Album Review: Tobias Jesso Jr – Goon (2015 LP)

Our most-loved songs are often from a heartbroken man. And while Goon has an undoubtedly autobiographic touch to it, Tobias Jesso Jr at least takes on the persona of any sad lover pining helplessly for what once was. Sure a whole album dedicated to heartbreak has its melodrama, but Jesso Jr brought his real-life experience…

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TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 16 “Conquer” (USA, 2015)

“Conquer” gave us a heap of great acting and character moments, sprinkled it with a bit of action – courtesy of Daryl and Aaron – and a triumphant return; but it did little more than make the wait for Season 6’s premiere all the more painful. There was a lot here that we wanted to…

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Film Review: The DUFF (M) (USA, 2015)

Every once in a while a phrase or acronym surfaces which unjustly gives legs to a social stereo­type. In The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Director Ari Sandel applies his tongue in cheek approach to some of the more serious social undercurrents that continue to plague ‘young people’ working out their place in the world, resulting in a film…

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SXSW Film 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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Games Review: Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (Xbox One, 2015)

This might vilify me in the eyes of die-hard series veterans but I feel like Final Fantasy, as a series, has been in a bit of a rut for years now. And with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, we see exactly the sort of fresh perspective that could return the series to greatness.

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We “interview” Grumpy Cat and “talk” about the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Because why not?

Earlier today, a certain cat won the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for “Aussie/Kiwi’s Favourite Animal”. Before he won, we asked the infamous Tardar Sauce aka Grumpy Cat a few questions about things that are pretty unimpressive like movies, awards, and living in a world of celebrities. Yes, that’s right… we had the chance to do…

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Win a double pass to see The Princess Bride back on the big screen in Sydney!

Some of the most celebrated films are returning to the big screen at Event Cinemas George St, with their In The House Program! Hosted by Channel 7’s Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis, and Quinny from Supanova Pop Culture Expo, the program features a line up that includes Blade Runner, Mad Max 2 and The Fifth Element. A…

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What to Watch: The Iris’ Weekly TV Picks (30th March – 1st April 2015)

Monday 30th March 2015 Three Kings – Go! – 10:00pm AEST David O. Russell’s Three Kings is a comedic adventure that takes places as four American soldiers set out to steal gold in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Spike Jonze and Ice Cube star in this fresh, unique film…

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Film Review: Cinderella (G) (USA, 2015)

If you can imagine the Disney fairy tale animated film of the same name brought to the screen in all its resplendent glory as live action, then Kenneth Branagh’s version certainly fulfils that. A consistently visually bold film even though it does lack a sense of originality or uniqueness in the story. Regardless it’s still…

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SXSW Film Review: Honeytrap (UK, 2015)

Gang culture and it’s devastating effects are never far away from the front pages of London’s newspapers. 2008 was one of the worst years for gang-related violence. The murder of Shakilus Townsend was arguably the most shocking. Honeytrap, which is based around this murder, follows Layla (Jessica Sula), the girl who would ultimately lead this young man to…

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Live Review: Billy Idol + Cheap Trick + The Angels + The Choirboys – Bimbagden Winery, Hunter Valley (28.03.15)

The line up for today’s A Day On the Green at Bimbadgen Winery in the Hunter Valley has a stellar line up featuring a plethora of talented musicians. The venue appears to be practically sold out as there isn’t much green left to sit on, the regular general admission punters always arrive early to grab…

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Teaser trailer for new James Bond adventure SPECTRE released!

The first teaser trailer for the next James Bond film, SPECTRE has just been released – and it’s a doozy. The film appears to pick up soon after the disintergration of Skyfall, depicting ruins of the bombed out headquarters still smouldering. Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) also has a surprise for Bond (Daniel Craig) – a piece…

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A transformed Jake Gyllenhaal reveals himself in new Southpaw trailer

Jake Gyllenhaal has bulked up in an epic physical transformation to play boxer Billy “The Great” Hope in Antoine Fuqua’s fighter drama SOUTHPAW. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day” and “The Equaliser”), SOUTHPAW follows the battles of a boxer (Gyllenhaal) who fights his way to the top, only to find his life falling apart around…

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New Terminator: Genisys reveals a whole new type of Terminator

Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke and J.K. Simmons in new footage for Terminator Genisys When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese…

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Stumbled Upon #033 – Big Smoke (Melbourne)

In the 33rd installment of ‘Stumbled Upon’, we meet Melbourne quartet Big Smoke, and chat about their latest track ‘Try A Little Love’, the music that inspired them and find out how they got started… Band Name: Big Smoke Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud Genre: Rock ‘n’ Roll Members & their roles: Adrian…

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the AU sessions at SXSW: Petter Ericson Stakee of Alberta Cross (UK via Brooklyn) performs "Isolation"

the AU review captures Petter Ericson Stakee – the lead vocalist and guitarist of UK (via New York) group Alberta Cross – in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW performing their latest single “Isolation” as part of their SXSW AU Sessions series. The track comes from the forthcoming self-titled album (number three!), due out…

