In Cinemas – 30 July 2026

July 29, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

99 percent of you are going to see the new Spider-man movie, right? For the other 1 percent, there are a couple of esoteric options

Spider-man: Brand New Day – The Marvel/Sony Spider-man partnership forges stronger ties in the fourth installment of what could be sub-titles “Spidey Team-Up”, as all four have featured a major MCU player in a key supporting role. This time around Mark Ruffalo’s professor turned super-Hyde Bruce Banner/Hulk joins Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-man as he attempts to protect friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) from a new threat that only he can perceive. Expect a lot more MCU cameos, in particular from Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, tense and well shot action sequences, a plot that won’t hold up under much scrutiny and a long run time. Probably fun as well.

The Blue Trail – A Portuguese dystopian drama, Denise Weinberg stars as a 77 year-old who receives a government order to retire and relocate to a colony as part of an initiative to boost the economy and manage population growth. Defiantly she sets out into the Amazon in pursuit of her dreams and independence. Director Gabriel Mascaro crafts a beautiful and poignant tale about finding fresh starts in life, no matter your age.

WHAM! 10 Days in China – If you’re a fan of 80’s pop icons George Michael and the Other Guy (just kidding Andrew Ridgeley), and you’re lucky enough to find a screening near you, this restored release of a 40 year old project may be of interest. in 1986 WHAM! was the first ever Western pop group to be permitted to perform in China. Hoping to create a tie-in video release Sony Music engaged Lindsay Anderson to film the concert tour. His version of the film was rejected for focusing too much on life in a communist country, and not enough on the band. The project was then handed to Mike Christie, who has now revitalised his cut with new interviews.

In Cinemas – 23 July, 2026

July 22, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

Today is New Movie Day, and there are a few more options this week…if you can find a cinema screening them

Anh Hung – You may find this one alternately titled Mr. Hero, if you can find it at all, as this Vietnamese film is set for a fairly limited release this week. The premise has much to recommend: A struggling taxi-driver supporting a chronically ill daughter stumbles into the public eye in the hopes of raising money for a critical surgery by pretending to be part of a charity. While the set-up for a throwback 90’s comedy, the film is being pitched largely as a family drama, albeit with a sense of humour. This is director Vo Thach Thao’s first film, graduating from television.

Penny Lane is Dead – Every child of the 80’s and 90’s has a local legend about a party getting out of control. Ripe for building tension and brewing conflict this is the setting of this slightly delayed Ozploitation dark-comedy/horror flick which was premiered at last years Adelaide Film Festival. The debut of writer/director Mia’kate Russell, the marketing for the film has been boasting that audiences at the Fantasia International Film Festival fainted during the screening. So fair warning, this film is closer to Wolf Creek than The Deb, and you’re going to want to skip the snacks on this one.

Motor City – The action genre still lives, direct to streaming, in this tight crime-thriller from director Potsy Ponciroli, who helmed the quite-good western Old Henry (2021). Current hulking beefcake Alan Ritchson (Reacher…he’s actually pretty good) plays a prison escapee who was framed, and seeks revenge on those who wronged him. Standard stuff, but in the hands of more than competent craftsmen who know their trade.

The Wizard of the Kremlin – A 2025 English-language French release, this is the adaptation of a novel by Giuliano da Empoli. A satirical look at the transition from the Soviet Union to the Russian Federation in the 90’s, the film views the rise of Putin (played by Jude Law) from the persepctive of a young government official (Paul Dano). Though an interesting cast has been pulled together, reviews of the film have been pretty mixed.

Colours of Time – Another French period drama, the plot sees four cousins gather at a family estate and begin to explore their shared ancestral stories. A pretty looking film that takes advantage of beautiful French country-side and heritage locations, this will show up on SBS fairly shortly.

In Cinemas – 16 July, 2026

July 15, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

It’s New Release Day…and fortunately your trip to the movies this week is made so much easier because there’s one release that no other films wanted to compete with!

