Cinema 5 has lines down the screen and stinks. In general the non-gold cinemas are in bad repair…read more bad counter service, too.

If I could rate this place zero stars I would. Terrible service from the get-go. Total unenthusiasm…read moreas you walked in. The staff at the front desk were a young boy with brown hair and a young girl with ginger hair. My son and his friend came in looking to watch the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie. After the two fifteen-year-olds get asked for their source of identification, to which they had none I had to come in and purchase a ticket to watch the film with them. Before the movie started, I went to the bathroom, leaving the kids with their friends and his mother, who coincidentally where also going to see the movie. Before I returned, my sons friend rang me saying that they were rudely escorted out of the cinema. Now from what I heard, the boys were not disruptive in any way but when given a harsh warning from the ginger haired girl they tried to think of a way to stay. So they asked his friend's mother to say that she was looking after them until I got back. When the rude girl returned, she started yelling and pointing for the boys to get out right away. Now up to this point it was only 10 minutes into the film. After trying to talk to the girl, and she not listening, the boys left. My boys then asked for a refund but were told that they had already watched "half" of the film and had committed a crime. Some back and forth later and we left without seeing the movie and 80 DOLLARS down the drain. Horrible experience overall. If I recall the girls name was Elena. We think that it is only fair if Elena gets spoken to about general communication.

I was lucky enough to have volunteered at the 2011 BIFF and I can't wait to go back for the 2012…read moreone. It may not be a big festival, certainly nowhere near as "important" as Cannes, but it's fantastic nonetheless. As an avid cinephile, this is a great opportunity to see movies that I wouldn't normally see or that won't get a long and/or national release. You can find a lot of gems here as well as the terrbile 'what were they thinking making this' movie. Although it all comes down to personal taste. The 2011 was spread out into three main cinemas: Palace Barracks, Tribal Theatre and Palace Centro. Previous years have been held in GoMA, Regents (though that one is no longer open), and South Bank Cinemas. It can be a little bit of a hassle moving from one cinema to the other if the movies are screened at different locations. And this in turns makes it difficult to park if you're driving or catching public transport. But those are things you figure out beforehand. If you are planning on seeing a whole lot of movies then I suggest you buy one of the various film passes. They will save you money but you'll have to book the movies in advance so choose carefully and make sure you don't pick clashing times, especially at different cinemas. It's not just for adults either. There's the Cinesparks portion of the festival, usually a week or two before the actual BIFF, that caters for school aged children. There have been some issues with the movies at Cinesparks, with some teachers thinking the movies may have contained content that was too mature. Again, that's up to your personal standards. However, BIFF is a great cultural event. When the next one comes around do yourself a favour and have a look.

I love going to the cinema and I have a passion for film, so much so that when I talk or write…read moreabout it my heart beats just that little bit faster. So you would think that a film festival would be right up my ally and you are totally right. I love the Brisbane International Film Festival and have been going to it for years. This year I decided to get a little more involved and volunteered. It was one of the easiest volunteer gigs I have ever done and the rewards were plentiful. The festival itself runs for around 2 week in November and has too many films on offer to count. The downside (like any film festival) is that most films only get one or two screenings so you sometimes miss out if they don't quite work with your schedule. The festival will have some themed sections like this year surf films and Fantastic Fest line up. They also had a drive in cinema going as part of the festival and the Cinesparks kids line up also. I love BIFF for the documentaries and foreign films they bring in. I was lucky enough to catch Being Elmo (about the puppeteer that is Elmo) that was fantastic and a brutal Cantonese film (I think) called Revenge: A love Story that left be speechless as I exited the cinema. You don't get to see these sorts of movies normally. Volunteering for the festival was fantastic. It takes little effort and mainly involves collecting tickets and doing a quick clean of the cinema. And you get to see the movie on your shift for FREE! as well as get another free screening of your choice to use throughout the festival. I highly recommend volunteering. Everyone was so lovely and it was nice to share my passion for film with other kindred spirits. I highly recommend you go to BIFF next year. It is one the highlights of my year and well worth the price of a few cinema tickets.

What else do you do on a dreary Monday but go to Gold Class to blow over $100 on the privilege to…read moresee a film in a reclining lounge chair? Alright, it's a little more than that. You'll pay $20+ for your tickets to have the pleasure of being able to booze in the cinema, and order real food in the form of a meal to eat while you watch the movie. The menu is surprisingly large and features some more sophisticated terms, one example being "Wagyu beef". There's some attractive options to share. Expect to pay between $20-$50 for something off the menu. The wine list isn't too bad. My friend and I ordered a bottle of champagne for $28 (cheapest option- we like it this way). If you're feeling more expensive or fancy, you've got a large list of cocktails to choose from. To answer the obvious question, yes, you can still get popcorn at Gold Class. The only difference is that it comes in a silver bowl rather than a cardboard box. Just after the previews had finished, a waitress came to serve us. An ice bucket was put down beside my chair, the champagne was wrapped in a napkin, and our popcorn was placed in front of the two ice cold champagne flutes on the table. It was delightful, and hilarious all at the same time. This is a great way to approach a favourite domestic past time- with class.

Event Cinemas has to be one of the leading chains in Australia. However, each of their venues has…read moreits own unique feel which is why I think it appropriate to review the Garden City Cinemas. Now I don't live anywhere near Mt Gravatt but met a friend here the other week to see the Inbetweener's Movie. Waiting patiently for him to arrive I had little trouble finding this massive cinema. I waiting downstairs near the main box office. This level seemed a bit bare to me compared to your average Event cinema which normally has advertisements overflowing and trailer pumping. Downstairs it looked quite quiet. There was however, one massive and quite impressive staircase leading up which made me think there was definitely more to come..and I was not wrong. The whole upstairs level contained many comfy couches, the Candy Bar, Big Screens screaming trailers, cardboard cutouts of the latest movies and posters by the dozen. The best thing about this cinema is that, even on the busy nights, there is plenty of room to move. You can happily sit and relax before your film and never feel claustrophobic because of a crowd. Event Garden City has three Gold Class cinemas, two VMax, and eleven traditional cinemas inside, so they are often showing a lot of films at any time (including Bollywood). They still abide by the same standard pricing and everything as all Event cinemas but the service was very good and the cinemas nice and clean. Definitely a good spot to see a film.

Not enough people know about The Brisbane Underground Film Festival (otherwise known as BUFF). BUFF…read moreruns in October of each year and brings to Brisbane some of the more obscure films that would not normally get a normal cinema release, think Hobo with a Shotgun. If you like obscure or cult films then check out BUFF. They make it their aim to play the kinds of films that never get a cinema release in Brisbane or at all. They play the types of films that go straight to DVD that have that irresistible B-Grade quality to them. The revel in horror, art house, and just the plain old strange, again think Hobo with a Shotgun. BUFF gets off the ground with the help of the Brisbane Powerhouse. This is also where you can watch the films. BUFF won't be highly advertised and it is easy to not even notice it is on. I recommend liking their facebook page now so that you keep updated.

Film Festivals have to be one of my favourite Brisbane events to go to. Luckily, we live in a city…read morethat has a lot to offer from BIFF (Brisbane International Film Festival) to BUFF (Brisbane Underground Film Festival). The Brisbane Queer Film Festival is perhaps one of the more prominent themed festivals to hit the city each year. Held at the Powerhouse, this festival is the largest in Queensland celebrating queer cinema. The movies on offer will either be by queer filmmakers, include queer themes, be made for a queer audience or a mixture of both. Being a lover of all things film, you definitely do not have to be queer to enjoy this festival. The films on offer are often interesting and entertaining. I love festivals because they give you the opportunity to see films on the big screen that would never normally have gotten a cinema release (or have very limited cinema releases). The BQFF is perfect for this. Rarely do you see films with queer themes in the regular cinema but BQFF is testament to the fact that there is definitely an audience wanting to see them. Taking place around April each year, I highly recommend you keep an eye out for what will be on offer in 2012.

