Robbie Williams continues to entertain us with Better Man. Nosferatu proves there’s still a lot of love for gothic horror. And is Mufasa still The Lion King? Plus a wrap up of the Golden Globes only on the Rushcutter Entertainment Report.
Hey everyone, I’m Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons and welcome back to the Rushcutter Entertainment Report. It’s officially 2025, so let’s start this year with a bang. I have not one, not two, but three reviews for you plus a full wrap up of the Golden Globes. Let’s go.
Before he was ringing in the new year with the spectacular Sydney fireworks, Robbie Williams was reminding us how far he has come from his days with Take That. This musical biopic captures the rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of the British pop superstar.
The story does well to tell Robbie’s story from his perspective in every angle, not shying away from the ugly side of fame, all the while taking the form of a CGI chimp, a perfect metaphor for how Robbie sees himself.
To say this is refreshingly honest and deeply personal is an understatement. This isn’t just a story about a musician’s rise to fame, but rather the perils of being addicted to the spotlight and the emotion that comes attached to it.
Unlike other biopics of late, Robbie’s input was valuable and his presence on screen, even under a CGI chimp face, is powerful. Michael Gracey’s direction is superb while the musical numbers are so inventive do some truly mesmerizing things that help bolster the story.
If you didn’t know who Robbie Williams was before seeing Better Man, you’ll certainly be singing his praises long after you’ve danced your way out of the cinema.
I give Better Man an 8/10. I was a Robbie Williams fan long before his solo career, and after seeing him perform not only at Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, but also at the 2022 AFL Grand Final, it’s safe to say I’m happy to let him entertain me. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to blast Rock DJ as loud as I can. I hope my neighbours are enjoying the show…
To say I’m a fan of The Lion King would be an understatement. My last name is Irons, I once played Scar on stage, and I have a tattoo of Scar on the back of my neck. It’s not my favourite Disney movie, but it’s certainly up there.
Mufasa looks stunning, and visually it’s a masterpiece. It builds on the 2019 live action remake and delivers a magnificent world that feels like you could visit just by stepping through the screen.
But that’s where my love for the film dies.
You see, Mufasa is a prequel to The Lion King, showing us where the great king of the Pridelands came from. But in doing so, Disney managed to recon the entire first film with some poorly thought out choices.
In the original, Scar and Mufasa are brothers, and it’s heavily implied that Scar is the younger of the two when he reminds Zazu that he was “first in line, until the little hairball was born.” Although, fun fact: Lions manes darken with age, so based on the fact that Scar has a black mane, it would easily be presumptuous to assume he was older. In this prequel, Mufasa is an outsider, welcomed into Scar’s pride.
Scar’s jealousy of Mufasa is well documented. What was presented in this undervalues what lore was already known. Scar’s motivations throughout this entire movie were simply there to push the plot forward. And even then, there’s a lot of questions left unanswered.
The writing is awful, with clunky, heavy-handed dialogue and a clumsy plot full of holes with weak exposition thrown in to keep things moving.
Continuity is a big issue. Mufasa starts out as a British cub, turned American teenager, and somewhat inconsistent mid-Atlantic wander thereafter. And none could hold a candle to the deep, powerful voice of James Earl Jones.
Beloved characters now grind on your every nerve. Timon and Pumbaa have gone from being endearing misfits and useful mid-movie comic reliefs to jarring and constant interruptions. Each line feels forced. This isn’t what one would expect from a theatrical cut, but rather a straight home release feature. This is a soulless cash grab.
As for the music…. The Lion King is one of the most popular and well-received Disney soundtracks of all time. From The Circle of Life to Be Prepared to Hakuna Matata and the Oscar winning Can You Feel The Love Tonight the soundtrack is as memorable as the film itself. This soundtrack lacks the catchy melodies and powerful lyrics that fans have come to expect from not only The Lion King franchise, but from Disney. The music fails to capture the magic and emotional depth that made the original songs so memorable.
I give Mufasa a 3/10. The visuals are exceptional but there is no substance in the storytelling. It lacks the charm that the classic film has. Outside of being pretty, the film is a messy, lazy cash grab at nostalgia.
Nosferatu is one of the most well-known creature features of the horror genre. Now, in the capable hands of director Robert Eggers, this gothic horror retelling of a classic tale is dazzling audiences the world over, proving there’s still a lot of love for vampires.
