More Than Stars

13 Reasons Why: diametric opposite of suicide prevention

by Cameo Turner Netflix Original’s TV show 13 Reasons Why hit to home hard, New Zealand a country on the edge of the world no one would assume would suffer from the highest youth suicide rates in the world. This Netflix Original received severe criticism in regards to the shows treatment of suicide. From the first…

Gifted: Toothless and sassy

A young girl’s path of intelligence disrupting adolescence. Oh, and Frank. by Cameo Turner If you’re a film review enthusiast, you’ve struck the golden film for that light hearted melodrama leaving you refreshed, inspired and impressed. Gifted (2017) directed by Marc Webb fulfils the verdict of a crowd pleaser just like seeing Leonardo DiCaprio’s gorgeous face…

A survivor’s guide to Survivor

by Patrick Mckee Here’s a confession: I am a Survivor nerd. I have seen every episode of the U.S. reality show at least twice, and some seasons I have seen up to 6 times in my process of converting non believers. I have seen spectacular players fall, terrible players succeed and beautiful strategic moves be…

Raw: a sensation seeker’s feast

On our obsession with Raw and international horror. by Stephanie Avro Littering today’s horror movie landscape, the art of terror in cinema has evolved from an art-house curiosity to bankable commodity. Branched and grown into multitude of subgenres, filmmakers have always pushed the envelope of horror. Subtitles causing for a more conscious viewing, unfamiliar language adding…

Imitation or dedication? Alex the Astronaut’s To Whom It May Concern

by Grace Marks Sydney born, 21-year-old, Alex the Astronaut is in New York at the moment, studying maths and physics on a soccer scholarship. Science and soccer aside, Alex is also an up and coming Australian singer/songwriter. Having grown up listening to Paul Kelly and David Bowie, Alex believes that it’s the small insignificant happenings in…

London Fashion Week: Molly Goddard Spring/Summer 18

In these unsteady times, Londoner Molly Goddard reminds us to keep on keeping on. by Jasmine Wallis The term “Keep Calm and Carry On” was a motivational poster produced by the British Government in 1939 as the world descended into the catastrophic war that would last for the next six years. In contemporary times, it’s…

Mindhunter: a fresh take on a stale genre

by Patrick McKee Mindhunter, the new series released on Netflix, is putting a new spin on the police procedural. Directed by Joe Penhall and produced by David Fincher and Charlize Theron, the series slows down the cop drama and is rooted in the true crime genre. Following FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), who is…

Kicking goals for equal rights

by Andreas Mavridis Between 1900 and 1914 leading up to the years of the First World War, a man was regarded as the leader of his household. His wife, along with all of her belongings were considered his property. Her sole purpose in life was to foster a large family of six or more children, decorate…

Stylized sincerity in Gaga: Five Foot Two

by Grace Marks Have you ever watched a movie with someone who points out the product placement in every scene? It’s annoying and only makes you more aware. There is a new documentary on Netflix that can’t help but give those who watch, that same overly conscious feeling. Gaga: Five Foot Two, although a documentary, feels…

7:35 in the Morning

By Jasmine Wallis I love a good Musical. They’re cheery, catchy, and fun. But every musical is slightly removed from reality. What would you think if you were at work or in a café, and everyone around you suddenly burst into song? That’s precisely what happens in Nacho Vigalondo’s dark short film, 7:35 De La…

Wolf Warrior 2: Chinese propaganda or Hollywood blockbuster? Try both

by Dana Louey There are a few things that draw me to Chinese action movies. My dad has long been an avid fan of Bruce Lee which meant that I grew up watching his films and consequently took an independent liking to the genre. Despite taking an unintentional hiatus from watching such films in order…

Baby Driver: fast cars, sick driving, epic music, heartthrob actors and bad-ass action

by Isobel Smart What is there not to love about Edgar Wright’s 2017 film Baby Driver? The overall suaveness and sophistication Ansel Elgort brings to his character, Baby, a crime getaway driver, is absolutely stunning to watch. The way Wright has combined thriller/action drama with music to create this incredibly complex yet simple hybrid styled…

She’s so lucky, she’s a star: Britney Spears the Cabaret

by Isobel Smart Britney Spears the Cabaret… a pretty funny title when you think of it, isn’t it? How on earth can the authenticity of such a traditional form of entertainment be applied to the story of such an iconic, infamous and stereotypical pop star who is still alive today? Britney Spears the Cabaret ironically…

Matty J: spoiled for choice

You must be living under a rock if you haven’t heard the controversy surrounding Channel Ten’s The Bachelor AU. The extravagant show is brimming with bitchiness and opulent dates, and let’s not forget the one poor sod with a six pack in the middle of it all. I suppose the show isn’t missing much in…

Oldboy: a sweet dish served cold

by Katrina Salvador For some reason I find myself in this unspoken competition with a friend on who can one-up each other on some random film topic: “Okay, what’s the most messed up recent film you’ve seen?” “Oh hands down, Oldboy. Please tell me you’ve seen it.” “No, but I’ll watch it sometime soon.” “Okay,…

Jackie Chan: master of silent comedy

by Bradley Dixon This video essay explores the early career of kung fu master Jackie Chan, and how his brand of daredevil stunt work and visual humour harks back to the era of silent comedians.

Reflections on / of the projected image: David Lynch’s Absurda

by Sam Harris With Absurda, David Lynch makes a film about what it feels like to watch a David Lynch film. Absurda — like most of Lynch’s work — has you struggle relentlessly for an understanding, only to be met with a deep-down feeling of dread by the time the credits roll, and with nothing more than…

Making money moves and breaking records: the success of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow”

by Annie Cooper Like many, I was introduced to Cardi B through Instagram. A video of her strutting down a hotel hallway, proclaiming “It’s cold outside, but I’m still lookin’ like a thotty because a hoe never gets cold!” was making the rounds, and was all it took to sell me on the “regular, degular,…

Peaches and lust: Luca Guadagnino’s resplendent Call Me By Your Name

by Bradley Dixon “Is it better to speak or die?” This question lies at the heart and soul of Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, a sumptuous and beautiful romance set in the summer of 1983. It begins with Elio (Timothée Chalamet), enjoying another quiet summer in northern Italy with his family as any rich…

Mad Men: are we still mad for Don?

A cocktail of nostalgia and the bitter sweetness of 1960s America, Mad Men distinguishes itself beyond a period masterpiece. by Katrina Salvador Matthew Weiner’s eight season drama manages to inject a whirlwind of emotions towards the complicated lives of the employees of an elite New York advertising firm as they adapt to the evolving societal…

Humans of New York: the charming, ambling Person to Person

by Bradley Dixon Dustin Guy Defa’s breezy second feature follows a group of characters each navigating an inflection point in their lives during the course of one autumn day in New York City. An ensemble slice-of-life indie that wades comfortably in the still waters of life’s lesser dramas, Person to Person’s web of vaguely connected…

American Vandal: more than just a dick joke

by Annie Cooper If a four-hour dick joke doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, you’re not alone. However, while the premise of American Vandal is essentially one big dick joke, I recommend that you don’t dismiss the show too soon. Netflix’s new mockumentary lampoons true crime shows by focusing on a much…

Sexts and the City: single girls of today still love the show’s panache, but not its politics

by Nat Pitcher Four successful, sassy, single women living it up in the big city, and trying to balance ‘having it all’ with finding love: it’s become such a trope that it’s difficult to imagine this was ever a ground-breaking concept, but at the time of its airing, HBO’s Sex And The City was considered…

My family up a tree: Love My Way, Please Like Me and the gift of messy families

by Georgia Imfeld “It’s not really a normal tree my family tree. It’s kind of two trees; two trees stuck together…” As I read those words, I hear them spoken in my head by the sweet, little voice of Lou, the angelic eight-year-old from Love My Way, Foxtel’s critically acclaimed social realism drama that follows…

Never would’ve met my friends if not for satellites: BROCKHAMPTON, the internet’s first boyband

by Sam Harris Self-proclaimed “All-American Boyband” and breakout internet superstars BROCKHAMPTON are our digital knights in shining armour. With their rise to fame culminating in a crucial moment in music culture, they weaved their way into the collective consciousness of thousands of kids searching for a beacon of hope or creativity or just some funky hip-hop…

Lick The Star isn’t the feminist film we asked for, but it’s the feminist film we have

Amongst the mildly homophobic slurs and almost-racist themes explored in Sofia Coppola’s first short film, in conjunction with the eye-roll-inducing and conventional genre stereotypes seen in every coming-of-age film ever, Lick The Star has the potential to be a staple in teen feminist cinema, and here’s why.
by Elise Schumacher

You’ll want a holiday after seeing The Trip to Spain but for all the wrong reasons

by Georgia Imfeld If you’ve ever been caught in the crossfire between two men and their conversation-killing one upmanship, then you don’t need me to tell you how quickly that gets old. And you probably don’t need to see The Trip to Spain. Starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves, the…

Break Up, Break Down: Zoë Foster-Blake’s self-help app Break Up Boss won’t fix you, but it might help.

by Georgia Imfeld It’s no secret we’re capable of doing pretty stupid things following a break-up. We might drink too much, eat too little, make some regrettable phone calls, find some unsavoury shoulders to cry on; we turn every which way looking for answers, or distraction. So recently, when I found myself romantically wounded and…

Examining pop music’s fascination with death and rebirth in 2017

by Nat Pitcher Each morning when my phone alarm rings, rather than open my eyes and hit the snooze button like a regular person, I keep my peepers squeezed shut, and jab the screen randomly till my finger finds the right spot. This is because each day when I wake, I fully expect nuclear war…

An ethereal soundscape: Now That The Light Is Fading

by Elise Schumacher Maggie Rogers leaves us glassy-eyed and craving more of her “singular” sound in 17 short minutes or less. There’s something dreamy about a picturesque Alaskan landscape; the clinking of wind-chimes, frosty air and breathtaking glacial plains. These are just a few of the visuals that Maggie Rogers evokes through her 2017 EP Now…

Spider-bite induced fatigue: Spider-Man Homecoming worsens your high-school experience

by Sam Harris “Can’t you just be a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man?”, a weary-eyed Tony Stark asks Homecoming‘s “new and improved” Peter Parker. Unbeknownst to him, Stark echoes a sentiment I’ve carried since the announcement that Andrew Garfield was stepping into the well-worn shoes of everyone’s favourite web-slinging delivery boy. Why can’t you just be like…