Interview: Albert Brooks (Drive)

Interview: Albert Brooks (Drive). By Simon Miraudo. Albert Brooks’ chilling performance in Drive was one of the breakout turns of last year; not bad for an Oscar-nominated actor-writer-director with a career that spans four decades. Although we know him best from his witty supporting performances in Broadcast News, Taxi Driver and Out of Sight, his directorial efforts Defending […]

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Interview: Bryan Cranston (Drive, Breaking Bad)

Interview: Bryan Cranston (Drive, Breaking Bad). By Simon Miraudo. Bryan Cranston is enjoying something of a career renaissance, thanks to his iconic turn in TV’s Breaking Bad (it may be a little early to describe his performance as ‘iconic’, but hey, we’re calling it). As chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-kingpin Walter White, Cranston has earned three consecutive Emmys as […]

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Won’t somebody think of the children – A Separation review

A Separation – Starring Peyman Moaddi, Leila Hatami and Sareh Bayat. Directed by Asghar Farhadi. Rated M. Originally published July 31, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation takes us on a complex emotional journey, as we watch decent, well-meaning people get tangled up in their little white lies with disastrous results. The film begins with Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) pleading […]

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An accurate title – Win Win review

Win Win – Starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and Alex Schaffer. Directed by Thomas McCarthy. Rated M. Originally published July 25, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. When you see the Fox Searchlight logo before a film, you know what you’re getting yourself into. For some people, it’s a portent as ominous as a black cat straddling a rabid red-eyed dog as it races under a […]

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The life aquatic – Submarine review

Submarine – Starring Craig Roberts, Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins. Directed by Richard Ayoade. Rated M. Originally published July 24, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Give me an affectation-heavy coming-of-age comedy, and make it extra affectatious! Richard Ayoade (best known as Moss from The IT Crowd) makes his feature film directorial debut with Submarine, an adaptation of Joe Dunthorne’s novel of the same name. It stars Craig Roberts as Oliver […]

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Ready to start – Beginners review

Beginners – Starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Mélanie Laurent. Directed by Mike Mills. Rated M. Originally published August 1, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. One of the great cosmic practical jokes is humanity’s enduring inability to capture, well, humanity on screen, which is probably why we make so many films about fighting robots instead. It’s the great desire of an artist; to depict human […]

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Bloody glee – The Guard review

The Guard – Starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle and Mark Strong. Directed by John Michael McDonagh. Rated MA. Originally published July 24, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Here’s an understatement: Brendan Gleeson is one of the most reliable and enjoyable actors working today. I have trouble recalling a film he didn’t steal. Needless to say, he kills in The Guard, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. Gleeson stars as Boyle, […]

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Branching out – The Tree of Life review

The Tree of Life – Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn. Directed by Terrence Malick. Rated M. Originally published June 22, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is about the meaning of our existence, told from the perspective of God, as He recalls the entire history of the universe. […]

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Over the hills and far away – Meek’s Cutoff review

Meek’s Cutoff – Starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood and Will Patton. Directed by Kelly Reichardt. Originally published July 15, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Some are saying that ‘nothing happens’ in Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff, a slow burn drama about a group of wannabe-settlers wandering the desert in the hopes of finding the promise land. I say, ‘everything happens’. Sure, it’s an exaggeration, but so is […]

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Melbourne International Film Festival – Martha Marcy May Marlene review

Martha Marcy May Marlene – Starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes and Sarah Paulson. Directed by Sean Durkin. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo. Martha Marcy May Marlene plays the Melbourne International Film Festival on Sunday 24 July and Sunday 31 July. If Winter’s Bone was just a little too chipper for your liking, perhaps you’d prefer […]

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Clone wars – Certified Copy review

Certified Copy – Starring Juliette Binoche and William Shimell. Directed by Abbas Kiarostami. Rated M. Originally published February 20, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy begins as one film and ends as another entirely. I love it when a film can do that. How rare it is to be taken on a genuine ride by a movie; to follow a path […]

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The 2011 Half-Year Report Card

The 2011 Half-Year Report Card. By Simon Miraudo. It’s that time again; when we all ask one another with the same vocal intonation, ‘Can you buh-lieve it’s July already?!’ (The trick is to squeak your voice on the final syllable.) Yep, 2011 is halfway over, and as the blockbuster season tapers away to make way […]

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Branching out – The Tree of Life review

The Tree of Life – Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn. Directed by Terrence Malick. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is about the meaning of our existence, told from the perspective of God, as He recalls the entire history of the universe. Maybe. It’s definitely in that […]

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A new sheriff in town – Rango review

Rango – Starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Ned Beatty. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Rated PG. By Simon Miraudo. I just don’t know if we’ll see a film as smart or fun or overwhelmingly rich as Rango for the rest of the year. That’s not meant to be a pre-emptive dis on the rest of […]

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