Film & TV
The 10 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2019
Here are our 10 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
(We’ve also compiled our 100 bestselling books of 2019 and our 10 bestselling albums of 2019.)
Our bestselling DVDs range from a much-loved, literary inspired detective series, to a stunning love story set against the backdrop of WWII, to an inspiring documentary about how to face the realities of climate change. Two DVDs about music icons also appear on this list: Gurrumul from director Paul Damien Williams, and…
The best DVDs of 2019
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 DVDs of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.
(You can find all our best picks for books, music & DVDs of 2019 here.)
Chernobyl by Craig Mazin
HBO’s chilling dramatisation of the April 1986 Ukraine nuclear power plant disaster is both an historical time capsule and a warning…
Staff recommend Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander voices
Our staff share their favourite books by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, including prize-winning fiction, biography, essays, non-fiction, memoir and books for kids of all ages, from babies through to teens.
Today is Indigenous Literacy Day and Readings will be donating 10% of our book sales to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), on top of our ongoing support. The ILF does amazing work to foster literacy in remote communities around Australia and close the gap on literacy and numeracy…
Sunday night in front of the telly
byFlick on the heater, draw the curtains and brew yourself a pot of tea. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite new film and TV releases to DVD with which to curl up on a Sunday night in front of the telly.
FILM
Based on the book of the same name by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk is a heartbreaking love story set in Harlem in the era of Ray Charles and Aretha…
Books coming to the screen in 2019
A host of excellent books are once again being adapted for the screen this year. Here are a collection of some of our most anticipated picks, and you can find plenty more by browsing our collections below.
Storm Boy by Colin Thiele
This classic Australian story was first published by Colin Thiele in 1964. After their mother is shot, Mike ‘Storm Boy’ Kingley rescues three pelican chicks and one of the birds, Mr Percival, forms a very special bond with…
The 10 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2018
Here are our 10 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
(We’ve also compiled our 100 bestselling books of 2018 and our 10 bestselling CDs of 2018.)
Our bestselling DVDs range from crime, drug addiction and historical dramas, to stories exploring the power of books; from moving tributes on the lives of creative geniuses, to the tale of an aircraft that changed the world.
Several of the following DVDs are also adapted from books. The Bookshop is based on Penelope…
The best DVDs of 2018
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 DVDs of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.
(You can find all our best picks for books, CDs & DVDs of 2018 here.)
Northern Italy, 1983 – swimming, peaches, long summer days. Luca Guadagnino’s swoony adaptation of André Aciman’s novel is a sensual…
10 books to read before you see the films
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
On Chesil Beach is a masterful short novel from Ian McEwan. It is July 1962. Edward and Florence, young innocents married that morning, arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their private fears of the wedding night to come and, unbeknownst to them both, the events of the evening will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
At cinemas now
Watch the trailer…
Our top picks for MIFF 2018
Staff share what they’re planning to see at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) this year. You can find the full program here.
Marie Matteson recommends queer content, Icelandic films & Frederick Wiseman
Whenever the Miff guide comes out the first thing I do is pore over the pictures looking for signs of queer content. This year I am happy to report that I will be heading off to see The Miseducation of Cameron Post, adapted from the…
MIFF 2018 picks for kids & teens
While most films at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) are strictly 18+, their Kids Gala and MIFF Schools program stream present an array of high quality, diverse film for under 15s. Here is what’s on offer for kids and teens in 2018.
SUITABLE FOR 3+
MIFF 2018 Kids Gala: The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
France | English
Beautifully hand-drawn by animator and co-director Patrick Imbert, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales makes its English-language Australian debut…
MIFF 2018 picks for booklovers
Every year, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) program features some great films inspired by literature. Here are some of our favourite books (and one short story) that will be shown on the big screen this year.
Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin
Charley, a teen living with his single father, finds work caring for an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete. When he learns Pete is bound for slaughter, the two embark on an odyssey across the new American…
Our favourite siblings in books & film
Our staff share some of their favourite fictional sibling relationships in books and film.
