Year: 2015

This week we’re seeing the appearances of several films that opened this week, pushing old favourites like The Theory Of Everything and American Sniper officially out of the top ten. Topping the charts was the latest instalment of The Divergent Series, Insurgent, grossing $4.1 million. This dystopic action film is sure to please any thrill…

With Netflix finally launching in Australia and New Zealand today, all eyes are on the online entertainment service and it’s promising potential to shake up what we know of Australian subscription television/streaming. Already the service has attracted praise for their very reasonable price point and humongous collection of new and classic films, series, documentaries, and…

In my review for the first Girls episode of this season, I said that if the rest of the season was as good as that episode and back in the realm of season one form, that I would eat my words and stop hating on Lena Dunham’s show. Here we are, nine episodes later, and here I…

Following the teaser which came out earlier this week, Paramount Pictures have released the first full-length trailer for Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, and boy does it look like a doozy. Continuing the exploits of super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the film sees “Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate, an International rogue organisation,…

The 2015 Spanish Film Festival has launched its full program, and its becoming clear that you’re a film aficionado of the Mediterranean kind you’ll be in for a real treat. Taking place exclusively at Palace Cinemas across Australia, the festival will feature 38 feature films and runs from April 21 until May 20. Highlights include special guest Elena…

Following the success of their iview comedy binge, which racked up over 2.6 million views across the summer period, the ABC is proud to announce Binge on the Best Australian Drama, set to kick off on April 1st. Throughout the month, you can look forward to watching some of the best Aussie drama the ABC has to offer….

17th Century France brings to mind a number of words, opulence, beauty, indulgence, but it was also when the Palace of Versailles and its gardens blossomed under the reign of Louix XIV and the design and construction of André Le Nôtre. But in this film with some slight tweaks on the truth, we meet Sabine…

In the 32nd installment of ‘Stumbled Upon’, we meet Chicago’s Chicago Loud 9, and get a sneak peak at their latest release Punk Soul. Band Name:  Chicago Loud 9 Website: www.chicagoloud9.com Facebook / Bandcamp Genre: Windy City Roots, Hip Hop Rock n Roll, Funk n Soul Members & their roles: Dhan D. – Emcee Aya…

We had the privilege of capturing Canadian artist Frog Eyes (Carey Mercer) performing a brand new track “Rejoinders in a Storm” as part of our SXSW AU Sessions series last week. Filmed in Austin, Texas at the Buffalo Nickel on 19th March 2015, you can watch the video exclusively here: Find out more about this…

For the 8th consecutive year, Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party took over Stubb’s BBQ for the final afternoon of SXSW, seeing a mix of bands from around the world play across three stages, while four Rachael Ray recipes (which you can see HERE), were enjoyed by the masses (you have to try the tacos!) – some…

Our friends at Willow Wood put on a special showcase last night to help bring SXSW to an end, taking over Bethell Hall at St David’s Church with a group of artists who took full advantage of the venue to deliver an evening full of special performances. First up was Howard, a self described “folktronica”…

Picking up where the previous episode left off, (and to “Something Good” by Alt-J) Life is Strange: Episode 2 – Out of Time continues Max Caulfield’s story, but not especially far. There’s not a lot of narrative ground covered in this second episode – instead, Dontnod devote more to the development of their leading lady….

From the minute the opening theme rolls into the bass lines to Simple Minds anthem for The Breakfast Club ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ it’s apparent that this episode’s going to be something special. In hindsight the title really says it all, meshing elements of the play on The Breakfast Club, the fashion runway themes…

Sex, Love & Therapy (Tu veux… ou tu veux pas?) contains about as much insight and laughs regarding love as a garden hose and a bread basket. This French rom-com is a superficial tale about a sex-obsessed man and woman who have to work together. It’s a complicated romantic situation but the script is simple…

“No one ever knows what we do.” Ever wonder where those captions on your TV come from? Do you know what a court reporter is? Both utilise the invisible art of stenography – “the act or process of writing in shorthand by hand or machine” – a tradition that dates back to the time of Cicero, who developed…

