M/C Reviews

The Midnight Dress

Reviewed by Melanie Saward

All readers know that every now and then, they’re going to pick up a book, start reading and find a story that stays with them for a long time after the final page is turned. Sometimes, it’s an unexpected discovery, but other times, you know you’ve got something special in your hands before you even start reading.

They found a cave

Reviewd by Jill Don

Rereading a book fifty years on is an interesting experience. The adult eye senses a simple optimism, and convenience in the run of events. It stumbles and cringes over archaic language. It also detects themes the young reader might miss, or might never contemplate acting out. And some attitudes – the norm for 1948 - are guaranteed to raise hackles today. They found a cave is escapist literature in every sense. Five children flee a troublesome domestic situation. The replacement domicile is a snug, well-concealed cave. Their new lives settle into an orderly pattern, complete with a troop of milking goats, a pet cat, and a birthday cake. The weather, surprisingly for Tasmania, remains fair over many months.

Louise Isackson @ Brisbane Powerhouse

By Julian Wagner

On Friday, 21st June 2013 you’ll be mesmerised with Louise Isackson’s chic seductive vocals at Brisbane’s Powerhouse as she sings her heart out for the much awaited performance launch of her album Red to Blue.

The Maids @ Sydney Theatre Company

It seemed appropriate somehow, upon leaving the theatre and rushing back to Circular Quay Station that the night would gradually become lost in some of the thickest mist I have ever seen in Sydney. Appropriate in that The Maids is steeped in sweet obfuscation, in phantom identities emerging and receding like vapour, like the brief shapes seen huddled on station platforms as the train shunts by. Such is the psychological complexity of this performance that even at the close, with the stage lights cut and the cast awaiting applause in the dark, the audience seemed reluctant to clap; not unmoved, but perhaps unwilling to have this production end with so many questions of relationships and repercussions unanswered.

Cinema: After Earth

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

From the minute word got out that M. Night Shyamalan was to direct After Earth, a sci-fi “extravaganza”, and that he had cast Will Smith and his son Jaden, the critics and bloggers of the world were sharpening their keyboards in readiness. In this supreme exercise in nepotism, Shyamalan’s track record precedes him but is it really that bad? Unsurprisingly, the always honest Tomatometer commenced measurements in the low teens with slaps like “incredible boredom…abysmal acting”, “disappointing” and “lack of ambition”. The fact is, the only way this director, now a punchline, was going to shake off The Happening, Lady In The Water, and The Last Airbender was to deliver unto us a masterpiece. After Earth is neither a good film, nor a bad one. Furnished with primitive CGI, there are unintentionally funny moments, yet it remains an ordinary, formulaic adventure that often resembles a video game.

Cinema: 10 Underrated Films

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

1. Young and Innocent (1938): To fully appreciate where Alfred Hitchcock’s obsession with the innocent- man-on-the-run device began, this 1938 thriller is the best study. It opens with an argument between lovers, lightning strikes, thunder rumbles, and soon after on a lonely beach, a man discovers a corpse. Two witnesses misread his hasty retreat and the chase is on. Hitchcock isn’t as serious here as he was in The Wrong Man. He allows for light humour but his trademark set pieces are littered throughout. Young and Innocent has never enjoyed the reputation of North By Northwest, a film it shares much with, but it should. Hitchcock was working with limited resources in this pre-Rebecca era and the result is an exciting adventure alive with the promise of things to come.

DVD: The Bay

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

Could the new ecological horror film The Bay really by directed by Barry Levinson? The same Barry Levinson who won an Oscar for Rain Man and would like to forget all about What Just Happened? Yes indeed, but the best surprise here is how much he refreshes the overused genre of found footage and scares the bejesus out of us as he does it. Not only does he deliver an effective horror spectacle, he manages to weave a strong message about environmental impact into the action. The Bay is ripped-from-the-headlines stuff, and all the more chilling for it.

Furies: War in Europe 1450 - 1700

Reviewed by Timothy Roberts

In popular culture, the Renaissance period is often seen as an endless procession of masterpieces, created by colourful, rambunctious figures with a knack for accessing the transcendent. Aside from the art, high-level intrigue fills in the rest of our knowledge. Lauro Martines shatters this comforting view of the past with Furies, his bloody yet compassionate history of armies and civilian populations during Europe’s seemingly interminable wars of religion.

The Race Of His Life: The Amazing Spencer Gray

Reviewed by Sharon Norris

At an age when ‘fitting in’ is becoming oh-so important, but trying to stand out from the crowd is equally important, being twelve years old in a small country town is a little hard for Spencer Gray. His family has moved from their urban lifestyle to a quieter, more sedentary life at Skippers Cove, and he’s made friends with his classmates but is still a little worried about fitting in. He’s also a little worried about standing out, too, and as the story opens he’s pushing himself to the limit in cross-country training, all the while telling himself that the pain he’s experiencing will be worth it in the end. This resilience sets the scene for what takes place later in this novel for upper primary readers by Deb Fitzpatrick, The Amazing Spencer Gray.

Light Horse Boy

Reviewed by Yvonne Hurst

This picture book for older readers would be a typical boys-own adventure if not for the fact that it is based on historical events. In Light Horse Boy, Western Australian author, Dianne Wolfer, describes the horrific journey made by seventeen year old farrier Jim, and his horse Breaker, through the hell which was World War One. Poignant charcoal sketches by full-time artist, Brian Simmonds, add a sense of immediacy. Teaching notes are available at www.fremantlepress.com.au.