Film & TV

Film Review: Dead of Winter; Emma Thompson is an unlikely action heroine in mature, tense thriller

Director Brian Kirk manages to set quite the tone within the first minutes of his icy thriller Dead of Winter, with Emma Thompson‘s Barb navigating the snowy environment in the isolated Minnesotan wilderness she has ventured into to spread the ashes of her recently deceased husband. The emotionality conjured through Barb’s motivation offsets the terrifying…

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Interview: Director Gurinder Chadha on reimaging a seasonal classic through a musical lens with Christmas Karma

Gurinder Chadha is one of Britain’s most distinctive filmmakers, known for telling stories that reflect the rich diversity of modern life.  She broke through internationally with Bend It Like Beckham, and has since directed a string of much-loved films, including Bride and Prejudice, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, and Blinded by the Light.  Her work is marked by warmth,…

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Film Review: Eleanor the Great; Scarlett Johansson’s meditation on grief is poignant and profound

One of the most poignant lines of Eleanor the Great is “Talk about the things that make you sad,” and it’s with such a notion that Scarlett Johansson‘s affecting dramedy takes it on as a throughline.  A film that so easily could have been about deception becomes something far greater and more profound, transforming itself…

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Series Review: Ghosts: Australia is a clever transposition of a modern comedy classic – even if the jokes sometimes don’t quite land

When Ghosts: Australia was announced, it might be fair to say that the idea was met with some trepidation. There have been numerous examples of comedy hits in one country failing to impress when adapted for another – anyone remember when they tried to do an American version of Kath and Kim? Yet Ghosts, based on the…

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Interview: He Had It Coming creator Gretel Vella and Jungle Entertainment Producer Chloe Rickard on their odd couple crime comedy series

Produced by Jungle Entertainment with major production investment from Screen Australia, He Had It Coming is an odd couple comedy-drama of two women accidentally entangled in a murder mystery when their spontaneous feminist art activism is co-opted by a killer. Now streaming on Stan Australia, where it’s immediately raced into the Top 10 current most-streamed series,…

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Film Review: Sisu: Road to Revenge; bloody action speaks louder than words in risible, near-silent sequel

They often say actions speak louder than words. So it’s entirely fitting that the dialogue is minimal in Sisu: Road to Revenge, Jalmari Helander‘s brutal, gloriously implausible follow-up to 2022’s surprise success Sisu. Following relatively the same structure as its predecessor, the sequel (Sisu is a Finnish word-blend of strength, resilience, willpower, and grit) once…

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Film Review: Blue Eyed Girl; Marisa Coughlan confidently navigates relatable coming-of-mid-age dramedy

When we think of coming-of-age stories, so often is it pictured as a teen or young adult navigating their life towards a sense of maturity. The truth is though, such a term can really be applied to anyone who is experiencing a reset in their life – whether it’s emotional, professional or psychological – which…

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Interview: Marisa Coughlan on writing the personal Blue Eyed Girl and trusting the process of releasing it to the world

When Jane Messina returns home to visit her two sisters and her ailing father, she’s forced to re-evaluate her life, and to wonder what could have been. Blue Eyed Girl is a coming-of-age story at forty-something, not fifteen. It’s about midlife and marriage, chasing dreams, letting go of regrets, and most of all, reconciling who…

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Interview: Josh Hutcherson on returning for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2; “A lot of attention was put on making something that the die hard fans are going to completely love.”

