“What is original, what is excellent, what is engaging?” These were the guiding principles for this year’s panel of Stella Prize judges, who were tasked with choosing a longlist of just 12 from more than 200 entries across fiction, non fiction, graphic novels and poetry. The prize, now in its ninth year, was founded in…
Read more
Two new mainline Pokémon games have been announced at this morning’s Pokémon Presents broadcast. With Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet both on track for a late 2022 release on the Nintendo Switch, the ninth generation of Pokémon games isn’t messing around, what with Pokémon Legends: Arceus having released earlier this year. This morning’s reveal trailer…
Read more
Another day, another Bruce Willis direct-to-DVD effort that continues the odd, sad decline of his career. Keeping in tune with the last dozen or so efforts he has sleepwalked his way through (that is if he decides to actually show up for filming that day), Willis barely registers in Gasoline Alley, the fourth collaboration with…
Read more
While Sydney is no doubt going to be jam-packed with fun things to do during Mardi Gras weekend, we’ve gone and picked out just one event that we think will be essential come next weekend. That’s the Absolut and Heaps Gay party in Camperdown on Sunday 6th March, fashioned as a Sunday roast but moving…
Read more
The third entry in the OlliOlli series combines the fun of learning to skate on shiny new consoles alongside an expansive world with varying locations that constantly change up the way you play. Developer Roll7 has incorporated a story mode into the series this time around with an overhaul of the graphics engine adding a…
Read more
Dr Phil Kennedy initially seems like such a quiet and unassuming character. The maverick neuroscientist was born in Ireland and spent time working with the homeless before moving to the U.S. But as the film, The Father of the Cyborgs shows, that is really Dr Kennedy during the daytime. After hours, he has experimented with…
Read more
The Strut and Fret Production Company have had a very successful relationship with the Adelaide Fringe over the years. Popular shows such as Limbo and Blanc de Blanc have had sell-out seasons. Their latest offering, The Purple Rabbit is easily set to follow this trend. The show is set at the Roundhouse, in the Garden…
Read more
Once upon a time financial literacy involved little more than individuals hitting up their local bank manager for a mortgage. These days the global financial system is a confusing web of interconnected elements: shares, derivatives, energy and taxes. Hot Money is a documentary that aims to demystify this complex subject matter. Susan Kucera directs this…
Read more
What is the difference between Soggy and Moist? For this Scratch Arts team, it’s the level of camp, clothing, and age relevancy. Both shows use the same actors. They both have the same storyline. Both feature bubbles and fun props. But they are aimed at very different markets. Loosely the story is that our hero…
Read more
As the lights go down in the Octagon tent in Gluttony, three dancers emerge on stage in billowing sheets. It sets a sexy sultry mood. Arcadia is described as a “Journey to a desert utopia celebrating idealistic social values of the wild and free.” The mood suddenly changes as Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” sounds out….
Read more
The Rhino Room is considered Adelaide’s premier venue for comedy. The 2022 Fringe program is huge and this year they’re hosting over 50 performers with 16 shows per night, five nights a week. With this incredible choice, it can be difficult for some performers to break through the noise and find an audience. It was…
Read more
The core narrative of The Desperate Hour (previously screened as Lakewood at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival) is one that is ripe with tension and despair. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare come true. It’s a true shame then that Phillip Noyce‘s initially well-intentioned thriller devolves into absurdity, taking its serious subject matter and exploiting…
Read more
Though there’s nothing particularly original about No Exit, the sheer commitment from lead Havana Rose Liu serves the film enough benefit that its genre simplicities and narrative lunacies are somewhat forgiven. Initially, Australian filmmaker Damien Power (Killing Ground) aims for a dramatic temperament, introducing Liu’s Darby as an addict in recovery who has all but…
Read more
Films dealing with queer thematics are few and far between in mainland China. Due to the government’s strict regime on censorship, stories detailing the LGBTQ communities are a rarity, which is why a feature like Moneyboys is all the more curious. Though set in China, it was filmed in the neighbouring Taiwan, co-financed with European…
Read more
Fitzroy North residents can enjoy Aussie classics under the stars, with a free open air cinema program launching at Linear Park next month. Running on Fridays throughout March, the project – dubbed Neighbourhood Watch – is a collab between film distributor Umbrella Entertainment and Yarra City Arts. Locals will be able head to Linear Park…
Read more
Strut & Fret’s Blanc de Blanc have been a popular part of the Adelaide Fringe in recent years, and this year the team returns for an Encore. With all the glam, glitz, cabaret, burlesque, camp and tasteful nudity we’ve come to expect, there is something for almost all of the family. Acrobats twirl overhead and…
Read more
Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures we have 5 double passes (Admit 2) to give away for the upcoming release of The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz and Colin Farrell, set for release in Australian cinemas from March 3rd, 2022. Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the…
Read more
It’s the final week of February and we have eleven new tracks to add to our Discovery playlist, including one exclusive single premiere. This week’s Track of the Week is “What Should I Do?” from Budjerah, who has announced today that his next EP, Conversations will be released on Friday 8th April. The track was born…
Read more
The old adage that “well behaved women rarely make history” has never been truer than here in Eliza Reilly’s Sheilas: Badass Women of Australian History. Gathering together a batch of bonafide badasses in bonnets from across Australian history, Sheilas is a witty and engaging introduction to some of the country’s most interesting – and occasionally…
Read more
In Polish-Swedish film Sweat, audiences meet social media influencer Sylwia. Fit, pretty, and young, Sylwia (Magdalena Kolesnik) motivates her 600,000 followers to work out and be healthy. But this dramatic character study is about more than just a pretty face; it’s a subtle look at the opposing forces between our public and private personas in…
Read more
Sydney metalcore legends Polaris have quickly established themselves as one of the most revered heavy bands in Australia. Known for their explosive live performances and dedication to their craft, the quintet has been dying to bring their sophomore record The Death of Me – released 21 February 2020 – to stages across the country since…
Read more
The Electric Dreams collective are presenting several immersive arts programs for the 2022 Adelaide Fringe. These include the alternate realities of Bedtime Stories, Volo: Dreams of Flight interactive VR swings, First Nations centerpiece performance Sky Song, and more. This reviewer found themselves in the confines of the Pacific Islander room at the Adelaide Museum, where…
Read more
The release of Elden Ring had me personally excited. Not just because it was another FromSoftware game, (that’s a given) but because it truly felt like the next step forward for the SoulsBorne series, a transcendent outing into a new frontier. After spending more time than I’d like to admit with Elden Ring over the…
Read more
When it was announced that the Foo Fighters made a comedy horror movie in lockdown, it didn’t feel much of a surprise to those of us who grew up watching the band make quirky music videos or Devilish cameos in a Tenacious D movie. But a music video this is not – so the question…
Read more
The Pit, directed by Dace Pūce, Latvia’s submission to the 2022 Oscar’s for Best International Film is something of a contradictory affair; at once a rich and nuanced coming of age story, but also an almost brutalist portrayal of life in small-town Latvia. Based on a series of stories by Latvian writer Jana Egle, the…
Read more
It’s no secret that next-generation consoles are hard to come by. But with new games and exclusive features gracing such consoles, we don’t blame people for wanting to enhance their gaming experience, future-proofing their software and hardware for the best possible performance and fidelity. Cloud-based gaming has made its way over to Australia in the…
Read more
Brisbane-based duo Arches know how to create silky smooth buttery bops, and their latest tune that is about to drop, “Blue Sky” is bursting at the seams with creativity and summery vibes. We are stoked to be premiering the track ahead of its release tomorrow. “Blue Sky” follows on from their previous two singles, “Pressure”…
Read more
Matt Hale is a self-confessed comedy hypnotist, with self-help motivational and corporate entertainment packages a major part of his life. It makes sense then that a show called Absolute Chaos would be on the Fringe list. Hale’s introduction to the show is measured, thorough and complete. He explains the process and jokingly warns that even…
Read more
Arriving in cinemas today, Cyrano (you can read our review here) is the beautiful new drama from director Joe Wright, who has reinterpreted Edmond Rostand’s classic 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac as a sorrowful musical starring Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Peter Dinklage (TV’s Game of Thrones) as the titular poet. To coincide with…
Read more
Fancy a career in the music industry? Are you a would-be record producer? Or maybe want to work for a publicist. Or can play a mean guitar and want to get some work as a session musician. Good news! Industry legends Elana Stone and Josh Pyke, with the assistance of the Australian Institute of Music…
Read more
