Navigating life, school and love can be tricky even for the best of us but for those with mental and social disorders it can be even harder. X+Y takes us into the fictional world of a teenage math prodigy who is diagnosed on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum at a young age and his journey to competing…
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Before we start, there are three things you need to know about this film: 1. This is based on a Nicholas Sparks book 2. There are three stars here, Britt Robertson as goody-two-shoes Sophia, Scott Eastwood as Hunky Cowboy Luke and Scott Eastwood’s blue blue eyes 3. The two lead characters look really good together…
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Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is back and we’re quite a few years on from the previous two films. He’s in charge of the “night program” and about to put on a big show of all the museum displays to a large group of rich supporters and benefactors when suddenly all of the displays start acting…
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It’s often been said that we know less about what goes on under water than what happens in space, and it’s this sense of unknowing, unfamiliarity and foreboding that director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) runs with in The Black Sea. Robinson (Jude Law) has just been let go from his job as…
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Avast, mateys! Here be SpongeBob with another cinematic adventure. This time he voyages out of water, out of time, out of earth and out of his dimension. Whatever it takes to restore the cornerstone of civilisation the Krabby Patty. The secret formula for this highly addictive burger has mysteriously disintegrated into thin water, and the…
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‘Dia de Muertos’ aka Day of the Dead has always been a great theme for films to work with, particularly animated ones. Director Jorge Gutierrez has taken the opportunity to inject the Mexican tradition’s vibrancy into The Book of Life, generating a sense of wonderment through stunning visuals and lively characters. The film’s plot revolves…
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If you can imagine the Disney fairy tale animated film of the same name brought to the screen in all its resplendent glory as live action, then Kenneth Branagh’s version certainly fulfils that. A consistently visually bold film even though it does lack a sense of originality or uniqueness in the story. Regardless it’s still…
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“No one ever knows what we do.” Ever wonder where those captions on your TV come from? Do you know what a court reporter is? Both utilise the invisible art of stenography – “the act or process of writing in shorthand by hand or machine” – a tradition that dates back to the time of Cicero, who developed…
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Claire (Anaïs Demoustier) and Laura’s (Isild Le Besco) friendship is not that unique. Having met when they were young, they had grown up together, and forged a relationship that would see them through school, first love, first heartbreak, marriage and children. Their friendship is like any between two women who grew up together as little girls. When Laura dies…
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Attempting to intersect race, sexuality, religion and small town values, Patrik-Ian Polk’s Blackbird is a coming out and coming of age drama that’s an enjoyable watch, but ultimately proves too conventional to be truly special. Randy (Julian Walker), a devoutly Christian choirboy from small town Mississippi, is plagued by a host of personal problems –…
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The 2015 SXSW Festival is in full swing in Austin, Texas. And undeniably, one of the most anticipated highlights of this year’s conference was the world premiere of the long awaited, fan-funded, Ktown Cowboys – a film based on the wildly popular web-series of the same name. Directed by Daniel Park, Ktown Cowboys follows the lives of…
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The Circle (Der Kreis) was a gay magazine produced in Switzerland and distributed internationally between 1932 and 1967. It is also the name of a docudrama film by director, Stefan Haupt. The film tells the story of a couple who were members of this underground movement that went on to become Switzerland’s first legally-married couple…
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For better or worse Liam Neeson has essentially become the Charles Bronson of the 21st century. No longer the brooding performer from fare like Schindler’s List, Neeson’s action quota is generally either the Taken films or features courtesy of Jaume Collet-Sera. It’s safe to say the Taken films have dwindled in quality over their run, but his…
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Stephen. Freaking. Colbert. With new beard! Playing a priest! He was easily, without a doubt, the best thing about this episode, and his guest spot has got to be one of the best of the whole season. Mostly because of how funny he is, but also because he’s STEPHEN COLBERT. Here he plays Father Michael O’Donnell who,…
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Bob’s penchant for not backing down on ‘the principle of the thing’ no matter how inane rears its head in “Lil Hard Dad”. The difference this time around is Gene, who usually doesn’t pay much attention to his father’s impassioned irrelevant causes, decides to jump on board the insane train. The result a rare moment where Bob’s…
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Remember, way back when Hannah was in Iowa, and her father came to visit her acting very, very strange? As it turns out, he was struggling with something of a conundrum – he was trying to figure out if he was gay. Now Tad knows, Loreen knows, and Hannah definitely knows. It really was too good to…
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Midway through the season and episode 13 of the wacky and twisted life Bob Belcher and his family lead doesn’t seem to flow on from any of the other previous episodes. It does reference character traits and plot points from the past and whilst this may stem the laughter of audiences unfamiliar with the show,…
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Just like Danny and Mindy’s relationship opened the show up to a whole new avenue of humour, Mindy’s pregnancy is doing exactly the same thing. Mindy is definitely pregnant (I keep waiting for the writers to say “PSYCH!” and make it all one big fever dream), and she’s suffering from very bad morning sickness, having…
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As the first episode of Mom begins, titular parent Christy (Anna Faris) – a waitress at a middle-to-high-end restaurant – is crying to her customers, battling tears as she reads the night’s specials and suffering through having to sing “Happy Birthday” to elderly patrons. Although the studio audience would have you believe it’s one of the…
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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel once again takes the audience on a journey through India with our favourite set of English retirees. The sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit brings together the same ensemble cast as previously, as well as some new additions. The film is helmed by the same team which included writer,…
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Scott Dooley’s Debut is a “Stand-up comedy film”. It’s not strictly a recorded version of his live show nor is it an in-depth documentary of his travels. In Debut Dools offers us an account of his life spent on the road, performing stand-up and doing promo spots and above all, making people laugh. Dools’ debut…
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The Danger 5 team have found themselves in the Vatican City, attempting to track down Hitler and the slimy lizard creature that escaped from Mengele’s body in the last episode. Lizard Mengele has gathered together a troop of his own like-minded Nazis who want to overthrow Hitler. Disguised as priests in red cloaks and various…
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At this year’s Golden Globes, hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey took aim at a little movie called The Interview during their anticipated opening monologue. And it sums up the lifespan of the film to date pretty well: “The biggest story in Hollywood this year was when North Korea threatened an attack if Sony Pictures…
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Take one dysfunctional family of a soon-to-be divorced couple with their three oddball children. Another family of a high strung husband with his depressed wife and their aloof teenage son. One elderly apathetic patriarchal grandfather who is dying of cancer. Set it in an elaborate 75th birthday party in the Scottish Highlands. Awkward hilarity and…
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Emily (Ebony Nave) is a teenage girl who is a victim of ‘the system’, shunted from one foster home to another, finding solace only in drugs, alcohol and the dark recesses of the city nightclubs she frequents. She is also self harms as a release from her pain. This is a young girl going nowhere…
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Hannah Horvath will never have her shit together. Yes, she now lives in a house that is so big that takes over four minutes to show it to Marnie over Skype as opposed to her New York apartment, which would have taken her forty seconds. Yes, she’s cycling everywhere and she doesn’t even need to…
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WARNING: This review contains spoilers. It’s your allied super team from all corners of the globe – Danger 5 is back! This time, they’ve fly-kicked their way out of the swinging sixties and landed in the dripping excess of the eighties. Just when you thought that dastardly Hitler was dead for good, the evil mastermind turns…
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Family Guy is one of those shows where you either love it or loathe it. And for some people Season 14 may also cause the same kind of reactions. It’s because this season sees characters like Stewie (Seth MacFarlane) becoming less like the evil and murderous child genius he was at the beginning of the…
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Russell Crowe doubles as director and lead actor in Australia’s latest global contender, The Water Diviner, bringing something to the world which deals with the hellish Battle of Gallipoli, Australia’s most impactful war and the primary reason for our national day of mourning – ANZAC day. While the story may be a bit too complex…
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“Earth is all that live here.” The magic of Japanese cinema is its vibrant, often startling diversity; perhaps most favoured for samurai action flicks, or dream-like anime films, Japanese filmmakers have become synonymous with movie masterpieces. More prominently, however, dramas have similarly come to the fore; following the 2012 film Bread of Happiness, Yukiko Mishima’s…
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