Month: December 2016

Crowd crush mars otherwise epic Falls Friday in Lorne; Violent Soho and London Grammar shine

The Falls Festival saw out its first full day of programming, with both The Grand Theatre and Valley Stages running at full capacity. Crowd crushes and mini-stampedes unfortunately marred what was otherwise a great day out in Lorne, with the DMA’s crowd running into dramas on the way back down for London Grammar. It seemed…

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Film Review: Passengers (M) (USA, 2016) is far from the grand space opera many will be expecting

Similar to how the recently released Allied arrived in cinemas preempted by an action-heavy advertising campaign that proved somewhat misleading, Passengers is far from the grand space opera many will be expecting.  Instead of a sci-fi outing that’s more brawn than brains, Morten Tyldum‘s intriguing film is surprisingly simple, personal, and (mostly) effective. As we…

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Thursday at Falls Festival Lorne starts not with a whimper but a downpour; ends with Gambino

Thursday at Lorne started not with a whimper but a downfall, as rain made sure campers arrived to the festival site well and truly soaked. Opening the action on the Valley Stage, triple j darling Gretta Ray took control early on, proving her potential on a large stage. As Falls entered the guts of the…

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Bob Hawke talks but music reigns supreme in first two days of Woodford Folk Festival

In the hidden valleys of the Sunshine Coast lies Woodford, a town full of bustle and old-time shops and bars. It’s a Queensland town that is a little different to the rest this time of year as revellers come down to party away for one or the whole six days of the Woodford Folk Festival….

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From Alison Wonderland to ZHU: Nine Field Day artists you can’t miss this New Year’s Day

Since 2002, Field Day has helped the over 18’s crowd in Sydney celebrate the New Year with some of the biggest (and most eclectic) names in party music. This year is no different, with a fantastic line-up of musical artists that will make the first day of 2017 one you won’t forget. January 1st will host…

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DVD Review: Rosehaven Series One (Australia, 2016) is a funny comedy misadventure about two unlikely friends

Rosehaven is a comedy show that finds the funny in lots of things. It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy, a buddy comedy and a sitcom set in rural Australia. This eight-part series debuted on the ABC in 2016 and it was a hit with audiences. This is because it’s a funny show about two rather unlikely friends…

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Film Review: Red Dog: True Blue (PG) (Australia, 2016) hardly proves a necessary excursion

Just as emotionally manipulative as the 2011 original Red Dog but less successful in its execution, Red Dog: True Blue looks to merely survive on a superficial level as the “aww shucks” cuteness of the titular canine appears to be the sole reasoning behind this sequel/prequel hybrid coming to fruition. The stunning harsh red dirt…

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Client Liaison, Grandmaster Flash and more kick off Falls Festival’s golden return to Lorne

The 2016 Falls Festival returned to Lorne after last year’s bushfires forced the Victorian coastal event to up and move to Mt. Duneed Estate – a warm and humid return for punters. This year’s “All Gold Everything” Boogie Nights theme lined up perfectly with The Grand Theatre’s opening line up of acts including Mallrat, Spit…

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Ben Ely of Regurgitator (Brisbane) talks performing Velvet Underground and Nico at Sydney Festival

Three piece band Regurgitator are now in their 22nd year, and clearly not keen to slow down any time soon, recently performing the Velvet Underground & Nico album with Seja and Mindy Meng Wang on the Gunzheng at the NGV for an Andy Warhol exhibition. Ben Ely chats with the AU Review about the performance…

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Film Review: Assassin’s Creed (M15+) (USA, 2016) is another game-to-screen disappointment

The majority of videogame films are, for a lack of a better term, complete tosh. From catastrophes like Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros. and most of Uwe Boll‘s filmography to films that are close to viewer satisfaction like Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children and Ace Attorney, the reputation of videogame films is not something…

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Film Review: Author: The JT LeRoy Story (USA, 2016)

One lonely night in the mid-nineties, a struggling writer named Laura Albert telephones a psychologist, Dr Terrence Owens, pretending to be a younger man named Terminator. He has a lot to talk about; most notoriously his years as an underage truck-stop prostitute pimped out by his mother. Dr Owens thinks it would be healthy for…

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Half Moon Run’s Connor Molander on harmonies, very long tours and being regulars at Woodford

The harmonies of Half Moon Run have this enrapturing thing. Harmonies from all the members are taking themselves through all kinds of sounds and melodies, so much so that it brings an almost choral feel to their sound. The Canadian band are coming here for a run of dates that include the Woodford Folk Festival…

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Darren Percival talks Woodford, The Singing Space and the power to heal through singing

Darren Percival has long been a favourite on the Australian touring scene and particularly at the Woodford Folk Festival, where he will be returning to this month. Ahead of the festival, we caught up with Percival to find out more about his personal affiliation and love for Woodford, his company The Singing Space and more. You…

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Heading to the Falls Festival? Lock these artists down on your list of must-sees.

The Falls Music and Arts Festival remains one of our favourites on the summer calendar; whether you’re headed for the forest surrounds of the long-running Lorne event, the envious lush getaway vibes Marion Bay offers, the newer stomping grounds at Byron Bay or, in 2017, downtown Fremantle, Falls offers punters a festival experience unlike many…

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Skydiving, Angel Olsen and Near to the Wild Heart of Life: we hang with Japandroids in Sydney

Recently, we welcomed Japandroids back to Australia eagerly – in a short amount of time, the Canadian rock duo had fans in a spin with a brand new live show indicating one hell of a new album was ahead in the forthcoming Near To The Wild Heart of Life. Following their Fairgrounds Festival set, Dave and Brian caught up with…

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Festival of the Sun artists rate the Best Albums of 2016!

