Film & TV

Film Review: Point Break (USA, 2015)

There are plenty of people who’ve seen the original 1991 Point Break film starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. If you’re one of them, and you’re curious about the remake starring Édgar Ramírez as Bodhi and Luke Bracey as Johnny Utah, you might want to leave your expectations at the door and view this film…

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AMC release trailer for the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead Season 6

We now have our first look at episode 9 of The Walking Dead, which will air when the show releases the second half of season 6 from February 2016. Warning: spoilers for the first half of Season six follow. With Alexandria now absolutely overwhelmed and overrun by walkers, Rick and his group are as close…

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The new X-Files preview is 21 minutes long and features a lot of new footage

As fans gear up for the return of beloved series The X-Files, a 21 minute feature has been released giving us a mix of behind-the-scenes, new footage, interviews, and even some bloopers ahead of the big comeback. While the return of the show will be short-lived, at only six-episodes, this newly released preview has given…

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Film Review: Daddy’s Home (USA, 2015)

When it comes to reviewing a film like Daddy’s Home, one must take a moment to put things in context. You know from the outset – be it the trailer, the poster, the cast, the Director (Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2) or any of the other warning signs – that this is going to be…

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Film Review: Joy (USA, 2015)

If we keep Accidental Love out of the conversation (and he’d wish everyone would), David O. Russell has had an incredible few years. A man who struggled to get films made for almost a decade (following the successful Three Kings in 1999, his only release until The Fighter in 2010 was the underrated I Heart Huckabees…

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Film Review: The Good Dinosaur (PG) (USA, 2015)

There was a time when we would only get a new Pixar movie every few years. Now, for the first time ever, we’re getting three in a 12 month period. This started with the box office smash Inside Out earlier this year and will end with the most anticipated animated sequel since Toy Story 3…

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Short Film Review: Sanjay’s Super Team (USA, 2015)

Accompanying The Good Dinosaur in cinemas this week is Sanjay’s Super Team, a short film which sits on the other end of the spectrum as one of the most original Pixar shorts to date. In the film, which is the first animation from Pixar to focus entirely on Indian culture and religion, a young boy, Sanjay,…

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens breaks just about every record set by Jurassic World in its opening week – except two.

If you thought the race between Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens was going to be a tight one, early indications would have agreed with you. Reports early in the weekend were predicting the film would not overtake Jurassic‘s worldwide opening weekend gross. But they were wrong. In fact, Star Wars smashed just…

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James Cameron reveals new details about the upcoming Avatar trilogy in new interview

Toruk: The First Flight, a Cirque du Soleil show inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar – which is the highest grossing film of all time… for now – just premiered in Cirque’s hometown of Montreal. And in anticipation of the show, Cameron sat down with the Montreal Gazette to talk about it – and give out…

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New footage has been revealed for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in the latest international TV spot

Though it’s just 30 seconds, there’s a new international TV spot for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice revealing a heap of new footage that further shows the intense battle between these two iconic superheroes. There’s that certain feeling of darkness and doom to it as well, indicating that The Dark Knight Returns may have…

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DVD Review: Pan (USA, 2015)

In this origin story but not quite an adaptation of the beloved J.M Barrie book Peter Pan this film takes us on a journey that seems to have no real rhyme or reason other than Peter trying to find his mother, accidentally stumbling into an adventure and ultimately discovering his destiny. Peter (Levi Miller), a…

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Five things you have to watch this Christmas and Boxing Day

Christmas isn’t just about sitting around a table and arguing with your relatives while you enjoy a pile of meats – nor only about opening presents. It’s also about sitting around the TV, falling into a food coma and enjoying whatever festive treats the networks have in store. Here’s a look at five things you…

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How they fit some familiar voices into Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Note: This article contains some spoilers. A lot has been written over the last few days about the number of “cameos” that we can find in the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens – in particular a certain James Bond. It turns out that there’s a lot more than just familiar faces who make their way…

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens app lets you create your own opening text crawl

The official Star Wars website has just launched an app allowing fans to create their own opening text crawl, paired up with the iconic score by John Williams. The new app joins the many, many games and apps designed to celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which has come at the end…

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Blu-Ray Review: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (M) (USA, 2015)

So if you’re fresh off the blockbuster wave of dinosaurs and teeny tiny superheroes (not to mention some Star Wars) and are ready for some more action packed fun, then this week’s big release Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will be able to fill that gap nicely. As with any of the Mission: Impossible (aka…

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Film Review: Suffragette (UK, 2015)

Powerful and utterly inspirational Sarah Gavron’s latest film Suffragette follows the brave women of the suffrage movement in Britain during the 19th and 20th century. This historical drama draws upon the daily abuse faced by women during a time period when they had no rights at all, and a group of women who would no…

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DVD Review: Vacation (USA, 2015)

Given that at some point everything that is old becomes new again, it makes sense that the National Lampoon Vacation series would be on the reboot agenda. A surprisingly durable series that has spanned over three decades, the latest in line acts as a semi-reboot-come-sequel with enough sly nods to pay tribute to the original without…

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Blu-Ray Review: The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (USA, 2015)

Based on James Dashner’s 2009 novel, The Maze Runner (2014) was a quiet success. Praised for its unique premise, tight scripting and intense action sequences, it quickly etched its name in the hall of Young Adult Dystopia adaptations (Divergent, Hunger Games). The second film deviates from the first in a major way but still contains…

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We go hands on with the Foxtel Go app for the holidays

With all the hype around Netflix, Stan and Presto, it’s often easy to forget there are other existing brands in Australia providing fantastic streaming services. SBS On Demand has an incredible array of content – some of which is exclusive to its system (and very hard to find elsewhere) – and ABC iView has been a…

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens makes back its entire production budget in 24 hours.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was always going to be one of the biggest films of the year, and subject to positive reviews (which it has received in droves), likely one of the biggest films of all time as well. But few could have predicted just how massive its first 24 hours would be. Including…

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We go hands on with the Telstra TV streaming media player

Those who want to get the new wave of streaming services onto their televisions have quite a few options these days. But most of them are pretty expensive. If you’re a gamer, you likely already have the capabilities through your Xbox or Playstation. But these are $400+ units. You’re unlikely going to get your hands…

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Did Daniel Craig make a cameo in The Force Awakens as an uncredited Stormtrooper?

Earlier this year, Simon Pegg – who makes a cameo himself as Unkar Plutt – let it slip that James Bond, Daniel Craig, managed to work his way into the new Star Wars film The Force Awakens while filming Spectre – the latest Bond film – nearby. Craig outright denied the claim in later interviews –…

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So just how much did Harrison Ford get paid for The Force Awakens?

For an actor who has spent much of his life bemoaning one of his most famous roles, Harrison Ford sure has been supportive of the new Star Wars film. He flew to Australia to promote the film, has taken just about every opportunity to say how great it is and given the fact he did it…

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Film Review: Youth (USA, 2015)

Visionary Director Paolo Sorrentino gives us one of his most universally appealing and accessible works to date with Youth, calling upon the ageless talents of Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel and a scene-stealing Rachel Weisz, to deliver a fascinating, surreal – almost absurd – exploration of legacy, loss, wisdom, memory, and cynicism. Set exclusively in…

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Tina Fey tries her hand at action-comedy in our first look at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Witty SNL/30 Rock legend Tina Fey is dipping her toes in action-comedy next year for Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, a spirited adaptation based on 2011 memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Chicago Tribune journalist Kim Barker. In the film, Fey portrays Barker, a ProReblica reporter out…

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The Iris Interview: Ali Larter on The Diabolical, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter & more!

Ali Larter this year returned to the horror genre she’s flourished in previously in the sci-fi horror flick The Diabolical (out on DVD this month!). The American actress, who we’ve seen in memorable movies including the Resident Evil and Final Destination franchises, Legally Blonde and not to mention Heroes on the small screen, recently took…

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Interview: Siobhan Reddy and Alex Moyet of Media Molecule discuss the company’s history, their approach to Dreams, and the importance of “play”

British game developer Media Molecule have proven to be one of the most valuable companies in contemporary video games, channeling that ever-growing trend and ever-growing demand for more creation-based gaming into award-winners like the LittleBigPlanet (LBP) series and the more recent Tearaway Unfolded. Progressive, mind-blowing (and often adorable, if not slightly creepy) design and engaging…

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Film Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (USA, 2015)

When I got the opportunity to write the review for what is undoubtedly the biggest film of the year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I trembled at the idea of doing something so underwhelming and unjust. Then I thought – while it isn’t remotely on the same level – J.J Abrams must have felt the exact…

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Presto launches on Playstation 3 and Playstation 4

As Sony Playstation Australia celebrated 20 years of gaming this past week, the announcement was made that Australian SVOD service Presto has officially joined the all-encompassing entertainment offerings on both PS3 and PS4 systems. The announcement continues sony’s push to make the Playstation a one-stop-shop for entertainment, bringing in Presto’s curated collection on TV and…

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New Youtube series :DRYVRS has Macaulay Culkin playing a troubled adult version of his Home Alone role

We all know – and most of us love – Home Alone. It’s the classic story of Kevin McCallister Macaulay Culkin being neglected by his family and left alone to fend off two aggressive and relentless burglars with booby traps and all types of 8-year-old commando magic. If it was real, do you realise how…

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