Thanks to Umbrella Entertainment we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to The Survival of Kindness, the latest feature from one of Australia’s leading filmmakers – Rolf de Heer. Written, directed and produced by award-winning auteur filmmaker Rolf de Heer (Dingo, Bad Boy Bubby, The Tracker), The Survival of Kindness uses allegory to analyse…
Darkinjung/Central Coast-based pop-punk band Stone Lions have recently released the raucous “New Year’s Ghost”. New Year’s Eve can be such a mixed bag. It can be one of those nights where the euphoria infuses you and your mates and it’s the best night ever, or it can be one of those nights where you find yourself on…
The sequel to the best-selling The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is finally here, and Garth Nix certainly delivers. Return to the wild, dangerous but eccentric world of the magical crime-fighting bookseller St Jacques family in The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. Demi-mortal Susan Arkshaw has been steadfastly avoiding all bookseller business since discovering her magical heritage. She wants…
Just on the outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD is a freshly revamped District Docklands. Originally built in 2008, a 2021 renovation saw the addition of an entertainment precinct including restaurants, cinemas, tourist attractions and a brewery. I recently visited the area – easily accessible by Melbourne’s free tram network – and here’s a few of my…
The much loved ARIA award-winning Australian quartet You Am I are paying homage to one of their musical heroes in performing The Who’s legendary album, Tommy across the country this July and August. They will also be playing a selection of Who classics. With special guest vocalists Hayley Mary and Sarah McLeod, it is going…
Just as confusing as it is fascinating, Backwards Faces, a science-fiction fuelled comedy from writer/director Chris Aresco, seems as if it’ll run the risk of being a little too smart for its own good. It all starts straightforward enough, with a post-one night stand scenario setting up the dynamic between Ken (Andrew Morra, also serving…
Towards the end of last year, as the leaves on the trees of New York were filling up the gutters, and the sights of Halloween peppered the sidewalks of small towns, I ventured north of NYC for the first time ever to the beautiful Hudson Valley Region. It’s a place so beautiful, and filled with…
The 1975 have not graced Australia’s shores since the illness and rain affected Laneway tour of 2020 and, in that time, two full albums (their fourth and fifth) have been released as well as an explosion on a little app called Tik Tok. Therefore, it was not surprising that their first Sydney show at the…
Simon Robert Gibson has been a member of many Sydney bands since the early ’90s, usually behind the drumkit. In 2020 he released his debut solo album and has recently released “You Look Good in a T-Shirt”, the first single from his forthcoming third album. The track has a warm local feel to it, referencing…
For such a bloodied horror experience, the leading ladies of Evil Dead Rise are all smiles and levity as they discuss the “torturous” episode of filming, their own descent into “the abyss”, and how exactly Jim Carrey was used as a reference point. Ahead of the film’s global premiere earlier in the year (read our…
“Tell the kid he’s got it,” said the legendary Mel Blanc with a smile, after listening to a young man’s first demo tape of cartoon character voices. The year was 1984, “the kid,” was Jim Cummings. Since then, the kid has gone on to give life and voice to some of America’s most beloved animal…
The islands of Hawaii are home to no less than 8 airports across 6 islands, with Hawaiian Airlines offering more than 170 daily flights between 5 of those island destinations. From north to south, they fly between – Lihue (LIH) in Kauai, Honolulu (HNL) in Oahu, Kahului (OGG) in Maui, and both Kona (KOA) and…
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has returned for its fifth and final season, after an uneven yet still charming fourth iteration, which left us with a slightly hopeful ending—Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) staring up at a snowy billboard featuring ‘The Gordon Ford Show’. For my first impression of this season, I watched the first four…
After a week off for Bluesfest (and Easter) we’re back with another twelve new tracks added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music; including two tracks we’re premiered the music videos for last week. This week’s Track of the Week is “The Streets Don’t Lie” from award winning WA rock band The Southern…
Most well known for his titular role in the television series Arrow, based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, Stephen Amell has long been part of the comic culture since the series first aired in 2012. After 8 seasons, Amell has retired the hood (or has he?) and has since incorporated his own professional…
Melbourne alt-metal quintet GhostSeeker is a band that you definitely want to put on your radar if you haven’t already. They recently announced their Initium Novum East Coast tour next month for their debut EP of the same name, with support from The Atomic Beau Project, Aurateque, Synge and more. Get your tickets HERE. The…
Sunshine Coast alt-rock trio Wifecult have today shared their new single “Hold It Down” and announced their forthcoming project Kindness in Clarity, an EP, out 9 June. Featuring the 2022 single “Wearing Thin”, the EP will be their first collection of songs since the debut album When All is Said and Done in 2020. Wifecult…
There are certain films that, as an audience member, you can tell were an absolute blast to film. You imagine the on-set atmosphere was one of joy and gaiety, quite often enhanced if said film is being shot on location. Mafia Mamma feels like one of those productions. It’s just a shame the presumed fun…
And before we knew it, the final day of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 was upon us. Jon Stevens was up early, and brought the hits from his days fronting The Noiseworks and dipping into his time with INXS. There were plenty in the crowd who had come on Monday specifically for this. The legendary Bonnie…
2023 is flying by and somehow it’s the other side of Easter already. So we in the AU Books Team are back with some more of our most anticipated books of the year; this time for April through to June. With so many books published each month it would be impossible to cover them all….
