Author: Peter Gray

Seasoned film critic. Gives a great interview. Penchant for horror. Unashamed fan of Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Momoa.

Interview: Travis Fimmel and the cast and creators of Black Snow Season 2; “I think there’s a greater future for productions in Australia.”

What happened to Zoe Jacobs? In the returning season of Black Snow, Detective Cormack (Travis Fimmel) tackles two separate missing persons cases. One is professional, as he investigates the disappearance of Zoe Jacobs (Jana McKinnon), who disappeared from her own 21st birthday party in 2003. And the other is personal, as Cormack searches desperately for…

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Win tickets to see Robert Eggers’ acclaimed Nosferatu

Thanks to Universal Pictures Australia, we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Robert Eggers’ acclaimed new gothic horror film Nosferatu, starring Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe, in Australian cinemas from New Years’ Day, January 1st, 2025. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale…

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Film Review: Paddington in Peru is a charming sequel that loves its titular bear and all the goodness he stands for

Given the astronomically high bar set by director Paul King and co-writer Simon Farnaby with 2017’s Paddington 2, the 7-year wait for Paddington in Peru only adds to the film’s overall anticipation and, due to both King and Farnaby sitting out their directorial and screenwriting duties, slight trepidation. It goes without saying that very few…

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Win tickets to see Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton in The Room Next Door

Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton in The Room Next Door, the full-length English language debut from Almodóvar, exclusively in Australian theatres from December 26th, 2024. Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha (Tilda Swinton) were close friends in their youth, when they…

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Film Review: Juror #2; Clint Eastwood’s swan song as a director celebrates substance over style

Despite the fact that Juror #2 is directed Clint Eastwood (reportedly, also, his last feature as a filmmaker) and contains an extended ensemble including, but not limited to, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland, you’d be rightfully under the impression that such credentials hold no weight given the absolute mistreatment of this…

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Interview: Director Michael Gracey and actor Jonno Davies Better Man

Set to entertain audiences from December, Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time; you can read our full review here. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), the…

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Film Review: Better Man; Robbie Williams’ chutzpa is channeled through audacious storytelling in unique biopic

Whether you loved him or hated him as part of Take That or on his own accord as a brash soloist, Robbie Williams, particularly in the 1990s, was a figure you couldn’t escape.  Similar to the cultural impact of Geri Halliwell exiting the Spice Girls or Zayn Malik bidding adieu to One Direction, Williams’ exit…

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Film Review: Anora; Mikey Madison’s beautiful, regarded turn centres Sean Baker’s truly profound (and profane) dark comedy

It’s too easy to claim that writer/director Sean Baker makes inaccessible films due to the fact that so many of his narratives centre around the society underrepresented, chief among them being sex workers.  As we saw in such previous works as Tangerine and Red Rocket, Baker seeks to remove such a stigma around pornography performers, prostitutes…

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Film Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 3; Jim Carrey’s buffoonery is sanctioned in bombastic threequel

There’s a famous story surrounding when Jim Carrey approached Tommy Lee Jones at a restaurant one night during the production of Batman Forever in 1995.  On the eve of the duo filming “their biggest scene together” on the Joel Schumacher sequel, Carrey popped into a diner where Jones happened to be eating.  The maitre noted…

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Everything we learned from James Gunn at the exclusive Superman trailer launch

Look up… As the DCEU suits up for a brand new iteration under the guidance of director James Gunn, our first taste will fly into theatres from July 2025 in the form of Superman. Embodied by rising star David Corenswet, the Man of Steel will be reintroduced to fans and newcomers alike, and the first…

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Win a double in-season pass to see the award-winning Anora from Sean Baker

Thanks to Kismet Movies and ThinkTank Communications, we have 3 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the acclaimed new dark comedy from director Sean Baker (Red Rocket), Anora, starring Golden Globe nominee Mikey Madison, in Australian theatres from Boxing Day, December 26th, 2024. Step into the wild world of Anora, a hot Oscar contender…

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2025 AACTA Festival announces Leigh Whannell, Paul Kelly and more to lineup

Today, the AACTA Festival announced over twenty new sessions have been added to the 2025 program, which returns to the Home of the Arts, Gold Coast, from February 5 – 9 2025.    Celebrated Australian music icon Paul Kelly will perform live at the festival alongside Meg Washington, Brendan Maclean, Beddy Rays and other special guests at the How to Make Gravy – Live…

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Film Review: Séance; Grief and obsession merge in the realms of gothic horror

Shifting away from the sibling rivalry at the centre of the modern-set dramedy Scrap, writer/director Vivian Kerr moves into gothic horror territory for her sophomore feature-length project, Séance, a dramatic tale that still admittedly utilises the mentality of rivalry, but does so in a different, more psychological manner. Grief, obsession, and both the fragile and toxic…

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Interview: Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult on exploring fear and humanity in Nosferatu; “It reveals a rawness and a purity.”

