28 Years Later

Official Australian release date: 19/6/25. Viewed: 22/6/25.
Director: Danny Boyle
Actors: Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Rating: MA

’28 Years Later’ continues the fast-zombie series, coming 23 years after ’28 Days Later’ and 18 years after ’28 Weeks Later’. We have a whole new cast, living on a small island just off the coast of north-east England, as the UK remains quarantined from the rest of the world. We meet Spike (Williams) and his parents, Isla (Comer) and Jamie (Taylor-Johnson), as Spike is now old enough to go hunting-and-gathering back on the mainland. Everything obviously goes well…

The start is a flashback to the outbreak of the rage virus and helps re-establish the infected/zombies. Then things settle into a survivor thriller, with a bit of a different pacing. The score is good, but the soundtrack is very odd and seems mismatched – I guess on purpose. The same can be said for some of the red “dream” footage and old war footage – while trying to foreshadow or illuminate history repeating, it’s a little distracting at times. Same for some of the grainer (apparently from iPhones) footage, meant to be similar to the ow-budget original film – contrasts a fair bit with the real footage.

Even though the pacing and tone is different from the other 2 films, it’s quite quick (just under 2 hours) and does a good job of setting up the imminent sequels. All the actors are good – always nice to see Fiennes, as Dr Kelson here – with the main family of 3 having plenty to work with. Some gruesome moments, but nothing as iconic as the helicopter from last time. Some questions posed, some answered and an intriguing ending.

Overall: Non-standard zombie sequel, will be back for more

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars 

Ballerina

Official Australian release date: 5/6/25. Viewed: 16/6/25.
Director: Len Wiseman
Actors: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane
Genre: Action
Rating: MA

‘Ballerina’, or effectively ‘John Wick 3.5’, is another stylish assassins killing assassins entry in the series. We see what shapes Eve (de Armas) as a child, ending up in the care of the Director (Huston) & the Ruska Roma. From there it’s a pretty simple training montage and learning curve for Eve. We have cameos from de-aged/hair-dyed Winston (McShane) and the Chancellor (Byrne), as well as Charon (Reddick).

De Armas is good and walks a fine line between being a kick-ass fighter/dancer with no fear, and showing some vulnerability and emotion. She certainly takes some beatings here, but dishes out even more. She doesn’t seem as invulnerable as John Wick, but since it’s the same universe, it does seem like she can take more damage/injuries than any regular human. Plenty of inventive deaths in this one, particularly a few with grenades, flamethrowers and more ice skate deaths than there’s been since ‘Sudden Death’!

Has a bit more humour and wittiness than some other ‘John Wick’s, and is relatively short at 2 hours. The final act set all in a lakeside town in Czechia is all a bit farfetched, and this is where Reeves has his cameo, but it certainly ups the ante and body count. While there’s a small, not-that-surprising twist, it all wraps up well. Wouldn’t mind seeing more of Eve & John together in additional films.

Overall: Another stylish over-the-top kill-em-all

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars 

 

Dangeous Animals

Official Australian release date: 12/6/25. Viewed: 10/6/25.
Director: Sean Byrne
Actors: Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘Dangerous Animals’ is an Australian made horror, with a refreshing take on the “killer shark” trope – that being that there’s not a specific shark that is the antagonist (like ‘Jaws’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’, ‘The Shallows’, ‘The Reef’, or ‘The Meg’), but rather sharks are just themselves, being used as the weapon of choice by a serial killer. In that respect, this has more in common with Australia’s preeminent horror series, ‘Wolf Creek’.

The start sets the scene well, and leaves no doubt that Tucker (Courtney) is messed up and unequivocally the bad guy. There’s comedic relief from Dave (Carlton) as Tucker’s boat neighbour, and we’re then introduced to American backpacker Zephyr (Harrison) and Moses (Heuston), both on the Gold Coast living up the surfing lifestyle. As Tucker’s living out his fantasies, we’re left to wonder how Zephyr will escape. There’s a good amount of tension, without being insufferable.

There’s some humour, some grisliness and blood, but noting too gratuitous, and minimal focus on sharks, who are filmed with some reverence. Lots of nice scenic shots of the Gold Coast and it’s good to see an Australian director and famous Australian actor make a local film. Courtney particularly relishes his bogan-gone-off-the-rails role, and gives a good excuse to have some Aussie classics in the soundtrack. The final act is great, and while the body count could’ve been higher, it’s a quick fun ride.

Overall: Taught & semi-plausible - more than can be said for most horror films!

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars 

The Phoenician Scheme

Official Australian release date: 29/5/25. Viewed: 4/6/25.
Director: Wes Anderson
Actors: Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Mathieu Amalric
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Rating: M

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a semi-crime-caper and half family drama (but not in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ style), but all Wes Anderson. We effectively follow 3 characters – eccentric, semi-shady millionaire Zsa-Zsa Korda (Del Toro), his semi-estranged/soon-to-be-nun daughter Liesl (Threapleton) and Korda’s assistant Bjorn (Cera) as they travel around fictional Phoenicia putting together a complicated infrastructure deal.

The start is both shocking and bleakly funny, making Korda an arrogant antihero, who’s balanced out well by Lisel and her wanting to do good in the world. While supposed to be set in Syria (i.e. ancient Phoenicia), was actually filmed in Germany! It’s both nice to see famous faces, but also annoying that we don’t get to see too many actors shine, as there’s so many that want to be in an Anderson film that we get less than 10min of screentime from Hanks, Cranston, Ahmed, Dafoe, Murray, Abraham, Ayoade, Wright, Johansson & Cumberbatch.

While it looks as stylish as ever, with great set design and score, there’s some annoying cuts and edits. It feels rushed at times, trying to get through 5 acts in the 100min runtime. While it has humourous moments, felt like it needed more proper laughs and warmth. All the actors are solid, with Del Toro having fun, but seeming to imitate how Hanks would’ve played the role at times. Pleasant ending.

Overall: Not Wes’ best or worst

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars