (Paul Rudd) lives on a hippie commune, grows biodynamic tomatoes, and gives his wholehearted love and attention to a golden retriever called Willie Nelson. He is a sweet-spirited idealist – that is, until […]
Continue readingRoll with it – Skateland review
March 14, 2012 1 Comment
Skateland – Starring Shiloh Fernandez, Ashley Greene, and Haley Ramm. Directed by Anthony Burns. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Skateland is a Sundance-approved indie coming-of-age drama set in a small east Texas town in the 1980s. Ritchie (Shiloh Fernandez), the 19 year old assistant manager of the eponymous roller rink, can’t decide what to do […]
Continue readingCarrie on – I Don’t Know How She Does It review
March 5, 2012 2 Comments
I Don’t Know How She Does It – Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, and Greg Kinnear. Directed by Douglas McGrath. Rated PG. By Hilary Simmons. I know, I know, I know. I’m giving a movie starring Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame half a star more than Oscar winner and moody […]
Continue readingGot the touch – Perfect Sense review
February 29, 2012 1 Comment
Perfect Sense – Starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green. Directed by David Mackenzie. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. In David Mackenzie‘s Perfect Sense, a selfish chain-smoking chef falls in love with a contemptuous, spiteful scientist. Both prefer systematic patterns to sensory perception, which they see as simply the source of physical satisfaction and financial security. In […]
Continue readingTrapped in the Cage – Trespass review
February 15, 2012 4 Comments
Trespass – Starring Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman and Ben Mendelsohn. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. The path of true love is pitted with potholes, especially if you’re a character in a movie. This is particularly true if you happen to be Nicole Kidman or Nicolas Cage, who are thrown together in […]
Continue readingCrowd sourced – Life in a Day review
February 7, 2012 0 Comments
Life in a Day – Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Rated PG. By Hilary Simmons. Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void) has taken 4,500 hours of YouTube footage from 192 countries shot on a single day, July 24, 2010. From this, he has created a 90-minute film that aims to capture Life In A Day. Does it […]
Continue readingMurder capital – Texas Killing Fields review
January 31, 2012 5 Comments
Texas Killing Fields – Starring Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain and Chloë Grace Moretz. Directed by Ami Canaan Mann. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. Based on a real-life string of murders that spanned 28 years and were all perpetrated along Interstate 45 – or I.45 as it’s known – Ami Canaan Mann’s Texas Killing Fields is a […]
Continue readingGod’s gift – Sympathy for Delicious review
January 18, 2012 1 Comment
Sympathy for Delicious – Starring Christopher Thornton, Mark Ruffalo and Juliette Lewis. Directed by Mark Ruffalo. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. Sympathy For Delicious is Mark Ruffalo‘s directorial debut, and I’m not sure a second foray into film making will follow. Clunky title aside (seems like it’s better suited to the frolicsome adventures of a […]
Continue readingSamurai spectacular – 13 Assassins review
January 11, 2012 0 Comments
13 Assassins – Starring Kōji Yakusho and Gorô Inagaki. Directed by Takashi Miike. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. Takashi Miike’s latest warlord period drama opens with a samurai warrior preparing to disembowel himself in a ritual act of hara-kiri. It’s significant Miike doesn’t show the knife going in – he must be growing up. He contents himself with […]
Continue readingKeanu’s misdemeanour – Henry’s Crime review
December 13, 2011 3 Comments
Henry’s Crime – Starring Keanu Reeves, James Caan and Vera Farmiga. Directed by Malcolm Venville. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. I watched Henry’s Crime twice because the first time I felt sure I was missing something. The second time I knew that the story was as devoid of feeling and nuance as Keanu Reeves’ face. […]
Continue readingLeave it to the prose – Beautiful Lies review
November 29, 2011 0 Comments
Beautiful Lies – Starring Audrey Tautou, Nathalie Baye and Sami Bouajila. Directed by Pierre Salvadori. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. There’s always something to like about French films. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Perhaps it’s the picturesque settings; the way the camera lingers lovingly on cobbled squares and narrow paved streets, the […]
Continue readingShe’s got the look – Faces in the Crowd review
November 16, 2011 3 Comments
Faces in the Crowd – Starring Milla Jovovich, Julian McMahon and Michael Shanks. Directed by Julien Magnat. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. ‘Face-blindness’ is a neurological disorder, not just an awkward affliction resulting from too much alcohol and/or anonymous hook-ups. It feels necessary to point this out because it’s the latest type of recognition impairment […]
Continue readingSpacey stupid love – Father of Invention review
November 1, 2011 2 Comments
