It's no secret that times are tough for the Australian textiles and manufacturing industry. Sadly, over the past decade or so, many local makers (often family businesses who have been in the industry for generations) have been forced to close up shop due to the increasing ease and cost effectiveness of offshore production. For those wonderful Australian designers passionate about supporting what is a rapidly declining local industry and community, it has become near impossible to continue to produce within this country. While a lower price point and greater accessibility to a revolving door of trends may seem attractive, it's important that as conscious consumers, we have an understanding of the negative environmental and social implications that are inextricably associated with offshore production. More importantly, we must have an appreciation for the incredible amount of time, love, energy and money that goes into producing within Australia as a result of our diminishing industry. Now more than ever is the time to support the network of extremely talented local designers who are doing their darndest to preserve the integrity and quality of the local industry. To further understand what it means to make within Australia, we spoke to some local designers about why it is so important to them. Kuwaii Kuwaii is well-known and loved for producing impeccably constructed garments, as well as nailing the near impossible balance between shoes that are more comfortable than slippers and totally appropriate for grown-up occasions. Designer Kristy Barber's ability to find a harmonious balance between intricate details and beautiful form is undoubtedly thanks in large part to Kuwaii's strong local base. Kuwaii on local industry: "It's important to preserve the knowledge and skillset of local artists and craftspeople. The more we manufacture off-shore, the quicker this will die out. Also, we believe shipping items across the world is a ridiculous concept and bad for the environment!" Dress Up Working out of a quiet little studio in the creative oasis of Collingwood on Melbourne's north-side, Stephanie Downey crafts impeccably tailored womenswear for a loyal audience of thoughtful consumers. Cutting her own patterns and consistently developing wardrobes' worth of instant classics, Downey credits the connection with her local makers, combined with the almost tangible levels of love she injects into Dress Up and the implicit trust and dedication she shares with her wearers. Dress Up on local industry: "I love being able to have close relationships with my makers — I've learned so much from them. They can see first-hand the love I put into my designs, and consequently they really care about the quality they provide. I think that my customer appreciates that integrity, and the story behind their purchase. We all celebrate local independent fashion brands, but it would be impossible for them to exist without the option to make in Australia." PER-TIM The lovechild of dream-team babes Bernadette Francis and Laura Albee Barton, Per-Tim hasn’t even released their first collection and are already attracting all the right kinds of attention for their considerate take on design and creative relationships. Approaching each collection as a project, Francis and Barton not only consider supporting local industry to be an integral aspect of their brand philosophy but also the ongoing collaboration with a range of different practitioners across a variety of creative fields. Their first collection, Club Bed, sits snugly within a gap in the market for innovative loungewear and bedding. PER-TIM on local industry: "It's very important for Per-Tim to oversee all manufacturing processes, to know that each item is made by hands that have been given a fair wage and to ensure that we are making product in a sustainable manner. Additionally, it is of great concern to us that our production industry is slowly dying, especially here in Melbourne, and we want to do all we can to maintain the many skilled workers and suppliers who are running out of work here as relatively lower costs continue to attract small labels to produce offshore." Kinoak Amie and Max Kohane's label Kinoak is like a stone to the heart for lovers of super steezey styles at the intersection of cool and kawaii. A perfect combination of high-quality casual wear, innovative silhouettes and references to a Japanese aesthetic, Kinoak hails FREE TIME (the name of their latest collection) as the Holy Grail. Having worked in the fashion industry for many years (namely, as production manager for P.A.M), Amie formed good working relationships with manufacturers and since starting her own label in 2011, has seen first-hand the rapid degradation of the industry. Kinoak on local industry: "If we can support what is left of the local manufacturing industry, we will always have creative, sustainable and independent fashion in Australia." Garth Cook Even before launching his label in 2009, Garth Cook believed in manufacturing locally in his hometown of Perth, or within Australia. Doing everything from the designing, fabric selection, pattern cutting and toiling for each collection, Cook works with one talented machinist who completes the sampling and production for each season. Finding strength in precise lines and celebrating the female form, it's clear that Cook's work is made with loving hands. Garth Cook on local industry: "I know that it would be much cheaper for my brand to produce in Bali, India or China but I know that I would not be able to meet the minimum order requirements. More importantly I would miss out of the consultation, advice, quality and genuine care that I receive from my one and only machinist. I know that we have a lot of talented pattern cutters, machinists and production facilities in Australia. I think it would benefit our micro industry immensely if larger fashion business produced here. But it also comes down to designers and retailers educating their clients about where and how fashion is made. Unfortunately most people don't think about the environmental impact of fast fashion and the conditions in which it is made." Top image: tsuacctnt via photopin cc.
"Hey Garth, I really think you should read this book." Audiences have those ten words, as sent to Australian filmmaker Garth Davis in an email, to thank for Foe. When the director behind Lion and Mary Magdalene received that recommendation, it was from someone in the film industry that he didn't know — "it was just random," Davis tells Concrete Playground — and it led to his third feature. It also gave the world the outstanding pairing of Irish actors Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, aka two of today's best talents, playing a married couple in the year 2065 when the climate crisis has made the earth nearly unliveable. The novel: Canadian author Ian Reid's text that gives Foe its name. The plot: in that time to come, Junior (Mescal, Carmen) and Hen (Ronan, See How They Run) are etching out what life they still can on his family's wilting American midwest farm when government consultant Terrance (Aaron Pierre, Old) arrives in the night to change everything. On the page and on the screen, this tale enlists Junior on a two-year space mission to help build an installation that's part of the plan to sustain humanity away from its ravaged home planet. It also reassures the couple that Hen will have familiar company: a duplicate that'll look exactly like her husband, as designed to slide seamlessly into his place. "I bought the book pretty much straight away, and then I read it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. Then I went back and read it again a second time," Davis explains. He also stresses the "obvious reasons" for that instant revisit, as anyone who has also devoured Reid's book will know — and viewers, too, once they've seen the movie that the filmmaker and writer teamed up to pen the script for. "When I was reading the book, I didn't have any expectations to turn it into a film. But as I was reading it, the first thing I was struck with was that kind of Hitchcockian feel in the setup. The stranger arriving in the night, this couple living on an isolated farm — it just felt I was seeing the movie in my mind," Davis continues. "But then what really interested me was it just went against all my expectations. Suddenly I became fascinated by this relationship, this marriage on-screen, and very curious why the wife was behaving in strange ways, this hot and cold quality to her behaviour. This deep meditation on their relationship started to unfold, and I found that fascinating." "Then it goes down this glorious, feverish rabbit hole, and all of these things are revealed, which I found an amazing experience. All that aside, after going through the whole journey, what I felt in my heart was Hen, and I really aligned with what she was fighting for in her marriage and in her life. She had that curiosity for life. She had that hunger to live. She understood the preciousness of time and to not take things for granted, and I found that something I could really align with," Davis notes. Largely a three-hander that's primarily shot in Victoria's Winton Wetlands — doubling for the US as Ronan and Mescal sport the appropriate accents — Foe marks a change of big-screen pace for Davis. When the Brisbane-born filmmaker made his feature debut with Lion after directing episodes of Love My Way and Top of the Lake, he jumped between India and Australia to helm a movie that'd earn six Oscar nominations and win two BAFTAs, and starred a hefty cast including Dev Patel (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar), Nicole Kidman (Special Ops: Lioness), Rooney Mara (Women Talking) and David Wenham (Elvis). Next, with biblical drama Mary Magdalene, shooting in Italy beckoned, also with ample on-screen names such as Mara again, Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth). The calibre of talents remains for Foe, clearly, but making something more intimate was firmly Davis' desire. Our wide-ranging conversation with the director about Foe, which is now in Australian cinemas, also spans that purposeful shift, the film's AI and environmental themes, humanity's approach to artificial intelligence, making a marriage drama first and foremost, the movie's stellar cast and Davis' learnings after Lion's huge success. ON FOE JOINING THE GROWING RANKS OF AI FILMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCI-FI "When we were looking at the book, it wasn't really in the vernacular at that point. It just wasn't happening. It wasn't in the zeitgeist. It wasn't until we started, at the end of the shooting, getting to editing where suddenly Starlink was in the sky, suddenly AI was — well, AI came quite late, but suddenly everything was coming alive. I just feel like we slipped right into the zeitgeist. I mean, I would think twice about doing it now because it is so saturated, but at the time, it just wasn't around. For me, this is not a film about that. This is a film about a relationship and that was my main interest. But what I did like about the AI and sci-fi device, it just created this super-exciting way to explore that human relationship in ways that you ordinarily couldn't. For Hen to be able to have a relationship with the version of her husband like when she first met him — I just love that proposition. I think that's really interesting. And how to navigate that in a believable way and a performance, I found even more challenging and interesting." ON FOE'S VISION OF THE FUTURE "I think this movie is very timely — and what I have witnessed is a lot of young people, maybe 16–25, in audiences really loving this movie and being alarmed by this movie for lots of reasons. They see it as their future, and they do identify with Hen because they feel they've been let down by my generation, who have basically not changed or done anything when the writing's on the wall. I guess what I love about the themes of this story is that it really explores stasis and our complacency — and when you take something for granted, you truly lose it, not just in ourselves but in the planet. I love all those aspects of the story, and it's something that I really felt we should be reminded of as we navigate into this technological future. I still think this question of what makes us feel fulfilled and how do we find a meaningful life, I think it's just going to get harder as we go along. And I guess the film is just reminding us not to keep looking outwards, to look inwards, and that we do have the power to make changes — we can stand up and say 'we don't want this' or 'I want to live my life and find my agency'. In a way, it's a kind of a wake-up call, this movie. It's a little bit of a call to arms — a call to arms to protect yourself and to fight for that, because that's what's precious and it's very vulnerable at the moment. I've got kids as well and they're all really pissed about the environment, and we've done nothing about it, and they're really annoyed. So when they when they see Saoirse Ronan, which is a human being that they all look up to as a good person, to see her playing a character that is frustrated by those very things and to want to have a justice for humanity, it's inspiring to these kids. They really love it." ON EXPLORING AI AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN AN ON-SCREEN VILLAIN "It's ironic that, in a way, the AI brought context and meaning to Hen's journey and helped her process a lot of things. So, yeah, you can definitely see the benefits of it. This is another way to look at: everyone talks about what AI's going do for them or take away from them, but have we ever thought for a moment about the ethics around creating sentient beings? Where do our ethics lie there? Because a lot of this artificial intelligence is being created to serve us — I guess it's a form of slavery in a way — and what happens when they do become sentient? What do we do then? Are they going to have rights or are they going be just used for our pleasure? So I don't know. I can see why people create it and I can see the positive aspects, but we do have responsibility, surely. We have responsibility in nature too, and we've fucked that up, so we're probably going to do the same with this." ON MAKING A MARRIAGE DRAMA FIRST AND FOREMOST "I think this couple is very relatable. I think everyone can attest to taking someone for granted over time, not even knowing so and finding you're in a very different point in the relationship. The actors bring their own understanding of that to the choices they make. Paul would have his own personal understanding of that, as would Saoirse — and that brings the richness through those choices. With this film, there's the story you think you're watching and the story that's really happening. And there's these delicious stakes, and all these wonderful riches to explore in the performance. The stakes change and build for all of the characters in different ways. We just have to drill down with all the actors in terms of preparation. We just made sure that we understood the real stakes of the characters at each of those points, so that we could bring something very believable through in the performances." ON CASTING SAOIRSE RONAN, PAUL MESCAL AND AARON PIERRE "You obviously look at a big list of people when you are working on the script — well for me anyway — and she was the person that I could feel the most in the room. I could almost feel her personality beside me and I could feel this curious human being, someone that had this inner light — I could really feel her. I took that feeling into the casting process and Saoirse was definitely right at the top of the list for that. She is an extraordinary actress, but she's just got this great personality that shines through all of her work. That's what I desperately wanted in the movie. It's what's precious. So we decided to start with her, and once she agreed to do it, then it's alchemy — it's like an emotional alchemy from there. You try to find people that you think could have a great chemistry with her and that led me to Paul Mescal. And what I loved about him, too, is that he had both alpha quality and that feminine quality. I thought he had emotional range to play the versions of himself that he needed to play, and he had such a deep love and respect for Saoirse — and their Irish heritage, of course. Then we did actually have Lakeith Stanfield cast as as Terence. We actually sold the movie with Saoirse, Paul and Lakeith Stanfield. That's what we took to the market. Then Lakeith Stanfield exited the project very, very late in the game, which was very distressing for me. But sometimes the universe intervenes in the right way — so it led me to Aaron Pierre. And I think we've been graced with this extraordinary performance from him. It it's so gorgeously nuanced and surprising and disorientating. So it was lucky — and it is so important that the film lives and dies on these actors because we've got nowhere to go. It's all about the psychology and the relationships on-screen, and I can't imagine it being anyone else really." ON AUSTRALIA STANDING IN FOR AMERICA'S MIDWEST "When I show the movie in America, they have no idea it's Australia. They actually go 'wow, that's a really haunting but scarily believable version of midwest'. So I think we did our job properly — I just had to avoid all the Australian tropes. It was really important for me that I wanted everyone to feel the earth dying and feel its distress, and its call for help. I really wanted to find landscapes that were real and I could put in camera, and Australia just delivered that feeling to me — and that was what was very exciting. The Winton Wetlands is where we built the set of the house, and it's haunting because there's a lot of death, obviously, with these dead trees, but you can really imagine what it would have been like when it was alive. It would have been the most beautiful farm. So I love all of that. I love that there's always beauty in our movie no matter how hard it gets — there's always a beauty in it and and I guess there's hope in that in a way. There's love in that. So I understand why he holds on to the farm. It would have been something that was loved and cherished, even though it may feel uninhabitable at this point. I can understand why we attach ourselves to these things. Everything was very deeply considered and chosen on a gut level to what we're trying to do on the story." ON MAKING A ONE-LOCATION FILM AFTER LION AND MARY MAGDALENE "It was actually a wish that I had. I've always done these super-ambitious, sprawling stories wrangling lots of cast, locations, traffic, chaos, extras. And I love all of that, don't get me wrong. But my absolute joy is when I when the camera's on that little boy's face and he does a performance that takes me away [in Lion], or Nicole Kidman in that scene with Dev, or Top of the Lake with Elisabeth Moss revealing this child that she has and the emotions. That's when I go 'I just want a whole movie full of that, how do that?'. So I guess I've always had this wish, like if there was the right material, I'd love to just just have a couple of actors in a room and go down that rabbit hole so. I guess this movie is partly serving that appetite for something more intimate". ON WHAT LION'S SUCCESS TAUGHT DAVIS ABOUT HIS CAREER "Lion, in a way, proved to me that you've just got to follow your instinct with what you want to make. Lion, I just fell in love with the story. I was passionate about it. I was very involved with with the script in many ways structurally, and in how we're going to tell the story. It just confirmed that I can follow my instinct and it can work out, and that was really exciting. I knew it was a story that people were going to love, and I would say that to my producers 'I think this is going be a really amazing movie' And of course [they'd reply] 'we hope so, we hope it works'. That was just a really great feeling to make something in such a pure way and for it to be accepted on such a scale. I approach all my projects like that now. I haven't changed. I have to feel it. I have to be excited about it, challenged by it. And I can be making things at any point, but I wouldn't be in alignment with my with myself. So I'm taking maybe a longer road or a different road, and just trying to just trying to make films that I care about. That's really, really what I'm doing." Foe opened in Australian cinemas on November 2. Read our review.
