Author: Peter Gray

In his new film Daughter (read our review here), Casper Van Dien is far from the personable actor Peter Gray found him to be when discussing his role as the unnerving “Father”.  A tense thriller surrounding a bizarre family and their induction of an abducted woman into their home, Van Dien spoke of being warned…

Informing us that the film is based on fact more than fiction, Daughter has a certain familiarity about it when it initially begins, horrifying us with the imagery of a woman being bludgeoned by an unknown assailant.  It’s a suitable start for Corey Deshon‘s horror-leaning effort that successfully navigates mostly a singular location, a small…

The plot for Aftersun is one that we have seen countless times before in one form or another: Adult reflects on a childhood trip with a parent that was often laced with memorable experiences.  It’s how writer/director Charlotte Wells chooses to frame such a story though – almost like a faded memory – that transforms…

Whilst I can see the charm that audiences fell for regarding the original Fisherman’s Friends, a 2019 “feel-good” true story dramedy about the unlikely musical success of the titular Cornish fishermen, who signed with Universal Records and garnered a Top 10 placing album with their sea shanty renditions, none of that is remotely present in…

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.  But what happens if the cat doesn’t come home? Such is the question posed by directing duo Will Merrick and Nicholas D. Johnson in Missing, a spiritual sequel to 2018’s technologically-inclined thriller Searching; which, wouldn’t you know it, happened to be edited by Merrick and Johnson, both…

They often say that truth can be stranger than fiction, and in the case of Cocaine Bear, the truth is wild, high, very bloody, darkly funny, and doesn’t play well with others.  Of course, this is only an “inspired by” truth, the type of truth that gets gloriously twisted for the sake of bombastic entertainment. …

No stranger to adapting original-skewered material for the big screen, directing/producing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have seen their bold visions for tiny toys, 80’s television, and animated superheroes through to critical and commercial acclaim. Now, perhaps they’re taking on their biggest challenge yet: the true story! Sort of. Kind of. Inspired by the 1985…

“The bear does cocaine.  Big, bang, boom, that’s your movie!” And just like that, Alden Ehrenreich and O’Shea Jackson Jr. perfectly sum up the entirety of Cocaine Bear‘s narrative and reason for being during a sometimes emotional, always entertaining conversation with our Peter Gray ahead of the film’s release.  Inspired by the 1985 true story of…

Cocaine Bear, inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, is a wild dark comedy that finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest, where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount…

Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, Cocaine Bear is a wild dark comedy that finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest, where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount…

Thanks to Universal Pictures Australia we have 5 digital double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the wild new comedy Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, in cinemas from February 23rd, 2023. Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild…

You’ve really got to hand it to writer/director Craig Boreham for embracing queer eroticism and all that entails in Lonesome, a movie that revels in filth but is at its most uncomfortable when it simply lets its lead characters exist. Casey (Josh Lavery) is the embodiment of the titular state, a cowboy who has escaped…

Celebrating its 15th year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has (Hulk) smashed its way to over $26 billion dollars at the global box office, introducing an array of colourful characters along the way and changing the blueprint of what it is to be a cinematic event. Kicking off Phase Five in the biggest way possible is…

Based on Miriam Toews‘s 2018 novel of the same name, Women Talking is a complicated, multi-faceted look at religion and the complexity of abuse response. The easiest thing to ask someone – specifically a woman – when they mention abuse within a relationship is why they haven’t left.  It’s an outside perspective that is never…

Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, international pop icon, and honorary Australian P!NK has added 3 new stadium shows on her massive Australian tour in February and March, 2024. P!NK’s “Summer Carnival” will commence in Sydney at Allianz Stadium on February 9 and 10, followed by Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on February 13, Suncorp Stadium Brisbane on February 16 and…

Thanks to Kismet Movies we have 5 digital double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new drama Aftersun, starring Paul Mescal in his Academy Award-nominated role, exclusive to cinemas from February 23rd, 2023. Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories…

