Author: The AU Review

With the return of franchises like Star Wars, Terminator, Bond, Jurassic Park and Mad Max, not one but TWO Pixar films (a first for the studio), the next Avengers, the end of the Hunger Games saga, that Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation and more sequels than you can possibly imagine (some of which are totally unnecessary……

We look back at the 14 TV shows that we couldn’t get enough of in 2014… 14. Banshee This little known series produced by one the more low brow networks in the US (Cinemax), has a plenty of thrills and was one of the more underrated shows of the past couple of years. This series…

Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas are back with a bang this summer, bringing music by day and movies by night to Sydney’s Bondi Beach. As part of a nationwide series of events, which are enjoyed by more than 150,000 people across Australia, the Sydney leg of the tour will take place on the lawn by…

The British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have now announced the long list of nominees for the 2015 award ceremony, which will be taking place on Sunday February 8th. Ahead of the pack is Wed Anderson and his exceptional The Grand Budapest Hotel with 11 award nominations, beating both Birdman and The Theory of…

Following the first 15 films in our countdown yesterday, we now bring you our favourite 15 films of 2014… 15. Fury Fury is quite unlike any war film you have ever seen before, and is quite simply one of the most emotionally shaking films of the past decade. It gives audiences a taste of what…

It’s that time again when we look back at the year of film. Here now are the first 15 films that make up our 30 favourite films of 2014. Films eligble for this list were ones released in Australian Cinemas between 1st January and 31st December, 2014: 30. The Mule A strong script, excellent performances,…

This weekend on SBS 2, the cult TV comedy Danger 5 is returning to our screens for the first time in almost three years. First, we’ll be able to relive the pulp magazine inspired original series with all 7 episodes in a marathon tomorrow (3rd January 2015). Then, Sunday night at 9.30pm on SBS 2…

Kat Czornij counts down her five favourite motion picture soundtracks of 2014. To avoid any confusion, this list only takes into account the original soundtracks – the ones that feature the film scores and original compositions – rather than the soundtracks inspired by a motion picture. You know, the one that has 14 tracks that…

“Earth is all that live here.” The magic of Japanese cinema is its vibrant, often startling diversity; perhaps most favoured for samurai action flicks, or dream-like anime films, Japanese filmmakers have become synonymous with movie masterpieces. More prominently, however, dramas have similarly come to the fore; following the 2012 film Bread of Happiness, Yukiko Mishima’s…

Those loveable folk at Disney have announced the return of their immensely popular Toy Story series with a fourth installment, planned to be released on June 16th 2017. The news has understandably sent waves of giddish joy throughout the world today. In addition, John Lasseter, who helmed the first two Toy Story films, will return…

Comedian and musician Reggie Watts is a pretty big Doctor Who fan. He even sung a song with Amanda Palmer about the show. So when he was in Australia recently for Just For Laughs, and so as pretty big Doctor Who fans ourselves, we’re thought we’d find out what he thought about the latest Doctor,…

It’s looking like The Walking Dead crew have found a nice little formula where occasionally they’ll venture away from Rick and catch up with with the plights of peripheral characters every now and then. We got two episodes focusing on The Governor last season, and while they had their faults, the show established that it…

This Thursday, Brad Pitt returns to the silver screen in Fury, seeing Pitt revisit World War II – last being seen there in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. As we anticipate the film, we wanted to reflect on seven of our favourite Brad Pitt performances over the years, counting you down from 7 to 1… Legends of…

In Melbourne this weekend, ACMI will be celebrating 22 years with Big hART (http://bighart.org/#h), who are one of Australia’s leading companies for arts and social change. They make art that influence social change and have been giving a voice to our nation’s invisible and forgotten since 1992. At the event, which will take place on…

Released today in Australia on DVD and Blu-Ray is the Biblical epic Noah, from Writer/Director Darren Aronofsky. Ray Winstone played Tubal-cain in the film, and reflected on the role, his experiences filming, and posited whether or not he could kick Russell Crowe’s butt. Hey Ray. How are you going? I’m having a ball (laughs). Darren…

In this special behind-the-scenes clip, watch some of the process behind turning Sir Anthony Hopkins into Methuselah in the Darren Aronofsky film Noah. To see more, check out the film on DVD or Blu-Ray – available now! ———- This content has recently been ported from its original home on The Iris and may have formatting…

Written and directed by Belle and Sebastian’s lead singer Stuart Murdoch, God Help The Girl is an indie musical that follows three twenty-somethings in their attempt to form a pop band. The talented, young cast are a delight to watch as they sing and perform quirkily choreographed dance routines. The film switches between a musical…

As the new Doctor Who (Peter Capaldi) and his faithful companion Clara “The Impossible Girl” Oswald get ready to hit screens together for the first time*, they have embarked on a World Tour to promote the iconic BBC series’ much anticipated return. And today this tour has taken them to Sydney, following hysteria in Seoul,…

With the Sydney and Canberra events kicking off tomorrow, we have TWO double passes to give away to the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne or Adelaide! For dates and details head to: http://koffia.com.au/ The double pass will entitle you and a guest to attend one session and is strictly non-transferable….

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods will screen in theatres across Australia and New Zealand, and tickets are available now! Madman have announced the screenings will take place as a very special Reel Anime event on August 30th. Ticketholders will also receive a free A2 poster from participating cinemas on the day, subject to availability….

A human eye expert falls for a young French woman at a party. Years later, his lab partner make a dramatic discovery which leads him to put family and career at risk, travelling to India to validate a world-changing theory. This Sundance winner weaves together the emotional and the scientific in an ambitious metaphysical drama….

The 5th annual Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) in set to hit cinemas around the country through August and September 2014 and will bring a complement of 20 feature films and a short film competition to Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. KOFFIA will visit Sydney’s Event Cinemas George Street from August 13-21,…

The Iris brings you to the World Premiere of the new Transformers film, Age of Extinction, which took place in Hong Kong on Thursday night. The cast and crew hit the red carpet and also attended a press conference for the film’s release. You can see the gallery here: [print_gllr id=3720] Photos courtesy of Getty…

Paula Malcomson plays Abby Donovan, the wife of the lead character and namesake of the series Ray Donovan, which will see its first season released on DVD in Australia this week. The acclaimed Showtime series follows Ray, a professional “fixer” for the rich and famous of Los Angeles, and the ongoing dramas that surround him thanks…

With taboo week now at an end, The Iris looks back on five stories that really caught our attention during the week. As is typical with The Feed itself, some stories are serious, others are more fun – but everything is informative in its own way: 5. Fat pride: The growing movement of people looking…

The Big Bang Theory‘s Simon Helberg makes his directorial debut alongside his wife Jocelyn Towne in the film We’ll Never Have Paris. We talk to the co-directors about the film, which Helberg also wrote and stars in, as it premiered at SXSW in Austin, Texas last month. ———- This content has recently been ported from…

The Iris had the opportunity to sit down with Aly Michalka and Dustin Milligan, the stars of the indie film Sequoia at SXSW to talk about the film. The go into detail about what it was like filming in Sequoia, dealing with the heavier subject material in the story and much more… Part One: Part…

With SBS 2’s The Feed spending their week looking at addiction, we at The Iris and the AU review will be spending a bit of time doing the same. We’re kicking things off here on The Iris by looking at 7 characters whose various addictions make them must-watch television in their own right. You might…

Kicking off tonight, SBS 2’s news, culture and technology program The Feed will be spending a whole week hooked on the topic of addiction, cracking the lid on obsession and vice in all its alluring glory. Here’s a look at some of the highlights you can expect from the week: Monday March 24 Time to…

Scarecrow is another disenchanting cookie cutter, urban legend based horror TV movie, in a long list of similar movies under Director Sheldon Wilson’s belt. It’s not that the actors aren’t semi-decent, in fact there are some familiar names amongst the cast, Lacey Chabert from Party of Five anyone? Or that the special effects aren’t top…