Two of Australia’s favourite stars have joined Tinseltown’s elite voicing the characters of ‘Mark’ and ‘Keith’ two hapless guinea pigs in the Australian version of the upcoming animated action-adventure film, joining Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski and Keanu Reeves.
In “DC League of Super-Pets”, Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack – Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle and Chip the squirrel – to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the superheroes.
No superhero story is possible without a nemesis or two, so the film’s roster of villains includes Lulu the telekinetic guinea pig, hell bent on exacting her own brand of justice. An all-powerful evil genius with an army of mutant guinea pigs, who better than Australia’s favorite vet Dr Chris Brown and comedy queen Julia Morris to give voice to the fluffy, fiery furballs of fire and ice.
A somewhat reluctant duo at times, Mark – voiced by Brown – is a flying, flaming fire-breather while Keith – voiced by Morris – is a frozen rodent with ice in their veins. Together, they help Lulu carry out her sinister plot to kidnap the Justice League and fight the Super-Pets, reaping mayhem across Metropolis.
From Dr Chris Brown:
It’s a bit of a dream to be involved in a DC film. And as someone who already gives voices to just about every animal they meet, playing the role of a guinea pig with superpowers feels a lot more normal than it probably should!
Julia Morris said:
Well, I’ve been described as super and been described as a pet but never in the same sentence. I could not be more thrilled to be part of this global extravaganza! How completely exciting to do it alongside my beloved Dr. Arm in arm or paw in paw.
Stan today released the teaser and first look images for the brand new series Dangerous Liaisons, a reimagined take on the 18th century novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Lacios, premiering 6 November, same day as the U.S and only on Stan.
Starring Alice Englert (The Power of the Dog)and Nicholas Denton (Glitch),Dangerous Liaisonsis a bold prelude to Laclos’ classic 18th century novel focusing on the origin story of how his iconic characters, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, met as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of the revolution.
This modern take on a classic story takes audiences through wonder and terror, beauty and degradation, seduction and deception in pre-revolutionary Paris. Driven to right the wrongs of their past, the young couple’s survival depends on their skills of seduction and manipulation of not only the French nobility but of each other. Alice Englert and Nicholas Denton portray the notorious lovers: Camille, who is taken in by the current Marquise de Merteuil (played by Lesley Manville,The Crown), navigates her own path in a world of men, using the power of secrets to take back control; and Valmont, who will stop at nothing to regain his title that was recently taken from him. Their on-again off-again love story is the heart of the series. It’s not love… it’s war.
The series also stars Kosar Ali (Rocks), Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones), Hilton Pelser (Glasshouse), Fisayo Akinade (Heartstopper), Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones), Nathanael Saleh (The Last Bus), Colette Dalal Tchantcho (Domina), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Tom Wlaschiha (Stranger Things).
The series is produced for STARZ by Playground and Flame Ventures in association with Lionsgate Television. It was created and written by Harriet Warner, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer. In addition to Warner, Colin Callendar (Playground), Tony Krantz (Flame Ventures), Scott Huff, Bethan Jones, and Christopher Hampton also serve as executive producers. Barney Reisz serves as producer.
The brand new series Dangerous Liaisons premieres 6 November, same day as the U.S. and only on Stan.
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)
OUR NOPE REVIEWS
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.
Heavy horror punk icon WEDNESDAY 13has slithered his way to the top of the horrendous heights of rock, punk and metal with his electrifying solo music and as frontman of renowned horror punk supergroup Murderdolls, amassing a colossal cult-following along the way. On October 7, 2022, the undisputed harbinger of metal horror returns, following up on 2019’s acclaimed Necrophaze (#2 US Heatseekers) with Horrifier – a brand new slathering of 11 terrifyingly grim and groovy anthems to get blood pumping and brains melting!
Showcasing a blend of styles plucked from the band’s 20-year career, Horrifier weaves an underlying sonic thread reminiscent of WEDNESDAY 13’s roots – a raucous blend of ballistic metal and macabre heavy rock that’ll have new and diehard fans alike ascending from the depths. As always, various tracks on the album are inspired by classic horror flicks, this time circling cult-favorite slasher John Carpenter’sHalloween and the iconic Christine supernatural thrillers.
Today, get a first listen to Horrifier with the album’s first single, “You’re so Hideous”, out now and accompanied by an Exorcist inspired official music video! The track stuns with danceable 90s sonic flavor, a sing-a-long chorus and an unforgettable lead riff that is sure to be heard at venues this fall!
WEDNESDAY 13 says about “You’re so Hideous”: “’You’re so Hideous’ is such a catchy track and it’s one of the very first ones I wrote for the album. Lyrically, it’s a modern day Medusa story… Beware the stare into her eyes. The music video was of course inspired by the Exorcist film and was a lot of fun recreating that.”
Heavy horror punk icon WEDNESDAY 13has slithered his way to the top of the horrendous heights of rock, punk and metal with his electrifying solo music and as frontman of renowned horror punk supergroup Murderdolls, amassing a colossal cult-following along the way. On October 7, 2022, the undisputed harbinger of metal horror returns, following up on 2019’s acclaimed Necrophaze (#2 US Heatseekers) with Horrifier – a brand new slathering of 11 terrifyingly grim and groovy anthems to get blood pumping and brains melting!
Showcasing a blend of styles plucked from the band’s 20-year career, Horrifier weaves an underlying sonic thread reminiscent of WEDNESDAY 13’s roots – a raucous blend of ballistic metal and macabre heavy rock that’ll have new and diehard fans alike ascending from the depths. As always, various tracks on the album are inspired by classic horror flicks, this time circling cult-favorite slasher John Carpenter’sHalloween and the iconic Christine supernatural thrillers.
