Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 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, including new releases, 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. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING No one should need to cleanse their palates between Mad Max movies — well, maybe after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, depending on your mileage with it — but if anyone does, George Miller shouldn't be one of them. The Australian auteur gifted the world the hit dystopian franchise, has helmed and penned each and every chapter, and made Mad Max: Fury Road an astonishing piece of cinema that's one of the very best in every filmic category that applies. Still, between that kinetic, frenetic, rightly Oscar-winning movie and upcoming prequel Furiosa, Miller has opted to swish around romantic fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing. He does love heightened drama and also myths, including in the series he's synonymous with. He adores chronicling yearnings and hearts' desires, too, whether surveying vengeance and survival, the motivations behind farm animals gone a-wandering in Babe: Pig in the City, the dreams of dancing penguins in Happy Feet, or love, happiness and connection here. In other words, although adapted from AS Byatt's short story The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Three Thousand Years of Longing is unshakeably and inescapably a Miller movie — and it's as alive with his flair for the fantastical as most of his resume. It's a wonder for a range of reasons, one of which is simple: the last time that the writer/director made a movie that didn't connect to the Mad Max, Babe or Happy Feet franchises was three decades back. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that this tale about a narratologist (Tilda Swinton, Memoria) and the Djinn (Idris Elba, Beast) she uncorks from a bottle, and the chats they have about their histories as the latter tries to ensure the former makes her three wishes to truly set him free, is told with playfulness, inventiveness, flamboyance and a deep heart. Much of Miller's filmography is, but there's a sense with Three Thousand Years of Longing that he's been released, too — even if he loves his usual confines, as audiences do as well. "My story is true," Swinton's Alithea Binnie announces at the get-go. "You're more likely to believe me, however, if I tell it as a fairy tale." Cue another Miller trademark, unpacking real emotions and woes within scenarios that are anything but standard — two people talking about their lives in a hotel is hardly fanciful, though. The tales that the Djinn relays, with debts clearly owed to One Thousand and One Nights, also dwell in the everyday; some just happened millennia ago. The Djinn loved the Queen of Sheba (model Aamito Lagum), but lost her to the envious King Solomon (Nicolas Mouawad, Mako). He then languished in the the Ottoman court, after young concubine Gulten (Ece Yüksel, Family Secrets) wished for the heart of Suleiman the Magnificent's (Lachy Hulme, Preacher) son Mustafa (singer Matteo Bocelli). And, in the 19th century, the Djinn fell for Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar, Between Two Dawns), the brilliantly smart but stifled wife of a Turkish merchant. What spirits the Djinn's time-hopping memories beyond the ordinary and into the metaphysical, and Alithea's narrative as well, is the figure first seen billowing out of blue-and-white glass, then filling an entire suite, then slipping into white towelling. Something magical happens when you pop on a hotel bathrobe — that space and that cosy clothing are instantly transporting — and while Alithea resists the very idea of making wishes, she gets swept along by her new companion anyway. As a scholar of stories and the meanings they hold, she knows the warnings surrounding uttering hopes and having them granted. She also says she's content with her intellectual, independent and isolated-by-choice life, travelling the world to conferences like the one that's brought her to Turkey and then to the Istanbul bazaar where she spies the Djinn's misshapen home, even if her own backstory speaks of pain and self-protective mechanisms. And yet, "I want our solitudes to be together", she eventually declares, and with exactly the titular emotion. Read our full review. ORPHAN: FIRST KILL What's more believable — and plot twists follow: a pre-teen playing a 33-year-old woman pretending to be a nine-year-old orphan, with a hormone disorder explaining the character's eerily youthful appearance; or an adult playing a 31-year-old woman pretending to be a lost child returned at age nine, again with that medical condition making everyone else oblivious? For viewers of 2009's Orphan and its 13-years-later follow-up Orphan: First Kill, which is a prequel, neither are particularly credible to witness. But the first film delivered its age trickery as an off-kilter final-act reveal, as paired with a phenomenal performance by then 12-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman in the pivotal role. Audiences bought the big shift — or remembered it, at least — because Fuhrman was so creepy and so committed to the bit, and because it suited the OTT horror-thriller. This time, that wild revelation is old news, but that doesn't stop Orphan: First Kill from leaning on the same two key pillars: an out-there turn of events and fervent portrayals. Fuhrman (The Novice) returns as Esther, the Estonian adult who posed as a parentless Russian girl in the initial feature. In Orphan: First Kill, she's introduced as Leena Klammer, the most dangerous resident at the Saarne Institute mental hospital. The prequel's first sighted kill comes early, as a means of escape. The second follows swiftly, because the film needs to get its central figure to the US. Fans of the previous picture will recall that Esther already had a troubled history when she was adopted and started wreaking the movie's main havoc, involving the family that brought her to America — and her time with that brood, aka wealthy Connecticut-based artist Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland, Possessor), his gala-hosting wife Tricia (Julia Stiles, Hustlers) and their teen son Gunnar (Matthew Finlan, My Fake Boyfriend), is this flick's focus. Like their counterparts in Orphan, the Albrights have suffered a loss and are struggling to move on. When Leena poses as their missing daughter Esther, Allen especially seems like his old self again. As also happened in Orphan, however, the pigtail- and ribbon-wearing new addition to their home doesn't settle in smoothly. Orphan: First Kill repeats the original movie's greatest hits, including the arty doting dad, the wary brother, taunts labelling Esther a freak and a thorny relationship with her mum. Also covered: suspicious external parties, bathroom tantrums, swearing to get attention and spying on her parents having sex. And yes, anyone who has seen Orphan knows how this all turns out, and that it leads to the above again in Orphan, too. Thankfully, that's only part of Orphan: First Kill's narrative. Twists can be curious narrative tools; sometimes they're inspired, sometimes they're a crutch propping up a flimsy screenplay, and sometimes they seesaw between both. Orphan: First Kill tumbles gleefully into the latter category, thanks to a revelation midway that's patently ridiculous — although no more ridiculous than Orphan earning a follow-up in the first place — and also among the best things about the movie. It's a big risk, making a film that's initially so laughably formulaic that it just seems lazy, then letting a sudden switch completely change the game, the tone and the audience's perception of what's transpired so far. That proved a charm for the thoroughly unrelated Malignant in 2021, and it's a gamble that filmmaker William Brent Bell (The Boy and Brahms: The Boy II) and screenwriter David Coggeshall (Scream: The TV Series) take. Working with a story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) and Alex Mace (who earned the same credit on the original), it's one of their savviest choices. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23 and June 30; and July 7, July 14, July 21 and July 28; and August 4, August 11, August 18 and August 25. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Mothering Sunday, Jurassic World Dominion, A Hero, Benediction, Lightyear, Men, Elvis, Lost Illusions, Nude Tuesday, Ali & Ava, Thor: Love and Thunder, Compartment No. 6, Sundown, The Gray Man, The Phantom of the Open, The Black Phone, Where the Crawdads Sing, Official Competition, The Forgiven, Full Time, Murder Party, Bullet Train, Nope, The Princess, 6 Festivals, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Crimes of the Future, Bosch & Rockit, Fire of Love, Beast, Blaze and Hit the Road.
Melbourne's arts calendar never fails to keep us busy, however, it's always had a bit of a lull in winter before Melbourne International Arts Festival and Melbourne Music Week take over the city in spring. But, from next year, that's all set change. The Victorian Government has this morning announced that it will launch a huge new citywide arts festival in the winter of 2020. It's a big shake-up to the Melbourne arts calendar as the new festival will merge the aforementioned Melbourne Festival and arts all-nighter White Night and move them into a winter timeslot. Since its inception, White Night has been held on a hot February night — however, in September last year, it was announced that it would move to August for 2019. Melbourne Fest, which was established in 1986, is usually held in October. [caption id="attachment_650235" align="alignnone" width="1920"] White Night Melbourne[/caption] Exact timings and details are yet to be revealed, but the new "global" festival — as it's being billed by the Andrews Government — will take over the city for several weeks, much like Melbourne Festival usually does in October. While it will no doubt combine the best bits of the two existing festivals, a new creative team will come on to develop a new program and vision. We're told the the 2020 program will feature a "diverse program of visual and performing arts" coupled with with "large-scale takeovers of precincts" after-dark. Hopefully that means more immersive installations like last year's Fire Garden at Melbourne Festival. The inaugural festival — which is yet to be named — will kick off with a 'transitional' year in the winter of 2020. It's set to support Melbourne's tourism and hospitality industries in the quieter months and, no doubt, provide a Melbourne equivalent to Sydney's popular Vivid festival, which kicks off this month. Both White Night and the Melbourne International Arts Festival will go ahead as planned this year, on the weekend of August 22–24 and October 2–20, respectively. The new winter festival will hit Melbourne in winter 2020. We'll keep you updated when new details or dates are announced. Image: Fire Garden from Melbourne International Arts Festival 2018, by Vincent Muteau.
Solar power. Who needs it? Well, we do — and pretty desperately. To generate it though, we need those pesky black solar panels to be fitted to people's roofs and properties and anywhere we can find a space for them. This can be a little hard without overtaking natural environments and farmland. But France have found thousands of kilometres of space perfect for solar panels — their roads. This idea of paving roads with solar panels was first floated by Scott and Julie Brusaw, when they launched a crowdfunding campaign to pave American parking lots with the things in 2014. But this project is a little more legit. Proposed by French transport infrastructure company Colas and France's National Institute for Solar Energy, it's been given the go-ahead by France's Agency of Environment and Energy Management. And if all goes to plan, they're promising to bring solar power to 1000-kilometres of roads in the country over the next five years. Named the Wattway system, the 7mm photovoltaic road surface would be stuck on top of existing road surfaces. Both its thinness and ease of application to existing roads make it the best proposal yet — and seeing as roads are only occupied by vehicles only 10% of the time, they'll be soaking up a lot of sunlight too. Claiming they are "paving the way to tomorrow's energy" (nice one, guys), Colas say that a one-kilometre stretch of Wattway panels would be able to provide the electricity to power public lighting in a city of 5000 inhabitants. According to Global Construction Review, tests on the solar roadway panels will begin this year. Let's hope the French trial is successful, and makes its way over here. As anyone who's stood barefoot on asphalt on a hot day knows, that stuff stores a lethal amount of heat. Via Tree Hugger.
Every couple has in-jokes, a valuable currency in all relationships, but only Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp have turned a cute private gag into Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. The Parks and Recreation actor and the Fraud director are no longer together romantically, marrying and divorcing in the 13 years since they first gave the world the cutest talking shell anyone could've imagined; however, they've now reteamed professionally for an adorable film based on their 2010, 2011 and 2014 shorts. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On also gave rise to two best-selling children's picture books, unsurprisingly, following a familiar internet-stardom path from online sensation to print and now the big screen. Neither Slate and Fleischer-Camp's faded love nor their joint project's history are ignored by their footwear-sporting seashell's cinematic debut, either; in fact, acknowledging both, whether subtly or overtly, is one of the things that makes this sweet, endearing, happily silly, often hilarious and deeply insightful movie such an all-round gem. That inside jest? A voice put on by Slate, which became the one-inch-high anthropomorphic Marcel's charming vocals. In Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's initial mockumentary clips, the tiny critter chats to an unseen filmmaker chronicling his life, with earnestness dripping from every word. ("My name is Marcel and I'm partially a shell, as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes and a face. So I like that about myself, and I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities as well," he advises in his self-introduction.) The same approach, tone and voice sits at the heart of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's feature-length leap, of course, but so does a touching meditation upon loss, change and valuing what's truly important. Fleischer-Camp plays the movie's documentarian, mostly off-camera, who meets Marcel and his grandmother (voiced by Isabella Rossellini, Julia) after moving into an Airbnb following a relationship breakup — and, yes, their work together becomes a viral phenomenon. With Fleischer-Camp directing IRL, plus co-penning the warmhearted script with Slate and Nick Paley (who has helmed episodes of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On spends its opening third initiating viewers into its namesake's world. Clever sight gags abound — inventive uses of everyday objects, too, with honey helping Marcel walk on walls, sneakers (not Marcel's) forming part of ziplines and a tennis ball repurposed as a mollusk-appropriate car. As rendered with a combination of stop-motion animation and live-action, the film's central setting is a delight of details, and each item that's essential to Marcel and Nanna Connie's lives says plenty about them. Theirs is a modest but resourceful and curious existence, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's production design screams its love for that combination even when no one is speaking. Here, the movie's main figure plays tour guide, as he did in the shorts, outlining how everything operates. Dean records and asks questions, paying Marcel more attention than any of the abode's previous guests ever have. But melancholy underscores the shell's every response, with Marcel and the ageing Connie missing the rest of their family thanks to their home's owners' (Undone's Rosa Salazar and Halloween Kills' Thomas Mann) own split (aka the reason the house is an Airbnb to begin with, bringing Dean to their door). From there, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On sends its characters, human and talking, walking, kicks-adorned shells alike, on a quest to reunite Marcel and Connie with their lost relatives. That's the narrative arc, but Fleischer-Camp, Slate and Paley also keenly understand the need to accept the ebbs and flows that simply living brings everyone's way, even as their film scurries in eager search of a happy ending. The delights are in the details everywhere that Marcel the Shell with Shoes On looks, including in its slicker but still low-key visuals. A handcrafted appearance, from Marcel's single googly eye through to cinematographers Eric Adkins (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Bianca Cline's (Belly of the Beast) keen use of perspective, couldn't be more crucial to the movie's cosy allure — and those careful and caring images do feel lived-in. This is a movie about coping with seismic shifts to one's comfortable status quo, too, so the snug, homely sheen assists in communicating why Marcel isn't so fond of change. He wants to see his family again. He's interested in the world around him. He's set in his busy daily routine. And he's worried about the ailing Nanna Connie, who tends to her window garden, adores the US version of 60 Minutes and its veteran host Lesley Stahl, and has an accent explained by being from the distant location that is the garage. Marcel really just wants what we all yearn for, though: happiness we've known and lost. Ensuring that family-friendly animation is genuinely adult-friendly is a rarer skill than it might seem; just because all-ages-courting flicks reach screens with frequency, that doesn't mean they all keep both older and younger viewers equally engaged. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On has the kid-centric cuteness down pat inherently — just look at Marcel, as millions have since those first shorts — but its mature and layered storyline is just as much of a wonder for everyone else. While the picture's midsection savvily and amusingly skewers internet attention, aka the type that's followed this seashell for more than a decade (and Slate's career as well), getting the room to create something this thoughtful out of a viral hit is one of its spoils in this specific instance. Slate and Fleischer-Camp have channelled their inner Marcel, clearly, making the most of the situation and its ups and downs — and making a soul-refreshing marvel. Don't be suspicious: an online-famous critter that sprang from an in-joke about a funny voice has indeed sparked this sincere and soothing — and impressively, intelligently meta — film. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's achievements are many, including offering a far cheerier alternative to Barbarian when it comes to folks unexpectedly sharing the same Airbnb, but its biggest might be its deceptive simplicity. Yes, it's a movie about a chattering shell dressed in footwear. Yes, it knows what worked in Marcel's early screen appearances and doesn't shy away from it. Fleshing all of that out to feature length proves just like putting your ear up to a seashell here: you can see and hear the world in this delicate, tender and disarmingly beautiful film. You can also listen to the iconic and inimitable Rossellini serve up a rich, smooth and enchanting vocal effort with an impeccable sense of comic timing, which is exactly the kind of treat that Marcel would want everyone to revel in.
One of the best restaurants in Australia will be immortalised in print, thanks to a new book by chef Dan Hunter. Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant will showcase the history, philosophy and food of the iconic eatery in country Victoria, and is shaping up as one of the most salivating reads of the year. Due to hit shelves on May 1 thanks to Phaidon Press, the 256-page hardback will explore the early days of Brae, while also charting Hunter's journey from kitchen porter to celebrated chef. Personal essays will explore Hunter's ethical vision and strong preference for local ingredients. It's an approach that saw Brae rewarded with the number two spot on the list of Australia's Best Restaurants last year. Amateur cooks will also be keen to get a glimpse of Hunter's recipes, a number of which will be included in the tome. Finally, the book will feature more than 150 of artist Colin Page's photographs, detailing the food, the kitchen and breathtaking Australian landscape that surrounds the restaurant on all sides. Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant hits bookshelves and online stores from May 1 with a recommended retail price of $75.
When Michael Crichton put pen to paper and conjured up a modern-day dinosaur-filled amusement park, he couldn't have known exactly what he'd done. The author easily imagined the story making its way to the big screen, because the Jurassic Park novel started out as a screenplay. He could've also perceived that a whole film and TV franchise could follow, and that folks would be quoting the movies for decades. And yet, we're guessing that he didn't predict the latest development: a recreation of the Jurassic World movies, which started with the fourth flick in the series back in 2015, made completely out of Lego. Jurassic World by Brickman first popped up in Melbourne in 2021, then Sydney in 2022. Next, Brisbanites will be able to wander through it, too — and peer at more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the Jurassic World movies that have all been fashioned out of the popular plastic bricks in the process. That'll all be on display at Queensland Museum from Friday, December 8, 2023–Sunday, July 14, 2024 as the exhibition keeps touring the country. More than six million Lego blocks have been used in Jurassic World by Brickman, each brick stacked together to create the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps, a heap of creatures and more. Welcome to... your Lego Jurassic World fantasy, basically. Lego dinosaurs are clearly the main attraction and, yes, this event is going big. There'll be a life-sized brachiosaurus that weighs more than two tonnes, a huge tyrannosaurus rex, two life-sized velociraptors (Blue and Delta), and everything from a stegosaurus to a triceratops, too. Plus, you'll see some prehistoric creatures in the baby dinosaur enclosure, encounter more on the loose and learn how to track them over the exhibition's recreation of Isla Nublar (while using your imagination a whole heap, obviously). If it all sounds rather sizeable, that's because Jurassic World by Brickman is the largest Lego exhibition in Australia. And if getting a closer look at Jurassic World sounds a little familiar, you might remember the non-Lego exhibition that hit Melbourne back in 2016 and the current showcase that's on display in Sydney right now. In Brisbane, Lego aficionados will also be able to get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. This'll be a family-friendly affair, so expect to have plenty of small dinosaur fans for company. Queensland Museum is having a dino-filled year given that it just said goodbye to Dinosaurs of Patagonia on Monday, October 2. Featuring fossils from 13 dinosaur species, that exhibition included the patagotitan, which was the largest-known land animal, reaching 37 metres in length and weighing 70 tonnes. It wasn't made out of Lego, though. Jurassic World by Brickman will display at Queensland Museum, corner of Grey and Melbourne Streets, South Bank, South Brisbane, from Friday, December 8, 2023–Sunday, July 14, 2024 — with pre-sale tickets from Monday, October 16 and general sales from Monday, October 23. Head to the venue's website for further details. Images: Anna Kucera.
