Year: 2021

Interview: The Ice Road writer and director Jonathan Hensleigh on his love of the action genre and shooting practically

Though his name might not be instantly recognisable, it’s supremely unlikely that you haven’t at least heard his dialogue.  As a screenwriter for such successes as Die Hard With A Vengeance, Jumanji, The Rock, Con-Air, and Gone In 60 Seconds, Jonathan Hensleigh has more than placed his stamp on the action genre for close to…

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Polish Club

Polish Club’s David Novak gives us his favourite burgers in Sydney

On Friday, Sydney rockers Polish Club will release their latest album, Now We’re Cookin’. They’ve teased out some singles in the past few months including “Stop for a Minute”, “Just Talking” and the sweet ballad “No Heaven”, so it’s exciting to having the full audio smorgasbord about to drop. It’s always good to hear David…

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Fantasia Film Festival Review: Baby Money sits comfortably within the subgenre of the “home invasion” thriller

A simple thriller that adheres to the mindset that not all genre efforts have to hone complicated narratives, Baby Money adjusts the home invasion subgenre enough for its familiarities to not feel habitual. The “baby money” of the title is the currency Minny (Danay Garcia) and her boyfriend, Gil (Michael Drayer), are in need of…

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First Impressions: Marvel’s What If…? is a multiversal dream for the super-fans

Marvel have really leaned into their Disney+ products, haven’t they? Following on from the fan-embraced success of WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, the fresh-but-familiar mentality continues with the animated ambition that is What If…? The notion of a multiverse is something that the MCU have teased and ultimately confirmed throughout their…

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Sunday Estate

The Sunday Estate take us through their new EP When You Get Home

Sydney five-piece The Sunday Estate have today released their latest EP, When You Get Home. The band has the knack of writing cracking rock songs with strong melodies, great guitars and catchy choruses. They tend to be written about themes and topics to which we can all relate, making them readily accessible. Of the tracks…

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Melbourne International Film Festival cancels in-cinema screenings

In light of the current COVID situation in Melbourne, and with the safety of audiences and staff at the forefront of their thinking, the board and management of Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) have taken the very difficult decision to cancel the in-cinema component of this year’s festival, planned to be delivered from Thursday 12th…

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Win 1 of 5 Blu-ray copies of Disney’s Cruella starring Emma Stone

Disney’s Cruella follows the early days of one of cinema’s most notorious –and notoriously fashionable –villains. The film releases on Blu-Ray and digital August 18th and we have 5 copies up for grabs! Set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, Cruella follows a young grifter named Estella (Oscar® winner Emma Stone), a clever and creative girl…

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Xbox Gamescom 2021 Australian

Where to watch the Xbox Gamescom 2021 conference in Australian times

Looking for where you can see the Xbox conference at Gamescom 2021 in Australian times? Look no further. Despite feeling like E3 only just ended a few minutes ago, Gamescom is upon us. The biggest video game trade show in the world, Gamescom is usually held in Cologne, Germany in the last week of August….

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Witching Hour

Behind the scenes of Witching Hour’s “Queen of Wands” music video

Melbourne’s multi-talented artist, Witching Hour recently released the video for “Queen of Wands”, the final track off her debut EP, Book of Shadows that dropped on the 30th July. Witching Hour is the moniker for Claire Quartz, who has put together a beautifully vivid and colourful video for the “Queen of Wands”. Claire has synaesthesia…

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Film Review: Free Guy creates a genuine comedic actioner out of its modern gaming cliches

Whilst movies based on video games continue to mostly earn a reaction that’s far less enthused than their source material, the video game inspired flick is another story entirely.  Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, the latest Jumanji films (Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level), the vast amount of time-loop movies, Sucker Punch (y’all know…

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PAX Aus 2021

PAX Aus 2021 has been cancelled

PAX Aus 2021 will not go ahead. Show organisers made the announcement via the PAX Aus social media channels this morning. This marks the second time the ReedPop-managed convention has been cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. When announced earlier this year, organisers were confident it would move ahead as planned. Sadly, with Australia’s…

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EPOS B20

EPOS B20 Microphone Review: A new challenger approaches

The EPOS B20 microphone is a rock-solid, workhorse microphone for streamers and anyone who needs high-quality vocal audio at home. That’s the elevator pitch. Let’s talk about it. Design & Features EPOS is one of the newest kids on the block in terms of PC peripherals. For this newly formalised gaming partner of audio giant…

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Interview: Free Guy director Shawn Levy and the creative team on bringing their unique world to life

To coincide with the anticipated release of Free Guy, 20th Century Studios invited our own Peter Gray to chat with the film’s creative team during a roundtable dialogue.  Discussing with director Shawn Levy, production designer Ethan Tobman, SFX supervisor Swen Gillberg, cinematographer George Richmond, and stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara were, among Ryan Reynolds praise, the intricacies of…

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First Impressions: Nine Perfect Strangers revels in the slow burn of threat

Though it boasts a lush Byron Bay setting, is filled to the brim with aesthetically pleasing cast members, and is based around the notion of healing one’s self, Nine Perfect Strangers is decidedly unnerving. Set in a secluded health and wellness resort named Tranquillum House, the nine perfect strangers of the title are the latest…

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Jess Chalker

Exclusive Single Premiere: Jess Chalker “Don’t Fight It” (2021)

Today, the London-resident Australian artist Jess Chalker teases out a track, “Don’t Fight It”, from her upcoming debut solo LP, Hemispheres. We are absolutely thrilled to be premiering the track, along with an animated video, which was created by Thomas Calder. This is the third song to be released from the album, following on from…