UPDATE, April 30, 2021: If Beale Street Could Talk is available to stream via Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play and YouTube Movies. What a joy it is to rove one's eyes over Barry Jenkins' films. Not just to watch, or to take in their stories, but to truly gaze upon his images and revel in every visible detail. Cinematography has been described as painting with light, and it's a turn of phrase that wholeheartedly applies to the filmmaker's work with his regular director of photography James Laxton. But in Moonlight and now If Beale Street Could Talk, the duo don't merely splash brightness and shadow across the screen, although they do just that with exhilarating precision. Jenkins and Laxton also paint with movement, thanks to swirling frames that instantly evoke the feelings being experienced by their characters — the feeling of only having eyes for one person no matter what else is happening in the world, for example. And they paint with colour, expanding their tales through telling hues, including warm, inviting reds and moody, swoon-inducing blues. It's fitting that colour plays such a prominent role, visually, in If Beale Street Could Talk. Adapted by Jenkins from the late James Baldwin's novel of the same name, colour plays a driving role in the film's narrative. As the exceptional documentary I Am Not Your Negro demonstrated in 2017, Baldwin was perceptive, impassioned and understandably enraged about the topic of race relations in America, a perspective that always remains apparent here. If Beale Street Could Talk is a romance, charting an unbreakable bond between childhood pals turned neighbourhood sweethearts Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo 'Fonny' Hunt (Stephan James). However, as set in 1970s Harlem, it's also an account of how prejudice shapes their everyday reality. Aged 19 and 22, this deeply infatuated couple know that just getting by won't be easy. They're well aware of the disadvantages they've been born into because of their skin colour. They endure this difficult reality everyday, whether trying to find an apartment or simply stopping by the corner deli. Then Fonny is arrested and incarcerated for a crime that he didn't commit, a development that's sadly as topical and relevant today as it was when Baldwin was penning his prose. That's not the only life-changing development within If Beale Street Could Talk, with Tish discovering that she's pregnant, then revealing the news to Fonny through the forbidding glass of a prison visitors' room. Battling to save one life while preparing to welcome another, the star-crossed pair discover how hard they'll have to fight for what's right. The conflict extends to their home turf, where his family are far from happy about adding to their number — but Tish's, especially her steely, devoted mother Sharon (Regina King), is willing to do whatever it takes to help. Black lives devastated by discrimination, young lovers braving seemingly insurmountable obstacles: both tales have played out across countless pages and screens before, although not as they do so here. There's a bewitching alchemy to the combination of Baldwin's words and Jenkins' direction — never shying away from the despairing truth of the situation, but never wallowing in inescapable bleakness either. Indeed, If Beale Street Could Talk takes the opposite position. As its entrancing imagery and emotive score always remind viewers, this is a film of love above all else. Affection doesn't dissipate when times are tough. Kindness isn't absent from lives thwarted by institutionalised oppression. Rather, affection and intimacy are the counterforce that keeps a flicker of light glowing in marginalised eyes. If love can sustain a man faced with losing his freedom, a woman trying to remain strong as her world crumbles and a mother pushed to desperate deeds to protect her family, then it can survive anything. In every sensory stylistic touch, Jenkins paints this revolutionary sentiment across If Beale Street Could Talk's frames. Make no mistake, finding such delight and beauty amidst such struggle is revolutionary. So is recognising that these characters' stories, and the characters themselves, are rich, detailed and worthy of being treated and seen in such a tender way. Jenkins tells tales and peers at people with empathy that's palpable, intoxicating and infectious. Thanks to his winning way with actors, he also has considerable assistance. From King's rightfully awarded efforts, to Colman Domingo's caring turn as Tish's father, to Dave Franco's brief appearance as a generous landlord, there are no weak links here. Still, it should come as no surprise that Layne and James earn the camera's adoration. More than that, they demand it. Together, they make a shared glance seem like the most important moment in the world, whether it's exchanged beneath autumn trees or directed through physical barriers. What a joy it is to witness their exquisite performances and natural chemistry, all while their protagonists weather both infuriating trials and quiet triumphs. And, what a joy it is to watch them in this — Jenkins' heart-swelling, insightful and yet almost dream-like piece of cinematic perfection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8qbq6Z6HYk
When Léo (debutant Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (fellow first-timer Gustav De Waele) dash the carefree dash of youth in Close's early moments, rushing from a dark bunker out into the sunshine — from rocks and forest to a bloom-filled field ablaze with colour, too — this immediately evocative Belgian drama runs joyously with them. Girl writer/director Lukas Dhont starts his sophomore feature with a tremendous moment, one that's arresting to look at and to experience. The petals pop; the camera tracks, rushes and flies; the two 13-year-olds are as exuberant and at ease as they're ever likely to be in their lives. They're sprinting because they're happy and playing, and because summer in their village — and on Léo's parents' flower farm — is theirs for the revelling in. They don't and can't realise it because no kid does, but they're also bolting from the bliss that is their visibly contented childhood to the tussles and emotions of being a teenager. Close's title does indeed apply to its two main figures; when it comes to adolescent friendships, they couldn't be tighter. As expressed in revelatory performances by Dambrine and De Waele, each of whom are genuine acting discoveries — Dhont spotted the former on a train from Antwerp to Ghent — these boys have an innocent intimate affinity closer than blood. They're euphoric with and in each other's company, and the feature plays like that's how it has always been between the two. They've also never queried or overthought what their connection means. Before high school commences, Close shows the slumber parties, and the shared hopes and dreams. It sits in on family dinners, demonstrating the ease with which each is a part of the other's broader lives amid both sets of mums and dads; Léo's are Nathalie (Léa Drucker, Custody) and Yves (Marc Weiss, Esprits de famille), Rémi's are Sophie (Émilie Dequenne, An Ordinary Man) and Peter (Kevin Janssens, Two Summers). The film adores their rapport like a summer day adores the breeze, and conveys it meticulously and movingly. To watch this 2023 Best International Feature Film Oscar-nominee, 2022 Cannes Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner and recipient of Sydney Film Festival's top 2022 gong is to feel, to an extent that cinema only rarely manages. In fact, Léo and Rémi's camaraderie is that vibrantly depicted, and performed with portrayals that naturalistic and unaffected, that it's three things simultaneously here: a once-in-a-lifetime marvel, as innate as the act of growing up, and instantly relatable and recognisable to anyone who has ever had their own inseparable BFF as a child. That bond is such a given for the pair themselves, and that status quo is so entrancingly communicated by the movie, that questioning it is a shock for everyone. These friends have forged their identities as a duo, but they're also at that awkward coming-of-age stage where the wider world starts intruding upon their wants, likes and senses of self, and enforcing its traditional ideas of masculinity. Bluntly, the girls in Léo and Rémi's grade ask if the two are a couple. More than that, they contend that the boys are one without even realising it. Enter the overwhelming weight of the society's norms, as Léo struggles with the schoolyard query and slowly pulls away. Words have consequences in Close. Actions do along with them. What kicks off as a portrait of a perfect friendship then segues into the agony of an idyll bursting. As homophobic jeers echo, Léo withdraws, boisterously palling around with other classmates instead and opting to take up ice hockey. Rémi keeps trying to reach out, and keeps showing his pain and confusion as Léo ditches him at breaks, after lessons, and on their usual rides to and from class. In a sensitive script penned with his Girl co-scribe Angelo Tijssens, Dhont understands the heartache and heartbreak of a boyhood bond dissolving. His feature ripples with grief on a variety of levels. But the filmmaker and the film alike also deeply appreciate the heady jubilation of its opening third. They relish it. Close's second half is shattering; however, this is a movie that knows that to have forged such a connection is a thing to treasure even when it's lost. Close's second half wouldn't devastate as it does if its first wasn't so keenly felt. This isn't an overplayed picture — understatement is one of its key and crucial elements — but it's expertly attuned to what it's like to have a kindred spirit in your youth, and to the immense void left when that's gone. Perhaps the best way to describe Close is with its homonym's antonym: open. Even when Léo begins closing himself off to Rémi, the film he's in remains unguarded in its gaze and emotions — and Dambrine and De Waele's performances retain the same trait as well. To watch Close is also to peer into the faces that fill its frames, as lensed vividly in claustrophobic closeups and telling wide shots by cinematographer Frank van den Eeden (Nobody Has to Know, and also Dhont's Girl), and to embrace the swirl of sentiments lingering inside. Looking at the movie's two young stars never simply involves seeing them overtly shift in tone. Spending more time with Dambrine isn't just a case of watching conflict, sorrow, realisation and guilt flicker in his eyes, either. Similarly, when Close intently observes the always-excellent Drucker in a pivotal mid-movie moment, then gives Dequenne more attention in its later scenes, it's open to — and tender about — how complicated its scenario and feelings have become. The details in Close are everything, as they are in all relationships. Here's a mere four examples: the alternating closeness and space that van den Eeden spies when Léo and Rémi share a mattress, as kids at sleepovers do; the pride that wells in Léo's eyes as he watches skilled musician Rémi play the oboe; the seconds that stretch like lifetimes as Léo, Drucker and Dequenne process trauma right in front of the audience; and the seasons passing, as marked by the flower farm's rainbow of colours revolving through its annual cycle. As set to a subtly rousing string-and-oboe score by Valentin Hadjadj (another Girl returnee), every aspect of this delicately crafted gem is personal yet universal, as it should be considering its origins. Dhont harked back to his own close friendships as a teen, while also taking inspiration from psychologist Niobe Way's Deep Secrets: Boys' Friendships and the Crisis of Connection, a study of 100 boys aged 13–18. It's no wonder, then, that Close couldn't feel more raw, rich and authentic.
Take a look at the weather forecast this week. There is no doubt about it, folks: summer is here. So how will you keep cool? Well, when the AC undoubtedly goes on the blink and your bargain pedestal fan isn't cutting it, you can always reach for a Vegemite icy pole. Wait,what? First, we had Vegemite Cadbury chocolate (for some ungodly reason). Then, everybody's favourite experimental chef Heston Blumenthal created Vegemite ice cream. Most recently, Four'N Twenty pies made the iconic spread an ingredient in a new pie. In all of this instances, the Vegemite could almost be forgiven. It was just sitting innocently on the shelf, ready to be spread on plain, ol' bread (which is the only acceptable form of consumption, really) and someone else has come along to do the dirty work. But not this time. The brand itself is behind this obscene snack suggestion. Yesterday, with no absolutely no warning, Vegemite dropped this tweet. Brace yourselves Australia... it's time for VEGEMITE Icy Poles! #Chilled pic.twitter.com/AgbsR2QKCN — Vegemite (@Vegemite) December 13, 2017 Twitter was equal parts confused and disgusted. Was this a prank? It's not April. What does a Vegemite icy pole consist of? The brand quickly followed up with a recipe, which calls for thickened cream and milk plus a whole lot of sugar to balance out that distinctive Vegemite salty tang. It can be found here if you're game. Personally, we think we'll stick to tried and trusted Zooper Doopers. Image: Twitter.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations, giving you inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to beautiful Bali for a special stay at Plataran Canggu Bali Resort and Spa. We love this place so much that we teamed up with the resort to offer an exclusive three-night travel deal — including meals, massages and exclusive access to the iconic Cafe del Mar below. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? There is so much more to Bali than Bintang beers and boogie boards. In fact, despite a reputation among Aussies for its larger-than-life party scene, traditional Balinese culture embraces patience, peace and placidity. And Plataran Canggu Bali Resort & Spa one is of the best places to lose yourself to this experience ... without completely forgoing access to your favourite beach bars. Cocooned within lush rice fields and tropical green gardens, the tranquility of Plataran will transport you to a bygone Bali. Head back to a time when tourism on the island was practised through rich spa rituals, extraordinary cuisine and truly spiritual traditions. While this secret hideaway will make you feel removed from the chaos and crowds, swept away to the simplicity of village life, the magic of cool Canggu is right at your doorstep. THE ROOMS Designed in the form of a labyrinth (the legacy of the late renowned landscape architect, Made Wijaya), Plataran's landscaped gardens ensure that each of the property's private villas are protected from the outside world — the ultimate in serenity. Featuring traditional alang-alang grass-thatched roofs and antique carved doorways, villas are either one or two bedrooms, most accompanied by private pools, and all featuring modern comforts, luxurious bedding, natural stone bathtubs and private terraces with day beds. For a truly unforgettable stay, consider booking the Founder's Home. Personally designed by Platarn's founders, this options allows you the opportunity to sample the Founder's Menu and take part in the Founder's Activities, a series of experiences curated by the resort. FOOD AND DRINK With three on-site restaurants, you're sure to find a meal to tempt your tastebuds. If you're seeking rustic yet refined al fresco dishes, you'll find them in abundance at Plataran At Canggu. The resort's namesake restaurant is surrounded by lush forestry with seating under the sparkling lights of the evening stars. Or you can secure a table at Teras Canggu, which elevates Balinese street food into a world-class fine dining experience. Guests who book this deal can enjoy a complimentary dinner for two adults at either destination included in their package. Alternatively, settle in for a feast at Tiga Dari Snack Bar, with its flavour-packed fast food perfect for a catch-up with friends. If you're confident in your own culinary abilities (or want to improve them), consider enrolling in a Plataran Canguu cooking class. The experience kicks off with a chef-led excursion to the local markets to collect fresh products and ingredients and culminates in a private lesson in a traditional Balinese kitchen, complete with wood-fired oven. Designed to help you craft a shareable spread, the class offers insight into local cooking practices – with a delicious meal to show for it at the end. THE LOCAL AREA As social as Seminyak (minus the traffic jams) and almost as unadulterated as Ubud (minus the 60+ minute drive to get there), Canguu is primed for new and returning visitors to the Island of the Gods. And at Plataran Canggu Bali Resort and Spa, you have a brilliant base to enjoy the best of the area's offerings. Extend your stay in the zen zone with a sunset stroll along Echo Beach or an afternoon surfing the waves at Berawa. Otherwise, dedicate your day to brunch-stopping and bar-hopping at one of Canggu's many cool beach clubs. If the options feel overwhelming, let us choose for you. Guests who purchase the Concrete Playground Trips Plataran Canggu three-night travel deal receive access for two adults to one of the world's most iconic beach clubs — Cafe del Mar — including day bed and a bucket of beer, absolutely free. THE EXTRAS As well as the previously mentioned complimentary dinner and beach club access, guests who take advantage of this exclusive Concrete Playground Trips promotion can also enjoy a free, 60-minute Balinese massage for two adults at the resort's Padma Spa. With a Sanskrit name that translates to 'sacred lotus', this spa embodies the quintessential qualities of the iconic flower. It's certain to leave you feeling beautifully balanced in body and soul (and budget). Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