The lineup for Splendour in the Grass 2023 has just dropped. The festival is returning to the Ngarindjin / North Byron Parklands from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 July and is once again jam packed with festival favourites. Headlining on Friday night is the previously announced Lizzo. On Saturday night, local hero Flume will be making…
Kara Gnodde’s debut novel The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything has been compared to Australian bestseller, The Rosie Project. I can see the similarities, but the starkest comparison to my mind is TV’s The Big Bang Theory. Imagine if Sheldon Cooper was looked after by his sister instead of by Leonard Hofstader. Now imagine him devising an experiment…
It’s no secret that The Last of Us Part 1 has released on PC to some extremely negative reactions, mainly due to its buggy and at times, game-breaking performance issues. There have been two patches issued since its release, yet the game is still struggles to run on mid tier PC’s, let alone an entry…
Perth alt-metal act RinRin is filling a void in the local heavy scene with her fusion of J-rock and pop-punk. With frenetic guitarwork, stomping grooves and vibrant synths, her powerful vocals and catchy hooks soar high above the modern mixes. RinRin and her band will be heading out on their debut headline tour this May…
Sydney-based comedian Anthony Locascio is about to head out on his Heart of Darkness tour for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney and Perth Comedy Festivals. Kicking off today at Belgian Beer Café in Melbourne, the tour will stay until 22 April before moving to Factory Theatre Fusebox in Sydney from 3-7 May and…
Enhancing the punishing and graphically gory nature of Fede Álvarez’s 2013 “reimagined” Evil Dead and the more comedic inclination of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 (1987), Lee Cronin‘s Evil Dead Rise is a manic, at-times disgusting horror treat that proves there’s still a whole lotta (after) life left in this franchise. Given that Cronin seems…
Magical girls, politics, religion and revolution collide in Kate J. Armstrong‘s debut novel, Nightbirds. Set in a 1920s-inspired world where magic is prohibited, this YA fantasy explores the politics of women in power in an action-packed and wild ride through the fictional city of Simta. Matilde, Sayer and Æsa are Nightbirds, girls will innate magic…
The release of Chrissy Judy feels rather aptly timed at the given moment considering the unnecessary controversy around the artform that is drag. Its history has never been tied to sex or sexuality, so it’s incredibly ironic that anti-LGBTQIA+ conservatives have peddled their agenda against the art and have positioned themselves as “protecting” children from…
We rolled into day four of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2023 full of beans for the day ahead. Rockwiz is a perennial favourite at the festival, with Brian Nankervis and Julia Zemiro dishing up the laughs and giving the crowd their chance at 15 minutes of fame. The special guests included Chris Cheney (The Living End)…
Day 3 of Bluesfest 2023 was dominated by the legend that is Buddy Guy. He has been to the festival many times over the years, and 2023 has been pegged as his final visit. His performance did not disappoint. He was playful and thoroughly entertaining. The humour was complemented by his mastery of the…
