2015 Summer Blockbuster Preview

Superheroes, dinosaurs, time-travelling robots and topless male strippers; the 2015 summer blockbuster season has something to suit all tastes. From now until the end of August, all manner of big-budget films will burst onto cinema screens and delight audiences across Australia and the world. 

From Avengers: Age of Ultron to Jurassic World and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, here's a rundown of everything to expect over the next few months. And yes, I know it's technically winter but I still refer to these movies as 'summer movies'; force of habit I suppose!

Trailer Talk: The Force Awakens #2

Trailer Talk is a regular feature where I delve into some of the hottest previews to have the hit the Interwebs and see what all the fuss is about. This week, we're talking just one trailer in particular - the second teaser for JJ Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

60 Second Film Reviews #18

Quick movie reviews, without the waffle. 60 Second Film Reviews is a regular feature where I compile together brief reviews of recent films I've watched at home or at the movies - and generally couldn't be arsed didn't find time to write a proper review for.

On the slate this month is political thriller Kill The Messenger, uplifting British drama Pride and WWII tear-jerker Unbroken. 

Film Review: Home

Home is the latest animated offering from Dreamworks Animation, the studio that brought us fantastic family films such as How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda and Shrek. 

Featuring the voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez, Home is about a loveable alien named Oh (Parsons) who singlehandedly dooms the Earth to destruction at the hands of an evil alien race, the Gorgs.

Breaking the Origin Story Cycle (VOR)

Spider-man, Batman and Superman. Three superheroes whose beginnings and backstory we’re all familiar with, unless of course you’ve been living under a giant Kryptonite rock for your whole life.

And herein lies the problem - we all know these stories. Over the last two decades, comic-book characters have exploded from the pages of dusty books stored away in basements and propelled themselves into the wider cultural zeitgeist. So why do studios constantly insist on retelling these 'origin stories' again and again?

Film Review: Fast and Furious 7

"One last ride"

Director: James Wan 

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster

Runtime: 137 minutes

SPOILER ALERT! Seriously, there are lots of spoilers in this film. Y'know, the kind attached to the back of a car? 

That's it, that's the best I've got. Moving swiftly onward, here's my review of Fast and Furious 7.

Is Original Sci-Fi Stuck in a Tailspin? (VOR)

2015 hasn't been an easy year for science fiction so far. Three months in and the outlook for the genre isn't looking rosy - two high profile flops in the form of Jupiter Ascending and Chappie have underlined how risky it can be to produce a wholly original piece of science-fiction when audiences are so comfortable gorging on a steady-diet of unfunny Will Ferrell comedies and reimagining of classic Disney princesses.

Does this mean that original science fiction doesn't have the foothold it once did in cinema? Can the genre have the same impact and success as it once did, or is it stuck in a tailspin?

Film Review: Maps To The Stars

Maps to the Stars is the latest film from director David Cronenberg (The Fly, A Dangerous Method). It's a satirical drama film about the inner-workings of Hollywood and it stars Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson and John Cusack.