Film Buffs Podcast

Ian Thompson reviews DVD releases Flawless, The Hunting Party and Felon; Michael Helms reviews the books Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide and X-rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker, along with 3 Charles Bronson movies now available on DVD; Nick Matteo reviews the Johnnie To retrospective screening at ACMI until 16 November; Boris Trbic previews the 2008 Festival of Jewish Cinema; and we finish with cinematographer Geoff Burton in the studio to discuss his career.

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Boris Trbic previews week two of the Russian Resurrection 2008 festival, with 12, Izgnanie (The Banishment) and Prostye veshchi (Simple Things); Lisa Dethridge reviews the straight-to-DVD releases Monkey Puzzle, Den Brysomme mannen (The Bothersome Man) and The Flock; Nick Matteo reviews the Emmy Award-winning American historical epic series, John Adams (Showcase, Tuesday 8.30pm, repeated Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) and discusses YouTube; Michael Fassbender is on the phone to talk about his role as Bobby Sands in Hunger; local filmmaker Katherine Fry discusses continuity; and Paul Anderson chats about his short film, The Visitor, screening in the Raw Nerve retrospective at Cinema Nova on Wednesday 5 November.

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Paul Byrne reviews Journey to the Center of the Earth and Body Of Lies; Boris Trbic previews Ischeznuvshaya imperiya (Vanished Empire), Tiski (Vice) and Plennyy (Captive), screening as part of the Russian Resurrection 2008 festival; James Ricketson is on the line to talk about his career, including organising and filming the Sydney Harbour Bridge high wire walk by Philippe Petit in 1973; and Andrew Knight is in the studio to talk about the issues facing the Australian film industry, particularly with regard to scriptwriting.

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Lisa Dethridge reviews Man On Wire, a documentary about the daring and illegal highwire routine performed by Philippe Petit between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in 1974; composer and head of Screen Music at AFTRS, Martin Armiger, is in the studio for a discussion about film music; Nick Matteo reviews Beyond Our Ken, out now on DVD through Hopscotch, and the musical comedy TV series Bogan Pride (9pm Monday, SBS); director Alex Gibney is on the phone to discuss his latest documentary, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson; and Boris Trbic reviews A Temetetlen halott, the 2004 film from Márta Mészáros about Imre Nagy, screening Thursday 23 October on SBS.

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Paul Byrne reviews Eagle Eye; Michael Helms is in again for more chat about highlights of MUFF; Nick Matteo reviews Brian De Palma’s latest feature -Redacted - which will be released direct to DVD in Australia shortly, and the television series The Mentalist (Nine/HD, 8.30pm Sunday); producer John Patrick Patti is in the studio to discuss Xaviera Hollander: The Happy Hooker - a portrait of a Sexual Revolutionary, which is also screening at MUFF; Boris Trbic reviews Whatever Happened To Brenda Hean; and we finish this week talking with Stephen Walker about his documentary Young At Heart.

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Paul Byrne reviews WALL-E; Festival director Richard Wolstencroft is on the phone to chat about MUFF, running from 9-19 October, followed by a preview of the program with Michael Helms; Ian Thompson brings DVD reviews of The Walker, Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth and Butterfly on a Wheel, and tells us what’s hot with the Chicks and the Flannels; Brian MacFarlane has reviews of In Bruges and The Duchess; and an excellent interview with writer/director/producer Alan Ball about his career and his latest feature, Towelhead, closes the show.

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Committee member and filmmaker Jaime Snyder is in the studio to give the rundown on the Blue Dandenongs Young Filmmakers Festival; Renae Maxwell gives a short review of a very special screening she attended in Los Angeles of a work-in-progress by Al Pacino; animator Lucy Dyson is on the phone to chat about winning the 2008 Realise Your Dream prize, awarded by the British Council; David Kilderry chats about the partnership of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and the impending arrival of digital cinema; Brian MacFarlane reviews The Visitor; and Mark Savage is on the line to chat about working with David Lynch and the documentary Lynch which recently screened at ACMI.

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Simone Ubaldi and Nick Fyke co-host the show today; Brian MacFarlane reviews Funny Games; we also have reviews of the new Pixar film, Wall-E, the AFI-nominated documentary Beyond Our Ken, the British teen comedy/drama Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, and the latest Will Ferrell / John C. Riley comedy, Stepbrothers; Simone and Nick chat with Rolf de Heer about the companion website to Ten Canoes, Twelve Canoes; and we finish with some movie business news.

