Author: Peter Gray

With Australian cinema exceeding expectations at the box office in 2021 alone, now feels like as a perfect a time than ever for homegrown productions to thrive within their own country.  Founding his own company to pursue his passion of filmmaking, Dublin-born Antaine Furlong had followed his dream to technical fruition as his debut feature…

To coincide with the trailer launch of Spirit Untamed, the latest from Dreamworks Studios telling of the epic adventure of a headstrong girl and the wild horse she shares a kindred spirit with, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s director, Elaine Bogan, detailing her experience as a first-time feature director, her background in animation, and…

An award-winning French novelist and playwright that the Times of London referred to as “the most exciting playwright of our time”, Florian Zeller has transitioned from the stage to the screen with the adaptation of his award-winning production,  The Father.  Set for release in Australian cinemas on April 1st (you can read our review here),…

Given the fact that Tom & Jerry screenwriter Kevin Costello has a duo of self-aware, critically acclaimed projects to his name – the dramedy Brigsby Bear and Jean Claude Van Damme’s underrated television series Jean Claude Van Johnson – one might think he’d be able to create something innovative off the basis of 7-minute cartoon…

Following its box office success in the US – the film topped the North American chart as one of the few films to maintain a cinema-only rollout – Nobody is planning its Australian unleashing on April 1st (no joke!).  In relation to the film’s release (you can read our review here), Peter Gray chatted with…

When New Zealand-made horror film Coming Home in the Dark premiered at Sundance earlier this year, its use of sound was perhaps its most deceptive feature.  Forgoing the usual jump scare queues and obvious musical encouragement to goad audiences into a reaction, the film opted for a more subtle approach, utilising naturalistic sounds to give…

You would think by now that the proprietors of the particular cinematic universe that encompasses films surrounding a giant ape and a radioactive lizard would gather that we really don’t care about the human characters involved.  Sure, it’s great for there to be suitably formed players, and in the case of these films they’re often…

One of the first 2020 titles to delay its release substantially from its original bowing date (in this case, March 2020) due to the Coronavirus, Peter Rabbit 2 has finally hopped to a release window that makes sense.  In a country where cinemas have been open and thriving (and how!) for the better part of…

A film like Nobody is inevitably going to be likened to similarly-themed actioners such as John Wick and Taken.  And that’s not a bad thing, given how well-liked those films are (or, in the context of Taken, at least the first one), with the middle-aged-man-defending-what’s-rightfully-his narrative proving an easy sell.  Nobody is perhaps the easiest…

As much as The Mauritanian can boast Jodie Foster (in her Golden Globe-winning role), Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley as its headliners, it’s the central performance from the lesser-known Tahar Rahim that ultimately impresses and grounds the film around him. A factual-based dramatic thriller detailing some of the supposed inner workings of the 9/11 terrorism…

Grief is often something that runs throughout the core of the horror narrative.  And depending how it is structured, it can act in a nature that’s either cathartic or repressive.  In Alex Noyer‘s Sound of Violence it’s a mixture of both psychological expressions, with the additive intricacy of music production – another key element to…

Right from the opening moments of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – an extended action sequence amid rock formations spearheaded by Anthony Mackie‘s Falcon – it’s evident that the intent of this show is to link it to the prototype of the Marvel canon we’ve come to expect.  After WandaVision took bold swings, this…

German character actor Udo Kier is so synonymous with villainy that his role in Swan Song appears all the more revelatory.  But given the actor’s own queer identification and penchant for theatrical performances, a character like his at the centre of Todd Stephens‘s gentle dramedy feels quite in tune with the actor’s aesthetic. Based on…

Not unlike the professional front Katy Perry put forward in her Part of Me documentary, where she grinned and performed for a mass crowd only moments after being informed that her marriage (at the time) was over, Demi Lovato similarly bravely faces her adoring fans night after night in the early seconds of Dancing with…

Written and directed by Sophie Mair and Dan Gitsham, The Thing That Ate The Birds is an atmospheric short that teases a darker universe we can only hope could be expanded on. Abel (Eoin Slattery) and Grace (Rebecca Palmer) are on the verge of separation, but the tragic circumstances surrounding their farmland have pushed their…

One of those films that has a log line that feels all too familiar, Lee Haven Jones‘s The Feast presents itself as a supernaturally inclined horror film on the surface, only to gradually morph into an allegory of sorts that runs deeper than the film’s initial mentality would have you believe. Set in a secluded,…

Australian actress Danielle Macdonald has wasted no time racking up an impressive resume in the near-decade she’s been working on screen.  Biding her time between acclaimed Australian dramas (I Am Woman) and Netflix successes (Dumplin’, Bird Box), the Sydney-born talent is furthering her mark in Azazel Jacobs’s surreal comedy French Exit (Read our review here)….

