Today
The Taste of Things movie review – a feast for the eyes
Director Anh Hung Tran has created an utterly absorbing film about cuisine as a model for life.
- John McDonald
Yesterday
How Anya Taylor-Joy morphed from chess nerd to action hero
Despite being the star of Furiosa, the actor’s status was cemented by a small role in another big film set in a desert.
- Kyle Buchanan
This Month
‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Monster’ movie reviews
One is set to be a blockbuster, but the other is one of those critically acclaimed films that can expect to enjoy only a modest success at the box office.
- John McDonald
Bad timing for biopic about an Israeli prime minister
Golda looks at the stakes of high-powered confrontation in the Middle East, and Fremont is a subtle, bittersweet, wryly humorous film.
- John McDonald
April
This might be the most explosive tennis movie ever made
Challengers packs a punch with breathless action while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist builds slowly and silently.
- John McDonald
Netflix smashes user expectations after reducing shared accounts
The company posted its best start to the year since 2020 thanks to a strong slate of original programs and a crackdown on password sharing.
- Lucas Shaw
This new Aussie horror is scary and funny
There’s not a moment in “Late Night with the Devil” when you’re not eager to know what’s going to happen next.
- John McDonald
‘Waterboarded with green magic’: the bizarre Gen Z cult of Shrek
The 2001 film about a lovable ogre in a swamp has found a new lease of life among young adults, many of whom weren’t even born when it first came out. But why?
- Poppie Platt
This new nunsploitation film is a good omen
This is a cinephile’s movie, but it also delivers the thrills and suspense one expects from the horror genre.
- John McDonald
This debut feature is an instant classic
Director Mohamed Kordofani effortlessly weaves political issues into an ongoing moral drama in Goodbye Julia.
- John McDonald
March
This movie may show you how to be happy in your job
Small events take on momentous significance in Perfect Days’ minimal narrative.
- John McDonald
United in grief Israelis and Palestinians find power in empathy
A Melbourne-based trauma psychologist says her work is more important than ever, amplifying the lived experience of those who choose respect over revenge.
- Ayesha de Kretser
This movie shows what happens when ‘economic refugees’ chase riches
Oscar contender “Io Capitano” does not moralise. Instead, it takes you along for the brutal ride as poor people from Africa set out for fabled European lands.
- John McDonald
Oscar winner is a sharp satire on identity politics
This is a much-needed and long overdue as a skewering of white, bourgeois hypocrisy.
- John McDonald
The reasonable doubts over Anatomy of a Fall
The contender for best picture Oscar showcases the inquisitorial French legal system, but is it accurate? And would it be different for an accused in Australia?
- Michael Pelly
Four fatalistic picks for this year’s Oscar awards
The AFR’s film critic John McDonald is hoping to end an awards ceremony losing streak this year by joining the pack.
- John McDonald
February
The Cannes crowd loved this offbeat romantic tale
If you’ve never seen anything by this idiosyncratic, Finnish auteur, this is a good place to start.
- John McDonald
Eric Bana’s traumatised cop returns to solve a bushland mystery
Like its predecessor, the scenery in Force of Nature: The Dry 2 threatens to be more engaging than any of the characters.
- John McDonald
- Opinion
- Art
Culture is being poisoned by lazy, unoriginal, populist ideas
The arts have always thrived because of new work – but that situation is now endangered, and it’s reaching crisis point.
- Ben Lawrence
Hoyts sale up in the air after Chinese businessman snaps up parent
The cinema chain’s chief executive, Damian Keogh, says a strike in Hollywood has had a material impact on the film slate this year and on box office takings.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones