The biggest challenge with cold cases is finding out who people were back then. Who killed Isabel Baker? Such is the logline for Stan Australia’s thrilling new limited series, Black Snow. In 1994, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Isabel’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The…
Read More
With The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg returns with his most personal movie yet – the legendary director’s own coming of age story set against the family drama which paralleled and ultimately intersected with his emergence as a filmmaker. Ahead of the film’s release in Australia on January 5th (read our review here), Michelle Williams and Paul…
Read More
As undoubtedly one of his generations greatest, most adored filmmakers, it’s difficult to fathom a project leaving an auteur such as Steven Spielberg vulnerable. But for his latest film The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical look at his own beginnings as the director he came to be, Spielberg laid his soul bare – and Tony Kushner was…
Read More
“Mommy and Daddy will be right next to you the whole time.” From the opening line of dialogue in Steven Spielberg‘s The Fabelmans, an autobiographical coming-of-age tale that boasts itself as his first writing credit since A.I. some two decades prior, we get a sense of what’s to come as, outside a New Jersey movie house in the early…
Read More
As the lead in Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and flexing a more intimidating muscle on screen in films such as The Magnificent Seven, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and Sweet Girl, it’s a welcome change when Manuel Garcia-Rulfo arrives in A Man Called Otto, beaming an infectious smile and displaying effortless charm. Said smile and…
Read More
Welcome back, Mr. Hanks. After adopting a not-so-easy to digest accent and exaggerated acting style in Baz Luhrmann’s divisive Elvis, and whatever the hell that adaptation of (not Guillermo del Toro’s) Pinocchio was, America’s loveable dad has returned for another of his committed, affable turns in Marc Foster‘s A Man Called Otto; which is rather…
Read More
Following a nation-wide search, Prime Video Australia have secured their “Buff”. Queensland-born Alex Bain has secured the illustrious Prime Video couch for the next three months, where she will be the streaming service’s voice of recommendations and reason – all the while being paid $40,000. As she settles into her first month of catalogue shuffling,…
Read More
The last time Peter Gray spoke with Australian actress Radha Mitchell, the two discussed a considerably controversial film detailing female revenge in the aftermath of assault. Narratives couldn’t be any further removed from each other with Blueback, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s acclaimed short story that follows a young girl who befriends a magnificent wild…
Read More
Given just how successful his last film The Dry was, it’s understandable for their to be a certain expectation and closely examined look at what director Robert Connolly has on his table for his immediate follow-up. Not that you should expect a crime thriller 2.0 given he’s adapting Tim Winton‘s family-friendly short Blueback, but don’t…
Read More
With a disco soundtrack that had more than one person dancing in the aisles, Velvet Rewired at the Sydney Opera House is an explosion of glitter, glam and classic 70s hits. Lead by the iconic Marcia Hines, the night is filled with aerial feats, acrobatics and vocal talents. The show adopts a vaudeville – style…
Read More
The rich eat, but then suffer mercilessly in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, a wicked, at-times horrifically and humorously gross satire that takes aim at the wealthy in a manner that is deliciously void of any subtlety. Divided into three chapters – all linked by a young, glamorous couple – the film promises one observation…
Read More
Though he certainly didn’t lose any of his sense of comfort by travelling across the Atlantic for his last film – 2017’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – there’s a sense of grandeur in writer/director Martin McDonagh returning to his homeland for The Banshees of Inisherin, an impossibly funny and, at times, heartbreakingly bleak dramedy…
Read More
Fascinated by the stories we don’t tell, and why we don’t tell them, Philippa Langley has a passion to tell distinctive and original narratives that challenge our perception of established truths. In 2012 she led the successful search to locate the grave of King Richard III through her Looking For Richard Project. Philippa conceived, facilitated…
Read More
Behind every true story there’s always a slew of accusations as to what is exactly fact and what’s fiction. In the case of The Lost King, a charming dramedy surrounding everywoman Philippa Langley and her search to find the grave of Richard III, there’s the historians who believes it absolves the king of the supposed…
Read More
