Film & TV

“While the events of this story are fictional…These. People. Existed.” These words hit harder than any bullet or bass snare experienced in The Harder They Fall as they sprawl across the screen in the opening seconds of Jeymes Samuel‘s Black Western fantasy.  Perhaps, in a way, an almost spiritual sequel to Mario Van Peebles’ genre-breaking…

Lending an air of femininity to the western genre – one so often entangled with a masculine temperament – without compromising its rooted personality, Leah Purcell‘s The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson is the cinematic incarnation of her penned 2016 stage play and 2019 novel, all inspired by Henry Lawson‘s short story, “The…

Given their status today it’s difficult to think of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as anything other than substantial stars in their field.  But, back in 1997, neither was well-known, and their collaborative efforts as screenwriters brought them to the forefront of the industry thanks to a shared Oscar win for Good Will Hunting. Though…

The Medium tells the story of a Thai documentary team who are travelling to the region of Isan to follow the life of the local medium Nim (Sawanee Utoomma). She claims that she was possessed by the spirit of Ba Yan, a deity that the people of Isan worship and a significant presence in Nim’s…

To coincide with the trailer launch of The Black Phone, the latest horror film from Blumhouse, detailing the abduction of a young boy who learns he is able to communicate with the voices of his captor’s previous victims through a disconnected black phone, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s director, Scott Derrickson, discussing the origins…

“What’s your favourite scary movie?” 25 years ago it was a question posed to Neve Campbell in Wes Craven’s now genre classic Scream, and come January 2022 a new generation of fresh blood will have their knowledge similarly tested in, well, Scream. Less a sequel and more a reinvention, Scream will pay homage to Craven’s…

William Friedkin’s classic The Exorcist is so ingrained in the demonic possession sub-genre of the horror field that every feature that has come since can’t help but feel like a recycled take on a head-spinning narrative we’ve come to know so well.  So, with that, there’s all more the reason to celebrate something like The…

As the spooky season creeps towards its hallowed end, horror-centric streaming service Shudder is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving for genre fans the globe over.  With the recent release of the  supernatural scarer Seance (you can read our review here), our own Peter Gray got to chat with the film’s writer…

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Discovery+, HBO Max …those are some of the big ones. But does it surprise you to hear there are a reported 200 streaming services currently available? These undoubtedly sounded like good ideas to board members at various companies, “Yeah! Let’s create our own streaming service!  We should get…

Similar to how Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers, Jennifer Kent, and Ari Aster all secured their place in the annals of genre cinema with their debut offerings, Julia Docournau‘s bold cannibalistic horror effort Raw cemented the French filmmaker as a name to pay consistent attention to.  And just as those aforementioned auteurs all swung big with…

True Things is the sophomore effort from filmmaker Harry Wootliff, whose first film was Only You (not the film with Marisa Tomei); a romantic drama about the trials and tribulations of a couple who have to contend with adulthood, parenting and generational differences due to their distance in age. For her latest film, Wootliff is…

France is the latest film from filmmaker enfant terrible Bruno Dumont; whose filmography is, for the lack of a better term, peculiar. His body of work shifts into many forms of storytelling in ways that they can never be encapsulated in restricted genre terms. From films exploring the idiosyncrasies of life with his debut film…

Burning is the latest documentary from filmmaker Eva Orner, an acclaimed documentarian who has covered subjects within Australia like the awful treatment of asylum seekers in Chasing Asylum as well as producing many well-received works like Taxi to the Dark Side. Now she explores the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season with her latest project. Burning is…

Take a riveting ride through the Amazon when Disney’s Jungle Cruise docks early on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 6th, 2021, and to celebrate the release we have 5 Blu-ray copies up for grabs! Seeking an ancient tree with healing abilities, Dr. Lily Houghton and wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff team up…

There’s a lot of tried and true genre staples adhered to in Simon Barrett‘s Séance.  Having cut his teeth over the years with writing credits for such horror efforts as V/H/S, You’re Next, and Blair Witch, Barrett’s flair for skewering expectation has often been his wheelhouse.  Marking his directorial debut, Séance, whose title alone announces…

