Jason Di Rosso
Jason Di Rosso is RN's film critic, host of the weekly film show The Final Cut and reviewer across a range of RN.
Scorsese's lifelong obsession with spirituality surfaces in Silence
Posted
A lifelong obsession with Catholicism is one of the main themes in Martin Scorsese's latest film, as he continues what he calls a search for the spiritual human condition.
Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, religion-and-beliefs, catholic, united-states, taiwan, japan
Manchester by the Sea's tale of grief and regret Opinion
Posted | Updated
Of all the films nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars, Manchester by the Sea is the most gruelling to sit through.
Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states
Why Moonlight deserves to win Best Picture Opinion
Posted
Moonlight's sophisticated depiction of conflicted masculinity deserves to beat La La Land for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states
Top 5 movies of 2016, chosen by RN's film critic Opinion
Posted | Updated
In a remarkable year in film, critic Jason Di Rosso picks out his five favourites, including a mainstream blockbuster and a few indie surprises.
Topics: comedy-film, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, documentary, australia
Office Christmas Party strikingly safe despite cocaine and sex
Posted | Updated
Office Christmas Party begins as a middle finger to top-down management culture and economic rationalism, but it ends rather differently.
Topics: comedy-film, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, christmas, united-states
Crowd-sourced bushranger biopic escapes humble origins
Posted | Updated
The Legend of Ben Hall is a rich, if flawed, portrait of a haunted man and a romantic tribute to the Australian bush as a mirage of freedom.
Topics: biography-film, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, history, community-and-society, nsw, australia
The Founder takes the shine off the Golden Arches Opinion
Posted | Updated
The Founder is hardly an excoriating takedown of the McDonald's origin story, but it is a film concerned with how the American dream has its shadowy lining.
Topics: biography-film, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states
The magic is back in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Posted
The first film to imagine the Harry Potter universe without Harry Potter is a dark allegory of fear and xenophobia in America.
Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, fantasy-films
Amy Adams can't save the ponderous Arrival
Posted
As much a philosophical rumination as a thriller about alien hardware, the ever-dependable Amy Adams can't save Arrival from some ponderous sci-fi noodling.
Topics: science-fiction-films, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states
The Light Between Oceans glows faintly, but fails to dazzle
Posted | Updated
For a romantic weepy, The Light Between Oceans doesn't do a terrible job of telling a story of grief, love and a dreadful mistake.
Topics: romance-films, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, albany-6330, wa, australia, new-zealand
Hacksaw Ridge indulges Mel Gibson's appetite for suffering
Posted
Mel Gibson's return to directing sees him bring to the screen one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, focusing on the story of an unlikely war hero.
Topics: arts-and-entertainment, film-movies, drama, world-war-2, history, community-and-society, united-states, japan
Elle defies expectations in eccentric rape revenge thriller
Posted | Updated
Elle is an imaginative film, unafraid of pushing the normal boundaries of its apparent genre. Elle's ambition, however, doesn't quite sustain it to the end.
Topics: thriller-films, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, france, netherlands
It's no Animal Kingdom, but Boys in the Trees climbs impressive heights
Posted | Updated
Boys in the Trees feels like an urban legend told at a slumber party — earnest and creepy with a plot twist you see coming — but first-time writer/director Nicholas Verso's delight is palpable.
Topics: horror-films, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, adelaide-5000, sa, australia
Joe Cinque's Consolation: a queasy, claustrophobic drama
Posted
Joe Cinque's Consolation is a film that isn't afraid to ask difficult questions about the line between good and evil, the nature of mental illness and the failings of community.
Topics: film-movies, crime-fiction, arts-and-entertainment, canberra-2600
The Girl on The Train barely leaves the platform
Posted | Updated
The cinematic adaptation of The Girl on the Train almost falls off the tracks, but Blunt's performance remains a reason to see it.
Topics: film-movies, film, arts-and-entertainment, director, actor, united-states
Magnificent Seven remake not all that magnificent
Posted | Updated
The remake of The Magnificent Seven is a streamlined film that's too eager to spell itself out.
Topics: film-movies, western-films, film, arts-and-entertainment, director, actor
Australia's missing voices Opinion
Posted | Updated
As the film awards season kicked off this week with the Golden Globes, Jason Di Rosso wonders why Australia's cultural diversity is rarely reflected in our home grown cinema.
Connect with ABC News
Got a news tip?
If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC.
