Hoppers

Official Australian release date: 26/3/26. Viewed: 6/4/26.
Director: Daniel Chong
Actors: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Dave Franco
Genre: Comedy / Sci-Fi
Rating: PG

‘Hoppers’ is a classic body-swap comedy, that just happens to be a Pixar animated animals-talking film too. We learn early on that Mabel (Curda) is an animal activist and connects with nature via a glade out the back of her Grandma’s house. When she’s at university, she finds Dr Sam (Najimy) experimenting with transferring human consciousness into robotic animals – they make sure to give ‘Avatar’ a shout out!

From there, Mabel in the form of a beaver enlists the other animals to help fight Mayor Jerry (Hamm) and his plan to bulldoze the glade for a highway. How Mabel’s introduced to beaver, King of the Mammal, George (Moynihan) is pretty good and almost a little dark for a kids film! But it’s then topped by what Mabel does with the Insect Queen (Streep), which was hilarious. Once the animal kingdom council figure out they need to stop Jerry, led by the Insect King (Franco, full maniacal) we get some true high-stakes and high-stakes final act.

Mabel is infectious and great to have her in beaver-form for most of the film, and the support-cast animals, especially the bear and lizard, are great. But it’s King George and his message of coexistence and hope that cuts through. Very nice ending, but plenty of laughs throughout for kids and adults. Even if they somehow got a flying shark in there!

Overall: Strong Pixar comedy with message

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

 

Project Hail Mary

Official Australian release date: 19/3/26. Viewed: 21/3/26.
Directors: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: M

‘Project Hail Mary’ is a hopeful and semi-believable sci-fi film, based on Any Weir’s excellent novel. It takes the problem-solving of ‘The Martian’ to another level, this time with Ryland Grace (Gosling) waking up in deep space and then having to overcome his temporary amnesia to figure out how to save the sun from the “astrophage” disease. The flashbacks fill-in the gaps as things progress, and we learn how a school teacher ends up working with Stratt (Huller) & Carl (Boyce) as part of the global taskforce trying to figure out how the astrophage works and save the sun/Earth/solar system.

Therefore, most of the film takes space onboard the Hail Mary spaceship, with Grace talking to cameras that are recording him, until an alien spaceship finds him – very impressive CGI and design on that ship. How Grace meets Rocky, the alien who looks like a spider-made-from-rocks, and learns to communicate with him and then code a translator (Rocky’s voiced by Ortiz) is handled well and is both fun and unique. The friendly alien concept isn’t often explored in non-kid films, so it’s good to see. The CGI is very impressive, and not overwhelming, but the scene at the mostly-green planet is amazing.

The score is strong, and due to Rocky and Grace being able to talk to each other, there’s plenty of jokes and funny moments, with a fun buddy-film element. There’s obviously some drama and life-or-death moments that bring gravitas to things. Some of the ‘how’ is skipped over compared to the novel, but it’s mostly faithful, and does well to cram so much into the 2.5 hours, whilst never feeling boring. Excellent ending, and wouldn’t be surprised if Gosling gets an Oscar nomination.

Overall: Brilliantly executed sci-fi journey

Gav’s Rating: 4.5 stars

Cold Storage

Official Australian release date: 12/3/26. Viewed: 15/3/26.
Director: Jonny Campbell
Actors: Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville
Genre: Comedy/Horror
Rating: MA

‘Cold Storage’ is a quick and fun zombie-comedy, but more from the prevention/start angle, rather than the ‘Zombieland’ overrun angle. We start in Western Australia, where a bit of space debris has a mutating fungus, and Robert (Neeson) & Trini (Manville) are called in to deal with it. Stuff happens, and it’s then put in literal cold storage in Colorado. 20 years later, and Teacake/Travis (Keery) and Naomi (Campbell) are working at the no-longer-military-facility that’s just storage lockers. What could go wrong?

While nothing particularly new happens, the CGI is solid and the infected animals/people quite grotesque. It effectively plays as a funnier episode of ‘The Last of Us’, with the infected not really being “zombies”, but rather short-term carriers. Keery is good and will be interesting if he can jump from ‘Stranger Things’ into more films. He brings a lot of the humour and energy, and has good chemistry with Campbell. Neeson is mostly a bit-player, but good to see him not doing ALL the stunts/saving-the-day!

Solid score and soundtrack, a few little jump scares, but definitely more comedy-horror than horror. Decent body count and all wrapped-up in under 100min. Pacing is mostly good and final third is action-packed.

Overall: Solid comedy/horror fun

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie

Official Australian release date: 20/2/26. Viewed: 1/3/26.
Director: Matt Johnson
Actors: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, Jared Raab, Ben Petrie
Genre: Comedy
Rating: M

‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ is a mockumentary comedy that is a continuation of a web/TV series that I’ve never seen, but that didn’t hinder it being very funny. A simple story of 2 friends, Matt (Johnson) & Jay (McCarrol) trying to find ways to get their band booked at a local venue (the Rivoli) in Toronto. A hilarious stunt involving the CN Tower kicks things off and they don’t really deescalate too much from there!

