From crunchy leaves to crackling fires, there are so many things to love about winter. And one of the best is the annual harvest. As the weather cools, farmers head to their orchards, wine makers to their vineyards and chefs to their kitchen gardens to reap the delicious rewards of an entire year's work. This year, if you'd like to get in on the action, plan a trip to the Central Coast. Over the June long weekend, the region will host the Harvest Festival. It's an epic celebration of local produce — and the mountains, valleys and waterways that nurture it. With scores of gatherings on the program — from property open days and tours to farmers' markets — you'll get to choose your own adventure. Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventure will host a food and wine festival across both days of the festival, while Dooralong Hall will host a country-focused market filled with stalls, exhibits, craft and workshops. Meanwhile, make tracks to Yarramalong for a masterclass in edible flowers ($25) or to Kulnura to try your hand at orange picking ($25 per group) or take part in a citrus juice factory tour at Eastcoast Beverages (free). You can also head to Mangrove Mountain for alpaca patting on a working farm, to Somersby for pecan picking with The Pecan Lady and to The Springs restaurant in Peats Ridge for cocktails inspired by the Australian bush. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Harvest Festival will take place across Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9. To see the full program, head over here. There'll also be a free shuttle service running between various event hubs. Check out the route here.
Living in a sensory world, the most exercised sense in modern life is that of sight. As such, not only do other lesser-used senses become more sensitive through lack of use, but our sense of sight is so powerful, it is coloured by our own perceptions, understandings and experiences. As we so often switch between participant and observer, it is interesting to examine the latter. How we receive visual information is entirely up to the individual. How we interpret this can provide an opportunity for the individual to learn about the way they perceive the world around them, opening up the space between the observer and what is being observed. Welcome to the exhibition wherein artists respond to this very idea. Observe, presented by Alexander Jackson Wyatt, accompanied by diverse responses from Alrey Batol, Rachael Archibald and Kiah Reading, will be a sensory experience, designed to not just lull you into another artistic plane, but look inward at your own individual responses in a way that might reveal more than the works in front of you.
Bridget bloody Jones is back and, frankly, we couldn't be happier. No, Bridget Jones's Baby is not the most cohesive narrative of the year, and no, it's not going to spur any radical political movements. Still, hardcore Bridget fans can breathe a sigh of relief, because this threequel is still pretty damn good. Fans of Helen Fielding's book series may have already deduced that Baby is not based on the third Bridget Jones novel Mad About The Boy, in which (*mega spoiler alert*) Mark Darcy dies. It's devastating, v sad and not at all Hollywood. Thankfully this is not this story. Instead, this tale is about BJ (Renée Zellweger) getting knocked up, and the antics that ensue as she tries to figure out the identity of the father. Is it quintessentially British barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) or the OTT American love professor Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey)? It literally doesn't matter, that's not the point. The point is enjoying the face-palming situations that Bridget creates for herself as she tries to negotiate between the two maybe-baby daddies. The film guns for the same mix of stuffy British and slapstick humour that fans of the series all know and love – but this time around, Bridget is actually doing things that will make you fist pump. She's more like us than ever before: shagging randos at music festivals, looking fierce, texting with emojis, being surgically attached to her phone, kicking ass at work, telling her mother to sod off and best of all, deciding to have a baby on her own. Like a fine wine, modern day Bridget has undoubtedly gotten better with age. The writers have stayed true to the quirks of the original films without being slaves to them, for which we give great thanks. The red PJ pants are back, as are the lonely apartment dance routines and awkward speeches, but as homage rather than easy imitation. The plot doesn't just lazily redo all the bits that worked from the last films, like we're idiots who won't notice. There's no Hugh Grant, although Emma Thompson as a put-upon obstetrician more than makes up for his absence. On the other hand (unfortunately, there's always another hand waiting to slap you down), Patrick Dempsey is completely outclassed by his costars – although to be honest, it doesn't really seem fair to put a very American American in the middle of the most British comedy ever and expect it to go down smoothly. Also the actual plot, which isn't super-duper to begin with, kind of…entirely falls over at the half way mark. When the jokes stop rolling in and the sappy emotional routine starts around the third trimester, things get incredibly cringey. This may be the biggest difference between the decidedly British and smaller budget originals and this rather more shiny update. We expect a few sappy moments from Bridge, made bearable by the presence of a large pair of granny panties or a stripper's bunny outfit, but the saccharine sweetness of this film's final act does get a bit off-putting. Then again, by that point you're already well and truly invested. So it's fine. Or as BJ would say, v good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nhGGQ_PYyE
One of Australia's favourite lit events, Women of Letters, is doing a slight, temporary rebranding, simply by dropping their first syllable. Men of Letters brings to the Zoo stage a huge selection of Brisbane's — hell Australia's — best male talent as they rediscover the lost art of letter writing. Included on a jam-packed lineup are a wealth of the titular men-folk, including award-winning feature journalist Trent Dalton, author and bookseller Christopher Currie, and poet Sam Wagan Watson. They'll be demonstrating their winning ways with words, and they're not alone. Also having a hand in the day's letter writing are Jason Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb, Federal Labor Member for Grayndler and Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Anthony Albanese, journo Andrew McMillen, actor Hugh Parker, barrister Andrew Boe, chef and Esquire owner Ryan Squires, Brisbane Powerhouse artistic director Kris Stewart, and comedian Damien Powr. Each will be penning and reading a letter to 'The Woman Who Changed My Life'. Doors open at 3pm, and wine, cheese, stamps and envelopes are provided. Grab your finest quill and head along.
She’s been described as “the most striking voice since Adele” (Telegraph UK), a crooner whose concoctions of neo-soul and indie folk, but with an added punch, is delivered with six-string acoustic notes. British chanteuse, Lianne La Havas, will be visiting Brisbane while in the country for the 2013 Sydney Festival, and the critics want us to know that we’re lucky to have her. She’s wowing industry giants wherever she goes; La Havas supported Bon Iver on their North American tour after lead man Justin Vernon was so moved by her stage presence - and that was just during a soundcheck! Her entrancing, slow vibratos and simple arrangements have been captivating audiences across London, Paris and New York, and she shows no signs of losing momentum. Lianne La Havas will be supported by Brisbane’s own Thelma Plum, the combination sure to prove a soulful musical experience.
UPDATE, September 24, 2020: Arctic is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Whether stranding Sandra Bullock in space in Gravity, casting Robert Redford adrift in All Is Lost or pitting Liam Neeson against wolves in The Grey, survival thrillers rise and fall on the strength of their performances. You can now add Mads Mikkelsen to the list of actors testing their mettle against the elements — and add him to the ranks of stellar near-solo portrayals as well. His character, Overgård, is trapped in the Arctic Circle. Snow and rock stretch out as far as his weary eyes can see, the remnants of a crashed plane provide his only shelter, and greeting each morning relies on his wits and will. As a result, much of Arctic involves looking at his weathered, determined face, and it paints a compelling picture. Details are hard to come by in Arctic, which thrusts viewers into the thick of Overgård's plight from its opening frames. He's first spied scraping away at the ground to create a giant SOS sign, then tending to his icy fishing holes, and then cranking the transmitter he hopes will attract the attention of any aircraft that happen to fly nearby. The specifics of his situation — why, when, how — aren't offered, and they aren't important. All that matters is his dogged fight to survive. Before long, however, he's not the only person trying to endure oppressively frosty climes. A helicopter appears like something out of Overgård's dreams, but then it swiftly crashes, leaving an injured and unconscious woman (Maria Thelma Smáradóttir) in his care. While the scenario might sound familiar, The Mountain Between Us this isn't. Arctic is concerned with survival and nothing more, with no rosy backstories or blossoming romances. Writer-director Joe Penna and his co-scribe Ryan Morrison understand the most crucial aspect of their chosen genre: that there's nothing more powerful than watching a tale of life and death play out in the actions and expressions of a desperate protagonist. Faced with challenge after challenge — finding food, abiding the cold, attending to injuries, contending with polar bears, staving off frostbite and more — Overgård becomes the ultimate everyman. The circumstances he's navigating might be nightmare fuel for most, but the mechanics of soldiering on when the world is sparse, conditions are harsh and a disaster could wipe you out are both potent and relatable on an existential level. The key, unsurprisingly, is Mikkelsen. The Danish star has played a grimy drug dealer in crime franchise Pusher, a suave Bond villain in Casino Royale, a persecuted teacher in The Hunt and a cannibalistic sociopath in TV series Hannibal, amassing a hefty resume and becoming one of the finest actors working today. Monopolising the screen in Arctic, he's at his best as a man confronting his worst experience and persevering by any means necessary. His performance is one of loaded silence and telling physicality; of saying more by saying nothing. The exertion as Overgård battles the inhospitable conditions, the care as he treats a stranger's wellbeing like his own, the desolation as he thinks his quest will never end — Mikkelsen ensures that viewers always share the ride on his character's emotional rollercoaster. Indeed, when there's a talent like Mikkelsen leading the charge, it's easy to overlook Arctic's generic moments. Much about the film fits the survivalist playbook, yet it never feels routine — just recognisable. And when the movie's star isn't stealing the show, Brazilian first-timer Penna and his cinematographer Tómas Örn Tómasson have the ideal substitution, with Iceland's frozen vistas telling their own intricate tale. As lensed with an awareness of the landscape's stark beauty as well as its evident dangers (and often viewed in wide and aerial shots that emphasise its enormous size), Arctic's vast expanse of ice and snow perfectly reflects Overgård's inner state. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjlJm_SJc3Y
Yo, your baby boi Bangs is here! Ladies, I know you've been eagerly awaiting a trip to Da Movies, and the day is almost here. Bangs is in da hood and he knows what else you like. After realising the coveted Gen Y dream of achieving a viral YouTube video, it seems Mr Bangs aka Ajak Chol has been riding high ever since. He has just dropped his newest release Reflections, and is ready to bring the rhyme to our fine city this Thursday. He said it himself, he's the 'mother effing hiphop superstar', and my dear readers, you'd be one sore loser if you missed this massive act. Forget Yeezy and Jay Z, the man from Sudan has a whole lotta love to give and will be smashing out his hit Take U To Da Movies as well as Meet Me On Facebook, because, honestly who wouldn't want to? He is trumped by Ezu, and has LL Cool James, Botanical, FidFrantic + others deejaying all night long. From the buzz surrounding this show, it looks like you'll have to get in as soon as the doors open at 7pm to snag a place, as sources tell me Alloneword will be at capacity. Who you gonna call? Your baby boi Bangs, that's who.
