Film & TV

A lot of visual comedy is driven by big personalities and even bigger setups. However, not all comedy films or shows are in it for the laughs. Some do have a more serious message for audiences in mind, slipped between the punchlines. In anticipation of Tina Fey‘s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, here are four times comedy invaded more serious issues!…

At the end of Season 2 Ripper Street was cancelled by the BBC only to be resurrected by streaming service Amazon Prime who agreed to a third season after an online campaign by the show’s loyal and dismayed fans. In Season 3 of Ripper Street we return to Whitechapel and H Division and the grimy…

We recently sat down for a surprisingly detailed discussion about Jon Favreau’s new project that’s about to hit Australian cinema screens – a live action version of The Jungle Book. In Part 2 of our interview (Look back at part one HERE), we discuss the themes, the casting choices, and music used in the film and…

Hello fellow cinephiles. Look, I didn’t quite get the margins right with Labyrinth Of Lies or Sherpa  as contenders for the number one spot, but boy did Zootopia pick up its game – shifting My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 to third spot. There haven’t been many other changes we know about, so expect some downsizing. The major one is from Batman v Superman:…

Lionsgate have released a new synopsis for John Wick: Chapter Two. The first film we saw John Wick (Keanu Reeves), a retired hit man who takes revenge on a gang who steal his car and kill his dog. Chapter Two will see Wick return, once again forced out of retirement, to take down a shadowy assassin’s guild residing…

The popular worldwide media hub Netflix has just announced its very own first French language TV drama, Marseille staring Gerald Depardieu. Depardieu plays a politician whose 25 year reign is challenged by his former protege, Lucas Barres (Benoît Magimel). Though there may be a language barrier for some, this looks like one to watch for. Geraldine Pailhas, Nadia Fares, Stephane Caillard, Jean-Rene Privat,…

The St Kilda Film Festival has announced an exciting preview of its lineup, with more to come in late April. The festival itself runs from the 19th to the 28th of May.  The four programs announced are as follows: Fandor International Showcase Joined by special guest Johnathan Marlow, who is from the American subscription FANDOR and himself renowned for his cinematography, film producing,…

We’re only at the start of March but Lionsgate’s Gods of Egypt is already a frontrunner for the year’s biggest flop. Hollywood filmmaking is known for its competitiveness and not every film can be the next Deadpool. However, a lot of films are initially written off as flops on opening weekend only to find big profits over…

Today we look at three brilliant music documentaries that screened at SXSW last month as part of their phenomenal 24 Beats Per Second music focused program: The Smart Studios Story With an 4:3 aesthetic that takes it right out of a 1990s MTV world – all its missing is Kurt Loder’s narration – The Smart Studios…

He’s an actor, a writer, a producer and a director, he began his career with a string of successful indie hit films, then eventually broke through to mainstream and big budget blockbusters. From Swingers to Friends to that Daredevil film we don’t talk about to Elf to Iron Man to Chef. Jon Favreau for the…

“Last Day on Earth” capped off a strong season for The Walking Dead in a fairly weak way. Negan’s eventual introduction has been telegraphed for a long time – in fact, there’s baseball bat imagery, which is emblematic of his character, dating all the way back to the first season. Comic Book readers have been…

Can you believe it’s that time of year again? The time when we recognise and celebrate the efforts of our on-screen talent AKA The Logie Awards. Yesterday, the full list of nominees were revealed at a lavish party at Crown Casino’s Club 23, with the who’s who of Australian TV in attendance. Hosting the afternoon…

Warning: Spoilers ahead! We are well past the halfway mark of Vikings season four after “What Might Have Been” aired Wednesday night. The sixth episode of the first ten that will make up part one of the extended season. One scene stood out quite powerfully in that episode, and that was Ragnar’s vision of his past…

Waiting in a hotel lobby for US comedian and actor Baron Vaughn on the first weekend of SXSW, it’s clear from the people checking and checking out of the establishment are feeling the effects of a heavy night prior, as were we all. SXSW Comedy has been a constantly growing element of the Texan event for some years…

The grungy Taken-esque Blood Father has a new trailer, with Mel Gibson’s character throwing out some gritty one-liners and blowing away bad guys with his shotgun. While it doesn’t look like anything spectacularly new, it seems like one fans of those movies (Taken, The Equalizer) will probably be keen to see. Blood Father also stars William H. Macy, Erin Moriarty and Elisabeth Röhm. Check out the trailer below:…

