Thursday 15 December 2011

'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' movie release

'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' movie release

The fourth feature of the cinematic franchise adapted from the 1960s television series sees Tom Cruise return as Ethan Hunt, the American operative who carries out top-secret, deniable operations for the US government.
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Directed by Brad Bird

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton

The Impossible Mission Force is shut down when it is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his new team to go rogue and clear their organisation's name.


'The Descendants' opens Moonlight Cinema - Melbourne

'The Descendants' opens Moonlight Cinema - Melbourne

'The Descendants' will open the season of the Moonlight Cinema today in Perth. The film is already a front-runner for a number of Oscar nominations.
Venue:
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne/Cranbourne, Private Bag 2000, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Website: http://www.moonlight.com.au/
Directed by Alexander Payne

Starring George Clooney, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Robert Forster

The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant journey for Matt King (George Clooney), an indifferent husband and father of two teenage girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty.

The Descendants will open the season of the Moonlight Cinema in Melbourne. The Moonlight Cinema will run from the 15th of December to the 17th of February. For the full program please check the website.

'Melancholia' movie release

'Melancholia' movie release

This brand new film from controversial director Lars von Trier surrounds two sisters who find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide into the Earth.
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Directed by Lars von Trier

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard and Kiefer Sutherland

Melancholia is an apocalyptic drama that revolves around two sisters during and shortly after the wedding party of one of them, while Earth is about to collide with an approaching rogue planet.

Opeth tour - Brisbane

Opeth tour - Brisbane
Swedish heavy metal pioneers Opeth will return to sunny Australia this month for a national tour in support of the release of their tenth studio album, 'Heritage'.
Venue:
The Tivoli, 52 Costin Street, Fortitude Valley Bc
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Website: http://www.opeth.com/
With more than 20 years and 10 albums under their collective belt, Opeth's legion of fans has grown as much as their kaleidoscopic sound has broadened. Since forming back in 1990 in Stockholm, Opeth have established themselves as pioneers of the progressive death metal/rock genre, blending folk, blues, jazz and metal influences with dynamic growling and clean vocals.

Throughout their career, Opeth have sold out concerts around the world and toured with the likes of Cradle of Filth, Megadeth and Baroness and now, the band has just released their highly-anticipated tenth studio album, Heritage, their first studio album in three years. Produced by Jens Bogren (Katatonia, Soilwork), Heritage takes a step back from Opeth's traditional style by removing all death growls from the songs - making it reminiscent of their seventh album, Damnation.

For the first time in two years, Opeth will return to Australia this month for a brief national tour - a perfect Christmas present for fans. The band will perform at The Tivoli in Brisbane on Thursday, December 15; The Enmore in Sydney on Friday, December 16; The Palace in Melbourne on Sunday, December 18 and Metropolis in Perth on Tuesday, December 20.

Click here for the full media release.

'Of Flesh' exhibition opens - Sydney

'Of Flesh' exhibition opens - Sydney

Renowned artist Eugene D'Souza new exhibition 'Of Flesh' opens in Sydney today. The exhibition is a selection of quirky compositions of psychic landscapes with curious intensity. A space where embryonic fish collide with ominous beetles.
Venue:
Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011 to Thursday, December 22, 2011
Website: http://www.gaffa.com.au/
Informed by the convergence of his parallel careers in medicine, psychiatry and art, his work echoes of medical illustration and straight-up surrealism to create an absurd and thoroughly compelling theatre of pathos and strange beauty.

Of Flesh will be showing at Gaffa Gallery from December 15th - 22.

Grand Theft Auto III 10 Year Anniversary edition released

Grand Theft Auto III 10 Year Anniversary edition released

Grand Theft Auto III will be releasing its 10 Year Anniversary Edition and will be available for select new generation iOS and Android devices on the App Store and Android Marketplace today.
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Website: http://www.rockstargames.com/
The game will retail for US$4.99 and will be available on iPad 1 & 2, iPhone 4 & 4S, iPod touch 4th Generation and a wide range of Android Phones and Android Tablets.

