Film & TV

In a small town in America’s Bible belt, Christianity and tradition reign supreme. For the past 88 years a community in the Holy City of the Wichitas have staged an Easter passion play/pageant that once saw audiences number the tens of thousands. Jesus Town USA is a documentary that is warm and sweet-enough but can…

Kill Me Three Times is a black comedy/thriller that sees professional assassin Charlie Wolfe (Simon Pegg) tangled up in a web of deception tying together the rural lives of a dentist (Sullivan Stapleton), a bartender (Callan Mulvey) and his lover (Alice Braga) in Western Australia. Unfortunately, despite the messy fun of this premise and the…

Variety is reporting that Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events book series is moving closer to production. Paramount Pictures, who also ran the ship on the last adaptation – the 2004 film starring Jim Carrey – have hired Mark Hudis (True Blood) as the showrunner and Barry Sonnenfeld to…

1996 classic Trainspotting, a landmark achievement in raw British cinema, has remained the crowning achievement of Director Danny Boyle. Adapted from Irvine Welsh’s novel of the same name almost two decades ago, the black comedy is a reference point for the careers of all involved, particularly Ewan McGregor who played Renton, one of the four…

Pixels is not your usual alien invasion fare type film. It’s also not your usual Adam Sandler type film. And it’s also not your usual family type film either. You would think that being unusual would work in its favour but sadly it doesn’t. What this film does have is some funny moments, some really…

Call Me Lucky is a fascinating and compelling portrait of one of the most memorable and significant voices in comedy that you’ve never heard of. However, once you hear Barry Crimmins declaration – “I’d like to overthrow the government of the United States, and I’d like to close the Catholic Church” – it’s hard to…

Every second Friday, guests to the In The House Screenings at Event Cinemas on George Street (Sydney) are treated to a trivia question from your friends here at The Iris. And here is where they come to find the answer! This week, the question concerns the classic 1986 film Highlander. And we made it a…

Sequels, prequels, adaptations, and spin-offs rule in this week’s Australian DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Here are our three picks for the week…

A brand new poster has been revealed for the upcoming 24th Bond film, Spectre. The film is the fourth film to star Daniel Craig as the iconic spy – and is contracted for a fifth and final turn. The film is released in November. Check out the “bone-chilling” new poster, here:

Based on the book by David Ebershoff, The Danish Girl is the inspiring love story based on the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander [Ex Machina]). Directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables), the film follows Lili and Gerda’s…

Wayward Pines is M. Night Shyamalan’s first venture into the world of TV and while it lives up to his legacy of telling stories with ridiculous plots, it has got way too many problems to hold its own against all the other compelling shows at the moment. Based on the book by Blake Crouch, the…

Among the lush landscapes of Sydney’s Harbour, Flicks at The Greens offers the perfect destination for an outdoor cinema experience. From September 16th till October 11th,  Flicks at The Greens is screening a movie every week from Wednesday to Sunday at sundown. The intimate movie sessions are being held at North Sydney at The Green’s freshly refurbished…

From the pages of young adult science fiction writer Rick Yancey comes the film The 5th Wave. Due out next January,  Chloe Grace Moretz will star as older sister and lone survivor, Cassie on an Earth dominated by Martians called “The Others”. With the Earth already in ruins just four waves in, the 5th wave is coming…

Straight Outta Compton is fresh of a huge three-week dominance in the U.S Box Office, holding onto the number 1 position despite some strong competition. The N.W.A biopic, which currently has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has finally made it’s way down to Australia and at the Sydney premiere we caught up with O’Shea…

At the Sydney red carpet premiere for N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton we talked to legendary emcee Ice Cube about the film’s success, the timeline of the plot, and find out if filming has inspired him, in a similar way to Dr Dre, to release new music. Having put his 10th studio album, Everythang’s Corrupt…

Published by the acclaimed Bethesda and developed by Arkane Studios, Dishonored launched to critical and financial acclaim when it was released in 2012. While it was far from perfect, it certainly presented something fresh and forced players to think rather than merely kick a door down and shooting everything in sight. The Definitive Edition is…

N.W.A have, is, and always will be integral to hip hop and it’s status as one of the most unique, and accessible, forms of self-expression in music. Birthed in the excessively rough neighbourhood of Compton, California, the group became a reference point for hip hop as a channel through which youth can make sense of…

The sixth annual Indie Gems Film Festival has announced its 2015 program, showcasing the latest independent Australian cinema from 11 to 13 September at Riverside Theatres. Indie Gems presents film enthusiasts with a rare opportunity to view superior non-commercial cinema that is specially curated by award-winning creative producer, John L. Simpson, on the big screen…

A couple of new films have changed the box office landscape this week but the two from last week are back at it again, fighting for top spot. Southpaw has usurped number 1, earning $1.3 million last week. Although it is only in its second week in Australia (as opposed to its 7th in The States)…

Let the anticipation commence! We’re still over two weeks away from the much anticipated return of Doctor Who – Peter Capaldi’s second season as the iconic time traveller – and already we’re getting news on the end of this run of the series. BBC revealed today that Alex Kingston would be returning for this year’s Christmas Special,…

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…

In October, the Jewish International Film Festival returns to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast and New Zealand for a run of dates that will feature 60 international premiere features and documentaries. The festival has become known for showcasing diverse cinema and engaging audiences both from the Jewish community and beyond. Every film, selected by Festival…

The Darwin International Film Festival has launched its official program at Deckchair Cinema over the weekend. A full line-up of films, workshops and events curated by an expert panel has been announced, with this year’s program resulting in all films having their Northern Territory premieres at the festival. Countries featured include Brazil, India, Germany, Poland and more,…

Need to catch a TV break and don’t know what to watch? Simon takes us through his top picks on must-see shows and films for the week. Click through to see what’s showing for your entertainment needs. Wednesday 2nd September, 2015 Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane-ABC iView-Streaming 24/7 In what is both an…

Australian Vikings fans are in for a treat this month with Clive Standen, who portrays legendary Norse warrior Rollo Lothbrok in the acclaimed historical drama, set to raid our shores as part of Oz Comic-Con. Standen will be attending both Brisbane and Sydney events and fans will have the opportunity to get up close and…

This year, at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, Australia action blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road will be awarded the very prestigious Grand Prix of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), meaning that a panel of 493 of the world’s top critics have named it the best film of the year. In a…

It’s hard to know where to start with a movie like Star Leaf. It’s exactly not a work of great great cinematic importance but it’s not really trying to be. The film’s aspirations are humble ones – it wants to be fun, light and kind of forgettable – and for the most part it hits…

The first season of Netflix’s new original series Narcos premiered on Friday (read our first impressions here), and today a slew of new films have been added to Netflix Australia’s repertoire. Available from later today will be the following films, a mix of family friendly, Oscar winners and cult favourites: 

Australian actor Travis Fimmel (Vikings, Warcraft) attended The Big Viking Picnic held at Grove Gardens in Kells, Co. Meath in Ireland over the weekend, an event that came about due to his association with children’s cancer charity, Aoibheann’s Pink Tie.

File this under “is this real life?” because something that shouldn’t be real, just became a reality. Japanese carrier All Nippon Airlines (ANA) have announced that they’re turning several of their aircraft into Star Wars themed battle cruisers passenger jets, in advance of the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this December. The brand partnership is part…