Sweltering through increasingly toasty temperatures, the Earth keeps breaking and matching records — ones the planet doesn't want to continue. After notching up its hottest year in recorded history back in 2016, this spinning rock we call home equalled it in 2020. The past six years are now the hottest six on record, too, while the past decade is also the warmest ever recorded. The news comes via the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which tracks data about the climate now and the past to contemplate the future — not just for Europe, but also for the rest of the world. Compared to the period between 1981–2010, which is commonly used as a reference, 2020 was warmer by 0.6 degrees Celsius. In comparison to pre-industrial times, from 1850–1900 specifically, it was hotter by 1.25 degrees Celsius as well. That mightn't sound like a huge amount, but it made a big difference in some parts of the globe. Europe experienced its hottest year ever recorded, even beating 2016 by 0.4 degrees Celsius. And in the Arctic and Siberia, temps reached more than six degrees higher than average. That meant that Arctic sea ice was significantly lower than average in the second half of the year — the lowest sea ice extent on record in July and October, in fact. Announcing the data for the past year, C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said that "2020 stands out for its exceptional warmth in the Arctic and a record number of tropical storms in the north Atlantic. It is no surprise that the last decade was the warmest on record, and is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future." https://twitter.com/CopernicusECMWF/status/1347438880551800832 The unwanted milestone also came about as the northern hemisphere mostly experienced higher than average temperatures for the year, while parts of the southern hemisphere had below average temperatures due to cooler La Niña conditions. C3S also advised that 2020 matches the 2016 record despite the cooling effect of La Niña, while 2016 started with a warming El Niño event. With climate change continuing to show its effects, the news shouldn't come as a surprise. It's still a stark reminder of the current state of the planet, however. Locally, the Bureau of Meteorology has already advised that Australia sweltered through its fourth warmest year on record in 2020, and ended its hottest decade ever as well. For more information about the 2020 data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), head to the C3S website.
Since Queensland's COVID-19 lockdown began in late March, dreaming of spending a night somewhere other than your own house — on a multi-day hiking adventure or a weekend in a luxe glamping resort, for example — has become a regular part of pandemic life. Thankfully, before the June-July school holidays hit, that dream will become a reality, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirming that Queenslanders will be able to travel regionally — and stay overnight — from mid-June. At her daily press conference on Thursday, May 21, the Premier advised that increasing the distance Queenslanders can travel within the state, and allowing them to holiday within the state, will indeed happen next month. "The June school holidays will be coming up very shortly, and of course, with our roadmap, it means that Queenslanders can travel up to 250 kilometres — and they can holiday in Queensland in their regional areas," she announced. As the Premier noted, this was already on the cards as part of the state's "step-down approach to COVID-19"; with a date of June 12 set for the next stage of eased restrictions to come into effect. Confirming that the regional travel component of the roadmap will definitely happen means that folks can start making plans, however, which the Premier noted. "I really want to encourage everyone as much as possible to start planning those holidays and really back our tourism industry," she said. The idea is to get Queenslanders travelling in Queensland to support the local tourism industry. As the Premier already revealed earlier this week, the state's border is unlikely to open soon, and possibly not until at least September — a move that's receiving continuing complaints from her New South Wales counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, as well as from members of the Federal Government, but is based on advice from Queensland Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1263243047384449025 Discussing the highly publicised border issue today, Premier Palaszczuk noted that "there are 33 times the number of active cases in NSW compared to Queensland" — after after also announcing that Queensland recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Dr Young explained Queensland's position further, advising that "there is plenty of health advice about the importance of minimising the number of cases coming in to a community". She continued, "we saw how effective it was for Australia when the international borders were closed. And then as we started to see in Queensland, the number of cases acquired interstate and then coming into Queensland, we immediately acted here, the Premier took that advice to act, and close the borders to other states. And, most of the states in our country also did that. So we saw Western Australia, we saw South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland close their borders to those states that had significantly higher numbers of cases and local transmission." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Hiking in Canungra Valley, Gold Coast via Matt Harvey for Tourism and Events Queensland
Each of Australia's capital cities has a different shtick. Melbourne's just happens to be a 24-hour culture — or, at least, the closest Australia has to it. It's got all-night public transport on weekends, late-night opening hours for the National Gallery of Victoria's new Triennial and the city's White Night festival will return for its annual all-nighter in 2018. If you haven't been down to White Night before, here's how it works. From 7pm, much of Melbourne's CBD is closed to cars. From then on, the streets give way to pedestrians, who are free to wander between temporary installations, live music and on-street projections — as well as in and out of galleries and cultural institutions — up until the sun comes up at 7am the next day. It's the Australian version of Nuit Blanche, which was founded in France in the 80s. Next year's festival — which will shut down the city for 12 hours on the evening of Saturday, February 17 — features work from a tonne of both local and international artists. Expect to see neon pups, two Burning Man installations and one laneway covered in snow. There are far too many works to list, but here are a few highlights you'll want to look out for. A giant shimming silver net that will hover above Federation Square for White Night (and two weeks afterwards). Drag queens singing from balconies above Collins Street. A laneway filled with virtual neon 'dogs' and another filled with falling 'snow'. A tree that lets you write temporary messages on it with the light from your phone Two installations straight from Burning Man: a fire-breathing serpent outside Melbourne Museum and a giant mechanical insect that doubles at a DJ booth. Mini gigs performed from multiple balconies above Swanston Street. A 360-degree dome in Alexandra Gardens that will feature mesmerising projections. Stories from Australian detention centres projected onto the NGV's façade. White Night will also head out to Victoria's regional centres. It will return to Ballarat on March 17 for a second year, and will take to the streets of Bendigo and Geelong for the first time later in 2018. White Night 2018 will take over Melbourne from 7pm on Saturday, February 17 until 7am on the morning on Sunday, February 18. For more information, visit whitenight.com.au/melbourne.
The Wire isn't an anthology series in the traditional sense. It focuses on the same Baltimore police detectives each season — as led by Dominic West and Wendell Pierce — but sees their investigations overlap with a different element of the city's daily life. In the first season, it peers into illegal drugs. In the second, sea freight and the ports are in the spotlight. Across subsequent seasons, the focus falls on city government, the education system and newspapers. Dense, intricate, devastatingly smart and oh-so-involving, the result is one of the best shows that HBO has ever made — and a series on par with The Sopranos in terms of its influence. It was created and primarily written by former Baltimore police reporter David Simon, so it knows its stuff. Also, among its A+ cast, keep an eye out for particularly exceptional work by Idris Elba and a very young Michael B Jordan (and for Isiah Whitlock Jr's over-extended pronunciation of "sheeeeeeeee-it".
This is one suave-as-all-blazes tour announcement. After the recent announcement of their national tour set for November, Flight Facilities have revealed their perfect sidekicks for the road: Client Liaison. Currently touring the country on a cheeky headline tour of their own, the Melburnian duo are set to play their biggest shows to date with FF. They've recently released their perpetually listenable, essentially '80s-meets'90s debut LP Down to Earth through Dot Dash/Remote Control and now they're one of Australia's most must-see artists. Seriously. Flight Facilities have sold out their first Sydney and Melbourne shows, with extra dates announced all round. This is one show you're going to want to suit up for, lest you feel underdressed by the talent. FLIGHT FACILITIES + CLIENT LIAISON TOUR DATES: Thu 6 November — Adelaide HQ Sat 8 November — Perth CAPITOL Thu 13 November — Melbourne FORUM SOLD OUT Fri 14 November — Melbourne FORUM Sat 15 November — Brisbane TIVOLI Thu 20 November — Sydney ENMORE SOLD OUT Fri 21 November — Sydney ENMORE Tickets available here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=L_7DN_X4zsk
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Nicolas Cage cures all woes. Whether you're having an average 2022 so far, or you're sad that the long weekend is over — or you're in parts of the country that don't get a long weekend mid-June and you're sad about that — watching one of the greatest actors alive make on-screen magic as only he can is always a thrill. Yes, that's true whether he's in an excellent or awful movie, too. Your latest excuse to see Nicolas Cage do his thing comes courtesy of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, aka a movie that's gotten a fair amount of attention for one huge reason: it stars Cage as Cage. It was first announced back in 2021, then hit Australian cinemas back in April. Now, as a mid-winter gift — and because fast-tracking flicks from cinemas to digital has become the pandemic-era status quo — the film has made the very quick leap to video on demand. That means that you can now spend your next at-home movie night watching Nicolas Cage play Nicolas Cage — and playing a whole lot of different styles of Cage, too. There's serious Cage, comedic Cage, out-there Cage, OTT Cage, short-haired Cage, floppy-haired Cage, slick Cage, gun-toting Cage and every-facial-expression-imaginable Cage. Whichever kind of Cage you can think of, it's accounted for. All your favourite Cage titles also get a nod or mention in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which sure does love absolutely everything about its leading man. There is a story behind the film's Cage-obsessed premise, of course. The fictionalised Cage is in a career lull, and is thinking about giving up acting, when he accepts an offer to attend a super fan-slash-billionaire's birthday. Getting paid $1 million is just too much to pass up, and he needs the money. But when it turns out that he might now be working for and palling around with one of the most ruthless men on the planet (played by Pedro Pascal, Wonder Woman 1984) — as a couple of intelligence agents (The Afterparty co-stars Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) eventually tell him — things get mighty hectic. Also joining Cage playing Cage — not to be confused with his work in Adaptation, where he played two characters — are Sharon Horgan (This Way Up) as his fictional wife and Neil Patrick Harris (The Matrix Resurrections) as his manager. And, Are We Officially Dating? filmmaker Tom Gormican sits in the director's chair, because if there's anything else that this movie also needs, it's the director of a Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan-starring rom-com pivoting to total Cage worship. Yes, we've seen Cage break out of Alcatraz, sing Elvis songs, run around the streets convinced that he's a vampire, let his long hair flap in the wind and swap faces. He's voiced a version of Spider-Man, driven fast cars, fought space ninjas, hunted for his kidnapped truffle pig and stolen babies as well. Staying in his own shoes definitely stands out, though — as Cage himself always does. Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent below: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is available to stream via Google Play, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review.
What kind of holidaymaker are you? Do you seek sun and sand on your break from the daily grind? Country-hopping and site-seeing? Or just comfortable surroundings and a cold brew or two? Those keen on the latter can now put their feet up at the ultimate accommodation for beer lovers from Monday, August 27. In fact, The DogHouse is so steeped in yeasty tipples, it's attached to and run by a brewery. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Scottish outfit BrewDog has set up the boozy venture, which lives next to its US facility in Columbus, Ohio. So, what does the world's first craft beer hotel entail? In addition to a sour brewing facility, it includes beverages and lots of them, of course. Visitors sleep in beer-themed rooms, eat craft beer-infused meals with brews tailored to every course, take brewery tours and check out the onsite beer museum. In-room beer taps are also on the agenda, as well as shower beer fridges. And, when you check in, the concierge gives you a beer — naturally. There are 32 rooms in total, including eight deluxe suites and four that are dog-friendly, should you find yourself in America with your pooch in tow. And if you're not going to be in that neck of the woods any time soon, BrewDog is also opening a second hotel at its Scottish headquarters in 2019. The company is also heading to Australia to launch its first $30 million Aussie facility in Brisbane; however that won't have a hotel attached. Images: BrewDog.
John Sugar adores cinema. It makes sense, then, that the Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)-led Apple TV+ series about the Los Angeles-based detective loves movies just as devotedly. Sugar is styled like a classic film noir. It splices in clips from the genre's pictures, other Hollywood-set fare and fellow retro titles, swinging from The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly, Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity to Sherlock Jr and The Thing. It watches Sugar watch flicks. It listens to him drop references to and wax lyrical about them in his evocative narration. It pays tribute to its influences eagerly — and it gives its audience a helluva post-viewing watchlist. Sugar is also set in Tinseltown, going all in on LA noir like many of the movies that it references — and also The Big Sleep, Chinatown, LA Confidential and Under the Silver Lake as well — with its tale of a PI looking for a missing woman. The show's namesake might be introduced in Tokyo, where he has the case of a yakuza gangster's kidnapped grandson to solve, but he spends the bulk of the series in the City of Angels on a gig that his handler Ruby (Kirby, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) advises against. He can't say no for the ultimate cinephile reason: one of his film idols is doing the hiring. But from the moment that iconic movie producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell, Succession) puts him on the books and in search of his granddaughter Olivia (Sydney Chandler, Don't Worry Darling), Sugar may as well be in a twisty flick himself. A cinema-heavy pedigree behind the lens brings Sugar to streaming queues, too. Creator Mark Protosevich made his debut with the script for sci-fi thriller The Cell back in 2000. Director Fernando Meirelles came to prominence, complete with an Oscar nomination, for co-helming City of God. Executive producer Simon Kinberg wrote Mr & Mrs Smith back when it was a Brad Pitt (Babylon)- and Angelina Jolie (Eternals)-starring movie, not a 2024 TV show, and has a wealth of X-Men titles on his resume. A mystery fan himself, he also produced recent Agatha Christie adaptations Murder on the Orient Express and A Haunting in Venice, executive producing Death on the Nile in-between. Speaking with Concrete Playground, Kinberg notes that this detective series that's also a genre-bender and a love letter to LA noir equally has character study in its list, crucially. "I'm hoping that the audiences fall in love with John Sugar. Definitely feel intrigued, and tense in all the right ways about the suspense and the mystery and the danger of the show — the things that we love about detective stories — but I think ultimately, I hope that they fall in love with how complicated and nuanced and ultimately surprising John Sugar is as a character," he says. "When I think about my favourite television shows — and often my favourite movies, but definitely my favourite shows — it always comes back to character. And I believe that the construction of John Sugar with the portrayal by Colin is something that will grip audiences and make them love the show." Sugar might be at the heart of the series, naturally, but there'd be no Sugar without Ruby. In the show's second-billed part, Kirby adds to a killer resume that's also no stranger to detective tales thanks to 2019's fourth season of Veronica Mars. The Good Place, Why Women Kill, Love, Killing Eve, Hacks and Barry all sit among her past credits — but none had her basically playing a take on a legendary page and screen character. "I was really excited by Ruby. I was excited for Ruby before I even read about Ruby. Ruby was pitched to me as 'Ruby is to Sugar what M is to James Bond', and I felt like I loved that description of that relationship, because I knew that it would be a relationship that was layered and that had shifting power dynamics, but also was strong," she tells us. We chatted with Kirby and Kinberg about the eight-part first season of Sugar, which is available to stream in full now. On the agenda: their initial responses to its premise, which isn't afraid of twists, surprises and veering into science fiction — and also Farrell leading the show, what keeps drawing people to mysteries, the research that goes into playing the righthand woman to a PI, what gets them each excited about a new project and more. On Kinberg and Kirby's First Response to Sugar's Genre-Bending Angle on Detective Stories Simon: "Mark Protosevich, the creator of the show, had written the first script. And so I read that first script and was just so drawn to a lot of things, but primarily Sugar himself as a character. I loved the combination of this chivalrous, strong, capable leading man side with this vulnerable, human, innocent, kind side, too. I just thought that mashup between different elements was really interesting. Then I liked a similar mashup within the tone between classic Hollywood storytelling, like very film noir, obviously detective storytelling, with something fresh and new and different and bold. So I fell in love with the pilot script, and we got involved at that point, and then brought in Colin and then brought in Fernando, and then built the whole show. But yeah, it was just reading a script where I felt like 'this is a voice and tone and character I haven't seen before'." Kirby: "I actually read the script after I had been cast in the role, so I came into this project with blind faith, which is daunting. But I think that knowing the creatives involved, it felt like a calculated risk. I knew that Colin was attached to it. He was attached to it as an EP and as an actor before I before I became part of the process. And knowing his body of work — I've watched Colin for a very long time, and I think that he is an actor that does incredible work. There's incredible quality and passion there. But at the same time, there is such diversity in the roles he's taken. So I knew that this would be a project that, if he put his name on it, it would be something that would be really exciting and really new. And then knowing that this would be a neo-noir, that piques your interest, because it's not every day that you tackle that, that there are people that can tackle such a huge concept. It's very high-concept to be able to do a noir, but then to make it feel contemporary, to make it contemporary, to have it tackle contemporary issues and have a contemporary cast. And then on top of that you layer in a brilliant director like Fernando Meirelles, and I think that you have a winning formula. So whether or not you've read the script, I think that it's a project that you can get behind very early on." On Casting Colin Farrell as Sugar — and Finding a Rhythm with Him On-Screen Simon: "He was one of the first people we thought of for it because he does have that duality in in himself as a man and in his work as an actor — which is, he is very leading man and gorgeous and charismatic and witty and strong, and yet he's also vulnerable and human and flawed and fragile and sweet and innocent. That is who Colin is as a person, and it is what he brings to the character of Sugar. And he read the script and and flipped out for it as well. We met with him and immediately could see that he not only could do it as an actor, but had a natural affinity for it as a person." Kirby: "Colin is very personable, he's amiable, he's incredibly generous as a human and that really translates when you start working with someone — because the easier your chemistry is off screen, the better it will be on screen, I have found. And so for me, I think just having a really good rapport with him —we spent a lot of time there, and the majority of my scenes are either alone or with Colin — just spending long days together, in your down time you're chatting and things like that, and I think that lends itself to what you see on screen." On Working Through the Layers to Ruby's Relationship with Sugar Kirby: "I think that they have a really beautiful relationship. They have a deep connection. They've known each other for a very long time. There is a lot of trust and care and love there. But at the same time, it's a relationship that is complicated, which it is always is complicated when you are in a relationship that is both professional and personal. You find that that adds an additional layer to a friendship that not everyone has experienced, and doesn't always understand how complex that can make certain decisions." On Kinberg Being a Detective and Mystery Fan, and What Appeals to Him About the Genre Simon: "I grew up reading detective fiction. Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christies were huge for me when I was a kid. And then ultimately more hard-boiled writing like Jim Thompson, James Ellroy, that whole generation of crime writers. I think there's a few things. One is I am someone who genuinely struggles with OCD, and there is an OCD element to detectives where they are really good at, and sometimes overwhelmed by, seeing clues in everything. So they're very attuned to the details of our world, which is something I live through. So there's that element. But the other part of it is, even when I was a kid, I looked at the world — and the world was even more this now — but I looked at a world that was chaotic, that had a lot of disorder in it. And I loved the idea that there was this sort of angel of restoring order. That detectives were there — and where, out of the chaos and muddle and mystery of life, they found order and they found truth. So that for me was always part of what was compelling about detective stories: that at the very end, there was going to be an answer, and it was going to be objective. And if you were clever and you paid attention, you could arrive there with the detective." On Thinking About Why People Are So Drawn to Mysteries While You're Making a Mystery Kirby: "I am guilty of it myself. I am very drawn to a mystery and to a documentary and a thriller, and things like that. But I think part of that is because there is so much that is unknown in our world, both on a huge, cosmic level, but also on a personal level. And I think that uncovering a mystery and figuring things out gives you a sense of control in a world that I think can feel often quite chaotic and quite out of your control. So I think that why people gravitate towards these stories is it feels very satisfying to ask a question and get a definitive answer. And these shows present something, there's a question, there is a mystery afoot, and when you figure that out you find the answer — and there is absolutely something that is completely gratifying for audiences in that." On the Affection for LA Noir and Classic Cinema That Sugar Splashes Through Its Frames Simon: "It's a huge part of the DNA of the show, this love letter to classic American cinema, specifically film noir stories. It was in the script — not the clips, the clips in the show were something that Fernando Meirelles and his editor Fernando Stutz [The Sympathizer, which Meirelles also directed episodes of] discovered in post. In the edit, they actually just started inserting these clips into it and it brought even more life into the show and made what was implicit in its homage very explicit. So yeah, it's a huge part of the show. It's a show that's for cinema lovers, but it's also for people that maybe don't know this genre of film and can discover it and learn about it by watching the show, and maybe it'll have them delve back into those classic movies. It was something that excited all of us because you were cutting to these old clips from old movies while juxtaposing them with something really modern and really new. And that juxtaposition, that dance between the old and the new, is very much at the core of the show." On the Research That Goes Into Playing the Righthand Person to a Private Detective Kirby: "For me, a lot of the research was researching the genre, because I am familiar with film noir but I don't have this film school encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre. So it was really helpful for me to take suggestions from Mark, and go in and watch Chinatown — and I had a book that was given to me at the beginning about the history of noirs and some of the biggest touchstones within that genre. That was really helpful, because I think once you start to know the tropes and the archetypes in that world, you can also start to subvert those characters and make them contemporary." On What Gets Kinberg and Kirby Excited About a New Project Simon: "A great character. It's always a great character. Sometimes people ask me this and I'll be like 'what would get you excited if you were at a party and you met somebody, a new friend, a new partner, whatever it is? You met somebody that you wanted to see again, they got you excited, and you went told your friends the next day — I just met this great woman/man/person last night'. It's the same thing for me when I read something or I hear about something, I'm like 'oh, that's an exciting person I just met and I want to spend more time with that person'. Because it's a lot of time that you're investing. Whether it's a feature or or a show, it's years of your life. So it always starts from character for me." Kirby: "Good storytelling gets me excited about a role. Creative people, creative collaborators get me really excited. So coming into a project where I know the way people work and I've seen their work, like this — I don't have to have seen this type of thing from the creators, I just have to have seen something that gets me excited. In this, knowing Fernando was attached, and being such a huge fan of City of God and his previous work, got me so excited. I think that sometimes we are in dire need of just good simple stories that that show genuine human connection — and then you can add all the other layers on top of it and that just serves to heighten the experience." Sugar streams via Apple TV+. Read our review.
