In the lead-up to new Hollywood-set satire The Studio premiering its first season on Apple TV+, the streaming platform kept doing something that's a well-established element of the entertainment industry: name-dropping. This is the latest project from long-time collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg after Superbad, Pineapple Express, This Is the End, Bad Neighbours and its sequel, The Interview, The Night Before and plenty more, with the pair co-creating, co-writing, co-directing and executive producing the series. Rogen (Mufasa: The Lion King) stars, with Catherine O'Hara (The Wild Robot), Ike Barinholtz (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along) and Chase Sui Wonders (City on Fire) rounding out the main cast. That's a starry group already. Across two trailers, however, a heap of guest parts and cameos were revealed — including for Bryan Cranston (Argylle), Zoë Kravitz (Blink Twice), Paul Dano (Fantasmas), Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling), Charlize Theron (Fast X), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World), Zac Efron (A Family Affair), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) Greta Lee (Past Lives), Ice Cube (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), Rebecca Hall (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Adam Scott (Severance), Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon). A few days before the show's Wednesday, March 26, 2025 debut Down Under, the full list of well-known talents appearing on-screen arrived. Dave Franco (Love Lies Bleeding), Jean Smart (Hacks), Johnny Knoxville (The Luckiest Man in America), Josh Hutcherson (The Beekeeper), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ramy Youssef (Poor Things), Steve Buscemi (Transformers One), Zack Snyder (Rebel Moon), Aaron Sorkin (Being the Ricardos) and Parker Finn (Smile and Smile 2) are among them, too. It's clear through the roster of names, in The Studio's ten-part initial season itself, and from talking with a number of the show's cast and guiding forces: this is a series with the utmost of love for the art of making pictures, even as it savvily pokes fun at the whole business around movies. The task that Rogen and Goldberg have set themselves, and achieve winningly, is anchoring the act of parodying Tinseltown with details drawn from real-life experiences, assistance from that enviable lineup of Hollywood folks joining in and a celebratory insider spirit. Rogen plays Matt Remick, a film executive who has only ever wanted one job: to run the fictional Continental Studios. It doesn't take long for that dream to come true, or for the character to realise what being a studio head truly means. "I got into this because I love movies. But now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them," he tells his mentor and predecessor Patty Leigh (O'Hara). That line is indicative of The Studio's knack for turning reality into astute, acerbic but affectionate viewing — Rogen and Goldberg once heard it themselves, uttered by an IRL executive. "They're all really close to our experience in some way, shape or form," James Weaver — who co-runs Point Grey Pictures, the production company behind The Studio, with Rogen and Goldberg — tells Concrete Playground about the link between the series' characters and scenarios and actuality. That said, the team's own interactions across their careers were just the beginning. "We met with a lot of people in the industry who are friends of ours, who had run studios, et cetera, and tried to mine their experience for when we're not around. What do they say behind closed doors? And so I think we tried to have an understanding of what those conversations were like." Personal inspiration remains key across the show, though. "Giving a note to a filmmaker that you really respect, and a note that you know is not going to be popular, is something we've definitely had to do," Weaver continues. That 'been there, felt that' vibe is also crucial to the search for validation at the heart of The Studio. Everyone wants it, executives and megastars alike, whether by getting a gig, having their ideas heard, making a hit, leaving a legacy, winning awards, being thanked in public or being seen to have a worthy job. "Wanting to be thanked at an award show because that's the only evidence that you did anything on it is something that we've seen as well," Weaver advises. "I think we're hoping that that's coming through, that the authenticity of our experience is in the show, and that's partially, I think, what people seem to be liking." In Matt's Continental team, three fellow studio employees are rarely far from his side: Barinholtz's Sal Seperstein, another seasoned executive; Hahn's Maya Mason, the company's marketing head; and Wonders' Quinn Hackett, an up-and-comer. From their respective time in the business, each is familiar with the types of characters that they're portraying — and that knowledge played a part in their performances, sometimes directly and sometimes in a more general sense. "A lot of studio executives I've worked with over the years, some great, some not so great, but I pulled little moments from a lot of them and put them into Sal," Barinholtz notes. "I have not one specific person. What they wrote was