Movies
Ka-ching Star Wars deal
Why Disney has scored the deal of the century
KARL QUINN Some thought Disney paid through the nose when it bought Lucasfilm in 2012, but it just might have been the bargain of the century.
Latest reviews All the latest movie reviews
Suffragette
CRAIG MATHIESON It begins with an act of terrorism on the streets of London, but that's not the only contemporary element in this historical tale of the early days of feminism.
Mississippi Grind
JAKE WILSON This is both a beautiful-loser story and a chaste romance between Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds.
The Belier Family
SANDRA HALL The gentle subversion of the uninhibited Beliers has made the film France's most popular this year.
Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
SANDRA HALL The American art collector was also a self-confessed nymphomaniac, this documentary reveals.
Editor's choice
Picture imperfect
Why Hollywood movies are so bad
PAUL BYRNES Hollywood has abandoned high-quality, artistic drama in favour of big-budget, action-based, computer-generated, cookie-cutter movies featuring robots, men in capes, and giant scary machines.
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Why director took 18 years to make a movie
KARL QUINN Jocelyn Moorhouse was living the Hollywood dream when life decided it had other plans for her. Eighteen years on, she's back, and still able to see the funny side.
shooting stars
What Star Wars has done for its stars' careers
KARL QUINN JJ Abrams' reboot could launch careers, but if past form is any indication it could also sink them. Karl Quinn surveys the wreckage of Star Wars cast members past.
Ben Mendelsohn chases the odds
CRAIG MATHIESON Ben Mendelsohn, the mercurial Australian actor whose resurgent career has made him one of the most in demand actors in Hollywood, is grateful for his many successes.
Classic scenes
Star Wars' 10 greatest moments
GARRY MADDOX From "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi" to "Luke, I am your father", the classic scenes in the first three movies.
'We should be bloody proud'
Cate Blanchett's political moment at AACTAs
GARRY MADDOX The two-time Oscar winner made some serious points in her entertaining acceptance speech at the country's main film and television awards.
Triumph of perseverance
Fury Road triumphs at AACTA Awards
GARRY MADDOX The fourth instalment of George Miller's famous series has beaten The Dressmaker to win best film and direction at Australia's premier film awards, the AACTAs.
'Stay out of the kitchen'
A droll Harrison Ford talks about returning as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
GARRY MADDOX The actor who played Han Solo was far from nostalgic when he watched the original Star Wars trilogy before shooting the new instalment.
Short cuts
Simon Baker closes in on cast for Breath, his Tim Winton movie
GARRY MADDOX Simon Baker is close to casting the two central roles of thrill-seeking teenage surfers in his film adaptation of Tim Winton's novel Breath.
All movie stories
Reviewers Awaken
Star Wars: The Force Awakens restores the series' original magic say first reviews
PETER VINCENT 7:44pm The first full reviews are in for the long-awaited return to the big screen by Star Wars, with episode VII, The Force Awakens, and as social media suggested at Thursday's world premiere...
The first Star Wars
Star Wars: Peter Sumner recalls 'a strange little American sci-fi movie'
GARRY MADDOX 4:14pm George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Alec Guinness were all on set when the only Australia worked on the sci-fi classic.
Is Lupita Nyong'o's Star Wars: The Force Awakens character Maz Kanata the new Yoda?
JENNY COONEY CARRILLO 6:01pm Lupita Nyong'o introduces a new Yoda-like character that continues the tradition of women having a strong presence in that galaxy far away.
Outdoor cinema guide
Sun screens: The ultimate guide to outdoor cinema in Melbourne this summer
JAKE WILSON 1:07pm If the sky is clear and the weather balmy, there's not much to beat the experience of watching a movie on the big screen in the outdoors. Here's Jake Wilson's guide to this summer's offerings.
The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Why the M rating is confusing for parents
DEBORAH GOUGH 7:07pm The Star Wars franchise is heavily marketed at children, and yet the film is rated M. What's a parent to do?
'Nature of cinema-going has changed'
Paddington's Palace Verona to add five new cinemas
GARRY MADDOX 4:43pm Sydney's Palace Verona cinema is to get a major upgrade that will take it from four cinemas to nine.
'Big time puker'
Jennifer Lawrence says she vomits regularly from exhausting work schedule
EBONY BOWDEN 10:34am Jennifer Lawrence has spoken about her grueling acting schedule, revealing she regularly vomits from exhaustion.
'Lumos maxima!'
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: First trailer of new J.K. Rowling film released
BHAKTHI PUVANENTHIRAN 8:00am Fans, get your wands. The first teaser trailer for Fantastic Beasts starring Eddie Redmayne is out.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Browser extensions help avoid online spoilers
Hayley Tsukayama 6:32am There are at least two extensions for Google's Chrome browser that will help you stay away from spoilers for the new film.
'Very surreal'
Short Cuts: 'It's crazy' says Australian animator Robertino Zambrano about contending for an Oscar
GARRY MADDOX An unknown Australian short filmmaker is on the shortlist for an Oscar nomination.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: first reactions from the world premiere
GARRY MADDOX Glowing they are.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Carrie Fisher almost misses premiere
SYDNEY, Dec 15 AAP/PA - Security appeared to be so tight at the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Hollywood that one of its biggest stars, Carrie Fisher, almost didn't make it.
Book Council of Australia to be scrapped as $52.5 million cut to arts revealed in MYEFO
Dewi Cooke, Garry Maddox, Linda Morris The Book Council of Australia is gone and $36.8 million will be cut from government-funded galleries and museums under budget-saving measures announced by Treasurer Scott Morrison.
