Novastream Magazine Issue 9

EDITOR’S NOTE

IN THIS ISSUE: FEATURES:

Hey Novastreamers, Awards season is finally over! Leo got his Oscar, Mad Max: Fury Road collected six little golden men and Chris Rock ripped the Academy a new one. All in all, a good night.

Need more Revenant in your life? Journey back to the Stone Age for Far Cry: Primal to experience what it’s like to go head-to-head with a computergenerated bear.

Flashforward to the 50s and fall in love with Hail!

Caesar. Sharp, cool and enthralling stuff by modern day legends.

Stephen King novel 11.23.63 is adapted for Hulu (airing here on Stan) and stars James Franco. It’s interesting... certainly better than Under the Dome.

And The Walking Dead is back on the box with a key comic book moment finally making its way on screen to the joy/trauma of fans.

Back to comic books for a moment - who would have thought Deadpool would have been as popular as it was? I knew my circle of friends were keen to see the self-aware mutant breaking the forth wall in glorious MA15+ but it didn’t seem like the casual moviegoer would be enticed.

Flashforward two weeks and it has collected over half a billion dollars. The experimental solo adventure was destined to stay in development hell forever, joining George Miller’s Justice League and Kevin Smith’s Superman as awesome films that could have been.

And a quick note of thanks to outgoing site editor, founder and friend Alaisdair Leith. Thank you for everything.

4. TROPFEST 2016

6. OSCARS 2O16

6. RAZZIES 2016 MOVIES: 8. DEADPOOL

10. HAIL! CAESAR

12. RIDE ALONG 2

To him and everyone else, thanks for reading,

MARK HALYDAY, EDITOR

14. TRIPLE 9

Coming Soon!

2106 BIG

IS

THE YEAR CHANGES

OF ARE

NOVASTREAM. COMING!

THE TEAM: PAT

BRAITHWAITE,

ALAISDAIR THANURA

LEITH, RIVANDA

&

TELEVISION & STREAMING: 18. MOLLY

JAMES DANIEL ALBERTO

LAMB, PRIMAN, SANCHEZ.

GAMES:

:

42. FAR CRY: PRIMAL

24. WALKING DEAD SERIES RETURN 26. BIG BANG THEORY 200

43. RTX AUSTRALIA

28. 11.23.63 PILOT 46. FIREWATCH 30. NEW TO NETFLIX

Mark Halyday sits down with the sixteen finalists from Tropfest 2016 - the world’s largest short film festival.

The 24th Tropfest nearly didn’t happen, but we are certainly glad that it did. The world’s largest short film festival began in a cafe just over two decades and has grown into the biggest launching pad for new filmmakers. The heritage of Tropfest means something and its crafty continuation is very welcome.

Australian celebrities were out in force to allow organisers to name-check.

Mel Gibson, Simon Baker, Rebecca Gibney, Natalie Bassingthwaite, Melissa Doyle and Matt Oakine were amongst the packed-out crowd. Cult documentary Gayby Baby director Maya Uhlmann was also in attendance.

THE SIXTEEN FINALISTS POSTCARDS TO ULAY – A bittersweet tale of a canine cosmonaut and his Siberian owner that immediately drove home the power of short film, especially at Tropfest. It represented the breadth of issues that can be addressed in the format through cool animation and a smart voice-over rhyme. As a dog person, it kicked off the night with a tug on my heartstrings. Voted second place overall.

are aplenty, though its the Back to the Future scene recreations and Ben’s idolisation of his teacher propel endear the film.

WASTE OF TIME – If JJ Abrams took a time travel adventure to a Sydney basement this is what it would look like. The short film looks like an expensive Hollywood film and constantly reminds me of Chronicle (even though that is about telekenisis and this is about time travel). Maybe that’s intentional, as the main character’s future business is called Chronicle.

Very, very serious monologues about future timelines that culminates in an admittedly obvious twist. Then the REAL twist drops and blows your mind. Fantastic execution of a brilliant idea. One of the best.

TAY-MAN – Hell yes! A profile piece on five middle aged men that head off to their Man Cave each Friday night. Their common ground? The life and tunes of superstar Taylor Swift. They rank her boyfriends, watch her Twitter in real-time and collectively enjoy her albums. Every good short film has a twist, and Tay-Man delivers when the obsession effects one of the boys’ real life. Very cool and very likely the real- THE ATM – A playful conversation between two beginner criminals about who to mug and what knife life Swift will publicly endorse it. to use. Stretched to the limits of its bounds, with an BEN’S FILMING THE MOVIE – A few films this ending that doesn’t zing half as well as Waste of Time. year took things in a very serious direction. Ben’s That’s not the ATM’s fault though, and I’m clearly in Filming the Movie found the right balance to get the majority, as it came in third overall and recieved autism awareness across in a cheerful way. References the award for Best Actor.

INTO THE MALESTROM – Documentaries in Tropfest are odd to me. There’s nothing to say they can’t happen and there is nothing to say that they cannot win, but there was no twist that differentiated this from something that would air on The Project. In saying that, the band the piece is about would not be marketable enough for The Project, so it’s a win for indies.

SHINY – Stop-motion is an artform that must be respected. It’s exhausting to even imagine the length of time it took to meticulously create each frame (every second divided by 24). It’s a novel boy meets girl story backed by some cute instrumental and their own version of Simglish, in which the own discernable word is the film’s title. Ultimately the charming man wins her heart by retrieving a “shiny” diamond from the men that robbed her, and they all live happily ever after. It has Tropfest in its DNA and as a result won this year’s Best Picture.

HARDBALL – A short film has the luxury of taking a concept and stretching it to its limitations. Hardball finds the lines but never oversteps, as two dads end up one-upping each other over and over while supervising their children. The conversation turns to handball and after a heated argument a (handball) battle breaks out, causing an explosion that lands both men in jail. The dialogue is superb and the visual jokes – such as both men being the same height – raise the quality. The weakest point was the visual effects, but realistically, Tropfest was never about the visual effects.

the same coffin. And in another, he’s drowning, trapped. It’s edited hyperactively and played like a mystery thriller. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen, and the junkie reveal was as impactful as the director intended. Kudos.

ANGIE – Other people liked Angie, but it jarred for me. It didn’t feel like Tropfest, maybe because of its realness. Uplifting, sure, but it never hooked me like twelve of the other films.