After an incredibly disjointed Phase Four, all eyes are indeed on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (or Quantumania, as we will be noting for short throughout this review) to see how this particular threequel will set a precedent for the forthcoming Phase Five of the continued Marvel Cinematic Universe. If this is anything to go…

Given the shared enormity that was living through the pandemic at its seeming peak throughout 2020 and 2021, it’s a surprise that few films have actually addressed it in a manner that’s relatable for audiences.  Whilst films are an escape, it’s a reality that can’t forever be ignored, and co-writer/director/star Jesús Lloveras manages to infuse…

Despite its enchanting title, there’s not a lot to love about She Is Love, an experimental drama from writer/director Jamie Adams. Adhering to a spontaneity that Adams bestowed upon her cast, She Is Love has potential in its premise and lead trio – Haley Bennett, Sam Riley and Marisa Abela – but there’s ultimately only…

Authenticity and artificiality battle with equal gusto throughout A Bit of Light, a filmic adaptation of Rebecca Callard‘s award-winning stage production.  The theatrical origins are difficult to entirely dismiss throughout Stephen Moyer‘s drama though, with the True Blood alum not always proving steady in his narrative navigation. Anna Paquin – coincidentally Moyer’s wife in real-life…

Living his authentic self suits Darren Hayes, if his energy on the Brisbane stop of his “Do You Remember?” tour was anything to go by. Perhaps energised by being in his home city, or that it’s the final stop on his Australian leg – his planned Gold Coast show was cancelled due to lower-than-expected ticket…

It’s time to fasTEN your seatbelts (see what we did there?) as the end of the road begins. Fast X, the tenth film in the Fast & Furious Saga, launches the final chapters of one of cinema’s most storied and popular global franchises, now in its third decade and still going strong with the same core cast and…

Few films have shocked me in the manner of Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible. Released in cinemas some 20 years ago, it arrived off the back of its storming Cannes controversy, thrusting the relatively unknown (at least to anyone who didn’t consider themselves a “cinephile”) Noé into somewhat-mainstream relevance.  The film’s storyline, or more correctly its treatment…

Boasting a truly spectacular ensemble cast and detailing both the American legal system and the “blind eye” mentality that often accompanies accusations of sexual assault, Miranda’s Victim is an occasionally shaky, but always captivating true story drama. Despite its 1960’s setting, Michelle Danner‘s film feels all too relevant in this current climate; no doubt in…

If you want to know why when Peter Gray spoke to Alison Brie about her latest film, Somebody I Used To Know, they started suggesting television shows where Jason Biggs would fornicate with various types of dessert pies, you’ll just have to watch it and find out. To be fair, Brie’s character Ally and her…

That classic romantic comedy genre trope of big-city-girl-returns-to-small-home-town is one that, initially, writer/director Dave Franco and writer/star Alison Brie utilise to almost expected potential in Somebody I Used To Know, a more human dramedy than romcom romp that cements the notion that you can never truly go home again. People and places change, and no…

Do you ever wonder what happened to the one that got away? If you’re Alison Brie in Somebody I Used To Know, you might have lost them to Kiersey Clemons. In the new romantic comedy, co-written by Brie and her husband (and director) Dave Franco, workaholic TV producer Ally (Brie) faces a major professional setback,…

They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but what if the man is a total dirtbag? In that case, it might be time for some sweet revenge, doggy style. From Josh Greenbaum, the director of Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, comes Strays, a wild, foul-mouthed comedy inspired by the likes…

When watching Mean Spirited I couldn’t help but wonder why Jeff Ryan isn’t a household name.  As a director he has worked within a duo of spaces that have well been tested – the mockumentary comedy and the found footage subsect of horror – but both this and his previous effort (YouthMin) prove he has…

The claustrophobic and emotional resonance Florian Zeller created with 2020’s The Father is unfortunately nowhere to be found in The Son, a prequel of sorts based off another of Zeller’s stage plays. A chamber piece on the subject of dementia that rightfully won Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Academy Award, The Father expressed subtlety…