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The Box (M)
This dark Hitchcock-esque thriller — complete with uncomfortable tempo and ominous “Psycho” style music — is set in 1976 Richmond, Virginia ( USA). Husband and wife, Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) find themselves in a moral conundrum. They are offered $1 million in exchange for the death of someone they’ve never met.
Event films come and go, but this film was one of the most highly anticipated of 2009. It is end-of-the-world go-to director Roland Emmerich’s latest “wake up call” for the planet, posing as entertainment.
There could have been a tendency for Brit actor Hugh Dancy to overplay his character’s mental illness. Instead, we are carefully guided through Adam’s Asperger Syndrome visually (as he gets ready for work as an electronics engineer) and then emotionally (as the nuances of his personality are shown).
Hilary Swank is excellent in the lead. She looks eerily like Earhart and embodies her matter of fact, down-to-earth, driven characteristics — traits that have made Earhart one of history’s most enduring enigmas.
Astro Boy is pop culture phenomenon who has been around in various forms (cartoons, comic books, merchandise) since 1951. Created by Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy first introduced the Western World to manga — the unique form of Japanese anime that has since entered the mainstream.
The film begins with the Rashi quote: “Receive with simplicity all that happens to you.” And it asks many questions: What is God’s will for our lives? What happens when bad things happen to good people? Do our actions have consequences? How can we make sense of life?
Poignant, dark and depressing, this independent film is characteristic Aussie realism at its bravest. Like in the Australian TV series Underbelly, viewers are left with little assurance, hope or closure.
If you are going to fabricate history, there are surely not too many sections to pick more sensitive than Nazi persecution. Especially if you are not at all Jewish.
This film captures Michael Jackson as he prepares to tour prior to his untimely death. Revealing and candid, there was no doubt this man was a talented and gifted performer.
If you can totally suspend disbelief with this romantic drama, you may find it an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
Two Aboriginal cousins, Eddie and Charlie Cameron (Luke Carroll and Leon Burchill) set out on a road trip from Perth to Kalgoorlie. Eddie feels called back home and needs to return a rock his uncle gave him which, as it turns out, was sold to an anthropology lecturer named Ms White (pun unsubtly intended!) by another cousin.
What would the implications be for civilisation if we were able to live our lives through a surrogate body, a synthetic human that did all the daily things for us so we never needed to leave the house? What implications would this have for society, relationships and families?
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