Film

Eagerly awaited, though perhaps a few years too late, Marvel’s latest excursion of the bombastic kind – Black Widow – isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing though as Cate Shortland‘s venture adopts a more grounded mentality (at least for the most part), playing as a type-of Bourne Identity actioner that…

  Thanks to StudioCanal we have five double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action film Gunpowder Milkshake, starring Karen Gillan, Michelle Yeoh, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett and Carla Gugino, in Australian cinemas from July 15th, 2021. Sam (Karen Gillan) was only 12 years old when her mother Scarlet (Lena Headey), an elite…

Taking an activity that’s (arguably) something of a fad and morphing it for a theatrical narrative was a risk that evidently paid off for director Adam Robitel and screenwriters Bragi Schut and Maria Melnik with 2019’s Escape Room.  A psychological horror film that aimed for suspense over gore, its $150 million worldwide haul practically guaranteed…

After Escape Room became one of 2019’s biggest surprise box office successes, netting over $150 million worldwide on a $9 million budget, it was no surprise when it was announced that a second trip behind the locked doors would be heading our way; Escape Room: Tournament of Champions. Reuniting original director Adam Robitel and surviving…

Legends aren’t born.  They’re made. The prequel to the groundbreaking, award-winning HBO series The Sopranos, The Many Saints of Newark is set against the backdrop of the explosive 1967 Newark riots as it explores the rising tension between the Italian-American and African-American communities. Directed by Emmy winner Alan Taylor (TV’s Game of Thrones) and written…

Evil dies tonight. After slaughtering the box office in 2018, earning over $250 million at the global box office and setting a new record for the largest opening weekend in history for a horror film starring a woman – genre icon Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween breathed new life into the four-decade long franchise. And…

Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have ten double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action thriller The Misfits, in Australian cinemas from July 1st, 2021. After being recruited by a group of unconventional thieves, renowned criminal Richard Pace (Pierce Brosnan) finds himself caught up in an elaborate gold heist that promises to have…

As In The Heights prepares to dance its way on to the big screens here in Australia (you can read our review here), the cast and creators were on hand at a global press conference to discuss making the film, including director Jon M. Chu, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes. Our own…

As the Sydney Film Festival prepares to return to theatres for its 2021 season, running from the 18th-29th August, it has teased a line-up of art titles ahead of its official program launch. Set to screen alongside such already announced titles as Mads Mikkelsen‘s crime comedy Riders of Justice and The Kids, a revisit with…

Any film that has an air of positivity about it can all too easily be framed as “the movie we need right now” coming off the global lockdown stage of the pandemic.  Sure, a film that makes you laugh, smile, or cry (in the good way) is going to be enough of an escape after…

After In The Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda enlisted director Jon M. Chu to bring his acclaimed stage production to life on the big screen, Chu extended his arm to longtime collaborator Christopher Scott, the three-time Emmy nominated choreographer who helped shape the movements of the Step Up films. Ahead of the film’s Australian release, Peter…

As most musicians can attest, the hopeful critical and commercial success of your debut album ultimately means very little if your sophomore record under-delivers.  Such is the dilemma for Glass Heart, the fictional girl group at the centre of Jamie Adams‘ familiar-feeling Love Spreads. Seeming personal vendettas, the strain of writer’s block, and the clashing…

A sensitive subject that manages to transcend its 18 minute containment, Saul Abraham‘s Enjoy is a delicate look at depression, specifically in men, and how difficult it is to remove your own psyche from spiralling downwards. 1 in 8 men in Australia experience some form of depression or anxiety, 3 times more common than it…

Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have five family passes (Admit 4) to give away to the upcoming release of the animated fantasy film Moonbound, based on one of Germany’s most popular children’s books, in Australian cinemas from June 24th, 2021, just in time for school holidays. When Peter sets out on a magical journey to rescue…

Building on the success of last year’s 2020 online-only festival – which had the largest audience reach in their history – The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will afford its largest platform to date, with the 2021 festival presented as a hybrid with both digital and physical access. Returning August 5th-22nd, MIFF 2021’s packed program…

