Film & TV

Alexander Dunn’s expositional documentary 808 takes its name from the Roland TR-808, one of the first programmable drum machines. Originally manufactured in early 1980 for studio musicians to record demos, the 808 was criticized for its unrealistic drum sound and was likened to the sound of marching ants. However, the snappy, tinny sound of the…

The AICE Israeli Film Festival returns to Palace Cinemas in August, 2015, this year pulling no punches in showcasing all aspects of Israeli culture – the good, the bad and the ugly. Respected film industry stalwart Richard Moore joins the Festival as Artistic Director and has curated a bold programme that is at once tough,…

From acclaimed Canadian director François Girard (Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, The Red Violin) comes a drama that the entire family can enjoy. Boychoir is the story of a talented youngster struggling against the odds to find his voice. Boychoir will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on August 26th and to…

With apparently no story arc, protagonist or resolution, Two Shots Fired moves away from conventional story structure and becomes an observational film focusing on events and physical journeys and location, rather than a personal exposition. Directed by Martin Rejtman, this Argentinian film dwells on the mundane happenings of life with an array of commonplace events….

Tarantino, you had our curiosity, but now you have our attention. Genius Director Quentin Tarantino is about ready to unleash The Hateful Eight upon the world towards the end of this year, and our first look is guaranteed to heighten interest in the film as we get a closer look at Kurt Russell as John…

Golden Age Cinema & Bar is hosting a film program of an outer space kind next Wednesday 19th August, to be presented by astronaut Chris Hadfield who is currently in Australia on his tour A Spaceman’s View of the Planet. For the ‘Guest Presents Session’, Chris Hadfield has chosen the film Moon the directorial debut…

Entries to Tropfest Australia 2015 are now officially open. To enter, all you need is an eager heart and a story to share with the world.   Whether your a pro or a beginner, everyone is invited to share their amazing ideas, so if you think you have a good story to tell, well, tell it. With thousands of entries every year,…

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the great puppeteer Jim Henson’s passing, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is opening up the unique and enchanting world of his creations. From Monday 21 September – Sunday 11 October 2015  Muppets, Music and Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy will explore Henson’s films, animations, TV commercials and…

You’d not be wrong in thinking that 2015 could be the year of the spy movie, with Kingsman: The Secret Service, Spy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation having all been released already and Spectre due later in the year. We also have another contender in the genre, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. With a ridiculously attractive…

Amy (Amy Schumer) is a writer for a men’s magazine, along with her friend Nikki (Vanessa Bayer). One morning, they sit in adjacent cubicles of their office bathroom, comparing Johnny Depp(s) from different films based on their fuckability. They aim for the funniest answers, such as: Edward Scissorhands (1990) because you’d always have a great…

After a couple of weeks of chopping and changing, Traninwreck has settled in at top spot. Earning $3.1 million this past week Amy Schumer and Paul Fieg have overcome superheroes and Tom Cruises as it rolls toward comedy of the year status. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation has dropped to second spot after a short spell at…

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 12th August 2015 The Last Leg-ABC-9.30pm AEST First airing as a companion show to the 2012 Paralympics,…

The second season of True Detective was always going to be a hard-sell. The first season of Nic Pizzolatto‘s crime anthology series combined exceptional writing, acting, direction and cinematography to great success. As a result, the pulpy and philosophical series became an instant classic amongst critics and audiences. However, this left the inevitable follow-up burdened…

Who can it be now? The documentary, Colin Hay: Waiting For My Life To Begin is about the affable Men At Work front man-turned-solo troubadour who is now known for his appearances on the TV show, Scrubs. The film is a fascinating and honest one that is a little in-cohesive at times but still manages to…

Lion Guard: Return of the Roar  may not be a title which inspires much confidence in Disney’s Lion King television revival project, but at least we’ll be getting some of the original voice-cast reprising their roles. Firstly, James Earl Jones will be returning to as Mufasa, alongside Ernie Sabella who will once again voice that…

We open in San Francisco in 1976. Minnie Goetz (Bel Powley) has just had sex for the first time. With Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård), her mother’s (Kistin Wiig) boyfriend. Based on Goets’ graphic novel memoir of the same name, The Diary of a Teenage Girl charts a dark and disturbing journey of a young woman, going…

