Film

When a deal goes wrong between a corrupt governor and a ruthless drug lord, ex-special forces operative Doc (Frank Grillo) is caught in the crosshairs. Now, with his family in danger, Doc must take down the Mexican drug cartel and do whatever it takes to protect the one good thing in his life – his…

Darren Aronofsky has always been one to push the extremities of his characters’ limit throughout his career.  Whether it be physical or psychological, they have all suffered past their breaking point – often to their own demise – and The Whale similarly submits to this trend, looking at an eating addiction spurned from depression. From…

At the age of 16, Jessica Watson attempted solo global circumnavigation.  Departing in Sydney on October 18th, 2009, and returning on 15th May 2010, her incredible, untapped journey saw her cross the equator in the Pacific Ocean before crossing both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. A Young Australian of the Year Award recipient and awarded…

Polite Society tells the story of two Pakistani-Muslim sisters in London; plucky Ria (Priya Kansara), who dreams of being a stuntwoman, and Lena (Ritu Arya), her world-weary older sister who wants to be an artist. With Lena recently returned home after dropping out of art school, Ria constantly goads her into helping her make YouTube…

If the horror genre has taught us anything it’s that cabins are never going to be the cosy, safe getaway that each inhabiting character tends to think it will be.  But even in the realms of the horror genre, Knock at the Cabin, the latest from genre auteur M. Night Shyamalan, has a few tricks…

  The combination of the dangerous uncertainty of M. Night Shyamalan’s narratives and Dave Bautista’s imposing stature is something very few of us would care to endure. Especially if it’s at the supposed end of the world! In the apocalyptic thriller Knock at the Cabin, Shyamalan invites his audience on an intense thrill-ride, detailing a…

Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s acclaimed 2018 novel “The Cabin at the End of the World”, Knock at the Cabin is the latest white-knuckle thriller from genre maestro M. Night Shyamalan. While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family…

Director John Swab, a gritty aesthetic, and the gruff likeability of Frank Grillo have proven a welcome parcel over the last few years, and following on from both Body Brokers and Ida Red is Little Dixie, a formulaic but no-less investing thriller that exists in a rough, dirty reality. Though there’s plenty of genre tropes…

Set in present day Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance follows Jax (Lily Gladstone), a Native American swindler who hustles for a living while caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), taken in following the sudden disappearance of her mother. With every spare moment spent trying to find the missing parent, time is running out…

The horror genre and Skeet Ulrich go hand-in-hand.  Or do they? As Peter Gray spoke with the actor for his latest project Blood, a horror/thriller following Michelle Monaghan’s Jess, who moves her two children back to her childhood home where their lives quickly deteriorate into terror after the family dog bites her son, giving him…

Vampirism has often been utilised in genre features as a metaphor for an addiction of sorts.  In Brad Anderson‘s Blood, screenwriter Will Honley (Escape Room: Tournament of Champions) furthers not only the addiction thematic, but blends it with the notion of chronic illness, what that can do to the afflicted’s caretaker, and a mother’s instinct…

Whilst it’s fair to be tired of the “elevated horror” tag that so many genre pieces aim for nowadays, and the attachment of the-little-studio-that-could A24 only fans the fire, one needn’t worry with Talk To Me, an Australian-made horror effort that’s been acquired by the aforementioned studio for US distribution following wild reactions out of…

There’s complexity within the rather simplistic narrative of Other People’s Children, Rebecca Zlotowski‘s affecting French drama about a certain definition of motherhood. Headlined by a captivating Virginie Efira, last seen dominating Paul Verhoeven’s controversial Benedetta, Other People’s Children focuses on her Rachel, a 40-year-old teacher – single and childless – whose blossoming relationship with Ali…

When you have a film led by such reliable talent as Richard Gere, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and William H. Macy, it’s understandable to believe that the hands you’re in will guide you to a safe destination.  And perhaps that’s the problem.  Maybe I Do is entirely too safe to make any lasting impression beyond…

