Month: August 2016

Suicide Squad breaks opening box office records in Australia

Though critics haven’t been overly kind to the latest comic book blockbuster Suicide Squad (though our own writer had nicer things to say about it), fans of the DC franchise wasted no time in packing cinemas to see the film, breaking a pile of Australian box office records in the process. Roadshow, who distribute the…

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5 Franchises We’d Like To See Get the Pokémon GO AR Treatment

With Pokémon Go a fully-fledged global phenomenon, even as its myriad recent changes enrage fans, the Augmented Reality genre looks set to explode. We’ve put our heads together and have begun thinking about other brands and franchises we’d like to see get the Augmented Reality treatment.

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Get your first taste of Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated World War II epic Dunkirk – his first film since Interstellar – isn’t out until July next year, but today we’ve been treated to our first look at the film. In typical Nolan fashion, the Director is bringing his own screenplay to the screen, which will be shot in a mixture…

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Aussies Abroad: The Lazys are heading back to Canada on their “Howling Woman” tour

Sydney rockers The Lazys have found a lot of success in Canada in recent years, and they’re going to continue capitalizing on that by returning to the great North in a few weeks for a massive run of shows that will take them through September. The tour is in support of their latest single “Howling…

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Hotel Review: A Blissful 24 hours at Hotel Realm (Canberra, Australia)

Canberra isn’t typically known as a getaway destination but the short three-hour drive from Sydney makes Canberra sufficiently far away to give you that ‘going away’ feeling yet still close enough that a quick 24-hour stay is more than achievable. Also a plus are the pockets of luxury that you’ll find at our nation’s capital…

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Recipe: Sokyo’s John Dory with black truffle

Take a good fish, add some flavour with smart use of good ingredients, and put truffle on it. Great, simple success. That seems to be Chase Kojima’s approach with this Sokyo dish which is being offered during Truffle Month at The Star. Each year through winter the immense property’s signature restaurants (which include Sokyo, Balla,…

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Streets Ice Cream are bringing Viennetta on a Stick to Australia

Those unmistakable ripples of Streets’ fluffy Viennetta ice cream have been burned back into the hearts and minds of Aussies everywhere since an elusive image of a “Viennetta on a stick” product went viral a few days ago. It only to lead to sighs of disappointment when it was revealed that the holy grail of…

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Childish Gambino heading back to Australia for the Falls Festival over New Year’s!

“Down Under, surfin’ on the Gold Coast. I’m looking for the truth in a blunt, and I ain’t got a home, let’s stunt…”, rhymed Childish Gambino on his 2014 tune “Retro [Rough]”. Since his appearance on the Big Day Out tour of 2013, the artist also known as Donald Glover has enjoyed a strong fan base out in Australia…

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Live Review: Gang Of Youths – Newtown Social Club, Sydney (02.08.16)

The pro’s of getting the chance to review a show announced the day it’s performed is that you don’t have to wait two hours in line, in the freezing wind and rain, to see one of Australia’s best live bands. Luckily for me, I was reviewing, so got to bypass the 50m long line and…

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The Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition extends application deadline until August 10th!

If you’re a songwriter wanting to be in with a chance of winning a cut of a huge $65,000 cash prize, the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition is the one for you. Offering the three winning songwriters prizes of $50,000, $10,000 and $5,000 respectively, the competition accepts entries from songwriters hailing from all over the world….

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Brian McKnight returning to Australia and New Zealand this October

Brian McKnight is set to return out to our side of the globe in October, full live band in tow. With his previous Australian tours back in 2013 and 2011 selling out and reaping in praise, McKnight is now going to be returning with a new album in Better, as well as a swag of his…

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Alex Lahey signs worldwide publishing deal with Native Tongue!

Times are only getting sweeter for Alex Lahey. First, she dominated her set at Splendour in the Grass. Then, she released her debut EP B-Grade University last week to a huge amount of love and praise. Now? Now, the Melbourne musician celebrates a freshly-inked worldwide publishing deal with Native Tongue Music Publishing (home to artists including APES, The Snowdroppers, Gin Wigmore, Marlon…

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Catfish and The Bottlemen, Hermitude, MSTRKRFT, Phantogram & more for Southbound

Pack your bags and head West this December, because Southbound has come in hot with a brand new artist announcement for their three day/night festival! Along with some great homegrown talent in San Cisco, Tired Lion, LUMBERJACK and  Kučka, Southbound has dropped the news that some international visitors including Catfish and The Bottlemen, MSTRKRFT, Phantogram and more will also be hitting the stages in…

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Exclusive Music Video: Formidable Vegetable Sound System “Kimchi” (2016)

Here’s something definitely a little different for your Thursday. What do you get when you take a world-renowned touring act and partner it with a borderline obsessive love for fermented Korean cabbage? Fremantle’s Formidable Vegetable Sound System and their new single, “Kimchi”, that’s what. Zany as hell and pretty much to the point, the group have released…

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Exclusive Album Stream: Omar Musa – Dead Centre (2016 EP)

