Film & TV

Australian Box Office Report: The talking teddy bear is unable to stop the dinosaurs

Foul mouthed teddy bears are no match for towering dinosaurs it would seem as Ted 2 comes up short in its opening week. While Seth Macfarlane and Mark Wahlberg’s comedy sequel earned itself $4.2 million over the weekend, it was unable to knock the box office king off its perch. Jurassic World spent its 3rd…

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Get excited for Terminator: Genisys with a pile of new Video Featurettes

Well, today’s the day. The new installment in the Terminator series has arrived. And to get you all excited about what to expect in Genisys, we at The Iris are excited to show off a few new video featurettes: In the first clip, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke and J.K. Simmons talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return…

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Seven Films (and One Special Screening) not to miss in Australian cinemas this July!

July has arrived! And with it are a string of the American blockbusters that usually come with it. But, that won’t stop the variety, with documentaries about famous musicians, a take on the later years of Sherlock Holmes and the return of an Anime classic amongst the films we’re excited to see on the big…

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What To Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (1st – 7th July 2015)

Simon Anicich takes a look ahead at the TV calendars on free-to-air and on Foxtel to bring us his picks of the best viewing on TV this week. Read on for a mix of sports, soaps and daily shows… Wednesday 1st July 2015 Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery ABC – 9:00pm AEST If you’ve ever found yourself…

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New trailer and poster reveal the adaptation of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods

Directed by Ken Kwapis and starring the incomparable Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson, last week the Australian trailer and poster for A Walk in the Woods were released. The film is a comedy based on the book of the same name by travel writer Bill Bryson.

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The full inaugural program of the Queensland Film Festival has been announced

From July 24 to 26, the inaugural Queensland Film Festival will present Brisbane with a stimulating series of movie masterpieces and thoughtful discussion panels. The festival will take place across three Brisbane venues: New Farm Cinemas, the Institute of Modern Art, and the University of Queensland Art Museum. This past week, the entire program was revealed.

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Watch as Terminator Genisys transforms the iconic entrance at Sydney’s Luna Park

For the first time in its history, the iconic face that welcomes guests into Sydney’s historic Luna Park was lit up by projections over the weekend, promoting the upcoming release of Terminator Genisys. The projections were created by renowned projection designer Peter Milne from The Electric Canvas.

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Maverick set to return to the big screen in Top Gun 2.

A sequel to 1986’s Top Gun has been long rumoured – and news first came to light back in 2010 that the process to bring Tom Cruise’s career defining role back to the big screen had started. Now, some five years later, it seems that everything is on track to bring Maverick back to screens…

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New Trailer and Images for the sixth and final Paranormal Activity film, The Ghost Dimension.

In what is promised to be the sixth and final instalment of the Paranormal Activity series, The Ghost Dimension is due out in cinemas on October 22nd and this week Paramount have revealed the first trailer and images from the set. As with many of the past films, they look intent to scare plenty of…

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When Attenborough Met Obama to air on ABC’s Foreign Correspondent on June 30th

President Barack Obama interviews Sir David Attenborough at the White House in an extraordinary program, which will screen as a special Foreign Correspondent on Tuesday June 30 at 8pm on ABC.

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TV DVD Review: Veep The Complete Third Season (USA, 2014)

For those playing at home, the third season of Veep is without question the best of the hilarious HBO series so far. The arc of the 10 episode third season takes us through the Vice President’s campaign towards becoming President in the next election, while she continues her often mundane tasks as Veep. It all…

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Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell reunite in the Daddy’s Home Trailer

After playing cops together in 2010’s The Older Guys, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell are going to return to the screen together in the new comedy Daddy’s Home – out in Australia on Boxing Day. In the film, the pair play Dad’s who enter a bit of a domestic war. The synopsis goes a little…

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Exclusive Interview: Richard Kuipers and Marc Eberle talk The Cambodian Space Project at Sydney Film Festival

The Cambodian Space Project – Not Easy Rock ‘n Roll  was a documentary hit for audiences that attended Sydney Film Festival. Larry Heath had the opportunity to speak with both producer, Richard Kuipers and cinematographer, Marc Eberle about the film and how it developed.

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Exclusive Interview: Ant Timpson and Andrew Beattie talk on Deathgasm at Sydney Film Festival

During Sydney Film Festival, Larry Heath spoke to producers Ant Timpson and Andrew Beattie about the comedy/horror film, Deathgasm.  The struggle in getting this film to happen was not easy – let alone entering competitions that would value its concepts. Deathgasm began in the works through application in movie competitions and suffice it to say,…

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We have a new Spider-Man and a Director for the 2017 reboot. Yes, another one.

In what will be the third incarnation of the series since the turn of the Millenium, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have confirmed that Tom Holland will be undertaking the role of iconic superhero Spider-Man in the next anticipated film.

