A standard text message came in from my brother earlier today. That he’d just seen Sunshine Cleaning. That he enjoyed it. Standard because he pretty much enjoys everything he sees. Standard because he’s…
- Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne
It was a thought that only occurred to me the morning after. What would have happened if Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac was actually sexy? What would have happened had I, and my too-handsome friend sitting…
For a handful of years in the mid-2000s, Veronica Mars was on our screens. A sassy teen sleuth (played by Kristen Bell) solved crimes in a Californian town named Neptune. It was cute, clever and just a…
I’m always reluctant to use the word impatience — it sounds so petulant, so thoroughly demanding - so instead I’ll admit to being time-conscious. To harbouring zero respect for (most) kinds of waiting…
Two behaviours from my childhood stand out as a) clear predictors of my future writing interests and b) missed opportunities for my parents to rope in therapists. In primary school my idea of a quality…
Nearly a year ago, I was spending time with a man who kept mentioning Somerset Maugham’s novel Of Human Bondage (1915). So frequently did it enter conversations in fact, that eventually I felt obliged…
One of my big criticisms of Her centred on Joaquin Phoenix. Notably his face. There were an abundance of close-ups – it was, afterall, largely a one-man-band kind of a film – and apparently he was instructed…
On the morning of December 30th, 2013, I was woken by a hovercraft. I’d opened the hotel room curtains and the smog was thick, the skyscrapers slick, and locals had evidently donned their pollution masks…
I’d written a piece for the ABC about “Our Schapelle”. As is often my approach it was largely a think piece. Not a condemnation, not a defence, it was simply some observations – some talking points – about…
As someone who spends great big chunks of her time writing about film and television, it seems perhaps a tad incongruous that I’m no fan of celebrity culture. Put simply however, I find the elevation of…
I was at a screening of Saving Mr Banks. (A lovely film, incidentally). There were a handful of previews. Some cartoony crap, something weepy with Kate Winslet and something near-glorious. Near being the…
In Year 8 our history class watched a documentary about Cambodia’s Killing Fields. Regrettably, I remember pretty much nothing of the doco and everything about a girl from my class running from our portable…
I’d felt a strange need to defend M°A°S°H. Not that I recall ever watching a full episode - not that I’d call myself a fan - but there’s some good writing there. Some humour. My brother, unconvinced, then…
The uniform is a tad too snug around his biceps, his crotch. Maybe he’s got a moustache, but it’s not that important. One thumb grazes his beestung bottom lip, his other hand props up the box. She’s doe-eyed-comely…
Years ago I heard about a speed-dating event held at a library. Participants were asked to bring a book that “encapsulated” them. My imaginings involved people sitting at teeny tiny little tables proudly…
Aside from flicking over it while staying in generously-cabled hotel rooms, I don’t think I’ve ever actually watched MTV. I say this not with pride and not with shame, but as a simple point of fact: it’s…
According to American Hustle, 1978 was a time of big hair. Of cool music. A time before, apparently, bras were invented. Perhaps it was also a time when people had the patience to sit still for 138 minutes…
I’m big on textures. I won’t eat lychees for example, just in case my tongue accidentally slips inside one. Ditto eggplant and the whole oral exfoliation-thing. And I’d rather wear 46 layers of less-warm…
If dinner runs smoothly and if future plans get made, by the third meal he - whoever he is - will suggest one of two vegetarian restaurants. This happened the other night. The delightfully lascivious man…
There are lots of ugly reasons behind discrimination. One of the less hideous and less predictable ones is hiring/coupling-up with/living near people just like us. As progressive as we might believe ourselves…
Taking plot cues from the dreadful Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) and the delightful Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Bad Grandpa is 92 minutes of dick and fart jokes. And those dick and fart jokes were apparently…
He and I were sitting in a Chinese restaurant. They’d forgotten to bring us our food and we were handed a small bowl of damp peanuts to dissuade us from gnawing our chairs. As you do when you’ve been denied…
Lunch with one of my PhD students. Not a formal supervision meeting so we got to spend an hour on topics of true gravitas. High-end mascaras vs the cheap stuff. If anyone ever uses eyeshadow without primer…
My first takeaway from Captain Phillips was a sweaty suspicion that the heating was cranked up in the theatre so we’d share the pain of the hostage. The second centers on Catherine Keener. Cards on the…
I gravitate to lists. A vegetarian, sure, but I’ll always click on the article about Melbourne’s best pies. Top ten station wagons? Fantastic! Who cares that I don’t have a license and haven’t had any…
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