Author: Peter Gray

From his imposing turn in Jack Reacher to the Suicide Squad, Jai Courtney is no stranger to playing villains and anti-heroes on screen.  But his latest role in cult filmmaker Sean Byrne’s Dangerous Animals, the actor may be embodying his most unhinged yet, as Tucker, a shark-obsessed serial killer with a penchant for showing tourists the…

For over a decade now, Kris Marshall has called Paradise home. After leaving quite the lasting impression in the hit crime comedy/drama series Death in Paradise across four seasons, Marshall’s Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman moved Beyond Paradise to a more rural setting to continue his police procedural work. Returning to Shipton Abbott for a thrilling…

After a successful box office run, the Certified Fresh, SXSW Audience Award-winning film is coming to Prime Video! It’s been nearly 10 years since Ben Affleck debuted as Christian Wolff, aka The Accountant, in the same-name actioner that Gavin O’Connor pushed to a sizeable box office haul ($155m) despite tepid-ish reviews.  That being said, average reviews have never stopped a…

Despite Karate Kid: Legends centering itself around a new character, Jonathan Entwistle‘s legacy sequel is like a greatest hits package, taking all the things that worked from previous Karate Kid offerings, removing the psychological fat that should be traumatizing its plethora of players, and wrapping it neatly in a family-friendly bow, presenting itself as a…

In Los Angeles over the weekend, Netflix Tudum, a global pop culture event that showcases what’s on the slate for the streaming behemoth, was held to mass fanfare – and a Gaga performance – in celebration of all the most anticipated titles for the remainder of 2025. Here at The AU Review we’ve gathered all…

No syllabus.  Just chaos. Gen V, the acclaimed series that expands the Emmy Award-winning world of The Boys with its own chilling and satirical edge, is welcoming its legion of fans back for another session of school as Prime Video release the anticipated teaser for Season 2. As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander’s…

Director Wes Anderson has his devotees and his detractors in equal measure, but it can’t be denied that his films manage to assemble some of the most impressive ensembles put to screen.  And his latest, The Phoenician Scheme (you can read our review here), is no exception. Centering around Zsa-zsa Korda, “one of the richest…

The type of intriguing, wealthy-white-centered murder mystery that feels as if Nicole Kidman is going to swan in at any given moment, The Better Sister manages to escape its familiar set-up thanks to strong performances and a genuine sense of unpredictability surrounding the “who” and “why” of it all. That familiar set-up involves the murder…

Australian artist IVANA returns with her first global single release for 2025 with the dance-infused “Burning”, which is out now purchase and streaming on all major platforms.  The single is IVANA’s first major release since recently signing with German based dance label Place Called Home. Since arriving onto the Australian music scene with unparalleled force…

Gramy-nominated US band OneRepublic, headed up by acclaimed singer/songwriter and lead vocalist Ryan Tedder, have announced their highly anticipated return to Australia and New Zealand for The Sweet Escape Tour, set to kick off in Auckland, New Zealand, February 2026, before continuing across Australia. OneRepublic played to full houses across Australia and New Zealand in…

With over a dozen films made across three decades, Wes Anderson has very much honed what it is to be considered an auteur; he’s possibly even bent the term to his own liking with his distinct style.  And it’s that particular style that is once again on display in The Phoenician Scheme, a bizarre, nonsense-embracing…

Not that there was going to be any serious doubt about their ability to avoid a sophomore slump with their second go-around as filmmakers, but brothers Danny and Michael Philippou have easily cemented themselves as modern day horror auteurs with the highly disturbing Bring Her Back, a bleak, discomforting genre feature that makes their debut,…

After taking the world by storm with their horror debut feature Talk To Me in 2023, all eyes were very much on Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou to see how they would follow up such a mammoth success. Proving that they were no flash in the pan, the twins launched back into the genre…

The St Kilda Film Festival (SKFF) has proudly announced its 2025 program, marking the 41st year of Australia’s longest-running short-film festival with its most expansive program to date, running between June 5th – 15th, 2025. Proudly presented by City of Port Phillip, this year’s festival will screen over 150 films across 34 curated sessions, taking place…

