Barbarian is a genuinely creepy horror movie with bite. It opens with the power of suggestion, but morphs into something far more sinister. Tess (Georgina Campbell) has driven herself to a very shady part of Detroit, where she intends to stay for the night ahead of a job interview. But with rain falling, when she…
The Belair Lip Bombs are an indie band from Naarm/Melbourne, led by frontwoman Maisie Everett (vocals, guitar, keys) alongside Mike Bradvica (guitar), Liam De Bruin (drums), and Jimmy Droughton (bass). Over the past few years, they’ve steadily built their presence, performing live across Australia and making appearances at SXSW and BBC 6 Music. These efforts…
The sense of touch is put under the microscope in the Victorian premiere of Suzie Miller’s searing drama Caress/Ache. Five actors play out a series of scenarios, all but one filling multiple roles. Mark (Sorab Kaikobad) is a skilled surgeon operating on an infant girl when things go horribly wrong. There is no way for him…
If you want to see something extra special before it leaves Australian shores, I suggest you head straight to the Art Gallery of NSW. That is where, until only next Sunday (12th April, 2026), you can view the remarkable work of renowned Melbourne-born sculptor Ron Mueck. His is an art form known as hyperrealism, which…
John Grisham made his name with legal thrillers in which courtroom drama and legal shenanigans played an integral role in the story telling. In recent times, his books have tended to have a legal angle but are less about the cut and thrust and more about the legal ecosystem and the processes around it. His…
With a life span approaching that of many a dinosaur (30 years), the Jurassic saga comes to an end with Jurassic World Dominion. And as T. S. Eliot presaged, this fictional world ends not with a bang but a whimper. The franchise – having received a shot in the arm with Jurassic World in 2015…
You can’t say Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo doesn’t wear his influences on his sleeve. On last year’s self-titled (White Album) everything pointed to the Beach Boys, from “California Kids” and “L.A. Girls” to “Endless Bummer,” and that Brian Wilson spark can still be heard on Pacific Daydream. On “Beach Boys,” Cuomo admits it’s a hip hop…
Imran Mahmood’s second book, I Know What I Saw, is a crime thriller with much more on its mind than crime. The main character, Xander Shute has been homeless and living on the streets of London for thirty years. And the narrative is as much about the trauma that pushed him into that life and…
Oscar winning filmmaker Hal Ashby was something of an uncompromising maverick who preferred to work outside the studio system because he believed they valued commerce over art. “Studios are the enemy of the artist,” his friend and mentor Norman Jewison told him rather frankly. Ashby won an Oscar for his work on editing Jewison’s In…
Two lost souls go on an unexpected journey together in Adrian Ortega’s ultra-low-budget Australian film Cerulean Blue. Alex (Jack Michel) is as introverted as they come. He’s also a germophobe who disinfects at every opportunity. In fact, he goes out of his way to avoid others unless absolutely necessary – which includes turning his back…