‘My favourite sibling pairings in books are generally on the more sinister side of things. One of my all-time favourite authors is A.S. Byatt, who is known for real-life sibling drama with her sister Margaret Drabble, also an author. Byatt’s book The Game details the relationship between two very competitive sisters in a way that can’t help but feel slightly autobiographical.
As precocious and highly intelligent…
Popular TV shows matched to books
Digital marketing manager Lian Hingee shares book recommendations for fans of popular TV shows.
If you love Game of Thrones…
The HBO TV series of Game of Thrones has introduced millions of readers to George R.R. Martin’s novels. If you’ve already read all of the books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, then grab a copy of The Name of the Wind. This wonderfully-written novel charts the early years of the legendary magician Kvothe who…
Books coming to the screen in 2018
There are a stack of amazing books being adapted for the screen this year. Here are 10 of our favourites, and you can find plenty more picks by browsing our collections below.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society received a rave response from readers when it was first published in 2008. Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, this epistolary…
The 10 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2017
Here are our 10 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
(We’ve also compiled our 100 bestselling books of 2017 and our 10 bestselling CDs of 2017.)
Our bestselling DVDs of last year reveal our customers’ love of historical dramas, crime mysteries and cats!
Ceyda Torun’s documentary about the cats of Istanbul, Kedi was a favourite with staff as much as it was with customers this year, as was Taika Waititi. We’re so pleased to see the New Zealander listed…
Five things that made me happy in 2017
Our marketing manager shares five things that made her feel happy this past year
2017 has been a very hard year for a lot of people, the kind of year where you take whatever sources of happiness you can find. To that end, here are four novels and a movie that gave me a lot of joy over the past 12 months, and I hope they might bring you equal amounts of joy also.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
…
The best DVDs of 2017
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 DVDs of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.
(You can find all our best picks for books, CDs & DVDs of 2017 here.)
Cross The Stepford Wives with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and the comedic brain of Key & Peele, and you come close…
Madman DVD sale
To celebrate this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, we are holding our annual Madman DVD sale throughout August.
This sale featuring a wide range of releases that includes Putuparri and the Rainmakers, Paterson, Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, The Bélier Family, Tokyo Story and more.
Browse some of the highlights online below, or come in-store to discover the full range.
With prices from $12.95 each, this sale is not to be missed. Get down to your local…
Our top picks for MIFF 2017
Staff share what they’re planning to see at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) this year. You can find the full program here.
Jemima Bucknell is excited for a very special Australian film event.
MIFF is just the best time of year for the Melbourne film scene. I’m looking forward to new things from the cinema landscapers like Terence Malick with Song to Song, Luca Guadagnino with Call Me by Your Name, Todd Haynes with Wonderstruck…
MIFF 2017 picks for kids and teens
This year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) presents two program streams for a youth audience. MIFF Kids is a program of films for all ages at family-friendly times on the weekends. MIFF Schools brings together an array of high quality, diverse and age appropriate films in languages most commonly taught in Victorian schools.
Here is what’s on offer for kids and teens in 2017.
RECOMMENDED FOR 8+
USA & China | English
Directed by Pixar…
Lessons learned from fictional mothers
This Mother’s Day, our staff reflect on some of the most important lessons they’ve learned from fictional mothers – in books, TV, films, and more.
‘In the world of fictional mothers, Lorelei Gilmore has taught me to embrace pop culture at every opportunity, Emily Gilmore showed me to take no shit from anyone, Tami Taylor demonstrated how to have a successful marriage (nine parts love and kindness, one part great hair), Ellen Ripley was the ultimate maternal badass, Molly Weasley…
Australian books being adapted for the screen in 2017
2017 is another massive year for book-to-screen adaptations, and we’re particularly excited to see these four books from Australian authors make their big (and small!) screen debuts.