They’re not just at Freddy’s anymore. In 2023, Blumhouse’s box-office horror phenomenon Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the blockbuster game series by Scott Cawthon, became the highest-grossing horror film of the year. Now, a shocking new chapter of animatronic terror begins in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. One year has passed since the supernatural…

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Interview: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 director Emma Tammi on “bigger, scarier” sequel and catering to the passionate fanbase

They’re not just at Freddy’s anymore. In 2023, Blumhouse’s box-office horror phenomenon Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the blockbuster game series by Scott Cawthon, became the highest-grossing horror film of the year. Now, a shocking new chapter of animatronic terror begins in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. One year has passed since the supernatural…

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Everything coming to Prime Video Australia this December

Prime Video Australia are the gift that keeps on giving this festive season, with the streamer announcing their December slate to ensure their viewers will be entertained all the way into the new year. From anticipated series returns to Christmas comedies, NBA championships to some modern classics, here’s a look at everything you can stream…

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Interview: Charles Venn on returning for another powerful chapter of fan favourite series Casualty

After two years of being off Aussie screens, BritBox is bringing back the long-running UK soap and fan-favourite drama Casualty, much to fans’ delight. Leading the cast is Charles Venn (EastEnders, The Dark Knight), who returns to the drama as Jacob Masters, the direct, confident, unconventional former army medic-turned-nurse who, for over a decade now, has proven one of…

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Film Review: Wicked: For Good; thrillifying sequel is a more emotional affair celebrating the beauty of female friendship

“And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend…” And in that one line of lyricism, songwriter Stephen Schwartz perfectly encapsulates the bittersweet mentality of Wicked: For Good, the suitably thrillifying conclusion to last year’s cultural phenomenon, Wicked. With a large subsect of audiences somewhat uninitiated in…

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Interview: Shiva Negar and Peter Facinelli on the importance of their domestic abuse drama Deadly Vows

Inspired by true events, Deadly Vows is a gripping thriller about love turned lethal. After fleeing the Iran Iraq war, Darya (Shiva Negar) begins a new life in Los Angeles and is swept off her feet by the charming Sam Lebon (Peter Facinelli). But behind his promises of safety lies a violent darkness. As their…

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Film Review: Trap House; Dave Bautista’s kinetic actioner is surprisingly layered with a tender edge

Despite the fact that it’s directed by Michael Dowse (Stuber) and comes from a story credit by Gary Scott Thompson (The Fast and the Furious), Trap House manages to not entirely fall into the familiar action genre tropes both creatives have expressed before. It isn’t shaking up the ground in any manner, but its blend…

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Interview: Trap House director Michael Dowse and star Kate del Castillo on grounding their action film and navigating grief on screen

El Paso DEA Agent Ray Seale (Dave Bautista) and his team infiltrate a drug trafficking operation run by notorious cartel boss ‘Guzman’. But things go wrong and one of his team is shot and killed. In the aftermath, the slain agent’s son, Jesse (Blu del Barrio), is devastated and struggles financially having to move back…

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Interview: Trap House stars Whitney Peak, Zaire Adams and Blu del Barrio on their heist film and new generational visibility

El Paso DEA Agent Ray Seale (Dave Bautista) and his team infiltrate a drug trafficking operation run by notorious cartel boss ‘Guzman’. But things go wrong and one of his team is shot and killed. In the aftermath, the slain agent’s son, Jesse (Blu del Barrio), is devastated and struggles financially having to move back…

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Film Review: Osgood Perkins’ Keeper is an uncomfortably frightful ‘cabin in the woods’ horror

Osgood Perkins, the auteur who brought us last year’s Longlegs and, most recently, the sheer lunacy of The Monkey, has delivered us straight back into evil with Keeper. After barely dating, Liz (Tatiana Maslany) agrees to join her boyfriend, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), at his remote cabin in the woods. It’s not really her style, but…

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Interview: Exit Protocol director Shane Dax Taylor and actors Stephanie Beran & Michael Jai White on finding their action language

A notorious hitman who made a career killing other assassins, wants out. But walking away is not an option. Now marked for death, he unexpectedly finds himself partnering with a former target to outrun his boss. Directed by Shane Dax Taylor, and headlined by action legends Scott Martin and Dolph Lundgren, Exit Protocol is an…

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Film Review: In Your Dreams; Netflix’s new family adventure is magical, wonderous viewing

