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From Hungarian child prodigy to feted Australian musical genius, Tommy Tycho led a stimulating and adventurous life, overcoming a series of setbacks. He is front and centre in a fascinating, illuminating and stimulating documentary, titled TYCHO! Beyond the Baton, written and directed by Stephan Wellink. Tommy was born into an upper middle-class family in Budapest on 11th April, 1928. His father was general manager of what constituted the electricity commission, while his

The global refugee crisis is brought into sharp focus in a tightly wound, suspenseful drama based around a family holiday. The attention is on Danish school teacher Mikkel (Esben Smed) and his workaholic health ministry official wife, Louise (Danica Curcic). They have taken their two young daughters, 11-year-old Sille (Sif Lucca Gersby) and Ella (Chili Olivia Jensen), six, away to a resort on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. Heading home one night along a dark road,

It starts with a pointed quote from Oscar Wilde: “One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry.” Then, a whip smart script and some seriously good acting transport us to eye opening conversation between two couples living in the same apartment block. Music teacher Joe (Seth Rogen) and his wife Angela’s (Olivia Wilde) daughter is sleeping out for the night. The couple isn’t exactly on the same page when Angela invites their free-spirited upstai

Her parents died when she was young. She only knew fragments of their lives, material she had pieced together from her mother’s diary. Her grandparents on her father’s side kept her at arm’s length, but why? This is the story of 18-year-old Marina (Llúcia Garcia) who is looking for answers. The year is 2004 and she arrives in Vigo, on the Spanish Atlantic coast. She wants her grandparents’ signature on documents she needs for a scholarship application. But before s

It is a flashy, feisty, feminist take on superheroes and villains, specifically Supergirl, the 23-year-old cousin of Superman, but I wanted more substance. As it is, Supergirl, aka Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), raised on the planet Krypton, who watched her parents become ill and die, doesn’t want any responsibility. She has effectively checked out and lives a drunken life with her beloved dog Krypto. In short, she is celebrating her birthday week by partying across space.

Traditional toys versus hand-held, battery-operated and plug in devices and the rise of technology. The battle lines have been drawn in this latest instalment of one of the most successful movie franchises in history*. Toy Story 5 is jam-packed with drama and humour and fun around the idea of connection between children via play. Behind it is the harsh reality that from a young age today’s kids bury their heads in tablets rather than living in a world of make believe.

This is a surprising crime thriller about a medically challenged piano tuner cum safe cracker. Niki White (Leo Woodall) has a severe medical condition that means he can’t tolerate loud noises. He was a musical prodigy when his hearing was compromised at age 7. Now he has to wear inner ear aids with headphones on top just to deal with everyday life. After two years of therapy, he still has perfect pitch, but he no longer plays the piano. Instead, he is “apprentice” to H

Featuring the music of Antonio Vivaldi, Primavera is a deeply moving story set in Venice in the 18th century. It concerns the passion of a gifted 20-year-old orphan and her acclaimed teacher. Cecilia (Tecla Insolia) was abandoned by her mother in the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage and she grew up there, adhering to its strict protocols. It is a place where gifted young women are musically trained to perform for the elite of Venetian society. Their talents though are hi

Nearly five decades ago, it was a close encounter with a UFO that resonated with audiences (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977). Five years on, it was all about helping a friendly alien return home (ET: the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982). Next, an alien invasion threatened the future of humanity (War of the Worlds, 2005). And now director Steven Spielberg (who wrote this with David Koepp – Jurassic Park) is at it again, this time with humans treating aliens abominably.

The twists keep coming in a darkly comedic film based around art and subterfuge. Specifically, it concerns the legacy of London-based Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), a prickly painter whose reputation has faded as he has aged and become infirm. In the 1990s, Sklar fell in love with a man who inspired him to create a series of portraits, which became known as The Christophers. However, only two series of the now valuable works have seen the light of day. The third was never

You are really into this young woman who works with you in a music store and is very soon to move away to pursue her passion for writing. At the moment, you are just friends. So far, you haven’t had the guts and haven’t found the right time to tell her how you feel because you fear rejection. Then you seize an opportunity to cast a love spell on her via a silly little toy that in your heart of hearts you know won’t work … but, surprisingly, it does. In fact, it works

Paul Rudd helms a feel-good story about a wedding singer who dreams of being a global music megastar and filling Madison Square Garden. He plays Rick Power, an American who moved to Ireland to marry the love of his life, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), when his then band was touring there. Mind you, that was 15 years ago and soon thereafter they welcomed their daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), who is now 14. Now, Rick is the front man for a wedding band named The Bride and Groove

A supernatural horror thriller, Backrooms is a phenomenon that has grown through the internet. Co-writer and director of the film Kane Parsons was just 16 when he used open-source software to create what was initially intended as a visual effects test. The nine minute short The Backrooms (Found Footage) was uploaded to YouTube in 2022. In its first two weeks, what was dubbed the scariest video on the internet garnered 20 million views. While still in high school, Parso

The founding father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud described love as a state of temporary psychosis. Arguably that definition applies to the central figure in Finding Emily, which is set in Manchester. Owen Brompton (Spike Fearn) works as a sound engineer at a student union bar at fictional Manchester City University. One raucous night he meets and immediately feels connected to a young woman dressed in a fairy outfit. She is a university student named Emily (Sadie Soveral

A slick Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) actioner, the story involves the shadowy world of high finance. The formula goes like this: the risks may be great, but the rewards are even greater. The yarn unfolds through the eyes of an attractive, highly confident, young lawyer. Rachel Wild (Eliza Gonzalez) works between the moral and the immoral, the black and the white – in other words, in the grey. She is an expensive hired gun with access to a crack tea

What unadulterated, elongated malarkey! Do not waste your time or money on seeing what is unquestionably one of the greatest disappointments of the year. Don’t be drawn into seeing the film just because Anne Hathaway, who I usually really like in movies, is in it. It gets down to a pitiful script and direction by David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) that no amount of fulsome acting could possibly rescue. Mother Mary (Hathaway) is a world-famous music star. The stage

A woman psychologically tormented and traumatised by her husband is at the heart of the debut narrative feature for Australian filmmaker Jasmin Tarasin. Sarah Smilie (Maeve Dermody) feels trapped in a coercively controlling marriage. She lives in a beautiful home with her well-to-do husband, Jake (Alexander England), who is frequently away on business. And so is the case on her 40th birthday, which she spends with their 13-year-old son, Otis (Sonny McGee). Clearly all is

Can money buy your happiness? Perhaps not, because even if you are “into” the person that is into you, if they come from a poorer background, the voice at the back of your head must be working overtime. And, because you are human, it is asking, “are they only into you because of your wealth?” Well, Marianne Farrère (Isabelle Huppert) has plenty of currency to splash around – I am talking about hundreds of millions or, even, billions. So, she doesn’t even bother asking

Acclaimed Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s latest movie, Wolfram is another disturbing representation of the country’s colonial past. It is set in the early 1930s in and around the fictional outback mining town of Henry (named after a grumpy cat Thorton used to have). It is a time of cruelty and exploitation to try to make it rich by mining Wolfram (an old term for Tungsten, which hardens steel). A couple of reprehensible types, the entitled and arrogant Casey (Er

A cute Babe-like (1995) whodunnit with some good humour and sight gags. That is what you are in for with The Sheep Detectives. Nothing to think about too deeply and some of the comedy hits the mark better than other attempts, but overall, it is a most enjoyable romp. George Hardy (Hugh Jackman), who lives in a long, silver caravan on his farm in the small village of Denbrook, is totally besotted with his flock of sheep. He fervently believes all are special and knows eac