Continuing our extensive Nosferatu coverage in the lead-up to the film’s New Year’s Day release here in Australia (you can read our review here), Peter Gray spoke to Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult about their roles in Robert Eggers’ gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her,…

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Interview: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin on the horror and emotionality of Nosferatu; “It’s a lesson in being able to just constantly strip away.”

Described by our own Peter Gray as “An experience beyond mere audience transportation” – you can read our full review here – Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake. As the immersive horror film prepares…

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Film Review: Nosferatu is a truly immersive horror experience

A stunningly haunting reimagining of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent expressionist vampire film Nosferatu, itself an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula”, Robert Eggers‘ gothic tale (ironically) breathes fresh life into Henrik Galeen‘s original, weaving human obsession and pain in a macabre manner that results in the genre filmmaker delivering possibly his finest craft…

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Interview: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey and Will Sharpe on A Real Pain; “It’s always hard and awkward to try and commemorate something with reverence in a modern world that doesn’t care about your own personal grief.”

Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain tells of mismatched cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother.  The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history, setting the scene for a…

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Film Review: A Real Pain; Jesse Eisenberg’s sophomore feature as a filmmaker is a real triumph

Though there’s the sense that, initially, the characterisation of Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) in A Real Pain is to purely lean into the personality-driven descriptiveness of such a title, writer/director Jesse Eisenberg has other plans in helping us as an audience empathise with his plight.  Benji hones the type of energy that can be described…

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Squid Game: The Experience is finally here at Luna Park Sydney

Luna Park Sydney officially unveiled its new, highly-anticipated immersive attraction, Squid Game: The Experience, at the grand opening last night, marking a significant milestone in the Park’s transformation into a world-class experience destination. Among the attendees were prominent figures, including the Minister for Arts, Nighttime Economy, Music and Minister for Jobs and Tourism, John Graham….

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Interview: Absolution director Hans Petter Moland on reuniting with Liam Neeson, subverting expectations, and honouring genre authenticity

Following their collaboration on 2019’s Cold Pursuit, director Hans Petter Moland and star Liam Neeson are reuniting for the crime drama, Absolution, which tells of an aging ex-boxer working as muscle for a Boston crime boss who receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and…

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Film Review: Kraven the Hunter sends Sony’s Spider-Man Cinematic Universe out on an expected whimper

Much like fellow Johnson, Dakota, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has his heroic potential thwarted (and how!) in the long-delayed Kraven the Hunter, a misguided actioner that ends Sony’s Spider-Man Cinematic Universe with the type of whimper we’ve come to expect from this poor Marvel offshoot that wasn’t even allowed to feature the very character it based itself…

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Sundance Film Festival reveals 93 projects for its Feature Film and Episodic Programs

Today, the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the 87 feature films and six episodic projects selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, revealing a lineup full of bold independent storytelling. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with all of the competition films…

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Interview: Gaia Wise and Laurence Ubong Williams on finding their voice throughout The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

The original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim returns audiences to the epic world brought to life in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The Lord of the…

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Interview: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim producer Philippa Boyens on the challenges of animation and staying faithful to Tolkien’s words

The original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim returns audiences to the epic world brought to life in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The Lord of the…

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Film Review: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a visually stunning return to Middle Earth

It goes without saying that The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is one that left an impressionable in-print on cinema.  Many other films have tried their best to emulate its epic nature in the years since – even director Peter Jackson himself with the shaky Hobbit series – but few have captured correctly, so…

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Interview: Director J.C. Chandor on the familial core of Kraven the Hunter and what impressed him the most about his lead star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson; “It’s beautiful in a weird way to see what he’s able to do.”

Kraven the Hunter is the visceral, action-packed origin story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only…

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The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts reveal 2025 AACTA Award nominees

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced the nominees for the 2025 AACTA Awards, presented by Foxtel Group. Returning to the Gold Coast, the awards will celebrate the finest achievements in Australian film, television, documentary, and online content as part of the AACTA Festival, which will run for 5 days from…

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Danielle Spencer returns to music scene with first single in 14 years, “Regenerate”

Beloved Australian singer-songwriter Danielle Spencer has returned to the Australian music scene with her long-awaited new single, “Regenerate”, the first from her anticipated third album, due for release next year, which signals a bold and deeply personal evolution in her artistry, blending her signature haunting melodies with a modern sonic edge. An eclectic blend of…

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Win tickets to return to Middle Earth with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Australia, we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to return to Middle Earth with the original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, in Australian cinemas from December 12th, 2024. Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films,…

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