Film & TV

Film Review: Three Summers (Australia, 2017) is an amiable comedy about diversity

Three Summers is a film that is as light and breezy as its title suggests. It’s also an ensemble comedy that is written and directed by the legendary, Ben Elton. The latter is known for his novels and the TV shows: The Young Ones and Blackadder. In Three Summers he creates a warm-hearted and well-intentioned…

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AMW Film Festival Review: Breaking The Mould (Australia, 2017) is a compelling documentary about Australia’s female musicians

If there was Australia’s answer to the film, Play Your Gender, then Breaking The Mould is it. This music documentary includes interviews with Australian artists about their thoughts and experiences with gender in the local industry. The film is an interesting one about our history and it is something that should help shape the conversation…

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Why Netflix’s The Good Place is heavenly television

Eleanor Shellstrop opens her eyes to find that she’s arrived in the afterlife. It appears – to her relief – that she made it to The Good Place (heaven). After being told she earnt her place in paradise because she saved innocent people from death row, she realises she has accidentally taken someone’s identity and…

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Film Review: Loving Vincent (UK, 2017) is an ambitious work of art

The Beatles sang “All you need is love” but they weren’t talking about movies. The film, Loving Vincent is one that is positively brimming with love. It was a labour, a passion project and it’s one of its kind that reads like a love letter to its namesake. But while the final result is something…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 2 “The Damned”

Complaints that The Walking Dead has tipped the scales away from action as of late are not unfounded. Previous seasons have been dragged down by a modest sprinkle of muscle that are few and far between, eschewing the more meaty and direct throws of conflict for cartoonish grandstanding and careful, often nauseating, build-up. Sure, build-up…

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Australian feature film Innocent Killer receives back-to-back awards

The multicultural Australian film Innocent Killer has won its second International Festival Best feature Film Award in a row. Innocent Killer is being directed by Chinese Australian Jon-Claire Lee and starring Pakistani Australian Asif Khan. It centres around the mind of a serial killer, as a city is hit with a number of unexplainable murders…

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Douglas Adams’ unfinished Tom Baker era Doctor Who to be released in Australian cinemas

Australian Doctor Who fans can let out a sigh of relief, as they will finally be able to experience Doctor Who: Shada on the big screen, as BBC Worldwide ANZ and Sharmill Films have recently announced that a limited theatrical run of the completed and restored Doctor Who story that combines both original live-action footage…

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The 2017 Queer Screen Film Fest to bring a diverse range of LGBTIQ stories to Adelaide

The 2017 Queer Screen Film Fest aims to bring light to various LGBTIQ stories that deserve praise from all audiences. This year, it will travel to Adelaide as part of the Feast Festival from the 3-4 November 2017. Festival Director, Lisa Rose stated “Showcasing queer stories on screen is what Queer Screen is all about…

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Lion, Blue Murder and Top of the Lake lead the pack of 7th AACTA Awards nominations

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced the full list of nominations for the 7th AACTA Awards. Leading the pack with 12 nominations is Oscar nominated and AACTA international Award-winning film Lion, followed closely by Blue Murder: Killer Cop and Top of the Lake: China Girl, which each hold 11 nominations….

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Netflix Review: Murder Mystery Alias Grace Is A Gripping Character Study

Alias Grace is a Netflix Original Series inspired by the historical true story of Grace Marks, a convicted murderer, and is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The six episode miniseries is written and produced by Sarah Polley, directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho), and stars Sarah Gadon (11.22.63) as Irish-Canadian immigrant…

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Film Review: Thor: Ragnarok (USA, 2017) may be the best entry into the MCU yet

Thor: Ragnarok hits Australian cinemas tomorrow, and by now you’ve heard that this Marvel series’ third instalment lives up to expectations. Helmed by the great Kiwi director Taika Waititi, who assembled a cast of returning favourites and a few excellent additions from his own repertoire, Thor: Ragnarok takes the Marvel Cinematic Universe to new heights,…

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The Disaster Artist announces Sydney premiere; Greg Sestero to attend

The Disaster Artist is the highly anticipated comedy starring James Franco (Pineapple Express, This is the End), Dave Franco (Now You See Me) and Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express, Knocked Up). In the film, James Franco plays real life actor Tommy Wiseau as his ambitions lead him to creating The Room, which is highly regarded as one of the worst…

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The Love Bites initiative funds 10 LGBTQI filmmaking teams

ABC Arts and Screen Australia have announced that 10 projects created from filmmakers within the LGBTQI community have received funding from the Love Bites initiative, a joint documentary initiative created to mark the 40th anniversary of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to be held in 2018. These 10 projects aim to showcase the lives,…

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Win a double pass to the Halloween Double with Poltergeist and Army of Darkness at In The House in Sydney

Mommy, Daddy, where are you? Event Cinemas George St are throwing the ultimate In The House Halloween Double on October 27th. From a dimension beyond the living, a terror to scare you to death Poltergeist (1982) at 6:30pm followed by Army of Darkness at 9:30pm. In an age of darkness. At a time of evil….

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Richard Lowenstein to appear at 30th Anniversary Screening of Australian Made at AMW Film Festival

The first annual Australian Music Week Film Festival got bigger this week with the announcement that legendary Australian Director Richard Lowenstein will be taking part in a Q&A following a special 30th Anniversary Screening of the classic Aussie Rock Documentary Australian Made, which will be closing the festival on Friday November 3rd at Cronulla’s GU…

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Australian Box Office Report: Geostorm narrowly avoids disaster in slow box office week

Good news for Geostorm, starring our Abbie Cornish and someone else’s Gerard Butler.  In its premiere weekend, it narrowly avoided disaster, coming out on top with just $1.53m in earnings.   This pushed Blade Runner 2049 to the no. 2 spot for the first time since it debuted in cinemas three weeks ago.  It made $1.42m at the box office,…

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Interview: Thor: Ragnarok Producer Brad Winderbaum on Matt Damon, Devo, Taika Waititi, Jeff Goldblum and the Gold Coast

While in Australia last week for the premiere of the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we sat down with Thor: Ragnarok producer Brad Winderbaum to talk about filming on the Gold Coast, working with New Zealand director Taika Waititi and Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo, bringing in Matt Damon and Jeff Goldblum – and we ask the…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8, Episode 1 “Mercy”

The Walking Dead hasn’t lost sight of its impressive history nor it’s central cast, and “Mercy”, the landmark 100th episode of the juggernaut survival-horror drama, is a well-rounded declaration of that. The start to what will hopefully be a return to form following a haphazard seventh season, it’s an episode imbued with the kind of…

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Streaming service Stan announces huge lineup of upcoming content

Australian streaming service Stan has recently announced a slew of both new and original content, of which will be coming to the streaming service in the coming months. UnREAL – Season 3 First up, the critically acclaimed series UnREAL will premiere its third season exclusively on Stan starting 27 February, 2018. Set in the world…

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Interview: An American In Texas director Anthony Pedone on the value of community filmmaking

When Anthony Pedone took that twenty-hour flight from Texas to Sydney, he wasn’t making a galvanic trip to Australia’s east coast. He’d spent the past decade salvaging his life from a heinous past, with filmmaking becoming primary in his reformation. After producing more than twenty films and directing and writing three, Anthony was invited to…

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Will anything in Hollywood actually change after Harvey Weinstein?

Over the last two weeks, since The New Yorker published a damning article exposing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as a sexual deviant (which puts it mildly), the fairly swift response from the entertainment community has been nothing short of overwhelming. Even surprising. Though certainly deserved. But if this is really endemic of a larger issue,…

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Sydney to be pitch slapped by Rebel Wilson, Ruby Rose and Brittany Snow for Pitch Perfect 3 premiere

Aca-scuse me?!?! Pitches best be ready as Universal Pictures have proudly proclaimed that Australia’s international comedy queen Rebel Wilson, original Bella Brittany Snow, and our very own star-on-the-rise Ruby Rose will take to Sydney this November to preview the final instalment in the Pitch Perfect series, Pitch Perfect 3, which has collectively earned more than…

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Film Review: The Snowman (USA, 2017) is in desperate need of an ice kicking

WARNING: May contain excessive amounts of puns. Another week, another film set in the snowy terrain. This week, we have The Snowman, a serial killer thriller starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson and a embarrassment of talent. But unlike the prior film, The Mountain (of Cheese) Between Us, this film has achieved quite a negative reception…

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Byron Bay Film Festival Film Review: An American In Texas (USA, 2017) is a film for the disenfranchised

It’s a hard fought ninety-seven minutes for the protagonists in An American in Texas, but it’s a fight they could never really win. In Anthony Pedone’s latest, it’s the early 90’s and the U.S has its sights set on a war in the Middle East. As the effects of the conflict settle across the States,…

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Win a double pass to a preview screening of Jigsaw in Sydney

One of the highest grossing horror franchises of all time is back, taking the Jigsaw killer’s signature brand of twisted scenarios to the next level. The eighth Saw film, Jigsaw in the franchise hailed as the Guinness World Record holder for Most Successful Horror Film Series. Australian directors, Michael and Peter Spierig (Undead, Daybreakers, Predestination,…

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Interview: Anthony Pedone on An American In Texas and spending his formative years as a foreigner in his own country

When Anthony Pedone took that twenty-hour flight from Texas to Sydney, he wasn’t making a galvanic trip to Australia’s east coast. He’d spent the past decade salvaging his life from a heinous past, with filmmaking becoming primary in his reformation. After producing more than twenty films and directing and writing three, Anthony was invited to…

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Greek Film Festival Review: Mythopathy (Notias) (Greece, 2016) is a coming-of-age story that should appeal to Greek audiences

Mythopathy (Notias) is a film about a boy. Except he’s not just any old kid. This child is one that experiences heartbreak in a novel way. When it happens, he looks towards ancient Greek mythology and stories and he changes aspects of these to suit his own narrative. This coming-of-age story is emotional and imaginative…

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Cunard British Film Festival Review: That Good Night (UK, 2017) is a dull adaption of a stage play that grapples with morality

That Good Night is a film that could be been called “The Last Night.” This is because it’s a drama about second chances and forgiveness. This handsome film is the last one that the late Sir John Hurt acted in and while it has some intriguing moments, it ultimately suffers from being a play that…

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Nine Network’s new crime thriller Bite club reveals an all-star cast

An all-star cast for Playmaker’s new crime thriller production Bite Club was recently announced at Nine Network’s up-fronts event. Currently in production in Sydney, Bite Club has attracted the attention of both Screen Australia, with a major investment in association with Create NSW. Bite Club revolves around two detectives who after surviving a shark attack, join forces…

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