Come Saturday, September 1, one of Fortitude Valley's favourite pubs will become a huge dance floor — but, unless you're out there making shapes yourself, you won't be able to hear it. Yes, it's silent disco time as part of this year's Valley Fiesta, and the Pig 'n' Whistle on Brunswick Street is doing the energetic yet quiet honours. Of course, if you're one of the 200 folks wearing headphones and stepping out under the lights, things will be rather loud. And bright, with the headsets boasting flashing LEDs to add to the disco vibe. As for what you'll be dancing to, you'll have a choice. There'll be a DJ playing house music — but if you'd rather go retro, you'll also be able to tune into two channels playing 80s and 90s tracks, and reggae too. The fancy footwork runs from 8–11pm, with the $30 + booking fee tickets including a Red Bull cocktail on arrival.
If you live in Brisbane, you've heard all about the city's connections with Asia; we are the home of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, after all. Since 2013, the BrisAsia Festival has also been on that list, paying homage to the culture of our neighbours. Running from Wednesday, February 6 to Thursday, March 7, this year's program features yet another mix of traditional and contemporary Asian arts, channelled into events across Brisbane. And while one of the unmistakable highlights will serve up a feast for your stomach — yes, that'd be the return of Dumpling Day — that's just the beginning of the fun. Where do we start? Work your way through Asian films such as Mirai and Maquia, Where the Promised Flower Blooms, attend a lunar new year rooftop party, dress up for a cosplay-filled summer shindig at Musgrave Park or catch the return season of Single Asian Female. Or, wander around GOMA's Asia-Pacific art showcase, enjoy a tai chi lesson, embark on a food tour of Sunnybank, listen to traditional Japanese instruments or battle it out in the gaming arena.
What's better than one queer-focused film festival each year? Two, of course. That's always been the motto of the the Sydney-based Queer Screen, which puts together the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of every year and then gives cinephiles the Queer Screen Film Fest to close out the annual calendar. Two fests are still on the agenda in 2021 — but, after MGFF paired in-cinema sessions with an online program, QSFF will only be screening online. Running from Thursday, September 16–Sunday, September 26, the latter is popping up while Sydney is in lockdown, so you'll have plenty of viewing options from your couch. And, it'll be playing virtually nationally, letting fans of LGBTIQA+ flicks tune in Australia-wide. More than 40 films are on the bill, spanning new highlights and a few favourites that've graced Queer Screen's two fests in previous years. Among movies from 17 countries and in 18 languages, new standouts include François Ozon's 80s-set Summer of 85, about a two teens and their summer fling; Taiwanese drama Dear Tenant, which explores the experience of being a gay man in the country today; Lola, an award-winner that focuses on a trans girl and her estranged father on a trip to the Belgian coast; and A Sexplanation, which ponders the stigma that still surrounds talking about sexuality. And, from the past standouts, lesbian rom-com Signature Move, Germany's acclaimed Free Fall and Wild Nights with Emily, about poet Emily Dickson, all feature.
UPDATE, March 19, 2021: Assassins is available to stream via Docplay. If a Hollywood screenwriter had cooked up the story at the centre of Assassins, they would've been told that it's too far-fetched. The plot likely wouldn't have even made it into the many direct-to-streaming action flicks that wear their over-the-top narratives as a badge of honour, and probably only would've reached screens in an Armando Iannucci-style satire. Indeed, this is the type of tale that can only be true. Not that the world needs any additional reminders, but it's yet more proof that real life really is far stranger than fiction. And, while this exceptional documentary from filmmaker Ryan White (The Keepers) won't be the only movie to bring the story to the big screen — dramatised versions are guaranteed to follow, and other flicks are certain to mine its minutiae as well — it'll always remain one of the best. On February 13, 2017, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a man was assassinated in broad daylight. While standing by the self check-in kiosks at around 9am, he was approached from behind by two women. After they each rubbed their hands across his face, he was dead within the hour. For a plethora of reasons, the attack garnered global news headlines. Such a brazen murder, carried out not only in public but also in full view of the Malaysian airport's security cameras, was always going to receive worldwide attention. The use of extremely deadly chemical weapon VX obviously demanded scrutiny — and so did the fact that the victim was Kim Jong-nam, the estranged elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But, despite the onslaught of newsprint, pixels and airtime devoted to the incident when it happened, the full details behind it took time to unfurl. As Assassins explores, those facts are fascinating, gripping and distressing in equal measure. Across 104 minutes, White asks the question that was on everyone's lips four years ago: why? That query has many layers. It starts with wondering why two women in their 20s — one from Indonesia, the other from Vietnam — with no clear political affiliations would kill an exiled North Korean who was once expected to lead his nation. From there, it expands to contemplate why Malaysian law enforcement officers and prosecutors were so content to believe that culprits Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong acted without any involvement from North Korea, and why a number of the latter country's citizens were interviewed, but then released and allowed to return home without facing any legal repercussions. Aisyah and Huong certainly weren't afforded the same treatment. Charged with Kim Jong-nam's murder, they were put through a long trial, and faced the death penalty if convicted. The pair, who didn't know each other beforehand, pled their innocence from the outset. Both women were adamant that they had each been hired to make prank videos for a YouTube show and, as far as they knew, their efforts in Kuala Lumpur were part of their latest production. For those who haven't followed the case in the media, Assassins meticulously steps through the ins and outs. Even if you are familiar with the specifics, the film provides an exhaustive summary. Via interviews with Aisyah and Huong's attorneys shot as the trial was unfolding, it offers an evolving perspective on the two women's situation. For additional detail, it checks in with local Bloomberg reporter Hadi Azmi as he's covering the case. In chats that look back rather than happened as the legal proceedings occurred, it gets the Washington Post's former Beijing bureau chief Anna Fifield to fill in the gaps, including about North Korea's political history, how Kim Jong-nam came to be the black sheep of his family and the hopes some had that he could one day be installed as an alternate leader. Assassins also features discussions with Aisyah and Huong's friends and families, the prank show clips that were central to the duo's defence and audio from their time in court. Returning again and again to CCTV footage of the attack, it turns two well-worn true-crime doco staples — security vision and animated re-enactments — into must-see viewing. From its opening moments, the documentary couldn't be more methodical; however, its tone is just as important as its wealth of material. Assassins tells an unmistakably and inescapably wild tale. As the film works through the attack and its aftermath, White knows that he's in prime thriller territory, too. But, even though this story has more genuine twists, turns and conspiracies than the best works of fiction, it's compiled in an edge-of-the-seat yet never sensationalistic fashion. That's essential not only to accurately survey all the relevant details, but to treat Aisyah and Huong with empathy — and, as the movie explains, no other approach would be suitable. In fact, as remarkable a job as Assassins does in examining the incident in its spotlight, it's even more exceptional at showing how disturbingly easy it was to lay the blame upon a single mother and a cocktail waitress. Accordingly, what starts as a jaw-dropping murder tale becomes a globe-hopping account of exploitation, manipulation and gaslighting — and an equally chilling and infuriating one in the process. Assassins doesn't shout its sense of outrage, but the film is both thorough and incensed, as it needs to be. Given the troubling overall picture that it convincingly paints, nothing else would've sufficed. After all, this is a documentary about a world where a country's agents might've gotten away with murder, all because too many people were willing to buy a flimsy cover story that pointed the finger at two vulnerable women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNkmnVd9wHM
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 Brisbane at present. 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. THE ALPINIST Standing atop Yosemite National Park's El Capitan after scaling it alone and without ropes, harnesses or any other safety equipment, Alex Honnold cut a surprisingly subdued figure. As the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo captured, he was obviously ecstatic, but he isn't the type to leap and scream with excitement. So, he smiled blissfully. He also advised the cameras that he was "so delighted". In the opening moments of new doco The Alpinist, however, he is effusive — as enthusiastic as the no-nonsense climbing superstar gets, that is. In a historical clip, he's asked who he's excited about in his very specific extreme sports world. His answer: "this kid Marc-André Leclerc." Zipping from the Canadian Rockies to Patagonia, with ample craggy pitstops in-between, The Alpinist tells Leclerc's tale, explaining why someone of Honnold's fame and acclaim sings his praises. Using the Free Solo subject as an entry point is a smart choice by filmmakers Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen — industry veterans themselves, with 2014's Valley Uprising on their shared resume and 2017's The Dawn Wall on Mortimer's — but their climber of focus here would demand attention even without the high-profile endorsement. Indeed, dizzying early shots of him in action almost say all that's needed about his approach to great heights, and his near-preternatural skill in the field. Scaling hard, immovable rock faces is one thing, but Leclerc is seen here clambering up alpine surfaces, conquering glistening yet precarious sheets of ice and snow. Any shot