Michael Shafar is a Jewish lawyer turned comedian who relates his cancer recovery in his stand up shows. We chatted ahead of his upcoming season at the Adelaide Fringe. How did your show go back at the Fringe – was it two years ago or last year? I mean it feels like it’s a decade…
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Over the last year there’s been a heavy re-examination regarding the critical response the media placed upon women in the public eye. Recent documentaries about Britney Spears and Janet Jackson have truly bought the discussion into a manner that extends beyond their fandom, and something like Pam & Tommy, as exaggerated at times it is,…
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Beloved Brisbane hardcore five-piece Stepson finally got to take their acclaimed debut album Help Me, Help You on the road last week after countless setbacks and it was definitely worth the wait. After having to reschedule the tour four times in response to the everchanging government restrictions surrounding live music and venue capacity, the Melbourne…
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Irish Born and Berlin raised Wallis Bird has just released “What’s Wrong With Changing?”, the first single off her forthcoming album, Hands, due out on the 27th May 2022. We are thrilled today to have the first look at the video for the track. It was created by Joseph Wright of Grin & Bear Studios,…
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Multi-talent Lena Dunham is back into the realm of filmmaking after 11 years since her feature-film debut Tiny Furniture. For her latest film Sharp Stick, she writes, directs and appears in a supporting role in a story that invites discussion about sexual freedom, depiction and perceptions via gender, media, hypocrisy and empowerment. While the film…
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A unique if uneven take of supernatural horror told through the veil of existentialism that is frustrating, beguiling and eventually emotionally rewarding. The film follows the story of a young woman who is kidnapped from her mother by a wolf-eateress, rendered mute and then turned into a shape-shifting demon. We see her inhabit various characters…
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What make horror films successful is how it examines ideas that are truthful about the human condition with bloodcurdling, cinematic panache. In the case of Carlota Pereda’s feature-length film debut Piggy, she succeeds with flying colours. Adapted from her 2018 short film of the same name; Pereda has ample time to explore the horrors of…
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17 nights for the price of just one in some of Australia and New Zealand’s most reliable luxury hotels sounds like a deal that’s too good to be true. For some lucky couples, it will be a reality as QT Hotel & Resorts ready the country’s most unique Valentine’s Day offer. Like an ambitious croupier…
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Fortune favors the bold as developer Naughty Dog bring two of their biggest hits to the PlayStation 5 just in time for the release of the Uncharted film starring Tom Holland. This package contains Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, both of which were originally released on the PlayStation 4 system…
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Whilst Resurrection never deviates from its grim examination of motherhood, Andrew Semans‘ gripping, ultimately bonkers thriller refuses to stay on the course you expect it to. Portraying very much the type of Rebecca Hall-encapsulated character that Rebecca Hall effortlessly portrays, the actress here, strong-willed and properly presented, is Margaret, a pharmaceutical company representative who offsets…
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They say crime doesn’t pay, but whoever stated as such may want to have a chat with the titular criminal in John Patton Ford‘s scrappy, oft intense thriller, one that furthers Aubrey Plaza‘s hold on chaos personified characters in the off-kilter subsect of cinema. Plaza’s Emily is a former art student with a $70,000 debt…
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Country music star Casey Barnes has today released “Get To Know Ya” from his upcoming album, Light It Up, which will drop on Friday 25th February. Reflecting on two years of cancelled tours, posphoned shows and missing the interation with his audience, “Get To Know Ya” is the perfect salve for those missing connecting with…
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Maybe its the accent. Maybe its her ability to release quirky and angular pop tracks that has some of the biggest producers in the world wanting to work with her. Maybe is Maybelline. Whatever it is, MØ has historically been able to hit the mark with her music and live performances. Here on new album…
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Today South Australia’s Wanderers have released their third EP, self-titled, and arguably their strongest to date. The well-respected duo, Dusty Lee Stephensen and Matt Birkin have established themselves as outstanding songwriters and musicians. The EP is their first since 2017’s Something For A Distraction and sets them up nicely for a visit to the US…
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Hatching tells the story of Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), a 12-year old rising star gymnast who lives in the supposed perfect existence of domesticated suburbia; led by her image-perfectionist mother (Sophia Heikkilä), who runs a popular blog about exactly that. Tinja’s family also consists of her taciturn father (Jani Volanen) and her spoiled, irritable younger brother…
