The summer release slate is an embarrassment of riches — with movies long-delayed by the pandemic finally reaching Australian shores.
We're talking new features from the idiosyncratic brains of Joel Coen and Aaron Sorkin, franchise blockbusters like the new Matrix and Ghostbusters, plus movies that are already generating deserved Oscars buzz (we see you, Lady Gaga in House of Gucci).
And if you're not able to venture out to a cinema, there's a handful of streaming options to tide you over. We've got you.
Streaming now:
Don't Look Up
Starring: Leonard DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande
Director: Adam McKay (Vice; The Big Short; Anchorman)
Run time: 2h 18m
Noteworthy because: An epic cast takes on climate change, media and the end of the world.
See it with: Pretty much anyone on Earth.
Our reviewer Luke Goodsell says: An all-star Hollywood cast goes down swinging in Adam McKay's scattershot funny but mostly sanctimonious disaster movie, which has its satirical sights set on everything from climate change denial to Trumpism to mass media delusion. DiCaprio and Lawrence are astronomers facing an uphill battle to convince the world it's ending after they discover a comet on a collision course for Earth, tangling with an idiot President (Streep), bubbly talk show hosts (Blanchett, Perry), and the indifference of a populace more interested in celebrity gossip. McKay's contempt for pop culture is frequently tiresome, as is his condescension toward the common folk he supposedly champions; he just doesn't know how to let people enjoy things – even if it is their own destruction.
Likely to make you: Amused, angry, entertained, roll your eyes – something for everyone!
Watch it: Netflix.
Being the Ricardos
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy
Director: Aaron Sorkin (Molly's Game; The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Run time: 2h 11m
Noteworthy because: Oscar buzz is high for Nicole Kidman as the Australian icon transforms into television legend Lucille Ball.
See it with: Family and friends.
Our reviewer Luke Goodsell says: Australia's leading redhead meets TV's most iconic ginger as Nicole Kidman takes on 50s small-screen superstar Lucille Ball, with an exuberant Javier Bardem by her side as Ball's husband and co-star Desi Arnaz. Aaron Sorkin's drama goes behind the scenes of I Love Lucy for an almost comically tumultuous week: one in which the star is accused of being a communist, battles conservative suits to include her just-announced pregnancy on the show, and struggles to hold her marriage together. If there's one thing Sorkin knows it's the inside of a TV writers' room, and his third feature film in the director's chair gives us a curious glimpse at the nuts and bolts of a hit production. Kidman isn't a physical comedian like Ball, but her interpretation of the star's interior life gives off dramatic sparks, while Bardem is effortlessly charming – and slippery – as the driven, larger-than-life Arnaz.
Likely to make you: Entertained, uplifted, thankful you're not a woman in 50s America.
Watch it: Amazon Prime Video.
In cinemas from December 26:
