Seasoned film critic. Gives a great interview. Penchant for horror. Unashamed fan of Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Momoa.
Riding into Australian theatres this week (you can read our review here), The Bikeriders captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals…
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Inspired by Danny Lyon‘s 1967 photo book The Bikeriders, Jeff Nichols‘ name-same drama revels in both the greasy masculinity and surprising vulnerability of its titular collective – a motorcycle club known as The Vandals – tracking their rise and evolution between 1965 and 1973. Lyon’s idea for the book was to “record and glorify the…
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The Longest-Running Ever! The Taiwan Film Festival in Australia is Back for its 7th Edition, Traveling to Six Cities from July to September 2024! The 7th Taiwan Film Festival in Australia will take place from July 25th to September 14th, spanning six cities: Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, and, for the first time, Adelaide. With…
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Sam, a fearless young girl raised outside of her Māori culture, is determined to fulfil her mission of connecting with her mountain in the hope they can heal her from the cancer she battles. Along the way she meets some misfits and new kids in town – Mallory, hoping to find friends, any kind of…
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During Camila Cabello‘s tenure on the US talent reality series The X Factor in 2012 as a member of girl collective Fifth Harmony, at-the-time judge Demi Lovato singled her out during a performance to note that only she shined on stage. Given her mammoth success as a soloist it’s often easy to forget that Cabello…
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Given that Rachel House so consistently makes an impression on screen with her oft-deadpan delivery, it stands to reason that her move behind the camera garner significant interest too. Though the regular Taika Waititi collaborator has a slew of short films under her belt, The Mountain stands as her debut in feature filmmaking, with the…
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Consent has never been deadlier. Winner of Best 1st Feature at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Birder is an erotic thriller that pushes the limits of queer sexual intimacy on screen and tells a compelling story about what it means to be queer, sex positive, and vulnerable. Starring Michael Emery in a chilling turn as Kristian…
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“Live Free or Die” So says the state motto of New Hampshire, something that some people take a little too seriously, especially those within the realms of Nate Dushku‘s Birder, a grisly, queer thriller centred around an enigmatic serial killer and the nudist camp he preys upon. The “birder” of the title introduces himself as…
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In the heart of the unforgiving Outback, a relentless drought tightens its grip on the land and small town of Kalbar, Queensland. Two resilient farmers, Jenny and Russell Jenner, hatch a daring plan in an attempt to save their dying town. Undeterred by the seemingly insurmountable odds, they rally the community to stage a vibrant…
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Thanks to the rise of cryptocurrency – and the emphasis that anyone’s voice can now be heard through a variety of social media outlets – scammers have a platform and a mainstream presence. They were never exactly a hidden, unknown collective, but there’s perhaps a prominence surrounding them now, and as the opening title card…
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As the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) gears up to welcome local and international film lovers to its fine city across September 5th to 15th this year, the Gala and Special Presentation programmes have announced six titles that will be premiering ahead of the Festival’s official program selection. The six titles announced thus far include…
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It will never let go. Following the critical and commercial success of the 2022 original, Smile, the fear continues to spread in Parker Finn‘s eagerly anticipated follow-up, Smile 2. This time focusing on a global pop sensation, Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who’s about to embark on a world tour, she begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and…
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Experience the day the world went quiet. To celebrate the release of A Quiet Place: Day One, with thanks to Paramount Pictures and Superdream, we are giving away 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn in the anticipated prequel that shows us how it all began. For your chance…
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When Ally (Rachel Paulson) excitedly calls her bestie, Jess (Capri Campeau), in the morning-after scenario of a pinch-me like hook-up, she can’t quite believe herself when she announces that in her bed is a bona fide rockstar. Better than hooking up with the high-school teacher she was obsessed with, and “gayer than Rihanna”, Ally’s bed…
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The basic narrative at the core of Restless – asking how far one would go to maintain peace in your own home – is perhaps one of the most relatable, and it’s because of that potential familiarity that Jed Hart‘s dread-drenched thriller is all the more chilling. Whether it’s happened directly to us or we…
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There’s a subtlety and quietness to Darkest Miriam that continually laces this sad, yet captivating drama, with Britt Lower‘s haunting central performance adding a poetry to proceedings that beautifully captures those watching. In a Toronto neighbourhood, Miriam (Lower) lives a quiet life as a librarian, seemingly content with her daily routine of shuffling through the…
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After premiering at last year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, the acclaimed Cora Bora is finally introducing herself to the masses; the film is set for a release in theatres in the United States from June 14th. Starring Megan Stalter (TV’s Hacks) as the titular Cora, the film tells of her fear that her relationship…
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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 vulnerable, shaded, even confidence-lacking…
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As much as Vincent Grashaw‘s Bang Bang revels in the alpha masculinity that oft dominates the boxing industry and the men it produces, this hard drama laces its narrative with a sadness and humanity that consistently brings the film above its gruff exterior. And much of that belongs to the impeccable Tim Blake Nelson, leading…
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A character losing themself to nature in order to find solitude or correct the course of their life is not a road seldom travelled on screen. And in the case of The Outrun, it’s the windswept Orkney Islands off the northeastern coast of Scotland that serve as a place of rejuvenation for Rona (Saoirse Ronan,…
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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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A staple of screen, stage and the small screen for five decades now, David Hyde Pierce is one of the most celebrated actors of his time, with his most recognised turn as Dr. Niles Crane on the acclaimed sitcom Frasier (1993 – 2004) lauding him four Emmy Awards and two SAG Awards. His latest role,…
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Whilst it’s understandable that audiences may assume The Exorcism is somehow related to last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist – and given both their closeness in title and sharing of Russell Crowe, you can see why – but Joshua John Miller‘s genre entrant is more a dramatic character study, with many of the horrific elements feeling…
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From DreamWorks Animation comes a new adaptation of a literary sensation, Peter Brown’s beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot. The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually…
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The idea of wearing a mask – physical or metaphorical – can so often be used to uncover a psyche within the realms of dark storytelling, and for Aaron Schimberg‘s chaotic A Different Man a literal representation is at the core. There’s an undeniably captivating and thought-provoking narrative at play, but the execution feels ultimately…
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Though there is a high-concept present in the narrative forming of My Old Ass – shroom induced time travel could be the easiest elevator pitch summary (so, a high-concept if ever there was one) – Megan Park‘s deliriously sweet, always charming, oft-hilarious venture is, at its core, an uncomplicated affair that simply wants to make…
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There’s a sense of too many eggs in one basket present in Problemista, a loaded-with-ideas, absurdist comedy from comedian Julio Torres who treats his first-time feature as if he may not get the chance to do a second. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with the ideas that Torres – a former Saturday Night Live scribe,…
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As Yorgos Lanthimos built up his profile with more mainstream-inclined audiences over the years – blending his unique storytelling vision with noticeable, A-list talent – the filmmaker viscerally tells them to essentially f*ck off with Kinds of Kindness, a 164-minute blackly comic, absurdist, and boundary-pushing surrealist drama that makes his previous oddity, last year’s award-winning…
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Men behaving badly is at the core of Annick Blanc‘s Hunting Daze, a surreal visualisation of toxic masculinity that refuses to ever pigeonhole itself into one category. It’s horrific without ever devoting itself entirely to that genre. It’s blackly funny, though never satirical. And it’s always engaging, even if the extreme manner in which Blanc…
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Though it leans into the action/thriller genre with a supreme wink, Thelma, Josh Margolin‘s frequently hilarious, always poignant ode to his own grandmother (and, clearly, a love of the action genre), is never spoofing the films it so evidently is earning its laughs from; and it’s that sweetness and keen sense of reinvention that helps…
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