New on-set photos of Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange have revealed the character’s new look, alongside that of Chiwetel Ejiofor‘s Baron Mordo. It’s not the first time on-set photos for the film have emerged but these news snaps are probably the most important ones thus far for fans interested in seeing how the comic book hero will be adapted for…

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Molly Smith, Trent and Thad Luckinbill of Black Label Media confirmed that development of the sequel to the 2015 thriller is well underway with the original cast set to return. According to Smith, ” I just got a draft [of a script from writer Taylor Sheridan], and we’re really excited.”…

The countdown has begun to Supanova’s first conventions of 2016 and for their Gold Coast and Melbourne events they’re bringing a solid and diverse lineup of guests. Actors from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Harry Potter and Angel to name a few will be set to spend their weekend meeting and greeting…

If Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore) was never diagnosed with terminal cancer, she may never have come out. With 20 years of service for the New Jersey State Police, being a woman was hard enough.  Now, she wants to make sure her pension goes to her spouse, Stacie Andree (Ellen Page), so she can stay in…

Jessica Henwick has joined the cast of the upcoming Marvel’s Iron Fist Netflix series. She’s set to play the role of Colleen Wing alongside fellow Game of Throne-alumni Finn Jones, who plays the titular Iron Fist. No word yet as to whether this bodes well for Henwick’s role in Game of Thrones as Nymeria Sands. Marvel’s Iron Fist is…

When Morgan returned to The Walking Dead it was a very welcome addition mostly due to Lennie James’ stunning performance in Season 3’s “Clear”. Throughout this season his presence on the show became more and more divisive as he was used as a vessel for a particular philosophy, the same of which was used to…

Following hot on the heels of Robin Wright, Dave Bautista may be the next high-profile addition to the cast of the upcoming Blade Runner sequel. Bautista teased his appearance with the following Twitter: I can’t wait to share some really exciting news… pic.twitter.com/fI2VjDjcXM — Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) April 2, 2016 The origami unicorn Bautista is holding in…

Thursday, 31st March saw the official launch of this year’s Spanish Film Festival, which will run nationally throughout April, starting with Sydney from Tuesday, 12th April. Screening exclusively at Palace Cinemas around Australia, this year’s program includes 32 films and 8 short films from Spain, in a series called Inspiracion del Corazon.   Festival highlights…

Adding another project to Bad Robot’s upcoming slate, J.J. Abrams has signed on to produce the film adaption of Greg Grunberg‘s upcoming graphic novel Dream Jumper. Given his longtime habit of making cameo appearances in Abram’s work, this news doesn’t come as a huge surprise but its a considerable vote of confidence for Abrams to…

Fairytales and blockbusters aren’t two words you’d often expect to find side-by-side but the two have produced a slew of fun and often-fantastic films. In fact, the veritable sub-genre will have a new entry this month with The Huntsman: Winter’s War. In honor of the occasion, we thought we’d take a look back at some…

As we look back on our time at SXSW last month, we wanted to briefly reflect on four comedy films we caught during the festival. We’ll give these the full review treatment closer to their Australian release dates, but in the meantime, here are our first thoughts on the overwhelmingly impressive run of films at…

It was NRL luminary Jack Gibson who said, “In football, if you are standing still, you’re going backwards fast“. These words are lived by Heath Davis’s lapsed hero Barry Kelly (played by Steve Le Marquand) and extend to the broader film in the suburban melancholy and missed opportunities of Australian redemption tale, Broke. Broke begins…

Following his breakout role as the titular hero in CW’s The Flash, Grant Gustin has signed on to what will be he first feature role. Alongside Nick Robinson (who you may recognize as the older of the two brothers in that underground Chris Pratt flick, Jurassic World), Gustin will star in director William H. Macy’s…

Curated by David Stratton, co-host of The Movie Show and At the Movies, Essential Scorsese will be screened at the Sydney Film Festival (8-19 June), ACMI in Melbourne (27 May-12 June), and the NFSA in Canberra (1-23 July). The collection of 10 films will include Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and The Age of Innocence.  …

Hans Zimmer, puller of violin and heart strings alike has announced his retirement from “the superhero business”. Following his most recent work on  Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zimmer sat down with the BBC to discuss his decision to retire from composing music for superhero films. “This one was very hard for me to do,…