Film & TV

Film Review: Exodus: Gods & Kings (USA, 2014)

Ridley Scott’s latest shot at epic storytelling Exodus: Gods and Kings as is as grand as one would expect, making full use of cutting edge visual effects and immersive, atmospheric set pieces to ensure the film is never dull to look. In terms of plot, the other side of the coin is balanced much better…

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Ice Cube debuts trailer for Straight Outta Compton at Sydney concert

This past week saw legendary West Coast emcee Ice Cube return to Sydney on his current Australian tour for the first of two shows at the famed Enmore Theatre. Fans were not only treated to a set list of some of Cube’s best tracks, but they also became some of the first in the world…

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Schedule revealed for the 2015 Little Darlings Night Owls Kids Film Festival in Sydney.

What a great way to start the new year. Families can now enjoy the fourth annual Little Darlings Night Owls Kids Film Festival which will be held in Sydney’s Darling Quarter from Friday January 9 to Sunday January 25 2015. The Festival will bring a program jam-packed with films for kids, families and the young…

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The Hunger Games single “The Hanging Tree” (Featuring Jennifer Lawrence) Debuts At #12 on the Billboard Hot 100

“The Hanging Tree”, the breakout track from The Hunger Games Mockingjay – Part 1 has debuted at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with the soundtrack debuting in the Top 20 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and score for the film debuting in the Top 40. In its first week, “The Hanging Tree”…

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Terminator: Genisys trailer shows return of Arnold Schwarzennegger and Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor

Get ready for those quotable, robotic one-liners because Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on the big screen for the upcoming reboot of the Terminator film series. Terminator: Genisys will be the first film in what is apparently going to be a trilogy reworking the iconic franchise. The impressive cast line up also includes Australian actors Jai Courtney…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (4th – 7th December 2014)

Thursday 12 Drinks of Christmas, SBS, 8:30 pm AEST If your favourite thing about the festive season is the consumption of alcohol, then this program is for you! In this BBC special, brothers-in-law Alexander Armstrong and Giles Coren search for the best festive drinks, testing out egg nog, mulled wine and other holiday favourites. Friday…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3, Episode 10 “What About Peter?” (USA, 2014)

By Amy Nancarrow With the news last week that Adam Pally will be leaving The Mindy Project in the New Year, I was hoping that Mindy would use him immensely during his last few episodes as series regular. Thankfully my prayers were answered, as not only were we treated to a lot of Peter, but…

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Supanova announces first guests for April 2015 Melbourne and Gold Coast expos!

  It hasn’t even been that long since the Supanova Pop Culture Expo packed up their temp base at Brisbane’s Convention and Exhibition Centre and bid farewell to their Supa-Star guests, but they’re not slowing the momentum down, today revealing the first crop of guests for their 2015 expos in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast! Fans…

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Box Office Report: Hunger Games has another blockbuster week

Less of a battle and more of a profound statement, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, decimates its closest competitor, taking in over $5.5 million in its second week. Interstellar remains at a solid number 2, making over $1.5 million and Lets Be Cops drops to 3rd spot, taking just under $500,000. New release Nightcrawler…

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Madman acquires anime series Sailor Moon

Classic anime series Sailor Moon will soon be the recipient of a small resurgence after its acquisition by Madman Entertainment. The ever-popular series will be released in Australia on DVD, Blu-Ray and  Digital Platforms. The set will include all 200 episodes of the series, 3 feature films and the previously unreleased series Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon Super S…

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The Iris Interview: Voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, speaks on his connection to the character, and more

Supanova is back again to give fans the chance to meet their heroes. Meredith McLean got to speak with one such hero touring for Supanova this year. Optimus Prime, who has been voiced by Peter Cullen for three decades. He shared his experiences over the past 30 years as well as his own relationship with…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (1st – 3rd December 2014)

Monday Who Do You Think You Are? Gem, 8:30pm AEST Jim Parsons features on Who Do You Think You Are? The show traces the genealogy of Parsons’ family and this episode reveals the childhood and family history of the Big Bang Theory star. The Ring, Ch. 11, 9.30pm AEST Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson star…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 8 “Coda” (USA, 2014)

You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight, not in The Walking Dead and not anywhere (unless it’s a katana and you are Michonne). This seems like an obvious survival rule to someone who has been built up as an increasingly capable survivor, but good decisions don’t always make for good TV do they?…

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Teaser trailer released for Star Wars: Episode XII – The Force Awakens

Director J.J Abrams has allowed us a small peek into the upcoming Star Wars: Episode XII – The Force Awakens, giving us a nice little trip of nostalgia as well as giving us the impression that next year’s latest installment in the iconic film series will be bigger and more epic than ever before. For…

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Final episode of Margaret and David’s At The Movies details revealed

It will be a sad goodbye to a very long-running Australian program as At the Movies with beloved film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton bring their 28-year show to a close. From SBS to ABC, they have been the most trusted and most respected of film critics and so their final episode is guaranteed…

