Death to 2020, WandaVision, every Harry Potter film: what s streaming in Australia in January Luke Buckmaster
Film, US/UK, 2020 – out now
That old saying “comedy is tragedy plus time” makes the point that terrible things can become hilarious with a little bit of distance. Creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones (who also helmed Black Mirror) are hoping audiences don’t need much time to view the – for want of a better word – absurdities of 2020 in a humorous light, packing together a fast-paced recap of the year in the very witty and entertaining Death to 2020.
The presence of high-profile actors playing talking head experts (including Samuel L Jackson as a journalist, Lisa Kudrow as a Kayleigh McEnany-like rightwinger and Hugh Grant as a pompous historian) position the show in the genre of the mockumentary, delivering lots of LOL lines. But the many events it reflects on were sadly very real, making this a “stranger than fiction” true story wit
The Dry, starring Eric Bana, matches wide open spaces with uncomfortably close drama. Photograph: Roadshow
Jane Harperâs best-selling novel The Dry is one of those books that feels written with a feature film adaptation in mind: a genre narrative (crime mystery-thriller) thatâs pacey, plot-driven and full of dialogue, with a central location ripe for cinematic imagery. Extensive use of flashbacks is built into its structure, and theyâre even presented in italics as if to say, âThis is where the cuts and scene changes goâ.
Director Robert Connollyâs adaptation is a very gripping and polished film, commandingly performed and directed, with an airtight sense of tonal cohesiveness â despite lots of, well, air in the frame, derived from countless mid- and long-shots capturing barren exterior locations in a fictitious Australian outback town. Written by Connolly and Harry Cripps, the script â lik
Dust or bust: Eric Bana and co risk all to film Jane Harper s The Dry
Dust or bust: Eric Bana and co risk all to film Jane Harper s The Dry
December 24, 2020
You can never go home: Eric Bana as Aaron Falk, the detective who finds himself dragged back into an ancient mystery in the country town in which he grew up in The Dry.
Credit:Roadshow
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The names on the marquee may be Eric Bana and Genevieve O Reilly , but the biggest star of
The Dry might just be the landscape. I always want the setting to be part of the story, not just a backdrop, says author Jane Harper when we chat on the set of Robert Connolly s big-screen adaptation of her bestselling novel. I want it to be a factor that drives the action and informs the characters behaviours, how they act and interact with each other, and who they are as people.
Boxing Day movies through to New Year s Day: What s opening in Australian cinemas
ThuThursday 24
DecDecember 2020 at 7:22pm
Wonder Woman 1984 was meant to open early this year, but was pushed back due to COVID-19.
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Like everything else about 2020, this summer s film slate is hardly business as usual; we d normally be running a gauntlet of Oscar contenders and big blockbusters, but many of those releases have been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic.
Instead, we have a strange mash of big, small, middle-scale and idiosyncratic films to choose from for Boxing Day through to New Year s Day.
In Q2 2020, Facts Only by Pulse featured an episode of how Nigerian Hip-Hop was having a good year.
That run has continued for the rest of the year as Nigerian Hip-Hop has continued to produce the goods; one quality body of work after another. As revealed in the Pulse Picks for ‘Albums of the year,’ COVID-19 has had a role to play in Nigeria’s continued race back to being an album market.
This year, Nigerian rappers have been stupendous at their craft, producing storybooks and worthwhile concepts in form of raps. The music has been dense and resonant, and their words are forever etched on the sands of time. Either they are talking about love, women, society, politics, business or family, the dedication has been the same.