Month: June 2025

Interview: Will Bates on sonically interpreting the emotional undercurrent of Rosemead at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival

Set in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley and based on a harrowing true story, Rosemead is a gripping, emotionally charged portrait of a mother’s love pushed to its limits. Lucy Liu delivers a transformative performance as a terminally ill Chinese immigrant who uncovers her teenage son’s disturbing fixation with mass shootings. As her health deteriorates, she takes…

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The Things You Kill is as confusing as it is profound: Sydney Film Festival Review

A self-awareness regarding certain specifications in getting his film made along with a universality in conjunction with its narrative, writer/director Alireza Khatami goes beyond genre conventions with The Things You Kill, a twisted thriller that breaks apart what it is to transform. At one point in the film, the language professor at the centre of…

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The OPPO A5 Pro 5G falters in places, but still provides some decent value

OPPO is no stranger to a wide variety of entry-level, mid-range, and even premium phones for various users and budgets. Their newest entry-level option, the A5 Pro 5G, proves to be a decent choice in certain areas. For A$399, you’re getting fantastic battery life, 45W SUPERVOOC fast charging, and plenty of software support for added…

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Jacqui Lumsden

Exclusive Video Premiere: Jacqui Lumsden “Pretending Season” (2025)

Melbourne artist Jacuqi Lumsden has today released her second single of the year, the evocative “Pretending Season”. The track follows “I Love Me” which was released in February. We are buzzed today to be premiering the video, ahead of its release tomorrow. The track journeys through themes of relationships, and the fears we often have…

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Kendrick Lamar to bring ‘Grand National’ to Australia this December

Kendrick Lamar is touching down this December, bringing the acclaimed Grand National Tour to select Australian stadiums. After a string of sold-out shows across North America and a massive run through Europe and the UK with SZA, Kendrick will play only two solo headline dates in Melbourne and Sydney. In addition to these shows, he’ll…

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Who Is The Sky? – David Byrne Announces 2026 Australia Tour Dates

The king of art-pop weirdness David Byrne is heading back to Australia and New Zealand in January 2026, touring a brand new live show off the back of his upcoming album Who Is The Sky?, out 5 September via Remote Control / Matador. It’s his first new record in eight years, and the accompanying live…

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Biffy Clyro are back with a brand new single, “A Little Love”

It feels an absolute age since Scottish rock gods Biffy Clyro last released new music, with nothing since 2021’s album ‘The Myth of the Happily Ever After’.  At long last, happily, the drought is broken and the trio are back with the release of their new track, “A Little Love”. Debuted at a secret gig…

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JW Marriott Gold Coast Lagoon

“Luxury with a sense of fun” at the JW Marriott Gold Coast

At first, I felt a little out of place. When I pulled up the opulent driveaway to the front doors of the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, I came to a stop besides a shiny, new, red Ferrari. I looked down on the flashy vehicle from the seat of my beat-up old Toyota…

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Interview: Liam Greinke on navigating the on-screen horror of Dangerous Animals; “It was kind of like paying for the art.”

This interview contains SPOILERS. As a Brisbane boy in the early stages of his career, Liam Greinke is all too aware how lucky he is to be able to share the screen with Jai Courtney in the serial killer-cum-shark attack thriller Dangerous Animals – even if he doesn’t make it to the final frame! Talking…

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Interview: Sean Byrne on finding the “dark side of Steve Irwin” in killer shark romp Dangerous Animals

It’s been a whole decade since Australian genre director Sean Byrne graced the screens with his unique brand of horror with The Devil’s Candy.  But proving the wait has been worth it, he has unleashed a series of Dangerous Animals into theatres with his latest outing – a relentless, edge-of-your-seat survival horror starring Hassie Harrison,…

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Beat the Lotto wants us to crack the system with the craic: Sydney Film Festival Review

As far as hair-brained schemes go, Beat The Lotto has this down pat. The story of how a syndicate in Ireland tried to rig the lotto, this documentary is an absolutely thrilling spectacle that will leave you guessing right up until the very end. Ross Whitaker does an excellent job of telling this stranger than…

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Together; 2 become 1 in hilarious, horrific body horror flick that delights in the disgusting: Sydney Film Festival Review

It feels inevitable that something like Together will earn comparisons to last year’s The Substance, purely off the fact that the horror it indulges in – that would be the body variety – escalates considerably leading into its wild climax.  Sure, The Substance being a great example of body horror is all well and good,…

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The final day of the Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival was bittersweet (08.06.25)

This year’s Beer and BBQ Festival marked ten years of the event, and was the final one in the current format. Organisers have announced that the event will continue on in some form that is still to be decided. With that in mind, there was a mixture of celebration and sadness on the final day…

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Photo Gallery: Suki Waterhouse – RISING, Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne (06.06.25)

Suki Waterhouse made her RISING debut on Friday night with a sold-out show at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre. Touring latest album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, she moved through a lush set that felt like stepping into a smoky ’70s soft rock dream. With a set full of alt-pop tracks like “On This Love” and “Dream Woman”,…

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Fwends highlights the bittersweet reality of drifting apart in a conversational, frustrating manner: Sydney Film Festival Review

The feeling that your childhood ride-or-die will remain so is something that many of us – if not all – have experienced.  But whether it’s through distance or altering priorities, it’s a common practice that adulthood (and everything that comes with growing up) can wedge itself between even the strongest of connections, and it’s that…