For three decades, Hank Azaria's voice has echoed from the TV screen in almost every possible variation imaginable. Being one of The Simpsons' six main cast members will do that. He's gotten gruff as perennially short-tempered bartender Moe Szyslak, especially when answering prank phone calls. He's cheerfully announced "hi, everybody!" as Dr Nick Riviera. He's hardly bothered with police work as Chief Wiggum, oozed beer-loving self-importance as Duffman, been nerdy as Professor Frink and uttered many a stern reprimand as Super Nintendo Superintendent Chalmers. The list goes on, including characters he no longer voices — such as Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon — and everyone from Frank Grimes to Disco Stu. Azaria hasn't just been heard, and often, since The Simpsons' debut episode in 1989. He's virtually synonymous with the long-running animated sitcom, but his resume isn't short on other highlights. His first film role came courtesy of Pretty Woman, and he's featured in fellow flicks such as Heat, the 1998 American version of Godzilla, Mystery Men, Shattered Glass and Lovelace from there. On the small screen, he's stepped in front of the camera in Herman's Head, Mad About You, Friends and Ray Donovan, too — and led excellent two-season drama Huff, plus sportscaster comedy Brockmire. Now, he's stealing scenes in Apple TV+'s Hello Tomorrow!, a retrofuturistic sci-fi dramedy set in an alternative version of the 1950s where The Jetsons-style technological advancements are commonplace. Also an ordinary part of life, amid the hovering cars and robot waiters: everyday folks relocating to the moon. A workplace comedy as well, the series focuses on BrightSide Lunar Residences, specifically regional manager Jack Billings (Billy Crudup, The Morning Show) and his door-to-door salesmen crew. They head from town to town on earth selling timeshares on the planet's only natural satellite. Azaria's Eddie doesn't just sling getaways to whichever customers are willing to pay, either; he's desperate to take the trip north himself. Azaria uses his own vocal tones in Hello Tomorrow!, but his acting is just as elastic as his voice has repeatedly proven in his best-known gig. Eddie makes a living selling the American dream and, despite seeing that his customers' launches keep getting pushed back, he's bought into it himself. He's also as cynical as they come, and has the kind of gambling addiction that has physical consequences, yet remains hopeful of saying hello to his own better tomorrow. It's a powerful performance in a show filled with them, including from Crudup — who Azaria has always wanted to work with. "I chased this job down. I've always wanted to work with Billy. I know Billy, I love him as a performer and a person, and I wanted to be a part of this," Azaria tells Concrete Playground. Also part of our chat: what else appealed to him about Hello Tomorrow!, the show's many layers, the kinds of roles he looks for beyond The Simpsons and busting out his voice work on salesmen himself. ON HIS FIRST REACTION TO HELLO TOMORROW! "I imagined a gritty, realistic, Glengarry Glen Ross take on it. I was very surprised by this retrofuturistic element, that to me almost feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone from the 50s that we've expanded into a series. It's this kind of low-tech but high-tech high-concept idea in a morality play playing out in the context of a futuristic sci-fi premise. It reminds me of a Rod Serling-type idea. And then [there's] the heightened language of the thing, the kind of Damon Runyan sort of 1950s heightened speak that we all engage in. So it was more of a stylised thing than I had imagined." ON HELLO TOMORROW!'S EXPLORATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM "It's this metaphor of the American dream being out of reach. Is it or isn't it? What's hope? What's delusion? What really struck me about Billy's character Jack is he's this really pretty ruthless conman who is believing, I think — it could be hope, it could be delusion on his part. But the hope he's giving people, even though it's an utter lie, [he believes] is good for them. And in many cases, it is. It's kind of what saved his life, and he wants to pass that along. Billy also refers to the pursuit of money as almost religious zealotry in this world we're in. These folks, there's a religious fervour around their pursuit of the American dream and the capitalist vision that these folks have — like even more than our current society has that we live in. So it's making that extreme version of what these ideals were and holding it up as satire." ON PLAYING THE GAMBLING-ADDICTED, LUNAR-DREAMING EDDIE "That's interesting isn't it? He's the most cynical. I think he believes he's bought into what they're selling, but he doesn't need to do that to sell. He's happy to con people — and knowingly con people, if that's what he's doing. But it speaks to, I think, the potency of that dream that Billy's character is selling — if even a cynic like Eddie, a gambling-addicted, negative, maladaptive, self-destructive person like Eddie, buys into this. He doesn't need it to sell. I don't think it affects his selling style at all. But even Eddie sees his dream of love and happiness, [living] happily ever after with his beloved Shirley [BrightSide's office manger Shirley, played by Truth Be Told's Haneefah Wood], as happening up there. It speaks to the power of that delusion, that dream." ON THE RESEARCH THAT GOES INTO PLAYING A LUNAR TIMESHARE SALESMAN "There aren't too many travelling salesmen around these days to talk to. There's a brilliant movie called Salesman, a documentary — I believe from the 60s — about bible salesmen that we all watched, and that really affected me a lot. Just the lives of these guys and their attitudes going door to door. The movie Tin Man is a great other piece of source material, [about] these conmen salesmen who were just that kind of bottomline, have to sell, really living or dying by whether you sell or not types. And then, as an actor, just wrapping your mouth and mind and heart around the language, the way these guys are talking — which is so much fun, but challenging at times. This is more the mind you apply to [Glengarry Glen Ross writer David] Mamet or [The West Wing creator Aaron] Sorkin or Shakespeare, where that's not how I would express myself, and I have to transpose my truth, what's real to me, to how this guy's expressing it. Which takes like a little bit of practice. It's almost like a skill, like a language you learn — or not as hard as that, but related to that. It is a rhythm thing, though. You find that there's a rhythm and a way of speaking that's sells it, but finding what that is takes a little bit of practice at first." ON THE TYPE OF ROLES HE LOOKS FOR BEYOND THE SIMPSONS "It's always different but always the same. Honestly, it's good writing. If I could write, I would. I can write, but I'm sort of a C+ writer. The stuff I write I guess gets made, but I probably would turn it down if I were offered it, if writer me came to me, with rare exception — Brockmire being one that I helped develop, which I loved, it was an idea I'd had since I was a teenager. But it's really writing, whether it's comedy, drama, this role, that role. Once you weed out what you really respond to in writing for whatever reason, there's not all that much left. And if you're fortunate enough to not have to work, then there's not much — to me anyway, there's not that many things that come along that I go 'oh, I could see doing that'. This was one of them." ON HOW HIS PENCHANT FOR VOICES COMES IN HANDY WITH TELEMARKETERS "It's rare that you run into a travelling salesman anymore, let alone one that's offering you up on the moon — you'd be crazy not to be immediately suspicious. But we're all barraged by telemarketers if you still have a home line, or even if you don't! You just get spam calls, and we're all pretty familiar how we usually react to those. I usually adopt a different voice and try to engage, and turn it around on the folks that call me up at dinnertime. It's one of the fun little perks of being a voice guy." Hello Tomorrow! streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review.
Forty years ago, fresh from making one of the greatest sci-fi/horror movies ever made in Alien, Ridley Scott gifted the world another futuristic classic that helped define and reshape science fiction on-screen. It's almost impossible to name a movie or TV series in the genre that's popped up over the past four decades and hasn't owed a huge debt to Blade Runner — and, soon, that list will include a new Blade Runner TV series. Philip K Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has already given rise not just to Scott's iconic Harrison Ford-starring adaptation in 1982, but also to exceptional 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049 and recent animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus. Of course, if Ford's other huge sci-fi franchise can just keep popping back up, including on both the big and screens — see: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett — then clearly this one can as well. The Blade Runner series obviously has some catching up to do to get to Star Wars-level continuations, and quantity isn't the same as quality, but spending more time in its vision of the future is definitely welcome. The OG film was set in 2019, so we're now well past then — and the new series has been dubbed Blade Runner 2099, which means we'll be jumping quite a ways forward in time. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon Studios is behind Blade Runner 2099, once again bringing a small-screen favourite to streaming given that it's doing exactly that in September this year with the eagerly awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. When it leaps forward to 2099, the new Blade Runner show will act as a sequel to both the initial film and Blade Runner 2049 — but who'll be starring and directing hasn't yet been revealed. That said, busy The Last Duel and House of Gucci filmmaker Scott has confirmed his involvement, Variety reports, noting that the pilot for the show has already been written, and that it's envisioned as a ten-hour series. There's obviously no sneak peek at Blade Runner 2099 yet, but you can check out the trailer for the original 1982 Blade Runner below: Blade Runner 2099 doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when more news is announced. Via Variety / The Hollywood Reporter.
UPDATE: July 6, 2020: Call Me By Your Name is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. With Call Me By Your Name, Italian director Luca Guadagnino spins a tale of first love in all of its stages. The initial sparks of attraction. The jittery excitement of making a connection. The all-consuming passion. With a script by veteran filmmaker James Ivory, as adapted from André Aciman's book of the same name, it's a picture about yearning and desire; a romance that knows the importance of every look and touch. Weaved from quiet, tender, everyday encounters that pepper every love story, it swells and surges, taking both its characters and its viewers on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Think of it as perhaps the greatest example of cinematic show and tell there is: to watch it is to experience the same heady, heated feelings as its central couple. "Call me by your name, and I'll call you by mine," grad student Oliver (Armie Hammer) whispers to 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) in the film's most intimate moment. It's this idea — of losing yourself in someone so completely that the lines between you fade away — that provides the movie with its fluttering pulse. The two young men meet during a sweltering Italian summer in 1983, their initial awkwardness slowly blossoming into affection. Oliver's assured swagger seems as foreign to the tentative Elio as the older American's fondness for saying "later", but the teenager is soon ignoring his somewhat girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel) to spend as much time with his new companion as possible. Beneath ravishing blue skies, soaked in streaming sunlight, the pair laze around by the pool, stroll through the orchard and cycle through their scenic surroundings. They accompany Elio's professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg, in an astonishingly sensitive and perceptive parental role) to look at archaeological finds, the real reason for Oliver's stay. During sultry nights, they party, drink and dance. It's a seemingly typical narrative, and yet the end result is anything but. Call Me By Your Name paints a detailed, nuanced portrait of Elio's sexual and emotional coming-of-age, and wholeheartedly conveys the uncertainties of a blooming gay romance played out in stolen moments. At the same time, the film speaks to anyone who has ever been overwhelmed by their feelings for someone else. It's a story that feels widely relatable while remaining deeply specific to queer relationships — drawing viewers into the intricacies of Oliver and Elio's dalliance while making everyone feel like, in some way, it's our own. Best known for the grief-tinged I Am Love and the chaotic interpersonal escapes of A Bigger Splash, Guadagnino crafts Call Me By Your Name as if he's sharing memories rather than relaying a fictional narrative. The stunning images lensed by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Arabian Nights), with their precise, postcard-like composition and radiant warmth, seem as though they were etched into the filmmaker's mind long before the movie ever existed. The same also proves true of the moments between characters, with Guadagnino and his regular editor Walter Fasano giving every glance and spoken exchange the room to breathe and grow in a film where silence says more than even the most heartfelt of words. Still, for all its many charms, casting might be the feature's most crucial element. Call Me By Your Name is a triumph of acting, with Chalamet and Hammer both in sensational, career-best form. Indeed, as a precocious slip of a teen who finds his life forever changed, Chalamet delivers one of the best screen performances of recent years. Meanwhile, despite his lengthier resume, Hammer has never been more charismatic or vulnerable. It's their work, as much as anything around them, that helps immerse audiences in this seductive, sensual, personal and piercing account of romance's ebbs and flows. A film as infectious and intoxicating as the well-deployed strains of the Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way', Call Me By Your Name is the story that stories about first love will be judged against for many years to come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0UgXrhCPHo
UPDATE, MAY 2, 2020: The Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival has announced its full lineup and its premiere date. This article has been updated to reflect these changes. When COVID-19 started having an impact on Australian events, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was one of the first to scrap its plans for 2020. The Brisbane Comedy Festival, which was already underway, also cancelled its final week — and in New South Wales, the Sydney Comedy Festival completely shuttered its event for this year, too. That means that the country's funniest folks now have some extra time on their hands — indoors, while social distancing, of course. And, they still have plenty of jokes to tell, which is exactly what Stan's new Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival is aiming to capitalise upon. Heading to the platform weekly from 7pm on Saturday, May 9 — dropping four episodes in total — the streaming-only laughfest will feature lockdown sets from comedians such as Wil Anderson, Cal Wilson, Nazeem Hussain, Dave Hughes and Zoe Coombs Marr, who'll all share material from their planned 2020 gigs. Also on the lineup: Tommy Little, Geraldine Hickey, Dilruk Jayasinha, Steph Tisdell, Aaron Chen, Sam Campbell, Michelle Brasier and Nath Valvo, as well as Tom Ballard, Randy Feltface, Claire Hooper, Becky Lucas, Sam Taunton, Nikki Britton, Demi Lardner and Tom Walker. Yes, it's a hefty list, and also features Lauren Bonner, Oliver Twist, Blake Freeman and Bec Charlwood. Each comedian has recorded their set from their homes, so expect jokes told in their kitchens, bedrooms, lounge rooms and even bathrooms. They've also be handled all the tech requirements themselves, such as setting up and operating their own cameras, in order to abide by social-distancing requirements. That said, they did have access to a director via video conferencing. Every Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival episode will feature at least six different comedians performing short standup comedy spots — including one MCing the episode. And if you're looking for some local laughs before the fest starts streaming, Amazon Prime Video has just dropped ten comedy specials from MICF stars, too. The Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival hits Stan weekly for four weeks from 7pm on Saturday, May 9.
