Month: August 2020

Film Review: The Eight Hundred is at once a distinctive yet conventional entrant in the war film genre

We’re twenty minutes into Hu Guan‘s epic The Eight Hundred before the credits cease on screen.  Then the film informs us that we are on Day 1 of what is to be a four-day siege – not to mention a further 2 hours in its running time. The titular Eight Hundred refers to the 400…

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Will fans of The Boys be satisfied by Season Two?

Amazon Prime Video decided to take a leap last year into the superhero genre with The Boys, an adaptation of the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The series is set in a universe where superheroes are capitalized and monetized by the shady corporation Vought International, and led by the unstable and…

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Barangaroo House reopens with new dining experiences

The iconic Barangaroo House is finally re-opening its doors and recommencing dine-in operations for their three venues, House Bar, BEA, and Smoke. In light of Coronavirus restrictions gradually easing, Matt Moran and Solotel Group have shifted their gears to cater towards smaller groups and will be consistent with government mandated health and safety regulations. “The…

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LG 55-inch CX OLED Review: Is this the TV to beat in 2020?

Pretty much every OLED is going to be compared to LG’s CX this year. It’s just what happens when consumers land on a favourite each year, and for 2020 the buck stops with this exceptional workhorse of a TV. Lavish praise? Sure, but LG deserve it right now. Not only has the company picked up…

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Pier One Sydney Harbour opens their most coveted suite for group bookings

Sydney’s lavish, perfectly located Pier One Sydney Harbour has now started taking private bookings for one of the luxury hotel’s most coveted corners, for groups of up to 10. With hotels still finding their place in the ongoing pandemic, the “Harbour Bridge Balcony Party” is an attractive option for groups that feel like something special…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Little Fox “As I go” (2020)

We have the exclusive single premiere of “As I Go” from singer/songwriter Little Fox.  Little Fox is the moniker for Sydney singer-songwriter Simone Macarounas. Little Fox has recently started to release music again, after making a splash in the local scene back in 2012 with the release of her debut single “Blood and Dust”. It’s…

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Project Cars 3 Review: Shifting Gears

My first few days with Project Cars 3 proved to be an incredibly polarising experience. I consider myself a true fan of racing sims, and while Project Cars 2 stands out as one of my favourites, Project Cars 3 does not; but not in the way you would think. It’s safe to say that Project…

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Samsung get creative with new smart Air Purifier range

No one needs to spell out why the market for air purifiers is growing in 2020. With more countries increasingly concerned about personal air quality in the home, its certainly a good time to start thinking about modern, advanced ways of maintaining healthy homes with these smart devices. It’s then the perfect time for Samsung…

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Track of the Day: The Smashing Pumpkins “Cyr” (2020)

The Smashing Pumpkins are back with new music, and “Cyr” is our Track of the Day today. The band has also announced that there is a new studio album in the works which is exciting news for fans. The vocals of frontman Billy Corgan are of course unmistakable. “Cyr” is a little more electronic than…

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Photo Gallery: The Sydney Premiere of TENET is Australia’s First Covid-19 Red Carpet

Welcome to “the new normal”! United Cinemas at Sydney’s Circular Quay hosted Australia’s first socially distance Red Carpet movie premiere with the screening of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster TENET. Imogen Anthony walked the Red Carpet with local celebrities from Married At First Sight, Love Island and The Bachelor. Nathan Atkins was there to capture the guests.

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Huawei P40 Pro+ Review: turning tragedy to triumph comes at a price

With Huawei’s P30 series representing a significant leap forward for smartphones in general, besting competition with pure muscle and a superlative camera system, the P40 series was set to be a big statement from the Chinese tech giants. Politics came into play though, resulting no Google Mobile Services (importantly, no Google Store or associated apps)…

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NBA 2K21 Preview: Small Steps Forward

With the next generation of consoles looming, developer Visual Concepts has decided to shed some light on the current generation’s version of NBA 2K21, highlighting some new and improved features, updated modes and revamped locations. While much of the next-gen version is still under wraps, our sneak peak has given us a positive feeling about…

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JBL Bar 2.1 Review: Keeping it simple

From our desks and workspaces to the overall comfort of our home, we’re all making changes to our homes at the moment to improve our homelife and well.. keep our sanity whilst we spend so much time inside. With one of JBL’s latest releases, the brand is hoping we upgrade our living rooms and turn…

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Salt Meats Cheese is now doing a plant-based Italian menu

Following the announcement of their new vegan restaurant Safiya, the team behind Salt Meats Cheese are introducing a plant-based banquet menu for their Italian restaurants in NSW and QLD. The ‘Soul Meets Cheers Vegan Series’ will take place across all venues (except Southbank) on Tuesday 8th September at 6pm. A strictly vegan approach to classic…

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The Avalanches announces “A Party for Melbourne” with party food from Attica

Attica’s Ben Shewry has hooked up with the founding members of eternally acclaimed music wizards The Avalanches to throw “A Party for Melbourne”, a virtual house party taking place on Saturday 12th September. “The idea for A Party for Melbourne grew out of our friendship with Ben and Kylie Staddon from Attica,” said The Avalanches’…