IDENTICAL – A return to the Tropfest stalwart of the parody profile. This time the spotlight is on two identical twins and the people that surround them.

The twins, much like the feature, have no boundaries and push the awkwardness factor to eleven. The supporting characters are great in this – from the oddball neighbour, the shared mail-order bride and their friendly neighbour. Twists can make or break a Tropfest film and this one lands effortlessly.

WISH YOU HERE – A very arty look at the zombie apocalypse. A few chuckles throughout.

JEFF HARDING – A true story about Australian boxer champion Jeff Harding and his battle with alcoholism. An extended profile piece that never twisted or turned, and was lacking impact playing after Why Would I Lie.

PINATA – After the seven minute epic previous it was almost disorientating to see so many bright colours swirl around the screen and disappear within ninety STELLA – Two men at a bar have a hard conversation seconds. Pinata takes a funny idea, amplifies it, and about an affair, with one not quite getting it until later pushes it one step further and cuts to black. The in the piece. It’s another example of smart dialogue quickest film of Tropfest that still left an impact. and killer comedic acting. The whole thing was done in one shot from Wyrmwood director Kiah Roche- DRAWCARD – Ending the night on a high, although Turner. There’s not too much else to say about Stella, didn’t recieve any awards. A lengthy (by Tropfest except that it is classic Tropfest and worth a watch. standards) office comedy that scores every goal.

Engaging and entertaining from start to finish. The WHY WOULD I LIE– Tonight’s high-brow piece script was great, the actors were great, and certainly ultilised big-name Australian actress Natalie one of the standouts of the night. ABC should Bassingthwaite in interesting ways. In one scene, greenlight a short series for these folk, not necessarily the lead character is immobilised and cannot move. set in an office. Adding “butterfly” to the credits was In the next, he’s inside a coffin conversing with his masterstroke. conscience. In another, he’s embracing his wife inside

BEST ACTOR : LEONARDO DICAPRIO - THE REVENANT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: MARK RYLANCE - BRIDGE OF SPIES

The 2016 Oscars have been and gone. Batman, Captain America and the X-Men are already poking their head around the corner, eagerly awaiting blockbuster season to begin. Chris Rock was expectedly scathing of #oscarssowhite and there was little controversy during the ceremony.

Best Director and Best Actor went to The Revenant, Best Actress to The Room, leaving the big upset for Best Picture and Best Original Song (Lady Gaga's anthem losing to Sam Smith's Bond theme??).

BEST ACTRESS: BRIE LARSON - ROOM

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ALICIA VIKANDER - THE DANISH GIRL

2016 ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE

BEST DIRECTOR : ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU - THE REVENANT

FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS THE RAZZIES HAVE SPOTLIGHTED THE OPPOSITE END OF THE FIELD ON OSCAR EVE. HERE’S THE WORST OF 2015.

WORST ACTOR, ACTRESS & ON-SCREEN COUPLE:

JAMIE DORMAN - 50 SHADES OF GREY

DAKOTA JOHNSTON - 50 SHADES OF GREY

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ ACTRESS:

WORST PICTURE (TIED FOR FIRST) :

FANTASTIC FOUR & FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

NOVASTREAM.COM.AU

KALEY CUOCO - ALVIN 4 & THE WEDDING RINGER NOMINEES & OTHER ‘WINNERS’ ONLINE.

EDDIE REDMAYNE - JUPITER ASCENDING

Breaking bones.

Breaking hearts.

Breaking records.

Alaisdair Leith on MA15+ supehero Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds in the role he was born for.

Superhero movies have successfully cemented themselves as a cinema staple over the last few years, and now with three major studios pumping 2 each out per year, are we ever going to reach saturation stage? This was my thoughts as the previews for Deadpool started, finally after all of the marketing and previews, memes and special messages from Ryan Reynolds in lycra, the movie is finally here! Now I’m not here to compare the movie to the comic book (I will leave that to our crew over at Marvellous!) I am here to look at it from a movie perspective and let you know if it works as a movie.

it. The film boasts a soundtrack straight out of the 90’s with Salt N Pepa and DMX blasting out their hits as the red lycra flies through the air. It’s this mix of gritty atmosphere, that music and the hardcore violence that this film perpetuates that helps you forgive the small budget and realise that this is not a superhero movie for children or families. (I will say to you, if you are taking your children to this film, I would strongly advise due to the language, sex scenes, sexual references and hardcore violence, please please PLEASE leave them at home! This is NO place for them!)

Of course Fox would LOVE this to be a world building movie so a few of the X Men are in this, but don’t expect Wolverine or Storm to be teaming up anytime soon. This film boasts the silver giant Colossus (Stefan Kapacic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) who are in it just enough to be a hilarious compare to Deadpool’s apparent lack of moral compass and pack enough punch to keep things interesting in the finale. TJ Miller is a comedic heavyweight as Deadpool/Wade Wilson’s best friend Weasel and the two share a great chemistry.

What will keep you interested in this is the non “end of the world” superhero plot, it is a simple revenge story with superhero origins that blends big laughs, bone crunching violence and a killer soundtrack that celebrates Ryan Reynold’s return The film is a wild romp through Deadpool’s to the superhero genre in a successful fashion. origin story, essentially told through a series If you are questioning this film, just don’t! of flashbacks through a car chase and attack Everything works here and it features one of the from a large group of enemies. Deadpool best Stan Lee cameo’s in a Marvel movie to date!

(Ryan Reynolds) aka Wade Wilson receives heartbreaking news that he has terminal Deadpool is playing in cinemas now and is rated cancer in this major organs, his girlfriend MA 15 +, keep an eye out for the Marvellous Vanessa (Monica Bacarrin) tries to send him to discussion on Deadpool in relation to the comics! alternative therapies and medicines but nothing works. When feeling like he has nothing left he is approached by an Agent Smith. who offers him an experimental drug (Weapon X!) to cure him of the cancer and when things don’t go to plan, Wade turns into Deadpool and seeks revenge on Agent Smith and his boss Ajax (Ed Skrein).