Disclaimer, I identify as a straight, CISgender woman and an ally of the LGBTIQ+ community. Queer Screen was founded in 1993 by a group of queer Sydney filmmakers, students, and supporters who wanted to focus on queer film and screen culture and since 2013 the Queer Screen Film Fest, has delivered the latest LGBTIQ+ movies to…

The V/H/S franchise has returned. The franchise revolves around the subgenre of found-footage and is led by the renowned horror genre website Bloody Disgusting. So far, we have had three anthologies headed by numerous acclaimed directors including Gareth Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Ti West, David Bruckner, Adam Wingard and many more. The critical reception of the…

The Port Arthur Massacre of 1996 was horrific.  Perpetrated by a violently disturbed young man who shot and killed 35 people at a Tasmanian tourist site, with a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle, it, to this day, remains Australia’s worst massacre committed by a single person in the country’s history, as well as serving as the…

Make it a great day by adding Free Guy to your movie collection!  20th Century Studios’ action-comedy Free Guy debuts on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and streaming on Disney+ on September 29, and to celebrate the release we have 5 Blu-ray copies up for grabs! A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) who discovers he is actually a background…

As the Taiwan Film Festival in Australia continues to screen virtually for the country, our own Peter Gray contacted director CB Yi, whose film Moneyboys (read our review here) has been one of the festival’s premiere titles, to discuss the film’s origins and tackling the risky subject matter. How did the project originate? When I…

Set in 19th century France, The Mad Women’s Ball follows Eugenie (Lou de Laage), a young, wealthy lady of the manor who feels institutionalized within family and gender expectations. Her father expects her to be married off to a husband while she wants to travel, go on adventures and learn new things like her brother…

You Are Not My Mother tells the story of Char (Hazel Doupe), a struggling teenager who is living a self-sheltered life, drifting through school with good grades despite the bullies, all while having to take care of her mother Angela (Carolyn Bracken) and grandmother (Ingrid Craige). Her relationship with her mother is distant, after a…

The documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette (read our review here) presents the titular actor in a manner many audiences will be unprepared for.  Opening himself up to the very masses that shamed him upon his attempt to infiltrate the world of wrestling, David Arquette‘s personal and professional struggles are laid out at the core…

Murina follows Julija (Gracija Filipovic), a 16-year old girl living with her parents on an island that many would consider to be a heavenly paradise. With an endless summer maintained by daily chores of fishing in beautiful vistas, it sounds like the perfect place to live. But underneath the façade lies something that is anything…

After 30 years of doing comedy all around Australia, famed comedian Jimeoin is finally embarking on a tour on his own terms.  With his new program Waltzing Jimeoin (screening now on the Ten network), the loveable larrikin is surrounding himself with some of the industry’s funniest performers and performing stand-up wherever the roads of Australia…

Films dealing with queer thematics are few and far between in mainland China.  Due to the government’s strict regime on censorship, stories detailing the LGBTQ communities are a rarity, which is why a feature like Moneyboys is all the more curious.  Though set in China, it was filmed in the neighbouring Taiwan, co-financed with European…

Launched on September 9th on all major podcast platforms, No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast features unrivalled behind the scenes access to one of the world’s most successful franchises. Hosted by British film critic James King, the six-part series features interviews with director Cary Joji Fukunaga, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara…

Pig tells the story of Rob (a wonderfully subtle Nicolas Cage), a former renowned chef turned truffle hunter who resides in a cabin deep in the forest who makes a living by hunting for truffles with the help of his valuable foraging pig. He sells the truffles to young supplier and friend Amir (a stellar…

Saloum tells the story of three mercenaries Chaka (Yann Gael), Rafa (Roger Sallah) and Minuit (Mentor Ba) who are tasked to extract a Mexican drug dealer Felix (Renaud Farah) and his cargo of gold and drugs away from the chaos of the government overthrow of Guinea-Bissau and transfer to Dakar, Senegal. But when their means…

“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” This is a quote from the 1999 sci-fi hit The Matrix by the Wachowskis. Why is this being quoted, you ask? This quote was stuck in this critic’s mind as he was watching the latest project from documentary filmmakers by Jimmy Chin and…