Film & TV

Between such culture-defining videos as “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy and Monica, Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie”, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”, and, arguably, the piste de résistance that is “Toxic” by Britney Spears, Joseph Kahn has solidified himself as a music video director that transcends mere lyrical inspiration. As a film…

For the 16th consecutive year, NOVA Employment proudly presents the Focus on Ability Short Film Festival, a vibrant festival which invites filmmakers to celebrate the abilities of people with disabilities, sharing powerful stories that can captivate audiences around the globe. This year has been nothing short of spectacular, with generous sponsors contributing over $100,000 in…

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.” Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler, Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers, trying to leave their troubled past behind, returning to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater…

After teasing a mysterious project over the last few days with cryptic social media messages, Lady Gaga has announced the release of Harlequin, a 13-song strong LP that’ll serve as the musical accompaniment to the film Joker: Folie à Deux, the anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning Joker, in which she stars as Lee, a reimagining…

Following its winning over audiences at both this year’s Sundance and Sydney Film Festivals, My Old Ass is arriving in Australian theatres this week for all to witness Megan Park‘s “deliriously sweet, always charming, oft-hilarious venture.” (You can read the rest of our review here). Featuring a stand-out performance from Maisy Stella, My Old Ass…

Though there is a high-concept present in the narrative forming of My Old Ass – shroom induced time travel could be the easiest elevator pitch summary (so, a high-concept if ever there was one) – Megan Park‘s deliriously sweet, always charming, oft-hilarious venture is, at its core, an uncomplicated affair that simply wants to make…

Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) 2024 is proud to announce the inclusion of two of the most acclaimed films from this year’s Venice Film Festival in its program. A Special Presentation of The Room Next Door and The Brutalist – winners of the prestigious Gold and Silver Lion awards – will be featured as part…

South by Southwest Sydney (SXSW Sydney) is thrilled to roll out the purple carpet for its Headliners, announcing today five films that embrace the signature bold, genre-focused storytelling of the SXSW Sydney 2024 Screen Festival, presented by IHG Hotels & Resorts. Colin Daniels, Managing Director, SXSW Sydney said: “We are incredibly excited to unveil our Screen…

What would you ask your older self? Thanks to Warner Bros. Australia you can find out! To celebrate the release of My Old Ass, in Australian theatres from September 26th, 2024, starring Aubrey Plaza, we have 5 digital double passes (Admit 2) to giveaway. In this fresh coming-of-age story, an 18th birthday mushroom trip brings…

The mission to save Christmas is on. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Red One is a must-see action-comedy event that delivers a fresh twist on Christmas for the holiday season. Directed by Jake Kasdan, who has previously teamed with Johnson on the blockbuster Jumanji movies, this multigenerational global spectacle features such megawatt stars as Chris Evans and…

A vision wholly unrealised is the biggest downfall against Hold Your Breath. With its gothic horror temperament, dustbowl 1930s Oklahoma landscape and an emotionally anchored performance from Sarah Paulson at its core, Karrie Crouse and Will Joines‘ isolating, atmospheric thriller has the potential, but unfortunately not the power needed to convey its core themes. The…

So often across cinematic history has it been proven that fact is stranger than fiction, and in the case of Ron Howard‘s Eden, the crazier humanity proves themselves to be, the more seeped in reality their stories are. And it’s what makes Eden – arguably Howard’s most exciting project in over a decade – all…

Towards the end of the new Australian musical The Deb there’s an uplifting song-and-dance sequence to a ditty titled “Pretty Strong”, and that’s an acceptable enough term to describe Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut.  The comedienne makes for a serviceable presence behind the camera as she injects an infectiousness and often-home-grown-specific humour into the proceedings of…

Part dog, part man, all hero. From DreamWorks Animation, creators of the beloved blockbuster franchises Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Boss Baby, comes the canine-crime-fighting film adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon: Dog Man. When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are…

Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its female ensemble (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez) won the Best Actress award, there was considerable hype surrounding the TIFF presence of Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language, crime thriller-cum-musical that was recently crowned the runner-up in the…

