Interview: Brooke Lynn Hytes on unleashing in Stop! That! Train!; “We all have a little villain inside of us.”

If there was ever a role designed to weaponise Brooke Lynn Hytes’ statuesque presence, impeccable posture and bone-dry delivery, it’s Amber, the gloriously condescending first-class attendant she plays in Stop! That! Train! Directed by Hairspray filmmaker Adam Shankman and produced by the team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, the unabashedly camp disaster-movie spoof takes its cues…

Read more

Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations rips hard, all while fleshing out the core experience

When Doom: The Dark Ages launched, it redefined the Doom Slayer’s origins with a heavy-metal, dark-fantasy crunch that swapped hyper-agile verticality for overwhelming, wall-like momentum. Now, with the Revelations DLC, id Software returns to double down on that medieval carnage. Far from a light, cash-in expansion, Revelations delivers a tight, punchy, and surprisingly robust addition…

Read more

The Shark SilkiPro Straight makes hair styling a breeze

I recently reviewed the Shark SpeedStyle Pro FLEX Hair Dryer System with my wife’s help, and while it was something I could use myself, it was better reviewed as a team. When it came to the Shark SilkiPro Straight, however, I was much more reliant on her input, as I am literally unable to use…

Read more

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced proves some treasure is worth digging up

There is an old saying about not fixing what isn’t broken. Despite being sage advice, the modern video game industry appears to have adopted it as a primary business model. Remakes, remasters, and re-releases have become some of the safest tickets in town. The Last of Us. Dead Space. Resident Evil. Silent Hill. Oblivion. Not…

Read more

Massive Attack didn’t miss a beat at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena

As soon as I hear that signature beat, I’m transported straight back to the 1990s. You know the one – boom-boom-ba-da, boom-boom-ba-da. A heartbeat to a generation. As quick as they land in my ear canal, my mind is back in a flannie, with a head of long thick hair well past my collar. Cigs…

Read more

Interview: Liv Hewson on new Australian mystery series Treasure & Dirt, disrupting archetypes and why character always comes first

For Liv Hewson, a good detective story isn’t really about the crime. It’s about the people trying to make sense of what has been left behind. That philosophy sits at the heart of Treasure & Dirt, a distinctly Australian murder mystery set in the scorched, dust-choked opal mining town of Nullah, where the brutal beheading…

Read more

Conan the Barbarian at 15: A sword reclaimed and a fantasy misunderstood

Fifteen years after its release, Conan the Barbarian remains one of modern fantasy cinema’s most understood films. Dismissed upon arrival by critics and audiences alike, it was quickly branded an unnecessary remake, a hollow echo of John Milius’s 1982 classic, and a failed vehicle for a rising star. Yet time has been kinder to Conan…

Read more

Interview: David Robert Mitchell on The End of Oak Street, suburban unease and the childhood memories behind his dinosaur epic

There’s something inherently unsettling about the suburbs in the films of David Robert Mitchell. Familiar streets, quiet houses and seemingly ordinary neighbourhoods have a way of suggesting that something strange might be lurking just beyond the frame. With The End of Oak Street, the filmmaker behind It Follows and Under the Silver Lake takes that…

Read more

Game Preview: EA Sports FC 27 is breaking new ground with its multiplayer offerings

It’s that time of the year again for another round of football, with EA Sports FC 27. Fresh off another FIFA World Cup, we’re absolutely rearing to get stuck in once again, and the team at EA Sports have given us a peek behind the curtain at their next big iteration. We’re going to be…

Read more

Photo Gallery: Massive Attack + DJPGZ – Afterpay Arena, Sydney (09.08.26)

Massive Attack the pioneers of trip-hop returned to Sydney for the first time since 2010 to play to a sold out Afterpay Arena (formerly known as Qudos Bank Arena). Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall stood largely in silhouette as the enormous screens behind them became a constantly shifting collage of images, headlines and political…

Read more

Win a double to pass to see The End of Oak Street starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures, we have 5 double digital in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in The End of Oak Street, from director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), in Australian theatres from August 13th, 2026. After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood…

Read more

Photo Gallery and Setlist: Gang Of Youths have a triumphant homecoming at the Sydney Opera House

Gang Of Youths made their triumphant return to the Sydney live music scene last night, performing at the iconic Sydney Opera House to an enthusiastic sold out concert hall. Led by the charismatic front man David Le’aupepe they didn’t disappoint playing fan favourites and new songs. Gretta Ray even joined in for the closer of…

Read more
Dante in West Village New York

In New York City, aperitivo often saves the day

Like all people of good taste, I am obsessed with New York City. The sense of community, the hospitality, the dynamism, the energy and the breathlessness of it all. All of it. It may smell of humanity’s worst indulgences – I’m not blind to the decay of a hyper-capitalist, hyper-pressurised rat race – but once…

Read more

Daniel Caesar is brining his Son of Spergy World Tour to Australia this November

Daniel Caesar is heading back to Australia this November, expanding his Son of Spergy world tour with three headline arena shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The dates mark the long-awaited Australian leg of the singer-songwriter’s biggest global tour to date, following an extensive run across Asia, North America and Europe. The tour arrives in…

Read more

Here’s our picks for the 2026 Good Things lineup

2026 is flying by, which means Good Things is right around the corner. With the lineup looking likely to drop this coming Tuesday, after a few pushbacks, delays, and plenty of teasing from the Good Things crew, we’re predicting/manifesting that these artists might make the lineup. Nickelback If you’ve seen the new Good Things logo…

Read more

Fiddler on the Roof receives a richly deserved standing ovation at the Theatre Royal Sydney

A tale that travels all the way back to 1905, Fiddler on the Roof is by no means a new musical, yet its timeless themes carry through to today. Premiering on Broadway in 1964, with a film version released in 1971, this musical now marks its 62nd anniversary with its premiere season at the Theatre…

Read more

Interview: Director Kat Good on bringing CoComelon: The Movie to the big screen; “Remember the joy in the journey.”

