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Peter Gray
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
Peter began his freelance writing career in 2010 with QNews, one of Australia's top-rated LGBT-friendly magazines. Biding his time between film reviews and entertainment reports and interviews, his freelance career has grown to include a multitude of outlets based across Australia (The AU Review, This Is Film, Brisbanista) covering weekly film releases and national events and premieres.
Publications:
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Red One (2024) |
For a movie centred around the festive season and attempts to drive home the importance of joy, there’s very little on offer when it comes to the unnecessarily long 122 minutes of Red One. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Nov 06, 2024
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Venom: The Last Dance (2024) |
Too moronic for it to earn the emotional weight it clearly wants to project. - The AU Review
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| Posted Oct 24, 2024
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Lee (2023) |
Lee tells the most formative, important years of its subject’s life without disregarding her prior efforts, with Winslet, once again, reminding us as to why she’s truly one of the greatest actors of her generation. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 23, 2024
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He Ain't Heavy (2024) |
It’s a dark experience that could trigger those that have battled addiction, or know those who have, but the ultimate peace the story commits to makes the journey worth the gloomy trek. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 18, 2024
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Smile 2 (2024) |
A sequel that doesn’t suck? Get happy! - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 18, 2024
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Memoir of a Snail (2024) |
Desolatingly beautiful in how it honours our existence and champions the stillness that so many of us avoid. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 18, 2024
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Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) |
A mixed bag that doesn’t do the character justice in terms of a budgetary story, but more than has enough of a worthy successor in the charming, hulking [Jack] Kesy - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 10, 2024
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Backspot (2023) |
This is a cautionary tale that warns of the extremes of dedication, whilst proving a love letter to the art of cheerleading and the zeal it requires. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 07, 2024
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Psychosis (2023) |
[Submits] to an extreme eccentricity that, as off-putting it may be to some, is difficult to not be impressed by. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 07, 2024
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The Problem with People (2024) |
A gentle paced film that stands as easy Sunday afternoon viewing, The Problem with People succeeds mostly off the banter between Reiser and Meaney. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 05, 2024
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Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) |
Joker: Folie à Deux takes the biggest of swings, without question, and almost deserves respect for its blatant rebellion, but its indecisiveness in what it wants to do or say leaves us waiting on a punchline that limps rather than lands. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Oct 02, 2024
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Sharp Corner (2024) |
It’s a psychological look at misplaced valiance that may take the scenic route towards its dedicated destination, but every stop on the way doesn’t take away from its own importance and delight in not necessarily answering the questions it asks. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 29, 2024
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The Order (2024) |
A meaningful action film that echoes today’s divisive identity. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 27, 2024
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Ick (2024) |
There’s fun to be had with Ick most definitely, but knowing what [Joseph] Kahn is visually capable of, as well as the intelligence it flirts with suggesting a script that could’ve had more to say, this trivial chiller proves a missed opportunity. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 26, 2024
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Hold Your Breath (2024) |
A vision wholly unrealised is the biggest downfall against Hold Your Breath. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 22, 2024
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Eden (2024) |
Arguably [Ron] Howard’s most exciting project in over a decade - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 22, 2024
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Emilia Pérez (2024) |
In such a climate where original films feel as if they are fighting to be seen, something like this feels necessary and all the more revelatory, and not just because an openly trans actress is at its helm. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2024
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The Deb (2024) |
The Deb is a delightful musical production that, whilst not without its faults and familiarities, wins over with its heart in the right place. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2024
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Better Man (2024) |
[Michael] Gracey has honed a true energy to proceedings here, which proves enough for Better Man‘s wild storytelling choice to be enfolded by audiences willing to surrender to such chutzpa, - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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Babygirl (2024) |
This is kinky cinema at its most beautiful, and few tales of such erotic exploration have been as finely tuned and honestly performed as to what Reijn has created here. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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Queer (2024) |
As much as the first half of the film may test the patience of viewers with its meandering, slow burn temperament of Lee’s infatuational personality, it’s the second half that will undoubtedly serve as the most divisive. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 16, 2024
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Shell (2024) |
Shell takes some big swings (where this story escalates to is truly wild), and though they don’t all land, you have to admire its audacity. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 15, 2024
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Subservience (2024) |
When the film feels as if it should embrace the guilty pleasure mentality of its set up – that being Fox going full Terminator – it never quite finds the right balance to earn any points as a cult-hit-in-the-making. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 14, 2024
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Heretic (2024) |
A truly riveting genre piece, Heretic opens up a wealth of fascinating conversation, as well as proving a near-perfect example of the genre. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 13, 2024
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The Life of Chuck (2024) |
A beautiful, weird celebration of life and all the moments that make one worth living. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 13, 2024
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Saturday Night (2024) |
There’s an inherent sweetness about and obvious respect to the show and those original performers present, and as obscene as some of the jokes are [...] you can’t help but be enveloped by its charm. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 13, 2024
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Anora (2024) |
Sean Baker has made something truly special with Anora. It’s masterfully tense, warm, tragic and hilarious in equal measure. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 10, 2024
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Nightbitch (2024) |
It’s quirky, yes, and a film about a woman turning into a dog has a layer of ridiculousness built in, but this is truly a meditation on motherhood, isolation and female rage, driven at the helm by a fearless Amy Adams. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 10, 2024
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We Live in Time (2024) |
A beautiful reminder of the simplicity of storytelling and the power of raw, inviting talent, We Live in Time knows exactly what it’s doing as it hits every emotional beat. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 09, 2024
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Daniela Forever (2024) |
It stumbles, without question, but at least it’s bold enough to dream big – even if it proves a restless experience. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
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The Last Showgirl (2024) |
Anderson sinks her teeth into Coppola’s creation, showcasing immense vulnerability, whilst maintaining a sense of camp likeability that has so often linked it herself to her career. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
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The Substance (2024) |
A bombastic body horror black comedy-cum-cautionary tale that takes the most wicked of pleasure in submitting to its exaggerated nature. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
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Presence (2024) |
Whilst Presence doesn’t always make the most of its premise, and I can imagine certain narrative beats [...] will prove the film’s biggest divisive ingredient, there’s still enough of an emerging, defined personality for it to have, well, presence. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
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Unstoppable (2024) |
Though it may not necessarily break new ground narratively, there’s no denying that this inspired-by-a-true-story drama has a distinct enough story to form its own personality, with the subject at its centre a figure worthy of praise and filmic focus. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 08, 2024
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Hinckley (2024) |
It’s a film that’s at once informative and entertaining, and having an outsider’s view like that of an Australian only benefits the storytelling aspect. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 07, 2024
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Kneecap (2024) |
Manages a sense of affability as it bridges the gap between politics and a crowd pleasing temperament - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 07, 2024
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The Blind Sea (2024) |
The general storytelling aspect and its poignant throughline have an undeniable universal appeal that should speak to the hearts of anyone with a passion they’ve refused to cast aside because, to others, it’s out of their potentiality. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Sep 07, 2024
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The G (2023) |
It favours psychological warfare and deliberately-paced plotting over an action aesthetic, but it’s a better film for it as it helps keep it grounded beyond its true story inspiration. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 21, 2024
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Touch (2024) |
The weaving worlds that Kormákur has created are gorgeously delicate and prove welcome in its ability to lose audiences within its serenity. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 19, 2024
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Blink Twice (2024) |
A film that’s best left discovered by uninformed eyes and ears – I guess we add this to the list of film titles to mute on X – Blink Twice, and all its unspooling nastiness, is an incisive thriller that truly announces Kravitz as an auteur to watch. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 19, 2024
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Alien: Romulus (2024) |
With Romulus, [Fede] Alvarez has effortlessly inserted himself into the timeline with a blend of old-school respect and new-school brazen. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 15, 2024
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Jackpot! (2024) |
The world built here opens itself up to much promise, but it all unfortunately settles in for the type of undemanding genre service we have come to expect from a streaming title. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 14, 2024
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Borderlands (2024) |
Marred by borrowed ideas and uninspired execution, Borderlands squanders any and all of its potential. - Cinefied
Read More
| Posted Aug 09, 2024
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It Ends With Us (2024) |
It can’t be denied that the audience that made [Colleen] Hoover’s initial words such a success are likely to lap up such mawkishness, but there’s a deeper, darker iteration of this story that could – and should – be told. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 07, 2024
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Detained (2024) |
Banks a lot of its narrative on coincidence, and it certainly asks a lot of its audience, but the confidence it has in gradually accepting its own ruthlessness allows this single-location thriller to elevate beyond its clear limitations. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 02, 2024
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The Girl in the Pool (2024) |
If ever a film leaned into being so bad it’s good, this is certainly a contender. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 01, 2024
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Trap (2024) |
A tighter pace and a clearer vision could have truly elevated this Hitchcockian-like thriller, but, ultimately, it’s one set up that doesn’t quite snare the intended interest. - The AU Review
Read More
| Posted Aug 01, 2024
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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) |
Undeniably crowd pleasing for the right audience, Deadpool & Wolverine caters to its fanbase and, in that regard, emerges truly victorious. - The AU Review
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| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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The Way We Speak (2024) |
A talky, compelling drama that speaks to the power of one’s conviction in their beliefs and, more importantly, respecting another’s differing opinion. - The AU Review
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| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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Longlegs (2024) |
Longlegs indulges in its rejection of mainstream pandering. It’s consciously structured to build anxiety with those that surrender to its nightmarish, passive mentality. - The AU Review
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| Posted Jul 23, 2024
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