Author: Peter Gray

Since their creation some almost-40-years ago, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen their brand of comedic, family-aimed action spread across six feature films (in three separate timelines) and countless television, comic book and video games.  Despite all this, and each respective creative honing their own spin, the younger, more appropriately teen-aged years of the…

Shell yeah! Thanks to Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and Superdream, we have 5 family in-season passes (Admit 4) to giveaway to see everyone’s favourite heroes in a half shell – Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo – in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers…

With The Equalizer 3 promoting itself as “the final chapter” of a movie series I think many of us were surprised made it past the 2014 original, there’s an understandable sense of expectation when it comes to the packaged deal of star Denzel Washington, director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter Richard Wenk. Whilst the first two…

A delicate drama born from her own personal experience, Celine Song is laying emotions bare with the release of Past Lives (you can read our review here). Following its stellar reception at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the South Korean-Canadian director, playwright, and screenwriter is telling her story globally as the film releases in Australian…

Unlike Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion is one such Disney theme park ride that actually has a decent jumping point for a filmic incarnation.  But unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise films we saw defy the odds and turn the most basic of premises into larger-than-life adventure…

Leaning into a meta self-awareness that even the knowing winks of such slashers as Scream would deem a little too overt, Marcel Walz‘s That’s A Wrap perhaps works with a few too many layers of knowingness. It starts off with enough of a sense of humour though as a horror-inclined actress, lamenting to her manager…

*Due to overwhelming demand for tour dates in Australia, further shows have been added* Diamond-certified selling artist The Weeknd has announced today that his sold-out global concert tour, “After Hours Til Dawn”, will extend to both Australia and New Zealand. Celebrating both his critically acclaimed albums “After Hours” (the 2020 release featuring the newly announced…

Despite the simple premise of Celine Song‘s Past Lives and its romantic comedy connotations, the film is anything but.  Burning slow and composing its emotions until it knows when to release them in a flood of responsive passion, Song’s impeccable debut is a drama of humanism and quiet complexity. Set over the span of 24…

A truly bizarre melting pot of a film that takes pride in its giallo-inspired-horror-melded-with-camp-musical-comedy mentality, Big Easy Queens in an intentionally ridiculous, over-the-top experiment that, for the right audience, will prove a bloody wild ride. Set in a mob-run criminal underworld of sorts, Erynn Dalton‘s genre-mash of a movie has been primarily made for the…

Thanks to StudioCanal we have 10 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new acclaimed A24 romance Past Lives from writer/director Celine Song.  The film is in Australian cinemas from August 31st, 2023. Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades…

After stunning the 13,000 strong crowd at the Hunter Valley’s Hope Estate Winery with their incredible and enchanting live show in November 2022, The Corrs are thrilled to return in 2023 and bring their music to fans all over the country. The “One Night Only, Hope Estate” show was a night to remember and fans…

Before I get into my review of Sound of Freedom, I will briefly touch on the fact that its release has been shrouded in understandable controversy.  Overall, I am looking at Alejandro Monteverde‘s true story-inspired thriller as a film on its own accord, and not the QAnon/conservative power-endorsed creature it will ultimately be remembered as….

Screen creatives of all stripes will gather for the inaugural SXSW Sydney Screen Festival this October (15th – 21st) as a collection of compelling and next generation screen content from across the Asia-Pacific region is highlighted at the renowned festival. Following the announcement of the first wave of premiere titles (you can read about them…

“You guys are so talented.  So unbelievable.  This will break you.  This will fully destroy you.” Not exactly the type of words you expect to hear from the head of a theater camp said to a collection of young, eager pupils, but such is the way of creative existence at AdirondACTS Theater Camp where camp…

When Peter Gray last spoke with director Josh Greenbaum it was in conjunction with the trailer release for his foul-mouthed, furry-friended comedy Strays, a subversion of the dog movies we know and love, about the complications of love, the importance of great friendships, and the unexpected virtues of couch humping. When Reggie (voiced by Will…