For countless families around the world, CoComelon is already an instantly recognisable part of childhood. Now, director Kat Good is taking JJ and his friends somewhere they’ve never been before: the big screen. Marking Good’s feature directorial debut, CoComelon: The Movie expands the preschool phenomenon into a colourful musical adventure that follows JJ (Connor Esterson)…

Read more

New Music Discoveries 7th August: Fanny Lumsden, Ra Ra Viper, ZIPPORAH, and more

Each week at the AU we work hard to dig up the best new music from across Australia and beyond. This week is no different with ten brand new tracks added to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. Whether you’re chasing something to soundtrack the commute, or just looking for something new, we’ve…

Read more

Interview: Chloe Van Landschoot on embracing the grotesque for Son of Sara; “Let’s make people feel something.”

Pregnancy has long been fertile ground for horror cinema, but Son of Sara transforms familiar fears into something far more intimate. As Sara, a woman whose increasingly disturbing cravings coincide with the return of her estranged boyfriend and the terrifying possibility that something sinister is growing inside her, Chloe Van Landschoot delivers a performance that…

Read more

Film Review: Son of Sara; familiar horror premise still proves effective thanks to committed performances and wild climax

Son of Sara opens with a compelling premise. Sara (Chloe Van Landschoot) is heavily pregnant after a one-night stand and living with her supportive partner, Carol (Tymika Tafari), but increasingly disturbing symptoms – an insatiable appetite for raw meat, violent bouts of sickness and terrifying visions – suggest something far more sinister than a difficult…

Read more

Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look will premiere on Netflix later this month

The hype train for Grand Theft Auto 6 keeps on rolling. It’s hard to believe we haven’t laid eyes on any official gameplay yet, but it’s a safe bet we’ll get a much better look later this month. Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look will hit Netflix on Friday, the 28th of August for…

Read more

Film Review: Ice Cream Man is an ugly, joyless exercise in escalation that mistakes relentless gore for entertainment

Eli Roth has never been a filmmaker I’ve felt compelled to defend. He’s a provocateur whose work often lives or dies by how much you’re willing to embrace outrageous violence, juvenile humour and unapologetic excess. At his best, films like Cabin Fever, Hostel and Thanksgiving understood the particular corner of horror they occupied, balancing their…

Read more

Live Review: Foo Fighters thrill in Toronto as they kick off their North American tour with Queens of the Stone Age

It felt like the 2003 Summer Festival season all over again in Toronto last night, as the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age hit the massive Rogers Stadium to kick off their 2026 North American tour. After two cancelled tours – one (the 25th anniversary “Van Tour”) due to COVID-19, and their 2022…

Read more

Jonathan LaPaglia to narrate ambitious new BINGE survival series Apocalypse

BINGE has unveiled a first look at its upcoming original series Apocalypse, while also confirming longtime Australian television presenter Jonathan LaPaglia as the show’s narrator. Best known for hosting Australian Survivor and Top Gear Australia, LaPaglia will guide viewers through the eight-part reality series, which poses a simple but daunting question: Could you survive the…

Read more

Interview: Adam C. Briggs and Geoffrey Vagg on Phillip Philadelphia, creating mythology and finding beauty in decay

There’s something gloriously difficult to pin down about Phillip Philadelphia. At once a queer melodrama, an absurdist comedy, a portrait of creative decay and a love letter to the strange beauty lurking beneath the Gold Coast’s sun-soaked façade, Adam C. Briggs‘ latest feature refuses to settle into any one identity. Shot on luminous 16mm, it…

Read more

Interview: Allan Clarke on the responsibility of bearing witness and why untold stories matter

For Allan Clarke, documentary filmmaking isn’t simply about preserving history – it’s about challenging audiences to confront the stories they’ve long ignored. The award-winning Muruwari and Gomeroi filmmaker, journalist and writer has built a career giving voice to communities too often left out of Australia’s national conversation, from The Bowraville Murders and The Dark Emu…

Read more

Film Review: Super Troopers 3 commits to delivering wonderful stupidity

There are few comedy franchises as defiantly committed to their own wavelength as Super Troopers. Twenty-five years after the original became an unlikely cult sensation on DVD shelves and dorm-room repeat viewings, the Broken Lizard gang are still making movies that feel as though they were conceived during an extended road trip between lifelong friends;…

Read more

Interview: Emei on finding herself on EP Night at the Opera; “I don’t think I owe everything to the world.”

TikTok may have introduced the world to Emei through the irresistible hooks of “Late to the Party” and “Scatterbrain,” but Night at the Opera reveals an artist far more interested in emotional honesty than algorithmic moments. The EP marks a conscious return to her musical theatre roots, embracing melodrama, humour and heartbreak in equal measure…

Read more

Interview: Producer Kelly McCormick on embracing bigger, bolder ideas for Violent Night 2

When Violent Night arrived in 2022, it felt like the cinematic equivalent of finding a lump of coal that somehow turned out to be the perfect Christmas gift. Tommy Wirkola’s gleefully blood-soaked action-comedy paired David Harbour’s weary Santa Claus with outrageous festive carnage, but beneath the shattered ornaments and sharpened candy canes was an unexpectedly…

Read more

Interview: Tommy Wirkola on making Christmas naughty again with Violent Night 2

After proving that Santa Claus could dispatch mercenaries with the same ease he delivered presents, director Tommy Wirkola‘s Violent Night earned an unlikely place alongside the festive classics many audiences return to every December. Beneath the gloriously excessive violence and gleefully inventive action was a surprisingly sincere Christmas story, one that found David Harbour’s weary…

Read more