Review

Film Review: The Garfield Movie hates its audience as much as its lead feline hates Mondays

Similar to the disdain many had when it was announced that Chris Pratt would be voicing Mario for last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the actor’s involvement as Garfield hasn’t assisted in warming him to the masses that have seriously turned on him in a manner many never saw coming after his winning work…

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Film Review: Night Shift; Singular location chiller proves a serviceable genre entry

Perhaps because we’re simply used to his New Girl persona, or that even in the realms of a horror setting he’s playing with a little uncertain levity, Lamorne Morris‘ presence in the opening moments of Night Shift suggest that The China Brothers (filmmaking duo Benjamin and Paul China) may be preparing their audience for a more…

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door makes safe, yet important improvements to an already fantastic game

It’s hard to believe that the original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is 20 years old. Yes, you read that right. It’s also just as hard for me to believe that I remember checking out the original Gamecube version like it was yesterday. This remake will feel incredibly familiar to anyone who has played the…

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The Tineco S7 Steam wet-dry vacuum is a fantastic all-rounder

We’ve reviewed a couple of Tineco mop vacuums in the past, like the Floor One S5 Combo and the Floor One S6 Pro Extreme. Both have been fantastic all-in-one options for my hardwood floors over the past few months. And yet, The Tineco Floor One S7 Steam feels like another step up. Sure, it’s and…

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Film Review: IF; John Krasinski’s family outing is wholesome but hollow

John Krasinski has primarily set himself up in the horror space across his directorial career.  And though his latest could give way to genre tendencies – imaginary friends can indeed be a terrifying notion – he’s decidedly opted for a more wholesome, family-friendly mentality with the release of IF. IF (which stands for Imaginary Friend)…

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Album Review: Kate Hudson proves herself a pop poet on Glorious debut LP

It isn’t an uncommon road travelled for actors to further express their creativity through the release of music.  Whilst some commit to both with a certain vigour (Jennifer Lopez, Cher, etc) and others dabble with more consistent subtlety (Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe), it does feel a little out of the ordinary to switch…

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The Dell XPS 14 laptop is a cut above the rest, if you’re willing to pay the price

Dell have always excelled in their XPS range, providing quality materials and performance, in a slimmer form factor. While the specs are usually built to suit the user and their usage, there’s no denying most of these models have been constantly sleek and powerful, something you don’t usually find in your everyday laptop. The latest…

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Film Review: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is an exhilarating actioner from one of the greatest blockbuster filmmakers of our time

Mad Max: Fury Road felt like a truly once-in-a-lifetime type event upon its release in 2015.  It was continuing a series that had laid dormant for 30 years at that point and, despite still relative success both critically and commercially, the third film – 1985’s Beyond Thunderdome – was so often cited as the series’…

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The Kobo Libra Colour adds both style and flair to each of its new features

The concept of e-readers is admittedly alluring and seems to have only grown in popularity in recent years. After all, why look for a literal library of space in your house when you can cram them all into one slim device? Collectors aside, there’s simply plenty to love about the newest iteration of Kobo’s larger…

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The Aspera Nitro 2 provides yet another handset that outshines its price tag

The Australian-owned mobile brand Aspera has prided itself on providing exceptional value to customers, amid the rising cost of living. We’ve reviewed some of their previous models in the past like the AS5 and AS8, and have come away rather surprised at the amount of features they’ve managed to pack into handsets that will cost…

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Film Review: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes impresses with its technical marvel and emotional resonance

Although Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a continuation of the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy that Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicked off in 2011, with Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) following through,…

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The Backbone One USB-C (2nd-Gen) further refines some of its best features

Remote play is certainly becoming a more viable option here in Australia, thanks to slowly (but surely) improving internet speeds and newer ways to play on the go. PlayStation’s Remote Play, Xbox’s Game Pass and Cloud Play each offer some easy ways to get your hands on the latest games, should you have something as…

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants ultimately feels too shallow for its own good

I’m a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan and have been ever since I can remember. I’ve kept up with most of the comic books, shows, games and movies, and even played the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants when it was released back in 2017, so I had an idea…

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Early Access Review: No Rest for the Wicked deserves your attention

We got a chance to crack open the new isometric ARPG No Rest for the Wicked, playing through the first chunk of its story and exploring its broader open world. While this game is still in its early access phase, this is still without a doubt one of the most impressive games in its genre…

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Film Review: The Idea of You; The luminousness of Anne Hathaway elevates serviceable rom-com

If the premise of The Idea of You sounds like romanticised mentality of fanfiction – that being a romance centred around a 40-year-old single divorcee and the global boyband heartthrob who meet-cutes her and proceeds to pursue her to her bewilderment – it’s because it essentially is. Based on Robinne Lee‘s novel of the same…

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Film Review: The Road to Patagonia twists and turns towards self-discovery

The Road to Patagonia opens with Matty Hannon – the director, cinematographer, and centre-man – telling how he’s headed to the top of Alaska, which if you know your American geography, is distinctly away from Patagonia, which encompasses the southern end of South America. But worry not, the title is not a metaphor nor figurative. …

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TopSpin 2K25 returns serve with one of the best tennis games in years

TopSpin 2K25 marks the return of the beloved tennis franchise after more than a decade, and I could not be happier. While TopSpin 4 was released back in 2011, I still find myself going back to it now and again, simply because it’s one of the best tennis games ever made. Thankfully, TopSpin 2K25 serves…

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Body horror and dramatic flourishes don’t play together in The Demon Disorder: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

There’s a fascinating premise at its core and an impressive heft of body horror effects abounding throughout, but The Demon Disorder never quite conjures enough other-worldly strength to rise above its structural flaws. A tale of three brothers and the demonic trauma they share off the back of their father’s death – presumably the result…

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Film Review: Hanky Panky; Lo-fi comedic horror effort is intentionally nonsensical – whether you like it or not!

