Professor Tony Birch is the bestselling and award-winning Australian author of The White Girl, Ghost River, Blood, Shadowboxing, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. An activist, historian and essayist, Birch’s latest short story collection Dark As Last Night was released by the University of Queensland Press in August 2021. We caught up…
Just because a story has been done before, doesn’t mean it can’t be told in a manner that offers something new. In the case of Die In A Gunfight, a supposedly romantic thriller influenced by Shakespeare’s classic tale Romeo & Juliet, its intent on bringing flare to proceedings is so chaotic and desperate that it…
Set in 1978, the film tells the story of a mountain village of Zalava in Kurdistan that is supposedly plagued by an ancient curse. The villagers are so drawn into the story of the curse that they have been driven into the ways that veer into levels of superstition, involving the use of metals as…
Keen for some solid skate-punk to get you through Wednesday? We got you! “I Don’t Like Me” is the latest from Sydney’s FANGZ, and we can’t get enough of it! It’s loud, catchy, and exactly what we needed to hear today. Frontman Joshua Cottreau said: “‘I Don’t Like Me’ is about the version of ourselves…
Set in ‘80s West Java, Indonesia, Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash tells the story of Ajo Kawir (Marthino Lio), a tenacious street brawler who is famous for his fearless attitude. Through his many manly acts of destruction and machismo lies a condition that fuels it all – his sexual impotence. Even with numerous…
Evie Irie is one of the most powerful talents on the rise in Australia. When she was 15, she managed to convince her family to relocate to the US for her music career – a move that has seen her share stages with Bastille, Sigrid and Amy Shark, while hounding open mic nights and discovering…
This year’s Booker Prize shortlist was released over night, with the prize’s website stating that “as always, the lucky winners will be the readers“. The final six novels, whittled down from a longlist of thirteen, includes previous shortlistees Richard Powers and Damon Galgut, as well as debut novelist Patricia Lockwood and fan favourite Maggie…
Brisbane indie-rockers With Blue have been making their mark on the live music scene since forming in 2018. With their catchy melodies and sweet harmonies, the quartet have been rewarded with a solid following in the Brisbane music scene. We are stoked today to be premiering their debut EP, Pleasure Lies, ahead of its release…
Perth surfie punk-rock trio Pretty Uglys have been generating lots of hype lately, fueled by popular new single “Your Shade” prompting a strong turnout to their Saturday night show in their hometown. Pretty Uglys’ tunes are gritty punk but it’s grunge-y yet summery, loose with a surfer twang, heavy on driving bass, unrelenting drums and…
There’s a consistent thrill to Encounter, Michael Pearce‘s ambitious science fiction-leaning effort that delights in its ambiguous nature. At least, for the most part. Seen through the eyes of an unreliable narrator (an as expected stellar Riz Ahmed), Pearce’s film is better when it’s holding on to its secrets. There’s something deeper and darker at…
With the #FreeBritney movement receiving considerable press in recent times, Sydney-based singer/songwriter Lucy Burke‘s latest track, “Dear Ears” is ever so relevant. It casts the listener into the world of legendary female artists, such as Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Marilyn Monroe, reflecting on how helpless and they must have felt with all that fame…
There’s a hopeful message about tackling grief in a healthy manner and how there’s the possibility of light at the end of darkness present in the core of The Starling. With so many promising ingredients too, Theodore Melfi‘s feel-good dramedy is likely to lure audiences in with a false sense of security, promising potential but…
Deathloop is a brand new IP from Arkane Studios, the team behind Dishonored and Prey. Arkane makes “immersive sims,” a school of game design that considers player agency to be of paramount importance. Whatever idea the player might have, in whatever way they choose to tackle an objective, the game should accommodate for it. This…
Earlier this month Melbourne singer/songwriter Montgomery released the dreamy “Close To Being Apart”. It’s a beautifully lush track, with shimmering vocals. It oozes emotion, whilst giving off a dance vibe. The track examines moving on, with new experiences and relationships, whilst having to let go of other parts of our lives. “Close To Being Apart”…
The 2018 Danish thriller The Guilty was riveting, ruthless material. This American remake, coming courtesy of director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer), is much of the same, which means those who have seen the original will find the plotting all too familiar, yet those uninitiated are likely to be wholly swept up in its…
