Film & TV

President Obama Reads “Mean Tweets” on Jimmy Kimmel Live”

It’s important to remember that Presidents are people too. From time to time, Jimmy Kimmel gives celebrities a chance to read some of the mean things people tweet about them. And tonight, he extended that same courtesy to America’s Commander in Chief. Please enjoy the all President Obama edition of “Mean Tweets.” ———- This content…

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Film Review: Top Five (USA, 2015)

Chris Rock has always been a clever comedian, but one should never doubt his flair for a bit of dramatic acting. For those who remember him as Pookie from the classic New Jack City, Rock has always been able to bring depth to his characters, masked by his always animated persona. It’s these acting chops…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3 Episode 19 “Confessions of a Catho-holic” (USA, 2015)

Stephen. Freaking. Colbert. With new beard! Playing a priest! He was easily, without a doubt, the best thing about this episode, and his guest spot has got to be one of the best of the whole season. Mostly because of how funny he is, but also because he’s STEPHEN COLBERT. Here he plays Father Michael O’Donnell who,…

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The Iris’ ten best films set in Texas of all time…

Texas has produced more in its time beyond great BBQ, great football and cowboy lore. We take a look at some of the best pieces of film to be set in the Lone Star State in honour of the breakout hit of 2014 that is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (filmed in Austin, pictured above); from vampires to NASA, from…

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12 Films Not to Miss at SXSW Film Festival 2015: Part Two

It’s just two days until the SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas – and it’s hard to know where to begin with the absolutely incredible lineup that – as usual – fills its program. Last year, both Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel had premiere screenings at the festival and went on to win a myriad…

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Film Review: Chappie (MA15) (USA, 2015)

In the not too distant future robots will soon become part of the police force helping to stave off rising crime rates. But what happens when the machines we program and command can think and feel for themselves? How do we reconcile the human concepts of consciousness and a soul if a robot can feel…

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Film Review: Manny Lewis (Australia, 2015)

It’s lonely at the top and much-loved Australian comedian, Carl Barron is all too aware of this. In his feature film debut he takes a leaf out of his book of life spent on the road for the past two decades. The film is brave and has an interesting enough premise, but it is let…

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Win a double pass to see Disney’s Cinderella at the State Theatre in Sydney!

Disney’s Cinderella is a story for the ages, and Sydney audiences have the opportunity to see this masterpiece at one of Australia’s most enchanting and historical theatres, the State Theatre. Featuring Australia’s very own Cate Blanchett in the role of the Stepmother and the beautiful Lily James as Disney’s most iconic princess Cinderella, Walt Disney…

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Win a double pass to see Little Shop of Horrors in Sydney!

Some of cinemas most celebrated films are set to return to the big screen at Event Cinemas George St, with the launch of the In The House Program! Hosted by Channel 7’s Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis, and Quinny from Supanova Pop Culture Expo, the festival will feature a line up that includes The Princess Bride, Blade…

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Box Office Report: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gets #1 for the second time

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has done it for the second week in a row (it obviously has something to do with the name) and has scored the top spot, grossing $3,867,615. Following ridiculously closely behind is Australia’s own Margot Robbie and Hollywood superstar Will Smith, who have stolen the hearts of local audiences…

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Cinephiles get excited – there’s an exclusive club based in Sydney that you can join!

Brendan Cowell, Shaun Gladwell and Nashen Moodley have just launched ‘The Film Crowd’, a place where enthusiastic film supporters gather at Sydney Film Festival talks over drinks. Being part of the ‘Crowd’ is all about engaging with film, gaining a unique insider perspective, meeting film industry and like-minded people in a social environment, extending your…

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Film Review: Inherent Vice (USA, 2015)

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has faithfully adapted a novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon for Inherent Vice, an hilarious look into a 1970’s L.A, awash with drugged-up eccentricity as a convoluted would-be missing persons case is sniffed around by a stoner private investigator. Said P.I is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix who brings Larry…

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Exclusive Interview: Director Patrick Kennelly talks about Clipping’s “Body & Blood” music video ahead of SXSW

Ahead of its screening as part of SXSW this week, we chat to the director of Clipping.‘s music video “Body and Blood”, Patrick Kennelly. Patrick takes us through the collaborative processes, artistic references and his favourite parts of the shoot. the AU review then gets stuck into specifics with Patrick, talking camera gear, challenges and post-production…

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Exclusive Interview: Alyssa Sutherland on Aslaug’s challenges in Season 3 of Vikings and acting alongside Travis Fimmel

Alyssa Sutherland is in Los Angeles and in very good spirits when we speak, keeping busy doing publicity for season 3 of Vikings, already a ratings winner in the US. The acclaimed Norse historical drama, created and written by Michael Hirst, stars two Australians, Travis Fimmel as the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok whose saga the show…

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TV Review: Bob’s Burgers, Season 5 Episode 14 “Lil’ Hard Dad” (USA, 2015)

Bob’s penchant for not backing down on ‘the principle of the thing’ no matter how inane rears its head in “Lil Hard Dad”. The difference this time around is Gene, who usually doesn’t pay much attention to his father’s impassioned irrelevant causes, decides to jump on board the insane train. The result a rare moment where Bob’s…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 13 “Forget” (USA, 2015)