what I basically followed. But as I was putting the costumes on, there's definitely some humans, one could say," Hahn says. For Wonders, "my best friend is an assistant to a director, and she is someone who's very precocious, very ready to take over the world, but definitely has to earn her stripes and bide her time, and I think lots of young, ambitious people can relate to that. So that's one person I had in mind." As Continental's execs weather everything from endeavouring to capitalise upon the intellectual property-driven movie trend by making a Kool-Aid flick to attempting to capture an expensive golden-hour one-take shot — plus missing footage, casting conundrums, trailer scandals, the Golden Globes and annual US movie theatre-owner convention CinemaCon — chaos is their baseline. Still, Wonders also sees the series as having "a big sense that if you love what you do and you do it with integrity, as sappy as that is, there is going to be something in it for you, some sort of goodwill that comes your way. I feel like these characters find they have sad lives where they just are so dedicated to this one thing, and at the end of the day they kind of find their family. So that's a nice universal message". [caption id="attachment_997078" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] And that oner? It isn't just a focus of a storyline within the show; long takes are also part of its own style. "It felt like every scene was a play, like you're doing a different play every scene — and just once you got dialled in, once we rehearsed and you knew what you were doing, it was really exhilarating to be in that zone," Barinholtz shares. "It's definitely more challenging, but then it's amazing how much you can accomplish," adds Hahn. "There's something heightened about doing it as a oner that I really, really love." We also chatted with Goldberg, Weaver, Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders about the love that's baked into The Studio, that search for recognition that drives its characters, ensuring that the series is relatable far beyond Hollywood insiders, its visual approach, those cameos and more — including how Barinholtz and Hahn's past TV comedy roles on recent greats such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty came in handy. On How Everything in the Series, Jokes and Cameos Included, Filters Through the Show's Love for the Film Industry James: "At the beginning of the show, we really knew that this was going to be about having a show about how we love making movies. So I think it comes through the lens of that, everything that happens. So in terms of making jokes about A24 or some of the other companies that are in there, we've made movies with A24. They're great people. They do incredible work. And so I think the entire show is about our experience in Hollywood for the last 15 years, and I think we're trying to bring some truth and some sense of 'this is how it is', but also all through the lens of humour and fun. As far as the cameos, each of them came about in different ways. Some of them are people we've worked with in the past. Some people like Martin Scorsese or Zoë Kravitz, we met for the first time — and either through the script that Seth and Evan had written or through meetings, we talked to them about how we wanted to portray them in the show. And they were really excited and game. There is a history, whether it be The Player or The Larry Sanders Show, of Hollywood satirising itself. And so that was something that people understood, what we were going for, and people were really trusting and excited to be there. I think that we're not necessarily worried that people are going to see the show as some sort of takedown of Hollywood, because we love Hollywood and we love the fact that we get to make movies. It really is more of a presentation of our experience through the comedic lens than it is any takedown of the industry." On Barinholtz, Hahn and Wonders' First Impressions When The Studio Came Their Way Kathryn: "I mean, just to hear that these humans were involved. And I've never really worked with Seth and Evan together. And just the writing of it was just hilarious. And to think of these humans in those parts was really exciting. I couldn't wait to jump in." Chase: "They're telling very risky jokes, and I remember reading them on the page and thinking 'this is something I've heard behind closed doors, but never on television for all eternity'. So it's always good when you feel like you're doing something that's pushing boundaries." Ike: "I remember Seth called me and said 'hey, we're writing ...'. And I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'it's a show about Hollywood'. I said 'I'm in'. And he said 'Catherine O'Hara is going to be in it'. I said 'I'm in. I'm already in.'