The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia have released the finalised 2017 box office numbers, cementing Academy Award Best Picture nominee Lion as the highest earning Australian film at the local box office, taking a record $29.5 million. This sees Lion go into the history book as the 5th all-time biggest Australian film at the local…

Tropfest Australia has recently announced that Academy Award winning and five-time Emmy nominated actress Susan Sarandon will head the Tropfest Australia 2018 jury, along with the announcement that ABC will be the exclusive broadcast partner. Susan is fresh off a Golden Globe nomination for Feud, and is known for her critically acclaimed performances in classic…

A new trailer for the upcoming Australian film That’s Not My Dog! has been revealed, showcasing an all- star Australian cast of over 30 comics. The film stars Shane Jacobson (Kenny) alongside fellow Australian stars Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee), Steve Vizard (Tonight Live With Steve Vizard), Michala Banas (Upper Middle Bogan), Fiona O’Loughlin (Spicks and Specks), Tim Ferguson (Doug Anthony All Stars), Lehmo (The…

BBC Three has recently announced that it will be picking up Stan’s original series Romper Stomper, to launch in the UK in early 2018. The deal was made through UK based distributor DCD rights, as they acquired the Roadshow Diamond production made in association with Screen Australia and Film Victoria, in order to broadcast the…

The second official trailer has been released for the film adaptation/reboot of the rebooted Tomb Raider games. As confusing as it sounds, Tomb Raider’s recent resurgence has risen to critical acclaim, with 2 games inspiring the latest film starring Academy Award-wining actress Alicia Vikander. The trailer admittedly gives us much of the action seen in…

Screen Australia has announced funding for 12 documentary projects through the Documentary Producer and Commissioned programs. The list of projects includes an adaptation of Jimmy Barnes’ memoir Working Class Boy, The Fight, a feature length version of Violeta Ayala and Daniel Fallshaw’s award-winning short film of the same name, and a second season of Filthy…

Master auteur Michael Haneke (Amour, The White Ribbon, Hidden) returns with a biting satire on bourgeois family values set in the shadow of the European refugee crisis. Featuring a cast of top acting talent, including Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz and Toby Jones, it’s a piercing dark comedy on the blind preoccupations of middle-class…

As has become tradition at Sony’s gaming conferences, CEO Shawn Layden presented 2017’s PlayStation Experience in a novelty shirt. While the design was kept hidden until the final moments of the presentation, the reveal brought with it a spectacular surprise – the return of Sir Daniel Fortesque, and the ‘re-resurrection’ of the beloved MediEvil franchise….

With the fiery single “Oxide”, indie-pop artist Phia has returned home from a successful tour through Europe and the UK. The single, taken from Phia’s The Woman Who Counted the Stars, represents an exciting phase for Phia, who has explored a new, heavier direction with her music through it. Phia will be playing the Grampians Music Festival in Victoria…

After the dates were secured for Bonnaroo in June 2017, we’ve all been itching to check out the lineup. Some of the festival headliners include massive names such as Eminem, The Killers, and Muse – but what’s really got our attention are the massively anticipated Australian artists who are making huge names for themselves. Featured…

With its card deck design, three-acre SkyPark and impressive fifty-five storey height, Marina Bay Sands is by far one of the world’s most unique resorts and is an unmistakable symbol of opulence in Singapore. But when there are queues on a Wednesday night just to go up to the bar, CÉ LA VI, and additional…

It was Christmas night in Abu Dhabi, and a surprise Business Class upgrade at the gate (thanks to my Platinum Velocity Status and an overbooked aircraft) was nothing less than a Christmas miracle. It’s nothing short of a dream for a 14 hour flight – among the longest in the world. My first time flying…

Don’t make the mistake of assuming Adina Apartment Checkpoint Charlie is right next to the famous historic crossing point of Berlin. It’s not; this particular Adina Hotel – one of three dotted across the enormous city – is around a 10 minute walk from the area, a welcome distance seeing as Checkpoint Charlie is teeming…

From the very first riff at the beginning of the title track, American Idiot sounded different. Even in 2004 – when baggy jeans were still cool and I was still using a CD Walkman (because iPods were too expensive) – I knew this was going to be huge. Not being old enough to have experienced…

Little Creatures are switching things up as we head deeper into 2018, giving their range a facelift with some experimental design. And though they have delved into a big packaging makeover, the brewers have had the good sense to leave the contents as is, with the beer remaining unchanged. The packaging refresh is the biggest…