Lion: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley
At the age of five, Saroo Brierley became lost on a train in India. Not knowing the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on the streets of Kolkata, before being taken into an orphanage and adopted by a…
The 20 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2016
Here are our 20 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
(We’ve also compiled our 100 bestselling books of 2016 and our 20 bestselling CDs of 2016.)
Crime and historical stories dominate our list of bestselling DVDs of last year – including all five volumes currently available of Un Village Francais. Set in a fictional village of German-occupied France during the Second World War, this popular French drama series comes from writer Frédéric Krivine and principal director Philippe Triboit…
TV series to watch over summer
It’s been a really tough year, and summer is the perfect time to log off from social media for a little while, give yourself a break and binge watch your troubles away.
You’ll find my many suggestions below, with a few caveats: I have excluded reality TV, I watch far too many American shows, and my blind spots include Scandinavian crime and animation (sorry, BoJack Horseman fans).
If you’re seeking comfort…
You might be in need of the kind of…
Our best books, CDs & DVDs of 2016
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here’s a round up of all the blog posts featuring our best books, CDs & DVDs of 2016:
The Best Fiction Books of 2016
The Best Non-Fiction Books of 2016
The Best Art & Design Books of 2016
The Best Picture Books of 2016
The best DVDs of 2016
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 DVDs of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.
(You can find all our best picks for books, CDs & DVDs of 2016 here.)
Taika Waititi’s latest and greatest is a must see for laughs and tears. It follows young Ricky Baker and his unwilling…
MIFF picks for book lovers
This year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) program features some great films inspired by literature. Here are some of our favourite picks for book lovers in 2016.
We’ve also compiled a list of family-friendly films, shared our staff picks, and prepared a quick ‘at-a-glance’ guide for the time-poor.
Directed by Park Chan-wook | Based on Sarah Water’s Fingersmith
Sooki, a beautiful young pickpocket, has been dispatched by a master conman known as The Count to become…
A quick guide to MIFF 2016
Here’s a quick ‘at-a-glance’ guide to this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). You can see the full program here.
We’ve shared our top picks for book lovers, compiled a list of family-friendly films, and you can also find out which films our staff are planning to see here.
Most buzzed about
We recommend: High-Rise Runner up: Gimme Danger
Feel good film
We recommend: Toni Erdmann Runner up: Slack Bay
Psychological thriller
We recommend: The Handmaiden…
MIFF picks for kids and teens
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) curates a program of entertaining and thought-provoking cinema for a youth audience with Next Gen. Here’s what’s on offer for kids and teens in 2016.
We’ve also compiled a list of literary-inspired films, shared our staff picks, and prepared a quick ‘at-a-glance’ guide for the time-poor.
RECOMMENDED FOR 8+
France | English
In a fantastical universe where the Sun and the Moon are protected by fabled warriors…
What we’re watching at MIFF 2016
Staff share what they’re planning to see at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) this year. You can find the full program here.
We’ve also prepared a quick ‘at-a-glance’ guide to the program for the time-poor, shared our top picks for book lovers, and compiled a list of family-friendly films.
Lian Hingee’s wishlist includes films about conspiracy theories and cats.
I’m a sucker for space, conspiracy theories and mockumentaries, so Operation Avalanche kind of looks like it…
Our 2016 Oscar Predictions
The Oscars are due to be announced on 28 February. Here are our predictions of who will take out this year’s top awards. (You can view the full list of nominees
Nina Kenwood, Marketing manager
Best Picture: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett, Carol
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Best…
2016 Oscar nominations in books
2016 is a particularly literary year for the Academy Awards with no fewer than five of the eight films nominated for Best Picture being inspired by books. Here are 11 books that have inspired films in this year’s list of Oscar nominees.