Today, get a first listen to Horrifier with the album’s first single, “You’re so Hideous”, out now and accompanied by an Exorcist inspired official music video! The track stuns with danceable 90s sonic flavor, a sing-a-long chorus and an unforgettable lead riff that is sure to be heard at venues this fall!
WEDNESDAY 13 says about “You’re so Hideous”: “’You’re so Hideous’ is such a catchy track and it’s one of the very first ones I wrote for the album. Lyrically, it’s a modern day Medusa story… Beware the stare into her eyes. The music video was of course inspired by the Exorcist film and was a lot of fun recreating that.”
Southern Californian death/thrash battalion EXMORTUS has officially joined the roster of metal’s heaviest label Nuclear Blast Records. In addition to the signing announcement, the band is giving fans a taste of their highly-anticipated next album with the single ‘Oathbreaker,’ which is available for streaming now and accompanied by the music video created by Wayne Joyner (DREAM THEATER, DEVIN TOWNSEND).
Commenting on the signing, founding guitarist Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez says:
“We are very excited to announce that our upcoming album will be our first with Nuclear Blast as our new label. We’re working with them to bring you what we consider to be our best album yet!”
Adding about the single, Conan states:
“‘Oathbreaker’ is the perfect teaser for the new album. Not only is it fast, heavy and filled with shred, but it’s inspired by Tolkien’s haunting lore of the Dead Men of Dunharrow in the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. While our previous work focused more on the heroic aspect of fantasy and sword & sorcery, this album expresses the darker side with tragic heroes and horrors of humanity. Enjoy the new track cause we feel it belongs in our setlists for years to come!”
As three-time Grammy-nominated hard rock quartet NOTHING MORE gear up to hit the road later this month alongside IN THIS MOMENT, the band have shared a fourth new track, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT LOVE MEANS,” from their upcoming album SPIRITS – out October 14 and available for pre-order now.
The impassioned song examines what happens when one tries to make a one-sided relationship work with all-too-real lyrics— “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, there’s no rest, there’s no peace”—which leads into frontman JONNY HAWKINS’ fervently belting out its chorus, “You don’t know what love means, and it’s killing me.”
As three-time Grammy-nominated hard rock quartet NOTHING MORE gear up to hit the road later this month alongside IN THIS MOMENT, the band have shared a fourth new track, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT LOVE MEANS,” from their upcoming album SPIRITS – out October 14 and available for pre-order now.
The impassioned song examines what happens when one tries to make a one-sided relationship work with all-too-real lyrics— “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, there’s no rest, there’s no peace”—which leads into frontman JONNY HAWKINS’ fervently belting out its chorus, “You don’t know what love means, and it’s killing me.”
It’s time for another deep dive into the horrors of mortality and the foul side of the supernatural – it’s time for “Survival Of The Sickest”! The sixth full-length album from BLOODBATH, Sweden’s undisputed masters of old school death metal, will be unleashed on September 9, 2022 via Napalm Records.
This is death metal at its ugly best: vicious, unrelenting and irrevocably sworn to the black. After smashing the thrashing death metal assault and album opener “Zombie Inferno” out to the masses, BLOODBATH have just released another new burner, entitled “Carved”, featuring none other than Luc Lemay (Gorguts). Without any doubt, the relentlessly heavy track will ensnare the minds of new fans and thrill longtime supporters, aiming to turn intestines outwards in preparation for another irrevocable BLOODBATH!
Jonas Renkse on “Carved“:“If you’re a subject to human experiments performed by the sickest surgeon, you may not have the time to suffer a thousand deaths, but one thing is for certain: YOU’RE CARVED.”
The world is in flames, and “Survival Of The Sickest”, produced by BLOODBATH and co-produced and mixed by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound Studios, offers no respite from the horrors of reality. Instead, with the addition of new guitarist Tomas ‘Plytet’ Åkvik (Lik) onboard, BLOODBATH’s latest and greatest album gleefully confronts the slavering ghoul lurking in the shadows, and treats him to ten songs of ripping death metal frenzy. Alongside BLOODBATH’s official alumni, “Survival Of The Sickest” boasts a smattering of irresistible cameos from the great, good and ghoulish of the metal underground, including Barney Greenway (Napalm Death), Luc Lemay (Gorguts) and Marc Grewe (Morgoth). From the thuggish brain-smash of opener “Zombie Inferno” to the bleak, obsidian ooze of closer “No God Before Me”, “Survival Of The Sickest” is the sound of a great band in blistering form. In contrast with The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn, which borrowed heavily from the blackened end of the death metal world, the new BLOODBATH goes straight for the jugular in true old school fashion. With strong echoes of everything from Morbid Angel and Death to Deicide and Obituary, songs like the rampaging “Putrefying Corpse”, the disgustingly slow and heavy “Dead Parade”, and the deliciously twisted “Tales Of Melting Flesh” breathe fresh fire into an arcane, perpetually rotting formula.
Formed by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström (both of KATATONIA), Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) and Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity) in 1998, BLOODBATH devoted themselves to resurrecting the increasingly forgotten art of pure death metal. In 2014, they unveiled a new frontman – legendary Paradise Lost vocalist Nick Holmes, now redubbed Old Nick – and yet another macabre musical evolution. With this new line-up, the only way to go was grim. On “Survival Of The Sickest”, BLOODBATH evoke their most horrifying sonic scenarios to date, from the death-by-munching nightmare of “Malignant Maggot Therapy”, to the murderous nihilism of “Affliction Of Extinction”.
A glorious comeback from a legendarily wicked musical force, “Survival Of The Sickest” provides yet more proof that BLOODBATH are the kings of the old school. BLOODBATH add:“If there was a declaration of goods attached to this album, it would say Florida death metal exported from Sweden.”
