Film

Jason Momoa to attend premieres in Sydney and Gold Coast to bring Aquaman back to Australia

In anticipation for his role as Aquaman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ production of the DC film, Jason Momoa will be visiting the Gold Coast and Sydney for a celebratory greeting with fans! Warner Bros. Pictures and Roadshows Films have announced that the actor, as part of his cross-continent tour, will be greeting fans and walking the…

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Film Review: The Girl in the Spider’s Web (USA, 2018) lacks adherence but compensates with thrills, fun and a great performance by Claire Foy

Lisbeth Salander is back! In another reiteration! Over the years, we have had four films revolving around the characters created by acclaimed Swedish author Stieg Larsson, and each have been hits in their home territory, as well as receiving rave reviews from many critics. Many people have complimented the Scandinavian cinematic thriller tropes (i.e. winter settings,…

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AMW Film Festival Review: Now Sound: Melbourne’s Listening celebrates the city’s vibrant independent music scene

London’s calling, California’s dreaming, so Melbourne must be dancing if Now Sound: Melbourne’s Listening is true. The documentary is a celebration of the independent music scene in our very own, world-renowned, live music capital. This film is a passionate little time capsule joined at the hip to a very special time and place. Tobias Willis…

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Win a double pass to a special Robin Hood preview screening in Sydney

From the legend you know, comes the story you don’t. The classic tale of Robin Hood returns in this action-packed blockbuster by director Otto Bathurst (TV’s Peaky Blinders), packed to the brim with gritty battlefield explosions, mind-blowing fight choreography and a timeless romance. In the country of England, after years of fighting in the Crusades,…

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Film Review: Fahrenheit 11/9 (USA, 2018) is a rousing call to action to take the world back from the dark side

Based on your personal feelings towards Donald Trump and the Republican Party, your reaction to (and presumably interest in) Fahrenheit 11/9, Michael Moore‘s latest bombastic documentary, is likely already predetermined. If you consider Trump to be a crusading saviour of the people and his presidency really is making America great again, maybe sit this one…

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JIFF Interview: Sydney producer Stephan Wellink talks Sam Spiegel: Conquering Hollywood

Natalie Salvo recently caught up with Sydney producer Stephan Wellink to talk about his latest film Sam Spiegel: Conquering Hollywood, which is currently screening at the Jewish International Film Festival. We learn more about Sam Spigel, the iconic producer of films like Lawrence of Arabia, and the production of the documentary. Can you begin by briefly introducing…

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Film Review: Bohemian Rhapsody (USA, 2018) is as spirited as it is sterilized

Biopics are a dime-a-dozen these days. And when one considers the marketable possibilities about them, it’s not hard to see why there are so many of them. Particularly when the subject of the biopic revolves around the entertainment industry. In the case of the music industry, we have had so many biopics revolving around that…

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Interview: The Man From Mo’Wax director Matthew Jones reflects on his James Lavelle documentary

The Electronic Music Conference kicks off in Sydney next month, and as part of its evening program – EMCPlay – will be a screening of the documentary on Mo’Wax and UNKLE founder James Lavelle, The Man From Mo’Wax. Paris Pompor from Groovescooter is curating the film program of the festival, which will screen at the Surry Hills…

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The critically acclaimed First Reformed is getting an exclusive Sydney release at Golden Age

Sydneysiders can look forward to Australian Exclusive season of the searing, suspenseful new release First Reformed, from the director of the iconic Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader. Set to hit Golden Age Cinema from 8th November, the film stars Ethan Hawke (Dead Poets Society, Predestination, The Purge), and Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Mamma Mia!, In Time), and since its premiere at the Venice…

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AMW Film Festival Review: Lost in France (UK, 2018) is a love letter to Scottish musicians Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand and more

What goes on tour stays on tour. Except if you’re the Scottish artists who feature in Lost in France. This music documentary is a boozy and breezy look back at a once-forgotten, 1997 Brittany tour. The artists reunite again in 2015 and in doing so, prove that some things – like friendship – never change….

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Jewish International Film Festival Review: Studio 54: The Documentary (USA, 2018) is a fabulous party about the infamous New York nightclub

Groucho Marx once said he wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have him as a member. For us mere mortals, the world’s most famous nightclub remains elusive territory. It only existed for 33 months and if you were lucky enough to be there, chances are the velvet rope held you back. Studio…

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Jewish International Film Festival Review: The Twinning Reaction (USA, 2017) will leave you seeing red once you’ve seen double

Try to imagine something that could be your biggest joy and greatest nightmare. It’s not easy. But finding out you have an identical twin sibling has got to be up there. The Twinning Reaction is a documentary that covers a bizarre and bittersweet example of this with brutal honesty. The results are not what you’d…

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Film Review: Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (USA, 2018) provides some PG scares over familiar ground

Acting as a nice alternative to the brutality of Halloween, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, whilst not overly clever or necessary viewing by any means, provides enough chaotic entertainment for the younger crowd (or those young at heart) to earn their own respective scares for the spooky season. Even though its title suggests its a sequel…

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Interview: Jamie Lee Curtis on having no fear returning to Halloween (and the fate of Wanda)

As Australia prepares to feel the sharp blade of Michael Myers puncture once again with the release of Halloween, the film’s heroine – and original genre scream queen – Jamie Lee Curtis took to our shores to spread the love of all things Laurie Strode and this four-decade long series.  Gracefully walking the black carpet…

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Sydney Lock Out Film Turn It Up! to open Australian Music Week Film Festival as individual tickets go on sale