Mississippi Grind commences with a fixed camera shot of a pastoral landscape, a glorious rainbow stretches across the horizon in the background. Yet, when Ben Mendelsohn’s Gerry remarks on the spectacle with wonder around a local casino poker table later that evening, he is seemingly the only player to have witnessed it. At least, he…

Sydney’s leading festival for cult and underground films, the Sydney Underground Film Festival (SUFF), will once again spread over 100 experimental, subversive, and controversial screenings over four days this September. These screenings include various Australian premieres, special retrospective screenings, and Q&A sessions alongside masterclasses and live music. Provocative and notorious Writer-Director Gaspar Noe will be…

The Supanova Pop Culture Expo has added another ‘Supastar’ guest to their growing roster of actors, authors, voice artists and illustrators set to appear at this year’s events in Adelaide and Brisbane – Nick Frost! The British actor best known for his work with Simon Pegg in the classic ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, World’s End)…

How To Dance In Ohio is an intimate documentary that allows viewers to see the world through the eyes of a young person on the autistic spectrum. It’s an uplifting film that shows three young women who are coming-of-age and the challenges and triumphs they experience. The story is a gentle, subtle and uplifting one…

Vinyl – HBO’s new series from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire) – is set to take us into the sex and drugs fuelled rock n’ roll lifestyle of the 1970’s. And with the new trailer, it looks like we should get ourselves set for some stylised mayhem that would make Guy Ritchie proud, a…

Hot off the heels of the announcements over the past few months of a new series of X-Files, a 24 reboot (sans Jack Bauer) and a TV version of Minority Report, it seems that Fox – the TV network who over the years have brought us the likes of game changing series like Arrested Development and…

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 is a historically-oriented documentary that takes you through the unique underground music scene of the titular city that emerged during the 80s. Though clumsily-titled, it’s a fascinating portrait of a lost world of almost-surreal parties, rampant counter-culture and uninhibited artistic potential. Structurally, B-Movie follows the gradual immersion of…

The Bellas battle it out with the Underwoods in this week’s DVD releases. Here are our three picks of DVDs and Blu-Rays you can pick up in Australian stores this week: PITCH PERFECT 2 Becca (Anna Kendrick) and the Barden Bellas are back for an international aca-battle in Pitch Perfect 2. Whilst the sequel to…

Before we get started on this week’s film and TV round up, we’d like to pay our respects to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, a great of professional wrestling entertainment, inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, has passed away at the age of 61 on 30 July 2015. Rest in peace, Hot Rod. 

Today, Sony announced 16 films set to be released in the near future, including the sequels Bad Boys 3 and 4. It’s been 20 years since Will Smith and Martin Lawrence graced the big screen as a budding bromance duo fighting crime. With the release of Straight Outta Compton in September we’ve decided to compile some of the…

A Poem is a Naked Person was completed back in 1974 and has only found wide release in this year. That has to do with legal issues, or creative differences, or some other things, all of which means little to you and what you intend to watch. Suffice it to say that you can very…

This October, the 22nd Greek Film Festival returns to Melbourne with feel-good Australian story, Alex & Eve. Based on the hit Australian stage play by Alex Lykos of the same name, this big screen sensation will be this year’s Opening Night film at the World Premiere event at the iconic Astor Theatre. Directed by Peter Andrikidis,…

Larry (Jason Schwartzman) is on the road to nowhere in notoriously chillaxed Austin. He’s just lost his job for a string of misdemeanours, and his only friends appear to be his very beloved French Bulldog Arrow (Schwatrzman’s pet in real life), a prescription medication dealer and aged carer, Norwood, and his grandmother (Olimpia Dukakis), a…

Universal Pictures just announced that Ice Cube and O’Shea Jackson Jr. will be heading to Sydney in September in support of one of the hottest films of 2015 – Straight Outta Compton. Joining them is visionary director of the film F. Gary Gray  (Friday, The Italian Job). All three will be attending the Australian Premiere in Sydney on Tuesday 1st September. Straight Outta Compton  follows the true…