Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.
Hey there childhood, how you doing? Did you know that there is finally going to be a film based on pretty much every book of the Goosebumps series? The first full trailer for the long anticipated Goosebumps film has been released, and it’s full of footage that references some of the most classic novels in…
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Whatever your thoughts on the Human Centipede film series, you’re going to be hard-pressed finding a horror movie as unique and extreme in concept as Tom Six’s trilogy. From the first film, bound to become a cult horror in 2010, to what is said to be the final entry in the series, Human Centipede III,…
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Habitual TV show obsessives have often run into a problem when a new show just doesn’t cut it in it’s first 2 or 3 episodes. We’re left asking ourselves ‘is it worth it?’, either choosing to place faith in the shows creators and wait for things to ‘get better’ or giving up on it and…
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Yes, Terminator Genisys is a robotic movie in more ways than one, often confusing as it appears to be a prequel, a sequel, and a reboot, often all at once. Alan Taylor, the director behind Thor: The Dark World, gives us an inconsistent new entry into this iconic sci-fi film franchise, taking contrived stabs at…
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I didn’t like 2012’s Ted. The jokes were as uninspired as the ridiculous plot, relying on the same formula that makes Family Guy a tedious watch and putting too much faith in shots of a teddy bear being crude and smoking bongs being funny. That said, I couldn’t stop laughing during Seth MacFarlane’s Ted 2…
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Those who have finished the entire Season 5 of Game of Thrones may know that there is much speculation over what role Melisandre will play as we move into the sixth season of this groundbreaking fantasy epic. In anticipation for the entire Season 5 being made available to own on digital download (through retailers like…
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The first season of Heroes is undeniable. It was a huge hit for NBC back when well-produced superhero TV franchises weren’t really as common as they are today. Somewhere along the line, quality waned and the once iconic show was drowned by it’s own ambitions somewhere between Mohinder’s skin peeling off and the show’s very…
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Liam Neeson’s fluid fighting scenes in high definition? Yes please. The home release for Taken 3 is now available in retail stores and online, giving you the chance to complete that collection of high-impact thriller that has made this franchise such a bankable brand for Neeson and co. By all indications, this trilogy will likely…
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We watched the first episode of the second season of True Detective yesterday, and here are five of our first impressions from the initial watching: 1. The opening credits are much more slick and smooth, as is the aesthetic in True Detective so far, comparatively speaking. There’s that harshness of Louisiana from season 1 that’s sorely…
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Once again, Game of Thrones reminds us that the series owes us – and our feelings – nothing (no “fan favourite”, no “hero” to root for – nothing), and the showrunners are still committed, despite all the book differences this season, to showing what an inventive, murderous author George RR Martin is by staying faithful…
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With Sydney Film Festival wrapping up and transforming into the Traveling Film Festival in the comings week, one of the most talked about documentaries from the program is still fresh in many minds around the city. Alex Gibney’s revealing Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief will be discussed at an exclusive Q&A session…
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In the mid-90’s, Timothy Conigrave published his bestselling memoir, titled Holding the Man, 10 days before his death. It was a story so intimate and full of warmth that it continued to resonate with Australian audiences over the years. Tommy Murphy adapated it into an award-winning stage production in 2006, and now Director Neil Armfield…
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Track the movements of several gastronomy-addicted bloggers while they travel around the world and eat at some of the absolute top restaurants, most guided by the holy foodie grail that is the Michelin Star rating system. It seems like a terrible idea when you think about it – food bloggers are notoriously uninteresting – but…
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Most of the crew involved in We Are Still Here are veterans to the horror genre, and their collective talents come together beautifully in this half satire, half serious story. Director Ted Geoghegan pays homage to the vintage and slightly cheesy, always stringing a thread of self-awareness through the film while it unfolds with a…
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Last night marked the end of yet another successful Sydney Film Festival as the traditional Closing Night Gala saw SFF awards announced and the world premiere of Neil Armfield’s anticipated film adaptation of Holding the Man. Before the screening, which was met with a rapturous, emotional applause, a one-hour awards ceremony was conducted in Sydney’s…
