Shows / Can’t Look Away
Can’t Look Away
I was a kid in the 70s, a teenager in the 80s and in my twenties in the 90s — and movies have been part of the ride all the way. From old favourites and forgotten gems to films I’m watching for the first time, I revisit the movies, share the memories and talk about whatever gets me thinking.
Episodes
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 201: Cache (2005)
I revisited Michael Haneke’s Caché nearly 20 years after first seeing it, and found myself caught up in a mystery that raises some uncomfortable questions…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 200: Police Academy (1984)
For my 200th episode, I went back to a film that still has me laughing out loud — proof that a bunch of misfits, a pompous pain in the arse and one very…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 199: Comes a Horseman (1978)
I expected a plodding old Western, but Alan J. Pakula’s Comes a Horseman turned out to be an absolute gem — an 8.5/10 surprise. Jane Fonda brings fire, James…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 198: King of New York (1990)
Christopher Walken rules the streets, David Caruso goes gloriously over the top, and nobody seems to have heard of a quiet night in — Abel Ferrara’s King of…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 197: The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
Venice, seduction and four people who really shouldn’t be left alone together — The Comfort of Strangers is a beautifully sinister little nightmare where a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 196: Communion (1989)
Christopher Walken takes us on a wild ride through alien abductions, creepy encounters and some truly bizarre dance moves in Communion (1989). It’s episode…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 195: Brainstorm (1983)
What do you get when you mix Christopher Walken, a mind-bending sci-fi idea, a pair of golf slacks straight out of Caddyshack and a finale that looks like…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 194: The Dead Zone (1983)
Kicking off my Wonder of Walken: A Weekend of Wacky, Weird and Wild Walken is The Dead Zone — a Stephen King story brought to life by Christopher Walken and…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 193: Collateral (2004)
Michael Mann’s Collateral is a gripping night-time thriller, with Jamie Foxx caught in a nightmare taxi ride and Tom Cruise chillingly effective as a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 192: Solo Sunny (1980)
Sunny has the voice, the looks and plenty of spark, but she can’t seem to catch a break as she tries to make it as a singer in East Germany. Renate Krößner is…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 191: Hollywood 90028 (1973)
I revisit Christina Hornisher’s cult film to explore its disturbing ideas about obsession, exploitation and urban decay, its remarkable images of early-70s Los…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 190: Night Moves (1975)
I thought Night Moves was good when I first saw it, but this rewatch has turned me into a fan — Gene Hackman is magnificent as a private eye who seems to get…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 189: China Moon (1994)
I revisit China Moon, a 90s erotic thriller I remembered rather more fondly than it deserves. Madeleine Stowe is a smoke show, but with wooden performances…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 188: Irreversible (2002)
Revisiting Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible was far more confronting than I remembered, but beneath its horrific violence I found an extraordinary piece of filmmaking…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 187: Tommy (1975)
Ken Russell’s Tommy is a gloriously bonkers rock opera packed with outrageous performances, bizarre imagery and unforgettable music. From Tina Turner’s Acid…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 186: The Enforcer (1976)
Harry Callahan is back, and he’s got a new partner, a fresh batch of criminals to shoot and the usual collection of bureaucrats to piss off. I revisit The…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 185: Winter of Our Dreams (1981)
Winter of Our Dreams may be a slight little film, but Judy Davis’s troubled character and the complicated worlds she moves between give it plenty to chew on…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 184: Basic Instinct (1992)
Basic Instinct is a film of irresistible style, outrageous behaviour and one of cinema’s most iconic performances from Sharon Stone. But beneath all that sex…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 183: Peeping Tom (1960)
Revisiting Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom after 30 years, I found fewer chills than I remembered, but plenty to chew over in this disturbing tale of a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 182: Belle de jour (1967)
Catherine Deneuve, a secret double life and Luis Buñuel’s wonderfully strange view of desire — Belle de Jour is certainly an intriguing combination. Revisiting…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 181: Gothic (1986)
I revisit Ken Russell’s gloriously bizarre take on the night Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein, and discover that nearly 40 years on, it’s every bit as…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 180: Straight Time (1978)
Dustin Hoffman is almost unrecognisable in Straight Time, a tough, gritty 1978 film about an ex-con trying to make a life on the straight and narrow — and…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 179: He Got Game (1998)
I revisit Spike Lee’s He Got Game, a film I’ve always had a soft spot for. Denzel is terrific, Ray Allen is a revelation, the music is bloody brilliant and…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 178: Proof (1991)
I revisit Proof, a quirky little Australian film from 1991 that I remembered liking but had almost completely forgotten. Hugo Weaving is terrific, Russell…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 177: The Vanishing (1988)
I revisit this Dutch psychological thriller I hadn’t seen since the early 90s, and discover it’s every bit as unsettling as I remembered. A missing woman, a…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 176: The Bounty (1984)
I can’t believe I somehow missed The Bounty for more than 40 years, especially as an Australian. Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson are brilliantly cast, a very…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 175: That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Fernando Rey spends the entire film chasing a woman who keeps changing her face, moving the goalposts and driving him completely mad. I had a great time…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 174: All or Nothing (2002)
I revisit Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing, a tough but brilliantly acted look at a family struggling with money, relationships and just getting through the day…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 173: Hidden Agenda (1990)
I revisit Ken Loach’s gripping political thriller where an investigation into a murder gradually uncovers something much bigger. Brian Cox and Frances…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 172: In the Heat of the Night (1967)
