Author: Alex King

Film Review: Fury (MA15+) (USA, 2014)

It is 1945. WWII is coming to an end and an American army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) is leading his tank crew (Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal) through Germany. After one of their gunners is killed in battle, they are given a desk clerk named Norman (Logan Lerman) as his replacement. Terrified…

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Box Office Report: Gone Girl is still unbeaten after three weeks on top

This is quite incredible. David Fincher’s Gone Girl, an adaptation of Gillian Fynn’s best-seller, has taken over $3 million in its third weekend in Australian cinemas. The film has now taken over $16 million at the Aussie box office, which is a very impressive tally for a film of its kind. In comparison, Fincher’s The Social Network took $13.9…

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Film Review: Before I Go to Sleep (MA15+) (UK, 2014)

What would it be like to wake up each morning not knowing who you are? What if you could not recognise your loved ones? How would it feel to completely forget over a decade of your life? These are the very intriguing questions posed by the central concept of Before I Go to Sleep. This…

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Box Office Report: Audiences flock back to David Fincher’s Gone Girl

David Fincher’s Gone Girl has proven itself to be the must-see movie of the moment by smashing the competition to take the top spot at the Australian box office for the second weekend in a row. The film made an incredible $4.1 million over the weekend, only dropping around $0.6 million from last weekend, which is an incredibly…

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Men, Women & Children director Jason Reitman doing live Twitter Q&A tomorrow!

Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) is hitting Twitter tomorrow morning to do a live Q&A session to promote his upcoming drama Men, Women & Children. The Q&A will take place at 5:45AM AEDT tomorrow morning (Saturday October 11). This is an awesome opportunity for anyone with questions about the film-making process to get…

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Nominations announced for the 2014 Screen Music Awards

The nominations for the 2014 Screen Music Awards have just been announced, and they feature a selection of the best music from Australia’s best television programs, documentaries and feature films. The awards are staged jointly by APRA AMCOS and the AGSC (Australian Guild of Screen Composers), and “celebrate those quiet achievers of the Australian music…

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Box Office Report: It’s no mystery why Gone Girl takes top spot in massive weekend

Australian audiences turned out in droves over the weekend to see David Fincher’s hugely anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel Gone Girl. The mystery drama took in almost $4.7 million, which is a massive haul for a film of its kind. It truly is that rare kind of blockbuster that challenges its audiences’ minds while entertaining them. The opening…

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Annual Russian Film Festival Russian Resurrection screening an incredible program around Australia this month

Russian Resurrection is the largest and most distinguished annual Russian film festival outside of Russia and is now in its 11th year. The festival will launch its 2014 season around the country on October 30, as well as in New Zealand for the first time ever. Russian Resurrection celebrates the finest of Russia’s film industry,…

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Ridley Scott gets biblical in the new trailer for Exodus: Gods and Kings

After resurrecting the genre with the incredible Gladiator in 2000 and returning to it with Kingdom of Heaven in 2005, director Ridley Scott is about to give us another of his huge historical epics. Exodus: Gods and Kings is Scott’s take on the biblical story of Moses from the book of Exodus. Most of us are familiar with the story, and…

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Matthew McConaughey races to save mankind in new Interstellar trailer

Christopher Nolan’s first non-Batman film since the critically and commercially acclaimed Inception hits cinemas in one month. Just let that sink in. We will be watching a new original Christopher Nolan film in a matter of weeks. That film is Interstellar, and it is shaping up to be something pretty spectacular. Plot details are incredibly scarce at the…

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Liam Neeson and his particular set of skills return in the trailer for Tak3n

Liam Neeson is returning to the role that made him an action star with the third Taken film, now awkwardly titled Tak3n, hitting cinemas early next year. Since the brilliant original film was a surprise hit in 2008, Neeson has experienced a career resurgence that has seen him frequently kicking the asses of men half his age. But despite his…

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Join the fight for Middle-Earth with the epic new banner for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

It’s hard to believe that after a decade of false starts, postponements and trilogy-stretching, Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy is coming to a close in three months time. The first two films in the trilogy were met with general enthusiasm but have not reached the same levels of popularity as Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Regardless, The Hobbit looks set to…

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Box Office Report: The Maze Runner neutralizes The Equalizer

A group of relatively unknown young male actors were able to defend themselves against one of the most consistently bankable Hollywood actors over the past weekend, as Young Adult adaptation The Maze Runner fought off stiff competition from Denzel Washington’s latest action pic The Equalizer. The Maze Runner took just over $3 million in its second weekend, likely helped by…

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Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum fight for Earth in the new trailer for sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending

Andy and Lana Wachowski have never achieved the same level of success as they did in 1999 when they unleashed The Matrix on the world. This is fair enough, given the fact that very few directors would ever be able to repeat the originality and mind-blowing innovation of a film as good the The Matrix. The Wachowskis…

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New featurette for WWII drama Fury starring Brad Pitt

David Ayer’s WWII drama Fury is released in cinemas next month, and it looks set to be a fascinating and thrilling look at a particular mission of one small group of soldiers near the end of the war. The film boasts a great cast led by Brad Pitt, including Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Michael…