Whether you loved him or hated him as part of Take That or on his own accord as a brash soloist, Robbie Williams, particularly in the 1990s, was a figure you couldn’t escape.  Similar to the cultural impact of Geri Halliwell exiting the Spice Girls or Zayn Malik bidding adieu to One Direction, Williams’ exit…

As much as Halina Reijn‘s Babygirl is an erotic thriller about the power play dynamic of a high-strung female CEO and the young, confident intern who infiltrates her deepest sexual desires, the Bodies, Bodies, Bodies filmmaker ultimately has created a film about the power of communication. Communication in its most carnal form is what draws…

Described as his most personal work yet, Luca Guadagnino‘s Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burrough‘s 1985 novel of the same name; though published in the 80s, it was written between 1951 and 1953.  Guadagnino has made a career out of telling vastly opposing stories with each of his productions – Call Me By…

Screening so soon after The Substance doesn’t bode well for something like Shell, Max Minghella‘s campy, body horror ode to trashy escapist 90s cinema that similarly explores the world of ageing in Hollywood and how far someone will go to maintain perfection.  With both films screening within a week of each other at this year’s…

If you could restore youthful beauty and guarantee longevity by committing to a few days of mysterious treatments, would you? Would you trust your life and health to science and technology that might be more hype than healthy?  Enter Shell. Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is thinking it over. She’s a slightly unkempt, earnest, talented actress who…

For almost 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been an institution of (primarily) American culture.  Every weekend it invites audiences to surrender to the thrill of live television, where anything could go wrong at any given moment, amongst a staple of regular segments and musical performances.  Its structure has shifted over time, but the core…

Author Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan have made careers predominantly out of their affinity for horror.  With The Life of Chuck, they have decidedly pivoted and leaned into another of their shared strengths; broadcasting emotional stories.  The result, however schmaltzy it may threaten to be, is a beautiful, weird celebration of life and all…

Just call her M3GAN Fox. One of the few movies in the last few years of Megan Fox‘s career that actually earned acclaim was the 2021 home invasion thriller Til Death.  It is a lo-fi VOD affair that has probably gone largely unnoticed, but it has a fun elevator pitch premise – that of Fox…

Jack (Dacre Montgomery) travels to a remote region of New Zealand to attend the wake of his estranged mother Elizabeth, a troubled architect who abandoned him as a child. Jack claims he was invited to the funeral by his mother’s widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps), who has no recollection of contacting him. Out of a sense…

A film that speaks volumes in its silences just as much as it does its audible dialogue, Generations of Men, a powerful new short inspired by Judith Wright‘s book of the same name, is just as much a testament to the strength and resilience of women during colonial times as it is a reminder of…

Runt, based on Craig Silvey’s best-selling novel, is a delightful Australian family film that blends heartfelt moments with humour. The story revolves around eleven-year-old Annie Shearer and her best friend, Runt, an adopted stray dog. The novel was released in 2022 and has achieved significant acclaim, winning several major Australian literary awards. These accolades include…

Based on the beloved novel by Craig Silvey, Runt is an effortlessly likeable Australian family venture that overcomes any of its cheesiness thanks to an ensemble committed to the cause of providing old-fashioned entertainment There’s some topical themes at bay here under the surface – drought-stricken farmers, real estate corruption – but Silvey’s script never…

In the last few years Hugh Grant has truly taken pleasure in playing against the grain of expectation he laid upon himself after a career of inhabiting predominantly likeable characters.  Arguably starting with his wonderfully committed camp turn as the villainous Phoenix Buchanan in Paddington 2 in 2017, Grant has been on an incline of…

It’s too easy to claim that writer/director Sean Baker makes inaccessible films due to the fact that so many of his narratives centre around the society underrepresented, chief among them being sex workers.  As we saw in such previous works as Tangerine and Red Rocket, Baker seeks to remove such a stigma around pornography performers, prostitutes…

Despite the fact that the recently released trailer made Nightbitch look more like a quirky comedy – think a female-drive, R-rated take on Tim Allen’s The Shaggy Dog – I can attest that Marielle Heller‘s take on Rachel Yoder‘s seemingly unadaptable 2021 novel of the same name is far from the laughable ridiculousness some may…