Month: March 2018

We are obsessed with the trailer for 3D Realms’ new shooter, Ion Maiden

3D Realms knows what they’re good at  — old school, fast-paced, gore-soaked 90’s shooters. Who better to create a genre throwback than one of the very developers who pioneered it — using their own original engine no less?

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History in the making: here are all the winners from The 90th Academy Awards

Earlier today, The 90th Academy Awards in Hollywood celebrated not only 90 years of the most prestigious and recognised achievement in film, but an era of diversity, ultimately proving that power of film knows no boundaries. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water had entered the ceremony as the overwhelming favourites with a whopping 13 nominations,…

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Tech startup Musiio is using AI to build you a better playlist

How often do you jump onto Spotify looking for something to listen to and find yourself staring at the screen, unable to make a decision? Like scrolling endlessly through Netflix for something to watch, music streaming platforms are so content rich that users may find themselves paralysed by indecision. They know what they like the…

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Alliance Francaise French Film Festival Review: Ava takes the coming-of-age genre to heights of grittiness and surrealism

Coming-of-age films are really coming along nicely (I know, that was lame) over the past few years, with many great films that understand what makes the genre such a well-liked genre. We have plenty of stand-out entries like Kelly Fremon Craig‘s Edge of Seventeen, Greta Gerwig‘s Lady Bird and Marielle Heller‘s The Diary of a…

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Games Review: Payday 2 (Switch, 2018) is a flawed heist with the occasional big score

Payday 2  bursts onto the Nintendo Switch as one of the most complete packages of the title that you can find score in one initial purchase. Through it’s performance issues and strange omissions of certain DLC packs, Payday 2 is mostly what you expect, but this time, allowing you to take your heists on the…

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Tech Review: Sony WI-1000X Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones: Plane weird

I frequently argue in my headphone reviews that the look, the exterior design of a particular kit is rarely terribly important to me. If a pair of headphones sound great, I’m usually happy to wear them  no matter how hideous they may be. Sony’s WI-1000X Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones have broken my resolve. They do…

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Tech Review: Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones: The real deal

I can be prickly when reviewing headphones. I try not to be, but as the son of a musician I was raised in a home where good quality sound was considered very important and its an expectation I’ve never been able to shake in adulthood. I expect a lot from my headphones, even the cheap…

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Win a double pass to see Tron at In the House in Sydney

A world inside the computer where man has never been. Never before now. The Electronic Gladiator, TRON, will be the next instalment of In The House at Event Cinemas George St in Sydney on Match 16th from 7pm! Tickets are only $15 (or $12 if you’re a Cinebuzz member) and selling quickly! Buy them here,…

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Review: “We want equality, and orgasms” (Anne Summers) All About Women at the Sydney Opera House

In its sixth year, All About Women celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8) with a line-up of inspiring and empowering discussions around the universal struggle for equality in a world still dominated by the white, privileged patriarchy. While I could have easily gone to every talk on offer, it wold have been physically impossible given…

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Adelaide Fringe Review: The Naked Magicians expertly deliver exactly as advertised

The Naked Magicians are just exactly as you would expect – two guys who strip down and perform magic tricks to a mostly female audience. This is no place for a guy’s night out, but there are probably plenty of “girl’s nights” in the audience. Endlessly touring Australia, the pair just wrapped up a run…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Ollie English “How Many Times” (2018)

It’s a big day for Adelaide songwriter Ollie English. Set to support Robbie Williams in his hometown this evening after taking out a coveted spot for South Australian artists at the annual Clipsal 500 – via the ‘Bands on Track’ competition – today, English also unveils his newest piece of music, “How Many Times”. English’s voice growls…

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Small Screen Superheroes and Video Game Royalty for Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Sydney and Perth

Hot off the heels of their expanding guest list for their Melbourne and Gold Coast events in April, Supanova Comic Con and Gaming have gone and jumped the gun on revealing some of the names of those that will be dropping by their events in June. Supanova are renowned for bringing film and television guests…

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Interview: Scott Eastwood on Pacific Rim Uprising, drifting with John Boyega, and Hollywood action sequences

In 2013 a sci-fi fantasy action film called Pacific Rim took us all by surprise, combining classic monster movie giant creatures called Kaijus fighting against Japanese anime giant robots called Jaegers. Guillermo Del Toro brought his unique style and aesthetic to the feature, so when a sequel to the film was announced fans were suitably…

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Best Picture is anyone’s game: The Iris predicts the 90th Academy Awards

Well, the time has come. After a year of incredible cinema, plenty of controversy and a few box office records along the way, the 90th Academy Awards airs in the US this Sunday night and in Australia around lunchtime on Monday, live on Channel Nine. In the first “post-Weinstein” Oscars, it’s a year where underrepresentation…

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Games Review: Metal Gear Survive (PS4, 2018) is tough to live through

To put it simply, Metal Gear Survive should not exist. Before evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the title, one must first address the point of its existence in the first place. The Metal Gear series is famous for its stealth mechanics and intriguing story about the changing landscapes of technology in our world, topped…

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AF Film Review: Four Days in France (France, 2016) is all in the name

Four Days in France really is about four days outside of Paris. Since Pierre (Pascal Cervo) has floored it out of the city into a freeway odyssey, with no change of clothes and no clear destination, he is relying on other gay men for somewhere to sleep and just pass the time. He finds young,…

