Author: Peter Gray

There’s some magnetic performances and a dirty immersion to God’s Waiting Room that, at times, are strong enough for the film to overcome its narrative cliches and ultimate contrivance that put much of its good work at risk. As easy as it is to roll your eyes at the outline of the film being that…

Starting on a blackly comic note and ending on a vastly different one of dramatic grit, Mickey Reece‘s Agnes is a truly confounding piece.  Inserting a narrative and tonal shift half-way through its proceedings, Reece has created a unique film without question, but it’s one that is likely to irk viewers who could respond so…

There’s something delightful in a comedy series basing itself around a person who’s, for lack of a better word, awful.  Maybe awful is too strong a word.  Let’s go with morally questionable.  Either way, In The Cards, from writer/director Colin Kane Healey, centres itself around a morally questionable type who most would agree deserves that…

The foul-mouthed, no-nonsense senior citizen can easily give itself way to presenting a caricature more than a character of organic standing.  Thankfully, in If I’m Alive Next Week… screenwriting duo Jennifer Morris and Robbie Sublett (who also serve as the series’ directors and creators) manage to create an 80-something who tells like it is without…

Given that Shapeless is an incredibly personal film to lead actress and writer Kelly Murtagh, detailing a disorder that cripples many, it’s a somewhat painful experience to be framing a review in a negative light. There’s a dark, unforgiving movie in here somewhere, one that expresses no fear in manifesting her struggle with bulimia in…

Despite actors amassing considerable acclaim over their careers with carefully calculated role choices, sometimes they just have to take a pay cheque because the work is there and the money is good.  Such is the case with John Malkovich and his latest effort, Rogue Hostage. The two-time Academy Award nominated actor has sporadically offset his…

With roles in a Golden Globe-winning comedy and a $400 million dollar blockbuster under her belt in the last year alone, now is a good time to be Eiza González.  After breaking out as Jon Hamm’s right-hand woman in the hit Baby Driver in 2017, the Mexican born singer-cum-actress has quickly become a sought after…

The elevator pitch narrative of “blind subject is targeted by home invaders” is one that’s been explored before in the cinematic realm.  The 2016 double offering of Don’t Breathe and Netflix’s Hush both utilised this logline to impressive effect, and though See For Me is treading familiar ground, it too is at least doing so…

To coincide with the trailer launch of Ron’s Gone Wrong, the latest animated comedy adventure from 20th Century Studios telling the story of a socially awkward middle-schooler and his digitally-connected, walking, talking “best friend” whose hilarious malfunctions set him apart in this digital age, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s directors, Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe…

Despite one of the more impressive voice casts assembled in recent years – Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Walton Goggins, and Isabela Merced, to name a few – Spirit Untamed is suitably middle-of-the-road fare.  It’s sweet and harmless, but it’s aimed so specifically at the young female demographic that its universal appeal feels ultimately limited. Playing…

Given how mischievous Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is as a character, it only makes sense that his namesake series follows suit.  A show that, from the first two episodes afforded to media ahead of its Disney+ debut, seems to absolutely delight in embracing the unexpected, Loki continues the more inventive, and oft-humorous, route that served the…

With the German Film Festival currently underway across all major Australian cities (even Melbourne is getting an extended season), our own Peter Gray was fortunate enough to sit in on a roundtable event with writer/director Maria Schrader about her comedic and contemplative feature I’m Your Man (read our review here), where she discussed the unique…

Exactly the type of film you expect it to be from its title, Dream Horse is a syrupy, stereotypically inspiring drama that embraces the underdog narrative – or should that be under-horse? – and runs (gallops) with it to no end. Set in the mid-2000’s in a sleepy Welsh country town, Dream Horse places its…

“Nothing is more addictive than the past” Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy marks her directorial debut with the upcoming Reminiscence, a science-fiction laced thriller that has unleashed its trailer ahead of its August release. Written and directed by Joy, the films follows Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman, in a role specifically written for him), a rugged and…

Having essentially built itself around the “based on a true story” hook, the Conjuring universe of films have been served well by a selling point that’s either something you buy into or simply accept as neat marketing. Whilst there’s no denying that Ed and Lorraine Warren did exist and built a name for themselves as…

