Crikey » Culture

Arts editor shits on theatre blogging, flame war ensues

Ben Eltham — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:05:08 +0000

The Global Mail opened its coverage of Australian arts on Monday with a curious piece from Stephen Crittenden about theatre blogging. Online writers haven't stopped talking about it since.

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Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die — passable pop

Crikey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:08:05 +0000

The critical backlash against Lana Del Rey began even before her debut album Born To Die arrived, writes Neil Walker, and while her rapping is awful it is a perfectly passable pop album.

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The critical art of critical thinking

Crikey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:04:12 +0000

To promote a set of educational resources funded by the Australian government, Bridge8 created six two minute animations about critical thinking styled in Saul Bass-esque aesthetics, reports Maria Popova.

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Arts life after money: has the Australia Council ‘lost the plot’?

Ben Eltham — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:47:50 +0000

What happens when an arts organisation suddenly loses funding? For two small arts organisations that have recently lost their cash, after the crisis comes resilience.

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When classic literature is literally swept away

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:38:35 +0000

Andrew Stafford lost a treasured collection of children's books in the Queensland floods. But in this guest post for Liticism, he explains why he isn't crying a river.

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ABC1′s Woodley — the next Australian classic

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:12:44 +0000

In his new ABC1 show, comedian Frank Woodley has delivered something that adds heart and depth to his signature slapstick, writes Matt Smith.

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Why your guidebook is ruining your holiday

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:35:26 +0000

Vietnam is an extremely popular holiday destination for Australian tourists, but once they hit the city it all goes downhill. Why? One word: guidebooks, writes Tabitha Carvan.

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The Grey — early contender for best American film of the year

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:27:04 +0000

Based in remote Alaskan wilderness, The Grey, starring Liam Neeson, is a brilliant survival in the wilderness film that makes recent additions to the genre feel like stories about getting lost in the supermarket, writes Luke Buckmaster.

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A Chorus Line — Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Almost four decades after it began its 15 year run, A Chorus Line is still a strikingly ambitious work. Glee has bred familiarity (and perhaps contempt) of this show, a master template for crafting contemporary musical theatre, writes Jason...

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Lillyhammer — sort of TV, but not quite

Crikey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:01:28 +0000

Starring Silvio from The Sopranos as Silvio, but not quite Silvio, new US TV show Lilyhammer is TV that isn't quite TV. Confused? Dan Barrett explains…

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It’s Australian for coffee

Crikey — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:41:24 +0000

Much to most coffee snobs surprise, flat white coffees are an Australian invention. But it seems the lil Aussie milk coffee that could has finally hit the Big Apple.

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The Swiss wedding survival guide

Crikey — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:14:46 +0000

Weddings are always a cultural minefield. But expat Claudia List didn't expect that attending a wedding in Switzerland would require hiking boots and the ability to sing in front of a crowd.

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Meet the Critics: Sandra Hall — from literacy to films and back again

Crikey — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:17:01 +0000

Sandra Hall, who began reviewing films for The Sydney Morning Herald in 1996, is the latest participant in Cinetology's Meet the Critics series, which examines the philosophies and viewing habits of Australia's leading film aficionados.

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Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas — melancholic existential brilliance

Crikey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:51:42 +0000

Sometimes, crime pays. The brilliant Old Ideas, Leonard Cohen’s first album in eight years, would never have existed if his accountant hadn’t pilfered money from him, writes Neil Walker.

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Are all green buildings really that green?

Crikey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:50:43 +0000

Every new public building, it seems, is a wonder of green efficiency, driving the bar of ecological innovation ever higher. But how does that theory convert into reality? asks Alan Davies.

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The blue marble that is planet earth

Crikey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:34:32 +0000

Out in space there are no borders, and no signs or sounds of human conflicts, or the clash of ideas. There is just the blue marble that is planet earth, writes Ben Sandilands.

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Being a cinema means sometimes having to say you’re sorry

Crikey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:03:06 +0000

The cinema industry's shift from 35mm screens to DCP (digital) technology is not without its downsides, writes Tara Judah, who explains what went wrong during a disastrous screening last month at Melbourne's iconic Astor Theatre.

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The $28m pantomime of airport body scanners

Bernard Keane — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:49:34 +0000

Airport body scanners have no demonstrated value, but the government is spending $28 million on them.

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Awake heralds a good morning for Kyle Killen

Crikey — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:24:58 +0000

Writer Kyle Killen's script for The Beaver was sold but Mel Gibson's tumultuous personal life sunk the film. However Killen's new TV show Awake is wakening up to strong reviews, writes Dan Barrett.

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Critic v critic on Yes, Prime Minister — Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

Crikey — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:53:30 +0000

Sir Humphrey and co. are back, in an entirely different format. Can the magic of Yes, Prime Minister be captured in Australian theatre? Critics Jason Whittaker and Luke Buckmaster, who were there at opening night, duke it out.

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Never-before-seen photos from the night MLK died

Crikey — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:26:24 +0000

LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky was in Alabama on April 4, 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr was shot dead. He rushed to the crime scene and took these incredible photos of grieving civil rights leaders.

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Michael Sala’s The Last Thread — touching dark places

Crikey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:52:32 +0000

The debut novel of Michael Sala, a semi-autobiographical account of his early life, is a book steeped in memory and the power of stories, writes Bethanie Blanchard.

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Man on a Ledge — on the precipice

Crikey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:24:41 +0000

Sam Worthington stars in director Asger Leth's action/heist movie Man on a Ledge, which is caught between imminently forgettable cinema and something greater, writes Luke Buckmaster.

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The Artist — delightfully retro

Crikey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:43:13 +0000

Like Singin’ in the Rain, Oscars front-runner The Artist follows actors making the transition to audio-enabled cinema. It is a lavish retro delight, writes Luke Buckmaster.

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Driving interrogation: exploring the nuanced landscape of L.A. Noire

Crikey — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:25:21 +0000

Dan Golding is running late. It's 1947 and he's supposed to be on the other side of downtown Los Angeles. This is L.A. Noire, the blockbuster thinking man's video game: slow and unusually contemplative.

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