A little bit of background📃 I've written in other film posts about my penchant to frequent international film festivals with my friend, MH, held throughout the year across Australia by the Palace Cinema group. Romeria is directed by one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in modern Spanish cinema. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and it won Best New Performer at the 2026 Gaudi Awards. This post explores my thoughts on my first foray int

A little bit of background📃 It's been 20 years since the first Devil wears Prada film. I loved the first one, largely for Emily Blunt's sarcasm in her turn as ambitious assistant, Emily Charlton, and the thinly-veiled dig at Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, played faultlessly by Meryl Streep in the form of Miranda Priestly. The devil wears Prada is an iconic film whatever your feelings about it, so I eagerly lined up for number two. Did it live up to my expectations? Read on t

A little bit of background📃 All that's left of you premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025 and has since won multiple prestigious film festival awards. It was one of three Palestinian films shortlisted for an Oscar for Best International Feature Film for the 98th Academy Awards, a place that eventually went to The voice of Hind Rajab . I have already posted on my journey to understanding the Palestinian experience, in part shaped by reading three important

A little bit of background📃 Full disclosure: I am a huge Brendan Fraser fan, and I am so glad he's back. His comedic roles in The Mummy films and George of the Jungle, and his dramatic performances in Gods and monsters and The quiet American show his talents as an actor. It's always saddened me that his career and personal life were derailed by Hollywood. I was eager to see Rental family, not only for Brendan Fraser but also for the insight into Japanese culture. My movie bu

A little bit of background📃 My movie buddy, MH, and I are making a tradition of sorts by attending the regular international film festivals in Brisbane. Sentimental value is the second of two such films we experienced together in 2025. I love a good Scandi story and Stellan Skarsgard is one of my favourite actors. I was keen to see Sentimental value , too, as it had won the Grand Prix at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to win the 2026 Oscar for Best Internati

A little bit of background📃 I've always been fascinated by Eastern Europe and life behind the Iron Curtain, particularly in East Germany. I visited Berlin in the mid 1990s, only a few years after the Wall had came down. Two to one is the first film I have seen that explores the economic and social challenges of Germany's reunification. I saw it with my movie buddy, MH, during the 2025 German Film Festival. Two to one | Released in Australia April 2025 | Viewed May 2025 | Dir

A little bit of background📃 I waited a whole year to see Lee after seeing the preview for the film at the end of 2023. Kate Winslet is my favourite actor and I would run to the cinema to see any of her films. I understand that Lee was a passion project for her. Kate was the drawcard but I was also interested in the subject of the film - model-turned-photographer, Lee Miller - who was a trailblazing war photographer. Lee features in the infamous shot of herself in Hitler's ba

A little bit of background📃 I saw There's still tomorrow at the 2024 Brisbane Italian Film Festival. This was a new experience for me as I'd never seen an Italian film before. I liked the idea of the post-war 1940s setting. I thought the film was going to be a feminist perspective on breaking away from traditional familial expectations. There's still tomorrow was the highest grossing film of 2023 in Italy and the number one film at the Brisbane Italian Film Festival. I had h

A little bit of background📃 Touch is the second film I saw at the 2024 Brisbane Scandinavian Film Festival. See my review of the other film I watched, Before it ends. A Japanese-Icelandic story? I'm in! Touch | Released in Australia August 2024 | Viewed August 2024 | Directed by Baltasar Kormakur | Main cast: Egill Olafsson, Yoko Narahashi, Palmi Kormakur, Koki, and Masahiro Motoki The story📖 I wouldn't normally be interested in a romance film, but there was something abou

A little bit of background📃 I saw Before it ends at the annual Scandinavian Film Festival in Brisbane in 2024. I was instantly drawn to the film for its exploration of the dark events in Denmark at the end of WW2 when the occupied country was forced to take in German refugees. The film stars an actor - Pilou Asbaek - I loved in the Danish political television series, Borgen - and I was keen to see him in a different role. (Check out my review of my other Scandi Film Festival

A little bit of background📃 I wanted to love All of us strangers. The film has won both critical and audience acclaim and was nominated for multiple BAFTA awards. It is a powerful film, exploring the themes of grief, loneliness and identity. But did I love it? Read on to find out... All of us strangers | Released in Australia January 2024 | Viewed January 2024 | Directed by Andrew Haigh | Main cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell The story📝 There are

A little bit of background📃 One life tells the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who saved 669 Czechoslovakian children just before the Second World War broke out. He arranged transport, visas and foster families for the children when they arrived in London from Prague. The film is based on the book by Sir Nicholas's daughter, Barbara Winton. One life | Released in Australia December 2023 | Viewed January 2024 | Directed by James Hawes | Main cast: Sir Anth

A little bit of background📃 I originally wrote this post not long after the film came out. I added a warning to it, as my review contains spoilers. If you want to see the film spoiler-free, as I did, and you have kept away from reviews and social media commentary, read my review AFTER you have seen the film. I assume with the passage of time that this warning is no longer needed... Saltburn | Released in Australia November 2023 | Viewed December 2023 | Directed by Emerald F

A little bit of background📃 Past lives earned two Oscar nominations in 2024, one for Best Motion Picture of the Year and the other for director Celine Song for Best Original Screenplay. Read on for my review. Past lives | Released in Australia August 2023 | Viewed September 2023 | Directed by Celine Song | Main cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro The story📖 Past lives tells the story of Nora (played by Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo), childhood friends wh

A little bit of background📃 I was keen to see Oppenheimer because of my special interest in the Second World War and my general interest in the biographies of figures who have played a major role in global social, cultural and political history. The cast is a cracker as well. Did I like the film? Read on to find out. Oppenheimer | Released in Australia July 2023 | Viewed August 2023 | Directed by Christopher Nolan | Main cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jnr,