It is clear from the first few scenes that the budget for this is significantly lower than that of X: Men Days of Future Past or Ant Man, and while some of the CGI is questionable (especially the final battle scene!) the film fits in with the grit and filth that is Deadpool’s world and his mouth to match

ONLINE NOW: FOX’S PLANS POST-DEADPOOL

Entertaining, engrossing mystery by the best in the business.

Review by Mark Halyday

is the latest epic written, produced and directed by the Coen Brothers.

It’s an original story of Hollywood in the fifties told in fascinating ways with disparate plot threads and oddball characters, but it’s not niche or indie.

It stars some of the best names in the business (even in minor roles) and is accessible to almost everybody. If anything, it’s the entertaining love child of an action mystery and a pretentious Oscar film.

The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the Oscars, with No Country for Old Men and Fargo collecting six Academy Awards in total. Mostly due to the timing of the release it is unlikely that this will be in consideration for the 2017 ceremony, which is a shame, because a film so bold and so unflinching in its thesis should be rewarded in some capacity. And despite the A-list cast it is unlikely this film will pull north of $300 million internationally, which is the audience’s loss.

After her stellar introduction the script swerved away and did not return. Surely it would dovetail back into Clooney’s dilemma? Another character needs a romantic interest. Surely Scarlett? Unfortunately not.

Such is the nature of the Coen’s script. Broad but not lengthy, intelligent but not high-brow, sprawling but not unmanageable, and more than anything, unpredictable. The trailers give barely anything away and over the course of the film it becomes more unclear After George Clooney starred in the O Brother, Where what each character will do. They are not textbook Art Thou? – written by Joel and Ethan Coen, directed archetypes. They are multitudes with any number of

by Joel Coen – he began to tell the press about a new responses. project the trio were working on called Hail! Caesar.

Years passed and Joel Coen directed George Clooney in Without ruining the fantastic plot, Hail! Caesar follows Intolerable Cruelty, and once again the stories appeared Josh Brolin’s studio ‘fixer’ and his many tribulations in the press. It was a sure thing, some fifteen years in that include a kidnapping, a pregnancy out of wedlock, the making. After directing 2013 Oscar contender a star ill-equipped for his new endeavour and a job Inside Llewellyn Davis the pair wrote Angelina Jolie’s offer. The Coen Brothers innovatively transform this 2014 directorial debut Unbroken and Tom Hanks’ into something brand new with a humourous and 2015 vehicle Bridge of Spies. For 2016 they cooked up bright tone. a script they wished to direct themselves, got on the phone to Clooney and the rest is history.

For example, for no other reason than levity or showmanship, the film is littered with a string of Joining the suavest man in Hollywood is a cast dynamite musical performances. It also spends large from a dream world where money is no object and chunks of time watching in-universe dramas and everybody is game. Josh Brolin is quality. He’s worked rehearsals that have little or no consequence to the with Quinten Tarintino, Woody Allen, Joss Whedon, overall plot. And it neither weighs down the film or David O. Russel, Robert Rodriguez and more. Even in extends its runtime implausibly – surprisingly the the films that weren’t hits there is no denying Brolin’s whole film comes and goes in under two hours. unrelenting passion. Hail! Caesar follows four or more mysteries at once and Brolin is the only thing holding The confidence that permeates the story, direction and it all together. There’s a reason he’s Marvel’s ultimate acting is something that cannot be found in a gardenguy. variety blockbuster. The unity of the film is one of its biggest strengths, as it flicks from disparate plots Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johannsson, Tilda Swinton, involving characters that could be at home in a drama Francis McDormand, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill like Gone With the Wind, an old John Wayne cowboy all appear for a scene or two, but acting as though the movie, a Gene Kelly musical, a Cold War spy film or whole film revolves around them. Maybe that’s one of all four at once. Credit to the Coen Brothers and Josh the jabs the Coen’s make at Hollywood and maybe it’s Brolin for keeping a steady narrative amongst the reflective of the calibre of the actors. Despite only a chaos cannot be repeated enough. few lines a whole narrative can be inferred, giving a dimensionality that lacks nearly every other feature A final mention for the innocence of the film – a film of recent memory. doey-eyed cowboy played by previously unknown Alden Ehrenreich. Prior to this his biggest roles was To try and select a standout is near-impossible. Tilda the second half of a CSI two-parter, an episode of Swinton is always fantastic value and Channing Tatum Supernatural and a Woody Allen film. This is certainly delivered his increasingly more frequent surprise his breakout moment. appearance in a critical hit act. Francis McDormand gave the audience a shock and a laugh like no other Hail! Caesar was written and directed by two men with in her singular scene, but that’s more down to the inventive passion and confidence for their story. The scripting than her reliable delivery. It’s Johannsson’s cast is beyond compare and every time it looks to zig juxtaposition from sugary starlet to temperamental it will most certainly zag, leading to an unpredictable bitch to coy participant that kept this reviewer wanting and entertaining ride. The Coen Brothers have done it more. again.

James Lamb has three big questions for Ride Along 2.

1) WHERE DO KEVIN HART’S TALENTS DISAPPEAR TO WHEN HE MOVES FROM THE STAGE TO THE SCREEN? 2) HOW DOES DIRECTOR TIM STORY KEEP GETTING TRUSTED TO MAKE FILMS? 3) WHO WAS ACTUALLY ASKING FOR A SEQUEL TO THE AGGRESSIVELY AVERAGE 2014 ORIGINAL?

Those unlucky enough to have seen the original might note that the core plotline of the film, wherein James brings Ben along on a case in order to break his spirit and make him stop aspiring to better things in life, is pretty much identical to the first movie. This is despite seemingly resolving their rivalry at the end of the last film. But you know the old adage: if it inexplicably made more than $150 million at the box office the first time around, don’t fix it.

What this means though is that Ride Along 2 is not only plagued with some of the same problems as the first one, but many are exacerbated because of the repetition. The first of these is the plot, which is just as threadbare this time around. At least the first one had a shade of mystery over the identity of the main antagonist. This one instead gives away Pope as the villain in the very first scene, killing any sort of tension that could have made the crimesolving part of the film interesting before it even has a chance.

Then there’s the writing that seems intent on preventing the main pair from even trying to develop any chemistry. Instead of allowing the two to play off each other, Cube is blocking Hart almost every time he tries to bring a bit of joy to the film. Instead, it’s these put-downs that are played for laughs, but they more often come across as mean-spirited than funny.

Ride Along 2 re-joins our protagonists Ben Barber (Hart) and James Payton (Ice Cube), a pair of cops who are about to be brothersin-law, as Ben is set to marry James’ sister.

Chasing a lead in a case, grizzled veteran James travels from Atlanta to Miami, bringing along Ben, who’s fresh out of the police academy, in a ploy to show Ben he’s in over his head when it comes to trying to be a detective.

They quickly join up with criminal hacker AJ (Ken Jeong) and Miami detective Maya (Olivia Munn) as they purse drug kingpin Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt) across Miami.

In fairness, there are some decent gags within, mostly supplied by Hart and Jeong, despite a script that refuses to waver from well-established tropes. ridealongiceAdditionally, the cast seems to be at least making an effort with what’s in front of them, with the exception of Olivia Munn, who sleepwalks her way through the film. Interestingly, it’s Benjamin Bratt as the villainous Pope, who ends up stealing most scenes he’s in, just like Laurence Fishburne did as the antagonist in the original.

Overall though, Ride Along 2’s not funny enough to pass as a decent comedy, nor is it compelling enough to pass as a good crime film, and it should really be the end of this franchise.

However, the mediocrity of the first one didn’t stop this being made, so don’t be surprised if you end up reading an eerily similar review for Ride Along 3 sometime in 2018.

Triple Nine tries to sneak in before blockbuster season on the back of its impressive cast. James Lamb sees it for what it is.

Triple 9 really wants you to think it’s a better film than it is. And frankly, given its star-studded cast, intriguing premise, and with acclaimed Aussie director John Hillcoat calling the shots, it should be. Which only makes it all the more disappointing when it misses the mark by as much as it does.

Underdeveloped characters, a convoluted plot and a waste of some incredible talent, Triple 9 is basically a case study in what could’ve been.

Triple 9 is the story of a group of dirty cops who are part of a conspiracy with the Russian mob to orchestrate a heist. Because of the time it would take to perform the heist, the cops decide they need the rest of the police force distracted. The best way to do this, they decide, would be to trigger a 999 incident, the code given when an officer is downed in action. The thinking is that the police would be so distracted, keen to get themselves a piece of the cop-killer, that the heist could go off relatively easily and without interruption.

And that could have been an intriguing premise!

The supposition that all other crime goes unchecked when there’s a 999 is a bit of a stretch, but it could’ve been overlooked if the rest of the plot held up.

Unfortunately, though screenwriter Matt Cook, with his first feature film, has tried for complexity with his multiple interweaving subplots, it ends up convoluted and confusing with plot threads left dangling and half-explained.

do it themselves? These are all questions that are barely skimmed over and leave the crux of the plot hollow. If Triple 9 wasn’t going to follow through and explore these strands of the plot, then there should’ve been some simplification so that the questions didn’t play on the viewer’s mind.

This also could be forgiven to an extent if the characters were somewhat interesting. However, we instead end up with a series of interchangeable men desperately wanting for personalities and motivations. Early on, there are attempts to give a sense of everyone through a series of short scenes.

However, they end up providing proper insight into no one, and, for much of the film, that’s how it remains for most of the cast. This actually becomes increasingly frustrating throughout. As the Mafia and cops clash, and frictions within the group of dirty cops rise, their actions become more dramatic, but their choices seem random and nonsensical, because we haven’t been given an opportunity to understand their motivations.

The only person who actually gets to sink their teeth into a character to any depth is Anthony Mackie as Marcus, one of the corrupt cops. Best known for his role in The Hurt Locker and as Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mackie works particularly well with his conflicted character arc, where his original indifference about turning on his new partner (Casey Affleck) slowly comes to tear him up inside, with his inner torture palpable and compelling at times.

Apart from Mackie though, most seem bored, and are often burdened by some clumsy dialogue.

Winslet and Ejiofor in particular, an Oscar winner and nominee respectively, are basically in autopilot, justifiably aware that they are much better than what’s on offer here. Even the usually reliable Woody Harrelson falls into stereotype as the beenAs an example of the needless complication, the there, seen-that older detective Jeffrey Allen. main man behind the heist, Michael (Chiwetel Ejiofor), spearheads it because mob matriarch Irina There are a couple of decent action scenes, (Kate Winslet) is blackmailing him by holding his particularly as Affleck and Mackie’s characters chase son, who is also her nephew, hostage. Irina needs a Mexican cartel member through an apartment the contents of the vault in order to trade for the block and through the streets, but they’re too few release of her husband, who is himself being held and far apart to make up for everything in between. hostage by some other organisation.

It’s a shame, because everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, is capable of better.

And of course this raises questions: What is the Triple 9 unfortunately fails to create any interesting significance of the contents of the vault? Why is characters, wastes a good premise on a nonsensical Irina’s husband being held? Why does the Mafia not plot, and is virtually dead on arrival.

The much-hyped Australian miniseries finally hit our screens.

Daniel Priman didn’t think he’d enjoy it, but he did.

There were three things I knew about Molly Meldrum before I watched Molly, he used to be on Countdown, he used to be on Hey Hey and the hat. Fast forward three hours and two episodes of a mini-series later and I feel like an expect on the subject. Well the Countdown side of things anyway, you can forget Hey Hey It’s Saturday. It was a little disappointing that the docu-drama didn’t cover that aspect of Molly’s life but when you think about it, it’s not really that disappointing that they didn’t cover that aspect of his career.

Someone high up at Channel 7 was very confident in Molly, it felt like we were seeing the trailers for this biopic for at least two months and if I was to be honest, I wasn’t really that interested. To be fair as a “millennial”, I don’t think I was really the target audience since my only memories of Ian “Molly” Meldrum were fleeting glimpses of his reviews from Hey Hey or that time he fell off the ladder. Turns out, Molly Meldrum was kind of a big deal (anyone older than me must be getting pretty pissed by now) and a major influence in the Australian music scene. Not only that but he has had a fascinating life and I cannot fault Channel 7’s decision to bring his life to the screen.

As you can probably gather from the title, Molly tells the story of a young Molly Meldrum. Set during the reign of Countdown (1973 – 1987), Molly shows the struggles, both professionally and personally of building Australia’s most popular music program. The story is presented a life flashback as Molly fights for his life in a hospital bed after his fall from the ladder.

