Is This Thin On?

Official Australian release date: 5/2/26. Viewed: 26/1/26.
Director: Bradley Cooper
Actors: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper
Genre: Drama
Rating: M

‘Is This Thing On?’ is a simple indie family drama that follows Alex (Arnett) and Tess (Dern) as they separate, and the impact on their marriage, lives, parents Jan (Hinds) & Marilyn (Ebersole) and kids – Felix (Kane) & Jude (Knegten). Alex deals with this by inadvertently taking up stand-up comedy at New York open-mic nights, hence the title – although I’m not sure he actually says that specific line. Obviously he’s awkward and unpractised, but has plenty of recent life events to use as stories.

We get to see how Alex & Tess deal with their amicable split with their mutual friends, Christine (Day) & Balls (Cooper), plus Stephen (Hayes) & Geoffrey (Icenogle). They have relatively minor roles, but it’s fun to see Cooper as a director, and then getting to play an absent-minded stoner too. He uses lots of handheld camera, with lots of close-ups, which leads to an intimacy with Alex and Tess. Arnett is good and mostly-subdued, not an over-the-top caricature, pretty far removed from Gob.

It’s quite quick at 2 hours, and maybe has some unnecessary moments, but does a good job to show  a realistic relationship and the impact of decisions on friends and family. The cast is great, the  stand-up is OK and good to watch Alex progress. Ending and song choice are very strong.

Overall: Enjoyable human story

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

Marty Supreme

Official Australian release date: 22/1/26. Viewed: 24/1/26.
Director: Josh Safdie
Actors: Timotheé Chalamet, Odessa A’zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O’Leary
Genre: Drama / Biopic
Rating: M

‘Marty Supreme’ is a biopic that’s based on a real-life table tennis player, but sensationalised. Set in 1950s New York, we follow a 23-year-old Marty Mauser (Chalamet) as he chases his goal of being the best table tennis player in the USA and the world. This involves some sketchy ways to get the funds to play in tournaments, his driving force for most of the film.

Even though it’s about table tennis, there’s not too much actual time watching him play, compared to most sport biopics. Definitely feels like some is CGI, but you can tell Chalamet practiced quite a bit. We spend more time trying to decipher his family – mum Rebecca (Drescher) & uncle Murray (Sloman) are barely in it, and his relationship with Rachel (A’zion) is complicated, to say the least. He has some friends and helpers – Wally (Okonma) and Dion (Manley), but he does a convincing job of being so narcissistic to push most of them away.

The driving force is how his ambition and confidence lead to his involvement with actress Kay (Paltrow) and her husband Milton (O’Leary) and their role in assisting him in getting to Japan to play in the big tournament. Certainly some interesting moments throughout 2.5 hours! It probably could’ve been slightly shorter, but Chalamet makes Marty a whirlwind to watch, in all respects, and it’s easy to see why the film received a few Oscar nominations.

Overall: Engrossing exploration of one man’s excessive ambition

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

 

The Housemaid

Official Australian release date: 26/12/25. Viewed: 11/1/26.
Director: Paul Feig
Actors: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Indiana Elle
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘The Housemaid’ is a well-made suburban thriller. We follow Millie (Sweeney), as she gets a new job as a housemaid for an affluent upstate New York family, hired by the Winchesters – wife Nina (Seyfried), husband Andrew (Sklenar) and daughter Cece (Elle). We’re then drip-fed new info that changes our perspective one way or another throughout.

It starts a bit slow, where we mostly have Nina and Millie, and then things slowly start to not add up. Then we get more time with Andrew, and then a big final 30min or so that really pays off. Some pretty good acting and solid score. It’s similar-ish to Feig’s ‘A Simple Favour’, but probably better. It’s not as funny as ‘The Heat’ or ‘Bridesmaids’, but has a few laughs.

Some violence and gore, but not too much, and Sweeney gets her kit off, which is not too shabby. Semi-obvious twist, but the key is the great comeuppance at the end, and good set-up for future films.

Overall: Enjoyable thriller

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Rental Family

Official Australian release date: 26/12/25. Viewed: 30/12/25.
Director: Hikari
Actors: Brendan Fraser, Mari Yamamoto, Takehiro Hira, Shannon Gorman
Genre: Drama
Rating: M

‘Rental Family’ starts off feeling like an off-beat comedy that’s going to explore the odd (to Western sensibilities) profession of having actors be emotional stand-ins at funerals, weddings, break-ups, etc. But it quickly turns into an examination of the emotional impact on these actors, primarily Phillip (Fraser), Shinji (Hira) and Aiko (Yamamoto). This is made easier by having Phillip being an expat American living in Tokyo, but who speaks Japanese well, so it’s only ~30% subtitles.

Things get complicated when Phillip agrees to play Mia (Gorman)’s Dad for Hitomi (Shinozaki), with a clear reckoning coming. All the actors are good, and the scenes with Mia and Phillip the most touching, but also Phillip and his time with aging actor Kikuo (Emoto) is handled well and may bring a few tears.

There’s definitely ‘Lost In Translation’ vibes, but Fraser plays it so humbly and calmly, that everything seems possible, but he also brings a quiet conviction with his sadness and humanity. I’m loving seeing him back in films, and while this has sad moments, it’s a bit more uplifting than ‘The Whale’!