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Tella Balls Dessert Bar opens first ever Melbourne shop in CBD

Sydney-born dessert and social media phenomenon Tella Balls Dessert Bar has finally opened up one of its deliciously sugary stores in Melbourne. The newly launched dessert bar, which is located at Melbourne Central, follows the successful launch of the brand in QLD last year, bringing more than just Sydneysiders a menu that’s chock full of…

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Patron saint of seafood, Saint Peter’s Josh Niland, will open Sydney’s very first fish butchery

Get ready to take a piece of acclaimed chef Josh Niland (of the consistently excellent Saint Peters) home with you. April this year will see the opening of Fish Butchery on Oxford St in Paddington. Dubbed ‘butchery’, the Saint Peter team aim to position it as a modern fishmonger, offering dry handled fish, produce that…

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AMC to showcase their new thriller The Terror at SXSW with immersive polar experience

Next week those lucky enough to be heading over to SXSW during it’s first few days will have a much better insight into new AMC thriller The Terror thanks to the network’s fully immersive multi-sensory activation. It seems HBO aren’t the only ones using the enormous festival to promote a forthcoming show, with the home…

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Eight Things We Learnt At The Pacific Rim Uprising Fan Event

Pacific Rim the 2013 Guillermo Del Toro giant robots punching giant monsters movie took the sci-fi fantasy world by storm. Blending classic monster movie mayhem with modern Japanese anime aesthetics and dialling the visual effects up to a whole new level. Five years later its sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising is about to be unleashed and…

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Alliance Francaise French Film Festival Review: The Workshop (L’Atelier) isolation becomes xenophobia

Laurent Cantet’s The Workshop is the product of creative introspection, a film that reflects on the subtexts of creating a contentious political thriller, while forwarding a narrative that takes its own advice. It’s a tense and insightful film from the Palme d’Or winner that snowballs radical tensions, while offering audiences a window to Cantet’s writing…

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Book Review: Award-winning journalist Witold Szabłowski collects oral histories of Eastern Europe in Dancing Bears

For hundreds of years, Bulgarian Gypsies trained bears to perform. In the early 2000’s the practice was outlawed following the fall of communism, and the bears, who had only ever known their human family, were released into a reserve. Even now, years later, the bears still stand on their hind legs to dance whenever they…

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Book Review: Delve into a 1930s murder with Katherine Kovacic’s The Portrait of Molly Dean

Molly Dean, artist’s muse and aspiring journalist, was brutally murdered in Melbourne in 1930. Despite compelling evidence her killer was never officially found. Seventy years later, art dealer Alex Clayton discovers what she believes to be a portrait of Molly and delves headfirst into the mystery. Despite cover-ups, missing records, and suspects long since deceased,…

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Pretty City, Ruby Boots, Thandi Phoenix & more to perform at Sounds Australia’s massive Australia House at SXSW

As always, team Sounds Australia are bringing some serious A-game to SXSW this year, announcing the debut of the Australia House for 2018. Presented by G’Day USA, the site on Rainey Street (aka Lucille) will be the hub for all things Aussie at SXSW this year, moving from the traditional E 5th district out to the…

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Jade Bird stops by AU HQ to perform “Lottery”, solo and acoustic for the AU Sessions

British songwriter Jade Bird has recently wrapped up a successful Australian promo trip, her status as one of the must-watch artists of 2018 filtering out to this area of the globe. While in Sydney, Bird stopped by our office to introduce us further to her mesmerising sounds. Performing “Lottery” – her new single – on our…

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Fresh Friday Five #014: Heart and Feather, Holiday Party, Meggie Brown

This week’s Fresh Friday Five brings you folk meets grunge from Kill the Darling, genre bending ballads from Heart and Feather, dream pop from Brisbane’s Holiday Party, girl power from Central Coast’s Pussy in the Dark and post punk energy from London’s Meggie Brown. Kill the Darling (Melbourne) Blending 70s folk and 90s grunge is…

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Film Review: The Square (Sweden, 2017) is a strange slice of fiction that’ll unwind itself differently for each individual viewer

A film that appears more episodic than cohesive, The Square is an indulgent and uncomfortable piece of work from a filmmaker who’s clearly enjoying himself as he dissects human behaviour and the pretension of modern art. Excited to present his latest art installation to the public – the titular Square – chief curator at a…

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Brand New WWE SuperCard Throwback, Fusions and Hall of Fame Packs Coming Soon

Good news for fans of the delightfully addictive WWE SuperCard – brand new packs are set to be released into the wild, introducing over 50 new cards to the collection. These packs include Throwbacks, Fusions and Hall of Fame tiers, just in time for WrestleMania season. While Throwback and Fusion cards are available now, the…

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Skyfire and Enlighten Festival converge on the ideal weekend to visit Canberra in 2018

It’s looking like March will be the ideal time for Aussies and international visitors to head along to Canberra, which was recently – to a lot of shock and curiosity – named one of the world’s top ten cities to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet. Why? Well two our Canberra’s best events are on…

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SXSW Comedy Festival reveals a packed lineup for 2018

South by Southwest (SXSW) have announced the initial line up for the SXSW Comedy Festival, kicking of 9 to 18 March 2018. The festival will pull guests from all corners of the entertainment industry and showcase film and media icons alongside the next wave of groundbreaking comedic talent. This year will also host performances from…

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