No bells and whistles,just effortless comedy in The Cheap Seats

No bells and whistles,just effortless comedy in The Cheap Seats

Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald bring wit and impressive research to mining the week’s news for laughs.

  • byMelinda Houston

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Oscar winner Javier Bardem is not what he seems in The Good Boss
★★★½
Review

Oscar winner Javier Bardem is not what he seems in The Good Boss

The acclaimed Spanish actor is excellent as a villain in a comedy that is no laughing matter.

  • byPaul Byrnes
Only the sex is missing in novel about the wonder of female bonds

Only the sex is missing in novel about the wonder of female bonds

Mark Lamprell eloquently depicts the intense bewildering ecstasy between two women battling different forms of oppression in the 1960s.

  • byJessie Tu
The Ash Barty of MasterChef:Billie McKay is back,but not for the fame

The Ash Barty of MasterChef:Billie McKay is back,but not for the fame

She’s not interested in having her own cooking show,but the opportunity to pit her skills against other MasterChef winners proved irresistible.

  • byBridget McManus
Don’t see The Lost City for the storyline,see it for Sandra and Channing
★★★
Review

Don’t see The Lost City for the storyline,see it for Sandra and Channing

The movie,also starring Daniel Radcliffe,is a sweet,cartoonish reboot of Romancing the Stone.

  • byJake Wilson
Barbra Streisand at 80:It all comes back to the voice

Barbra Streisand at 80:It all comes back to the voice

As the MSO books four Hamer Halls in celebration,Michael Dwyer marvels at 80 years of Barbra Streisand.

  • byMichael Dwyer
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Australian comic Claudia O’Doherty lives the American dream in Killing It

Australian comic Claudia O’Doherty lives the American dream in Killing It

Starring with Craig Robinson from The Office and Brooklyn Nine-Nine,O’Doherty plays Jillian,who makes money killing snakes.

  • byBridget McManus
Mirandi Riwoe inverts the world to examine the lives of outsiders

Mirandi Riwoe inverts the world to examine the lives of outsiders

Book-ended by two novellas,her new collection The Burnished Sun focuses on people marginalised from their cultures and communities.

  • byDeclan Fry
‘I hated that place’:the Travel Guides twins on the highs and lows of travelling the globe

‘I hated that place’:the Travel Guides twins on the highs and lows of travelling the globe

Now in its sixth season,the travel show has given the two livestock station workers an opportunity to tour the world.

  • byBridget McManus
Comedy’s big sell:how performers get creative to promote their shows

Comedy’s big sell:how performers get creative to promote their shows

With more than 450 acts in this year’s comedy festival,artists have to be imaginative,particularly online,to sell tickets

  • byJoanne Brookfield
Sonic the Hedgehog shows no sign of slowing down in sequel
★★★
Review

Sonic the Hedgehog shows no sign of slowing down in sequel

The electric-blue hedgehog faces off against his arch enemy,Dr. Ivo Robotnik,played by Jim Carrey,and a fierce red echidna called Knuckles.

  • bySandra Hall