Sometime next year, we can expect Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown to cruise in on their DeLorean, looking to save McFly’s future offspring from incarceration, according to the Back to the Future timeline. So, 26 years later, how does Robert Zemeckis’s vision of 2015 shape up? Ubiquitous cameras? Check. Video chat? Check. The explosion of plastic surgery? Check. Flying cars? They’re not exactly part of the furniture, but they're on their way. How about self-tying sneakers? Well, according to Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, their ascent to the market is set to coincide with McFly’s fantastical arrival. “Are we gonna see power laces in 2015? To that, I say YES!” he said during an appearance at Jordan Brand’s Flight Lab Space in New Orleans. On September 8, 2011, Nike unexpectedly released a limited-edition version of McFly’s high-top, named the MAG. Complete with electroluminescent strap and LED panelling, it was a striking replica. It was also Nike's first-ever rechargeable shoe, with every charge providing five hours’ worth of glow. 'Power laces' were, however, conspicuously absent. Still, that didn’t stop all 1,500 pairs of MAGs released on eBay from auctioning to the tune of US$6 million. Footwear fanatics, sci-fi fans and celebrities spent up big, with prices starting at $10,000 and ending at $90,000+. Every cent went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for research into Parkinson's Disease. We know that Nike bought an auto-lacing patent back in 2010, but we’ve no idea how the next round of Back to the Future-inspired sneakers will look. To find out whether or not they’ll come attached to another edition of MAGs, modelled by McFly as he makes his descent, or built into an altogether new model, you’ll have to keep an eye out for the next instalment. Via SlashFilm.
The cold weather won't stop many from scoring a scoop of ice cream, but sometimes, a warmer bite just feels right. With this in mind, it's a good thing Gelato Messina is back with a new edition of its cult-favourite cookie pie. Made in collaboration with Tony's Chocolonely, this is the ideal chance to discover the brand's mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry. Designed to be baked fresh at home, this feel-good cookie pie offers the ultimate treat for when you're rugged up on the couch. Plus, this inventive dessert hits all the marks of a winter treat: golden on the outside, gooey on the inside, and loaded with Tony's beloved milk and dark chocolate pieces. Crafted in-house by Messina's pastry team, expect each pie to resonate with the same thought and care as the brand's top-notch gelato. Speaking of, this molten delight is best served with a scoop of your go-to Messina flavour on top, helping to create your dream combination. Available from all Messina stores and for delivery from Monday, July 7, these limited-edition treats are served first-come, first-served. Just don't expect them to last long. Priced at $25 each, you're welcome to bundle with 500ml, 1L or 1.5L tubs of Messina gelato, so you can scoop at home until your heart and tastebuds are content. If you're keen to brave the cold weather, single-serve cookie pies will be served in all Messina stores (except Circular Quay and The Star) from Monday, July 14. Available from 5pm every Monday–Thursday throughout winter, these smaller portions are priced at $12, with your choice of gelato scoop making your after-dark adventure more than worth it. Plus, the team is getting in the mood by launching Brownie Points, a limited-edition flavour created to pair with your pie. Think salted milk chocolate gelato, lashings of caramel and Tony's double-choc brownie rolled into a toothsome scoop. It's available from all Messina stores from Saturday, July 12–Saturday, July 19, or until sold out. Tony's Chocolonely and Gelato Messina's cookie pie is available from all locations and for online delivery from Monday, July 7. Head to the website for more information.
Face it. There's nothing, nothing more heartbreaking than going out for a casual walkie with your beloved dog, grabbing a cheeky gelato cup at the beach and not being able to share it with your pooch. Much whimper. Such fail. Too long, too long have pups been shunned from ice creameries simply because the pockets in their dog hoodies rarely hold money and dairy products make them incredibly ill. Enough! No longer will this integral gelato market and prime branding opportunity be ignored. Gelatissimo are stepping up and doing what should have been done years ago (because trending topics). They're releasing a range of doggie gelato that can be enjoyed by both pets and owners alike — please avoid sharing though. Please. Importantly, the gelato is gluten free and flavoured peanut nougat (which is a dogwide favourite ice cream flavour, apparently) and gentle on puppy tums. From March 26, you can grab a scoop from 18 Gelatissimo stores (including Balmain, Bondi Beach, Central Park, Coogee, Cronulla, Newtown, Watsons Bay, Wagga, Manuka, Lane Cove, Lygon Street, Coolangatta, Mackay, Mooloolaba, Noosa, Toowoomba, Norwood and Surfers Paradise). Alright we so know it's a bit much and most of us don't have a weekly budget for dog iced treats, but think of it more as a treat for yourself that you can share with your pupper (if they whimper at you enough). Image: Mochi and Miranda @justanotherdogblog.
"I think a little bit is that annoying mosquito lead. It gets in your ear and it's hard to get it out." That's why Chris Stracey, one half of Bag Raiders with Jack Glass, thinks that the duo's perennial earworm 'Shooting Stars' not only initially resonated with listeners, but keeps resonating. More than a decade and a half has now passed since the peppy tune first hit airwaves; indeed, 2025 marks exactly 15 years since the track notched up 18th spot in Triple J's Hottest 100. The tune's story didn't end there, though, and not just thanks to that initial wave of love lingering. "Case in point: with the Troye tune, it opens with that and it's just instantly like 'oh okay, yeah, I'm in'. It's just one of those," Stracey tells Concrete Playground. He's referring to fellow Aussie Troye Sivan, who sampled ''Shooting Stars' in his 2023 single 'Got Me Started'. Between Bag Raiders first releasing their song and Sivan's track, the tune also went viral — and global — thanks to a meme that it'll forever be linked to, then rocketed up the Billboard dance charts. "It's been crazy. I mean, it's been good. There's nothing to complain about. But it just feels like it's total dumb luck in a way. The way the Internet works, you can't really engineer things like that. You just let it do its thing. It's surprising to us that it's continuing to do its thing, but I wouldn't say there'd been too many negative things that have come with it," advises Glass. "It's been amazing," pipes in Stracey. "It's been a lucky and crazy and awesome ride," adds Glass again. "It also had a weird arrangement at the time. It's just basically like verse, verse, verse, verse, chorus," explains Stracey. "And breakdown," reminds Glass. "Whereas most songs would go verse, chorus, verse, chorus," continues Stracey. "I remember that being a comment, that a few people were like 'what is that arrangement? I've never heard a song do that'. And we didn't really know much about writing songs at the time. We were just like 'oh, let's just make it chill and then make it big'. So maybe that hasn't to do with it, but I don't know." Bag Raiders will always be known for 'Shooting Stars', but the song that Flume has also covered with Toro y Moi is just the beginning of the duo's journey — well, after going to the same Sydney high school, reconnecting afterwards and teaming up to make music, forming the band in 2006. It also came after 2008's 'Turbo Love' became a radio favourite, and their remix of 'B.T.T.T.T.R.Y.' by K.I.M. (aka The Presets' Kim Moyes) made the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack. Jump to 2025 and two studio albums sit on their discography, 2010's self-titled release and 2019's Horizons, as do collaborations with everyone from The Kite String Tangle to Panama, their own record label and status as a music-festival favourite. Bag Raiders' next fest gig is AO LIVE, the music lineup that's been accompanying the Australian Open since 2003. Only one Grand Slam around the world pairs tennis with a music event: Melbourne's annual stint in the sport's spotlight. For 2025's AO LIVE from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25, Bag Raiders sit on a bill filled with big names: Benson Boone headlines the Thursday night, Kaytranada does the honours on the Friday, and Glass and Stracey take to the stage on the final day, as do Kesha and Armand Van Helden. Music lovers who'll be filling the crowd aren't the only ones that are excited. So are Bag Raiders. What gets them pumped about being on any festival bill? "One big thing is who else is on the lineup," says Glass. [caption id="attachment_975224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ashlea Caygill[/caption] "I would say in this case, it's such a sick lineup. To be on the same bill as Kaytranada and Armand Van Helden, who's a bit of a hero of ours, is pretty exciting. So that's something that I would say I look to. Also just to be in a cool, kind of weird environment — and this certainly fits that bill as well," Glass also advises, calling out how unique it is to be playing a music fest at a major tennis championship. Adds Stracey: "And also we're doing this one live, whereas the last few thing festivals that we've done, I think we were doing DJ sets — which is also really fun, but we've got this new live show that we've been building and it's been really fun to pop that off whenever we can. And doing it at a festival, and the atmosphere is tip top, is definitely going to be really fun." Glass and Stracey are indeed still having fun with Bag Raiders. Chatting through their career — how they started, their early influences, the 'Shooting Stars' experience, the path that's led them to here — they sound as inspired as ever, in fact. As for what the future holds, "I think just keep doing what we've been doing the last couple of years, which is making dance music, and going out and DJing it. I think we're in a good moment. So, more of the same please," notes Glass. Fingers crossed that their current idea of a dream collaboration comes to fruition, too: "We meet so many people along the way and then we just kind of go 'oh, you know what, it'd be fun to do a track with that person'," explains Glass of their process. "Actually, we were hanging out with the guys from ONEFOUR at Ability Fest. That would be quite a good collab. Those guys are cool as hell," adds Stracey. We also spoke with the pair about what they love about playing festivals, what audiences can expect from that aforementioned new live show, what they've learned along their journey, how the Australian dance music scene has changed and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_975226" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ashlea Caygill[/caption] On Bag Raiders' Favourite Part of the Festival Experience as an Artist Jack: "Being outdoors is kind of sick. We're so used to playing in sweaty clubs at like two in the morning. There's something very fresh and nice about being outdoors. And just the energy that people bring to festivals is different to a club. I don't know, it seems to be a bit more ... " Chris: "Like a one-off concert." Jack: "People are just like — the vibes are high." Chris: "Yeah, it's more, more, more, more — more of everything. More fun, more people usually." Jack: "More bands." Chris: "And that's also what's so fun for us, too. We've met a lot of really good friends in music now through playing at the same festivals, and just kicking it side of stage and watching their shows. That's really fun." On What Audiences Can Expect From Bag Raiders' New Live Show Jack: "Our new show is pretty turbo actually. It starts pretty hard and fast, and then continues to get harder and faster for the course of an hour." Chris: "So the journey will be from high energy to higher energy." Jack: "Yeah, kind of a take-no-prisoners live show that we've built." Concrete Playground: "That suits being at a sports event." Jack: "I think so." Chris: "Yeah, high intensity. Those people are used to watching the hectic stuff at the highest level, so we've got to also bring it." Jack: "We're all athletes, you know what I mean?" On How Influential 'Shooting Stars' Has Been in Putting Bag Raiders on the Path to Where They Are Today Chris: "We were just making tracks and putting them out, I guess, and we didn't really think that it would do what it did. We had no expectations of it, really. We were just working on a bunch of music, and then we just kept going and did the album it. It's been something that the outside perception of it is kind of bigger than the importance that we hold on it. We've never tried to do another version of that song or anything like that. It's just one of those funny things where you're making one thing in your bedroom, basically." [to Jack] "It was half in your spare room in your house, and then in our studio, the first studio that we moved into. And it's just incredible that you can do something like that and then it takes off." Jack: "But I think it's only looking back where you realise how weird and crazy that journey was. I think as it's gone, it's all felt pretty natural and normal. And then the internet stuff, like I said, has been kind of wacky but cool. But I don't think there's really ever been a moment where ... " Chris: "That's informed the new music that we've made." Jack: "Yeah, exactly." On the Original Dream When Bag Raiders Formed in 2006 — or Before That, When Glass and Stracey Knew Each Other in High School Jack: "I think just to be able to do that — and do that as a job." Chris: "Yep." Jack: "I didn't really dream much bigger than that." Chris: "Me neither." Jack: "But that's also not that easy to do. We've been lucky and we've worked hard and we've been able to do that. It's still a dream. It's like a good dream that we've kind of reached, I guess. I don't think either of us ever wanted to be global superstar DJs or in the gossip magazines. It wasn't anything like that. It was just to keep being able to make music which we both love, and to do that as much as possible, basically." On the Moment When Glass and Stracey Knew That Bag Raiders Was Their Job Now Chris: "I quit my cafe job, where I had to wake up at 5am and open the cafe. I was like 'I'm not doing this shit anymore'. It's because around when we started getting booked, after we get got some radio play on Triple J and we started getting booked to DJ, we're traveling. So we go to Melbourne and we go to Brisbane and we go to Newcastle, and we're like 'oh, cool, so people are paying for us to go to these other cities and then also paying us fees'. And for the amount of work that you do — I mean, there's a lot of travelling and you're doing work on music behind the scenes — but in terms of hours, a DJ gig is like two hours. And I'd been putting in eight- hours shifts, getting up at 5am or 4.30am or whatever. And I was like 'this has gotta go'." Jack: "Yeah, totally." On Bag Raiders' Diverse Range of Initial Influences That Started Them on Their Music Journey Jack: "I think at that time we were making all kinds of different music. We both had interest in electronic music, but it wasn't necessarily club music and dance music. And then at around the time when we started in Sydney, our friends are throwing these parties and we were attending them, and we were buddies with the DJs. And then I guess slowly the music we were making went from more-ambient stuff into more club-focused things, and then we would turn up at the club and give it to the DJs and they would just play without even … " Chris: " … Listening to it. It's actually insane." Jack: "Yeah, they trusted us enough to press play on CDs, which could've been anything. And I guess it was through the influence of that, the parties were called Bang Gang and the Bang Gang DJs were really big." Chris: "They also played all over the place. You would hear Daft Punk, you would hear kind of techno stuff and then you would hear … " Jack: "Fleetwood Mac." Chris: "Yeah, Fleetwood Mac. Bon Jovi. They were playing all over the place. It was that real anything-goes sort of vibe. And I think, also because we've always been into so much different kind of music — the first thing that we did as Bag Raiders was that mix CD that we called Bag Raiders, which was sort of the same, was all over the place, had a couple of our edits, but it had The Cure, it had 50 Cent, it had dance stuff. It had Cream, like Eric Clapton." Jack: "Outkast." Chris: "Yeah." Jack: "It was wild." Chris: "And I think we've just always tried to have that — we've never really been people that are just into one thing. All of our releases have kind of been all over the place, apart from recently, where they're a bit more geared towards the club world again. But it's definitely been that we've been influenced by loads of different stuff." Jack: "I feel like that's the ethos of Bag Raiders as well, to just raid from all these different genres and just put them all together in a big washing machine and see what comes out." On What Bag Raiders Takes Inspiration From Now, Almost Two Decades On Chris: "Since COVID really, I think both of us have been re-energised in making club music. It's been really fun to, because we had a couple of years and no shows at all, and it seemed like when DJ gigs started happening again, the energy from the people was just way more." Jack: "Yeah." Chris: "It was like a really hardcore kind of thing, like people are way into letting loose, it seems. So it's been really fun to just make the kind of music that we would be putting in our DJ sets anyway." Jack: "Or that we would want to hear if we were out in a club, for sure. And I think that's one thing we've probably gotten better at is understanding how clubs work and how to DJ and stuff. For sure 15 years ago, we had no idea for our first DJ sets — they were like absolute shitshows." Chris: "Train wreck." Jack: "Train wreck after train wreck. So we've finally learned how to DJ, I would say." On Whether the Success of 'Shooting Stars' Came with Pressure — and How Bag Raiders Handled It Chris: "Pressure to make another 'Shooting Stars'? A little. We definitely had a moment where we did an album that we thought was pretty cool and we loved it, and then the label's a little bit like 'oh, we need another 'Shooting Stars'-style thing. Like: 'well we're not – that's not what we do, bro'. It's funny, because labels will sign you because you did something that you liked for yourself that worked. And then as soon as it comes around to the second time around, they suddenly are like 'oh, we know what's going to work — you should do this thing that worked before and keep doing it'. And that's never been in our interest at all. But I mean, we've been out of a label deal for four years now or something like that." Jack: "Yeah, yeah." Chris: "And so for us it's just been so freeing, and you realise you really don't need labels these days. It doesn't take a $1000-a-day studio to make a record anymore. You can do it with a laptop in the library. And then barely anyone does music videos anymore as well. It seems like they just stick it up on social media or something, and that's it. It's kind of been really freeing and really fun to enter that world, too. Because especially in dance music, you do something and you're playing it out as you're working on it. And so as soon as you've gone 'oh, this is finished, it's ready to go, let's just put it out', the fact that there's no red tape anymore, to just be able to do something and then like suddenly it's out in the world, that's ... " Jack: "A good feeling." Chris: "Yeah, very good feeling." On Glass and Stracey Starting Their Own Label Jack: "It's been awesome. So far, I think we've only just put out our own music on it, right? It would be cool in the future to put out music of friends and music that we really like. But it's exactly like what Chris is just talking about. It just feels very freeing. And it's not even that no one's telling us what to do, because even had they done that in the past, we kind of wouldn't listen anyway. But it's more like there's no big machine. There's no bureaucracy. There's no like red tape. There's no waiting around for a label to get its ducks in order before something comes out. It's just all very immediate, and we can move really quickly. That stuff feels really freeing, I think." On What Glass and Stracey Have Learned Over Their Bag Raiders Journey So Far Jack: "I certainly know a lot more about how the music industry works now, and who the evil players are — who to avoid and who to buddy up with. And then in terms of music, I don't think our approach is that different to what it was back then, to be honest." I would like to think that's one of the secrets of our longevity and success. We never try to make music for anyone except ourselves. Whatever makes us feel good or happy in the moment in the studio, that's what we're going to make. Chris: "And I suppose we've been lucky, we haven't had any overbearing labels or managers or whatever forcing us in certain directions, so we've free enough to just do whatever feels good. And I think probably people can sense that or something, like audiences. I think people have much better radars than what some people think. They can tell if something's being forced or tailored, or tried to be created in some direction — and people want to listen to stuff that just makes everyone feel good." On How Glass and Stracey Have Observed the Australian Dance Music Scene Changing Since They Were Starting Out Jack: "When we came up and especially in Sydney, the scene was so strong and there were so many clubs. Right now we're in King's Cross at my studio, on a road where there used to be like six clubs — and there's none here now. So it's a bit sad. I feel like there's maybe less enthusiasm for clubbing from young people, and less people seem less convinced about its importance. You go to Europe and cities like Berlin, and it's such a big part of the fabric there, and it's recognised by everyone as a really important form of expression or art even. And I think we've lost that a bit in Australia. So that's a bummer. Having said that, the amount of good music that still comes out of here is very inspiring and sick, considering the constraints of what I was just saying. There's so much good stuff. A lot of what we DJ is Australian music from friends or people we like here. So yeah, I feel like the scene is really strong kind of against all odds in a way, with lack of support." Bag Raiders play AO LIVE on Saturday, January 25 — with the full event running from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25 at John Cain Arena, Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne. Head to the Australian Open website for more details and tickets. In New Zealand, Bag Raiders are playing Gardens Music Festival on Saturday, March 1 at Auckland Domain, Park Road, Parnell, Auckland. Head to the event website for more details and tickets.
