Film

A gaudy game of cat-and-mouse and pseudo-philosophical musings on sexual orientation and gender sit at the core of Amanda Kramer‘s Please Baby Please, a wild but, sadly, insufferable drama that’s more sleazy than it is stylish. Set in 1950’s New York, the film reveals its bizarre, sexualised tone in its early minutes when bohemian couple…

The type of filmmaker who’s able to create stories so bombastically silly that they are somewhat brilliant, Quentin Dupieux once again expresses straight-faced frivolity in Incredible But True, a tightly-paced (a lean 74 minutes) twilight-zoned comedy that, somehow, is one of his more level-headed features in spite of its ludicrous plot. Said ludicrous plot revolves…

Nobody quite does obscure like director Peter Strickland.  Finding that delicious balance between eccentric and perverse, Flux Gourmet – set over a month-long period in an institute for sonic caterers (yes, that’s a thing) – is perhaps his funniest yet, indulging in the mischief that comes with his unique blend of deadpan dialogue and a…

An incredibly topical drama that navigates its story with natural humour and heart, Sophie Galibert delicately treads the waters around the subject of unwanted pregnancy in her feature debut, Cherry. Initially adhering to a more comical temperament, Cherry centres on its titular character (Alex Trewhitt, a star-making turn), a driftless, 25-year-old Los Angelean, whose already…

Whilst there’s no surprise revealed in the fact that Emma Thompson truly deserves to be considered one of the greatest living actresses working today, it’s always appreciated when a performance solidifies such a statement.  And in the deliriously charming and strikingly emotional Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, Thompson turns in career-best work that leans…

Though it’s fair to be intrigued by the title of Alex Lehmann‘s Acidman and assume there’s perhaps something more sinister behind its moniker, the film is a quieter affair, looking at reclusion, mental health, and the power of a familial relationship. Lehmann himself has noted that the idea came from his own personal experience with…

They say crime doesn’t pay, but whoever stated as such may want to have a chat with the titular criminal in John Patton Ford‘s scrappy, oft intense thriller, one that furthers Aubrey Plaza‘s hold on chaos personified characters in the off-kilter subsect of cinema. Plaza’s Emily is a former art student with a $70,000 debt…

Whether we like them (or follow them) or not, influencers – sorry, “content creators” – are a cultural mainstay in our society that often extends beyond the environment of social media.  In Australian horror effort Sissy, co-writers/directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes seem all too aware of the faux importance influencers place upon themselves, a…

To paraphrase the Queen Bee of 2004, Mean Girls‘ Regina George, “Stop trying to make dinosaurs happen!” Though the love for legacy sequels is at an all-time high thanks to the recent 1-2 hit of Top Gun: Maverick and Scream, the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World continuation fails to continue the trend, further removing itself from the…

Dwayne Johnson has been teasing his involvement in the DCEU as the infamous anti-hero Black Adam for the better part of 5 years, and now his passion project has finally come to fruition. Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods – and imprisoned just as quickly –…

As his topical documentary A Sexplanation arrives for digital download in Australia (you can read our review here), creator Alex Liu spoke with our own Peter Gray about exploring the hardships of addressing such a controversial subject as sex education, how his own coming out was the catalyst for the film, and the surprising reaction…

The end of two eras comes to a close this week as Jurassic World: Dominion roars into theatres, finalising both the original Jurassic Park and World trilogies that have seen dinosaurs roam the Earth for close to three decades. Ahead of the film’s release, Peter Gray was invited to the global press conference to speak…

Fans flocked to Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter withstanding freezing temperatures to watch the cast of The Boys – Jack Quaid, Jessie T Usher, Chace Crawford, Karen, Fukuhara and Aussie Claudia Doumit – walk the black carpet at the VIP screening of Episode Four of the Third Season of Amazon Original series The Boys.

