Year: 2014

Naughty Dog’s decision to remaster their newly crowned PS3 masterwork The Last of Us and release it on PlayStation 4 around a year after it’s initial release just seemed like a weird move. Despite the studio’s hard-won integrity and reputation for excellent content, it felt like they were attempting to trade on the enormous goodwill…

Between Us first found success as an off-Broadway play but it fails as a film. The story focuses on two key episodes in two pairs of couple’s lives and exposes the flawed relationships between themselves and with each other. It is supposed to be an arty, intense and cerebral drama but instead it feels like…

It’s not often that documentary filmmakers manage to capture their subject matter in an unobtrusive, fly-on-the-wall style manner. It’s even rarer for the filmmaker to achieve this while talking about sex, baby, and to show some explicit scenes of the deed without it all turning into sleazy voyeurism. But Love Hotel manages to achieve all…

Before the first series of Under The Dome began in June 2013 – a rare non-reality premiere Summer series out of the USA – Producer and Director Jack Bender sat down with the Huffington Post to tell everyone that despite having worked on Lost for six years in the same capacity, the new Stephen King…

DMA’s are coming for you New York. Are you ready? Yes, it’s that time already. The annual CMJ Music Marathon is coming to New York City in less than two months – and that means it’s time for us to get a first taste of the bands who’ll be gracing the event come October 21st….

Cafe by day, Georgian restaurant by night, the Urban Cat Cafe in Erskineville just might be the best kept secret of Sydney. For proof, we can look no further than their big breakfasts – possibly the biggest that Sydney has to offer under $20, and the among the tastiest too. The cafe offers two big…

the AU review interviews Paul and Andy from Sunshine Coast rockers Drawcard. We talk about their new single “Kids”, their next record, their “Kids” East Coast tour and much more… The band are currently touring Australia with the following dates remaining: Thursday, 28 August: Bendigo – Musicman Megastore Friday, 29 August: Melbourne – Star Hotel…

the AU review sits down with Australian DJ and Producer Timmy Trumpet and New Zealand MC Savage to talk about their #1 hit “Freaks”. We also look ahead to their travels together, their adventures apart and get a taste of what’s coming next… For more on Timmy Trumpet: https://www.facebook.com/timmytrumpet For more on Savage: https://www.facebook.com/SavageDkonz/info

the AU review sat down with Adam Lazzara and John Nolan from Taking Back Sunday while they were in Australia, on a co-headline tour with The Used. We talk about the tour – and one of their main Australian support acts, Corpus – plus reflect on their past experiences in Australia, being Dads and their…

Long standing and well loved punk outfit The Dwarves are returning to Australia after spending, frankly, too long away this October! Bringing with them a stack of new material, a killer live show as well as all the favourites from what has become an extensive career, Australian fans in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are in…

We get to know the bands playing our 6th Birthday Party in Melbourne next Tuesday night… next up are Fortunes, who’ll be bringing their unique electronic sound to the Workers Club. Who we are: Oh hey we’re Fortunes, a Melbourne R&B/Electronic duo made up of 2 handsome young men from NZ: Conor McCabe (vox), &…

In parts two and three of our In The Studio… video interview series with Sydney’s Katalyst, we delve deeper into his career, festivals, his past and future – plus, Katalyst reflects on the Quakers track “War Drums” with Guilty Simpson.

Poor Sega. They have been the game industry’s continued proof that just because you have the best hardware – or are the first through the gates – doesn’t mean you’re going to be the one to succeed. The superior Game Gear – with backlighting and colour gameplay – was beaten by a black and white,…

The first installment in our Doctor Who Podcast series “The Doctor Is In” for 2014. We talk about the first episode of the eighth series, hear from Peter Capaldi when he was in Australia and get news about Jenna Coleman’s imminent return to our part of the world… ———- This content has recently been ported…

It’s a weird feeling looking up interviews that were made over a decade ago. Back in 2001, Something For Kate were just ramping up their successful music career, with Beautiful Sharks already considered a huge achievement and their 2001 release Echolalia the album that confirmed them as one of our finest talents – here to stay, no less. Being their third…