Sex, alcohol, drugs and Stetsons, all the stereotypes of Rock ‘N Roll crop up along the way.

Samuel Johnson wasn’t just chosen to star because he bares a slight resemblance to Ian, no he can act.

Just as well as anyone in this cast, Rebecca Breeds, Ben Gerrard, Krew Boylan and everyone else on screen does a fantastic job. Even the fun little cameos by well know comedians along the way manage to pull of believability. Recreating the studio and live performances and fitting Samuel Johnson into the real interviews from the seventies add to this believability and never falter, even when I was waiting for a slip up.

Who knew that even Prince Charles could act?

Docu-dramas are always in danger of falling into boring and useless storylines that while they may have been important to that particular person’s life, they never help the entertaining side of the story move forward. In Molly the writers have chosen well on the most dramatic and interesting aspects of Molly’s Countdown career and left the dregs by the wayside.

Not only that but the famous incidents are wound up in between all of these as well. But if it’s the hat origin story you are interested in, than well you are going to have to prepare yourself for a long wait.

Even though Molly was aired as a two-part miniseries, when put back to back this is really a three hour movie. Each part is equally important, where it could be argued that episode one deals more with the stress of creating and running a television show while the second highlights how this stress can affect on one’s personal life once the show has become successful.

To me, the most interesting scenes were the behind the scenes of the creation of Countdown and it felt very reminiscent of An Adventure In Space In Time, the docu-drama that showed the beginning of Doctor Who in the early sixties.

This is not to say that Molly was perfect, no it had its flaws just like every show. “Dream sequences”, that phrase alone should be enough to explain this little problem. It should be but this time it’s a little bit more complicated than “it was all a dream”. Instead “it was all a bit wacky and over the top” but the final dream sequence’s pay off did go a little way to redeem the first two scenes. There was also a tiny moment in which Molly’s Ethiopian taxi driver thanked him for what he did with Live Aid. Even explaining it now, I’m feeling a little cringy. Finally is the issue with the kissing. I lied before, I knew four facts about Molly Meldrum before I went into this, I also knew that he is gay. To refer to an outdated Seinfeld line, “not that there is anything wrong with that”, I got the feeling that maybe Channel 7 did think there was something wrong with that. Or at least they were worried the viewers would be of this opinion. The reason being is that he never actually kissed a man on screen, he kissed a lot of women but never a man. This isn’t a huge deal but I think they missed a couple of opportunities for feelgood moments in the similar vain of Pride.

So um, ah do yourself a favor and watch out for this one. Not only is Molly entertaining, well-written and wonderfully performed, it’s a beautiful educational tool. You will learn all about Australia’s greatest music guru and the impact he had on Australian music and the culture it surrounds. Which by the way is spot on by the way. I get the feeling that the production crew had a ball scoring this one, not one song is out of place and the majority is Australian music. The only time an international act gets played is when it is relevant to the scene on screen. So add music to the list of tasty ingredients that add up to create the “Molly Melodrama” of the year.

SERIES

RETURN

Thanura Ravinda talks the series return of one of the most popular shows in the world.

THE STORY SO FAR: Since coming to Alexandria, Rick’s group had an interesting time among its people dealing with threats on the outside as well as the inside. So far, the group faced off against a canyon-load of Walkers, a group of outsiders known as the Wolves as well as disgruntled townsfolk who are more than happy to see our group gone. For a good amount of time, the group split up into different directions allowing growth, development and interesting interactions.

Most notably Glenn’s time with Nicholas really messed with the fans as we were left wondering whether or not he was dead. Thankfully that did not happen in the end. However now the town is faced with a dead town leader, the threat of hundreds and hundreds of Walkers as well as the threat of prominent comic villain Negan.

NO WAY OUT: This week’s episode features the coming together of all the separate arcs into what must be one of the better episodes of the entire show. We first start off where the mid-season cliffhanger left as Abraham, Sasha and Daryl are stopped by this group known as “The Saviors”, led by Negan (to be played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan). This could have ended badly for the three on any other episode but the hilarious turn of

events involving Daryl and his Rocket Launcher upped the ante and left some of us laughing. At the same time, this should provide an interesting encounter with Negan.

Meanwhile in Alexandria, everything is in chaos. On one front, we continue a plot thread stemming from the previous episode whereby the Wolf(Benedict Samuel) kidnaps Denise(Merritt Wever) the town doctor. From here, he makes an attempt to have both of them escape from the town. Things got interesting between the two as the episode somewhat humanizes the guy and briefly makes the doctor feel sorry about the guy. We even got to see some brief interplay of Walker-killing. It all gives the feeling that he could have been redeemed but at that point, after his entire time on the show, the character was already dead weight and it gave some much needed trimming. I guess that they want to remove unnecessary villains to make room for Negan?

Speaking of removing dead weight, the arc involving Rick and Co. also brings a much needed trimming. From when we last saw them, the town leaderimage3 Deanna died and now they’re wading through the horde to make it through to safety. The most shocking part of it all was none other than the infamous triple death leading to Carl getting shot again. Given that for the most part, the Anderson family were the least liked among the audiences and would often come across as annoying, their collective deaths were rather satisfying. What provides the icing on the cake is Rick’s finest hout of Walker killing.

What soon followed was the rest of the group along with the townsfolk of Alexandria standing up and joining in the fight. The quick-cut montage of each person hack-and-slashing a Walker was really entertaining to watch and provided a much needed high in a show where depressive outcomes are commonplace. It shows a real growth to the people of Alexandria, who were once upon a time oblivious to the apocalypse. The action was further ramped up when Daryl and crew came back, all guns blazing bringing a spectacularly visual end to the Walker horde.

Overall, this episode was a fantastic way to kick off the rest of the season. It reduced the dead weight of unnecessary characters, gave us great action and a decent lead-in to Negan.

Few shows, and even less comedies, reach the 200-episode milestone.

Mark Halyday on the commemorative episode

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spared. Kevin Sussman’s Stuart Bloom has also found the right balance for his pity-party act in a nice double act with Kaley Cuoco. His few lines were hilarious.