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Peter Kemp and Boris Trbic give you a preview of the Lavazza Italian Film Festival 2008; Brian McFarlane reviews The Bank Job; director Luke Walker and researcher/producer Sofia Stefanovic join us in the studio to talk about the documentary Beyond Our Ken; Simone Ubaldi reviews Sukkar banat (Caramel); Boris Trbic has been to see Waltzing With Bashir; Nick Matteo has a couple of reviews from the small screen; and we finish up with a chat on the phone to Jonathan Dreyfus, about the Gala concert held on Sunday to celebrate George Dreyfus‘ 80th birthday.

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Simone Ubaldi previews the Jim Henson exhibition at ACMI, and gives a review of Sukiyaki Western Django; Brian MacFarlane reviews The Bank Job and The Savages; English writer/director Garth Jennings is on the phone to talk about his new film, Son Of Rambow; and editor/filmmaker/musician Jamie Blanks chats about his work on Not Quite Hollywood and his new project, a remake of the genre pic Long Weekend, starring Claudia Karvan and James Caviezel.

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Paul Harris, Nick Matteo, Peter Kemp and Jessica Nicholas are joined in the studio by Clayton Jacobson and Rohan Timlock, in number 2 of our 2008 Radiothon specials - keep listening for some hidden gems. Please call the station on +613 9388 1027 to subscribe and help keep us going for another 12 months, plus be in the running for some excellent prizes.

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Paul Harris, Simone Ubaldi and Paul Berner discuss the circus in film, in the first of our 2008 Radiothon specials; Jim Schembri drops by to talk about movie marketing; plus we play a snippet of a discussion between Tony Biggs and Germaine Greer from On The Blower.

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Director Benjamin Gilmour talks about his film, Son Of A Lion, which opens on Thurdsay at Cinema Nova; Nick Matteo has a general review of MIFF and some more picks on the small screen from Channel 31; plus listeners Mark and Elizabeth discuss the social experience of going to the cinema. It is our annual Radiothon over the next couple of weeks - we hope you call the station on 03-9388 1027 during this time to subscribe and be in the running for some fantastic prizes. Our listeners really are our lifeblood.

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It’s a big one this week, folks - interviews with Bobby Galinsky, writer/producer of horror flick Prey; Nash Edgerton, director of The Square; Mark Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion; Scott Hicks, director of the documentary Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts; plus a brief review of Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?

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Coming to you this week from The Forum Theatre, in conjunction with MIFF, we’re joined by Arta Dobrosha, star of Lorna’s Silence, the latest film from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne; Lizette Atkins, producer of Lionel, the biopic about Lionel Rose; Erin White, director of Four, a short film about free love, friendship, family and fondue; John Hewitt, director of Acolytes, a thriller starring Joel Edgerton, Belinda McClory and Michael Dorman; Sam Pang and John Origlasso, co-directors of Alone, Together, one of the eleven finalists in the Footy Shorts competition, screening at ACMI on Thursday night; and Pene Patrick, director of Playing For Charlie.

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Mark Hartley, stunt co-ordinator Grant Page and director Brian Trenchard-Smith relate some wonderful stories from their careers and discuss movie genre; guest curator at MIFF, Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, continues the discussion of movie genre and also talks about the George A. Romero retrospective screening at the Festival.

Click here to listen to the Max Headroom MIFF special, presented by Paul Harris and Simone Ubaldi.

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Ian Thompson reviews Hancock; Brian MacFarlane reviews The Riddle, soon to be released on DVD; Ian Thompson and Joe Dolce compare the two versions of the Exorcist prequel by Renny Harlin and Paul Schrader; Mark Woods, manager of 37 South: Bridging the Gap and the MIFF Premiere Fund, is on the phone to talk about these initiatives; Simone Ubaldi reviews Standard Operating Procedure; Paul Byrne reviews The Dark Knight; Nick Matteo reviews more televisual goodness in The Hollowmen (ABC, 9.30pm Wednesday), Conflict Of Interest (Ch31, 10pm Wednesday) and The Arts (Ch31, 10pm Monday); plus a review of The Band’s Visit

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Simone Ubaldi reviews Mamma Mia, before we spend the rest of the program on an Australian soundtracks special, with Dennis Nicholson and Mark Hartley - there’s so much more to this than just the music.

