Luke Harris
Luke is writing short stories, screenplays and film reviews when he's not at the day job or looking after the needs of his family. So one Powerball...
Abigail Review
In cinemas now, director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Ready or Not, Scream 2022) brings us Abigail. A slick action horror date night movie that delivers comedy, thrills and copious pints of shiraz. After a group of professional criminals kidnap the daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that not all is as it seems. From the get go, this cast is having a lo...
Challengers Review
Tashi, an ambitious and former tennis prodigy is married to a champion (Art) on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband’s redemption takes an unexpected turn when Mike faces off against former best friend Patrick, who is also Tashi’s former boyfriend. Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers brings a ménage à trois to the tennis court, bouncing fast paced romantic drama and comedy across th...
Civil War Review
Writer and Director Alex Garland (Men, Ex Machina) delivers a spectacular, confronting and all too plausible take on a fictional modern conflict gripping the United States of America. Civil War asks, What If? What if the corrupt President (Nick Offerman – The Last of Us) broke all the rules and attempted to create a dictatorship. Abolishing legal process, exempt from prosecution, disbanding ...
Late Night with the Devil Review
“In 1977 a live television broadcast goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.” The premise for Late Night with the Devil is simple. Struggling late night television presenter Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian – Suicide Squad, Dune Part One) attempts to boost ratings by invoking a demon live on late night TV. The execution is a little more complex and this is w...
Before Dawn Review
Inspired by historical war diaries, Jordan Prince-Wright’s West Australian film Before Dawn transports audiences to the harsh trenches of the Somme and beyond, 1916. Starring Levi Millar (Pan, A Wrinkle in Time) as Jim Collins, Travis Jeffrey (Danger Close, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) as Thomas and Myles Pollard (The Turning, Drift) as Sgt Beaufort, Before Dawn swings hard and fast. Landing...
Baghead Review
February is spoken about as the cinematic dumping ground. With studios releasing films they have little confidence in during this period. Enter Baghead. A cookie cutter horror flick which brings nothing exciting or original to the genre. Directed by Alberto Corredor and based on his own short film from 2017, Baghead tells the story of Iris (Freya Allan, The Witcher). A downtrodden young artist who...
The Rooster Review
Writer/Director Mark Leonard Winter brings audiences his debut The Rooster. A contemporary psychological drama set amongst the backdrop of an isolated, Australian forest community. On opening, two things are obvious. One, The Rooster is a visual treat. Masterful shots showcase the gorgeous landscape of rural Victoria. Two, you’re either going to ignore or be frustrated by the often distracting and...
Uproar Review
Uproar brings us the fictional story of misfit Josh (Julian Dennison, Deadpool 2), set against the very real backdrop of New Zealand’s 1981 Rugby protests. Written and directed by Hamish Bennett (Bellbird) and Paul Middleditch (Terra Nova), Uproar is one not to miss. Beautifully shot, with heartbreaking subtext at every turn, driven by exceptional and powerful performances. There’s an undertone of...
Napoleon Review
For anyone not following cinema news over the last year, Napoleon is the latest film by Sir Ridley Scott (Gladiator, The Dualists), starring Joaquin Phoenix, (Joker, 8mm) as the titular emperor and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Empress Josephine. Written by David Scarpa (All the Money in the World), the theatrical version of this sprawling eighteenth century epic follows Bonaparte’s journey as lowl...
Cat Person Review
In cinemas from today (23rd), Cat Person is part cautionary tale and part mirror for participants in the modern dating scene. A serviceable psychological thriller and drama that sticks with you after viewing. It’s not shocking or surprising, the events playing out on screen are mostly predictable as they are humorous. It is the pondering and attempting to understand individual character motivation...
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Review
Francis Lawrence (Catching Fire, Mockingjay films) continues to realise Suzanne Collin’s Panem and the aristocratic machinations of that fictional, dystopian future. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes acts as a prequel to the much loved Hunger Games saga, following an adolescent Corolianas Snow (Tom Blyth- Billy the Kid) as he comes into this world an already downtrodden and bitter individual, with mu...
The Dive Review
In Australian cinemas from today, The Dive poses the question; How far would you push yourself to save another life? Pretty far, as it turns out. Directed by Maximillian Erlenwein on a low budget of $15 million, The Dive is a curious flick. A German/English remake of a Norwegian diving flick sporting the same premise. A pair of somewhat estranged sisters meet up for their ritual dive, a passion in...