Year: 2025

Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers aired the final episode of its second season last week, laying the groundwork for a potential third season. Whether it was a case of the pacing being hindered by the one episode a week release structure, or the show getting too far away from its original source material, this historical drama…

TIFF is celebrating its 50th edition with a robust Classics programme, presented by MUBI, and supported by Ontario Creates and the Canada Council for the Arts. Programmed by Robyn Citizen, TIFF’s Director of Programming, and Senior Curator Andréa Picard, TIFF Classics offers audiences a curated selection of influential classic films from around the world. Presented…

The Toronto International Film Festival is fast approaching, and, as seems to be tradition with TIFF, the titles making their appearances on the schedule continue to be a spoil of riches. The AU Review will be on the ground this year covering the festival for another year, and today we’re continuing our look at spotlight…

It’s a Friday night, it’s raining, I’m caught up at work, and I have somewhere I need to be. Brisbane Riverstage, to be exact, to see British indie band Bloc Party, as they tour in celebration of 20 years of debut album Silent Alarm. The late finish at work meant we didn’t arrive in time…

Skins in Counter-Strike 2 are more than just pixels. They represent identity, prestige and often profit. Whether you’re chasing sleek AK-47 – Redline or a rare knife, the desire to buy CS2 skins comes with one key risk: overpaying. With thousands of listings across marketplaces and traders everywhere, knowing where and how to shop smartly…

Thanks to Universal Pictures Australia, we have 5 digital double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the new action sequel Nobody 2, starring Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen and Sharon Stone, in Australian theatres from August 14th, 2025. Sometimes the most dangerous place for a dad is a family vacation. Bob Odenkirk returns as suburban husband,…

Aussie indie-darlings The Jungle Giants are currently tearing it up in the UK. Last night they played their final show in England,  up north in beautiful Liverpool. They had a terrific reception – there were many in the crowd who seemingly knew every word to every song. They have a solid fanbase in this part…

Back in 2013, Paul Dempsey, frontman of  Something For Kate and joint protagonist of the fabulous Fanning Dempsey National Park project, released his first album of covers, Shotgun Karaoke. It included classics such as You Am I’s “Berlin Chair”, INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” and Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”. An eclectic mix indeed….

Gareth and Louise Ward’s first co-authored novel, Dead Girl Gone, launched The Bookshop Detectives into a burgeoning cosy crime genre which has remained dominated by Richard Osman‘s Thursday Murder Club books since 2020. Loosely based on themselves, the Wards have created another gang of loveable amateur crime-solvers in Garth and Eloise Sherlock, two former police…

Another week another ten new tracks added to our Discovery Playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, including two from premieres earlier in the week. Sydney singer-songwriter Georgia Mulligan is our Track of the Week with “Split” – the third single released from her forthcoming album Unheaven. ‘Part confessional and part ridiculous poem’, “Split” is to…

As part of their ongoing exploration of art and technology, ILA, Australia’s Centre for Immersive Light and Art have enlisted Berlin-based multi-disciplinary art collective flora&faunavisions to create an immersive and interactive experience. The experience, called TIMELIGHT ‘Beyond our ticking world’ allows visitors to interact with a virtual digital canvas to explore themes of time and…

On the surface, Hugo Keijzer‘s The Occupant appears as if it’ll be another entrant in the survivalist drama genre, focusing on a young woman, seemingly out of her depth as she battles the elements of an unflinching nature.  The Georgia-Russia border serves as the primary setting, with Ella Balinska‘s Abby serving as Keijzer’s focal point,…

Desperate to save her sister, Abby (Ella Balinska) takes a dangerous job in the remote Georgian wilderness. Stranded in the mountains after her helicopter crashes, she finds hope through a mysterious helper radioing from nearby. As he guides her through the harsh conditions, Abby struggles to survive, and her grip on reality falters until she…

Before we get into this review, there are a few things you should know about me. I’m an Australian with Italian heritage, and my favourite film of all time is The Godfather. My grandparents are actually from Sicily, and I can even speak the Sicilian dialect myself. And to top it all off, I’ll be…

All good parties must come to an end. We’ve all been there before; stuck talking to someone’s random cousin, sat around the classic glass topped table in your mate’s parents’ backyard at 4am after what had been a great night. Thankfully, Northeast Party House have enough intuition to know when to call their time as…