On the surface Luca appears to be one of the more slight Pixar entrants.  A studio that is known for its near-perfect track record, there’s a certain narrative around the brand that seems to paint any of their films that doesn’t quite reach the emotional highs of an Up or an Inside Out as a second-tier…

As melodramatic and as nonsensical as one would expect from a series that defies the laws of physics as freely as it does whilst waxing lyrical on the importance of family, Fast & Furious 9 (or F9 as it’s being marketed) is the type of ludicrous, high-octane fluff designed for the biggest of screens. Another…

To claim nothing is as it seems in Rob Schroder‘s Ultrasound would be a vast understatement.  Requiring significant patience and understanding of its components, this horror/science-fiction hybrid begins on one disturbing note before unravelling into something far more psychologically mysterious. It all opens rather straightforward, however off-kilter, with Glen (Vincent Kartheiser) driving home one night…

Despite supposedly meeting his maker at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Sung Kang‘s fan favourite character Han Lue is back in action for Fast & Furious 9.  Reuniting with director Justin Lin and Fast family patriarch Vin Diesel, Kang’s return to the franchise has been shrouded in mystery. As the…

Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have five family passes (Admit 4) to give away to the upcoming release of the animated adventure Cranston Academy: Monster Zone, featuring the voices of Jamie Bell and our own Ruby Rose, in Australian cinemas from June 24th, 2021, just in time for school holidays. Bullied for his intelligence and struggling…

With a title like No Future and a narrative detailing the recovery of addicts and the potential grief and fear of relapsing that comes with that territory, Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot‘s drama isn’t exactly reaching for subtlety. It’s a simplistic script that takes few risks in straying from the expected, but superb, committed performances…

Invoking notes of revenge thrillers like Death Wish and Taken, but adhering to a female edge that lends the film a more calculating temperament, Catch The Fair One is a gritty thriller that survives more on its emotional mindset rather than gratuitous violence. Headlined and anchored by real-life boxer Kali Reis (who also serves as…

There’s some magnetic performances and a dirty immersion to God’s Waiting Room that, at times, are strong enough for the film to overcome its narrative cliches and ultimate contrivance that put much of its good work at risk. As easy as it is to roll your eyes at the outline of the film being that…

Starting on a blackly comic note and ending on a vastly different one of dramatic grit, Mickey Reece‘s Agnes is a truly confounding piece.  Inserting a narrative and tonal shift half-way through its proceedings, Reece has created a unique film without question, but it’s one that is likely to irk viewers who could respond so…

The foul-mouthed, no-nonsense senior citizen can easily give itself way to presenting a caricature more than a character of organic standing.  Thankfully, in If I’m Alive Next Week… screenwriting duo Jennifer Morris and Robbie Sublett (who also serve as the series’ directors and creators) manage to create an 80-something who tells like it is without…

Given that Shapeless is an incredibly personal film to lead actress and writer Kelly Murtagh, detailing a disorder that cripples many, it’s a somewhat painful experience to be framing a review in a negative light. There’s a dark, unforgiving movie in here somewhere, one that expresses no fear in manifesting her struggle with bulimia in…

Despite actors amassing considerable acclaim over their careers with carefully calculated role choices, sometimes they just have to take a pay cheque because the work is there and the money is good.  Such is the case with John Malkovich and his latest effort, Rogue Hostage. The two-time Academy Award nominated actor has sporadically offset his…

With roles in a Golden Globe-winning comedy and a $400 million dollar blockbuster under her belt in the last year alone, now is a good time to be Eiza González.  After breaking out as Jon Hamm’s right-hand woman in the hit Baby Driver in 2017, the Mexican born singer-cum-actress has quickly become a sought after…

The elevator pitch narrative of “blind subject is targeted by home invaders” is one that’s been explored before in the cinematic realm.  The 2016 double offering of Don’t Breathe and Netflix’s Hush both utilised this logline to impressive effect, and though See For Me is treading familiar ground, it too is at least doing so…

To coincide with the trailer launch of Ron’s Gone Wrong, the latest animated comedy adventure from 20th Century Studios telling the story of a socially awkward middle-schooler and his digitally-connected, walking, talking “best friend” whose hilarious malfunctions set him apart in this digital age, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s directors, Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe…