Movies
Sigourney Weaver
Chappie star is a woman of action, not attitude
JENNY COONEY CARRILLO Sigourney Weaver may look intimidating, but Hollywood's first bona fide female action star is a sweetheart in the flesh.
Latest reviews
'71
CRAIG MATHIESON Can an abandoned, beaten and pursued British soldier survive a night on bloodied Belfast streets? It's a nerve-racking watch.
Chappie
CRAIG MATHIESON Neill Blomkamp's new film combines parts from many, far better features, but never raises a pulse.
Top Five
SANDRA HALL In his new movie the comedian plays a funny man struggling with the effects of celebrity in its most concentrated form.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them
PHILIPPA HAWKER Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy's stories come together in film about couple in the aftermath of crisis.
Kidnapping Mr Heineken
PHILIPPA HAWKER A based-on-fact tale about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, this film is, well, a little ordinary.
Inherent Vice
JAKE WILSON Thomas Pynchon meets Paul Thomas Anderson on a like-minded journey to the edge.
Manny Lewis
JAKE WILSON Carl Barron's first big-screen vehicle comes off as a vanity project in the crudest sense.
News, interviews, features
Pain, no gain
Fifty Shades stars paid just $250,000 each
KARL QUINN The stars of the hot film were reportedly paid a pittance, with no share of the massive profits it has made for studio Universal.
Reheating Frozen
Disney refuses to let it go: Frozen 2 a goer
MICHAEL IDATO The US studio Disney has announced plans for Frozen 2, the long awaited sequel to the blockbuster animated film.
Going rogue
First Star Wars spin-off film to be Rogue One
MICHAEL IDATO The first standalone Star Wars film will be titled Rogue One, but other details are thin on the ground.
Ryan Kwanten
Three go wild in Amsterdam
KARL QUINN Ryan Kwanten and fellow Aussies Sam Worthington and Thomas Cocquerel return to the scene of the crime in the based-on-fact Kidnapping Mr Heineken.
Mark Ruffalo
From Hulk to haunted family man
PHILIPPA HAWKER The connections between an oversized superhero and a bipolar father trying to do his best are not lost on Mark Ruffalo.
Carl Barron
Ffinding the funny side of loneliness
GARRY MADDOX Carl Barron didn't have to dig too deep into the research for his first film character, a lonely comedian who mightn't notice the perfect woman even if he fell over her.
Short cuts
Billy Zane shoots Canberra sci-fi movie
GARRY MADDOX Canberra gets a little Hollywood gold dust, while an Australian screenwriter finds his way to China, via France.
In Depp trouble
Johnny Depp injured on Gold Coast
NATALIE BOCHENSKI Johnny Depp will fly back to the US for surgery on his hand after being injured on the Gold Coast last weekend.
Surprise upset
Critics judge Charlie's Country year's best
GARRY MADDOX The country's film critics have given their own take on the contest between The Water Diviner and The Babadook as the best Australian film last year.
Rocky times
The Earth moves for The Rock
MICHAEL IDATO The new trailer for the shot-on-the-Gold Coast disaster pic San Andreas promises devastation on an epic scale.
Hoff we go
Hasselhoff, Jerry Springer in Sharknado 3
The Hoff may have jumped the shark. That is, assuming the former Baywatch himbo hadn't already done so.
Zoolander 2
Zoolander and Hansel strut catwalk in Paris
Derek Zoolander and rival model Hansel have made catwalk appearances for Valentino's show at the Paris Fashion Week, setting off a surprised roar of applause and laughter.
Vale Stuart Wagstaff
Legendary Australian entertainer dead at 90
MICHAEL IDATO One of Australia's best known showbusiness identities, a star of television and the stage, died peacefully at Castlecrag Private Hospital.
Unfit to be PM
Director slams PM over 'lifestyle choice'
GARRY MADDOX The director of Charlie's Country and Ten Canoes calls Tony Abbott's comments "so inappropriate that it's laughable".
This is a knife
'Pirate' threatens Pirates set: police
NATALIE BOCHENSKI A man dressed as a pirate – complete with a parrot on his shoulder – has apparently threatened security at the Pirates of the Caribbean film set on the Gold Coast.
This riot's a riot
Cronulla race riot fuels black comedy
GARRY MADDOX Director Abe Forsythe wants his film about the night after the Cronulla riots to be provocative.
