Entertainment news and reviews
Brand new Australian film Don’t Go Below will be released in Australian cinemas in January 2023 and this week we spoke to the film’s director Matt Drummond to find out how much the BlackMagic Design equipment helped with making the film.
You can take a listen to the full interview below:
With the Aussie Ozploitation classic Sons Of Steel about to get a re-release through Umbrella Entertainment this week Dave Griffiths sat down for a chat with the film’s director Gary L. Keady.
Take a listen to the full interview right here:
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).
Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.
Brand new animated series Pantheon is now screening on AMC+ and this week on Subculture we were joined by Craig Silverstein the creator of the show to chat about what fans can expect from the show.
Take a listen to the full interview below:
From New Line Cinema, Dwayne Johnson stars in the action adventure “Black Adam.” The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the DC Super Hero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise”).
Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.
Johnson stars alongside Aldis Hodge (“City on a Hill,” “One Night in Miami”) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi (“Sex/Life,” “Rush Hour 3”) as Adrianna, Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Mummy”) as Ishmael, Quintessa Swindell (“Voyagers,” “Trinkets”) as Cyclone, Bodhi Sabongui (“A Million Little Things”) as Amon, and Pierce Brosnan (the “Mamma Mia!” and James Bond franchises) as Dr. Fate.
Collet-Serra directed from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, screen story by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters from DC. Black Adam was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. The film’s producers were Beau Flynn, Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia, with Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Chris Pan, Eric McLeod, Geoff Johns and Scott Sheldon.
“Black Adam” smashes into theaters and IMAX internationally beginning 19 October 2022 and in North America on October 21, 2022. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Disney+ is pleased to share the thrilling, final “Andor” trailer that debuted at D23 Expo today during the Lucasfilm Hall D23 presentation.
“Andor,” a spy thriller from Lucasfilm filmed over two 12-episode seasons, takes place five years before the events of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The era featured in “Andor” is filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero. “Andor” presents Star Wars from a different perspective, focusing on everyday people whose lives are affected by the Empire. The decisions they make have real consequences, and the stakes for them—and the galaxy—couldn’t be higher.
The series stars Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Fiona Shaw and Faye Marsay. Toby Haynes, Susanna White and Benjamin Caron direct specific episodes, and Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna and Michelle Rejwan executive produce. Tony Gilroy is also the creator and showrunner.
With action, adventure and suspense filmed against a cinematic landscape, the first three episodes of season one premiere exclusively on Disney+ on September 21.
Stan today released the thrilling trailer for the brand new fantasy drama series Vampire Academy, based on the bestselling series of novels and from the creators of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. The series will premiere 16 September, same day as the U.S. and only on Stan.
To watch and share the trailer, click here: https://youtu.be/7K2v-b8Pfhk
Starring Sisi Stringer (Mortal Combat) and Daniela Nieves (WITS Academy) and executive produced by Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Legacies) and Marguerite MacIntyre (The Originals, Legacies) comes a story of friendship, romance and danger.
In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter vampire society. One as a powerful Royal, the other a half-vampire Guardian trained to protect against the savage ‘Strigoi’ who threaten to tear their society apart. That is, if Royal infighting doesn’t do the job first.
The upcoming fantasy series also stars Kieron Moore, Andre Dae Kim, J. August Richards, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Mia Mckenna-Bruce, Rhian Blundell, Jonetta Kaiser and Andrew Liner.
Vampire Academy is adapted from the young adult series of novels by Richelle Mead. The series comes from Plec and MacIntyre, who both serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Plec also directs on the series. Emily Cummins, Don Murphy, Susan Montford, Deepak Nayar and Jillian DeFrehn also serve as executive producers.
The brand new series Vampire Academy premieres 16 September, same day as the U.S. and only on Stan.
The 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF46) is proud to present the Hong Kong premiere of Tales from the Occult, a triptych of creepy tales that explore horrors lurking in the darkest corners of our urban jungle.
Co-directed by Fruit Chan, Fung Chih-chiang, and Wesley Hoi, the Tales from the Occult omnibus comprises three segments – Dead Mall, The Tenement, and The Chink – showcasing the contrasting styles of three local filmmakers from different generations.
Joining producers John Chong and Mathew Tang and directors Chan and Fung at the gala held at PREMIERE Elements tonight is the film’s stellar cast, including Cherry Ngan, Sofiee Ng, Kelvin Kwan, Van Chan, Peter Chan, Paul Che, Deon Cheung, Buber Mak, Cathy Chek, Monnie Li, and Mandy Tam.
Mr Chong said the timing was right to revisit making genre films in Hong Kong with local filmmakers as the pandemic had slowed down the process of setting up co-productions in the mainland. “Matthew and I have prior experience producing omnibus series, and Wesley has provided us with several interesting horror stories,” he said.
“Initially, we wanted to engage only new directors for the project,” Mr Tang added. “But we finally decided to bring in Fruit and Chih-chiang to work with Wesley to enhance the film’s appeal further.”
Taking place until 31 August, the hybrid HKIFF46 features screenings and audience-engagement events in theatres and online. The complete programme and screening schedule are available at HKIFF’s official website (www.hkiff.org.hk).
Rebekah McKendry chats to David Griffiths about her brand new film – the early anticipated Glorious – which will be released on Shudder this week.