Overall: Not a perfect film, maybe a little long, but well-made and worthwhile

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Official Australian release date: 18/12/25. Viewed: 28/12/25.
Director: James Cameron
Actors: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action
Rating: M

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is the 3^rd Avatar film, and seems quick after ‘The Way of Water’ from only 3 years ago, but a trilogy over 17 years is quite spaced out compared to most. This is an almost immediate sequel to the previous film and follows Jake Sully (Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldana) and their children Lo’ak (Dalton), Kiri (Weaver), Tuk (Bliss) & Spider (Champion) as they grieve the losses. They’re still with the sea people (Curtis & Winslet).

Much like ‘The Way of Water’, Quaritch (Lang) is still alive in a Navi body and still hunting the Sullys. We have lots of recurring characters – Norm (Moore), Garvin (Clement), Scoresby (Cowell), Selfridge (Ribisi), as we spend a bit of the film in the human settlement. However, the main plot follows Varang (Chaplin), a sort-of-witch who leads the Ash/bad Navi and aligns with Quaritch to hunt the Sullys. We also have more of the whales (“Tulkun”), which is both happy and sad. Good to see Clement’s arc, and he almost gets some jokes in.

While it feels a bit like déjà vu, as there’s lots of similar beats to the previous film and the ending of the first ‘Avatar’, it still looks great with the CGI once again top-notch and the score and further development of most characters, particularly their kids, is good. There’s a few new creatures, and while it’s long at 3 hours 15min, it was engaging and draws you back into the world of Pandora effortlessly. I just hope we get to see a resolution to the Navi vs human conflict at some point.

Overall: Great to see in IMAX & 3D in Melbourne

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Nuremberg

Official Australian release date: 4/12/25. Viewed: 14/12/25.
Director: James Vanderbilt
Actors: Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, John Slattery
Genre: Drama
Rating: M

‘Nuremberg’ is a mostly-accurate biopic following the post-Word War II war crimes trials for the remains of the Nazi leadership. Because there’s multiple viewpoints or angles that could’ve been taken, the film follows Hermann Goring (Crowe) as the highest-ranked surviving member of Nazi Germany, the general of their air force. He’s imprisoned by Colonel Andrus (Slattery) and Dr Kelley (Malek) is charged with keeping the Nazi prisoners from committing suicide. The interactions between Kelley and Goring are the key focus.

The other focus is Justice Robert Jackson (Shannon) and Sir Maxwell-Fyfe (Grant) as they develop the prosecution and concept of an unprecedented international trial. This means it’s not completely a courtroom drama, even though that is the core of the final 30min. Crowe and Malek are great, and their scenes and relationship drives the story. Crowe does a great job of giving a literal war criminal, responsible for the worst atrocity ever, some sympathy and charm. The support cast are solid too, especially Sergent Triest (Woodall), and small roles from Colin Hanks and Lydia Peckham.

There’s no war scenes, and limited violence, but the most harrowing and impactful scene is when the courtroom (and therefore the world) is shown the concentration camps and the bodies, using real footage. The film doesn’t feel long at 2 hours 20min, and doesn’t focus on some of the global ramifications, but rather a few key personalities. There’s some genuinely fun moments/edits early on. A good reminder that the old adage holds true – all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Overall: Not always fun, but really well-made and engaging

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

 

Zootopia 2

Official Australian release date: 27/11/25. Viewed: 7/12/25.
Directors: Jared Bush & Byron Howard
Actors: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg
Genre: Animation / Adventure
Rating: PG

‘Zootopia 2’ is another strong whodunnit with our likeable odd-couple pairing of Judy Hopps (Goodwin, the rabbit) and Nick Wilde (Bateman, the fox) as the anthropomorphic new police recruits. Huge returning cast – police chief/buffalo Bogo (Elba), popstar gazelle (Shakira), mole Mr Big (LaMarche) and sheep Bellweather (Slate). Plus new additions Nibbles the beaver (Feimster), Gary the snake (Huy Quan), mayor/horse Winddancer (Warburton) and the lynx’s – Pawbert (Samberg) and his father Milton (Strathairn).

The case starts with the unveiling of a 100-year-old journal that is part of a cover-up to how the city of Zootopia was established – and the mystery of why there’s no reptiles there. This is where conspiracy theorist Nibbles comes in to help Judy & Nick, as they’re framed for helping Gary. The story is pretty obvious, and lots of parallels to immigrants helping establish the USA. There’s so many locations and other animals, it’s sometimes hard to keep up with all the jokes and references – Ratatouille, The Shining, Google, Babe, Cinderella, Starsky & Hutch – the list goes on.

Some of the biggest laughs are in the marsh, with the walruses and sea lions (don’t call them seals!). There’s probably some scary bits for young kids and it may be a bit long at 105min, but has a satisfactory ending and another end credits song by Shakira. Not quite as great as the original, but still a fun kids-film-that-adults-can-enjoy, carried by the strong performances from the 2 leads and their giant support cast.

Overall: Solid sequel, still fun enough

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars