Month: January 2023

Teen Wolf

Film Review : Teen Wolf: The Movie is back for one more bite!

It’s been five years since we said goodbye to the residents of Beacon Hills and the majority of its cast moved onto bigger projects allowing them to become household names. Bringing all these characters together again and having them moved from teens to adulthood was a big gamble to see if fans would return and…

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Comedy Review: Rory Lowe – Highs & Lowes – Perth Fringe World (27.01.23)

Geordie-accented, WA-raised, Sydney-based comedian Rory Lowe is all action. Time flies when watching Rory, a non-stop comedian, with ready-made jokes and quick wit to keep the crowd on its toes. Scruffy-haired Rory is currently performing his Highs & Lowes show at The Rechabite‘s downstairs Goodwill Club as part of Perth’s Fringe World. George Zacharopoulos, who is…

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Fire Emblem Engage Review: Round up the rings

The Fire Emblem series has seen consistent success for its various gameplay implementations and winding narratives that seem to steer the franchise forward in both new and exciting directions. Fire Emblem Engage might be the latest entry in the franchise, but makes dedicated choices to bring the series back to its roots, instead focusing primarily…

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Film Review: Little Dixie is a dirty actioner elevated by the vulnerable masculinity of Frank Grillo

Director John Swab, a gritty aesthetic, and the gruff likeability of Frank Grillo have proven a welcome parcel over the last few years, and following on from both Body Brokers and Ida Red is Little Dixie, a formulaic but no-less investing thriller that exists in a rough, dirty reality. Though there’s plenty of genre tropes…

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Fancy Dance is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about family bonds and the trials of Indigenous women: Sundance Film Festival

Set in present day Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance follows Jax (Lily Gladstone), a Native American swindler who hustles for a living while caring for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), taken in following the sudden disappearance of her mother. With every spare moment spent trying to find the missing parent, time is running out…

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Planet Talks

WOMADelaide 2023 Planet Talks: The Legal Rights of Nature, The Seaweed Revolution and Establishing a Voice to Parliament

WOMADelaide is just around the corner, kicking off in Adelaide on the 10th of March. As well as an incredible lineup of musicians and dancers, a key feature of the festival is the Planet Talks program. Planet Talks is a forum that runs over three days, featuring some of the brightest thinkers exploring the issues…

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Interview: Skeet Ulrich on new horror film Blood, the everlasting fandom of Scream, and how being a father affects his choices

The horror genre and Skeet Ulrich go hand-in-hand.  Or do they? As Peter Gray spoke with the actor for his latest project Blood, a horror/thriller following Michelle Monaghan’s Jess, who moves her two children back to her childhood home where their lives quickly deteriorate into terror after the family dog bites her son, giving him…

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Film Review: Blood is a dark, metaphorical look at addiction, wrapped up in the guise of a vampire-themed horror film

Vampirism has often been utilised in genre features as a metaphor for an addiction of sorts.  In Brad Anderson‘s Blood, screenwriter Will Honley (Escape Room: Tournament of Champions) furthers not only the addiction thematic, but blends it with the notion of chronic illness, what that can do to the afflicted’s caretaker, and a mother’s instinct…

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Talk To Me shocks and lingers with dread as it submits to the cruel and comedic capabilities of the horror genre: Sundance Film Festival Review

Whilst it’s fair to be tired of the “elevated horror” tag that so many genre pieces aim for nowadays, and the attachment of the-little-studio-that-could A24 only fans the fire, one needn’t worry with Talk To Me, an Australian-made horror effort that’s been acquired by the aforementioned studio for US distribution following wild reactions out of…

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QT hotels around Australia are putting the focus on throuples this Valentine’s Day

In modern dating culture, anyone would be lucky enough to even have one valentine to spend February 14 with. Got two? Count your blessings, because QT Hotels & Resorts are doing something rather unique to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year and it involves you, plus two. Instead of encouraging couples to come in for an…

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Other People’s Children is an affecting French drama about the complexities of motherhood: Sundance Film Festival Review

There’s complexity within the rather simplistic narrative of Other People’s Children, Rebecca Zlotowski‘s affecting French drama about a certain definition of motherhood. Headlined by a captivating Virginie Efira, last seen dominating Paul Verhoeven’s controversial Benedetta, Other People’s Children focuses on her Rachel, a 40-year-old teacher – single and childless – whose blossoming relationship with Ali…

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Interview: nothing,nowhere. talks Australia tour, next album and writing honestly

Vermont alternative artist nothing,nowhere. (aka Joe Mulherin) is one of our generation’s most interesting and prolific creative minds. With a musical style that might be distilled to guitar-driven emo trap, he refuses to adhere to any one genre and has amassed a loyal following through his honest lyrics. Since his sensational 2021 album TRAUMA FACTORY,…

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Live Review: The Purple Rabbit – Perth Fringe World (25.01.23)

  The Perth Fringe World started last weekend and often as a casual punter it can be hard to know what to go and see, but The Purple Rabbit (showing January 25 to February 5) stands out early as a must for keen audiences. The AU Review was lucky enough to be invited along for…

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Film Review: Maybe I Do‘s star-studded cast give more than the tired comedy does in return

When you have a film led by such reliable talent as Richard Gere, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and William H. Macy, it’s understandable to believe that the hands you’re in will guide you to a safe destination.  And perhaps that’s the problem.  Maybe I Do is entirely too safe to make any lasting impression beyond…

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New Music Discoveries 27th January: Short Wave Craft, Girl Scout, Kimbra and more