that features the Canadian twenty-something mountaineering is nothing short of breathtaking. Describing it as 'clambering up' does him a disservice, actually, and downplays The Alpinist's stunning footage as well. Leclerc is just that graceful and intuitive as he reaches higher, seemingly always knowing exactly where to place his hands, feet and axe, all while heading upwards in frighteningly dangerous situations. As Mortimer notes, narrating the documentary and almost-indulgently inserting himself into the story, alpine free soloing is another level of climbing. No shortage of talking-head interviewees also stress this reality. Protective equipment is still absent, but all that ice and snow could melt or fall at any second. In fact, the routes that the obsessive Leclerc finds in his climbs will no longer exist again, and mightn't just moments after he's made his ascent. Simply charting Leclerc's impressive feats could've been The Alpinist sole remit; Mortimer and Rosen certainly wanted that and, again, the film's hypnotic, vertigo-inducing imagery is just that extraordinary. Some shots peer at the mountains in all their towering glory, letting viewers spot the tiny speck moving amid their majesty in their own time, before zooming in to get a closer look at Leclerc. Other nerve-shattering scenes intimately capture every careful choice, every movement of his limbs and every decision about what to hold on to, inescapably aware that these are sheer life-or-death moments. But The Alpinist isn't the movie its makers initially dreamed of, because Leclerc isn't Honnold or The Dawn Wall's Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson. While affable when posed in front of the camera, he's also silently begrudging, because he'd visibly rather just be doing what he loves in total anonymity instead of talking about it, having it filmed and earning the world's eyes. Read our full review. A FIRE INSIDE Some colours only exist in nature, as much as paints, dyes and pixels attempt to pretend otherwise. The raging reds, blazing oranges and burning yellows seen in A Fire Inside's bushfire footage are some such hues — and, away from the safety of a cinema screen, no one should ever want to spy these specific searing tones. They're haunting enough as it is to look at in a movie. Taking up entire frames of on-the-ground footage shot during the summer of 2019–20, they're scorching in their brightness and intensity. This documentary about the national natural disaster just two years ago, when swathes of Australia burned for months, deploys those apocalyptic colours and the imagery containing them sparingly, notably; however, even when they only flicker briefly, those shades aren't easily forgotten. After everything the pandemic has delivered since the beginning of 2020, just as the 'Black Summer' bushfires were cooling, that chapter of history might seem far longer ago than just a couple of years. A Fire Inside is also an act of remembrance, though. Directors Justin Krook (Machine, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead) and Luke Mazzaferro (a producer on Girls Can't Surf and The Meddler) firmly look backwards, pushing these events back to the top of viewers' memories. That said, they also survey the situation since, as the rebuilding effort has been complicated and elongated by COVID-19. This approach also enables them to survey the lingering aftermath, including the homes that still haven't been rebuilt, the people still residing in makeshift setups, and the emotional and mental toll that's set to dwell for much longer still. Accordingly, what could've merely been a record of a catastrophe becomes a portrait of both survival and resilience. Unsurprisingly, interviews drive this Australian doco, focusing on the afflicted and the volunteers. Folks in each group chat about their experiences, and the lines between them frequently blur. Firefighter Nathan Barnden provides the first and clearest instance; the film's key early subject, he saved seven strangers and retained his own life in an inferno on the very first night that the fires reached New South Wales' far south coast, but also lost his cousin and uncle to the blazes the same evening. Barnden claims Krook and Mazzaferro's attention for multiple reasons, including his initial youthful eagerness to pick up a hose — following his father, who had done the same — as well as his candour about his distress in the months and now years afterwards. Often overlooked in tales of such events, that kind of emotion sears itself onto the screen with unshakeable power, too. A Fire Inside spends time with others affected, residents and volunteers alike. RFS captain Brendan O'Connor saved his community, alongside his crew, but suffered in his personal life — and his is just one of the film's stories. Krook and Mazzaferro don't loiter on the same kinds of details over and over again, but whether talking to food bank staff, backpackers helping with re-fencing damaged farms or locals who saw everything they belonged succumb to the flames, the duelling sensations of both endurance and loss remain throughout their doco. The mood: careful, caring, sensitive and poignant. This is a movie that conjures up every sentiment expected, but also one that earns every reaction. Heartbreak and hope seesaw, and recognising that back-and-forth ride is one of the film's canny touches. Read our full review. LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE Love Is Love Is Love starts with a setup so clunky it can only be pure movie gimmickry, following a couple navigating their latest long-distance stint. Film producer Jack (Chris Messina, I Care a Lot) is on location, while caterer Joanne (Joanne Whalley, Daredevil) remains at home — and, when apart, they still have dinner together via video chat. In a ritual that can only have been in place as long as the necessary technology has existed to enable it, they get dressed up and take their respective laptops to restaurants. Then, they order, eat, drink and chat. It's a common occurrence; at the pair's local, where Joanne sits, the staff are clearly used to it. The idea sounds like a clumsy rom-com contrivance, and it is. It's also the kind of on-screen concept conceived to make shooting easy. And, across this anthology film's opening chapter, it plays as both laboured and all-too-neat. Jack and Joanne's uninteresting dinner kicks off Love Is Love Is Love as it then goes on, in what proves a struggle of a movie from start to finish. Comprised of three shorts all unpacking the titular concept, the film presents skin-deep sentiments in needlessly forced situations, and offers about the same level of insight and entertainment (and empty visual gloss and warmth) as a greeting card. Writer/director Eleanor Coppola has been in similar thematic territory before with 2016's Paris Can Wait, a feature that was also far too slight, simplistic and obvious. And, as she did then, the filmmaker fills her latest leisurely romantic drama with cliches and thinly written characters while eschewing authenticity. In its second chapter, Love Is Love Is Love moves to another duo: the long-married John (Marshall Bell, Reservation Dogs) and Diana (Kathy Baker, The Ranch). They've spent decades together, but have become a little too comfortable following their own interests. That no longer satisfies John, who announces that he's been thinking about getting a girlfriend. So, despite suffering from seasickness, Diana agrees to go sailing with him. Again, it makes for a straightforward and trite tale — as does the film's final chapter. In the closing entry, Caroline (Maya Kazan, The Little Things) hosts a lunch filled with women. Every other attendee was a friend of her recently-deceased mother, but has been a stranger to each other. Now, they come together to sit, talk, eat, drink, reminisce and share intimate tales about the person they all clearly miss. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Love Is Love Is Love is how Coppola often casts actors known for their link to others; Whalley was wed to Val Kilmer, Kazan's sister is Clickbait's Zoe, and Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson (Gloria Bell) and Arquette sister Rosanna (Ratched) also pop up. The movie's tales also speak to interpersonal imbalances, having a husband busy in the film industry, and wanting more time between a mother and daughter — all from a filmmaker married to The Godfather and Apocalypse Now's Francis Ford Coppola, and who gave birth to On the Rocks' Sofia Coppola. That doesn't give Love Is Love Is Love any depth, however. Rather, it makes it both flimsier and more indulgent. Love might be the topic of discussion but, helming just her second fictional narrative, its 85-year-old director can't inspire her audience to feel much for the movie itself. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27; June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24; July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29; August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; and September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23 and September 30. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Ema, A Quiet Place Part II, Cruella, My Name Is Gulpilil, Lapsis, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Fast and Furious 9, Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, In the Heights, Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline, Coming Home in the Dark, Pig, Big Deal, The Killing of Two Lovers, Nitram and Riders of Justice.
Twenty years after releasing their ninth and most celebrated record, The Soft Bulletin, Oklahoma rock legends The Flaming Lips are heading back Down Under. After announcing Melbourne and Sydney shows last month, they'll now be coming to Brisbane as well — to play the highly acclaimed album in full, as well as some of their greatest hits. Taking over the new Fortitude Music Hall on Saturday, September 28, The Flaming Lips will bring their signature technicolour shows to life for one night. Expect elaborate costumes, confetti cannons and even neon unicorns to fill the stages as the seven-piece band performs hits such as 'Waitin' for a Superman', 'Race for the Prize' and 'A Spoonful Weighs a Ton'. Released in 1999, The Soft Bulletin is widely accepted as the band's greatest album, named by NME as the Album of the Year and by Pitchfork as a 'masterpiece' and the third best album of the 90s. As well as playing this seminal album in full, The Flaming Lips will also perform some of their other greatest hits, including 'Do You Realize??' and 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1'. [caption id="attachment_724481" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Salisbury[/caption] The Flaming Lips — The Soft Bulletin 20th Anniversary will come to Brisbane on Saturday, September 28, with tickets on sale now. Top image: George Salisbury.
UPDATE, July 9, 2021: The Farewell is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Ask someone how'd they prefer to shuffle off this mortal coil, and you'll likely receive the most cliched of answers: to pass peacefully in their sleep. That's certainly better than any alternative (other than somehow managing to live forever), although it's rarely realistic. Still, if you could give a loved one that gift, sparing them the pain of knowing that the end was near, would you? If they were diagnosed with terminal cancer, had mere months or weeks left to live, and invasive medical treatment would only cloud their remaining days, is it better to let them carry on blissfully unaware? Whether such choices are tender mercies or rob one's nearest and dearest of the chance to say goodbye sits at the heart of The Farewell, a sensitive and stirring drama set within a culture where keeping impending death from the unwell is commonplace. Drawing deeply on her own experience, writer-director Lulu Wang also uses this complicated issue as fuel to contemplate identity, belonging, tradition and cultural displacement. Born in China and raised in New York, Billi (Awkwafina) is firmly ensconced in the Big Apple. An aspiring writer, she's constantly hoping for grants to fund her work, is perennially behind on her rent and largely relies on credit cards to get by. But when her father Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and mother Jian (Diana Lin) deliver the news that her beloved paternal grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen), has stage four lung cancer, Billi is determined to journey back to China — even when her parents advise her not to go. She's conflicted, however, about her family's decision not to tell their mentally spritely, physically ailing matriarch about her condition. Instead, they're all making the trip under an elaborate cover story, rushing Billi's cousin Hao Hao (Chen Han) to marry his Japanese girlfriend Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara). Such subterfuge is standard in her homeland ("when people get cancer, they die," the Chinese saying goes, referring to the impact such an illness can have on one's will to live), but it rubs against the western sensibilities that've been instilled in Billi since moving to America. One of Wang's most affecting and astute moves, of which there are many, is to task her cast with conveying this moral and emotional dilemma in their every expression and movement. In an intuitive portrayal that's worlds away from her scene-stealing, over-the-top turn in last year's Crazy Rich Asians, Awkwafina lives, breathes and wears Billi's internal turmoil. When the character is plastering on the happiest face she can to hide the truth from Nai Nai, her hunched shoulders reveal her pain. When she's trying to have a quiet, genuine moment with the woman she knows will soon be gone — a vibrant, irrepressibly bossy old lady who bustles about like a near-unstoppable force of nature — sorrow lingers in her eyes. This isn't just Billi's burden, but one shared even by those who support the decision to keep Nai Nai in the dark, sparking stellar performances across the board. Guilt and regret seeps from recognisable Chinese American star Ma (Wu Assassins), playing the son who travelled across the globe to pursue a better life. Chinese Australian actor Lin (The Family Law) tussles with Jian's own difficulties, caught as she is between a crumbling husband and an angry daughter. And as Hao Hao, Han may barely utter more than a few sentences as he endeavours to contain his sadness, but he's always a tense ball of visible discomfort. Favouring the same approach in all facets of the film, Wang styles The Farewell with naturalism at the fore. Dialogue flows freely, often from Nai Nai as she snaps out wedding plans and comments on Billi's appearance as a grandmother is known to, but a picture truly speaks a thousand words here. Collaborating with cinematographer Anna Franquesa Solano, the sophomore filmmaker tells her tale free from any rose-coloured fondness. This is a warm movie, however it steadfastly depicts its central situation, setting and struggle as they are. In practical terms, that means realism and nuance — Billi and her family exist within the film's Changchun locale, and its day-to-day minutiae is baked into every scene, and yet her visiting protagonist doesn't play tourist, for example. The same description applies to the movie's handling of its illness storyline, which is never squeezed for easy sentiment or used as weepie fodder. Wang also finds the right balance between organic humour and earnest emotion, never overstating one or the other — a tactic that particularly resonates when Billi begins to question the existence she was given in America, as well as the links to her broader family and heritage she feels it has robbed her of. All of these choices reinforce The Farewell's takeaway message: that in life and death alike, there is no simple path. There are no clear-cut answers, either, including when you're tossing up whether to tell someone they're dying or keep that knowledge from them. Far from treating these notions as obvious, Wang navigates the many complexities that prove her point with a lived-in maturity. She has literally been there, seen that and emerged to tell the tale, after all. As a result, what could've been a straightforward tearjerker in other hands benefits from her personal and poignant touch, and never heads down the blatant route. This is a subtle, thoughtful and heartfelt film that serves up a continual array of surprises — the kind that can and do get thrown in everyone's way, because that's what grappling with life's ups, downs, comings and goings is like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0yh_ZIqq0c
Progressive pop powerhouse Ainslie Wills is back, bringing her unique, epic balladry and a brand new EP to Black Bear Lodge this October. This goal-kicking Melburnian has unleashed a brand new single 'Constellations', from her new EP Oh the Gold and now she's taking her long-awaited new material down the east coast with her five-piece band. You'll spend a good deal of time picking up Wills' influences; you can hear a little PJ Harvey, a tad of Rhye, a tinge of The xx, a sprinkle of St Vincent, a dash of Jeff Buckley and a teeny splash of London Grammar in there. But Wills is no lyrebird, she's whittling a style that's all her own — a style that earned her a finalist spot for the 2012 Melbourne Music Prize and saw her shortlisted for the 2013 Australian Music Prize for her LP You go your way, I’ll go mine. Since then, between writing for Tom Isanek's #1 Dads side project, Wills has been working on new material with songwriter Lawrence Folvig and Brisbane-based producer extraordinaire Matt Redlich (Holy Holy, Emma Louise, Trouble with Templeton) — they met after one of her shows at Black Bear Lodge back in 2013. They've been recording in Redlich's studio, Grandma's Place, and now Wills has a brand new EP to showcase.
Booze delivery legend Jimmy Brings really came into its own during lockdown. Not only was it bringing drinks to homes within 30 minutes — allowing punters to have spontaneous lockdown sessions — it also delivered emergency rolls of toilet paper during that TP drought. Now, taking it up a notch, Jimmy Brings is offering you the chance to win six full months of free drinks for both you and your best mate. The prize is valued at a whopping $2000 and the competition has already begun, so best to get your entry in ASAP. To enter, simply post a pic of you (or you and your mate) enjoying a Jimmy Brings delivery on Instagram or Jimmy Brings' Facebook page, tagging @jimmybrings and #JBVibeCheck. The photo must include Jimmy's face, whether it's a delivery box, bag, magnet or internet cutout — anything will do. You can enter as many times as you want, too. The pic with the best 'vibes' will then win six months of loot, along with undying love from one very lucky friend. Jimmy Brings has been a go-to for its range of wine, beer and spirits since way back in 2011. It delivers organic drops, wine bundles and party packs, plus mixers and other extras — like chocolates, bags of crisps, Panadol and Berocca — to homes across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. And, if you're you're still avoiding that midweek bottle shop run, the online bottle-o delivers seven days per week until late. So, go ahead, get your order in and get snapping. The Vibe Check comp will run from Friday, July 17 until 11.59pm on Sunday, August 16. Anyone from NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, ACT or SA can enter. For more information and for full terms and conditions, head to the website. 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.
There might be no such thing as a bad sausage, but that doesn't mean that all snags are created equal. Your regular ol' supermarket banger isn't quite the same as the gourmet butcher variety, and your tastebuds know it. Now, imagine adding a third category of sausage to your barbecue repertoire: the sausages that you make yourself. If it sounds good in theory but much too hard in reality, don't worry. There's a workshop for that, and courtesy of Work-Shop in fact. At Snags 101: The Art of Sausage Making, you'll learn how to really make your next sausage sizzle, well, sizzle, thanks to expert advice from smallgoods maker Anna Mortimer. Running on Friday, November 9 from 6.30pm, the two-hour class will take you through the tools of the sausage-making trade, the different types of snags, and the steps needed to end up with the best kind of wurst — all using pork shoulder. You'll get to taste an array of sausage styles, drink beer while you do it and take some recipes home with you, too, with participation costing $90 per person.
Edinburgh-born and Brisbane-based artist Theo Shields explores the way in which we interact with objects and materials that surround us and how they contribute to the meaning we affix to our own constructed worlds. He looks at the digital age, where we are participating and connected constantly, populated by longstanding and shape-shifting objects. Through a long process of trial and error, recording and reducing, he has created Pure Response, a thoughtful exhibition of art. Shields will be at the exhibition for an artist talk on Thursday July 25 from 6pm, where he will explain his works and outline his methodology. The opening of the exhibition will take place on July 19, and you are welcome to join. Theo Shields is a student of art, having practiced and studied at the Queensland College of Art since the beginning of the year. His most recent videos, sculptures and photographs will be on display, and are sure to raise more questions than they answer about our constantly evolving world.
When you live in a city that's usually streaming with sunshine all year round, the sudden onset of colder weather can come as a shock. Fear not, brrrrrrrr-yelling Brisbanites — the frosty season comes bearing gifts. Indeed, at Riverbar and Kitchen's third annual Winter Festival, there are plenty of things to heat you up. Example one: mulled wine, aka the best way there is to drink wine (once you've tried it, we're betting you'll agree). Example two: hot-buttered rum, which really does involve putting butter in rum (and defying everything you've ever been told about healthy eating). Example three: s'mores, because all that slurping is bound to leave your tastebuds wanting fire-roasted marshmallows and chocolate between two biscuits. You'll find all three down by the Eagle Street waterside on Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, plus live music too. Entry is free, but you'll have to pay to enjoy all of the above. That view won't cost a thing, of course.
So, you've made it through the craziness of December and January and suddenly the social calendar is looking a little bare. Just weeks and weeks of the monotonous nine-to-five slog stretching out before you. Thankfully, we've found something that's sure to make the next month more bearable: West Village, West End's new dining precinct, is hosting a series of fun-filled Sunday sessions. Across the first three Sundays in February, the space will host an afternoon of food, drinks and entertainment inspired by one of The Garden Pantry's (West Village's dining precinct) retailers. It's starting with a Lunar New Year celebration with Mr Bunz on February 3 before Cheeky Poké host a Hawaiian-inspired soiree on February 10. And then, on Sunday, February 17, it's switching continents again and throwing a breezy summer party inspired by Italy's Amalfi Coast. Salt Meats Cheese will be behind this vibrant afternoon filled with pizza boards, the restaurant's famous cheese wheel pasta and bottomless Aperol spritzes. Your next holiday may be a while away but, for two hours at least, you can eat, drink and be merry on a pseudo-Positano rooftop. Bottomless Amalfi Sundays will run from 4–6pm on Sunday, February 17. Tickets cost $59 per person and can be purchased here.
