Film & TV

DVD Review: South Park: The Complete Seventeenth Season (USA, 2014)

When you realise South Park is on its eighteenth season, it kind of boggles the mind. Not just because it makes you feel old – but because (at least in my case) you realise that you’ve actually been watching it for the last eighteen years. A show that started out full of little more than…

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Taika Waititi behind the script for Disney’s latest film Moana, set for 2016 release.

The first image for Disney’s next Princess adventure, Moana, has been released, along with more details about the company’s upcoming animation. Disney’s 56th animated feature film will hit screens late 2016 and focuses on the story of ‘Moana’ – a Polynesian ‘Princess’ who sets out on a quest to fulfill an ancestor’s quest. Labelled as an…

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What we learnt from Doctor Who‘s Jenna Coleman at Armageddon Expo in Melbourne

Doctor Who‘s Jenna Coleman was the star attraction at the second day of Armageddon Expo over the weekend in Melbourne. Kimberley Salmond was there and brings us back some of the things asked to Jenna during the Q&A, and how she answered! Have you ever suggested ideas to Steven (Moffat)? No, you have to be…

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Box Office Report: Gone Girl is still unbeaten after three weeks on top

This is quite incredible. David Fincher’s Gone Girl, an adaptation of Gillian Fynn’s best-seller, has taken over $3 million in its third weekend in Australian cinemas. The film has now taken over $16 million at the Aussie box office, which is a very impressive tally for a film of its kind. In comparison, Fincher’s The Social Network took $13.9…

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TV Review: Doctor Who Season 8 Episode 9 “Flatline” (UK, 2014)

If there is one thing Doctor Who has become stellar at over the years, it’s throwing a spanner into the works, just when the audience is comfortable and thinks they know what is happening. “Flatline” is that point for Season 8. While it takes the ‘Doctor Lite’ format and shows off Clara more than ever as a strong and…

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Alaina Huffman of Stargate Universe, Supernatural and Smallville speaks at the Armageddon Expo in Melbourne.

The Armageddon Expo dropped by Melbourne this weekend, providing a fun environment for geeks to well, ‘geek out’ on their favourite fandoms and share their obsessions for all things television, sci-fi, mystical and comical with other fans. On the first day, Alaina Huffman of Stargate Universe, Supernatural and Smallville fame spoke in front of a…

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DVD Review: The Wipers Times (UK, 2013)

“Do you suffer from optimism?”  The Wipers Times asks in its distinctly and irreverently British portrayal of the First World War and ‘The Wipers Times’, a satirical newspaper created in the trenches.  Contrasting the humour of the paper with the ugly reality of fighting in Ypres and the Somme, this unique BBC film captures the…

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New teaser trailer released for Focus, starring Will Smith.

The teaser trailer for Focus has just been released. The film stars Will Smith as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie), who seems to have reprised the accent she nailed in The Wolf of Wall Street.. The trailer shows Nicky teaching Jess the tricks…

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Michael Hogan of Battlestar Galactica, Skyrim, Mass Effect talks at Armageddon Expo in Melbourne

The Armageddon Expo dropped by Melbourne this weekend, providing a fun environment for geeks to well, ‘geek out’ on their favourite fandoms and share their obsessions for all things television, sci-fi, mystical and comical with other fans. On the first day, Michael Hogan of Battlestar Galactica, Skyrim, Mass Effect fame spoke in front of a…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (20th – 22nd October)

By Kimberley Veart Monday The X Factor, Ch. 7, 7:30 pm AEST It’s the grand final of the X Factor, so tune in to see who will be crowned the winner. It’s between folk group Brothers 3, fifteen-year old vocalist Marlisa and singer-songwriter Dean Ray. Tensions between the judges have been running high this season,…

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TV Review: Bones Season 10 Episode 4 “The Geek in the Guck” (USA, 2014)

The charm of this week’s Bones was its return to everyday routine, even more so than the previous episode which still dealt with the emotional fallout from Sweets’ death. The show begins with young Christine refusing to eat her breakfast, while Booth and Brennan try to reason with her. It seems Christine is taking after…

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TV Review: American Horror Story: Freak Show Episode 2 “Massacres and Matinees” (USA, 2014)

This week on American Horror Story: Freak Show, Episode 2 “Massacres and Matinees” has brought us deeper into the lions pit and introduced us to the new Dell Toledo Aka the strong man and with him his lady-man, three breasted wife Desiree Dupree. We see hints of Emma Roberts making an appearance in later episodes…

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Film Review: Before I Go to Sleep (MA15+) (UK, 2014)

What would it be like to wake up each morning not knowing who you are? What if you could not recognise your loved ones? How would it feel to completely forget over a decade of your life? These are the very intriguing questions posed by the central concept of Before I Go to Sleep. This…

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Film Review: Son of a Gun (MA15+) (AUS, 2014)

Australian film Son of a Gun looks at a number of different themes, primarily it’s a heist movie but it also examines the desire for a stable family life and the father/son and brother/brother relationships that can evolve in prison. Loyalty, honour and morality are all tested and questioned and all served up with a…

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Film Review: A Walk Among The Tombstones (USA, 2014)

Liam Neeson had a career revival back in 2008 film Taken, showing the world that his scowl and straight-faced determination naturally lends itself to playing the kind of outside-the-law American hero he has now been sort of typecast in to. In Scott Frank’s A Walk Among The Tombstones, Neeson adapts to a similar role, albeit…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project – Season 3 Episode 5 “The Devil Wears Lands’ End” (USA, 2014)

After weeks and weeks of constant Mindy and Danny relationship dramas and a struggling B-plot, this week’s Mindy Project episode is a return to the funny, self-deprecating, smart show we’ve enjoyed over the last two years. Mindy, Danny and the rest of the practice find themselves at the mercy of the new Chief of Obstetrics,…

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Warner Bros and DC just announced 10 new superhero movies!

Today Warner Bros and DC Comics have hit the film and comic book world with some massive news. Between 2016 and 2020 they will be releasing at least 10 new superhero movies including new entries for Superman, Batman, and the Justice League. The move seems like a challenge to Disney and Marvel’s recent success at…

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Film Review: Tammy (USA, 2014)

Melissa McCarthy is Tammy and she is having a bad day. On her way to work, she hits a deer and wrecks her car. Because she is late, her boss Keith (Falcone) fires her. She arrives home to find her husband Greg (Faxon) having a romantic meal with neighbour Missi (Collette). She leaves Greg to…

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TV Review: South Park Season 18 Episode 4 “Handicar” (USA, 2014)

The creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, have entered the show’s eighteenth season (their second that runs over one ten week block rather than two seven episode periods over the course of the calendar year) by doing something a little different. Much like, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they’ve made the South…

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The first episode of the Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways starts this weekend on GO!

Aussie Foo Fighters fans are getting keen, with the first episode of the highly anticipated Sonic Highways documentary scheduled to go to air on the free-to-air channel GO! at 4:30pm this Saturday! Just hours after it makes its premiere on HBO in the US, the ‘musical map of America’ will be available for us to…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (16th – 19th October 2014)

Thursday The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, ABC 2, 7:40 pm AEST After showing off her flair for lip-syncing back in April, the oh-so-lovable Emma Stone is back again on The Tonight Show for another round of fun! Joined also by Logan Lerman and musical guest Sam Smith, this episode is sure to be a…

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Behind the Scenes: How an Adelaide studio created the best scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past

So you’re watching through the incredible X-Men: Days of Future Past on your Blu-Ray player, aching for that moment when the film reaches a certain scene. You aren’t discounting the overall quality of the universally acclaimed X-Men installment, but today you just want to re-live the sheer giddiness that you went through when you first…

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Antenna Documentary Film Festival Review: Grey Gardens (USA, 1975)

When all you’ve known is wealth and privilege, it’s a long fall from the top of the social ladder. But some do fall, and that’s exactly what happened to Jackie O’s aunt and cousin, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (Edie) and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (Little Edie). The demise of two eccentric yet ultimately enigmatic…

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TV Review: Doctor Who – Season 8 Episode 8 “Mummy on the Orient Express” (UK, 2014)

So here we are at the midway point of the eighth season of revived Who. And what a ride it’s been. I’m not sure about anyone else but I feel like Capaldi’s first season as The Doctor has flown by and Jenna? Who’d have thought Clara would have developed into the character we’ve seen her become, especially in the last…

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Box Office Report: Audiences flock back to David Fincher’s Gone Girl

David Fincher’s Gone Girl has proven itself to be the must-see movie of the moment by smashing the competition to take the top spot at the Australian box office for the second weekend in a row. The film made an incredible $4.1 million over the weekend, only dropping around $0.6 million from last weekend, which is an incredibly…

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The Iris Interview: Peter Hambleton (NZ) on the end of The Hobbit ahead of Armageddon Melbourne!

Armageddon Melbourne is coming up this weekend, giving fans of sci-fi, pop culture, anime and more the chance to meet some amazing actors, animators, illustrators and more. Taking place at the Melbourne Showgrounds on October 18th and 19th, you can bet that there are going to be some killer cosplays, hilarious panels and more coming…

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Win a Blu-ray copy of War Story!

Lee (Keener) is a photographer who documents the plights of refugees in war torn countries. Her most recent assignment brings her to Libya where she is detained for brutal questioning. The plot commences with her release and soon-to-be isolation in a Sicilian hotel where she is content to hide out immersed in darkness and painkillers….

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Win a double pass to see The Crow on the big screen in Sydney!

Some of cinemas most celebrated titles are set to return to the big screen at Event Cinemas George Street, with the recent launch of the In The House Cinema Series. Featuring landmark films at their finest, the series will herald the return to the big screen of some of the greatest movie titles of the…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 1 “No Sanctuary” (USA, 2014)

In the world of The Walking Dead you are “either the butcher, or the cattle” according to the once-benevolent folk of Terminus, and so we continue exploring the rewritten rules of humanity in this horribly bleak, post-apocalyptic landscape. In “No Sanctuary”, the epic premiere of the fifth season, there was a perfect balance of this…

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Film Review: Hector & The Search For Happiness (UK, Germany, Canada & South Africa, 2014)

Hector & The Search For Happiness is about a psychiatrist who sets out on an overseas journey in order to find joy. The idea is hardly a new one, especially as the self-help genre has already seen the likes of Eat Pray Love and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, among others. Unfortunately, Hector’s story…

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