Josh O'Connor visiting Western Australia over Christmas is nice. Here's hoping he decides to make a movie here.

I mean, mine is pretty obvious, but if you need a hint: Modern Australian cinema is it

Ten Canoes is twenty years old this year and still as brilliant as when it was first released.

No film is made worse by the presence of dancing.

What's up besties I'm finally writing again. New year old me etc. Here's some cool/super uncool stuff I got from bargain bins across the land (really just Melbourne and Sydney) last year. They may not inspire envy in your heart, but I hope a few of them might be of interest.

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There are a lot of treasures in Australian cinema that require some digging. Thank god Andrew has made that dig easier.

I saw 12 Australian films in the cinema in 2025. This is my ranking: 1. Inside 2. The Wolves Always Come at Night 3. The Golden Spurtle 4. The Surfer 5. Bring Her Back 6. Lesbian Space Princess 7. Kangaroo 8. The Correspondent 9. Spit 10. Dangerous Animals 11. Together 12. Beast of War #FilmSky

And here it is. The Best Australian Films of 2025. Sign up to our free or paid newsletter to read the full list: www.thecurb.com.au/best-austral...

Halt and Catch Fire final moments of the last episode.

the Curb’s annual Best Australian Films list will be published exclusively for free and paid newsletter subscribers on Tuesday 6 January 2026. Sign up to get the list in your inbox via theCurb.com.au/subscribe. Paid subscribers have a chance to win a copy of the number one film on the list.

Sydney and Melbourne folks are getting 70mm ping pong very soon. www.thecurb.com.au/press-releas...

We're only five days into the new year and the ABC adaptation of Shaun Tan's Tales From Outer Suburbia is one of the best shows of the year. Here's a chat with Geraldine Hakewill about her voice work as Lucy on the show. www.thecurb.com.au/tales-from-o...

Kicking off this challenge with a Rolf de Heer film #AussieX26 #JanuAussie Incident at Raven's Gate (1988) A small Australian town is stricken by unusual occurrences; electrical faults, violent and psychotic human behavior. www.imdb.com/title/tt0095...

Good Dancers - The Sleepy Jackson youtu.be/sE0Ld9cP1Gk?...

Wolf Creek is set in Western Australia and the characters party all night and watch the sun rise... ...over the ocean.

Folks who run newsletters or websites, I can give a full recommendation to shifting over to ghost.io if you need a platform to host on or get your work out. If you need a paid platform, I use Magic Pages which is great and has excellent support. www.magicpages.co

No war on #Venezuela protests in #Australia. #HandsOffVenezuela #NoWarForOil #auspol

Tony Ginnane covering the international box office of Aussie films for 2025: www.filmink.com.au/the-internat...

Right. Best Aussie Films of 2025 list is done. I'm not looking at it again. Instead, I'm putting this film in front of my eyes.

I'm seriously starting to question the credibility of the FIFA Peace Prize.

On this, there's going to be a lot of Americans here in Western Australia soon and having spoken to some Americans who are already here, there's a real urgent drive to de-Americanise their accents.

It's a first having made a film that's someone's last for a year. ❤️

the Curb’s annual Best Australian Films list will be published exclusively for free and paid newsletter subscribers on Tuesday 6 January 2026. Sign up to get the list in your inbox via theCurb.com.au/subscribe. Paid subscribers have a chance to win a copy of the number one film on the list.

A Grand Mockery on Blu-ray. You need this film in your life. vinegarsyndrome.com/products/a-g...

First | Last for 2025

And if you lived in Australia, you had the added bonus of knowing that in America, they already had films out on VHS before they even hit theatrical release here. If you lived in country Australia, films were out on VHS before you even had them in cinemas.

Create a zine! I did 30 issues of a zine in protest when Louis DeJoy started his campaign to destroy the USPS and mail-in voting back in 2020.

The Australian Tumbleweed awards voting wraps up tomorrow. Go vote here if you know what that is: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Well that's just tops.

2025 in review! A bunch of really great books and TV shows alongside a shameful expose of how bad I am at keeping up with new movies. I ditched Substack this year and buttondown doesn't have any algorithmic properties, so if you enjoy my little blogs please share them along 💕

Celebrate the new year with free movie tickets on us! Click through for your chance to win an in-season double pass to see The Deb, in cinemas January 15.

While many are yet to peg release dates or may shift in the schedule, anticipation rises for this incredible array from Australian filmmakers - as selected by @stephenarussell.bsky.social

Two each because I hate choosing! 2020: Kajillionaire and Small Axe 2021: Petite Maman and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar 2022: Flux Gourmet and Showing Up 2023: La Chimera and Problemista 2024: I Saw the TV Glow and Nickel Boys 2025: Fucktoys and The Testament of Ann Lee

College BFF sends me handwritten postcards all the time and they absolutely make my day.

Over halfway through the decade! What are your favourite films each year so far? (Aussie film edition) 2020: Relic (Natalie Erika James) 2021: The Moogai (Jon Bell) 2022: The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour (Platon Theodoris) 2023: Talk to Me (Philippou's) 2024: Oi (Sophie Serisier) 2025: Out Tuesday

Fun tip: If you like your nations postal service, keep sending letters to people. There's been a reduction of letters sent over the years, so grab yourself a pack of postcards and get writing. Send your friends and family a handwritten note or letter. It'll be a lovely surprise for them.

Long live independent filmmaking. If you haven't seen A Grand Mockery, do yourself a favour and seek it out wherever you can.

This right here. In 2026, please reduce how many shit person screenshots you share. A lot of us know the shit exists and moved away from the shit to stop seeing shit. Bringing shit over here is just putting flaming shit on our doorstep. There's no need.

If Timothee Chalamet wins the best actor Oscar for Marty Supreme, it'll be the second time an actor playing a ping pong champion will have won best actor.

"I would like to meet a Lawrie." "Would you like to give him a pat?" "Yes please!" This is how you create joy.

Nice to see @saraclements.bsky.social getting a shout out by @letterboxd.social on a post about one of the most important films of 2026: The Voice of Hind Rajab www.instagram.com/p/DS200JOkVA...

Still writing my best of 2025 list. Had hoped to wrap it up, but alas, the words are slow at arriving and I've still got 13 entries to write up. Pressure is on (self applied) to finish it tomorrow because I go back to work on Monday and can't be leaving it unfinished then.

Deadline for our 2025 World Poll submissions is tomorrow, the 2nd of January!

I know that The Triffids have New Year's Greetings as a suitable song for right now, but for me, Tender is the Night is maybe the most apt song for bringing in a new year. 'Where you are, it will just be getting light' youtu.be/6bA11utlUsk?...

Oh, ok Netflix, you don't actually want people to watch this show then.

Going into 2026 with this energy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTZ3...

This is Perth's version of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiGW...

2025 had a few bright spots, but the one I'm thinking about today is Peter Dutton contesting an election and losing not only the entire thing, but also getting voted out of his seat too. Sweet treats are made of these.