Glass, by director M. Night Shyamalan, concludes a trilogy nobody knew was a trilogy until the final moments of his previous film, Split. What at first seemed a fun and, at times, disturbing thriller about a split-personality kidnapper (played by a terrific James McAvoy) suddenly presaged an entirely new world of superheroes in the vein of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Harking all the way back to Shyamalan's 2000 film Unbreakable, Glass is the film designed to bring together the stories of McAvoy's unhinged killer, Bruce Willis's reluctant hero and Samuel L Jackson's evil genius. It's a two decade project and a gutsy effort to try something new. Unfortunately, the finished product fails to live up to the alluring concept. A quick refresher. Unbreakable brought together two fascinating characters in the form of comic book expert Elijah Price (Jackson) and sports stadium security guard David Dunn (Willis). Dunn is the sole and miraculous survivor of a horrific train crash from which he emerged entirely unscathed. He's a soulful and introverted family man, and it's not until Price contacts him that he realises he's never been sick or injured his entire life. Price, by contrast, is wheelchair bound, a sufferer of a brittle bone disease that makes him, effectively, as fragile as glass. Price's theory is that if he's as weak as humanity permits, it stands to reason someone must be his direct opposite; a man who is, essentially, unbreakable. Then in 2016 came Split and the introduction of The Horde (McAvoy), a collective name for the many personalities embodying the hapless Kevin Wendell Crumb. Chief amongst them is The Beast, an abnormally strong and animalistic entity capable of scaling sheer walls and even ceilings. If Dunn is the superhero, then The Beast is the super villain. Glass ties these characters together by locking all three up in a mental institute under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson). Her speciality is illusions of grandeur manifesting in the belief that its sufferers are superheroes, and the film does an impressive job of sewing doubt in both the characters' and audience's mind that everything we've seen to date might be explained away by simple science. It's an enticing counterpoint to the conventional superhero narrative, which tells us they simply exist and that's that. Here, Shyamalan continues his preoccupation with how one might become a superhero. It's a trilogy-long origin story, grounded in the lore and mythology of comic books. Fascinating as that idea is, however, the movie spends far too long footnoting itself, going to pains to explain again and again how its events track the narrative arc of any comic. It's as if Shyamalan is desperate to ensure you know how clever his idea is, and all you want to do is yell back at the screen: IT'S OKAY! WE GET IT! MOVE ON! Admittedly, it is clever. The idea that superheroes do exist, but are also very human and only marginally more enhanced and capable than everyone else represents an appealing and refreshing take on the genre. And yet the film's theoretical strength is also its practical weakness. The climactic clash between Dunn and The Beast feels entirely lacklustre and unimpressive in a world now accustomed to such scenes frequently involving the levelling of entire cities. Mass destruction can be tiresome as well, of course, but surely there's room for something in between? In Glass, the characters are a far cry from Superman, Thor or The Hulk. Consequently most of their fighting consists of the pair locked arm-in-arm like a dull MMA bout. There are flourishes of brilliance – Beast's inhuman gallop across a field being amongst the best – but they're far too infrequent. Ultimately though, the biggest problem with Glass is that it's far too preoccupied with explaining itself as it goes. And so while the journey is enjoyable enough, the final feeling is that a great opportunity has been missed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ghQs5AmNk
UPDATE, September 29, 2023: Cocaine Bear is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Killer trailer, filler flick: that's the Cocaine Bear story. This loosely based-on-a-true-tale horror-comedy sports a Snakes on a Plane-style moniker that sums up its contents perfectly, as the sneak peek that arrived at the end of 2022 made enticingly clear. Going heavy on the so-OTT-it-can-only-be-real vibe, that initial glimpse also tasked Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) with exclaiming a couple more sentences to express the utter bewilderment that this story sparks. "The bear, it fucking did cocaine. A bear did cocaine!" he shouts, and with exactly the right amount of infectious incredulity. That is indeed what happened in reality back in 1985, after all, and it's what Elizabeth Banks brings to the screen in her third stint as a director after Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie's Angels — always playing it, for better when it's at its goriest and for worse when it stretches its idea thinner than a white line, like wild tale that it inescapably is. Yes, almost four decades ago, an American black bear did cocaine when drug smuggler Andrew C Thornton (Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason) dropped a hefty pile of the narcotic from the air. The stash landed in the wilderness, catching the attention of the world's most unlikely coke fiend in Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The creature ripped open the white powder-filled containers, then ingested — and Cocaine Bear endeavours to have fun hypothesising what could've come next. On-screen, a rampage by the critter now-nicknamed Pablo Escobear ensues, with blood, guts and limbs flung around; the body count mounting like Michael Myers is doing the offing (or maybe Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey's other recent ravenous bear); and two words getting screamed over and over. They're just the terms a picture called Cocaine Bear was always bound to focus on: cocaine and bear, obviously. To be fair to the characters in Banks' film, if you came face to face with a bear doing cocaine, you'd likely yell about it loudly and often as well. Here, the folks doing the bellowing are all 100-percent fictional, and mostly disposable. Nurse and single mother Sari (Keri Russell, Antlers) learns of the cocaine bear after her daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project) skips school with classmate Henry (Christian Convery, Sweet Tooth) and ends up in the hopped-up mammal's path. St Louis-based drug kingpin Syd (Ray Liotta, The Many Saints of Newark) has his son Eddie (Ehrenreich) and dealer underling Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr, Obi-Wan Kenobi) actively looking for the coke, while Tennessee detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr, Da 5 Bloods) is actively looking for them after Thornton's death. And, tourists Olaf (Kristofer Hivju, Game of Thrones) and Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra, Faithfully Yours) just happen to be hiking in the park that day, while Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale, The Watcher) and wildlife expert Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family) are onsite doing their regular jobs. In the leadup to Cocaine Bear's release, a free Pac-Man-style game hit the web — you play as the bear, snorting energy from lines, packets, piles and bags of cocaine, running around a maze and chomping down as many people as you can. Cocaine Bear, the picture, runs on the same simple thrill, just without anyone mashing buttons to make the animal get devouring. Accordingly, when the bear is coked-up and carnivorous, the flick revels in comedic creature-feature bloodlust and slapstick. A mid-movie ambulance chase and its aftermath is highly inspired and highly amusing, and just as gloriously ridiculous as it should be. The sequence's action choreography, pacing (thanks to editor Joel Negron, Jungle Cruise) and cinematography (via John Guleserian, Candyman) vibrates with a buzz, and nails the B-movie tone that Banks and screenwriter Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) are overtly pawing at. Do bears shit in the woods? Yes. Does Cocaine Bear struggle with almost everything around its woodland carnage? Yes again. Alas, if someone isn't being torn to pieces — and each death honestly could be anyone, with more and more supporting figures popping up but everyone lucky to be one-note — the film is about as convincing as its clunky CGI. The script strains so hard for low-hanging laughs around the mauling, which is where all those squawks about cocaine and bears come in, that it's a surprise that no one declares "I've had it with this muthafuckin' bear on this muthafuckin' cocaine". And trying to wring emotions out of parent-child bonds and loss just feels pointless; viewers are here for drug-addled ursine attacks in as many inventive ways as possible, not for cheap heartstring-tugging that does the bear minimum. Banks' cast put in as much effort as they're asked to, sniffing up the trashy 80s mood as they navigate all that bear-induced chaos. From Russell as a determined mum, Rhys' brief cameo as the man who starts it all and Martindale as a lovelorn ranger — all The Americans co-stars — through to the late, great Liotta in one of his last roles, the bickering-and-bantering Ehrenreich and Jackson, and Prince and Convery almost doing a Moonrise Kingdom parody, they're all visibly having a good time. Cocaine Bear isn't as much sustained fun for its audience, however, but it sure wants to be. Its trailer is a killer in two ways: supremely entertaining, and also everything it needed to be in less than three minutes, ensuring that a full film, even a concise 95-minute one, was destined to seem bloated in comparison. A silly slasher, but about a high-and-hungry bear getting grizzly: that's Cocaine Bear at its most engaging, and it's easy to see a gleefully absurd direct-to-streaming franchise springing with instalments like Methamphetamine Monkey and Ecstasy Alligator following — all with diminishing returns. Of course, every animal-attack movie will always pale in comparison to the wildest one there is, aka 1981's lion flick Roar, which'll also rumble to mind when anyone attempts to follow in its footsteps. That's the kind of predator pandemonium that Banks doesn't realise you can't set out to make, but becomes a cult film on its own tumultuous and messy merits. IRL, the cocaine bear that inspired Cocaine Bear didn't munch its way through the park's visitors, with the actual creature now stuffed and on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall — a far blander fate than Cocaine Bear posits, but one just as padded.
Vintage images of bygone eras are always fascinating to admire as it provides a window into the life of a different time and place and highlights the stark differences in culture 100 years makes. These photographs of Paris in 1914 are particularly enchanting not only because they go back to the denouement of the peaceful and reformatory Belle Epoque, with these Parisians unknowingly on the cusp of two devastating world wars, but also because they appear in colour. These were the sort of inspiring settings that influenced legendary writers such as Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein. The vibrancy of the images add character to the scenes laid out and provide a more accurate depiction of what the streets of Paris were really like during this period. These photos poignantly capture the original iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret before it was tragically destroyed in a fire a year later, the pizzazz of a troupe of performers in period costume assemble, average Parisians in the streets, iconic buildings and theatres, as well as a one-legged soldier standing beside a cannon.
Now that the silly season buzz is slowly wearing off, it's time to kick those new year resolutions into gear and jump on the healthy eating train. Thankfully, Brisbane has some wonderful places that are jam-packed full of nutritious and delicious choices. Here are Concrete Playground's top five spots for healthy eating in Brisbane. Botanica Brand new to Brisbane, Botanica is the place to go for fast and fresh food. Located in Red Hill, Botanica offers a wide array of tasty salads packed full of flavour. For dessert indulge in chocolate truffles, or one of their beautiful friands. Botanica caters for all health food preferences including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and raw foods. Stop by and indulge in fast food for the healthy elite. Shop 9/1 Enogerra Tce Red Hill; www.botanicarealfood.com.au My Heart Garden Owned and run by students of renowned mediation teacher, Sri Chinmoy, My Heart Garden aims to serve food that is nourishing for body and soul. A vegetarian cafe, meat lovers should still give it a try as the food is so hearty and packed full of flavour that you will not even notice the absence of meat. The service is excellent making the entire visit a spirit-lifting and wonderful experience. 5/225 Hawken Drive, St Lucia; 07 3870 8898; www.myheartgarden.com.au Fundies Fundies in Paddington is stocked full of all of the healthy living items that you need. Spelt, semolina, you name it they've got it. The grocery store is a haven for the food intolerant. Gluten-free Byron Bay pies to take home and cook at your leisure. Ice cream made on coconut or almond milk for the lactose-free. Hallelujah! The attached cafe also has delicious food for breakfast and lunch including their amazing (vege) burgers and enormous salads. 219 Given Terrace, Paddington; 07 3368 1855; www.fundies.com.au/index.html Govindas For those based in the Brisbane CBD and looking for a healthy lunch alternative to the usual sandwich and salad offerings, Govindas is the place to go. Their $12.90 ($10 for students) all you can eat and drink Feast Meal is incredible value. Your plate is piled up with jasmine rice, the daily special curry, kofta balls, lentil soup, salad and Halava and custard for dessert. The flavours are amazing and the service is fast and friendly. First floor, 99 Elizabeth St, Brisbane City; 3210 0255; http://brisbanegovindas.com.au/ Wray Organics Wray Organics has grown in the last five years to a franchise with eight stores throughout south-east Queensland. Offering top quality organic produce, Wray stores are stocked with fruit and veg, meats, nuts, dairy and snacks. The stores in Newmarket and Indooroopilly also have cafes adjoined with fabulous and healthy meals on offer for breakfast and lunch. Display cabinets will be stocked with frittata, patties and salads as well as many sweet treats catering for all dietary requirements. 14 Lambert Road, Indooroopilly; 07 3871 3411; http://www.wrayorganic.com.au/home.aspx
Ending the year as you mean to go on is the ultimate New Year's Eve mantra, and it seems that Australia's weather has taken the sentiment to heart. After the country clocked up its third-warmest year on record in 2018, it kicked off 2019 with toasty spells in both Sydney and Melbourne — and another country-wide spate of hot, hot heat is on its way. It is summer, of course; however the next run of warm weather will see the nation affected by a heatwave from Monday, January 14. According to AAP and The Guardian, every state and territory will feel the heat. The mercury will hit the 30s in every capital city, although the impact will differ around the country. And again, while sunny, sweaty days are part and parcel of this time of year, each capital will experience temps above its average maximum for January. The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that Sydneysiders can expect at least a five-day stretch of 30-plus temperatures from Tuesday, while Brisbanites will swelter through the same temps for the whole week. In Melbourne, a maximum of 37 degrees is forecast on Monday, followed by 35 on Tuesday, before easing off down to 21 on Saturday. https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1084218154782478337 In what's proving to be a particularly hot start to 2019 in South Australia, Adelaide will reach 41 degrees on Tuesday and 40 on Wednesday — part of a southern spike that'll also see Hobart make it to 30 degrees on Tuesday and Canberra endure a four-day span of temperatures between 38–40 degrees. Perth will bake on Saturday, when a 37-degree day is expected, while Darwin will stay above 30 all week. Wherever you're spending the next seven days, air-conditioning, pools and the beach are your friends.
Just like those pesky, flimsy shopping bags that Australians no longer take home in bulk every time they buy groceries, plastic plates, cups, bowls, straws and cutlery now have an expiration date. In the country's next effort to give the environment a huge hug, Coles has announced that it'll stop selling single-use plastic tableware, taking all such products off its shelves by the middle of the year. Come July 1, you won't be able to buy something that's plastic and disposable to eat off of, drink out of or eat with at any Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express outlets and Coles Liquor stores, which spans the chain's 2500-plus sites. Instead, if you need something for a party or a picnic, there'll be paper products that use materials from responsibly managed forests, as well as reusable options. Coles expects that the move will stop 1.5 million kilograms of single-use plastic going to landfill each year. That's a huge number — and if you think it doesn't affect the kind of rubbish that gets left around in public spaces, Clean Up Australia Chairman Pip Kiernan notes that 18.5 percent of the garbage its volunteers collect come from single-use cups, plates, bowls, straws, stirrers and cutlery, which end up everywhere from parks and by the road to waterways and beaches. While Coles will ditch single-use plastic tableware from mid-year Australia-wide, it'll actually kick things off before then in South Australia, where legislation banning the products comes into effect on March 1. Queensland is also on the path to scrapping single-use plastic items, with a bill currently under consideration and a start date of September 1 mooted if the legislation is enacted. Over in Western Australia, it's working towards a 2023 date to start phasing out plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws, thick plastic bags and polystyrene food containers. Coles isn't the first supermarket to get ahead of the legislation and ban single-use plastic tableware, with Aldi making the move in 2020. It has already stopped selling plastic straws, plastic disposable tableware and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. Coles will stop stocking single-use plastic tableware from March 1 in South Australia, and from July 1 around the rest of the country. For more information, visit the Coles Group's website.