Omar Musa has been wearing many hats recently; the poet and author has been touring  through the US, Asia, South America, Europe and across Australia with his debut novel Here Come The Dogs – a poignant and acclaimed piece of work that has seen him reach a wider audience. Now, he’s donned his musician hat, bringing…

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Single of the Day: Ta-Ku + Wafia “Love Somebody” (2016)

It’s really excited to see some of Australia’s best talents being appreciated overseas. A few of the talented artists doing their own thing, and getting recognised for it are Ta-ku and Wafia, hailing from Perth and Brisbane. They’ve just teamed up for an EP titled (m)edian, set for release this weekend and have given us another preview, the…

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Music Video of the Day: Massive Attack “Come Near Me ft. Ghostpoet” (2016)

We’re still waiting for Massive Attack to release the followup LP to their 2010 record Heligoland, but it’s looking like they might be choosing to release a string of EPs and singles instead. Following up from their Ritual Spirit 4-track EP released at the beginning of the year, they duo have just dropped a pair of new singles. One…

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WATCH LIVE: Magic Pro Tour kicks off in Sydney today

Magic: The Gathering fans will descend on Sydney today for the official Magic Pro Tour event. Running from today, Friday 5 August to late on Sunday 7 August, the event will bring together the very best Magic players in the country to compete for a place in the World Championships.

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New Lawbreakers trailer highlights the Titan

Lawbreakers, previously known under the codename BlueStreak, is an upcoming 1st Person shooter video game developed by Boss Key Productions, founded by Cliff Bleszinski & Arjan Brussee back in 2014. Lawbreakers was originally intended to be a Free to play IP. But as more and more interest garnered in the project, a full release title…

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The sequel to Fantastic Beasts is official; a release date confirmed

Attention Harry Potter fanatics and all lovers of fantasy – this one’s for you! Warner Bros. confirmed yesterday that a sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which comes out later in the year, is already in the works. They also confirmed a worldwide release date of November 16th, 2018. The script will be written by…

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Straight from Orange Is The New Black, Ruby Rose is joining Jason Statham for Meg

Some Orange Is The New Black fans may be stoked for this as Australia’s own Ruby Rose is currently in negotiations to star in upcoming horror, sci-fi film Meg. Rose will be joining fellow actors Jason Statham (The Transporter, Crank) and Fan Bingbing (X-Men: Days of Future Past) with Jon Turteltaub to direct the film. Lorenzo di…

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Golden Age cinema to exclusively screen Chantal Akerman’s No Home Movie in Sydney

Reaping success at film festivals in New York, Toronto, Locarno, Sydney and Melbourne, Chantal Akerman‘s No Home Movie has been the talk of the town among the film industry. Proudly presented by the folk at Golden Age cinema, they will be exclusively screening the final movie by Akerman on Sunday August 14 in Sydney. So if you’re keen…

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MIFF Review: Kim A. Snyder’s documentary Newtown (USA, 2016) is a marvel

In December of 2014, a lone gunman walked into an Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and shot and killed 20 children and 6 staff members. While most peoples instant response was to condemn the shooter (who killed himself at the scene), many could be forgiven for not instantly considering the parents who lost their sons…

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DVD Review: Batman: The Killing Joke (USA, 2016)

In 1988, a year after Tim Burton, Micheal Keaton and Jack Nicholson tried their hand at interpreting the Batman mythos, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland released a 48-page graphic novel that explored the Jokers origin, the extent of his lunacy and Batman and Jokers relationship far better than anyone had done at that point. That…

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Overwatch adds new game modes and skins to celebrate the Rio 2016 Olympics

Overwatch is celebrating the Summer Olympics with over 100 themed cosmetic items and a new game mode, Lucioball.

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Theatre Review: The Hanging – Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf Theatre (performances until 10th September)

There’s an overwhelming urge amongst Australian societies to divulge themselves in to the case of missing people – particularly children. Stories that dominate the media also capture us. The case of Daniel Morcombe is a case in point, where the pubic followed it religiously for more than a decade until there was some sort of…

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Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is the fastest selling book this decade!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on track to be the fastest selling book this decade, with the script book shifting approximately 170,000 copies in Australia alone since it’s release on Sunday. Though official figures will not be released until next week, that is a staggering figure,  but will come as no surprise to those…

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Carriageworks to present Australian première of Olivier Dubois’ Tragédie

French choreographer Olivier Dubois’ Tragédie will be performed for two nights at Sydney’s Carriageworks in early September. Described by Dubois as “an exploration of the gulf between merely being human and embracing our full humanity“, Tragédie is inspired by Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, and concludes a trilogy centred on themes of resistance and insurrection. A minimalistic dance…

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Inaugural FLAIR Arts Festival announces arts administrator Michael Lynch as keynote speaker

Filling the spot left by the recently cancelled Melbourne Art Fair, FLAIR will be taking over several Flinders Lane art galleries later this month, with a series of exhibitions, events, and talks. Heading the festival will be Michael Lynch CBE ME, one of Australia’s most experienced, influential, and outspoken arts administrators. After more than 13…

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