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Watch Thelma Plum, Andy Bull and members of Art vs Science cover Dan Sultan's "Kimberley Calling"

Talk about taking a great song and making it something even more special – Thelma Plum and Andy Bull – with the help of the Dans from Art vs Science managed to do just that, delivering a stunning cover of Dan Sultan’s “Kimberley Calling” at the APRA Awards earlier this week in Sydney. The song…

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Watch Lisa Mitchell and Jake Clemons perform Sheppard's "Geronimo" at the 2015 APRA Awards

Earlier this week at the APRA Awards – which took place at Carriageworks in Sydney – artists joined together for unique collaborations to cover the songs that were nominated for APRA Song of the Year. It’s an annual tradition at the Awards and it’s always an entertaining and unique part of the night. We’ll be…

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the AU sessions at SXSW: Great Caesar (Brooklyn) "Hey Jolene"

the AU review captured Brooklyn group Great Caesar in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW performing a brand new track “Hey Jolene” as part of their SXSW AU Sessions series. Watch the full performance here: For more on the band head to: http://www.greatcaesarband.com/

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Tour Diary: Lenka returns to her fourth SXSW in Austin, Texas

Head to Texas for her fourth SXSW, Lenka has brought us back a tour diary of her return to the massive event, which was full of birthday celebrations, delayed flights and a brief few days in LA for rehearsals and Pho. Day One: Arrive in Los Angeles for rehearsals with my LA-based band, (who I’ve…

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TEDxSydney Announces Film Program for 2015 featuring a host of promising Australian filmmakers

Annual Ideas festival, TEDxSydney has unveiled its 2015 Film program, giving Australians access to a wide variety of bold, thought-provoking and inspirational film debuts. You saw it here first! One of the most celebrated TEDx events in the world, TEDxSydney will take place on Thursday, 21 May 2015 at the Sydney Opera House in front…

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New BBC Drama set to tell the story of how Grand Theft Auto was born.

BBC Two is preparing a 90-minute drama that focuses on the creation of, and fallout from Grand Theft Auto, describing it as “the greatest British coding success story since Bletchley Park” (the story of the codebreaker who helped shorten WWII by two years). The drama is part of an initiative called BBC Make it Digital,…

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Film Review: Get Hard (USA, 2015)

A crude comedy starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, fraught with cliche stereotypes and offensive humour. This is going to be the description a lot of people who watch Get Hard will jump to, but – assuming they are offended by one of the many exaggerated stereotypes in the film – they will probably throw…

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the AU interview at SXSW: George Maple (Sydney) talks living in LA, Future Classic and more

2015 will no doubt be George Maple’s year. The Future Classic star first won fans nationally in 2014 with her debut EP Vacant Space and had everyone singing along to lead single ‘Talk Talk’. Now the singer-songwriter is making waves overseas, grabbing the attention of music heavyweights in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York City.

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the AU interview at Soundwave: Twin Atlantic (Scotland) talk home grown shows and future plans after beer pong

Scottish four piece Twin Atlantic were recently in Australia touring with Soundwave Festival and managed to stop by backstage and play a friendly game of beer pong in the AU review tournament. After the competition ended, members Sam McTrusty and Ross McNae stayed to talk about finding inspiration in Australia, what it’s like playing home grown shows and future tour plans. Check it out below!

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F&L News: Michelin Star Restaurant Tim Ho Wan Set To Open This Weekend

Famous for their mouth-watering delicacies carefully crafted by top chefs around the world, dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan are set to open their first Australian outlet on Saturday March 28.

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Watch Taryn La Fauci perform her single "All Of Me" live at the AU sessions #001 in Sydney

the AU review captures emerging Sydney artist Taryn La Fauci performing a beautiful acoustic track at the first ever AU sessions live event at The Hive Bar in Erskineville. The track is called “All Of Me” and you can watch it here: Filmed at The AU Sessions – 24th February 2015. The AU Sessions takes…

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the AU interview: Perfect Pussy (New York) on killer spiders, their favourite Australian Hardcore Bands, Koalas and more…

In the final parts from the AU review’s interview with Perfect Pussy from last month, Meredith Graves and the group talk about their favourite Australian Hardcore Bands, wanting to pet Koalas and Kangaroos and much more… And watch this clip to see what the band think about Australian Spiders (spoiler alert: they’re not a big…

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Watch Imogen Clark perform "Things You Never Had" Live at The AU Sessions #001 in Sydney

the AU review captures emerging artist Imogen Clark performing a beautiful acoustic track at the first ever AU sessions live event at The Hive Bar in Erskineville. The track is called “Things You Never Had” and you can watch it here: Filmed at The AU Sessions – 24th February 2015. The AU Sessions takes place…

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the AU interview at SXSW: Chadwick Stokes of Dispatch (Boston) talks about his solo record and upcoming Australian tour!

the AU review sat down in the AU’s pop up venue at SXSW with Dispatch’s Chadwick Stokes, about to head to Australia to play shows in Australia for the first time with his band – as well as appearing at Bluesfest in Byron Bay and playing solo shows of his own. Chadwick’s solo record The…

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