After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Golden Globe nominated electropop sensation Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André; Sing 2), Spruce (Grammy winner Daveed Diggs; Hamilton) and Clay (Grammy winner Kid Cudi; Don’t Look Up). BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hasn’t seen his brothers since.

But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains—Velvet (Emmy winner Amy Schumer; Trainwreck) and Veneer (Grammy winner and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells; The Book of Mormon)—Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

Featuring Trolls’ signature psychedelic joy-bomb of new and classic pop hits, Trolls Band Together stars a dazzling cast of musical superstars and comedic powerhouses as new franchise characters, including four-time Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner Camila Cabello (Cinderella) as Viva; Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) as Crimp; and 12-time Emmy winning drag icon RuPaul Charles as Miss Maxine.

The returning cast includes Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Zooey Deschanel as Bridget; Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Gristle, the Icona Pop duo Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt as Satin and Chenille, Grammy winner Anderson .Paak as Prince D, comedian Ron Funches as Cooper, SAG nominee Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond and Emmy winning Saturday Night Live legend Kenan Thompson as Tiny Diamond.

Trolls Band Together is steered by returning director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay, and is co-directed by Tim Heitz (head of story, Trolls World Tour). DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls films—2016’s Trolls and 2020’s Trolls World Tour—have sung and danced their way to record-breaking success, earning an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Song and fueling one of the largest and most beloved entertainment brands in the world.
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After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Golden Globe nominated electropop sensation Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André; Sing 2), Spruce (Grammy winner Daveed Diggs; Hamilton) and Clay (Grammy winner Kid Cudi; Don’t Look Up). BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hasn’t seen his brothers since.

But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains—Velvet (Emmy winner Amy Schumer; Trainwreck) and Veneer (Grammy winner and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells; The Book of Mormon)—Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

Featuring Trolls’ signature psychedelic joy-bomb of new and classic pop hits, Trolls Band Together stars a dazzling cast of musical superstars and comedic powerhouses as new franchise characters, including four-time Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner Camila Cabello (Cinderella) as Viva; Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) as Crimp; and 12-time Emmy winning drag icon RuPaul Charles as Miss Maxine.

The returning cast includes Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Zooey Deschanel as Bridget; Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Gristle, the Icona Pop duo Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt as Satin and Chenille, Grammy winner Anderson .Paak as Prince D, comedian Ron Funches as Cooper, SAG nominee Kunal Nayyar as Guy Diamond and Emmy winning Saturday Night Livelegend Kenan Thompson as Tiny Diamond.

Trolls Band Together is steered by returning director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay, and is co-directed by Tim Heitz (head of story, Trolls World Tour). DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls films—2016’s Trolls and 2020’s Trolls World Tour—have sung and danced their way to record-breaking success, earning an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Song and fueling one of the largest and most beloved entertainment brands in the world.
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Taylor and Zavala are beat cops driving through some of Los Angeles’ meanest streets and the compression of action that they see in a single day, while it might be all artists license feels real and ominous. The film is shot with a lot of contradictory technologies from hand held (and jumpy) cameras to lapel cams to fixed position shots. Its quasi-documentary style feeds into this sense of heightened reality.

Like many tales that have come before, those that go into battle become alpha males regardless of gender and both men and women in this film become warriors. Their cavalier attitude towards death would seem to be something only those that truly experience it can understand but for the benefit of us on the sidelines, it all seems very death defying.

The bad guys on offer have big guns and even bigger bad attitudes and the often times claustrophobic nature of the film builds the tension and sense of dread to catastrophic levels. The films structure of camaraderie and chaos also helps to create this contradiction. This is effective film making and small critiques aside, the end results will keep you on the edge of your seat and engaged.

Rob Hudson
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Affleck plays Christian Wolff, an autistic certified public accountant that also moonlights as an assassin. Wolff’s inability to really connect with other human beings adds a chilling reality to his actions and Affleck’s stoic portrayal feels accurate. Even the love angle is suitably underplayed.

The film’s structure mixes enough back-story to flush out Wolff’s beginnings but not so much as to rob the film of its forward momentum. It builds to a satisfying climax while never feeling forced and even succeeds with a few plot twists along the way.

Staying true to its character’s intentions while mixing in some great action scenes make for a most enjoyable cinema experience. As an added bonus the film also avoids the usual happy Hollywood ending.

Rob Hudson
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A member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom), aided by her father King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne), wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme. With the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends — Biggie (James Corden), Chenille (Caroline Hjelt), Satin (Aino Jawo), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar) — set out to visit all the other lands to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who’s looking to upstage them all.

Cast as members of the different musical tribes is one the largest, and most acclaimed, groups of musical talent ever assembled for an animated film. From the land of Funk are Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and Anderson .Paak. Representing Country is Kelly Clarkson as Delta Dawn, with Sam Rockwell as Hickory and Flula Borg as Dickory. J Balvin brings Reggaeton, while Ester Dean adds to the Pop tribe. Anthony Ramos brings the beat in Techno and Jamie Dornan covers smooth jazz. World-renowned conductor and violinist Gustavo Dudamel appears as Trollzart and Charlyne Yi as Pennywhistle from the land of Classical. And Kenan Thompson raps as a hip-hop newborn Troll named Tiny Diamond.

Trolls World Tour is directed by Walt Dohrn, who served as co-director on Trolls, and is produced by returning producer Gina Shay. The film is co-directed by David P. Smith and co-produced by Kelly Cooney Cilella, both of whom worked on the first Trolls. Trolls World Tour will also feature original music by Justin Timberlake, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his song for 2016’s Trolls, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” and a score by Theodore Shapiro (2016’s Ghostbusters, The Devil Wears Prada).

Trolls world tour will be released in Australian cinemas March 26, 2020!
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These talks are stitched together via a sordid tale of insurance fraud and murder. There are some rather large plot holes and elements that make little sense but this is not meant to degrade the experience because this is a fine work of populist entertainment.

As such there are a substantial number of unifying moments that had the entire audience on the same page. This lead to a very desirable feeling of shared community. A dark room filled with lots of people who are all in on the joke.

A lot can be said for a film that doesn’t take itself or its audience too seriously. With the removal of the reality of evil, it’s just plain fun to have a laugh while hanging out with some truly awful people.

Rob Hudson
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Stephanie is joined by Emily’s husband Sean in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.

A SIMPLE FAVOUR is directed by Paul Feig and stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart and Rupert Friend.

A SIMPLE FAVOUR releases in Australian cinemas on September 20, 2018.
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A SIMPLE FAVOUR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie, a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily’s husband Sean in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge.

Most all of the female cast members are back and even though it was rumoured to have become a Rebel Wilson vanity project, the end results show a good balance between characters. They also do a bit of globe trotting and the cities they visit add to the visual appeal.

The script, while firmly set in a world of non-reality still delivers quite a number of very funny one liners and the overriding message of sisterhood is delivered with a surprisingly light touch. Having the girls share the stage with a number of conventional bands (who play with musical instruments) also adds musical variety.

The 93 minute film while never taxing the grey matter also doesn’t overstay its welcome. Amid the over abundance of big brand action films this holiday season, it’s nice to have a film based on human interaction that is not without its charms.
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But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

PITCH PERFECT 3 is in cinemas January 1st, 2018!
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