Keen to party but have no cash? Never fear! Alhambra Lounge are throwing a 'Cool Party' and as the name suggests, it's packed full of all things cool - sweet tunes, clever artwork and free entry. The night includes live sets from up-and-comer's from across the country. This mixed bag of musicians features Brisbane's own Charles Murdoch who produces floaty electronic tracks perfect for getting lost in. Hailing from Carlton, The Harpoons fuse RnB with 60s soul to achieve a contemporary and infectious sound. Bec Rigby's delicious vocals add the icing to the cake on tracks such as, Keep You Around. Friendships, Rainbow Chan, Cassius Select, Guerre and others will also take to the stage. While you're getting your groove on, check out artwork by Amy Commins' who expresses the relationship between nature in technology in her spectacular pieces. Head along to 'Cool Party' and start your weekend the right way.
When you think about it, space is sort of our universal parent - it humbly provides us rent free living and room to do what we want. The Bleeding Heart Gallery's latest exhibition S P A C E is your chance to finally show some appreciation for the thing that makes up literally everything. S P A C E is multi-arts exhibition dedicated to exploring the space’s we create - it’s all about purity, but in a non-genocidal way. Take a blank, white piece of paper, and in simply cutting, creasing, folding, destroying or colouring a whole of art is created. It's art in its simplest form. S P A C E aims to be a big part of the UR[BNE] festival, a celebration of Brisbane’s urban SPACES. Opening night is April 26 at 5pm, and will be going until May 2, so get on down to the Bleeding Heart Gallery and see just how cool nothing can be.
If you're fond of a bit of activewear, you better work some shopping time into your schedule between Thursday, February 28 and Sunday, March 3. For the first time in Brisbane, The Upside is hosting a huge warehouse sale, taking over 5 Hubert Street in Woolloongabba. The Sydney-based activewear brand is offering up to 80 percent off for both men's and women's apparel, which is quite the discount. Clothing from the past three seasons will be up for grabs — think colourfully patterned sports bra and legging sets, singlets, workout jumpers and tennis shorts. The pop-up shop will be open Thursday from 4–9pm, Friday from 8am–6pm, Saturday from 9am–5pm and Sunday from 10am–4pm. We expect there will be a queue — move around some yoga classes to get there early.
The Queensland Theatre Company have announced their 2014 season, revealing a program significantly stocked with Australian writing, including two Australian premieres. “There is a very real focus on Australian work in 2014 with 75% of the season Australian plays, and for good reason – Australian stories and storytellers are amongst the very best in the world,” says artistic director Wesley Enoch. The main stage season will kick off with Australia Day, a play set in a small Australian country town and written by that master of topical humour, Jonathan Biggins, (director of Sydney’s The Wharf Revue since 2000). Andrea Moor, fresh from directing QTC’s Venus in Fur, directs this humorous exploration of our national identity. Second up is the Australian premiere of young American playwright Katori Hall’s hugely successful two-hander The Mountaintop, which takes as its premise the final night on earth of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Garnering much praise for its powerful and humane portrayal of King, the play won an Olivier Award (making Hall the first black woman in history to win the Olivier award for Best New Play) and took Broadway and the West End by storm. Starring Pacharo Mzembe as King, this definitely sounds like one to look forward to. Internationally renowned theatre director Michael Attenborough CBE will direct Macbeth, starring Veronica Neave as Lady M and Jason Klarwein as her doomed spouse (you may recently have seen Klarwein as Hotspur in Bell Shakespeare’s Henry IV). The play features a local cast, taking place in association with seasoned Brisbane theatre troupe Grin & Tonic. It should be interesting to see what comes when you combine British theatre royalty with an Aussie cast. Following the Scottish play is Lucy Prebble’s The Effect, a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company. Starring Queenslander Anna McGahan, the play follows a man and woman taking part in a clinical trial who fall in love — and then question whether it’s love they're feeling or just a chemical side effect. Exploring a topical dilemma in our pharmaceutical era, the play was well received in London by critics eager to see what Prebble would do next following her huge success with Enron. Next is Gloria, a new Aussie work by Brisbane playwright Brisbane playwright Elaine Acworth specially commissioned for QTC. Led by Christen O’Leary (End of the Rainbow), the play explores themes of children, memory, love and loss — with the help of some music. And speaking of new Aussie works, following that Wesley Enoch directs Tom Wright's Black Diggers — a play that tells the story of the 1000 or so Indigenous soldiers who fought for Australia in WWI. Drawing on interviews with the families of the men and starring Luke Carroll (who this year appeared in QTC's Mother Courage), this promises to be an interesting work. The main stage season ends, perhaps unexpectedly, with Gasp!, Ben Elton’s 1990 playwriting debut. Previously known as Gasping, the play is a merciless satire of the greed of big business and the advertising industry. It will be put on in collaboration with Perth’s Black Swan State Theatre Company, involving performers from both cities. Also appearing away from the main stage in the Billie Brown Studio during May are two plays: A Tribute of Sorts is a wacky-sounding piece that follows two oddball teenage cousins on a mission and, in the process, explores the nature of theatre itself. The Magic Hour, starring award-winning actor/singer Ursula Yovich, is a weaving together of the twisted fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Season tickets are now on sale. For more information visit the QTC website.
It’s Queensland Week! Held from June 4 to June 13, Queensland Week celebrates the official separation of the Sunshine State from New South Wales as an independent colony. This year, Queensland Week is dedicated to the community heroes during the Queensland floods and Tropical Cyclone Yasi. There are many celebrations during Queensland Week, but for the fashion-savvy, there’s only one that matters: The Brisbane Women’s Club Fashion Show. It’s a showcase of Brisbane’s who’s-who of designers, presented at Moda Events at Portside Hamilton. Guests can nibble on canapés and sip Moët while gazing at the fine works from renowned designers such as Jacqueline Buck Couture, Katelyn Aslett, Jar Millinery and Kate Warby Jewellery Designs. Emerging talents Bianca Batson of batson and Edwina Sinclair of Soot will also have their wares on show on the evening. Celebrate our wonderful state in style this Friday with the Brisbane Women’s Club.
You would be fool to complain about the growing number of periodical, musical showcases popping up in Brisbane, especially when the latest one's line up is tastier than a Caxton Street kebab. Hobo Town isn’t as nearly as stingy, strange and smelly as it’s name might suggest – it holds a line up of impressive bands, so good they’ve got records, but so underground you won’t find them on Piratebay. Gravel Samwidge – those guys who’ve been around since 1989 and drilling their mark into the national music scene for more than two decades – will be providing sounds you don’t want to fall asleep to. Well worked Lovely Legs will be breaking hearts and sound barriers, next to The Dangermen, Stink Bugs and The Wrong Man. An added bonus – there’ll be pop up shops between crowds of fans, so get in quick to do your Christmas shopping. Word on the street is all your Grandma wants for Christmas this year is a hug and Gravel Samwidge’s new LP – make your spot on The Will worth it.
Bingo. Rave. Two ends of the spectrum of fine holiday fun finally came together in Australia a couple of years back. If haven't made it along yet, Bongo's Bingo is a games night like you've never seen before. Part club, part rave, and, of course, part bingo night, this unlikely fusion event has been wildly popular in the UK since 2015. It's hardly surprising that taking the show on the road — that is, launching Bongo's Bingo Australia — went well. And now, it's hardly surprising that is's coming back for yet another round either. [caption id="attachment_638028" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Dinosaur Designs.[/caption] Patrons can expect all of the debauchery of the original British version of Bongo's Bingo, including rave intervals, dancing on tables and a loose kind of bingo that you definitely never played with your nan (well, maybe you have). The victorious players can win everything from big cash prizes to a Hills Hoist, with a range of some absolutely ridiculous surprises on offer. Bongo's Bingo heads back to The Tivoli on Friday, February 21.
Brisbane's most morbid festival is back, and it has a slightly different name: Deathfest 2.0: A Duel with Death. First staged in 2016 and now returning for its second biennial run, this event is all about confronting a topic that no one usually wants to think or talk about. You know, the end that awaits us all. Running from October 15 to November 4 at Metro Arts, Flowstate and the Ferryman's Hut in Teneriffe, Deathfest features art, film, circus, visual art, discussions and social events — but, given the central theme, none of it is your usual festival fare. Fancy inhabiting the underworld for a one-night shindig filled with roving performers and beverages? Keen to explore the space that separates life from what comes next, in a piece that's part installation and part dance? Eager to see the concept of blood donation turned into art? They're all on the agenda. The festival also boasts plenty of chatter. Another installation involves interviews about death practises in different cultures and religions, while free Wine n Die sessions focus on chats about meeting your maker over a few beverages. Then there's Death in Detail, featuring folks with knowledge of the subject — such as Queensland Ambulance Service medical director Stephen Rashford and suicide survivor Donna Thistlethwaite — discussing their experiences. Attendees can also lie under the trees and hear an audio work about the body after death, watch a circus show about life and memories, and view a textile piece about impermanence. Prefer scary movies instead? Helping wrap up Deathfest is an All Night Film Fest that's filled with flicks about the subject at hand. Image: Paul Blakemore.