One thing The Walking Dead has never been particularly good at is juggling such a big ensemble cast, which is why the tail end of Season 4 remains some of the show’s finest hours since the first season. This is why we catch up with one character and really flesh them out, and then watch…

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TV Review: Girls, Season 4 Episode 8 “Tad & Loreen & Avi & Shanaz” (USA, 2015)

Remember, way back when Hannah was in Iowa, and her father came to visit her acting very, very strange? As it turns out, he was struggling with something of a conundrum – he was trying to figure out if he was gay. Now Tad knows, Loreen knows, and Hannah definitely knows. It really was too good to…

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Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson bring back Zoolander and Hansel for Valentino fashion show

The really really ridiculously good looking Ben Stiller and the so-hot-right-now Owen Wilson re-teamed as Derek Zoolander and Hansel (from classic comedy Zoolander) to actually walk the Maison Valentino catwalk show over in Paris. This marks a return for the duo after first appearing on our screens 14 years ago. Their walk was preceded by…

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Exclusive Interview: Sarah Gadon talks about playing Mirena in Dracula Untold

  Ahead of its Home Entertainment release on Australia this Thursday, we caught up with actress Sarah Gadon to talk about playing Mirena in last year’s Dracula Untold. She discusses her thoughts on the film, working with director Gary Shore and the history of Dracula. She also reflects on working with the great David Cronenberg over the years and…

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Spectrum Now Announces Exclusive Show with Jeffrey Tambor of Transparent

The Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Now, presented by ANZ, has revealed that award-winning US actor Jeffrey Tambor will be joining festival Creative Director Richard Roxburgh in conversation about his latest TV show Transparent, his career and life. Tambor recently won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy…

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Apple debuts brand new, comprehensive Game of Thrones Season 5 trailer

In what is perhaps the most revealing trailer Game of Thrones has ever released for a season, a new 1:51 minute sneak peak has debuted via Apple’s hotly anticipated Spring Forward keynote. We take a look at Dany’s triumphant ‘break the wheel’ speech, a potential war between Bolton and Baratheon, new characters, and more. With…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (9th – 11th March 2015)

Monday 9th March 2015 Winter’s Bone – SBS 2 – 10:15pm AEST Revisit Jennifer Lawrence’s career-making performance in Winter’s Bone. Lawrence stars as an Ozark Mountain girl who rebels against the local code of conduct to track down her drug-dealing father in an effort to keep her family from homelessness. Lawrence is steely and daring…

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The answer to this week’s In The House trivia question for Taxi Driver.

The Iris is proud to support the In The House series at Event Cinemas on George Street in Sydney – helping bring classic films back to the big screen. This week, Taxi Driver was screened, and the trivia question was: “Are You Talking To Me” is easily one of cinema’s most famous phrases? But what…

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Exclusive Interview: Lawrence Leung (Melbourne) chats about his character Simon on Maximum Choppage and more

Hello Editor Johnny Au sits down with comedian, writer and director Lawrence Leung. Lawrence chats to Johnny about playing the lead character of Simon Chan in the new ABC2 kung fu comedy Maximum Choppage. Lawrence also talks about the writing process for Maximum Choppage and the impact that it has on the Cabramatta community. Lawrence…

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12 Films Not to Miss at SXSW Film Festival 2015: Part One

It’s exactly a week until the SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas – and it’s hard to know where to begin with the absolutely incredible lineup that – as usual – fills its program. Last year, both Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel had premiere screenings at the festival and went on to win a…

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Netflix Australia & New Zealand adds local programs spanning comedy, kids, and more

With the exciting launch for Netflix in Australia and New Zealand around the corner, the online service, in partnership with Beyond Distribution, has announced that a number of new and classic local programming will become instantly available on it’s March 24th arrival date. Local stand-up comedians will be well represented on Netflix, with great specials…

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HBO announces new Game of Thrones mixtape with Snoop Dogg, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, and more

While HBO prepare for the April 12th premiere of the fifth season for fantasy epic Game of Thrones, they have announced that the second in their Catch the Throne mixtape series will be released for free on Soundcloud ahead of the big day. It’s all about bringing the show to life through contemporary styles of…

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Box Office Report: A hotel full of Dames (and Richard Gere) nab the top spot at the Australian Box Office

This week we have a new #1 as The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel soars to the top of the list with a very healthy $4M opening week. This is no great surprise as the first movie was a sleeper hit and this movie was expected to do just as well. Fifty Shades of Grey slips…

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Here’s everything we know about the new Alien film so far…

Neill Blomkamp will be directing While little is known about the plot at this point, we are aware that Neill Blomkamp will be directing the film. Blomkamp is well known for his film, District 9. He intends for the new project to be a sequel to James Cameron’s 1986 classic ALIENS, placing it as the…

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A Hayao Miyazaki collection boxset will be available to get your paws on soon!

In celebration of one of the greatest filmmakers of this generation, Madman have just announced that as of April 15 2015, you’ll be able to get your paws on The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki. The boxset will encompass all 11 feature-length works of Hayao Miyazaki, world renowned artist, auteur and founding member of the…

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