Day: 16 September 2021

Billie Eilish talks the music of James Bond in latest No Time To Die: The Official Podcast Series episode; “I wanted to give the song something I’ve never done before”

Launched on September 9th on all major podcast platforms, No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast features unrivalled behind the scenes access to one of the world’s most successful franchises. Hosted by British film critic James King, the six-part series features interviews with director Cary Joji Fukunaga, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara…

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James Vincent McMorrow

Album of the Week: James Vincent McMorrow – Grapefruit Season (2021 LP)

I still remember the first time I saw James Vincent McMorrow live. It was the inaugural leg of Falls Festival Byron Bay and it was disgustingly hot. Just days away from releasing his second album, Post Tropical, McMorrow played a mid-afternoon slot and proceeded to crush his set, all the while struggling with the Australian…

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Rustler Review: a not-so-perfect medieval homage to classic Grand Theft Auto

Rustler has been on Steam’s Early Access since February of this year, but has only recently fully-launched. You’re thrown back into the good ol’ medieval days as Guy, who just wants to join the Grand Tournament. Well, his buddy, Buddy, has forced him to want to. Now, Guy’s also forced to commit all sorts of…

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OzAsia Festival announces new writing and ideas program, In Other Words

More than 40 Asian and Australian writers will come together for In Other Words, a new writing and ideas program from the OzAsia Festival team. Curated by Laura Kroetsch, Benjamin Law, and Roanna Gonsalves, the program will run from November 5th to 7th, with guests able to attend either in person at the Dunstan Playhouse…

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Film Review: Pig is one of the best films of 2021 thanks to its gripping emotional honesty and a fantastic Nicolas Cage

Pig tells the story of Rob (a wonderfully subtle Nicolas Cage), a former renowned chef turned truffle hunter who resides in a cabin deep in the forest who makes a living by hunting for truffles with the help of his valuable foraging pig. He sells the truffles to young supplier and friend Amir (a stellar…

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Saloum

Saloum blends action, comedy, horror and drama into a satisfying thrill-ride: TIFF 2021 Review

Saloum tells the story of three mercenaries Chaka (Yann Gael), Rafa (Roger Sallah) and Minuit (Mentor Ba) who are tasked to extract a Mexican drug dealer Felix (Renaud Farah) and his cargo of gold and drugs away from the chaos of the government overthrow of Guinea-Bissau and transfer to Dakar, Senegal. But when their means…

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The Rescue is an emotionally rousing & suspenseful documentary about the Tham Luang cave rescue: TIFF 2021 Review

“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” This is a quote from the 1999 sci-fi hit The Matrix by the Wachowskis. Why is this being quoted, you ask? This quote was stuck in this critic’s mind as he was watching the latest project from documentary filmmakers by Jimmy Chin and…

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Lakesedge

Book Review: Lyndall Clipstone sets the bar high in moody YA fantasy Lakesedge

Leta has heard the rumours about Rowan Sylvanan, the monster who drowned his entire family as a boy. But the dangerous young lord of Lakesedge might be the only one who can help her brother Arien, afflicted by a dark and violent magic that threatens to overtake him. But upon entering the grounds of Lakesedge,…

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Film Review: Disclosure is a tense and all-too-raw drama that delights in its ambiguity

Opening with particularly confronting sexual imagery – something that appears unwarranted for gratuity sake before its bookend re-appearance – Disclosure is an unbearably tense and all-too raw drama that leans into the notion that adults can still very much act like children when provoked. And provoked the quartet at the centre of Michael Bentham‘s film…

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Tony Birch

“Whatever you’re writing about, the story has to work. It has to be a good story.”: Author Tony Birch talks about his latest collection Dark As Last Night

Professor Tony Birch is the bestselling and award-winning Australian author of The White Girl, Ghost River, Blood, Shadowboxing, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. An activist, historian and essayist, Birch’s latest short story collection Dark As Last Night was released by the University of Queensland Press in August 2021. We caught up…

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Film Review: Die In A Gunfight is tragically dead on arrival

Just because a story has been done before, doesn’t mean it can’t be told in a manner that offers something new.  In the case of Die In A Gunfight, a supposedly romantic thriller influenced by Shakespeare’s classic tale Romeo & Juliet, its intent on bringing flare to proceedings is so chaotic and desperate that it…

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Zalava is an engaging mix of genre thrills, social commentary and potent drama: TIFF 2021 Review

Set in 1978, the film tells the story of a mountain village of Zalava in Kurdistan that is supposedly plagued by an ancient curse. The villagers are so drawn into the story of the curse that they have been driven into the ways that veer into levels of superstition, involving the use of metals as…

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