In what should come as some very welcome news to discerning wine lovers in Sydney, hospitality juggernaut Merivale have announced that they have added the full set of Penfolds Grange to their premier wine collection. For those not already up on Penfolds, the label is one of the country’s most iconic and prestigious, known for…

Award-winning Sydney pub The Unicorn will be continuing their “My Australia” guest chef collaboration series next month with “Back to the Future”, the fourth edition of the program which will welcome Lee Ho Fook into the kitchen as the popular Melbourne restaurant’s head chef, Victor Liong, takes the reigns. Set for Sunday 4th February, the…

At just 22 years of age, Joey Bada$$ is one of the very few emcees of this generation that could easily go toe-to-toe with the legends of yesteryear. If you weren’t convinced with his earlier, rougher material, you were surely a believer by the end of 2017, where Joey’s second studio album All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ was…

St Jerome’s Laneway Festival – it’s here this week, finally! Starting as a tiny laneway party in Melbourne in 2005, and has now expanded to become one of Australia’s largest festivals, with locations across the country, New Zealand and Singapore. We’ve picked some artists we reckon you can’t miss at this year’s Laneway hits your city….

As we continue to barrel through the opening month of 2018, so too have come debut singles, EPs, studio record announcements and festival line ups that have boasted some of the country’s best emerging names, not to mention those from abroad. Our playlists are coming together with a steadfast list of new names, but we’ve…

One of Sydney’s finest cocktail bars, Eau De Vie, has just started a new partnership with Star of Bombay that has resulted in an exclusively-designed custom martini trolley that will be available at the venue to reflect the ceremonial ritual of the classic martini services influenced by iconic hotel bars throughout history. The bespoke theatrical…

Amidst the Christmas rush you may have missed out one of Nike’s latest releases, the newest iteration of the company’s extremely popular NikeCourt Vapor line. Enjoying somewhat of a showcase at the Australian Open this month, the Air Zoom Vapor X, which first hit shelves in December, is the new expression of that series, designed…

Often cited as one of the rowdiest and most touristy pubs across Sydney’s CBD, the long-established, much-maligned Scruffy Murphy’s could be calling last drinks this year as the site’s new owner has lodged a stage one development application with the City of Sydney. KHG Co Pty Ltd, who along with Scruffy Murphy’s now owns the…

The Star Gold Coast will welcome a new rooftop restaurant and bar led by acclaimed Gold Coast restaurateur Simon Gloftis and entertainment expert Billy Cross ahead of this year’s Commonwealth Games. Set to open in March, the yet to be named venue will sit atop The Darling, the property’s new luxury suite hotel. Co-managed by…

This year marks the 30th anniversary of The Go-Betweens’ 16 Lovers Lane. Three former members of the band played a special tribute at the State Theatre for Sydney Festival. And rather than dive for the group’s memory, the artists rose up and soared in a sea of nostalgia while supported by a cast of contemporaries…

Children’s films are usually edifying. It’s a pervasive trait in the genre that sees every Disney protagonist journey through some moral challenge and emerge kinder, more accepting or the hallmark ‘true to oneself’. But without these platitudes guiding the protagonists to their better selves, what does a children’s film really look like? David Alaux has…

Ruby Boots has dropped the visuals for her new single, “Don’t Talk About It”, a great follow up to her previous release, “It’s So Cruel”. This new tune, the title track from her forthcoming new album, is a solid step forward for the songwriter; now Nashville based, Bex Chilcott has really continued to flourish as a…

Pop darling Eves Karydas is back with her second offering since ditching her alias Eves the Behaviour and dazzling us on single “There For You”. The globetrotting Brisbane born songstress took a three year break from releasing music after massive hits with “Electrical” and “TV”, and at only 23 her vocal stylings on the new…

This year’s National Folk Festival is set to highlight some great Indigenous talent as the festival celebrates its 52nd year in 2018. Held over the Easter break, the Canberra event will be coming to Exhibition Park with over 200 international and national acts set to perform. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Yill Lull”, Joe Geia is set…

While the Maze Runner franchise has been far from original, each film has delivered a healthy dose of fun and been crafted quite impressively. Gratefully, Wes Ball’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the final instalment in the series, continues that trend and offers fans a deserving farewell. It does so in the fact that it’s entirely familiar…