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Sydney lockdown be damned: ChefPrep lets us try our favourite restaurants from afar

Sydney being in lockdown doesn’t mean locals can’t experience their favourite restaurants. In the past few weeks the state has already seen the launch of Melbourne-born service Providoor as well as a healthy selection of Sydney lockdown takeaway options. One new service adding greatly to that is ChefPrep, a new online marketplace that has partnered…

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Flight Centre just put up a massive competition with 5 years worth of free travel on the cards

With Aussies itching for the day when international borders finally open up, hopeful planning is one of the best things to do right now. Money will most definitely be an issue once that day comes, so being on the lookout for competitions, like this new one run by Flight Centre Australia, is a wise move…

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Grilld

Grill’d make a huge play for plant-based burgers in new partnership with Heston Blumenthal

Michelin starred chef Heston Blumenthal has come on board to help Grill’d pick up their increasingly impressive plant-based game. Using Fable, a mushroom-based meat, Heston has helped create four new burgers in a bid to add to the chain’s already stacked offering, which in the past few years has been fast moving towards redefining fast-casual…

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Bite Size: 5 bits of Australian food news you should know for August 2021

Looking to switch up that shopping cart? Every so often the AU will be looking to 5 quick news bites we think Aussies should be across, whether that’s something as small as a new supermarket essential or a city-specific needt-to-know to keep you eating you eating well each day of the week. Kit Kat Teams…

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Melbourne International Film Festival Review: Freshman Year is a sweet and more emotional college comedy

With a title like Freshman Year, known originally as Shithouse, you’d be forgiven for thinking Cooper Raiff‘s debut is more akin with the juvenile comedies so many cinematic colleges have been the setting for.  Nothing could be further from the reality though, with Raiff injecting a sweetness and raw emotion into his script as it…

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F1 2021

F1 2021 Review: A farewell to the Hybrid Era

F1 2021, like the real motorsport it’s based on, has a lot of moving parts. This is developer Codemasters’ first F1 since its acquisition by Electronic Arts. As such, it bears a few now-classic EA Sports hallmarks. EA Sports titles need to serve several masters, and therefore so does F1 2021. The first thing it needs…

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Film Review: Infinitum: Subject Unknown is a little film with big ideas

The tried and tested time loop narrative gets another incarnation of sorts in Matthew Butler-Hart‘s impressively made Infinitum: Subject Unknown.  Filmed during the UK’s first lockdown entirely on an iPhone, the evident budget issues that may cause ire from some eyes are all the more forgiven when looking at its scope as a whole. The…

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Fantasia Film Festival Review: Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It fuses slapstick comedy and irreverent bloodshed

A group of men looking to escape their everyday lives, a couple of inept gangsters, and a one-eyed killer who thirsts for his kills cross paths in Ernar Nurgaliev‘s wild horror comedy Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It. Slapstick comedy and irreverent bloodshed work hand-in-hand throughout the film’s crisp 85 minute running time, centring initially on…

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Melbourne International Film Festival Review: Coming Home in the Dark creates a horrific situation out of the simplest ingredients

It doesn’t take much for director James Ashcroft to create the most horrific of situations from the simplest of ingredients laid bare in the early stages of the eerie Coming Home in the Dark.  A loving family, an idyllic New Zealand locale, and a duo of passing strangers provide all that is needed for Ashcroft’s…

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Interview: Rosehaven‘s Celia Pacquola on the final season and embracing being a “nice” comedian

It’s never easy to say goodbye, and Australian comedians Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor are making sure the sentiment is felt even more so as they debut the final season of Rosehaven. The number one comedy show across all ABC for 2020, the fifth and final season of Rosehaven premiered last night on the ABC…

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Fantasia Film Festival Review: Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes revels in the possibilities of creativity

Whenever an evidently low-budgeted project gets itself off the ground and revels in the possibilities of creativity, rather than monetary reliance, whatever the result it’s difficult to not be somehow impressed. Such is the case with Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, a high-concept time-loop effort filmed on iPhones and born from an acting workshop.  It…

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Eilish Gilligan

Album of the Week: Eilish Gilligan – First One To Leave The Party (2021 EP)

Eilish Gilligan has always been capable of creating synth-driven sad bangers. With this ability more than apparent and present across previous EPs and singles, Gilligan returns with her second EP in the form of five track wonder First One To Leave The Party. Following less than a year since debut EP Hospital, First One To…

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The Eighth Wonder

Book Review: The Eighth Wonder is an engrossing and original work of historical fiction

There is something about a book with a circus in it that promises the spectacular. Touted as Suffragette meets The Greatest Showman, Australian author Tania Farrelly‘s debut novel The Eighth Wonder is the story of Rose Kingsbury Smith, a young woman living in the privileged neighbourhood of the Upper East Side in New York at the turn of…

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Xbox Aqua Shift

The new Xbox Aqua Shift controller is excessively pretty and we want one

The new Xbox Aqua Shift Special Edition is the latest to join a growing roster of striking coloured controllers. Xbox has moved to capitalise on a growing contingent of fans eager to collect controllers. It’s a mindset similar to that of sneaker collectors — the goal is not to use these controllers, only to have…

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Win a double in-season pass to see Liam Neeson in The Ice Road

Thanks to Rialto Distribution we have five double passes to give away to the upcoming release of the action film The Ice Road, starring Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne, in Australian cinemas from August 12th, 2021. After a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Canada, an ice driver leads an impossible rescue mission…

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