Author: Peter Gray

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

Interview: Jeremy Lindsay Taylor on fighting for his character in Audrey, comedic complexities, and the necessary, terrifying reality of social media as an actor

Known primarily for his dramatic work across our screens for over three decades now, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor is embracing a new comedic persona in the audacious Audrey, a twisted, razor sharp film, both gloriously absurd and strangely relatable. Its black comedy at its best, inspired by modern classics like Muriel’s Wedding and Jennifer’s Body. As a husband and…

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Win an exclusive piece of framed concept art for The Wild Robot and a Digital Access Code to view the film at home

To celebrate the home digital release of The Wild Robot, thanks to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Organic. we have an exclusive piece of framed concept art to give away to one lucky reader, as well as a Digital Access Code so you can view the film at home. The film comes from a new…

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Interview: Connie Nielsen on returning for Gladiator II, further exploring her character’s complexities and collaborating with Ridley Scott

Following on from our red carpet chats with the cast and creatives of Gladiator II at the Australian premiere, Connie Nielsen sat down with our own Peter Gray to further discuss her return as Lucilla after over 2 decades, if she saw a change in Ridley Scott’s directing after this time, and if she could…

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Interview: Paul Mescal and the cast of Gladiator II at the Australian premiere in Sydney

Ushering in a new generation of heroes, legendary director Ridley Scott continues the epic Gladiator saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome with Gladiator II. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his…

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Interview: Shari Sebbens on new horror film The Moogai and what it communicates about today’s Indigenous experience; “Pay some respect to where you come from.”

A young Aboriginal couple brings home their second baby. What should be a joyous time takes a sinister turn, as the baby’s mother starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. Such is the logline for Jon Bell’s The Moogai, a new horror film from the producers of The…

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Interview: Emily Bett Rickards on playing America’s first million-dollar female athlete in wrestling biopic Queen of the Ring

An extraordinary, true-life tale, Queen of the Ring is an uplifting drama that follows Mildred Burke, the legendary professional wrestler and single mother who defied incredible odds to become the first million-dollar female athlete and longest reigning champion at a time when the sport was banned across most of America. Through Emily Bett Rickards‘ transformative…

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Daddio is equally humorous, heartbreaking and rightfully uncomfortable at once: Brisbane International Film Festival Review

The prospect of being stuck in a cab for 90 minutes with a driver that isn’t afraid to wax lyrical about the dynamics of men and women doesn’t exactly sound like the most pleasant experience.  And whilst that it is the entire premise of Christy Hall‘s conversation-provoking Daddio, audiences pre-empting their annoyance at such a…

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Interview: Gabriel LaBelle on playing Lorne Michaels in Saturday Night, bonding with his co-stars and favourite SNL skits

From Spielberg to Saturday Night. After making his mark as Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed The Fabelmans, a loosely-based detailing of the famed director’s adolescence, rising star Gabriel LaBelle is taking on another icon of the industry in Lorne Michaels, the long-running creator of the American sketch comedy program, Saturday Night Live, in Jason Reitman’s…

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Anora is masterfully tense, warm, tragic and hilarious in equal measure: Brisbane International Film Festival Review

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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Saturday Night is equally riotously funny as it is emotionally investing: Brisbane International Film Festival Review

For almost 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been an institution of (primarily) American culture.  Every weekend it invites audiences to surrender to the thrill of live television, where anything could go wrong at any given moment, amongst a staple of regular segments and musical performances.  Its structure has shifted over time, but the core…

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Film Review: Venom: The Last Dance is a downright sloppy send-off routine for Tom Hardy’s pet anti-hero

When I reviewed Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021, I noted that it was an entirely overwhelming sequel that was unpretentious and, due to its absolute ludicrousness, never boring.  Some of that sentiment can be shared for Venom: The Last Dance, the supposedly (and hopefully) final instalment in this surprisingly fertile series that is,…

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Film Review: Lee; Kate Winslet stirs in fascinating portrait of defiant war-time correspondent, Lee Miller

Lee Miller is the type of figure that feels as if she should’ve already had a biopic made about her, due to her staggering spirit and defiance in the face of what was expected of her.  Lee is ultimately the only film that Miller deserves, with director Ellen Kuras, a cinematographer making her directorial debut,…

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Interview: Kate Winslet and Antony Penrose on reshaping the perception of American war correspondent Lee Miller in their film Lee

Oscar winner Kate Winslet stars in Lee, a fascinating portrait of the great American war correspondent Lee Miller, whose singular talent and ferocious tenacity gave us some of the 20th century’s most indelible images. A former model, Lee is now tired of being viewed through a lens and by men, and focusses on her own…

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Interview: Ke Huy Quan on the importance of second chances and leading with kindness for his new action film, Love Hurts

No matter how hard you try, you can’t break up with your past. This Valentine’s Day, Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan rockets into his first major leading man role as an unlikely hero, a seemingly mild-mannered realtor with a dark secret that he is desperate to leave behind. Spoiler alert: He won’t. From 87North producers…

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Interview: Jonathan Eusebio on moving from action choreographer to director on Love Hurts; “I want to make the audience feel uplifted or inspired by the action that I’m making.”

