FESTIVAL PREVIEW:
We substitute our regular weekly rewind segment to share our excitement over the Sydney Film Festival programme being revealed. We give you a taste of a few films, running through our picks, films we decided not to see, and which films both boys are seeing.

Luke plays Nashen’s real voice for Sam, and the boys dream of becoming fast friends with the Festival Director. Sam makes the prediction of 10 more films coming out of Cannes [edit: Whoa! Spot on!] and tells us about seeing the film schedule while at work.

Sam’s coming at this festival as his ‘learn to swim’ moment, whereas Luke has been going for the past few years. We won’t list all the titles here, check out the episode. We’ll have potential reviews and discussion coming in the Festival episode/s ahead once we decide on the format. Maybe we’ll record on the road.

WEEKLY REWIND:
Well, we sort of cover some viewing. During the trailers segment, Sam and Luke spontaneously talk about the genius of The Knick. Sam’s only seen one episode so far, but we have a lot to say about the production design, the music, the medical gore, Soderbergh’s retirement, picking up the title on sale, the possibility of a third season and comparing it to Fargo.

TRAILERS OF THE WEEK:
Yoga Hosers looks to be quite light in tone, which we expected from Smith’s Opera House talk, and even Sam as a devout Kevin Smith fan isn’t expecting too much. But we are excited for the proper debut of Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp and the sheer absurdity of the Bratzis.

Assassin’s Creed is revealed in a Kanye soundtracked teaser that shows off the production design and location shooting. We talk percentage of past versus present, Marion Cotillard and ask if the photos better than the trailer.

Sam talks social media and technology gone wrong in modern thriller Nerve. Starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, Sam gives a plot synopsis and we talk about the colourful look of the film.

On a roll with the plot recaps, Sam tells us about Don’t Breathe, a tense looking thriller with Stephen Lang as a gruff, dangerous blind man stalking teens that have invaded his home. We talk about the editing of the US trailer being much better and not wanting to sit through 5-second previews for previews.

Outcast, a show all about demonic possession, is on our radar for being an adaptation of Robert Kirkman material alone. But the visuals are slick and this Cinemax series could be the best horror show on TV when it airs. We talk about other horror shows and trip down a rabbit hole, going from The Omen to Richard Donner to Lethal Weapon to Rush Hour.

We also look at the intriguing trailer for The Accountant starring Ben Affleck and its use of droning and repetition. Plus, Ethan Hawke being an abusive dad in baseball drama The Phenom. Luke’s excited for Park Chan Wook’s latest, The Handmaiden, and also recommends you check out trailers of Into the Forest, The Woods, The Shallows and Hell or High Water.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: STAN’S WOLF CREEK
The Stan Original series Wolf Creek picks up where the Australian horror classic film franchise left off as Lucy Fry’s Eve finds her family slaughtered and sets off on a path of revenge against John Jarratt’s Mick Taylor. We’ve been looking forward to this series for a while, here at The Gaff!

After Sams give a brief synopsis, the boys discuss; the writing and structure of the series, exploration of recurring characters including Uncle Jack Charles, impressive location filming, the amount of nudity and gore, homages and connections to the films, episode pacing, viewing statistics, iconic horror villain Mick Taylor and his backstory, Lucy Fry’s performance and Eve’s trajectory, and even (without spoilers!) the finale and possibilities for a second season.