I revisit a film that’s every bit as powerful and entertaining as I remembered. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger are terrific, but it’s the combination of murder…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 171: Three Colours: Red (1994)
Three Colours: Red has always been my favourite of Kieślowski’s trilogy, and one of the films I remembered most fondly from the 1990s. With its chance…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 170: Three Colours: White (1994)
I revisit Kieślowski’s Three Colours: White, a very different beast from Blue — part revenge story, part romantic comedy and part Polish Mr Bean. Karol’s…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 169: Three Colours: Blue (1993)
I revisit Three Colours: Blue, a film I’ve always admired but never felt particularly close to. Juliette Binoche is terrific as a woman trying to shut the…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 168: Romeo is Bleeding (1993)
I revisit a film I’d completely forgotten despite watching pretty much everything Gary Oldman was doing in the early ’90s. With a ridiculous cast, plenty of…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 167: Outland (1981)
I revisit Outland, Sean Connery’s gritty sci-fi thriller set on a mining colony on Io. It’s got great visuals, a creepy atmosphere and Frances Sternhagen…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 166: The Missouri Breaks (1976)
I revisit The Missouri Breaks, a film I remembered as a major disappointment from my VHS days, despite Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando being in the same…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 165: Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
I revisit Eyes of Laura Mars, a film I hadn’t seen for years and remembered very little about. Watching it again took me back to 1978 New York, with Faye…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 164: Miami Blues (1990)
I revisit this wildly unpredictable 1990 crime comedy featuring an absolutely unhinged Alec Baldwin, a terrific Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward trying to…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 163: Rush (1991)
I revisit this gripping 1991 crime drama about two undercover narcotics cops who become dangerously immersed in the world they’re investigating. Jason Patric…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 162: Magnum Force (1973)
I revisit Magnum Force, the second Dirty Harry film, with Clint Eastwood back in San Francisco facing a very different kind of threat. There’s plenty to enjoy…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 161: Vagabond (1985)
I revisit Agnès Varda’s Vagabond, a grim, strange and incredibly absorbing film about a young woman determined to live completely on her own terms. I found…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 160: Freebie and the Bean (1974)
A 1974 action-comedy starring James Caan and Alan Arkin - it’s a wild mix of buddy-cop antics, screwball comedy and spectacular car chases, and I take a look…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 159: Five Easy Pieces (1970)
I revisit Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces, with Jack Nicholson delivering a brilliant performance as a man who seems determined to escape every life he’s ever…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 158: Crimson Gold (2003)
I revisit Jafar Panahi’s Crimson Gold, a slow-burning and deeply unsettling Iranian drama about poverty, humiliation and a man pushed to the edge. Hossain…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 157: Metal Skin (1995)
I revisit Geoffrey Wright’s Metal Skin, a ferocious Australian film packed with cars, violence, emotion and relentless energy. Aden Young is absolutely…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 156: Point Blank (1967)
I revisit Point Blank, the 1967 crime thriller starring Lee Marvin that feels like it somehow arrived several years too early. It’s brutal, strange, stylish…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 155: Westworld (1973)
I revisit Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi thriller where you can go on holiday, shoot robots and basically do whatever you want — until the robots stop playing…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 154: Hard Times (1975)
I revisit Walter Hill’s Hard Times, and Charles Bronson is the real revelation — a remarkably controlled, stoic performance that might just be my favourite of…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 153: Run Lola Run (1998)
I revisit Tom Tykwer’s wildly inventive 76-minute blast of energy, where one tiny change can completely alter what happens next. Franka Potente is…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 152: Convoy (1978)
I revisit Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy — big trucks, big destruction, C.W. McCall and Kris Kristofferson in peak 1978 mode. A film that’s not quite The Wild Bunch…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 151: Damage (1992)
I revisit Damage, Louis Malle’s deeply uncomfortable drama about obsession, desire and the devastating consequences of crossing a line you can’t uncross…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 150: Patton (1970)
I revisit Patton, a massive World War II film with huge battle scenes, incredible performances and George C. Scott basically chewing through the scenery…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 149: Under the Sand (2000)
I revisit François Ozon’s Under the Sand, a quietly unsettling drama about grief, denial and the disappearance of someone you love. Charlotte Rampling is…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 148: The Evil Dead (1981)
I revisit Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, the 1981 horror film that unleashed ancient Demons, possessed friends and some very inventive — and often gruesome — ways…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 147: The Fly (1986)
I came back to The Fly after about 30 years remembering that it was pretty freaky. I didn’t remember that it was this good — or that I’d spend half the film…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 146: Bob le Flambeur (1956)
A stylish 1956 crime film set among the streets, characters and smoky atmosphere of old Paris. A beautifully shot, cynical heist story with gamblers…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 145: Poor Cow (1967)
I revisit Ken Loach’s Poor Cow, a remarkably honest and gritty look at working-class London and one woman simply trying to get through life. Carol White is…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 144: Dirty Harry (1971)
I revisit Dirty Harry, one of those films I’ve always known was a classic without ever really asking myself why. Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, a very dirty…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 143: L’avventura (1960)
I revisit Antonioni’s L’Avventura, a film where seemingly nothing happens, yet somehow I was completely captivated for 143 minutes. And then there’s Monica…
- Can’t Look Away
Episode 142: Heatwave (1982)
A provocative Australian thriller that takes me back to the Sydney of 1982. With Judy Davis, a terrific Australian cast and a city that feels like a character…