Film Review: Cliff Walkers is a stylish and visually exciting cinematic chase from acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Yimou

Set in Northern China in 1931, Cliff Walkers follows the story of four Soviet-trained Chinese agents who are tasked to find an informer who has escaped from a location that was occupied by the Japanese, who used it for nefarious purposes like torture. Their mission is to evade capture and make it to Harbin so…

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Interview: Tash Sultana on invincibility, validation and MTV Unplugged

Tash Sultana is set to perform on MTV Unplugged Melbourne on May 4th, following in the footsteps of some of Australia’s greatest artists. Joining the ranks alongside Amy Shark, DMA’s, Gang of Youths and Courtney Barnett, Tash gearing up for their first performance of their Terra Firma chapter, teasing that the performance will be littered with…

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EJ Worland

Live Review: EJ Worland + The Hunnies – Mary’s Underground, Sydney (01.05.21)

Hot on the heals of the release of his debut EP in early April, EJ Worland hit up Mary’s Underground in Sydney on Saturday night to showcase the best of the EP to a keen and loyal home town crowd. With the release of No One Left to Blame still fresh in the mind, and…

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Brisbane Writers Festival

8 events you can’t miss at Brisbane Writers Festival

Brisbane Writers Festival is just a few days away, and with a huge range of events both online and at the BWF hub at the State Library of Queensland, we’ve decided to do a bit of the hard work for you! To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of eight unmissable events – though…

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Theatre Review: Sydney Opera House’s Claudel shines a light on a forgotten genius

You could be forgiven for having never heard of a French sculptor named Camille Claudel. Like many talented and brilliant women history forgot, she existed in the shadow of a man and within the confines of a society that feared the ambitions of women. Growing up with a father who encouraged her and a mother…

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Lime Cordiale are set to embark on their largest Australian tour yet

Lime Cordiale seem to be everywhere since the release of their debut album 14 Steps To A Better You. And through October, they quite literally will be as they embark on their biggest tour yet around the country. 2020 saw the band score the most nominations at the ARIA Awards, taking home the Breakthrough Artist…

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Yellow Face

Theatre Review: Kings Cross Theatre’s Yellow Face will make you laugh, then break your heart

Written by David Henry Hwang, Yellow Face at Kings Cross Theatre is a semi-autobiographical play that features the playwright himself as the protagonist. Set in America over the course of the 1990s, Yellow Face focuses particularly on the inception, creation, release and subsequent failure of Hwang’s 1993 play Face Value, and everything that follows. When…

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Interview: Brock O’Hurn on the paranormal experience of filming The Resort in an abandoned hotel

Famed on Instagram for his 6’7 frame and popularisation of the “man-bun”, California native Brock O’Hurn has traded in influencing for entertainment, transitioning from the phone screen to the big screen.  Having made his film debut in Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, and its subsequent sequel, before earning television roles in drama series such…

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Film Review: The Resort is an unoriginal horror offering saved by its gory finale

There’s nothing particularly original about The Resort.  In some manner hoping to be a type of The Shining-in-Hawaii set-up, Taylor Chien‘s supernatural scarer at least doesn’t tread on the expected genre trope of the found footage angle – something that this type of narrative could easily have adopted. A film that unfortunately lets itself down…

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Patrick James

Exclusive Video Premiere: Patrick James “Grateful” (2021)

We are thrilled to close out the week with the video premiere of “Grateful” from singer/songwriter Patrick James. A song born perhaps from the bleakness of Covid, it is a positive reflection of all those things we are grateful for. James has been carving out a name for himself for the last decade or so….

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Rift Apart

16 minutes of gorgeous Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart gameplay just dropped

The latest PlayStation State of Play broadcast spotlit Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, the PS5’s first truly huge exclusive. The 16-minute gameplay trailer gives a clear idea of what Insomniac’s vision for the game is, who Rivet the mysterious female Lombax is, and how the game uses the PS5’s hardware to best effect.   Spectacle seems…

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Film Review: Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse is only as watchable as it is thanks to Michael B. Jordan

“Action-capable hero seeks revenge following the murder of his wife” is one generic genre outline that many an action film has adhered to.  And whilst Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (as it’s being touted) is a film stocked with considerable talent who all deserve better than such a configuration afforded, their combined efforts can’t exactly lift…

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Charlie Collins

Behind the lyrics: Charlie Collins takes us inside her searing new track “F*ck It”

Charlie Collins has today released the video for her emotive new single, “Fuck It”. The track deals with a difficult break-up that has become public.  More about the background to the track later, as Charlie has given the AU an exclusive insight into the story behind the song. The video was directed by Madeline Purdy…

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5 simple steps to inspire a love for reading in children 

It’s every parent’s desire for their children to start reading from an early age. The number of literate children aged 5-24 has been increasing since 1985. A lot of headway has been made since then and to continue with this trend, we need to encourage children to read more.  In a world filled with gadgets…

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Julia Stone

Interview: Julia Stone on Sixty Summers inspiration, Susan Sarandon, bushfires & mental health passion

Julia Stone‘s keenly anticipated latest studio album Sixty Summers is out on Friday, teaming up with producer Thomas Bartlett and St Vincent aka Annie Clark, along with cameos from The National‘s Matt Berninger plus Hollywood stars Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover. Stone’s latest LP, which comes nine years after her previous solo album – 2012’s…

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Tell Me Why

Book Review: Archie Roach’s Tell Me Why successfully translates his inspirational life story for a younger audience