To call Hanky Panky inexplicable at times would be an understatement.  And in no way is that intended to be an overt criticism towards Nick Roth and Lindsay Haun‘s wild comedy-horror effort that delights in its science-fiction mentality whilst bathing itself in batshit insanity. It’s an acquired taste of a film, and it definitely benefits…

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Film Review: The Fall Guy; Crowd-pleasing actioner is both a love letter to the stunt profession and another showcase of Ryan Gosling’s charisma

Not that we needed reminding, but Ryan Gosling‘s distinct energy – rightfully rebranded as “Kenergy” in the culture-shifting buzz surrounding last year’s Barbie – is entirely unmatched.  We saw it earlier this year with his boisterous rendition of the Oscar-robbed “I’m Just Ken” at the Academy Awards where, without even taking off his sunglasses, he…

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The Raid is a brutal and unrelenting action film that serves as a reminder of the true mastery of the genre: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

As easy as it is to call something like The Raid (released in some territories as The Raid: Redemption, this the result of certain legalities) a “thin” movie in terms of plot and character, Gareth Edwards ultimately thrives on such a simplistic nature, turning in a slaughterhouse of an action movie that rarely lets up…

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Sting is an enjoyably camp horror effort that backs its gross effects with some emotional heft: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

Given the ambition he showed with his Mad Max-meets-Dawn of the Dead B-grade genre piece Wyrmwood (and its respective sequel), it makes sense that Australian director Kiah Roache-Turner would continue his genre mash-ups for his follow-up.  What proves surprising, however, is that for Sting, an ode to the creature feature (and, fittingly, Australia’s fear of…

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The OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro earbuds provide a sleek design and solid battery life

OPPO might make some decent smartphones across multiple price points, but it’s worth noting, that they’ve gotten pretty good at earphones too. We checked out the Enco X2 earbuds last year and were pleasantly surprised. Put it this way; I still use them as my daily drivers. The OPPO Enco Buds2 Pro earbuds might sound…

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Film Review: Abigail deliciously balances bloody gore and knowing humour

After the underperformance of both Dracula: The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield last year, the vampire-centric subsect of storytelling – especially within the horror genre – seemed, quite fittingly, void of life with audiences.  But seeing as how much new life they injected into the once-dormant Scream series with their one-two punch of…

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Film Review: Challengers serves itself up as one of this year’s true cinematic winners

Going into Challengers, I think it needs reiterating for unsuspecting audiences that, as much as this is being advertised as “a sexy tennis movie” (which it absolutely is), it’s a Luca Guadagnino feature.  So don’t be at all surprised that the director of the lush and tragic Call Me By Your Name, the oft-unnerving Suspiria…

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Interview: Carlo Mendez on his first lead role in the thriller Demise; “The challenge was making my character likeable.”

At the core of Demise, Yara Estrada Lowe‘s debut feature film, is a messy love triangle that allows the erotic thriller to lean into the campy, oft-unhinged sensibilities the genre can so continually give way to. Subtlety is disregarded and melodrama is heightened, making for one helluva wild time. At the core of the film…

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Film Review: Arcadian is a tense family drama presented as a dystopian thriller

Comparisons to John Krasinki’s A Quiet Place will be inevitable when viewing Arcadian, but, despite the familiar ground covered across the family-versus-insurmountable-odds-in-a-dystopian-future narrative, director Benjamin Brewer (a predominant music video director who also served as the lead visual effects artist for Everything Everywhere All At Once) and screenwriter Michael Nilon (who’s produced a heft of…

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Film Review: Robot Dreams is a gorgeous, wordless animated tale dipped in surreality and colourful psychedelics

Have you ever pondered what a robot would dream of?  Well, in Pablo Berger‘s gorgeous, wordless animated tale they dream in surreality and colourful psychedelics.  But in the case of Robot Dreams‘s protagonist, simply named Robot, he dreams of Dog, his owner and best friend, who he is cruelly separated from in a circumstantial situation…

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Film Review: Back to Black; Should they have made a movie about Amy Winehouse? “No, no, no!”

In 2015, director Asif Kapadia let us in on the life and legacy of the genius, tragic existence that was Amy Winehouse with the documentary Amy.  Using archival footage spanning 14 years and over 100 interviews with those that knew her best, it truly gave us an insight into the singers’ meteoric rise and brutal…

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Film Review: Civil War is an anxiety-ridden thriller that’s poised to generate conversations

There’s an apoliticality that director Alex Garland adheres to within the framing of Civil War, a film that’s inherently political as it tackles the division of the United States.  Here in a modern day USA where an alternate landscape is explored (although, chillingly, you could imagine such unrest escalating to the type of environment flexed…

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