Despite the fact that screenwriter Dan Perrault is a fan of such canine-centric cinema as Homeward Bound and 101 Dalmatians, his Strays is far from the family-friendly temperament those aforementioned titles adhere to.  But that’s also not to say that Strays doesn’t love the four-legged furries at its core – if ever there was a…

*This interview took place prior to the current SAG-AFTRA strike* Melbourne-born actor Nikolai Nikolaeff will be the first to tell you he’s aware he gives off “villain” vibes; “It’s got resting “I’m going to kill you” face,” as he states.  And it’s because of such that he’s carved an international career for himself in a…

Whilst it’s easy to pick how Scrapper – Charlotte Regan‘s impossibly charming comedy/drama – will end when all is said and done, the central performances from newcomer Lola Campbell and Harris Dickinson as a feisty, self-reliant 12-year-old and her man-child father, respectively, are what keeps the quirky narrative continually engaging. It’s one of those “message”…

It seems only fitting that a character as undead as Dracula has an immortal lifespan when it comes to big screen adaptations.  It was only a few months ago we had Nicolas Cage’s iteration in the blackly comic Renfield, and now, in a complete mood shift from his camp goriness, we have Dracula: The Last…

It’s the incredible true story that you may have never heard of. The latest film from acclaimed District 9 director Neil Blomkamp, Gran Turismo is a biographical sports drama based not only on the iconic race simulation game from Playstation, but the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a British Gran Turismo player who harnessed his…

Though there are the occasional exceptions, movies based off video games don’t have the greatest reputation when it comes down to it.  So it makes sense that, perhaps, there’s a certain sense of trepidation when going into Gran Turismo.  Despite the calibre of the creatives both behind and in front of the camera – it’s…

Another Wes Anderson creation, where the sheer cast alone is unfathomable in their collective talent and the twee is as twee as can be, Asteroid City, with its distinct colour pallet and deadpan performances, won’t convert any viewers over to the Wes way of watching, but those that have stuck with the auteur through his…

An eco-terrorism thriller where the bombers are the good guys, Daniel Goldhaber‘s How To Blow Up A Pipeline is structured as if it’s playing to a heist movie temperament, but it’s layered with a topical, current commentary that lends the film a young freshness; very much a movie of the “now”. Relying on ideas realised…

Despite the simple premise of Celine Song‘s Past Lives and its romantic comedy connotations, the film is anything but.  Burning slow and composing its emotions until it knows when to release them in a flood of responsive passion, Song’s impeccable debut is a drama of humanism and quiet complexity. Set over the span of 24…

“Before we continue I’d like to apologize to anyone who might be upset or offended by what you saw before the break. It’s not every day you see a demonic possession on live television.” Not the most typical sentence you’d expect to hear from a late night host, but such is the statement made by…

For a film that sold itself on the premise of action staple Jason Statham facing off against a giant, prehistoric shark – and grossed over $500 million globally in the process – it was a particular let-down that 2018’s The Meg had, well, very little of Statham v shark to speak of.  A creature feature…

With a spotlight on the Asia-Pacific region, but inclusive of all corners of the globe, the SXSW Sydney 2023 Screen Festival will bring together screen creatives to deliver an experience at the forefront of discovery, creativity and innovation.  With an aim to platform, showcase and support the most exciting new voices, new forms and new…

Branding itself as a reimagining rather than a traditional remake – and this is one of those cases where that wording does actually tie into the overall mentality – River Wild takes the basic premise of Curtis Hanson’s 1994 thriller The River Wild, a Hitchcock-in-the-great-outdoors chiller that raised its own profile through the inclusion of…

Despite some satisfactory performances, a clear bout of good intentions, and a dollop of Irish charm, Thaddeus O’Sullivan‘s The Miracle Club can’t overcome its rather maudlin dialogue and sporadic meanness to earn a recommendation as the joyous Sunday afternoon viewing it so clearly wants to be. Set in 1967 in a small Irish village, the…

Thanks to StudioCanal we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new gothic horror film Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter, starring Corey Hawkins and David Dastmalchian, from director André Øvredal, the Norwegian horror virtuoso behind Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Trollhunter.  The film is in Australian cinemas from August…