Month: March 2022

Are you an avid filmmaker? An active photographer? Do you love capturing musicians in all their glory? If so, it might be worth checking out Shoot the Moo 2022 – an exciting competition held by Groovin the Moo (GTM), one of our favourite annual music festivals. This competition gives aspiring photographers and filmmakers a chance…

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 picks up after the events of the first film as the titular character (voiced by Ben Schwartz) has taken the mantle of being the hero for the people in the town of Green Hills. But his recklessness and overeager bravado has consequences as he wreaks unintentional havoc while trying to do…

Thanks to Paramount Pictures we have 5 family passes (Admit 4) to give away for the upcoming release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, set for release exclusively in cinemas from March 31st, 2022. The world’s favourite blue hedgehog is back for a next-level adventure in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2. After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove…

“I think it’s really important to show that, for us, the past, present and future, are happening simultaneously.” These are the words of editor Rafeif Ismail in the introductory conversation with fellow editor Ellen van Neervan for Unlimited Futures, a collection of speculative fiction from First Nations and Afro-Black writers. They perfectly encapsulate the unifying…

Prepare to be sent on a nostalgia-fuelled ride back to the good old ’90s as Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical premieres down-under in May. Presented by David Venn Enterprises (The Wedding Singer, Bring It On: The Musical), this beloved production will be shuffling its way onto Australian shores in 2022, premiering at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre…

So often favouring spectacle over character development, the comic book action movie has gradually skewered its initial action-centric mentality towards a dramatic outreach (however melodramatic) that speaks to the quality talent the films so often manage to lure.  And for Marvel, not only are their films consistently cast, but their Disney+ series’ have more than…

As The Bad Guys releases in Australian cinemas (you can read our review here), Peter Gray spoke with actresses Zazie Beetz and Lilly Singh about their voice work in the animated heist caper, how they reacted to first reading the “Tarantino for kids” script, and the “thrilling” experience of recording their roles in the same…

Selling itself as “Tarantino for kids” may give parents valid reason to pause on The Bad Guys, but it’s an ultimately safe and reliable child-friendly affair that more circles the neighbourhood of the adult-aimed heist film rather than being an all out animated edition of Pulp Fiction; though its opening sequence certainly brings that effort…

A New York Times #1 best-seller, The Bad Guys series from Australian author Aaron Blabey has solidified itself as one of the most successful collections of graphic novels aimed at younger audiences.  With such success comes the inevitable big screen adaptation, and arriving in Australian cinemas on March 31st from award-winning filmmaker Pierre Perifel, the…

PlayStation has announced in a PlayStation Blog post this morning, multiple new tiers of PlayStation Plus subscriptions, with Australian gamers set to miss out on the highest tier, known as PlayStation Plus Premium. This is due to the fact that the Premium tier’s offerings tie into the cloud-based streaming service PlayStation Now, which we currently…

Last year electro-indie/pop duo GENIIE BOY released their debut EP, If You Have Something To Say, and they are back with new music, in the form of the futuristic “Elevator to the Sky”. We are thrilled to be premiering the track, and its zany video ahead of its release on Friday. “Elevator Sky” is another gem from…

Norwegian author Lars Mytting and his English translator Deborah Dawkin transport readers back to the modest village of Butangen in The Reindeer Hunters, the second book in Mytting’s Sister Bells Trilogy.  If you haven’t read the first book in the trilogy, The Bell in the Lake, I heartily recommend you do so before starting on…

Canberra’s Kirrah Amosa weaves an intoxicating R&B spell on her latest single, “Possessive”. A passionate and sensual song, it reflects the journey which Kirrah has been on. Not always smooth-sailing, this is a track that shows acceptance and great self-awareness. Kirrah gives us some background to the track: “2020/2021 bestowed on me the best of the…

Indie folk singer/songwriter Jack Carty has just released his latest album, Wake to a Bright Morning. At the AU, we’ve been crushing on this album, and believe it’s his finest yet. A prolific songwriter this is his sixth full-length album and was recorded between London and Brisbane over the past three years. He roped in…

Huge touring festival Under the Southern Stars brought its stellar lineup to the Brisbane Riverstage on Sunday 27 March for the final show of a 12-date run. Headlined by legends Stone Temple Pilots, Bush and Cheap Trick, this celebration of 90s rock was the first international tour of Australia in two years. An afternoon of…

