
Latest from Movie reviews
Stories and analysis from The Northern Express Herald.

San Andreas a faulty take on disaster
Our hero's preoccupation with his personal life trivialises the magnitude of the events taking place.
Life imitates art in Gemma Bovery
From Anne Fontaine, writer/director of <i>Coco Before Chanel</i>, comes this lighthearted and lusty modern-day interpretation of Posy Simmonds' graphic novel based on Gustave Flaubert's 19th century novel, <i>Madame Bovary</i>.
Noble stirs but doesn't shake
It would take some churlishness to deny the potency of the true story told by this biopic of Christina Noble, a Dubliner who founded homes for orphan children in Vietnam and Mongolia.
Tomorrowland 'a tribute to Disney'
There's a lot of action, unanswered questions and convoluted science in Disney’s Tomorrowland, a film inspired by Walt’s namesake futuristic theme park, mostly to flesh out a premise that’s a little thin.
Movie review: Bowie Is
This doco, made and heavily branded by the V&A, is likely to be as close as fans here will get to it without an airfare.
Movie review: Poltergeist
Poltergeist 2015 is a faithful tribute, produced with an eye to introducing the Steven Spielberg-produced original - and the phrase "they're here" - to a new audience.
Movie review: Slow West
In the closing moments of this deliciously unpredictable Western, set in Colorado but shot in the South Island, the camera revisits the scenes of the various killings that have punctuated the action.
What to expect from Paul Henry's bizarre feature film The Desk
When word spread that a feature film starring Paul Henry was to premiere at an international film festival, the news was met with surprise, amusement and confusion.
Mad Max a 5-star 'thrill machine'
Like the many, ingenious vehicles it has roaring and exploding across the screen, <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i> is a giant scrapyard jalopy, says Herald entertainment editor Russell Ballie.
Movie review: A Royal Night Out
Who knows what happened on May 8, 1945 when Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, and sister Princess Margaret went on to the streets of London to celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
Movie review: It Follows
The budget is minuscule. There are no big names. Set pieces are delivered infrequently, and on a small scale. And if it's monsters you're after, there are precious few ghouls, goblins, ghosts or gremlins.
Movie review: Pitch Perfect 2
Pitch Perfect was hilarious, feel-good fun, and one of the surprise hits of 2012.
Movie review: That Sugar Film
I enjoyed Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me, even as I shrank from its outrageous contrivance.
Movie review: Rugby doco The Ground We Won
Documentary that captures small-town, rugby-mad culture enthrals.
Movie review: Paper Planes
Australian film-maker Robert Connolly, known for Balibo and Underground: The Julian Assange Story, enters new territory with this sweet family drama about a 12-year-old boy from rural Western Australia.
Duo shine in bard's comedy
The second instalment of a two-parter, this play proposes a solution to the mystery of what happened to the play that matched Love's Labour's Lost by assuming it was (and then delivering) Much Ado About Nothing.
The Gunman is not a hit, man
One of the later sequences in this heavily armed action flick takes place in a bullfighting ring. Yes, we're now in Spain. No kidding.
Paint by numbers film a fail
The wonderful choristers of the American Boychoir School (is "boychoir" even a word?) in Princeton, New Jersey, are the heart and soul of this production. But all the star power at the top of the bill cannot save a sentimental paint-by-numbers film.
Movie review: Lucky Them
Toni Collette is fabulous and utterly convincing in this low-key drama about a magazine music writer whose latest assignment is to go in search of her ex-boyfriend, cult rock hero Matthew Smith, who mysteriously disappeared 10 years ago.
Movie review: Leviathan
For Russian writer-director Zvyagintsev, whose 2003 debut The Return deeply impressed, this is feature number four, though only his second to be seen here outside festivals.
Avengers II not as much fun
Age of Ultron feels less of an event than the first film, just a reasonably exciting instalment in Marvel's ongoing mega-franchise.
Movie review: The Age of Adaline
After a difficult start with the comings and goings of numerous directors and stars, including Katherine Heigl and Natalie Portman, this epic romantic drama about a woman who remains aged 29 for almost eight decades finally sees the light of day.
Conventional retelling feels like teaching aid
John Steinbeck's classic American tragedy-in-miniature has had five screen adaptations (including an Iranian film) but the only theatre version was the author's own, published and first staged in 1937, the same year as the novel.
Movie review: Woman In Gold
In the black-and-white photograph of her that appears briefly during the end credits of this true-life melodrama, Maria Altmann looks somewhat more interesting than her screen version.
Movie review: Samba
The new film by the writer-director duo behind the 2011 hit The Intouchables is not as formulaic and manipulative but it lacks the single-minded coherence that was so crucial to that film's success.
French comedy's meaty meaning
The patient, deeply humane tone that distinguished Conversations with My Gardener and My Afternoons with Margueritte is on show in the new film by veteran French director Becker.
Movie review: The Book of Life 3D
Nominated for a Golden Globe, The Book of Life is directed by Jorge Gutierrez but also carries the creative imprint of producer Guillermo del Toro.
