This week we have added another ten new tracks to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. “I Need You Tonight” from trip-hop project Short Wave Craft is our Track of the Week. Short Wave Craft is a joint collaboration between producer Dominic Owen (Biggie Smalls, Anthony Hamilton) and underground musician, Tom Carr. “I…

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Just Right is a beautiful, comedic look at obsessive-compulsive disorder: Slamdance Film Festival Review

There’s a lot to be said about mental health – and here, specifically, obsessive-compulsive disorder – within the short minutes of Just Right.  So much so that you can’t help but wish Camille Wormser‘s charmingly off-centred comedy was expanded to feature length, but, as it stands, it’s no less funny and affecting as a commentary…

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Cat Person is an uneven, personality-confused thriller spearheaded by a committed Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun: Sundance Film Festival Review

It goes without saying that the topical interest in Kristen Roupenian’s 2017 short story “Cat Person”, which ran in The New Yorker, before going viral online, is ripe for a filmmaker to adapt and expand.  Unfortunately, director Susanna Fogel can’t quite secure a grip on proceedings, clumsily handling the film’s tone and undermining its central…

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Infinity Pool is gluttonous, psychosexual excess: Sundance Film Festival Review

The wealthy whites and their easy skewering is a narrative mentality that we have been witness to in a variety of practices as of late.  But unlike The White Lotus and The Menu, two of the most recent examples of such a temperament, Brandon Cronenberg‘s Infinity Pool pushes further past being just a little wicked…

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Fair Play is an intense, gripping thriller from Chloe Domont: Sundance Film Festival Review

Fair Play tells the story of a recently engaged young couple Emily and Luke (Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich) who both work at a corporate hedge fund in secret. As they witness a fellow employee crash and burn and is let go of their job, a new spot for PM has opened up, leaving a…

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Shayda is a touching and harrowing look into the tribulations of Iranian women: Sundance Film Festival Review

Shayda tells the story of our titular heroine (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), an Iranian woman who is living in Australia with her 6-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). She resides in a women’s shelter after having fled from Iran to hide from her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami) and she tries to establish a normal life for her…

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Run Rabbit Run trips over due to lack of originality and well-done drama: Sundance Film Festival Review

Run Rabbit Run tells the story of Sarah (Sarah Snook), a fertility doctor and single mother who is trying to maintain a carefree existence for herself and her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre). The two start to celebrate by planning Mia’s seventh birthday, with Sarah’s ex-husband Peter (Damon Herriman) his partner and their child in attendance….

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The Pod Generation is an amusing, if thematically lacking sci-fi satire on impending parenthood: Sundance Film Festival Review

Set in 22nd century New York, The Pod Generation tells the story of Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a happy couple who live in a future where technology has become overabundant in terms of efficiency and convenience. Rachel is a rising executive at the Womb Center and Alvy is a botanist with a…

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Thrice announce The Artist in the Ambulance 20th Anniversary Tour

California post-hardcore legends Thrice have announced yesterday that they will be heading to Australia this September for The Artist in the Ambulance 20th Anniversary Tour, hosted by SBM Presents. The band will be performing their seminal record in its entirety across five dates in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Featuring the hits “Stare at…

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Hamlet

Fringe World review: Bogan Shakespeare Presents: Hamlet is a clever, light-hearted take on the classic play

It’s always a risk to adapt a Shakespeare classic, as there are so many other versions to compete with—how can you find something new to say? Well, it’s never been said in bogan… Bogan Shakespeare Presents: Hamlet takes the most formal, complex material and transforms it into over-the-top Aussie slang, complete with local references and…

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You can now sit in the cockpit of a retired British Airlines Concorde in New York City

One of the most recent attractions to open its doors at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum on the waters of Manhattan in New York City, is an updated experience for one of the 20 Concorde jets built in the 70s and retired in 2003. The British Airways jet – a record breaking Concorde Alpha…

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Interview: Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss on Tár; “You have to know when people can take a harsh criticism or when they’re not ready to hear that.”

Nominated for her record eighth Academy Award for her latest role as Lydia Tár, Cate Blanchett‘s turn as the titular character in Todd Field’s Tár is a tour-de-force performance that speaks to the strive for perfection within the world of art and a female’s abuse of power. As the film releases nationally in Australia, Peter…

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Interview: Todd Field on Tár, writing for Cate Blanchett, and tackling female abuse of power

Tár, set in the international world of classical music, centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra. Enveloped by a career-best Cate Blanchett in her Golden Globe-winning (and now Oscar nominated) performance, Tár is brought to the screen by director Todd…

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Film Review: Cate Blanchett devours Tár whole and spits it out with a venom that addresses “cancel culture” and female toxicity

There’s a lot to digest within the 158 minutes of Todd Field‘s ambitious Tár, so much so that lead Cate Blanchett practically devours it whole and spits out a venomous toxicity in return.  It’s an, at-times, icy black comedy and a tragic character study melded within the cancel culture mentality and the #MeToo movement.  It…

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Interview: Director Shekhar Kapur on What’s Love Got To Do With It? and the emotional throughline of his varied career

How do you find lasting love in today’s world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbour Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and…

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Persona 4 Golden Review: The best way to play an established masterpiece

Up until this very day, Persona 4 Golden holds a very special place in my heart. I’m not a huge fan of the JRPG genre as a whole, but more so titles within the genre. As a result, Persona 4 Golden stands as my favourite Persona game to date and my favourite game on the…

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