Bomb hoax accused faces court - Sydney

Bomb hoax accused faces court - Sydney
The man accused of strapping a fake bomb to the neck of Sydney teenager Madeleine Pulver in Mosman on August 3 will face Central Local Court today as the case continues.
Venue:
Sydney Central Local Court, 98 Liverpool Street, Sydney
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
51-year-old Paul Douglas Peters (pictured) is charged with breaking into the family home of Sydney teenager Madeleine Pulver in Mosman on August 3 and attaching a 'bomb-like' device around her neck. The father-of-three had no direct links to the Pulver family, despite living in a home nearby their Central Coast holiday house, and was arrested in Kentucky in the United States over ten days after the 18-year old's 10-hour ordeal.

He was extradited to Australia and faced Central Local Court in Sydney on Thursday, November 11 where he was formally refused bail. All evidence served by Peters' counsel will be served by December 12 and the matter will return to court today.

Giddy & Crittenden Solicitors act as Peters' lawyers.

'The Women on the 6th Floor' movie release

'The Women on the 6th Floor' movie release

A French comedy set in 1960s Paris as a conservative, upper-middle class household is rocked by the arrival of a Spanish housemaid.
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Directed by Philippe Le Guay

Starring Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Carmen Maura

This French comedy surrounds an upper-middle class household who is rocked when the family's maid abandons them, forcing new resident Maria (Natalia Verbeke) (young, hardworking and - quelle horreur - Spanish!) to move in.

Remarkably, it doesn't take long for the building to become enchanted by the new arrival.

Formula SAE electric car championship - Melbourne

Formula SAE electric car championship - Melbourne

The Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia will host the world championship 'formula one' for alternative energy-fuelled cars beginning in Melbourne today, with teams from all over Australia the world entering racers powered by electricity, ethanol and solar energy.
Formula SAE electric car championship - Melbourne
Venue:
Victoria University Footscray Park, Ballarat Road, Footscray
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011 to Sunday, December 18, 2011
Website: www.saea.com.au/formula-sae-a
Formula-SAE is the world's biggest engineering competition, formatted to allow students to design and compete on the international stage with a Formula 1-style car built from scratch. The Formula SAE Championships offer engineering students all over the world the chance to design, manufacture and race an open-wheel race car. The team is run and managed by students, with two academic supervisors.

As in 2010, entries will be accepted for vehicles in the following categories: PULP fuel (RON 98), Ethanol E85 fuel and electrical vehicles.

69th Golden Globe nominations announced - Music News Australia

The nominations for the second biggest Hollywood awards ceremony will be announced today.
69th Golden Globe nominations announced
Venue:
USA, ,
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Website: http://www.goldenglobes.org/
The Golden Globe Awards recognize both domestic and foreign achievement in the entertainment industry, focusing attention on the best motion pictures and television shows in the world.

Hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, these annual awards have been won by actors such as Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Leonard DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, Jim Carrey, Denzel Washington, Nicholas Cage, Al Pacino and Nick Nolte among a string of others.

Some of the feature films tipped to pick up some nominations this year include The Descendants, War Horse, Moneyball, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and J. Edgar. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Tilda Swinton, Kirsten Dunst and Rooney Mara are also tipped to receive nominations.

'J. Edgar' movie release - Music News Australia

'J. Edgar' movie release

'J. Edgar' movie release

Clint Eastwood's biopic of the polarising and secretive figure who headed up America's FBI for almost 50 years, played by Leonardo Di Caprio.
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012
Website: http://www.village.com.au/
Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Leonardo di Caprio, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas

As the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

'A Dolphin Tale' 3D movie release

'A Dolphin Tale' 3D movie release

Based on a true story this film tells the story of an injured dolphin who is rescued by an aquarium and eventually given the ability to swim again with the aid of a prosthetic fin.
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Website: http://www.dolphintalemovie.com.au/
Directed by Charles Martin Smith

Starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd

Based on true events Dolphin Tale is a family film about Winter, a young dolphin who loses her tail in a crab trap and Sawyer, the introverted, 11-year old boy who befriends her. Sawyer meets the rescued dolphin at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a marine rehabilitation center where she lives. Sawyer rallies friends and family alike to save Winter by convincing a pioneering doctor to create a unique prosthetic attachment to restore the dolphin's ability to swim. Winter the dolphin will play herself in the movie.

