Richard Gray
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thereelbits.bsky.social
Richard Gray
@thereelbits.bsky.social
Films and random thoughts | He/him | Gadigal Country | Editor of TheReelBits.com + TravelWhileNerdy.com | OFCS member | Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/TheReelBits/ | Opinions are my own and often odd.
🔊 IN STEREO WHERE AVAILABLE. 🔊
#BusanFilmFestival is this week. Busan isn’t just home to one of Asia’s biggest film festivals — the whole city is steeped in #cinema. From BIFF Square to movie museums and Marvel locations, it’s a film lover’s playground. #KoreanFilm #KMovies #SouthKorea

www.travelwhilenerdy.com/blog/busan-f...
Busan for Film Fans - Movie Landmarks and Filming Locations Guide — Travel While Nerdy
From BIFF Square to Train to Busan and Black Panther locations, explore South Korea’s cinematic city with this film lover’s guide to Busan’s movie sites, museums, and more.
www.travelwhilenerdy.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:13 AM
A grimly compelling dystopian tale that blends relentless tension with Stephen King’s mastery of raw human endurance. #THELONGWALK is in cinemas this week.

thereelbits.com/2025/09/09/r...
Review: The Long Walk
Dystopian fiction has a very different flavour in 2025. In THE LONG WALK, adapted from Stephen King’s 1979 novel (written as Richard Bachman), some nameless war has left the US under a totalitarian…
thereelbits.com
September 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
September 9, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Forty years ago today, Paul Verhoeven unleashed FLESH + BLOOD, a bawdy, brutal medieval epic that left audiences both horrified and fascinated—and hinted at the Hollywood blockbusters to come.

thereelbits.com/2025/08/30/f...
Flesh + Blood at 40: Paul Verhoeven’s bloody medieval epic
Celebrate 40 years of Paul Verhoeven’s Flesh + Blood, the violent and bawdy medieval epic that bridged his European films and Hollywood blockbusters.
thereelbits.com
August 30, 2025 at 12:46 AM
After a nice little break from writing, I poured a cup of tea and settled into the cosy crime rhythms of 'The Thursday Murder Club' adaptation, now on Netflix. thereelbits.com/2025/08/29/r...
Review: The Thursday Murder Club
“Everybody’s got llamas these days.”
thereelbits.com
August 28, 2025 at 11:21 PM
What movie do you consider "perfect"? 🎬
August 27, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Now that it's on Netflix, here's a flashback to my #DEVO review from @melbfilmfest.bsky.social last year. This is just the film, just the film, the film U want. thereelbits.com/2024/08/13/r...
Review: DEVO
“You’re from the Midwest. You don’t talk about feelings.”
thereelbits.com
August 20, 2025 at 12:44 AM
I think I speak for all Australian film fans in saying how important David Stratton was in building the foundations of film culture here. Fighting film censorship, the @sydfilmfest.bsky.social, championing Australian cinema and taking film criticism seriously. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...
Film critic David Stratton dies aged 85
His family announced his death on Thursday afternoon, saying he died peacefully in hospital near his home in the Blue Mountains.
www.abc.net.au
August 14, 2025 at 5:23 AM
James J. Robinson's FIRST LIGHT (2025) is a visually exquisite and quietly probing debut that explores faith, power, and the loss of innocence. Now playing at @melbfilmfest.bsky.social #MIFF2025 thereelbits.com/2025/08/12/r...
Review: First Light
“This place will be the death of us.”
thereelbits.com
August 12, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Now watching 'The Gnome-Mobile' (1967), one of the live action films released in the year following Walt Disney's death. These opening matte shots, from the master Peter Ellenshaw, are striking.
August 11, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Eric San/Kid Koala's SPACE CADET is now playing at @melbfilmfest.bsky.social. His wordless animated debut is a tender, visually striking tale of connection across distance. thereelbits.com/2025/08/10/r...
Review: Space Cadet
“Are you sure?”
thereelbits.com
August 10, 2025 at 3:03 AM
To mark the 10th anniversary of #Hamilton opening at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway on 6 August 2015, I reflect on the time I saw it in Hamburg. In German. www.travelwhilenerdy.com/blog/hamilto...
Hamilton turns 10: Seeing the musical in Hamburg (in German!) — Travel While Nerdy
How does a scrappy musical tracing a nation's dawn, take flight and land on streets of the Reeperbahn? This week marks 10 years since Hamilton first opened to the general public at the Richard Roger...
www.travelwhilenerdy.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Now watching.
July 28, 2025 at 10:01 AM
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
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.
thereelbits.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:49 AM
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...
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...
www.travelwhilenerdy.com
July 19, 2025 at 1:38 AM
🚢 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...
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.
thereelbits.com
July 18, 2025 at 9:07 AM
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...
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.
thereelbits.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:19 PM
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...
Review: Superman (2025)
“I party like a rock star, choir boy.”
thereelbits.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Richard Gray
I can’t speak for anyone else, but this 1945 press ad for Green Giant Peas & Niblets just freaks the heck out of me.
July 15, 2025 at 8:26 PM
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...
Before the MCU: X-Men (2000) and the dawn of the modern superhero film
“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution.”
thereelbits.com
July 13, 2025 at 1:55 AM
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.
July 11, 2025 at 9:47 AM
#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...
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.
thereelbits.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
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
Review: Superman (2025)
“I party like a rock star, choir boy.”
thereelbits.com
July 8, 2025 at 8:45 PM
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
Before the MCU: 20 Years since Fantastic Four (2005)
“It’s catchy, right?”
thereelbits.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:27 AM
🚀 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
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.
thereelbits.com
July 6, 2025 at 11:49 PM