Sometimes the only way to break the chaotic cycle of inner city living is to ditch it all for a weekend away in nature. Whether you're after a coastal getaway or a hinterland escape, camping is your answer to a rejuvenating, back-to-basics holiday. Though you'll be swapping solid bed for solid ground, camping doesn't mean you have to rough it. In fact, you can take a little bit of home comfort with you without disturbing the wildlife or ruining the fun. To help inspire you, we've partnered with Jim Beam to bring you three camping must-haves to make your nights under the stars all the more special. UPGRADE YOUR BREKKIE WITH A WAFFLE MAKER Gone are the days of charring a piece of bread on a stick and calling it breakfast. When you're next setting off on a canvas adventure, pack a Davis & Waddell Square Waffle Maker (available from Bunnings for $29.95) and you'll really impress your camping buddies come sunrise. The waffle maker is best used on gas or electric cooking tops, and you don't have to stick to the recipes included in the pack. If waffles aren't your thing, use it to heat up banana bread or get creative come dinner time with this recipe for pizza. The waffle maker's compact size makes it a handy cooking device without taking up too much space in your snack compartment. BRING THE TUNES, WITHOUT BRINGING DOWN THE VIBE Yes, looking out over serene landscapes and settling into a good book by a campfire are all part of the appeal of camping. But sometimes you want to soundtrack that natural setting with a few sweet tunes of your own. No camping trip would be complete without a bluetooth speaker and a banging summer camp playlist. We think this mini bluetooth speaker by Lexon ($59.94 from Top3 by Design) is just the right size to fit into your tent for listening to spooky mystery podcasts or placed on a small camping table for when you're cooking over flames. It's rechargeable with a USB and you can control it via bluetooth up to ten metres away. Pro tip: download your playlists and podcasts before heading to your campsite, in case you're caught with patchy wifi reception. [caption id="attachment_796860" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrea Piacquadio; Pexels[/caption] PACK A QUICK AND EASY DRINK FOR SUNSET SESSIONS Refreshments are essential to a good camping trip, and after drinking agua all day you'll want to enjoy something a little stronger come sundown. Bring a bottle of Bickford's Peach Iced Tea cordial, a bottle of Jim Beam and soda water and you'll have the necessary ingredients to whip up a quick beverage for the whole crew when you're relaxing by the campfire. It's super simple, perfectly balances the flavours of the bourbon and you don't need to haul any fancy equipment with you. Each Jim Beam and Peach Iced Tea is made with 15ml of cordial, 30ml of bourbon and topped up with soda. If you're fancy enough to be camping with a bag of ice, add it to your cup before topping up with soda and give it a quick swirl. Otherwise, it's ready to enjoy, fireside. Top image: Unsplash
UPDATE: June 18, 2020: Queen & Slim is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Queen & Slim starts with a Tinder date in a diner, as a criminal defence attorney (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a Costco employee (Daniel Kaluuya) exchange small talk. Sparks hardly fly but, when the next day breaks, they've gone from swiping right to driving across the country together — after a ripped-from-the-headlines altercation with a white police officer (Sturgill Simpson) that turns them into fugitives, complete with their faces splashed across newspapers and televisions. So, having fled from Ohio to New Orleans with every cop in the area on their trail, of course the titular characters are greeted with an obvious comparison. When Queen's uncle Earl (Bokeem Woodbine) agrees to give the pair a temporary place to hide, he comments, "well, if it isn't the black Bonnie and Clyde". From a stranger, another reference is slung the duo's way: "are y'all the new Black Panthers?". The debut feature by music video director Melina Matsoukas — a Grammy-winner for her work on Rihanna's 'We Found Love' and Beyonce's 'Formation' — Queen & Slim wears its nods on its sleeves, and its topicality as well. Combining an all-too-frequent real-life situation with cinema's "lovers on the run" genre, it's a statement piece that not only conveys an attention-grabbing story, but explores the constantly relevant issue of race relations in America. The movie's big-screen predecessors haven't been short on societal and political commentary. Whether charting true events in Bonnie and Clyde or skewering mass media sensationalism in Natural Born Killers, this field is full of films with something to say. And Queen & Slim joins a long line of recent features interrogating subjects such as racism, prejudice and police brutality in the US, too, including the Kaluuya-starring Get Out, plus The Hate U Give and If Beale Street Could Talk. But in blending its various parts into one provocative and passionate package, this is a supremely stylish and powerful addition to its various filmic folds. They're never actually called by the eponymous names — and their real monikers aren't revealed until late — but Queen and Slim's fortunes change when they're pulled over for a minor traffic infringement. As the script by Master of None star Lena Waithe makes clear, their troubles also begin because of their skin colour. Soon the cop has been shot, Queen is injured and Slim is driving away as fast as possible. He actually wants them to turn themselves in but, thanks to her job, she's adamant that they'll never be treated fairly no matter what they do next — which means that they may as well abscond. Initially, Queen and Slim are ordinary folks victimised by institutional discrimination, then forced to fight back. Soon, they're public enemy number one to law enforcement but heroes in the black community, which helps as they attempt to escape to Cuba via Florida. Given that it focuses on two people dashing across the US, Queen and Slim is a road movie; however it has as much time for the many faces the central pair meets along the way as it does for the scenery, and for their growing bond with each other too. With this in mind, some choices don't completely work — crosscutting a sex scene with a "black lives matter"-style protest in support of the two fugitives, for example — but generally, Matsoukas and Waithe convincingly capture how racial prejudice makes an imprint. From the inciting incident and panicked neighbours calling the cops on people of colour, to riots and other displays of solidarity, Matsoukas and Waithe cover a broad and necessary spectrum of scenarios. Perhaps 'cover' isn't the right description. It's accurate, yet Queen and Slim never feels like it's assembling its array of episodic escapades by ticking its way through a list. Rather, this is a feature that wanders through a snapshot of African American life in a feverish and heightened fashion, all while seething with anger and intensity, pondering trauma and history, and never forgetting that, in its own way, it remains a date movie. In mood rather than meaning or political substance, Quentin Tarantino-written 90s crime flick True Romance casts a shadow. Queen & Slim exudes the same kind of cool, and the same type of affection for its thrown-together couple. And, as sleek and expressive as anything she's done before, Matsoukas's glossy visuals — as lensed to dream perfection by Tat Radcliffe ('71), and paired with the film's velvet, tiger stripe and snakeskin-heavy fashion choices — feel cut from a similar cloth. To some, it might seem jarring to see Queen & Slim's story unfold with such eye-catching, intoxicating imagery. Earl's scantily clad girlfriends certainly stand out, but they also encapsulate one of the movie's main messages: about judging based on appearances only. The same can be said of the white couple (Flea and Chloë Sevigny) who help Queen and Slim. Actually, the same applies to the entire film. Telling an outrage-filled tale in a visually gleaming way, Queen & Slim's potency never falters, with no small amount of credit due to British model-turned-actor Turner-Smith and the always impressive Kaluuya. They're not just dynamic but dynamite as the reluctant outlaws — and, crucially, they turn in raw, textured performances that ensure their characters are people first, and victims, heroes, potential martyrs and countercultural symbols second. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRMPdhQBlWs
UPDATE, January 14, 2022: A Quiet Place Part II is available to stream via Paramount+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. When every noise you make could send savage aliens stalking, slashing and slaughtering your way, it's the waiting that gets you. When you're watching a nerve-rattling horror film about that exact scenario, the same sentiment remains relevant. In A Quiet Place, the Abbott family went into survival mode after vicious creatures invaded, hunted down every sound and dispensed with anyone that crossed their path. For the characters in and viewers of the 2018 hit alike, the experience couldn't have screamed louder with anxiety and anticipation. Evelyn and Lee (Wild Mountain Thyme's Emily Blunt and Detroit's John Krasinski) and their children Regan (Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck), Marcus (Noah Jupe, The Undoing) and Beau (Cade Woodward, Avengers: Endgame) all silently bided their time simply trying to stay safe and alive, but their continued existence lingered under a gut-wrenching shadow. The critters were still out there, listening for even a whisper. It was a matter of when, not if, they'd discern the slightest of noises and strike again. That type of waiting drips with tension and suspense, and also with the kind of inevitability that hovers over everyone alive. A certain bleak end awaits us all, a truth we routinely attempt to ignore; however, neither the Abbotts nor A Quiet Place's audience were allowed to forget that grim fact for even a moment. Initially slated to arrive in cinemas two years later, then delayed by the pandemic for 14 months, sequel A Quiet Place Part II isn't done with waiting. The film doesn't shy away from the stress and existential distress that marking time can bring, but it also tasks its characters with actively confronting life's inevitabilities. After an intense and impressive tone-setting opening flashback to the first day of the alien attack, when the Abbotts' sleepy hometown learns of humanity's new threat in the cruellest fashion, the storyline picks up where its predecessor left off. It's day 474 — the earlier film spent most of its duration around day 472 — and Evelyn, Regan, Marcus and the family's newborn are grappling with their losses. That said, they're also keenly aware that they can't stay in their Appalachian farmhouse any longer. After spotting smoke on the horizon and setting off in that direction, they reconnect with Emmett (Cillian Murphy, Peaky Blinders), an old friend who has been through his own traumas. Evelyn sees safety in numbers, but he's reluctant to help. Then Regan hears a looping radio transmission playing 'Beyond the Sea' and decides to track down its source. The plan: find other survivors, and also find a way to get the upper hand over their aggressors, all to stop spending their time simply waiting. A Quiet Place Part II isn't about making do, closing ranks and merely enduring, but about making a concerted choice to try to conquer an immensely difficult situation even when the odds seem insurmountable. No one can ultimately escape death, of course. Still, when it lurks in the form of extra-terrestrials who seem to have borrowed their resourcefulness and reflexes from Jurassic Park's raptors (and their ability to withstand most threats from Terminator 2: Judgment Day's killing machines), you can plan, prepare, fight and outsmart. The first film also used its alien attack story to explore the parental urge to protect children from life's harms, but here, writer/director/co-star Krasinski ponders the realisation that dawns upon all mums and dads eventually: that, despite their best efforts, their kids will always have to face the world's woes on their own terms. Both formidable and maternal — because the 'strong female lead' trope shouldn't exclusively favour the former — Blunt is once again a force to be reckoned with as the doting, wearied but determined Evelyn. But, while she's given top billing, this isn't the Looper, Edge of Tomorrow and Sicario star's film. Krasinski doesn't just broaden out the movie's mindset, themes and slice of dystopian life, but also expands his focus. The feature's second half masterfully intertwines Evelyn's efforts to get supplies, Marcus' struggles while babysitting and Regan's perilous quest, and it's the latter that's given pride of place. And, once more, rising talent Simmonds is exceptional. With her character proving bold, poised and resolved to do her best for her family, the young actor radiates confidence, commitment and fortitude. Indeed, while she could've been left to play sidekick to Murphy in a surrogate father-daughter relationship, there's no doubting that Simmonds is the film's hero — whether or not her character, who is deaf, is using her hearing aid as a weapon. Pushing Regan to the fore, and Simmonds with her, is a smart, savvy, engaging and rewarding move on Krasinski's part — and it's not the only choice he's made that earns that description. The film's aforementioned opening, including a particularly stunning shot set in the thick of the chaos, provides the type of spectacle that most movies can only dream of. (If the actor-turned-filmmaker wanted to dive headfirst into the action genre next, he'd have zero troubles settling in.) A Quiet Place Part II may spend more time squaring off against its aliens, rather than dwelling in a world where they'e an ever-present but often-unseen threat, but it never overplays its hand. In its fast-paced narrative, intimate visuals and pitch-perfect audio, it never simply rehashes its predecessor and hopes that the same successes will spring, either. The Abbotts' mission has evolved, as has the vivid cinematography (by Legion's Polly Morgan) that sees this post-apocalyptic world with a bittersweet eye, and the meticulous, characteristically silence-heavy soundscape as well. While the feature's potency and skill doesn't come as a surprise this time around, and neither does the unsettling unease that comes with all that waiting and those pervasive hushed tones, every second of this stellar sequel is no less thrilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku4yAbIu6ao A Quiet Place Part II opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, May 27, with advance screenings over the weekend of Friday, May 21–Sunday, May 23.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQqiDZQScVA&feature=youtu.be THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND Judd Apatow's latest lengthy arrested development-fuelled comedy (see also: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People and Trainwreck), The King of Staten Island unsurprisingly meanders. Loosely inspired by Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson's life, it's also thankfully candid, raw, funny and exceptionally well-cast. Oozing a different kind of BDE — that'd be big daddy's boy energy here, and even big deadbeat energy — Davidson plays 24-year-old Staten Island resident Scott. A high-school dropout who dreams of opening a combined tattoo parlour and restaurant, he still lives at home with his overworked nurse mother Margie (Marisa Tomei) and his college-bound younger sister Claire (Maude Apatow), and he still can't quite cope with the death of his firefighter father on the job 17 years earlier. Then, after making a poor decision involving a tattoo gun and a nine-year-old, he ends up with irate firey Ray (Bill Burr) first yelling on his doorstep, then dating his mum. Born and raised in Staten Island himself, 26-year-old Davidson lost his own firefighter dad in 2001's September 11 attacks — and, unsurprisingly, he co-wrote The King of Staten Island's script. Hanging out with someone who is playing a part, but has also mostly been there and done plenty of what viewers see on-screen, the movie always sports a lived-in vibe as a result. This is an Apatow movie, so the usual manchild escapades and humour do apply. But, more importantly, The King of Staten Island is a Pete Davidson movie — and that has a considerable impact. Apatow often shapes his films around his stars; however, in a flick that undeniably relies upon a formula but also boasts rougher edges, the loose, lanky, brutally self-aware Davidson might be his best lead yet. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjQKlZzNPtw&feature=youtu.be WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE If you'd ever wondered what might happen if Dazed and Confused, Boyhood and the Before trilogy filmmaker Richard Linklater channelled his inner Wes Anderson, well, wonder no more. Where'd You Go, Bernadette answers that question, albeit without a hefty dose of visual symmetry. A quirky collection of characters remains present, though, as does a dysfunctional family dynamic, structural playfulness, eye-catching decor and ample whimsy. But, despite the efforts of both Linklater and his cast — as led by Cate Blanchett in a forceful, fussy but still compelling performance as the eponymous former hotshot architect who's been stuck in a creative rut for 20 years, and also featuring Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Laurence Fishburne and impressive newcomer Emma Nelson — this page-to-screen comedy-drama largely proves far less offbeat, and far more bland and conventional, than it intends. Adapted from Maria Semple's novel of the same name, Where'd You Go, Bernadette first introduces its central figure as she's kayaking around Antarctica, then jumps back five weeks to her regular Seattle life. She dotes on her teenage daughter (Nelson), is accustomed to her computer animator husband (Crudup) being too busy with his work at Microsoft and keeps trying to transform the sprawling ex-schoolhouse they call home. She also argues with her busybody neighbour (Wiig) and dictates emails to her virtual assistant in India. But, Bernadette struggles to sleep, is generally anxious and is far from thrilled about the family's impending trip south. Enigmatic, peppery and reclusive, she's a woman in crisis, even if she doesn't completely realise it — and yet, as the film slowly explains why and gives her a new awakening, it frequently plays as simplistic and cliched rather textured and complex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5JMeVw2zxA RESISTANCE The horrors of the Second World War are undeniable and should never be forgotten. But those horrors have been brought to the big screen so many times now — and, often, in much the same kind of soft-toned historical dramas that tell their narratives in basically the same way — that movies about the conflict and the atrocious actions of the Nazis don't always hit as hard as they should. Take Resistance, for example. It not only relays an intrinsically emotive story about the fightback in occupied France and the immense efforts to save orphaned Jewish children, but draws upon a remarkable true tale involving the teenage actions of famous actor and mime Marcel Marceau. And yet, although it serves up a heartfelt tribute to the latter, as well chronicling a chapter of the well-documented war that definitely stands out, the end result still feels as by-the-numbers as World War II films come. With Jesse Eisenberg stepping into the late, great Marceau's shoes, the movie heads back to the performer's adolescence — with his butcher father (Karl Markovics) disapproving of his choice of career, France on the cusp of invasion and his cousin (Son of Saul's Géza Röhrig) overseeing a local effort to help kids in need. The idea of 36-year-old Eisenberg playing a teen doesn't just sound like a stretch, but proves it on-screen, although it's one of the least generic elements of the feature. Written and directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz (Hands of Stone), Resistance ticks every expected box narratively, thematically and stylistically, even when it's championing the life-saving importance of art and showcasing expressive mime work. It also makes little use of the rest of its acting lineup, including Harry Potter's Clémence Poésy, Game of Thrones' Bella Ramsey and Edgar Ramírez. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAUeZAO-Klw FOLLOW ME We've long since reached the point where formulaic, thoroughly forgettable horror movies combine social media-driven storylines with heavy lashings of blood-splattered torture porn — and in Follow Me, it's as terrible as it sounds. Written and directed by Escape Room's Will Wernick, this routine Moscow-set shocker jumps on another bandwagon, too, with the filmmaker clearly quite fond of folks trying to puzzle their way out of locked spaces in a limited amount of time (and with death the punishment for failing). The movie's protagonist, Cole (Keegan Allen), is an attention-seeking vlogger who records and streams almost every moment of his existence. He has turned his antics into a career, putting himself in extreme situations with an 'escape real life' angle and motto (shortened to #ERL, naturally), with more than 12 million viewers watching on. Looking to up the ante for his next clip, he jets off to Russia with his pals (Holland Roden, Denzel Whitaker, George Janko and Siya) — where a connected friend of a friend (Ronen Rubinstein) has arranged a grim and gruelling escape room experience that's been tailored specifically to Cole. Surprises aren't Follow Me's strong suit. Indeed, the film is so laden with cliches and tropes, it's easy to predict where the narrative is headed from the very first frame — even as it tries to trade in twists and tension. Accordingly, the movie becomes an exercise in watching grating characters make stupid decisions that lead to gory altercations, all while running around a series of dark, gritty places that could've been ripped from the Saw or Hostel franchises. To the astonishment of no one, the end result is never as unsettling or entertaining as Wernick thinks, or even unsettling or entertaining at all. And an attempt to serve up a message about the always-on, always-performing nature of social media — and about obnoxious American tourists abroad as well — is as well-worn as the rest of the film. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas, check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2 and July 9 — and our full reviews of The Personal History of David Copperfield and Waves. Top images: Where'd You Go, Bernadette © 2019 ANNAPURNA PICTURES, LLC. All Rights Reserved; The King of Staten Island © 2020 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. All Rights Reserved.
Warm. Dry. Temperatures above average, and rainfall below usual levels. That's been the trend across 2019 so far, thanks to a record-breaking summer, a hotter-than-standard autumn and a toastier-than-normal winter, so it should come as no surprise that the Bureau of Meteorology expects the pattern to continue for the rest of the year. Releasing its latest climate outlooks — which focus on spring, while also looking ahead to December and January, too — BOM doesn't have great news if you were hoping for an average end to 2019. Well, as average as this traditional warmer period can be. Instead, below average rainfall is forecast around most of the country, as well as above average temps. In other words, if you call mainland Australia home, there's a very good chance that you'll experience spring and summer temperatures that are toastier than the median. Apart from Tasmania and the absolute lower edges of South Australia and Victoria, the whole country is tipped to endure maximums at least 80 percent higher than normal. That includes the entirety of Queensland and New South Wales. While the peak time for particularly hot temperatures will kick in from October onwards, September is also expected to weather an extended warm spell, with the mercury reaching two–to–three degrees above where it usually sits at this time of year in central and eastern Australia. If you're wondering exactly what's in store, then it's worth keeping the usual daily temps across the period in mind — and remembering that they'll be exceeded. In Sydney, that means the mercury will soar above a 20.1-degree maximum in September, a 22.2 top in October, a 23.7 max in November and a 25.2 high in December, while Melbourne can expect temps above 16.8, 19.4, 21.9 and 24.6 in the same months. In Brisbane, the standard tops range between 25.6–29.5, and in Perth it spans 20.3–29.1. Yet again, farmers are in for not-so-great news. The rest of the year is predicted to be drier than average everywhere other than northern Western Australian and western Tasmania. Yes, it's a familiar story. Let's not forget that in 2018, overall, Australia copped its third-warmest year ever. If it isn't part of your end-of-year routine already, we suggest planning plenty of time in the coolest places you can find — beaches, pools, rivers or anywhere with a refreshing swimming spot — this spring and summer. Images: Bureau of Meteorology.
