With over $20 million in Australian box office takings, The Dry surged as one of the top grossing films in Australian history upon its release in 2021. No doubt hoping to emulate that success, director Robert Connolly and lead actor/producer Eric Bana are returning to the mysterious fray in Force of Nature: The Dry 2,…
Read MoreSimilar to how Henry Cavill’s (re)appearance as Superman was all but confirmed prior to the release of Black Adam (and then, you know, leaked in its entirety through supposed bootleg footage), which in itself was viewed as a desperate ploy to drum up interest for the Dwayne Johnson-led superhero flick, there’s a similar air of…
Read MoreAfter cementing his status as a macabre maestro with the releases of Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, director David F. Sandberg took perhaps the scariest step of all – into the comic book universe! After helming 2019’s acclaimed Shazam!, Sandberg has wasted no time in maintaining the mythical momentum with its sequel, Shazam! Fury of…
Read MoreThose of us that still collect physical media will be all too aware of the oft-golden special feature that is the director’s commentary. But, in perhaps a sign of the streaming model cottoning on that it needs to up its game when it comes to packaging a film, Netflix have sanctioned writer/director Rian Johnson to…
Read MoreWhilst I can see the charm that audiences fell for regarding the original Fisherman’s Friends, a 2019 “feel-good” true story dramedy about the unlikely musical success of the titular Cornish fishermen, who signed with Universal Records and garnered a Top 10 placing album with their sea shanty renditions, none of that is remotely present in…
Read MoreAs Puss in Boots: The Last Wish arrives in theatres (you can read our review here) to reintroduce us to the Shrek franchise’s feisty feline and his last-life effort to regain the 9 lives he mistakenly took for granted, Peter Gray spoke with series newcomer Harvey Guillén about finding his voice for his character Perrito,…
Read MoreGiven that it has been 11 years since we last saw Puss in Boots garner his own solo outing, it’s fair for any audiences going into this one to have certain reservations. Not that the original was bad in any manner, but Puss in Boots: The Last Wish isn’t exactly a continuation many were clamouring…
Read MoreIn a city of millions, no one hears you scream. After re-energising the Scream franchise earlier this year with the fifth installment, Scream, requel rules were very much in effect as the legacy characters of the series – Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, David Arquette’s Dewey Riley and Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers – passed the torch…
Read MoreWhilst there are those that will sternly attest that 2009’s Avatar was an impactful piece of cinema with a lasting relevance, there’s the equally valid counterpoint that beyond the special effects and its introductory lesson to the 3D technique it’s a movie that doesn’t have the emotional weight it so wants to believe it has. …
Read MoreThough it’s created by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the screenwriters of the two National Treasure movies, and has links through the casting of guest-spotted performers Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha, National Treasure: Edge of History has very little of the ultimate charm and adventurous spirit of its predecessors. The films – 2004’s original and its…
Read MoreIn São Paulo, Brazil, at the CCXP22 (Comic-Con Experience 2022), Marvel Studios debuted the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, introduced Zoe Saldaña, who plays Gamora in the franchise, before delighting the enthusiastic fans with the trailer debut for the highly anticipated upcoming feature film, releasing in…
Read MoreIt’s been 15 years since we last saw Harrison Ford don the iconic hat and whip, but come June next year, the wait is officially over when Indiana Jones returns in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the series – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Directed by James Mangold (Logan), starring along with…
Read MoreRian Johnson had far too much fun paying homage to the works of Agatha Christie in 2019’s star-studded crime comedy Knives Out. To say he executed it perfectly would be putting it mildly, but whilst a sequel to such a set-up seemed like a given, how anything secondary would be navigated was another mystery in…
Read MoreWith Hocus Pocus 2 proving a sizeable success, The Princess Diaries 3 now officially in the works, and both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan discussing their interest in a Freaky Friday sequel, the House of Mouse is more than proving itself in the business of revisiting original titles for the sake of nostalgia, fan…
Read MoreThe gang isn’t all here, but the ultimate front-man is in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the third installment in the Magic Mike franchise from Channing Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh. Just in time for Valentine’s Day next year, “Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal…