. It was the world's easiest 'yes'. It was just literally the world and the writing, and having them and Catherine — and Bryan Cranston, who is in really good physical shape. Beautiful body. It was the world's fastest and easiest 'yes'." On the Search for Validation That's at the Heart of the Show Evan: "I would say the nice thing about that element of the series is we set out not to make an aspirational version of Hollywood, but to make a real version of Hollywood. And that is the real version of Hollywood. People are very cynical and all that in the world today, but Hollywood is mostly people who are wildly passionate, care deeply and would rather do this than anything else in the world — no matter how high or low they are on the totem pole of success. People just are passionate in a way that most industries aren't. And so we get to tap into those hopes and dreams in making the show, merely by trying to replicate the real experiences we've had. And, of course, it doesn't always work out for people, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but the passion is the thing that bleeds through it all." On the Importance of Balancing Satire and Affection for the Cast — and the Fact That The Studio Takes the Art of Filmmaking Very Seriously Chase: "I think it's important. And one thing Seth and Evan really tried to hit is the realism of the comedy, and comedy born of situations where people are just trying their hardest and it's just these doofuses who can't quite get it right. It also helps when our production design is impeccable, the way we filmed it is so high-level and it just naturally lends itself to a more elevated, smart type of comedy than just a slapstick sort of thing." Kathryn: "Because everything is so elevated, you really feel a certain responsibility to uphold the world around you and the filmmaking around you. And there is less opportunity for hamming around. So everything feels very focused in a way that keeps the energy legit and high and focused." Ike: "Could not say it better than they just did, so I won't." [caption id="attachment_997090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] On How Barinholtz and Hahn's Past Work on Fellow TV Comedies Such as The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation and The Afterparty Helped Them on the Path to The Studio Kathryn: "All good ensembles." Ike: "Yes, yes." Kathryn: "Great ensembles." Ike: "Great showrunners." Kathryn: "Yes." Ike: "Great writing." Kathryn: "Great writing." Ike: "We're lucky to have been through a lot of those and seen how they all work. And this was different than all those, just because they went about it a different way. But I think you learn every time you do a show, every time you do an episode of a show or whatever, you learn something, you learn a new trick. So it definitely makes it easier." On the Elements of the Series That Most Felt Real for the Cast and Crew James: "It all feels real to us. I mean, I think we day to day are in these conversations about what kind thing to get behind in terms of a movie or TV show — or who's a filmmaker or a performer that we really believe in. Then we have to have those conversations about 'how is this thing going to make people money?'. It's really this idea of art versus commerce that I think is at the centre of what the show is. But as Evan was just saying, I think then you put overlay that with characters who care deeply about doing something artistic, but also care deeply about not getting fired. And so I think those two ideas are butting up against each other at all times. And that feels very real. The executives that we've been working with for 15 years are friends of ours. We've watched them get married to each other and there's a lot of like, a lot of community, in terms of the people that this show is portraying. And so it all feels very real to us when it goes through that lens. Seth and Evan are also just very, very funny people. So when it comes to making the jokes and the scenarios out of the real thing, they're just very talented at making that funny and entertaining. But it comes from a real place, and I think that's why hopefully people like respond to the show." Ike: "I'm friends with a lot of people who are studio executives, and I think they like to drink a lot. And so I stole that, and I drink a lot in the show. In real life, moderation — but in the show, I have a problem." Kathryn: "Always moderation." Ike: "Always moderation. That's the takeaway." Chase: "I think also studio execs are people who wield a lot of power, but when they're put in front of actors, who are these big personalities, they can be very shy and kind of cower away. And that's something that's both really fun to play the comedy of and also show the humanity of these characters." Ike: "That's a good answer." Kathryn: "I definitely have been in things in which I've seen the mockups for the posters or the possible trailers, and clearly no one has seen the show or the movie. They're so wildly not what the movie's about." Ike: "Yes, yes, yes." On Making the Series Relatable Outside of Hollywood Ike: "I think that the guys, Seth and Evan, did a very good job — even though the show is undeniably set in this world of movies and studios and executives, I think a lot of the situations in each of these episodes are things that everyone has dealt with. We've all had a boss who's gotten too drunk. We've all wanted credit for something and we are afraid we're not going to get credit for it. We've all been jealous of a coworker at some point. So I think a lot of the themes that they deal with in the episodes are universal, and whether you are someone who works in entertainment or around entertainment, or you have nothing to do with entertainment, you'll recognise a lot of those themes