Film & TV

After a scary few months that saw ABC TV almost being axed, the network are back on top following a relieving announcement last week. ABC will again welcome in 2015 with a four-hour entertainment extravaganza to celebrate NEW YEAR’S EVE when we join with the City of Sydney to bring the world-renowned fireworks to audiences…

The Captive proves to be a deeply disturbing experience, tackling the stomach churning subject of paedophilia and its resulting organisations/rings. Director Atom Egoyan has accompanied clever scriptwriting with a stellar cast, ensuring a continually spine tingling undercurrent throughout, which no doubt has cemented the film’s contention for the Palme d’Or award at Cannes Film Festival…

Ladies, who was your favourite Disney prince growing up? Were you an Aladdin lover? Did you grow up crushing on The Beast/Prince Adam (until you realised how odd it was when you were older)? Or maybe you were a traditionalist and prayed for your own Prince Charming. In 2011, when Once Upon a Time first screened…

The  Supanova Pop Culture Expo is coming up this weekend for Adelaide punters, with Brisbane expo-lovers getting their turn during November’s final weekend. In what’s set to be another whirlwind of fan goodness for those of us dwelling in these Australian cities who are more used to missing out on film premieres or other events…

  Full disclosure: I was never a Battlestar Galactica aficionado. I understood its popularity, but Doctor Who and its universe was as sci-fi as I got when I first became interested in this realm of TV shows. It wasn’t until I followed Doctor Who alum Freema Agyeman over to Law & Order: UK, where I became fully hooked on Jamie Bamber, who of…

Maps to the Stars is sickening, soulless, horrifying, and one of the most entertaining rides to be had in a cinema this year. David Cronenberg’s (The Fly, Eastern Promises, Videodrome) latest film is a no holds barred Hollywood satire, spitting venom at the vacuous, self-important microorganisms writhing around in the Petri dish that is Tinseltown….

What is it about Dick Wolf programs that has made him one of TV’s most successful producers? What is it about them that has audiences so captivated, sometimes for decades? First debuting in 1990, the iconic series Law & Order is without question Wolf’s most endearing program, running for twenty seasons, making it the longest-running…

The Way Of The Wicked is the film version of a dead-end. At first glance it offers some promise as it’s a story about a satanic, teenage boy who has telekinetic powers. But it’s not long before the proceedings go from haunting to staid and the drama becomes predictable and forgettable. The story begins with…

By Kimberley Veart This week begins with a body found under a merry-go-round, and young Christine (Sunnie Pelant) calling her stuffed toy a jackass. It’s an unusual beginning for an interesting episode that quickly turns into Bones’ own version of The Wolf of Wall Street, as the victim was high-flying trader who enjoyed the perks…

The hotly anticipated film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey edges a bit closer as 2015 peeks over the horizon, and so a new trailer only seems fair. There’s more insight granted to us here, whereas the previous teaser trailer played on people’s imagination, this one reveals more of the visuals that we will be…

My Old Lady is a family melodrama that proves there’s no such thing as a free lunch. When a down-and-out American inherits a large apartment in Paris from his late father he thinks all of his pay days have come at once. But the residence comes with some strings attached, namely an old lady, her…

By Kimberley Veart Monday Dirty Harry, Gem, 9:30pm AEST One of Clint Eastwood’s best performances, Dirty Harry is a 1970’s classic. Eastwood plays tough cop Harry Callahan against Scorpio who is terrorising San Francisco. Worth watching for Eastwood’s threateningly delivered line, gun in hand, “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’…

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 begins as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself in District 13 after literally shattering the Games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by…

As great and effective the character focuses post-Governor were, The Walking Dead was still yet to turn Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita into characters as compelling as their comic book counterparts; though, it hasn’t been that long since they first came onto our screens. After all the fast paced chaos of Terminus, it seemed necessary to…

HOYTS Broadway proudly presents HOYTS LUX. Patrons can officially immerse themselves in total comfort as the new VIP experience for movie lovers will include a luxurious space featuring lavish reclining chairs, an in-cinema waiter service and a delectable selection of gourmet food with compliments to an extensive wine list. What’s a movie without popcorn and…

