Dr Luke Buckmaster

@lukebuckmaster.bsky.social

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Film & TV critic for The Guardian Australia and Flicks.com.au. PHD in virtual reality. Climate activist.

Creator of Nicolas Cage fan site, The Cage Gauge: https://www.flicks.com.au/cagegauge/

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Yes: there are viewing experiences even worse than today's Presidental debate. I revisit the Eddie Murphy comedy, or "comedy", currently sitting on a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score

Revisiting A Thousand Words: the Eddie Murphy film with a 0% Rotten Tomatoes scorewww.flicks.com.au If this brain-mashingly cheesy film is an indicator of what happens when Murphy stops speaking, I say: let the man talk, and talk, and talk.

In honour of the late and great Donald Sutherland, I revisit one of his most iconic roles. So iconic it's distilled into a single image: memeable, gifable, fridge magnet-able, and freakishly great.

Revisiting Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Donald Sutherland's most iconic performancewww.flicks.com.au The late actor was flawless in this feverish sci-fi remake—especially that final shot, “brandished like a hot iron onto our collective psyche.”

Mads Mikkelsen makes potato farming totally badass in his new film - an engrossing period piece honeycombed with pulpy action. My review of The Promised Land

The Promised Land movie review: Mads Mikkelsen stars in forcefully entertaining period piecewww.flicks.com.au Director Nikolaj Arcel makes a point that it’s not just the arid Danish land that’s troubled and treacherous: the people also suck.

If Bill and Ted wrote a movie about Australian history, it might look something like the stupedenously silly and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny The Emu War. Here's my review

The Emu War review – wall-to-wall silliness that will make you laugh-out loud, sometimeswww.theguardian.com This viscerally cockamamie comedy maintains enjoyable momentum, even when gun-toting puppet birds begin to attack

Vale Donald Sutherland. He had that incredible serpentine glare: an otherworldly sparkle in his eyes we all recognise but nobody could ever really explain. Movingly human but powered by some mysterious ancient force. A terrific actor

Anyone have any favourite movie poster taglines they want to share? Here's a couple of mine. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: "History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can't spell." Groundhog Day: "He's living life like there's no tomorrow. Because there isn't." 😂

The ever-bankable Guy Pearce attempts to save souls and keep the peace in Lee Tamahori's stately New Zealand period drama The Convert. My review

The Convert review – Guy Pearce tries to keep the peace in Māori period dramawww.theguardian.com Lee Tamahori captures the might and majesty of Aotearoa in this stately film, with Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne giving an electric performance

I can't tell you what accent Jean Claude Van Damme speaks in his new film, because that question has dogged cineastes for decades. But I can tell you that he's pretty good as a Broken Man who has Made Mistakes. My review of Darkness of Man

Darkness of Man movie review: a grizzled Van Damme makes this almost-noir workwww.flicks.com.au At a push you could describe Van Damme’s latest as neo-noir: a more accommodating label than the more befitting “B-movie”.

Alice Englert (the daughter of Jane Campion) delivers an excellent performance as a young photographer in the new, Sydney-set TV drama Exposure. Here's my review

Exposure review – Alice Englert shines in this interesting, if flawed mystery serieswww.theguardian.com It takes a while to feel immersed in this Sydney-set drama, following a woman investigating her friend’s death – but there’s a lot to appreciate here

Russell Crowe has been getting into excorisms. I compare his two, very pulpy exorcism movies. One spectacularly scales up, the other is psychologically reductive

What’s the best Russell Crowe exorcism movie?www.flicks.com.au Rusty whips out a crucifix in both The Pope’s Exorcist and new horror The Exorcism—which one’s more demonically entertaining?

Russell Crowe has been getting into excorisms. I compare his two, very pulpy exorcism movies. One spectacularly scales up, the other is psychologically reductive

What’s the best Russell Crowe exorcism movie?www.flicks.com.au Rusty whips out a crucifix in both The Pope’s Exorcist and new horror The Exorcism—which one’s more demonically entertaining?

Russell Crowe has been getting into excorisms. I compare his two, very pulpy exorcism movies. One spectacularly scales up, the other is psychologically reductive

What’s the best Russell Crowe exorcism movie?www.flicks.com.au Rusty whips out a crucifix in both The Pope’s Exorcist and new horror The Exorcism—which one’s more demonically entertaining?

In case you were wondering: yes, big juicy twists are hereditary. My review of Ishana Shyamalan's debut feature The Watchers, a horror movie set in a forest ruled by voyeuristic monsters

The Watchers movie review: different Shyamalan, same eerie atmosphere and big twistswww.flicks.com.au I enjoyed the film’s slippery mood; the feeling we’re on uneven ground, about to give way to some higher or lower reality.

The big-hearted Australian comedy series Austin - starring Love on the Spectrum's Michael Theo - is very sharply executed and laugh-out-loud funny. My review of its delightful first season

Austin review – this funny, big-hearted comedy will leave you wanting another seasonwww.theguardian.com Love on the Spectrum star Michael Theo is wonderful as an autistic man who tracks down his hapless father and his wife

Here's my review of Hit Man (now on Netflix), which subverts the killer for hire genre and creates a sweetly sadistic rom-com

Hit Man movie review: a breezy not-quite assassin movie from Richard Linklaterwww.flicks.com.au It’s a minor work for the veteran director but nevertheless a rock-solid genre subversion; with Glen Powell at full affability.

In Netflix's new series Eric, Benedict Cumberbatch joins a history of characters accompanied by weird child-like creatures. How does this production compare to others? My review

Eric TV review: Benedict Cumberbatch sees fuzzy monsters in sensationally flawed serieswww.flicks.com.au Any potential humour in this 1980s-set drama gets smothered by a morose tone and sticky, moody aesthetic.

This month's biggest and most interesting streaming releases include House of the Dragons season 2, Richard Linklater's new film Hit Man, Jake Gyllenhaal’s thriller Presumed Innocent and The Bear season 3

Priscilla, The Bear and Black Barbie: what’s new to streaming in Australia in Junewww.theguardian.com Plus new House of the Dragon, Glen Powell as a fake hit man and a very entertaining new ABC comedy

One of the first people to read the new Japanese translation of my book is legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear and Death Stranding 🔥🏍🚨

YouTube influencer Jenny Nicholson's four hour anatomy of the failed Star Wars hotel has gone viral. And so it should: here's me on why this long and detailed video is excellent, addictive viewing

Why the internet loves Jenny Nicholson’s 4 hour video on the Star Wars hotel – and you will toowww.flicks.com.au The pace of this viral critique is great, many movies feeling far longer than Spectacular Failure’s elephantine 245 minute runtime.

Was J Lo's new Netflix film written by malfunctioning software? My review of Atlas, the dumbest sci-fi of the year

Atlas movie review: J.Lo plays smart scientist in dumb battle with AIwww.flicks.com.au Lines like “you can’t trust any AI” feel clumsy, having no weight or impact; more like expended oxygen than human speech.

In Tires, Shane Gillis reminds us that racist accents are a hill upon which he's prepared to die. But...what bit's the funny bit?

Tires TV review: Shane Gillis half-asses this Netflix workplace comedywww.flicks.com.au The show’s biggest problem is not that it’s exhaustingly meatheaded and masculine (which it is) but that it’s not very funny.

But the conservatives told us, again and again, that real action on the climate would cost too much

Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought – reportwww.theguardian.com A 1C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product, researchers have found

Happy 40th birthday, Amadeus! I revisit this fabulously frisky Mozart film, which has an intoxicating punch-drunk spirit. It’s about dealing with greatness when it’s not your own

Retrospective: 40 years on, the joyfully frisky Amadeus hasn’t aged a daywww.flicks.com.au Miloš Forman’s Oscar-winning classic is no stuffy period piece: sometimes quietly audacious, sometimes loud and strange.

The cuddly characters in the family film IF are supposed to be adorably strange - but I wanted to assault them with the nearest blunt instrument. Here's my review

IF movie review: Ryan Reynolds is terribly flat in middling kids filmwww.flicks.com.au John Krasinski shoots for an earnest Spielbergian glow, but arrives somewhere deflatingly twee and saccharine.

The Way, My Way is an almost audaciously undramatic Australian film about walking the Camino de Santiago. It celebrates life’s simple pleasures: walking, talking, imbibing

The Way, My Way review – a pleasurable walk on the Camino de Santiagowww.theguardian.com Adapted from Bill Bennett’s memoir, this film about his time hiking the 800km trail celebrates life’s simplest pleasures: walking, talking, imbibing

I literally wrote the book on Mad Max. Here's my review of Furiosa - a beast of a movie, scattered and a little out of control but wildly and enjoyably so

Furiosa movie review: it's no Fury Road - but this beast of a movie delivers the goodswww.flicks.com.au Ready to return to the Wasteland? The highly anticipated new Mad Max movie is a long and bumpy ride,

Produced by Eli Roth, The Faceless Lady is a horror series unlike any other - while at the same time bulging with boilerplate elements. My thoughts on a strangely immersive slice of next-gen storytelling

The Faceless Lady review: classic haunted castle horror - told in 180 VRwww.flicks.com.au Eli Roth produces this scary series, which doesn’t take full advantage of its unique storytelling format.

I'm a big fan of the Planet of the Apes series. No other franchise is like it. These films open up interesting spaces involving empires, legends, allegories. Here's why the latest film is worth your time

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie review: a riveting, palate-cleansing rebootwww.flicks.com.au A classic “hero’s journey” arc, the usual impressive mo-cap performances, monkey religion…Apes 4 has it all.

I couldn't get enough of Dark Matter. Smashed through it in three successive evenings, then bought the book. Here's my thoughts on one of the best TV shows of the year

Dark Matter TV review: a rivetingly personal sci-fi that stretches to infinitywww.flicks.com.au Joel Edgerton keeps this Apple TV+ series grounded, without sounding like a vehicle for sci-fi gobbledegook.

Oh dear. Jerry Seinfeld's directorial debut, Unfrosted, is lame, tame comedy that tries very hard and gets old very quick. A big Pop-Tart shaped lemon. My review

Unfrosted movie review: Seinfeld isn't in on the joke in soggy cereal parodywww.flicks.com.au The film’s humour is kind of dad-like, staged with unashamed dagginess. Maybe that’s the problem—a lack of shame.