There’s a quirky, indie comedy vibe that initially laces the opening minutes of All My Puny Sorrows that deceptively suggests what will take place over the coming 103 minutes will be an airier approach to incredibly sensitive material. Character names are unusual – to say the least – and the dialogue is heightened, presented in…
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been formally unveiled during this morning’s PlayStation Showcase. The biggest news from the trailer is that fan-favourite villain Venom is along for the ride. The trailer is short and sweet, with a voice-over intoning threats toward both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The game will be the sequel to one of…
Marvel’s Wolverine was just about the last thing we expected to see from Insomniac Games today. The title was revealed during today’s PlayStation Showcase with a short cinematic teaser. We see Logan himself, alone at a bar with his back to the camera. A close up on his hand reveals bloody knuckles, suggesting he’s been…
Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection will bring both PS4 era games in the beloved series to the PlayStation 5. Both Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are included in the package. Both titles have been remastered for play on the PS5 hardware. But the special surprise is that the package will…
Sparke Films has secured the television rights to the “Axis of Time” trilogy, the best-selling novels by John Birmingham. The epic drama television series, tentatively titled Weapons of Choice after the first book in the series, is in late development with offers out to first-choice cast. Weapons of Choice will explore the far-reaching effects of…
Forspoken is one of a few brand new IP in the spotlight during today’s PlayStation Showcase. Originally unveiled at the PS5 Showcase last November, this new Forspoken trailer plays a bit like a young adult novel. We have a plucky young protagonist named Frey, who hails from our own real-world. Frey is pulled across dimensions…
Darwin shape-shifting, genre-bending singer/songwriter Caiti Baker has today released the video for her recent release, “Mellow”. It’s a return to her first love, R&B and is a beautifully confident celebration of empowerment and sass. It’s sensual, it’s loving and it’ll get you up off your chair, throwing some shapes. Watch it on repeat. The video…
A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is coming. Yes, you read the headline correctly. The promised time is finally at hand. Developed by Aspyr in partnership with LucasFilm Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment, the game is a ground-up remake of the beloved 2003 Bioware RPG. Set over a thousand years prior to…
A brand new Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands trailer dropped during today’s PlayStation Showcase. Allow us for a moment to put Bill Hader’s Stefan voice because this trailer has ~everything~. It’s got Dungeons & Dragons. It’s got Borderlands gunplay and looting. The great Ashly Burch returning to the role of Tiny Tina. It even has Babymetal‘s seminal…
We’ve waited a long time for information on God of War Ragnarok. Today, at last, the drought is over. A brand new story trailer debuted at today’s PlayStation Showcase. The trailer features a rush of images from the next phase of Kratos and Atreyu’s journey into Norse mythology. It appears the game takes place several…
CJ Grebb has been at Bethesda’s ZeniMax Online Studios for nearly 10 years. The beating art heart of Mythic Entertainment, later BioWare Mythic, Grebb was art director on titles like Dark Age of Camelot and Imperator before heading to ZOS in 2012. Since January of 2019, he’s been the art director for The Elder Scrolls…
If you’re looking for every trailer from today’s PlayStation Showcase presentation, look no further. Sony rolled out a series of heavyweight swings from its first-party studios and its third-party partners. We had surprises like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake and Marvel’s Wolverine. We had long-awaited first-looks at God of War Ragnarok and…
There are many uncertainties in this world. Over the past 18 months that fact has been painfully proven time and time again. With thousands of concerts, sporting events, and festivals canceled due to Covid-19 it would seem like an unwise idea to get my heart set for my all-time favorite annual gathering. Unwise indeed. The…
The emerging Factory Summer Festival has announced it will be held over four days rather than three weeks in 2021 with shows in Perth and Brisbane, including New Year’s Eve celebrations with Hermitude, Lime Cordiale and Broods among the headline acts. The Factory Summer Festival, previously known as Ice Cream Factory, had grown into a…
The wait is over when Marvel Studios’ Black Widow lands early on Blu-ray™, DVD, 4K Ultra HD™ and Digital September 15th, 2021. To celebrate the release, we have 5 copies up for grabs! In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff — aka Black Widow — confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises….