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Samuel Johnson is in to talk about actor-director relationships, which will be explored in Open Channel’s workshop on Directing Actors for Screen, running 21-31 July; entertainment lawyer Shaun Miller chats about films and legal matters, in anticipation of the There’s No Business Like Screen Business short course, also at Open Channel from 19-20 July; Simone Ubaldi reviews Ten Empty; Boris Trbic reviews Kung Fu Panda; and Brian McFarlane reviews Sex And The City

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Adrian Rosenfeldt tells us about Waxing the Sun - the band and the documentary - screening Friday July 4 at the VCA from 8pm; Ian Thompson reviews the DVD release Awake; Brian McFarlane reviews Mike Leigh’s latest, Happy-Go-Lucky; actor Daniel Fredrickson is on the phone talking about his new film, Ten Empty, directed by Anthony Hayes and starring Geoff Morrell, Brendan Cowell and Jack Thompson; Peter Kemp reviews Prince Caspian and Mongol; Nick Matteo reviews the Channel 31 program A Life Of Crime (8.30pm, Monday); and Mark Hartley discusses the new film version of Get Smart, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway

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Veteran UK writer/director Mike Leigh is on the phone to discuss his latest film, Happy-Go-Lucky; Brian MacFarlane reviews Helen Hunt’s directorial debut, Then She Found Me; writer/director Peter Duncan joins us on the phone to chat about his latest project, Unfinished Sky; Ian Thompson reviews Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman and The Invasion, both available on DVD, and chats about what’s hot with the Chicks and the Flannels; and Julian Wu, our anime specialist, ends the program with a discussion about Satoshi Kon and a review of the live-action adaptation of the 60s anime series, Speed Racer, from the Wachowski brothers

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Brian McFarlane reviews Rats and Cats, a new series of books about screen adaptations from A&C Black Norton, and the latest edition of The Encyclopedia of British Film; we pay tribute to Australian actor Lloyd Lamble, who died on April 10, aged 94; Simone Ubaldi reviews The Band’s Visit; The Melbourne International Animation Festival runs from 16-22 June at ACMI and we talk to Karl Cohen about San Francisco Bay Area Historical; Simone Ubaldi and Paul Byrne review M. Night Shyamalan’s latest offering, The Happening; Nick Matteo reviews a couple of Channel 31 (Melbourne) programs - The Shtick (Monday, 10.30pm), The Bazura Project (Saturday, 10.30pm) and Marngrook Footy Show (Thursday 8pm)

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Julius Avery, director of Jerrycan - winner of the Jury Prize for Short Films at Cannes 08 - is on the phone from the Falls Creek Film Festival; Melbourne producer Daniel Scharf talks about DigiSPAA; Paul Byrne has a review of Leatherheads; we take a look at “nature gone wild” flicks Rogue, Primeval, Black Water and Attack of the Sabretooth; and Mark Hartley and Ian Thompson review The Riddle.

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Director Tony Rogers, writer/actor Adam Zwar and composer Sam Mallet are in to talk about their latest production, Rats & Cats; Mark Hartley reviews The Orphanage;
Nick Matteo and Peter Kemp review the DVD release of John Turturro’s Romance and Cigarettes; Nick Matteo chats about small screen happenings - Paul Haggis‘ The Black Donnellys (Foxtel Showcase Thursday, 8.30pm, with repeat screenings) and the new ABC show about advertising, The Gruen Transfer (ABC1 Wednesday, 9pm / ABC2 Thursday, 8.30pm); and Simone Ubaldi reviews Flight of the Red Balloon

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Simone Ubaldi reviews Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Stones documentary, Shine A Light, The Counterfeiters and Un secret; Nick Matteo has a review of the television series Rome (8.30pm Wednesday, Foxtel Showcase); Julian Wu reviews Sakuran; Mark Hartley has been to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and also reviews the HBO series Unscripted; and Ian Thompson reviews Flight Of The Conchords and Cloverfield

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Producer Bridget Callow chats about her film Bitter & Twisted, starring Noni Hazelhurst, Gary Sweet and Matt Newton, which recently had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival

Paul Byrnes reviews Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Brian MacFarlane pays tribute to Hazel Court and reviews Gone Baby Gone

Nick Matteo looks at the small screen with reviews of Flight of the Conchords (Sunday, Ten) and Salam Cafe (Wednesday, SBS)

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Coming to you today from the 10th annual Industry Open Day, part of the 25th St Kilda Film Festival presented by Triple R

Loads of interviews…
Vincent Miller, one of the founders of Red Stitch Actors Theatre, talks about his film Thank You Father; Ross Colebatch from Inside Film magazine explains what the magazine is about and the IF Awards; Chris Jones, director of The Funk; Adam Whitbread, Coordinator of Armed and Dangerous Youth Arts and Media Forum; Calmin Borel, Festival Coordinator for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, with Christian Gesell, Head of Sales & Distribution for interfilm berlin; Rob Taylor chats about his career and role in The Bloody Sweet Hit; Peter Galvin, Head of Screen Studies at Sydney Film School; Kasimir Burgess and Chris Kamen, co-director and producer of Lone Rider; Brian Lien, director of 7.23; and Janine Barnes, producer of Fast Lane

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The St Kilda Film Festival is celebrating its 25th year, presented by Triple R - opening on Tuesday 6 May at the Palais Theatre and continuing at The Palace George Cinemas until Sunday 11 May, including the free Industry Open Day on Saturday 10 May from 12pm-4pm.

Two previews of the Festival this week: Simon Weaving, producer of Ascension, starring Matthew Newton and Bruce Spence; and Michael Kratochvil, director of Dearest Sir, starring Bud Tingwell

Paul Byrne has a review of The Painted Veil, Brian McFarlane gives his review of Brick Lane, Peter Kemp and Gary Hillberg review the definitive version of A Star Is Born, now available on DVD, Simone Ubaldi has been to see Iron Man, and Boris Trbic is in to tell us all about Edge Of Heaven

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Nick Matteo reviews the surf-noir television series John From Cincinnati (Showcase, Monday 8.30pm, with repeat screenings daily)

Leonard Abrahamson, director of Garage, is on the phone for a chat

Melbourne filmmaker and VCA graduate, Adam Bostock, talks about his new film, The Postman, one of the free screenings at the upcoming St Kilda Film Festival

Director Brad Haynes is on the phone to talk about Broken Sun, his latest feature about the Cowra Breakout

Director Jasmine Yuen Carrucan discusses her low-budget two-hander hostage drama set in the Australian outback, Cactus

Writer and director Patrick Herford talks about Hollywood Sign Girls, his short feature based on the life and death of failed actress Peg Entwistle

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Boris Trbic previews the Audi Festival of German Films 2008, presented by the Goethe-Institut Australien in association with Palace Cinemas, taking place from 16-27 April

To coincide with the AFI 50th birthday free screenings of Gallipoli at Federation Square on ANZAC Day, we have an extended interview with actor David Argue

Documentary filmmaker, lecturer, writer and curator Marsha Emerman talks about ‘The Language of Documentary’ short course running at AFTRS Melbourne from 9-11 May

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Paul Byrne reviews The Spiderwick Chronicles

Simone Ubaldi reviews Lars and the Real Girl, followed by an interview with the director, Craig Gillespie

Actor Nicholas Bell is also on the phone for a chat about his career

Nick Matteo reviews the television series The Wire (around midnight Tuesdays, Nine) and pays tribute to Charlton Heston, who died on April 5, aged 83

…All of this interspersed with a game of ‘Show Business Survivor’

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Director Brian McKenzie talks about his work on the Love’s Harvest series of mini-documentaries, screening on SBS at 8pm, commencing Wednesday 9 April

Paul Byrne has a review of 10,000 B.C.