The most magical time of the year is not DECEMBER it is in…read morefact JANUARY (the month of glorious, smelly old books!) Lifeline book fest is akin to Christmas, Hanukkah and my Birthday, In fact every year I come in armed with a trolley bag and steely determination to nab every good book I find. But you ain't got to be no square to enjoy books, from Tolstoy, Dancing Cat's and Bird Watching almanacs to Snoop Doggy Doggs ABC, Bookfest has got you covered. I like to start off in the RARE EXPENSIVE section and gradually wheeze my way to the children's books. (Don't tell me you don't want Roald Dahls BFG on your bookcase.) Bookfest is likely to steal away your whole day so really do try and come prepared. It's best to come on the first couple of days before the best books are nabbed, also PLEASE do account for food stuffs otherwise you'll wind up shaking, confused and clutching the sport biography of Michael Clark (Asiya circa 2010)

It's the night before Lifeline Bookfest and I'm acting like a five year old does on Christmas Eve…read more I'm making wishlists, setting my alarm, and trying to drink as much warm milk as I can manage because I JUST CAN'T SLEEP. I'm too excited. Lifeline Bookfest is held at the Brisbane Convention Centre bi-annually. It's a Save The Date kind of affair. Basically, an entire libraries worth of books is dumped and strewn throughout an exhibition hall and put on sale for dirt cheap prices. There are literally MOUNTAINS of books to sift through. It's not all chaos though, the books are categorised by genre. You'll be able to navigate through the aisles easily enough if you can manage to move amid the crowd. Favourites among the crowd are the HQ (High Quality) section, and the games section. Looking for a backgammon board or a game of Cluedo? You'll find it here. Several of them. You'd do well to get in early. There are hoardes of people that travel all across Brisbane for this event. People use trollies instead of book bags. It is an all out frenzy. You'll only be able to move an inch at a time through the aisles because you'll be immersed in a thick soup of crazed book worms getting high on stale book smell. The best part is listening to the public announcements while you're browsing. There's always calls for missing people and lost children. The guy who does the call outs is sardonic and funny as hell. He alone is worth coming down for.

The end of Brisbane's mildly cold but sunny winters and beginning of our stinking hot wet summers…read moreis signalled by Parklife, the first event on the festival season calendar. Thousands of barely dressed revellers descend on the city's beautiful botanic gardens...and proceed to to do their best to trash it. Luckily, the festival is pretty well planned and the gardens suffer no lasting damage. They even have some great green initiatives, with $1 drink and food tickets given for every cup, bottle and can collected and taken to a recycling tent. The music is usually an eclectic mix of various dance artists with last years festival including big name acts from Australia and overseas playing electro, dubstep, drum and bass, house, techno and plenty of underground styles. It's not an event for the faint-hearted, with massive queues to get in, get drinks, and visit the port-a-loos but its well worth it for the awesome atmosphere and great music. Ticket prices go up every year but as yet, they're still pretty reasonable and usuallymuch better than the other festivals of the season.

Oh, the old BAT! How I love thee with such fond memories of yesteryear when I played Violet in…read moreWilly Wonker & The Chocolate Factory. Nestled on Petrie Terrace, there have been so many good times had in this venue and I'm so glad it's still around. In terms of Brisbane theatre it's a bit of an icon and a talking point. So many performers started their careers within the walls of the Arts Theatre and hopefully it will keep happening for decades to come! It's always good to keep an eye out on their season. And if you have kids who want to be involved in theatre there are frequent auditions for kids shows and always something to entertain them during school holidays. It's a great thing to support local theatre and the arts, so why not jump onto the Arts Theatre website and see if there's a play or musical to tickle your fancy. You won't get a more intimate or local experience in any other theatre in Brisbane.

Gosh. I love this place…read more I've been to a good few shows here over the years, and my last visit was my second viewing of Avenue Q in this venue. First up, this place is small, and yes, it's an amateur run place. I love how cozy it is. We were back row and still incredibly close, and they definitely get some great talent. There's a bar (you can't take alcohol into the theatre, but the bar opens a hour before the performance, and there's usually an intermission) with a limited range of alcoholic drinks, but you can get the usual soft drinks, snacks and ice creams too. I am particularly fond of BAT because they appear particularly fond of Terry Pratchett, so that's a big win in my books. Don't go in expecting QPAC, just go along, have fun and support a community theatre. There needs to be more places like this.