and scenarios, and hopefully they'll make you laugh." Kathryn: "Chances are people watch entertainment, so they'll get an idea of what the situations are. But also it's made with love, and so I think that's a different thing, too. There's such care for these characters and there's such love for this business of making movies, and nobody's really tearing down anybody. And I think that that also feels fun for an audience, too." On the Visual Approach When You're Making a TV Series About Filmmaking Evan: "For our show, the method we filmed it came from two different sources. One was, directorially Seth and I have done a lot of improv comedy feature films where we do a wide shot, medium and we get cross coverage of closeups, and then in editing we mess with all the improv we did. And we just wanted to do something very different, so we thought long extended takes would be a great way to do that and to make it more directorial as opposed to written and edited. Then through that conversation, we talked about how it could impact the actual storytelling — and the thing we wanted to embrace was the panic that a lot of these people experience in these jobs. These studio heads, even though they're very powerful and very passionate and very intelligent, they're often panicking because they can just lose their job for one big disaster. One flop and their whole job, maybe even their career, could be done or messed up for a long time. So we thought it would good to anchor people in that mania, and in that intensity, and let them feel the panic — and the best way to do that is make it feel like you are a person, like you are the cameraman, like there's an individual there. So we used one lens with long takes, and it whips back and forth just like your own head would if you were in that room experiencing the scenario that our characters are." On Working with Seth Rogen in His Many Roles on the Series: Star, Co-Creator, Co-Director, Co-Writer and Executive Producer Ike: "Oh man, I'd worked with him a couple times but never as a director. And he's really incredible, I think, at acting and being present in the scene — but he's watching everything. So if there's a slight little problem in a take, if the camera operator accidentally bumps into someone and the camera shakes for half a second, Seth has seen it. And he will just start laughing and go 'let's go again'. But he's just very tuned in. I'm very impressed at how much. You would think, that for who he is and what he ingests, he would be just not — but he is so freaking tuned in. And he's also just an incredibly good-natured guy. I think a lot of times, if something goes wrong, I've seen directors or producers blow their stack and get mad — and I don't know, it's just they're nice Canadian boys who just don't get that upset." [caption id="attachment_997093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images.[/caption] Chase: "Doesn't yell, doesn't get mad." Ike: "They don't yell." Kathryn: "You could see sometimes when you screwed up and you're trying to find a word, and then you see him, you see him basically shake his head and look at you." Chase: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kathryn: "And you're like 'well, save me'." On the Securing The Studio's Many, Many Cameos James: "Martin Scorsese was someone that we all admire and never thought we would have a chance to meet. Seth and Evan wrote a script with him as that character, and we sent it to him and he read it, and he was like 'yeah, I'd love to do it'. And then all of our heads exploded, basically. But then people like Charlize Theron or Zac Efron, they're all people that we have worked with in the past, so they were people that we could talk to directly and say 'hey, we have this idea for a character for you in our show'. And then there were some new people we got to meet, like Zoë Kravitz or Olivia Wilde. They were characters that we wrote for the show, and we just had to meet with them and get their ideas on that character. Seth and Evan were on a lot of zooms with each of them before they signed on. But it was nice, because I think once Martin Scorsese said yes, there were several phone calls that I started with 'so Martin Scorsese's doing the show — so can you do the show?'. And that was really nice, because people would generally say 'yeah, sure'." The Studio streams via Apple TV+.
Fans of The Handmaid's Tale have had to wait longer than expected for its fourth season, with the dystopian series' next batch of episodes among the many things that were postponed due to the pandemic. But, come April, that delay will come to an end — and if you're wondering what's in store, another tense trailer has just dropped. This is the third time that viewers have gleaned a sneak peek at the show's next season, after a first teaser last year and a second glimpse last month. And yes, June (Elisabeth Moss) is still battling against Gilead after season three's cliffhanger ending. In fact, after everything that the oppressive regime has done to her and her loved ones — and the ways in which it has changed life for women in general — she's firmly out for justice and revenge. The new season will kick off Down Under on Thursday, April 29, airing weekly on SBS and streaming episodes via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Based