I TELL YOU WHAT I THINK
First on Entertainment

With technology continuing to advance at a rapid rate, Now deals with a new take on reality post COVID-19.   A middle-aged mother, X, played by Helene Tardif, is environmentally responsible, aware of her carbon footprint and climate change.   Her husband, Y (Marc Opitz), who has spent 25 years in advertising, is frustrated that he can’t get through to their lazy son, who is living in a world of his own. Donning a set of homemade virtual reality glasses adorned with yellow lig

Zany and deliberately over-the-top, the burlesque, drag play POKÉLESQUE, featuring improvisation and audience participation, makes for a fun night out. Photos by Jayden Byrne Written and directed by Rosie Roulette, the starting point is a love of Pokémon, originally released on the Game Boy handheld game console in 1996.   Thereafter, the Japanese media franchise responsible for it released trading cards, an anime series, comics, plush toys, films and much more.   To mark its

Why is Ed Sheeran one of the most beloved (and, unquestionably, highly talented) musical artists on the planet?   Having arrived by train from Sydney, he answered that emphatically on the opening night of a three-night stadium concert series in Melbourne, as part of his Loop Tour.   Marvel Stadium was metaphorically heaving under the collective anticipation of 60,000 plus fans.  Photo by Mark Surridge Then, spot on 8pm, he wandered into the middle of the packed arena, and del

When Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released 35 years ago, it was a movie well ahead of its time.   Its special effects were awesome.   Even looking at it now, it measures up well.   Those scenes of transformative liquid metal continue to impress. Photos by Simon Aubor   And with the emergence of all powerful AI in recent years, the film’s backbone – man vs machine (humans at war with Skynet) – is particularly salient.   And remember, the opening scene had a location and da

Why and when do marriages turn sour?   A couple of broad questions, I know, but ones picked apart in Bradley Cooper’s third directorial film (which he also co-wrote and in which he features).   The other two he directed are A Star is Born and Maestro.   Is This Thing On? starts with the words “We need to call it, right?” “I think so, too.”   That effectively brings down the curtain on a relationship that has run for 26 years, or does it?  Alex and Tess Novak (Will Arnett and

What do Crocs have in common with the most stylish silver stilettoes?   If you answered “absolutely nothing”, you just have to hear and see fashionista and inveterate warbler Glynis Traill-Nash’s take on it. Does she have stories to tell from a stellar career that has taken in the world’s fashion capitals!   And I tell you, she could make a bar of soap sound interesting.   Put simply, she is a raconteur. She has the gift of the gab and plays dress up with words … and music. 

What an experience!   I speak of a searing, at times humorous trilogy covering 16 years and lasting seven hours, in which, on several occasions, the characters eviscerate one another. Photos by Chris Parker And “yes”, I approached it with fear, simply because even for an unashamed theatre enthusiast like me 420 minutes in a small, black box theatre seemed like a huge ask.   I should add that there are breaks within and between each play, which extend the day from midday to ju

If you ever wanted to get up close and personal with The King in his heyday, here is your chance to do so in retrospect.   As a follow up to his 2022 biographical film Elvis, Baz Luhrmann has crafted a compelling documentary in which Presley is front and centre, larger than life.   Most of the time, Elvis is shot in close up, appearing just in front of your face, making the great music for which he was renowned, forever gyrating.   What extraordinary stage presence! The visua

What makes life meaningful? Why do we do what we do?   These large existential questions are dealt with humorously and poignantly in Jean Tong’s Do Not Pass Go.   Flux (Ella Prince) walks into a new job needing the money for surgery, as they are not comfortable in their own skin.   There they meet the strait-laced, by the book mother of a 15-year-old daughter, Penny (Belinda McClory).  Photos by Pia Johnson Flux has been hired after the firm with high expectations retrenched