Author: Peter Gray

Australian playwright Andrew Bovell‘s award-winning theatre production Things I Know To Be True has been acquired by Amazon Studios and Nicole Kidman‘s production banner Blossom Films. Set to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across 240 countries and territories worldwide, Kidman will topline the series set around the the resilience of an enduring marriage and…

Written and directed by an openly gay man and fronted by a quartet of women – one of whom a woman of colour – 1996’s supernatural teen horror film The Craft was, in retrospect, ahead of its time.  2 years before witchcraft would become weekly viewing on the television series Charmed, and over a decade…

On the eve of the release of The Craft: Legacy, writer/director Zoe Lister-Jones spoke to Peter Gray regarding the distinct feminine energy brought to the narrative, how inclusivity was an important factor, and the authenticity adhered to in her portrayal of witchcraft. When I first heard about The Craft: Legacy I assumed it was a…

Despite being a reimagined take on the 2015 Icelandic drama of the same name, Rams feels distinctly Australian.  The brotherly rivalry between its lead characters – symbolised by their opposing sheep flocks – offset by the wonderfully captured Western Australian backdrop gives Jeremy Sims‘ occasionally amusing drama a homegrown identity, despite the fact that it’s…

With the imminent release of Rams set for Australian audiences, director Jeremy Sims has been discussing the film and what brought him to reinterpret the original Icelandic drama.  Our own Peter Gray chatted with Sims, learning of his approach to directing, how he has found the film’s reception so far, and why he had to…

Whilst the novelty of the original Borat film has indeed worn off, this surprise sequel showcases creator Sacha Baron Cohen‘s twisted mindframe still has a place in an America, a country that sadly has only deteriorated since he last held up his own dirty mirror to their mentality. A few weeks ago none of us…

As her critically acclaimed film Kajillionaire arrives in Australian theatres (read our review here), writer/director Miranda July spoke to our own Peter Gray about what drew her to create such a distinctive film, how star Evan Rachel Wood imprinted on the material, and the irony of releasing such a thematically anxious film in 2020. Kajillionaire…

Given how many lightweight actioners Liam Neeson has aligned himself with in the last decade or so, you’d be forgiven for not being able to differentiate them from one another given how they have all basically bled into each other.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with this late-in-the-game career change for the gruff Irish actor –…

We have ten double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the Australian comedy Rams, starring Sam Neill, Michael Caton, and Miranda Richardson. In remote Western Australia, two estranged brothers, Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), are at war. Raising separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s prized bloodline, the two…

When you realise that ageing grifters Robert and Teresa Dyne (Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger) named their daughter Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) after a lottery-winning homeless man, you immediately learn everything you need to know about the swindling couple.  They thought the name would secure them inheritance of some sort, but instead they live…

Without so much as letting us settle into our seats, The Boy Behind the Door announces itself as a relentless piece of cinema within seconds of its starting time.  This is harrowing, unbearably suspenseful storytelling, with first time directors David Charbonier and Justin Powell plunging headfirst into thrilling territory, seemingly unafraid to tackle upsetting material…

If there’s anyone who would be secure enough to make a film based around politics, Jon Stewart would arguably be one of the most well suited.  Whilst not quite as politically savvy as one might expect, given his penchant for satire, Irresistible is nonetheless a sly, consistently witty affair that wisely doesn’t exactly choose a…

A portmanteau of June and nineteenth, Juneteenth is an American-specific holiday predominantly observed by African Americans celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.  The importance of this day serves as the backbone for Channing Godfrey Peoples‘ Miss Juneteenth, though it never hits as hard as one might expect, offering…

There’s a certain unique devotion that the sci-fi genre attracts that sets it apart from other thematic classifications within the realms of cinema.  And given just how much effort Invasion Planet Earth managed in order to be finished and released – 20 years of production, seven crowdfunding campaigns, and hours of pro-bono work from filmmaker…

With so much talent involved it’s a real shame that Dirt Music is unable to chart above underwhelming mediocrity, framing its narrative around a far more interesting back-story that is only sporadically hinted at. Based on the best-selling novel by Australian scribe Tim Winton, and adapted for the screen by Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes, TV’s…