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Exclusive Single Premiere: Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra “Welcome To The Neighbourhood” (2020)

We are so excited to have the exclusive premiere of Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra‘s new single “Welcome To The Neighbourhood”. The song addresses significant social issues which need urgent attention – refugee rights, black lives and racial injustice. “Welcome To The Neighbourhood” demonstrates that songs with big topics don’t need to be solemn. This has…

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Ezra Collective

Track of the Day: Ezra Collective “Dark Side Riddim” (2020)

London’s Ezra Collective are back with new music. The first since the release of their debut album Can’t Steal My Joy last year. The release, a special double A-side single, also follows the band’s first visit to Australia earlier this year, beating the pandemic upheaval to play Golden Plains and Womadeliade.  The group are releasing…

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Yarra Valley Writers Festival

Yarra Valley Writers Festival extend their virtual presence into Spring

Back in May COVID-19 forced the inaugural Yarra Valley Writers Festival online. At the time organisers promised a jam-packed day of author live streams for the main festival day in May. But, there was also the promise of continued events into the future, in the form of virtual book clubs and author chats.  Four months…

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‘Looking Past the Pandemic’ with JessB from Auckland, New Zealand

Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…

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Oppo Find X2 Lite Review: Certainly no lightweight in the mid-tier

In my review of the Find X2 Pro from Oppo, I was confident in writing that Oppo has presented what is one of the best Android phones to date. It is, and months later I’m still finding new things to love about the high-end flagship. With the Lite version, Oppo has cut down the price…

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Mafia: Definitive Edition

Mafia: Definitive Edition Preview: Got the life

Though still in production at the time of writing, the Mafia: Definitive Edition remaster feels like it’s stretched between two extremes. It wants to pay homage to a well-liked yarn, ensuring players in the modern era can still experience Tommy Angelo’s rise to power. But it also has to translate game design and mechanics from…

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The AU’s Father’s Day Gift Guide 2020: From Audio to Work From Home

What does dad need this year? He’s (likely) been stuck at home like most of the world this year, so it’s on you to figure out how to make Father’s Day his refuge from what’s been an immensely shitty year. We’ve packed our Father’s Day gift guide for this reason, tracking several categories we think…

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Vanto is Sydney’s hidden gem of Naples-style pizza

Whether it’s traditional Naples-style pizza, classic pasta dishes or their iconic wood-fired sandwiches, Vanto restaurant is the place to be when it comes to authentic Italian cuisine. Nestled on the first floor of the Queen Victoria Building, the hidden gem pays homage to traditional and modern Neapolitan cooking. Noted as Ospitalità Italiana certified (which is…

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The Spill

Book Review: Imbi Neeme’s The Spill explores the ins and outs of family ties

Imbi Neeme‘s debut novel The Spill was released in June, in the midst of a pandemic. Rather than despairing at the changed world of publishing that her first novel was born into, Neeme embraced the challenges and opportunities that this brought. She has since launched a campaign to support those Victorian Writers who, like herself, were…

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Album of the Week: Batflowers is Washington at her best and most evocative

It’s been a few years between drinks for Washington. After absolutely smashing it in 2010 with her debut album, I Believe You Liar, Washington took a few years to put together the follow up, 2014’s There, There. Across those two albums, Washington proved just how good she is at what she does. With her jazz…

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Track of the Day: Sinclaire “Let’s Fly To Rome” (2020)

Sydney-based act Sinclaire have whipped up the perfect bop to kick off your Thursday. Today’s track of the day is their latest single “Let’s Fly To Rome” which just dropped this morning. The track is the perfect escape from reality in the COVID age. The dreamy synths and airy vocals of frontman Michael Cross create…

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Sydney’s beloved Donut Papi is introducing whisky cinnamon doughnuts

Sydney’s wildly popular Donut Papi has teamed up with Fireball Whisky for a very limited edition, just-in-time-for-fathers-day “Fire in the Hole” doughnut. Breaking down the base profile of Fireball Whisky, the ever-creative team at the Redfern store has created what is easily one of Papi’s most exciting (and delicious – we tasted it as a…

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Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time Review: All Hail the Traveller’s Tale

Samurai Jack’s fifth and final season capped off a magnificent 16 year run, of which many other Cartoon Network shows would have envied over. Being a huge fan of the series, I flinched a little when I saw the reveal of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, yet another tie in game that I thought would…

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96 folk artists from around the world are launching a digital festival of discovery

The Covid-19 pandemic has paved the way for a number of exciting initiatives, while we wait for live music touring to return to the fore. From the amazing Isol-Aid weekly streaming event, run out of Melbourne, to festivals like Americana in Nashville moving digital with the “Thriving Roots” initiative, the opportunities for live musicians have…

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Sydney loses another iconic small venue to Covid: Musicians & industry reflect as The Newsagency closes

Sydney has just lost one of it’s most iconic live music small venues, The Newsagency. Managed by Alison Avron (pictured above) since it opened in its first location in 2011, it has proven to be one of the city’s bright lights for hosting intimate gigs in Sydney – bringing consistent life to a city hit…

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