As we reach the end of another year, the question of what has been the best album/s of the 2016 has been thrown around. While up at Festival of the Sun recently, we posed the question to some of the artists backstage. From Mesa Cosa‘s Blood & Brains, Skegss‘ Everyone Is Good At Something, D.D Dumbo‘s Utopia Defeated and A.B….

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Single of the Day: Zola Blood “Islands” (2016)

Coming through with the latest taste of their debut album, Infinite Games, London’s Zola Blood share “Islands”. The electro-pop sounds ring out strong, which a prominent synth line coming through after the well-crafted drop. If you haven’t heard much about Zola Blood before, “Islands” is a great little intro track while we wait for Infinite Games to drop early…

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Childish Gambino pulls out of Falls Downtown in Fremantle to attend Golden Globes

Sad news for Childish Gambino fans out on the West Coast, with the Atlanta superstar having to pull out of Falls Downtown in Fremantle next month. Unfortunately (but at the same time, excitingly) for Donald Glover, the 2017 Golden Globes have come a-calling and with his hit FX show Atlanta reaping in a couple of nominations, the show’s star, writer and show…

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Nicole Lizée takes us through her upcoming Sydney Festival with The Australian Art Orchestra

Canadian composer and turntablist Nicole Lizée comes to the Sydney Festival next year with an unmissable show alongside The Australian Art Orchestra. Already world-renowned for her fusion of pop, rave culture, cult cinema, psychedelia and turntablism, the Montreal artist has worked all over the globe to raptrous acclaim. Her Sydney Festival show Sex, Lynch and Video Games will see Lizée…

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Music Video of the Day: The Courtneys “Silver Velvet” (2016)

Vancouver trio The Courtneys have caught our eye with their flawless fusion of influences from the likes of Eddy Current to Teenage Fanclub, whipped up into some heartfelt music that sticks with you. Take their single “Silver Velvet”, for example. Dreamy, vocally dynamic and coming packing with that fuzzy grunge glory, the single bathes in 90’s…

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Tegan and Sara’s new foundation established to support LGBTQ girls and women

Tegan and Sara have recently branched out from what’s been a hectic year of new music and touring in boosting their advocacy for the LGBTQ community, launching the Tegan and Sara Foundation. Established to ‘fight for economic justice, health and representation for LGBTQ girls and women’, the duo began working on the project in the middle of…

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Album News Weekly: December 22nd 2016

This week in album news, hear the best new banjo-folk since John Butler by American outfit Tall Tall Trees, wake up with the heavy new single and accompanying music video from Ocean Grove‘s upcoming debut The Rhapsody Tapes, and they’re up to album number five but down to just one member – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah share…

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Film Review: Paterson (USA, 2016) may be the most Jarmuschian film yet

Paterson is the new film from acclaimed auteur (and Iggy Pop fan) Jim Jarmusch. A man who enjoys character studies that are never rushed for the sake of plot progression, existing in some semblance of real time, watching a Jarmusch film involves a lot of patience on behalf of the viewer. If you’re a fan of…

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Australian Composer Tim Davies talks working on Guillermo del Toro’s new Netflix series Trollhunters (EXCLUSIVE)

Conductor and Lead Orchestrator Tim Davies may just be one of the busiest Aussies working in Hollywood – from conducting one of this year’s most acclaimed films, La La Land, to TV series like Empire and Revenge and video games like The Last of Us his IMDB list is one of the most impressive you’re…

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Film Review: Damien Chazelle’s La La Land (USA, 2016) achieves cinematic and musical perfection

La La Land is the new film from offensively talented director Damien Chazelle, who last impressed with the Oscar winning film Whiplash, a story (in part) about the search for musical perfection in a young Jazz drummer. In La La Land, we remain in a musical world, as Chazelle takes us back to the classic Hollywood…

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Alliance Française French Film Festival announces dates for its return in 2017

Coming back for its 28th season, Alliance Française French Film Festival will be returning to Palace Cinemas in 2017 throughout the Autumn months of March and April. The festival will offer a broad range of films and documentaries among the French Film industry as a way to celebrate the talent for those on-and-off camera. Alliance Française French…

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ABC iView lines up three new comedies for the holidays

ABC announced on Monday that they will be releasing three new 6 x 5 minute narrative comedy web series, Goober, Almost Midnight and Lost in Pronunciation. ABC and the South Australian Film Corporation have collaborated together to launch the three comedies via streaming site ABC iView during the Christmas/New Years period. The purpose of the series is to…

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Recipe: Bondi Harvest toss up their tips for healthy and simple dishes this Christmas

The count down to christmas is fast approaching, and for foodie enthusiasts it is one of the best times of the year, for obvious reasons: lots of freakin’ food. If it is your turn hosting this year’s Xmas lunch, or you’re in need of a head-turning dishes to add to to the table, then Bondi Harvest…

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Gru and the Minions are back in the first official trailer for Despicable Me 3

Bubble-gum filled with quirky moments here and there, there’s a lot to digest in the newest trailer for Despicable Me 3, the third installment of the Despicable Me franchise. Gru (Steve Carell) and his minions are back in style and are up against new nemesis Balthazar Bratt  (Trey Parker). Teaming up with his wife Lucy Wilde (Kristen…

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Behind the Scenes of Betty & Oswald’s “Stuck in the City” music video

If you’ve seen Betty & Oswald‘s music video for the catchy “Stuck in the City”, chances are you were hypnotised by the vibrant pinks, the dance moves, the sunbaking…too much to be stealing your attention. Ahead of their hometown show alongside Phantastic Ferniture and many others at the Oxford Art Factory tonight, we go behind the scenes and take a…

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