Film & TV

Film Review: Flatliners (USA, 2017) shows very little signs of life

When a film isn’t pre-screened for media or has its review embargo lifted on the same day of release, you know that the studio isn’t confident in the quality of their product. And this is what happened with the latest remake (although, in recent reports, it is claimed to be a sequel) of Flatliners. At…

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Interview: Chad Lindberg talks Supernatural, iconic mullets, paranormal experiences and Oz Comic Con

Every now and then an actor comes onto a show as a guest star and somehow ends up becoming an iconic piece of its history. For Chad Lindberg that show is Supernatural and that role was Ash aka Dr Bad-Ass the computer genius geek sporting the mullet hairdo that lived in the Roadhouse diner with…

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Interview: Tom Hopper talks crazy stunts on Black Sails and huge productions on Game Of Thrones ahead of Oz Comic Con Sydney

After a blink and you miss it appearance on Doctor Who, followed by playing a knight on Merlin and then jumping aboard a pirate ship with Black Sails British actor Tom Hopper landed a short but sweet role in one of the world’s biggest TV series Game Of Thrones. He’s been fortunate enough to appear…

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Interview: Matthew Davis talks The Vampire Diaries, adaptability as an actor and being a fan of vampire mythology ahead of Oz Comic Con Sydney

It’s not always the case that something you are fascinated by intersects with the work you do, but for actor Matthew Davis, star of the hit tv series The Vampire Diaries he’s one of the lucky ones. In 2009 Davis took on the role of Alaric Saltzman, the high-school history teacher who is secretly a…

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Five things we learned from our first ever Tokyo Game Show (TGS)

The gaming trade show calendar is finally winding down for another year. With E3 and Gamescom firmly in the rear view mirror, we headed off to the land of the rising sun to Tokyo Game Show for one last ride.

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Australian Box Office Report: Kingsman debuts in golden spot

Kingsman: The Golden Circle made a phenomenal debut at the box office, taking in $5.71m and sitting in top spot this week.  This cinema debut was the best since It opened with $7.46m.  Kingsman: The Golden Circle also managed a screen average of a whopping $14,116 across 405 screens. Still hot over the weekend was It, earning $2.41m and sitting in 2nd place. …

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Film Review: Battle of the Sexes (USA, 2017) is topical, crowd-pleasing entertainment

Despite its 1973 setting, Battle of the Sexes is very much a film for the now with Billie Jean King’s story appearing just as relevant today as it did back then.  Stances on sexuality and the pay parity between genders as depicted here is likely to strike a chord with many an audience member, but…

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Games Hands On: Long Live Terror-Billy in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Now, more than ever, we need a game like Wolfenstein II – a game that doesn’t shy away from making strong, political statements, that deals respectfully with the ramifications of mental illness and PTSD, but mostly importantly – lets you kill a whole bunch of Nazis. If I wasn’t already excited about the title, what…

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Five films to look out for at the 2017 Jewish International Film Festival

The Jewish International Film Festival is fast approaching, kicking off on 25 October at Classic Cinema located in Elsternwick, Melbourne. JIFF celebrates various Israeli and Jewish themed films in both Australia and New-Zealand. The massive program was unveiled yesterday, and we went through it to bring you back five films you should look out for: Bombshell:…

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What’s new in Joss Whedon’s Firefly 15th anniversary blu-ray set?

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since Joss Whedon’s now classic, short running TV series Firefly hit the airwaves. Possibly because so many of us discovered it years later. But with just 14 episodes and a movie (2005’s Serenity), the Firefly universe didn’t expand as much as fans might have liked –…

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The inaugural Australian Music Week Film Festival unveils incredible international program

The first ever Australian Music Week Film Festival arrives at the end of next month, set to screen an impressive array of World and Australian Premieres across two venues from October 31st until November 3rd. The festival accompanies the annual Australian Music Week conference, which takes over Cronulla Beach for three days just outside of…

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The cast and first trailer for Isle of Dogs is peak Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom) returns to the silver screen this April with Isle of Dogs, a stop-motion adventure – his first return to the style since the acclaimed Fantastic Mr. Fox. And this weekend the first trailer for the star-studded project dropped. Isle of Dogs tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, a 12 year…

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Let’s explain that ending of Twin Peaks: The Return

When Twin Peaks: The Return was first announced, I sort of just assumed it’d be like everything else 2017 has had to offer: another helping of char-broiled butts. Why should the return of Twin Peaks, the most significant and artful television endeavour of all time, be anything but a let down? Lynch hadn’t made anything…

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Our first impressions of Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot

With the first trailer for the new Tomb Raider adaptation out in the wild, it’s safe to say that Warner Bros. Pictures is taking into account Square Enix’s reboot of the Tomb Raider line of games as a heavy source of inspiration when it comes to the story and Lara Croft herself. The first thing…

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Oz Comic-Con Interview: Mass Effect’s Mark Meer talks Improv, epic Cos-Playing skills and Shepherd’s favourite things

There are times in our lives we look back on certain things and reminisce, how much we would love to go back and do it all again, for me, other than visiting the (U.S.A and the U.K) that was the Mass Effect Trilogy and playing as the stubborn, stern, but lovable Commander Shepherd. If you’re…

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Oz Comic-Con Interview: Ian Bohen on Teen Wolf, complex characters, being true to yourself & interacting with fans

For some character actors the journey enables them to continually keep learning and growing. Ian Bohen began working when he was 16 years old and has worked as an actor fairly consistently throughout his life. His filmography boasts stints in a number of tv series including Mad Men, Chicago P.D. and Breakout Kings but he’s…

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Video Games Hands On: The Evil Within 2 Explores A World Gone Wrong

I thought I was prepared for The Evil Within 2. “Psychological horror,” I thought, “I can do that.” The moment that the first nightmare broke through a mirror and attempted to chainsaw me to death, I realised just how wrong I was. The playthrough started with series protagonist Sebastian Castellanos making his way through an…

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Film Review: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (USA, 2017) is a family treat for the senses

DreamWorks Animation is back with a new film, and what can we say about this little animation company, soon to celebrate a successful 20-year run? They’ve come an exceedingly long way since their first animated feature, Antz, in 1998, a film that felt so forced to catch up with Pixar (who released A Bug’s Life around the…

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OzAsia Film Review: Villainess (South Korea, 2017) brings video game violence to the big screen

Villainess doesn’t waste any time, giving the audience exactly what they came for; a full on, bloody action movie. And boy does it deliver exactly what it promises. The whole premise – a story about an assassin out for revenge – comes with big expectations of huge action sequences and lots of knives, and with…

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Film Review: That’s Not Me (Australia, 2017) is a feel good film about disappointment

Riding on their wave of festival success, filmmaking couple Alice Foulcher and Gregory Erdstein’s debut feature film That’s Not Me shows just what you can achieve with a low budget and bucket loads of passion. Shot on a budget of $60,000, That’s Not Me follows the day to day slog of Polly (Alice Foulcher), a…

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OzAsia Film Review: Pop Aye (Singapore/Thailand, 2016) is an amiable, bittersweet and surprisingly surreal piece of work

Although I am a fan of all film genres, I have an affinity for the human-fantasy friendship trope. Whether it’s between a human and a horse (War Horse), a human and a robot (The Iron Giant), a human and a mutant super-pig (Okja) or a human and a Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro), a strong bond…

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Australian Box Office Report: Clowns and Emojis make strange bedfellows at the top

It turns out that Aussies like having the crap scared out of them, as for the second week in a row, It sits at no. 1 at the box office, this week taking in $4.99m.  It has made $14.71m since it’s opening week, the best double weekend earnings since Spider-Man: Homecoming. Having said that, it looks like…

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Film Review: Kingsman: The Golden Circle (UK, 2017) is an enjoyable ride but does it overstay its welcome?

When Kingsman: The Secret Service debuted in 2015, it became a critical darling and surprise commercial hit due to strong word of mouth, and a truly original and exciting approach to the spy (and in many respects, the superhero / comic book) genre. Funny, irreverent and wholly memorable, it stands apart as one of the…

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Win a double pass to see Final Portrait starring Geoffrey Rush in cinemas

In 1964, while on a short trip to Paris, the American writer and art-lover James Lord is asked by his friend, the world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti, to sit for a portrait. The process, Giacometti assures Lord, will take only a few days. Flattered and intrigued, Lord agrees. So begins not only the story of a…

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Win a copy of the six-part event series Madiba on DVD

Madiba is a six-part event series that tells the epic tale of Nelson Mandela, the globally beloved iconic figure, as well as the many other leaders of the African National Congress – Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu – who fought alongside Mandela in the multi-racial, multi=national movement that led to the end of South African…

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Australians unite with the French to produce a new cannibal horror series

Sydney based company Cobbstar Productions and Parisian company Black Sheep Films will begin production Monday the 18th of September on their new horror series titled Patricia Moore. Co-produced by Blackpills and supported by Screen Australia’s Multi-Platform fund,  you can watch Patricia Moore globally  on Blackpills’ new and upcoming smart phone app, available to Australian audiences…

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New Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton project Red Sparrow gets its first trailer

Upcoming film Red Sparrow starring Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Silver Linings Playbook) and Aussie actor Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Gift) has unveiled its first official trailer trailer ahead of its release on 1st March 2018. Red Sparrow follows the story of Dominika, played by Lawrence, a fiercely devoted and competitive ballerina who suffers a career ending injury,…

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Interview: Filmmaker Genevieve Clay-Smith on Optus’ Connect5 competition

Thanks to Optus, aspiring filmmakers have the opportunity to showcase their talents on a massive stage and stand to win upward of USD $30,000 with the Connect5 competition. With the submissions deadline of October 1st edging ever closer, the Connect5 competition has already seen many short films pour in that are definitely worthy of being…

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Win a copy of the British mini-series Decline & Fall on DVD

The period-comedy mini-series Decline & Fall, based on the 1928 novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, has recently been released on DVD and to celebrate we’ve got TEN DVD copies to give away! The show stars Jack Whitehall (Fresh Meat) as Paul Pennyfeather, a dedicated divinity student set upon a quiet life of contemplation as…

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Watch: Dave Bautista debuts his Blade Runner 2049 character in new short film prelude

Blade Runner is returning to the silver screen with Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, who will be reprising his role as Decker, the original film’s protagonist. But before it hits screens next month, we get to stick our teeth into a special short film prelude. 2048: Nowhere to Run stars actor…

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