The Kooks were back in Sydney last week at the tail end of their Australian tour. We spoke with band member, Hugh Harris, about bringing in the New Year at Falls, cooking spag bol and retracing his roots in his spiritual homeland, Sydney. Hey Hugh, thanks for chatting with me today. So you have just landed in Sydney ready for the gig tonight? Well, we arrived last night but I have family in Sydney so we had dinner plans and then after dinner plans. Hopefully I will have time to have a rest today before the gig. But it is great to be in Sydney. I was down in Tassie for Falls so I saw you guys ring in the New Year! Oh, that's great, yeah, I think that was one of the best gigs we played, in Tasmania. And we managed to get the countdown right which was a bonus. Yeah, I was speaking to Alex Turner [Arctic Monkeys] the other day and he was a bit miffed that the countdown didn't really work out at Falls in Lorne when they were playing for NYE? Yeah, well I think in Tasmania it was OK because we had the big screen so it was pretty hard to mess up. In Lorne, there was no TV screen so it would've been hard for the Arctic Monkeys to count down. Have you played a summer NYE gig before? No, no summer NYE before, not on stage. I always think it is better just to have a party, then there is no pressure on anyone to provide the fun. But we have always wanted to do it and the opportunity came up so now we have. And did you get to see Pnau come on after you guys? Pnau? No. I stuck around for a bit. I had my cousins there from the countryside. My sheep shearing cousins. But it is hard you know when you are working, it is hard to know when the partying starts, but we just partied afterwards. Do you guys like playing festivals as compared to standard gigs? Yeah, I mean I think we are a festival band in a way. And it is a happier vibe. You get to play to people who aren't necessarily fans and that is an exciting prospect, you know, to gather a larger following. And you get that at festivals, everyone's drunk and they don't have a choice but to listen! You've been to Sydney a lot and having family here is there anything you really look forward to doing whilst you are here? Yeah, I have this nostalgia route that I take. We used to come here for Christmas because my grandmother was here. And one Christmas I got a skateboard and I used to take this route around Rushcutters Bay. So I will do that. On your skateboard? No, those days are past! I just walk it now. So I start at Rushcutters and then walk up the hill and go to No Frills [an offshoot of the supermarket chain Franklins that no longer exists] in the Edgecliff Centre and get a cake. It's where I used to buy my holiday cakes. And then I will head down to the Golden Sheaf and try and get a beer. And then a swim at that harbour pool. Redleaf? Yeah, Redleaf. So I will try and do that today. I think perhaps the Sheaf might have changed a bit since you were last there.. Yeah, I've heard that. What happened? Well, it is pretty much an empire now. When did you last go? Well, my Dad was here in the 1970s. Yeah, well it is not the Sheaf of the '70s! And neither of us was around then! You guys have been playing now for 7 years and you were only 18 when The Kooks signed to Virgin – did you always want to be in a band? No, absolutely not. I actually wanted to be in espionage, I always wanted to be a spy. And then second I wanted to be in a band. Well, maybe you could be a spy in your thirties? No, I think that might be too late. You know you have to do all this training, martial arts training; I think the dream is over. And maybe it will be too hard, you know needing to be inconspicuous and all? No, I'll shave my head that will be fine! And what do you guys get up to in your free time whilst you are on tour? Do you get into sightseeing or art galleries or whatever? Yeah, art galleries for sure. You hit the nail on the head. I love art galleries and try and go as much as possible. Modern art galleries. And cooking. I really love cooking, but mostly when I get home. I find it really relaxing and I cook a mean spaghetti bolognaise. Like all good boys! All boys have the staple spag bol! Yeah, but I would like to say that I think mine is better than anyone else's! You know, I leave it for a really long time, even cooking overnight, and it just comes alive. Well, not with bacteria hopefully. And other stuff? I like tennis. My favourite colour is yellow. And… Ok, just one more question. Your new clip for Is it me is particularly nostalgic with the typewriter and the 1960s primary colours – considering your musical influences how do The Kooks feel about nostalgia and looking back at the past? Yeah, we love the past. I love my past. And yeah, we are influenced by a lot of music from the past. But I think when we were young we used to go through our parents' record collections and just sift through, you know. But also I like that things from the past are spun and renewed and regurgitated. It's a blending of the past. Like with our new album, you know it is a bit of a bridge. It is The Kooks staple sound but then there are all these warm synthesisers in there so it blends the past and the present. That's what we do.
Ever since the days of The Island, Brisbanites have been ditching dry land for partying on the Brisbane River. Sailing where Seadeck, Yot Club and GoBoat's picnic boats have also gone, Oasis is the River City's about-to-open latest floating venue — a 500-person, 35-metre-long, three-level bar on a steel-hull catamaran that'll host DJ-soundtracked shindigs by both day and night when it launches in mid-April. It isn't hard to find something to do near, around, in or on the Old Brown Snake, but this one involves hopping aboard a$10-million vessel at the City Botanic Gardens River Hub. And, it's sticking around permanently, rather than cruising in and out seasonally. Oasis was also custom-designed for Brisbane's windy waterway, with Alex Zabotto-Bentley — who also did the honours for Seadeck and Sydney's Glass Island — taking care of the hues, fixtures and fittings. The aim: to immerse partygoers in a Sicily and Capri vibe. Thanks to The White Lotus' second season, nodding to Italian islands is quite the vibe right now. When it takes to the water from Saturday, April 22, Oasis will let its passengers rove over three levels all decked out in their own way, providing different experiences on each. Each comes with its own bar, sound system, standing areas, and seating including VIP tables; however, the lower floor is going with copper, dark tones and a pressed tin ceiling, and the middle deck with greenery and wood aplenty. Up on top, pink and white stripes are a feature, alongside tropical plants. The vessel will make its maiden voyage with a literally cruisy afternoon session featuring Faint One, Anna Sonnenburg, Apollo, Fig Jam, Geordie and Darren Sommerville on the on-deck decks, then celebrate its launch in a big way the next week with Torren Foot, Airwolf Paradise, Paluma, Kessin and De Saint on Saturday, April 29. The lineup of DJs and artists will rotate weekly, and Oasis will also serve up sips and bites to eat. And, if you want to book the whole place out for your own soirée, that's available Monday–Friday. "Brisbane is famous for its energised spirit, its youthful vitality, its vibrant love of the outdoors and its love of celebration, and Oasis has been designed to amplify this," said Oasis founder Dave Auld. "As we look forward to the Olympics in 2032, Brisbane will become one of the hottest cities in the world, and the Brisbane River one of the hottest pieces of real estate — and that's where Oasis calls home!" Oasis is set to launch on Saturday, April 22, departing from City Botanic Gardens River Hub, 147 Alice Street, Brisbane City. Head to the vessel's website for bookings and further details. Images: renders of Oasis.
If your daily life consists of more screen time than time spent outdoors, you're probably itching for a next-level escape — somewhere you can truly disconnect. With such a diverse and lush landscape right at our fingertips in NSW, why not switch up your daily routine, switch off your devices and get off the grid in the great outdoors? We've highlighted some top-notch experiences across the state where you can achieve a true sense of freedom. We're talking floating high above the Byron Bay hinterland as day breaks and hanging out with sea life on the far south coast. Your digital detox starts here.
Taylor Swift is inviting fans around the world to step inside her new era with Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, an 89-minute cinematic event celebrating the launch of her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl. The feature offers a mix of firsts — including the debut of the 'The Fate of Ophelia' music video, new lyric videos, behind-the-scenes footage and personal reflections from Swift herself. The global release kicks off at 3pm US time on Friday, October 3, which translates to early morning on Saturday, October 4 in Australia. Screenings will run nationwide across the long weekend, from Saturday through Monday, October 6. Australian Swifties can catch the film at Event Cinemas, Hoyts, Dendy, Village Cinemas and Palace Cinemas, with both city and regional locations taking part. Demand has been so high that Event Cinemas has already added extra sessions. "We've got our Swifties covered with screenings of Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl across our Event Cinemas in both Australia and New Zealand this coming weekend," a spokesperson said. "Tickets are flying faster than a Reputation track drop, with presale numbers already at number one for the upcoming long weekend." It follows the blockbuster success of The Eras Tour film, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all time after earning more than £260 million globally. Find your nearest screening and tickets to Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl Images: Getty Images
Eco-warrior Joost Bakker (Greenhouse by Joost, Brothl) is at it again, acting as creative consultant for what may become the world's most sustainable shopping centre. Teaming up with Frasers Property Australia, Bakker will design a 2000-square-metre rooftop farm and restaurant at the heart of the new Burwood Brickworks development — set to begin construction in mid 2018, just 15 kilometres south of the Melbourne CBD. The rooftop's massive agricultural hub will sit within the complex's 12,700-square-metres of retail and hospitality space, with the urban farm split between greenhouse, external planter box and landscaped growing areas. Some of the sustainable elements Bakker plans to implement include a closed-loop water system, composting capability, and minimal transportation of food and waste. It has yet to be decided which restaurateur will run the space, with Frasers currently seeking expression of interest from established food and drink providores. The rooftop is already sounding like an inner-city gem and we are eager to see which tenant takes this massive project on. "There is such a hunger for this kind of development throughout the world," says Bakker. It really fills a gap in the market to feed and nurture conscious consumers... [that] want to shop, eat and relax in environments that truly support a sustainable world." The design of the wider mixed-use development will also focus on sustainability, using a large solar PV system and an embedded electricity network to target a minimum five-star green rating, with the aim of becoming Australia's first six-star Green Star Design — and to achieve Living Building Challenge accreditation. This accreditation is seriously hard to obtain and means the building must have a net zero carbon footprint, produce more electricity than it consumes, grow agriculture on 20 percent of the site, and prove net water and waste positive. It must also be constructed using non-toxic and recycled materials, and have other social benefits like access to natural daylight and indoor air quality. Once completed in October 2019, the Burwood Brickworks development will join the challenge to determine if they meet the criteria to be considered the world's most sustainable shopping centre. Here's hoping Frasers puts their money where their mouth is.
First, her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard. Now, a couple of Brisbane events — BIGSOUND and Sweet Relief! — are bringing Kelis to Brisbane in 2024. The thinking: why get the R&B talent to hit up one festival in the Sunshine State capital when she can take to the stage at two? Damn right, this plan is better than yours. At BIGSOUND, Kelis joins the conference lineup at the huge music event, which combines plenty of discussions with live gigs in Fortitude Valley, and returns to Brisbane from Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6 for its 23rd year. Then, on Saturday, September 7, Kelis will be part of Sweet Relief!'s 2024 bill. Accordingly, BIGSOUND attendees can expect to hear about her experiences in music — and maybe as a fashion icon, muse for designers, and a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef with her own Netflix several cooking specials and cookbook My Life on a Plate to her name. At Sweet Relief!, in an exclusive show, Kelis will bust out not just 'Milkshake' and 'Bossy' but more tunes from her catalogue at the fest's second year. For company at the event, which moves to Ballymore Stadium for 2024 after debuting at Northshore Brisbane in 2023, she'll be joined by The Presets, 2024 Eurovision contestants Electric Fields, Haiku Hands, Dameeeela and Juno so far, with more to be announced. 2024 marks a quarter century since Kelis' first record Kaleidoscope and also 21 years since Tasty — featuring 'Milkshake', 'Trick Me' and 'Millionaire' — became such a hit. The singer's spot on both the BIGSOUND and Sweet Relief! is the result of a partnership between BIGSOUND and QLD Music Trails, the latter of which Sweet Relief! forms part of. [caption id="attachment_959285" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The James Adams[/caption] [caption id="attachment_861894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_959282" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The James Adams[/caption] [caption id="attachment_851424" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/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. Sweet Relief! 2024 will take place at Ballymore Stadium, 91 Clyde Road, Herston, on Saturday, September 7, with presales from 11am local time on Tuesday, June 4 and general sales from 11am local time on Friday, June 7 — head to the event's website for more details.
Australians, it's finally time to drop it like it's hot again — because Snoop Dogg is coming back to our shores. For the first time since 2014, the rapper is hitting stages Down Under as part of this new 'I Wanna Thank Me' tour, which'll be playing arenas in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide in February and March 2023. If this sounds familiar, that's because this tour was initially due to happen in 2022, only to be postponed. Now, Snoop Dogg has locked in the rescheduled dates, complete with extra shows in both Sydney and Melbourne — and adding Adelaide to his tour itinerary. Clearly, fans of the musician/actor/cook book author/wrestling MC/wine brand owner will be breaking out the gin and juice as he raps his way through the RAC Arena, Qudos Bank Arena, Rod Laver Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre and Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Snoop will also be inspiring hip hop aficionados to be the life of the party and, if you can remember his time as Snoop Doggy Dog and Snoop Lion across his career, to ask about his name as well. Yes, you can expect to hear singles such as 'What's My Name?', 'Gin and Juice', 'Drop It Like It's Hot' and 'Snoop's Upside Ya Head', as well as tracks from his last few albums — with his 17th record from 2019, I Wanna Thank Me, sharing its moniker with the tour. Since then, he's also dropped two more albums: From tha Streets 2 tha Suites in 2021 and BODR in 2022, with another, Missionary, also in the works. SNOOP DOGG 'I WANNA THANK ME' 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES Monday, February 27 — RAC Arena, Perth Wednesday, March 1–Thursday, March 2 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Saturday, March 4–Sunday, March 5 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Tuesday, March 7 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Wednesday, March 8 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Snoop Dogg is touring Australia in February and March 2023 — visit the tour website for tickets and further details.
No matter how gorgeous the surroundings, how lavish the place you're staying and how blissful everyone wants things to be, life's chaos doesn't magically disappear just because you're on holidays. That's one of The White Lotus' key ideas, which it played out to spectacular results in the show's Hawaii-set first season — making it the best new show on TV in 2021, in fact — and which it is currently unpacking again in its Sicily-set second season. Get ready for that concept to get a third go-around as well. In unsurprising but still extremely welcome news, HBO has just announced that it is bringing The White Lotus back for season three — news it revealed just three episodes into season two. Once again, it'll be a case of new year, new vacation season, new gorgeous destination, new cast, keeping the series' anthology format. "Reflecting on The White Lotus' humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it's impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike [White, the series' creator] orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, announcing the series' season-three renewal. "And yet, he's only continued to reach new heights in season two, which is the ultimate testament to Mike's raw, unparalleled vision. His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we've come to adore. We couldn't be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together." The news comes after The White Lotus hit an all-time ratings high in the US with its third episode of season three — although, given how ace the series is, and how widely loved by both viewers and critics (season one picked up a swag of Emmys just a month before season two premiered), bringing it back for more was always highly likely. HBO and creator/writer/director Mike White (Brad's Status) haven't announced if any of the current characters — or season one's — might return in season three, as Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya McQuoid-Hunt has across its first two batches of episodes. Obviously, before any familiar faces can check into another White Lotus property somewhere else in the world (the location of which also hasn't yet been unveiled), we'll need to see who survives season two first. The show's second season is currently diving into plenty of drama in a stunning setting, with Tanya travelling to the White Lotus hotel in Sicily with her husband Greg (Jon Gries, Dream Corp LLC) and assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson, After Yang) — however the former isn't happy that the latter is with them. Plus, Tanya thinks that Greg might be cheating. Also checking in for season two's biting satire of the one percent and class divides: F Murray Abraham (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities), Michael Imperioli (The Many Saints of Newark) and Adam DiMarco (The Order) as three generations of Di Grasso men, who are on a family holiday to connect with their roots; Aubrey Plaza (Best Sellers) and Will Sharpe (Defending the Guilty) as newly wealthy couple Harper and Ethan, who are vacationing with pals Cameron (Theo James, The Time Traveller's Wife) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy, The Bold Type); and Tom Hollander (The King's Man) as English expat Quentin, who's away with his nephew Jack (Leo Woodall, Cherry). And, there's also Beatrice Grannò (Security) and Simona Tabasco (The Ties) as locals Mia and Lucia; plus Sabrina Impacciatore (Across the River and Into the Trees) as this White Lotus' manager Valentina. There's obviously no trailer yet for The White Lotus season three, but you can check out the trailer for season two below: The White Lotus' third season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. The second season of The White Lotus is currently streaming via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand, dropping new episodes weekly. Read our full review.
A boat sails across the ceiling, down the wall and across the crisp white hotel bed, into the carpet. This is no projection, no Photoshop and no witchcraft, but the aquarium-like effect of acclaimed photographer Robyn Stacey's recent experiments with a 5th-century BC technology: camera obscura. During a residency at Melbourne's Sofitel on Collins Street and visits to hotels in other cities, Stacey photographed scenes of exterior cityscapes imposed onto hotel interiors using tools from opposite ends of the technological spectrum, a simple camera obscura and a high-tech Hasselblad DSLR. The result is Guest Relations, a new series on show now at Sydney's Stills Gallery. What can you expect to see? Mysterious people, supposedly guests of the hotel, caught in moments of contemplation while the city hangs suspended above their heads or washes over the walls around them in startlingly sharp definition, suggesting a collision of public and private life. During her residency, Stacey recognised that just a photo of the hotel's famous views would constitute nothing more than a postcard. So she turned to camera obscura to solve the creative problem. "I like layers in work," she says. "The room sort of reveals itself to you." Because of the technical constraints of camera obscura — sometimes there'd only be a 40-minute window to shoot a long exposure of a motionless, torch-lit human subject while the sun was in the right spot — surprises would emerge. For example, in one image, there's "the way the war memorial comes in, the angle it comes in, and how [the female subject] is lying under it. So there's all that thing about, what does a war memorial signify, and what about the fact that she's female? It's open then, for people to read into it how they might." Stacey likes the film-still sense of narrative in the tableaux, raising questions of "What's happened in that room, or why are [these people] there?" The beauty of camera obscura, which she's only been working with since February this year, is that "it's magical. Turn on the light and it’s not there. It only happens in the dark." While hers required a laser-cut hole and a diopter lens, she points out that anyone could make one with black cardboard and a pen to punch the hole through it. She hopes to progress to filming these interiorscapes. "What you get in the room that you don’t get in a still image is movement. Sometimes you get these fantastic cloudscapes. They’re just rolling toward you, and they go all over the bed and the floor. It's like you're in the clouds." Stacey's advice to aspiring artists? She cites the quote often attributed to Goethe: Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. "[There can be] too much thinking and not enough doing. But they have to come together. If you have an idea, don't wait, do it now. It might not come out how you wanted, but it will open into something else. The work will lead you, but you've gotta go into it. You can't stand back from it." Robyn Stacey's Guest Relations is on at the Stills Gallery in Sydney until November 9. See more of her photography in her online portfolio.
