Of the Australian movies that reach other shores, most show a sense of craft that reaffirms just what thrillers can accomplish. From the past six years alone: Animal Kingdom, The Rover, Snowtown, Mystery Road, The Mule – and more – have all helped refine genre elements into something approaching a total national mastery. Sadly, the newest export, Strangerland, doesn’t enter the same league – or even the leagues below – such great fare, but it does boast a terrific performance or two, and an overbearing sense of mystery and dread that should keep even the most hungry genre hounds happy.
Author: Gary Green
Unabashed lover of Pitch Perfect. Also freelance film critic.
Queen of Earth – Review
Illumining the screen with the crackly grain you’d find on a decades-old film reel, Queen of Earth slingshots us into the centre of a relationship bluntly hitting its endpoint. We’re swiftly introduced into the mind of Elisabeth Moss’ Catherine, a darkened playground where the roundabouts are endlessly turning by themselves. Her own fragility is the movie’s bedrock, which will begin to crack underneath the enormous pressures of modern life – but if she locks herself away with a close friend, perhaps she can escape the maelstrom and perhaps even escape back to a happier time. This Persona-style chamber piece is an extraordinary feat of acting and moviemaking, a psychological game of Connect Four that at once holds its secrets close to its chest, and exposes its emotion like a live wire.
Morgan – Trailer 2
A corporate risk-management consultant has to decide and determine whether or not to terminate an artificial being’s life that was made in a laboratory environment.
Ansel Elgort in talks to join Dungeons & Dragons
Remember the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons film? No? We can’t blame you: it was an atrocious mess of a movie, and is best left forgotten. But with a new one on the way, it’s now hoping to attach a rather cool talent: Ansel Elgort.
The Legend of Tarzan – ‘Conquer’ video
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.
Steven Spielberg has taken out most of the references to his films in Ready Player One
Ready Player One is a novel which loves ’80s pop culture, and as you’re probably aware, Steven Spielberg is a big part of ’80s (and ’70s, and ’90s, and ’00s) pop culture – so when it was announced that he would direct the adaptation of Ready Player One, which takes place in a virtual reality simulation called the OASIS, the question as to whether he would reference his own films was brought to light.
American Pastoral – Trailer
Set in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter’s new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.
Rogue One director and producer talk about the reshoots
When it was revealed that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would be going into major reshoots, the film community jumped into full-on speculation mode. This is Star Wars, after all, so director Gareth Edwards and producer Kathleen Kennedy would have expected mass hysteria at such an announcement. In some kind of damage control, both filmmakers spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the rumours regarding the reshoots, and if they really spelled trouble for the production.
Is Justice League now only going to be a single movie?
As part of a set visit on Justice League, directed by Zack Snyder, some interesting information was uncovered. We can rest assured that the movie will be lighter and funnier in tone than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and before that, the first instalment in the planned two-movie Justice League would be simply titled, ‘Justice League‘ – no ‘Part One’ or any other subtitle. And now, speaking with Slashfilm, it looks like producer Deborah Snyder has revealed it will only be one film.
Independence Day: Resurgence – ‘Bigger Than the Last One’ clip
Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind’s new space defenses be enough?