Although in the last 12 months we’ve had two films detailing the very subject that Natalie Morales navigates in her directorial debut, Plan B, it doesn’t mean that her efforts are by any means diminished.  The buddy comedy Unpregnant and the hauntingly realistic Never Rarely Sometimes Always both highlighted the difficulty of teen girls accessing…

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are prepped for adventure in the new trailer for Jungle Cruise as it sets sail for a confirmed Australian theatrical date of July 29th and Disney+ with Premier Access* on July 30th, 2021. Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s Jungle Cruise is an adventure-filled, rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with…

Director Molly Reynolds has long had a history with the subject of her latest film.  Her partner, trailblazing filmmaker Rolf de Heer, has directed David Gulpilil in such critically acclaimed efforts as The Tracker and Charlie’s Country, whilst she has documented these collaborations with the companion pieces Twelve Canoes and Another Country. Her closeness and…

Introducing My Name Is Gulpilil as “my story of my story”, subject David Gulpilil, along with director Molly Reynolds, is all too aware of the duality the film frames itself around – Gulpilil’s running life and that of his persona on-screen. As a performer, Gulpilil has that undeniable star quality, and this stunning film proudly…

Given both our fascination and reliance on the support of technology, it only makes sense that the relationship between man and machine is one oft explored throughout the annals of cinema.  From John Connor’s correlation with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator to Joaquin Phoenix’s obsession with Scarlett Johansson’s voiced AI in Her, so often are these links…

If there’s one thing that’s concrete in the rather contradictory personality of The Audition‘s focal character – Nina Hoss‘s Anna – it’s that music is her only unwavering interest. Scenes of her championing a young musical student – a mentality that soon graduates to near chastising – showcase her evident passion for the art of…

As much as Alecia Moore, best known professionally as P!nk, claims to be juggling the responsibilities of being a mother, a manager, and a performer with a worried anxiousness, this behind-the-scenes documentary has a certain self-promotional sheen about it that seems to prove the opposite. That’s not a criticism of the singer/songwriter’s struggles, or meant…

Thanks to ABCG Film we have five double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the documentary My Name is Gulpilil, in Australian cinemas from May 27th, 2021. Looking back over a 50-year screen career that has unquestionably changed the face of Australian Cinema, David Gulpilil, now terminally ill, generously shares his own story with…

Expanding the ravaged world he teased us with in the 2018 original, unlikely horror aficionado John Krasinski returns for another play in the unbearably tense playground that is A Quiet Place Part II. Whilst the overall surprise element of the first film is perhaps not quite as prominent here, Krasinski still expertly manoeuvres around apocalyptic…

Singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen has often had his work incorporated into film.  Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz was one such work that set itself to the name-same song, whilst the documentary Marianne & Leonard highlighted the singer’s relationship with his “muse” and the time they spent together throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Death of a Ladies’…

Set for an exclusive theatrical release in July this year, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins stars Crazy Rich Asians breakout Henry Golding as the titular ninja commando made famous from his appearance in the G.I. Joe line of action figures, comic books and animated series. Known for his concealed appearance behind all-black attire and lack of vocals,…

After over a decade of vacating the director’s seat on the Saw franchise, Darren Lynn Bousman has returned to the series that gave birth to his career as a staple within the horror genre.  As the latest instalment releases in cinemas across the country, Spiral: From the Book of Saw (read our review here), our…

Defying the critical odds in 2004 and spanning an unlikely 8-film-strong series in the process, the original Saw became much more of a phenomenon than expected, and, arguably, than originally intended.  Often synonymous with the horror sub-genre of “torture porn”, James Wan‘s grimy, low budget affair delighted in its gory aesthetics, but tried its best…

Adhering to a similar action efficiency of his penned Sicario, though not quite as emotionally rousing as his own Wind River or near-note perfect Hell Or High Water, Taylor Sheridan‘s Those Who Wish Me Dead is nonetheless a strong continuation of his brand of modifying the western genre. Adopting an environmental temperament and leaning into…

Australia’s national museum of screen culture, ACMI (formerly Australian Centre for the Moving Image), has brought the internationally acclaimed Disney: The Magic of Animation exhibit to Melbourne for its Australian debut as part of the city’s Melbourne Winter Masterpiece series. From today, May 13th, through to Sunday, October 17th 2021, the exhibition celebrates a near-century…