Since first jamming in a white goods warehouse in Adelaide, Bad//Dreems aren't playing to an audience of washing machines any more. Their breakthrough singles 'Dumb Ideas' and 'Cuffed and Collared' ensured that their brand of underground guitar rock found its way to Australian airwaves. Before long, they were sharing stages with the likes of The Preatures, Wavves and Cosmic Psychos, and billed for Groovin' The Moo, Laneway Festival and Splendour in the Grass. Now, to mark the release of their debut LP, Dogs At Bay, Bad//Dreems are playing shows all over Australia in September and October. Recorded with renowned producer Mark Opitz (AC/DC, The Angels, INXS, Cold Chisel) and Colin Wynne, the album is mostly about the band's relationship with Adelaide — but anyone who hails from a small town will relate. "At its best [Adelaide] is an idyllic town, with a temperate climate and beautiful surrounds. At its worst it is stiflingly conservative, inward looking and somewhat bereft of culture," says guitarist Alex Cameron. "The record is about growing up and living in Adelaide, as well as leaving and returning there. There's nothing parochial about this though. It's just what we know. I think the experiences are probably common to everyone who has a hometown."
Maybe Bach, Mozart and Chopin get your pulse racing. Perhaps you think Beethoven is just a movie about a dog. Whatever your take on classical music, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra wants to change your perception about their preferred style of tunes. Indeed, their annual QSO Current concert series is designed to do just that. Comprised of five riverside performances that take place at the State Library of Queensland and the Brisbane Powerhouse over the course of 24 hours — including three world premieres — the busy program is designed to burst boundaries and smash open genres. First up, Kupka's Piano bust out Things are becoming new, a recital that says it all in the title. Then, the QSOCurrent Chamber Orchestra joins forces with director and saxophonist Rafael Karlen to debut a daring evening of stunning classical and jazz infusions. Next, Tom Thum returns after his 2015 success to once again beatbox his way into reframing sonic compositions. Add Sampology showcasing electronic montages of sound and vision inspired by their new EP 'Natural Selections', and then Argo fusing the classical with the contemporary, and a new blend of music will be born.
What do Count Bass D, Massive Attack and TV on the Radio all have in common besides syllable-exhausted names? They’ve all worked with the American music changer Jneiro Jarel, and come out the other side all the musically better for it. Born in Brooklyn, this artist, music producer, composer and DJ has worked a sound that meshes his early influences of jazz and hip hop with contemporary rock and electronica – it’s a little boppy, a little techno and very unpredictable. He’s upstaged JK Rowling by working under more than four pseudonyms – Dr. Who Day?, Shape of Broad Minds, Capitol Peoples etc. – and has become somewhat music royalty in the Brooklyn underground creative exchange. Now, he’s jetting over to play at The Apartment’s next A Love Supreme alongside Brisbane’s finest, Milesago, Yumø and Alex Intas. Jneiro Jarel - or any of his stage names - are ones you may not have heard of, but even a late investment pays off in the long run – catch him this Sunday.
As far as weekdays go, Wednesdays have a bad rap. Being perched halfway between the last weekend and the next one will do that, understandably. But whether you're feeling the midweek blues or you've had a hump day to remember in a good way, tucking into a whole pile of wings will help you either commiserate or celebrate. On Mondays, Junk South Bank serves up unlimited bao. On Wednesdays, it does the same thing with wings. Feast on as many as you can within a two-hour period for $18 and you'll be having a clucking good day — food-wise, at least. The special is available for both lunch and dinner, so you can either break up the 9-to-5 grind with some chook pieces or end it with all the chicken you can handle. Plus, flavours change regularly, if you're thinking you might want to stop by more than once. Image: Junk.
How fitting it is that a film about family — about the ties that bind, and when those links are threatened not by choice but via unwanted circumstances — hails from an impressive lineage itself. How apt it is that Hit the Road explores the extent that ordinary Iranians find themselves going to escape the nation's oppressive authorities, too, and doesn't shy away from its political subtext. The reason that both feel ideal stems from the feature's filmmaker Panah Panahi. This isn't a wonderful movie solely due to its many echoes, resonating through the bonds of blood, and also via what's conveyed on-screen and reality around it, though. It's a gorgeously shot, superbly acted, astutely written and deeply felt feature all in its own right, and it cements its director — who debuts as both a helmer and a screenwriter — as an emerging talent to watch. But it's also a film that's inseparable from its context, because it simply wouldn't exist without the man behind it and his well-known background. Panah's surname will be familiar because he's the son of acclaimed auteur Jafar Panahi, one of Iranian cinema's best-known figures for more than two decades now. And Jafar's run-ins with the country's regime will be familiar as well, because the heat he's felt at home for his social commentary-laden work has been well-documented for just as long. The elder Panahi, director of This Is Not a Film, Closed Curtain and more, has been both imprisoned and banned from making movies over the years. In July 2022, he was detained again merely for enquiring about the legal situation surrounding There Is No Evil helmer Mohammad Rasoulof and Poosteh director Mostafa Aleahmad. None of the above directly comes through in Hit the Road's story, not for a moment, but the younger Panahi's characteristically defiant movie is firmly made with a clear shadow lingering over it. When filmmaking becomes a family business, the spectre of the parent can loom over the child, of course — by choice sometimes, and also purely thanks to their shared name. In the first category, Jason Reitman picked up his father Ivan's franchise with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, for instance; Gorō Miyazaki has helmed animated movies for his dad Hayao's Studio Ghibli, such as Tales From Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill and Earwig and the Witch; and Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral and Possessor are chips off The Fly and Videodrome great David Cronenberg's body-horror block. Panahi's Hit the Road also feels like it has been handed down, including in the way it spends the bulk of its time in a car as Jafar's Tehran Taxi and 3 Faces did. That said, it feels as much like the intuitive Panah is taking up the same mission as Jafar as someone purely taking after his dad. Hit the Road's narrative is simple and also devastatingly layered; in its frames, two starkly different views of life in Iran are apparent. A mother (Pantea Panahiha, Rhino), a father (Mohammad Hassan Madjooni, Pig), their adult son (first-timer Amin Simiar) and their six-year-old boy (scene-stealer Rayan Sarlak, Gol be khodi), all unnamed, have indeed done as the movie's moniker suggests — and in a borrowed car. When the film opens, there's no doubting that the kid among them sees the world, and everything in general, as only a kid can. The mood with the child's mum, dad and sibling is far more grim, however, even though they say they're en route to take the brood's eldest to get married. Their time on the road is tense and uncertain, and also tinged with the tenor of not-so-fond farewells — and with nary a glimmer of a celebratory vibe about impending nuptials. If the boy senses the sorrow hanging thick in the van, it doesn't trouble him; existence is simple when you're just a kid in a car with your family. Initially, he plays with a makeshift keyboard drawn onto the cast over his dad's broken leg. Throughout the ride, he chatters, sings, does ordinary childhood things and finds magic in the cross-country journey. He throws a tantrum when, not long after the feature starts, the family has to stop to hide his mobile phone. And, he shows zero knowledge about what eats at the rest of his relatives. But mum worries they're being followed, and just worries overall; big brother has little time for any frivolities, preoccupied as he is with the future ahead; and dad is gruff but caring, torn between his physical ailments and the vastly different situations surrounding his two offspring. In the back, their dog Jessy is also unwell, another truth that's being kept from boy and complicates the vehicle's dynamic. Every venture away from home, whether during a leisurely drive or for more serious reasons, spills out its joys, thrills, woes and secrets as it unfurls; that's the best way to watch Hit the Road as well. Cinema's second-generation Panahi crafts a bittersweet and beautiful film that's alive with minutiae, and with moments that overflow with insight and emotion — and, as lensed by Ballad of a White Cow cinematographer Amin Jafari, with as much feeling conveyed visually as via the movie's pitch-perfect performances. Sarlak's lively portrayal and the detail that comes with it says everything that's needed about trying to claim a slice of normality within Iran today, and how tricky that is. The feature's stunningly shot frames are just as telling, every sequence adding meaning and spectacle. Three in particular, all late in the piece and involving fraught exchanges, nighttime stories and heartbreaking goodbyes, rank among the most mesmerising images committed to celluloid in recent years, in fact. In one such standout scene backdropped by a misty field, the camera remains at a distance as it observes the family splintering. In its sense of remove, it lets their ordeal act as a broader portrait, serving up a statement via a microcosm. In another glorious moment, father and son take in the evening sky and also appear to surreally float within it — in a nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which the other son names as his favourite movie. In the third scene, light and movement carve through a hillside like much has carved through the film's central family and their country. Hit the Road includes delightful to-camera sing-alongs, too, and deadpan humour, plus striking shots of both sandy and verdant landscape. It's clear-eyed and also dreamy, weighty yet comic, intimate as well as sprawling, and realistic but playful. It's a fable, a snapshot and a message in one, and it's as tender as it is heartbreaking. Hit the Road is a movie to travel along several routes with, as Panahi does, each fork along the way as revelatory as the end destination.
Without gravity, an elephant and mouse would have the exact same weight. The Biggest Loser would cease to exist and we'd probably all wind up like those blubber people in Wall-E. In fact, gravity is one of those barely considered things that just makes the earth work. If that isn't hefty inspiration for an art show, then we don't know what is. In When Gravity Eludes Me, Doctor of Visual Arts candidate Brian Sanstrom uses poignant sculptural pieces to investigate the merging of institution with individual, and confront the mortality that comes from an efficient, organised system. Offering a testament to the natural human ageing process, his art explores the life-long struggle to assert independence, find a sense of self and understand our place in the world. Excuse the pun, but this is heavy stuff. When Gravity Eludes Me runs from July 14 to August 2 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, with opening night celebrations taking place on July 21.