Screenwriter, teacher and father of C.W., Billy Marshall-Stoneking, is on the phone for a chat about drama

Writer/director Rob McAuley is in to talk about his documentary, The Hunt for HMAS Sydney, screening on ABC1 at 8:30pm on Tuesday 15 April

Mark Hartley and Ian Thompson are in with reviews of Vantage Point, Gone Baby Gone and 30 Days of Night, plus what’s hot with the Chicks and the Flannels

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Brian McFarlane reviews The Black Balloon and the remake of St Trinian’s

We have an excellent extended interview with Susie Porter, chatting about her role in the new ABC TV drama East Of Everything, the release of Feeling Sexy on DVD and her recent stage work with Phillip Seymour Hoffman

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Paul Andrew Williams, the director of London to Brighton, is on the phone to discuss his career

We speak with producer/director Robert Connolly about the trend within the Australian film industry to move its production centre from Sydney to Melbourne

Simone Ubaldi reviews two new films: the latest from Gillian Armstrong, Death Defying Acts, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce and Timothy Spall; and Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei

Nick Matteo takes a look at the small screen with Dexter and Meadowlands (both screening on Foxtel Showcase from May)

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We have an extended interview with writer Lawrie Zion and producer Yael Bergman about their documentary, The Sounds of (A)us

Lisa Dethridge reviews some of the films coming up in the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2008

Brian McFarlane reviews The Jane Austen Book Club

Nick Matteo reviews The Tudors (9.30pm Wednesday, Foxtel Showcase) and Cashmere Mafia (9.30pm Wednesday, Nine)

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Producer Eva Orner talks about her 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side

The Bicycle Film Festival 2008 is calling for entries and Melbourne Event Producer Pip Carroll is in the studio to give us the rundown

Nick Matteo reviews two more new television shows - the sit-com Rules of Engagement (7.30pm Wednesday, Ten/Ten HD) and the police procedural Women’s Murder Club (8.30pm Tuesday, Ten/Ten HD)

Jessica Nicholas previews the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2008, screening in Melbourne 6-19 March at Palace Cinemas Como, Westgarth and Balwyn

Ian Thompson reviews We Own The Night and the straight-to-DVD release Shoot ‘Em Up, and reports on what’s popular with the Chicks and the Flannels

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A fistful of reviews this week…

Lisa Dethridge reviews the Seth Gordon documentary The King of Kong, about a high school science teacher and a hot sauce mogul vying for the Guinness World Record on the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong

Gary Hillberg reviews the DVD release of El Cid, starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, which includes some very interesting extras

Peter Kemp reviews Julian Schnabel’s third film, Le Scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly), the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby and the last 2 years of his life with Locked-In syndrome; and Rupert Everett’s autobiography, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins

Brian McFarlane reviews Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis in his Academy Award-winning role as Daniel Plainview, a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector

David Kilderry talks about the purchase of the Dendy Cinema chain by Icon Entertainment

Mark Hartley discusses the end of the HD DVD / Blu-ray battle, reviews Rambo (number 4, not First Blood Part 2) and recommends the YouTube videos of Lorenzo Semple Jr and Marcia Nasatir, aka The Reel Geezers

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Brian McFarlane reviews Alvin and The Chipmunks and the remake of 3:10 To Yuma, directed by James Mangold and starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Gary Hillberg and Peter Kemp review Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter

This week’s special guest in the studio is Damien Walshe-Howling, who portrays Andrew “Benji” Veniamin in the Channel Nine television series Underbelly (8.30pm Wednesday, except Victoria)

Nick Matteo reviews some new offerings on the small screen: Dirty Sexy Money (9.30pm Monday, 7); Back To You (8pm Wednesday, Ten/Ten HD); and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (8.30pm Tuesday, Nine)

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Paul Harris returns this week with guests a-plenty…

Colin and Cameron Cairnes are Melbourne-based filmmakers and comedy writers who have been making short films for over a decade. Their latest film - Beggars Belief - is one of the 16 finalists in Sony Tropfest 2008

Producer Aleks Radovic and debut film director Oscar Redding discuss their film The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a very interesting interpretation of Shakespeare’s play shot over 38 nights in the Melbourne CBD and subways, screening at The Malthouse Theatre later this month

David Kilderry, creator of the Drive-ins Downunder website, discusses a recent documentary on the history of drive-ins, saving The Astor Theatre and the life of Village Roadshow founder, Roc Kirby, who died last month at age 89

Nick Matteo reviews Lawrence Johnson’s film Night, plus a couple of new television shows - Skins (SBS) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (not scheduled)

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Nikki Fagan and Simone Ubaldi bring you this week’s edition, with guest reviewers Rochelle Siemienowicz from The Big Issue and Pete Koval