The Odyssey – There are so few filmmakers working at blockbuster scale these days, it is a precious treat to receive a genuine historical epic from modern cinemas greatest champion, Christopher Nolan. Drawn directly from the ancient work of the Greek poet Homer, The Odyssey chronicle’s the journey of Odysseus – king of the Greek nation of Ithaca – following the end of the Trojan War. While the last effort at a ancient Greek epic (2004’s Troy) attempted to relay the legendary siege in a completely grounded narrative – free from any interference by gods or monsters – Nolan has fully embraced the ancient traditions that tie history with mythology. Matt Damon stars alongside a jaw-dropping cast including Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, Bennie Safdie, John Bernthal, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, James Remar, Charlize Theron and, look, this could go on for pages. The Odyssey is proof that, in fact, they can and do still “make them like this”, and will undoubtedly highlight what can be achieved when tailoring a film for the BIG screen. If you’ve got the option, catch it in IMAX, but don’t let this one through to your streaming list.

Now Showing – 9 July, 2026

July 8, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

Is today your ‘movie day’? Here’s what you can check out at the cinemas this week!

Moana – The Disney Live Action Adaptation Engine™ is still rolling, ‘updating’ the last officially crowned “Disney Princess” for her tenth anniversary. Directed by Thomas Kail (who oversaw the pretty spectacular Hamilton stage-film) the film is promising a Gus Van Sant’s Psycho level retread. Not only that but Dwayne Johnson himself live-prises his role as demi-god Maui, while Jemaine Clement once again voices Tamatoa. Relative newcomer Catherine Laga’aia takes the mantle of Moana, with welcome support from the legendary Rena Owen (Once Were Warriros) as Gramma Tala. Both the pig and the chicken are featured!

First Light – First-time Aussie Writer/Director James J. Robinson sees his debut come to screens this week. A co-production between Australia and The Philippines, the film features a Filipino cast portraying the members of a remote Luzon convent. Robinson has said that the project was both a way of connecting with his own Filipino heritage, as well as exploring issues surrounding his Catholic upbringing. The story of middle aged Sister Yolanda, who begins to struggle with her faith following a tragic occurrence, will likely resonate with those who have wrestled with their own doubt, faced the disappointing reality of institutions and lived in the shadow of colonialism.

Evil Dead Burn – This franchise is the gift that keeps on giving! While others wrangle with the disappointment of blockbuster debuts that can never be matched in sequels, the Evil Dead series have largely maintained a consistent level of quality because every one of them knows what to prioritise: Buckets and buckets of blood. The reigns have been handed to Sébastien Vaniček along with co-writer Florent Bernard and minimal supervision from OG Producer Rob Tapert and director Sam Raimi. Pitched as a “family reunion from hell”, this looks to be in keeping with the black humour and visceral thrills of previous installments. Groovy!

The Invite – Olivia Wilde helms this remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs (2020), from a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. Something of a French Bedroom Farce, Wilde stars alongside Seth Rogen as a strained married couple who host their upstairs neighbours (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) for dinner. Not being adequately prepared to host, and unable to stop bickering is embarrassing enough, but as the evening progresses and everyone becomes far more candid, the cringe-humour escalates.

Now Showing – 2 July, 2026

July 1, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

You’ve woken to find a rare day to yourself and though ‘I’m going to go to the movies. I wonder what’s on?’ Wonder no more, for here is what you’ll find on Aussie screens this week!

Animal Farm – Many will have fond (?) memories of watching the 1954 animated adaptation of the George Orwell novella in English class – which was pretty faithful so it was not necessary to read the book. This animated feature, directed by Andy Serkis (yes, that’s Gollum), should probably come with the credit “Inspired by” moreso than “based on” with some significant liberties taken and original characters inserted into the Russian-Cummunist allegory. The cast includes Seth Rogen, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, Steve Buscemi and Kathleen Turner. Expect the humor to be more pronounced, far less dog mauling and an attempt at a happy ending.