School is back in session. Next week, tens of thousands of uni students will be on campus for orientation, and ASOS will be there with them. The online clothing retailer is setting up pop-up stands at universities around the country, to help you make sure you're looking your best when you rock up for your first day of class. You can find the ASOS stands at Monash Clayton (Feb 22-24), University of Melbourne (Feb 23, 25-26), University of NSW (Feb 22-25), University of Sydney (Feb 24-26) and University of Queensland (Feb 24). Swing by and sign up for a free bag of goodies. They'll also be running a photo competition, in which the best Instagram and Twitter snaps of each day score a $200 ASOS voucher. If you can't make it to one of the pop-ups, students can still sign up to ASOS via their website to get 10 percent off all full price items all year-round, and be kept up to date with all the shiny new things. While you're there, watch out for the latest news from the ASOS On Campus Hub, where a team of student insiders will be keeping tabs on campus life and style.
Theatre fans, the latest production to hit Brisbane has more than a little bite. The creative folks at shake & stir theatre co are sinking their teeth into a certain gothic literature classic, complete with fangs, blood, lust and the v word. Yes, we mean vampires. For those who don't know the Dracula story, there's more to the tale than drinking from people's necks. Young lawyer Jonathan Harker journeys to the Carpathian Mountains for a job, and proves quite surprised by his mysterious client. Then there's Jonathan's fiancée, Mina, whom the Count becomes quite taken with through a photo. Leaving Jonathan alone in his creepy castle, Dracula heads to London seeking love and seduction. In its world premiere season, this bloody good production takes Bram Stoker's twisted tale and turns it into a gripping and gory modern-day piece. Yes, Dracula promises to be better than the last serious film version back in 1992. No, it doesn't feature Keanu.
It's one of southeast Queensland's two spots on the World Heritage List, it's the world's largest sand island and it's a place that every Brisbanite — and every Australian — should visit at least once. It's also a location that's been known by several names, but only one will stick moving forward: K'gari, which is what the original Butchulla people called the island. The Queensland Government has announced that the 122-kilometre coastal locale that's been known as Fraser Island will revert to its original Indigenous name, and that the moniker will apply across the entire island — covering the World Heritage Area within Great Sandy National Park which is centred on Fraser Island, as well as the surrounding waters and parts of the nearby mainland. Back in 2017, the island's national park was renamed the K'gari (Fraser Island) section of the Great Sandy National Park; however, this new move clearly goes a step further. "The Butchulla people have been campaigning for years to change the name," said Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation Chairperson Jade Gould in a statement. "The name Fraser Island is a tribute to Eliza Fraser — a woman whose narrative directly lead to the massacre and dispossession of the Butchulla people," Gould continued. "A word meaning paradise in Butchulla language is a much more fitting name for such an iconic place." The World Heritage Committee officially adopted the name change at its recent 44th session. In Queensland, the government will now work through the formal steps required to enact the change, in conjunction with the Butchulla people, stakeholders and the community. [caption id="attachment_743610" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] K'gari isn't just the biggest sand island in the world; it's made up of 184,000 hectares of the stuff, in 72 colours and mostly in the form of magnificent dunes, much of which are covered in rainforest. It's also home to more than 100 freshwater lakes, including the crystal-clear waters of Boorangoora (Lake McKenzie), a perched lake made up of rainwater and soft silica sand. For more information about K'gari's change of name, head to the Queensland Government website. Top image: Tourism and Events Queensland.
Fresh from playing Sydney Festival 2022, this race-conscious Australian retelling of Edward Albee's classic play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? comes to Brisbane, adding a fascinating chapter to the storied history of one of the most acclaimed theatrical works of the 20th century. Based on the play that originally hit the stage in 1962, won the Tony for Best Play the following year, and was also adapted into a 1966 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the story takes place over the course of a single evening in the apartment of academic couple George and Martha — who invite their new colleagues, Nick and Honey, over for a drink following a faculty party. What follows is essentially a booze-fuelled cage fight between the hosts. For its current at QPAC Playhouse from Saturday, February 12–Saturday, February 26 — thanks to Queensland Theatre — this thoroughly contemporary reimagining of Virginia Woolf is helmed by acclaimed First Nations director and actor Margaret Harvey. The result is a uniquely Australian perspective that explores themes of identity, illusion and desire. Key to this new voice is Harvey's considered stable of players. The production stars Wagadagam man Jimi Bani (Mabo) as George, Susan Prior (The Rover, Puberty Blues) as the powerhouse Martha, with Juanita Navas-Nguyen (Bluey's Big Play, A Doll's House) and Congolese-born Melbourne actor Rashidi Edward (Rabbit) rounding out the cast.
Getting up before daylight mightn't be your usual idea of an ace Sunday morning; however some things really are worth shortening your snooze for. Getting what just might be the best view of the sunrise in the city, for one. Climbing a mountain for the calm and tranquility that can only come from bending and stretching is another. Oh, and then there's the whole taking part in the first-ever silent yoga class on Mt Coot-tha, for another. All three combine at Sound Off at the Summit, Urban Bliss Yoga's latest adventurous exercise outing. If you thought rooftop yoga was exciting, then mountaintop yoga will literally take you to another level. Expect to show off your best mountain pose while you're standing on one, do downward dog as you stare down from a massive land mass, and whip out your liveliest sun salutation as the fiery ball of heat ascends over the city. Taking place on May 28, 150 yogis will climb up to the Brisbane Lookout for this unique early Sunday session, with all of the fun kicking off at 6.15am. And, thanks to the illuminated headphones everyone will be wearing, there'll be quite the glow coming from the class as well. Everyone from yoga first-timers to asana experts are welcome — as long as you BYO yoga mat — but tickets are expected to get snapped up quickly.
Dutch Courage Officers' Mess serves a variety of different beverages, but the Fortitude Valley venue is particularly known for its gins. Here, you'll find more than 140 varieties on offer — which is both mighty tempting for fans of juniper spirits, and perhaps even a little daunting. If you're wondering where to start, that's understandable. Once a month, Dutch Courage not only provides a few pointers, but hosts an entire meal that'll have you tasting your way through some of its gin tipples. Each of the night's five courses is matched with a cocktail, and you'll be tucking into drinks and dishes that aren't always on the menu. The venue's staff will also be on hand to chat about their creations as you eat. The next Gin Degustation Dinner takes place from 6.15pm on Wednesday, February 24 — and its menu is certain to tempt your tastebuds. Among the courses, you'll be eating cured ocean trout with smoked trout jelly, fried chicken with macadamia cream, and raspberry and thyme mille-feuille with raspberry sorbet. Drinks-wise, prepare to wet your whistle with a roasted peanut-infused martini, a barrel-aged gin manhattan, and a chocolate and orange martini with dessert. Tickets cost $129 per person, which covers your meal, your beverages and tasting notes. Can't make it this month? You can always block out your diary now for Wednesday, March 24.
Next time you break out your best downward-facing dog, you could just have a posing pooch for company. After helping Brisbanites bend and stretch with kittens last year, Stretch Yoga is sharing the love with cute canines in their latest animal-oriented exercise session. Marking the studio's third birthday, celebrating their new CBD set up and raising money for the deserving cause that is the RSPCA, Puppy Yoga gives every dog-loving yoga aficionado their day. Yes, the 45-minute-long class really will pair adorable pooches with beginner yoga poses — and if that's not enough, a puppy pilates session will follow afterwards. There'll also be food, chai, other goodies and samples, and giveaways. You'd be barking mad not to head along on July 23, but register early — the classes sure to get snapped up faster than a dog munching on a treat. If you're still bounding with enthusiasm afterwards, non-canine roll and release, curvy yoga, yoga for anxiety and handstand mini-workshops are also on offer. Puppy sessions cost $50 and dog-free classes $12, with all proceeds going towards helping animals in need.
Pickle lovers, you've been doing it wrong — if you've been eating preserved veggies and then throwing out the liquid they're stored in, that is. A quick internet search will tell you that brine has plenty of other uses; however picklebacks might just be our new favourite. First, you devour a shot of whiskey. Then, you pour yourself another shot from your favourite pickle jar and knock it back too. Yep, chasing bourbon with brine is what this US trend is all about, and it has landed in Brisbane. Come June 3, Wandering Cooks is the place to be to get your fix. Joining forces with local food truck For the Pickles, they'll be serving delightful drink doubles at the bar, and then offering up pickle-heavy sliders to go with them. Whether you're a pickleback pro from way back, or have just heard the term now, you'll really be in a pickle if you miss it.
Sometimes, watching a Christmas flick is all about revisiting a great film. Sometimes, it's about indulging in some seasonal cheesiness. This year's screening of The Santa Clause offers the latter rather than the former — and the chance to do so in an unlikely location. Toowong Cemetery might not be the first place you'd think of for an outdoor viewing of Tim Allen in a red suit — however, it's probably the coolest. But don't worry, only the first movie is on the agenda; you might be settling down for a night of film amongst the tombstones, but no one is going to do something frightening like making you sit through the sequels.
Since arriving in town a few years back, Salt Meats Cheese has been giving Brisbanites a pizza-filled treat. And, as part of its lineup of Italian eats, it's been giving the city's residents plenty of specials — including, this June, the return of its $25 all-you-can-eat pizza nights every Monday at its Newstead store. "Does this look like someone who's had all they can eat?" isn't something you'll be saying when you devour as many slices as your stomach can handle in 90 minutes, so calm your inner Homer Simpson. The main catch is that you'll have to buy a drink as well, but you can choose from both boozy and non-alcoholic options. Available from 5pm, this hefty feast serves up multiple options, too. You can stick with the $25 pizza-focused option, or add any pasta from the menu to your all-you-can-eat dinner for an extra $5. And if you're vegan or eat a gluten free diet, those can also be catered for for another $5. Still need some motivation? This month's pizzas include bolognese, truffled brie, a tomato and mozzarella number with chunky fries and chorizo on top, and a mushroom slice that features both truffled manchego and truffle paste. Don't have an afternoon snack beforehand, obviously.
