An Obvious Disavowal
“Disclaimer” (Directed by Alfonso Cuarón Orozco from Renée Knight’s novel, 2024; Apple TV) Prima facie, this appears to be a clever, intriguing, well-made, beautifully-performed dramatic series, with a cast headed by Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen and Lesley Manville. A revenger’s tragedy, where a woman’s wicked past comes back to haunt her, undermine her marriage, further alienate her son, and damage her career. A series of flashbacks – the default of weak or flawed narratives, real and confected – terminates with cartoon-telescoping straight from a Warner Bros. cartoon, or Happy Tree Friends. These scenarios, unfortunately, are not only…
Continue Reading →Christmas in Estonia
(By Hugo Jakobsen, 3 October 1919 – 8 October 2010) “It begins on Christmas Eve, the 24th of December. It is cold and dark outside and the snow is gently falling. Our family is ready to go to Church to attend the special Christmas service. We enter a Church full of people and find our seats. In front of the altar is a huge Christmas tree lit up with wax candles. Further to the right is a nativity scene: the baby Jesus in the manger attended by his parents Maria and Joseph. The Lutheran minister tells us the story of…
Continue Reading →Now What?
The US Presidential election is coming to a head. Although 5 November 2024 is D-Day, early polling in numerous states has been going on for quite some time already. In a country of some 340 million (not counting the undocumented), where voting is a privilege rather than an obligation, free hot dogs, going-on-a-billion-dollars for advertising and events, and, in the case of the Democrat Party, Hollywood celebrities, are all deployed to get-out the vote. As of writing, the polls put the two candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as even in the polls, or where in…
Continue Reading →Conclave
(Directed by Edward Berger, 2024) [Thanks to our Guest Reviewer, Dr. Jack White] Last night, I attended the final night of the Italian Film Festival in Adelaide that presented “Conclave” – a papal thriller based on Robert Harris’s novel. This is a film you must see, certain to take out many Academy Awards. Obviously, the setting is the Vatican. The Pope has died. The film explores the process by which Cardinals come together to vote for a new Pope. What is clear from the outset is that the cardinals are real people with real frailties who are driven by human…
Continue Reading →Heartstopper
GRAND FINAL: Norwood v Glenelg, 22 September 2024 As Woody Allen once wrote, sometimes to have a little luck is the most brilliant plan. Glenelg rode its luck in 2024, having undertaken to strive for more in the wake of its brilliant 2023 campaign. But this year was to prove no easy road: Norwood and Sturt dominated the minor round, finishing first and second. And the Tigers, lumbering behind those two teams, were generally winning by narrow margins: they lost Lachie Hosie, one of the great attacking spears from its trident, early in the season, and coming home in the…
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