Travis Johnson

Travis is a Sydney-based cineaste, critic, writer, occasional filmmaker and performer.

The power of Crowe compels us as he tells Flicks about The Pope’s Exorcist

Russell Crowe makes a rare foray into horror as the Vatican’s Chief Exorcist – and shares his own formative Exorcist experience.

features

Some of the best, ickiest horror movies on Shudder (April 2023)

We’ve got your next nightmare all picked out: here’s the top films on the all-spooky streaming service.

MOVIE REVIEW

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves feels like a throwback—and not in a good way

It’s just a little too self-conscious to be dramatically engaging, and yet too mindful of its source material to go for broke in the laughs department.

FILM FESTIVAL

Say “bonjour” to the 2023 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival

Another huge lineup of French film, plays across Australia through March and April.

MOVIE REVIEW

The Wandering Earth 2 brings sci-fi spectacle but lacks focus

Even for fans this follow-up is more of an interesting companion piece than essential viewing.

MOVIE REVIEW

You Can Go Now is a remarkable portrait of Indigenous artist Richard Bell

Richard Bell’s biography is also a larger picture of Indigenous struggle over the past half century.

EVERYTHING OSCARS

Feast your googly eyes on this year’s Oscar nominees

Everything Everywhere All at Once dominates the Oscar nominations in every possible dimension.

MOVIE REVIEW

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre might be Guy Ritchie’s worst film yet

Even fans of Ritchie’s stuff will struggle to find much to enjoy in this would-be franchise-starter.

OUTBACK NOIR

Well-made crime drama Black Snow highlights a little-explored area of Australian culture

Outback noir is all the rage right now.

AUSSIE ORIGINALS

Our 2023 preview of the year to come in Australian film

The coming months are full of gritty outback crime, First Nations storytelling, and even a sequel to The Dry.

AUS FILM IN REVEW

Looking back at the year 2022 in Australian film

Australian films underperformed at the box office in 2022, but there was still gold on the screen.

DIVE IN

Is Blueback the best Tim Winton adaptation yet?

The success rate in bringing Tim Winton’s writing to the screen so far has been remarkable.

STRAYA

An American crook hides out in Queensland in the slick but forgettable Irreverent

Yes, this is at base a fun knockabout comedy, but a little thematic meat on the narrative skeleton wouldn’t go astray

REVIEW

Russell Crowe doesn’t play his cards right in self-indulgent mess Poker Face

It’s remarkably solipsistic to push out a movie about a troubled billionaire these days, and expect ordinary punters to give a damn.

TOP ACTION

Seen Lost Bullet? It’s one of the best action movies of the 21st century

In an action landscape of CGI bloat and overstuffed plots, these French stunt-fests give us the impact and fun we crave.

NEW AUSSIE HORRORS

Sissy, Carnifex and the latest Great Australian Horror Renaissance

2022 is proving a bloody solid year for Aussie horror, with two new films showing the health of the genre.

FILM FEST DEBRIEF

For its first annual event, the Adelaide Film Festival delivers an absolute triumph

Festival Creative Director and CEO Matt Kesting and the team pulled out all the stops.

FOR HALLOWEEN

4 horror anthology shows to watch after Cabinet of Curiosities

Hitchcock, Serling, and now del Toro: great directors love serving up bite-size snacks of terror.

reviews

Project Wolf Hunting is one of the gnarliest action movies in a good long while

Nobody ever dies instantly in this one…

List

Halloween Ends, but how does it stack up against these other classic horror finales?

Consider how Michael Myers’ final outing stacks up against these other killer exits.

FROM BOOK TO STAGE TO SCREEN

From book to stage and screen: the many lives of Let the Right One In

John Ajvide Lindqvist’s chilling vampire novel has been adapted a bunch of times. Somehow, it’s always great.