Full disclosure: Kurt Cobain has long been one of my music idols, and as a result, anything which grants any insight into his life is only going to receive the utmost of praise from me. I expected that Brett Morgen’s long in the works Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck would be no exception to this rule, but I…

As many fans expected, the reason for these episode titles lately is beginning to make a bit more sense. All these one-word titles seem to be in reference to a speech the ill-fated and loveable Dale gave in season 2; a moment in time when a confrontation between the relatively soft Rick and the relatively…

First-time director Yann Demange’s historical drama ‘71, about a British soldier abandoned behind enemy lines in sectarian Belfast at the start of the Troubles, received nine nominations at the British Independent Film Awards. Unlike James Sheridan’s In The Name Of The Father and Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes The Barley, ‘71 doesn’t focus on whole families being torn…

Late in the film, iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent is rumoured to have died. A few opportunistic journalists decide to get a head­start on the obituary. They discuss their angle: take it easy on the drugs, alcohol. They agree he was a visionary, that he transformed fashion. They say they ‘liked’ him. Maybe they mean ‘admired’, since…

For the last four days, the Pandora Discovery Den at SXSW has been taking audiences through the world of music, starting with Electronic, moving through Hip Hop, Americana and closing the week out with a day dedicated to Rock. Performing through the final day were artists like Big Data – who earlier in the day…

The Aussie BBQ returned to Brush Park on Friday, taking over the East and West sides of the venue to bring a day full of incredible Australian acts. Sosefina already brought you the full live review, but now here are some photo highlights from the day. First up, we start with the BBQ itself, supplied…

Ori and the Blind Forest marks a return to a kind of game we haven’t seen for a while, that most enjoyable of beasts, colloquially known as a “Metroidvania”. It bears all the hallmarks of those 2D exploratory juggernauts but looks for clever ways to update that formula for the modern era. In this, and…

Battlefield Hardline takes the venerable combat FPS series in some pretty new directions. Eschewing military combat for a cops-vs-robbers angle, Hardline works hard to make the most of it’s premise. If you’re reading this review, it’s probably to find out what the game’s multiplayer is like – Battlefield’s multi has long been it’s big draw….

Tom Cruise is back, baby. This time it’s in the form of a fifth instalment to the Mission Impossible franchise – Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation. The film stars Tom Cruise reprising the iconic role of Ethan Hunt, who was first introduced to moviegoers in 1996. Returning to the franchise are Simon Pegg as Benji,…

The Circle (Der Kreis) was a gay magazine produced in Switzerland and distributed internationally between 1932 and 1967. It is also the name of a docudrama film by director, Stefan Haupt. The film tells the story of a couple who were members of this underground movement that went on to become Switzerland’s first legally-married couple…

UDPATE — Netflix have officially confirmed the below pricing to Gizmodo AU. To reiterate, that’s AU$8.99, $11.99 and $14.99 on each plan. Original news piece follows. — There’s only two days left before Netflix officially reveals their Australian pricing and library of titles but someone on Reddit may have beaten them to the punch. Hit…

Ian Hultquist is at SXSW promoting the horror film The Diabolical, for which he composed the musical score. He is also a founding member of synth pop band Passion Pit, although in October 2014 he announced his departure from the band. In this interview, Hultquist chats about the nature of composing for film, his inspirations,…

Olive Kitteridge is part curmudgeon and all chameleon. The difficult high school teacher is caustic and thorny as a mother and wife living in a bleak town in Maine in the seventies and eighties. The mini-series is a slow, nuanced affair that contains as many layers as an onion. It’s something that will keep you…

The 2015 SXSW Festival is in full swing in Austin, Texas. And undeniably, one of the most anticipated highlights of this year’s conference was the world premiere of the long awaited, fan-funded, Ktown Cowboys – a film based on the wildly popular web-series of the same name. Directed by Daniel Park, Ktown Cowboys follows the lives of…

Shaun the Sheep is a simple but smart story. It also marks the big screen debut for the Aardman Animations’ character who was spun-off from Wallace & Gromit’s A Close Shave before he got his own popular TV show. This little sheep that could is as charming and engaging as ever and along with his…