Reviews this week include Joy Division, The Jane Austen Book Club and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Another pair of great interviews: producer Rebecca Yeldham discusses the making of The Kite Runner; and Charles Burnett discusses his 1977 masterpiece Killer Of Sheep

We finish off the show, in summer Film Buffs style, with movie business news

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Nick Fike and Simone Ubaldi present the final Summer Film Buffs Forecast. Kevin Janner presents a music special next week, before Paul Harris returns the first weekend in February

Reviews this week include Cloverfield, Juno, Charlie Wilson’s War and The Kite Runner

Two excellent interviews: Emma Crimmings, director of the documentary Two Men and Two Babies, about the experiences of an Australian gay male couple raising their two adopted children, screening on SBS later this month; and Constantine Giannaris, director of Omiros (Hostage), a contemporary Greek drama based on real events in 1999 when an Albanian immigrant took a Thessaloniki city bus hostage, currently screening at ACMI as part of the Focus on the Greek Diaspora series

We round off the show with some movie business news

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Simone Ubaldi and Nick Fike continue as your hosts for Summer Film Buffs, with guest reviewer Kris Mrksa

Reviews this week include: Se, jie (Lust, Caution) from Ang Lee; American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott; I Am Legend, starring Will Smith; and some recent DVD releases, including the Blade Runner ultimate boxed set

Simone leads a discussion about the Christian influence in Hollywood, focussing on Walden Media

We wrap up this week’s show with some movie business news

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Welcome to Film Buffs for 2008… Simone Ubaldi and Nick Fike will be your Summer Film Buffs hosts until the end of January.

Reviews aplenty this week - Atonement, The Darjeeling Limited, No Country For Old Men and I’m Not There

Co-directors Rhys Graham and Natasha Gadd are in the studio to discuss their documentary exploring Australian hip hop, Words from the City

The creators of Tinytown - Chris Corbett and Tim Dean - are in the studio to chat about their internet comedy series (”Bugsy Malone meets Blue Murder“), starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Louis Corbett. Check it out on YouTube

We close the show with a bit of movie business news

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Finishing the year with our annual round-up, featuring all of our regular contributors - highlights, lowlights, our annual poll and a surprise guest.

This is the last Film Buffs podcast for 2007 - see you again in 2008.

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Tony Kaye, probably best known as the director of American History X, is in the studio to talk about his career, latest projects and play a couple of original songs

Lisa Dethridge previews two movies opening on Boxing Day: Todd Haynes‘ rumination on Bob Dylan, I’m Not There; and Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále (I Served the King of England), the Czech Republic’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards

Brian MacFarlane reviews François Ozon’s latest work, Angel

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VCA graduates Jonathan Auf Der Heide and Poppy Shmith are in to talk about their films, Hell’s Gates and Grind Girls

Alex Frayne is on the line to talk about his new psychological thriller, Modern Love, which opens soon for a limited season at Cinema Nova

Director Michael Pattinson chats about his career and the making of Moving Out, which is getting a special “cast reunion” screening as part of the Westgarth Film Festival

Brian McFarlane reviews Lions For Lambs, directed by and co-starring Robert Redford

Director Mikael Håfström is on the phone to discuss his latest work, the horror/thriller 1408, starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Matteo has some small screen reviews of The Librarians (ABC) and Chandon Pictures (Movie Extra)

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Three graduates of Swinburne TAFE’s Advanced Diploma of Screen are in the studio to talk about the course and their graduate works

Hope is a feature documentary screening at the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival about Amal Basry, one of the seven survivors of the SIEV-X maritime disaster of 2001 - director Steve Thomas discusses the making of the film

Co-directors/co-writers Andrew O’Keefe and John Studley, along with producer Jim Xyga, are also in to chat about The Independent, their mockumentary about the election campaign of independent candidate Marty Browning

Professor Ian Lang, television documentary producer and Head of VCA Film & Television, is in to discuss the School and the upcoming graduate screenings

Simone Ubaldi reviews Inland Empire, the latest offering from David Lynch

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Saluting Australian actresses…

Simone Ubaldi gives an in-depth review of Elizabeth: The Golden Age, directed by Shekhar Kapur, with Cate Blanchett reprising her role as Elizabeth

Boris Trbic reviews Eastern Promises, the new David Cronenberg film about the Russian Mafia in London, starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts

Alexandra Schepisi chats about her life, career and directorial debut, One Night, currently in production

Val Lehman is on the phone to talk about her career and her role in Lapse, a short film produced as part of Open Channel’s Raw Nerve initiative

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This week, composer David Thrussell co-hosts a special on Italian film music from the ’60s and ’70s, featuring discussion of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, gialli and metaphysical crime thrillers.

