Seasoned film critic. Gives a great interview. Penchant for horror. Unashamed fan of Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Momoa.
As we’re seeing superhero films flounder under audience fatigue, there’s a new subsect of IP being explored in a particularly exciting fashion; and it has nothing to do with sequels either! (Although, given how well received Creed III, Scream VI, and John Wick: Chapter 4 have all been, sometimes following through on existing titles isn’t…
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This holiday season, get ready for an action-packed, all-star, rainbow-colored family reunion like no other as Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return for the new chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s blockbuster musical franchise: Trolls Band Together. After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) are now officially, finally, a couple….
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The unlikeable, but relatable, protagonist rings strong in Vivian Kerr‘s Scrap, a feature-length adaptation of her own similarly-named 2018 short film that she fronted as lead and writer. For her filmic go-around, Kerr has assigned herself directorial duties as well, assuring that her character (Beth) is presented in a way that holds authenticity; whether we…
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Thanks to Paramount Pictures Australia we have 5 family in-season passes (Admit 4) to Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, the new adventure adaptation of the classic role-playing game, starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant. Exclusively in cinemas March 30th, 2023. A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic…
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Flirting with the type of action-heavy chaos that served his character for 9 seasons on the surprisingly resilient 24, Kiefer Sutherland embraces coincidental lunacy and a healthy supply of narrative twists for Rabbit Hole to deliver on its promise on the type of genre fun born from political thrills and double-crossing intent. Given just how…
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It’s hard to believe that, at one point, 2014’s John Wick was practically considered dead on arrival. A combination of unproven directors (eventual franchise mainstay Chad Stahelski and uncredited “co-director” David Leitch), a screenwriter with only a duo of barely-registered titles under him (Derek Kolstad), and a lead actor with a slew of underperforming box…
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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,…
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There’s a formula adhered to and a lack of mould breaking throughout Matt Ruskin‘s Boston Strangler, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t an effective take on an establish genre, with his script executing compelling narrative arcs and supplying the always-watchable Keira Knightley a role with sense and purpose. She stars as Loretta McLaughlin, a…
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A harrowing tale of addiction, psychological instability, and the humanising of substance abuse, All the World Is Sleeping is a generational drama that provides no easy answers within. Inspired by the true stories of Carly Hicks, Patricia Marez, Jade Sanchez, Myra Salazar, Kayleigh Smith, Malissa Trujillo, and Doralee Urban, a collective of New Mexico women…
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23 years after Hollywood first attempted to adapt the Dungeons & Dragons phenomenon with an entirely forgettable fantasy that starred Jimmy Olsen from TV’s Lois & Clark, and had Marlon Wayans setting back racial stereotypes by a good few decades, the (studio) powers that be have opted to re-polish the IP, rolling the dice on…
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Sometimes the hero you are meant to be lies just beneath the surface. This year, DreamWorks Animation dives into the turbulent waters of high school with a hilarious, heartfelt action comedy about a shy teenager, Ruby Gillman (voiced by Lana Condor), who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens…
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Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese film Ikiru, which in itself was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, Oliver Hermanus’s Living is an understated take on one of life’s most complicated musings: What does it mean to truly live? It’s a big question, but in the hands…
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Similar 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…
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Described as a “traumedy” and navigating a narrative I have no personal connection to – or even a right to comment on in all honesty – Molly McGlynn‘s Bloody Hell has the same footprints as a coming-of-age comedy, but laces such with a queer mentality and the potential dehumanising reality of when your body “rejects”…
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The parallels between an invasive parasite and an unwanted pregnancy are navigated with intricate delicacy and subtle terror throughout Until Branches Bend, Sophie Jarvis‘s disturbing drama that offsets its small physicality with a growingly unnerving mentality. At the centre of both converging narratives is Robin (Grace Glowicki, incredible), a fruit packing plant line worker who…
