Starting on a personal note, when I heard about the documentary Try Harder and its premise, I had traumatic flashbacks to my own time as a student. The relentless studying, the overbearing parenting, the exaggerated expectations, the regrettably embarrassing actions; it all came flooding back. That is when I knew that I had to watch…
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“You’ve seen live streams before, but not like this,” The Hives lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist promised early as the Swedish garage rockers tried something a little different with a “Sydney show” last Thursday. The Swedish five-piece had launched a World Wide Web World Tour with six different dates across the globe including Berlin, London,…
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After introducing itself as a film that promises there’ll be no sugarcoating its subject matter – the first thing we hear are the audible moans and verbal berating from a pornographic film, and the first thing we see is the extremely graphic imagery of a young girl’s privates in the shower – Ninja Thyberg‘s confronting…
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With Nomadland currently doing the rounds and collecting its share of awards in the lead-up to a presumed heft of Oscar nominations, a film like Land being release is curious timing. It’ll inevitably be compared to Chloe Zhao’s inward masterpiece and, in its own way, it’s something of a more digestible, audience friendly take on…
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Domestic travel is on the cusp of a resurgence with states across Australia beginning to relax lockdown measures. International travel? That’s a different story. With many countries around the world struggling in the fight against COVID-19, we’ve been given conflicting information on when international travel will resume to a sense of normalcy anytime soon. Some…
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The notion of a biological clock and its exclusivity to women is a road travelled many a time over the course of cinematic history. Such an idea pertaining to men however is another story entirely, and one that has seldom been explored. Enter, Together Together. Written and directed by Nicole Beckwith (returning to Sundance 6…
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Do you know how it feels to describe a dream? A moment where you are not really sure what you just witnessed and yet you remember seeing certain things and oddly enough, you remember feeling everything about it? That is basically how it feels like watching Mayday, the feature-length directorial debut by writer/director Karen Cinorre….
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Knocking follows the story of Molly (Cecilia Milocco), a woman who is returning to the outside world after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital after she was admitted due to her involvement in a past traumatic event. She moves into an apartment complex and is starting to experience things that she has not come into…
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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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An agonising drama if ever there was one, Mass details the type of conversation that instantly makes you feel sickeningly uncomfortable. And then to watch it unfold in a suffocating location for 110 minutes is a test of endurance that audiences may be unprepared for. The tragedy at the centre of the conversation is one…
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In How It Ends, the joint-directorial effort from Daryl Wein (Lola Versus) and Zoe Lister-Jones (The Craft: Legacy), the question is proposed of what would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end?. It’s a question that has familiarity to it, but Wein and Lister-Jones have the smarts and wit to…
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When a filmmaker decides to venture into the topic of filmmaking as a narrative, their efforts can be fascinating in terms of storytelling. When the horror film Censor had been announced as an entry for Midnight Madness at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it was particularly intriguing for a few reasons. Firstly, the topic of…
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There really is no way for yours personally to say this in a pithy fashion so it is best to just say it straight. One of my most anticipated films this critic wanted to see was In the Same Breath by director Nanfu Wang, a talented documentary filmmaker whose work in indicting the government workings…
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There’s a series of odd interludes dispersed throughout Pascual Sisto‘s unnerving thriller John and the Hole that suggest the story at hand has been passed down over time as something of a fable, one that impressionable young children may construe as a challenge on how they view their own relationship with their supposed elders. It’s…
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For nearly over a century, Freshwater locals and visitors flocked to the iconic Harbord Beach Hotel. Now the venue has been reborn a fresh new look and additional dining experiences, opening doors as Harbord Hotel for one of the biggest openings Sydney will see this year. With an expansive main bar, a sun-soaked terrace and…
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After more than five years, Jarryd James is back with his hugely anticipated second album P.M. and it doesn’t disappoint. Bursting on to the scene in 2015 with huge hit single “Do You Remember”, James’ long play builds on that with exquisite R&B tracks full of mood, texture and reflection. Recording P.M. took James some…
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With more than 150 TV series, almost 450 movies, and 4 original creations straight outta the gate, Disney+‘s latest expansion is set to double the streaming services offerings from the end of February. Covering more general entertainment than the Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel focused content we’ve seen so far, Star is promising a lot…
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I wish I liked The Medium more than I do. Polish studio Bloober Team have attempted to parlay their talent for horror, glacially-paced exploration, and strong writing into a single title. The result is a game with a great hook, caught somewhere between a Silent Hill throwback and a walking simulator. Sadly, despite its detailed…
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Although Malcolm & Marie was one of the first films to be announced as a “made during COVID-19” production, it thankfully has nothing to do with the global catastrophe. Instead, writer/director Sam Levinson (creator of HBO’s Euphoria) has opted for an in-house tragedy revolving around the titular couple (John David Washington‘s Malcolm and Zendaya‘s Marie)…
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More than 8,000 love stories and break up mementos have been sourced by the eternally playful folk behind QT Hotels & Resorts for a temporary museum dedicated to relationship relics of the past. Twisting the idea of Valentine’s Day, QT Gold Coast will turn into “Heartbreak Hotel” from 1st to 21st February, showcasing a pop-up…
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High Ground is the latest film from Stephen Maxwell Johnson, whom is best known for his 2001 acclaimed film Yolngu Boy; a powerful coming-of-age story about three Aboriginal men who strive to become great hunters as they deal with social, economic and especially filial factors in maturing from adolescence to adulthood. Since then, Johnson has…
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There will always be a place in the musical world for thought provoking rhythm, blues and jazz. The general downbeat nature of the style allows for introspective and reflective songs to reach the masses; and allow any listener to relate to the music irrespective of their preferred taste. For Arlo Parks, she welcomes all music…
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Over half a million sad ghosts follow artist Lize Meddings‘ Sad Ghost Club on Instagram. With a focus on positive mental health and making sure even the saddest of ghosts never feels alone, Meddings’ art has transitioned from screen to page, in the first volume of The Sad Ghost Club. Aimed at younger readers, the…
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Adelaide-based indie-pop quintet Broken Waves are about to drop “Drag Me Back”. This is the first single off their debut EP, so we are naturally thrilled that they have chosen to premiere it at the AU review. This electro-funk track is a formidable and enticing taste of what’s to come for the band. “Drag Me…
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If 2020 was the year that conference festivals were dealt the unexpected and either had to cancel or quickly adapt, 2021 is the year they have to settle into a new normal. For now, this means events that are entirely run online- and hopefully, as the year progresses, hybrid events that will see us start…
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Famous for powder soft snow and fun-tastic slopes, Hokkaido is at the top of most Aussies’ summer travel list. Swapping out thongs for ski boots, it’s common for top ski resort areas like Niseko to turn into mini Australian villages with the sheer influx of tourists. But Hokkaido, technically a prefecture, is home to many…
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The Great Emu War Casualties are about to drop their latest single, “I’m A Yes Man” off their forthcoming EP, Vanity Project, and we are stoked to be premiering it on the AU today. The enigmatic trio released 10 new tracks in 2020, with their previous release “Flies In my Eyes” being the first taster…
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What defines Port Macquarie? In the scope of New South Wales, a state with some of the beautiful coastal towns in the country, Port Macquarie may not seem all that distinctive. Until you get there. Make the four-or-so hour drive from Sydney (5.3hrs from Brisbane), like many do throughout the year, and you’re rewarded with…
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Charismatic, bedazzling, intelligent, salacious and unbelievably natural on stage. Reuben Kaye’s self-titled cabaret drag solo show has it all. Humour, theatre and brute/obscene honesty as well as an entrancing level of crowd interaction. Described as “the evil love child of Liza Minnelli and Jim Carrey”, Kaye is one of the headline acts at this month’s Fringe…
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Given the date, we thought it appropriate to showcase a track which sadly has as much relevance in 2021, as it did when first released in 2016. “January 26” by A.B. Original perfectly encapsulates the rage which we should all feel about the injustices perpetrated by white settlement, and the failure of our governments to…
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