You may have noticed, dear readers, that things look a little different here at Concrete Playground today. Indeed, our troop of absurdly brilliant writers, coordinators, editors, designers and developers have been working tirelessly over the last few months, preparing to make Swiss cheese of the stratosphere with the launch of a new and much improved website. We've nipped, tucked and delivered Concrete Playground to you in a shiny new package, re-imagining everything from the ground up. So, what exactly has changed? For starters, we'll be introducing a few of our new favourite toys... We have developed a custom Facebook application that lets you seamlessly integrate your new Concrete Playground user profile with the world's biggest social network, mapping out your social schedule to share with friends in just one click of a button. We have also created a shortlist of the city's best restaurants and bars, reviewed by some of this town's most fervent foodies, which includes a fancy geolocation tool that allows you to choose a place to dine or drink based on your current location or the place's proximity to an event you are planning to attend. And we have created some entirely new types of content, which will appear with daily regularity in our new News & Features, Featured Video and Galleries sections. Of course, you can expect the carefully and lovingly selected event coverage you have come to know — only more of it, and with things like dynamic event calendars and tailored recommendations to help you find what you are looking for. We're opening our doors in Brisbane today, and will be launching editions in Melbourne and Auckland in the next few weeks. We are big believers in design and functionality, and were very fortunate to find world class creative partners in Canvas Group and Etc Etc Awesome who designed and coded, respectively, the bejesus out of this thing. We have also received some very useful feedback from our readers and writers over the 18 months since our launch, and this redesign represents a consolidated viewpoint on exactly how best to publish an entirely online (for the moment, anyhow) cultural publication. This is not the end of our design process, but the beginning. We will be adding new features and optimising existing ones as we go to make the user experience a more dynamic, alive and intuitive one. Your feedback has been and will continue to be of great value, so please let us know what you think via Facebook, Twitter or Email. And last of all, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed - particularly the editorial team led by our wonderful head honcho, Anna Harrison - and to you, our readers, for your loyal and passionate support and advocacy. Please continue to spread the word and help an independent group of writers and editors start something big.
"For me, photography is the foundation of human freedom," says Rina Vukobratovic, the Serbian photographer and visual artist behind the series A Girl Who Sees the Lyrics. It may sound grandiose at first, but take a look at her work and you will see what she is getting at — it's a free fall through association, imagination and thought; photography of permission. There is a gentle poetic sensibility steering this series, as though adult and child artist are whispering stories to each other, or perhaps, comparing recollections. The artist has constructed each image with explicit reference to verses from her own haiku poetry written as a girl. In 1991, the idea for this series took root after she read an article published about her childhood poems, and to prove it she used the article's name. Although she has switched the pen for the camera, Vukobratovic has sustained a through line of imagery from her initial artistic impulse to her current one, resulting in a gentle poetic dialogue between a child's imagination and an adult's understanding. Or maybe it is the other way round. "I try to give answers [about] who I am, and why I am," she explains. This lyricism endows her images with a dynamic energy that is simply captivating — music manuscripts burst into spontaneous bloom about a mini-grand. Battle-scarred sailing ships charge towards the windswept freedom of the household window, all on the high seas of the living room. It is easy to see why someone creating these images would say that they "will never get tired of photography, because it contains a secret." These are images of awe, nonsense and wonder captured by a filter of love — first the child's love of the world and then the adult's love of the child. A Girl Who Sees the Lyrics is on show at the MiCK Gallery until June 23 as part of this year's Head On Photo Festival. See more of Rina's photography at her website.
Last night, the best chefs in the world descended on Spain's Bilbao for the annual World's 50 Best celebrations. Among them, was Australia's Ben Shewry. Shewry is no stranger to the awards, his Ripponlea restaurant Attica has appeared on the list every year since 2013, but this is the first year he's cracked the top 20. Attica was the only Australian restaurant in the top 50 — which jumped 12 spots from No. 32 to No. 20 this year — with Victoria's Brae falling to No. 58, compared to a ranking of No. 44 last year. Attica also took out the coveted Best Restaurant in Australasia award. The top five restaurant for 2018 aren't dramatically different from past years, with Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana rising from second place to once again take out the top gong. Spain's El Celler de Can Roca rose from No.3 to No.2, while Southern France's Mirazur rose from No. 4 to No.3, and New York's Eleven Madison Park dropped from No.1 to No. 4 — it was closed for renovations for a portion of last year. Rounding out the top five was Bangkok's Gaggan, a restaurant known, among other things, for its emoji-only menu. It was a bittersweet awards for Australia, which has oft had up to four restaurants on the list — the award's debut year, in 2002, saw Melbourne's Flower Drum, Sydney's Tetsuya's and Neil Perry's Rockpool (which has now closed) all in the top 50. This year, only one made the cut. The award's often-criticised gender imbalance was once again evident, with only five women making the list (an increase from last year's three). You can check out the full list at the World's 50 Best website.
He has serenaded Laura Dern with an Elvis song, swooned over Cher, swapped faces with John Travolta, voiced a version of Spider-Man and won an Oscar for playing an alcoholic. He's appeared on-screen as brothers, professed his love for milking alpacas and fought ninjas from outer space, too. We're talking about Nicolas Cage, of course, and the list of amazing inclusions on his resume just goes on. Indeed, he's about to step into Joe Exotic's shoes — and, via a new Netflix series, teach the world about the history of swear words as well. Nicolas Cage's History of Swear Words is a very real series that definitely exists, and will hit the streaming platform on Tuesday, January 5. So yes, if you were hoping that 2021 would be better than 2020, we can think of one very good reason why that's likely to prove the case. The concept behind the show is extremely self-explanatory, so Netflix hasn't released too many details — but Cage will definitely be having fun with the concept, as the just-released trailer for the series makes clear. Paintbrush in hand, he's at his OTT best as he waxes lyrical about one particular word. You don't get the actor to take on this particular task and then ask him to dial it back, of course. In fact, the whole program looks set to have fun with Cage, with a painting of a peach appearing behind him in the first moments of the trailer — something Face/Off fans will particularly appreciate. As for whatever else is in store, consider that 2021's first big gift. Happy new year indeed. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4argVWl8AAE Nicolas Cage's History of Swear Words hits Netflix on Tuesday, January 5.
Since popping up over the last decade, the term 'elevated horror' has always been unnecessary. Used to describe The Babadook, It Follows, The Witch, Get Out, Hereditary, Us, Midsommar and more, it pointlessly claims that such unsettling flicks have risen above their genre. Each of these movies is excellent. They all boast weight and depth, trade in metaphors with smarts and savvy, and have style to go with their creeps and thrills. But thinking that's new in horror — that pairing unease with topical woes or societal fears is as well — is as misguided as dubbing Michael Myers a hero. With a name that makes its #MeToo-era point plain, Men has been badged 'elevated', too, yet it also does what horror has at its best and worst cases for decades. That the world can be a nightmare for women at the hands of men isn't a fresh observation, and it's long been a scary movie go-to. Still, Men stresses that fact in an inescapably blunt but also unforgettable manner. The film's setting is an English manor, where Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter) hopes for a solo stint of rest, relaxation and recuperation. Processing a tragedy, shattering memories of which haunt the movie as much as its protagonist, she's seeking an escape and a way to start anew. The initial hint that she won't find bliss comes swiftly and obviously, and with a sledgehammer's subtlety. Arriving at an idyllic-looking British countryside estate, Harper is greeted by an apple tree. She plucks one from the abundant branches, then takes a bite. Soon, she's told by her host Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear, Our Flag Means Death) that it's forbidden fruit. He also says he's joking — but in this garden, a woman will again shoulder a society's blame and burdens. As overt and blatant as this early exchange is, there's an intensely unnerving look and feel to Men from the outset. Returning to the big screen after excellent sci-fi TV series Devs, writer/director Alex Garland isn't a stranger to visually stunning, deeply disquieting films that ponder big ideas; see: the complex, eerie and sublime Ex Machina, plus the similarly intricate and intriguing Annihilation. Oscar Isaac doesn't turn up this time, let alone dance. Buckley and Kinnear do turn in mesmerising and magnificent powerhouse performances amid the perturbing mood and spectacular imagery. Gender expectations also get probed and challenged, as do genres. And, things get strange and insidious after Harper tries to lap up her bucolic surroundings. Those blood-red walls sported by Harper's atmospheric centuries-old home-away-from-home? That's another glaring warning. Also discomforting: the jump-scare glitch when she video chats with her best friend Riley (Gayle Rankin, GLOW), after being told by Geoffrey — who is polite but never direct, perfectly satirising both stiff-upper-lip Britishness and the fine line between being courteous and patronising — that reception isn't the best. And, when Harper ventures out of the house, she discovers scenic treasures alongside hardly hospitable locals. She's a woman plagued by troubles that don't begin as her own, and she's forced to devote everything she has to moving past them and surviving. That Harper is played with such instinctive and physical feeling with Buckley, who just keeps going from strength to strength thanks to Beast, Wild Rose, Chernobyl, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Fargo and her Oscar-nominated efforts in The Lost Daughter, is one of Men's biggest assets. First, there's the naked man who follows Harper through the wilderness, after she wanders through a cavernous tunnel with ethereal acoustics that's a delight one moment and boarded up the next. Then, more and more townsfolk spark alarm. There's the cop who barely believes Harper's stalker story, dismissively so. There's the teen who asks curious questions, demands attention and gets abusive when he isn't indulged. Also, there's the vicar who enquires about Harper's woes, then apportions responsibility her way for her struggles with husband James (Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You), while also putting his hand on her knee. The town pub's patrons are wary of her encroachment on their turf, while Geoffrey keeps making his presence known in his civil but passive-aggressive fashion. And, these men — yes, they're all men — share something beyond an unpleasant, off-putting and entitled attitude. Kinnear is also fantastic in Men because he's all men (including in scenes that make it clear that Garland saw his exceptional efforts as Frankenstein's monster in Penny Dreadful). Toxic masculinity deserves to be torn down repeatedly, and nuance needn't be part of that dismantling. The misogyny women can face openly and daily, and the way that simply existing can bring threats in the most ordinary spaces, also demands calling out loudly and strongly. Men does this. It ponders its key idea in different ways, too, including within religion and marriage. It shows how views can fester from adolescence, and within social and supposedly comforting confines. It demonstrates that just being can be fraught with distress for women, taking that reality to surreal, violent and fleshy extremes that'd equally do David Lynch and David Cronenberg proud. Also, it toys with how women are victimised in horror cinema. Garland's take on the topic is vivid and chilling — and as evocative as his past releases, plus his stellar screenplays for 28 Days Later and Sunshine — but Men also dives about as deep as noting that its namesake can be the worst, everyone knows it, and movies and life prey upon it. Still, as a piece of immersive cinema, Men is entrancing. It might be too kind to think its thematic bludgeoning is completely on purpose, but feeling like you're trapped in the same hell as Harper — in the film's present day, and in her orange-hued, positively apocalyptic, just-as-disturbing memories — is by design. Garland's work is that meticulous and sensory, and adept at conjuring up gut- and heart-wrenching reactions. It has been since he started out as the author behind The Beach, in fact. Here, he's aided by the intricate splendour, leafy and shadowy alike, lensed by his now usual cinematographer Rob Hardy (Mission: Impossible — Fallout), as well as the ominousness echoing in the choral-heavy score by fellow regular collaborators Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury (Archive 81). That all elevates the movie, although not because it's a higher form of horror, which it isn't. Men is as glaringly direct, primal and surface-level as a bar pickup line, and says nothing new, but its visceral and unshakeable menace still digs in hard, fast, tight and piercingly.
Beware the luxurious worlds of Ruben Östlund's films. Beware any feelings of ease, opulence or awe that spring at ski resorts, in art museums, within the fashion industry or on high-end holidays, too. The Swedish filmmaker isn't interested in keeping his characters comfortable regardless of their lavish surroundings, and he isn't keen on ensuring his viewers remain relaxed, either, no matter how cushy their cinema chairs. To watch the writer/director's movies is to observe his on-screen figures responding to chaos flung their way, which is true of all features. That said, to watch here is to actively feel a reaction. It's virtually impossible not to experience a cascade of emotions as an Östlund-penned and -helmed picture flickers, and sometimes it's just as difficult to avoid a physical response. With his latest, Triangle of Sadness, the titular space between your eyebrows definitely gets a workout. Other than that last part, all of the above proved true of 2014's phenomenal Force Majeure, which wasn't Östlund's first or even second or third feature, but served up as clever and cringe-inducing a portrait of marriage and masculinity as the 21st century has provided (just forget Downhill, the American remake he had nothing to do with). Then, with dropped jaws over a divisive piece of art within a divisive piece of art, it was accurate of 2018's The Square, the writer/director's first Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-recipient, too. And, earning him that same prestigious prize again in 2022 — putting him in rarefied company alongside just eight other twice-winning directors/co-directors, in fact — it's also wholly applicable to Triangle of Sadness. This time, he has modelling, influencers and the super-rich in his sights, all in a movie that keeps doing what Östlund loves: unpacking societal structures and the divides they rely on (and cause). Make a feature with a shape in its title, score one of the biggest filmmaking awards there is: yes, that's been a nifty formula for Östlund of late. But even if he directs a flick called something like Hexagonal Dreaming in the future — or anything else with a geometrical bent, for that matter — and that too nabs Cannes' famed top gong, managing to beat Triangle of Sadness' vomit sequence is highly unlikely. For a director who enjoys cutting the privileged and supposedly prestigious down to size without opting for simplistic judgements, getting the uber-wealthy spewing their guts up on a yacht getaway is one helluva leveller. Money can't buy you a solution to basic bodily functions when food poisoning and seasickness strike, and doesn't this scathingly entertaining flick revel in that notion at its most gleefully gross. To remind audiences that responding to films and life alike is an involuntary reflex, Östlund shows a swag of his characters doing just that — to existence, and to a choppy cruise also populated by arms dealers and literal shit salesmen. It makes for unforgettable cinema, but it's also just one part of Triangle of Sadness and its sublimely shot unpacking of affluence, entitlement, social hierarchies and beauty as currency. Appearing to be coasting through perfection is an ongoing quest for Carl (Harris Dickinson, See How They Run) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean, Black Lightning), models-slash-influencers and the movie's focal point. From the outset, however, including across an opening third set on dry land and a final act that gets stranded and sandy, nothing is straightforward. Eating the rich is easy and delicious, not to mention a major on-screen trend of late (see: Parasite, Succession, The White Lotus, Knives Out and Glass Onion, just to name a few), but Östlund has much to chew. When Carl is first introduced, he's one among a sea of jobbing male models, all attempting to ply their handsomeness for a paycheque. In a Zoolander-esque moment, Triangle of Sadness points out the fashion world's inbuilt sense of class as the casting call's attendees are asked to grin like they're posing for an affordable brand, then grimace like they're in ads for an expensive line — and no, this isn't a subtle picture. Cash is an ongoing point of contention for Carl anyway, given he earns less than Yaya as male models tend to yet still largely picks up the bill for their dinners. When the duo take to the ocean to sip champagne, loll about by the pool and ignore the hardworking crew surrounded by the one-percent, he's still working the requisite angles. Meanwhile, Yaya is snapping them, recording everything for Instagram from every vantage possible. Going on vacation in an Östlund film isn't a great idea. On this holiday, under the drunken captain's (Woody Harrelson, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) watch, sunbaking on the deck gives way to those projectile technicolour yawns — and other evacuations — then to an unexpected destination. Onboard the yacht, the chasms between the haves and have nots are as glaring as the sunny weather, but that setup isn't sustainable when gale-force winds and pirates get in the way. Only Filipino toilet cleaner Abigail (Dolly De Leon, Folklore) knows how to catch fish, clean and cook them, and build a fire, after all, but Carl and Yaya's post-cruise life isn't an egalitarian wonderland. A big bank balance means nothing but beauty still means plenty — and the way that Östlund satirically carves into the resulting mayhem is equally hilarious and and astute, even when his film is both obvious and overt. There's nothing restrained about excess as its zenith — "everyone's equal," the boat's staff are ignorantly told when a guest flat-out forces them to go swimming on a shift — and there needn't be about scorching interrogations of all that overindulgence. Östlund is both blunt and oh-so-sharp, and broad yet targeted; Triangle of Sadness does love its contradictions, after all, including an American Marxist and Russian capitalist trading quotes and worldviews, the contrast between all things shiny and bodily fluid-fuelled sequences, and the perception-versus-reality of Carl and Yaya's existence across each of the picture's three sections. The game cast are up to the seesawing challenge, especially the formidable De Leon as someone even the film itself overlooks to begin with, Dickinson as the idealistic but practical Carl, and the late Dean as the enterprising yet oblivious Yaya. Having his regular cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel point a static camera their way and wait for statement-making awkwardness to gush seems like a natural decision, and it is, but Östlund remains masterful at putting the right pieces in place.