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Film Review: Serena (USA, France & Czech Republic, 2014)

Serena is an adaptation of a Ron Rash novel that at times is considered even too strange to be fiction. This period drama starts off as a sumptuous, romantic tale set in North Carolina during the Depression. It is a slow burn to begin with but in the final act it turns into a bizarre…

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TV Review: The Mindy Project, Season 3, Episode 9 “How to Lose a Mom in Ten Days” (USA, 2014)

Sad news today, Mindy fans – Adam Pally will be leaving the series in early 2015 (although apparently he will be making guest appearances as time permits). I can’t tell you how sad this makes me, as even if he’s only in the episode for a couple of minutes – as in this week’s offering…

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Watch The Feed’s Anchorman-style death match between Australia’s top broadcasters

SBS 2’s The Feed has aired the full version of “Broadcast Battleground” as part of their final episode of 2014. Capping off a year of news done a bit differently, the increasingly impressive program has managed to convince the country’s top news broadcasters from rival channels to, well, kill each other. In a totally real…

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Official Trailer release for Studiocanal’s Selma

A couple of decades ago, equality was an issue that many people struggled to achieve in society. Imagine people of today fighting over racial differences? Sadly, this still happens but nothing compared to before. With the recent release of Studiocanal’s trailer of American drama film,  Selma (directed by Ava DuVernay), viewers will find a sense of empathy towards…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (27th – 30th November 2014)

Thursday Muriel’s Wedding, GEM, 9:10 pm AEST From the horrendous fashion to Muriel’s laughable obsession with ABBA, Muriel’s Wedding offers a hilarious yet equally bleak perspective on life in Australia in the 90s. Whilst Muriel herself may be “terrible” (according to her sister), this movie certainly is not. Stacey Dooley in the USA, SBS 2, 9:30 pm…

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Museum of Sydney to host Movie Club: Sydney Filmmakers series starting 7th Dec 2014

Museum of Sydney, as part of Sydney Living Museums (which looks after a group of 12 of the most important historic houses, gardens and museums), will showcase a number of film events which will kick off before the end of this year, focusing on documentaries both old and new. The concept has been curated by…

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Introducing BAPFF – the inaugural Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival

The inaugural Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) is a 16 day event screening more than 80 films from across the region. The new program includes multi-award winning features and documentaries, highlights from the festival circuit, and a curated showcase of the best films from the Asia Pacific region. The festival’s program champions the big…

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Film Review: Men, Women & Children (USA, 2014)

In the last decade society has experienced an enormous upheaval with technology and the effect of that on people and their social relationships has also changed drastically. In Men, Women & Children we take a stark look at the interactions between parents and their kids and how the digital age is both a help and…

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Hanging at Supanova Adelaide with…Robert Knepper (Prison Break, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay)!

  Robert Knepper has got a devilish charm about him. Spending last weekend in Adelaide at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, the American actor has been meeting many fans of his extensive body of work, whether it be Prison Break, Heroes, Mob City or more recently, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One. Though I remember him mainly as T-Bag…

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Hanging at Supanova Adelaide with…Rupert Young (Merlin)!

  The last time Rupert Young and I spoke, we had our time together cut short by an odd phone operator. The Merlin star, currently in Australia for the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, and I went round two in Adelaide over the weekend, the day after he fielded fans’ questions at his Q&A and multiple photo and signing sessions on…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 7 “Crossed” (USA, 2014)

“Crossed” had a lot of table setting to do for the mid-season finale, cutting back and forth between four segments of the group in order to bring them all back into the scope and establish where they are and where they will be when the final episode for 2014 airs next week. After a few…

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Win a Black Sails: The Complete First Season Blu-Ray prize pack!

This November, Anchor Bay Entertainment is set to release the highly anticipated Starz Originals series, Black Sails The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD. Direct from its premiere season on Foxtel’s Showcase, Black Sails is an action packed and thrilling series based on history’s most notorious pirate captains, following the story of New Providence…

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TV Review: The Molly Meldrum Story (Music Max – Australia, 2014)

If he’s not the King then Ian “Molly” Meldrum is undoubtedly the Queen of Australian music. The broadcaster, raconteur, producer, TV presenter, journalist, band manager and passionate music fan has seen and done it all. To celebrate some 50 years in the music industry as well as his upcoming induction into the ARIA Hall of…

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Box Office Report: Hunger Games is a blow out in its opening week

Despite Interstellar’s stellar reviews and impressive opening week, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 did as expected and knocked it back down to earth. The Hunger Games is a box office magnet. It is commonplace for the franchise and this week was no different as the the newest iteration pulled in over $11.8 million. Interstellar didn’t…

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Paddington creator Michael Bond calls the new film “A delight from start to finish”

  What may ostensibly be another cash in of a classic children’s cartoon in the vein of Alvin & The Chipmunks and Yogi Bear, Paddington has received the ultimate thumbs up. London’s Leicester Square was the home of the Paddington premier last night and the venue had a very special guest in attendance. Michael Bond -the creator of the…

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