Seasoned film critic. Gives a great interview. Penchant for horror. Unashamed fan of Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Momoa.
Despite being associated with Netflix, Mudbound is no made-for-streaming affair. Premiering to rave reviews in the earlier half of the year at Sundance, Dee Rees‘s film was snapped up by the media service after surprising snubs from the other major studio players. Rees is arguably having the last laugh though as this film more than…
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Borg vs McEnroe feels like a film more tailored for the streaming services market. A minor feature that’s likely to only really be of interest to tennis fanatics, and even then they might prefer a more traditional documentary, Janus Metz Pedersen‘s drama never feels like a complete production, despite its substantial focus on Bjorn Borg…
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It’s been something of an arduous trek but the Justice League have finally made their way to the big screen. Long before Joss Whedon earned the tick of approval from comic enthusiasts the world over with his take on The Avengers, George Miller (Mad Max, Happy Feet) was planning on brining the titular crew to…
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Very few actors have been afforded a send-off as fitting as Harry Dean Stanton has in Lucky. Throughout his 6 decades of working across both film and television, Lucky, next to his most substantial screen-time turn in 1984’s road movie Paris, Texas, stands as a true showcase for the actor; regardless of the film arriving…
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With its classic style, striking ensemble, and lack of action-heavy set pieces, Murder on the Orient Express may be a little too refined for modern audiences versed in the ways of today’s distraction-centric filmmaking where bigger and louder equals better. Despite the film being void of any staple action moment, Orient Express still delivers on…
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Aca-scuse me?!?! Pitches best be ready as Universal Pictures have proudly proclaimed that Australia’s international comedy queen Rebel Wilson, original Bella Brittany Snow, and our very own star-on-the-rise Ruby Rose will take to Sydney this November to preview the final instalment in the Pitch Perfect series, Pitch Perfect 3, which has collectively earned more than…
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Beginning its streaming season on the rather appropriate date of Friday the 13th, Netflix’s nasty, bloodied The Babysitter proves a suitable entree for the feast that is the Halloween film season. Playing with the conventions of an 80’s style slasher whilst simultaneously maintaining an air of modern self-referential wit, McG‘s splatter comedy is a quick…
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As varying subsets of the horror genre have forged ahead in 2017 as some of the year’s biggest successes (Split, Get Out and It remain three of the most fruitful ventures), it only makes sense that the slasher genre attempt the resurgence it so desperately deserves. It simply isn’t enough however to let a film…
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Despite its 1973 setting, Battle of the Sexes is very much a film for the now with Billie Jean King’s story appearing just as relevant today as it did back then. Stances on sexuality and the pay parity between genders as depicted here is likely to strike a chord with many an audience member, but…
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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A loose cannon who doesn’t play by the rules, but dammit if he doesn’t get the job done, is recruited by the CIA to assist in taking out some “very bad people who plan on doing some very bad things“… American Assassin is not the type of film…
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Where does one even begin to describe the demented deliciousness that is mother!? Despite the film’s rather studio-heavy calibre of talent on board, Darren Aronofsky‘s latest cinematic insanity is anything but an audience-friendly affair. The mysterious marketing campaign has wound up viewer interest (and rightfully so), and I would wager many will be entering theatres…
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Patti Cake$ is the kind of movie that could have gone horribly wrong. The story of an overweight, white (trash) suburban girl gunning for glory in the hip-hop scene isn’t the most accessible story, nor is it culturally appropriate. Thanks to the wit of writer/director/composer Geremy Jasper though, Patti Cake$ disarms any of these potential…
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Like fellow Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Nicholas Winding Refn, Ole Bornedal made the leap from his homeland to Hollywood, though he opted for more an entertaining stance on his career as opposed to the heavy artistry his peers practiced; Bornedal was behind the rather unspectacular 2012 haunted house pic The Possession, whilst von…
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As easy as it is to liken God’s Own Country to the similarly themed Brokeback Mountain, doing so is only ultimately stripping Francis Lee‘s film of its own identity. A moody and haunting emotional journey for its protagonists, God’s Own Country is a slow burning, though rewarding drama propelled by a duo of strong performances…
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Offsetting its grand, sprawling Australian outback locale with a dark, often uncomfortably intimate story that crosscuts between altering timelines, Killing Ground is an assured, at times unapologetic, debut feature from writer/director Damien Power. Taut, tightly wound and brutal without resorting to exploitation, the film initially focuses on sprightly couple Ian (Ian Meadows) and Sam (Harriet…
