Author: Peter Gray

It’s rare these days for the “superhero origin story” to deviate from a familiar path.  It’s what is done within and around said path that manages to make even the most tested of narratives somewhat exciting. Blue Beetle is another case of been there, done that, with its story centring around a symbiote that transforms…

An origin story 5 years in the making, Puerto Rican filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto is finally seeing his vision of the Mexican-American superhero Blue Beetle brought to life in DC Studios’ Blue Beetle. Starring Xolo Maridueña in the lead role, the film tells of recent college graduate Jaime Reyes and his return home full of…

After the lush, star-studded class of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and the campier inclinations of 2022’s Death on the Nile, it makes sense that Kenneth Branagh would again change the temperament of his latest Hercule Poirot mystery.  Adhering to a darker, more supernaturally-infused mentality, A Haunting In Venice is the most unsettling of…

Joe Lo Truglio has long made a name for himself within the comedy scene.  Whether it’s as Andy Samberg’s over-sharing right-hand in the acclaimed sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, his various roles in the absurdist Reno 911!, or as one of the many sex-starved “teens” in the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer, Lo Truglio has proven…

It’s not uncommon for predominant comedic personalities to flex their talent in opposing genres.  We’ve seen the likes of Jordan Peele and Zoe Lister-Jones move from situational humour to helming their own horror works (the former with Get Out, Us, and Nope, the latter behind The Craft: Legacy) to varying degrees of success, furthering the…

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the latest DC superhero – Blue Beetle. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose…

Having directed both The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Michael Chaves is no stranger to helming horror in the supernatural space. For The Nun II, the anticipated sequel to 2018’s hit The Nun, Chaves is navigating his boldest narrative yet, with the director noting he’s proud if…

If you, like I was, are hesitant in seeing The Nun II off the back of the original film failing to make good on the character’s horrific potential or because director Michael Chaves hasn’t exactly got the strongest track record in directing genre films under the Conjuring Universe banner – he helmed 2019’s largely forgotten…

Nia Vardalos truly caught lightning in a bottle when it came to My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2002.  Produced on a miniscule $5m budget, it garnered favourable reviews from critics and audiences alike, eventually grossing over $365m globally; to this day it remains the highest grossing romantic comedy and, adjusted for inflation, the highest…

“It’s Mark Duplass, Sterling K. Brown, it’s the end of the world and they’re in a biosphere.” That’s how writer/director Mel Eslyn presented her unique dramedy Biosphere ahead of its premiere last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s ultimately all you need to know going into it from this week in Australian…

Whilst it’s a general rule of thumb that the less you know going into any movie is for the better, it must be said that it absolutely must be practiced when it comes to Biosphere. A wonderfully strange film, Mel Eslyn‘s two hander focuses on the friendship between Ray (Sterling K. Brown) and Billy (Mark…

Ahead of its launch, the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) – running from October 26th to November 5th, 2023 – has announced its exciting collaboration with MINI as its presenting partner. As a brand synonymous with style, innovation, and a passion for driving, MINI is the perfect fit for the Brisbane International Film Festival. The…

Thanks to Madman Entertainment we have 10 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to the heart-warming father-daughter film Scrapper, in cinemas from September 14th, 2023. Following her mother’s death, a resourceful 12-year-old girl, Georgie (Lola Campbell), continues to live alone in their London-outskirts flat. She makes money stealing bikes with her friend, Ali (Alin Uzun), and…

“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…

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…