Held at Sydney’s City Recital Hall earlier this month, the Screen Music Award – staged jointly by APRA AMCOS and the AGSC – honoured composers across 13 categories, with a mix of first-time recipients and returning award winners. Cezary Skubiszewski, David Hirschfelder, David McCormack and Antony Partos were among those on the winners list. Cezary…

This week the world’s eyes are on Australia, as Brisbane hosts the G20. The event is bringing together an unprecedented assembly of world leaders on Australian soil including US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, German…

To celebrate the release of 22 Jump Street on Blu-Ray and DVD this past week, check out this exclusive 2 minute clip which depicts directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and actors Jillian Bell (who plays Mercedes) and Amber Stevens (who plays Maya) discussing their experience of improvisation lines for jokes in the film as…

Foxtel’s new locally made, mini-series has a unique history. It is both a sequel to the 1975 Fred Schepisi movie of the same name and an original production. What links both productions is actor Simon Burke who starred in the movie as a 13 year old and reprises his role as Tom Allen in the…

Do you hold Toy Story close to your heart? Did Finding Nemo make you realise the importance of family? In February 2015, Disney Pixar presents its first ever Disney Pixar Film Festival, exclusive to Event Cinemas, Greater Union, Birch Caroll & Coyle and Village cinemas. The film festival will be running over 5 consecutive weekends from…

Let’s be white chicks! Wait, we already did that… okay let’s be cops! Damon Wayans Jr. (from films including Dance Flick and The Other Guys) and Jake Johnson (from TV ‘s New Girl) team up as best buds and roomies, Justin and Ryan, pretending to be policeman, for a good old fashioned comedy caper. These…

Entertainment One has released the trailer for the new Australia black comedy The Mule. Written by Insidious stars Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson and directed by Sampson and Tony Mahoney, The Mule is a dark Australian comedy that is based on a bizarre series of true(ish) events. Since the trailer’s release, it has become the third…

The next run of Supanova expos are just around the corner, with Adelaide and Brisbane up next as hosts for a weekend full of meet and greets, cosplaying, merch buying and Q&A panel goodness. Featured on the guest line up for Adelaide and Brisbane are names including Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones’ King Joffrey), Oliver and James Phelps (Harry Potter’s Weasley Twins) and this dashing…

  If you’re like me, you’re still trying to figure out whether or not you liked the Doctor Who season finale, “Death In Heaven”. Yes, arguably it was one of the stronger episodes in terms of its writing, but was it worth the amount of gravitas given to it in the week preceding? Perhaps not. Almost…

Thursday Mean Girls, Ten, 9:30 pm AEST Providing an unexpectedly hilarious insight into the social dynamics of American high schools, 10 years on, Mean Girls – unlike Lindsay Lohan’s career – is still totally ‘fetch’. Looper, Ch. 9, 9:40 pm AEST If you’re a fan of time travel, Looper is the Thursday night film for…

By Amy Nancarrow In my review of last week’s episode, “Caramel Princess Time”, I made the case that the best episodes of this season of The Mindy Project are those that have Mindy and Danny working together, and not fighting or facing some sort of relationship trouble. This week’s offering, “We Need to Talk About…

Smaug the Magnificent has made himself comfortable in Wellington Airport’s busy terminal. The sculpture was revealed in front of 200 of the world’s biggest Hobbit fans this week, who made their way to New Zealand as part of the global Hobbit Fan Fellowship competition. Under the art directions from Richard Taylor and Rob Gillies, Smaug…

Well you could see it coming a mile off. Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar has derailed any chances Gone Girl and Fury had of sticking in at number 1. The ambitious blockbuster raked in $4 million in its opening week here. It reportedly failed to match what Warner Bros anticipated but it definitely isn’t small pickings for…

Quentin Tarantino’s new film The Hateful Eight has been through the ringer. From proposed book adaptations to table readings to lawsuits over the leaked screenplay, the prolific filmmaker’s newest venture hasn’t exactly had a clear direction. But things have smoothed out over time and we now have received a teaser, albeit no footage. The next stage in production…

Alright, Alright, Alright…. Before we experienced the “McConaissance” of 2013/2014, which culminated in a much-deserved Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club, a brief but memorable appearance in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street‘ and of course True Detective, Matty McC had already stepped away from the rom-coms that were sullying his good name by going all-out for…