Alan Rickman
Potter alumnus returns to directing
GARRY MADDOX "I'm not above a custard pie in the face": Harry Potter anti-hero Alan Rickman shows his lighter side.
Train crash death
Midnight Rider director pleads guilty
Michael Cieply Producer and director Randall Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Sarah Jones, who was killed by a freight train on the set of his movie.
Now who are you going to call?
Ghostbusters: Male version in the works too
Actor Channing Tatum is teaming up with Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman and star Dan Aykroyd to create a new 'male-driven' film franchise inspired by the supernatural comedy.
Different strokes
Birdman, Whiplash put drums in spotlight
PAUL BYRNES Long the but of jokes and hidden in the shadows, Hollywood has pushed drummers into the spotlight for the first time.
Blockbusters
Two new Lego movies for Animal Logic
GARRY MADDOX The spin-offs Ninjago and The Lego Batman Movie will mean $120 million worth of production.
Foreign invasion?
Making sense of foreign actor visa dispute
KARL QUINN It may soon be open slather for foreign actors in Australian film and television, a change supporters say will spur a boom and opponents insist will kill local jobs. So, who's right?
Scary business
This time you'll pay, Cairnes brothers hope
KARL QUINN Their first featiure, 100 Bloody Acres, was sunk by pirates, but Colin and Cameron Cairnes are doing all they can to ensure their new horror film fares better.
The big zero
It's got Kevin Spacey, so how bad can it be?
PETER MUNRO What does it take for film to score 0 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes? We watch them to find out, so that you don't have to.
From curvey to edgy
Diablo Cody to give Barbie some edge
SARAH THOMAS Teen pregnancy Barbie, anyone? Maybe not but Diablo Cody will be twisting Barbie's story into a 'modern-day Mary Poppins'.
Comic roots
Chris Rock confirms return to stand-up
SARAH THOMAS Comedian Chris Rock has just spent the past three days spruiking his critically acclaimed new film Top Five across Sydney.
Wiseman of the see
Frederick Wiseman uncovers the life of art
PHILIPPA HAWKER Frederick Wiseman's latest offering takes us deep inside the world of London's National Gallery.
Endangered species
The new definition of the Hollywood A-lister
Emily Yahy The era in which a certain actor's name above the credits guaranteed success isn't over, but what underwites that bankability has changed.
Age of Ultron
10 reasons this trailer is the best
MICHAEL IDATO The new trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron, officially the third trailer, provides the best glimpse yet into what is coming.
Early gem
Coppola's 'rough diamond' gets a new ride
ANDREW STEPHENS Dementia 13 was the accidental first outing of a cinema master. At this month's Castlemaine Festival, it is reborn in crazy-brave style.
Getting that buzz
Joaquin Phoenix a man of two faces
JENNY COONEY CARRILLO Joaquin Phoenix is a man of inconsistencies; deriding award shows, then turning up at the Golden Globes, is just the tip of it.
Price correction
Cinema backtracks on $20 tickets
GARRY MADDOX A year after crashing through the $20 ticket barrier, a Sydney cinema has been forced to drop its top ticket price below that threshold again.
Epic Intimacy
Zhang Yimou and Gong Li for ACMI
PHILIPPA HAWKER The collaboration between director Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li will be celebrated in a series of screenings at ACMI.
Thomas Haden Church
Taking the long route to a road movie
PHILIPPA HAWKER It took almost a decade and some help from the late, great Paul Newman, to get Lucky Them off the ground, says its star.
Blade runner redux
Harrison Ford to star in Blade Runner sequel
Soraya Nadia McDonald Alcon Entertainment confirmed on Thursday that Harrison Ford would be reprising his role as Rick Deckard in the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 classic.
Success story
How Sound of Music made critics rethink
MICHAEL IDATO As anyone who watched the Oscars telecast now knows, The Sound of Music has just turned 50.
Great pall
Doc puts focus on Chinese pollution
A documentary investigating the fallout of China's poor air quality drew millions of viewers last weekend, putting a renewed spotlight on pollution as the nation's lawmakers prepare for their annual gathering in Beijing.
McDonald's founder
Keaton to play Ray Kroc in The Founder
SARAH THOMAS The Oscar nominee will play Ray Kroc, the man who turned the McDonald brothers' roadside burger stand into a global phenomenon, in The Founder.
