Fifteen years on, Femme Fatale sits in a fascinating, complicated place in Britney Spears’ catalogue – once dismissed as impersonal and overly synthetic, now increasingly understood as both a cultural pivot point and a quietly resilient achievement. Released in March 2011, Femme Fatale arrived at a moment when mainstream pop was aggressively chasing the club….
Continuing our series on Europe’s best festivals for 2026, Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival is gearing up for a landmark year, celebrating its 10th anniversary from 8th–11th July 2026 with one of its most expansive and genre-spanning line-ups to date. Held at the sprawling Iberdrola Music venue, Mad Cool has quickly established itself as one of…
This summer, fear doesn’t knock – it breaks in. Inspired by the chilling legacy of Cape Fear, a new nightmare begins when Cape Fear premieres June 5th on Apple TV. From executive producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg comes a relentless psychological thriller where the past refuses to stay buried. Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson…
With his original upload, Kane Parsons redefined the landscape of horror for a new generation. Now, making his feature debut, Backrooms will expand the terror for the big screen, with Academy Award nominees Chiwitel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve leading the charge as a therapist ventures into an otherworldly dimension in the basement of a furniture…
When Super Mario Bros. Wonder launched on the original Nintendo Switch back in October 2023, I called it “quite simply the best 2D Mario platforming game ever made” – and I stand by every word. So when Nintendo announced a Switch 2 Edition complete with the mouthful subtitle + Meetup in Bellabel Park, the question…
There’s something quietly disarming about Father Mother Sister Brother – a film that unfolds not with grand declarations, but in glances, silences, and the emotional spaces left unspoken. Structured as a triptych spanning the Northeast US, Dublin, and Paris, it explores the fragile, often complicated bonds between adult children and their parents, as well as…
There’s something quietly radical about a filmmaker as singular as Jim Jarmusch making a film that feels this small. Father Mother Sister Brother doesn’t announce itself with narrative urgency or emotional fireworks – instead, it invites you to lean in, to notice, to sit with the awkward silences and half-truths that define family. And in…
There’s good news for Sydney fans of The Black Crowes, with a second show now locked in at Enmore Theatre on Wednesday 8th April after the first date quickly sold out. The added night gives local audiences another chance to catch the band’s return, bringing their bluesy, swagger-heavy take on rock and roll back to…
Sunday night at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, Counting Crows brought their Complete Sweets! tour to Sydney for the first of 3 dates, offering a nostalgic trip back to the 90s while mixing in newer material. The songs that defined a generation – about faith and sex and God (IYKYK) – still carry weight, particularly from their…
In the crowded landscape of sitcoms, where shows often lean on predictable tropes or overly polished humor, Baby Daddy carved out a space that felt refreshingly warm, chaotic, and genuinely funny. While it may not always be the first title people mention when reminiscing about pleasing 2010s comedies, it absolutely should be part of that…
In his book Sacred Journeys in a Modern World, Roger Houdsen describes pilgrimage as a “prayer of the body as well as the mind”. In their 1978 works, Victor and Edith Turner explored pilgrimage as a “liminal” experience, fashioning such epic inner journeys as “temporary breaks” from social structures that result in a sense of…
Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Ningaloo Reef and filmed on Baiyungu Country, Whale Shark Jack is a sweeping yet intimate family adventure that explores grief, healing, and our deep connection to the natural world. The Stan Original follows 12-year-old Sarah, played by Alyla Browne, a fearless ocean kid raised aboard a research catamaran…
Melbourne hip hop icon Illy took to his socials last Tuesday to announce a national tour celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his fifth album Two Degrees this June and July. Featuring the hit singles “Papercuts” with Vera Blue and “Catch 22” with Anne-Marie, the record debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and…
Californian rock band Counting Crows returned to Sydney and played to a packed out Enmore Theatre led by the great lead singer Adam Duritz and they sounded superb! They didn’t disappoint playing their classic hit “Mr Jones” early in the night! Pete Dovgan was there to capture the performance.
