Author: Amy Nancarrow

SXSW Film Interview: Rebecca Johnson, Writer and Director of Honeytrap (UK, 2015) talks about cast and experiences on set!

Having worked on housing estates in London for over a decade, Rebecca Johnson is no stranger to the world portrayed in her feature film, Honeytrap. Starring Skins actress Jessica Sula as Layla, a young girl who has recently arrived in London from Trinidad, Honeytrap examines one young woman’s determination to maintain her new-found power in…

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SXSW Film Interview: Aubrey Plaza and Hal Hartley discuss Ned Rifle

After just finishing up after seven seasons on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Aubrey Plaza certainly hasn’t slowed down. Not only does she star in another SXSW film, Fresno, she also stars as Susan in writer/director Hal Hartley‘s film Ned Rifle. The AU Review spoke to the film’s star and writer/director about religion, Kickstarter, and all…

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TV Review: Girls, Season 4 Episode 10 “Home Birth” (USA, 2015)

In my review for the first Girls episode of this season, I said that if the rest of the season was as good as that episode and back in the realm of season one form, that I would eat my words and stop hating on Lena Dunham’s show. Here we are, nine episodes later, and here I…

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TV Reviews: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 20 “What To Expect When You’re Expanding” (USA, 2015)

In the penultimate episode of this season, Mindy finally faced something that she hasn’t faced since, arguably, way back in season one: a complete and total loss of confidence. She’s definitely pregnant, and starting to show, and her confidence has completely been drained by the fact that she no longer fits into her pre-pregnancy clothing. This episode has…

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TV Review: Girls, Season 4 Episode 9 “Daddy Issues” (USA, 2015)

It’s not about her. At least, that’s the mantra that Hannah’s repeating to anyone and everyone about the recent revelation that her father has come out as a proud gay man. Tad (guest star Peter Scolari) is spending time in New York to see Hannah, and also to learn from his new Obi-Wan: Elijah. Elijah takes Tad out…

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WGN America’s Salem brings a ‘Witches Playground’ to SXSW as well as a Q&A panel with the cast

SXSW Film has kicked off with a bang with the “Witches Playground” event, celebrating the upcoming release of the second season of WGN America’s flagship show Salem. The party, held in the notoriously haunted Speakeasy on the Avenue venue in Austin on Friday the 13th, served as the opening event for the festival. The 1,300…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 19 “Confessions of a Catho-holic” (USA, 2015)

Stephen. Freaking. Colbert. With new beard! Playing a priest! He was easily, without a doubt, the best thing about this episode, and his guest spot has got to be one of the best of the whole season. Mostly because of how funny he is, but also because he’s STEPHEN COLBERT. Here he plays Father Michael O’Donnell who,…

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TV Review: Girls, Season 4 Episode 8 “Tad & Loreen & Avi & Shanaz” (USA, 2015)

Remember, way back when Hannah was in Iowa, and her father came to visit her acting very, very strange? As it turns out, he was struggling with something of a conundrum – he was trying to figure out if he was gay. Now Tad knows, Loreen knows, and Hannah definitely knows. It really was too good to…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3 Episode 18 “Fertility Bites” (USA, 2015)

Mindy is, professionally, breaking out on her own. Her fertility clinic is up and running and all she needs now are the patients. Unfortunately for her, no one wants to go to a clinic that doesn’t have an established client base and excellent track record. The staff of Shulman and Associates are trying to help her by…

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TV Review: Girls Season 4 Episode 7 “Ask Me My Name” (USA, 2015)

At first, it seems like Hannah is back in self-destruct mode. Yes, she’s inexplicably found herself a job as a substitute teacher at a private Manhattan school; and yes, she’s found herself a date in adorable and witty history teacher Fran (guest star Jake Lacy); but this is Hannah Horvath, and she wouldn’t be Hannah…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3 Episode 17 “Danny Castellano is my Nutritionist” (USA, 2015)

Just like Danny and Mindy’s relationship opened the show up to a whole new avenue of humour, Mindy’s pregnancy is doing exactly the same thing. Mindy is definitely pregnant (I keep waiting for the writers to say “PSYCH!” and make it all one big fever dream), and she’s suffering from very bad morning sickness, having…

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TV Review: Girls Season 4, Episode 6 “Close Up” (USA, 2015)

It’s evident from the first scene in “Close Up” that Adam hasn’t been with someone like Mimi-Rose Howard before. He cooks her brunch in her expansive loft apartment, tucking her in as she sleeps that little bit longer than him. She’s successful, self-assured, independent and not needy in the slightest – in short, Mimi-Rose is the complete opposite…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3, Episode 16 “Lahiri Family Values” (USA, 2015)

This episode seemed more filler than most Mindy Project episodes we’ve seen lately, but sometimes filler is a necessary evil. We can’t have pregnancy bombshells and tearful goodbyes in every episode, can we? Mindy heads back to San Francisco after revealing her pregnancy to Danny, who agrees to quit Shulman and Associates to move to…

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TV Review: Girls Season 4, Episode 5 “Sit-In” (USA, 2015)

At first glance, “Sit-In” looks like another classic Hannah Horvath temper tantrum. The difference here is that at the end of it Hannah gets up, packs her bags, and leaves Adam for good. I’d call that progress, wouldn’t you? Well, in the context of Hannah, that is. If I had returned from a month in…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3 Episode 15 “Dinner at the Castellanos” (USA, 2015)