Short cuts
Mel Gibson to direct first film in Australia
GARRY MADDOX Mel Gibson is to make his first film in Australia since Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and his first here ever as a director.
Moomba queen
Pallavi Sharda's quest for Bollywood stardom
LAWRENCE MONEY This year's Moomba queen has her plate full with a budding Bollywood career and a law degree to boot.
Jeff Bridges
The dude, the dreams and the fantasy roles
PHILIPPA HAWKER At 65, Jeff Bridges has no intention to slow down. There are just too many things to keep him occupied for that, including a role in fantasy epic Seventh Son.
Joaquin the line
Phoenix rises, and has very little to say
Andrew Purcell Paul Thomas Anderson does the talking as Joaquin Phoenix takes exception to discussing his role in Inherent Vice.
In Focus
Behind the rise of Margot Robbie
Andrew Purcell Margot Robbie seems to have emerged from noweher, but her brilliant career has been managed with meticulous attention to detail.
Chris Rock
Is that Chris Rock playing himself in Top Five?
ANDREW TAYLOR As pointed and profane as his stand-up gigs, Chris Rock's new film - in which he plays a comic trying to sell a movie - riffs on celebrity, race and hip-hop.
Not so black and white
Critics whip me now; Fifty Shades has a fan
PAUL BYRNES Look beyond the criticisms of Fifty Shades, many from people who haven't seen it, and there's a thematically rich movie waiting to be discovered.
French flicks
French Film Festival offers anti-war comedy
GARRY MADDOX There's a good reason the French Film Festival is the most popular national cinema event on the annual calendar.
Pop Models
Doc lets fashion models speak for themselves
PHILIPPA HAWKER We're more used to ogling their beauty than hearing their thoughts, but some of the most beautiful women in the world are given voice in a new documentary.
Robin Campillo
'You can't expect immigrants to be angels'
GARRY MADDOX A new French film takes a bold approach to a tale about immigration, sexuality and power.
Dornan out?
Dornan leaving Fifty Shades 'conjecture'
Bryan Alexander Jamie Dornan's press representatives have tried to quell the rising rumour storm that the actor will no longer play Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise.
Data dollars
What was Patricia Arquette on about?
MARC MONCRIEF Patricia Arquette struck a nerve with her call for equal pay for women, then struck a raw one with her call for 'people of colour' to get on board. The data suggets she had a point, but only to a point.
Stoush
Power Rangers fan film draws Hollywood ire
MICHAEL IDATO A fan-made film based on the successful Power Rangers films and television series has draw the ire of Saban Brands, the Hollywood company that owns the franchise.
Lisa Daniel
MQFF director looks back on 17 years in role
PHILIPPA HAWKER A queer film festival isn’t just about sexuality. It’s also about seeing great films, says Lisa Daniel.
Short Cuts
Socceroo film, PTA season for Melbourne
GARRY MADDOX The spirit of '74 heads to the big screen; ACMI chief off to a flyer; sing-a-long-a-boom.
Liar Liar
Jim Carrey impersonator fools Czechs
The Czech film academy was left red-faced after being hoaxed into allowing a man impersonating Hollywood funnyman Jim Carrey on the stage as a special guest at its annual awards ceremonies.
Comeback
Pee-wee Herman to return on Netflix
SARAH THOMAS Not only has Pee-wee Herman apparently been forgiven for past misdemeanours, he's back with a number of the sharpest names in comedy behind him.
Obituary
Crocodile Dundee actor Terry Gill, 75, dead
BHAKTHI PUVANENTHIRAN The wife of Terry Gill, actor, singer and playwright has remembered a man that was above all funny.
Hack attack
Sony taps Tom Rothman to head studio
Mary Miliken and Eric Kelsey A veteran film executive behind all-time top-grossing blockbusters Titanic and Avatar will head Sony's movie studio, in a shuffle prompted by the fallout from a cyber attack.
Weighty matters
Dietitians weigh in That Sugar Film
CANDICE BARNES Damon Gameau's experiment on his own body makes for powerful viewing, but how realistic are the impacts he reported?
Imported actors
Changes would 'massacre' local industry
Making it easier to import foreign actors and crew will have a devastaing impact on the local industry, opponoents claim.
Time for pardon
The Imitation Game prompts petition
Sarah Kaplan Gy rights advocates hope to use the film about Alan Turing to achieve the pardon belatedly granted to him, 61 years after his death.
