Author: Peter Gray

*Due to the current global crisis the planned 2020 Tribeca Film Festival has been postponed. The AU Review has been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. A commentary on the so-called perfection of social media, Eamonn Murphy‘s quirky short A Better You is…

*Due to the current global crisis the planned 2020 Tribeca Film Festival has been postponed. The AU Review has been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. Much like the recent slate of short films that were intended for this year’s SXSW Film Festival,…

Best not to be fooled by Almost Love‘s incredibly generic title (its alternative UK/international moniker Sell By isn’t much better either) as Mike Doyle‘s interconnected relationship drama plays stronger than it deserves to, thanks in large part to an ensemble cast that are allowed to play to and with their own respective strengths. Set in…

If we have learnt anything throughout cinema’s depictions of estranged families, it’s that the more alienated you are from one another, the more unpredictable your journey will be. This proves especially true in Come To Daddy, a pitch black comedic thriller that director Ant Timpson bathes in gory oddity. There’s an unease immediately present from…

As horrific as some things are on screen, behind the cameras can be even worse.  Supernatural forces at bay have proven to be more than just fictional fodder if the lore of horror set stories are anything to go by, and Shudder’s own Cursed Films docu-series sets out to prove whether it’s fact or fiction…

On paper, the premise for Swallow sounds almost too-grotesque to be relayed without resorting to some type of gimmick.  In reality, Carlo Mirabella-Davis‘s slow-burning thriller transcends its potentially nauseating core to deliver a deep, at times dark tale that wholly understands and respects its unique subject matter. The film surrounds the delicate Hunter (Haley Bennett),…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. Perhaps diving a little too heavily into the metaphorical stance on storytelling, Claire Oakley‘s Make Up is a self-discovery tale dressed up like…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. The Midnight Shorts Competition has long been an audience favourite at SXSW.  A bite-sized marathon of twisted ideas that usually fuses gore, overt…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. Detailing a tragic situation with a sobering, uncomfortable realism that has the potential to test even the most patient of viewers, The Surrogate…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. Proof that more than enough can be conveyed in a fraction of the time of a standard feature, Ashley Eakins‘ short-feature Single is…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. The description outlined for the comedy series Everyone Together sounds rather typical.  Dysfunctional families from two very different cultural backgrounds subsequently bond and…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. A noble idea marred by melodramatics that often take away the importance of the film’s message, Shooting Heroin can’t help but feel like…

*The AU Review will continue with its planned SXSW 2020 coverage.  We have been in contact with the respective representatives for available films in order to give them the coverage they intended. You can love your dog, and then you can love your dog.  And whilst Caleb Michael Johnson‘s bizarre effort The Carnivores wouldn’t be…

This year’s South By Southwest is fast approaching (March 13th 2020, y’all!), and with that haste comes a schedule of cinematic treats for the masses to feast on.  Of course with 250 projects to fill the time, getting to each and every screening will be an impossible task, so we’ve compiled our look at 5…

Having never read any of Kerry Greenwood‘s historical Miss Fisher mystery novels, nor seen the television program that was birthed from them, I can only judge Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears as someone entering blindly.  And whilst I’m unfamiliar with the show, I’m aware of its structure, and I would assume that a…

As The Invisible Man prepares to be seen (or not seen) in theatres this week, The AU Review’s Peter Gray was fortunate enough to chat with the film’s writer and director, Australian talent Leigh Whannell, on his relationship with the horror genre and how a major studio like Universal Pictures left him to his own…

Had the Tom Cruise-led revamp of The Mummy not crashed and burned at the box office upon its release in 2017 then we’d be seeing, or more correctly not seeing, a very different Invisible Man.  In an optimistic strategy from Universal Pictures – in their bid to compete with fellow juggernauts Marvel and DC –…

Similar to how Greta Gerwig‘s Little Women proved that we did indeed need another adaptation of Louisa May Alcott‘s classic novel, Autumn de Wilde‘s Emma. (yes the period in the title is deliberate) is further proof that a fresh coat of paint can reinvigorate even the most familiar of structures. Arriving some 25-years after both…

South by Southwest (Austin, Texas, March 13th-22nd 2020) has announced the last round of Keynotes and Featured Speakers to be added to the 34th edition of its annual Conference, which celebrates the convergence of technology, film, and music industries. Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been added to the…

When the 92nd annual Academy Award nominations were announced, it was difficult to not note the elephant in the room.  Within moments, #OscarsSoWhite was trending and more memes than you could possibly create were birthed making a mockery of the Academy’s decision to snub people of colour and women in a majority of categories; despite…

Where does one start with Birds of Prey? With so much vibrancy packed into its 109 minute running time it’s probably best to follow the advice of the film’s queen bee, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and start at the beginning. And though a product like Suicide Squad (2016) shouldn’t be considered the strongest launching pad…

Only one week after elevating the B-grade material of deep-sea thriller Underwater, Kristen Stewart further proves her innate ability of hoisting what little she has to work with on a script page to something of sublime quality in Seberg.  A biographical drama detailing a specific time period in the life of American actress Jean Seberg…

2020 is primed to be a big year for cinema, both in the realm of big-budget blockbusters and under-radar indies. Each month we’re going to be taking a look at five upcoming films that you need to see in cinemas, encouraging Aussies to get out and experience these stories on the big screen. February brings…

The SXSW Film Festival is often seen as a launching pad for major studio releases, as well as smaller independent titles and buzz-worthy TV ventures, and this year’s edition looks to be no exception with the features, episodic premieres, and opening night film announced. Running from March 13-21st this year, the 27th SXSW Film Festival…

On the eve of the release of Robert Downey, Jr.’s passion project Dolittle (originally titled The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle) arriving in Australian cinemas, The AU Review’s Peter Gray chatted with one of the film’s multitude of voice talents, Craig Robinson, to discuss the isolating process of vocal recording and whether or not he’s actually…

After the colossal misfire that was Cats, audiences may not be ready for another round of CGI-rendered animals.  But, despite none of us really asking for it, Dolittle is here, and we can at least be thankful that it’s not the cinematic car-crash it very easily could have been – at least in comparison to…

The last decade of cinema has brought with it some favourites you might have missed along the way. Here are 20 films you need to discover (or re-discover) from 2010 to 2019. Submarine (UK, 2010) Richard Ayoade‘s directorial debut. Adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s 2008 novel of the same name, Submarine follows the story of the…

The hybrid reboot/sequel that was 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a mammoth success that I suspect not even Sony was anticipating.  Sure, they threw considerable weight behind the project but in the wake of Star Wars: the Last Jedi‘s release, a near billion dollar haul worldwide was an unprecedented outcome, to say the…

Released in 1974 and oft considered the original slasher film, Bob Clark’s Black Christmas has rightfully earned cult status over the years after initially being passed over for that other genre staple, John Carpenter’s Halloween. Clark’s film is a unique take on the stalk-and-kill mentality that the slasher subsect is known for given that it…

As legends of both the stage and screen, the idea of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen combining their respective talents for a project is an enticing one, to say the least.  And whilst The Good Liar hands them roles that they each indulge in with an against-type glee, the film itself isn’t the first class…