The one that’s still cutting after all those yearsCHOPPER (MA15+)★★★★½RENT ONLYAfter many years off of being completely unavailable in any format, a welcome return for a landmark Australian movie. Based on the blood, guts and tears spilt by the notorious Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read, this provocative work is a slippery beast that eludes the responsibility that comes with sticking to the facts. However, it is also smart enough not to shoot itself in the foot by hiding beneath a thin veil of fiction. At the very least, if the movie has you asking “why would I even give this ugly excuse for a human being the time of day?”, then it has truly done its job. The performances, too, are all convincing in an unmistakably Australian way. The cast nails the various species that prowl the dark little corners of the Oz underworld perfectly. The handling of the title role by Eric Bana (an unlikely casting choice at the time of production) is one of the finest acting displays ever conducted on home soil.The one where Scarlett is something to Marvel atBLACK WIDOW (M)★★★★DISNEY+ (free) or RENT (standard price)This top-notch blockbuster from mid-year can now be enjoyed by all without having to pay the dread twenty-buck-plus “premium surcharge”. For more than a decade, a standalone Marvel movie for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) was always a rumour, and never a reality. The most human member of the Avengers stable – with no superpowers or tech gimmicks to enhance her extreme fighting abilities – this fascinating character deserved much better than the “yeah, yeah, we’ll get to you when we have the time” treatment. Thankfully, the wait has proved worth it in all departments here. While in Budapest, Natasha (Johansson) crosses paths with her long-lost younger ‘sister’ Yelena (Florence Pugh). What their reunion (accompanied by one heck of a house-shattering fight by way of hello) does reveal is that a notorious top-secret program that Natasha believed she had ended before joining the Avengers is still going strong. A refreshing new emphasis on nuanced character development and a narkier, darker sense of humour in play makes this a very welcome addition to the Marvel fold. Co-stars Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone.The one that’s going for a songWILD ROSE (M)★★★½FOXTEL, NETFLIX or RENTThose seeking refuge from the torrent of superheroes, sequels and silliness washing across digital platforms every other week should give this quality drama a go. Sure, it is very much a rags-to-riches tale of a country-and-western singer hailing from the not-so-Nashville environs of Glasgow. When we first meet Rose-Lynn Harlan (a blazing, star-making lead performance from Jessie Buckley), this young Scottish single mother has just finished a spell in jail and is acclimatising to a freedom that feels anything but liberating. Reluctant to reconnect fully with her two young children, Rose miraculously parlays a part-time cleaning job into a full-on shot at stardom as a compelling country singer. Whether Rose hits that target will all come down to the white lies, black moods and colourful choices undoubtedly affecting her aim. A solid, no-frills effort on all fronts, with Buckley’s immense array of talents there for all to see.The one where taking something takes everything awayCRISIS (M)★★½BINGE, FOXTEL, AMAZONA flawed, yet compelling drama looking to educate audiences unfamiliar with the full scale and chilling horror of America’s opioid addiction crisis. This it does by intertwining three different stories that embody just what a mess the whole world has on its hands when it comes to the highly addictive nature of certain prescription medicines. In one section (the dullest, but most authentic) Gary Oldman plays a university professor who puts his career on the line when he blows the whistle on a new drug that will kill users that don’t follow what is written on the label. In another section (the dumbest, but most exciting) Armie Hammer is an undercover narcotics agent with a little sister “on the gear” and a big bust on the go. Then there’s the other bit (the slightest, but most involving) where Evangeline Lilly drives a few thousand kilometres to put a bullet in the Canadian drug lord that put a killer pill in her late son’s mouth.The one with no get up and glowLIGHTS OUT (M)★★★BINGE, FOXTEL or RENTIf you need one last pre-Halloween spook-out, then this short, sharp and not-so-sweet horror movie gets the job done with a merciful minimum of fuss. Not much going on in the need-to-know department here. A suburban house is under the nightly control of an evil spectre that can wreak total and terminal havoc if darkness levels approach pitch-black. In other words, if you’re not within reach of a torch or a candle – or stray too far from the nearest light switch – a one-way ticket to the cemetery awaits. Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello and promising newcomer Gabriel Bateman are among those staggering from one-dimly- lit room to another, looking for any kind of glow that will keep their creepy guest in the shadows. First-time director David F. Sandberg, overuses the same clanking-metallic-boom sound of many of his shock reveals, which are effective enough not to need the cheap sonic shortcuts to the audience’s collective “unhappy place”.The one who didn’t look before she leakedOFFICIAL SECRETS (M)★★★½NETFLIX, FOXTEL or RENTMovies about those fearless enough to speak against the wishes of the powers-that-be inevitably zero in on the same personal quandary. How do you successfully blow the whistle without spectacularly blowing up your own world in the process? British filmmakers execute this fare better than most, and so it proves, yet again, with this conscientious take on the true story of Katherine Gun (Keira Knightley). This low-level intelligence analyst rattled her higher-ups in 2003 by leaking documents showing Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Cabinet were dodgily accelerating moves to go to war with Iraq. Co-stars Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode.The one looking at someone who knows where to lookMARTHA: A PICTURE STORY (M) ★★★★AMAZON or RENTA great documentary about a great photographer. Now in her late seventies, American lenswoman Martha Cooper has devoted a lifetime to chronicling anything and everything that catches her trained eye. It is when Cooper truly hit her stride in the early 1980s that is the principal focus here. Before all of her contemporaries, Cooper was on the spot in New York City to cover its pivotal role in graffiti’s transition from underground scourge to international art movement. Further enhancing the many joys of this diverting documentary: Martha Cooper just happens to be a wonderful, open-minded, big-hearted human being. Long may she click away.
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