I really love the small wooden halls that dot each village in our north coast region. The halls have been social hubs for our rural communities for decades. They have seen bush dances, card nights, trivia fundraisers, 21st birthday parties, garage sales, weekly yoga classes and many other social events.

It was a full house for the opening night of The Gilded Cage, Somerville's latest film, a thoroughly relaxing and charming adult family comedy.

Deckchair Reviewer John Gilby reviews one of the year's most acclaimed films, 12 Years a Slave.

If Flood is anything to go by there is a whole lot of promising writing simmering in the State Theatre's latest venture, the Black Swan lab.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio take on the excesses of the stock market and manage to push their movie over the top and over the edge with wildly compelling and entertaining results.

Deckchair Reviewer, Denise, gives her review of 'A Hijacking', currently showing at Perth International Film Festival's Joondalup Pines.

The latest film from Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi is our Deckchair Review this week - The Past.

Steve McQueen's third feature is a powerful and uncompromising look at the horrors of African American slavery and features strong performances and first rate production values

Geoff's Picture Show (and Geoff) review the latest Alexander Payne film, Nebraska.

Geoff Hutchison reviews the most talked about film of the year - 12 Years a Slave.

One man's epic fight to stay alive is the premise of 'All is Lost'. Deckchair Reviewer Daniel tells us what he thought of the latest Robert Redford thriller.

Jason Reitman's uneven romantic drama about a depressed woman and an escaped prisoner stretches credibility and feels less than genuine.

Mies Julie magically takes us to the root of humanity, shocking and provoking us to reflect on our society. A difficult task in a world desensitized by busyness, television and instant media.

While thousands at the Arena were 'dancin' in the dark' with Bruce Springsteen, down a secret side street in Subiaco a few lucky festival goers were eating in the dark enjoying a meal they will never forget.

Allan Girod's is a small and entirely winning one-man show at this year's Fringe World.

Love takes strange twists in this wintry tale that's heavy on magic and fantasy but light on heart and intelligence

Last Friday, NORPA unveiled its 2014 season to a packed house at Lismore City Hall. The company's Artistic Director Julian Louis has stuck to a programming formula he's had success with over the years. The mix is one NORPA hopes will represent another year of strong houses. There are a couple of reinvented classics, some edgy new material, some drama, comedy, dance, circus, Indigenous and kid-friendly productions along with something homemade. Several shows use video technology extensively, while others ask you to just bring your imagination. In essence, there's something for everyone.

Greg McLean and John Jarratt reunite for more blood, guts and killing in the outback, but this sequel fails to have the impact of the original.

Geoff Hutchison reviews 'Her' starring Joaquin Pheonix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha.

If the audience of Spanish production La Curva was expecting traditional flamenco accompanied by classic guitar they were in for a rude shock. Dancer Israel Galvin dances to a beat entirely his own.

Bit by bit, children's play The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean reveals itself to be one of those rare love stories that really touch you.

Disney's stage adaptation of its 1994 animated classic 'The Lion King' has returned to Australia, and what a breathtaking production it is.

Nick and Meg escape to Paris in a bid to save their marriage. Will they survive? Geoff Hutchison reviews the latest Roger Michell film, Le Week-end.

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto give extraordinary performances and make this low-budget true life tale one to remember.

Beijing Dance Theatre's choreographer Wang Yuanyuan describes its newest piece Haze as a response to the current economic and environmental crisis facing China. If that's the case, things are pretty grim in the People's Republic.

Robyn Davidson's epic journey across Australia becomes the inspiration for this thoughtful and impressive movie directed by John Curran and starring Mia Wasikowska.

AnA Wojak's deeply moving and motivating mixed-media installation, stepping stones at Lismore Regional Gallery is surprising and somewhat overwhelming in its scale.

Six local artists, including four old friends in life and in art practice, have come together with an exhibition well timed for International Women's Day at Lone Goat Gallery in Byron Bay. The theme, Essence of Woman was put to the artists to freely interpret, and the six women have done just that.

George Clooney's latest directorial effort is star-laden and highly polished fun, but fails to dig deep enough into history or character to be truly memorable.

There was a palpable thrill of anticipation in the audience last night at the debut of Black Swan Theatre Company's Streetcar Named Desire. Whether you left the night sated would depend on how you like your Tennessee Williams like bourbon, dark and stormy or like Southern Comfort, a little lighter and sweeter.

Nick Frost dances up a storm in this unlikely crowd-pleaser that mixes British rom-com with Salsa rhythms.

Darren Aronofsky's take on the Biblical Flood is an ambitious and big-budget affair, but it's also thematically clunky and verges into soap opera territory.

The girl is good. Very good.

Politics loves the stage and it seems the stage loves politics.

The return of the superhero is both an enjoyable, self-contained action flick, and a further addition to the wider Marvel Universe.

Wes Anderson's latest is a fun, exuberant, giddy delight delivered in a visually stunning package

Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton unleash their girl power in this predictable comedy that gets by on the charm and chemistry of its leading ladies.

Life still resonates amid Margaret Olley's cluttered studio

Audiences in the Northern Rivers don't mind a bit of water. So, the idea of seeing the stage of the Lismore City Hall in flood mode was something of a drawcard for NORPA's punters who came to see dance production, Lake.

If you grew up in the early 1970s, you probably have no problem conjuring up a bar or two of 'the Roller Skate song'. It was singer Melanie Safka's biggest hit and it topped the Australian pop charts in 1971.

With school holidays upon us, it's timely to talk about a nifty exhibition that is on at the Lismore Regional Gallery.

Lismore's big chill last weekend did not stop Jeanti St Clair from catching NORPA's Food and Lloyd Cole, a most unassuming eighties pop star on a freezing Saturday night.Food is good for the soul

Funny and disturbing, this play is a must see.

Those who find opera difficult to get their head around may be pleasantly surprised by WA Opera's latest offering.

It's an awful shame that Barking Gecko's latest play Jasper Jones has not got a longer season because many West Australians will feel they have missed out.

Brisbane's Dead Puppet Society adult puppet show, The Harbinger, reaches deep into gothic fairy tale territory with a touch of Orwellian danger thrown in for good, and frightening, measure.

'The Importance of Being Earnest' rightfully sits in the list of classic plays, and a near full-house at Wollongong's Illawarra Performing Arts Centre on opening night of this touring production shows it's still one of our most loved.

The equine-inspired group of exhibitions are on display at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery until October 5.

Bell Shakespeare's Henry V continues its regional tour through NSW and Queensland before it opens for a four-week season at the Sydney Opera House on October 21.

Relaxed and resplendent in mid-pregnancy as my friend described her - and she was.