It has been a month since the Greater Brisbane area last went into lockdown and, with new locally acquired COVID-19 cases identified over the past two days, it's happening again. From 4pm today, Saturday, July 31, 11 Local Government Areas in and around Brisbane are going back under strict stay-at-home conditions. The lockdown will last until at least 4pm on Tuesday, August 3 — and, this time around, the rules are tighter than in the past. Deputy Premier Steven Miles announced the news at Queensland's daily COVID-19 press conference, advising that "we must go hard and go early." He continued: "it is confirmed that these cases are all the Delta strain — that is the strain that is currently driving the outbreak in Sydney. We know from that experience that this Delta strain can spread very, very quickly. It is much more dangerous than the previous strains that we have been dealing with. These new cases mean that there are now seven cases in the outbreak that we notified yesterday. We have seen from the experience in other states that the only way to beat the Delta strain is to move quickly, to be fast, and to be strong." The lockdown applies to all 11 LGAs currently under the mandatory mask mandate: the Brisbane City Council, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim LGAs. This time, you can only leave your home for four reasons: to get essential goods – for example, groceries and medications – but only within ten kilometres of your house; for essential work if you can't work from home, and for school or childcare; for exercise within ten kilometres of home, and only with one person who isn't in your household; and for healthcare, including to get a COVID-19 vaccination, or to provide help, care or support. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1421261232837840896 The big change from past lockdowns — including from Brisbane's January, March and June lockdowns — is the introduction of the ten-kilometre limit. So, you can only go shopping or exercise within that distance of your house. Also new as part of this lockdown: a complete ban on visitors to homes. In the past, you were allowed to have two people over, but this time you can't have anyone visit your house. Masks are already compulsory in these areas, and will be required to be worn everywhere in the lockdown areas — other than if you're at your own home. Cinemas, entertainment venues, recreational venues, beauty and personal care services, and gyms will all close, as will places of worship, while cafes, pubs and restaurants are only allowed to open for takeaway service. Funerals and weddings will also be restricted to ten people. And, folks who decide to come to any of the areas going into lockdown during the stay-at-home period will be bound by the same restrictions, although travel is obviously discouraged — and no one should leave their locked-down area during this period. Also, if you decide to leave the 11 LGAs before 4pm tonight, you must still go into lockdown and follow the conditions no matter wherever you are. These rules apply to anyone who has been within these Local Government Areas since 1am today, in fact. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1421319596187869184 As it has been during the pandemic so far, Queensland Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. In terms of symptoms, you should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste — and getting tested at a clinic if you have any. Eleven LGAs in the Greater Brisbane area will go into lockdown from 4pm on Saturday, July 31 until at least 4pm on Tuesday, August 3. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. More details about the lockdown and associated restrictions can also be found on the Queensland Health website.
Winter is coming — and, now that international travel is starting to return to normal and New Zealand has reopened to Australian tourists, so are trips across the ditch for a snowy getaway. After two years of border restrictions, itching to spend winter on skis, zipping down a mountain and seeing somewhere far away from your own backyard is completely understandable. And, to help make that frosty dream a reality, Qantas has just upped its flights from Australia to New Zealand. Effective Monday, May 23, four routes went back into service — with a fifth joining them on Tuesday, May 24. So, if you're keen to fly from Sydney to either Queenstown or Wellington, from Melbourne to Christchurch or Wellington, and from Brisbane to Christchurch, that's now back on the agenda. Qantas' routes to Queenstown are particularly significant — marking the first international flights into the airport in 330 days. If a snowy jaunt was part of your plans last year, too, you might remember that NZ reopened to Australia briefly from April till June 2021, only to close again when the Delta COVID-19 wave hit. Qantas now plans to run up to 20 weekly services to Queenstown from Australia, and it expects it to be busy — unsurprisingly — as Aussies make the trip to enjoy the South Island slopes. If you're eager to head to Queenstown from Melbourne and Brisbane, those routes will resume on Saturday, June 18. When they take off again, Qantas' full range of pre-pandemic trans-Tasman flights will be back in effect. For more information about Qantas' flights from Australia to New Zealand, head to the airline's website.
A new series of advertisements by Education First, a language-school network based in over fifty countries, makes the case for learning another language in a wonderfully unique light. Not a single word is spoken in the ads, nor do they pitch the school. Instead, you follow the adventures of four students touching down in Paris, Barcelona, London and Beijing respectively. Without speech, they manage to express perfectly how learning a new language helps you experience it. Specially-designed typography accompanies the film, accompanied by phonetic pronunciation underneath, and while there is no translation, they work perfectly. Niklas Johansson's cinematography envelops you in the adventures of the protagonists as they wander through the cities, while Albin Holmqvist's deftly designed original typography and typefaces beautifully reflect the languages of Paris, Barcelona, Beijing and London, and tell you more about the words than dull verb charts ever could. The films don't belabour the process of learning a language, but the benefits of being able to lose yourself in a different culture - the things you discover, the different things to see and do, and the attractive strangers that may or may not come your way. If these films don't make you want to jump on a plane straight away, I don't know what will. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1_QO8LoGNpc https://youtube.com/watch?v=p9isboDgxMM https://youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3gdVkkWzc https://youtube.com/watch?v=QLluxHOOXSw [Via ModCloth]
The producers of Serial and This American Life are teaming up on a brand new true crime podcast hitting the digital airwaves next month. Better yet, they're taking a page out of Netflix's book and dropping every single episode at the exact same time. According to a report by Rolling Stone, the non-fiction S-Town is set in rural Alabama and will investigate "the son of a wealthy man who allegedly boasted about getting away with murder." "This story takes so many unexpected turns," said This American Life presenter Ira Glass in a statement. "Every episode is a new surprise. And the story has this feeling and mood that's different from anything else we've done. I don't think people have heard a show like this." S-Town is one of three new podcasts being launched under the 'Serial Productions' banner. It will be hosted by long-time This American Life producer Brian Reed, and is due to be released sometime in March. Image: Peabody Awards, CC.
Harvard physicist Ludovico Cademartiri and a team of researchers have made headway in the discovery of an alternative to fire hydrants and fire-extinguishers in putting out flames: electricity. The goal of the research team was to find a way for firefighters to squash fiesty flames without water or foam, methods that completely destroy any salvageable objects that escape a fire's path and take a great deal of time. The concept behind using electricity instead, although not fully developed or tested, is based on the fact that flames contain soot particles that become electrically charged and react to electrical fields. Charging flames with a strong enough beam of electricity has the potential to completely extinguish a fire without firefighters putting a finger on a fire-extinguisher or hose. Cademartiri and crew have just stumbled upon this new development, but Harvard hopes they will be sharing more successful news in the near future. [via engadget]
It's back, it's big and it's heading around Australia in February 2023: St Jerome's Laneway Festival and its impressive lineup, that is. Returning for the first time since 2020 — since celebrating 15 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio first decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes — the beloved fest boasts a phenomenal list of talent taking to its stages for its huge and eagerly awaited comeback tour. Here are three names to get you started: HAIM, Joji and Phoebe Bridgers. Laneway has been teasing its 2023 return since earlier this year, and locked in dates and venues mere days ago — but now exactly who you'll be dancing to in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth has been announced. Also on the bill: Finneas, Fontaines DC, Fred again..., Girl in Red, slowthai and Turnstile, as well as 100 Gecs, Chaos in the CBD, Knucks and Mallrat. Yes, the lineup goes on from there. In Australia, the festival will kick off at Brisbane Showgrounds on Saturday, February 4, then head to Sydney Showground on Sunday, February 5 — one of Laneway's new 2023 venues. From there, it's off to Adelaide CBD's Bonython Park on Friday, February 10; Melbourne's The Park in Flemington on Saturday, February 11; and Perth's Wellington Square on Sunday, February 12. Clearly, there's a whole heap of reasons to be excited — from HAIM's first Australian tour since 2017 (and definitely the first since Alana killed it on the big screen in Licorice Pizza) to Bridgers' return after a huge few years, just to name a couple. Also on the list: just Laneway being back and livening up late summer in general. [caption id="attachment_742169" align="alignnone" width="1920"] BCS Imaging[/caption] Enough preamble; here's what you're after — the full 2023 lineup: ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2023 DATES AND VENUES: Saturday, February 4 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane / Turrbal Sunday, February 5 — Sydney Showground, Sydney / Burramattagal and Wangal Friday, February 10 — Bonython Park, Adelaide / Kaurna Saturday, February 11 — The Park, Flemington, Melbourne / Wurundjeri Sunday, February 12 — Wellington Square, Perth / Whadjuk ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP: Haim Joii Phoebe Bridgers Finneas Fontaines DC Fred again... Girl in Red slowthai Turnstile 100 Gecs Chaos in the CBD Knucks Mallrat Ross From Friends The Beths Yard Act Adam Newling The Backseat Lovers Harvey Sutherland Jacoténe Jamesjamesjames Logic1000 Sycco Tasman Keith The Lazy Eyes St Jerome's Laneway Festival will return to Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth between Saturday, February 4—Sunday, February 12. For more information, including registering for ticket pre-sales until 11.59pm on Sunday, September 25‚ with general sales from 9am on Thursday, September 29 — head to the festival's website.
The glare from a ray of sunshine bouncing off of a window, or the silhouette that the shadow a building casts: they're they type of frequent yet fleeting occurrences we all see, even if we don't always give them our utmost attention. They also stem from the interaction of two important parts of our modern environment, aka the ever-present natural elements and the man-made structures our society has fashioned. In his latest collection, Japanese-born, Australian-based artist Kenji Uranishi contemplates these instances, aspects and ideas, all while working with his preferred medium. Across a series of handcrafted ceramic pieces inspired by his time in both countries and responding to the importance of place and the role of the city, he attempts to capture the short-lived interplay of light on the urban landscape. The stunning presentation of 50 new shapes and forms that results might be called Momentary; however that's a reflection of the passing seconds Uranishi's work endeavours to immortalise, and not of a judgment of the exhibition's impact. Indeed, whether you gaze upon the showcase of patterns and designs at your own pace, take a tour with the artist or participate in his first-ever solo masterclass, we're betting that you'll remember the experience for much longer than a moment. Image: Carl Warner.
The sight of a big, colourful sunflower is enough to put a smile on just about anybody's face. In Brisbane, this uplifting feeling can be a weekly occurrence, as the Sunny Truck pulls up at the Kelvin Grove Village Markets every Saturday from 6am–1pm. Founded by graphic designer Lucy Tann, this sunflower-slinging microbusiness can brighten your day in more ways than one. Parked beneath a towering fig tree, the tray of a slightly battered truck overflows with buckets of freshly cut sunflowers. Yet from its position tucked between buskers and fruiterers, Sunny Truck aims to be more than just a place for people to shop singles and bunches, pleasant as they may be. Just as important is providing a tight-knit community hub. Running her design business online, Tann began to feel like she lacked connection. Even after returning to Brisbane from Magnetic Island, her proximity to inner-city life did little to solve the problem. Instead, Tann set about creating her own community, with locals now making their way to Sunny Truck to get stems, but perhaps more significantly, to stop for a chat. Now, this growing Saturday morning ritual is on the rise, with Tann regularly selling out within just a couple of hours. And on the days she doesn't, the flowers are donated to aged care homes or bought by local cafes. "I think people are craving something unguarded and real," says Lucy. "The truck has given that to me and I think maybe it's giving that to others, too."
Any great gelateria lives and thrives by its scoops. When the best ice cream is being piled high onto cones and in cups, the dessert joint serving it can be anywhere. Still, there's something particularly special about being able to lick your way through a sweet treat in a scenic spot, like strolling along by the river — and it's that experience that Rosé Gelateria has covered at its just-opened new Brisbane outpost at Portside Wharf. The Hamilton precinct is undergoing quite a few changes at the moment, announcing late in 2022 that a $20-million makeover is in the works. Also on the way: Fosh, a seafood restaurant from the restaurateur behind Opa Bar + Mezze, Massimo Restaurant, Yamas Greek + Drink and George's Paragon; and the Gold Coast's Rise Bakery launching its first Brisbane venue. Beating them to it is Rosé Gelateria, which was announced back in April, opened in early June and debuts in the River City after setting up stores in Sanctuary Cove and Main Beach. Brisbanites now have a new boutique dessert go-to. Yes, it's winter, but it's never too cold for gelato in the Queensland capital (as our obsession with the Ekka's strawberry sundaes each August shows). This ice cream spot is located next to Dendy Cinemas, handily, and spans across 56 square metres of indoor seating space, as well as an al fresco seating area. Rosé Gelateria is known for its rose gelato made with rosewater and topped with rose petals, but also does Biscoff gelato — using the biscuit spread, and also caramel — among its 20-flavour signature lineup. The Portside shop features vegan and dairy-free options, too, and will rotate through four limited-edition flavours each month. If you have a pet that likes frosty treats, and always tries to get a lick of yours, Rosé Gelateria is doing pet-friendly gelato as well. Husband-and-wife team Bronson Tucker and Diana Prinz came up with their range after a visit to Italy. "Every flavour on our menu is inspired by our journey to Florence, and the knowledge we gained from learning the authentic art of gelato-making, ensuring an exceptional and truly authentic experience for our customers," advises Prinz. That said, Rosé Gelateria doesn't just keep things cold and creamy. It also serves up macarons and cookies, plus juices and milkshakes. And, joining forces with Paradox Coffee Roasters, it'll brews a specialty coffee blend called Picasso Baby, too — and expect to taste dark chocolate and blackberry with your caffeine hit. As for the fitout, Rosé Gelateria has gone chic and elegant, complete with pastel hues and plenty of white, with help from Lowry Group as the venue's builders. "It was a priority for the team that the space was just as pleasing to the eyes as our food is to the tastebuds... where our iconic rose-toned French-washed walls are harmoniously blended with pristine white indoor and outdoor furnishings, adorned with gold accents," says Tucker. "To cater to the diverse preferences of our guests, our store design also includes dedicated areas for gelato indulgence including cosy cafe seating and convenient takeaway options so customers can savour their treats onsite or on the go." Find Rosé Gelateria at Portside Wharf, 39 Hercules Street, Hamilton — open from 8am–10pm daily.
Can you solve a good mystery? Or spark one? Channel your inner Princess Plum, Miss Green, Mrs Mustard, Master Scarlet, Monsieur Peacock and Mr White, roam around a bar looking for the ballroom, cellar and billiard room, and be wary of candlesticks, lead pipes and spanners. That's what Cluedo! The New Suspects is all about when it heads to Baedeker, and we mean that literally. Taking place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between Thursday, April 29–Saturday, May 15, each night will double as a lavish 1950s party complete with hidden rooms and passageways, enigmatic guests and plenty of secrets. If it sounds familiar, that's because Brisbane Immersive Ensemble has brought the ace board game to life in a theatrical reimagining in previous years — but, as the name makes plain, this time the characters and details have changed. Head along to solve puzzles, find clues and try to work out who did the deed all while you're eating, drinking and listening to a 50s-style big band. Previous seasons have proven mighty popular, because everyone loves a Cluedo-themed shows. We'll call it a case of murder mystery board game fever. [caption id="attachment_761755" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Brisbane Immersive Ensemble[/caption] Top image: Baedeker.
