Spoiler Alert: a movie review by Alex First

As the title suggests, the outcome is writ large at the start of the film, which is based on a best-selling memoir by Michael Ausiello. Read more

The Whale: a movie review by Alex First

The Whale is the film that excites me more than any other since lockdown. Read more

Knock at the Cabin: a movie review  by Alex First

Wen (Kristen Cui) is nearly eight years of age – a bright young girl collecting grasshoppers in a large jar so she can study them. Read more

My Old School: a movie review by Alex First

The true tale of 16-year-old Scott Brandon Lee (not the actor son of Bruce Lee) is remarkable. Read more

True Spirit: a movie review by Alex First

The story made world news. Read more

South African documentary on Holocaust survivor

The Ritz Cinemas, Sydney and Classic Cinemas, Melbourne, will present a Q&A screening of the deeply moving documentary I AM HERE. Read more

What’s Love Got to Do with It? A movie review by Alex First

Jemima Khan, the former wife of Pakistani cricket captain and politician Imran Khan, has written a cross-cultural romantic comedy. Read more

Tar: a movie review by Alex First

Surely an Oscar awaits Cate Blanchett for her extraordinary multilingual, piano playing performance in Tar. Read more

M3gan: a film review  by Alex First

When the most advanced “toy” in history goes rogue, lives are at stake in the engaging horror sci-fi thriller M3gan. Read more

Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre – a movie review by Alex First

A rollicking, globe-trotting actioner, director and co-writer Guy Ritchie has a lot of fun and keeps things moving in Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre (ruse of war). Read more

Emily: a film review by Alex First

Tense throughout, Emily is a fictitious account of lauded 19th-century writer and poet Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights), a role filled by Emma Mackey. Read more

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: a film review by Alex First

Marcel is an extraordinary, original work with Best Animated Feature at the Oscars written all over it. Read more

Blueback: a movie review by Alex First

With a strong environmental message, Blueback is a feel-good story about protecting and saving the reef. Read more

A Man Called Otto – a movie review by Alex First

Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks) seems like anything but a nice man. He likes to keep to himself and is curt to the point of rudeness. In fact, he is known for it. Read more

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (G): A movie review by Alex First

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is fanciful fun for the whole family. It is lightweight fare that will put a smile on the faces of littlies, their parents and grandparents. Read more

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (PG): a movie review by Alex First

Puss in Boots (the voice of Antonio Banderas) first appeared in Shrek 2 in 2004 before showing up again in a couple of other Shrek sequels and then a standalone film in 2011. Read more

The Lost King : A movie review by Alex First

Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins) is a quirky, intelligent, divorced mother who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. Read more

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (M): A movie review by Alex First

The tumultuous life of the world’s most awarded female vocalist is put under the spotlight in I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Read more

Triangle of Sadness (M): a movie review by Alex First

A black comedy focusing on beauty, influencers, ostentatiousness, excess, pretension and power, Triangle of Sadness unfolds in three parts. Read more

The Banshees of Inisherin (M): a movie review by Alex First

What does it take to ruin a friendship? Read more

Avatar: The Way of Water (M): a movie review by Alex First

Avatar’s magnificent journey continues with awe-inspired distinction in The Way of Water. Read more

Antisemitism and racism capture attention in Armageddon Time

A new, sensitive, coming-of-age story highlighting the African American and Jewish experience is a vehicle to propel two bright young actors onto the world stage. They talk with J-Wire. Read more

Antarctica: An IMAX movie reviewed by Alex First

While it is the coldest place on Earth, where temperatures plunge to as low as 90 degrees below zero and the water temperature is freezing, Antarctica is a surfeit of riches. Read more

Where the Crawdads Sing: a movie review by Alex First

A young woman whose life has been a series of letdowns faces the possibility of the death penalty after being charged with the first-degree murder of her former lover. Read more

Compartment No 6: a movie review by Alex First

We’re in Moscow in 1996. Read more

Sundown: a movie review by Alex First

An intelligent, slow-burn movie in which little appears to happen for a long time and much remains unsaid, thereafter the shocks come. Read more

Minions: The Rise of Gru – a movie review by Alex First

Minions: The Rise of Gru is an origin story and an ode to the music of the ‘70s. Read more

Elvis: a movie review by Alex First

Elvis lives. Well, not quite. But Baz Luhrmann has breathed new life into the legend and aura surrounding the consummate performer, the best-selling solo recording artist of all time. Read more

Top Gun: Maverick – a movie review by Alex First

Top Gun: Maverick is everything I wanted and more from a sequel 36 years on. Read more

The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson – a movie review by Alex First

Magnificently shot, The Drover’s Wife is a story of hardship concerning a woman living in the Australian bush trying her best to raise four young children. Read more

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