In her song, “Hindsight”, Ruby Mae looks back on her life, reflecting on the uncertainty of young adulthood, pursuing a music career, and feeling “lost” in her 20s. However, in the chorus, she reminds herself that at the end of the day she’s “moving on”, singing, “I’ve caught flights and I’ve been gone… I know…

For several seasons of Slow Horses, Sid Baker has existed almost like a ghost. Shot in the head during the first season and subsequently presumed dead, the capable MI5 agent disappeared from Slough House, leaving River Cartwright – and audiences – without any real sense of closure. But Sid wasn’t dead. She was simply living…

Martin McDonagh has long been fascinated by men who would sooner insult, maim or murder one another than admit they actually care. Friendship in his films is rarely expressed through anything resembling conventional affection; it arrives through arguments, threats, profanities and, occasionally, the reluctant acknowledgement that losing someone might hurt considerably more than expected. It…

If the modern media landscape increasingly feels like a race to see who can shout the loudest, frighten the most people, or manufacture the most irresistible headline, Ink is an electrifying reminder that none of this happened overnight. In adapting James Graham’s acclaimed stage play, director Danny Boyle traces such sensationalism back to the smoke-filled…

Good Things Festival is once again bringing us a massive celebration of alternative music this December, with the 2026 edition landing at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Friday December4, Sydney Showgrounds on Saturday December 5 and Brisbane Showgrounds on Sunday December 6. Headlined by Limp Bizkit, the lineup also features Simple Plan, Spiritbox, Bad Religion,…

It’s always special to reconnect with an artist whose journey we’ve been following from the beginning. Back in 2019, the AU review premiered BB Sabina’s debut single, “Feast”, so it’s a genuine thrill, seven years later, to be premiering their new album, Dissolve. A lot has changed in those intervening years. Singer and songwriter Beth…

Universal Studio Hollywood’s highly anticipated new roller coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift officially opens tomorrow, 16th September, and I was lucky enough to ride it last week amidst a summer of technical rehearsals. It’s the first outdoor thrill-coaster the Los Angeles park has ever seen, with the park’s rides typically leaning into the more…

Once upon a time, circa 2019, four young musicians, Ned, Ethan, Bec, and Van, headed out to a Twin Peaks concert in Melbourne. They met unexpectedly and decided to start a band, right there and then. Thus, Stimpies was born. “We were very refreshed to see and meet other people that were interested in the…

Thirty years after the release of If You’re Feeling Sinister, Belle and Sebastian proved that some albums become woven into the fabric of your life. You might not have listened to it for 20 years, but somehow you still know every word, the tracklisting and, as frontperson Stuart Murdoch delighted in testing the audience, exactly…

Charm can be its own form of menace in God Bless You, Mr Kopu, the feature debut of Tongan Kiwi writer-director Alex Liu, a darkly funny, increasingly sinister thriller that uses the seductive promise of success to explore power, race and belonging. Mafu (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a struggling Tongan immigrant whose fortunes seemingly change when…

Eora/Sydney indie-rock outfit The Tambourine Girls have returned with their fourth album, Hold Your Horses, a beautifully melodic record shaped by loss, friendship and the process of finding a way forward. At its emotional core is the death of much-loved band member and close friend Nick Weaver, but Hold Your Horses never feels weighed down…

Community theatre is an inherently strange little ecosystem. It’s a place where people with wildly different levels of talent, ambition and self-awareness come together and, for a few fleeting nights, treat a modest suburban stage as if they’re opening on Broadway. For some it’s a hobby. For others it’s a calling. And for the particularly…

I first saw Empire of the Sun at the Sydney Opera House in 2013. On the way out, I turned to my partner and said, “If you didn’t love that show, there’s something wrong with you.” I’ve caught them every time I’ve had the opportunity since, and the sentiment remains. Empire of the Sun transport you…

Friendships don’t necessarily end with an argument or betrayal. Sometimes life simply starts pulling two people in different directions, and the fear of what might be lost along the way can prove just as painful. That anxiety sits at the emotional centre of DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, a vibrant fantasy adventure that sends lifelong best…

Growing older has a way of revealing which friendships were chapters and which became part of the entire story. Or, as Forgotten Island co-director Januel Mercado rather wonderfully puts it, perhaps we’re not getting old so much as we’ve simply “been younger, longer.” That perspective feels particularly fitting for DreamWorks Animation’s latest original adventure, a…