Singer-songwriter, campaigner, and national treasure Archie Roach has re-packaged his acclaimed memoir Tell Me Why for a young adult readership. Whilst it’s an abridged version, it’s no less inspirational, and contained not only his voice and story, but the stories and voices of many other Elders, as well as young people. Roach was taken away from his family…

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Film Review: Wrath of Man works primarily as a driving seat feature for Jason Statham

After making a name for himself in the late 90’s/early 2000’s with his distinct brand of British gangster villainy, writer/director Guy Ritchie seemed to trade in authenticity for capital.  The success of such studio projects as Sherlock Holmes and Aladdin seemed to gradually distance Ritchie from his more unkempt beginnings, before 2019’s The Gentlemen seemingly…

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First Cow

Film Review: First Cow is a beautiful, contemplative and poignant tale set in the 1820’s

Set in 1820’s Northwest, First Cow tells the story of two travellers. The first being Otis “Cookie” Figowitz (John Magaro), a taciturn chef who is travelling with a group of fur trappers. The second being King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run for killing a Russian man. The two eventually become friends over…

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Sayah

Interview: SAYAH on “Fruit”, Cosmos Midnight and self-discovery

SAYAH has returned after a two-year hiatus with her latest single, “Fruit” – a collaboration with Sydney producer Taka Perry about a toxic ‘situationship’ she found herself in a few years back. The track is a pop bop that plays on the duality of wanting someone and getting them out of her life. Taka brings an…

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girl in red

Album of the Week: girl in red – if i could make it go quiet (2021 LP)

Every good road trip needs a playlist that tracks the highs and lows of the trip. From those opening hours where excitement reigns, to the middle hours where the enthusiasm ebbs and flows, before picking itself up again just as the trip reaches its culmination. For girl in red, it’s these road trips that helped…

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First time nominees dominate 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist

The 2021 shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced at a virtual event overnight. This year’s shortlist is one for the newcomers, with none of the six shortlisted authors having been previously shortlisted for the Prize. The six strong shortlist, which was selected by Chair of judges, Bernardine Evaristo and her judging panel…

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Winners of the 2021 ABIA Awards announced

The winners of this year’s ABIAs (Australian Book Industry Awards) were announced at Carriageworks in Sydney as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival this evening in a hybrid online and in-person event. Julia Baird took out the top award for Book of the Year for her non-fiction release Phosphorescence, described by guest presenter Cate Blanchett…

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Cedric Burnside

Track of the Week: Cedric Burnside “Step In” (2021)

If you want to find out what the real Mississippi blues sounds like, take a listen to Cedric Burnside. He is the real deal, with a blue-blood pedigree behind him. The grandson of the great R.L. Burnside, Cedric is on the cusp of releasing a new album, I Be Trying, which is just the tonic after…

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Film Review: YouthMin: A Mockumentary is satirical without ever being savage

Satirical without ever being savage, YouthMin adopts a cringeworthy mockumentary style of approach to its narrative, bringing to mind the same uncomfortable comedy that made The Office such fascinating viewing. Whilst its thematics of being primarily raised in the protestant church and the subsequent camps that came with such faith is more likely to resonate…

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Concrete Surfers

Guest Playlist: Songs to Drive to with Concrete Surfers

Brisbane rockers Concrete Surfers have just released their latest banger, “Driving”. With howling vocals, ripping guitars and a knock-out beat, this is a kick-arse tune. The song examines how we manage the challenges which we face daily. This is classic garage rock. They are a band with a purpose, using their hard-hitting rock prowess, and…

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Interview: Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull on recording at Sound City with “genius” Ethan Guska, film composition and growing up in Toronto

This Friday marks the release of Manchester Orchestra‘s 6th Studio Album, the highly anticipated The Million Masks of God. You may have already heard the single “Bed Head”, watched the concert film (you’ll see the both later down this article), or even watched the video for the beautiful “Telepath”, which was released yesterday. Ahead of…

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Eskatology

Exclusive Single Premiere: Eskatology ft. Steve Clisby “Good Trouble” (2021)

Indigenous hip-hop artist Eskatology hails from Adelaide and has been steadily making his mark in the Australian hip-hop scene. We are thrilled today to have the premiere of his latest track, “Good Trouble”, which features the killer vocals of soul legend, Steve Clisby. If you are in Adelaide, there is a show at Zhivago this…

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Film Review: Twist is a missed opportunity that wastes its impressive cast in the process

The teen-centric, modernised adaptation of classic literature is a road travelled before throughout cinema.  Jane Austen’s Emma was revamped for the Valley girl-focused Clueless; Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew was the basis for Heath Ledger’s taming of Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You, and, however surprising it may be, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark…

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Book Review: Chelsea Bieker’s Godshot is an engrossing tale of family, fanaticism, and finding your way

When Pastor Vern and the Gifts of the Spirit Church bring rain to Peaches, the drought-stricken townsfolk can’t embrace their saviours fast enough. But, as the drought drags on, and her mother is banished, fourteen year old Lacey May begins to question her role in the church that holds such a grip on the Californian…

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Interview: Layla Kay on returning to Australia & writing her new single “I’ll Be Lonely” in lockdown

Hot off the heels of releasing her latest single “I’ll Be Lonely”, we caught up with Australian singer/songwriter Layla Kay. Kay has just returned to Australia amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic, after spending three years in the UK. While in quarantine, we spoke about what it’s been like returning home, writing her aptly named single while…

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