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Maika tells the story of Hung (Truong Phu), an 8-year old boy who is grieving over the loss of his mother who had died almost a year ago due to a severe illness. One would think that this type of emotional baggage is bad enough. However, it not only rains but it pours. His best…
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Thanks to Universal Pictures, The AU Review has a copy of the Licorice Pizza soundtrack on vinyl to giveaway to one of our lucky readers. Currently playing in Australian cinemas (you can read our glowing review here), Licorice Pizza, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, tracks the treacherous navigation of first love in the…
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This week we’ve topped up our discovery playlist with nine new tracks, including two exclusive premieres. Our Track of the Week is “Come, Cry” the new single from Norwegian artist Metteson. The nordic pop star will shortly be heading out on tour in the UK and Ireland with fellow Norwegian AURORA, and is definitely one to…
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Jennifer Ryan‘s latest cosy novel, The Kitchen Front, has been described as “The Great British Bake Off set in World War Two”. Taking its title from a daily BBC radio show established in 1940 in cooperation with the Ministry of Food, the novel looks at life on the home front for four very different women, all through…
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As we celebrate 30 years since the first Big Day Out in Australia, we’ve dug out some never before seen footage from the 2014 Big Day Out in Sydney. It was held on Australia Day, 26th January 2014, so we thought we’d ask 3 bands playing that year – The Hives, Grouplove and Portugal The…
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There’s something of a full circle moment experienced with Am I OK?, Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne‘s co-directorial feature debut. The real-life couple, who met on the set of a Sundance selection title (2013’s In A World…), return to the festival as married women detailing their own journey of self-discovery and acceptance with a film…
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Follow your own path, and create your own destiny. Listen to yourself, and not so much to others. This is the theme for “Hear Me” from Melbourne-trio Just A Leo. We are thrilled today to have the first listen of this genre-bending anthem ahead of its release tomorrow, Friday 28th January. “Hear Me” is the…
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The Shadow House is the latest thriller from author Anna Downes. The novel follows single mother Alex, as she escapes an abusive relationship. Along with her teenage son and baby girl, she bunkers down in a rural eco-village. The off the grid lifestyle and remote location seem perfect for their new beginnings. Here they hope to…
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The last two years have been tumultuous ones and have left people reeling. You can either dwell on the hopelessness of it all, or try and seek out the light. Poet and writer, Maxine Beneba Clarke does both of these things, but mostly the latter, in her fourth poetry collection, How Decent Folk Behave. This…
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While the sun-scorched Melbourne, homage was paid to the release of The Teskey Brothers’ newest album Live at Hamer Hall at the Sidney Myer music bowl alongside the Orchestra Victoria (OV). With what seemed to be a full house, close to two and a half hours of folk, blues and rhythm were unleashed on an…
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The Teskey Brothers with Orchestra Victoria put on a memorable performance over the weekend at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, supported by Emma Donovan & The Putbacks. Check out some of the memories from the night below!
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A film that’s likely to resonate with, or at least feel more familiar to American audiences, The Eyes of Tammy Faye does its best to clue in local Australian viewers as to just who was the larger-than-life personality Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. An only-in-America type tale, Tammy Faye’s small-time Minnesota upbringing, where she “found Jesus”…
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With its mix of deadpan satire and high concept sci-fi – comparisons to Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2015 dystopian black comedy The Lobster feel imminent – Dual may be an off-putting experiment to many who can’t readily accept Riley Stearns‘ mentality. It certainly helps that the film is headlined by the wonderful Karen Gillan though, delivering two…
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Cha Cha Real Smooth tells the story of 22-year old Andrew (writer/director Cooper Raiff), a recent college graduate who is stuck in his own purgatory before adulthood. Stuck in a dead-end job selling fast food and back living with his family including his mother (Leslie Mann), his step-father (Brad Garrett) and his younger brother David…
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Set-in present-day Hollywood Hills, Something in the Dirt tells the story of two neighbours Levi and John (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), who both meet after Levi had recently moved into an apartment, following a large amount of predicaments. The two strike up a quick camaraderie as they exchange life stories, intimate secrets and their…
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