Interview: Max Amini on the magic of comedy, crowd work and conquering arenas; “The cheer of the audience gets into your bones.”

With billions of views, tens of millions of followers and sold-out shows across the globe, Max Amini has built the kind of comedy career whose statistics can sound almost implausible. Named by Variety as one of the “most watched comedians on the planet,” the Iranian-American performer delivered 2025’s most-watched stand-up special across all platforms with…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Adults Only Magic Show is a must-see, hilariously entertaining romp from Melbourne

Making their fifth appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, last night I had the chance to see the hilarious Melbourne production Adults Only Magic Show at the iconic Scottish festival. The show receives rave reviews each year – and this, the 463rd time they’ve performed the show, will have been no exception. Helmed by magicians…

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Film Review: The End of Oak Street is a peculiar dinosaur movie with heart

David Robert Mitchell has never seemed particularly interested in giving audiences exactly the movie they think they’re getting. It Follows turned a seemingly simple supernatural curse into an unnerving meditation on intimacy and mortality, while Under the Silver Lake gleefully disappeared down its own paranoid rabbit holes. So perhaps it makes perfect sense that Mitchell’s…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Andy Macleod reflects on a career in music in Soho Days and Camden Nights

While the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is perhaps best known for its comedy programming, the world’s largest performing arts festival has something for everyone. British music promoter and musician Andy Macleod certainly understands this, as he debuts his new one-man show at the event, Soho Days and Camden Nights. It’s his second time at the Fringe,…

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Hands-On Preview: Star Wars Zero Company breathes new life into the turn-based tactics genre

I’ve never really gotten into any of the X-Com games over the years, and to be completely honest, I’m not sure why. I’ve heard nothing but great things about them, but with Star Wars Zero Company essentially reviving the genre more recently, I felt compelled to dive a little deeper and check this one out….

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Film Review: One Night Only; Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner ignite sweet, sexy, consistently witty rom-com

There’s something almost quaint about One Night Only being sold on the promise of sex. Will Gluck’s latest romantic comedy takes place in an alternate United States where premarital sex has been outlawed under a government decree known as “The Mandate.” For 364 days of the year, unmarried citizens are expected to keep their hands…

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Limpbizkit, Simple Plan, Spiritbox and more – the Good Things 2026 lineup is finally here!

The 2026 Good Things lineup is here, with this being the earliest lineup drop in the festival’s history. I’ll be honest, we were slightly off with our predictions but we’re far from disappointed. Leading the lineup are nu-metal favourites Limpbizkit, who are no strangers to Good Things, having co-headlined in 2023. Joining them are pop-punk…

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Film Review: Stop! That! Train!; it’s camp, crude, sweet, knowingly ridiculous and occasionally so stupid that resistance becomes futile

There’s something almost rebellious about a comedy as proudly, aggressively stupid as Stop! That! Train! In an era where even the lightest studio entertainment can feel burdened by franchise mythology or the need to justify its own existence, Adam Shankman’s disaster-movie spoof has a refreshingly uncomplicated ambition: make people laugh. Preferably with a dirty joke,…

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Interview: Director Adam Shankman talks Stop! That! Train!, the art of “good old-fashioned stupid”, and his place in queer cinema

From The Wedding Planner and Bringing Down the House to the gloriously larger-than-life musicality of Hairspray, Adam Shankman has spent decades making studio comedies designed, above all else, to entertain. But for his latest film, Stop! That! Train!, the director traded the machinery of a major Hollywood production for a 19-day independent shoot, a train…

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Interview: Brooke Lynn Hytes on unleashing in Stop! That! Train!; “We all have a little villain inside of us.”

If there was ever a role designed to weaponise Brooke Lynn Hytes’ statuesque presence, impeccable posture and bone-dry delivery, it’s Amber, the gloriously condescending first-class attendant she plays in Stop! That! Train! Directed by Hairspray filmmaker Adam Shankman and produced by the team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, the unabashedly camp disaster-movie spoof takes its cues…

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Doom : The Dark Ages – Revelations rips hard, all while fleshing out the core experience

When Doom: The Dark Ages launched, it redefined the Doom Slayer’s origins with a heavy-metal, dark-fantasy crunch that swapped hyper-agile verticality for overwhelming, wall-like momentum. Now, with the Revelations DLC, id Software returns to double down on that medieval carnage. Far from a light, cash-in expansion, Revelations delivers a tight, punchy, and surprisingly robust addition…

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The Shark SilkiPro Straight makes hair styling a breeze

I recently reviewed the Shark SpeedStyle Pro FLEX Hair Dryer System with my wife’s help, and while it was something I could use myself, it was better reviewed as a team. When it came to the Shark SilkiPro Straight, however, I was much more reliant on her input, as I am literally unable to use…

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Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced proves some treasure is worth digging up

There is an old saying about not fixing what isn’t broken. Despite being sage advice, the modern video game industry appears to have adopted it as a primary business model. Remakes, remasters, and re-releases have become some of the safest tickets in town. The Last of Us. Dead Space. Resident Evil. Silent Hill. Oblivion. Not…

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Massive Attack didn’t miss a beat at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena

As soon as I hear that signature beat, I’m transported straight back to the 1990s. You know the one – boom-boom-ba-da, boom-boom-ba-da. A heartbeat to a generation. As quick as they land in my ear canal, my mind is back in a flannie, with a head of long thick hair well past my collar. Cigs…

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Interview: Liv Hewson on new Australian mystery series Treasure & Dirt, disrupting archetypes and why character always comes first

For Liv Hewson, a good detective story isn’t really about the crime. It’s about the people trying to make sense of what has been left behind. That philosophy sits at the heart of Treasure & Dirt, a distinctly Australian murder mystery set in the scorched, dust-choked opal mining town of Nullah, where the brutal beheading…

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Conan the Barbarian at 15: A sword reclaimed and a fantasy misunderstood

Fifteen years after its release, Conan the Barbarian remains one of modern fantasy cinema’s most understood films. Dismissed upon arrival by critics and audiences alike, it was quickly branded an unnecessary remake, a hollow echo of John Milius’s 1982 classic, and a failed vehicle for a rising star. Yet time has been kinder to Conan…

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Interview: David Robert Mitchell on The End of Oak Street, suburban unease and the childhood memories behind his dinosaur epic

There’s something inherently unsettling about the suburbs in the films of David Robert Mitchell. Familiar streets, quiet houses and seemingly ordinary neighbourhoods have a way of suggesting that something strange might be lurking just beyond the frame. With The End of Oak Street, the filmmaker behind It Follows and Under the Silver Lake takes that…

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Game Preview: EA Sports FC 27 is breaking new ground with its multiplayer offerings

It’s that time of the year again for another round of football, with EA Sports FC 27. Fresh off another FIFA World Cup, we’re absolutely rearing to get stuck in once again, and the team at EA Sports have given us a peek behind the curtain at their next big iteration. We’re going to be…

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Photo Gallery: Massive Attack + DJPGZ – Afterpay Arena, Sydney (09.08.26)

Massive Attack the pioneers of trip-hop returned to Sydney for the first time since 2010 to play to a sold out Afterpay Arena (formerly known as Qudos Bank Arena). Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall stood largely in silhouette as the enormous screens behind them became a constantly shifting collage of images, headlines and political…

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Win a double to pass to see The End of Oak Street starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures, we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in The End of Oak Street, from director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), in Australian theatres from August 13th, 2026. After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood…

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Photo Gallery and Setlist: Gang Of Youths have a triumphant homecoming at the Sydney Opera House

Gang Of Youths made their triumphant return to the Sydney live music scene last night, performing at the iconic Sydney Opera House to an enthusiastic sold out concert hall. Led by the charismatic front man David Le’aupepe they didn’t disappoint playing fan favourites and new songs. Gretta Ray even joined in for the closer of…

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Dante in West Village New York

In New York City, aperitivo often saves the day

Like all people of good taste, I am obsessed with New York City. The sense of community, the hospitality, the dynamism, the energy and the breathlessness of it all. All of it. It may smell of humanity’s worst indulgences – I’m not blind to the decay of a hyper-capitalist, hyper-pressurised rat race – but once…

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Daniel Caesar is brining his Son of Spergy World Tour to Australia this November

Daniel Caesar is heading back to Australia this November, expanding his Son of Spergy world tour with three headline arena shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The dates mark the long-awaited Australian leg of the singer-songwriter’s biggest global tour to date, following an extensive run across Asia, North America and Europe. The tour arrives in…

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Here’s our picks for the 2026 Good Things lineup

2026 is flying by, which means Good Things is right around the corner. With the lineup looking likely to drop this coming Tuesday, after a few pushbacks, delays, and plenty of teasing from the Good Things crew, we’re predicting/manifesting that these artists might make the lineup. Nickelback If you’ve seen the new Good Things logo…

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Fiddler on the Roof receives a richly deserved standing ovation at the Theatre Royal Sydney

A tale that travels all the way back to 1905, Fiddler on the Roof is by no means a new musical, yet its timeless themes carry through to today. Premiering on Broadway in 1964, with a film version released in 1971, this musical now marks its 62nd anniversary with its premiere season at the Theatre…

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Interview: Director Kat Good on bringing CoComelon: The Movie to the big screen; “Remember the joy in the journey.”

For countless families around the world, CoComelon is already an instantly recognisable part of childhood. Now, director Kat Good is taking JJ and his friends somewhere they’ve never been before: the big screen. Marking Good’s feature directorial debut, CoComelon: The Movie expands the preschool phenomenon into a colourful musical adventure that follows JJ (Connor Esterson)…

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New Music Discoveries 7th August: Fanny Lumsden, Ra Ra Viper, ZIPPORAH, and more

Each week at the AU we work hard to dig up the best new music from across Australia and beyond. This week is no different with ten brand new tracks added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Whether you’re chasing something to soundtrack the commute, or just looking for something new, we’ve…

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Interview: Chloe Van Landschoot on embracing the grotesque for Son of Sara; “Let’s make people feel something.”

Pregnancy has long been fertile ground for horror cinema, but Son of Sara transforms familiar fears into something far more intimate. As Sara, a woman whose increasingly disturbing cravings coincide with the return of her estranged boyfriend and the terrifying possibility that something sinister is growing inside her, Chloe Van Landschoot delivers a performance that…

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Film Review: Son of Sara; familiar horror premise still proves effective thanks to committed performances and wild climax

Son of Sara opens with a compelling premise. Sara (Chloe Van Landschoot) is heavily pregnant after a one-night stand and living with her supportive partner, Carol (Tymika Tafari), but increasingly disturbing symptoms – an insatiable appetite for raw meat, violent bouts of sickness and terrifying visions – suggest something far more sinister than a difficult…

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Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look will premiere on Netflix later this month

The hype train for Grand Theft Auto 6 keeps on rolling. It’s hard to believe we haven’t laid eyes on any official gameplay yet, but it’s a safe bet we’ll get a much better look later this month. Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look will hit Netflix on Friday, the 28th of August for…

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