Year: 2025

Interview: Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans on leading with love for their new horror film Him

From Oscar winner Jordan Peele and Monkeypaw Productions, producers of the landmark horror films Get Out, Us, Candyman and Nope, comes a chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, idolatry and the pursuit of excellence at any cost, Him, featuring an electrifying dramatic performance from Marlon Wayans and a star-making turn from Tyriq Withers….

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Film Review: Him revels in its own divisive, demented personality

Much has been said about Jordan Peele‘s attachment to Him.  Though, like Peele’s own directorial efforts (the thematically complex Get Out, Us, and Nope), Justin Tipping‘s film bathes in its horror elements and topical commentary, it’s more in tune with other producorial efforts (Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and Dev Patel’s Monkey Man), proving a feature that…

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Step inside the iconic Hotel Belles Rives in Antibes: Fitzgerald, Hemingway & Picasso’s Riviera playground

Imagine waking up to the sound of the Mediterranean Sea gently lapping at the dock below. You open your shutters and step out onto your balcony, where you are met with vast shades of cerulean sparkling under the morning sun. You’re on the French Riviera in a hotel that is steeped in a history so…

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The Turtle Beach Recon 70 Headset is one of the most affordable and high quality options available

We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing plenty of Turtle Beach headsets over the years, including the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Headset (Gen 3), the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro, and the Turtle Beach Stealth 500. But this is the first time we’ve tried a wired headset with the Turtle Beach Recon 70. And after almost a…

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New Music Discoveries 26th September: Didirri, KT Tunstall, Death by Denim, and more

We’ve blinked and September is all but over. As we speed ever closer to the end of the year, we’ve added ten more tracks to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Amongst the ten are two tracks we held exclusive premieres for earlier in the week. This week also saw the welcome return…

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Interview: Mark Kerr and Bas Rutten on learning about themselves watching The Smashing Machine

A two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, and a PRIDE FC competitor, Mark Kerr, a former wrestler, is one of the greatest mixed martial artists to ever emerge from the sport. Following his coverage as a subject in the documentary The Smashing Machine, which detailed his fighting career, director Benny Safdie adapted…

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Film Review: The Smashing Machine; Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are formidable in visceral MMA biopic

Despite his absolute monstrous size at the time of his career and just how brutal he proved in the ring of mixed martial arts, Mark Kerr was – and still is – a figure that defied the expectations many would presumably put upon him from a personal standpoint.  Softly spoken, with an emotional sense that…

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Sunset Strip in L.A.

The secrets of West Hollywood and beyond: L.A.’s best spots are always hidden

“Everything cool in Los Angeles is hidden,” says Jonny D’Amico, who moves through West Hollywood with the cocksure swagger of the area’s unofficial cultural czar. He never claims the title, but his confidence suggests it. I’m skeptical. Yet after walking with the firebrand up and down West Hollywood’s signature Sunset Strip, I’m convinced. This is…

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Everything announced at Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025

The Xbox Tokyo Game Show has officially hit the ground running for 2025, with a list of announcements based around Japan, their influence and involvement in the world of gaming. While some announcements have brought new light to existing games, some announcements will certainly have people talking over the next few days. So let’s dive…

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Album Review: Zara Larsson proves herself a Euro-summer pop princess on jubilant LP Midnight Sun

Proving themselves each other’s muses, Swedish power popstar Zara Larsson and British singer-songwriter-producer MNEK have maintained their musical forces for her latest LP, the euphoric Midnight Sun, a decade after they first struck electropop gold on their 2015 collaboration “Never Forget You”. Their blend of EDM sonics and R&B sensibilities course through the veins of…

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Film Review: The Strangers: Chapter 2; promising concept can’t overcome uninspired execution

With the release of last year’s The Strangers: Chapter 1, a retreading of Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion chiller The Strangers, director Renny Harlin and screenwriters Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland delivered a largely uninspired, familiar horror effort that hoped it would justify its existence by promising to be the essential springboard for a…

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5 Seconds of Summer announce their sixth studio album, Everyone’s A Star and confirm plans for an Australian tour

For some, Aussie band 5 Seconds of Summer might be nostalgic name from the mid-2010s, when they first appeared on the scene and notably toured with One Direction, quickly becoming teen idols in their own right. But for many fans, myself included, 5 Seconds of Summer have always been more than just a moment. Over…

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Everything announced at Playstation’s September 2025 State of Play

It’s the second State of Play stream this month for PlayStation, the first of which was focused solely on 007 First Light. This second stream however, showed of 35 minutes of new and upcoming games, from a wide range of first and third-party developers. Let’s dive in! Marvel’s Wolverine Saros Battlefield 6 Campaign Trailer Halloween…

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Witness the epic conclusion in new trailer for Wicked: For Good

And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend… Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good. Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring…

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Interview: Alex Winter, Billie Lourd and the Adulthood cast on what they learnt about themselves making the black comedy

Adulthood, directed by Alex Winter, stars Josh Gad and Kaya Scodelario as a duo of siblings who uncover a dead body in the basement of their parents’ house.  Understandably, the situation spirals comically out of control, leading the two to resort to desperate, drastic measures to keep things under wraps. Now available on VOD in…

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Good help is hard to find in the first trailer for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

One of the biggest box office hits of the 1990s, and one that instilled a certain paranoia among live-in caretakers and homeowners, Curtis Hanson’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was a terrifying cautionary tale for would-be nannies and the families hoping to hire them.  Starring Annabella Sciorra and Matt McCoy as a loving couple…

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There’s a monster inside us all in the first trailer for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!