There’s a lot to be said about mental health – and here, specifically, obsessive-compulsive disorder – within the short minutes of Just Right.  So much so that you can’t help but wish Camille Wormser‘s charmingly off-centred comedy was expanded to feature length, but, as it stands, it’s no less funny and affecting as a commentary…

It goes without saying that the topical interest in Kristen Roupenian’s 2017 short story “Cat Person”, which ran in The New Yorker, before going viral online, is ripe for a filmmaker to adapt and expand.  Unfortunately, director Susanna Fogel can’t quite secure a grip on proceedings, clumsily handling the film’s tone and undermining its central…

The wealthy whites and their easy skewering is a narrative mentality that we have been witness to in a variety of practices as of late.  But unlike The White Lotus and The Menu, two of the most recent examples of such a temperament, Brandon Cronenberg‘s Infinity Pool pushes further past being just a little wicked…

Fair Play tells the story of a recently engaged young couple Emily and Luke (Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich) who both work at a corporate hedge fund in secret. As they witness a fellow employee crash and burn and is let go of their job, a new spot for PM has opened up, leaving a…

Shayda tells the story of our titular heroine (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), an Iranian woman who is living in Australia with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). She resides in a women’s shelter after having fled from Iran to hide from her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami) and she tries to establish a normal life for her…

Run Rabbit Run tells the story of Sarah (Sarah Snook), a fertility doctor and single mother who is trying to maintain a carefree existence for herself and her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre). The two start to celebrate by planning Mia’s seventh birthday, with Sarah’s ex-husband Peter (Damon Herriman) his partner and their child in attendance….

Set in 22nd century New York, The Pod Generation tells the story of Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a happy couple who live in a future where technology has become overabundant in terms of efficiency and convenience. Rachel is a rising executive at the Womb Center and Alvy is a botanist with a…

Nominated for her record eighth Academy Award for her latest role as Lydia Tár, Cate Blanchett‘s turn as the titular character in Todd Field’s Tár is a tour-de-force performance that speaks to the strive for perfection within the world of art and a female’s abuse of power. As the film releases nationally in Australia, Peter…

Tár, set in the international world of classical music, centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra. Enveloped by a career-best Cate Blanchett in her Golden Globe-winning (and now Oscar nominated) performance, Tár is brought to the screen by director Todd…

There’s a lot to digest within the 158 minutes of Todd Field‘s ambitious Tár, so much so that lead Cate Blanchett practically devours it whole and spits out a venomous toxicity in return.  It’s an, at-times, icy black comedy and a tragic character study melded within the cancel culture mentality and the #MeToo movement.  It…

How do you find lasting love in today’s world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbour Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and…

Don’t let the title fool you, What’s Love Got To Do With It? has nothing to do with Tina Turner.  Instead, the titular question is a rhetorical of sorts that documentary filmmaker Zoe (Lily James) ponders when she hears that her life-long best friend (Shazad Latif‘s Kaz) is interested in an arranged marriage, and subsequently…

A brutal movie to endure, Elijah Bynum‘s Magazine Dreams speaks to the strive for physical perfection within men and how such toxicity can consume them from the inside out. On that outside, Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors in a demanding, raw performance that should already be favourited come award season next year) has the type of…

Thanks to Madman Films we have 10 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new drama The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser in his acclaimed comeback role and directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, mother!), in cinemas from February 2nd, 2023. A reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage…

Sometimes an artist’s vision is best conveyed through the use of metaphorical imagery.  Reiki Tsuno is not one of those artists! Leaning bombastically far into literal chaos and absurdity, Tsuno’s Mad Cats is a high-art-meets-low-brow martial arts extravaganza that embraces melodramatic nonsense – and is all the better for it. When he receives a message…

Whilst it isn’t always moving at a tolerable pace, nor does it necessarily answer the questions it raises throughout, Rachel Lambert‘s at-times dreamy dramedy Sometimes I Think About Dying still manages an emotional resonance as it tackles social anxiety and the feeling of disconnection that can stem from such. Daisy Ridley – in a beautiful,…