Author: Alexandra Koster

Festival Review: Fairgrounds Festival – Berry Showgrounds, NSW (02 & 03.12.2016)

Fairgrounds Festival is a safe haven for those of us who have grown a little older, and perhaps a little tired of your standard summer festival. Taking place two hours south of Sydney in the small picturesque town of Berry, the family-friendly event has rectified its issues of the previous year, delivering an experience that…

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Live Review: Client Liaison – Metro Theatre, Sydney (27.05.16)

When I saw Client Liaison for the first time live at Groovin’ The Moo this past April, I was blown away. The enigmatic frontman Monte Morgan had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, solidifying the two-turned-four piece band as the act of the day. With such high standards, I was genuinely…

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Festival Review: Groovin’ the Moo – University of Canberra (24.04.16)

The last time I had the pleasure of having a bit of a groove in the moo was in Maitland, 2012, when the likes of Public Enemy, City and Colour, Kimbra, The Maccabees, Kaiser Chiefs and Andrew WK headlined, amongst a plethora of other guns. Even looking back on the line up now, I wish I could go back…

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Live Review: Daughter – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (09.04.16)

It’s of little debate that indie-folk dreamers Daughter are one talented band. Countless times I have found myself curled up in the foetal position on my bed, their haunting melodies floating through my bedroom. Even when I’m not doing that, that’s the imagery that comes from their delicate music – the crumbling of the self. The woman…

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Live Review: Sufjan Stevens – The State Theatre, Sydney (23.02.16)

For most people here, this isn’t the first time they’ve seen the enigma that is Sufjan Stevens; some – like myself – experienced his soul-crushing live show last year at the Sydney Opera House, others are seasoned veterans, having joined the Sufjan train many moons ago upon his release of highly acclaimed album Seven Swans. Regardless…

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Film Review: The Big Short (USA, 2015)

You probably already know director Adam McKay from his extensive catalogue of cringe-comedy – Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talladega Nights, amongst others. The Big Short is the most recent film from McKay, and one that completely redefines the joker perspective that he is often associated with. It’s hilarious, but at its core The Big Short is an intelligent tragedy about the gruelling effects of…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 12 “Hell Bent” (UK, 2015)

After last weeks goosebump-inducing episode “Heaven Sent”, this weeks episode “Hell Bent” had a lot to live up to. It had to deliver a compelling conclusion to the season, solve all this hybrid nonsense, and would finally reintroduce the eagerly awaited Gallifery whose disappearance has been teased for several seasons now. With so much to cover, it…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 11 “Heaven Sent”

Last weeks episode “Face The Raven” saw the departure of long-term companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and the return of the angry and uncompromising Doctor that I’ve missed so much. This weeks episode “Heaven Sent” is set only mere seconds from where we left off last week, the opening sequence detailing that the Doctor has…

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Film Review: By The Sea (USA, 2015)

“What a waste of a good holiday”, exclaimed the woman seated next to me as the credits rolled. And she’s not wrong – there’s plenty of things I’d do in France if I was given the chance. I would swim every single day. I’d go for walks in the beautiful countryside. I’d drink every bar…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 10 “Face The Raven” (UK, 2015)

Clara Oswald’s death is something that has been foreshadowed incessantly throughout this season. We’ve caught glimpses into the Doctor understanding that he will inevitably outlive his best friend; we’ve understood that Clara has become dangerously similar to the Doctor; and in the opening chords of this weeks episode “Face The Raven”, it seems that Clara…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 9 “Sleep No More” (UK, 2015)

I think I’ve missed something this entire season; when everyone praised “The Witch’s Familiar” as being one of the best episodes in Doctor Who history, I gave it one star. This week, fans are amassed with disappointment after “Sleep No More” – it seems that I’m the only person in all of time space who loved the…

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DVD Review: Doctor Who Series 9: Part 1 (UK, 2015)

I must confess, I geek out a little when there’s Doctor Who DVD’s about; I’ve got every boxset from New-Who (though I’m still working on collecting all the classics). Every Christmas I would receive the latest season, using my holidays to productively nestle in and watch the entire season…twice. Doctor Who Series 9: Part 1 comes a little…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 8 “The Zygon Inversion” (UK, 2015)

“Since when is Doctor Who political?”, says my Tom Baker adoring mother after seeing the credits roll for “The Zygon Inversion”. Bewildered and a little confused as any long-term fan of the show would be, my mum encapsulates a stark change in the landscape of Doctor Who – that it has the power to transcend…

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Live Review: Chet Faker – Sydney Opera House Forecourt (06.11.15)

The beard may be gone, but rest assured – Chet Faker is still the king of Australian soul music. On Friday, thousands of fans flocked into the infamous Opera House forecourt for the first show in the new summer series that will welcome both Tame Impala and Florence and the Machine to the prestigious venue….

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 7 “The Zygon Invasion” (UK, 2015)

The last time we were treated to an appearance by the Zygons was in the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, titled “The Day of the Doctor”. Foregrounding the episode in recounting that episode, “The Zygon Invasion” had much to live up to. If you don’t recall, “The Day of the Doctor” explored how the Doctor(s)…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 6 “The Woman Who Lived” (UK, 2015)

Another week; another shitty monster. This week marks the third conclusion to Doctor Who’s consecutive two-parter trend, and just like the others, reiterates that it seems that the show may have lost its spark. Last week, we were left with a huge cliffhanger in “The Girl Who Died”; the Doctor left Ashildr (Maisie Williams) immortal, which, through cause and…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 5 “The Girl Who Died” (UK, 2015)

Upon first seeing that picture of Maisie Williams in the TARDIS, I was overwhelmed with excitement; ‘the clash of the fandoms’, I call it – Game of Thrones meets Doctor Who. Combined with my high expectations of her ridiculous acting ability and my dissatisfaction of the past few Who episodes, I had mixed expectations for the fifth…

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Film Review: The Lobster (UK, 2015)

Yorgos Lanthimos’ first English-language feature film is a brutal and confronting dark comedy with a touch of surrealism. In a community that is fixated on couples, a man called David (Colin Farrell) checks into a hotel where he must either find a suitable partner in 45 days, or be turned into an animal of his choice….

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 4 “Before The Flood” (UK, 2015)

“Before The Flood”, the fourth episode of season 9, opened with something that I haven’t quite seen in Doctor Who before – the Doctor talking directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall. The entire first sequence consisted of Peter Capaldi explaining the Bootstrap Paradox. It was fun, unpredictable, and really got you thinking; if a time traveler goes…

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Film Review: The Walk (USA, 2015)

After seeing the trailers for Joseph Gordon Levitt’s new film The Walk,I was anticipating a complete and utter disaster that would make me wonder what I ever saw in the actor. The preview entailed horrible French accents and what appeared to be incredibly unnecessary 3D. It seemed to be Hollywood gone wild; but oh, how wrong I was….

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 3 “Under The Lake” (UK, 2015)

There are some formulas that, despite it’s fifty-something year reign, Doctor Who can’t seem to shake. The premise for “Under The Lake” is one that we’ve seen time and time again – The Doctor exploring the mystery of a derelict and isolated facility (see “The Impossible Planet” and “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead”). Yet, despite its repetitive…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 2 “The Witch’s Familiar” (UK, 2015)

After last weeks huge season opener, “The Witch’s Familiar” had a lot to answer for – we needed to know what the Doctor decided to do regarding boy Davros, how Missy and Clara would come back from the dead (because they have to), and what would come of Skaro – the planet of the Daleks…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 9 Episode 1 “The Magician’s Apprentice” (UK, 2015)

It seems that the Doctor Who Gods read my article on the things I really want to happen this season, gifting me with more Missy, a two-parter, a dark tone, and the mother of all nods to past seasons – bringing into question something that the Fourth Doctor said many moons ago – who created Davros?

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Seven Things I want to see happen in Season 9 of Doctor Who

Doctor Who returns to our TV screens this Sunday, and we’re a little bit excited about it. Few more so than our writer Ally Koster, who will be our resident Doctor Who writer for this season. As she gets excited for the new season, she’s put together seven things she wants to see happen in…

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DVD Review: Boychoir (USA, 2014)

The illegitimate child of an alcoholic mother and an absent father preoccupied with his pre-existing family, youngster Stet (Garrett Wareing) spends most of his time in detention, acting out. However, he has tremendous musical talent, in which Ms. Steel (Debra Winger) recognises, and organises for him to audition for the ‘Boychoir’, fronted by the great…

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Film Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (USA, 2015)

Given my past experiences with the horrific disease, I’m one person that finds the deus ex machina of cancer unbearable. It is often done tastelessly, depicting it’s sufferers as people without autonomy or regarded with the self-respect that they deserve – cancer patients are people, not pawns that should be used to explain a protagonist…

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Could Space Jam 2 actually be a thing?

I think all self-professed 80s and 90s kids are rejoicing right now. First, we got Jurassic World. In December, we can feast our eyes on the new Star Wars film. And as if this year couldn’t get any better, there is word now that Space Jam 2 could be in the works. So what has sparked these rumours? On Wednesday, LeBron…

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Sydney Film Festival’s Travelling Film Festival comes to Wollongong and Huskisson

Got post Sydney Film Festival sadness? Us too. That’s why we’re ecstatic to learn that The Travelling Film Festival is bringing Ruben Guthrie and Women He’s Undressed to Wollongong’s Greater Union Cinemas. Brendan Cowell, the director, playright, screenwriter & actor of Ruben Guthriewill be in attendance of the film’s opening night in Wollongong where he will take part in a special audience Q&A after…

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Trailer released for new Australian based film The Dressmaker

A trailer for the new Universal Pictures film, The Dressmaker, has just dropped – and it looks amazing. Starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy David, Sarah Snook and Hugo Weaving, The Dressmakeris set in 1950’s Australia and filmed entirely in Victoria. It’s a bittersweet comedy-drama about love, revenge, and haute couture.

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DVD/Blu-Ray Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past “Rogue Cut” (USA, 2015)

I think I was amongst many confused fans after watching X-Men: Days of Future Past last year upon seeing Anna Paquin’s name so high in the credits, especially given that I’d only seen the back of Rogue’s head once throughout the entire duration of the film. As soon as I got home, I ran to my computer…

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