Margot Robbie

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is still a fun send-off for the Arkhamverse

A lot has been said about game studio Rocksteady in the last few months leading up to the release of their new game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The studio famous for its single-player Batman games that had defined a generation of superhero gaming, has taken a different approach in joining the live service…

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The AU Review’s Best Films of 2023

In a year that was ruled by Barbenheimer and mortally wounded the once-unstoppable superhero genre, 2023 definitely saw audiences shift their minds (and money) towards more original content.  Perhaps an indication as to where the industry should place its focus, The AU’s best of list similarly echoes the sentiment that bigger doesn’t always mean better,…

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Film Review: Asteroid City is typical, twee Wes Anderson – whether you like it or not!

Another Wes Anderson creation, where the sheer cast alone is unfathomable in their collective talent and the twee is as twee as can be, Asteroid City, with its distinct colour pallet and deadpan performances, won’t convert any viewers over to the Wes way of watching, but those that have stuck with the auteur through his…

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Film Review: Barbie is a pitch-perfect, intelligent comedy that soars beyond its high concept

Undoubtedly 2023’s most anticipated – and most aggressively marketed – filmic event, Barbie has finally arrived in cinemas for the masses to ingest in droves. It’s understandable though that some audiences still are unsure as to how it’ll taste as a whole, as despite its candy-coated aesthetic, pitch-perfect casting, and amusing, if ambiguous trailers, there’s still a…

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Interview: Margot Robbie, director Greta Gerwig and the cast of Barbie; “It is really exciting to get to be a part of a moment that is expanding”

She’s everything.  We’re just living in her world. Undoubtedly one of this year’s most anticipated films – if not THE most anticipated – Barbie is a pink-splashed comedy that’s all about living in the Barbie world, where giant summer blowout parties, planned dance choreography and Ken’s beaching make it the perfect place to live.  That…

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Asteroid City; Wes Anderson’s visually lush comedy is heavy on star wattage, but light on substance: Sydney Film Festival Review

Another Wes Anderson creation, where the sheer cast alone is unfathomable in their collective talent and the twee is as twee as can be, Asteroid City, with its distinct colour pallet and deadpan performances, won’t convert any viewers over to the Wes way of watching, but those that have stuck with the auteur through his…

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Sydney Film Festival unveils stellar program for its 70th anniversary

“A film festival is a gathering of diverse perspectives that offers a collective snapshot of the global zeitgeist, allowing us to delve deeper into our present reality,” said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley as he unveiled this year’s stellar line-up of programming, running from June 7th – 18th. “For 70 years, Sydney Film Festival has…

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Get your rollerblades ready! It’s the Barbie trailer.

She’s everything. He’s just Ken. The Barbie world and the real world are set to collide in a new teaser trailer for Greta Gerwig’s hot(pink)ly anticipated comedy, Barbie. Barbies and Kens abound, with “beach offs”, rollerblades and choreography aplenty as Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) look to delve beyond their plastic fantastic surroundings….

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ACMI explores women’s on-screen agency and representation with Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion exhibit

Through iconic stories, characters and moments from over 120 years of moving image history, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion celebrates the women and gender-transcending superstars who shaped their own roles, took creative control and fought a system that tried to exploit them. From the swagger of Mae West and glamour of Anna May Wong to the powerful…

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Film Review: The operatic, obscene vision of Babylon is a welcome reminder of the boundaries cinema can push

An elephant graphically defecates on its unsuspecting handlers, before stomping about in an uneven state amongst a storm of fornicating bodies.  An aspiring actress urinates on the face of a willing movie star in a coked-out stupor.  A tuxedoed lounge singer seductively croons about petting her girlfriend’s genitalia.  A party reveller bounces around on a…

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Interview: Emma Mackey and director Frances O’Connor on Emily; “People keep trying to make you think there are rules in cinema.  It’s not true.”

Emily tells the imagined life of one of the world’s most famous authors, Emily Brontë.  The film, written and directed by Australian actress Frances O’Connor (in her directorial debut), stars Emma Mackey as Emily, a rebel and misfit, as she finds her voice and writes the literary classic “Wuthering Heights”; further exploring her raw, passionate…

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It’s Margot Robbie’s world and we’re all just living in it in first Barbie teaser

She came.  She saw.  She conquered. Margot Robbie is a towering vision in a pastel world as her anticipated debut in Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie has finally arrived for us mere humans to admire. After showing exclusively in front of screenings of Avatar: The Way of Water, Universal Pictures on behalf of Warner Bros. have delivered…

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Film Review: Amsterdam‘s star wattage can’t blindingly distract from its convoluted assemblage

Maybe you can try a little too hard sometimes? David O. Russell is no stranger to big swings, both from a narrative point of view and in his casting.  And here have been times that such an effort has paid off, with Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle standing as (arguably) his most accessible titles. …

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National Film and Sound Archive’s groundbreaking Australians & Hollywood exhibit to continue throughout 2023

Following its successful launch in Canberra earlier this year, the groundbreaking National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) Australians & Hollywood exhibition will remain on show throughout 2023. The blockbuster exhibition, which celebrates Australia’s contemporary cinematic, acting and filmmaking success, opened in January and now its extended run will give Canberra and national audiences an expanded…

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Interview: Director James Gunn and the cast of The Suicide Squad; “This movie could be rated X!”

