Reviews

A stunning and beautiful film, "The Last Black Man in San Franscisco" feels like a homage to not only the city where the filmmakers grew up in, but also to the art of filmmaking itself. Wonderfully acted and beautifully shot with a personal story at its core, this film is a love letter to city of San Fransisco. A truly, artistic masterpiece.

A thoroughly entertaining behind-the-scenes re-telling of the 2011 Australian film "Red Dog", and the canine behind the titular role, Koko.

Through interviews, old footage and re-enactments, "Koko: A Red Dog Story" illustrates a vivid picture of the beloved kelpie and the lives of everyone he touched.

With brilliant comedic timing and plenty of endearing moments, this film will make you laugh and cry, and then make you want to go home to hug your canine friend/s.

A must-see for any dog-lover!

The film centres on a young girl, Matilda, who lives with her mom in a Bougainville village in Papua New Guinea. During a time of civil war, all the whites of the village have left, with one, Mr Watts, remaining on the island with his native wife. Mr Watts is brought to the local school in an attempt to teach the children of the village. It is here that the children are introduced to 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, and find a friend in the central character, Pip.

Filmed on location in Papua New Guinea, the director has accurately captured village life throughout the film with colourful scenes and beautiful cinematography, as well as a script that reflects characteristics of New Guinean language and humour.

Xzannjah Matsi and Healesville Joel do a wonderful job in bringing their characters of Matilda and Dolores to life with great conviction. Hugh Laurie also does a good job portraying the slightly sad and slightly mysterious Mr Watts who lives on the island with his Bougainvillean wife Grace.

Set during a dark time in Papua New Guinean history, some scenes might disturb some viewers, however the violence that is present in the story is approached tactfully in which it is suggestive and the viewer is spared too many visual details.

Overall, Mr Pip is an exceptional film which brings justice to the original novel. Stunningly filmed, well written, entertaining and endearing, Mr Pip is a truly memorable film and great achievement in Australasian cinema.

'Perished' is the story of a man trying to survive a zombie outbreak in suburban Australia. Trapped in a storage shed with limited supplies, he finds that in order to survive, not only must he escape, but he must also face his ultimate fear.

This is a simple yet cleverly designed zombie film, which doesn't rely on much dialogue, in fact, there is very little. One undeniable fact is that this is definitely not a nonsensical zombie piece, but a mature and well crafted film, which mainly relies on the talents of the main actor, Wayne Davies, and directors/writers Radanovich and McCann.

Although I don't consider myself a big fan of the zombie flick, I found myself engrossed in this film. Davies does a convincing job in portraying a broken man, vulnerable and desperate to survive. He almost reminds me of Viggo Mortensen in the dystopian film, 'The Road', with the exception of an Australian context.

While 'Perished' encompasses the essentials of what you may expect from it's full length feature counterparts, the quality of the film making surpasses the efforts of some other film makers. Radanovich and McCann's understanding of the genre and technical mastery demonstrate their abilities as proficient film makers. The result is a well crafted production worthy of Hollywood but with a distinctive Australian presence.

I'm giving this 8 out of 10.