Film & TV

At select cinemas this weekend, Marvel‘s powerhouse finale Avengers: Engame will be re-released for limited screenings. Opening with an introduction from director Anthony Russo and with an exclusive look at an unfinished deleted scene, this really is proof that the Marvel team love us 3000! And in case that wasn’t enough to convince you to…

In an effort to offer a more immersive and quirkier experience for Sydney’s cinema enthusiasts, the team behind Event Cinemas George Street in the CBD have launched two brand new concepts collectively dubbed Australia’s “first Instagrammable cinema” as Event Boutique. Marrying Event Cinemas with the rich heritage of the EVENT-owned State Theatre and the signature…

Boom! A Film about the Sonics is a documentary that is cut from the same cloth as Searching for Sugar Man and Waiting: The Van Duren Story. You may not have heard about American group, The Sonics but chances are you’ve heard their influence through other people’s music. This film is an overwhelmingly positive one…

Singled [Out] is a new documentary by directors Mariona Guiu and Ariadna Relea; and the premise is what really struck out to me, as we follow the lives of five women (under 30) of different backgrounds (Australia, Turkey, Spain and two women from China), and how they live their lives with their choices, whether they…

Canadian actress, Tricia Helfer is best known for her roles as Number Six in Ronald D. Moore’s re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series and Charlotte Richards/Mom in the newly-renewed series, Lucifer. She can also currently be seen playing Dracula in Syfy’s Van Helsing. I spoke to the former model-turned-actress while she was in Melbourne for Australia’s Ultimate Pop…

If you’ve asked yourself why Disney and Pixar bothered making Toy Story 4, you are not alone. With 2010’s Toy Story 3 serving as the perfect ending to the series, this fourth go-around felt more like a cash-grab than an organic continuation, and though the series as a whole has been that rare breed of…

Martin Phillipps is a brave, post-punk poet. The leader of the New Zealand band, The Chills has had a long and varied career writing heavenly pop tunes that are filled with dark undercurrents. The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps is a revealing look at an eccentric protagonist in his own tragicomic story….

You get the sense that the stage was set for a great documentary about Chelsea Manning. It was May 2017 when the former US army soldier and intelligence analyst had her sentence commuted by President Barack Obama. She also granted a documentary film crew unfettered access to her life. And yet what follows is a…

David Crosby was a Byrd who became a “difficult cat”. In Remember My Name he is an old dog armed with a guitar in one hand and a spliff in the other. This musician and artist is very candid about his full and colourful life in this feature-length documentary. This film is ultimately an entertaining…

The cast of Sequin in a Blue Room walk the red carpet at Event Cinemas for the world premiere as part of the Sydney Film Festival

Viva Almodovar! If that opening didn’t clue you in, I am a huge fan of the work of acclaimed Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar. His filmmaking is an extravagant blend that is both wondrously idiosyncratic and entertainingly melodramatic; capped off with a colourfully vibrant eye. Even his supposedly disappointing films have won me over time,…

Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. But what do you do if you’re a single woman who is over a certain age living in China? The documentary, Leftover Women, is an illuminating look at three individuals who grapple with various stigmas and expectations, in a society where women are encouraged to…

Tentpole sequels, reboots, and remakes have been dropping like flies in 2019. Godzilla: King of the Monsters has underperformed. The Secret Life of Pets 2 fell flat. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part earned less than half what its predecessor did. Hellboy was an unmitigated disaster. And X-Men: Dark Phoenix is already dead on arrival. Next up on…

There is no question that author, J.R.R Tolkien is worthy of a bio-pic. The writer is responsible for some of the most beloved fantasy epics including: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This bio-pic is a rather pedestrian telling of some of his life events and as such, is unworthy of such a…

They say if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. American photographer, Martha Cooper fits this to a tee. She has had a long and storied career capturing some fine images of urban landscapes, and changing towns and communities. Martha: A Picture Story is like a love letter to…

RJ Mitte walks the red carpet at the world premiere of Standing Up For Sunny as part of the Sydney Film Festival alongside actress Philippa Northeast and Matthew Nable.

Over the recent years, it has come to my attention that some of the most problematic films that have attained a lot of critical derision have come from films that explore the trope of magical realism. Recent efforts such as Collateral Beauty, Life Itself and The Book of Henry have tried to be life-affirming by…

Self styled country outlaw Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is out of jail and ready to chase her dreams. A talented country singer, her goal is Nashville (where else?), but Rose-Lynn is torn between starting fresh or finally taking responsibility for the life she’s made in Glasgow, involving two young children who barely know their mother….

Before I start off this review, it must be said that I have not seen any of the works by director Joanna Hogg. It wasn’t due to any prior indiscretions, rather my personal ignorance. But upon hearing the massive amounts of praise from festivals and critics all over the world for her latest film, The…

It feels absolutely wonderful to see a Vietnamese film in this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Of course, there have been many Vietnamese film in film festivals before but, with a stronger focus on genre-centric cinema over the recent year, it feels invigorating for a Vietnamese critic such as myself. This year, we have Ash Mayfair‘s…

There is no question that the late, great Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul. But what you may not know is that she was also an accomplished gospel singer; the daughter of a preacher who first developed her musical chops at church. Amazing Grace is a homage to Franklin’s past, a 1972 concert film…

Another day, another music biopic. Well, almost. Continuing the resurgence of cinematic fare concerned with the chaos that is the life of the musician, Her Smell takes inspiration from the 90s rock scene where female singers like Courtney Love, PJ Harvey, and Shirley Manson gave their male counterparts plenty of competition. With a bleached-blonde lead…

While it’s technically happened before, TV show reveals at E3 are not really a thing. Yes Steven Spielberg, we’re still waiting on that Halo show. However, it seems like Ubisoft have joined the party, with their reveal of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet. Bringing what seems to be a second season of the Mythic Quest series, Rob…

Great Britain in the late 1980s. A country in the grip of economic chaos, racial tensions, and political unrest. And a time fashion clearly forgot. It’s a setting and era cinema has covered extensively over the years. With an inviting narrative and a soundtrack filled with 80s pop and rock wonders, Blinded by the Light…

It should come as no surprise that in My Nudity Means Nothing (Ma nudité ne sert à rien) the protagonist is naked. In this case, it is the French, Underground filmmaker, Marina de Van. She holes herself up in her flat and flitters between existential angst and some serious naval gazing. All this and absolutely…

Most documentaries are good at providing observations about a subject. They are often unobtrusive and just like a fly-on-the-wall. But what do you do when you’ve chosen to chronicle an individual who is an illusionist and expert prankster by day? TV director, Ben Berman grapples with this as well as the notion of the truth…

In Here, Iowa, Charlie Manx is on the hunt. He has a target – the lonely and unloved little Daniel – and his Rolls Royce Wraith is packed with presents, ready to take the needy child off to Christmasland. Sounds nice, right? Well, not if acclaimed horror writer Joe Hill has anything to do with…

Canadian actor and filmmaker, Osric Chau is best known for his roles as Kevin Tran in Supernatural and Vogel in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, as well as starring in The Walking Dead, Sherlock and 2012. Also, a seasoned con-goer and cosplayer, he returns to our shores this weekend for Melbourne’s Oz Comic Con.

Next year, the king of documentaries will be back on Australian shores for the first time following his sold out 2016 tour. Louis Without Limits will see the BAFTA winning investigative reporter explore some of the stories that made his career, in a series of shows with Australia’s own Julia Zemiro. Theroux says: “It was…

Nathan Atkins takes us to the Australian premiere of The Secret Life of Pets 2 with Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart hitting the red carpet.