DVD Review: Wild (USA, 2014)

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and so too does a journey of 1770 kilometres and one through a path of self-discovery. The latter is also known as Wild or a film that has been adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir from 2012. One things for certain, this journey is…

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TV Review: Netflix’s Orange is the New Black Season Three (USA, 2015)

  When we were first introduced to the inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary in the 2013 debut season of Orange is the New Black, it was quite clear that we were supposed to be introduced to this new environment through the show’s protagonist, Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling). The upper-class NYC dweller’s transportation to a world completely different to…

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Event Recap: The Cake Bake and Sweets Show – Olympic Park (Sydney)

Gravity defying tea cup cake, cake decorating championship finalist Sydney Olympic Park Stadium braced itself over the weekend when it opened its doors to thousands of sugar-crazed patrons for the annual Cake Bake and Sweets Show. Three glorious days of sweet treats and basically anything that goes in, on or around a cake is hardly…

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Launch Magazine: Exclusive Competition

Arcadia are releasing the enchanting French film PERFUMES on July 1. Emmanuelle Devos and Gregory Montel shine in this sweet French drama described by VARIETY as “a feel-good tale of friendship with a fragrant and very French backdrop”. Anne Walberg (Emmanuelle Devos) was once the star of her industry – a perfumer whose ability to…

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the AU interview: Chase Coy (Nashville) talks new album Youth, songwriting and the recording process

Youth, released next week, is the first album released by Nashville’s Chase Coy under his own name since 2011. He hasn’t been sitting idle however, since then he has released music under two different pseudonyms Sun Culture and as Third and Union. He has also spent plenty of time garnering co-writing credits, and working behind…

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the AU Interview: Karise Eden (NSW) on music, babies, charity and reality television

Karise Eden first entered the music scene when she won The Voice back in 2012. After a break from the industry, Karise is back with her album Things I’ve Done, and is on the road again bringing her music and new baby with her.

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The AU Interview: Birds of Tokyo (Perth) talk Anchor EP, live shows, and musical progression

After releasing their EP, Anchor, a couple of weeks ago, Birds of Tokyo have been busy, busy, busy. Last week the band wrapped up a national tour around the country to promote their new release and it was clear that vocalist, Ian Kenny and guitarist, Adam Spark were still buzzing from the shows, as they revealed to the AU review’s Jana Angeles….

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young guns ones and zeros album art

Album Review: Young Guns – Ones and Zeros (2015 LP)

UK-based alternative rock band, Young Guns are in my opinion, underrated in the scene of music they are already in. To see them go at great lengths with their last two studio records while maintaining a loyal fanbase is an achievement itself. The last time I saw the band live was back in 2012 when they were…

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Music Video of the Day: Jess Ribeiro "Kill it Yourself" (2015)

Photo: Jess playing Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong. Photo by Johnny Au. What a wonderfully dark track Jess Ribiero has brought us with her new single “Kill It Yourself”. The song comes off the new Remote Control Records signee’s debut record, which she produced with Mick Harvey, due out in August. The song itself –…

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Exclusive EP Stream and Track-By-Track: Burn Antares "Fur Coat and the Peace Boat" (2015)

Fur Coat and the Peace Boat is the newly released EP from Sydney five piece Burn Antares. The rockers have been schooled on the blues rock of The Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane, to the soul and funk of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, while the album was produced by Tony Buchen (The Preatures, Andy…

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Film Review: Inside Out (PG, USA, 2015)

From one of the most creative minds working in cinema today, Pete Docter, comes his third feature length film for Disney/Pixar. First, there were the monsters living in our closets in 2001’s Monsters Inc.. Then, in 2009 he brought us the tale of a man, a house, some balloons and a Boy Scout in Up; a…

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E3 2015: Tangled to feature in Kingdom Hearts 3, as the first gameplay trailer launches

No-one was expecting to see gameplay from Kingdom Hearts 3 during the Square Enix E3 presentation this morning, but that’s exactly what we were given. 2 minutes and forty five seconds of glorious gameplay. As in the past games from the series, Kingdom Hearts 3 will feature characters from across the worlds of Disney, with…

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Australian Box Office Report: Jurassic Park is king once again with Jurassic World

What a year! The constant shuffle at the top continues but hey, this one was always bound to happen. It was 22 years ago when Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park became a financial and critical success.  And now with new director Colin Trevorrow and star Chris Pratt, the franchise has done it again with Jurassic World. Earning…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Smut Hounds (Australia, 2015)

I’m ending my Sydney Film Festival coverage looking at a short film that was a perfect end to the run of incredible cinema at the 62nd annual event. Sari Braithwaite’s Smut Hounds was a nine minute film, screening before the French film Metamorphoses, detailing the festival’s role in bringing the conversation of censorship to the…

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DVD Review: Lost River (USA, 2015)

When Ryan Gosling premiered his Directorial debut Lost River to a packed house at Cannes last year, it’s fair to say the odds were stacked against him. He couldn’t have picked harsher critics to premiere his film to. This is a crowd who have rarely been fans of Actors turned Directors. Do you remember The Brave – Johnny…

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The Iris’ 10 best features fiction and documentary films of the Sydney Film Festival 2015

Over the last two weeks, our Sydney Film Festival review team have covered some 40 films at the festival, the reviews of which you can look back at HERE. After much debate and discussion, we’re now counting down our favourite films of the festival: FICTION FEATURE FILMS: 6. Love & Mercy is a powerful and tragic…

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state champs

Tyler Szalkowski of State Champs (New York) talk second LP, “Shot Boys” and touring with 5SOS

New York pop-punk band, State Champs have had a busy two years since releasing their debut album, The Finer Things. It’s hard to imagine how far they have come since 2013 and it’s clear that they pretty much gave it their all to be where they are now. After several international tours and countless opportunities, they managed to…

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E3 2015: A reboot of the Need for Speed video game series is coming in November.