The Big Bang Theory rounds up the 200+ Episode Comedy Club to a dozen members and while it’s been at least fifty episodes since my last adventure with Pasadena’s quirkiest ‘nerds’ the milestone was so momentous it convinced me to poke my head back in. As guest star Sara Gilbert (formerly Roseanne with Johnny Galecki, currently The Talk) notes to Leonard, things don’t change all that much.

If you resist Big Bang clickbait – which is not me – this episode will bring you up to date with the latest misadventures. Leonard and Penny have been wedded and are currently in a relationship. Sheldon and Amy consummated their relationship. Howard and Bernadette are expecting a child. Raj… has been sorely underutilised? He has been in an on-again-offagain relationship, though it’s never mentioned.

Credit to the writing team that the narrative was kept as small as it was. Even though the cast are receiving a gold mine each to appear there is still a considerable budget at TV’s most popular comedy, and if they asked for a trip to Las Vegas/London/Dubai it is likely that Chuck Lorre and co would have obliged. Instead the whole episode is kept on their regular set, which will likely be renamed in their honour at the series finale.

This episode plays to its strength and is preaching to the converted, even if it becomes a bit self-congratulatory towards the final moments. Jim Parsons/Sheldon Cooper is the show’s breakout star/character and he anchors the dizzying number of guest stars with ease by having the whole episode revolve around him/him.

A quiet birthday party meant everybody could get to the meat-and-potatoes quicker.

Guests you never needed are here to compliment the main cast. Joining Sara Gilbert is Wil Wheaton’s selfparody and John Ross Bowie’s Barry Kripke in an inadvertent homage to Howard’s creepier past self.

In better news, Christine Baranski reprises her role as Leonard’s mother and demolishes every line she is

Returning to The Big Bang Theory is exactly what you’d expect. Exactly. In fact, the microscopic undertones that the show never knew how to deal with Raj’s sexuality are still there. Microscopic, but still there. It’s almost harmless as it aims for the lowest common denominator humour, determined to pull in the still-impressive viewing figures. And it’s sweet how optimistic the generic sitcom can be.

The conflict of the episode came in the form of a mild panic attack for neurotic, tortured Sheldon. He flees to the bathroom and abandons his guests, only to be consoled by the hot blonde across the hall. Because two hundred episodes earlier Penny was a stereotypical hot blonde across the hall that Leonard, Howard, Raj and a begrudging Sheldon assisted in repairing her stereo.

Since then the characters have fleshed out considerably and dropped some of their less admirable qualities.

Each has a dimensionality to them and a lengthy history behind every plot point.

Viewers love a good Penny/Sheldon moment and before the episode began the audience should have known it was coming. It was sweet but predictable – the kind of stuff that makes an anniversary episode work.

After that the wheels came off in a sketch too long and too Sheldon-centric. There’s a limit to the number of times the audience can be complacent with Sheldon’s narcissism and tonight it was about the 19-minute mark. Abandon ship, spread the love other cast but hey, it’s their 200th episode… let them have it.

And if I haven’t mentioned Adam West yet don’t be surprised. It’s a big get for the show to have a reallife Batman actor in their festivities, and while the car scene was terrific fun it’s a shame he was reduced to cheap celebrity/grumpy grandpa. Whatever though, they could have done this episode with half the cast and the same concept and everything would have worked out perfectly.

The Big Bang Theory hasn’t changed. It’s just gotten older and a little bit more sensible, with weddings and babies the new age-appropriate arcs. The show will continue into its tenth season and beyond, but there’s no rush to return to the familiar. It’ll still be around for another fifty, and perhaps even another one hundred episodes yet.

Alberto Sanchez on Hulu’s original show 11.22.63, starring James Franco.

PILOT Based on a Stephen King story, 11.22.63 follows a time traveling English teacher, Jake Epping (James Franco) who is given the impossible task of stopping the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The story itself has a lot of potential and the first episode sets up a fascinating world. However, there are quite a number of elements that can easily undo the efforts if not carefully handled. While the first episode brought us a believable 1960s America, the costumes and set designs were beautifully constructed, there is a risk of the show tripping over its own timelines. But for an opener, The Rabbit Hole was sufficiently intriguing and well paced.

world such as the Vietnam War. Jake is reluctant but eventually gives in and goes back in time. Since he is transported back to 1960, Jake has to wait three years before the assassination attempt, which would give him enough time to learn just exactly who it was that pulled the trigger in 1963 and hopefully stop them.

It all sounds like a conspiracy theory made into a miniseries, and it partially is, but it’s compelling enough that you’re willing to accept it in order to find out more.

From the opening scenes we are clearly positioned to like Jake Epping. He’s supportive of his mature aged students, seems to be well liked and respected, is recently divorced, appears to believe there is good in everyone. He’s your typical good guy. Not that that’s a bad thing, but as a protagonist there’s not really anything that sets him apart either. The role could’ve easily been played by anyone; perhaps Franco will bring more character to the part as the series progresses. He is a solid character though. One that we can follow, sympathise with and care about as the story happens around him. It’ll be good to see just how far he is going to be pushed. Perhaps it’s cynicism but this type of character in a Stephen King story just can’t end up in a good place. They just can’t.

Time travel can be a tricky tool to use. Rules need to be established and explained clearly enough and early enough so that we’re not left wondering what is happening. In 11.22.63, the means of temporal displacement is through “the rabbit hole”, a closet at the back of a local diner owned by Jake’s friend Al (Chris Cooper). Al has been diagnosed with cancer and hasn’t got long to live so he entrusts Jake with this secret. Understandably skeptical, Jake walks through the closet and finds himself in 1960, long before the diner was even built. After his short stint in the past, Al explains to Jake that no matter how long he stays down the rabbit hole only two minutes would have passed in the present. Not only that, going through The show has strong elements of pulp detective stories. the rabbit hole will always take him to October 21st, There’s intrigue and action, murder and mayhem, 1960. heart and emotion, and so on. It’s a whodunit story that has a high risk to be a let down but has enough So, knowing his final day is near, Al passes his life talent behind it to make it something worthwhile. mission of saving Kennedy on to Jake. Al believes New episodes of 11.22.63 will be streamed Tuesdays saving Kennedy will undo a lot of turmoil in the on Stan.

