Given the state of the world right now, a little comedy would be the perfect antidote to distract us. And, on paper, a satire-cum-love-letter surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a duo of Icelandic popstar-wannabes desperate to win said contest sounds like a potential winner. The reality, unfortunately, is…
Not unlike fellow Netflix offering Murder Mystery, The Lovebirds adopts the tried and true premise of regular-folk-get-mixed-up-in-a-major-crime and hopes it has enough of a strong centre to overcome any unoriginality. And whilst the screenplay from Aaron Abrams (a sometimes-actor whose credits include Resident Evil: Apocalypse and The Open House) and Brendan Gall (TV’s Blindspot) doesn’t…
The latest film to be trotted out onto Netflix’s new rotation is The Wrong Missy. Straight up, you should know that this project comes courtesy of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions team, so that might immediately throw up some questionable flags to begin with. Bankrolled by the streaming giant, predominantly set in Hawaii (presumably as…
Streaming on Netflix now, Caliphate is an eight-episode thriller shot between Sweden and Jordan, following a planned ISIS terror plot in Stockholm while at the same time examining the much deeper issue of radicalisation. With a long-running show like Homeland wrapping up (rather well, might I add) after eight seasons, it’s expected that some fans…
*This review will contain spoilers pertaining to Dead To Me’s first season* It goes without saying that if you haven’t finished season one of Netflix’s deliciously comedic Dead To Me (or watched it all, shame on you if so), this second season is not for you to play catch up. And after the unexpected note…
Although we’re currently unable to head on out to a far-flung destination and indulge ourselves in local flavours, we’ve still got ‘armchair travel’. Whether you’re glued to the TV or cooking up a recipe in the kitchen, using your senses to immerse yourself in another culture, as vividly as possible, is the closest we can…
Extraction sees Aussie Chris Hemworth team up with writer Joe Russo (of the Russo Brothers) and debut director Sam Hargrave for a brutal and bloody action thriller for Netflix. This isn’t a unique story, it sees a teenage kid of a Mumbai drug lord get nabbed and held for ransom by an opposing drug lord….
Back in February 2018 Netflix launched the streaming series adaptation of Richard K Morgan’s novel of the same name, Altered Carbon. We called it a nuanced and detailed Blade Runner for the small screen. The series sees humanity’s evolution into a digitised age, where memories and human consciousness can be backed up onto a digital…
With the conclusion of Game of Thrones, it was inevitable that mythical, semi-medieval source material with an established following would be pushed by networks and studios alike, hoping to be adopted by its worldwide fanbase hungry for more. The Witcher ticked all those boxes; this time being both a successful book series, and a much…
After his recent comments on Marvel movies sent Film Twitter into a misguided and absurd frenzy, Martin Scorsese is back to grabbing headlines for all the right reasons. With a reported budget of $160 million, a production time of over two years, and a three-and-a-half-hour runtime, The Irishman is one of Scorsese’s (and Netflix’s) biggest gambles…
There have been many adaptations of Shakespeare’s work to the big screen with varying results. Twice before Australians have tackled the Bard’s work with Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet and Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth both hitting the silver screen with positive critical response. Once again it seems the combination of Australian director David Michôd, with fellow…
Despite prominent billing, Toni Collette and Merritt Wever are both absent for the first hour-long episode of Unbelievable, Netflix’s latest limited series that centres itself around a serial rapist and the duo of hardened detectives that investigate. Instead, Kaitlyn Dever, as arguably the series’ most sympathetic character, earns our attention as Marie, a troubled teen…
The streaming video on demand (SVOD) market in Australia is already teeming with both paid and free services. But another heavy hitter has now laid down a challenge to the global behemoth of Netflix and looks set to shake things up. The House of Mouse is now officially bringing Disney+ to Australia from 19 November…
I was standing in a darkened bar, full to the brim of influencers, a vintage bike wedged behind me in a copse of fake trees. In front of me, a bank of cathode ray TVs blinked and sputtered. Next to them, a perfect replica of the Byers living room, with LEVIS X STRANGER THINGS spelled…
We hit the red carpet earlier this month to meet the cast and crew behind the brand new Netflix original film The Highwaymen. Some 15 years in the making, the film’s writer John Fusco, actress Kim Dickens (Fear The Walking Dead), Producer Casey Silver and Director John Lee Hancock, reflect on the journey to bring the film to our…
From the director of The Blind Side, John Lee Hancock, comes a new telling of the Bonnie and Clyde story; this time told from the perspective of the men who took the criminal pair down. Set for release in on Netflix later this month, the film stars Woody Harrelson, Kevin Costner and Kathy Bates – surely three…
We caught up with legendary actor Kevin Costner at SXSW last week to chat about his role in the new Netflix film The Highwaymen, in which he plays Texas Ranger Frank Haymer as he chases down Bonnie & Clyde alongside Woody Harrelson. The Highwaymen streams worldwide on Netflix from 29th March 2019.