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East England county Norfolk is a drab, scrappy location for Guy Myhill’s The Goob and it’s got just the atmosphere necessary to tell a tale of one family’s disquieting struggle with abuse and oppression that runs alongside the portrayal of a young boy’s – the family’s youngest – need for identity and a stable role…
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New in films that unexpectedly leave you completely satisfied and slightly breathless: Victoria, a two-hour, one-shot, action-drama from Director Sebastian Schipper. It’s a film that takes you all over the late-night streets of Berlin as the sun slowly creeps up and the fallout from a chance encounter continues to get more and more intense until…
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Cartel Land is the documentary that award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman risked his life for, and the danger he thrust himself into is communicated shockingly well in this 98 minute look at cartels and vigilante militias both north and south of the U.S./Mexico border. Heineman has a blockbuster flair for this work, which is why it’s…
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I often watch an episode of Game of Thrones more than once, and happily re-watch scenes over and over again. But there is one particular scene in “The Dance of Dragons” I won’t be watching again, not because it was boring or mishandled, but because it was emotionally draining and incredibly depressing, even if it…
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Jennifer Peedom’s Sherpa is worthy of praise for maintaining it’s focus when it could have easily been lost in the majestic and overwhelming beauty of Mount Everest. The team behind this documentary explore the increasingly strained relationship between the international climbing community and the Sherpas who make such climbs possible, effectively capturing the anxiety that…
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Those classed as ‘Hood Films’ really made an impact on commercial cinema back in the 90’s. Classics like Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, and Juice were met with critical acclaim and appealed to both a crowd that likes intelligent, well-written cinema rife with thoughtful social commentary, and a crowd that just wants an…
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Gabriel Ripstein’s 600 Miles is a straight shooter unconcerned with excess narrative baggage, clocking in at 85 minutes with a minimal gun trafficking plot that relies on talented actors and raw cinematography to place this project as a worthy debut feature for the Mexican filmmaker. Veteran Tim Roth brings a solid performance to the film,…
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Netflix has acquired the rights to distribute War Machine, the satirical comedy about the war in Afghanistan from Animal Kingdom Director David Michôd. With the superstar lead taken by none other than Brad Pitt, this proves a very big acquisition for the streaming service and could change the way Hollywood approaches them and similar streaming…
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“There will be no subtitles, dialogue, or voiceover” is our introduction to The Tribe, a surprisingly shocking film about a state boarding deaf-school in Kiev, with it’s own seedy underbelly of crime and Lord of the Flies type brutality. Director Miroslav Slaboshpitsky delves into the miserable and calmly observes the bleak, dog-eat-dog world that is…
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Kim Farrant’s Strangerland has a magical and mythical quality to it, making full use of the Australian outback with rich, rocky-red landscape shots that swallow the film’s characters in expansive, ambitious cinematography. But while visually impressive, Strangerland’s flaws lie in a commitment to ambiguity, presenting itself as one thing and then veering off into another…
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Over 86 minutes, this chilling documentary details how a (very) small, quiet town in North Dakota slowly transformed into a breeding ground for hatred and paranoia over the course of a few months. It’s easy to watch Welcome to Leith as a highly effective thriller, forgetting that the events going down in the film actually…
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As far as burgers go, Jimmy “The Burger Lord” Hurlston, also known as the man behind Jimmy’s Burgers, just may be the most experienced and well-traveled guy in history. He has spent years trekking all over the world tackling one of the most famous food creations of all time, attempting to eat, record, and review…
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This is not the first time Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd has been adapted, but it’s certainly the finest interpretation out there. The Victorian-era story is based around heroine Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) and the fierce commitment she has to maintaining her own independence after inheriting a large farming estate from her uncle….
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Game of Thrones upped the ante in “Hardhome”, bucking the trend of Episode 9 being the big action-packed set by giving us a ferocious, layered, and brilliantly executed big battle in the episode’s last half. That isn’t only why “Hardhome” is the best Season 5 episode yet though, every other story line during the first…
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In just a couple of days Sydneysiders will be able to watch Jaws on Manly Wharf. Could anything be more perfect? The Steven Spielberg classic will be the first of many classic shown at Manly Wharf Hotel as the seaside venue transforms into a cinema every Monday until the end of September. While Jaws launches…
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