Sandra Hall | The Sydney Morning Herald

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Film critic

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

Kristen Stewart’s new psychological thriller is Thelma & Louise on steroids
★★★½
Review

Kristen Stewart’s new psychological thriller is Thelma & Louise on steroids

Stewart is a woman unravelling under the pressure of a violent father and a girlfriend set on revenge in the ultra-violent black farce, Love Lies Bleeding.

  • by Sandra Hall
Oscars 2024: What our critics thought of the best picture contenders
Series
Oscars

Oscars 2024: What our critics thought of the best picture contenders

Read what our reviewers thought of all the films nominated for best picture at this year’s Oscars.

10 stories
How brave filmmakers get around the oppressive Iranian regime
★★★★
Review

How brave filmmakers get around the oppressive Iranian regime

Director Mani Haghighi explores the way living in a theocracy compels citizens to put on a public mask frequently at odds with their private self.

  • by Sandra Hall
Desolate pub in a gloomy part of town? We know how this story goes...

Desolate pub in a gloomy part of town? We know how this story goes...

In Baghead, a young woman inherits a pub with an unwanted tenant in the basement – a ghost who can act as a bridge between the living world and the afterlife.

  • by Sandra Hall
The Zone of Interest lays bare the banality and ordinariness of evil
★★★★
Review

The Zone of Interest lays bare the banality and ordinariness of evil

Jonathan Glazer’s drama about the Auschwitz camp commandant and his wife takes a meticulously forensic approach, allowing them to incriminate themselves.

  • by Sandra Hall
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Madame Web can see the future. Pity she didn’t see this flop coming
★★½
Review

Madame Web can see the future. Pity she didn’t see this flop coming

This shamelessly ludicrous Spider-Man spin-off, led by Dakota Johnson, is a desperate attempt to keep the franchise flag flying.

  • by Sandra Hall
Argylle is big dumb fun – and it wasn’t written by Taylor Swift and her cat
★★★
Review

Argylle is big dumb fun – and it wasn’t written by Taylor Swift and her cat

Starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard, Matthew Vaughn’s action comedy shows a gleeful disregard for damage and has a sequel in its sights.

  • by Sandra Hall
Barbie may have been robbed, but was Margot deserving of best actress?
Analysis
Oscars

Barbie may have been robbed, but was Margot deserving of best actress?

It’s tempting to say that Margot Robbie’s turn as Barbie is worthy of every accolade out there.

  • by Sandra Hall
This Palme d’Or winner is meticulous and utterly mesmerising
★★★★
Review

This Palme d’Or winner is meticulous and utterly mesmerising

Anatomy of a Fall isn’t just about a mysterious death – it’s an intensely introspective French portrait of a doomed marriage.

  • by Sandra Hall
Jacob Elordi evokes Elvis’ glamour, but Priscilla film is not a pretty picture
★★★½
Review

Jacob Elordi evokes Elvis’ glamour, but Priscilla film is not a pretty picture

Director Sofia Coppola’s success in conjuring the tedium of Priscilla Presley’s life with Elvis turns out to be perversely counter-productive.

  • by Sandra Hall