Month: June 2025

Given how she made history as the first deaf person to win an Academy Award for acting, one might think the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore would be something of a straightforward and celebratory profile on the actress.  Shoshannah Stern – who, like her subject, is also a deaf actor and director – certainly…

Rita Walsh is an award-winning producer based in Los Angeles, but working between Australia and the USA, on a series of cross-fiction and non-fiction filmmaking projects embodying a strong directorial vision. Her most recent collaboration is with director Gabrielle Brady on the hybrid feature The Wolves Always Come at Night, which premiered in Platform Competition…

That time of the year has rolled around once again, where we are treated to a laundry list of announcements for new and exciting games to look forward to and drool over for the rest of this year and beyond. While it’s pretty much taken over E3 (RIP) as the new headliner for gamers around…

Bianca Breen is a well-known name in the West Australian YA scene, being the powerhouse behind the YA for WA Community which regularly runs book clubs devoted to talking about young adult fiction. This year, her debut novel, Made of Steam and Stardust has been published by Stag Beetle Books. The story is about sixteen-year-old…

Japanese Breakfast returned to Melbourne for the first time in eight years on Thursday, playing a stunning theatrical set at PICA as part of this year’s RISING Festival. Michelle Zauner and her band moved between sparkling pop and deep sentiments, pulling from their newest record For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women) and beyond, including tracks…

There’s an ineffable magic to seeing dragons come to life on the screen – a blend of myth and marvel that speaks to the child in all of us. Few stories have captured this magic as masterfully as DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon franchise, an adaptation of author Cressida Cowell’s best-selling book series….

Love on the Spectrum has captured the hearts of people all around the globe. The Netflix docuseries looks into the very real and honest experiences people on the spectrum go through when it comes to navigating the complex world of dating. Over the last three seasons, the show has created a safe space for participants…

In the 1960s models went to deportment school and were all rather alike – read cookie cutter – in appearance. That was until Lesley Hornby a.k.a. Twiggy was discovered. Now known as Dame Lesley Lawson, she was told she was too short and too slim to be a model. Yet, as this eponymous documentary shows,…

With the advent of streaming, music has never been more accessible. The assumption might’ve been that artistic creativity would thrive in a technological era unburdened by label demands, industry cynicism or trend-chasing. Commercial interests however, continue to outpace creative ones. Rather than fostering experimentation, the streaming system has rewarded immediacy. Playlist-friendly singles and algorithm-driven exposure…

After an eight year wait, the Grammy nominated indie pop band Japanese Breakfast came back to Australian shores with a taste of their Melancholy Tour for this year’s RISING festival in Melbourne. Coming off of the high of Michelle Zauner’s critically acclaimed 2021 memoir Crying at the H Mart, Japanese Breakfast released their fourth studio…

Marlon Williams took over Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday night, opening up RISING 2025. Delivering a warm, emotional set that marked the Australian debut of his first full-length Māori-language album Te Whare Tīwekaweka. Backed by his long-time band The Yarra Benders and joined by kapa haka group Ngā Mātai Pūrua, Williams blended tradition with his…

Highlighting the drama behind the for-the-camera-smiles of the 1970s variety show, Kate McCarthy‘s The Hicks Happy Hour is a moment-in-time short feature that escalates with a certain tension, before it ultimately pivots for a more cathartic climax that speaks to one woman’s eventual truth. “Stars stay smiling” is the Hicks family motto, something mother Jill…

Finding truth in the absurd and writing what you know are so often two rules that filmmakers adhere to, and both apply heartily for writer/director Chris Merola, who speaks his veracity in Lemonade Blessing, a coming-of-age dramedy centred around religion and how one responds to its pressures. Inspired by his own childhood growing up under…

Premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Lemonade Blessing is a biting coming-of-age comedy about John (Jake Ryan), freshly tossed into a private Catholic high school by his devout mother, who falls head over heels for a devious classmate ready to push his faith (and morals) to the brink with a series of increasingly uncomfortable…

Will Jennifer Lopez finally secure herself an Oscar nomination? After the Hustlers snub that still hits hard these years later, the multi-hyphenate performer is in full movie musical mode in Kiss of the Spider Woman, an adaption of the 1992 musical based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Manuel Puig. The movie,…

I reviewed both Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC upon their respective releases, and must say, it’s been a blast. Bloodborne might always be my personal favourite game within this genre for its darker tone and linear nature, but make no mistake, developer FromSoftware Inc. hasn’t really missed a beat as of…

Somehow it’s June already and we’re nearly halfway through 2025. It’s been a busy year release wise and shows no signs of slowing down either. As always we’ve got ten more new releases to add to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including two tracks we had premieres for earlier in the week….

