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Joel interviews the MIFF team to find out what's in this year's program announcement! Click to listen to our special SWITCHCast ep now.x
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
CHRIS EDWARDS
SWITCH Contributor

Chris is a young Melbourne-based theatre maker, recently graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Performing Arts. When he’s not writing, directing, performing - or struggling to write about himself in the third person - he’s successfully procrastinating away all of those things by indulging in his one great love – the cinema.

TOP 3 ARTISTS: Adele, Sufjan Stevens, Lianne La Havas
TOP 3 MOVIES: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Rear Window, Singin' in the Rain
BEST CONCERT: Florence and the Machine, Sidney Myer Music Bowl in 2015
FIRST MEMORY OF A FILM: Either begging my parents to put on the 'Titanic' VHS that I'd been dying to see, or losing my tiny mind at the end credits of the Modern Cinematic Masterpiece that was 'Spice World: The Movie'.

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The Mule - Old mule, not-so-new tricks
THE MULEOld mule, not-so-new tricks
With its self-reflexive thematic underpinning and its eminently watchable lead performance, ‘The Mule’ is at least a noble failure, though definitely not without its surfeit of problems.
Cold War - Poles apart
COLD WARPoles apart
Nowhere else this year will you find such thoughtful, specific storytelling being told through song.
Second Act - J-Lo faux pro a no-go
SECOND ACTJ-Lo faux pro a no-go
With a performer as naturally charismatic in any genre as JLo in the lead role, it’s frustrating to watch a film so fatally misjudge the type of film its premise demands it to be.
Climax - An all-dancing, drug-fuelled nightmare
CLIMAXAn all-dancing, drug-fuelled nightmare
Director Gaspar Noé captures the group's feverous plunge into brutality and psychotic inhumanity with an intimate, glazed immediacy, as the film unfolds in a series of long, gliding shots.
Creed II - Not quite a knockout
CREED IINot quite a knockout
It's an entertaining ride that carries you through entirely predictable beats, so mildly underwhelming to see a follow-up to Ryan Coogler’s knockout that is instead only merely good.
The Children Act - Judging the judge
THE CHILDREN ACTJudging the judge
It’s genuinely disappointing to see a film like this – beloved female star, intelligent author, proven director – so thoroughly miss the mark. Emma Thompson deserves so, so much better.
BlacKkKlansman - Spike Lee plays his Trump card
BLACKKKLANSMANSpike Lee plays his Trump card
This is arguably one of the most necessary films of 2018. The world is currently on fire, so why not make a film on this subject that acknowledges that?
Unsane - Paranoia will destroy ya
UNSANEParanoia will destroy ya
Not just a gimmick, but not quite transcending its pulpy genre origins, ‘Unsane’ is mean, it’s nasty, and entertaining as hell. Steven Soderbergh is clearly having a ball, and Claire Foy is stunning.
Loveless - They call me Mother (Russia)
LOVELESSThey call me Mother (Russia)
There’s an undeniable power to this merciless deconstruction of modern Russia and its discontents, and its steadfast refusal to be anything less than ruthlessly unforgiving.
Spielberg, ranked - Counting down the master director's entire filmography
SPIELBERG, RANKEDCounting down the master director's entire filmography
Inarguably, Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential filmmakers currently alive and working. We rank each and every one of his films from 1971 to 2017.
BPM - Queer history, honoured and invigorated
BPMQueer history, honoured and invigorated
This is a new queer classic which offers a hard-won opportunity to honour those who fought for change before us, and celebrate their humanity, their temerity, and their victories.
Molly's Game - Chastain's the drawcard in an average directorial debut
MOLLY'S GAMEChastain's the drawcard in an average directorial debut
Despite an intelligent, charismatic from Jessica Chastain, what could’ve been a great directorial debut for acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin ends up being a merely average one.
The Post - Streep and Spielberg strike gold in portrait of a complex woman
THE POSTStreep and Spielberg strike gold in portrait of a complex woman
There’s a brazen sort of electricity pulsing through the film that is hard to disregard; a boldness that is so intrinsic to its very nature that it becomes impossible to disentangle it from the film.
Paddington 2 - Trust and bear-lieve, it’s a paw-fect sequel
PADDINGTON 2Trust and bear-lieve, it’s a paw-fect sequel
Whimsically traipsing onto screens with this year’s most delightful, most ecstatically enjoyable, most preposterously joyous cinematic experience, ‘Paddington 2’ might just be perfection.
