Author: Carina Nilma

Office lackey day-job. Journalist for The AU Review night-job. Emotionally invested fangirl.

Film Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story (USA, 2018) is the epitome of fun fan servicing

Once again we return to a galaxy far, far away for another installment in the “A Star Wars Story” films. This time we explore the back story of one of our favourite rogues Han Solo, the people and aliens he meets up with, and their misadventures aboard the iconic Millenium Falcon. We first meet Han…

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Film Review: Deadpool 2 (USA, 2018) Gives Us The Merc With The Mouth And A Warm Fuzzy Heart

Considering the risks 20th Century Fox took in greenlighting Deadpool, the 2016 film was released and became a global success, it seemed the risk now fell on the shoulders of its sequel. Deadpool 2 markets itself as “it feels bigger” and in some ways this is true and in others it’s not. The film leans…

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Interview: Wayne Nichols on Oz Comic Con Collectors Pack, Marvel GOMA collaborations, commissions and conventions

“Comics” is defined by Wikipedia as “a medium used to express ideas by images, often combined with text or other visual information.” The history of comics has been a long one that has seen a resurgence thanks to the steadily growing pop culture convention scene. It was comics that gave birth to the pop culture…

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Sydney Film Festival showcases Indigenous films from around the world with First Nations: A Celebration program

Sydney Film Festival in conjunction with Screen Australia will be marking Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department’s 25th anniversary with a very special program titled First Nations: A Celebration. This will also be featured alongside a program retrospective of short films funded by the Indigenous Department, From Little Things Big Things Grow. The program will showcase documentaries…

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The Assassination Of Gianni Versace Star Darren Criss Coming To Sydney

What does fashion legend Gianni Versace, Glee alum Darren Criss and Sydney, Australia all have in common? Well in order to promote the launch of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on Foxtel, star of the series Criss will be heading down under to Sydney. Criss is best known for Blaine Anderson from…

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Film Review: Avengers: Infinity War (USA, 2018) is a non-stop juggernaut of Shock and Awe

The last ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to this, Avengers Infinity War, and this film is nothing short of a non-stop juggernaut of a blockbuster that refuses to hold back its punches. Strap yourselves in because this may turn into a blithering emotional crazed over-analysed mess… but I promise…

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Crumpler Goes Galactic With Limited Edition Star Wars Collaboration

Iconic Australian luggage and bag company Crumpler are heading to a galaxy far far away with a limited edition collaboration with the global entertainment franchise Star Wars and it will be landing on, you guessed it, May the Fourth 2018 (aka Star Wars Day). The series will feature eight difference pieces of bag and tech…

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Stranger Things Season 3 Adds Cary Elwes and Jake Busey To Cast

Netflix favourite Stranger Things is set to get a little stranger with some new additions to the cast for its third season. Adding to the adult cast contingent will be Cary Elwes and Jake Busey who have been given some intriguing characters to play. Cary Elwes will be playing the character of Mayor Kline and…

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Final trailer for Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom unleashes the beast

In the latest and final trailer release for Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom we’re given a lot more insight into the plot of the anticipated sequel to 2015’s Jurassic World, and it’s looking set to be both terrifying and a little bit treading some familiar ground. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) recruits her pal Owen Grady…

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Supanova’s Going To Need A Bigger Boat for Sydney and Perth 2018 shows

Just as we’re about to launch into the first pop culture conventions for the year in Australia, Supanova Comic Con and Gaming have continued to expand their lineup for their Sydney and Perth shows in June. Opting to add a couple of Hollywood heavyweights to the lineup in Richard Dreyfuss, Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid….

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Armageddon Expo Christchurch set for largest convention yet!

It’s only been a few weeks since Armageddon Expo shot an arrow through the hearts of Wellingtonians with its Easter event featuring Marvel’s own Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner. But last week through the course of the week they teased and dropped guest names daily for their forthcoming Christchurch event and it’s set to be their biggest…

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Elastigirl leads the charge in new Incredibles 2 Trailer

It may have been 14 years since we last saw the Parr Family aka The Incredibles doing their superhero thing but with the brand new The Incredibles 2, barely any time has passed in their timeline. We get to see dad Bob Parr/Mr Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) trying to be the good stay-at-home father figure, whilst…

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Film Review: Isle Of Dogs (USA, 2018) is a tail of love and adventure in the face of adversity

Director Wes Anderson has gradually been making a name for himself as a quintessentially quirky auteur with his unique but meticulously detailed style. So it is no surprise at all that his latest stop-motion animation feature, Isle Of Dogs, is probably his most fine tuned film to date. Bringing a heartwarming tale about love, loyalty…

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Review: Armageddon Expo hits Wellington, New Zealand with Jeremy Renner, Matt Ryan and more

Across the ditch our New Zealand brethren have just had their first major pop culture convention for the year. Armageddon Expo has been held in Auckland since 1995 and in Wellington since 2001. Over the Easter weekend just passed, fans of film, television, comics, and gaming descended on Westpac Stadium to rub shoulders with celebrity…

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Eight things we learned at Jeremy Renner’s Armageddon Expo panels

Armageddon Expo, New Zealand’s largest pop culture convention was held in Wellington over the Easter weekend. Seeing large numbers of fans of film, television, anime, video games and comics converge on Westpac Stadium in Wellington to revel in all things nerdy and geeky. One of the big draw cards for conventions is the film and…