There’s some fourth-wall breaking, which works well with the documentary-style, as well as acknowledging the cameramen. Also some great use of CGI that you can’t really tell, especially from the top of the tower and when they interact with their 2008 selves. Oh yeah – that’s the main gist of this, it’s basically a ‘Back to the Future’ tribute, going as far as turning an RV into the Delorean and giving us the 2^nd and 3^rd acts.

The score and soundtrack are good, and it’s less 100min long, so pretty quick. For all the silly moments, it’s grounded in an authentic friendship that shines through. While the whole premise is absurd, it’s does well to feel almost-real. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, many from the flashbacks, and some good callbacks. All comes together in a very smart and satisfying conclusion.

Overall: Really fun time travel absurdity

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

 

Send Help

Official Australian release date: 29/1/26. Viewed: 15/2/26.
Director: Sam Raimi
Actors: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel
Genre: Thriller / Comedy
Rating: MA

‘Send Help’ is a modern ‘Cast Away’, but with a bit more action and comedy. We meet Linda Liddle (McAdams) at a consulting job, working for Bradley Pearson (O’Brien), a typical Wall Street douche-bro, who promotes fellow douche Donovan (Samuel) over Linda. The film does well to make McAdams believably frumpish, and her colleagues distasteful, so when the plane crashes, you’re not too upset with the outcome! Her ‘Survivor’ applicant backstory obviously comes in handy, as her and Bradley try to survive on a remote island somewhere near Thailand.

There’s plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, as Raimi leans into the unhinged-ness and power-imbalance, where we’re never quite sure which way things are going to go between Linda & Bradley. The CGI boar was particularly fun, as was the over-the-top amounts of vomit. There’s some slow moments in the middle, but it keeps moving to an unpredictable ending. The only other actor with any real screentime is Bradley’s fiancée, Zuri (Ismail).

The Elfman score is great, and nice to see some Aussie beaches filling in for Thailand (and some road filling in for the USA). It’s not overly long at ~1 hour 45min. McAdams is great, and does well to evolve, rather than fully-transform, into the heroine, and O’Brien is good as well. Probably not as good as ‘Drag Me To Hell’ for mine, but treads the line of thriller & comedy well.

Overall: Another fun Raimi “who’ll survive”?

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

We Bury The Dead

Official Australian release date: 5/2/26. Viewed: 8/2/26.
Director: Zak Hilditch
Actors: Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith, Matt Whelan
Genre: Drama / Horror
Rating: MA

‘We Bury The Dead’ is an Australian zombie film, that doesn’t really focus on the zombie aspect and spends more time dealing with grief, sorrow and the relationship between Ava (Ridley) and Mitch (Whelan). The premise sounds great and a bit different = America accidentally lets off an experimental bomb near Tasmania, which kills every living animal, including humans, on the island. Then, some of those dead are reanimating, so the army sends down volunteers to literally clear and bury the dead.

Ava is paired with Clay (Thwaites), who makes sure to swear enough that we know he’s Australian, and they go about the grisly job of clearing house is Tassie’s north. The film does well to set-up the scenario and mood. When Ava and Clay head towards Hobart, we run into Riley (Coles Smith), who plays a very different character to Jay Swan. There’s lots of quiet & eerie moments, and a few gross ones, but nothing too violent/scary. We get a few more zombies in the last 30min or so, but not necessarily what you’re expecting.

There’s some good Aussie songs throughout, and it’s part road-trip film. But probably more focus on Ava & Mitch’s relationship via flashbacks than was needed. It’s certainly no ‘28 Years Later’, but doesn’t try to be. Reminiscent of Hilditch’s ‘These Final Hours’ – both try hard, but are a little slow. Nice to see Australian scenery and actors, but not sure why it was mostly filmed in WA if set in Tas? Odd ending, but in-line with the more melancholic vibe.

Overall: Different, more dramatic/less horrific, zombie film

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Official Australian release date: 15/1/26. Viewed: 1/2/26.
Director: Nia DaCosta
Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Jack O’Connell, Chi Lewis-Parry
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ is the 4^th film in the franchise, and the middle of this recent trilogy, coming only 7 months after ’28 Years Later’. While strongly linked, the tone here is much different, as we focus on two main narratives – Dr Ian Kelson (Fiennes) & Samson (Lewis-Parry) as they try to uncover a cure for the virus; and Spike (Williams) & Sir Jimmy (O’Connell) as he tries to adapt and survive in what is effectively a satanic cult. We get to know most of the 7 other Jimmy’s, but Jimmy Ink (Kellyman) is key.

This film has a calmer pace, and while still featuring a few zombie/scare moments, it focuses much more on the marauding Jimmys and how much evil humans can bestow on each other, rather than the run/hide tension of zombie films. The heart comes from Spike, Ian and Samson as they try to find a path through. To where, is the question?

The soundtrack is great – Duran Duran, Radiohead and Iron Maiden, all used to great effect. There’s s bit of a quiet mid-section, but it’s interposed with a particularly tough scene of “charity” – O’Connell is a particularly great bad guy. Then it all picks up for the final scenes, where Fiennes is excellent – he’s interesting in every shot he’s in. Near-faultless finish.

Overall: Really strong evolution

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

Is This Thing 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