children

Five Reasons Why the ‘Righteous Kill’ Poster Makes Us Want to See Anything But ‘Righteous Kill’

6:00AM STV | Our visit to the multiplex last weekend went well enough for the most part; we liked The House Bunny just fine, and the Babylon A.D. trailer looked suitably career-ending for our tastes. It wasn’t until we exited the theatre that our nerves deadened and our hearts sank: There, in a lobby dotted with orphaned popcorn kernels and bereft souls, we had a closer look at a poster for the upcoming Al Pacino/Robert De Niro cop flick Righteous Kill. And while it might seem too easy to write the film off as a gimmicky genre exercise at first blush, it would hardly be fair to do so without seeing it. That said, we noticed five things off the bat that not only implied an alarming sloppiness, but seemed to actively discourage our viewership. After the jump, our essential wake-up call for studios, poster designers and casual fans alike. More »

Bindi Irwin Hopes Australian Children Want To Wear Her Beautiful Skin… Sorry, Clothes

9:22AM Clem Bastow | Despite what you may glean from her perma-enthused persona, Bindi Irwin is not actually a cyborg child from planet Goblin just like the rest of us: she gets nervous when her pet project is laid on the line for the children of Australia to judge (i.e. with their parents’ money). That’s right, Bindi’s new Bindi Wear International range of branded clothing debuts at Myer stores this week, and the crimping iron fan is hanging out to see how her range of sensible slacks goes down with the little’uns. While the label was officially launched at the Magic clothing fair in the US in August, Australia is the first country where the clothes for babies and girls and boys up to 12 will go on sale. “I am so excited to have my own range, I can’t wait to see other kids wearing it,” Bindi, 9, said. In its first real test before it hits stores, two fashion-loving Sydney sisters put the range of cool and khaki clothes to the test. Avid Bindi fan Hannah Stevenson, 5, loved that there was more than khaki in this collection, with a pink-dappled camouflage dress with front bow and ruffled skirt one of her top choices. While it was a pretty piece, it was in a canvas material and was tough enough to endure jumping off the garden fence at her Croydon home, one of her favourite activities. Canvas! Great! Isn’t that the childrenswear equivalent of, dunno, a kero bath for nanna? Like, sure, kids’ clothes need to be durable, but canvas? What next, chainmail? Here you go, little Johnny, wrap yourself up in this nice, snuggly Kevlar dressing gown! The label says it’s stingray-proof! More »

“A Nation Of Music Pirates”, Apparently Meeting At Children’s Birthday Parties

12:54PM Clem Bastow | There’s nothing the media loves more than a beat-up about online piracy – why, they even managed to turn the Underbelly fracas into an exposé about file-sharing – so it wasn’t like we were surprised when we read this morning of Australia’s apparent boom in music piracy. However, we were rather amused when they moved the story to the front page around lunchtime, and chose to illustrate it in this manner: Yes, it seems the worst offenders in this affront to artists’ rights are children who think Jack Sparrow is a pretty cool dude. Next time you see a six-year-old loitering in the Wiggles/Hi-5/Bindi Irwin section at HMV, crash tackle them – they’re probably on a reconnaissance mission for their illegal file-sharing ring, for which “Grade 1B” is just a shonky front. More »