on the three trailers so far, you can expect your anxiety levels to ramp up several notches while you're watching. Of course, viewing The Handmaid's Tale has never been a stress-free experience. Given its storyline, that was always going to be absolutely impossible. Fans will be seeing where the show's narrative heads for some time to come, too, with a fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale green-lit before the fourth even airs. Toppling a totalitarian society that's taken over the former United States, tearing down its oppression of women under the guise of 'traditional values', and fighting for freedom and equality doesn't happen quickly, after all. Neither does exploring the tale initially started in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book via an award-winning TV series. Check out the latest season four trailer below: The fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale will hit start airing in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, April 29 — on SBS TV, and to stream via SBS On Demand and Neon, with new episodes arriving weekly.
Fancy a stylish beachside escape where you can unwind with the help of salty air and stunning views? A trip to NSW's stunning Central Coast will tick all those boxes, no long-haul flight required. Located just over an hour north of Sydney, the region is peppered with designer beachfront abodes and charming coastal resorts promising holiday vibes on tap. We've done the hard work for you and pulled together 11 of the Central Coast's finest places to stay, each of which can be found on Concrete Playground Trips. Book your spot, pack a bag and get set for an indulgent weekend by the water. MANTRA ETTALONG BEACH Each and every one of the apartment-style accommodations (including studios, one and two-bedroom apartments and penthouses) look out over the Central Coast's picturesque Broken Bay, Brisbane Water and Lion Island. Expect large light-filled living spaces, fully equipped kitchenettes, an outdoor pool, heated spa, day spa and gymnasium all within the property's confines. 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CROWNE PLAZA TERRIGAL Terrigal is a popular spot during summer, filling with out-of-towners seeking to escape the city without going deep into the wilderness — you've got great surf, plenty of restaurants and cafes, a few really good rooftop bars and streets filled with boutique stores for when you feel like a little late afternoon shopping. And Crowne Plaza is one of the most sought-after places to stay in town. The 4.5-star hotel has 199 guestrooms and boasts a bunch of luxe amenities, including an outdoor pool overlooking the beach, a day spa, two restaurants and its own cocktail bar. BOOK IT NOW. NRMA OCEAN BEACH HOLIDAY RESORT You've heard of glamping in safari tents, but have you heard about glamtainers? Now, this might just be a totally made-up word only used by NRMA, but we are all for it. The team here has turned shipping containers into small holiday homes, decked out with all the essentials — guests will have aircon, a kitchenette with a connected lounge and dining area, their own private bathroom and an outdoor deck with barbecue. But if that's not your vibe, these guys do have a bunch of cottages available, too. BOOK IT NOW. LASCALA HOLIDAY HOUSE This seven-bedroom home is made for big groups of mates or a couple of families who are looking for a glam getaway on the Central Coast. You can squeeze up to 22 people on beds. And it still doesn't feel cramped. That's thanks to the large rooms, plenty of common areas and the stunning pool that overlooks the water. It even has its own bar, billiards room, squash court and tennis court. This is the kind of place you'll remember staying at forever. BOOK IT NOW. GLENWORTH VALLEY ADVENTURES This huge property, set a few kilometres back from the beach, is known for being the place to go for horse-riding, quad biking, kayaking, abseiling and just about any other adventure activity. But there are also a whole host of accommodations — in the form of glamping tents and eco villas. Our favourites are the villas, especially the deluxe version that has its own woodfired hot tub. Escape to the country (even though you're just an hour or so out of Sydney) and either join in on the activities available or simply relax and enjoy nature. Choose your own adventure here. BOOK IT NOW. CAVES COASTAL BAR AND BUNGALOWS Stay at these bungalows, villas or the four-bedroom beach house to get direct access to the famous Caves Beach. It is but a few steps from the property. You can also wander in the opposite direction to find Lake Macquarie. Some of the best parts of the Central Coast are right here. And the accommodations are a bit alright, too. Expect contemporary Hamptons-style rooms with luxe amenities and access to the outdoor pool. Plus, if you book one of the bungalows, you'll get access to the adults-only part of the property. That means you'll be totally free from noisy kids. BOOK IT NOW. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world. Top image: Bouddi National Park, Destination NSW
