Straits Times Film picks: Dangerous Animals, Australian Film Festival, Trainwreck: Poop Cruise
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise (M18)
55 minutes, Netflix
★★★★☆
In 2013, 4,100-odd passengers and crew aboard the Carnival Triumph set out on a two-day cruise from Mexico to Galveston, Texas. A fire destroyed the ship's electrical system, leaving it dead in the water without working air-conditioning or toilets.
For four days, before the ship was towed back to the United States, those on board endured stifling heat, fetid air from leaking sewage and going to the toilet in plastic bags.
This documentary, the latest in the Trainwreck series on Netflix, looks at the saga with footage shot by cruise participant Devin Marble, intercut with interviews with passengers, crew members, lawyers and public relations executives hired to deal with the media furore.
More than a decade on, almost everyone involved speaks about his or her odorous ordeal with wry humour. The real takeaway – one that is far more tragi-comic – are the revelations about rampant corner-cutting in the cruise industry, a discouraging reality for cruise lovers.
Australian Film Festival 2025
(From left) Aaron L. McGrath, Levi Miller and Angourie Rice in the mystery drama Jasper Jones.
PHOTO: AUSTRALIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2025
The 2025 edition of the festival showcases six films from Singapore and Australia, marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Australian films cover a range of genres, from documentary to musical romance, each placing a focus on First Nations stories.
Jasper Jones (2017, PG13, 102 minutes, screens on June 27 and July 6, various times) is a mystery drama adapted from Craig Silvey's 2009 novel of the same name.
It is 1969 and, in a small rural town, white teenager Charlie (Levi Miller) and his Aboriginal friend Jasper (Aaron L. McGrath) share a gruesome secret. Fearing that the death of Jasper's girlfriend Laura will be blamed on Jasper by townsfolk, they have hidden her corpse.
The consequences of Laura's disappearance ripple through the town, exposing racist attitudes and other disturbing truths about the outwardly wholesome community. The film stars double Oscar nominee Toni Collette as Ruth, Charlie's formidable mother.
A review in The Guardian newspaper says director Rachel Perkins 'threads the plot's various elements together seamlessly', with the result being 'a morbidly enchanting coming-of-age drama that has much in common with Stand By Me (1986), director Rob Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's novella'.
Where: Golden Village Suntec City, 03-373, 3 Temasek Boulevard
MRT: Promenade
When: June 26 to July 6, various times
Admission: $2, with $1 discount for Singapore Film Society members and Friends of the Australian High Commission, Singapore. Bookings available through the Golden Village website or box office
Info: str.sg/BMui
Dangerous Animals (M18)
99 minutes, now showing
Jai Courtney in the thriller Dangerous Animals.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
Australian film-maker Sean Byrne's latest film comes after two well-received works of horror, The Loved Ones (2009) and The Devil's Candy ( 2015 ), which established him as a director who infuses spine-chilling terror with emotion.
Dangerous Animals was selected for the Directors' Fortnight sidebar section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, an honour only occasionally given to works of horror.
The story follows Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), an American tourist visiting Australia's Gold Coast. She is abducted by shark obsessive Tucker (Jai Courtney) and chained in his boat. For her, he has gruesome plans, plans he has carried out on several other captives.
In a review, Variety magazine calls the film 'an efficient and highly effective thriller that scarcely allows a calm moment in which to question how deranged its premise truly is'.
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