We’ve never seen Jessie Buckley, as the Bride, so electric. She fills every scene with a strong sense of danger as her character transforms in a wild arc. Christian Bale, almost unrecognisable at first as Frankenstein’s Monster, fills the screen with an almost overwhelming mix of aggression and sadness. Annette Bening is also fabulous as Dr Euphronius, who is tasked with bringing the dead back to life.

Every scene has a purpose, and this kinetic energy powers the film forward throughout its two-hour running time. It constantly brings in so many other film references; it’s a film aficionado’s dream. The art exists in those moments, being presented as a tribute and not as outright thievery. Gyllenhaal even succeeds in delivering an ending that validates your care for the participants.

In a nod to Bonnie & Clyde, Sid and Nancy and many others, Frankenstein and The Bride embark on a crime-riddled romantic road trip for the ages. And it speaks to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sure hand at the till and her obvious love of the cinema (past and present) that the final product feels so fresh and holds together so well with so many influences at play. This all equates to a rollicking good time.
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A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (five-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride (Buckley) is born. What ensues is beyond what either of them imagined: Murder! Possession! A wild and radical cultural movement! And outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance!

The film stars Buckley, Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, with Bening, Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, and Oscar winner Penélope Cruz. Maggie Gyllenhaal directs from her own screenplay and produces alongside Oscar nominee Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Talia Kleinhendler and Osnat Handelsman Keren. The executive producers are Carla Raij, David Webb and Courtney Kivowitz.

Gyllenhaal is supported behind the camera by a team of award-winning film artisans, including director of photography Lawrence Sher, production designer Karen Murphy, editor Dylan Tichenor, music supervisor Randall Poster, composer Hildur Gudnadóttir and costume designer Sandy Powell.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A First Love Films / In The Current Company Production, A Maggie Gyllenhaal Film: THE BRIDE!. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, only in Australian cinemas March 2026.
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From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne.

Starring alongside Pattinson (“Tenet,” “The Lighthouse”) as Gotham’s famous and infamous cast of characters are Zoë Kravitz (“Big Little Lies,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (“Love & Mercy,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (“No Time to Die,” “Westworld”) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the “Transformers” films, “The Plot Against America”) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (“The Magnificent Seven,” “Interrogation”) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson (“Farewell Amor”) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the “Planet of the Apes” films, “Black Panther”) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (“The Gentlemen,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”) as Oswald Cobblepot.

The Batman will be released in Australian cinemas March 3!
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Jenny is being raised by the archetype pushy Father and understanding Mother as an only child in a typical English row house. She is intelligent and studious and gets good grades in school. She is also intelligent enough to be bored with what her current situation has to offer. This is the sixties and extraordinary things are happening all over the world except in her hometown. Along comes the older man David and sweeps her off her feet.

In one of those cases of the audience always being one-step ahead of what progresses on-screen, the story offers few surprises. The transition of Jenny’s parents from overprotective guardians to co-conspirators while even if accurate to Barber’s true story feels false. There is enough authenticity to carry some elements of the story but overall it’s less than totally convincing.

You tend to ignore some elements of the story and just enjoy the performances but then a strange thing happens. The film with a running time of only 95 minutes has one of the most rushed feeling final acts on record. It’s a strange way to end a film and feels like the product of too many test screenings. It’s still worth seeing if for nothing else but the actor’s fine work but the believability and pacing of the story are a bit of a letdown.

Rob Hudson
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She married into one of America’s most infamous and wealthy political families at only 24 years old and seemed to dissolve herself into their clan. Her husband John F. Kennedy was a man used to getting his own way and the outward appearance was that she capitulated to most of his whims. There was a strength there however that she possessed that wasn’t always apparent in the sexist media coverage of the times.

That her life blossomed in the years after the assassination of Kennedy in 1963 shows the resolve she had that wasn’t always apparent in those times. Jackie the movie focuses on the early period of time when she was First Lady and then the tragic events in Texas and their aftermath. There are some extremely shocking scenes that will more than impact the viewer’s cinema experience and the film is an intense study of grief.

The film presents such a specific period of her life that it falls somewhat short in presenting the remarkable woman that she actually was. Natalie Portman is fantastic in her portrayal but is given a disappointedly lean take on the subject matter. To give such an interesting life, a window of only 100 minutes of screen time seems a disservice.

Rob Hudson
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The comic elements of this film provide the viewer with the most entertainment and Cruise is at his best when he tones down his more strident nature on-screen. Cameron Diaz provides just the right amount of wide-eyed innocence to sell her side of the story and together they actually have a fair amount of chemistry.

The story, as is the case in most films of this type (a tale of spies and double crosses) is almost completely preposterous and that really just adds to the fun. This is good old-fashioned turn off the brain, chomp on popcorn fun. Its lack of ambition story-wise doesn’t get in the way of the good times at all.

If Cruise can stay off the couch, take himself less seriously and continue to choose roles that cast him in a comic light, he might be able to transcend his past transgressions and return to matinee idol status. Even John Travolta got past Battlefield Earth.

Rob Hudson
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Set in the days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Jackie follows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as she fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children and define her husband’s legacy.

Boldly re-imaging events, acclaimed director Pablo Larraín moves back and forth in time between the immediate aftermath of the assassination, dreamlike flashes of Jackie’s happiest moments with her husband, her famous televised tour of the White House renovations as First Lady, and her most intimate moments alone, with her family and during confession as she struggles to come to terms with her loss. Larraín’s unique approach to filmmaking is accompanied by a remarkable music score by Mica Levi (Under the Skin), while at the centre of it all, ensuring her a place amongst the Best Actress contenders this awards season, Natalie Portman delivers a career best as Jackie – poised and steely in the public sphere, vulnerable and overcome with emotion in private and a commanding presence throughout.

Like nothing you’ve seen before, this beautiful, original and unflinching film goes beyond conventional biopic to galvanise the myth of an American icon.

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Competition will be drawn 11 January 2016 – winners will be notified by mail.

Johnny Depp breaks step with all that pirate nonsense and delivers his best performance in years as Irish-American organised crime boss, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. In 1975 as an informant, Bulger enjoyed the protection of the FBI whilst supplying information the Feds used to take down his Italian rivals and allowed him to replace them as a kingpin in Boston. It was a charmed deal for Bulger until the mid nineties when the media blew the lid off this corrupt arrangement.

A barely recognisable Depp gives a transformative, cold, piercing performance. His intense, non-blinking gaze is reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector or Daniel Henshall’s John Bunting in Snowtown. If Depp were not one of the most recognisable names on the planet, this would be his career-making performance.

Other recognisable faces come thick and fast: Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott amongst many others – it’s enough to make a promising up ‘n’ coming actor cry! But all performances are great if overshadowed by Depp.

Black Mass is an excellent film about a fascinating moment in history. Highly recommended.

Stuart Jamieson
www.blackmassthemovie.com