Well, I get it now. Having missed the boat at SXSW but nonetheless seen his name dripping around the interwebs – including our own website – in the last few months, I had somehow managed to get away with not listening to Benjamin Booker on record until this past week. The debut, self-titled record, from…

We get to know the bands playing our 6th Birthday Party in Melbourne next Tuesday night… first up is Martin King, best known as one half of Oscar + Martin. He’ll be pumping out a live set on the night so let’s take a moment to learn a bit more about the man himself: Who…

Watch as Sydney soul songstress Ms Murphy covers Emeli Sandé‘s beautiful track “My Kind of Love” – LIVE and Exclusive for the AU sessions. Ms Murphy performs at Gingers in Sydney on 28th August with special guest DJ Trey and will also be appearing as part of Soulfest in October – Australia’s first annual neo…

We are definitely experiencing a golden age in modern television, with many series operating on emotional and technical levels never before seen on the small screen. It’s great to see Australian series being a part of this era, and the next is psychological thriller The Devil’s Playground. The mini-series, which will run for six episodes starting from…

In this special behind-the-scenes clip, watch some of the process behind turning Sir Anthony Hopkins into Methuselah in the Darren Aronofsky film Noah. To see more, check out the film on DVD or Blu-Ray – available now! ———- This content has recently been ported from its original home on The Iris and may have formatting…

Have you ever noticed how the men and women in Woody Allen’s films somehow manage to resemble new-age replicas of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton? Take the way they walk, for instance: Hips thrust forward, shoulders slightly stooped, hands in pockets if they’re men, or arms dangling about if they’re women… It’s seriously noticeable. If…

Cloudstreet director Matthew Saville brings an honest, raw approach to Aussie crime drama Felony, illustrating the script by writer, producer and lead actor Joel Edgerton with flair and enough restraint to keep the film grounded in it’s tactile web of emotional quandary and brutal honesty. Opting for the quieter approach to the slow-burning thriller, the…

Released today in Australia on DVD and Blu-Ray is the Biblical epic Noah, from Writer/Director Darren Aronofsky. Ray Winstone played Tubal-cain in the film, and reflected on the role, his experiences filming, and posited whether or not he could kick Russell Crowe’s butt. Hey Ray. How are you going? I’m having a ball (laughs). Darren…

John Goodridge chats to Craig Mabbitt, lead singer of Escape the Fate about life on the road, his side project, The Dead Rabbitts and joining the upcoming Soundwave Festival tour. Hey Craig, how’s it going? Great thanks, how are you? Yeah good. So I believe you’re in the middle of a tour in the US…

the AU review sits down with Sydney based soul songstress Ms Murphy ahead of her performance at Gingers in Sydney on the 28th of August and her appearance as part of Soulfest in October! For more details about Ms Murphy head to: https://www.facebook.com/msmurphymusic

Ruby My Dear are a New York based quintet who channel their roots in the jazz world, into a stunning indie, alternative sound that should get the attention of music lovers around the world – Australia no exception. It helps too, that the band is fronted by an Australian! “Balloons” is the first single off…

Best known as the man behind Icebergs, Maurice Terzini opened his newest restaurant – Da Orazio Pizza and Porchetta – earlier this year, hiding it away near Bondi Beach, in a new complex on Hall Street which also houses a branch of Haberfield’s famed Italian Pasticceria, Papa. This weekend it was named among The Australian‘s…

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window & Disappeared (Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann) looks set to divide people. The reason for this is because your enjoyment of the film hinges on whether you warm to the centenarian lead character. Ultimately, this film is full of dark humour (which also won’t…

Just like that, long running HBO hit True Blood has met the true death with a final 10-episode run to cap off it’s seventh year. Just like that, True Blood saunters off into that realm of failed TV finales, settling in beside Showtime’s Dexter into the pile of rubble that we once loved, and then…

If the success of Doctor Who is anything to go by, fandom can be a profitable market in the world of Cinema. This past weekend, the first episode of the new season of the series brought in some $700,000 in Australia alone. That’s at least 40,000 tickets around the country in limited release, in the…