After announcing himself as a horror filmmaker to be reckoned with following his bold 2022 debut Barbarian, it’s understandable that audiences may be entering Zach Cregger‘s sophomore scarer Weapons with a certain level of expectation.  Of course, the rather ambiguous trailers have only added to the overall dread the film suggests, and the trivia nugget…

Brisbane/Meanjin’s Call the Mourning recently dropped single “Break“, an angsty musing on obsession and the last release ahead of their upcoming EP. Today we’re excited to be premiering the accompanying music video exclusively here on The AU Review. Call the Mourning consists of Constance Grafos (vocals/guitar), Dominic Willimott (drums), and new addition Kai Giovanni (bass),…

Not every monitor needs to push bleeding-edge display tech to stand out. Alienware’s AW2525HM proves that going all-in on core performance (speed, colour, and comfort), can be more than enough. Designed for the competitive crowd but accessible to anyone chasing a high-refresh experience, this 25-inch Full HD panel delivers blistering speed, accurate colours, and a…

Cameron Winter, best known as the voice behind Brooklyn-made Geese, will play his first solo Australian show at the Forum in Melbourne in early February 2026. It’s a one-night-only, Australian-exclusive date. The show follows the release of Heavy Metal, his debut solo album, which quietly dropped via Partisan Records in late 2024. A soft-handed turn…

Cinema, as of late, has really taken advantage of nostalgia and the good faith that audiences will hold onto such and turn out for a years-later legacy sequel.  The last few years alone have given us continuations to such once-dormant properties as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Top Gun, Scream, Halloween, and I Know…

In the action-comedy The Pickup, a routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when two mismatched armored truck drivers, Russell (Eddie Murphy) and Travis (Pete Davidson), are ambushed by ruthless criminals led by a savvy mastermind, Zoe (Keke Palmer), with plans that go way beyond the cash cargo. As chaos unfolds around them, the unlikely duo…

The heist film genre gives itself away to a multiple of mentalities.  Yet, whether it adopts a more action-based personality or one more comedic, it ultimately plays very much by the same central narrative of a snatch-and-grab job that, more often than not, has its share of obstacles to overcome. The Pickup, the latest heavy-name…

Nu-metal fusion artist Kim Dracula is heading home to Australia later this year, teeing up a string of dates with very special guest Wednesday 13. Known for their wild blend of genres, huge vocal range, and wildly theatrical stage show, Kim Dracula has come a long way from their Tasmanian beginnings. Collabs with Jonathan Davis…

Platinum selling post-hardcore act Pierce The Veil are heading our way in 2026, announcing the Australian leg of their I Can’t Hear You World Tour. They’ll hit Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth in April of next year, with support from Movements and Jack Kays. The San Diego trio’s latest tour has been a massive…

The Used are headed back to Australia this August, and they’re not coming quietly. Rather than playing a standard setlist, the pop rock icons are going all in- three nights in each city, playing three of their most beloved records in full. That’s right, fans will get the chance to experience one of three iconic…

The Meanjin/Brisbane octet The Holy Rollercoasters have been together for eight years and delivered their debut album, Odyssey, in 2023. At the midway point in 2025, they are just about to call it quits. Before they do this, however, they are leaving a significant farewell to fans, in the form of a farewell album and…

Agatha Christie is a timeless story-teller, weaving intriguing stories about complex characters with dark secrets. With some 66 crime novels, 150 short stories and over 25 plays, she is regarded as the Queen of Crime. Director Robyn Nevin AO has bought And Then There Were None to life with style and humour. The play is set…

Australia’s beloved heavy and alternative music festival, Good Things, is locked in and confirmed for early December in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This year will also see the Sydney venue upgraded to the Sydney Showgrounds due to overwhelming demand in previous years. With the official lineup being announced on August 12th, fans are speculating hard…

It’s hard to believe next year will mark the 20th anniversary of brother-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone’s initial assault on Aussie hearts and global charts. Angus was just 20 at the time, but he’d already found his groove. His hips haven’t stopped swaying ever since. A prolific songwriter, there’s been no let-up in hits…

If you’re planning to travel overseas anytime soon, it’s worth considering how you’ll stay in touch with others while you’re away. Of course, there’s Wi-Fi just about everywhere these days, but when you’re out and about, in between those hotspots, things could get a little tricky. Simify is aiming to fix this problem with their…