Dr Luke Buckmaster

Sam Neill’s 20 best roles – sorted! The New Zealand actor has been delivering cracking performances for more than 40 years. Here’s our pick of the crop

Scientists, farmers, spies, cops, priests: is there any role Sam Neill can’t play? Here's my ranked list of his 20 all-time greatest performances www.theguardian.com/film/2025/au...

Conclave, The Brutalist and The Thursday Murder Club: what’s new to streaming in Australia in August Plus Jason Momoa plays a real-life Hawaiian warrior chief, Keeley Hawes is a menopausal assassin, and a new Final Destination film

Big titles arriving on streaming in August include pulse-pounding drama Conclave, Netflix's latest murder mystery series and a new animation from the creator of BoJack Horseman. My monthly column

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The Happy Gilmore movies give golf a much-needed kick in the nads Who needs originality when Happy Gilmore 2 has a good old-fashioned comeback narrative, awkward golf swings, and angry outbursts?

I'm a fan of the Happy Gilmore movies, which make me LOL. Me on how the sequel connects to Joseph Campbell’s monomyth template. Not to, you know, get too serious...

A very, very, very serious review of CatVideoFest This is critic Luke Buckmaster’s in-depth and very serious dissection of CatVideoFest, a groundbreaking insight into the feline psyche.

"One could pen an infinite array of words about this film and its incalculable panoplies of meaning."

@lukebuckmaster.bsky.social keeps it finite, if feline...

A very, very, very serious review of CatVideoFest This is critic Luke Buckmaster’s in-depth and very serious dissection of CatVideoFest, a groundbreaking insight into the feline psyche.

After nearly three decades as a film critic, I might have finally written my masterpiece

Westworld Awakening review: mind-bending stealth horror The idea of virtual characters breaking free of the imaginary world and spilling over into the real one is a trippy concept—relevant anew in this time of rapidly accelerating VR, MR and AI technologie...

I revisit the excellent and under-appreciated VR horror game Westworld Awakening, which reinvigorates the Westworld premise with an interesting take on the “simulation inside a simulation” scenario.

Austin season two review – this comedy is now coasting on good vibes and Michael Theo’s charm It lacks the stakes and pace of the first season, but the ABC’s comedy about a autistic man and his recently discovered British family has enough to satisfy viewers

It lacks the stakes and pace of the first season, but the ABC’s comedy about a autistic man and his recently discovered British family has enough to satisfy viewers. My review of Austin season 2

Holy Cow is a coming-of-age drama with a whiff of cheese, and a lot of soul Cheesemaking meets coming-of-age chaos in this acclaimed French drama full of heart, hormones, and Comté dreams.

Acclaimed French coming-of-age drama Holy Cow deserves its reputation. Me on a film full of heart, hormones, and Comté dreams

Comedy or thriller? The cringe-inducing pleasure of Friendship Tim Robinson blurs the line between weirdo and deranged menace in this warped black comedy, which combines gut laughs and stomach-turning tension.

Friendship is a rare combination of comedy and thriller, with Tim Robinson blurring the line between weirdo and deranged menace. My review

Westworld Awakening review: mind-bending stealth horror The idea of virtual characters breaking free of the imaginary world and spilling over into the real one is a trippy concept—relevant anew in this time of rapidly accelerating VR, MR and AI technologie...

Westworld Awakening is a massively under-appreciated VR game from 2019. It reinvigorates, and expands, some of the most interestings ideas from the TV show

The politics of James Gunn's Superman James Gunn’s new superhero movies flirts with big ideas, then treats moral ambiguity as if it’s kryptonite.

James Gunn’s new superhero movies flirts with big ideas, then treats moral ambiguity as if it’s kryptonite. Me on the politics - or "politics" - of Superman

The Jurassic movies won’t go meta, because it’d expose the real monster Like its predocessors, Jurassic World Rebirth refuses to go fully meta. The reason is because this would mean confronting the real monster: corporate greed.

Jurassic Park/World movies never admit that bringing dinosaurs back from extinction, and refusing to let this film franchise die, come from the same place: corporate greed.

10 great book-to-movie adaptations From schoolroom staples to drug-fueled fever dreams, Luke Buckmaster hails some of the finest book-to-film transformations.

What are your favourite book-to-movie adaptations? Here's 10 of mine

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Ang Lee’s Hulk is a bad movie, but it could’ve changed cinema A split-screen revolution lost in a green blur: Luke Buckmaster explains how Ang Lee’s 2003 superhero movie could’ve been a game-changing production.

I wholeheartedly believe the words in this headline. Perhaps I can convince you too...