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
In 1952, Eilis Lacey leaves Ireland to immigrate to Brooklyn, where she has a better chance of finding work…
The 25 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2015
Here are our 25 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
Televised dramas led the way in DVD sales last year with multiple seasons of Un Village Francais, The Fall, and The Legacy all appearing in our top 25. The list also includes some great documentaries, such as Asif Kapadia’s harrowing biopic of powerhouse singer Amy Winehouse. We’re also pleased to note that three of our bestselling DVDs are drawn from literature. Far From The Madding Crowd is based…
A guide to TV shows to watch this summer
Here’s where I’m coming from – I like good comedies, snappy dialogue, family drama, teen angst, action-packed intrigue, survival-against-the-odds stories, anything that will make me cry and legal dramas. I don’t enjoy procedurals, most cop shows, and reality TV.
My summer viewing guide encompasses the shows I have enjoyed this year, the shows I expect to enjoy in the future, and shows I don’t personally enjoy but others will.
Shows I loved
This year had an abundance of terrific new…
The best DVDs of 2015
Here are our top ten DVDs of the year, voted for by Readings staff. Displayed in no particular order.
Small Is Beautiful is a special documentary. Filmed in Portland, Oregon, Australian filmmaker Jeremy Beasley documents the tiny house movement, a grassroots response to the housing affordability crisis that currently affects so many people across the developed world. Beasley follows four people, each at various stages of building and living in their homes with little or no prior…
A mid-festival update from MIFF 2015
Here’s our mid-festival update from this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. Staff share what their thoughts on what they’ve seen so far, and tell us what they’re still looking forward to. (You can find the full program here).
Nina Kenwood’s favourite film (so far) has been The Wolfpack
To date, I’ve seen four films at MIFF, and I’ve adored them all.
I watched three documentaries: Do I Sound Gay?, The Cult of JT Leroy and The Wolfpack.
…
A quick guide to MIFF 2015
Here’s a quick at-a-glance guide to this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. You can see the full program here, and also find out what Readings staff are seeing here.
Most buzzed about
We recommend: The Lobster Runner up: Force of Destiny
Psychological thriller
We recommend: The WitchRunner up: Sunrise
Book-to-film adaptation
We recommend: Holding the Man Runner up: See all of our book-to-film picks here
Contemporary Australian drama
We recommend: The DaughterRunner up: Pawno
Tearjerker
We…
What we're watching at MIFF 2015
Staff share what they’re planning to see at the Melbourne International Film Festival this year! (You can find the full program here).
Nina Kenwood loves American indies
As always, there are a ton of American indie films I want to see: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (I’ll cry, I’ll laugh, my heart will be warmed), Sleeping With Other People (sex comedy starring Alison Brie – I’m in), The Overnight (sex comedy starring Adam Scott – I’m in)…
MIFF picks for literary lovers
This year’s Melbourne International Film Festival is filled with book-to-film (and play-to-film) adaptations. Here are our picks of the bunch.
The End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt, USA)
Tasked with writing a profile on author David Foster Wallace for Rolling Stone, David Lipsky joined Wallace on a publicity tour for Infinite Jest. His book, Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself is based on this road trip and the conversations they have. And now, it’s been adapted…
Watching Game of Thrones with my teenage son
Readings staff member Chris Gordon tells us what it’s like to watch the complete Game of Thrones series, with her teenage son.
Here is the stark truth:
I am not a fan of fantasy films or novels.
I’m well aware that dragons are not real.
Gratuitous sex and violence does not please me.
I hate anything to do with zombies.
And yet, I’ve somehow managed to watch all available seasons of Game of Thrones, without missing one single minute…
Literary-inspired period dramas to watch this winter
Winter is most certainly here and with that in mind, here’s some literary-inspired period dramas for you for to snuggle up with during the cold evenings – all sorted by the historical period they’re set in.
1529, Wolf Hall
Wolf Hall is an intimate portrait of Thomas Cromwell, the brilliant and ruthless advisor in the court of Henry VIII. As he walks the corridors of power at the Tudor court, Cromwell must navigate deadly political intrigue, the King’s tempestuous relationship…
Our top picks from the Alliance Française French Film Festival
Our staff bring us an update from the Alliance Française French Film Festival – what they’ve seen so far and what’s still to come!