Guillermo has his Frankenstein.  Gyllenhaal has her Bride. From Maggie Gyllenhaal (Academy Award-nominated writer/director of The Lost Daughter) and starring Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley and Academy Award winner Christian Bale comes The Bride! A bold, iconoclastic take on one of the world’s most compelling stories. A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to…

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Baby Steps is as hilariously frustrating as it is addictive

Baby Steps follows the literal footsteps of Nate, an unemployed, awkward, dishevelled, and overweight 35-year-old man, who somehow gets transported into another world and discovers that the simple task of walking might just get him home… The only problem is that he’s got to learn the art of putting one foot in front of the…

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Arabella and The Heist

Exclusive Video Premiere: Arabella and The Heist “Maraschino” (2025)

Earlier this month, femme-fronted Melbourne four-piece Arabella And The Heist released “Maraschino”, a masterclass in seductive and pulsating punk rock. They’ve captured the sensual and intimate feel to the song in the brilliant new video, which we’re thrilled to be premiering today. The clip was directed and edited by Ryan Jones, with camera work by Ashton Taylor. It…

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It all counts for Teresa Palmer and Joe Dempsie in the trailer for Addition

Grace Lisa Vandenburg (Teresa Palmer) counts everything – the letters in her name, to the poppy seeds on her orange cake. She counts because numbers hold the world together. But when a chance encounter with Seamus (Joe Dempsie) turns her world upside down, Grace’s meticulously ordered life starts to unravel. A film about accepting who you are and celebrating the…

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Perspective changes everything in the new trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt

Following its premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where star Julia Roberts has been praised for her performance – some calling it one of the best of her career – the new trailer for Luca Guadagnino‘s After the Hunt has been released. From the visionary director of Call Me By Your Name and Queer,…

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Here’s when and where you can watch PlayStation’s September State of Play

PlayStation has announced yet another State of Play stream for September, the first of which focused solely on 007 First Light. This second stream, taking place tomorrow, the 25th of September, will run for 35 minutes and will cover a bunch of titles from a range of first and third-party developers. There are definitely some…

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Theatre Review: The Lovers; A Shakespeare classic is given the new generational pop treatment

Think of it as Shakespeare for the TikTok generation, The Lovers, courtesy of lyricist Laura Murphy, injects the same type of energy Baz Luhrmann laced his Romeo & Juliet telling with across the Midsummer Night’s Dream narrative, reimagining the classic chaos of the original love story with a serious pop sensibility. The core story itself…

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Ash Sintilla

Exclusive Single Premiere: Ash Santilla “Buckle and Belt” (2025)

Ash Santilla is the former frontman of Melbourne indie rock band 67 Special, and is currently working up to release his debut album, The Darker Side of Up. In June, he released the opening track and first single, “Nightcrawler”, and today we have the pleasure of premiering the second single, the cathartic and gripping “Belt…

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Film Review: One Battle After Another is one of the most significant films you’ll see this year

An acquired taste in cinema, but one that proves important regardless of how you personally react to his esoteric, boundary-pushing temperament, Paul Thomas Anderson has been responsible for some of the most important and, arguably, brilliant films across cinema the last four decades; Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Licorice Pizza,…

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Photo Gallery: Del Water Gap – Max Watt’s, Melbourne (21.09.25)

Del Water Gap packed out Max Watt’s for his sold-out Melbourne show on Sunday night. Stellar tracks like “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” and “Perfume” hit hard, while newer cuts from upcoming record Chase The Chimera slotted in seamlessly. The setup was simple but effective, with the banter staying short and sweet whilst…

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New Farm Queer Film Festival announces 2025 program

Five Star Cinemas are proud to announce the program for the 4th annual New Farm Queer Film Festival (NFQFF). Running from October 2nd – 12th at Brisbane’s New Farm Cinemas, the festival will present premiere screenings of award-winning titles from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and Locarno, and brand-new restorations. The festival will open with the QLD…

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EP Review: Torizon release debut EP Meliora

Meanjin/Brisbane petalcore outfit Torizon have just dropped their debut EP Meliora, exploring infertility through the characters of Luna and Sam. It’s rich and emotive, blending heavy sounds with vocal and lyrical vulnerability. Torizon teamed with Emerge Creative to create short videos accompanying the single releases, exploring how the couple fall apart from the grief, but…

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The Boulies Master Max Series is the ultimate gaming chair for long lasting comfort

I would say that I have spent about 40 hours every week over the last 5 or 6 years sitting in some type of desk/gaming chair, whether that be at work, my own personal office, or at my desktop to play games. So I think I’m pretty well-versed in understanding what makes a chair comfortable…

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Photo Gallery: SummerSalt Festival – Torquay, Victoria (20.09.25)

SummerSalt turned Torquay Commons into a coastal party despite grey skies and a wintery chill, with punters rolling out camping chairs and braving the drizzle for a stacked lineup. Rising names like Ra Ra Viper, Bea and Her Business, and Del Water Gap set the stage for big hitters Ball Park Music, DMA’S, and The…

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