Wu-Tang Clan on The Final Chapter tour played their final ever Australian gig at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. Pulling from a catalogue that reshaped hip-hop in the ‘90s. Members drifted on and off in loose rotation, each grabbing moments in the spotlight. Supported perfectly by local hip-hop artists Bliss n Esso. Pete Dovgan was there…
Surely, if there was any occasion that required all nine core members of the Wu-Tang Clan to be present, it’d be the iconic hip hop collective’s final tour. But that’s not the case as the seminal rap group take Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for what will allegedly be the last time, bringing with them a…
Tucked beneath the streets of Brisbane, Boom Boom Room isn’t just a place to eat – it’s a full-bodied, late-night experience that leans into mood, music, and indulgence. Equal parts supper club and sensory playground, it promises modern Asian dining with a theatrical edge – and it delivers. From the moment you step inside, the…
A quarter-century on from its 2001 release, Get Over It stands as one of the most gleefully offbeat teen comedies of its era – a film that never quite fit the mold, and is all the better for it. Arriving at a time when the genre was dominated by glossy prom-night fantasies and raunch-heavy gross-out…
The Xbox Partner Preview might not be the first showcase you think of when you think of the new and exciting announcements for 2026 and beyond, but we were definitely keen on a few of the surprises shown off here. So let’s get started and unpack these announcements from the March 2026 showcase. HUNTER: THE…
Don Broco aren’t figuring it out anymore. That part’s done. With their fifth studio album, Nightmare Tripping, you get a band that knows exactly what it is and is running with it. Since they started out back in 2008, they’ve bounced all over the place stylistically, pulling from alt rock, pop, electronic and heavier, but…
Brisbane pop-rock outfit The Idle Minds have today dropped their awaited debut single “Sideways”, a melancholy singalong for the broken-hearted who haven’t lost faith in their happy ending. It has everything you could want from a groovy ballad: haunting piano, warm guitars, shimmering pads, and a tasty rhythm section. The only thing that’s missing is…
Trip.com, in partnership with China Southern Airlines, is set to transform Pitt Street Mall into an immersive travel experience with its upcoming “Journey to China” pop-up, running from 27 to 29 March 2026 (10:00 AM – 7:00 PM daily, both dates inclusive). Designed as a city-centre activation, the three-day pop-up invites Sydneysiders to explore China’s…
This week we’ve added another ten tracks to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including one track we exclusively premiered earlier in the week. For the final time this month, our Track of the Week goes to, none other than the returning Tkay Maidza with her new single “Must Be” – her first…
I’ll gladly admit that for better or worse, I play the new Call of Duty every year. While I stick around for the invincible gunplay and fun multiplayer sessions with friends, it’s always nice when a new season comes around to refresh the experience with some new content. Be it maps, guns, operators or events,…
Things that feel like all-consuming headlines in the moment often fade into footnotes with time. It’s this tension between intensity and hindsight that underpins Blip, the debut EP from Meanjin/Brissie duo STAHR — a high-octane pop/rock release threaded with sharp lyricism, emotional volatility and a knowing sense of glamour. Long-time readers of the AU review…
It’s been over a decade since Tomodachi Life first launched on the 3DS in the West, and in that time, it has taken on something of a cult status. I tortured my family and friends recreating them in the original, sharing their mishaps on social media, absolutely overwhelmed with bizarre, hilarious clips of tiny Mii…
Adapting The Magic Faraway Tree for the screen was never going to be straightforward. Simon Farnaby, who helped bring the charm of Paddington 2 and Wonka to life, takes a decent swing at translating Enid Blyton’s whimsical, plot-light books into something resembling a cohesive family film. The result is a bright, well-meaning adventure that captures…
There’s a delicate balance at the heart of The Magic Faraway Tree – between whimsy and emotional truth, chaos and comfort – and few characters embody that better than Dame Washalot. In this vibrant new adaptation, based on Enid Blyton’s beloved classic, audiences are reintroduced to a world where fantastical lands spin into place atop…
They. Will. Kill. You. And unlike most horror taglines, this one isn’t bluffing. With They Will Kill You, director Kirill Sokolov storms into English-language filmmaking like he’s got something to prove – and judging by the sheer volume of bloodshed on display, he absolutely does. Best known for his gleefully unhinged Why Don’t You Just…
At the trailer launch for Forgotten Island, directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, alongside voice stars H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, revealed a film deeply rooted in friendship, memory, and cultural authenticity – one that’s as personal as it is universal. From the outset, emotion ran high. For Crawford and Mercado, the project represents not just…