As displayed by her effortless wit and charm in the opening seconds of Introducing, Selma Blair, the actress’ own self-awareness has been one of her pillars of strength as she battles multiple sclerosis (MS).  Always aware of her supporting actress stance in Hollywood – the star noting as such throughout – the Legally Blonde alum…

A film that’s as uplifting and positive as it is dark and shockingly violent (at times), Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break is a quintessentially British black comedy that roots for the underdog, even when he perhaps doesn’t deserve it. The titular Paul Dood (Tom Meeten) is a bit of a pathetic character, but one who’s…

A devastatingly topical drama surrounding a school shooting and the emotional and psychological damage such a tragedy can cause for its survivors, The Fallout takes a quieter, more intimate look at the unseen faces – those that aren’t framed in the media as “a survivor”, merely fellow students who are unsure how to navigate their…

There’s that old chestnut saying that truth is stranger than fiction, and it would appear that no one knows this more than writer/director Wes Hurley.  An autobiographical tale of growing up queer in the USSR in the 1980’s, Potato Dreams of America is an often bizarre, occasionally sad, but completely unique feature that, however trite…

A multi-faceted drama designed in a manner not unlike Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed, layered Traffic, Crisis‘ own multiple-strand approach to storytelling is understandable, but also can’t help but highlight the fact that director Nicholas Jarecki‘s ambition outweighs his ability to smoothly execute. There’s much to be discussed here, with Jarecki commenting on the many facets of…

Creepy children are always good fodder for horror-leaning films, and Here Before, whilst more psychological thriller than all-out horror, is no exception with writer/director Stacey Gregg utilising the premise and twisting it just so. Andrea Riseborough leads the charge as Laura in this small, gradual thriller that focuses on young Megan, a seemingly friendly school…

A comedy both made during and about the pandemic that has forever altered the landscape of the world, Recovery adds as much levity as it can to the most devastating of situations.  Written, directed and headlined by the relatable comedy duo of Mallory Everton and Whitney Call (Everton serving as director and co-writer, Call as…

Literally adopting the phrase “Go back to where you came from” and structuring a thriller-leaning narrative around it, Lazaro Ramos‘s Executive Order is an often infuriating and incredibly timely film given the racial prejudice that has framed the last 12 months. Set in a near-dystopian future in Rio de Janeiro, the film starts on the…

Immediately telling from its title, Jan Van Dyck’s The Nipple Whisperer is a bizarre offering, but it’s one that maintains a genuine sense of heart amongst its odd temperament. If you weren’t already privy to the title you’d think Van Dyck’s film was taking on a much more serious subject, with the film’s titular character…

A film that takes pride in its conversational awareness of both the LGBTIQA+ and deaf and/or hard of hearing communities, Unsound may not always hit the right notes but there’s plenty of charm in the melody along the way. Centred around deaf Sydney-sider Finn (Yiana Pandelis), a transgender man navigating the complexities of being trans…

As 2021 slowly finds its footing in navigating the pandemic, there appears to be no better time than now for a celebration of unity.  Dropping a beautifully colourful trailer in the lead-up to its June release, In The Heights, from director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), promises an honouring of all Latinx culture in…

Arriving March 16th in the US on demand and digital, SAS: Red Notice (read our review here) is a slick actioner led by Australian actress Ruby Rose.  In the lead-up to the film’s debut, Peter Gray chatted with Rose and her co-star, Black Sails actor Tom Hopper, about the comforts of the action genre and…

Perhaps something of an unofficial audition for the next post on the 007 roster – or maybe that’s second audition, given he was a name suggested around the same time as Daniel Craig secured the role – Sam Heughan does his best secret agent impression in SAS: Red Notice, a disposable but supremely entertaining actioner…