DreamWorks has been enjoying something of a creative renaissance in recent years, but even with the studio increasingly willing to push its visual language, Forgotten Island feels like a particularly special swing. Vibrant, wonderfully strange and ultimately far more emotional than its chaotic adventure initially suggests, Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s Filipino mythology-inspired feature takes…

I don’t have much of a connection to the original Onimusha games from the PS2 era, but I did play them briefly. While that was many years ago, I did review the more recent remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, and felt that it had plenty to offer both new and existing fans amongst modern-day action…

For the second night in a row, Nintendo kept Aussies up till the early hours with a second packed direct full of announcements for new titles, expected titles, and so many ports of existing games coming to the Switch 2. Metroid Ravenous After the middling reaction to Metroid Prime 4, Samus is back in a…

After selling out their six-date Australian tour in 2025, The Fray are wasting little time coming back, announcing a major Australian and New Zealand run for February 2027. The Summer of Light Tour will take in a mix of headline arena shows and outdoor dates, with Dashboard Confessional, Bastille, Killing Heidi, Little Birdy and Rachael…

Hollywood has always been particularly adept at selling dreams whilst quietly destroying the people trying to live them. In Misty Green, Chris Rock turns that contradiction into something funny, furious and increasingly uncomfortable, crafting a showbusiness satire that isn’t afraid to let its laughter curdle. Rock’s latest effort as writer-director centres on Misty Green (Rosalind…

This month the State Library of NSW celebrates its 200th anniversary with a six-week program of talks, performances and live music, including new commissions from some of Australia’s most prolific creatives. On Friday night, the Mitchell Library Reading Room, known for its vast ceilings and the multi-storey bookshelves lining its walls, became the site of…

A name like Housework is one that evokes domestic drudgery, or if you want something a bit more fun, Freddie Mercury in the “I Want to Break Free” video. But do not be fooled; this new play about Australian politics is nothing short of sharp and hilarious. It is a show that will surprise you…

Family can make us feel safest, but it can also reopen wounds we thought had long since healed. That tension sits at the heart of River, the nerve-shredding feature debut from writer-director Joshua Giuliano, which celebrated its world premiere at Midnight Madness at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe and Max…

Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of The Jim Henson Company opens today in Brisbane, and we managed to score a sneak peek of the exclusive exhibition yesterday morning. Opening at QAGOMA from September 12th and running right through until April 18th 2027, this world-first exhibition is perfectly timed to celebrate 70 years of Henson magic,…

Sometimes horror really doesn’t need to be complicated. Give us a handful of characters we care about, isolate them somewhere they shouldn’t be, introduce something terrifying and let nature take its course. Joshua Giuliano understands this remarkably well with River, his feature directorial debut and a brutally efficient love letter to the kind of slasher…

For the last two decades, Interpol have been creating moody, dark songs that have worked their way into our consciousness. The 2002 album Turn on the Bright Lights was a slow burn, with songs such as “Obstacle 1” and “PDA” becoming fan favourites over time. Original members Paul Banks on vocals and guitar and Daniel…

Even if Jordan Firstman has never particularly been someone you’ve vibed with, Club Kid may completely rearrange your perception of him. Serving as writer, director and star of his feature filmmaking debut, Firstman initially seems determined to test that theory. His Peter Green is a New York club promoter whose existence is fuelled by late…

Following a Best Picture winner is no enviable task, but Siân Heder has never seemed particularly interested in taking the easy route. With Being Heumann, her first feature since CODA, the writer-director turns her attention to disability rights activist Judy Heumann and a landmark moment in American civil rights history, delivering a film that is…

There was something wonderfully incongruous about the fathers of British punk bringing their Final Damnation 50th Anniversary Tour to the Sydney Opera House while My Fair Lady was performing next door. But The Damned have never really been a band that concerned themselves with doing what was expected. From the opening notes of “Street of…

“In order for a dance to exist it requires an audience to witness it.” – Amrita Hepi Bringing together movement and storytelling, internationally renowned Bundjalung and Ngāpuhi artist Amrita Hepi presents Rinse at the Sydney Opera House. A collaboration with acclaimed theatre maker Mish Grigor, this solo work combines dance with theatre to create a…