Firstly, the attention to detail here is impeccable; the period costumes and sets are beautiful, while the cinematography is phenomenal, with repeated uses of muted grey nighttime sequences that border on black and white. When the plague takes over in the later act, there’s a palpable sense of rot that is highly effective. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this style of filmmaking from Eggers as he proved his excellence for this style with his previous work.
As with the original 1922 film, and even Werner Herzog’s surreal 1979 remake, Eggers honours the source material. The original film itself was a derivative of Dracula so anyone who knows that classic story will more or less already have an understanding of happens in Nosferatu.
The cast is just as strong as the direction and storytelling. Lily-Rose Depp gives a formidable performance as the haunted Ellen Hutter, who is pursued by Count Orlok, who is masterfully brought to the screen by Bill Skarsgard. Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin fill out the well-rounded cast and deliver memorable performances. There is no weak links in this cast.
The first half of the film sees Thomas’s (Nicholas Hoult) travels to Transylvania and his first encounter with the Count are engrossing and beautifully contrasted with Ellen’s melancholic and eventual possession-like episodes back in urban Germany. And here’s a fun fact: The exteriors of Orlok’s castle were filmed at Hunedoara Castle, also known as Corvin Castle, a Romanian castle located in Transylvania and one of the largest medieval castles extant in Europe. And according to history, Vlad the Impaler, who the story of Dracula was based on, was briefly imprisoned there.
The film’s conclusion will hold no surprises for anyone remotely familiar with the previous tellings of the story, but Eggers’ screenplay and staging is nothing short of spectacular. However, it does stumble in the latter half as it seems to attempt to expand the material without reaching a fully satisfying conclusion.
I give Nosferatu a solid 7/10. The film is a gothic visual marvel in its own right, upheld by stunning cinematography and solid performances. It’s imperfect, but a showstopper nonetheless and one I highly recommend you see on the big screen.
Award season is officially here with The Golden Globes taking place this week.
And it wasn’t without glitz, glamour, and stunning surprises. Comedian Nikki Glaser hosted the show, roasting the winners in both film and TV categories.
Demi Moore landed herself a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for her role in the impressive horror movie, The Substance, eventually taking out the win, beating out fellow nominees Amy Adams, Cynthia Erivo, and Zendaya.
The Wild Robot, which if you remember back to my review, was easily my clear winner for Best Motion Picture – Animated, was beaten by Flow.
A new category was created – Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which saw movies like Deadpool & Wolverine go head to head with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Twisters, and Alien: Romulus, but it was the musical hit, Wicked that took out top honours.
Adrian Brody scored himself another accolade for his incredible work in The Brutalist, which also went on to win both Best Director – Motion Picture and Best Motion Picture – Drama.
A genuine surprise in the nominations came for Pamela Anderson, scoring herself a Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her role in The Last Showgirl. The Baywatch star took to the red carpet looking as glamourous as ever, sporting a no make-up look, which has become her signature in recent years. She lost to Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here, but easily landed on my best dressed list for the night.
Speaking of best dressed, we have to talk the fashion of the red carpet. Australia’s own Nicole Kidman is a golden girl when it comes to red carpet fashion, seldom ever putting a foot wrong. Her sparkling Balenciaga number teamed with her half up, half down hairstyle made for a iconic fashion statement.
Angelina Jolie returned the red carpet after settling her divorce from Brad Pitt with a stunning silver and grey fringed McQueen gown which had sheer accents through the midsection and arms. Speaking on the red carpet, she told reporters that despite it’s chain like appearance, the gown was quite comfortable.
Kate Winslet put her best foot forward with a stunning ivory pantsuit with black floral embellishments.
Dakota Fanning and her sister, Elle, turned up together and wowed the crowd with their style.
But all eyes were on Zendaya, who was a huge stand out in a gorgeous burnt orange custom gown by Louis Vuitton teamed with Bvlgari diamonds. Although, one diamond certainly got tongues wagging, and that was the diamond ring she sported on the all-important finger. Yes, it’s true. Spider-man has popped the question! Tom Holland and Zendaya used the award show to announce their engagement. Congratulations to the happy couple.
A full list of nominees and winners can be found in the description below.
And finally, fans of The Last of Us don’t have to wait long for the long-awaited second season.
Confirming an April premiere on Max, the latest teaser for Season 2 debuted this week at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas, giving another glimpse at some of the video game characters joining the show, including Abby, Dina and Isaac Dixon.
The one-minute teaser starts with Abby walking down a dark hallway as a siren blares, holding her gun and looking over her shoulder. It ends with Bella Ramsey‘s Ellie walking down what appears to be the same hallways, pointing a gun.