Ghost Games have released a fresh trailer for the reboot of the Need for Speed video game series and confirmed a release date for the game, November 3, during EA’s E3 press event. The trailer features a mix of live action and in-game footage, along with “Go”, the new Chemical Brothers track. It’s a massive open world…

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E3 2015: Five glorious minutes of Star Wars: Battlefront gameplay just for you

EA closed out their E3 2015 media conference with an extended, five minute gameplay trailer of DICE’s forthcoming shooter Star Wars: Battlefront. The trailer follows the Battle of Hoth from Empire Strikes Back through various points of view, those of the rebel soldiers on the ground and in the air flying A-Wings, from the Imperials…

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E3 2015: Rainbow Six Siege bringing terrorist hunt co-op back, beta kicks off September 24

Rainbow Six Siege has had a solid showing at Ubisoft’s E3 presser this morning, showing the game’s terrorist hunting co-op mode and getting everyone ready for the beta starting September 24. The beta starts less than a month before the game actually releases on October 13, which is interesting. The live demo showed five players…

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E3 2015: More new Fallout 4 footage debuts at Microsoft’s E3 press event, mods coming to Xbox One version of the game

Fallout 4‘s power amour just looks so damned cool. Bethesda showed off a little more footage from the game at Microsoft’s E3 press event, focused squarely on combat and weapons. Also, big news, mods are coming to the Xbox One version of the game! The trailer shows off a ton of weapons in greater detail…

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Sydney Film Festival Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (USA, 2015)

Given my past experiences with the horrific disease, I’m one person that finds the deus ex machina of cancer unbearable. It is often done tastelessly, depicting it’s sufferers as people without autonomy or regarded with the self-respect that they deserve – cancer patients are people, not pawns that should be used to explain a protagonist…

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Jurassic World enjoys the biggest opening in history at the North American Box Office

Fans can’t get enough dinosaur action, it seems, as the franchise Jurassic Park returned with its fourth installment over the weekend with the highly anticipated Jurassic World. It’s been a long time coming and it seems that the wait for Universal executives has paid off. The film just broke all box office records in North…

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E3 2015: Final Fantasy VII finally gets a HD remake; releasing first on PS4

Following an entire decade of rumours and dashed hopes, the classic PSOne RPG Final Fantasy VII is getting an HD remake for the PlayStation 4. The news was revealed a very happy crowd indeed at Sony’s E3 press con today. The trailer shows a few of the staff who have been working on the new…

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E3 2015: “Eye of the Storm” epic new story trailer for Mad Max: Savage Road released

Today at E3, a brand new story trailer dubbed “Eye of the Storm” for Mad Max: Savage Road has been released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Avalanche Studios. Click through to watch the trailer in full… The trailer follows Scrotus, the Wasteland tyrant, who Max has to defeat as he tries to construct the…

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The Australian Shortfilm Creativity Awards are coming!

  If you’re a big fan of all things Australian cinema, get excited, as The Australian Shortfilm Creativity Awards (AUSSCA’s) are coming soon to a screen near you! Marketed as a ‘crowd-powered short film tournament’, the event is set to be distributed by AUSCEN (Australian Cinema & Television Network), and will be publicly exhibited in…

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Sydney Comedy Fest is coming to The Comedy Channel

Did you miss out on grabbing tickets to this year’s hilarious 11th Annual Sydney Comedy Festival? Well no need to worry, you can catch up with all the laughs whilst chilling in the best seat in the house (your own lounge) on The Comedy Channel, when they air the four part series The Best of…

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Stumbled Upon #056 – American Werewolf Academy (Texas, USA)

In our 56th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet Dallas’ American Werewolf Academy, and chat about wild cats, eyeballs, false confidence and their latest track ‘I Can’t Lose’. Band Name: American Werewolf Academy Website / Social Media: americanwerewolfacademy.com Genre: Rock / Powerpop Members & their roles: Aaron Thedford – sings, guitar Tony Harper – drums…

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Baro releasing a brand new EP and set to hit the road on national tour with Gill Bates and Marcus

At just 17, Baro has the world paying attention to his unique hip hop sound, with comparisons to the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Joey Bada$$ and King Krule. Following the success of his debut mixtape HOWGOODISGOOD?, which dropped about 12 months back, he’s set to release his debut EP. Dubbed 17/18, the release (and its…

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Games Review: Heroes of the Storm (PC, 2015)

If you aren’t especially into MOBAs then Blizzard’s latest game, <i>Heroes of the Storm</i>, really wants to change your mind. I’ve played both of the biggest MOBAs in the world – <i>League of Legends</i> and <i>DOTA 2</I> – at different stages and neither of them took. I’ve tried <i>Smite</i>, I even gave the ill-fated DC…

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