No matter how hard you try, you can’t break up with your past. This Valentine’s Day, Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan rockets into his first major leading man role as an unlikely hero, a seemingly mild-mannered realtor with a dark secret that he is desperate to leave behind. Spoiler alert: He won’t. From 87North producers…

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Interview: esperanza spalding on her latest album, Milton + esperanza, and one night only shows in Australia; “It’s a rarity that a lot of people you don’t know really like your songs.”

Five-time Grammy award-winning vocalist, bass player and composer esperanza spalding kicks off her highly anticipated return tour to Australia at QPAC in Brisbane for a very special one-night-only performance. One of the most unique talents in music today, esperanza has created a jazz oeuvre that seamlessly fuses soul, funk, pop and rock into an intoxicating…

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Pools displays surface-level confidence as a journey of self discovery: SXSW Sydney Screens Film Festival Review

Whilst there is a sense of an on-the-nose metaphorical aspect to Pools, and a whole lot of “girl who is going to be okay” mentality to it too, Sam Hayes‘ dramedy manages to just keep itself afloat enough in the self-discovery genre it serviceably adheres to. College student Kennedy (Odessa A’zion) doesn’t have her shit…

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Film Review: Smile 2; A sequel that doesn’t suck? That’s something to smile about.

As we learned from “the rules of a horror sequel” in one of the few horror sequels that actually held its weight against the original – 1997’s Scream 2 – things are always bigger and bloodier in a Part 2; “Carnage candy,” as it was so deliciously described.  And, indeed, Parker Finn has a sweet…

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Interview: Parker Finn on executing the perfect jump scare in Smile 2; “I’m always trying to subvert and do things that will catch people off guard.”

Following the critical and commercial success of Smile in 2022, writer/director Parker Finn knew that if he was going to make a sequel, it had to be an “insane” idea. Centering on a global pop sensation, Skye Riley (played by Naomi Scott), who begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events ahead of a world tour,…

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Interview: Felicity Ward on the new Australian series of The Office, her character’s secret sauce, and removing the stigma around mental health

New office. New Aussie boss. The hotly-anticipated Australian Original comedy series is the thirteenth version of the global hit juggernaut franchise The Office and has the first-ever female lead in the iconic role, comedian and actor Felicity Ward. In the eight part series, Hannah Howard (Ward) is the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick….

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Win tickets to see Tom Hardy in the epic conclusion, Venom: The Last Dance

Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Tom Hardy in the epic conclusion, Venom: The Last Dance, exclusively in Australian theatres from October 24th, 2024. In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film…

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Interview: Sam Corlett on playing an addict in He Ain’t Heavy; “I feel like characters tend to find me in a time of my life that I need to explore something deeply.”

He Ain’t Heavy follows 30-year-old Jade (Leila George) who has sacrificed the better part of her life to rescue her little brother Max (Sam Corlett) from drug addiction. In desperation, unbeknownst to their ever-forgiving mother Bev (Greta Scacchi) Jade locks Max inside their vacant rural home in an attempt to “get him clean’. But when Bev arrives, a…

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Film Review: He Ain’t Heavy; Sam Corlett’s full-bodied performance stuns in confronting, oft-harrowing drama

The mental, emotional and physical destruction that can come from one’s addiction is at the core of He Ain’t Heavy, David Vincent Smith‘s confronting, oft-harrowing drama that surpasses the intimacy of its setting and miniature ensemble with its brutal mindset. An expansion of his short film I’m Not Hurting You, He Ain’t Heavy very much…

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Film Review: Memoir of a Snail is a tragically beautiful tale that honours the surreality of life

Of all the ways to ruminate on grief and loss, a stop-motion animated dramedy is not the most obvious option, but, despite the whimsical nature of the medium, Adam Elliot‘s heartbreaking Memoir of a Snail proves such a catharsis on the emotion. Animated it may be, Memoir of a Snail is not a child-friendly affair,…

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Interview: Adam Elliot on the slow, reflective process of making Memoir of a Snail; “Life can only be understood backwards.”

Grace Pudel is a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love for books. At a young age, when Grace is separated from her fire-breathing twin brother Gilbert, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst. Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerge when she strikes…

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Interview: Director Stefan Hunt and choreographer Vanessa Marian on their short film Yeah The Boys and exploring Aussie larrikinism and masculinity

Created by the Sydney’s husband-and-wife director-choreographer duo Stefan Hunt and Vanessa Marian, Yeah The Boys explores Aussie larrikinism and masculinity, while offering an insightful observation of Australian identity and the nation’s relationship with drinking culture, with a unique blend of choreography and screen storytelling, without a word being spoken for the whole film. Winner of Best Australia Short at Flickerfest, and nominated…

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Interview: Christopher Scott on choreographing Wicked for the big screen and honouring the stage show through the film

After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event this holiday season. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu, Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive…

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Interview: Nathan Crowley on producing the design of Wicked; “You’re touching on something that everyone loves.”

After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event this holiday season. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu, Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive…

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Interview: Wicked Hair and Make-up Designer Frances Hannon on finding her own vision within the land of Oz

After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event this holiday season. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu, Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive…

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Win tickets to see Michael Keaton’s Assassin’s Plan

Thanks to StudioCanal Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Michael Keaton‘s crime thriller Assassin’s Plan, in Australian theatres October 17th, 2024, co-starring James Marsden, Marcia Gay Harden and Al Pacino. Diagnosed with a rapidly debilitating illness, a contract killer gets the chance to redeem himself by saving the life of…

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