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If the media call is anything to go by, those attending one, several or all of the Australian Pops Orchestra’s concerts over the next fortnight are in for a special treat.   Maestro John Foreman AM is looking to spread joy, happiness and optimism over the festive season. He will be doing so with his magnificent 40-piece orchestra and a dazzling array of guest artistes, that have trodden the boards on Australian and international stages.   All four concerts over a total of nin

The effects are spectacular, but I fail to see why this film needed to be three hours 17 minutes in length.   The attempt by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his Na’vi warrior wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) to keep their family safe continues as their real and “adopted” children spread their wings.   They are still living with the Metkayina Clan in the picturesque reefs of Pandora.  At the end of the previous film, Avatar: The Way of Water, the Sullys’ eldest son Neteyam (Jamie F

A twisted, narcissistic tale, The Housemaid is a tense psychological thriller, one of the better examples of the genre in a domestic setting.   Millie Winchester (Sydney Sweeney) is down, but not yet out.   She has just been released from jail and is living rough in a very old car that has seen far better days.   Having constructed an attractive back story, she is mighty surprised when she is offered a job as a housemaid at a beautiful home by Nina (Amanda Seyfried).  Nina, w

An assured, world-renowned classical conductor learns the bitter truth in the most unfortunate of circumstances and it changes his life.   The latter is also true for a cook at a school cafeteria, who plays the trombone in a community brass band and struggles with self-doubt.   Circumstances conspire to bring the two together.   Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) is at the peak of his powers when he learns that he has leukaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant, otherwise he will d

You’re an intense, high achiever with a bright future, but a checkered back story.   With your big break comes the fallout of a bad decision.   That, in short, is the contention behind James L. Brooks’ (As Good As It Gets) dramatic comedy Ella McCay.  It is 2008, in the middle of a recession.   Thirty-four-year-old Ella McCay (Emma Mackey) is the third youngest woman to hold the position of Lieutenant Governor of an unnamed state.   When her boss, the governor (Albert Brooks)

As a conventionally brought up, white, heterosexual male, I was excited by what I saw and learnt from Two.   In fact, opening our eyes to difference and embracing it continues to be one of society’s challenges.   I put it to you that while we may have come some way, we still have a long way to go.   Non-binary Kit (Sienna Macalister) is strong willed. They know who they are and they want others to accept who they are too. Photos by Leonie Leonida But the person most challenge

Imagine a Santa that shoots, knifes, takes an axe to and decapitates his victims and you have the starting point for Silent Night, Deadly Night.   Young Billy Chapman (Logan Sawyer) was only eight when he witnessed the not so jolly fat man butcher his parents.   Then we cut (notice the pun) to an adult Billy (Rohan Campbell) orchestrating a murder spree of his own, just before Christmas.  He has caught a bus to a small US town and is in a diner when he spots an attractive wom

The ugly threat of colonialism looms large in Brodie Murray’s well realised Soul of Possum.   We are on the Murray River – Wamba Wamba country – in 1853.   Suddenly, the bush is devoid of its usual wildlife.   There is an unseen danger.  Photos by Darren Gill Wirramanda ( Balla Neba) tries to warn brothers from another clan, but they are immediately dismissive.   However, before long, the elder of the pair, Warru (Wimiya Woodley), senses the peril too, causing a falling out

Come From Away is a brilliantly composed, intense and emotional musical. So much so, that it gets me every time.   When I first saw it, I thought I had seen nothing like it. Photos by Ken Spence Now, several years later, having attended several productions, I feel the same way.   Perhaps that is why I keep coming back to the well, leaving just as moved and appreciative as if experiencing this stunning show as a novice.   Now it is OSMaD’s turn to move mountains and that they