Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, The Boy and the Heron is written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film also features a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi, and the theme song for the film “Spinning Globe” was written and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu. The Japanese cast is led by Soma Santoki as Mahito Maki and Masaki Suda as The Gray Heron. Additional casting includes Ko Shibaski (Kiriko), AIMYON (Lady Himi), Yoshino Kimura (Natsuko), and Takuya Kimura (Shoichi Maki).

The English language dubbed version of the film will feature the voices of Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari, Amsterdam, The Pale Blue Eye), Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy), Gemma Chan (The Creator, Eternals, Crazy Rich Asians), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate, The Florida Project), Karen Fukuhara (The Boys, Suicide Squad), Mark Hamill (The Machine, House of Usher), Robert Pattinson (The Batman, Tenet, upcoming Mickey 17), and Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer, Black Widow, Little Women). Luca Padovan joins the cast as Mahito Maki, and Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori, and Dan Stevens are featured as the Parakeets. GKIDS handled casting and produced the English version in close consultation with Studio Ghibli, with ADR direction by Michael Sinterniklaas at NYAV Post, and English script adaptation by Stephanie Sheh. The English language dub was produced in accordance with the SAG-AFTRA Foreign Dubbing Agreement.

The Boy and the Heron debuted in Japan on July 14, where it surpassed Spirited Away’s opening four-day box office. The hand-drawn, original story animated feature — director Miyazaki’s first in 10 years — made its international premiere at the Opening Night Gala of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7. Tickets to all five TIFF screenings sold out in record time, and the film received glowing reviews and placed top three for the TIFF People’s Choice Awards. The film made its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, its European Premiere as the Opening Night of San Sebastian International Film Festival, and made its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. The film was also presented in IMAX at Los Angeles’s TCL Chinese Theatre on October 18 as Opening Night of the Animation is Film Festival.
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Into this ever-expanding category comes Gareth Edwards’ The Creator. His directorial work on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Godzilla shows he has game in this medium and this is his boldest statement yet. He uses cutting-edge effects to full advantage and tackles a topic that is at the forefront of human thinking at the moment.

On the surface, the story tells of a time in the future when AI or artificial intelligence has become a species of its own and is in competition with humans for control of the planet. Sub-texturally it touches on subjects as wide-ranging as American Imperialism, the emergence of Asian culture as the dominant one and the simple love that can exist between a father and his child.

There are big ideas afloat and the concepts are complex ones but they are grounded in a story as old as man himself, where is our place in the cosmos and does the power of love transcend and even bridge the gap between man and machine. The Creator provides an epic journey well worth taking.

Rob Hudson
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Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war and mankind itself.

Joshua and his team of elite operatives’ journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory, only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child (Madeleine Yuma Voyles).

The Creator will be released in Aussie cinemas September28!
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Directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”), the film stars John David Washington (“Tenet”), Gemma Chan (“Eternals”), Ken Watanabe (“Inception”), Sturgill Simpson (“Dog”), newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Academy Award® winner Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”).

Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war… and mankind itself.

Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory… only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child.
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Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory… only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child.

Directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”), the film stars John David Washington (“Tenet”), Gemma Chan (“Eternals”), Ken Watanabe (“Inception”), Sturgill Simpson (“Dog”), newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Academy Award® winner Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”). The film’s screenplay is by Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz, from a story by Edwards. The producers are Gareth Edwards, p.g.a., Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, p.g.a. and Arnon Milchan. The executive producers are Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Natalie Lehmann, Nick Meyer and Zev Foreman.

The Creator will be released in Aussie cinemas this September!
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Don’t Worry Darling is a challenging experience but one that will reward those that don’t need to be spoon-fed their films. Its narrative is something on the surface but almost entirely different under that facade. Its bright and colourful fifties persona hides a dark secret.

Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) lead an idyllic life and seem lustfully in love. The desert community in which they live mirrors the fifties lifestyle perfectly, too perfectly. As the cracks appear in this facade of normalcy, you are given discrete clues to its dark secrets.

The assertive mix of social commentary and elements of science fiction reflect a strong female viewpoint and the work is much stronger and relevant for that. That the heroes and villains don’t become known until the end of the final reel is a nod to the quality of the work. Kudos to all the women behind the film.
Rob Hudson
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Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.

While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.

But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?

An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.

The film also stars Nick Kroll (“How It Ends”), Sydney Chandler (“Pistol”), Kate Berlant (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”), Asif Ali (“WandaVision”), Douglas Smith (“Big Little Lies”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Ari’el Stachel (upcoming “Respect the Jux”).

Wilde directs from a screenplay penned by her “Booksmart” writer Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries”) and Silberman. The film is produced by Wilde, Silberman, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee, with Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Alex G. Scott, Catherine Hardwicke, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke executive producing.

Wilde is joined behind the camera by two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Black Swan”), production designer Katie Byron (“Booksmart”), editor Affonso Gonçalves (“The Lost Daughter”), Oscar-nominated composer John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), music supervisor Randall Poster (“No Time to Die”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”).

A New Line Cinema presentation, “Don’t Worry Darling” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.

While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.

But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?

An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.

The film also stars Nick Kroll (“How It Ends”), Sydney Chandler (“Pistol”), Kate Berlant (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”), Asif Ali (“WandaVision”), Douglas Smith (“Big Little Lies”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Ari’el Stachel (upcoming “Respect the Jux”).

Wilde directs from a screenplay penned by her “Booksmart” writer Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries”) and Silberman. The film is produced by Wilde, Silberman, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee, with Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Alex G. Scott, Catherine Hardwicke, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke executive producing.

Wilde is joined behind the camera by two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Black Swan”), production designer Katie Byron (“Booksmart”), editor Affonso Gonçalves (“The Lost Daughter”), Oscar-nominated composer John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), music supervisor Randall Poster (“No Time to Die”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”).

A New Line Cinema presentation, “Don’t Worry Darling” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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The balance between exposition and action feels out of kilter. There are ideas and plot devices that can’t be fully expressed in mere sentences and the Marvel movie’s proclivity to build to a spectacular final reel seemed unavoidable. This does little to enliven the final results.

The expansion of ideas taps into some interesting avenues and things look dire for most of the human race until the final crescendo. That there is hope for humankind by film’s end is of some redemption.

As far as origin stories go Eternals sets itself a heavy task for future films as one struggles this time to retain character details, names, and actions. The feeling of this work being relegated to being just an extended trailer for what comes next is difficult to overcome.

Rob Hudson
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The outstanding ensemble cast includes Gemma Chan as humankind-loving Sersi, Richard Madden as the all-powerful Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as cosmic-powered Kingo, Lia McHugh as the eternally young, old-soul Sprite, Brian Tyree Henry as the intelligent inventor Phastos, Lauren Ridloff as the super-fast Makkari, Barry Keoghan as aloof loner Druig, Don Lee as the powerful Gilgamesh, with Kit Harington as Dane Whitman, with Salma Hayek as the wise and spiritual leader Ajak, and Angelina Jolie as the fierce warrior Thena.

Chloé Zhao directs the film, and Kevin Feige and Nate Moore are the producers, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and Kevin de la Noy serving as executive producers. The story is by Ryan Firpo & Matthew K. Firpo, and the screenplay is by Chloé Zhao and Chloé Zhao & Patrick Burleigh. Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” opens in Australian cinemas Nov. 4, 2021.

Eternals opens in Australian cinemas November 4, 2021
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