Tag: Australia

AstroNots is Ready to Launch at Fantasia Film Festival 2024! An Interview with Andrew Seaton and Matthew Samperi.

AstroNots keyart theatrical posterPresented with Pendant ce temps sur Terre
July 22, 2024 6:35 PM Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

Not to be confused with other movies bearing the same name, AstroNots is a hilarious Australian short film set to screen at Fantasia Film Festival 2024! Not only has it been screened at the Hollywood Comedy Shorts and Durban International Film Festival earlier this year, but also it got honourable mention at Inner West Film Fest. With this impressive list, director Andrew Seaton and cinematographer Matthew Samperi believe they got a hit.

What I enjoyed from this work is that it pays tribute to many fond sci-fi classics in subtle ways. And to learn more about what they have planned, I got to communicate with them:

For our readers unfamiliar with your work, can I please get an introduction?

MS: Andrew and I grew up together—our parents were friends before we were born. As teenagers, we loved making short films together as a creative pursuit and a way of gathering our school friends together for some fun. This fuelled our combined passion for filmmaking which lasted throughout high school and into our university years. Eventually, when our hobby started to become our profession, we started the company Mint Films together and have since grown it into one of Australia’s top commercial production companies. We produce both commercial and creative work, and over the coming years plan to push into the long form and narrative space.

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Apparently, Limbo Exists Somewhere in Australia’s Savage Outback

When people are lost in desolation, Limbo isn’t a state of mind, but is just a place to be.

Limbo Movie Poster 2023Bunya Productions
Now Available to Stream on Amazon Prime

The Australian outback is not a place of Limbo as this movie’s film title suggests. Instead, it’s a world of isolation. Here, crimes can go unsolved for years, and by the time authorities get wind of a situation, rushing to a commune named after this place of purgatory to catch a criminal is often too late.

In this movie’s case, Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) comes to this migrant hovel to look at a homicide left to rot. Charlotte went missing. She didn’t go on a walkabout, as hinted in the opening moments, otherwise she’d be back. Had she been a person of European descent, I’m sure the authorities would’ve been on the case sooner. This detective came here to investigate. But when not everyone wants to talk, I wonder what they are hiding. This work isn’t like Twin Peaks by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m sure Ivan Sen got some ideas from this cult classic.

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[Victoria Fringe 2023] Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry isn’t the Same ol’ Same Ol’

There’s more than just a parody going on in delivering what Potterheads love from the WB franchise in this Fringe wonder titled Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry.

Barry Potter Throws ConfettiAustralian Comedian-Magician Tim Motley has a new act called Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry, and thankfully his famous Dirk Darrow personality is not being retired! This new persona is related to the famous Harry of a certain J.K. Rowling fame (or should that be Warner Bros.?), and what’s presented is a look at everything that’s been made to date; even the stage play about the Cursed Child is along with Fantastic Beasts. And the way he brings this world together is simply marvellous.

Although the show is familiar, using the same repertoire of magical trickery to engage audiences and also the sealed envelope trick, the way this talent makes this show different is with his rapid-fire delivery of puns. They are moments that would even impress Tom McGrath (who voices Skipper in Penguins of Madagascar). Timing is everything and Motley is a master. The only reason I make this comparison is that I saw the DreamWorks movie two days prior. I noticed the word play with names was exactly the same!

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All’s Not Well in The Secret Kingdom and What Peter Has To Do is….

Even though most of the talking critters hail Peter as the once and future king, it’s a role he doesn’t live up to in The Secret Kingdom.

The Secret Kingdom Movie PosterSaban Films
In Theaters, VOD and On Demand on June 9
Spoiler Alert

The tale found in The Secret Kingdom (previously titled Don’t Go Below) suggests Peter’s (Sam Everingham) family and their life are in shambles. He has anxiety and other problems, and we don’t really know why. When his parents decide it’s best to move to the old homestead, they are all escaping something. Matt Drummond‘s junior effort (his third film) looks at how he manages, and what’s needed is a magical hero’s journey to help this boy cope.

This movie borrows from a lot of past familiar works, like The Golden Compass, The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe and perhaps also Neverending Story. There’s a Spielberg vibe when considering how the focus is really about Pete’s relationship with his sister. When his sister Verity (Alyla Browne) chides him at his insecurities, he’ll have to save face somehow than to say he’ll always be weak.

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Feldman to Appear at Armageddon

corey_feldmam

Feldman is to appear at Armageddon or at least that is what he’s hinting at anyways. Corey Feldman the actor known to geeks and nerds the world over as Mouth from the Richard Donner directed film The Goonies (1985) and as the voice of Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) may be signing autographs come Armageddon day. It’s interesting that Feldman may appear at the same convention as Kevin Eastman, one of the creators of TMNT. Feldman had this to say on his twitter:

AUSTRALIA!!! I am thinking of coming 4 a visit 2 do some gigs n sign autos @Armageddonexpo but 1st I need 2 C how many of U would b there? RT!

Armageddon Expo is a pop culture convention that takes place in both New Zealand and Australia. Armageddon Expo 2013 in Melbourne boasts an impressive list of guests that includes Ben Browder and Claudia Black from Farscape, voice artist Gregg Berger, Norman Lovett from Red Dwarf, Jason Carter from Babylon 5 and Richard Hatch from the original Battlestar Galactica.