Phil, a down-on-his-luck professor of economics, lives his life well lubricated by drink and charged by dreams of a better life—a life that remains elusively just out of reach. He might be astute or just shy of a full deck, and Dinklage is so charming in the role that you don’t really care which description is an accurate fit.

When he becomes aware of an opportunity that might actually be real, he empties his retirement fund, sells almost all his belongings and buys into it in full. This opportunity brings him into the orbit of Astrid (Shirley MacLaine). MacLaine is wonderful as the eccentric old lady who lives in a large mansion that forms part of the deal.

By the film’s end, every character in the film will be redefined time and time again and its comments on wealth, family privilege and the university system will be rewritten over and over as well. It’s this ebb and flow and ever-changing perspective that shows American Dreamer to be an unexpected and wonderful work not to be missed.

American Dreamer is available now on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google TV and YouTube!
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/@eagleentertainmentaustralia

When an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes his way, Phil strikes a deal with Astrid (Shirley MacLaine), a lonely, Childress, near-death widow who offers her sprawling estate for pennies.

But Phil quickly learns the deal is too good to be true and the American dream is not quite what it used to be.

American Dreamer will be available on DVD & Digital, including APPLE TV, PRIME VIDEO, & GOOGLE PLAY from JANUARY 15TH, 2025 in Australia & New Zealand!
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a postwar Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates.

With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is coming to Australian cinemas on November 16, 2023.
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The Transformers films have always operated at a high level of visual spectacle and basic human endeavour and the new edition is no different. Things have improved notably now that they are casting humans with more real appeal than being just eye candy even though they give them very little to do.

Stakes have risen and it’s nothing less than the complete annihilation of planet Earth at stake. With the introduction of a new set of adversaries, the Terrorcons who are led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and answer to the planet-eating dark god Unicron (Colman Domingo), Earth might become his latest snack.

The amount of visual information present during some of the fight scenes can be almost overwhelming as the efforts by the computer animators to up the level of detail is impressive. It’s the film’s strongest trait and it’s needed as the storyline is minimal and the character development slight. As an example of where CGI is at present, it heralds a new world and that is both a good and bad thing.
Rob Hudson
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Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film arrives in Australian cinemas June 22, 2023.
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Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Tobe Nwigwe, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pete Davidson, Cristo Fernández, the film arrives in Australian cinemas June 22, 2023.
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Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.

With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is coming to Australian cinemas on November 16 2023.
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Dinklage’s singing voice while being slight is buttressed by interesting lyrics and a heartfelt delivery. Elsewhere female lead Haley Bennett as Roxanne has a fine singing voice as does Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian, who is competing for Roxanne’s heart. Ben Mendelsohn is also interesting as De Guiche, who gets to get his Goth on via a deep resonant voice.

With a backdrop of war and the struggle of the class system breaking into song at any moment is handled well by understating the musical number and featuring mostly voice and not over the top instrumentation, a Broadway play this is not.

Oddly cadenced but beguiling nonetheless, Cyrano retells the classic story with a view to introducing it to a new audience. It’s satisfying in its suspension of reality and the ease of getting lost in the emotion of it all. Even with its less than happy ending, it is still an entertaining feature.

Rob Hudson
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A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac (played by Peter Dinklage) dazzles whether with ferocious wordplay at a verbal joust or with brilliant swordplay in a duel.

But, convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett), Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her — and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight, with Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.).

Cyrano will be released in Australian cinemas February 24,2022!

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It starts somewhat conventionally and the first reel takes its time filling you in on the details. From that point on however, it’s an all out effort to zig when you think it will zag. Anarchy is a word that comes to mind. There is even a scene that feels like it could have easily come from the mind of Quentin Tarantino.

At times it tends to be overly cute and the vibrant colours rival that of a lolly shop but then more often than not if turns convention on its head and becomes surreal to the extreme. Parents taking the young ones out for a day at the cinema might have some explaining to do after this one.

In an effort to ramp things up, the film’s creators have come up with something unique, a sequel chock full of unexpected surprises and pleasant extremes. There was no resting on past laurels and painting within the lines this time. If this makes good bank, can’t wait to see AB 3.

Rob Hudson
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