Film & TV

It’s been almost 30 years since Max Rockatansky last appeared onscreen in 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Ever since then, rumours popped up every few years that director George Miller was planning a fourth entry in the groundbreaking Australian series. The fourth film, Mad Max: Fury Road, was confirmed to be shooting in 2011 in Broekn Hill. After rains left…

Now this is more like it! Trailers these days have an unfortunate habit of showing audiences too much of the film, resulting in a lack of suspense and anticipation when they finally see the full product. Even teaser trailers are becoming too revealing. It’s a big relief then that the teaser trailer for the hugely…

The 5th annual Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) in set to hit cinemas around the country through August and September 2014 and will bring a complement of 20 feature films and a short film competition to Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. KOFFIA will visit Sydney’s Event Cinemas George Street from August 13-21,…

It’s hard to believe that we are nearing the release of the final film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, not to mention the final film in his entire Middle-Earth saga. The first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, was met with varied response. Fans of The Lord of the Rings relished the chance to spend as much time as possible in Middle-Earth, while others were already…

It’s a simple question with no straight-forward answer, “What would you do?” if it really was your last day on the earth, if you knew it was all going to end, how would you spend your final waking moments? These Final Hours examines the dystopian world that James (Nathan Phillips) must navigate as the remaining…

It’s been a long wait for Whovians around the world, but thankfully it’s almost over. In under a month we will have the premiere of the 8th series of Doctor Who. Let that sink in. As well as being the beginning of a new series, the premiere is also the first episode of the Peter Capaldi era. Fans…

Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel sequel/Justice League prequel Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is expected to have a big presence at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, with many even predicting that Snyder could even reveal the full cast for the Justice League franchise. As part of their 75th Anniversary of Batman celebrations, DC Comics is displaying a wide range of Batman images…

The latest in a series of fantastic historical telemovies from the ABC, Carlotta is a crowd pleasing – and emotional – retelling of the life of Australia’s most famous transgender pioneer. Richard Byron (Jessica Marais) is an unhappy kid from working class Balmain, when as a teenager he finds work in a Kings Cross department…

Now available on DVD after screening on ABC TV last month, we had a brief chat with actor Eamon Farren (pictured above, on the right) to talk about his role as “Ava” in the made-for-TV film Carlotta. How did you come to be involved in the film? I had heard about the project & Jess’ involvement…

Andrew Hart and Nick Duigan have a day job that many Aussies would be incredibly jealous of. They are the hosts of Hook, Line and Sinker, a fishing show that screens on Saturday afternoons on 7mate. Hook, Line and Sinker began in 2001 and this year marks the 10th season of the show. Formally a half-hour series, this years…

The first trailer has been released for the period biopic The Imitation Game, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the pioneering scientist Alan Turing. Turing is famous for his involvement in the breaking of German codes during WWII. A genius and a hero, Turing’s story took a tragic turn after the War when he was arrested for being…

The annual film calendar is always jam packed full of anticipated releases. Sometimes, even with the hype, bad reviews keep people out of the cinema. Other times, films that would have otherwise had an audience gets lost in the fuzz of the blockbuster barrage. And out of these films, occasionally there are gems that were missed,…

Worldwide hit sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has managed to hold off competition from Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel’s new comedy Sex Tape to take the top spot on the Australia box office chart for the second weekend in a row. Dawn has received widespread critical praise, with it even being hailed as one of the strongest sequels…

There’s something to be said about a series that can bounce back from a start as bad as True Blood has had with it’s final season. While the glory days of Alan Ball’s genius has been over from quite some time, the series’ current showrunners have shown that there are still a few tricks to…

Australian photojournalist David Adams has spent six months on the ground in Afghanistan in order to film his new series, Alexander’s Lost World. The series is a fascinating journey through modern-day Afghanistan in which Adams seeks to learn more about the ancient history of the region. The first of six episodes will be shown on SBS ONE…

There’s nothing better to do during winter than getting out of the rain and settling in to watch a movie and have a drink with friends. If you’re looking for a place that screens a range of classics and cult hits, the Golden Age Cinema & Bar in Sydney is a great choice. The intimately designed…

High-concept films are so called because they have a premise that can be easily summed up (and sold) in one sentence or so, and many of the most successful comedies of recent years fall under that banner. A group of friends must retrace their drunken night in order to find their missing friend. A laidback…

There is fewer dialogue and exposition needed in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the long awaited sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the film benefits greatly from it. While Rise was an exciting movie itself, with one of the best reboots of an old franchise in years, Dawn…

Legendary Australian director Fred Schepisi is a busy man, already working on another film (The Olive Sisters) and a musical for next year (The Drunken Chaperone), while simultaneously promoting the release of his current film Words and Pictures, which stars Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. A romantic comedy blended with philosophical depth, the innovative film…

A dark thread is strung throughout Devils Knot, the latest feature from Egoyan in which the unnerving act of a real-life case of child murder looms from beginning to end, with the sense of dread carried out well enough for the film to stick with you long after the credits. Unfortunately, awkward pacing speeds through…

With home viewing gradually becoming most viewers preferred way to see movies, digital downloads are understandably increasing in popularity. Two great upcoming options for digital download this month are indie comedy Happy Christmas and Bad Grandpa .5, an unrated and extended version of last year’s Bad Grandpa, with over 40 minutes of extra footage, outtakes and interviews. Happy Christmas boast an incredibly…

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a huge surprise hit for Fox back in 2011. Tim Burton’s 2001 re-imagining of the 1968 original was a creative disaster, and no-one really expected the reboot to be a success. But the genius decision to cast performance capture legend Andy Serkis in the role of Caesar the…

The Angriest Man In Brooklyn could be dubbed “The Diary Of A Mad Man”. The film is a straight-to-DVD release directed by Phil Alden Robinson and stars comedian, Robin Williams as one obnoxious lawyer. After being told he has 90 minutes left to live the irate curmudgeon engages in a frenzied, amazing race around New…

Director Michael Winterbottom is no stranger to showcasing sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in his work, as one of his most famous films to date is 24 Hour Party People. Four years after that was released came 9 Songs, a movie once described as the most explicit one in British film history. The controversial…

Departures (Okuribito) is a simple, Japanese film about some big subjects: love, life and death. This existential family drama was the winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2009. It is also a subtle and nuanced story where a Zen-like air means that even though the final message is poignant and meaningful, it is…

Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (Tôkyô tawâ: Okan to boku to, tokidoki, oton) will warm your heart and tug at your heartstrings. The winner of the best film award at the Japanese Academy Awards as well as winning a host of others, is a slow-burning and detailed family drama. It’s also the…

For those who are yet to experience a pop culture convention, The IRIS paid a visit to Oz Comic Con Melbourne this past weekend to experience what a convention is like on-the-ground and in the thick of it.

It is impossible to deny that we are currently experiencing a golden age in television. Viewers can choose from a ridiculous amount of high quality programs, and tv shows seem to be taking over from films as the dominating medium of popular culture. Shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Mad Men have been thrilling audiences for years, and…

Now in its 13th year, the Arab Film Festival is back for 2014 and lucky viewers in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra will get the chance throughout August to see some of the best films coming out of the region. Kicking off in Sydney from August 14th to 17th, the Festival will move to Melbourne from August…

Here it is: the final installment in the Easy Money franchise: Life Deluxe. Old favourites are back, old scores need to be settled, and new players find themselves drawn into Sweden’s dark criminal underbelly. JW (Joel Kinnaman) is on the run after his successful robbery at the conclusion of Hard to Kill, and has made…