Given how authentic this “based on real events” tale proves to be, it’s safe to assume that writer/director/actor Matthew Fifer is baring a healthy portion of his soul and experiences in Cicada.  Likely to ring true with queer audiences – especially gay men – the film tackles uncomfortable subjects and presents promiscuous sex in an…

In 2020, a movie detailing the drag scene and the straight Texan mother who comes to embrace it following the death of her queer son should be something worth remembering.  Even more so when said mother is portrayed by a seasoned performer like Jacki Weaver.  Sadly, as well-intentioned as Stage Mother is, it’s a forgettable…

Whilst Yuval Adler‘s The Secrets We Keep has quite a nasty temperament, it’s a testament to his and Ryan Covington‘s script that it never overindulges in its wince-worthy material. Set in a post-WWII America where the horrors of Nazi camps and prisoner brutality are a distant though still painful memory, Maja (Noomi Rapace), a Romani…

Prior to COVID-19 taking a hold of the industry in a capacity the world was unprepared for, Trolls World Tour was primed for a first quarter release – hell, Sydney was even planning a premiere with director Walt Dohrn and star Anna Kendrick in attendance – ready to capitalise on the somewhat-unexpected success of the…

  As the trailer for Christopher Landon‘s body-swap horror-comedy Freaky premieres across the globe, The AU Review’s Peter Gray was fortunate enough to chat with the director, touching on the casting of Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, his love of the horror genre, and if we can expect a third Happy Death Day. After seeing…

“We’re back to, as Elvis liked to say, ‘taking care of business’”. And with that statement, Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann once again controls the reins of Elvis, a musical drama detailing the life and music of the iconic Elvis Presley. After an unexpected delay in filming due to the unprecedented world events, cameras will roll…

As someone who was a kid when the first two Bill & Ted films were released (Excellent Adventure in 1989, Bogus Journey in 1991), and watched them on a regular basis throughout my childhood, I’m very much in the target demographic for the unexpected sequel that is Bill & Ted Face the Music.  As 1980’s-leaning…

Zoey Deutch is a star, and as her infectious enthusiasm and penchant for live-wire-fuelled comedy proves in Buffaloed, the world is simply waiting to catch up to her.  In the same manner as someone like Anna Kendrick, Deutch does so much with so little, going-for-broke with a fearlessness that often elevates both the material she’s…

There’s been a bit of radio silence on the 007 front ever since No Time To Die was one of the first major studio releases to react to the coronavirus pandemic and shifted its original April release to November 2020.  Now that the film’s local November 12th date seems locked and loaded, the promotional trail…

Given that the character of Hua Mulan has long been one depicted in poetry, novels, and film for almost as long as she has been a Chinese folklore figure, it’s wiser to view Mulan as another variation of her story, rather than a direct remake of Disney’s 1998 animated favourite. Whereas recent Disney live-action overhauls…

For the majority of the first episode of this second season helping of The Boys, Karl Urban‘s mouthy, unpredictable Billy Butcher is largely absent.  And it’s with his absence from the titular crew – which also consists of Jack Quaid‘s Hughie, Laz Alonso‘s Mother’s Milk, Tomer Kapon‘s Frenchie, and Karen Fukuhara‘s Kimiko – that the…

We’re twenty minutes into Hu Guan‘s epic The Eight Hundred before the credits cease on screen.  Then the film informs us that we are on Day 1 of what is to be a four-day siege – not to mention a further 2 hours in its running time. The titular Eight Hundred refers to the 400…

There’s a scene relatively early in Christopher Nolan‘s ambitious time-bending actioner Tenet where Clemence Poesey is explaining to John David Washington‘s confused character – known only as The Protagonist – about the supposed science behind his forthcoming operation; “Don’t try to understand it” she assuredly states. And it’s that advice that audiences best take when…

A cautionary tale about the thrills and perils of recreational sex in the digital dating world, Sequin in a Blue Room is a risqué but nonetheless important teen-aimed drama that offers something of a safe space for queer or questioning audiences regarding the nature of their sexual selves. An erotic film without being overtly explicit…

“671 kilometers of jungles, rivers, ocean, and swamp.  And it is…brutal” So says World’s Toughest Race host (and producer) Bear Grylls to an accumulative 66 teams as they gather patiently to learn just what they’re in for over the course of the next 11 days.  And if there’s anyone who knows the extremities of the…