100 Nights of Hero – This fairy tales for grown-ups was actually released overseas last year, but you can find it playing some of the arthouse/independent cinemas. Adapted from Isabel Greenbergs book (which is her retelling of One Thousand and One Nights) by director Julia Jackman, the plot follows Cherry (Maika Monroe of Longlegs), a young wife who has been abandoned for 100 nights by her odious husband (Nicolas Galtzine) as a test of her faithfulness. Her maid, Hero (Emma Corrin) offer comfort though the stories she tells, and the women form a transformative bond. A rumination on gender politics, this won’t appeal to everyone, but it looks gorgeous.

Heel – Another delayed release, this UK film from Polish director Jan Komasa (Warsaw 44) is a black-as-they-come comedy, about a couple who abduct and imprison a teenage delinquent in the hopes of rehabilitating him. Stephen Graham (Adolescence) and Andrea Riseborough (Mandy) bring real life and vibrancy to the screen as the unhinged couple, while Anson Boon (1917) is a hoot as the antisocial Tommy. If the film’s working, you’ll be chuckling while you’re feeling offended.

The Birthday Trip – In a similar vein, three young couples book a weekend farm stay only to wind up at each others throats in this offering from Australian filmmaker James Robert Woods. His first feature, this satire on social class is all about simmering tensions bursting out in uncomfortable hilarity as the planned birthday celebration falls apart. A lot rides on the chemistry and performances of the cast, some of whom may be familiar faces from Australian TV. Keep your eyes open as this film does the rounds in the coming year.

The Cinéquarium – 24 June 2026

June 24, 2026 by Lindsay Hall

If you’ve woken up and your screen fell on the ground and randomly opened to this page and you’ve got some space in the day and were thinking ‘Maybe I could catch a movie’…this is what’s new this week (in Australia at least).

Supergirl – James Gunn’s Superman (2025) was a surprisingly solid hit last year, so there’s a bit riding on this – the first real follow up in the “DC Universe” franchise – from Dumb Money (2023) director Craig Gillespie. Kara Zor-El (or Supergirl, played by Milly Alcock of House of the Dragon) heads out for an intergalactic birthday bender with the scene-stealing secret weapon of the previous film: Krypto the superdog. The super-powered party-gal ends up facing off against assorted alien jerks that get on her nerves, including a rebranded Jason Momoa as perhaps DC Comics most ridiculous superhero-adjacent character, Lobo (which is not at all pejorative and is honestly perfect casting). With a screenplay by Ana Nogueira (her first major film project) and overseen by Gunn as the creative head of the franchise, expect this one to be a fairly good time for the university aged crowd.

Minions & Monsters – Hitting just before the school holidays is the next installment in the Despicable Me franchise, focusing on the titular jaundiced, gibbering, goggle-adorned, helpfully inept and ever-loyal cash-machines. Set in 1920’s Hollywood the Minions find themselves making a monster movie, only to unleash an all too real terror into the world. With voice talent including Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Cristoph Waltz, Allison Janney, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Phil LaMarr, Trey Parker in a rare non South Park role and apparently George Lucas (…!), regular series director Pierre Coffin (also the voice of the Minions) and Patrick Delage are on hand to bring this one to the box office. The kids are guaran-damn-teed to find it hilarious.

Jackass: Best and Last – It’s astonishing how endearing a group of friends that became rich and famous by repeatedly attacking one another’s testicles have become. The progenitor of pretty much all prank shows whether live, televised or streamed, Jackass was a generational touchstone when it first came to screens, then dumbfounded critics when their cinematic efforts proved to be not only profitable with juvenile audiences, but actually possessed of artistic merit (exemplified in Jackass: Forever). The boys are promising that this will be the last time they will do exceptionally stupid and dangerous stunts for entertainment, and director Jeff Tremaine has undoubtedly covered the entire ordeal in excruciating detail, but expect a touch of melancholy and rumination on the realities of growing old, and the loss of the ability to withstand a cattle prod to the rectum.

Dear You – For those of the indie/arthouse/international film crowd, this Chinese family drama comes from filmmaker Hongchun Lan (who co-wrote the screenplay) and features a cast of largely first time performers. Something of a culturally significant project, the dialogue is entirely in a regional dialect, Teochew (rather than more globally accessible Mandarin or Cantonese), as the unfolding narrative ponders how ex-patriots remain connected to the places that they may have fled. Facing financial ruin, a young man sets out to find his grandfather, who had for some time sent letters with support money for the family (Qiaopi) after fleeing to Thailand to escape military conscription. Unburdened by famous faces, these are the kind of films that can be deeply transportive experiences.