Seven days, seven docos: Indigenous documentaries to watch this Naidoc Week – and most are free From an ‘electrically powerful’ look at the final chapter of Adam Goodes’ AFL career to a must-see portrait of Gurrumul, along with Australia’s ‘greatest protest movie’

Australian readers: here's seven excellent docos to stream, celebrating the culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Overseas readers: hopefully some of these are available where you live too

The quiet, striking power of The Wolves Always Come at Night This visually rich hybrid film explores Mongolian herders’ lives, sacred folklore, and the haunting conditions of the Gobi Desert.

"Window to the world" films transport us into other cultures and lived experiences. Here's my review of The Wolves Always Come at Night, a beautifully textured drama about Mongolian herders

To Kill a Mockingbird: a call to compassion that’s more urgent than ever The 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s enduring courtroom drama is a manifesto for tolerance. It’s lost none of its power today

How many people watched this film - or read the book - during high school, and ever forgot it? I revisit To Kill a Mockingbird, and discover it's more relevant than ever

Better Man, Sinners and Happy Gilmore 2: what’s new to streaming in Australia in July Plus a celebration of Jaws as it turns 50, a smart Lena Dunham comedy starring Megan Stalter and a laugh-out-loud look at Australia’s housing crisis

The sequel to Happy Gilmore, a new Lena Dunham comedy series, Robbie Williams as a chimp and more: here's my column on the best new streaming titles arriving in July

Fast cars, flat drama: F1’s sanitised comeback narrative F1 is a comeback story that skips the grit—no risks, no wreckage, just shiny cars and algorithm-approved emotional beats.

F1 is a comeback story that skips the grit—no risks, no wreckage, just shiny cars and algorithm-approved emotional beats. My review

More than a shark: how Jaws predicted the politics of climate inaction On its 50th birthday, we revisit Jaws and discover it isn’t just about a shark—it’s a razor-toothed parable on ignoring climate science.

I'm surprised that more people haven't reconsidered Jaws, as a parable about climate inaction. Here's my piece, timed to its 50th birthday

With Trainweck and Titan, Netflix deliver tragedy by algorithm Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy and Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster prove Netflix loves tragedy—packaged neat, optimized, and ready to binge.

Two popular Netflix documentaries unpack events that are unquestionably in the public interest. So why did I feel a little dirty after watching? Me on tragedy by algorithm

Dangerous Animals review – serial killer meets shark movie in this formulaic fizzer Jai Courtney eats up his role as the crazed captain of a tourist boat – but he can’t quite wrestle this creature feature from its straitjacket

For a long time, serial killer and shark movies were separate forms of cinema; never the twain did meet. In Dangerous Animals they’ve been blended into one foul fishy stew. My review

Mix Tape review – it’s easy to fall for this sweet and intense romance Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess are fantastic as two people who reunite years after they dated as teenagers, with plenty of needle drops for great 80s music

The question “will they or won’t they?” permeates many romantic stories. It's been deepened and expanded in interesting ways in this excellent, gracefully staged Irish-Australian drama. My review of Mix Tape

Ocean with David Attenborough is a softly-spoken sledgehammer A quiet voice with seismic impact, David Attenborough confronts destruction with clarity, wisdom, and hope.

Oceans rise; empires fall; fashions come and go. But the mighty David Attenborough remains, says @lukebuckmaster.bsky.social.

Attenborough confronts destruction with clarity, wisdom, and hope in a powerful new doco assessing the devastating global impact of overfishing.

The Golden Spurtle review – a cosy celebration of porridge and its champions This Australian documentary about the world porridge championships, held each year in a Scottish village, is as wholesome and nourishing as its oat-stirring subjects

This Australian doco about the world porridge-making championship is very sweet and agreeable: a palate-pleasing celebration of the noble oat. My review of The Golden Spurtle

Bono: Stories of Surrender (immersive) review - returning and defying the frame Anybody who’s watched a film in an IMAX cinema, partly shot using IMAX cameras, understands how changes in aspect ratio can trigger a visceral response. For the uninitiated, here’s what happens. The f...

The VR version of Bono: Stories of Surrender has some magical moments. Me on how this experience both uses and obliterates the conventional movie frame

Bedevil was Australia’s first feature film by an Aboriginal woman. Thirty years on, it’s still pioneering Tracey Moffatt’s triptych of ghost stories melts time and shifts tone with little warning. It’s unsettling, audacious – and so crazy it works

The first feature film directed by an Australian Aboriginal woman still doesn't get the kudos it deserves. Me on the amazingly surreal Bedevil

Wicked, Mountainhead and Nicolas Cage’s Surfer: what’s new to streaming in Australia in June Plus Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl, an animated adaptation of Magic Beach and David Attenborough’s plea for the world’s oceans

Nic Cage goes crazy at a beach; another Australian coastal drama; Sean Bean as a crime boss; the latest from David Attenborough and more. Here's my monthly streaming column