Month: March 2018

SXSW Interview: CALMLY discuss their first trip to Austin, new music and that name change

WA’s CALMLY have been touring and introducing themselves to a wider international audiences over the last year – we last saw them at Singapore’s Music Matters conference and now, we were lucky to catch these talented ladies performing at SXSW. Larry caught up with the band on ground in Austin to see how their American jaunt…

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Exclusive: Dermot Kennedy sits down with the AU ahead of his debut visit to Australia

While at SXSW earlier this month, I had the chance to sit down with Dublin musician Dermot Kennedy, just before he hit the stage at the Vevo House. We talk about his latest music, his time in Austin and about his highly anticipated debut visit to Australia (next week!). Listen to the full chat here:…

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Film Review: Ready Player One (USA, 2018) is bursting at the seams with escapist nostalgic fantasy

So some full disclosure here, I have not read the book upon which Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline is adapted from. So henceforth this review is based solely on my viewing of the film and my experience with pop culture in general. There seems to be a fairly general consensus that a lot…

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SXSW Interview: Sybil Rosen & Josh Hamilson talk Blaze and working with Ethan Hawke

With the film screening at SXSW earlier this month, we hit the red carpet to meet Sybil Rosen, the muse of songwriter Blaze Foley, who co-wrote the screenplay for the new film Blaze, directed by Ethan Hawke. The film documents Foley’s life, and sees Rosen played beautifully by Alia Shawkat (pictured in character above with Ben Dickey,…

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Interview: Blockers‘ young actress Gideon Adlon on making her big screen debut

Hitting Australian cinemas this Thursday, we caught up with the young actress who stars in the new film Blockers, Gideon Adlon, to talk about making her big screen debut in the anticipated comedy starring John Cena and Leslie Mann. Blockers hits Australian cinemas this Thursday, 29th March ———- This content has recently been ported from its…

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Kenny Reunited: Clayton Jacobson talks about his new film Brothers’ Nest with writer Jaime Browne & producer Jason Byrne

Earlier this month at SXSW in Austin, Texas, I saw down with director and star of the new Australian film Brothers’ Nest, Clayton Jacobson. Accompanied by the film’s writer Jaime Browne & producer Jason Byrne, we spoke at length about the anticipated film – which brings the Jacobson brothers (the other half of course being Shane Jacobson)…

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Review: FV by Peppers brings ultra modern apartment living to Fortitude Valley

A stunning U-shaped pool offering far-reaching views over Brisbane River and the city, a cosy private cinema, luxury private spa rooms for hire, and ultra-modern apartments in two of three thirty-storey towers that have been built across 5000 square metres. FV by Peppers is an enormous and incredibly impressive development from Australian real estate mogul…

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Adelaide Fringe Photos: Katie Reddin-Clancy plays Grace at the Tuxedo Cat

A highlight of this year’s Adelaide Fringe was Grace. The show starred British comedian Katie Reddin-Clancy who presented a solo stand up comedy about Alfie, who steps out on stage as Zora. There are costume changes galore as all personalities from the world of show biz make their way on stage. A fast-paced but bittersweet comedy that…

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Japanese actor Kunichi Nomura was partying with The Avalanches before Isle of Dogs Premiere at SXSW

While at SXSW, we met Japanese actor (and film co-writer) Kunichi Nomura, to chat about his new film Isle of Dogs – the anticipated stop motion film from acclaimed director Wes Anderson. While on the red carpet, once he learnt we were Australian, he took the opportunity to let us in that he’d just flown in from…

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Interview: Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra on her acting debut in Blaze and Bluesfest in Australia

Last week at SXSW we caught up with Hurray for the Riff Raff‘s Alynda Segarra to talk about her acting debut in Ethan Hawke‘s new film Blaze, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year. The film documents the life of songwriter Blaze Foley. While on the red carpet to promote the film, we also chatted about…

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South Park takes aim at James Woods in new Fractured But Whole Casa Bonita DLC

Earlier this week, the second South Park: The Fractured But Whole DLC, “From Dusk Till Casa Bonita”, was released – featuring a brand new story line that pegs the goths against the vamps, adding a class that you can take back to the main game with you, and introducing Henrietta as an ally. It also brings…

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Interview: Blockers‘ Evan Goldberg & James Weaver claim to be Australia’s “favourite movie makers”

While at SXSW, we caught up with Evan Goldberg & James Weaver to chat about their work as writers and producers of the anticipated and acclaimed new comedy Blockers, which hits cinemas on Thursday. During our chat, the pair talk about casting an Australian actress (Geraldine Viswanathan) in the film, and go on to say that…

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SXSW Interview: Nick Offerman and Brett Haley on working together for Hearts Beat Loud

After working together on The Hero last year, Brett Haley has once again teamed up with Nick Offerman for new drama-musical Hearts Beat Loud. The film has already screened at Sundance and SXSW Film Festival to critical acclaim, so we thought it best to sit down with both Brett and Nick to talk about how…

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SXSW Interview: Sacha Jenkins talks hip hop and art for new Netflix series Rapture

Netflix has hooked up with Sacha Jenkins and several other directors to curate a new eight-part docuseries on hip hop. Premiering around the world at the end of March, Rapture will bring unique perspectives on the personal lives of various well-known and rising stars within the culture, from Nas and T.I to Dave East and…

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SXSW Film Review: Ethan Hawke’s Blaze (USA, 2018) is a powerful and effective tribute to a musical great

In the first scenes of Ethan Hawke’s new film Blaze, a biopic about oft Austin based, relatively obscure American musician Blaze Foley, we find out that this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Foley’s life was one cut violently short. It’s a choice that Hawke said was made to keep the film from being emotionally manipulative,…

