Sandra Hall
Film critic
Sandra Hall is a film critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
★★★
Review
John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds are all schmaltz in too-cute fairytale
It’s filled with big-name stars and started a bidding war, but fantasy film IF leaves too many questions unanswered.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★★
Review
Tired of the cult of the celebrity chef? This Juliette Binoche movie will fix that
Juliette Binoche provides the perfect antidote to the cult of the celebrity chef in this modest film that finds fascination in life’s quieter moments.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★★
Review
Ready to chuck it all in and go adventuring? Maybe watch this first
There’s a fine line between adventure and misadventure, as this remarkable odyssey demonstrates.
- by Sandra Hall
Before he died, Freud had a mysterious meeting. This film ‘reveals’ who it was with
Anthony Hopkins is at his sarcastic best in a story that imagines a battle of wills that took place shortly before Freud’s death.
- by Sandra Hall
★★
Review
Tennis provides background noise in Zendaya’s pointless love triangle
Director Luca Guadagnino does everything he can to distract you from the game in this fast-paced, time-tripping drama.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★
Review
Civil War began as a work of fiction, then it almost became fact
Kirsten Dunst stars as a photojournalist in this grimly candid portrait of the US ruled by a dictator in the White House – and a society under collapse.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★★
Review
Horror addicts and nostalgia buffs will relish this spooky Aussie film
Inspired by Don Lane, the American who dominated the Australian chat show in the mid-’70s and early ’80s, Late Night with the Devil hits the right notes.
- by Sandra Hall
Even Martin Scorsese can make a bad film, and this one’s his worst
The filmmaker’s 2002 epic is the cinematic equivalent of a tabloid paper.
- by Sandra Hall
★★½
Review
This film was a critical and festival hit. I can’t understand how
Part biopic, part polemic, Ava DuVernay’s new film Origin has an undeniably powerful moment, but it’s hardly revelatory.
- by Sandra Hall
★★★★
Review
This film shows the horrific truth behind the journey of asylum seekers
Nominated for a Best International Film Oscar, and based on real-life stories, Io Capitano is a coming-of-age story that finds hope among the desperation.
- by Sandra Hall