Despite its raunchy, suggestive title – yeah, there’s a reason there’s no comma alluding to 69 being a year – Jillian Bell‘s directorial debut, Summer of 69, is actually a particularly sweet, coming-of-age comedy that injects more than enough heart into proceedings to offset its teen-sex-comedy mentality. Much like Superbad, Booksmart and Bottoms before it,…

If there’s one thing Nicole Kidman is going to commit wholeheartedly to in any of her multitude of projects, it’s that her character will indulge in a wig or an accent.  In the case of Nine Perfect Strangers, it’s both. Four years ago, hot off the success of her “Big Little Lies” being transformed into…

Given the type of psychological warfare director Darren Aronofsky has unleashed into cinema across his career with the likes of Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan and mother!, a crime caper in the style of a Guy Ritchie joint is hardly the most expected turn.  But here we are with Caught Stealing, a black comedy…

Whilst the poor reaction to Snow White has made Disney reevaluate their standing on live-action updates of their classic animated catalogue, Lilo & Stitch – obviously made before such a decision was made – arrives with an ironic freshness that proves just how warm and successful some reimaginings can be. By no means does this…

Every ritual has a cost. Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Bring Her Back, the new horror film from the directors of Talk To Me, Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster…

Furthering his effortless charisma and likeability, Stanley Tucci makes his lifestyle of Italian region hopping and delighting in their signature gastronomic feasts a real treat to behold. Usually having to endure other people – and rich people, at that – having the time of their (and our) lives isn’t the most enjoyable experience, and whilst…

It’s time to say goodbye.  For now. Billed as the final entrant in the near-three-decade long Mission: Impossible series (which would ironically indicate these missions are, in fact, possible), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning goes out with the expected balance of spectacle and emotion that the majority of these films have adhered to –…

Whilst I had heard all the discourse around his performance (among other things) in the much maligned HBO drama series The Idol, it was not a show I particularly wanted to seek out – even out of curiosity.  So, with that, I came into Hurry Up Tomorrow free from any of that baggage, here merely…

The action genre and Kellan Lutz go hand-in-hand at this point. Whilst the actor started out his career across a variety of comedy features (Stick It), horror efforts (the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street) and teen-aimed television (90210), and he may best be known as Emmett Cullen from the Twilight film series, it’s…

The Salt Path is the profound true story of husband and wife Raynor and Moth Winn (played by Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, respectively), and their 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline. After being forcibly removed from their home, they make the desperate decision to walk in the hope…

In 2000, at a time when the horror genre was thriving in its teen slasher subsect, Final Destination dared to shake up the formula just enough to earn a prominent place in the annals of horror franchise fame.  It took the at-the-time trend of casting prominent “teen” faces – largely off a successful television series…

The newest chapter in New Line Cinema’s bloody successful franchise takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice with Final Destination Bloodlines. Returning audiences to death’s twisted, often blackly comic design are directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, who knew that after over a decade since the last Final Destination…

Proving that it’s sometimes the unlikeliest figures that are the most fatally capable, Bob Odenkirk emerged as an action star in his own violent right in 2021’s Nobody, which starred the Better Call Saul alum as Hutch Mansell, a mild-mannered family man who returns to his former life of an assassin after he and his family…

Every choice, every mission, has all led to this. To celebrate the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, with thanks to Paramount Pictures Australia and Superdream, we are giving away prize packs for five lucky fans, including a double in-season pass (Admit 2), a key-ring and a branded jumper. For your chance to…

Returning to the Gold Coast, it was more than an overwhelming homecoming for musician Peter Andre ahead of the premiere screening of his new film, Jafaican, as part of this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival. Described as “not your average heist movie”, Fredi Nwaka‘s crime comedy focuses on Gazza (played by Andre), a small-time crook,…

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Australia we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to giveaway to Final Destination Bloodlines, the anticipated new sequel in the long-running horror franchise, in Australian theatres from May 15th, 2025. Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who…