10 complete unknowns

The Oscars were once the highlight of the cultural calendar, and while their importance has diminished as the entertainment industry has changed, this year’s ceremony will still garner some attention.

Room to dream

Best known for films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive and the hugely influential television series Twin Peaks, American director David Lynch has died at the age of 78.

Introducing Audrey

Would you be better off without your kids? Audrey is a cheeky, darkly humorous film that explores maternal regret

Blair Witch turns 25

This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, a film that popularised the found-footage horror sub-genre, captivated a generation of horror fans and inspired a hundred copy-cats.

In praise of Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland never pigeonholed himself as a certain defined type of actor. He could play goofy, dramatic, scary, intense, subtle, tough or gentle and excelled at them all.

Reality Bites at 30

Here’s something to make you feel old, the Generation X classic Reality Bites has turned thirty years old. The good news is that the film stands up and is as much fun as ever.

Deciphering the monolith

Monolith, a low-budget, high concept science fiction film from first time Australian director Matt Vesely and writer Lucy Campbell, is a triumph of quiet, intelligent film making.

You’ll never find me

The new Australian psychological horror film You’ll Never Find Me is an unsettling and economical chamber piece that makes effective use of its limited location and dialogue-heavy script.

It happened one night – 90 years ago

Frank Capra’s cynical romantic fable, It Happened One Night, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and is well due a critical revisit.

Do look now

Adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s supernatural short story and directed by Nicolas Roeg, Don’t Look Now is a moving and tender portrait of marriage and parental grief, as well as a haunting – and occasionally terrifying – horror film.

A haunting in Venice

A new cinematic adaption of Agatha Christie’s late novel “A Hallowe’en Party” leans heavily into the gothic with a hint of supernatural terror amping up the murder mystery.

The invisible hit

James Cameron’s Avatar was a blockbuster in its day – with people literally queuing around the block to see it – but left little cultural wake, so will its sequel match the hype of its publicity campaign?