Read MorePhase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has undoubtedly divided fans like no other that has preceded it. Whilst there was a certain uniqueness in how characters and narratives were handled – say what you will about Eternals or Thor: Love and Thunder, but they at least attempted to separate themselves from the norm –…
Read MoreGoing into a film like Terrifier 2, audiences can’t help but be versed in the news surrounding the film that has largely focused on just how spectacularly gory this thing is and the fact that such splatter has caused American cinemagoers, who have pushed the micro-budgeted horror film to rope in over 5 times its…
Read MoreDespite the fact that last year’s Halloween Kills drove the chant home that “Evil Dies Tonight”, the contrary proved more accurate as the series’ central figure quite brazenly refused to go down with the bloody beatings he was afforded towards the climactic moments of David Gordon Green‘s divisive sequel. Said figure, Michael Myers, has been…
Read MoreLike so many of the House of Mouse’s IPs, Hocus Pocus has been conjured once more. Disney weren’t entirely sure they had a success on their hands some 30 years ago with the release of the original film – what with the studio releasing a Halloween-themed family film in July, for starters – and were…
Read MoreThe idea of a Fletch remake/reboot/sequel has long been discussed for almost three decades now. The obvious suggestions of Jason Lee and Jason Sudeikis were thrown around for contention to follow in Chevy Chase’s comedic footsteps during its production, but after consistent stop/starts it has fallen to Jon Hamm to pick up the mantle and…
Read MoreRian Johnson had far too much fun paying homage to the works of Agatha Christie in 2019’s star-studded crime comedy Knives Out. To say he executed it perfectly would be putting it mildly, but whilst a sequel to such a set-up seemed like a given, how anything secondary would be navigated was another mystery in…
Read MoreWhen you talk of iconic horror characters, we usually think of Halloween‘s Michael Myers, Friday the 13th‘s Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. But what about a demented little orphan who goes by the name of Esther? In 2009’s Orphan, Isabelle Fuhrman and director Jaume Collet-Sera created a new age…
Read MoreOf all the unexpected horror sequels to come to fruition, Orphan: First Kill would be up there as one of the more unlikely titles. Yes, it’s a prequel, first and foremost, but original star Isabelle Fuhrman is back in the unsettling role of Estonian psychopath Esther that birthed her career in 2009’s Orphan. Why this…
Read MoreOnce Taika Waititi reinvented the Marvel wheel with 2017’s wild Thor: Ragnarok, it made sense that the studio big-wigs would bestow further free licensing in the character’s shift towards a more humorous mentality. And whilst that’s all well and good – we certainly don’t want the character regressing in any manner – Thor: Love and…
Read MoreKorean cinema has always been a hub of unmatched quality. Whilst those that have enjoyed the fruits of labour over the decades aren’t remotely surprised at such a statement – and have been waiting for the world to catch up through viewings of I Saw the Devil and Oldboy – the recent successes of the…
Read MoreEven though 2010’s Despicable Me was centred around Steve Carell‘s Eastern European reformed super-villain Gru, it was his hoard of indecipherable henchmen – his Minions – that stole the film from under his considerably rendered nose. They were funny without really trying to be, so it made perfect sense that subsequent films (Despicable Me birthed…
Read MoreWe bow to thee, Tom Cruise: Saviour of cinema! A film you’ll be best served believing its near-impossible hype, Top Gun: Maverick is not only the type of sequel that surpasses its predecessor in every form imaginable, it’s the perfect encompassment of why cinema matters. Over 30 years in the making, Maverick reunites Cruise with…
Read MoreThe Lords and Ladies of Downton have returned. Ushering in a new year and a new era on screen, Julian Fellowes‘ acclaimed drama series has graduated from six television series, to now two acclaimed filmic continuations. To coincide with the anticipated release of Downton Abbey: A New Era (you can read our review here), which…
Read More2019’s Downton Abbey, a filmic continuation of the long-running upstairs/downstairs television series that very much played to its strengths of catering to its devoted fans, was a product that very much felt like it had little interest in truly introducing a new dynamic. For Downton Abbey: A New Era, its bi-line is particularly apt, with…
Read MoreThanks to Paramount Pictures we have 5 family passes (Admit 4) to give away for the upcoming release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, set for release exclusively in cinemas from March 31st, 2022. The world’s favourite blue hedgehog is back for a next-level adventure in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2. After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove…
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