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Film Review: Ted 2 (MA15+) (USA, 2015)

I didn’t like 2012’s Ted. The jokes were as uninspired as the ridiculous plot, relying on the same formula that makes Family Guy a tedious watch and putting too much faith in shots of a teddy bear being crude and smoking bongs being funny. That said, I couldn’t stop laughing during Seth MacFarlane’s Ted 2…

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We check out Dragons: Race To The Edge from Netflix along with some real life dragons!

To celebrate the release of Dragons: Race To The Edge, a new Netflix original series as part of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise from Dreamworks we got to check out the first two episodes of the series as well as get up close with some real life dragons. OK, maybe not quite the…

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DVD Review: Jupiter Ascending (M) (USA/Australia, 2015)

When The Wachowskis make a new film, we take notice. There is this endless desire we have as film fanatics that we’ll see them pull out something as impressive as their classic sci-fi film The Matrix. Time and time again fans and critics are disappointed, as proven by fairly low Rotten Tomatoes scores, poor word…

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DVD Review: Broadchurch The Complete Second Season (UK, 2015)

The first series of Broadchurch was a concise, emotionally-charged thriller that was a huge success both in the United Kingdom and abroad. However, with such a neat ending (the killer caught, Danny’s funeral finally allowed to take place), it was a bit of a headscratcher as to how creator Chris Chibnall would structure series two:…

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Interview: Carice Van Houten (Melisandre) talks about Season Five of Game of Thrones

Those who have finished the entire Season 5 of Game of Thrones may know that there is much speculation over what role Melisandre will play as we move into the sixth season of this groundbreaking fantasy epic. In anticipation for the entire Season 5 being made available to own on digital download (through retailers like…

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NBC release first trailer for Heroes: Reborn, and it features some familiar faces

The first season of Heroes is undeniable. It was a huge hit for NBC back when well-produced superhero TV franchises weren’t really as common as they are today. Somewhere along the line, quality waned and the once iconic show was drowned by it’s own ambitions somewhere between Mohinder’s skin peeling off and the show’s very…

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TV Review: Mr. Robot Season One, Episode One (USA, 2015)

Take the title character from Dexter, throw him into a world where instead of killing the bad guys, he’s destroying their lives through digital espionage, and you start to get the vibe of the new USA Network series Mr. Robot, which had a special episode one premiere at SXSW earlier this year, ahead of its official…

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Interview: Dylan Parker of The Paper Pilots from Australian film Paper Planes

In light of the release of Australian film Paper Planes on DVD and Blu-Ray, Rachel Sibley spoke to Dylan Parker of the Paper Pilots about their job, their role in the film, and the art of perfecting the paper plane. How did you each get into Paper Plane throwing? I threw paper planes as a young boy after Mum…

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Blu Ray/DVD Review: Taken 3: Extended Cut (USA, 2014)

Liam Neeson’s fluid fighting scenes in high definition? Yes please. The home release for Taken 3 is now available in retail stores and online, giving you the chance to complete that collection of high-impact thriller that has made this franchise such a bankable brand for Neeson and co. By all indications, this trilogy will likely…

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TV Review: Orphan Black The Complete Third Season (Canada, 2015)

Though far from outright awful, Orphan Black’s second season failed to escape the shadow cast by its debut. It frequently found itself bogged down and tangled up in its own mythology – losing a grip on the masterfully-paced escalation that made the show’s first season such a thrill. Season 3, however, hits a bit closer…

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Box Office Report: Jurassic World defies recent hot swapping and stays on top

Jurassic World sees your war for #1 spot and scoffs. In its second week, one of cinema’s biggest franchises just keeps on trucking as Jurassic World cleaned up another $9.8 million in the Australian box office over the weekend, an impressive feat indeed after a stellar opening last week ($16 million). Those irresistible Minions and…

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Win a double pass to see The Human Centipede 3 and a DVD copy of the film!

Monster Fest, Australia’s premier cult film festival is proud to announce a national theatrical tour of the third and final installment of The Human Centipede franchise: The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence), launching its new weekly cinema event “Monster Fest Presents” and celebrating the film’s June 17 release on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD. Fans will…

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Golden Age Sydney to host exclusive screenings of Eden about the “French Touch” house music scene

Our favourite boutique bar and cinema, Golden Age, is going to be holding exclusive Sydney screenings of the film Eden, charting the rise of “French Touch” house music, a genre that heralded the likes of Daft Punk and Cassius. There have been five screenings announced, which kick off this Thursday. Accompanying the Friday screening will also be Paul…

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DVD Review: Grantchester The Complete First Series (UK, 2014)

Grantchester is a quintessentially English crime drama set in an idyllic, small town. You’d be forgiven for thinking that with a description like that it must have a lot in common with Broadchurch. But while the latter is a gripping, dramatic success, the former is a painfully slow period piece that covers too much ground…

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