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Robert Rodriguez talks about his new series Rebel Without a Crew as the first episode starts streaming

Last week at SXSW, the new Robert Rodriguez TV series Rebel Without a Crew (inspired by his book of the same name) launched at a special press event featuring Rodriguez and the five young directors who have taken part in the series. The series coincides with the 25th anniversary of Rodriguez’s groundbreaking film El Mariachi, which…

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Live Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club make a heroic return to Sydney as Wrong Creatures hits the road

It’s been a long five years between drinks for iconic American rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – both in terms of the album releases and visits to our shores. Their tour this month in Australia comes just weeks after the release of their brilliant LP Wrong Creatures, with songs like “All Rise” amongst the best…

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Music Video of the Day: Black Summer ft. Chloe Campbell “Sadness” (2018)

You’ll remember Black Summer from last year – the teenager took triple j Unearthed by storm with “Young Like Me” (currently sitting at a cute 3 million plus streams online) and soon became a name to be buzzed about. He’s not even 15 yet, but the producer (aka Rhys Toms) has come through with another strong track, this…

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Luck Reunion Interview: Sunny War and Micah Nelson on collaboration, new music and more

Performers and now-fierce collaborators Sunny War and Micah Nelson (aka Particle Kid) have been bringing their own brands of rich music together in LA for a minute now, with SXSW being the latest platform for the artists to strut their stuff. And now they’re releasing a split LP under the name “Particle War“. With shows throughout the Austin festival…

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SXSW Interview: Rapsody on new Netflix docuseries Rapture and Laila’s Wisdom

With one of eight episodes from forthcoming Netflix docuseries Rapture dedicated to her story, we managed to grab a quick chat with North Carolina emcee Rapsody during a preview screening at SXSW Film Festival. The new series from Mass Appeal and Sacha Jenkins looks at the personal lives and individual contexts of various hip hop…

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How to host your own DIY Festival, according to Adelaide’s SIAMESE

If you’re across Adelaide band SIAMESE, you might know they’re signed to Swirl Records and have been releasing some quality tunes in their short career so far. As a DIY band, these guys have their paintbrush in many pots, from graphic design to music production, including their debut EP, Code One. However their DIY talents extend…

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Five Hidden Gems on the Boston Calling Festival Lineup

This year’s Boston Calling Music Festival takes place between May 25 and May 27, at Harvard Athletic Complex in Massachusetts in the USA. A festival with this many headliners – Eminem, The Killers, Jack White, Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, and Tyler, The Creator – doesn’t really need to do much else to get…

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Winners of the AU review’s 5th Annual SXSW Awards announced

We’re excited to reveal the winners of the AU review’s 5th Annual SXSW Awards, which celebrates the best performances and events we caught at the Austin, Texas festival – and some of the disappointments too. BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP Bad Pony I knew Sydney indies Bad Pony were good live, I just didn’t know they were…

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SXSW Film Review: Leigh Whannel crafts an incredibly fun sci-fi horror with Upgrade (Australia, 2018)

Technology gone overboard is a sci-fi trope that has been done to death in cinema, but it’s a pleasure to watch stories that are still bringing fresh takes on the theme. The latest is Upgrade, a techno-horror slash detective thriller written and directed by Leigh Whannell who moves away from the past few years of…

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DVD Review: The Handmaid’s Tale first season hooks you in and keeps you wanting more

The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a dystopian future unlike those we are used to seeing. There aren’t any flying cars or amazing technology that you’d assume to see here. There is nothing but solid regression, simplifying life back to its roots. In fact, it appears that everything has gone backwards in the worst possible…

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SXSW Interview: Upgrade director Leigh Whannell, stars Betty Gabriel & Logan Marshall-Green discuss the acclaimed sci-fi horror film

With his new film Upgrade having its premiere at SXSW Film this past week (where it won a prestigious Audience Award), we caught up with Australian director and writer Leigh Whannell as well as cast members Logan Marshall-Green and Betty Gabriel to talk about the sci-fi horror and its wider implications. The film, which is…

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Games Review: Sea of Thieves (Xbox One, 2018): Pirates could happen to anyone

As I write this, three days after a rather bumpy launch, its clear that Sea of Thieves is a bit of a mixed bag. There are things that I love about it, there are things that I don’t love about it and there are things that I feel are not particularly well understood by those who…

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TV Review: Santa Clarita Diet’s second helping is a funny treat of blood, bone and heart

The Undead, Serbian vile, Nazi Lobsters and an ancient taskforce against the supernatural are all stories we hear about on a day to day basis, (are they not?) but when watching Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet‘s second season, they make so much more sense than that entire paragraph I just wrote. Check out the trailer! We…

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SXSW Interview: Aussie actress Courtney Eaton talks Perfect with Garrett Wareing, Tao Okamoto, Chris Santos & Matthias Koenigswieser

After the premiere of Eddie Alcazar‘s latest film Perfect at this year’s SXSW festival, we managed to sit down with the cast and crew, including cinematographer Matthias Koenigswieser, as well as cast members Garrett Wareing, Tao Okamoto, Chris Santos and fellow Australian Courtney Eaton,  to discuss the film itself, its experience and message, the attraction to working with such an experimental director, and…

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SXSW Interview: Vera Farmiga talks Boundaries with Writer/Director Shana Feste and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II teases Aquaman

At the 2018 SXSW premiere of Boundaries, Larry Heath caught up with Vera Farmiga and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as well as the film’s writer/director Shana Feste to talk about the movie and its impact on each of the crew members. The film, in its world premiere at the event, touches on the struggles of family, drugs and animals as a…

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