Existentialism

March 31, 2020 by Lindsay Hall

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Today’s entry to make you smile runs a slight risk of delving too deep into angst, but hopefully it will be a gift that keeps on giving.

How many of you remember Garfield? For me, that fat ol’ cat with the penchant for lasagne was a staple of my comics diet as a youngster. I’ve not revisited the character at all in the way I have with Calvin & Hobbes or the Peanuts gang…but recently I’ve discovered that the comic is actually at its best when Garfield isn’t in it.

Several years ago Dan Walsh created this webcomic simply by curating the old Garfield strips by Jim Davis, and editing out the title character. What we are left with is hilarious and harrowing, as Jon Arbuckle (Garfield’s owner) goes through his day-to-day without a communicative feline to bounce his ideas off. He faces existence alone, and is revealed to be more than a little batty from the isolation.

You can find Garfield Minus Garfield here.

For those curious, Jim Davis is familiar with Garfield Minus Garfield…and apparently loves it. You can read his thoughts on it here.

Fighting the End of the World

March 28, 2020 by Lindsay Hall

We’ve reached the end of the first week in which Esoteric Fish have attempted to lighten your mood a little. It was a little rough – we’ve lost some wonderful creators in these past weeks, along with the devastation caused by our collective microbial adversary.

But as we sign off for the weekend, we leave you all with our best wishes, our prayers for health and safety, and above all, a strategy that could save us all.

At least…maybe it could have saved this franchise.

Max Von Sydow – Five Farewells: Flash Gordon

March 28, 2020 by Lindsay Hall

So I’ve referenced the fact that, to me at least, Max Von Sydow was an actor who was for the longest time one of those faces that very recognisable, but just never registered in the way that Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise or Sam Jones did. Whether or not this is shared by anyone else, I long had the impression that Uncle Max was no simply a “face”, but he had always been and “old face”. I recognised him as an old man (or at least older) in the films that I remembered him from – and this is a point we’ll come back to in a later post.

The truth is, however, that he was not perpetually “70 or so” – he was once a young, strong man with a young, strong face, and the first time I realized this was when I finally saw

Oh Son…that is the cover from a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book.

Flash Gordon

Year: 1980
Director: Mike Hodges
Writers: Lorenzo Semple, Jr. & Michael Allin
Starring: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato, Brian Blessed, Peter Wyngarde, Topol and…Max Von Sydow.
Based on characters created by Alex Raymond.

If you are unfamiliar with the 1980 film that defines “campy schlock”, you are most certainly familiar with it’s magnificent theme song by the legendary band Queen. It’s the one that goes *bu bu bu bu bu bom bom bom bom Bom Bom BOm BOm BOM BOM BOM* FLASH…AA-AAAAAAA, Saviour of the Un-I-Verse!”

I lack the necessary words to convey just how important it is that you go out and watch this movie immediately. Whatever the stories behind the making of this beautiful mess, watching it has felt a little like watching a massive prank being pulled on one man by his college-mates, plus a few professors. So many British thespians (plus Topol!) appear in this flick, and every one of them has stepped straight out of the River of Ham, and are having a marvelous time. The only guy “playing it straight” is the films lead, Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon. The result is hilariously entertaining, as the titular hero rockets to the planet Mongo to prevent galactic tyrant Ming the Merciless (Sydow) from destroying the earth.

Sydow effortlessly dominates this movie, establishing as magnetic presence that fixes the audience to the screen every time he shows up. I mentioned that in his great career, Sydow showed up in a fair bit of sci-fi or horror schlock, but in most roles he’s playing with sense of serious grace, raising the standard of the film he’s in. Flash Gordon is that rare occasion when he gets in on the over-the-top glory with his performance.

Flash Gordon has more than earned its place in the cult classic vault, and Max Von Sydow is a big part of that.

Oh go on then…I’ll leave you with the song.