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See a creepy new clip from Kevin Smith’s upcoming horror movie Tusk

Director Kevin Smith has enjoyed a bit of a career resurgence in the past few years, seemingly trading his comedies (Clerks, Dogma, Cop Out etc) for horror. His 2011 film Red State was a disturbing look at religious extremism, horrifying not because of any supernatural threat, but because of the fact that it portrayed terrifying people who could…

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Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn confirmed for second season of True Detective

The first season of HBO’s hit series True Detective, which screened earlier this year, brought critical acclaim for its stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Being an anthology series, each season takes place in a different location, with a different plot and characters. After months of speculation, we finally have an official announcement regarding the…

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Box Office Report: Maze Runner has amazing opening weekend

It looks like Fox have another solid franchise on their hands, as new Young Adult adaptation The Maze Runner has opened in first place in Australia over the past weekend with almost $3.6 million, not to mention a first place opening in the US as well. The film is based on James Dashner’s novel, which is the…

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ABC issues pre-emptive apology for The Chaser’s Media Circus

The Chaser team are back this year, with their upcoming 8-part series The Chaser’s Media Circus starting on Wednesday October 15 on the ABC. The ABC has pre-emptively apologised for the series by releasing a statement to the press. Below are some of the highlights: “Looking forward a few weeks, we’ll definitely have to admit that in…

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Everyone has a secret in the brilliant trailer for Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children

Director Jason Reitman burst onto the scene back in 2005 with his satirical comedy Thankyou For Smoking, which he followed up with Oscar-nominated indie darling Juno. His next film, 2009’s Up in the Air, was again nominated for a slew of Oscars. Reitman’s next two films, 2011’s Young Adult and 2013’s Labor Day failed to live up to the expectations placed upon them. One thing that…

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Margaret and David call cut on At the Movies after 28 years on air

It has been a dark 48 hours for Australian film fans, as the ABC announced yesterday that legendary film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton would not be returning in 2015 for another season of their film review show At the Movies. The show has been screening on the ABC since 2004, and Margaret and David had previously…

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Let your dreams soar with the first trailer for Paper Planes

The first trailer for upcoming Australian film Paper Planes has been released online. It’s a great trailer and positions the film as a fun and exciting experience for the whole family. Australian films often deal with darker themes and material, so it’s always nice to occasionally see one that skews a bit lighter. Paper Planes boasts an incredible ensemble cast, including…

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Box Office Report: Turtles fight off competitors to retain top spot

There was hardly any room for competition this past weekend as worldwide hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was officially released after a couple of weeks of advanced screenings. The film had a huge opening weekend, taking in $4.37 million at the Australian box office. The film has received decent if not stellar reviews (such as ours, which…

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Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper share an intense love in the first trailer and posters for Serena

Jennifer Lawrence is without a doubt the most popular actor in the world right now. Ever since her Oscar-nominated breakthrough in 2010’s Winter’s Bone, Lawrence has been steadily building one of the most impressive Hollywood careers in recent memory. Her headlining of the massively successful Hunger Games franchise and well-deserved Oscar win for Silver Linings Playbook cemented her position as the biggest…

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Head to the first Girls on Film Festival this weekend for movies, parties and feminism

This weekend (September 12-14) sees the first ever Girls on Film Festival take place at Northcote Town Hall in Melbourne. The festival has been described as a “fan club meets movie marathon meets feminist salon meets house party with girl bands”, and will include screenings of ten brilliant films across the weekend. Each of the…

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ACMI to screen 35mm restored print of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy from September 20-28

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is partnering with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) to bring Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy back to the big screen this month. The 35mm restored print of the epic crime saga will screen at ACMI from Saturday September 20 until Sunday September 28, with…

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Melbourne’s beloved Astor Theatre to close in 2015

In news that will sadden cinephiles around the country, it has been announced that the Astor Theatre in Melbourne will close its doors in May of 2015. The single-screen repertory cinema has been screening a diverse program of films since 1982, mixing the latest hits with the classics of years gone by, often screening 70mm…

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Box Office Report: Ninja Turtles knock Guardians from top spot

Marvel’s latest superheroes were no match for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the last weekend. The heroes in a half-shell took the top spot with a weekend of advanced screenings, just edging out newcomer Into the Storm, which also had a decent opening weekend. You can read our Into the Storm review here. Turtles has been one of the few success stories…

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Wastelander Panda: Exile to premiere on ABC iview and at Fantastic Fest this month

Madman has announced that Wastelander Panda: Exile, the first drama program commissioned for ABC iview, will premiere on iview on Saturday September 20th. The post-apocalyptic sci-fi western will also have its international premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas from Septermber 18-25. Fans will also get a chance to see a sneak preview of the…

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Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema returns to Brisbane this spring

Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas are returning this month to kick off its country-wide tour in Brisbane, with a season of incredible films screening from September 28 until November 9. The Openair Cinemas also bring with them a range of live music acts, with each Sunday hosting Ben & Jerry’s Sundae Sessions. Each Sundae Session will include live music…

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