Father of Invention – Starring Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle and Heather Graham. Directed by Trent Cooper. Rated PG. By Hilary Simmons. I love Kevin Spacey. I love him so much I once went on a Kevin Spacey movie bender with a boyfriend. Over one long weekend, we watched every movie with Kevin Spacey in it […]
Continue readingSwing low – Swinging with the Finkels review
October 25, 2011 0 Comments
Swinging with the Finkels – Starring Mandy Moore and Martin Freeman. Directed by Jonathan Newman. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Swinging with the Finkels sounds more fun than it is; a married couple try ‘swinging’ to put the spice back into their sex life. Unfortunately, there is a lot more arm flinging and hand wringing […]
Continue readingThey don’t understand – Last Night review
October 18, 2011 0 Comments
Last Night – Starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes. Directed by Massy Tadjedin. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Last Night is a thoughtful little arthouse film from writer-director Massy Tadjedin, which asks interesting questions about infidelity, relationships and resilience. After attending a cocktail party, Joanna (Keira Knightley) confronts her husband Michael (Sam Worthington) about his […]
Continue readingWe’ll meet again – Oranges and Sunshine review
October 11, 2011 0 Comments
Oranges and Sunshine – Starring Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham. Directed by Jim Loach. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. A sad and bizarre true story based on the life of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, Oranges and Sunshine dramatises the organised deportation of British children from 1950 right up until 1970. […]
Continue readingA weak drink – Country Strong review
September 13, 2011 2 Comments
Country Strong – Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw and Leighton Meester. Directed by Shana Feste. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Admit it. Y’all jus’ couldn’t wait to see Gwyneth Paltrow as a deep-Southern country-crooner with substance abuse issues embarking on a career comeback after an alcohol-induced miscarriage and high-profile stint in rehab. No? Well, if […]
Continue readingA not-so-final destination – Enter the Void review
September 6, 2011 4 Comments
Enter the Void – Starring Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta. Directed by Gaspar Noé. Rated R. By Hilary Simmons. In-your-face French director Gaspar Noé has a new film, featuring all the drug-induced thrills, messy mental spills and sexually explicit frills that we’ve come to expect from the demagogic maverick who made that notorious […]
Continue readingDinner date – The Perfect Host review
August 17, 2011 0 Comments
The Perfect Host – Starring David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford. Directed by Nick Tomnay. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. The Perfect Host is The Usual Suspects filtered through Funny Games, or perhaps Swimming with Sharks fused with Sleuth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to being nearly as good as any of the above, but […]
Continue readingSydney Film Festival – Stake Land review
June 16, 2011 0 Comments
Stake Land – Starring Danielle Harris and Connor Paolo. Directed by Jim Mickle. By Hilary Simmons. The vampire-saturated movie market has been in desperate need of a new set of teeth – metaphorically speaking – for some time. Stake Land opens wide for aficionados with a post-apocalyptic pointy-fanged Western. Forget the soft focus of Twilight […]
Continue readingSydney Film Festival – POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
June 14, 2011 0 Comments
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – Directed by Morgan Spurlock. By Hilary Simmons. Morgan Spurlock‘s POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is a fully sponsored film about sponsorship itself. By whom? For how much? He’ll tell you. Spurlock is, as one sponsor calls him, your average Joe. He uses his […]
Continue readingSydney Film Festival – The Beaver
June 14, 2011 0 Comments
The Beaver – Starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. Directed by Jodie Foster. By Hilary Simmons. I walked into The Beaver with no preconceptions. In fact, given my long-term dislike of Mel Gibson for his trigger-tempered rants both on and off screen, my expectations were low. I had not read assorted news stories about it […]
Continue readingTrailer Debut: Beats, Rhymes & Life – The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
June 7, 2011 0 Comments
The trailer for Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest has been released online. Directed by Michael Rapaport, it is a hip hop homage to the Queens NY collective, who were given their name by Afrika Baby Bambaataa of the Jungle Brothers. The two-and-a-half minute clip shows some of the biggest […]
Continue readingSarah Palin biopic to draw Joan of Arc parallels; feature violent animal imagery
May 30, 2011 1 Comment
According to Deadline, a two-hour feature film about Sarah Palin is set to hit American screens next month. Commissioned by the lady herself, The Undefeated is scheduled to premiere in Iowa, the first big primary election state for the 2012 presidential campaign. It is a shrewd and, arguably, cynical move from the political team of […]
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