Between such culture-defining videos as “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy and Monica, Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie”, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”, and, arguably, the piste de résistance that is “Toxic” by Britney Spears, Joseph Kahn has solidified himself as a music video director that transcends mere lyrical inspiration. As a film…
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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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A vision wholly unrealised is the biggest downfall against Hold Your Breath. With its gothic horror temperament, dustbowl 1930s Oklahoma landscape and an emotionally anchored performance from Sarah Paulson at its core, Karrie Crouse and Will Joines‘ isolating, atmospheric thriller has the potential, but unfortunately not the power needed to convey its core themes. The…
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So often across cinematic history has it been proven that fact is stranger than fiction, and in the case of Ron Howard‘s Eden, the crazier humanity proves themselves to be, the more seeped in reality their stories are. And it’s what makes Eden – arguably Howard’s most exciting project in over a decade – all…
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Towards the end of the new Australian musical The Deb there’s an uplifting song-and-dance sequence to a ditty titled “Pretty Strong”, and that’s an acceptable enough term to describe Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut. The comedienne makes for a serviceable presence behind the camera as she injects an infectiousness and often-home-grown-specific humour into the proceedings of…
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Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its female ensemble (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez) won the Best Actress award, there was considerable hype surrounding the TIFF presence of Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language, crime thriller-cum-musical that was recently crowned the runner-up in the…
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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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As much as Halina Reijn‘s Babygirl is an erotic thriller about the power play dynamic of a high-strung female CEO and the young, confident intern who infiltrates her deepest sexual desires, the Bodies, Bodies, Bodies filmmaker ultimately has created a film about the power of communication. Communication in its most carnal form is what draws…
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Described as his most personal work yet, Luca Guadagnino‘s Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burrough‘s 1985 novel of the same name; though published in the 80s, it was written between 1951 and 1953. Guadagnino has made a career out of telling vastly opposing stories with each of his productions – Call Me By…
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Screening so soon after The Substance doesn’t bode well for something like Shell, Max Minghella‘s campy, body horror ode to trashy escapist 90s cinema that similarly explores the world of ageing in Hollywood and how far someone will go to maintain perfection. With both films screening within a week of each other at this year’s…
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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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Author Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan have made careers predominantly out of their affinity for horror. With The Life of Chuck, they have decidedly pivoted and leaned into another of their shared strengths; broadcasting emotional stories. The result, however schmaltzy it may threaten to be, is a beautiful, weird celebration of life and all…
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Just call her M3GAN Fox. One of the few movies in the last few years of Megan Fox‘s career that actually earned acclaim was the 2021 home invasion thriller Til Death. It is a lo-fi VOD affair that has probably gone largely unnoticed, but it has a fun elevator pitch premise – that of Fox…
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A film that speaks volumes in its silences just as much as it does its audible dialogue, Generations of Men, a powerful new short inspired by Judith Wright‘s book of the same name, is just as much a testament to the strength and resilience of women during colonial times as it is a reminder of…
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Based on the beloved novel by Craig Silvey, Runt is an effortlessly likeable Australian family venture that overcomes any of its cheesiness thanks to an ensemble committed to the cause of providing old-fashioned entertainment There’s some topical themes at bay here under the surface – drought-stricken farmers, real estate corruption – but Silvey’s script never…
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In the last few years Hugh Grant has truly taken pleasure in playing against the grain of expectation he laid upon himself after a career of inhabiting predominantly likeable characters. Arguably starting with his wonderfully committed camp turn as the villainous Phoenix Buchanan in Paddington 2 in 2017, Grant has been on an incline of…
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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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Despite the fact that the recently released trailer made Nightbitch look more like a quirky comedy – think a female-drive, R-rated take on Tim Allen’s The Shaggy Dog – I can attest that Marielle Heller‘s take on Rachel Yoder‘s seemingly unadaptable 2021 novel of the same name is far from the laughable ridiculousness some may…
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Given that the trailer for We Live in Time very much informs audiences that it will be a tale of potential emotional manipulation, with the Nick Payne-penned script basing itself around a family dealing with late-stage cancer, it proves worth the screentime as Brooklyn director John Crowley breathes a certain life into proceedings, aware that…
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Given the imaginative manner he has expressed in his previous work, it makes sense that Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal) would create something like Daniela Forever, a romantic science-fiction tale that adds layer upon layer of artistry to itself that it practically (and unfortunately) comes undone. A little Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a little Inception,…
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At the centre of Gia Coppola‘s The Last Showgirl is Shelley (Pamela Anderson), a 57-year old (though she’ll initially tell you otherwise) Vegas all-girl revue performer whose 30+ years in the Razzle Dazzle show are coming to an abrupt end. But just as Shelley’s tenure is closing, and the uncertainty of life sets in, Anderson’s…
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Not to be confused with Denzel Washington’s 2010 runaway train thriller – or the lesser known 2004 outing from Wesley Snipes – Unstoppable, which marks the directorial debut of editor William Goldenberg, whose credits include such titles as Coyote Ugly, Miami Vice and Air, is a by-the-numbers sports drama that lives by its inspirational hook. …
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Much like how his 2018 psychological thriller Unsane was elevated by it being shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus, Steven Soderbergh is implementing another technological gimmick of sorts in Presence, a ghost story that’s filmed entirely from the point of view of the haunting figure lurking within the walls of a sprawling suburban residence….
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The idea of wanting to be younger and create a more perfect aesthetic version of one’s self is a thought many (if not all) of us have conjured at one point or another. And so often do the two go hand-in-hand, despite the fact that being younger and looking better aren’t always reliant on the…
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Behind every great man is a great woman. Especially if that man is as shrouded in mystery and as reclusive as post-impressionist French painter and printmaker Pierre Bonnard. Bonnard, Pierre & Marthe is as much a character study as it is a love story about the decade-spanning romance between famed painter Pierre Bonnard (Vincent Macaigne)…
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At over 2 hours long, with performances that are predominantly uninspired, and a script that doesn’t delve beyond setting up a narrative solely to off its variety of stock-standard characters, Michael Leavy‘s slasher Stream leaves a lot to be desired. In the same breath, it’s so gloriously gory and committed to not taking itself seriously…
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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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On July 13th, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old loner from Pennsylvania, attempted to assassinate former U.S. President – and current Presidential nominee – Donald Trump. Failing in his intended mission by only wounding Trump, though he did fatally strike one rally attendee before being killed by the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team, the still-unexplained…
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A far deeper, more important film than many may be expecting from what is being sold on the surface, Rich Peppiatt‘s Kneecap speaks to the importance of language preservation within the fictionalised biopic framing of its titular rap group. There’s an undeniable energy to Peppiatt’s direction as he throws an array of substances at the…
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The ocean is already a wild, unbridled space for those of us that can see its dangerous beauty. Such intensity would only be exacerbated when removing the sense of sight, but for Australian surfing athlete Matt Formston it’s his reality, and one that he’s more than willing to exist within. Formston’s impressive athleticism and against-the-odds…
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