heartrending

In these lists of the best Australian films of the year, I keep my eyes out for any patterns or trends. For example, three of 2022’s best titles were about rivers; half of 2021’s were documentaries; 2019 saw a sharp disconnect between the best versus the most popular Aussie films; and 2018 brought a batch of particularly bold and uncompromising works.Perhaps this year, you, dear reader, can have a crack at discerning a pattern for yourselves. The 10 films below are a rather eclectic batch, spanning a wide range of genres…

Image via Marvel Studios A great ending not only enhances what’s come before it but imbues the story with fresh meaning, and thankfully that’s exactly what Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does. Unlike pretty much the entire rest of the MCU, this trilogy was planned from the beginning, with James Gunn always knowing where the journey of the cosmic super-team would go from the off. In the wake of the threequel’s arrival, then, fans are revisiting the first two movies in the Guardians saga and discovering new…

A coda to a hugely popular manga and anime series, Fruits Basket: Prelude steps away from the supernatural elements of its preceding iterations while aiming to retain their emotional lyricism. The first half-hour of this “prelude” functions as a recap of the series; this lengthy prologue revisits how Tohru Honda, a sensitive orphaned girl, falls in love with Kyo, a teenage boy who is cursed to transform into a cat when touched by a member of the opposite sex. These events, absorbing enough when told over the course of the…