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