Richard Gray

An establishing shot of Provence, France with the stylised yellow text reading 'MONKEYS, GO HOME!'

Poster for the 1967 Disney film 'Monkeys, Go Home!'

Now watching.

"Only a master of evil, Darth!"

KOFFIA 2025: Korean Film Festival returns in August KOFFIA 2025 brings 10 Korean premieres, Q&As with directors, and free screenings in 6 regional cities. Hear Me: Our Summer opens the festival.

It's always fun to share the news that the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) returns in August. Opening night film is 'Hear Me: Our Summer' and there's a 4K restoration of Shiri with Choi Min-sik.

thereelbits.com/2025/07/21/k...

#KMovies #FilmSky #KFilm #Korea #KPop #EXO

Mid-year highlights: What you loved on Travel While Nerdy in 2025 (So far!) — Travel While Nerdy We here at TWN love a bit of reflection. Taking a moment to look back on what’s happened is such a rich and valuable practice. These days, we’re all encouraged to go, go, go—but sometimes it’s worth p...

One of the things I've been doing more in the last few years is travelling, and writing about travelling, with my partner. Here's a few highlights from our year so far. www.travelwhilenerdy.com/blog/2025-so...

Disney Minus: Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN – a rubber dinghy of missteps Dick Van Dyke’s stranded Navy pilot can’t save Disney’s clumsy mix of slapstick, sexism and cultural insensitivity.

🚢 Disney Minus sails on! I’m still working my way through Disney’s entire filmography. This week’s stop is the baffling 'Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN' (1966).

Dick Van Dyke stranded with a chimp, Nancy Kwan, casual stereotypes, and somehow an endorsement by the US Navy.

thereelbits.com/2025/07/18/d...

Africa Film Fest Australia 2025 brings bold African cinema to Sydney AFFA 2025 returns to Sydney 4–7 September with The Heart is a Muscle, premieres, documentaries, animation, shorts & vibrant events.

Solid line-up at the African Film Festival in Sydney this September, especially if (like me) you missed The Heart is a Muscle at @sydfilmfest.bsky.social this year. Between that, Nteregu and the animation showcase, this is definitely one for Sydney film lovers.

thereelbits.com/2025/07/16/a...

Some international kitty vibes coming your way.

Review: Superman (2025) “I party like a rock star, choir boy.”

Just because the Superman Movie is trending here, I'm dropping my review back into the feed. Even a week later I find myself reflecting on the missed opportunities in a film I really wanted to love. thereelbits.com/2025/07/09/r...

So. Much. Product. Placement. I love that they kept finding shops and kiosks on a remote island so they could throw in a bit of branding.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but this 1945 press ad for Green Giant Peas & Niblets just freaks the heck out of me.

Thanks, mate. Yes, they never really managed to get the balance right with any of the other properties, did they? Daredevil, Elektra, Fantastic Four.

Before the MCU: X-Men (2000) and the dawn of the modern superhero film “Mutation: it is the key to our evolution.”

It’s been 25 years since X-Men (2000). This was the gateway mutant movie: a bold leap into the not-to-distant future. I revisit these days of future past, looking at how it helped change superhero cinema (possibly forever). #XMen #XMen25 #Marvel #ComicBookMovies

thereelbits.com/2025/07/13/x...

The US and Australian editions of Walt Disney's Strange Animals of Australia (1963).

Long before the Rescuers went down under, Disney put out this book: Strange Animals of Australia (1963) by Milton Lesser. Likely based on the Nature's Strangest Creatures film that came out in 1959, it catalogues how the world saw us in the 50s and 60s. The one on the right is the local edition.

MIFF 2025: Program reveals 275+ films, world premieres and live score events at Melbourne International Film Festival MIFF 2025 unveils over 275 films, world premieres, and festival headliners from August 7–24 in Melbourne and online.

#MIFF2025 Program reveals 275+ films, world premieres and live score events at Melbourne International Film Festival @melbfilmfest.bsky.social thereelbits.com/2025/07/10/m...

Review: Superman (2025) “I party like a rock star, choir boy.”

SUPERMAN (2025) is an ambitious Superman saga that struggles to find its footing amid an overcrowded plot, delivering flashes of humanity but too often lost in its own sprawling setup. thereelbits.com/2025/07/09/r...

#Superman #DCU

Before the MCU: 20 Years since Fantastic Four (2005) “It’s catchy, right?”

Has it really been 20 years since Fantastic Four (2005)? Before the MCU was a glimmer in Tony Stark’s eye, this joyfully silly take on Marvel’s First Family. I still have a soft spot for it.

🔗 thereelbits.com/2025/07/08/b...

#FantasticFour #FF2005 #ChrisEvans #FlameOn #ItsClobberinTime

Essential Superman comics to read before James Gunn’s Superman Get ready for James Gunn’s Superman (2025) with these must-read comics that capture the hero’s spirit, from All-Star Superman to Kingdom Come.

🚀 Up, up, and away! Ahead of @jamesgunn.bsky.social’s #Superman (2025), I’ve rounded up some of the best Superman comics to get you in the mood — from All-Star Superman to some of my favourite ’90s gems.

thereelbits.com/2025/07/07/e...

#SupermanMovie #JamesGunn #DCU #Comics #LookUp #ReadingList

Also: did anybody mention the irony of a TRAVEL company demanding office hours?

That Darn Cat (1965).

Happy today's date.

15 Years of film reviews: a look back at The Reel Bits Fifteen years of reviews, lists, festivals, interviews — and a few site meltdowns. The Reel Bits looks back, and ahead.

Today marks 15 years since I launched The Reel Bits and I'm still standing somehow! So, I wanted to take a little look back at some of my favourite moments and what's changed. thereelbits.com/2025/07/04/1...

This is heavy.

Great Scott! Back to the Future at 40 88 miles per hour, forty years later: Back to the Future remains a pop culture time machine, still as thrilling and clever as ever.

Has it really been 40 years? ⏰ I first saw Back to the Future at age six, and I still get chills every time the DeLorean hits 88mph. Here’s a personal look at one of my all-time favourites.

🔗 thereelbits.com/2025/07/03/b...

#BackToTheFuture #BTTF40 #Film #GreatScott

Review: Heads of State “Who let her watch Water Cobra?”

HEADS OF STATE (2025): I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Absurd, over-the-top, and mostly proud of it, this may not reinvent the presidential action caper, but with Cena and Elba having a blast, it delivers plenty of goofy, high-octane fun. My review: thereelbits.com/2025/07/02/r...

This!

a man says " the line must be drawn here " ALT: a man says " the line must be drawn here "

I was just saying to someone yesterday that I've been editing them out of my work because I'm the king of parenthetical thoughts. Now I'm going to defiantly join the resistance!

In my memory, the scene goes for a full five minutes.

Review: Jurassic World Rebirth “No French before breakfast.”

Big on spectacle but low on fresh ideas, Jurassic World Rebirth marks a technically solid but creatively tired return to the franchise.

thereelbits.com/2025/07/02/r...

#JurassicWorld #FilmReviews #FilmSky @ofcs.bsky.social