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