Author: Peter Gray

Film critic with a penchant for Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa, Michelle Pfeiffer and horror movies, harbouring the desire to be a face of entertainment news.

Interview: Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and star Scott Chambers on their love of horror, gore and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey II

Whilst it was a film that saw a critical slaughtering at the time of its release – it currently holds a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is oft-considered now one of the worst films ever made – there’s no denying that Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a low budget horror recount of A.A. Milne’s classic…

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Win a double in-season pass to see Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Australia we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the epic monsterverse battle continue in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence –…

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“The Juice is loose” in first teaser for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice. After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her…

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Rising Australian pop sensation Behani premieres new label debut single Again & Again

Australian rising pop sensation Behani has signed to ADA/Warner Music Australia, and to mark the occasion has debuted her new single, the first under the label, the sizzling “Again & Again”. With a unique blend of pop, afro sounds, and global groove, Behani has crafted a sound entirely her own, establishing herself as one of…

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Gold Coast Film Festival announces The Way, My Way as Opening Night Gala presentation

The Gold Coast Film Festival is set to bring films to life for another year. Running April 17th to the 28th, the GCFF will showcase amazing films, inspirational panels, outdoor screenings, free-to-attend industry education events, and special events at Home of the Arts (HOTA), as it celebrates its 22nd year. Kicking off an unforgettable celebration…

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Interview: Kung Fu Panda 4 directors Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Ma Stine on “The best franchise of all time.”

This autumn, for the first time in almost a decade, comedy icon Jack Black returns to his role as Po, the world’s most unlikely kung fu master, with a hilarious, butt-kicking new chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved action-comedy franchise, Kung Fu Panda 4. After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and…

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Film Review: Wicked Little Letters; Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley flex their profane vocabulary in wicked little comedy

Before the internet gave way to the keyboard warriors of the world, if there was a bystander of sorts that you wished to give a piece of your mind to (however warranted or not), one had to put pen to paper and post such. In the early 20th century these were the days of the…

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Film Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire needs to unthaw its grip on series nostalgia

Nostalgia undoubtedly has its place within the realms of IP revisitation, but there are certain ways to utilise such a notion without completely falling back on them.  2021’s Afterlife, the 3rd Ghostbusters , chronologically, following 1984’s debut and its 1989 sequel – or the 4th iteration if counting Paul Feig’s much maligned, but vastly underrated…

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Film Review: Immaculate; Sydney Sweeney commits to disturbing, potentially triggering, religious horror outing

Given Sydney Sweeney‘s dedication to Immaculate as a production, it makes sense that the actress gives her all across the 89 minutes of Michael Mohan‘s disturbing, occasionally blackly comic, religious horror film. A decade-or-so ago, Sweeney, who was still mainly working in C-grade film fare at the time, read the Andrew Lobel-penned script and knew…

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Ali Wong announces first ever live Australian tour

Renowned stand-up comedian and award-winning actress, Ali Wong, is excited to announce Australian dates for her “Ali Wong: Live” comedy tour, taking in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this July. Produced by Live Nation, the tour has been a massive success, playing to full houses right across North America, Paris and London! Having captivated audiences worldwide with her…

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Interview: Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor on reimagining Road House; “It felt like you were working with your friend”

Road House stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter trying to escape his dark past and his penchant for violence, in this adrenaline-fueled actioner. Dalton is barely scraping by on the reputation that still precedes him when he is spotted by the owner of a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. She hires him to be her…

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Film Review: Road House is trashy escapism that revels in its own dirty masculinity

Whilst some of the beats are the same between Doug Liman‘s surprising take on Rowdy Herrington’s resilient 1989 trashy actioner of the same name, Road House 2024 proves removed enough to justify its existence as a similarly-themed junky piece of escapism that revels in its own dirty masculinity. Jake Gyllenhaal shares the same name as…

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Where to watch this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominated films in Australia

Whilst the phenomenon of Barbenheimer brought many people back to the theatres, there are still certain audiences who aren’t venturing out beyond their living rooms to see the latest films.  And if you, like so many others, are curious as to just why this year’s Academy Award nominated Best Picture options were the 10 titles…

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Film Review: Love Lies Bleeding is deliciously wild and audaciously brutal

If her prominent post-Twilight work hasn’t convinced you to join the Kristen Stewart appreciation club, then may I suggest signing up in the wake of Love Lies Bleeding, a deliciously wild, brutal noir crime comedy that gleefully breaks your jaw in the process. And there’s a reason I specified a breaking jaw in that analogy,…

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Film Review: The Nut Farm cracks charm out of its undecorated nature

Whilst The Nut Farm undeniably goes for simple, perhaps obvious humour over the course of its brisk 80-ish minutes, audiences looking for clean(ish) humour and a sense of family fun should have an easy time digesting Arj Barker‘s absurd, well-intentioned comedy. Barker, an American comedian whose very much made Australia his second home over the…

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Interview: Arj Barker and director Scott Corfield on their new Australian comedy The Nut Farm; “We wanted that heart and the environmental message to drive it home.”

The new Australian comedy The Nut Job details A failed US crypto trader who inherits a macadamia nut farm in Australia that’s under threat from some evil New Zealand frackers…so, you know, your average, relatable, Aussie battler story.  Right? Believe it or not, amongst the heightened comedy of the script, there’s a semi-autobiographical narrative in…

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SXSW Interview: Director Kourtney Roy and actress Chloe Pirrie on their Kryptic collaboration; “You can never lean into the obvious.”