It’s very evident at the end of “Dinner at the Castellanos” that The Mindy Project is shifting into unchartered territory.  We started out with a show about a young, professional woman trying to “get her life together”, and here we are, two and a half seasons later, and she’s pregnant, pursuing her professional dreams and…

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TV Review: Girls Season 4 Episode 4 “Cubbies” (USA, 2015)

Upon reflection, our girls showed a lot of personal growth in “Cubbies”. With Jessa being somewhat of a no-show this week, the spotlight was on Shoshanna, Marnie and Hannah, and the positive and, dare I say it, adult choices that they’ve made. The results of these choices may not be evident just yet, but these…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3, Episode 14 “No More Mr. Noishe Guy”

Upon reflection, “No More Mr. Noishe Guy” was actually a massive game-changer. Not only did we lose perhaps the best supporting character, but something happened at the end to switch everything up and change the course of the show in a way that I really didn’t think would happen until the end of this season….

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TV Review: Girls Season 4 Episode 3 “Female Author” (USA, 2015)

Our Girls are moving up in the world. They’re following their passions, righting their wrongs and becoming genuine adults. Well, they’re trying, at least, and isn’t that half the battle? Look at Shoshanna for example: she’s out of college and at her first big job interview. She nails her interview and is told that the…

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TV Review: Girls Season 4 Episode 1 “Iowa” (USA, 2015)

Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna have never really been particularly likeable characters. They’re insecure, self-obsessed, naïve, entitled, rude, and often deluded about their own lives. Why, then, do I keep coming back, season after season, to keep watching their misadventures? The answer to this question has eluded me ever since I first started disliking Girls…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project Season 3, Episode 12 “Stanford” (USA, 2015)

The Mindy Project is back for 2015 and it begins with Mindy moving to California to begin her 8 month fellowship at Stanford University. This is a great move, as I was certain that there was going to be a time jump and we’d soon be seeing Mindy back in New York City. As it…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3, Episode 9 “How to Lose a Mom in Ten Days” (USA, 2014)

Sad news today, Mindy fans – Adam Pally will be leaving the series in early 2015 (although apparently he will be making guest appearances as time permits). I can’t tell you how sad this makes me, as even if he’s only in the episode for a couple of minutes – as in this week’s offering…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project – Season 3 Episode 5 “The Devil Wears Lands’ End” (USA, 2014)

After weeks and weeks of constant Mindy and Danny relationship dramas and a struggling B-plot, this week’s Mindy Project episode is a return to the funny, self-deprecating, smart show we’ve enjoyed over the last two years. Mindy, Danny and the rest of the practice find themselves at the mercy of the new Chief of Obstetrics,…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 4 “I Slipped” (USA, 2014)

Now this is the kind of relationship stuff we need to see in the early days of The Mindy Project’s third season. This awkward, ‘getting to know you’ stuff that all couples face, it’s what fleshes out the central relationship and makes Danny and Mindy into a believable, solid couple. “I Slipped” is proof that…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 3 “Crime and Misdemeanors and Ex-BFs” (USA, 2014)

I was wondering how long it would take for one of Mindy’s ex-boyfriends to come back into the picture and stir things up, and even though we’re only three episodes into the new season, it’s charming lawyer Cliff (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton) that we have the pleasure of seeing again. Mindy…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 2 “Annette Castellano Is My Nemesis” (USA, 2014)

Ah, the parental-significant other meet-and-greet – something that can be a nightmare for even the most solid of couples. It’s also a classic well of sitcom humour, and that definitely hasn’t slipped past Mindy Kaling and co., as in this week’s episode we finally meet Annette Castellano. Played by Rhea Perlman, Annette Castellano is a…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 1 “We’re a Couple Now, Haters!” (USA, 2014)

There’s often a risk with getting two will-they-won’t-they characters into a relationship; shows such as Castle and Bones spend seasons upon seasons building up the sexual tension, with the result, more often than not, resulting in a season’s worth of happiness before the inevitable break up. The Mindy Project has bucked that trend by beginning…

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TV DVD Review: Anzac Girls (Australia, 2014)

It’s fair to say that the nurses of the Australian Army didn’t get nearly enough credit for the job that they did during the First World War; that’s criminal, really, when you realise just how close to the front they were, the conditions they lived in, and the trauma they endured, all while facing massive…

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Film Review: The Double (UK, 2014)

“I am a person”, says recluse Simon James, “I exist”. This simple sentence drives much of The Double, the new film from Richard Ayoade, famous for his role as Moss in British comedy series The IT Crowd. Ayoade has recently moved into the director’s chair, with feature debut Submarine and now 2013’s The Double, a…

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Film Review: Metalhead (Iceland, 2013)

In the bleak Icelandic countryside, Hera (Thora Bjorg Helga) lives with her brother Baldur and their parents on a dairy farm in a small, isolated community. After her brother dies in a tragic tractor accident, Hera immerses herself in the heavy metal culture that he loved so much. Throughout her teenage years, while her parents…

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Scandinavian Film Festival Review: Easy Money: Life Deluxe (Snabba cash III) (Sweden, 2013)

Here it is: the final installment in the Easy Money franchise: Life Deluxe. Old favourites are back, old scores need to be settled, and new players find themselves drawn into Sweden’s dark criminal underbelly. JW (Joel Kinnaman) is on the run after his successful robbery at the conclusion of Hard to Kill, and has made…

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