I had the privilege of attending the opening night which included a viewing of Gemma Bovery – a funny retelling of Madame Bovary’s classic story. The film is based on a popular graphic novel by Posy Simmonds. Skilfully directed by Anne Fontaine, who also made the similarly sumptuous Coco Before…
Wild: Book vs. Film
Nina Kenwood and Bronte Coates talk about Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild, and how the recent film adaptation compares to the book.
Bronte: I read Wild based on your recommendation but otherwise I never would’ve picked it up as it didn’t sound like the sort of thing I’d enjoy. I absolutely loved it (of course). Why did you pick it up in the first place?
Nina: I think I read something about it online, and I’d just gotten into hiking…
The 25 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2014
Here are our 25 bestselling DVDs from the past year.
Crime and politics dominate our top sellers with every currently available season of The Bridge, House of Cards (both the US and UK versions) and Borgen all listed below. Three new crime shows have also proved popular: The Fall which stars Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame, Morden: The Fjällbacka Murders which is based the books of Swedish crime writer Camilla Läckberg and True Detective which was one of…
Our favourite (and worst) Christmas films
Our staff share their favourite – and sometimes their least favourite – films for Christmas time.
My all-time favourite Christmas movies are Home Alone and While You Were Sleeping. But over the past few years I started a new tradition for myself of watching super cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies (Hallmark releases a new batch every Christmas). So far this holiday season I’ve enjoyed Christmas Under Wraps (a big-city doctor moves to a small town and learns to appreciate Christmas)…
Four Australian books are becoming TV shows & films
Here are four upcoming Australian book-to-TV-&-film adaptations that have our staff excited! (Three are supported by Screen Australia and one is an overseas production…)
Joe Cinque’s Consolation: A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law by Helen Garner
A film adaptation of Helen Garner’s classic true crime story has received funding from Screen Australia. Garner – who has read an early draft of the screenplay written by Matt Rubinstein and Sotiris Dounoukos – said: ‘(Dounoukos’) whole attitude to the…
Our thoughts on the film adaptation of Mockingjay: Part 1
Three fans of The Hunger Games trilogy – Nina Kenwood, Chris Gordon and Bronte Coates – share their thoughts on the the most recent film adaptation, Mockingjay: Part 1.
Bronte: Okay, let’s kick this off with an easy question… How did film rate against the first two?
Chris: I loved Mockingjay: Part 1 the best of all three. I think the actors came into their own in this film and really owned the characters. I particularly enjoyed watching the…
The Best DVDs of 2014
Here are our top ten DVDs of the year, as chosen by our film specialist Lou Fulco. Displayed in no particular order.
Chef is a rich and vibrant comedy – the story of Carl Casper (Jon Favreau), who loses his chef job and cooks up a food truck business in the hope of re-establishing his artistic promise. At the same time, he tries to reconnect with his estranged family.
The lives of two detectives, Rust…
Gone Girl: Book vs. Film
As a fan of both the novel and film adaptation of Gone Girl, I am here to pit them against one another in an ultimate showdown so you can know, definitively, which version is better. My scientific process involves comparing each in random categories that I have deemed important.
(Warning: plot spoilers ahead.)
Nick:
I never liked Nick in the book. Not for one minute – not at the very beginning, not after the Big Twist and not even…
Our thoughts on the Gone Girl movie (from two fans of the book)
Nina Kenwood, our digital marketing manager, and Fiona Hardy, our crime book specialist, attended a special preview screening of the Gone Girl movie this week. Here’s a (relatively) spoiler free discussion of the experience.
Nina: Hi Fiona. We both saw the Gone Girl movie last night. Let’s start with the most pressing question: did you see Ben Affleck’s penis? No wait. We’ll come back to that. Did you enjoy the film?
Fiona: Yes, I did enjoy Ben Affleck’s…