Take a listen to the full interview below:
Summary: The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
Year: 2022
Cinema Release Dates: 11th August 2022 (Australia), 18th August 2022 (Thailand), 12th August 2022 (UK), 22nd July 2022 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: TBA
Country: USA, Japan
Director: Jordan Peele
Screenwriter: Jordan Peele
Cast: Hetty Chang (Hetty Chang), Sophia Coto (Mary Jo Elliott), Keith David (Otis Haywood Sr.), Courtney Elizabeth (Mrs. Dolan), Barbie Ferreira (Nessie), Ryan W. Garcia (Sheriff Reyes), Devon Graye (Ryder Muybridge), Roman Gross (Max Park), Alex Hyde-White (Grizz), Eddie Jemison (Buster), Daniel Kaluuya (OJ Haywood), Pierce Kang (Phoenix Park), Jacob Kim (Young Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park), Jennifer Lafleur (Phyllis Mayberry/Margaret Houston), Lincoln Lambert (Kolton Park), Donna Mills (Bonnie Clayton), Ahmad Muhammed (Pastor John), Terry Notary (Gordy), Keke Palmer (Emerald Haywood), Brandon Perea (Angel Torres), Oz Perkins (Fynn Bachman), Andrew Patrick Ralston (Tom Bogan/Brett Houston), Wrenn Schmidt (Amber Park), Michael Wincott (Antlers Holst), Steven Yuen (Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park)
Running Time: 130 mins
Classification: M (Australia), 15 (UK), R (USA)
David Griffiths’ Nope Review:
It is always a weird feeling as a film journalist when you seem to be out of step with the popular belief. Believe me when it comes to filmmaker Jordan Peele I am well and truly out of step with the belief that the guy is some kind of genius who has completely re-invented the horror genre.
I’ve gone back over his films a few times trying to find something in them that sets them apart from the rest of the field, but alas I still see Get Out as an okay horror that trips itself with poorly-executed political statement and Us is a real mess of a film from start to finish. Even with repeat viewing I don’t see the genre re-invention and I certainly don’t see Peele as the genius many herald him to be.
Now comes Nope, a film which I will admit for the first three-quarters drew me right in and for awhile I started to think that finally Mr Peele had created a film that I was going to thoroughly enjoy but then the last quarter was a total let-down complete with a ‘creature’ that looked like it was made out of the leftover materials from a child’s Art & Craft box. A shame because Nope had the basis to be a creative and interesting supernatural flick.
The film itself centres around the brother and sister duo of OJ (Daniel Kaluuya – Black Panther) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer – Hustlers) who are left to run their father’s Hollywood Horse Ranch after his sad demise in a supposed ‘one-off’ tragic event.
The report says that he was killed by items falling from a plane but OJ is not convinced, and while he is in the middle of considering selling the ranch to former child actor and now Western Theme Park owner, Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yuen – The Walking Dead), he is also watching the skies for any other paranormal events.
Soon those other events begin to happen and this time Emerald experiences them as well. Together they realise they can save the ranch if they can just capture the phenomenon on camera and capture what they call an ‘Oprah shot.’ This then brings the UFO-obsessed, tech store worker Angel (Brandon Perea – The OA) who just won’t take no for an answer into the scheme.
The first three quarters of Nope work exceptionally well. For once I found myself drawn into a universe that Peele had created. I cared about the characters at hand and I found myself curious to find out what was behind the events that were plaguing them. In my head I even found myself congratulating Peele for making the wise decision of making Angel an interesting character rather than going for the traditional Hollywood trope of presenting him to the audience as an unrealistic buffoon just there for cheap laughs.
Likewise the secondary storyline of Jupe being a child actor who had survived a wild animal attack on set was creative while hammering home Peele’s subtext that you can’t ever tame a wild beast and a brief look at Hollywood greed.
But while the first three-quarters of the film hold your interest I found that the last quarter seems to completely unravel. I found that Peele’s subtext and secondary storyline just went completely out the window, what should have been a huge action set-piece that cemented this film in my brain forever was kind of lame while the ‘creature’ reveal was probably one of the biggest disappointments that you will experience in cinema this year. When you consider how amazing the first part of this film was it becomes a real shame that the film just seemed to peter out towards the end.
My big saving grace from this film though is the performance of Keke Palmer. Palmer stills the show with her performance and I’ll admit that there were times during the film where the focus was on OJ and I was wishing we were following what Emerald was doing. That is through no fault of Kaluuya because it is easy to see that Peele’s screenplay called for him to play OJ as a deadpan character, he just happens to be playing alongside an actress that puts in an amazing performance and makes the film her own.
I will say that I enjoyed Nope a lot more than I did Get Out and Us. This time there basis was really there for a film that seemed to be a cross between The X-Files and Signs and I really do feel that if the last act had been as good as the rest of the film I would probably be telling you right now that it is one of the films of the year. Instead though what I will say is that Nope is an okay film but don’t expect to reach the great heights that many of you will expect.
Dave’s rating Out Of 5
Alex First & Peter Krausz’s Nope Review:
Alex’s rating Out Of 5
Peter’s rating Out Of 5
Average Subculture Rating:
Other Subculture Nope Reviews:
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Trailer: