Film & TV

Ever since the first trailer was released, Baywatch has always been self-aware. The wind in a golden-blondes hair as she runs down the beach (obviously in slow motion) in the iconic red bathing suit is an image the new reboot has embraced, but it doesn’t fare well in a feature length film. To put it…

It appears that Doug Liman and the comic book genre just isn’t meant to be. No less than a year after vacating Fox’s X-Men spinoff Gambit, Variety has reported that Liman has abdicated directing duties on Warner Bros’ long-in-development adaptation of the obscure DC Comics property Dark Universe. Otherwise more commonly known as Justice League Dark. With the report highlighting that Liman’s…

The director of the Oceans trilogy and Magic Mike films, Steven Soderbergh has reunited with with Channing Tatum for a hick-heavy comedy caper entitled Logan Lucky.  Check out the first official trailer below. It’s safe to say you’ve never seen Adam Driver and Daniel Craig like this before! Logan Lucky also stars Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes,…

After what can only be said as the frustrating and disappointing efforts of Man Of Steel and Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in the DC Comics movie universe. The hopes of the DCEU and an opportunity for it to be redeemed appeared to rest on the shoulders of Wonder Woman. The…

It was an unlikely friendship between the then-longest reigning English monarch and a young Indian man, but the true story of Queen Victoria and her worker Abdul Karim is to make its way to cinema in September. Continuing on with his streak with the British monarch, The Queen director Stephen Frears has again partnered with Philomena actress (and…

Over the last couple of years, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting voices in cinema. His debut screenplay Sicario brought critical reverence with the harrowing cartel drama, for many, considered one of the best films of 2015. Only to go one better the following year with the immense…

WWE Superstar, rapper and film star John Cena is set to tour Australia’s east coast in July for a series of world exclusive evenings, where he’ll be discussing his life and career. Fans will be able to hear Cena’s untold story in his own words, from his childhood aspirations to his eventual rise in the professional wrestling…

The fifth film in the Pirates franchise lived up to expectations, earning $5.88m at the box office in its opening weekend and shooting straight to no. 1.  Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales  is also the best performing opening for a film since Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 opening at the beginning of May with $8.61m….

A classic comedy film with added heart is about to hit the silver screen. Screen Australia and Create NSW have announced production investment funding for The Merger, about a country football coach who hatches an unorthodox plan to rebuild the local football team by recruiting recently settled asylum seekers. The film is based on Melbourne comedian Damian…

RiME is a game that plays it’s cards close to it’s chest. Waking on a mostly deserted island, the games protagonist is seemingly lost, and must find his way through the island, conquering puzzles as he travels. RiME is largely guided by its mystery, as players seek to discover the secrets of the boy, the…

Credited as his most personal film, Tim Burton tells a gothic fairytale about the ultimate outsider: a half-finished artificial man with scissors for hands. Stars Johnny Depp, Winona Rider, Diane Wiest, Alan Arkin and the great Vincent Price in his final feature role. Edward Scissorhands is the final film in this season of In The…

Last week, I was given the opportunity to journey into the newest expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, and explore the island of Vvardenfell, the gorgeous Vivec City and the surrounding mountains. For those who follow The Iris on Twitter or Instagram, you may be aware of the beautiful trip a number of Australian games…

Hounds of Love, a genre-bending powerhouse thriller from Australian director Ben Young, has been wowing critics across the globe since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2016. And earlier this month it had its North American premiere at SXSW. Featuring a cast of familiar and new faces, the film tackles deep issues of trauma…

A young Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer seated in the black lodge, two and a half decades past. It’s the first image we get from Twin Peaks returned and extends a moment of nostalgia before settling how much time has passed, both in Lynch’s universe and ours. When Coop reappears following Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peak’s…

Helping kick off the first weekend of Vivid Ideas today was one of the biggest names to ever grace the event – iconic director Oliver Stone, who spoke with Margaret Pomeranz in front of a sold out crowd at Sydney’s City Recital Hall as part of the event’s “Game-Changers” series that also includes Shepard Farey…

St Kilda Film Festival has just announced this year’s nominees for Australia’s longest-standing and publicly owned short film festival. The nominees are all in the running for more than $50,000 worth of cash and prizes across 17 categories, and the winners will be eligible for Academy Award consideration in the Short Film and Documentary Shorts…

It’s the Australian comedy that got everybody talking. Rosehaven, the brainchild of Luke McGregor and Celia Paquola is set to begin production on its second series later this month. The first season, set in a rural Tasmanian town followed McGregor’s character, Daniel, as he helps his best friend Emma (Paquola) after her honeymoon goes wrong. The 8-episode…

Who would have thought that one of the most anticipated movies of the year would be a film about a mutant super-pig? Well, this is thanks to the critically acclaimed Korean director, Bong Joon-ho, whose previous films have been critical successes all over the world. His impressive resume so far includes films like the strikingly…

Assuredly disturbing and revelling in its ability to flip the conventions of the serial killer genre, Ben Young‘s debut feature Hounds of Love is one for those that appreciate their stories without gloss. Counterbalancing its Christmas setting with a tale unflinching in its disturbing nature, this Australian thriller manages to escape the confinements of the “torture porn”…

On Tuesday, at Sydney’s World Square, a giant, hand carved Sarcophagus sculpture, build entirely out of sand, was unveiled. Taking 250 man hours to create, it’s reveal was certainly a cause for celebration, so the cast of the film it was inspired by – The Mummy – popped by to show it off and answer…

And as the last note from “Love Theme” fades, David Lynch pats Angelo Badalamenti on the back, before leaning closer to whisper, “you are my muse.” Angelo, caressing the hand resting on his back,  returns “and you mine.” The two, now with hands clasped, are shrouded by a ring of light, a light that grows…

After showcasing his worth as a filmmaker to keep an eye on with 2014’s The Skeleton Twins, Craig Johnson sadly suffers a sophomore slump with Wilson, an episodic dramedy that proves to be too far removed from Johnson’s directorial capabilities. It’s not that he is unable to guide dark material to fruition – something he…

In the fifth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales, we return to the seas on another adventure with our ridiculous Captain Jack Sparrow. This time pairing up with a new bickering couple of non-pirates, and being chased down by his old frenemy Captain Barbossa and his even older…

In cinemas today, Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth film in the hugely successful series, and the first to be filmed here in Australia. Joining the cast – alongside fellow Australians like Geoffrey Rush – was rising star Brenton Thwaites, who plays Will Turner’s son Henry in the film….

After 25 years, Ed Boon and company still haven’t hit a drought when it comes to their inexorable flow of creative juices. Whether it was Midway or NetherRealm, Injustice or the venerable Mortal Kombat, each game is always jam-packed with gaming goodness and Injustice 2, the sequel to 2013’s Injustice: Gods Among Us, is no different.

It’s alive! Coinciding with the Sydney premiere of The Mummy, Universal Studios have given a name to their long gestating shared universe. Entitled the “Dark Universe”, the franchise has also received some big name casting choices too. Johnny Depp has signed on to play The Invisible Man while Javier Bardem has been cast as Frankenstein’s Monster. The two stars…

After 2012’s Kon-Tiki went down in history as the first Norwegian film to pick up nominations for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe, directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg were well-placed to score a job helming one of the most ambitious franchises in modern mainstream cinema: Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney’s monstrously successful billion-dollar…

Handsome Devil is cut from the same cloth as Sing Street and Dead Poet’s Society, but it also leaves a few things deliberately ambiguous. This is a pleasant, coming-of-age tale set in a private, all-boys boarding school in Ireland. The story ends on an encouraging and positive note where you should be yourself because it…

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer is a light comedy film about a human of New York. But he’s not just any human. The eponymous Norman is a wheeler/dealer and the undisputed king of networking. The film is what you’d get if The Ides of March were directed by…

It supposedly didn’t do as well as expected in its opening week in the USA, but Australians haven’t been quite so tough on King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.  In its first appearance at the Australian box office, it earned $2.32m.  That’s not to say it’s been hugely successful here.  Its performance at the box office so far has…