Working from home has its perks, like more snacks on-hand and wearing your comfy clothes. By now though, wearing the same baggy tee and pyjama pants day-in, day-out might be growing a little old. Plus, as we move into cooler autumn days, a new cosy jumper and some non-threadbare trackies are pretty much essentials. Online shopping go-to The Iconic has put together a collection of its best loungewear and accessories, so you can upgrade your wardrobe without leaving the house. Because dressing up with nowhere to go is the new norm — and you might as well be comfy. For clothes, you'll find a bunch of Aussie labels all known for their super-comfy athleisure and loungewear. Camilla and Marc and its elevated streetwear label C&M currently have some super-warm knitwear and pullovers available via The Iconic, alongside wardrobe staples such as t-shirts, denim and tailored pants. Sustainable brand AERE has a bunch of flowy linen items for both men and women, including shorts, shirts and dresses. And menswear labels Staple Superior and Academy Brand have a range of hoodies, tees, chinos and track pants. If you're wanting to stock up your own balcony-gym or living room-yoga wardrobe (or another WFH outfit, if we're totally honest), you'll also find a bunch of fashionable activewear. Expect leggings, shorts, crops and more from local labels such as P.E. Nation, eco-conscious label Nimble, Jaggad and Cotton On Body, plus international brands Champion and Puma. And, if you've recently taken up running (or plan to), you can buy some running shoes here. You'll also find everything from slippers to sleek sneakers. Ultimate cosy shoe brand UGG has several styles of slippers, including some extra-fluffy yellow ones, as does Birkenstock. Sneaker-wise, there's an extensive selection of Veja and Puma designs, from simple white leather to multicoloured ones. Or, if you feel like walking around in a pair of stilletos for whatever reason, there are those, too. Best of all, The Iconic is giving Concrete Playground readers $30 off on all orders of $120 or more. All you have to do is head here then enter CPLOUNGE at checkout. The Iconic's loungewear range can be found here. For $30 off your order, enter CPLOUNGE at checkout (offer available until Sunday, April 26). FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Normally ugliness is relative and objective, but not if you’re at one of the stranger events taking place during the Basque city of Bilbao’s annual cultural festival Aste Nagusia or ‘Big Week’. Somewhere in between the comparatively commonplace displays of music, art, fireworks and bullfights taking place over the nine-day celebration falls the bewildering Concurso de Feos, which literally translates to ‘The Ugly Competition’. Concurso de Feos was apparently initiated as a spin on the controversial and outdated beauty pageant. Though it is also a great alternative for those not endowed with the skills required to perform the spectacular facial feat known as a gurn (perhaps due to still having at least six teeth) but who continue to dream of having their ugliest mug immortalised on the Internet. The Spanish competition apparently encourages the use of fingers to assist with the distorting process, with entrants stuffing digits into their nostrils, eyeballs and inner cheeks in their quest to perform the most unsightly sneer in all the land. There appears to be no age restrictions on competing, with the event popular amongst both old and young alike. And, obligatory jokes aside, Concurso de Feos can claim the dual merits of providing locals with a comical distraction from the Basque County’s economic woes and the rest of the world with a good boost of self-confidence. via Geekologie
In normal circumstances, Brisbane is home to a bustling nightlife scene every evening of the week. You can fill your calendar with a hefty array of fun activities — see a gig one night, party to retro tunes the next and get kidulting over a few brews the evening afterwards. That isn't the case at present, though, with the city still slowing awakening from Queensland's COVID-19 lockdown. But, fingers crossed, this town of ours will be thriving after dark once again — and hopefully soon. If you've spent much of your time at home dreaming of all the things you'd rather be doing, don't stress — we know the feeling. So, we've teamed up with Miller Genuine Draft, as part of this year's Miller Design Lab, to plan an itinerary for when life starts to resemble its former self. Miller Design Lab is the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion. Together, we're celebrating what our nightlife was — and will be again — and its impact on culture. Here are five businesses to put on your must-visit list to visit and support as normality returns. [caption id="attachment_734386" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vincent Shaw[/caption] GOING TO GIGS AT THE FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL It's been less than a year since Brisbane's newest music venue opened its doors, and it has played host to a sizeable lineup of talent in that time. Sat smack-bang in the middle of Brunswick Street Mall, the Fortitude Music Hall also instantly became one of the nicest places in the city to see a gig, because making shapes on a dance floor beneath glittering chandeliers will have that effect. The venue's 3300-person capacity means that it's unlikely to reopen at full steam anytime soon, but when it does, you'll want to nab tickets. If it wasn't the case already, the idea of having a communal experience with that many fellow music lovers — when it's safe to do so again, of course — definitely sounds like bliss. ATTENDING POOL PARTIES AT W HOTEL'S WET DECK You don't need to book yourself a staycation to splash around at W Hotel in the CBD. But you could if you feel like really treating yourself (and you're sick of the sight of your own four walls). If you'd be happy with a dip, some drinks and hanging out on a scenic deck — and taking in views across the city, too — you can simply look forward to one of the venue's Wet Deck pool parties instead. They happen regularly, and combine beverages, tasty bites to eat and a zebra-striped body of water that screams decadence. Sip cocktails, dance to DJs and pretend you're on holiday, which is a feeling we could definitely all use after this hectic year so far. DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY AT THE ELEPHANT'S 90s AND 00s PARTIES Sorry, 70s disco track 'Love Is in the Air'; in 2020, nostalgia is in the air instead. That Aussie hit actually made a comeback in the 90s thanks to Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom — and if getting retro to tunes from three decades ago is your idea of a good night out, then you might find yourself dancing to it at The Elephant's regular No Scrubs 90s and early-00s parties. The concept is self-explanatory, really. You'll cut a rug to songs you grew up with, whether you're fond of boy bands, thumping beats or pop divas. The shindig itself takes care of the old-school music. However, you have an important task, too. Sure, you don't have to dress up in era-appropriate outfits, but it's so much more fun if you do. FEELING LIKE YOU'RE IN 'THE GREAT GATSBY' AT CLOUDLAND Every Brisbanite remembers the first time they walked into Cloudland. It's a space that makes a statement, and that keeps your eyes busy — because, when you're not checking out the thousands of plants and the waterfall, you're peering up at the shimmering light fixtures. And, it sports an old-meets-new kind of vibe, which is probably why the Fortitude Valley spot frequently hosts luxe cabaret dinners complete with plenty of beverages and a big band show. It's your excuse to channel your inner flapper, dress up like it's a century ago and enjoy a mighty fine (and mighty luxe) night. You'll also eat your way through a three-course meal, and be entertained by burlesque performers as well. HAVING A LITTLE KIDULT FUN AT SEMI-PRO BREWING Don't let anyone tell you that Lego is just for kids. If you can remember needing your parents' help with a particularly tricky kit way back in the day — and can remember that they enjoyed it, too — you'll know that those beloved plastic building blocks really do deliver fun for all ages. At East Brisbane's Semi-Pro Brewing, they're also the focus of a monthly 'bricks and beer' night, where the brews flow, everyone gets creative and a good nostalgic time is had by all. It's free to attend, each session is themed and there are prizes. You're also playing with toys in an inner-city brewery, which is the type of activity your younger self probably didn't even know that they wanted. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
Good energy is meant to be shared — and this month, Teremana Tequila is taking that spirit on the road. Founded by Dwayne Johnson, the premium small-batch tequila, which is built on the belief that true mana comes from showing up with purpose, is bringing its feel-good ethos to two community pop-ups, celebrating the unsung heroes who make a difference every day. Head to Bluff Bar at the Alex Surf Club on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, October 11, or Felons Brewing Co at Howard Smith Wharves (pictured below) in Brisbane on Sunday, October 12, to find the Mana Mobile, a Teremana-branded food truck rolling into town with margaritas, live music and backyard-style games. It's also where you'll find the Mana Mailbox, inviting you to take a moment to express gratitude to someone who brings positivity into your life. You'll be encouraged to craft a handwritten postcard of thanks to an everyday hero who shows up, lifts others up and quietly keeps things running. Once complete, each message is sealed and placed in the Mana Mailbox before being mailed directly to its recipient. There'll be plenty of good vibes across both stops. You can nominate unsung heroes either on the night or online ahead of time via the Mana on the Road website, with all nominees going in the running to score one of 50 exclusive Teremana Añejo bottles tucked inside special gift bags, plus more surprises revealed throughout the evening. Pop in between 4–7pm on the Sunshine Coast or 3–9pm in Brisbane to be part of this moving celebration of gratitude. Good mana starts in the spaces we share — and good energy is best enjoyed together with good people and good tequila. Bring your mates, raise a glass and celebrate the everyday heroes who make a difference with Teremana.
South Bank's Stoke Bar may be gone, but a new bar has taken its place: Stokebar Q. Originally named just Q and still housed in the space beside Stokehouse Q, it's the result of a million-dollar makeover — and yes, it's still all about that stellar riverside view. Redesigned by Alexander Lotersztain of Derlot, the rebadged, renovated watering hole combines the old and the new. In the former camp, it has the same gorgeous vantage, a similar weekend lineup of DJ-fuelled hangout sessions, and the same chef, Richard Ousby. In the latter category, Brisbanites will find changes of the fitout, cuisine and beverage kind. In good news for everyone fond of hanging out by the water — which, let's face it, is why people head to South Bank to begin with — Stokebar Q boasts a larger space that gets patrons even closer to the river's edge. That includes more water-adjacent seating, including booths, a wrap-around lounge on the boardwalk, and an additional private lounge area, all decked out in warm grey, blue, pastel green and orange hues. Food-wise, Ousby's menu features a range of small plates, as split into one-handed snacks and knife-and-fork dishes. Grilled haloumi with burnt honey, mozzarella and bolognese jaffles, fried chicken bites and spanner crab with buckwheat noodles rank among the options. And as far as the drinks list is concerned, ex-Nant Whisky Bar, Cuvee Lounge and Soleil Pool Bar bartender Becki Parker is overseeing the beverages, with four new cocktails on offer. The standout: the aptly named Goodwill Rising, which blends tequila, fig jam, ginger, pineapple shrub, vanilla syrup, lemon juice, lemon and vanilla sugar crisp, and is probably best sipped while you're looking out over the bridge that gives it its moniker. Find Stokebar Q on Sidon Street, South Bank. For more information, visit the bar's website.
Each year we anticipate the arrival of December 25. Because of the day off, the promise of an afternoon spent dozing in a hammock — and the arrival of Gelato Messina's annual Christmas cake. This year, the gelato chain is bringing back its version of the quintessential Australian dessert: the trifle. Yes, The Christmas Coma, which made its debut last year, is back. But this year it'll even more decadent. The epic ice cream creation will feature layer upon layer of everything that is good about Christmas — but instead of being soggy and slightly regrettable, this one will have you licking the glass bowl. So what's in it? Well, Messina has switched out the vanilla gelato for a rich chocolate number, and will be slathering it with its house-made dulce de leche mousse. Then it will be layered with — here we go — red velvet cake, vanilla Chantilly cream, chocolate-coated biscuit crumbs, meringue, sour cherry jelly and lime gel. Plus, it'll come with some chocolate-coated nuts and Messina brandy custard to douse all over the mess. The trifle, which serves 18–20 (or less if you really commit), costs $150 and can be ordered for pickup between December 20 and 6pm on Christmas Eve. In Sydney you can pick one up from Rosebery, Darlinghurst, Bondi, Miranda, Penrith, Tramsheds and Parramatta. If you're in Melbourne, you can get one from the Fitzroy or Windsor outposts — and the South Brisbane store will be making them too. Hopefully nan won't take it personally. The Christmas Coma will be available to order from Wednesday, November 14 — you can add your name to the waitlist here.
Two big-name Hollywood stars. One movie. One helluva face off. If that setup didn't exist, there'd be far few action-thrillers reaching screens — and Netflix's latest, the Ryan Gosling- and Chris Evans-starring The Gray Man, wouldn't exist either. Based on the novel by Mark Greaney, The Gray Man follows CIA operative Court Gentry (Gosling, First Man). Also known as Sierra Six, he was once the agency's most skilled killer — after being recruited out of a federal penitentiary — but now he's on the run after discovering secrets that his employer doesn't want anyone to know. That's where his ex-colleague Lloyd Hansen (Evans, Free Guy) comes in, putting a target on his head, sparking a manhunt by international assassins, and leaving Gentry fighting for his life with only the help of Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas, No Time to Die). It all sounds as standard as action-thrillers go — and the just-dropped first trailer for the flick, which'll hit cinemas on July 14 and Netflix on July 22, is filled with exactly the kinds of things that all action-thrillers are. Gosling runs, Evans taunts, everyone smoulders and brood, things explode, fists are thrown and chases ensue. Gosling chats about his ego getting hurt, too, and Evans also gets saddled with quite the moustache — and quite the cheesy line. So, if you've ever wanted to hear the former Captain America say "if you want to make an omelette, you've got to kill some people", then this is for you. From its first sneak peek, The Gray Man also looks moodily shot — and, as the John Wick franchise and Atomic Blonde have both proven, an ace cast and style for days can be huge assets in this genre. Indeed, oh-so-many action-thriller flicks have served up a premise so familiar that audiences have seen it countless times before, but made up for it in the way it all comes together. Fingers crossed that The Gray Man is one of those movies. As well as heralding Gosling's first film since 2018 — so if you've been missing him in movies, that's why — and Evans getting villainous, The Gray Man also features Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page, plus Billy Bob Thornton (Goliath), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections), Indian star Dhanush, Wagner Moura (Shining Girls) and Alfre Woodard (The Lion King). Behind the lens, the movie marks the latest directorial effort by Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo — and reportedly didn't come cheap, costing $200 million and ranking as Netflix's most expensive production to-date. Check out the trailer for The Gray Man below: The Gray Man will screen in cinemas from July 14, and will be available to stream via Netflix on July 22. Images: Stanislav Honzik and Paul Abell/Netflix © 2022.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures will do that, and so will plenty of people staying home because they aren't well — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Perhaps you've been under the weather. Given the hefty amount of titles now releasing each week, maybe you simply missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here are eight that you can watch right now at home. FOE Pondering the end of the earth also means pondering the end of people. When the planet that we live on withers to the point of becoming uninhabitable, humanity doesn't just suffer big-picture consequences as a species — existentially, the basic facets of being human are upended as well. So explores and interrogates Foe, the haunting third feature from Australian director Garth Davis (Lion, Mary Magdalene), as well as the latest adaptation of Canadian author Iain Reid's books after 2020 movie I'm Thinking of Ending Things. The pair teamed up to pen the script to a dystopian thriller that looks every inch the stark sci-fi part, using Victoria's Winton Wetlands as its shooting location to double for America's midwest circa 2065, and yet is always one thing above all else: like Killers of the Flower Moon, too, this is a relationship drama. This time, in his second film in a row made Down Under alongside Carmen, Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) plays half of Foe's key couple, opposite his Irish compatriot (plus Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women Academy Award-nominee) Saoirse Ronan. The pair trade their natural lilts for American accents as Junior and Hen, holdout farmers in a world and at a time where there's little hope in the field, their actual fields or for the future. As a title card explains, days on the third rock from the sun are numbered. Also noted in that opening text is the setup moving forward, relocating the population to space stations. And, as Blade Runner did decades ago, simulated humans are also entwined in this new status quo. Junior and Hen's marriage is one of lived-in routine, concise exchanges and loaded looks, then — of resignation and malaise, with life's realities tampering down the high-school sweethearts' spirits mere years into their wedded bliss. He works at a poultry factory, she waits tables at a diner, and the bleak expanse surrounding their farmhouse sports rows of symbolism; Foe's central couple cling to the wish that the inherited land and their love alike hasn't turned fallow, no matter the signs otherwise. With such barrenness lingering, car lights outside their home one night and then a sharp knock at the door were always going to feel like more than just an ordinary visitor. The cause is anything but an average passerby: government consultant Terrance (Aaron Pierre, Old) has come with conscription orders for the OuterMore project, which is building the off-world installation that earth's residents will soon need to live on. Foe streams via Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Garth Davis. THE MARVELS More Marvels, less Marvel: that could've, would've, should've been the path to making The Marvels more marvellous as it teams up Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry), Ms Marvel's Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani in her big-screen debut) and WandaVision's Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, They Cloned Tyrone). Unsurprisingly for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that goes heavy on the first word in the ever-sprawling franchise's moniker, this 33rd cinematic instalment in the series has a glaring Marvel problem. Thankfully, as it proves fun enough, likeable enough and sweet, but also overly saddled with the routine and familiar, it never has any Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel or Monica Rambeau issues. When there's too much Marvel-ness — too much been-there-done-that formula, too hefty a focus on smashing pixels together over spending time with people and too strong a sense that this is merely another chapter in the saga's assembly line, and also dutifully setting up what's next — The Marvels struggles, even as the shortest MCU feature yet. When the main trio get the luxury of being together, just seeing them revel in and react to each other's company is a delight. When there's also singing, dancing, a hearty sense of humour and/or Flerkens involved, the film soars. Perhaps befitting a movie with three lead characters, this is a Goldilocks attempt at a picture that tries as overtly as a fairy-tale figure to get its balance just right. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Candyman) and her co-scribes Megan McDonnell (also WandaVision) and Elissa Karasik (Loki) can't quite find and keep their midpoint, however, due to all of the weight and demands that come after 15 years of the MCU, those 32 prior flicks, plus nine seasons of eight Disney+ TV shows since 2021 — and the many nods and references required in those directions. Marvel has cottoned on to how clunky this can be, and how exhausting to watch; the company has marketing streaming series Echo under the banner 'Marvel Spotlight' to signal that viewers can enjoy the story as a standalone experience without needing to have done copious amounts of MCU homework. If only The Marvels had been allowed to spin its tale the same way, even with Carol, Kamala and Monica's established histories across the franchise, and permitted to lean further into what makes it stand out from the rest of the Marvel crowd. The Marvels streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NAPOLEON When is a Ridley Scott-directed, Joaquin Phoenix-starring trip to the past more than just a historical drama? Always, at least so far. Twice now, the filmmaker and actor have teamed up to explore Europe centuries ago, initially with Gladiator and now 23 years later with Napoleon — and where the Rome-set first was an action film as well, the second fancies its chances as a sometimes comedy. This biopic of the eponymous French military star-turned-emperor can be funny. In the lead, Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) repeatedly boasts the line delivery, facial expressions and physical presence of someone actively courting laughs. When he declares "destiny has brought me this lamb chop!", all three coalesce. Scott (House of Gucci) not only lets the humour land, but fashions this muskets-and-cannons epic as a satire of men with authority and dominance, their egos, and the fact that ruling a country and defeating other nations doesn't cancel out their pettiness and insecurities. As it's off with Marie Antoinette's (Catherine Walker, My Sailor, My Love) head, it's in with Napoleon's revolutionary stirrings in Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa's take (with the scribe returning to cut the powerful down to size after the director's All the Money in the World, just as Walker apes another famous figure after playing Anna Wintour in House of Gucci). Also in: Napoleon's tinkering with facts, which'll later see its namesake and his troops fire at the pyramids. Devotion to historical accuracy isn't the movie's aim. Like The Castle of blasts from the French past, it's more interested in the vibe of the thing — said 'thing' being how Napoleon Bonaparte, later Napoleon I, follows his yearning for glory and adoration above all else. Scott stitches together a selection of his own recurrent obsessions, too, such as Phoenix sulking, savaging the quest for command and influence, Gallic days of yore as seen in his debut The Duellists and the unrelated The Last Duel, and unfettered ambition's consequences as per The Martian and Prometheus, then tops it with the requisite bicorn hat. Napoleon streams via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. CAT PERSON "Margot met Robert on a Wednesday night toward the end of her fall semester." So starts the only thing that everyone was reading, and also talking about, in December 2017. Published by The New Yorker, Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person is a short story unparalleled in its viral fame. A piercingly matter-of-fact account of a dating nightmare, the piece of fiction became a literary and online phenomenon. Cat Person didn't just spark discourse about modern romance, relationship power dynamics, 21st-century communication, age gaps and more; it monopolised them, as fuelled by the internet, of course, and arriving as the #MeToo movement was at its early heights. Releasing it as a book, still as a 7000-word piece, came next. Now there's the film that was always bound to happen. As a movie lead by CODA's Emilia Jones, Cat Person can count the Twitter-to-cinema Zola as a peer in springboarding from digital phenomenon to picture palaces, and it too aims for a specific vibe: the feeling that the world experienced while first roving their eyes over the details on their phone, tablet or computer screen. Cat Person and Zola have another glaring similarity: enlisting Succession's Nicholas Braun to infuse his Cousin Greg awkwardness into a wild tale. Here, he's the Robert that Margot encounters while "working behind the concession stand at the artsy movie theatre downtown when he came in and bought a large popcorn and a box of Red Vines", as Roupenian's story explains in its second sentence — and as filmmaker Susanna Fogel, the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers, shows on-screen. Actors' performances don't exist in a vacuum for audiences. Unless you somehow missed the four-season Roy family shenanigans, plus all the rightly deserved attention around it, going into Cat Person unaware of Braun's best-known role is impossible. Self-consciousness, haplessness and discomfort are expected twice over of the man that Margot sells snacks to, then. Much follows. Cat Person streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Susanna Fogel. DICKS: THE MUSICAL When it starred Lindsay Lohan (Falling for Christmas) making her film debut in dual roles in the late 90s, and when Hayley Mills (The Wheel of Time) was doing double duty back in the 60s as well, The Parent Trap told of identical twins who were separated at birth when their mother and father divorced. Each parent gained custody of a baby, then raised the child separately. Never did the sisters cross paths until a summer camp years later, where they realised their connection, then hatched a plan to reunite their family by posing as each other back home. The tale springs from the page, with German novel Lisa and Lottie also inspiring adaptations in its homeland, Japan, the UK, India and Iran. The Olsen twins' It Takes Two owes it a debt, too. But there's never been a version of this story like Josh Sharp (Search Party) and Aaron Jackson's (Broad City) iteration, as first seen onstage in Fucking Identical Twins and now in cinemas as Dicks: The Musical. So absurdly its own ridiculous, raucous, irreverent and raunchy thing, calling Dicks: The Musical exuberantly unhinged — or anything, really — doesn't do it justice. Before this A24 release brought its sibling antics to the big screen with singing, dancing, Megan Mullally (Party Down) and Nathan Lane (Beau Is Afraid) as its long-split parents, Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles behind the camera, Brisbane-born Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang as drama-loving gay God and Megan Thee Stallion busting out a mid-movie tune, Fucking Identical Twins was a two-man production that premiered in 2014 to must-see success. Created at Upright Citizens Brigade, which was co-founded by Amy Poehler (Moxie), the then half-an-hour affair first filled a basement and now rises to share its delirium with the film-watching world. Leading the way in every guise: Sharp and Jackson, who definitely aren't twins let alone brothers, don't look a thing alike, yet know how to take audiences on a helluva wild ride. Dicks: The Musical streams via YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. SILENT NIGHT There's no swapping faces in John Woo's latest English-language action-thriller. Instead, the iconic Hong Kong filmmaker brings guns, chases and a quest for revenge to the festive genre. As anyone who rightly considers Die Hard among the pinnacle of Christmas movies already knows, seasonal cinema offerings don't need to drip in schmaltz, holiday humour, or Santas and reindeers to be an end-of-year present. Still, in making his first Hollywood effort since 2003's Paycheck, the director behind Hard Target, Broken Arrow and Face/Off in the 90s — plus Mission: Impossible II in 2000 — keeps the ties of family gleaming in Silent Night. That said, from the moment that the picture opens with a man in a Rudolph-adorned jumper, fuzzy red pom-pom and all, in a battle on Texan back streets with gang members who've just torn his brood apart on Christmas Eve, Woo also goes the brutal route. Silent Night's name echoes in several ways. Recalling a tune that's all about the jolliest time of the year is just one. Setting scenes in a period when halls are decked with boughs of holly is merely another. If protagonist Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman, The Suicide Squad) gets his wish, there'll be no more noise — let alone violence and bloodshed — from the criminals responsible for killing his young son (Alex Briseño, A Million Miles Away) with a stray bullet from drive-by crossfire as the boy rode his new bike in the front yard. Woo's main stylistic conceit comes to fruition instantly, however, because Silent Night largely avoids dialogue. Aided by meticulous sound design, that choice isn't a gimmick purely for the sake of it. Rather, Robert Archer Lynn's (Already Dead) script has Brian lose the ability to speak in the introductory sequence's fallout. Silent Night streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. NYAD When most sports films bring real-life exploits to the screen, they piece together the steps it took for a person or a team to achieve the ultimate in their field, or come as close as possible while trying their hardest. Nyad is no different, but it's also a deeply absorbing character study of two people: its namesake Diana Nyad and her best friend Bonnie Stoll. The first is the long-distance swimmer whose feats the movie tracks, especially her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida in the 2010s. The second is the former professional racquetball player who became Nyad's coach when she set her sights on making history as a sexagenarian — and reattempting a gruelling leg she'd tried and failed when she was in her late 20s. It helps that Annette Bening (Death on the Nile) plays the swimmer and Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian) her offsider, with both giving exceptional performances that unpack not only the demands of chasing such a dream, but of complicated friendships. Also assisting: that Nyad is helmed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, directors making their feature debut beyond documentaries after The Rescue, Meru and winning an Oscar for charting Alex Honnold's El Capitan climb in Free Solo. Extraordinary efforts are this filmmaking pair's wheelhouse, clearly. Nyad and Stoll fit that description easily, as do Bening and Foster. With the latter, who brings shades of Michael J Fox (Still: A Michael J Fox Movie) to her portrayal, Nyad also provides a reminder of how phenomenal the Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs and Panic Room star is on-screen, how charismatic as well, and how missed she's been while featuring in just four films in the past decade (the just-arrived fourth season of True Detective thankfully places Foster at its centre). Understandably, the movie's main actors have been earning awards attention. The picture around them never stops plunging into what makes both Nyad and Stoll tick — and keep shooting for such an immense goal, even as setback after setback comes their way — with Chin and Vasarhelyi experts in conveying minutiae. Whether or not you know the outcome, Nyad is rousing and compelling viewing, floating on excellent work by its four key creative talents. Nyad streams via Netflix. THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER When they were making All the Real Girls, Pineapple Express and Your Highness together, plus Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones as well, did filmmaker David Gordon Green and actor Danny McBride chat about creating their own versions of all-time horror masterpieces, in flicks that act as direct sequels to the OG films and ignore all of the past sequels, and also work as reboots sparking a new trilogy? Thanks to the recent Halloween films, this natter seems likely. In fact, now that Green and McBride have also given The Exorcist a spin, this kind of talk appears a certainty. So, writer/director Green was possessed with a new demonic screen story with McBride and Halloween Kills' Scott Teems, then penned a devil-made-me-do-it script with Camp X-Ray's Peter Sattler. The result is The Exorcist: Believer, a 50-years-later return to head-twisting dances with evil — this time with a prologue in Haiti rather than Iraq, the bulk of the action set in Georgia instead of Washington, DC's Georgetown, and two girls not one in need of faith's help to cast out malevolent fiends. Green and McBride's swap from Michael Myers to Pazuzu also already has its own trinity in the works. As it apes the original movie's structure, there's a touch of trickery in starting The Exorcist: Believer in Port-au-Prince: the city's 2010 earthquake is used to get the plot in motion, a move that lands queasily, clunkily and exploitatively. Perhaps Green and company thought that slipping into a real-life tragedy's skin then wreaking havoc was a fitting piece of mirroring; instead, that choice should've been exorcised. Photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) is holidaying with his heavily pregnant wife Sorenne (Tracey Graves, On Ten) when the earth rumbles, leading to him becoming a single father — but not before the baby is blessed in utero by a local healer. Cut to 13 years later, where teenager Angela (Lidya Jewett, Ivy + Bean) is introduced rifling through her mother's belongings, then convincing her grief-stricken dad to let her have an after-school date with her classmate Katherine (debutant Olivia O'Neill). She doesn't tell him that they'll be trying to contact Sorenne via a seance in the woods, though, an event that ends with a disappearance, something unholy afoot and needing help from Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: Organised Crime). The Exorcist: Believer streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Looking for more viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023, too. We kept a running list of must-stream TV from across 2023 as well, complete with full reviews. And, we've also rounded up 2023's 15 best films, 15 best straight-to-streaming movies, 15 top flicks hardly anyone saw, 30 other films to catch up with, 15 best new TV series of 2023, another 15 excellent new TV shows that you might've missed and 15 best returning shows.
UPDATE, Thursday, March 28, 2o24: Oppenheimer is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Cast Cillian Murphy and a filmmaker falls in love. Danny Boyle did with 28 Days Later and Sunshine, then Christopher Nolan followed with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and Dunkirk. There's an arresting, haunting, seeps-under-your-skin soulfulness about the Irish actor, never more so than when he was wandering solo through the empty zombie-ravaged streets in his big-screen big break, then hurtling towards the sun in an underrated sci-fi gem, both for Boyle, and now playing "the father of atomic bomb" in Nolan's epic biopic Oppenheimer. Flirting with the end of the world, or just one person's end, clearly suits Murphy. Here he is in a mind-blower as the destroyer of worlds — almost, perhaps actually — and so much of this can't-look-away three-hour stunner dwells in his expressive eyes. As J Robert Oppenheimer, those peepers see purpose and possibility. They spot quantum mechanics' promise, and the whole universe lurking within that branch of physics. They ultimately spy the consequences, too, of bringing the Manhattan Project successfully to fruition during World War II. Dr Strangelove's full title could never apply to Oppenheimer, nor to its eponymous figure; neither learn to stop worrying and love the bomb. The theoretical physicist responsible for the creation of nuclear weapons did enjoy building it in Nolan's account, Murphy's telltale eyes gleaming as Oppy watches research become reality — but then darkening as he gleans what that reality means. Directing, writing and adapting the 2005 biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, Nolan charts the before and after. He probes the fission and fusion of the situation in intercut parts, the first in colour, the second in black and white. In the former, all paths lead to the history-changing Trinity test on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert. In the latter, a mushroom cloud balloons through Oppenheimer's life as he perceives what the gadget, as it's called in its development stages, has unleashed. Pre-Los Alamos Oppenheimer is all nervy spark, whether he's excited about a Cambridge lecture by Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh, Death on the Nile), meeting other great minds in his field around Europe, taking his learnings home from to start the US' first quantum mechanics class, or cultivating what'll later be disparaged by a security clearance-decreeing Atomic Energy Commission panel as a far leftwing mindset. He's electric when an animated ideological chat with Communist Party member Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh, The Wonder) leads to slipping between the sheets for a tumultuous affair. When he meets botanist and biologist Kitty (Emily Blunt, The English) in the smoothest of sexual tension-dripping conversations, his inertia gets her answering "not very" when he asks if she's married. Determination mingles in, too, when Lieutenant General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon, Air) thunders into his classroom on a recruitment mission for top-secret work in a race to beat the Nazis. And, it lingers as the ball is put in motion, then keeps rolling, to construct the most fateful ball of them all. Post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki Oppenheimer is solidified in his certainty that his big bang, then the others that America's military detonated swiftly in Japan once they knew it worked, is on the wrong side of history. He's fragmented, though, by the response to his horror — including the McCarthy-esque committee mercilessly scrutinising him, his colleagues and others closet to him, while deciding whether they'll still give him access. Amid the political fallout for Oppenheimer's advocacy for scaling back afterwards, AEC commissioner Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr, Dolittle) is weaved in, also answering dissecting questions. Oppenheimer is a talky film, sound and fury echoing as heatedly in its words as when blazing light fills the screen. Both the discussions-slash-interrogations and the incendiary moment that forever altered all incendiary moments are impeccably, immaculately, thrillingly and viscerally staged. Nolan identifies chain reactions, and creates them. As he slams the movie's two parts together with his Tenet editor Jennifer Lane's exacting splicing — also letting the contrasting segments lensed so meticulously by Oscar-nominated Dunkirk cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema fling closer and bounce apart, and linking everything with Black Panther Oscar-winner Ludwig Göransson's evocative and relentless score — he crafts his most complex and complicated film yet. His subject demands it. Oppenheimer follows, digs into memory and can't sleep with what's happened. It notices what grows in darkness, shifts reality, reaches for the cosmic and hops through time, too, all in its own ways. It plays like a culmination of Nolan's work as a result — it's certainly made like exactly that — as its namesake tries "not to set the sky on fire", as Groves tells him, then attempts to kill the terrible threat of burning skies as a power-boosting military tactic. If someone told Nolan not to set the screen alight and aglow with his 12th feature in 25 years, and his second about World War II in six, he didn't listen — be it with his resonant ideas, his execution or his stars. He paints a fiery portrait of America, especially in monochrome. He unpacks the lengths that humanity will go to to gain control and garner recognition, and the grave costs. He fires moments at the screen that just keep expanding in impact, and combining like Dunkirk's onslaught from land, air and sea. An early gripping scene involving Oppenheimer as a student, an apple and cyanide is one. So is the immediate expectation to lead the cheering after the Trinity test, just as the full meaning of what's occurred dawns, in a sequence that uses dissonant sound to immersive and galvanising effect. And, piercing too is the rat-tat-tat of the interrogation dialogue. Murphy is spectacular, and has never been better as Nolan stares so intimately and contemplatively at his revealing face. How joyous it is to see Downey Jr, also never better, actually act again — his astounding, awards-destined performance is meaty, mesmerising, and something that's been sorely missed. Oppenheimer's is an explosive cast, also spanning Blunt at her steeliest; pivotal contributions by Josh Hartnett (Black Mirror), Benny Safdie (Stars at Noon) and David Krumholtz (White House Plumbers) as fellow scientists; and the influential Jason Clarke (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Macon Blair (Reservation Dogs), Dane DeHaan (The Staircase) and Alden Ehrenreich (Cocaine Bear) among the lawyers, military and political aides. Present, too, each in small but significant parts: three consecutive 2017–19 Best Actor Academy Award-winners in Manchester by the Sea's Casey Affleck, Darkest Hour's Gary Oldman and Bohemian Rhapsody's Rami Malek. Nolan deploys them all in a film that bellows, billows and blasts. Watching, and plunging into Oppenheimer's mind, isn't a passive experience.
