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Review: Fern Brady: Power and Chaos

Scottish comic Fern Brady returns to Melbourne in 2019 for her second appearance at the MICF with her show Power and Chaos, following last year’s Suffer, Fools! and a successful year on the London circuit. Many Aussies would know Fern from her explosive Live at the Apollo set last year, where she came out as bisexual live on air and infuriated the notoriously homophobic Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland. It probably didn’t help that she accused their leader of being a closeted lesbian.

Review: Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut

I don’t really know where the title for Felicity Ward’s latest show comes from. Honestly I’m not sure if I missed something, but I’m pretty sure it’s just something she thought would be funny. That’s not to say it doesn’t make sense; it does. Felicity’s comedy is bold enough, loud enough, and has enough singing and crying that I wouldn’t be surprised if some audience members didn’t bust their own nuts laughing along the way.

We Talk With Brothers’ Nest Screenwriter Jaime Browne

Jaime Browne is a prolific Australian screenwriter whose credits include The Mule, the Emmy-nominated Please Like Me, telemovie The King, as well as ABC’s Devils Dust, Laid, The Straits, and Squinters.

His latest project is Brothers’ Nest, “the sleeper hit of the 2018 SXSW festival”, which is currently showing in Australian cinemas. I gave Jaime a shoutout in my review a month ago and this week I got to speak with him about making the film, working as a screenwriter, and diversity in Australian media.

Review: Whitney

Whitney is a biopic of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the best-selling singers of all time who sold 200 million records and is the only artist to have ever charted seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

What Will People Say: Cultural Conflict and Emotional Weight

What Will People Say (Hva Vil Folk Si) is a Norwegian coming-of-age drama written and directed by Iram Haq.

Review: Brothers’ Nest

Brothers’ Nest follows brothers Terry and Jeff (Clayton and Shane Jacobson) as they return to their childhood home with unclear intentions.

Review: Taken’s Gory Sci-fi Cousin—Upgrade

Upgrade is a great time if you’re down for a confronting and exciting experience. I highly recommend it to folks who enjoy sci-fi and gory action, and don’t need a rock solid plot to have a good time. Squeamish viewers should skip this one for sure.

Scottish Comedian Daniel Sloss Brings his New Show Now to MICF

It was with cautious optimism that I returned to Federation Square to see Daniel Sloss’ latest show Now.

Matt Okine’s The Hat Game: Now Showing at MICF

You may know Matt Okine from his time as half of Triple J’s Matt & Alex breakfast show, but take it from me, this is the year to sample his stand-up.

“500 breakups, 3 cancelled engagements and the end of one 15-year marriage”—Talking Comedy with Daniel Sloss

It’s basically me trying to work out whether or not I’m a sociopath. It’s my rebuttal to the claims that I’m a sociopath.

Chinese Comedy and #MeToo: An Interview with Comedian Des Bishop

American-Irish comedian Des Bishop has been enormously successful performing stand-up, creating multiple documentaries, and appearing on TV around the globe.

“Be funny, reply to emails, and don’t be a dickhead”: An Interview with Ex-Triple J Host and Comedian Matt Okine

“I was joking with one of my friends recently that there’s really just three things you need to do to be a successful comic, and that is: be funny, reply to emails, and don’t be a dickhead. That is literally all you need to do.”

“Balls to the wall and go do it!”: An Interview with Comedian Urzila Carlson

“The most recent one that I heard is, “Studies have shown the effects of cocaine on honey bees.” I didn’t even know honey bees have nostrils! Number one, who has leftover cocaine? And number two, who has millions of dollars to spend on this study? We’re already having problems with the number of honey bees, should we really be giving them cocaine?”

First-Year Who Loves Saying “You’ve Probably Never Heard of Them” Dismayed to Learn People Have Heard of Them

Amateur hipster and indie connoisseur Jack Dempsey is in shock today after learning that his musical taste isn’t quite as unique as he had long believed. After entering the University of Melbourne as a fresher this o-week, he was dismayed to find multiple posters of his favourite ‘underground’ bands strewn across campus.

Review: Winchester—A Misfiring Jumpscare Fest

Winchester is a haunted-house horror film directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, and is based on the true account of Sarah Winchester.