Downsizing - Honey, I shrunk my ability to be a decent human being
DOWNSIZINGHoney, I shrunk my ability to be a decent human being
An unfunny, unilluminating, caustically toothless, visually uninspiring and intellectually facile attempt at mansplaining the world’s problems.
The Teacher - A fierce morality play
THE TEACHERA fierce morality play
Imagine if the parents from 'Big Little Lies' took a touring production of '12 Angry Men' to Communist Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s - that's the closest you can get to summarising 'The Teacher'.
Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool - A Hollywood romance
FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOLA Hollywood romance
There's a surprisingly honest emotional force that the film is somehow able to build and deliver, and Jamie Bell delivers what might just be one of the finest male performances of the year.
Professor Marston & The Wonder Women - A sex-positive biopic
PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMENA sex-positive biopic
Even with its shortcomings, it’s hard to stay mad at a film that is so unabashedly sex-positive in a genre that rarely even has a pulse.
The Snowman - The year's biggest disappointment
THE SNOWMANThe year's biggest disappointment
‘The Snowman’ has nothing more on its mind than the lurid, stultifying adherence to the potboiler handbook of old, but even fails at that, unable to craft the bare basics of a satisfying thriller.
The Mountain Between Us - A disastrous misfire
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN USA disastrous misfire
Sure, the minutiae of survival is mildly interesting, and Mandy Walker’s cinematography impressively captures the stunning locale, but nothing can get past the ear-bleedingly terrible script.
Heal the Living - A stunningly compassionate tear-jerker
HEAL THE LIVINGA stunningly compassionate tear-jerker
What results is some of the most heartbreakingly sincere filmmaking I've seen all year. Quillévéré elevates this story to soaring empathetic heights. It's beautiful.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle - An offensively misjudged disappointment
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLEAn offensively misjudged disappointment
None of the positives can make up for the bloated mess that the rest of the film is, and they most certainly cannot excuse casual misogyny masquerading as liberalism.
Beatriz at Dinner - A prickly study in division
BEATRIZ AT DINNERA prickly study in division
No easy answers are provided, but it’s the journey that hits hardest. Salma Hayek tears into this character. It is not an understatement to say that it may be one of the best performances of the year.
Angels in America: Part Two - Perestroika - A thrilling conclusion to a modern epic
ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART TWO - PERESTROIKAA thrilling conclusion to a modern epic
This is an incredibly worthwhile production of one of the most spectacular plays of modern times. It comes into these specific times with its power, humour, heart, and especially blistering rage.
Angels in America: Part One - Millennium Approaches - Incredible writing, staged credibly
ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART ONE - MILLENNIUM APPROACHESIncredible writing, staged credibly
This production steps into a political and social climate that might be even more charged than the one it came from, but the play itself is as illuminating and edifying as ever.
The Lovers - Affair(s) to remember
THE LOVERSAffair(s) to remember
At no point is it unenjoyable to watch or interminable in its construction, but its amiable lack of interest in anything outside of its two lead performances becomes frustrating as it continues.
Faces Places - The empathy engine
FACES PLACESThe empathy engine
Reinforcing the ability of art and artists to form connections and provide windows into the lives of people who are just like us, and also not at all, this is a moving tribute to the act of creation.
The Lost City Of Z - Adventure, deconstructed
THE LOST CITY OF ZAdventure, deconstructed
There’s a sumptuous quiet to the opening moments of ‘The Lost City of Z’, director James Gray’s first foray away from the New York boroughs of his previous films.
Good Time - A scuzzy and propulsive odyssey
GOOD TIMEA scuzzy and propulsive odyssey
It is exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure, but the underlying humanism of the Safdies’ dark and unflinching world view means that buried underneathis a jittery, frantically beating heart.
Jungle - A true story told poorly
JUNGLEA true story told poorly
Though the cast is charismatic and eager, and the story is astonishing, this is a disappointingly limp affair. While it tells the tale with clarity, it forgets to be a film in the process.
 
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