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 […]
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Tag Archives: hilary simmons
Crowd sourced – Life in a Day review
February 7, 2012 
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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 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 – 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 […]
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