Let me preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert in the world of movement. However, what I can offer to you dear readers is a review from the perspective of someone who appreciates dance but can’t tell the difference between a plié and a pirouette. Last Friday night I was fortunate enough to be privy to a performance of the world-renowned Sydney Dance Company doing their latest production The Land of Yes and The Land of No. I was slightly hesitant as I attended alone, however my fellow audience members and alone time made the situation ripe for eavesdropping. A mixed bag of people whose only apparent shared interest was dance, numerous conversations floated around me discussing the performance ahead. A lucky seat next to a knowledgeable couple meant I was witness to a quick course in the history of the director Rafaela Bonachela, and what was in store for me for the next 70 minutes. Bonachela has established himself as a leader in contemporary dance choreography, and this performance was to be a representation of that. The storyline of The Land of Yes and The Land of No was created as a representation of how our chaotic world is so crowded with signs, directions and instructions on such a large scale that overwhelmed people miss all of them as they go about their lives. The beauty of the performance is that it clearly highlights that at different times everybody goes through the same feeling of isolation within a busy crowded world and though we may sometimes feel alienated, people will always come to our assistance. The particular collection of dancers that were performing from the Sydney Dance Company formed a very attractive cohort indeed. The variety of male and female performers, each with very diverse and beautiful looks, all acted so equally it was impossible to identify any one dancer as the lead. I would guess this was done on purpose to represent the cacophony that is the human race. The attire that adorned the dancers may not have been pointe shoes and tutus, but it was a perfect fit for the production regardless: bare feet and simple white outfits, although all unique in styling were obviously linked to each other through a repeated use of fabric and pleating. This choice in wardrobe worked well for the performance is it again highlighted the link between humans despite their differences. The set production played a very important role in The Land of Yes and The Land of No, as the entire choreography was set around it. There were a large number of fluorescent light bulbs arranged on stage that would definitely not look out of place in a Daft Punk or Justice concert, but added an interesting youthful element to an otherwise plain stage. Throughout the show there was a level of anticipation to see how the light changes related to the scene ahead as they occurred prior to dancers entering. And change they did right from the beginning. The performance opened with a black out and then from the light bulbs a singular doorframe emerged. The first dancer on stage was a lone female whose solo to a quiet classical piece represented a struggle with living in this century. Shortly after a male companion with the task of ‘saving her’ joined her on stage. It was interesting to note how there were clearly two different levels of choreography that Bonachela had created for the piece as, after the slow beginning a larger number of lights were turned on, the music became more dominating and a larger cohort entered the stage. Throughout the show these two levels continually alternated. The sections where either all or the majority of dancers were on stage were my favourites; the way the choreography was created was very clever in highlighting how everybody goes about their life doing the same activities without generally noticing each other. In a style that was highly reminiscent of primary school music canons, the dancers would go about doing the same routines at different times before sometimes overlapping or falling into sync briefly. As the show wore on, the interaction between the different dancers became more and more frequent in both the slower and faster paced sections. Perhaps as a representation of how humans need to look to each other in order to find sanity in this crazy world. Overall I would recommend The Land of Yes and The Land of No as it addresses some very current and universal themes about the way society is conducting itself and the detriment it is doing to humans. It’s a lecture on humanity in dance form! The Land of Yes and The Land of No opens at Sydney Theatre on October 18.
"Nic fuckiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Cage." That's how the man himself utters his name in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and he knows what he's about. Now four decades into his acting career to the year — after making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High under his actual name Nicolas Coppola, playing a bit-part character who didn't even get a moniker — Cage is keenly aware of exactly what he's done on-screen over that time, and in what, and why and how. He also knows how the world has responded, with that recognition baked into every second of his his latest movie. He plays himself, dubbed Nick Cage. He cycles through action-hero Cage, comically OTT Cage, floppy-haired 80s- and 90s-era Cage, besuited Cage, neurotic Cage and more in the process. And, as he winks, nods, and bobs and weaves through a lifetime of all things Cage, he's a Cage-tastic delight to watch. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is Cage uncaged, busting out the jazz that is his acting and adoring it, and it's a self-aware, super-meta love letter to its star and all who stan him. It's also a feature that couldn't exist without the thespian who has everything from Guarding Tess and Captain Corelli's Mandolin to The Croods and Pig on his resume; replacing him simply wouldn't work. Again, it's a Cage gem in letting Cage devotees revel in Cage doing every kind of Cage. That said, this Cage comedy is also so overtly designed to inspire Cage mania that it's easy to feel the buttons being pushed. It's the Cage movie that the internet has willed into existence, or film Twitter at least. Case in point: it has Cage realise that Paddington 2 is one of the best movies ever made. It is, but given how well-accepted that is, and how much online attention has stressed that fact — including its once-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score — weaving it into this Cagefest is one of the film's many exercises in stating the obvious. There is narrative around all that "Nic fuckiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Cage" and his marmalade bear-loving epiphany. Here, the man who could eat a peach for days in Face/Off would do anything for as long as he needed to if he could lock in a weighty new part. The fictionalised Cage isn't happy with his roles of late, as he complains to his agent (Neil Patrick Harris, The Matrix Resurrections), but directors aren't buying what he's enthusiastically selling. He has debts and other art-parodies-life problems, though, plus an ex-wife (Sharon Horgan, This Way Up) and a teen daughter (Lily Sheen, IRL daughter of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen). So, he reluctantly takes a $1-million gig he wishes he didn't have to: flying to southern Spain to hang out with billionaire Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal, The Bubble), who is such a Cage diehard that he even has his own mini museum filled with Cage memorabilia, and has also written a screenplay he wants Cage to star in. Yes, writer/director Tom Gormican (Are We Officially Dating?) and co-scribe Kevin Etten (Kevin Can F**K Himself) task the always-likeable Pascal with playing The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent's on-screen audience surrogate. If you're watching a movie with Cage as Cage — one that begins with a clip from Con Air at that — then you'd likely jump at the chance to spend time with the inimitable figure. Who wouldn't? But that's just one element of the story, because two CIA agents (The Afterparty's Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) inform Cage that his new pal is an arms dealer who's keeping a politician's daughter hostage to sway an election. And, they want him to indulge his host — undercover as himself, naturally — until they find the girl. The next key aspect of the tale: during this ruse, Cage and Javi genuinely become CBFFs (Cage best friends forever), including while working on a screenplay about new buddies who bond in chaotic circumstances. If The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent could only be described by referencing a different Nicolas Cage movie — and just one, despite how many references it throws at the screen like it's a Vampire's Kiss-style Cage cavorting in the street — it'd be Honeymoon in Vegas. The 1992 rom-com boasts an ever-watchable Cage performance as most of his work does, but it formulaically flirts with rather than matches his level. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent wants of be plenty of other Cage flicks, though, giddily and entertainingly so; however, the film itself can't meet his most memorable fare. In a Moonstruck-esque move, it's as enamoured with its leading man as he is with Cher in that 35-year-old gem. It plays its core bromance with Wild at Heart-level passion, and covets The Rock-style action mayhem. Cage is unforgettable as Cage here in a dream part for him and viewers alike, but striving for Raising Arizona's madcap antics, Adaptation's multi-Cage movie-industry metaness, Color Out of Space's full out-there Cage and everything in-between is a big ask. How glorious it is that this is the end result, though: a movie that's so unashamedly Cage, more than anything else has every actively tried to be, and yet also isn't quite Cage enough. It's still engaging and amusing enough, but it's noticeably broad and easy with its jokes, and too content to coast by on the nonstop, blatant-as-can-be Cageness of it all. Again and again, that made-for-the-internet feeling twinges, as if Gormican has fashioned a meme of a movie stitched together with gleefully retweeted and reposted Cage clips in mind. While The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent isn't an ego-stroking vanity project — a hefty achievement — or filled with anything but pure Cage dedication, it's the film equivalent of getting a casual line reading from its main man when you know what wild wonders only he's capable of. Indeed, as enjoyable as all this Cage-as-Cage-satirising-Cage is (Cage cubed, basically), the film is also workmanlike beyond the committed Cage and Pascal — both of whom light up the frame with