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Whilst there’s no doubt that Megan Stalter is a talented comedienne (“Hi Gay!”, anyone?), the type of social-media-sketch-performer-turned-feature-actress trajectory isn’t always a guaranteed translation for both their respective humour and an audience’s positive reaction. Thankfully, her starring role in Cora Bora is a more dramatic transition for the actress, displaying a more vulnerable, shaded, even…
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Supernatural terror and deep-seated personal revelations come to light in the tonally unbalanced, but no less interesting Brooklyn 45. Written and directed by Ted Geoghegan, Brooklyn 45 gradually unravels over the course of its 90 minutes as it centres around a group of battle-hardened friends and their overdue rendezvous in a Brooklyn brownstone. Set between…
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Even though one of the experts interviewed in Satan Wants You expresses that the 1980’s phenomenon known as “Satanic Panic” is seen as something of a joke through the eyes of today, there’s nothing particularly funny about the accusations that were being thrown around at the time. Perhaps it’s something of an absurdity when looking…
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“Before we continue I’d like to apologize to anyone who might be upset or offended by what you saw before the break. It’s not every day you see a demonic possession on live television.” Not the most typical sentence you’d expect to hear from a late night host, but such is the statement made by…
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There’s a moment in the first half of Luke Gilford‘s exquisite looking drama National Anthem where 21-year-old construction worker Dylan (Charlie Plummer) seems perplexed that an outside group of queer rodeo performers and ranchers would find him interesting; “You haven’t met your people yet”, is the open, telling response from the captivating Sky (Eve Lindley),…
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Only the Good Survive is the type of film that delights in the fact that it never follows the genre path you think it should. At one point the question is even asked if the story being relayed is “a horror or a comedy?”, and writer/director Dutch Southern, in the most nonsensical, unpredictable fashion, makes…
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After debuting its Launceston component in 2019, it’s a shame that Mona Foma – so often associated with its decade+ engagement in Hobart – had to momentarily stall its grind (as did the rest of the art scene) when a certain pandemic gloomed over the globe. In 2023, it’s more than making up for lost…
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Skinny dipping, throat punches and pepper spray. What won’t Jennifer Lawrence endure to date an “unfuckable” 19-year-old? No Hard Feelings proves it all. The red-band trailer for the new Gene Stupnitsky-directed coming-of-age sex comedy has been released, with Lawrence embracing her natural comedic sensibilities as Maddie, an “Uber driver without a car” who’s close to…
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In the lead up to the Best Actress nominations at this year’s Oscars, Andrea Riseborough was not a name oft-thrown around. That’s not to say she didn’t deserve to be in the chatter, but after Cate Blanchett (Tár) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) continued to trade winning speeches throughout each major precursor…
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The murder of Emmett Till in 1955, Mississippi, still stands as one of America’s most shocking (and shameful) moments, even now almost 7 decades later. If you’re unaware – like myself going into this stirring drama – the 14-year-old Till (Jalyn Hall) was visiting family in Mississippi, the first time he had ever really been…
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Given how meta and self-referential the Scream series has become, there’s something kind of brilliant in the familiar Ghostface vocal (again brought to sadistic life by Roger L. Jackson) exclaiming “Who gives a fuck about movies?” as he slices down on his latest victim prior to the Scream VI title card. The answer, it would…
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Having graced both the cinema and television screens for close to five decades now, Ernie Hudson is an actor of incomparable stature. From Ghostbusters to The Crow, Airheads to Miss Congeniality, he has cemented himself in your favourite films, and doesn’t show any sign of stopping. His latest role is that of Coach Phil Peretti…
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There’s always room for Christmas Pud and, it would appear, time to join Dungeons & Dragons too. In a casting decision that I’m sure even the most confident punters couldn’t have predicted, Australian surrealist comedy collective Aunty Donna – performers Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane – have lent their voices to the…
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There was a period between the mid-to-late 90’s and into the early 2010’s that filmmaking brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly had something of a hold on the gross-out subsect of the comedy genre. After 1994’s Dumb & Dumber (which was actually directed by a solo Peter Farrelly) their films almost became something of an event,…
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Romantic gestures just don’t get the same reaction as they used to. At least not when it comes to Cole (Chris Evans) and realising that the enigmatic Sadie (Ana de Armas) isn’t returning his calls for a reason other than that she’s ghosting him – she’s a secret agent. Oh, that old chestnut! Rocketman director…
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