Is there anything better than getting together with friends to watch a film? How about getting together with friends to watch a bunch of international and local films at a casual pop-up film festival in, say a backyard or a secret warehouse or a brewery. Alright, alright you might be wondering why on earth one would bother arranging screens, projectors, and fiddling around with all that palaver when you can just pop down to the local cinema and catch Bridget Jones's Baby if you're keen. But what if you're after more of a party? More of a shindig, some live music, art and some of the best new short films from international and local directors? Australia's newest pop-up film event Freshflix do just that. We caught up with co-founders Jess Hamilton and Claudia Pickering for a chat about how these two local Sydney ladies started a sold-out event from scratch. After taking over unconventional spaces like a secret warehouse in Redfern and a Sydney brewery, their homegrown film festival is now gearing up for its fourth season over summer. We've teamed up with Rekorderlig Cider, and we're digging into just how to make a pop-up film festival in your own backyard. [caption id="attachment_594861" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Michael Wickham.[/caption] DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START? JUST GIVE IT A CRACK It sounds cliche, but often the biggest barrier for getting something done is, you guessed it, yourself. But enough of that self-doubt, you've got to start somewhere. Hamilton and Pickering's own project, Freshflix, grew quite innocently from wanting to screen a film that Pickering had made. From there, things snowballed in the best possible way. "We hand-built a screen for the event, figured things out there, and then borrowed a projector from a mate. As we went, we realised we were planning a party and kind of got carried away. Before we knew it we had opened up the event for submissions from other people and we soon had 300 films submitted." From there, the ambitious pair roped in a band, made a website and the requisite Facebook page, got themselves a local brewery on board, and launched their own film festival – they created a 'media wall' for mad paparazzi shots from a red plastic table cloth, complete with handpainted branding. Yep, handpainted. Handmade awards gave an official flavour to the evening. For decoration, there was nothing like fairy lights, and the team set out cushions and rugs for lounging on — turning your regular cinema setting into a friendly hangout. To begin with, Pickering and Hamilton point out that they got by with a little (or a lot of) help from their friends, who came on board to help plan the event, but once their idea was unleashed, new people were very willing to get involved. So, if you're willing to put on a great party, creative, supportive people are usually (if not always) keen to get on board — especially if there's a cheeky bev in it for them. [caption id="attachment_593024" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Tristan Fitzherbert-Smith.[/caption] SORT OUT THE ENTERTAINMENT Most film buffs will happily come along to a film festival and sit through three-plus hours of screenings. Alternatively, there are people who are pretty into films but also don't mind having a bit of a boogie. The solution? Combine music and film, like Freshflix does. At their most recent festival in Sydney, Freshflix guests were treated to local artists creating live artworks throughout the evening, combined with live bands and music, as well as the cornerstone lineup of Aussie and international films. The end result? One unique, memorable night with a highly diverse crowd — not your stock standard screening indeed. GET FOOD AND DRINKS SORTED Movies = snacks. We know this, and the choc-top lovers of the world certainly know this. Freshflix, like all great pop-up cinema events, doesn't scrimp on the snacks and neither should you. Why not hire an industrial popcorn machine and make a truly elephantine amount of popcorn? Freshflix hand-stamped their own bags. Or better yet, call up some local food trucks to feed the masses. Know anyone who's a dab hand at brewing their own beer? Sure you do! Get them on board, they might just to create a special brew for your event. Otherwise stock the fridge full of refreshing bevs like Rekorderlig Cider and keep the good times flowing into the night. If there are a bunch of people coming along, you might coordinate with a few culinary-minded mates to get on board with baking treats or supplying snacks. Just put the word out there — people might come out of the woodwork with snackery. [caption id="attachment_594860" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Michael Wickham.[/caption] MANAGE LOGISTICS (AND HAVE A RAINY DAY PLAN) It might seem like a colossal undertaking to organise a huge lineup of films, to coordinate the drinks and bands, to manage the people, and you're right — it bloody well is. But this juice is definitely worth the squeeze. Plus, you don't have to be too gung-ho about it — anything can happen on the night. Hamilton and Pickering admitted to fine-tuning their events mere hours before — they even managed to pull off postponing one showing due to bad weather. "Even though we first planned it for one weekend we had to push it back, and it was fine." So, even if rain does interrupt your plans you can get creative. Rig up a tarp, change the venue or move the date. Stay flexible and remember your end goal is one helluva party. "We did [Freshflix] because it was something we wished that other people were doing for us: putting on a great party. So, instead, we just did it ourselves." Well played, ladies.
Since setting up shop just two short years ago, Balter Brewing has been making waves. You'd expect that from a brewery that boasts surfers Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Bede Durbidge and Josh Kerr among its owners, of course, but the outfit's beers speak for themselves. Indeed, in last year's Hottest 100 Craft Beers, the Gold Coast-based establishment took out top spot. More than that, they nabbed five places in the entire list. Wondering what all the fuss is about? Already tried Balter's XPA and have never looked back? Either way, Fritzenberger is the place to be from 3pm on Saturday, June 30. The Petrie Terrace bar will be showcasing the brewery's bevs, and they'll have help in the form of Fanning himself. Six Balter beers will be flowing through the taps, with Fanning behind the bar serving up a few. Whether you're a surfing fan, a beer lover or both, it might be the only time you can say that the Aussie surfing champ has poured you a schooner.
Perched on Brisbane's inner-city outskirts for the past 141 years, the XXXX Brewery has become a bona fide landmark. It's the source of much of the beer drunk across town, a place to sip plenty of pints after seeing where the brewing magic happens, and — noticeably — the reason that the suburb of Milton often smells like yeast. This November, it'll also become Brissie's newest music venue, with the iconic spot hosting a festival with bands and brews for the first time ever. Knocking back cold ones while you're catching live tunes may be an everyday gig experience; however, usually when you're enjoying this combo, you're not hanging out in a huge brewery. XXXX Presents: Live at the Brewery will change that when it takes over the site from 2–9pm on Saturday, November 16. Not only is it the XXXX Brewery's first event of this kind — it's the first time it has opened its gates to the public, other than for tours or to patrons at the onsite Alehouse, for 26 years. Brisbanites can look forward to live tunes by Holy Holy, Confidence Man, Custard, Good Boy, Midlife and Nice Biscuit, who'll all perform at the base of the brewery's towering, logo-adorned silos. The folks at Jet Black Cat Music have been charged with picking the bill, building on their past work at the End Of The Line Festival and drawing upon the curatorial skills evident in their West End record store. As well as bands, XXXX Presents: Live at the Brewery will have food stalls, a post-fest shindig at the Alehouse and plenty of limited-edition merchandise — should you need a souvenir from your day spent drinking and partying at the home of the Milton Mango. And, while the festival is a once-off affair, attendees will get two chances to wander around the XXXX site, with each ticket also including a free return visit before June 30, 2020 for a brewery tour. XXXX Presents: Live at the Brewery takes place from 2–9pm on Saturday, November 16 at the XXXX Brewery, 185 Milton Road, Milton. Pre-sale tickets will be available from 9am on Monday, September 16, with general admission tickets on sale from 9am on Tuesday, September 17.
Playing Glastonbury; sharing a stage with Foo Fighters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Smashing Pumpkins; making the leap from a regional town to touring the globe: Amyl and The Sniffers frontwoman Amy Taylor has done it all. And, if you'd like to hear more about that journey, Taylor is also getting behind the microphone at 2024's BIGSOUND when it returns to Brisbane from Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6. The huge music event, which combines a conference with live gigs in Fortitude Valley, has enlisted Taylor to give a keynote address at this year's fest. Her involvement is part of the first lineup announcement for 2024, which also includes London-based DJ, artist manager and Butterz co-founder Elijah — and Korda Marshall, who started his record label career in 1983 making coffee and scouting talent at RCA. Casper Mills from independent record label 4AD is also on the speaker roster, as is Naomie Abergel, fka Mark Johns. When AEG/Goldenvoice Concerts Vice President Elliott Lefko gets chatting, too, there'll be Coachella and Stagecoach to talk about. "This announcement is really a calling card of what BIGSOUND represents," said Conference Programmer Tom Larkin, revealing the first 2024 details. "The cross section of global industry that will be on ground is a testament to BIGSOUND as a vehicle for connecting artists locally and internationally, and we recognise that in 2024 the need for this is greater than ever." "We're thrilled to go out of the gates with Amy Taylor as a keynote speaker as she will no doubt give a robust insight from many angles." [caption id="attachment_861894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] As always, BIGSOUND drops its details in stages. So, more speakers will join the bill — and the full music lineup is still to come. But organisers have revealed some of the folks who'll be scoping out acts while they're here, such as Adam Ryan (The Great Escape, Lovebox and Wilderness Festival), Patrick Daniel (Reeperbahn Festival, Inferno Events) and Dev Sherlock (SXSW), plus Ben Buchanan from Creative Artists Agency and Roxane Dumoulin from ATC Live Agency. This is BIGSOUND's 23rd year, with the festival continuing to welcome in international and national buyers, agents, music supervisors, bookers and other industry decision makers to take over Brisbane. Its commitment to showcasing impressive acts, artists and bands usually sees more than 150 talents hit its stages at 20-plus River City venues. If you're a BIGSOUND regular, you'll know that this entails filling as many spaces as possible with musos, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. [caption id="attachment_907800" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simone Gorman-Clark[/caption] [caption id="attachment_851422" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_907799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simone Gorman-Clark[/caption] BIGSOUND 2024 will take place between Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information, visit the event's website. Top image: Ralph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.
The building might be 97 years and heritage listed, but the coffee and belly-busting treats on offer at Kenilworth Country Bakery are anything but stale. This mecca of baked goods is located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and has a prodigious selection of filled, iced and glazed doughnut worthy of a Saturday morning road trip from Brisbane. There are the classic cinnamon-dusted, jam-filled and glazed morsels, but you can step into modern territory with doughy boys taking on the flavours of Golden Gaytimes, Tim Tams, and peanut butter and jelly. In addition to this, Kenilworth also does old-school bakery faves like meat pies, vanilla slices and ice cream heavy milkshakes. You could pair one of these decadent baked goods with a latte, but you may as well get your coffee in a doughnut. The bakery hollows out a doughnut, fills it with Nutella and then pours in a shot of espresso and milk. It's messy but worth it for the novelty. And then there's the OTT one-kilogram doughnut challenge that sent Kenilworth viral a few years ago. The cream-filled monster costs $20, but is free if you can finish it in under an hour. We suggest sticking to the regular doughnuts so you don't ruin any future visits.
On a couple of occasions this year, McDonald's has spread some lockdown cheer by offering burger-loving customers free delivery. Now, with stores open for in-person dining around the country, it's doing something different — serving up daily specials for the entire month of November. This isn't the first time that the chain has run its 30 Days 30 Deals promotion — but it's kicking it off for 2020 with quite the offer. On Sunday, November 1, burger lovers can pick up 50-cent cheeseburgers. All you need to do is order through the MyMaccas app, select the deal, then mosey on down to your closest McDonald's to pick it up. Throughout the rest of the month, a new special will pop up each day. Think $2 Big Macs, $1 McFlurrys and $1.50 thickshakes, as well as $8 share packs, $5 small McChicken meals with a cheeseburger and $8 for two small Quarter Pounder meals.
UPDATE, December 17, 2022: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery screened in cinemas from Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29, then streams via Netflix from Friday, December 23. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opens with a puzzle box inside a puzzle box. The former is a wooden cube delivered out of the blue, the latter the followup to 2019 murder-mystery hit Knives Out, and both are as tightly, meticulously, cleverly and cannily orchestrated as each other. The physical version has siblings, all sent to summon a motley crew of characters to the same place, as these types of flicks need to boast. The film clearly has its own brethren, and slots in beside its predecessor as one of the genre's gleaming standouts. More Knives Out movies will follow as well, which the two so far deserve to keep spawning as long as writer/director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi) and Benoit Blanc-playing star Daniel Craig (No Time to Die) will make them. Long may they keep the franchise's key detective and audience alike sleuthing. Long may they have everyone revelling in every twist, trick and revelation, as the breezy blast that is Glass Onion itself starts with. What do Connecticut Governor and US Senate candidate Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision), model-slash-designer-slash-entrepreneur Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr, The Many Saints of Newark) and gun-toting, YouTube-posting men's rights activist Duke Cody (Dave Bautista, Thor: Love and Thunder) all have in common when this smart and savvy sequel kicks off? They each receive those literal puzzle boxes, of course, and they visibly enjoy their time working out what they're about. The cartons are the key to their getaway to Greece — their invites, in fact — and also perfectly emblematic of this entire feature. It's noteworthy that this quartet carefully but playfully piece together clues to unveil the contents inside, aka Glass Onion's exact modus operandi. That said, it's also significant that a fifth recipient of these elaborate squares simply decides to smash their way inside with a hammer. As Brick and Looper also showed, Johnson knows when to attentively dole out exactly what he needs to; however, he also knows when to let everything spill out. Claire, Birdie, Lionel and Duke share something else: they're all considered "disruptors" by tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton, The French Dispatch), form part of his inner circle and get together annually for one-percenter vacations on his dime. He's behind their unexpected packages and their latest lavish getaway, which takes them not only to a picturesque private island, but also to a sprawling mansion decked out with a glimmering dome he actually calls a glass onion. Also in attendance is Miles' former business partner Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe, Antebellum), with whom nothing ended well, which gives the trip a skin of tension. And, there's the cravat-wearing Blanc, who couldn't be a better addition to the guest list — Miles has corralled this distinctive cohort for a weekend-long whodunnit party, after all. Blanc doesn't quote Sherlock Holmes and proclaim "the game is afoot" in Glass Onion, as he did the first time around, but it is. Several are. Miles wants his visitors to solve his own faux murder, but soon there's a real death slicing into what's meant to be a fun jaunt. Everyone is a suspect, because that's how this setup works. The Southern-drawled Blanc's presence proves mighty handy, swiftly segueing into "world's greatest detective" mode. No one needs him to glean the murder-mystery fundamentals, though. As told with an initially more linear narrative, little is what it seems on this swanky, intricately crafted vacation, including among the mostly high-achieving but secretly spatting group. And yes, as the bickering and backstabbing gets bloody — and the fast-paced story keeps unfurling — everyone has a motive. The Knives Out films can be enjoyed as pure on-screen rounds of Cluedo of the most entertaining kind, and as self-aware, affectionate and intelligent detective puzzles in the Agatha Christie mould. With their sharpness, mischievousness and effervescence, they easily show up the author's most recent page-to-screen adaptations, aka the clunky latest Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Johnson also has the keenest of eyes for ensuring that every inch of every frame and every detail in every set entices and teases, with impressive help from his now six-time cinematographer Steve Yedlin, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power production designer Rick Heinrichs and returning costumer Jenny Eagan. His whodunnit flicks get viewers gleefully playing along, lapping up surprises and thrills. And yet at the same time, they have audiences happily sitting back for the ride as both Johnson and the never-more-delightful Craig do their best. Everyone's doing stellar work in Glass Onion, especially the killer cast. This is the latest of many, many starry crews with a murderer in their midst —see also: fellow 2022 releases Bodies Bodies Bodies and See How They Run — and it's superbly compiled, including Jessica Henwick (The Gray Man) as Birdie's exasperated assistant, Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks) as Duke's girlfriend and a heap of genre-adoring cameos. As a sweep-you-long feature, the film serves up the sheer pleasure of watching its actors play their parts with such aplomb, and also benefits from fleshing out its characters before there's a body count. There needs to be such meat on this movie's bones, and more than merely one-note pawns on its board, because getting biting and blistering — and also being timely and topical — is another of the series' ongoing highlights. A more-cash-than-sense billionaire making a mess? The entitled, privileged set doing anything for money, and to uphold their status and lifestyles? Yes, the Knives Out franchise is eating the rich again, this time on a The White Lotus-esque holiday. Accusations zip around Glass Onion with frequency, potency and a sting, but no one can accuse Johnson of just repeating himself. As an early reference to Bach's 'Fugue in G minor' nods at, this is an onion of a flick that stacks its layers atop each other to create something new, and shines in a different way with each one. Also, where plenty of sequels to successful pictures rinse and repeat, this instead builds a fresh game out of similar but never identical pieces. A case in point: the decision to set the movie in May 2020, when the pandemic is all that most people were thinking about, and lockdown life was far, far removed from international travel, pool dips and cocktails with a view. That choice brings more sight gags, like Birdie's pointless mesh mask, but more importantly it lets the film dice up its targets with more force. They're squabbling and slaying in luxury while everyone else was staring at their own four walls for months on end, and doesn't this new gem cut them up for it.
