Author: Peter Gray

The type of show where the melodrama is ripe, the ranch settings are lush and the aesthetically pleasing cast go by such names as Yancy and Staten, Ransom Canyon has the right temperament to be the next easily digestible Netflix streaming obsession.  The type of generic show people put on to not pay attention to,…

Going into last weekend’s Coachella (the first of its two planned weekend events), it seemed that Lady Gaga was inevitably going to steal all the expected focus.  And, certainly, the Grammy-winner did the most, with a near-20 song set that largely celebrated her new album (Mayhem), but served as a memory lane stroll for her…

The War of the Roses, a 1989 satirical black comedy from Danny DeVito which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a warring married couple and the bitter, fatal divorce that followed, never seemed like the most obvious choice to garner a remake.  But here we are, over three decades later, with Benedict Cumberbatch and…

As much as Warfare is detailing a true story during the events of the Iraq War in 2006, Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland‘s panic-attack of a movie goes beyond merely being “based on true events.”  Instead, it’s noting itself as a film based on “the memory of the people who lived it.” With that, the…

In the brand new season of Scrublands, it’s been a year since the life changing events of Scrublands and award-winning investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) has returned to his coastal hometown, Port Silver, WA, to set up a new life with partner Mandy Bond (Bella Heathcote). When he arrives to find his childhood friend…

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.” Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler, Sinners presents a new vision of fear.  Starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role, Academy Award nominee Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Li Jun Li, and Wunmi Mosaku, the film details…

While covering the news desk in Cairo for a colleague over the Christmas holidays, Australian journalist Peter Greste was arrested and accused of terrorism. He became a pawn in the middle of a deadly game full of corrupt officials and ancient rivalries.  The subject of his own worldwide news story, where only his wits and…

While covering the news desk in Cairo for a colleague over the Christmas holidays, Australian journalist Peter Greste was arrested and accused of terrorism. He became a pawn in the middle of a deadly game full of corrupt officials and ancient rivalries.  The subject of his own worldwide news story, where only his wits and…

Having already carved out a sense of the absurd regarding the legal system with their work on the TV series Rake, star Richard Roxburgh and writer Peter Duncan take on a far more serious aspect of such risibility in The Correspondent through the incarceration of Australian journalist Peter Greste and the dubious charges of terrorism…

A sweet film with a talented cast and an evident love for the aspiring creative, The Comic Shop is well-meaning in its temperament, but a little less confident in its execution as it injects a dramatic streak that doesn’t flow with its initial personality. The titular comic shop is Mike’s World, a small venture that…

First dates are nerve-wracking enough.  Going on a first date while an unnamed, unseen troll pings you personal memes that escalate from annoying to homicidal? Blood-chilling! Returning to the thriller genre with the playful, keep-you-guessing intensity he perfected in the Happy Death Day films, director Christopher Landon delivers an of-the-moment whodunnit where everyone in the…

However far fetched Drop proves to be with its wild, pulling-the-wool-over-our-eyes premise, director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) and screenwriters Jillian Jacobs (Fantasy Island) and Chris Roach (Non-Stop) maintain a sense of unpredictable fun across the film’s tight 95 minutes as it presents a cat-and-mouse thriller ripe for the digital age. After opening with…

Delivering his first essentially original screenplay since his 2013 breakout Fruitvale Station, filmmaker Ryan Coogler basks in the glory of a post-Creed/Black Panther space with the liberating Sinners, a gory, horny, relevant reflection on Black culture and artistry. Set in 1930s Mississippi in the midst of Prohibition, Coogler’s gradually escalating gonzo horror effort finds its…

In the same manner as to how Netflix’s Bridgerton blends its English Regency with a modernised mentality, Jonathan Hammond‘s Fireflies in the Dusk takes that notion and dials it to 11, enhancing its sense of absurdity and random humour to create a truly witty, daft comedy in the process. The short film’s comedic temperament is…

Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) is bringing its most personal and high stakes battle yet to The Factory Theatre with CHEVS VS TROY. This highly anticipated main event will see PWA Heavyweight Champion Jessica Troy defend her title against her former best friend turned bitter rival, Charli Evans, in a Last Wrestler Standing match on Friday,…