Standing up against the status quo has been a beloved, exciting trope, and in the new Netflix Original Dumplin’, it’s delightful and empowering. It’s a film that Insatiable and Sierra Burgess is a Big Loser wish they could be. The movie centres on Willowdean Dickson (Australia’s Danielle Macdonald), an overweight teen who loves Dolly Parton and…
When Netflix announced that they would be taking on The Witcher as a TV series, fan excitement was overwhelming. Since then, Henry Cavill has been confirmed as playing the big man Geralt himself, with a character reveal recently shown off on Twitter. Get your first look at Henry Cavill in The Witcher! pic.twitter.com/1O2eWS1MkP — Netflix (@netflix)…
Back in the mid 1990’s Sabrina The Teenage Witch took the original Archie Comics character and gave her a more kitschy comedic vibe. With Sabrina often having to learn deep moral lessons after her attempts at magic go awry. But if you ever did read those original comics, you’d be aware that Sabrina and co…
There’s no shortage of documentaries on Netflix – both in feature and episodic format. Here’s just five documentary features you need to add to your playlists: Blackfish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OEjYquyjcg Blackfish is a documentary about the captivity of orca whales, where it investigates the psychological and physical torment these sea animals go through in the name of…
When the end of September rolls around you can be certain of two things, the end of the NRL/AFL football seasons, and Oz Comic Con Sydney. Once again one of Australia’s biggest pop culture events rolled into the International Convention Centre (ICC) where fans can meet some of their favourite celebrities from film and television,…
Last Friday, Netflix released a new series called Maniac. Following up on Black Mirror and Stranger Things binges, Maniac has already flickered across many TV-lovers’ screens. The format is limited to ten episodes and based on the, four years older, Norwegian series with the same name. This genre-bending sci-fi drama is written by Patrick Somerville and directed…
With series like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix has cemented themselves as a platform that regularly delivers exciting original formats to binge watch. Well known for giving their writers and directors plenty of creative space to develop new material, series like like Black Mirror and Stranger Things have flourished. And now we have the thrilling Maniac, which playfully exhausts…
Netflix is full of more stand-up comedy than ever before; both original releases, and favourites from the stage. With Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette gaining so much attention this year, we wanted to shine a light on 6 other stand-up specials that aren’t to be missed. But we have to start with the best… Hannah Gadsby: Nanette…
The 75th Venice Film Festival has revealed its award winners, and it proved a big night for an Australian director and the streaming service Netflix, who walked away with their first ever “Best Picture” honours. Australian writer and director Jennifer Kent saw her thriller The Nightingale being awarded the Special Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni nod for…
When any television show enters its fifth season, they can begin to suffer with the fear of repeating old storylines or struggle with finding new, compelling ones to keep audiences engaged. Luckily, this isn’t the case for BoJack Horseman. Saddle up, because the anticipated fifth season proves that the popular Netflix animated show hasn’t run…
After two seasons chasing the notorious Cali Cartel leader Pablo Escobar the DEA finally caught up with him. The rules have changed and now they’re after his successors. With Escobar out of the way business is booming for the cartel, on their way to becoming the biggest cocaine trafficker in history. Follow Agent Pena’s (Pedro…
If you’ve ever been on BuzzFeed and wondered what a day-in-the-life of one of their reporters is like, then think no more. Netflix’s Follow This is a short-form docuseries that looks at the weird and wonderful stories investigated by this famed website while showing the journalists hard at work. Here are five things you need…
Futurama and Simpsons fans rejoice! Matt Groening’s new show – his first since the former debuted in 1999 – is Disenchantment. This animation is due to drop shortly on Netflix. Whereas The Simpsons and Futurama are set in the present and future, Disenchantment is all about celebrating the past. Here are five things you need…