As The Suicide Squad gear up to take on the big screen here in Australia, where cinemas are open, of course, (you can read our review here), director James Gunn and his cast, including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Jai Courtney, Sylvester Stallone, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion and Joel Kinnaman, were on hand at…

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Film Review: The Suicide Squad is violent, unprincipled, and very, very fun!

Arguably one of the best marketing campaigns ever afforded for a blockbuster title, 2016’s Suicide Squad was ultimately a victim of its own hype.  After the DC brand suffered disappointment with the reaction to Batman v Superman, David Ayer’s impressively stacked line-up of second-tier characters and their super villainous mentalities seemed poised to right the…

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Film Review: Peter Rabbit 2 should delight its target audience

One of the first 2020 titles to delay its release substantially from its original bowing date (in this case, March 2020) due to the Coronavirus, Peter Rabbit 2 has finally hopped to a release window that makes sense.  In a country where cinemas have been open and thriving (and how!) for the better part of…

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Film Review: Promising Young Woman is a delicious indulgence that will make your stomach churn

With an often bright, candy coated aesthetic that masks a darker, more poisonous taste inside, Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell‘s bold debut, is the type of delicious indulgence that will ultimately make your stomach churn. Headlined by a career-best Carey Mulligan (her performance sure to be a consistent contender come award season), Promising Young Woman…

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Birds of Prey, Margot Robbie and our ongoing need to push the feminine to the fore

When Suicide Squad (2016) hit our screens it was mostly panned by critics and audiences didn’t favour it much either. But one universally acknowledged good thing in that movie was Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn. After that film’s release Robbie had been adamant she was keen to continue discovering more about this character. Lo…

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Film Review: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) continues DC’s self-assured story telling temperament

Where does one start with Birds of Prey? With so much vibrancy packed into its 109 minute running time it’s probably best to follow the advice of the film’s queen bee, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and start at the beginning. And though a product like Suicide Squad (2016) shouldn’t be considered the strongest launching pad…

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Film Review: Bombshell lacks the power of its namesake as it pulls its punches

Ever since the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the world had drastically changed and stories of sexual violence have gone through the roof; exposing all the reprehensible actions that have been swept under the rug for decades in the entertainment industry. Since then, the boom has reached worldwide, exposing other horrific stories in the process. What is…

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Film Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood plays like a glorious love letter to the Tinseltown of old

With only eight films in his illustrious career, writer/director Quentin Tarantino has left an indelible mark on cinema in the last few decades. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the filmmaker’s unique style and vision. With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his ninth (and potentially penultimate) film, Tarantino offers a deeply personal piece…

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Film Review: Mary Queen of Scots (UK, 2018) is a revisionist feminist tale fraught with issues

In an awards season dominated by powerful female performances, the chance to see two fierce Queens go head-to-head sounds like a tantalising opportunity. In director Josie Rourke‘s debut film Mary Queen of Scots, the epic showdown promised within the film’s somewhat misleading advertising never quite materialises. In its place is a revisionist feminist tale fraught…

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Margot Robbie to co-produce female led reimagining of Shakespeare’s works

Oscar nominated actress Margot Robbie will serve as an executive producer on a new, innovative Australian 10-part series retelling Shakespeare’s famous works in female perspectives. Led by a female creative team of writers and directors, it’s the first project to be announced from the partnership between ABC TV with LuckyChap Entertainment, Hoodlum and ABC Studios…

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Interview: Will Gluck on finally bringing Peter Rabbit to the big screen

Will Gluck is a director/producer/writer and has worked on the film adaptation of Annie, Friends With Benefits, and the TV series The Michael J Fox show and Moonbeam City. So he may not seem like the obvious first choice to direct an adaptation of the classic Beatrix Potter tale but after acquiring the licensing rights…

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Interview: Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki talk playing rabbits in Peter Rabbit and their stellar careers

Australia has been churning out some quality star power of late and two of those are actresses Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki. Robbie’s just recently riding a high after her portrayal of Tonya Harding in I,Tonya scored her a bunch of awards nominations. Whilst Debicki has recently been inducted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in…

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Blu-Ray Review: Goodbye Christopher Robbins (UK, 2017) how tragedy formed the most beloved children’s classic

It’s a familiar name, Christopher Robbins, and it might take a moment or two for you to realise who he is and just how pivotal he was to your childhood. Once heralded as the luckiest boy in the world, Christopher Robbins was not just Winnie-The-Pooh’s best friend in the books, he was a real boy…

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Interview: Margot Robbie on the passion that got I, Tonya made

Returning to her homeland on the eve of an eventual Oscar nomination, Margot Robbie was all light and levity as she walked the pink carpet at the Australian premiere of I, Tonya. Understandably a figure in high demand from a media standpoint alone, The Iris’s Peter Gray was fortunate enough to nab a brief moment…

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Film Review: I, Tonya (USA, 2017) showcases Margot Robbie in the role of her career (so far)

To think that a notorious figure like Tonya Harding could be, in any way, made out to be sympathetic is no mean feat, yet screenwriter Steven Rogers, director Craig Gillespie, and star Margot Robbie (also serving as one of the film’s producers) have achieved just that in I, Tonya. For the uninitiated, the saga of…

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Interview: Director Craig Gillespie on taking no prisoners when filming I, Tonya

Director Craig Gillespie wasn’t particularly interested in making a biopic about disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding when he was offered the script.  But the simple uttering of the name “Margot Robbie” was enough to change his mind, and the rest, as they say, is history. As both the film and Robbie’s performance dominate the current…

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