Abby also appears in one clip, crying as she kneels over a grave. In the video game, Abby is a soldier who ends up at odds with Ellie as she seeks vengeance for a loved one.
Fans were also treated to an update on the Until Dawn film – which is based on Sony's choose-your-own horror adventure game of the same name. Peter Stormare – who’s reprising his role of Dr. Alan J. Hill – appeared on stage via a prerecorded clip to confirm that the film (which is scheduled to land on April 25 this year) will focus on a new plot and cast – or “victims” as he described them. There was some uncertainty on if the film would be a direct remake of the games, but that now doesn’t seem to be the case.
It seems that movies based on video games is still a huge draw card for filmmakers. Sony confirmed that a film based on Horizon Zero Dawn is now in the works. Much like The Last of Us, it’s safe to expect that this will be fairly faithful to the source material.
Between you and me, I’m still excited for Until Dawn. It’s one of my favourite games. And one that I will subject Richard too one of these days. You better stay tuned to LiveDieReplay for that.
And that’s it for this week. Thanks so much for tuning in. Remember you can find me on Instagram and TikTok with @rhiannonelizabethirons for more entertainment news as well as cool behind the scenes snippets from the Rushcutter Entertainment. And while you’re at it, be sure to give Richard a follow on Instagram and TikTok too with @richardlovegrove.
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2025 Golden Globes winners — Film categories
Best Motion Picture — Drama
WINNER: The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
September 5
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Anora
Challengers
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
The Substance
Wicked
Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language
All We Imagine as Light
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
The Girl With the Needle
I'm Still Here
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Vermiglio
Best Motion Picture — Animated
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
Alien: Romulus
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Deadpool & Wolverine
Gladiator II
Inside Out 2
Twisters
WINNER: Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Director — Motion Picture
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Edward Berger, Conclave
WINNER: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
WINNER: Peter Straughan, Conclave
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
WINNER: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
Angelina Jolie, Maria
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door
WINNER: Fernanda Torres, I'm Still Here
Kate Winslet, Lee
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Gabriel LaBelle, Saturday Night
Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness
Glen Powell, Hit Man
WINNER: Sebastian Stan, A Different Man
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore, The Substance
Zendaya, Challengers
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Yura Borisov, Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Volker Bertelmann, Conclave
Daniel Blumberg, The Brutalist
Kris Bowers, The Wild Robot
Clément Ducol and Camille, Emilia Pérez
WINNER: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers
Hans Zimmer, Dune: Part Two
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
"Beautiful That Way," The Last Showgirl (Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, Lykke Zachrisson)
"Compress/Repress," Challengers (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino)
WINNER: "El Mal," Emilia Pérez (Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard)
"Forbidden Road," Better Man (Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek)
"Kiss the Sky," The Wild Robot (Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi)
"Mi Camino," Emilia Pérez (Clément Ducol, Camille)
2025 Golden Globes winners — TV categories
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
The Gentlemen
WINNER: Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Best Television Series – Drama
The Day of the Jackal
The Diplomat
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
WINNER: Shōgun
Slow Horses
Squid Game
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Donald Glover, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Eddie Redmayne, The Day of the Jackal
WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun
Billy Bob Thornton, Landman
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Emma D'Arcy, House of the Dragon
Maya Erskine, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Keira Knightley, Black Doves
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
WINNER: Anna Sawai, Shōgun
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Television Series
WINNER: Tadanobu Asano, Shōgun
Javier Bardem, Monsters
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Diego Luna, La Máquina
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Television Series
Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Dakota Fanning, Ripley
WINNER: Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Kali Reis, True Detective: Night Country
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER: Baby Reindeer
Disclaimer
Monsters
The Penguin
Ripley
True Detective: Night Country
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER: Colin Farrell, The Penguin
Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer
Kevin Kline, Disclaimer
Cooper Koch, Monsters
Ewan McGregor, A Gentleman in Moscow
Andrew Scott, Ripley
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer
WINNER: Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
Sofía Vergara, Griselda
Naomi Watts, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
Kate Winslet, The Regime
Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television
Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, Jamie Foxx
Nikki Glaser: Someday You'll Die, Nikki Glaser
Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking, Seth Meyers
Adam Sandler: Love You, Adam Sandler
WINNER: Ali Wong: Single Lady, Ali Wong
Ramy Youssef: More Feelings, Ramy Youssef
Special Awards
Cecil B. DeMille Award: Viola Davis
Carol Burnett Award: Ted Danson
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