Melancholy, cantankerousness, angst, hurt and snow: all five blanket Barton Academy in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. It's Christmas in the New England-set latest film from the Election, About Schmidt and Nebraska director, but festive cheer is in short supply among the students and staff that give the movie its moniker. The five pupils all want to be anywhere but stuck at their exclusive boarding school over the yuletide break, with going home off the cards for an array of reasons. Then four get their wish, leaving just Angus Tully (debutant Dominic Sessa), who thought he'd be holidaying in Saint Kitts until his mother told him not to come so that she could have more time alone with his new stepdad. His sole company among the faculty: curmudgeonly classics professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti, Billions), who's being punished for failing the son of a wealthy donor, but would be hanging around campus anyway; plus grieving head cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Only Murders in the Building), who is weathering her first Christmas after losing her son — a Barton alum — in the Vietnam War. The year is 1970 in Payne's long-awaited return behind the lens after 2017's Downsizing, as the film reinforces from its opening seconds with retro studio credits. The Holdovers continues that period-appropriate look in every frame afterwards — with kudos to cinematographer Eigil Bryld (No Hard Feelings), who perfects not only the hues and grain but the light and softness in his imagery — and matches it with the same mood and air, as if it's a lost feature unearthed from the era. Cat Stevens on the soundtrack, a focus on character and emotional truths, zero ties to franchises, a thoughtful story given room to breathe and build: that's this moving and funny dramedy. Christmas flicks regularly come trimmed with empty, easy nostalgia, but The Holdovers earns its wistfulness from a filmmaker who's no stranger to making movies that feel like throwbacks to the decade when he was a teen. In the first of his eight pictures actually set in the 70s, Payne tells a tale that audiences can plot out from the setup alone. The Holdovers also charts a story so on the director's wavelength that, even though it's only the second of his films that he didn't also script, it comes as no surprise that he specifically commissioned it from screenwriter David Hemingson (Whiskey Cavalier) after reading a pilot by him set in a boarding school, and also watching 1935 French effort Merlusse. But spying where this account of three lonely souls thrust together over the holidays is heading doesn't temper its delights and depths; the journeys that Paul, Angus and Mary take; or spending time in the trio's presence. While movie narratives are often predictable — that there's only so many basic plots is a common writing concept — the devils and joys are in the details, relationships and idiosyncrasies, as Payne unpacks with help from excellent performances. The Holdovers knows how to construct and flesh out characters; in Paul's gruff demeanour with his class, who he's happy to flunk — and particularly ferocious about putting the most privileged in their place — the film says plenty about the man and how everyone around him sees him. He's hardly thrilled with his chaperoning gig, taking to it like teaching. Angus, one of his outspoken but socially awkward pupils, is equally miserable. And Mary is just endeavouring to get through a tough time heightened by the supposedly merriest part of the year. That each will come to better understand the other, plus themselves, is exactly what's expected, and what Payne and Hemingson dive into. The layers unpeeled, however, are exquisite — not only showing what's led the three figures to this physical place in their lives, and to their current emotional and psychological juncture as well, but letting viewers see themselves in each and every one. Payne and Giamatti reteam following 2004's Sideways, which brought the former the first of his three directing Oscar nominations to-date, and also gave him a statuette for co-writing the adapted screenplay. The Holdovers is a welcome reunion, again casting Giamatti as a dispirited teacher, but his older years are felt. The corduroy-wearing, pipe-smoking Paul is a holdover in several manners, including as a former Barton student now working at the academy, someone whose dreams haven't come true and a man maintaining his frostiness after a lifetime of not fitting in. Every aspect is naturalistically grounded in Giamatti's acerbic Golden Globe-winning portrayal, as is the fact that choosing something different, breaking his routines and no longer holding himself over is a trickier prospect when you've spent more time set in your ways than you have left to change. This virtual three-hander pairs its biggest on-screen name with two just-as-exceptional performances by Randolph and newcomer Sessa. She's another 2024 Golden Globe-recipient and he, after being discovered as an elite Massachusetts boarding school perhaps not unlike Barton — it's one of five used as locations in the movie — kicks off what's certain to be a promising career. There's such soulfulness in the no-nonsense, just-getting-by Mary, who has no other option but to keep overseeing the academy's kitchen after the worst thing that can ever happen to a mother, and gives Rustin and The Idol's Randolph her best role since Dolemite Is My Name. And there's such spark mixed with pain in Sessa's young Dustin Hoffman-esque turn (a comparison reinforced when Paul and Angus hit the cinema to see western Little Big Man, which stars Hoffman, and by The Holdovers overall harking back to The Graduate times). Think: Dead Poets Society and With Honours, too. Think: The Shining as well, thanks to the snowy, sprawling and empty site where the characters and their thoughts are left to roam. But The Holdovers finds its own space as it ponders striving against remaining in a spot in your life that's anything but what you truly want, and also how one person's flaws and failings can be another's source of inspiration — packaging both with ample laughs. This is a witty and amusing film with dialogue that bounces and proves finely observed at the same time, as its characters and the entire movie also do. Down Under, The Holdovers' release has been held over until after Christmas, pitching its big-screen arrival as awards season heats up — Giamatti and Randolph are highly likely Academy Award-nominees — but it's also perfect bittersweet future festive viewing.
Since hitting Broadway five years ago, notching up 11 Tony Awards, nabbing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and just becoming an all-round pop culture phenomenon, Hamilton was always going to make the leap to cinemas. So, it's no wonder Disney has leapt at the opportunity, bringing Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical hip hop musical to the big screen in late 2021 — albeit via a filmed version of the stage production, rather than a traditional stage-to-screen adaptation. Miranda has talked about turning his acclaimed show into a movie, and apparently the first draft of a script has been written, but while a film version of his earlier musical In the Heights will reach cinemas in mid-2020, a feature adaptation of Hamilton isn't happening just yet. Everyone still wants to see the tale of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton on the big screen, though — if you haven't been lucky enough to catch the popular musical in New York, as it toured the US or on London's West End, then you probably just want to see it, period — so this "live capture" version is here to fill the gap. Shot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway back in 2016, this cinematic screening of Hamilton is still a big deal. Actually, given the fact that it features the original Broadway cast — including Miranda in the eponymous role — it's a huge deal. Everyone who missed out on the opportunity to see the musical's initial run live will be able to do the next best thing, with Hamilton jumping on the popular trend of screening filmed versions of plays and musicals in cinemas. https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1224377343126462466 As noted in Disney's US press release, only American and Canadian seasons have been announced so far, kicking off from October 15 in 2021— but with something as huge as Hamilton, it's safe to assume that these "live capture" screenings will make their way Down Under as well. The stage production finally arrives in Australia in March 2021, so if you miss out on tickets (or can't afford to buy them) this could be a nice consolation prize. In addition to Miranda — who stars, and wrote the musical's music, lyrics and book — this filmed version of the production features Daveed Diggs (Velvet Buzzsaw) as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Leslie Odom Jr. (Murder on the Orient Express) as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (When They See Us) as George Washington, Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter) as King George, Renee Elise Goldsberry (The House with a Clock in Its Walls) as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo (the Broadway version of Amelie) as Eliza Hamilton. Hamilton will screen in US cinemas from October 15, 2021 — we'll update you with a local release date if and when a Down Under run is announced. Via Variety. Top image: Hamilton, Broadway. Photo by Joan Marcus.
The incredible and heart-warming music doco Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, follows the mysterious story behind a '60s musician simply known as 'Rodriguez'. Likened to artists like Bob Dylan for his soulful melodies and powerful lyrics, the Mexico-born musician was relatively unknown in America. Sixto Rodriguez, who was discovered by celebrated music producers in a Detroit bar, sold only six copies of his record Cold Fact in the US. However, in South Africa - nearly 10 years after his record flopped at home - a bootleg copy of Cold Fact quickly became a hit, an anti-establishment anthem for a country suffering under apartheid regime. Rumoured to have committed suicide on stage, Rodriguez vanished without a trace, unaware of his affect on fans in South Africa. Decades later, two fans set out to find out what happened to the obscure artist whose music resonated with them as they were growing up in riotous South Africa. What they uncover is an extraordinary story that has has impressed critics and audiences worldwide, including winning Special Jury Prize and an audience award at Sundance Film Festival. Concrete Playground has ten double passes to giveaway to see Searching for Sugar Man, in cinemas now. To enter the competition, just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email your name and postal address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au
Plenty can happen in six years. Since the last time that Hans Zimmer performed in Australia, his score for Dune won him his second Academy Award and his work on Dune: Part Two earned him his fifth Grammy, for instance. Over that period, the iconic composer has also given everything from No Time to Die, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick and The Creator to Prehistoric Planet and Planet Earth III their tunes. One of the biggest names in big-screen music, he's clearly been busy — but he's not too busy to add a three-city Aussie tour to his 2025 calendar. Zimmer will head Down Under for the first time since 2019, including for one night in Sydney. If you've seen him live before, you'll know that this is quite the sonic experience, especially for movie lovers. And if you haven't caught him yet, you'll want to fix that at his Thursday, April 24 gig at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. For more than four decades now, Zimmer has given screens big and small a distinctive sound. The German composer helped put the bounce in The Lion King's score and the droning in Inception's memorable tunes, and has loaned his talents to everything from Thelma & Louise to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to Blade Runner 2049. It's an impressive list that just keeps going and growing — see: above — and it sounds even more impressive when played live and accompanied by an orchestra. [caption id="attachment_990221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Teresa[/caption] The latest trip Down Under for the man who has worked his music magic on a wealth of titles — Hidden Figures, The Boss Baby, Dunkirk, Widows, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, The Lion King remake and The Crown are just a few more of his recent-ish credits — comes not only after his 2019 visit, but after he toured his Hans Zimmer Revealed concert series in 2017, including to Australia. His 2025 shows see the return of his Hans Zimmer Live gigs, complete with a 19-piece live band and full orchestra, as well as a huge stage production that features a luminous light show and other eye-catching visuals. While the Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy and Tony-winner obviously isn't going to perform every single one of his iconic film scores, expect to hear plenty of your favourites from a newly arranged lineup of tunes that includes Dune, Gladiator, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, The Lion King, The Last Samurai and Pirates of the Caribbean. Onstage, Zimmer will have Australian singer Lisa Gerrard for company, with some of the songs that she co-penned with him featuring in the set — so, tracks from Mission: Impossible, King Arthur, Black Hawk Down, Tears of the Sun and more. [caption id="attachment_990220" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Teresa[/caption] Top images: Lee Kirby / Frank Embacher Photography / Suzanne Teresa.
A certain global pandemic might have limited Melbourne's creativity fix last year, but come May, the city more than make up for that artistic dry spell. Launching with the total lunar eclipse on Wednesday, May 26, the city is set to welcome Rising, a brand new festival of arts and culture and an ambitious celebration of place. Running for 12 nights and descending on venues and public spaces all across the city, it's set to deliver a huge 133 different projects and events involving more than 750 Victorian artists. Expect a large-scale celebration of music, art and performance, in what organisers are pushing to become the major cultural event for the entire Asia-Pacific region. After being forced to postpone its planned 2020 debut, Rising is now more than two years in the making. Its expansive program has been very much steered by the artists involved, with an impressive 36 specially commissioned works set to make their world premiere during the event. "We went to the artists of Victoria and asked them for bold and ambitious ideas of what a festival can now be," Co-Artistic Director Hannah Fox explained to Concrete Playground. "So that's really informed how we've programmed it. It's as much the vision of the artists of Victoria and Melbourne as it is ours. And they really were well ahead of us in understanding how to make work for a post-COVID world." Taking place across five distinct districts within the city, Rising will serve up a broad-ranging mix of music, large-scale public art, grand installations and site-specific performances, intertwined with a healthy sprinkling of food and wine. As Fox says, it's "very much about creating an experience in Melbourne that's completely unique to this place." [caption id="attachment_805136" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Patricia Piccinini by Pete Tarasiuk[/caption] And there truly is something in this lineup for everyone to sink their teeth into. Excitingly, renowned Aussie artist Patricia Piccinini returns with her first major Melbourne project in almost two decades, with A Miracle Constantly Repeated unveiling a multi-sensory art experience housed within the rarely spied spaces on the top floor of Flinders Street Station. The festival's Chinatown precinct will play host to everything from a naked disco called Club Purple to technology-driven laneway art takeovers and soaring visual projections. At its heart, the Golden Square car park building will be transformed into a multi-faceted pop-up gallery, showcasing new works from the likes of Reko Rennie, Parallel Park, Lucy Bleach and more. Over at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, it'll become a supernatural forest for The Wilds, complete with light shows, supersized sculptures, mirrored illusions and a pop-up ice-skating rink. The Capitol Theatre will play host to a performance lecture by Emmy-winning filmmaker Lynette Wallworth — and, at the Comedy Theatre, you'll catch a series of collaborations and special performances to tempt music fans of all persuasions, featuring New Zealand's Marlon Williams, Julia Jacklin, The Saints founder Ed Kuepper and loads more. Also embedded firmly throughout the Rising program is a focus on the city's connection to First Peoples' culture. "One thing that we wanted to be really clear on and committed to was about our place, and really thinking about Melbourne's history in terms of deepening the understanding of First Nations stories and living culture," Fox says. Accordingly, there'll be no shortage of opportunities to dig in deep, including works like storytelling sound pavilion Blak Box and The Lantern Company's community-made Wandering Stars — a 200-metre-long glowing eel undulating its way along the Yarra, to be enjoyed by audiences on the riverbank as they share First Peoples' knowledge of the space. Or, there's Tjanabi, one of the diverse food and wine experiences happening within the Melbourne Town Hall's Mess Hall pop-up precinct. Led by N'arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, the event will see diners connecting with First Peoples' food culture as they feast their way through a multi-course dinner built around long-held techniques and much-honoured ingredients. "It's about the community coming back together again in a really major way, taking advantage of the freedom that we have and bringing the city back to life after being the hardest hit city in Australia," explains Fox. "It's a very significant kind of moment... and we feel very fortunate to be launching this now. I think audiences are absolutely ready." Rising runs from Wednesday, May 26–Sunday, June 6 at various locations around Melbourne. Head to the festival's website to check out the full program and grab tickets. Images: Wandering Stars; Blak Box, 2019, photographed by Teresa Tan.
UPDATE, September 14, 2020: Custody is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. If Kramer vs. Kramer met The Shining, it would look like Custody. That's filmmaker Xavier Legrand's own description of his bleak and tough domestic thriller, and it's one that firmly fits. The French writer-director initially styles his debut movie as a social realist drama, following a divorcing couple fighting over their 11-year-old son. But as courtroom arguments give way to the family's daily reality, Custody understands the devastating terror that comes from living in fear. As strained civility is replaced by deep-seeded turmoil, the film turns the trauma of a dissolving marriage and the accompanying fallout into an unwavering portrait of horror. Everyone in Custody is afraid of something and, crucially, they know it. Anxiety overwhelms the movie, with Legrand mirroring the Besson family's shattered nerves in the film's relentless mood. Miriam (Léa Drucker) is clearly frightened of her husband Antoine (Denis Ménochet), who she has left suddenly with their two children in tow. The duo's pre-teen son Julien (Thomas Gioria) and nearly 18-year-old daughter Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux) share her concern, although Julien is also worried that he can't protect his mother from his father. An imposing figure even when he's attempting to be calm, Antoine can't face the lack of control and power that comes with his new situation. Panicked anguish and agitation radiates from his pores, gaze and stance, turning every gesture into an act of hostility. After spending its first 15 minutes scrutinising Miriam and Antoine's court battle — she claims that he's violent, he says that she has turned their kids against him — Custody charts the aftermath of the judge's decision. Julien must stay with Antoine on alternating weekends, but the boy visibly doesn't want to go. Dread and distress build with each scene, as Julien tries to stay composed while Antoine's thin facade of restraint just keeps cracking. Every moment is weaponised, be it a hug where Julien remains blank-faced and limp, a tussle over the kid's mobile phone, Antoine's bullying determination to find out where Miriam and the children are living, or the man's overbearing behaviour when he arrives unannounced on more than one occasion. Following the same characters first seen in his Oscar-nominated short Just Before Losing Everything, Legrand canvasses the whole family's reactions and perspectives — but Julien remains the film's quivering heart. In a masterstroke of casting, first-time actor Gioria conveys the internalised pain and stress of being literally caught in the middle of a parental tug-of-war. More than that, even when he's keeping silent, he shows how terror shapes Julien's entire existence. As a result, the boy's time with Ménochet is impossible to look away from, even though it's crafted to evoke maximum discomfort. Meanwhile, the disarmingly naturalistic Ménochet never plays Antoine as a simplistic villain, although he's always a threat. Legrand purposefully cast someone who physically fills the frame, and constantly uses the hulking talent to push his other stars to the edge of the image. Indeed, it's Legrand's visual approach — particularly in his depiction of his menacing antagonist — that speaks to his film's true brilliance. The director doesn't merely want to tell a brutal tale about divorce, fear and violence. He doesn't just want his actors to express their characters' complex emotions with each breath and blink, either. And he doesn't simply want to chronicle the destruction that springs from domestic abuse, although that's one of his aims. Rather, the filmmaker is intent on trapping viewers in this incredibly fraught scenario with his protagonists, and using every means at his disposal to make the audience feel that same all-encompassing horror. Sometimes, that means shooting a scene from ground level, solely focusing on feet beneath a toilet stall. At one point, Legrand lets a rare musical moment — one that should be a celebration — swell with almost-unbearable tension. Over and over again, in his placement of the camera, he makes every composition bristle with claustrophobia. Rhythmically, as things in the narrative get increasingly out of hand, his fast and abrupt takes grow looser and longer, but no less urgent. Legrand won the best director award at the 2017 Venice Film Festival for his efforts, and it's easy to see why. Every meticulous move he makes in Custody is heartbreakingly effective, in a film that's already downright heartbreaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8mJT7wEtkA
Remember when the Beast won Belle's heart with his impossibly beautiful personal library in Beauty and the Beast? How easy it is seduce a nerd. Now that animated library has a real-life rival in the spectacular Waanders in de Broeren, a converted 15th-century Dominican church in Zwolle, the Netherlands, that houses what must be one of the world's most gorgeous bookstores. Designed by architectural firm BK. Architecten, the development was carried out in exactly the right way. It was mandated that all the building's original features be preserved. This meant keeping the 547-year-old colossal pipe organ and huge stained glass windows just as they were. The firm took to the challenge with gusto: only three hues of building material were used, to reflect the pre-existing look of the church, and the three-level, 700-square metre retail space which frames its central nave is built so as to be easily removable in future, maintaining the church's essential structure beneath. The result is a distinctly light and airy bookstore, with shelves lining the walls and unobtrusive, contemporary stairways leading up to the upper reaches of the arches. If only all shopping venues could be so elegant. Sometimes opulent buildings are given over to unlikely retail tenants — for example New York's Chelsea has one of the most ridiculously fancy pharmacies ever, a CVS inside a grand old bank building on 8th Avenue. This makes buying condoms at 3am seem slightly more classy for locals. But books seem an extra worthy ware: picture yourself browsing in Waanders in de Broeren, imagination set aflame as soon as you enter the space with its lofty and ornately painted ceiling. There's also a wine bar and other shopping available, making this one of the loveliest spaces and best design ventures we've seen in ages — an attractive and respectful fusion of old and new. Via Colossal.
