Longlegs: the best crime-thriller since The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en?
Longlegs is a deeply disturbing and visceral experience that will leave you reeling. The groundswell for Osgood Perkin’s new horror crime-thriller has swept the globe, opening to big bucks in the US. With grandeous headlines likening it to classics, The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, one could get caught up in the expectation that it will deliver the best crime-thriller film in thirty years. Be warned, because it might not satisfy that genre itch…
Cocaine Bear: A wild ride that doesn't let truth get in the way of a good story
A bear ingests a pile of cocaine and embarks on a drug-fuelled rampage. It’s an intriguing concept. But there’s more to Cocaine Bear, a true tale brought to biting life with much embellishment by director Elizabeth Banks…
Women Talking: All you need to do is listen
Women Talking is a simple narrative, based on a true story, that revolves around a very complex choice: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. Many might slump under the synopsis “women talk for 104 minutes”, but Sarah Polley’s piercing adaptation is never dry, boring or without purpose…
Spoiler Alert, this film will make you cry
Billed as a romantic comedy, Spoiler Alert isn’t romantic, per se, but is a real-life story of two men in love facing inconceivable odds and a terminal illness…
Call Jane: Pre-Roe v Wade period drama points the finger at today
Phyllis Nagy’s timely and motivating period drama, Call Jane, points the finger at the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade by taking us back to the sixties, when women had to plot and sneak for the right to rule over their own bodies…
She Said: Exposing Weinstein and the origins of the #MeToo Movement
It’s been five years since #MeToo went viral, with women around the globe sharing their stories of sexual harassment and abuse, in and outside of the workplace. She Said is the story of how two investigative journalists kickstarted the monumental movement and were instrumental in bringing down one of the most powerful Hollywood producers of the 21st century…
Brutal and bizarre Barbarian will shock horror fans
In Barbarian, a young woman named Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her rental home late at night only to find the house has been accidentally double booked and a strange man, Keith (Bill Skarsgård), is already staying there. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the evening, but soon discovers there’s a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest. From the producers of It, The Grudge and The Ring, Barbarian demands a place on your Halloween movie watch-list…
The Night of the 12th captivates with contrasts and colour
New murder mysteries are abundant this month with Amsterdam, See How They Run and Decision to Leave, but French film The Night of the 12th (La nuit du 12) distinguishes itself from the pack with its sophisticated style – which is both its saviour and executor…
On the Count of Three: gallows and gun humour galore
Stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael has come out all guns blazing with his directorial debut, On the Count of Three. The dark comedy is a story of two deeply troubled friends, Kevin (Christopher Abbott) and Val (Carmichael), who decide to end their lives together. Standing, guns loaded, pistol-to-temple, they back out, choosing to spend one last day tying up loose ends before they call it quits…
Don't Make Me Go: A road trip dramedy that can't find its way
A shocking plot twist can sometimes save the worst of films, but Don’t Make Me Go takes too many wrong turns in the telling of this father-daughter road trip dramedy to find its way home.
Doula: A timely comedy on body autonomy and what to expect when you're expecting
Doula follows expectant parents Deb (Troian Bellisario) and Silvio (Arron Shiver), an unmarried couple who hire their deceased doula's son, Sascha (Will Greenberg), to help them through the final stages of pregnancy. Doula, the first film from Chris Pine's Barry Linen Motion Pictures, is a hearty mix of substance and silliness that is most enjoyable when not trying too hard to be funny...
The true terror of horror Men isn't in its story
Written and directed by Alex Garland, Men is an A24 folk horror film that sounds scarier than it is. The true terror lies in its unsubtle commentary on female trauma told from a mostly male filmmaking team…
Ablaze director Tiriki Onus on filmmaking legacy and stories of strength
Imagine getting a phone call with the news that 70-year-old footage has been discovered proving your grandfather might be the first Aboriginal filmmaker. That’s what happened to performance artist and opera singer Tiriki Onus, whose documentary, Ablaze, tells the fascinating story of filmmaker and activist William ‘Bill’ Onus…
How To Please A Woman flips the script on female pleasure
How to Please a Woman is about more than one woman’s sexual awakening. The dramedy from first-time feature film director Renée Webster will either gratify your needs or rub you the wrong way. Whether you’re the target audience or not, everyone could learn a thing or two…
Why The Drover's Wife is about more than the Legend of Molly Johnson
It’s 1893. The Australian Outback is unforgiving and fearsome. Only, the true beasts aren’t dingoes, bulls or snakes, but white men. The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson is the story of Molly Johnson, a pregnant mother of four who awaits the return of her drover husband at their remote homestead. She will do anything to protect her children… and she does…
The Good Boss: Balancing comedy with capitalist critique
Fronted by the exceptional Javier Bardem, The Good Boss entertains and enrages, achieving an organic balance without tipping the scales. Read on to find out why you should see this Spanish workplace comedy about corruption and misjustice…
Everything Everywhere All At Once is sensory overload in the best way possible
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a sight to behold on the big screen. Visionary directors the Daniels have created a strikingly imaginative, genre-bending film that will be the next generation of filmmakers’ paragon, proving you don’t need a huge budget to create art…
The element of surprise: New Australian documentary rebrands carbon
Do we really know who carbon is? Filmmaker Daniella Ortega explains how her new science documentary, Carbon: The Unauthorised Biography, will transform the way we think about the most discussed, but least understood, element on earth…
Movie Review: It Is In Us All
It Is In Us All is a provoking, yet overly-ambiguous, feature directorial debut from writer-director Antonia Campbell-Hughes that poses a haunting question: what is ‘it’ that sits inside us, waiting to be unleashed?
Movie Review: I Love My Dad
I Love My Dad manages to make you simultaneously cringe and cry with its painful situational comedy and family drama. It leaves you feeling deeply disturbed yet optimistic for these characters and their attempts at reconciliation…