Australian Music Week Film Festival presents a diverse lineup of film premieres, set to grace the event on 10-11 November. Already announced, films range from discussing the politics of music to sharing the uniqueness of Melbourne’s music scene. Today, the 13th and final film was announced, Turn it Up! Finding Sydney’s Sound, which discussed the city’s…

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Interview: Jason Blum talks Halloween, working with John Carpenter and teases upcoming Blumhouse film Spooky Jack

The AU’s Harris Dang sat down with Blumhouse’s Jason Blum to talk about his latest production, Halloween, which hits cinemas today. They talk about the great response the film has had so far, the weight of working with heavyweights like Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter – not to mention the franchise itself. Blum also…

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Film Review: Halloween (USA, 2018) truly captures the atmosphere of John Carpenter’s seminal classic

Trick: The 2018 incarnation of Halloween acts as a direct continuation of the 1978 original, essentially wiping out all seven sequels (and the two Rob Zombie-helmed revisions) that succeeded in the years since. Treat: It’s good.  Like really f***ing good! After surviving the maniacal clutches of psychotic killer Michael Myers forty years prior, Laurie Strode…

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Photo Gallery: Jamie Lee Curtis on the Halloween black carpet at the Australian Premiere in Sydney

In cinemas this Thursday, and following on from a record breaking weekend on the US Box Office, legendary actress Jamie Lee Curtis walked the black carpet in Sydney last night for the Australian premiere of Halloween. Nathan Atkins was there and brings us these photos from the carpet.

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Jackie Weaver and Bryan Brown star in the new original series Bloom coming to Stan this summer

This Summer, Stan will introduce us to another new, and original series. From creator, writer and Executive Producer Glen Dolman, comes mystery drama series Bloom. The series takes place in an idyllic country town, one year after a devastating flood kills five of their local residents, where a mysterious new plant with the power to restore their…

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Film Review: Beautiful Boy (USA, 2018) is a powerful meditation on drug addiction, told by a user’s helpless father

We always hurt the ones we love the most. This is certainly the case with Beautiful Boy. The film is an emotional drama about a father who is grappling with his son’s drug addiction. It’s a very human and poignant story. This film is the English language debut for director, Felix Van Groeningen. The plot…

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Film Review: Lady Gaga shines as A Star is Born (USA, 2018) proves perfection on screen

Lady Gaga is not the first singer to embark on the transition from music to film (J. Lo, I’m looking at you), and I doubt she will be the last. However, never before have I seen a musician take this leap with such skill, such talent and such raw emotion reminiscent of a seasoned actor….

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A Star Is Reborn: Why ‘remake’ is not a dirty word

No matter how Hollywood tries to sell it, remake will always be a word deemed blasphemous to cinephiles the world over.  Sure, they can throw out terms such as reboot or reimagining or revisioning, but regardless of the spin, they all refer to the same type of picture.  And because it’s one we have experienced…

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Interview: Visual Effects Supervisor Patrick Turbach talks Solo and the making of the Kessel Run

Earlier this year the latest Lucasfilm epic, Solo: A Star Wars Story hit the theatres around the world, and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Academy Award-winning director, Ron Howard put a story into place about the beloved heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca. Packed with star-studded cast, and plenty of mind-blowing visual effects, the…

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Feast Films: Darebin Music Feast set to celebrate extraordinary women in music with six film screenings

After an already incredible and diverse music program, this year’s Darebin Music Feast introduces you to its first venture into cinema with Feast Films. Partnered with Thornbury Picture House, Feast Films is screening feature and documentary films in Melbourne on the theme of gender and the music industry, following the extraordinary lives and careers of…

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Watch the first trailer for Glass as the M Night Shaymalan Universe connects Unbreakable and Split

Eighteen years ago we were introduced to Unbreakable, the superhero film that was not all it seemed. Two years ago, sixteen years after the original made its debut, the sequel Split came to our screens with a twist ending we never expected. Now, from the unbreakable original, to the tension splitting sequel, comes the next instalment…

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Film Review: In Like Flynn (Australia, 2018) is predominantly fizzy and shamelessly cheesy

Director Russell Mulcahy, the Melbourne filmmaker whose career has seen him graduate from Elton John music videos to varied levels of cinematic quality (the 1984 wild boar in the outback horror flick Razorback, the ill-advised Kim Basinger vehicle The Real McCoy, and the Geoffrey Rush drama Swimming Upstream just a few of his efforts) is…

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Why you need to experience Damien Chazelle’s First Man in IMAX

When one praises a film, one of the many positives that one would say is that the storytelling is incredibly immersive from a visual perspective. Films with such praise would include Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, J.J Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness and Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But what all those films mentioned have…

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OzAsia Festival Review: Of Fathers & Sons (Syria, 2017) lifts the veil on religious extremists

Of Fathers & Sons should come with a warning. This is likely to induce nightmares even though it’s not strictly a horror film. It is however, a horrifying documentary that chronicles a religious zealot and his young, jihadist-in-the-making sons. The result is a visceral and eye-opening look at this largely-unknown world. Filmmaker, Talal Derki is…

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Five documentary features you need to watch on Netflix

There’s no shortage of documentaries on Netflix – both in feature and episodic format. Here’s just five documentary features you need to add to your playlists: Blackfish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OEjYquyjcg Blackfish is a documentary about the captivity of orca whales, where it investigates the psychological and physical torment these sea animals go through in the name of…

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Film Review: Damien Chazelle has crafted something truly impeccable with First Man (USA, 2018)

It seems almost baffling that Neil Armstrong’s account of being the first man on the moon hasn’t been told prior to Damien Chazelle‘s First Man.  Clearly an intimidating figure but still reserved, sensitive and aloof enough to not be placed upon a pedestal as some flawless being, Chazelle’s film seeks to uncover the more human…

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