Stephen A. Russell

Arts and Film Editor at Time Out Sydney

Scotstralian. Melbourne by way of Glasgow. Award-winning film critic, arts journo and political dork. Aboriginal land, never ceded. He/him (all snorts my own).

Articles

Critic’s Picks: 10 top movies to see at Sydney Film Festival in 2025

1 week ago | timeout.com | Stephen A. Russell

NewsFrom incel aliens to a Broadway tragedy, this year’s jacked SFF program has it allWritten by Stephen A RussellContributorWednesday 7 May 2025FacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppPhotograph: Supplied/SFF | 'Together'AdvertisingCalling all cinephiles: the Sydney Film Festival just launched a huge program for 2025, and a galaxy of engrossing screen stories is set to take over cinemas across the city.
Turn up the volume on the Music in the Movies collection

2 weeks ago | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

Music and the movies have always been intertwined, from the days of in-theatre piano players accompanying silent films to purpose-written scores and on. With the glittering mayhem of , let’s whizz through a few melodious highlights of our . It’s impossible to do justice to legendary musician, singer-songwriter extraordinaire, gifted producer and impeccably sexy performer Prince in a pithy paragraph. The Minneapolis-born legend transcends words and reshaped musical history in his own slinky image.
“Next level”: Marc Fennell on the twists and turns uncovered in ‘The Secret DNA of Us’

1 month ago | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

Between shooting the first two episodes of The Secret DNA of Us – a world-first show in which the residents of four Australian towns and suburbs are mass DNA-tested to find out more about where their family comes from – host Marc Fennell recorded his upcoming episode of “It’s hard for me to untangle those experiences, because they are so related,” host Fennell says of exploring the unexpected twist and turns of his Indian-Irish background while surprising a raft of fellow Australians with...
'The Handmaid’s Tale': Who’s who and where are they at?

1 month ago | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

Trigger warning: Sexual abuse, violence and suicide. It’s been so long between the dramatic final of show-runner Bruce Miller’s The Handmaid’s Tale season five and the imminent finale – 2.5 years! – that the US has managed to slide considerably closer to the dystopian vision of Margaret Atwood’s prophetic source novel.
Sex, spies and concealed crimes: Explore the Soderbergh collection

1 month ago | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

American auteur Steven Soderbergh is a remarkable man. More often than not, he acts as his own cinematographer and editor (under the pseudonyms Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard respectively) and is one of the few individuals to score an Oscar nomination for Best Director for two separate films in one year. He won it for drug trade drama Traffic in 2001, beating himself with the Julia Roberts-led legal activist biopic Erin Brockovich.
'Playing Nice' and 'Nowhere Special' star James Norton talks challenging roles and living vividly

2 months ago | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

Dashing actor and emerging producer James Norton played Dido’s would-be suitor, Oliver Ashford, in Amma Asante’s ravishing 2013 period drama . He also depicted Laurie’s tutor, John Brooke, in Greta Gerwig’s update on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, Little Women. But he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed. “The industry does like, once you’ve done one role, to put you back into that, because it’s, less risk,” Norton grins rakishly. “If someone’s tried and tested, then they might as well do it again.
Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater reunite for a sassy and heartsore gem.

2 months ago | timeout.com | Stephen A. Russell

Photograph: © Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures ClassicsReview4 out of 5 starsRichard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott team up for a sassy and heartsore gemFilmRecommendedMonday 17 March 2025FacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppAdvertisingTime Out says‘Blue moon, you saw me standing alone’ runs the line from songwriting double-act Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s classic ballad.
Peter Hujar’s Day

2 months ago | timeout.com | Stephen A. Russell

Photograph: Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Ben Whishaw Ira Sachs’ ‘Peter Hujar's Day’ Review 4 out of 5 stars The artistic struggle is real for a mesmerising Ben Whishaw in Ira Sachs’ ode to friendship Film Recommended Monday 17 March 2025 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email WhatsApp Advertising Time Out says The last time James Bond star Ben Whishaw worked with Love is Strange director Ira Sachs, his sweet-natured printer Martin was stuck in a hot mess tug-of-war with Franz Rogowski’s...
15 of the best scenes in glorious drama 'Pose'

Feb 13, 2025 | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

When Pose co-creator Steven Canals sketched out the initial idea for the ground-breaking trans person of colour-led show, he was willing into being the TV program he so desperately needed to see as a young man. Partnering with queer super-producer Ryan Murphy and business partner Brad Falchuk, the resulting Ballroom-centred drama delivered a huge representation boost.
Explore a world of vibrant stories in the Celebrating Pride Collection

Feb 10, 2025 | sbs.com.au | Stephen A. Russell

Love is love in these fantastic films and television shows that embrace all the colours of the queer rainbow. What happens when you combine star and Black Snow lead Brooke Satchwell in ambo overalls? A whole lotta chemistry, is what. They play front-line heroes on long, often hard shifts, staving off other folks’ deaths as best as they can while confronting car crashes both literal and metaphorical.