As much as A Sexplanation is a documentary aimed at bettering the sexual education of (primarily) Americans, at its core is writer/director/star Alex Liu – the most charming of presences – and his own sexual shame. He’s an out gay man with both a supportive friend group and family (the latter of which appear quite…

Whilst some of us attempted newfound interests or ambitious endeavours throughout the early stages of the pandemic – when going outside was thought as something of a novel luxury – British popstar Charli XCX one-upped us all, joining Bo Burnham (Inside) and the creators of Zoom-set slasher Host by utilsing her time and stored creativity…

As an actor, Sean Patrick Flanery has amassed more than 100 credits over a three decade-long career.  Best known for his work in such acclaimed titles as Powder, The Boondock Saints, and the upcoming season of Amazon’s The Boys, Flanery is now turning his attention behind the camera for Frank & Penelope, a road movie-cum-cult…

Though there’s a certain erotic elegance to Mothering Sunday, Eva Husson‘s slow-burning adaptation of Graham Swift‘s 2016 novella is a film that, whilst impeccably acted, moves with a lack of urgency that keeps it from entirely earning the affectation it seeks to conjure. Predominantly set in 1924, the title refers to a Sunday in March…

Pil’s Adventures is an animated film set it he medieval city of Foggyborough. At its heart is a strong, little heroine orphan girl named Pil. She embarks on an adventure with some unlikely friends for a warm underdog makes good, slapstick comedy. Julien Fournet writes and directs this animated film. It is the third feature…

Thanks to Transmission Films, we have 5 double in-seasons passes (Admit 2) to see Colin Firth, Olivia Colman, Josh O’Connor and Odessa Young in the drama Mothering Sunday, set for release in cinemas from June 2nd, 2022. The events of Graham Swift’s novel take place over the course of one day – the holiday Mothering…

From the endangerment of Mark Wahlberg’s family in Contraband to the singular distress of Shailene Woodley’s nautical nightmare in Adrift, Baltasar Kormákur is a director no stranger to the utilisation of squeezing the most out of his genre films and placing his players in grave danger. For his latest effort, the Icelandic filmmaker is heading…

We bow to thee, Tom Cruise: Saviour of cinema! A film you’ll be best served believing its near-impossible hype, Top Gun: Maverick is not only the type of sequel that surpasses its predecessor in every form imaginable, it’s the perfect encompassment of why cinema matters. Over 30 years in the making, Maverick reunites Cruise with…

Whilst it makes sense that fans of the Bob’s Burgers television series will get more out of The Bob’s Burgers Movie, the uninitiated are likely to experience enough genuine joy from this weird, though consistently amusing musical comedy that straddles the line successfully between delightful and lightly demented. As summer break approaches, the titular Bob…

As Top Gun: Maverick gears up to take flight in cinemas this week, it only makes sense that Tom Cruise‘s other death-defying stunt-fuelled title make its presence known too. Following a brief, but buzzed aplenty trailer leak, the first official look at Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One has arrived to, once again,…

Set in present day Norway, The Innocents follows the story of Ida (Rakel Lenora Flottum), a young 9-year old girl who is angry with the state that she is in. Her family has moved into an apartment complex with new surroundings and she can no longer play with her older sister Anna (Alva Brunsmo Ramstad),…

The notion of Disney and The Lonely Island collaborating is one that I imagine many failed to place on their 2022 movie bingo card.  The comedy team – they of “I’m on a Boat” and “I Just Had Sex” fame – have rightfully added a little of their grown-up twist to the reimagining (of sorts)…

Though its title may suggest it’s a comedy of somewhat raunchy proportions, Renée Webster‘s assured debut feature film How to Please a Woman is a far more accessible, rather delightful dramedy that furthers the female view in a male-dominated industry. Filmed in Western Australia (and looking particularly stunning in the process), Webster’s film centres around…

The Walt Disney Company in Australia & New Zealand has today announced its first wave of local content commissions and acquisitions for Disney+ with nine Australian originals launching in 2022/23. Announced at an event held at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the slate of local and sure to be loved content includes three Scripted drama…

Based on Sergey Fetisov‘s memoir, Firebird – appropriately screening this week in relation to International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – is an achingly romantic, though still not entirely ground-breaking tale of forbidden love set in a time when same-sex affairs were met with severe punishment. In the midst of 1977 Cold War in…

A staple of the Australian cinema and televisual landscape for 30 years, Erik Thomson is an AFI and Silver Logie award winning actor known for his work in All Saints, Packed to the Rafters, and 800 Words. On May 19th, he will be seen romancing Sally Phillips in the comedy How to Please a Woman,…

Thanks to Madman Films, we have 10 double in-seasons passes (Admit 2) to see Sally Phillips, Erik Thomson, Cameron Daddo and Tasma Walton in the new Australian comedy How to Please a Woman, set for release in cinemas from May 19th, 2022. Gina is not feeling fabulous. She has lost her job and feels stuck and frustrated…