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.

This film shows the horrific truth behind the journey of asylum seekers
★★★★
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
Olivia Colman is brilliant in this glorious, foul-mouthed comedy
★★★★
Review

Olivia Colman is brilliant in this glorious, foul-mouthed comedy

Wicked Little Letters is a fictionalised version of a celebrated legal case that transfixed 1920s Britain.

  • by Sandra Hall
Sydney Sweeney as a nun? Say a prayer for this predictable fright fest
★★½
Review

Sydney Sweeney as a nun? Say a prayer for this predictable fright fest

In Immaculate, the star of Euphoria and The White Lotus runs the gamut of sweet-natured optimism to blood-stained desperation in less than 90 minutes.

  • by Sandra Hall
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.

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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
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