Typically, an exhibition opens, displays the same pieces for its duration, and closes with an array of unchanged work. Tyza Stewart's month-long residency in the Institute of Modern Art's Green Room is bucking that trend. When this show launches, it really is just the beginning. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the gallery space during Stewart's time in the studio — but what they'll be viewing is art in progress, rather than a finished showcase. Think of it as an exhibition in reverse, complete with a big event at the end to celebrate the completion, rather than the commencement, of Stewart's work. Since finishing a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from Queensland College of Art in 2012, Stewart has built an ongoing exploration of non-binary gender identities through a series of self-portraits. Questioning societal constructs of gender through Stewart's own image is again on the agenda; however this time, the end result will grow with time and change in front of the audience. Image: Tyza Stewart, keep pressure on glue for 6-12 hours to ensure maximum adhesion / having a nap, 2016, digital image.
"I'll be retiring from tennis. It's the first time I've actually said it out loud — yeah, it's hard to say, but I'm so happy and I'm so ready. And I just know at the moment in my heart, for me as a person, that this right." With those words in a surprise Instagram post on Wednesday, March 23, Australian tennis champion Ash Barty advised that she's stepping away from the game. Her announcement came less than two months after she won the Australian Open, and less than a year after winning Wimbledon before that. At the age of 25, Barty has already lived out her tennis dream — and, while fans will miss watching her on the court, she's clearly making the big move that's best for her. She'll always be a champ, of course, as well as one of Queensland's beloved sports heroes. And, well before her retirement revelation — an announcement no one could've seen coming — two Brisbane tennis spots had already painted celebratory murals that are well worth visiting right now. Keen to pay respects to the tennis great, whether you're eager to have a hit as well or just scope out some eye-catching mural art? You have these locations to head to. Tennyson's Queensland Tennis Centre has a colourful number on display, while Ferny Grove's Pure Tennis Academy made over one of its sheds — complete with the colours of the Aboriginal flag as a background — at the beginning of the year. At QTC, you can see the mural during the centre's opening hours — either just to look at or to use as a hitting wall. That means that you can drop by between 8am–10pm Monday–Friday and 7am–7pm Saturday–Sunday. And, you won't just be looking at one version of Barty, with three gracing the image. Over at Pure Tennis Academy, the mural by James Smalls went up in January, and was actually finished before Barty's Australian Open win. It's now a permanent fixture, and you just swing by to check it out during opening hours — from 9am–5pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9am–5.30pm Tuesday–Wednesday and 8am–5pm on Saturdays. If you'd like to book a court while you're there, that's purely a bonus. Find the Ash Barty murals at Queensland Tennis Centre, 190 King Arthur Terrace, Tennyson and Pure Tennis Academy, 144 Samford Road, Ferny Hills.
Biannual art and design markets The Finders Keepers is returning for its spring/summer iterations, bringing shoppers the latest and greatest from its stellar lineup of Australia's most creative makers. The Meanjin edition is taking over Brisbane Showgrounds from Friday, September 2 till Sunday, September 4. Joining the creatively charged stalls is a tasty range of food and beverage offerings — all the makings of a prime day to get out, have a chat with artists and support the industry. At the core of the conscious shopping space is a focus on helping you discover and connect with the next wave of independent and emerging artisans — specifically, local designers. So, you can expect to find everything from jewellery, fashion and ceramics to leather goods and body products. And, for the market's return to Brisbane, there's more than 100 stores to peruse. Nicoco Design will have you sorted for your bold and bright fabric pieces, Paxy & Flora are bringing oodles of cute-as-pie ceramic creations and Brisbane-fave Claire Ritchie has her joy-inducing floral artworks at the ready (pictured above). Plus, if you're into slow fashion, you'll be able to shop the excellent creations from Rex & Isla (which keeps maternity wear front and centre), Rose + Reggie and Al Elé. Don't miss the beauty delivered via the Finders Keepers Indigenous Program, which will be shining a spotlight on the collaborative works from Ikuntji Artists (pictured below). This collective — the first Aboriginal art centre for Western Desert women — has been producing fine art from the rich red soil of Haasts Bluff since 1992. As well as nabbing a ticket to enter — which is just $5 for daily general admission — be sure to remember that the market is completely cashless. So check (then check again) that you've got your digital or plastic payment methods at the ready — it would be a travesty to leave the market empty handed. The Finders Keepers Autumn/Winter Markets will take place on Friday, September 2 (4–9pm), Saturday, September 3 (9am–4pm) and Sunday, September 4 (9am–4pm) at Brisbane Showgrounds. For more info and to check out the full vendor lineup, head to the website. Location images: Samee Lapham
Back in 2007, Daft Punk played Brisbane's Riverstage. If you were there, you'll never forget it — and if you missed out, you'll never forget that, either. Now that the band has parted ways, no one will get that chance again, sadly. Head down to HOTA, Hone of the Arts on the Gold Coast, however, and you can pretend for one evening. Feel like scoring a dose of da funk on a Saturday night, losing yourself to dance and getting lucky? Of course you do. You'll be burnin' up the floor, getting derezzed and giving life back to music in no time from 6pm on Saturday, September 17, in fact — and if you do so harder, better, faster and stronger, you'll be doin' it right indeed. If you haven't guessed just who is in the spotlight at The Daft Punk Experience with Alternative Symphony, then you probably need to take your helmet off and prepare to give some of the best albums of the past two decades a spin one more time. There'll be robot rock, plenty of digital love and you might even think you've been around the world while you're throwing shapes. And, for this one-night-only gig, Alternative Symphony is playing Daft Punk's greatest hits with an orchestral spin. That means you'll be listening to the band's tracks as played by a full orchestra, assisted by DJs, drums, strings, horns, trumpets, live vocalists and MCs. It all takes place at HOTA's outdoor stage, with seven-metre-tall installation Alcazar will be in place — so dancing around it and inside it is also on the agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmi60Bd4jSs
There's a bandwagon riding around Hollywood at the moment, built on books of the young-adult sci-fi dystopia variety. Yes, contemplating teens in trouble in futuristic times is the current trend du jour, one that Insurgent happily mines. The second film based on the popular novels by Veronica Roth, Insurgent picks up where Divergent left off. As a refresher for those with short memories, the time is 200 years from now, and the place is a walled-in, post-apocalyptic Chicago. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) scandalised the factionalised society by daring not to conform to type. Everyone is supposed to fall into one of five categories, but her personality just wouldn’t fit, branding her divergent. After attempting to hide her true nature, incurring the wrath of power-hungry wannabe leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet), romancing the sullen Four (Theo James) and threatening to expose a few frightening home truths, Tris is now an enemy of the state — but running can only get her and her pals so far. As Jeanine’s tactics of control over the populace become more violent, rebellion and confrontation becomes Tris’s only option Sound familiar? Of course it does, because you’ve seen this before. Not just in the first film, but in the growing pile exactly like it — The Hunger Games, The Giver and The Maze Runner, just to name a few. Disaffected youth, shady dealings, unscrupulous adults, hidden agendas and the pursuit of the bigger picture: it’s a checklist they all stick to, ticking off items one by one. Slight details change; however, for the most part, everything follows the formula. That feeling, not of deja vu or of second chapter-itis, but of seeing too much of the same thing over and over again, just can’t be shaken in Insurgent, not that director Robert Schwentke (RIPD) seems to be trying too hard. With a moody electronic score reminiscent of Tron: Legacy and bleak visuals of running, scowling and fighting that could be taken from any film, the filmmaker’s vision of events paints by the numbers as much as the material it is based on (a few dream sequences aside). Instead, it is left to the high-profile cast to spice things up. Seeing strong female roles on screen is always welcome, but Woodley’s fired-up heroine and Winslet’s cold villain aren’t given too much new to do but frown and argue. Octavia Spencer flits in and out, woefully underused. Though Naomi Watts joins the ensemble, she’s really just setting up the drama for the two films still to come. It’s actually Miles Teller, fresh from Whiplash and made to play a snarky comic foil, who adds some character to the blandness. He’s clearly the only actor having fun, with no one else looking remotely like they want to be in the movie. That's the problem with bandwagons — the more people jump on them, the more others just want to fall right off. That’s the problem with Insurgent, too, as it just keeps circling around the same old teen dystopian block.
Do you live for lava lamps? Is Austin Powers right up your alley? Do you revere the odd rave party? Psychadeliaphiles near and far will be scintillated by news that there is a very cool new exhibition showing at the University Art Museum at UQ. Drawing on the aesthetics of 60s and 70s psychedelia, the UAM’s New Psychedelia exhibition is a contemporary take on the idea, exploring the ‘new psychedelia’ that has emerged in contemporary art as an off-shoot of the rave party, as well as the aesthetics of virtual reality and the ‘consensual hallucination of cyberspace’. The exhibition displays new acquisitions to The University of Queensland art collection as well as exhibiting works from the existing collection in new light. This includes work from Nathan Gray, Irene Hanenbergh, Brendan Huntley, Madeleine Kelly, Tim Maguire, Laith McGregor (yes, that’s biro), Roy McIvor, Kate Shaw, Jemima Wyman, Dale Frank and Sandra Selig.