A psycho-thriller about a woman’s search for a missing monster hunter and her growing realisation that she is inescapably linked to the creature being pursued, Kryptic is sure to be one of SXSW’s most talked about projects. And it’s why Peter Gray had to speak to the film’s director, Kourtney Roy, and lead actress, Chloe…

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Kryptic is a Lynchian-like thriller that indulges in its confusing, confronting narrative: SXSW Film & TV Festival Review

Towards the beginning of the creepy and ambiguous Kryptic, a tour guide overseeing the Cedar Springs Women’s Walking Club explains what cryptozoology is.  “It means the study of the hidden,” he states as he details Barb Valentine, a cryptozoologist who went missing in the very same British Columbia hinterland the group is currently hiking through….

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Hunting Daze is a surreal visualisation of toxic masculinity: SXSW Film & TV Festival Review

Men behaving badly is at the core of Annick Blanc‘s Hunting Daze, a surreal visualisation of toxic masculinity that refuses to ever pigeonhole itself into one category.  It’s horrific without ever devoting itself entirely to that genre.  It’s blackly funny, though never satirical.  And it’s always engaging, even if the extreme manner in which Blanc…

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Interview: David West Read on blending Shakespeare and Max Martin-penned pop for & Juliet

What if Romeo’s ending, was Juliet’s beginning? The Emmy-winning writer of TV’s Schitt’s Creek flips the script on Shakespeare in this hilarious and poignant story of self-discovery and second chances. Legendary songwriter Max Martin delivers one of the most addictive and joyous soundtracks to ever hit the stage, in this inspiring new musical that proves…

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SXSW Interview: Director Cutter Hodierne on his crypto-meets-home invasion thriller Cold Wallet

After losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam, a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors attempt to kidnap the kingpin who screwed them over. But when the home invasion takes a turn for the worst, they become victims in a sadistic game. Directed by Sundance-awarded Best Director Cutter Hodierne, Cold Wallet is a topically relevant genre blend of…

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Cold Wallet finds a taut balance between crypto commentary and gripping escapism: SXSW Film & TV Festival Review

Though there’s an enjoyable “Robin Hood”-like mentality to the narrative of Cutter Hodierne‘s always watchable thriller Cold Wallet, this cryptocurrency-heavy tale takes a less jovial approach to the world of tech talk and monetary scams than last year’s similarly themed Dumb Money.  But, despite opting for a more intense, oft-violent approach, the emerging filmmaker has…

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SXSW Interview: Writer/director Annick Blanc on Hunting Daze, the navigation of gaslighting, and always sticking to her guns

Nina, a young and headstrong exotic dancer, finds herself stranded in the far North. She convinces her recent customers, five men on a bachelor hunting trip, to put her up for a few days. In this masculine microsociety, by turns hilarious and philosophical, she starts to feel a sense of belonging she never has before. But…

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Interview: Ricki-Lee on the power of pop music and forging her own path with new record On My Own

A permanent survivor of the ever-changing music industry, Ricki-Lee is one of Australia’s finest success stories. An advocate for the independent music scene and an unapologetic lover of all things pop (sorry, she’s not sorry), she’s forging her own path with the anticipated release of her 5th album On My Own, the first under her…

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Film Review: Kung Fu Panda 4; Jack Black’s loveable Po proves a welcome return in amusing sequel

Though there was a certain sense of the story coming to a natural close in 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3, the powers that be at DreamWorks deemed another go-around with the loveable Po (once again voiced with vigour by Jack Black) necessary, and so families are gifted with the effortless joy that is Kung Fu…

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Film Review: Ricky Stanicky; John Cena livens up an otherwise missed opportunity of a comedy

After finding Oscar glory as a solo filmmaker – with arguably one of the more controversial Best Picture wins in the Academy’s history (see Green Book) – there’s a nice sense of coming back home in the case of Peter Farrelly helming Ricky Stanicky. Now, it does pale in comparison to the comedy works he…

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Film Review: Imaginary is light on scares and, ironically, imagination

Given that the promotional material for Imaginary has highlighted a certain stuffed teddy bear, one would be right in assuming that the film – boasting its from the studio that brought us Five Nights at Freddy’s and M3GAN – would be taking inspiration from those two successful properties.  Unfortunately, despite such promise, a committed turn…

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Album Review: Ricki-Lee claims pop throne on upbeat, euphoric On My Own

Given the longevity of her prolific career, it’s easy to forget that popstar-cum-media personality Ricki-Lee got her start within the Australian Idol space and that she didn’t win; Casey Donovan would ultimately be crowned the winner of said season. In the 20 years (!!!) since the commanding singer won us all over during her tenure…

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The Alliance Française French Film Festival launches for its 35th edition

This year marks the 35th edition of the Alliance Française French Film Festival, a significant milestone in their cinematic journey where 35 is not just a number – it is an emblem. From the days of 35mm film screenings to the marvels of today’s digital era, they have proudly showcased the very best of French…

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Interview: Director Jeff Wadlow on creating the horror of Imaginary, casting against type, and the dangers of pre-planning a sequel

Unfortunately we can’t always rely on technology.  But for Peter Gray, it seemed like there were more sinister forces at play when he attempted to chat to Imaginary director Jeff Wadlow about his latest scarer. After a duo of failed attempts to chat all things Imaginary – the Truth Or Dare filmmaker’s original horror film…

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