Filling your house with Swedish furniture is already a wallet-friendly affair, much to the joy of anyone who likes nice homewares but also likes sticking to a budget. Come 2020, however, it'll also be an environmentally-friendly choice, with IKEA announcing plans to ramp up its sustainability measures. Over the next two years, the furniture retailer will phase out all single-use plastic products from both its range and its restaurants all around the globe. That's right — you won't find all those Allen keys in tiny plastic bags taped to your Billy bookshelves, or whatever other flat-packed wares you're fond of. And you won't be taking any frozen meatballs home in throwaway plastic bags either. IKEA has also pledged to only use renewable and recycled materials in all of its products by 2030, alongside a range of other initiatives — upping its plant-based menu items from this year, reducing its home delivery emissions to zero by 2025 and expanding its range of solar offerings to more countries by the same year. It's all part of the company's goal to abide by 'circular principles'. As IKEA's Sustainability Manager Lena Pripp-Kovac explains, "becoming truly circular means meeting people's changing lifestyles, prolonging the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way." Accordingly, they'll be designing "all products from the very beginning to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled." It's not IKEA's first attempt to shake off its 'fast furniture' reputation, with the brand unveiling a non-disposable collection with Danish designers HAY last year. Still, the announcement brings the company into line with the growing movement towards ecologically conscious packaging and products, as seen in supermarkets and other businesses around both Australia and the globe — eradicating singe-use plastic bags, straws, takeaway containers and more, and working towards banning non-recyclable packaging outright.
The cliche saying that the greatest things come in the smallest packages isn't always proven true, but it seems to be the case for a new musical development in nanotechnology, the Nano Guitar. Researchers at Cornell University, Dustin W Carr and Professor Harold G Craighead launched the project in order to show skeptics how advanced and precise (and cool) nanotechnology is. The microscopic instrument is made of crystalline silicon and is 10,000 nanometres long, which is about the size of a single human red blood cell or one-twentieth the size of the width of a strand of hair. Can it be played like a full-sized guitar? Well, its six strings are each only 100 atoms wide, so tiny that they can only be plucked by sending miniature lasers through an atomic force microscope to produce one of the highest pitches to ever be recorded. The sound is a 40 megahertz signal 130,000 times higher than that of a regular guitar, unable to be picked up by the even most sensitive microphones. The Nano Guitar has sparked new discoveries in nanotechnology, including a new method of manipulating laser beams to aid in fibre optic communications. Big things do come in small packages.
Continuing the trend of ingenious bike accessories, the MAMA bike rack allows your two-wheeler to literally stand above the rest. A collaboration between furniture designer Matt Elton and graphic designer Matteo Baldarelli, this neat device has two smooth hooks for you to hang your bike on. The rack also has three holes where locks and cables can be looped through and secured. The powder coated finish means that this rack can be secured to walls both inside and outside. Impressively, the rack's simple and compact design also provides a small shelf above the two hooks. This leaves an ideal platform for you to place your morning flat white. The MAMA bike rack will ensure that your bicycle stands in style, and are available for purchase from designer Matt Elton.
Choose life. Choose celebrating a movie that defined the '90s, made Ewan McGregor a star and instantly made everyone's favourite flicks of all time list. Choose spending 2017 revelling in all things Trainspotting. Film fans already have long-awaited sequel T2: Trainspotting (which is scheduled for a February release) to look forward to, and now theatre fans in Brisbane can choose something else: Trainspotting Live. Choose 75 minutes of intense, immersive page-to-stage antics, as based on Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel about Edinburgh heroin addicts, and first adapted for the theatre in the UK back in 1995. Yes, that means that Harry Gibson's award-winning original stage version was written before Danny Boyle's iconic 1996 movie — and you haven't really experienced the story of Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy and company until you've seen it acted out, live and in person, right in front of you. Transporting its all-Scottish cast and their distinctive accents to Brisbane Powerhouse from April 19 to 22, Trainspotting Live does more than that — it also brings the audience into the show, starting with an extended rave, and even including the infamous 'Worst Toilet in Scotland' scene. It's no wonder that the production has been selling out shows in London, and earning rave reviews for its no-holds-barred approach. The fact that it's being staged by In Your Face Theatre should give you an indication of what you're in for. Welsh — that is, the man who literally wrote the book, plus a sequel, prequel and Begbie-focused spin-off, and recently floated the idea of a TV adaptation — called Trainspotting Live the "best way to experience Trainspotting", in case you needed any more convincing. Just don't go confusing it with the BBC television program of the same name, which is actually about looking at railways.
There's escaping the city for an afternoon, and then there's driving 20 minutes down a dirt road to a secluded river and hopping into a canoe. In this canoe, it's quiet, very still. The Kangaroo Valley's bushland surrounds you, ascending on either side of the waterway, creating a landscape that's punctuated only by the occasional kingfisher flapping by or a solitary trout breaking the surface with a small splash. And I haven't even mentioned the best bit: this canoe is filled with wine. And snacks. So as you're floating down the river — minimal paddling is necessary — you'll be able to pop a bottle of local sparkling and tuck into a few canapés. Maybe you'll try a glass of top-notch sparkling Riesling from Mittagong's Artemis Wines and a yabby roll with native lime mayo supplied by The Loch in nearby Berrima. As you might have guessed, this isn't an ordinary off-you-go oar-bearing experience. This one is part of WildFEST, a new three-day celebration of the food, drink and wilderness of NSW's Southern Highlands. Led by experienced paddler Travis Frenay, the Canoes, Champagne and Canapés experience will lead you along the Kangaroo River in a custom-built double canoe, through the sunken forest and past a convict-built sandstone wall. Travis has an insane amount of knowledge on the area and will be able to answer pretty much anything you throw at him. There will be three sessions a day (9am, noon and 3pm) on October 27, 28 and 29. The whole thing sets off from Beehive Point and takes around two to three hours. Prices are on the heftier side at $195 each, but includes all food, wine and equipment. Plus, this part of the Valley isn't highly accessible for people without their own gear, so it's a great (and bloody delightful) way to explore the area on the water. Note: if weather conditions suggest your rusty old sedan won't make it there and back, the organisers may provide transport down the dirt road. But if it's dry, you're all good. It's part of the adventure. Canoes, Champagne and Canapés will run on October 27–29 from Beehive Point, Kangaroo Valley. For more info and to buy tickets, visit wildfest.com.au.
Perhaps you’ve already bought a virtual coffee to help out people in Christchurch, donated some artwork to raise money for Japan, and you still want to give... then why not offer your spare room? Sparkrelief is a brilliantly simple idea, that meets a serious need. Basically, it’s couchsurfing for people affected by disasters, directly connecting those in need of a place to stay, with those offering one. As highlighted by founder Eli Hayes, there is a difference between staying in temporary emergency accommodation, and staying in someone’s home: “when you go into someone’s house and they take you in and start cooking you breakfast in the morning ... you have that community back again.” Recently launched, the website is focussing on finding housing for those displaced by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but intends to continue on a permanent basis acting as a source of information and temporary housing for those affected by disasters. With thirteen major earthquakes every year, Sparkrelief can expect to be kept busy. [via Mashable]
Imagine if you could see a full lifetime's ageing process happen before your very eyes, sped up just enough that its imperceptible changes became perceptible. But not in an Indiana Jones Nazi uber ageing kind of way; rather, in a tasteful, filmmaker Anthony Cerniello kind of way. In the video below, Danielle, a tiny girl looks at us with a bored-yet-slightly-curious gaze, blinking occasionally. A few seconds later she's changed, only we can't quite tell how — a little broader in the forehead, a little more space between her eyes and eyebrows, maybe? You'll find yourself looking for those minute changes throughout the video. Don't skip through, though — the illusion will be totally ruined. This is because what looks like a lifelong timelapse of one woman's face is actually a very clever and meticulous blending of a whole collection of different portraits, all taken from a single family. Cerniello used faces from the family of his friend Danielle and employed high-tech methods throughout the process: after having photographer Keith Sirchio take shots of all the young cousins and relatives of different generations who looked alike, Cerniello scanned them using a drum scanner and selected those whose bone structure was most similar. Next he enlisted the talents of animators Nathan Meier, Edmund Earle and George Cuddy to meld the shots together, complete with realistic blinking and a convincing suggestion of breathing. Mark Reveley created the musical score, which adds a feeling of depth to the visuals; what we're witnessing, after all, is a whole life passing by. As the signs of ageing appear in faint traces of strain and wrinkles, we can't help but imagine the ups and downs of this virtual person's existence, and sympathise. It's a beautiful short film and a very cool use of technology to assist in making art. Via Colossal
Brisbane's busy market scene loves an occasion. Accordingly, it should come as zero surprise that Christmas markets are a massive thing around town, including at Redcliffe's regular excuse to get shopping by the sea. Indeed, only the Redcliffe Christmas Twilight Market will take you browsing and buying by the Redcliffe jetty. Fancy a merry theme and an ace waterside location? That's on offer from 4–9pm on Saturday, December 14, 2024. Also on the bill: a whole Christmas wonderland set up, festive-appropriate decorations all over the place, and music and live entertainment to fit the mood. And, a heap of food stalls serving up bites to eat, and drinks, also to suit the theme. Entry is free, but you'll want your wallet for all that browsing and buying — there's usually hundreds of stalls to peruse. And yes, dressing up is welcome for this wander along Redcliffe Parade till 9pm. There's even an ugly Christmas t-shirt competition, should something in your wardrobe suit.
You probably already know about New York's reputation for top-quality digs, so you'll be pleased to learn these high standards extend well beyond the city limits. If you're considering venturing upstate — which you absolutely should be — idyllic retreats abound. Not only will the New York holiday of your dreams have the fabulous accommodation to match, but you'll also have direct access to some of the state's underrated gems: its charming small-town communities and boundless outdoor and cultural adventures. We've teamed up with New York State to present some of the most stellar accommodation throughout the state. From scenic summer camps to beachfront escapes, here are our picks to make your next New York adventure even more special. [caption id="attachment_851092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brooke O'Neil - Courtesy of Franklin County[/caption] WHITE PINE CAMP, PAUL SMITHS If it's good enough for a president then it's good enough for you. Set in Paul Smiths, in the heart of the Adirondacks region, White Pine Camp is the former holiday home of President Calvin Coolidge. Nowadays, it's a year-round getaway that places you right in nature's beauty. You'll have 13 stately cabins and cottages to choose from, each featuring handcrafted furnishings, stone fireplaces and stunning views. This provincial wonderland is one of the region's 'Great Camps' — a label reserved for the remarkable lakeside homes built by wealthy 19th-century families. There are endless activities to experience during your stay. You can enjoy boating, hiking, fishing and bowling. Then, when you're ready to unwind, head to the camp's Japanese tea house for a cocktail. [caption id="attachment_851090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Buffalo Niagara, Kim Smith,[/caption] THE MANSION ON DELAWARE AVENUE, BUFFALO Buffalo is one of the most captivating cities in the United States. From the recently restored 19th- and early 20th-century architectural gems and picturesque gardens to the thriving entertainment and nightlife scenes, there are many things that make the city well worth a visit. Located in the heart of the city, The Mansion on Delaware offers an up-close glimpse of the aforementioned 19th-century grandeur. The elegance of the property is undeniable from the moment you step inside, with 15-foot ceilings and handcrafted details that ooze class. You can live out all your upper-class fantasies here, too. To complement the venue's grand allure, a team of "new-fashioned butlers" are waiting at your beck and call, whether you need the ideal restaurant reservation, day-trip suggestions or even a personal driver to whisk you to a nearby landmark. [caption id="attachment_844998" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Phillip Ennis, Courtesy of Oheka Castle[/caption] OHEKA CASTLE, HUNTINGTON Oheka Castle is believed to have inspired The Great Gatsby, so booking a stay in this sprawling mansion ensures you get the chance to live out your Roaring Twenties fantasies. Here, at the highest point of Long Island, luxury is the name of the game, with a selection of sophisticated suites offering opulent decor alongside views stretching across the pristine grounds. Downstairs, the OHK Bar and Restaurant is open for brunch, lunch and dinner, and has a distinctly European atmosphere. You're also welcome to explore the gardens, order an in-room massage, hit the gym or even attend a daily tour of this storied mansion. [caption id="attachment_851095" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Dutchess Tourism[/caption] THE ROUNDHOUSE, BEACON The charming town of Beacon makes for the ideal artsy escape, as this former industrial hub has evolved into a cultural destination over the last 20 years. The Roundhouse embodies this rejuvenation perfectly. The historic mill was transformed into a boutique hotel and restaurant in 2010, but many of the property's refined architectural details were preserved. The Roundhouse is perched on the edge of the fast-flowing Fishkill Creek, offering views of the adjacent Beacon Falls. This easy-on-the-eye spot has 51 guestrooms decked out with mid-century decor. Meanwhile, the acclaimed restaurant showcases goods from local farms, wineries and distilleries. [caption id="attachment_844992" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NYSDED, Darren McGee[/caption] MOHONK MOUNTAIN HOUSE, NEW PALTZ Mohonk Mountain House is another majestic stay that'll see you surrounded by the Hudson Valley's incredible scenery. This early 20th-century estate is based on the edge of Lake Mohonk and is surrounded by 40,000 acres of forest. You won't be left looking for ways to fill your time either. First of all, there are some 85 miles of hiking trails to explore. You can also go kayaking and fly fishing on the lake that sits next to the estate, or make the most of the estate's award-winning spa and top-notch recreational facilities, including tennis courts, an indoor pool, a golf course and more. Mohonk Mountain House is also known for its farm-to-table cuisine, which is served throughout its many venues. [caption id="attachment_851104" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Greene County Tourism & Film Office[/caption] EASTWIND HOTEL AND BAR, WINDHAM When your main priority is reconnecting with nature, eco-conscious glamping in the rugged countryside is bound to fit the bill. Eastwind Hotel and Bar, overlooking the Catskill Mountains, is a fantastic choice. The property's A-frame glamping tents and cabins will level up your outdoor encounters with their Scandinavian-style architecture and amenities. Here, you don't need to forgo the creature comforts during your stay — even the basic offering comes with wifi, lush robes and private bathrooms. Opting for an upgraded hut, meanwhile, will score you a cosy lounge area, writing nook, outdoor fire pit and shower, and a private deck to appreciate the views. Throw in a visit to the hotel's trendy cocktail bar and a sweat sesh in the wood-barrelled sauna, and this out-of-town haunt won't disappoint. THE LAKE HOUSE ON CANANDAIGUA, CANANDAIGUA The Finger Lakes is one of upstate New York's top destinations, known for its picturesque lakes, wineries and top-class recreational facilities. Sound like your sort of place? The Lake House on Canandaigua is where you should stay. Modern yet flourished with old-world charm, this peaceful location is the perfect place to base yourself when exploring the surrounding landscapes. Alongside the 125 picture-perfect rooms, dining is a clear focus at the hotel. The Sand Bar offers a laidback atmosphere and colourful cocktails overlooking the water, while Rose Tavern levels up the class with rustic decor and hearth-cooked cuisine. For activities, there's a fully kitted day spa, ice skating in winter, morning meditation sessions and much more. STARLITE MOTEL, KERHONKSON The Starlite Motel is a 1960s motor lodge that has been lovingly restored to its former glory through modern updates and fashionable touches, ranging from a kitschy pink exterior and retro tiling to vintage appliances that instantly transport you to a bygone age. When you're not exploring the many nearby hiking, biking and climbing locations, you're invited to make the most of an outdoor pool and communal firepits. There's also a lo-fi canteen serving local drinks and snacks, while a selection of barbecue grills means you can whip up your own feast beneath the stars. [caption id="attachment_851100" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Ulster County Tourism/Film[/caption] WOODSTOCK WAY HOTEL, WOODSTOCK Inspired by the music and counterculture that made its namesake community so famous, Woodstock Way Hotel invites guests to experience this history through rustic-chic architecture and enchanting gardens. The rooms, suites and cottages are adorned with vintage decor and artwork, so expect to feel immersed in the lush outdoors through balconies and private gardens. Although there's no on-site restaurant, the communal area offers snacks and drinks. You're also just a quick walk from the centre of town, meaning you can experience Woodstock's wealth of stylish restaurants, bars and fashion boutiques with ease. To start planning your trip to New York State, head to iloveny.com. Also, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best food and drink stops, cultural experiences, outdoor adventures and day trips from NYC. Top image: Courtesy of Oheka Castle
