Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s second feature release of the last year is a beguiling three-in-one Lego set of lean, focused short-form storytelling.

Deliberate in pace yet nimble on its toes, After Yang lulls the audience into a world not too distant from the one we live in; serene and serendipitous in its own, melancholic way.

All in all, After Blue (Dirty Paradise) is a wild and weird dreamscape of a film, complete with glowing crystals, high fashion accessories, and no less than 25 mentions of the words “Kate Bush”

The Northman is an unyielding hell song of blood, dirt and firelight. Robert Eggers hasn't changed a bit and it's a blessing to us all.

Like a well thought out stage performance, Dreams on Fire aims not just to thrill, but also to move. Pulsing through its veins is a rich marriage of emotion and style, resulting in a film experience that commands attention, intoxicating the audience with an audio-visual assault on the senses.

One of the defining contentions of the film is who is justified in this situation, or rather who is the true captor and who is the true victim? Is it David, an obsessive programmer who didn’t think of the consequences of his actions? Or is it Al, a supercomputer who didn’t ask to be made but will stop at nothing to be free?

After being rejected for a “game changer” role, Nick Cage takes the job of entertaining eccentric millionaire superfan Javi (Pedro Pascal) at his birthday party in Spain. Things take an action-movie turn when the CIA recruits Nick to spy on Javi as they believe him to be an extremely dangerous cartel kingpin.

I could imagine this movie disappointing many crowds: the hardcore lore-centric fans, people who loved the first one and didn’t want change, people who didn’t like the first one even least a little bit, etc. But I can assure you of two crowds that really enjoyed this movie: children (because Jim Carrey seemingly resurrected The Grinch in this performance), and me. 

While not packing the usual one-two gut punch of most of its horror contemporaries, World’s Fair blends familiar mumblecore, coming-of-age and micro-budget horror elements into a film that’s greater than the sum of its parts, equally unnerving, hypnotic and experimental in the same breath.

Happening is one of those rare films that makes you think just as much as it makes you feel. Its subject matter is intense; a young girl Anne Duchesne becomes pregnant from a one-night stand and is suddenly caught between a painful crossroad wherein one path resigns her to a life of wasted potential and shame, while the other sets her free, only this path appears seemingly impossible to gain access to.

The Good Boss works very well as a corporate satire, with biting insights into how powerful people manipulate those around them in order to maintain said power, but it wouldn’t be the same without the central performance from Javier Bardem, who makes the film endlessly watchable and entertaining.

Some viewers may find Secrets of Dumbledore to be exactly what they want, after all it does offer a fair amount of fan service and proves there is still some fun to be had with this universe, but I can only speak from my personal experience, which was woefully unmoving.

As I was watching this film I couldn’t help but remember a certain A-list celebrity who recently told people to get off their asses and work. Gavel’s film is the perfect response to comments like this; it is just an added bonus that it happens to be an enthrallingly thrilling film too.

The new trend is “villain” films, and like most of its contemporaries, Morbius can’t commit to that promise, nor does it really commit to much else.

Wanting to dip your toes into arthouse cinema, or are you a seasoned veteran looking for something that's out of this world bonkers? Look no further, because from April 21st until May 6th, Fantastic Film Festival Australia is back in town, and it's as bold and beautiful as ever.

At its core the narrative is great on paper: the idea of taking traditionally villainous criminals and attempting to redeem them is ripe with potential, potential reaped by films like last year’s The Suicide Squad, and even Dreamworks’ own Megamind, but it’s the tropes it ends up using to get there that make it feel like it’s largely re-treading familiar ground.

Reflecting on the way one watches this film is as equally important to the viewing experience as what the film contains. And much like its release strategy, the film refuses to make a splash. Rather, its ambience reflects a still and drifting mist that has a soulful and regenerative impact.  

Koyaanisqatsi is a word used by the Hopi peoples of northeast Arizona which literally translates to “corrupted/chaotic life”, though the film prefers to define it as “life out of balance”, among other similar interpretations.

Equal parts The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Boogie Nights, [X] follows a film crew as they stay at an elderly couple’s farm to shoot a pornographic film, unknown to the couple themselves. 

It is a treat to be able to see a movie like this. For such a seemingly introverted artist, like Courtney Barnett, to agree to a project that is so personal, makes this film a must watch for fans. However, Anonymous Club has something for everyone as we get to witness relatable day-to-day struggles from the perspective of a successful international musician.