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Sandra Hall is a film critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

At first, Joker: Folie a Deux is entertaining. Then it quickly isn’t
★★
Review

At first, Joker: Folie a Deux is entertaining. Then it quickly isn’t

Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel is wildly misconceived – a small story inflated by grandiose intentions.

  • by Sandra Hall

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There’s not enough Aubrey Plaza in this Aubrey Plaza film

There’s not enough Aubrey Plaza in this Aubrey Plaza film

In My Old Ass, a teenager is visited by her 39-year-old self who offers a preview of their shared future. And it’s not what she hoped.

  • by Sandra Hall
The director of How to Train Your Dragon is back with another excellent animation

The director of How to Train Your Dragon is back with another excellent animation

Featuring a cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill, The Wild Robot is both beautiful and original.

  • by Sandra Hall
James McAvoy is electrifying in this buzzy horror. But is it any good?

James McAvoy is electrifying in this buzzy horror. But is it any good?

Horror remake Speak No Evil is a clever but nauseating frightener about the consequences of remaining silent in the face of rampant domestic abuse.

  • by Sandra Hall
Boxing drama Kid Snow is the kind of Australian film we used to make

Boxing drama Kid Snow is the kind of Australian film we used to make

Forget about political correctness, director Paul Goldman and the film’s writers have no desire to give us a revisionist version of the past.

  • by Sandra Hall
Inspired, witty and full of warmth, June Squibb’s Thelma steals the show
★★★★
Review

Inspired, witty and full of warmth, June Squibb’s Thelma steals the show

Writer-director Josh Margolin has a deft and tender touch when it comes to the tricky relationship between farce and poignancy.

  • by Sandra Hall
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Never trust a tycoon with a private island, even when they’re played by Channing Tatum
★★★
Review

Never trust a tycoon with a private island, even when they’re played by Channing Tatum

Zoe Kravitz’s Blink Twice is an energetic horror satire that uses Tatum’s looks and charm to make an unlikely villain.

  • by Sandra Hall
The surfer who can’t see the waves he is surfing
★★★★
Review

The surfer who can’t see the waves he is surfing

The Blind Sea follows para-surfing champion Matt Formston on his quest to conquer the “Everest of waves” in Portugal.

  • by Sandra Hall
Cinema’s most gruesome creature has a frightening new bag of tricks

Cinema’s most gruesome creature has a frightening new bag of tricks

Alien: Romulus takes place in the period between Ridley Scott’s 1979 original and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel.

  • by Sandra Hall
When romance becomes abuse: Blake Lively’s new film treads a dangerous line
★★½
Review

When romance becomes abuse: Blake Lively’s new film treads a dangerous line

Packed with erotic cliches and based on a best-selling novel, the film adaptation of It Ends with Us postpones the bad news until the romantic possibilities have been milked for all their worth.

  • by Sandra Hall
De Niro plays yet another grumpy old man – but this time it works
★★★½
Review

De Niro plays yet another grumpy old man – but this time it works

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale play the parents of a nine-year-old with autism in this engaging drama.

  • by Sandra Hall

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/by/sandra-hall-hvexe