Between last month’s spy thriller Black Bag and this week’s release, The Amateur, adult audiences are finally finding reason to go to the theatres again.  To enjoy smart, almost understated genre features that delight in dialogue and a forward narrative over the spectacle of tentpole cinema feels almost archaic in this day and age, so…

A movie that sells you exactly what it says on its genre blending box, Death of a Unicorn stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father/daughter duo who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant) and his greedy family (Téa Leoni…

Movies about unicorns have a certain fantastical nature to them, so it makes sense that Death of a Unicorn adopts such a mentality – albeit with a serious case of nastiness and surprising class commentary. A blackly comic creature feature with an evident love for the back catalogue of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron –…

Having made a name for herself across Australian stage and screen for her compelling performances, Saskia Archer is poised to be Australia’s next international export. Having honed her skills at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), where she starred in such productions as Romeo & Juliet, When the Rain Stops Falling, and An…

It’s time to get your paws up little monsters, because Mother is returning to Australia! After much anticipation, Lady Gaga has officially announced the Australian leg of The MAYHEM Ball tour, adding 3 stadium dates to her global itinerary. These shows mark the 14-time Grammy Winner’s long-awaited return to the region, and her first dates…

An exploration of identity and creativity set against the backdrop of the largely unexplored realm of classic Latin jazz, Becoming Vera is a quiet, reflective drama that finds its comforting centre in the performance of Raquel Lebish as the titular Vera. As the film closes out, writer/director Sergio Vizuete states that “23,000 children age out…

Same night, different nightmare. Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new survivalist horror film Until Dawn, based on the hit video game, only in cinemas from April 24th, 2025. One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote…

The murderous doll who captivated pop culture in 2023 is back. And this time she’s not alone. The original creative team behind the original $180m phenomenon – led by horror titans James Wan for Atomic Monster, Jason Blum for Blumhouse and director Gerard Johnstone – reboot an all-new wild chapter in A.I. mayhem with M3GAN…

This ain’t no walk in the park! Based on Ethan Pettus’ cult-favorite novel, Primitive War is a 1968-set action film that follows an elite recon unit, Vulture Squad, who are sent deep into the Vietnamese jungle to locate a missing Green Beret platoon—only to discover a far more lethal threat: dinosaurs. Written and directed by…

The Persian Film Festival Australia 2025 returns this April and May to offer a unique cinematic experience that brings together the best of Persian cinema from the past year, presenting stories that transcend borders and connect people across the globe. Now in its 11th edition, the festival continues to be a key platform for Persian…

The 13th Palestinian Film Festival Australia is set to return this May with a bold and innovative program of new cinema from and about Palestine, offering a powerful and resonant exploration of resilience, love and freedom in the face of ongoing war and dispossession. Running across five cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra…

Playing with a character that’s as if Clark Kent didn’t entirely realise the pros of having superhuman strength, or, perhaps, a more reluctant John Wick, Novocaine – No Pain (which is the title being pushed here in Australia for the otherwise known as Novocaine, presumably off the notion that local audiences aren’t entirely aware of…

The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF) unveils their fantastic program with 5 World, 11 Australian and 4 Queensland Premieres along with the return of SIPFEST: Shorts in Paradise in this year’s festival, running between April 30th and May 11th, 2025, at HOTA, Home of the Arts. Included in the 12-day festival are some incredible events…

As someone who has never played Minecraft the game, and is only vaguely familiar with its building premise, to say there was a major detachment – and perhaps an unenthusiasm – towards A Minecraft Movie would be an understatement.  But in that uninitiated mentality is perhaps the perfect embodiment to review such a film as…

The 72nd Sydney Film Festival (4–15 June) has today revealed a sneak peek of 16 bold new films set to screen this June, offering a taste of the 2025 program ahead of the full Festival announcement on Wednesday, 7th May. “This first look offers a cross-section of the bold storytelling and distinctive voices that can…