Blockbustered
Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere kicks off in Los Angeles
Stormtroopers marched down The Force Awakens red carpet on Monday, heralding the return of Star Wars.
Anti-Xmas classics
Best Christmas movies for people who usually hate them
KYLIE NORTHOVER Sick of all the glad tidings and the celebrations of comfort and joy on your TV this Christmas season? Relieve some of that festive cheer with one of these Christmas(ish) movies for people who hate Christmas (movies).
Mad Max: Fury Road named top film of 2015 by Online Film Critics Society
Los Angeles Mad Max: Fury Road made a fiery impression on the critics this year.
Quentin Tarantino used Thing score for The Hateful Eight
AAP The unused music for horror classic The Thing was used in new western The Hateful Eight.
The Force Awakens...spirituality
Jedi church says new Star Wars film leading to boom in followers
More than a thousand people a day are signing up as members of the Church of Jediism, leading figures in the organisation said
Mark Wahlberg confirms Transformers 5
KYLIE NORTHOVER It's been rumoured for a while, but the fifth instalment of the blockbuster action franchise Transformers has been confirmed.
Love...actually?
Love Actually writer live-tweets film and reveals what happened to one couple
EBONY BOWDEN The holiday movie that so many love to hate has at least one sad ending.
Hollywood prepares for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere
Hollywood is preparing for what could be the largest movie premiere in its history.
Closing credits
Hateful Eight director Quentin Tarantino talks quitting film
American director Quentin Tarantino says he will only make two more films.
Ali's Wedding: love, duty and comic deception
PHILIPPA HAWKER In a garage location in the north of Melbourne, a familiar situation is playing out in front of the camera, involving two brothers, their father, and a car that needs fixing. Yet so much else is going on beneath the surface: it's a scene that exemplifies, with humour and feeling, family relationships at work. Ali's Wedding, a romantic comedy with a difference, is the story of a juggling act, a tale of love, duty and well-intentioned deceptions, and it's based on the experiences of actor and writer Osamah Sami, who grew up in Australia as the son of a prominent Muslim cleric.
Karl Stefanovic missing from epic Independence Day: Resurgence trailer
KYLIE NORTHOVER It's been two decades and they're back. The much-anticipated trailer for the sequel to the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day has finally been released.
Box office flop
Chris Hemsworth's In the Heart of the Sea bombs at US and Australian box office
EBONY BOWDEN Chris Hemsworth may be one of Hollywood's most in-demand stars, but his new blockbuster In the Heart of the Sea is shaping up as a box office bust.
Luke Skywalker has changed in The Force Awakens, it seems. But how much?
Michael Cavna The moment unfolded 10 years ago, and you watch it realizing that in 2005, as Mark Hamill and JJ Abrams sat across from each other like seeming strangers, they had no apparent inkling about how intertwined their professional destinies would become. But now, that moment ripples with an eerie sense of future fortunes.
The Belier Family (aka La Famille Belier)
A girl who lives with her deaf parents discovers that she has the gift of singing.
Suffragette
The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.
Star Wars: How the boyhood dream of George Lucas became an industry monster
PAUL BYRNES How do we explain the popularity of Star Wars?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens sparks renewed fan fever in Sydney
NICOLE ELPHICK Sarah Hillier still vividly remembers the first time she saw Star Wars. In 1977, aged nine, she watched A New Hope on the big screen at Parramatta's Roxy Theatre. She was left an immediate, life-long convert within the first few moments.
Carrie Fisher gives advice to the cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
JENNY COONEY CARRILLO Surrounded by Star Wars memorabilia, Carrie Fisher is determined to make light of what many lifelong fans consider one of the greatest events in cinema history: the return of the original Star Wars cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Sponsored
Christmas gift guide
Dazzle hard-to-please loved ones this season with these 20 ideas for entertainment lovers.
Columns
Simon Baker closes in on cast for Breath, his Tim Winton movie
Simon Baker is close to casting the two central roles of thrill-seeking teenage surfers in his film adaptation of Tim Winton's novel Breath.
Why Hollywood movies are so bad
Hollywood has abandoned high-quality, artistic drama in favour of big-budget, action-based, computer-generated, cookie-cutter movies featuring robots, men in capes, and giant scary machines.
Trailers
Joy
The true story of the woman who rises to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Hail Caesar!
A Coen brothers comedy about the kidnapping of the star of a 1920s movie, and the Hollywood 'fixer' sent to retrieve him.
Born To Dance
An ambitious young man from Auckland dreams of being a professional hip-hop dancer.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (trailer 3)
Director JJ Abrams picks up the story 30 years after the events of episode VI (film three, 1983's Return of the Jedi).
Downriver
Release from prison, James tries to find the body of the boy he was accused of drowning, for his sake and that of the boy's grieving mother.
The Daughter
A man returns to his hometown after a long departure and discovers the costs of uncovering deeply-buried family secrets. The Daughter opens in Australian cinemas on March 3, 2016.
The Hateful 8
In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Three scouts and lifelong friends join forces with a cocktail waitress to become the world’s most unlikely team of heroes when their peaceful town is ravaged by a zombie invasion.
The Crow's Egg
Two children from the slums of Chennai, India go to extreme lengths to taste some pizza.
The Finest Hours
The remarkable true story of the greatest small boat rescue in US Coast Guard history.
Our Brand Is Crisis
Feature adaptation of a documentary about the use of American political campaign strategies in South America.
Point Break
A young FBI agent infiltrates a team of thrill-seeking athletes suspected of carrying out a spate of daring crimes.
A Month of Sundays
One night Frank Mollard gets a phone call from his mother. Nothing out of the ordinary. Apart from the fact that she died the year before.