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Doug Liman has never been a director afraid of making bold choices. Whether he’s taking the leap from indie cinema ala Swingers to expensive actioners like The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or honing his skills as a wrangler in order to challenge a fearless performer such as Tom Cruise, the New York…
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Simultaneously stepping away from the action brands they’re both primarily recognised for, there’s a sense of material re-engagement for director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow) and star Tom Cruise with American Made. Telling a story that’s less reliant on aesthetic spectacle and star power, Gary Spinelli’s account of…
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Having proven his worth as a screenwriter with both Hell or High Water and Sicario, Wind River serves as scribe Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut. Arguably arriving with high expectations, Sheridan’s tight, often brutal thriller proves his workings with such professionals as David Mackenzie and Denis Villeneuve has paid off, showcasing an ease behind the lens…
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In the 1980’s, Romanians would gather in record numbers in front of their TV sets to watch Comrade Detective. Fronted by Florin Piersic, Jr as hard-nosed police detective Gregor Anghel, the series promised to be an action-heavy event that would both entertain its citizens whilst promoting communist ideals. Sadly, after the collapse of the Berlin…
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Proving that the no-hold barred mentality he so masterfully captured as co-director of the original John Wick was no flash in the pan, director David Leitch ventures as a soloist for the excessive Atomic Blonde and manages to collate enough action, sensuality, and humour to deem it a project worthy of one’s attention. It doesn’t…
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Returning to the genre that arguably brought him to fruition, Gore Verbinski’s (The Ring) A Cure For Wellness is a decidedly morbid slice of cinema that revels in its own jarring weirdness. Here’s a film that has considerable monetary backing (something of a surprise for a particularly eerie horror experiment) yet comes off more like…
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Having made something of an underground name for himself in the horror genre with such European productions as Creep, Triangle, and Black Death, British filmmaker Christopher Smith opted out for a brief moment to helm some TV work and an out-of-character holiday-themed comedy; Get Santa with Jim Broadbent and Warwick Davis, for those playing along…
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Whilst animation in film has evolved immensely over the last 20 years, there’s something immediately charming about Phantom Boy‘s deliberately flat and simple palleted aesthetic. It may lack the emotional weight of the technically more refined Pixar offerings, but this film’s distinct look feels organically melded to its somber mentality. Coming courtesy of French directing…
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Based on a memoir by American writer James Lord and adapted for the screen by actor Stanley Tucci, Final Portrait is a concise passion project with committed performances and evident production care that sadly doesn’t overcome its bland setting. Anchored by a wonderful turn from Geoffrey Rush as eccentric painter Giacometti, this dramedy of sorts…
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Fans of off-kilter comedy should find something of value in Jeff Baena’s quirky spoof The Little Hours, a play on the 14th-century Giovanni Boccaccio novella The Decameron. With hefty doses of witchcraft, torture, and pan-sexuality peppered throughout the script, it’s not hard to see some viewers being confounded by Baena’s film just as much as those…
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Thoroughly engaging, immensely poignant, and remarkably evocative, Call Me By Your Name functions as both a coming-of-age tale and a love story, likely to surprise viewers as to where it travels on both accounts. Based on the novel by Andre Aciman, and co-penned for the screen by director Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash), James Ivory…
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Having proven his worth as a screenwriter with both Hell or High Water and Sicario, Wind River serves as scribe Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut. Arguably arriving with high expectations, Sheridan’s tight, often brutal thriller proves his workings with such professionals as David Mackenzie and Denis Villeneuve has paid off, showcasing an ease behind the lens…
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Based on the Nikolai Leskov novel Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, itself inspired by the character in Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth, William Oldroyd‘s daring film is far from the period piece one might expect given its title. Tightly pieced together by Alice Birch‘s bold screenplay via a star-making performance from Florence Pugh, Lady Macbeth is a psycho-sexual thriller disguised…
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In 2014 it was believed that the Luke Evans-led Dracula Untold was going to launch Universal Studios’ proposed shared universe of classic movie monsters. Dubbed Dark Universe, the ambitious project akin to the connected phases of Marvel and DC films ultimately let that idea fall to the wayside when the aforementioned feature was hardly the…
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The 64th annual Sydney Film Festival shows no signs of slouching on the line-up front this year, with the announcement that star Steven Yuen (TV’s The Walking Dead), 2017 Cannes Palme d’Or contender Bong Joon-ho, and Australian actor Daniel Henshall (Snowtown) will attend for the premiere of their feature Okja, fresh from its controversial showing…
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