Much like a Greatest Hits package where it’s all the beats that both fans and the casual listener are familiar with, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a glossy biopic about “The Voice”, Whitney Houston, Kasi Lemmons‘ film refuses to delve beyond a catchy hook. There’s no bridge, no worthy duets, and no deep-rooted B-side. And…
Read More
On one hand, you’ve got The Killers live at Qudos Bank Arena. Sydney’s go-to venue for stadium concerts was heaving for the Las Vegas band, long overdue for a revisit to our shores and fresh off a whopping 80+ shows as part of their global Imploding The Mirage tour. A tour, mind you, that has…
Read More
From Disneyland in California to Broadway in New York, America has long catered to those looking for an immersive experience, and few do it better. Here’s just ten of my favourite places to visit in the U.S.A. when looking to escape reality; immersing yourself in art, music, scenery, cowboys (you’ll see what I mean) and…
Read More
It’s always an amusing statement to hear when people say that “There are just no good movies out there.” You can cry foul on 2022 being “the worst year of movies, ever” all you want – it’s considerably not true – and, perhaps, because certain blockbusters failed to wow you or due to the endless…
Read More
2022 has been yet another special year for gamers and non-gamers alike. With a plethora of special, interesting and memorable experiences on offer, we thought we would round up some of the very best for this year. You can also click on the titles of each of these entries to check out our full, in…
Read More
It couldn’t have been a better day for a music festival. The warm weather was appreciated by all after a slow start to normal summer weather. Serafino winery in the southern McLaren Vale wine country was the perfect venue for an afternoon of music and wine. There was plenty of space to spread a blanket…
Read More
It’s that time of year when our team of music writers and editors get together to count down the 40 best albums of the year. And while this has been no usual year, the quality of music that has been released has been incredibly high. Suffice it to say, this has been a very difficult…
Read More
Thanks to StudioCanal we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Steven Spielberg‘s The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on his adolescence and first years as a filmmaker. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and nominated for 5 Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture (Drama),…
Read More
Lovers of electro-pop are going to crush on “Down To Earth”, the most recent release from Melbourne DJ and songstress NUSSY. It’s packed to the gills with dance-floor vibes, her warm textured vocals bubbling along, shimmering and floating. The production is sleek and tight – add this to your end of year party playlist. About the…
Read More
Spider-Man has always been my favourite superhero, so you can imagine my love extends to Miles Morales. Much like my original review of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this PC port holds many of the same comments and criticisms, even if it’s a much shinier and polished version of its original PlayStation 4 release. It’s definitely…
Read More
My first few hours with High On Life were something different, with the final product proving to be one of the most polarizing and subjective games I’ve played in recent memory. But it’s not for the reasons you might think. High On Life ticks many of the boxes associated with the first-person shooter genre; it’s…
Read More
2022 has been a great year for settling in with a good book and escaping the world outside. We’ve reached that part of the year where we all start agonising over our ‘lists’ –best albums, best films, and of course best books. We in the Books team have looked back over the year’s releases and…
Read More
Eufy are no stranger to the security camera game, having previously pumped out 2 generations of security camera line-ups with varying degrees of camera quality, battery life and overall versatility. We’re taking a look at the EufyCam3 bundle, comprising of two S330 Eufy cameras and brand new Homebase 3. While I had previously been using…
Read More
In Faithless, Alice Nelson’s third novel, we follow Cressida as she writes a letter to her former lover, Max, dissecting the psychology of their relationship. Born the daughter of Lord Farley and his mistress, Cressida and her brother Lucian are part of a second, unacknowledged family. They share an idyllic childhood in India, growing up on…
Read More
2022 is the thirty-year anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Jewish Museum. The tagline for the museum is ‘Where History Has a Voice’, and this mission statement is perfectly encapsulated within their new exhibition, Reverberations: A future for memory. With the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), visitors to the exhibition can experience an intimacy…
Read More
The AU Review is back with its annual last-minute Christmas gift guide to help guide you to the gadgets, gifts and products that anyone would love to find under the Christmas tree. There’s no denying that everyone needs Christmas this year, or at least the family and friend aspect that comes out of the day….
Read More