NEW TO ORIGINALS: THE CHARACTERS S1 - 10TH MARCH DAREDEVIL S2 - 18TH MARCH FLAKED - 11TH MARCH HOUSE OF CARDS S4 - 4TH MARCH JIMMY CARR FUNNY BUSINESS - 18TH MARCH PEE WEE’S BIG HOLIDAY - 18TH MARCH BEAUTIFUL BROKEN BRAIN - 18TH MARCH TRAILER PARK BOYS S10 - 28TH MARCH

MOVIES:

JACKASS 1 - 1ST MARCH DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER - 1ST MARCH FOCUS - 1ST MARCH ENDER’S GAME - 5TH MARCH CHEF - 12TH MARCH HOT PURSUIT - 21ST MARCH TOY STORY 1, 2 & 3 - 24TH MARCH

TV:

ANZAC GIRLS - 15TH MARCH SUITS S4 - 24TH MARCH

The eleventh Far Cry game has hit the shelves.

Alaisdair Leith on the stone age twist of an old friend.

FarCry has always been a struggling series for me, I have never been sucked in by the stories or engaged in the gameplay. It always felt generic and a bit of a wash, just another Ubisoft open world game. I was all prepared to lump this game into the same category when I watched a play through of the first hour of the game (on Good Game!). I was immediately drawn into this prehistoric paradise, set in 10,000 B.C. with no guns, machetes or bombs. In a completely vast and bountiful world, the aim of the game is to build a tribe that have been scattered throughout the country (or map). It is a brutal world of man vs. wild with an interesting premise that put this at the top of my favourite games of 2016 so far.

Set in 10,000 B.C, FarCry Primal has you playing as Takkar, a young man who is separated from his tribe by a herd of angry mammoths and sabre tooth tigers. Takkar must travel across the land reuniting his Wenja tribe and rebuilding their camps and huts to establish them as a force to be reckoned with. Along the way you train beasts who will hunt and kill for you, owls who can survey the land ahead and command trained animals to kill at your beckon and call as well as dealing with two other tribes (one of which are cannibalistic!) who will attempt to destroy your newly placed dwellings and slaughter your friends (the pricks!)fc5 The beauty of this game lies in evolution. You have to source materials from the bare land to build primitive weapons like a bow and arrow, spears, clubs and even bee hive bombs to throw at groups of enemies. In addition Takkar gathers resources to build huts for village bases and the accompanying upgrades. The more you play, kill and gather, the more skill points you achieve which upgrades your weapons and attack moves. Not only for yourself, but for the villagers and tamed beasts as well.

and rivers, gushing waterfalls and chilling snow covered mountain tops all blend together to make this rather large map feel like a living and breathing world. I have taken so many screenshots in this game just based on the environment alone. Then you add in the many animals and character design for the tribes and this presents one of the best looking games on the Playstation 4 system. fc4It wouldn’t be a FarCry game without some gadgets and the one you can use in Primal is a grapple. It is used to easily ascend or descend cliff faces that make objectives easier to get to (a great idea, especially if you plan on doing what I did and trying to slide down cliff faces and falling to your death!)

The game is quite intense when it comes to kills, and using a flaming arrow or spear to brutally murder your enemies is a satisfying and confronting challenge. Similarly the club is a bone crunching, blood splattering weapon that my partner found hard to watch over and over, as I took out groups of tribes repeatedly.

Far Cry Primal is a complete departure from the previous games in most respects, you spend fc3the game trying to build your tribe and collect resources and tame animals to help you on your quest. The story and missions are varied and help bring the world to life, the brutal nature of the terrain and enemies are confronting and appropriately intense. Far Cry Primal has taken a huge step back in time, but has taken a massive step forward in the series in forms of storytelling and character development . This game gripped me from the first hour and kept me coming back to my PS4 to play as much as I can. Far Cry Primal is well worth your gaming dollars and deserves a solid place in your gaming library.

This game was reviewed on a Playstation 4 system, the Graphically this game is gargantually beautiful, the game was purchased by the reviewer, and all pictures contrast between the harsh dry land, the large lakes are in-game screenshots.

What on earth is RTX Australia?

Let Pat Braithwaite explain.

Rooster Teeth is a name that few in the Pop Culture scene don’t know, showing truly just how far a few little goofy clips on the internet can blow up to gigantic proportions.

From the wildly successful Red vs. Blue series, Rooster Teeth continued to grow and now produce truckloads of original content each year including animated series like RWBY, gameplay and commentary like Funhaus and Achievement Hunter, and now their first feature film, Lazer Team.

Addressing the elephant in the room for all those in attendance, heat was a major issue. This was less the fault of RTX and more the venue chosen to host the Main Stage event. From the moment you stepped through the doors, you knew it was going to be a sweaty day. While Australian Technology Park is a beautiful piece of history and heritage in its own right, it lacks conventional means of ventilation and air conditioning. Combine this with thousands of patrons, electronics and cooking equipment, the end result was a hot, sweaty and smelly experience for most. Dehydration was a real issue, and water was kept behind what was usually a long line and an excessive price tag.

While lines were long, there was rarely a moment where you did not feel like it was moving. This was true for most lines except for signings, and while most people would be fine waiting to get an autograph from someone they admire, it’s a different story when you wait for a long time and get no signature. There was very little regulation to the signing process, with some more exuberant patrons taking up more time than others. As a panel approached featuring the guest signing, the organisers cracked down and sped the process up, but it was too little too late. This left many people who had waited for 1-2 hours and had made the cut off point for signing miss the signature they waited so patiently for. People criticise other conventions for being so strict, but there is a reason they are that way.

Half a decade ago, RTX was born from a small gathering of fans to an expo attended by thousands of patrons and exhibitors alike. With panels, stage shows, games, stalls and celebrities, RTX became a convention for the masses. And now with the Rooster Teeth crew looking to sail past their American border and bring RTX Internationally, Australia was the very lucky choice for the first expo outside of the USA. The last big issue was the stage shows- not for their content, but for their timing and general The weekend started with a riveting keynote speech arrangement. There was a severe lack of seating from local Aussie gaming icon Hex (co-host of unless you held a VIP pass- an oversight which Good Game), touching on the ups and downs of left an abundance of off-limit,unused seats. People the gaming community in relation to how others were not happy being forced to stand or sit on hard see gaming, gaming in Australia and how women concrete floors even if they arrived long before are seen in the industry. Following this the RTX a panel or show was set to begin, with heat doing festivities were underway. nothing but exacerbate everything. And due to the pacing of the event, with little to no gap between Having attended quite a number of ‘First Time’ shows on main stage and those in other panel expos and conventions (and even playing a part rooms, it would mean cutting out in starting one), I’ve gained a a panels you would otherwise be happy lot of insight into how these to watch, and for those you made it proceedings go and a to, you wouldn’t be sitting. The couple benchmarks on how the expo I sat next to during the keynote and went as a whole. And for the first panels did not move the most part it was good, but entire day. One person was even let’s look at the negatives first. sitting over to the side of the

main stage watching the live stream on a tablet so as with monitoring control panels for a space ship and to avoid the crowd. navigating the galaxy, trading items and trying not to be blown up by space pirates.

But despite the bad notes, the expo was still a great and enjoyable day, and for a first-timer expo in Despite having a very tight schedule that didn’t Australia, it was pretty damn good for what it was. allow for much movement between panels, the For starters, there were silver linings to most bad actual content of the panels was great, too. Bringing notes. While things were overly hot and sweaty for all a plethora of content with them, the RTX panelists people attending, everyone was still in high spirits knew how to put on a show. All shows on the main for the majority of the experience (the exception stage could easily be heard and seen from a great being mostly toward the lack of seating). And as distance and entailed the same antics and humor said before, despite being riddled with queues, you found in their online productions. The stage also weren’t waiting in line for most instances. featured several PC setups and screens behind each chair, allowing for the Let’s Play segments to still While obtaining signatures via provided means be enjoyable for people watching and allow them may have been difficult, the Rooster Teeth staff and to follow specific people. Also, partnership with guests for the expo were more than happy to stop Twitch provided them with access to involve fans and sign something, or snap a selfie while between not able to attend the expo, as all main stage panels panels, and were found on the show floor or were streamed live on Twitch, and many panelists entering/exiting the green room. I myself managed took Q&A from Twitter feeds for the expo. to get a picture this way with one of my personal role models, Freddie Wong. Even Gus, godfather of Lazer Team PanelFinally, Littered throughout the RTX, was stopped by fans on the way to the green expo were various stalls setup by vendors. Rooster room and happily stood there for hours to give back Teeth setup a standard con booth selling merch to the fans (volunteers even came to help moderate from all of their popular series while Bathesda the line). setup a fallout inspired food truck as well as a Doom inspired bar for the over 18’s. Hanabee, A lot of thought was put into the partners’ partner of the show, also had a presence selling contributions to the show. Part of the show floor was new release DVDs and Blurays and advertising the dedicated to indie game developers, with friendly upcoming series they have newly aquired and will exhibitors happy to accommodate patrons and let be releasing later this year. Other exhibiters were them try their games. Without Sony, Microsoft littered here and there selling all forms of nerd gear, and Nintendo present to cast their ruley shadows from LARPing foam weaponry to board games and over the convention, this gave indie developers figurines. I spent more than I intended to… their chance to shine. I got to try my hand at a few that will probably lead to a purchase on my part, All in all, the convention was a lot of fun. Yes, it including a sci-fi twist on the old arcade shooter may have been hot and sweaty, but the atmosphere game style called Super Mutant Alien Assault was one of fun and excitement. RTX has also now (currently in early access on Steam), as well as a confirmed that they will be returning next year and game called Objects in Space, which played a lot be hosted in the International Convention Centre like old DOS and early Windows titles from when I once its renovation is completed in Darling Harbour was young, and had a very cool control panel built (which will hopefully lay to rest the humidity issues specifically for the game and brought for the show. present this year). I had a great time and look Like Silent Hunter from the 90’s, you were charged forward to doing it all again next year.

Alaisdair Dewar on the new game getting a lot of buzz that’s a little different to the usual.

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After a couple of months of disappointing games, my good friend Ryan told me about a new indie game on the PlayStation store. “The first 15 minutes of the game is just like the first 15 minutes of the movie Up” he tells me. So I begrudgingly shell out $26.95 to purchase it and patiently wait for the game to download to my PlayStation 4 system. The first thing I noticed was the unique art style this game has, it is not the most out there amazing graphics, but for an indie game on a budget, it was stunning.

The intro video hooked me in and I cried proudly at the beauty and the care that had been taken with this story and the characters.

Conversations between Henry and Delilah can be chosen through a series of varying responses from Henry, and this will shape the relationship in a certain way. Personally my favourite was hiking to the other end of the map to get fresh supplies and taking all 3 backpacks of food instead of just the one instigated some great dialogue and showcased the game writers wicked sense of humour.

Visually this game is one of a kind interestingly enough designer Olly Moss does the work here. The imagining of a national forest is breathtaking and the attention to detail for a game of this calibre and budget is an achievement. The only let down was a Firewatch follows the character of Henry who after lack of animals for a state forest, it was surprising a series of life altering events takes a job to get away that there weren’t any animals or even bugs that from everyone and everything at a national forest. weren’t part of a plot point just in the environment Situated in a lookout in complete isolation, Henry’s itself. only contact is with his supervisor Delilah via a 2 way radio. After a series of events unfold in the park, The mechanics of this game are quite simple, you things become frightening really quickly. Missing navigate around in the first person, responding to teenage girls and a rampant forest fire provide some Delilah through a series of optional responses or giant plot points mixed in with mundane tasks of you can choose not to respond and leave the silence fixing communication towers, chopping down trees to gain an awkward response. Sometimes the and exploring the forest.fw2 environments tripped when loading and it is a little buggy, but nothing too irritating.

While this may sound similar to most games you have played before, the beauty of this game lies in This game completely floored me, after feeling the conversations. The hauntingly creepy silences underwhelmed by some of the big releases lately; it that linger between the small amounts of music was nice to be pulled into a world that I loved. To provided and the conversations with Delilah are be entertained, amused and shocked by characters, orchestrated perfectly. Although I did start to catch and play through a story that is well thought out. on that a major cut scene would happen whenever Firewatch is hands down THE best game I have the music started swelling, and while I thought played in 2016 (so far!) and at a great price, you this might annoy me, it provided me with sweaty really can’t afford to miss it! palms, bated breath type behaviour after the first few encounters.

P.S When you find the beloved little turtle to adopt you simply MUST call it Turt Reynolds!

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