Week two of the Sydney Film Festival rolls on but most of the interesting features are due to get local releases. As I’m reluctant to write too much about a movie that deserves a review in its own right, I’ll talk briefly about the festival, then segue to the new bio pic of J.R.R. Tolkien, which will be a big disappointment for anyone expecting another round of CGI-heavy action with wall-to-wall dwarves, hobbits, orcs and wizards.

This year the gap between the SFF and the mainstream looks like a yawning chasm. The program is paradise for film snobs and socially-concerned types, but – on the surface – it lacks popular appeal. Last week I was firmly in the ranks of the snobs and the socially-concerned, but the more I study the films on offer I can’t help wondering if the SFF has strayed a little too far from old-fashioned entertainment, which is probably the only reason 90 per cent of people go to the movies.