Para-cycling and Madison National Championships - Melbourne

The three day track carnival is a key lead up event for the 2012 UCI Track World Championships being staged in Melbourne next April and for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Para-cycling and Madison National Championships - Melbourne
Venue:
Darebin International Sports Centre, 281 Darebin Road , Thornbury
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011 to Saturday, December 17, 2011
Website: http://www.cycling.org.au/
The Para-cycling competition will be fierce as Australia's Paralympic Games hopefuls fine-tune their preparation for the Para-cycling track world championships being staged in Los Angeles in February.

Australian Open 2012 begins - Melbourne - Music News Australia

Australian Open 2012 begins - Melbourne

The first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments of the year, the Australian Open will see some of the world's best professional tennis players converge on Melbourne to take home a slice of over $23 million in prize money.
Venue:
Rod Laver Arena, , Melbourne
Date: Monday, January 16, 2012 to Sunday, January 29, 2012
Website: http://www.australianopen.com/
First held in 1905, the Australian Open is the first of the four annual Grand Slam tennis tournaments, followed by the French Open, US Open and Wimbledon. The prestigious tennis competition offers men's and women's singles tournaments; men's, women's and mixed doubles; junior, wheelchair, exhibition and legend's competitions.

More than 650,000 people flock to the Australian Open each year in Melbourne to catch a glimpse of the world's best players, and to see them in action on the court. Players taking part in this year's tournament include Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray, Sam Stosur, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Li Na.

Off court, a number of leading musical artists will put on a show for tennis fans, including Eskimo Joe, The Potbelleez, Bluejuice, Josh Pyke, Tim Freedman & The Half Idle, Jimmy Barnes, Washington, TV Rock and Daryl Braithwaite among others.

Who's coming:
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sam Stosur, Lleyton Hewitt, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray and more

Sydney Festival begins - Music News Australia


Sydney Festival is the New South Wales capital's most popular and prestigious annual cultural event. Over the years, the festival has welcomed thousands of performers, celebrities and professional experts who have performed to more than 250,000 people each year at venues across the city.

The 2012 edition of Sydney Festival looks toward the horizon with a truly global summertime celebration of our shared humanity, of Australian innovation and of two dynamic communities with the potential to shape our city's future cultural identity: Sydney's second CBD, Parramatta, and Redfern - Australia's 'black capital'.

This year's festival will celebrate Sydney's unique history and potential with Black Capital, a series of performances, seminars and exhibitions reflecting the city's diverse contemporary Indigenous culture in Carriageworks in the heart of Redfern. The festival will also visit Riverside Theatres and the Idolize Spiegeltent in Prince Alfred Park in Parramatta.

The 2012 Sydney Festival will welcome an array of prestigious guests, including the creator and host of This American Life, Ira Glass; Faith No More frontman and eclectic musician Mike Patton; songstress and icon PJ Harvey; singer-songwriter Beth Orton; legendary theatre director Declan Donnellan; choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the National Theatre of Scotland.

Overall, this year's festival offers 11 world premieres, 15 Australian exclusives and 14 Australian premieres, presenting more than 1,500 artists from around the globe.

Opening night at the Domain Stage will feature the quietly enigmatic Gurrumul Yunupingu, followed by the gorgeously idiosyncratic Washington and rounded off with the international music globetrotter, Manu Chao, in his first Australian performance.

Who's coming:
Ira Glass, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, Beth Orton, Declan Donnellan and more