Tim Burton
Tim Burton gets real in Big Eyes
Andrew Purcell In a pointed departure from his usual style, Tim Burton has created a "real movie", a taut psychodrama about painter Margaret Keane.
Margaret Keane
The real-life story behind Big Eyes
BARRY DIVOLA Barry Divola reflects on the day he tracked down the "worst artist in the world", Margaret Keane.
Wicked Cate
Blanchett revels in wicked role in Cinderella
STEPHANIE BUNBURY Playing a malicious stepmother gave the actor scope to test her talents.
JC Chandor
A Most Violent Year inspired by Sandy Hook
NICK MILLER The ripples from the Sandy Hook school shooting moved JC Chandor to write and direct A Most Violent Year.
Ana Lily Amirpour
How to make an Iranian vampire movie
PHILIPPA HAWKER In her debut feature, filmed in America but with dialogue in Farsi, Ana Lily Amirpour creates a dark ghost world.
Laura Poitras
Winning Edward Snowden's trust
PHILIPPA HAWKER Laura Poitras has staked out new territory with her film about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, and she insists there's more to come.
Columns
Lift the ban on Nazi propaganda films to defuse their power
The worst of the Nazi hate movies are still locked away - but the bans aren't working.
Short Cuts: Mel Gibson film to shoot in Australia, Fifty Shades of Grey Power and $20 ticket price takes a hit
Mel Gibson is to make his first film in Australia since Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and his first here ever as a director.
Festivals
Melbourne Film Festival
What's showing at the 2014 Melbourne International Film Festival?
Sydney Film Festival
News, reviews and interviews from the 2014 Sydney Film Festival.
Paul Byrnes' Cannes film festival round-up, part 2
Strange as it may seem to say, the Cannes film festival this year was both a world apart and an accurate reflection of the world at large.
Trailers
San Andreas
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
Cobain Montage of Heck
This acclaimed new documentary about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain promises to reveal the man behind the myth.
Chappie
Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else: he is a robot.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
One couple's story as they try to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organisation.
Infinitely Polar Bear
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Kidnapping Mr Heineken
The inside story of the plan to kidnap beer tycoon Alfred "Freddy" Heineken, which resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
When Tony Stark tries to jump start a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and the Avengers are put to the ultimate test.
Lucky Them
Music critic Ellie Klug is assigned to write a piece about Matthew Smith on the 10th anniversary of his disappearance.
Gemma Bovery
Passionate about Gustave Flaubert, Martin is intrigued by new arrivals Gemma and Charles Bovery.
Trainwreck
Since she was a little girl, it's been drilled into Amy's head by her rascal of a dad that monogamy isn't realistic.
Spy
A desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster.
Poltergeist
When terrifying apparitions attack a family and hold its youngest daughter captive, they must come together to rescue her before she disappears forever.
The Age of Adaline
A young woman, born at the turn of 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After years of a solitary life, she meets a man who might be worth losing her immortality.
Cinderella
Cinderella brings to life the timeless images from Disney's 1950 animated masterpiece in a visually dazzling spectacle for a whole new generation.
Child 44
A disgraced member of the military police investigates a series of nasty child murders during the Stalin-era Soviet Union.
Project Almanac
A group of students build a time machine, chaos ensues.
Black Sea
A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to seek out a sunken treasure lost in the depths of the Black Sea.
True Story
The relationship between journalist Michael Finkel and Christian Longo, an FBI Most Wanted List murderer who for years lived outside the US under Finkel's name.
Manny Lewis
Successful comic, Manny Lewis, finds himself at the height of his popularity and at the depths of his loneliness.
Get Hard
When millionaire James King is nailed for fraud and bound for San Quentin, he turns to Darnell Lewis to prep him to go behind bars.
Magic Mike XXL
Three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life, the remaining Kings of Tampa are likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last time.
Rosewater
A journalist is detained in Iran for more than 100 days and brutally interrogated in prison.
'71
A British soldier finds himself abandoned in Belfast after a street riot.
Escobar - Paradise Lost
In Colombia, a young surfer meets the woman of his dreams - and then he meets her uncle, Pablo Escobar.
A Little Chaos
A female landscape-gardener is awarded the esteemed assignment to construct the grand gardens at Versailles, a gilt-edged position which thrusts her to the very centre of the court of King Louis XIV.
Boychoir
Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school back East after the death of his single mom.
The Walk
The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