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Film Review: Ready Player One (USA, 2018) is bursting at the seams with escapist nostalgic fantasy

So some full disclosure here, I have not read the book upon which Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline is adapted from. So henceforth this review is based solely on my viewing of the film and my experience with pop culture in general. There seems to be a fairly general consensus that a lot…

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Interview: Will Gluck on finally bringing Peter Rabbit to the big screen

Will Gluck is a director/producer/writer and has worked on the film adaptation of Annie, Friends With Benefits, and the TV series The Michael J Fox show and Moonbeam City. So he may not seem like the obvious first choice to direct an adaptation of the classic Beatrix Potter tale but after acquiring the licensing rights…

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Interview: Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki talk playing rabbits in Peter Rabbit and their stellar careers

Australia has been churning out some quality star power of late and two of those are actresses Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki. Robbie’s just recently riding a high after her portrayal of Tonya Harding in I,Tonya scored her a bunch of awards nominations. Whilst Debicki has recently been inducted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in…

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Avengers: Infinity War drops a titan of a trailer

Just when you think it’s safe to internet, Marvel Studios go and drop the final trailer for Avengers: Infinity War a little more than a month away from the film being officially released worldwide. We were all pretty aware of the size and scale and scope of this movie but this new trailer goes to…

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Interview: Scott Eastwood on Pacific Rim Uprising, drifting with John Boyega, and Hollywood action sequences

In 2013 a sci-fi fantasy action film called Pacific Rim took us all by surprise, combining classic monster movie giant creatures called Kaijus fighting against Japanese anime giant robots called Jaegers. Guillermo Del Toro brought his unique style and aesthetic to the feature, so when a sequel to the film was announced fans were suitably…

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Small Screen Superheroes and Video Game Royalty for Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Sydney and Perth

Hot off the heels of their expanding guest list for their Melbourne and Gold Coast events in April, Supanova Comic Con and Gaming have gone and jumped the gun on revealing some of the names of those that will be dropping by their events in June. Supanova are renowned for bringing film and television guests…

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Eight Things We Learnt At The Pacific Rim Uprising Fan Event

Pacific Rim the 2013 Guillermo Del Toro giant robots punching giant monsters movie took the sci-fi fantasy world by storm. Blending classic monster movie mayhem with modern Japanese anime aesthetics and dialling the visual effects up to a whole new level. Five years later its sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising is about to be unleashed and…

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Supanova Comic Con & Gaming gets SUPER-powered with more guests for April tour

As we all slowly start to settle into 2018 and get ready for another year of film, television, games and all things pop culture the team at Supanova Comic Con and Gaming have gone and stirred things up with a sizeable guest announcement for their forthcoming events in Melbourne and the Gold Coast in April….

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Interview: Dichen Lachman talks Altered Carbon, its badass women, deep themes and diversity onscreen

Netflix has been leading the charge with many new tv series and films rolling off its production line and onto its streaming service for audiences. One of its most ambitious and expensive efforts Altered Carbon has been receiving rave reviews since its release on 2nd February. The series, an adaptation of the Phillip K. Morgan…

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Film Review: Black Panther (USA, 2018) roars into the MCU with an ambitious story

When Black Panther was announced the film was automatically destined to bear the hopes and aspirations of many. There was whispers of it finally bringing some long needed diversity to both the MCU and the film landscape. Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler would need to bring his A-game and with this film he’s successful in…

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Jeremy Renner, Catherine Tate and more to head to Armageddon Expo Wellington in NZ

Here at The Iris we’re quite fond of attending pop culture and comic conventions. We’ve been regularly covering Australian events for the last few years now. However this year we’re setting our sights on events abroad and looking to check out what our international compatriots have to offer. Across the ditch our New Zealand neighbours…

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TV Review: Altered Carbon is a nuanced and detailed Blade Runner for the small screen

In 1982 the film Blade Runner by Ridley Scott brought to audiences a new genre of movies – the neo-noir science fiction thriller that paved the way for many to follow its style. In 2017 the sequel Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve was heralded a successful return to that, bringing a blend of a…

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Film Review: Pitch Perfect 3 (USA, 2017) is a little off key but still delivers the laughs

Welcome back Pitches! So the third and final installment of the Pitch Perfect franchise is about to land with all the Barden Bellas crew returning for one more hurrah. When the first film hit cinemas in 2012 it tapped into a hot new trend of reality tv-shows and Youtube performers and Glee-style musical numbers of…

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Film Review: Bright (USA, 2017) is a gritty alternate universe take on the police procedural drama

Since Netflix’s launch the streaming service provider has been pumping out its own studio content to screen exclusively on its service. As the service provider grows it also attempts more ambitious projects working with directors, producers, script writers and actors of a higher calibre. We saw this in Okja that was released a couple of…

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Returning to Australia for Supanova Comic Con & Gaming is triple threat John Barrowman

Last month as one of Australia’s leading pop culture conventions, Supanova Comic Con And Gaming, wrapped up its final tour for the year, they dropped a huge guest announcement for their next shows in 2018. Following on from that broadcast comes yet another release that is sure to put a smile on Supanova fans dials….

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