Australia’s leading First Nations performing arts company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, is once again taking to the stage at the Sydney Opera House to present their new work, Illume. After 20 years performing out of the Drama Theatre, Bangarra are making history by bringing their latest work to the main stage in the Joan Sutherland Theatre,…

From 7–24 August, Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) proudly returns to Naarm and surrounds with some of the most talked about films arriving hot from Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and across the globe. Across 18 days of bold programming, this year’s festival slate is brimming with original storytelling that will ask audiences to Look Closer as…

Last night, Spacey Jane kicked off the Australian leg of their ‘If That Makes Sense’ tour with a sold-out performance at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall. The Perth indie-rockers captivated the audience with their signature blend of nostalgic melodies and heartfelt lyrics, delivering a set that resonated deeply with the fans. Supported by special guests Phoebe…

PlayStation June State of Play stream announcement might have come as a surprise to some given its short notice, but that didn’t stop them for delivering the 40 minutes of the goods. Even with Summer Games Fest might be starting this weekend, we’re certainly off to a rolling start. We’ve unpacked all the announcements and…

As ridiculous a sport racewalking may seem – Aussies are sure to have images of Jane Turner and Glenn Robbins powerwalking with all their might come to mind – writing/directing duo Phil Moniz and Kevin Claydon lace such with a tenderness and respect that allows audiences to laugh with the sport’s quirk rather than at…

Playing with the beats you come to expect from such an exorcism feature, The Ritual sets itself up with two priests – the devotee and the doubter – who go head-to-head on hoping to save a poor soul who has been inhabited by a certain evil.  It’s a standard practice, and many films have made…

There’s a certain frustration felt when watching Predators, a 96 minute documentary centering around the series To Catch a Predator, itself an offshoot from NBC’s Dateline.  In the early 2000s, the show lured audiences in as it highlighted online predatory behaviour – primarily older men meeting underage boys and girls for the intention of sexual…

2025 has been a massive year for Irish artists in Australia. Dermot Kennedy brought Misneach Festival here in March, while Kneecap completely dominated everything they did a few months back. And now we’ve got James Vincent McMorrow reminding everyone he’s got one of the best voices as he returns to our shores with a cover-to-cover…

Author Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan have made careers predominantly out of their affinity for horror.  With The Life of Chuck, they have decidedly pivoted and leaned into another of their shared strengths; broadcasting emotional stories.  The result, however schmaltzy it may threaten to be, is a beautiful, weird celebration of life and all…

It’s been something of an arduous trek to the screen for one Ballerina – or, as it’s been marketed, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina – a serviceable action film that hopes to elevate its own being by attaching itself to a lucrative, acclaimed franchise, even though it originated as something else entirely. To…

There’s a certain bittersweetness in watching OBEX (the title specifically capitalised) following David Lynch’s sad passing, as Albert Birney‘s truly bizarre odyssey feels like a kindred spirit to Lynch’s Eraserhead, with the hallucinatory anxiety and surrealist mentality playing into a personality that is perversely into its own weirdness. Set in a pre-internet 1987, and expressed…

TIFF is thrilled to announce the World Premiere of John Candy: I Like Me as the Opening Night Gala taking place on Thursday, September 4, at Roy Thomson Hall. Directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, this documentary is a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Canadian icon, with stories and memories from Candy’s…

On a wintery Sunday night, Brisbane’s jacket-clad masses shuffled out of the bitter cold and into the welcoming warmth of a sold-out Princess Theatre. Despite the layered attire and a looming workweek, the crowd arrived ready to move. With UK five-piece Ezra Collective in town, that almost felt like a prerequisite. Wrapping up their whirlwind…