December 27th, 2012 by Mark Bristow

If you've read reviews of The Hobbit (the latest Tolkien adaptation from director Peter Jackson), you'll notice that instead of discussing the movie's plot or pacing, a lot of critics are getting stuck into the technology responsible for the movie's look and feel. This is partially because The Hobbit's story is based on a much-loved classic that a lot of people are already familiar with, meaning that ... Read more

October 31st, 2012 by Mark Bristow

Halloween may be a commercially-driven celebration of a Northern Hemisphere harvest festival that takes place during the completely wrong season in Australia, but it’s also as good an excuse as any to overindulge in sweet things, dig that opera cape you’ve been saving for special occasions out of the cupboard and kick back in front of the tube while you wait for the impressionable youngsters to ... Read more

October 11th, 2012 by Elise F

One of the oldest and most common battles in any Australian household is over who gets to rule the remote control. According to the latest report from Australian audience measurement research firm OzTAM, 95 per cent of all program viewing is still done on a television set - and women make up 53 per cent of the television audience! The survey also found that Australians viewed on average ... Read more

October 8th, 2012 by Elise F

Sports fans around the country have well and truly kicked the post-footy blues, flocking to both stadiums and their televisions to see the first round of the A-League season get underway. Almost 94,000 fans attended A-League matches over the weekend - giving the competition its biggest single-round attendances in its seven-year history - and Fox Sports achieved record TV ratings. Newcomers the Western Sydney Wanderers faced off against ... Read more

October 4th, 2012 by Elise F

Can you believe that it's the 25th anniversary of the cult movie The Princess Bride? The cast marked the occasion at the New York Film Festival yesterday, walking the red carpet and attending a screening of the classic. But if you're anything like me, you might need to jog your memory about the plot… Directed by Rob Reiner (of This is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me fame), the ... Read more

October 3rd, 2012 by Elise F

The footy season may be over, but there is one last chance to grab a glimpse of the premiership winning Sydney Swans in their hometown before they hang up the boots for the year. In an announcement by New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell, the team will make their way through the CBD before arriving at a reception at Town Hall this Friday (October 5). The Swans claimed ... Read more

August 30th, 2012 by Mark Bristow

This Father's Day, once Dad’s received his presents and gone out for his celebratory lunch or dinner, it may be time to settle in with a movie on the big-screen TV. But which movie? There are many different films that explore different aspects of fatherhood, and other topics close to the hearts of different Dads. Here are five different films that look at fatherhood in five different ways (needless ... Read more

August 21st, 2012 by Elise F

You've managed to find a few precious minutes to sit down in front of the TV and unwind. Except there's only one problem … there's nothing worth watching. We've all been there - you don't feel like committing to watching a DVD and you simply can't muster the energy to do anything else except to relax with some mindless viewing on your big screen TV. If you're anything like ... Read more

July 13th, 2012 by Mark Bristow

We've previously looked at how to get your living room into shape for watching London this year. Now it's your turn. Don't panic, you won't have to run laps or swim record-breaking times.  But seeing as the events will be taking place in London, on the far side of the world, you will need a plan, a schedule, and a basic understanding of international time zones if you're ... Read more

July 6th, 2012 by Mark Bristow

There's nothing quite like a live performance, whether on the stage or on the screen.  You just can't beat the spontaneity that comes from the possibility of everything going horribly wrong at any time. Sometimes live TV does go wrong, or at the very least, gets very weird very fast.  But as we've been reminded in recent weeks, these epic fails can be funny in a way ... Read more