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Simone Ubaldi has a review of Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One), based on the book by Harlan Coben and directed by Guillaume Canet

Bruce Beresford is on the phone for an extended interview covering a range of topics, including his new book, Josh Hartnett definitely wants to do this… true stories from a life in the screen trade

Ian Thompson reviews the thriller Prey

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Boris Trbic reviews the controversial and critically acclaimed 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile
(4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), Romania’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2008 Academy Awards

Nick Matteo gives a rundown of zombies on screen

Simone Ubaldi has been to see Control, the feature film directorial debut of acclaimed music video director and photographer, Anton Corbijn

Jonathan Biggins is on the phone to chat about his incredibly varied career

Ian Thompson reviews The Death and Life of Bobby Z, directed by John Herzfeld

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Simone Ubaldi reviews Mike White’s first feature film, Year Of The Dog

Adrienne McKibbins, a self-confessed Hindi film fan, gives the rundown on The Indian Film Festival 2007, screening at Cinema Nova until Monday 29 October

Peter Kemp reviews Once, a modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story; directed by John Carney and starring Glen Hansard from The Frames

Mike White is also on the phone for a chat about his career, running the gamut from acting, writing, production and now direction

Ian Thompson reviews two children’s movies on DVD that will also appeal to adults: The Last Mimzy and Bridge to Terabithia

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Simone Ubaldi reviews The Brave One, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Jodie Foster

Veteran Australian actor Terence Donovan is on the phone to discuss Bruce Beresford’s 1978 film, Money Movers

Boris Trbic reviews Pierrepoint, Adrian Shergold’s film starring Timothy Spall, about the life and times of Albert Pierrepoint, Britain’s most prolific hangman

Nick Matteo takes a look at the small screen with Shaun Micallef’s new SBS show, Newstopia

Ian Thompson reviews a couple of straight-to-DVD releases: The Contract, starring Morgan Freeman and Jon Cusack, directed by Bruce Beresford; and Seraphim Falls, starring Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan and Michael Wincott, directed by David Von Ancken

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Simone Ubaldi reviews the political action thriller, The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx

Academy Award-winning co-writer/director/producer of Happy Feet and actor, Warren Coleman, is on the phone to chat about his varied career

Jessica Nicholas reviews the Scandinavian drama Efter brylluppet (After The Wedding)

Veteran make-up artist José Luis Pérez also talks about his extensive career, particularly his work on Bruce Beresford’s 1978 film, Money Movers, which screens at ACMI on Saturday

Director Stuart McDonald, who has worked on The Secret Life Of Us and Summer Heights High, pays tribute to screenwriter Charles (Chuck) B. Griffith, who worked on many Roger Corman films, including the original Little Shop Of Horrors. Chuck passed away on September 28 at age 77

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Lisa Dethridge reviews Hairspray and Away From Her; and Simone Ubaldi reviews Air Guitar Nation

Actor and producer John L. Simpson is on the phone to talk about his career, his recent foray into film distribution with Titan View and his most recent production, men’s group

Shane Lawtey chats about the Free Range TV Short Film Festival, which is run in conjunction with Northern Access Television, aiming to get more people actively involved in community television

Fraser Green is in the studio to chat about his blog, It’s All About Films!, a film review site targeted towards teenagers

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Simone Ubaldi reviews Stardust, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, currently screening nationally

Lisa Dethridge reviews some of the films screening in the Lavazza Italian Film Festival through Palace Cinemas

Nick Matteo reviews the new television series, Damages

Jon Hewitt discusses his recently completed horror movie, Acolytes, starring Joel Edgerton; and the retrospective of Donald Cammell he’s curating as part of MUFF

Composer/curator Dave Thrussell is in the studio to discuss a retrospective of Giallo (Yellow) films - Italian pulp thrillers made primarily in the 1970s - screening as part of MUFF

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