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Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon flies high with warmth and excitement, despite the familiarity of its footing

Whilst it’s predominantly the House of Mouse that have been transforming their animated back catalogue into live-action features that have all varied in their quality output, DreamWorks have entered the chat with one of their most ambitious updates in How to Train Your Dragon.  Hoping they can avoid a lot of the soulless critiques that…

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Horsegirls is a sweet natured drama that speaks to the importance of independence and inclusivity: Tribeca Film Festival Review

A film that embraces a more eclectic hobby over ridiculing its eccentricities, Horsegirls is a sweet natured drama that speaks to the importance of independence and inclusivity. Written and directed by Lauren Meyering, Horsegirls embraces the defiance of its lead character, Margarita (so beautifully embodied by Lillian Carrier), and how her perceived fragility gives way…

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The Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds provide fantastic audio quality on a budget

While Skullcandy have certainly been around for a while with a diverse range of headphones, earbuds, and everything in between, their newest pair of earbuds has taken a bit of a detour from the norm. Pairing up with Bose to deliver a new form of high-fidelity audio proves Skullcandy isn’t messing around this time, providing…

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Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story is a love letter to an author that broke the mould: Sydney Film Festival Review

It is incredible to think that Edna O’Brien grew up in a house with no books. It was an oppressive Catholic childhood in a small Irish town, but that didn’t stop this formidable woman from becoming a literary great. Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story is an intimate documentary and portrait of her life, which…

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Adelaide’s second day of the Beer and BBQ Festival keeps the home fires burning (07.06.25)

With the cold wind and rain that hit Adelaide for the King’s Birthday long weekend, it was good that there was plenty of warmth and shelter to be had at the Beer and BBQ Festival. With beer and craft stalls inside and plenty of open fires outside, it was a cosy place to escape the…

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Poreless; biting beauty industry short film serves universal comedy and positive self-messaging: Tribeca Film Festival Review

There’s a lived-in mentality to Poreless that is sure to resonate with certain audiences – it’s lead is a gay Muslim – but the comedic nature of its script, written by director Harris Doran and Fawzia Mirza, is particularly universal, looking at the vapid disconnection of the beauty world, the tightrope many walk when it…

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Interview: Akbar Hamid on the importance of his short film Poreless; “At the end of the day it’s about self worth and knowing that it’s all within.”

A fabulous, queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur must figure out how to compete in a Shark Tank-like product pitch contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction. Such is the logline for Poreless, a biting, commentative short currently screening at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.  Headlined and produced by Akbar Hamid, the performer is making a plenty…

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Here’s every announcement from the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase

PlayStation’s surprise State of Play, Summer Game Fest, Future Games Show and now, Xbox Games Showcase. It’s been a crazy weekend for game announcements, and we’re not done yet. Here’s every announcement from the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, along with The Outer Wilds 2 Direct. Enjoy! ASUS ROG XBOX ALLY THE OUTER WORLDS 2 CALL…

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F1 25 fine-tunes the experience with fantastic results

Be it the stellar career of Lewis Hamilton, the recent domination of Max Verstappen, or the current rise of Aussie Oscar Piastri, Codemasters’ F1 games have been relatively fantastic over the years. They generally look great, play well and feature an impressive list of modes that remain true to the depth and authenticity of the…

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Dell’s feature-packed 27-inch 4K monitor (S2725QC) punches well above its price point

Not every display needs to cost a fortune to feel premium, and Dell’s S2725QC is a perfect example of that philosophy in action. This 27-inch 4K monitor doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but then again, it doesn’t have to. Priced at A$449.90, it delivers a smart blend of sharp visuals, a high refresh rate, and USB-C…

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Adelaide Beer and BBQ Fest heats up for Friday night’s opening (06.06.25)

With the announcement that this year will be the final Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival in this format, there was a mixture of celebration and sadness. Despite the wintry weather outside, there were numerous undercover spaces, warmed by copious open wood fires. There were plenty of stallholders, from beer producers to scented candles and all…

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Redux Redux will pull you into the multiverse and not let you go: Sydney Film Festival Review

Screening as part of the ‘Freak Me Out’ programme strand for Sydney Film Festival, Redux Redux is a self-reflexive blend of science fiction and horror, coming in fresh from its 2025 SXSW premiere. Quite simply, the film tells the story of Irene (Michaela McManus), who travels through parallel universes to find her daughter’s killer. Directed…

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Here’s when and where you can watch the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase

It’s been a crazy weekend for game announcements and the like, and the Xbox Games Showcase is next in line. It will also be followed by The Outer Worlds 2 Direct, which will take a deeper dive into the game. You can catch the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase and The Outer Worlds 2 Direct on…

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Here’s every announcement from the Future Games Show 2025 showcase

If you’ve heard me say this recently, I do apologise, but it hasd been a nig weekend. Between PlayStation’s surprise State of Play, Summer Game Fest and the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase, it is enough to make your head spin. However, if you’re not spinning just yet, we have all the announcements from the Future…

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Twinless explores grief and trauma bonding in the most comedically black manner: Sydney Film Festival Review

What sets itself up as something of a meet-cute between two grieving men who form an unlikely friendship in the midst of their trauma, James Sweeney‘s Twinless ultimately reveals itself as something else – a particularly pitch-black dramedy that asks its audience to stay with its morally bankrupt lead as it shifts from an original…

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