Brisbane’s Dusty are back with another golden slice of indie rock. “Anxiety” is their latest tune about to hit the ether, an upbeat and on-point track that tackles the challenges of coping with anxiety. The band released their debut tracks early in 2021, with “Easier” and “Do You Care” and haven’t looked back. Renowned for…

Earlier this month Belgian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kristin Deruytter a.k.a Kristo released his debut EP Restore.  It’s an eclectic and exciting release; one which highlights the talent and promise of the young artist, with Kristo playing with genres at will. On the one hand, you have the refined and controlled emotion of “Restore”, and on…

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories is a beautiful, intelligent and poignant collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories and essays by Chinese women and non-binary creators, edited by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang. The stories range from the fantastic to fable-like, with writing voices and styles that at times feel more…

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures we have 5 double passes (Admit 2) to give away for the upcoming release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the anticipated continuation of the Wizarding World, starring Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne and Mads Mikkelsen, set for release in Australian cinemas from April 7th, 2022. Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude…

The Phantom of the Opera is the longest-running show in musical history. It tells the story of a mysterious and terrifying masked man who lives beneath the Paris Opera House and of a young, talented singer who becomes his obsession. This Opera Australia interpretation, directed by Simon Phillips, is presented on a floating stage on Sydney…

Hamilton has a new home in Australia – officially opening in Melbourne’s theatre district after spending much of 2021 and the early months of 2022 based in Sydney. The Tony Award-winning blockbuster, at the centre of a premiere bragging rights battle between the two capital cities, was eventually won by the New South Wales Government….

Newcastle punk favourites Trophy Eyes know how to put on a show and seeing them live is a rite of passage in the local heavy scene. The esteemed four-piece kicked off their first tour since 2020 at a packed Eleven Dive Bar in Maroochydore with Waxflower on Thursday 24 March. It was the first of…

Taking it back to the basics of the horror genre – i.e. sex and blood sprawled out on a big cinema screen – Ti West‘s return to the fray (his last horror effort being the 2013 found footage outing The Sacrament) indulges in the slasher mentality of eras gone by whilst fusing it with a…

Christchurch’s There’s a Tuesday have dropped the beautiful “Baby Blue”. The warm harmonies from Natalie Hutton and Minnie Robberds deliver another ripping song from the quartet, and it’s our Track of the Week. Of the song, the band says “‘Baby Blue’ is a song that explores a relationship and the anxieties within it. We find these…

The British have always excelled at the cosy murder mystery – the sort you watch routinely on a weeknight with a cup of tea – but this time its Ireland that’s produced a stellar addition to the genre. Giving off strong Rosemary & Thyme vibes, the Acorn TV original Harry Wild stars Jane Seymour as…

Camp Cope recently covered Sam Fender’s track “Seventeen Going Under”. There’s a line in the song that’s gone TikTok viral, but also equally represents the progression of Camp Cope pretty well. ‘That’s the thing with anger/ it begs to stick around’. It’s poignant and pertinent but easily highlights the longevity and mentality of the Melbourne…

Blending his knack of humour, tenderness, and dramatic stakes that speaks to his strength as a storyteller, there’s a bittersweetness to Roger Mitchell‘s The Duke.  Sadly passing away prior to the film’s release, his swan song couldn’t seem more perfect as it encapsulates his talents in all the best ways possible. And The Duke just…

As civil war tears 17th century England apart, Thomas Treadwater returns home, summoned by his young sister. Esther, concerned by the growing closeness between their father and a new servant, has spun quite the tale. And Thomas, though glad of a reason to escape the battlefield, thinks little of it. But when he arrives to…

One of our favourite Wollongong festivals, Yours & Owls 2022, has just released their set times, giving you less than a fortnight to rally your troops. Whether you’re a fan of Hilltop Hoods, San Cisco, The Jungle Giants, or Nosedive, you’re sure to have a great time. This year, the festival returns to Stuart Park…

Should you take life by the horns, or take the safe route? Melbourne-based pop band Just A Leo ponder that question in their latest track, “Missing Out”. The track will be on their second EP, due to be released later in the year. It follows on from “Hear Me” which dropped in January, and we…