There’s a Pixar-like wonder to In Your Dreams that helps this particularly sweet family adventure film feel like it’s somewhat of a classic – despite the fact that it’s freshly releasing on Netflix as perfect programming for the impending holiday season. Embracing a mentality that likens it to the types of family films we saw…

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A teaser trailer for a long awaited sequel? Groundbreaking! The Devil Wears Prada 2 releases anticipated first look

“Took you long enough.” A fitting wink to the two decades Prada fans have waited, Meryl Streep‘s Miranda Priestly relays the sentiment to Anne Hathaway‘s Andrea Sachs in the hotly anticipated teaser trailer for next year’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, a sequel to 2006’s award-winning The Devil Wears Prada. Are Miranda and Andrea now…

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Interview: Mary Bronstein on embracing the divisive nature of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You; “I wanted to make a movie where there’s no wrong answer.”

With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Such is the logline for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein‘s confronting, darkly comedic meditation on motherhood that has been winning…

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Film Review: If I Had Legs I’d Kick You; Rose Byrne delivers a career-best performance in exhausting, unforgettable meditation on motherhood

Motherhood might be the most fulfilling, yet thankless role to be taken on in life. And it’s the job of being a mother that Mary Bronstein uncomfortably showcases in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, where Linda (Rose Byrne, who delivers a career best turn here) embodies how taxing – emotionally, physically, and mentally…

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Interview: Playdate director Luke Greenfield on merging spontaneous comedy and emotional resonance

When recently unemployed accountant Brian (Kevin James) agrees to a playdate with charismatic stay-at-home dad Jeff (Alan Ritchson) and their sons, he expects an easy afternoon of small talk and football tossing. Instead, he’s thrust into a chaotic scramble to stay alive as they are pursued by a ruthless team of mercenaries. Brian stumbles through…

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Film Review: Playdate; Alan Ritchson’s wild comedic turn will make you want to RSVP to Prime’s latest action escape

With his imposing size and gruff delivery, it makes sense that Alan Ritchson has become so synonymous with the character of Reacher. It’s also why it’s such an inherent joy to see him considerably let loose in Playdate, a simple action-comedy that reminds us that the actor is quite a gifted, goofy comedian. He’s the…

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Film Review: The Running Man; Glen Powell dominates entertaining, if disjointed, actioner

The Running Man is a film that feels as if it’s caught in the middle of two very distinct personalities. So much of the film’s DNA comes from its original source material, Stephen King‘s 1982 novel of the same name (written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), a dystopian commentary piece set in a futuristic America,…

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Interview: The Beldham star Katie Parker and director Angela Gulner on navigating emotional truth in the guise of a horror film

Struggling new mother Harper (Katie Parker) moves in with her own mother to renovate a fading suburban farmhouse. The two are joined by her mother’s new boyfriend and a mysterious live-in home aide, both who claim to be dedicated to Harper’s postpartum care. But a sinister presence lurks within the house…one that has designs on…

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Film Review: The Beldham is a more emotional horror project, reveling in its allegorical devastation

Though there feels like a certain familiarity within the genre beats Angela Gulner navigates with The Beldham, an allegorical horror film about postpartum and generational cycles, the more Gulner’s script reveals itself, the clearer it becomes that this is a far more personal, deep-rooted drama than it is any type of haunted house or villainous…

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Win a double in-season pass to see Glen Powell as The Running Man

Thanks to Paramount Pictures Australia and Superdream, we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to Edgar Wright‘s adaptation of The Running Man, starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo. In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days…

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Interview: William Shockley on the fingerprint he wants to leave with his directorial debut Long Shadows; “Goodness must lead the way.”

Set in the fading days of the Wild, Wild West, Long Shadows follows a lone young drifter driven by a single purpose: to avenge the brutal murder of his parents. Hardened by loss yet yearning for something beyond vengeance, his path unexpectedly shifts when he discovers love and the possibility of a new beginning. But…

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