off-kilter portrayals, make their characters' camaraderie feel authentic, and would shine together in a buddy comedy that isn't 100-percent Cage worship. There's fun and oh-so-much nostalgia for the Leaving Las Vegas Oscar-winner's career highs, lows and everything else, but there's also laid-on-thick cheese and little depth. While riffing on its central figure is the aim of the game, it's light when it comes to incisively skewering Hollywood, how it treats talents as distinctive (and massive) as Cage, and why his fame has taken the rollercoaster ride it has. But this sunnily shot, bouncily paced, well-intentioned affair definitely does the two things it needs to above all else: goes all-in on Cage, albeit not to a Mandy-esque degree, and makes everyone only want to watch Cage's work from now on.
Richard Jordan has written and produced a play that will resonate with any tech-savvy social media fiend. Machina is centred on David Sergeant's world. He has recently signed up to social networking site, Machina, and sold his soul to it. David isn't just one of those people who checks all social media platforms before getting out of bed (guilty), he has taken things to a whole new level. The protagonist has uploaded his consciousness onto the site and fully entered the digital world, for good. The audience joins those left behind who are scratching their heads and desperately trying to understand if this was a voluntary decision. Why not SMS, Snapchat, Facebook message or Tweet your friends to get together for Machina, as this is a play not to be missed. It'll make you think twice about how much of ourselves we lose to the digital world, what's more, the world of Machina might feel a little bit too like our own.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood web-slinger still does whatever a spider can. (Don't expect the catchy cartoon theme song, though.) To be precise, Spidey's latest outing — starring Tom Holland (Chaos Walking), as every live-action film in the ever-sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that's featured the superhero has — sees him do whatever spider-men have for decades. The masked crusader shoots webs, flings them about New York and swings around the city. He helps people, battles crime, literally hangs out with his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Dune) and saves the world, too. As the movie's trailers revealed, Spider-Man also fights whoever his on-screen predecessors fought. The twist that isn't a twist because it's part of the flick's marketing: that villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's stints as Spidey show up here. Those familiar faces, including Willem Dafoe (The Card Counter) as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina (Promising Young Woman) as Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx (Soul) as Electro, aren't Peter Parker's initial problem, as viewers of 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home will already know. No Way Home picks up immediately after the latter, after Spidey's secret identity has been blasted across the internet by online conspiracist J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons, Ride the Eagle). The media swiftly make Peter "the most famous person in the world", the public get hostile and his college prospects — and MJ and Ned's (Jacob Batalon, Let It Snow) as well — take a hit. The only solution he can see: asking Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog) to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he is. With drastic magic comes drastic consequences, hence those recognisable nefarious folks who know Spidey — and definitely know that he's Peter Parker — yet don't recognise the MCU's version. Marvel's next flick after this one is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so the franchise is about to go big on alternate worlds, but No Way Home still doesn't actually jump into that domain first. It's a curious choice on the whole huge saga's part to take cues from the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which relished having multiple spider-realms, got inventive with both its concept and visuals, won an Oscar and is easily the best spider-flick to-date, all without sitting within the MCU itself. Indeed, the live-action franchise's third stand-alone Spider-Man movie can't shake the feeling that it's playing catch-up. Directed by Jon Watts, as all three recent web-slinging films have been, No Way Home does more than give flesh, blood and spandex to an ace idea already brought to the screen a mere three years back. It also delivers the heftiest helping of fan service that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever dished up. The franchise has long enjoyed hitting all the obvious crowd-pleasing notes, but Martin Scorsese's 2019 comment that compared MCU fare to theme parks rings particularly true here — unsurprisingly given this Spider-Man outing wants to elicit the loudest of screams and shouts from its audience. Buy the ticket, take the cinematic ride, ooh and aah over every clear spin and foreseeable twirl: amid the stock-standard CGI-packed action scenes and triple-layered Spidey nods to iterations past, not all that long ago and present, that's what No Way Home seeks from its viewers. And, it takes the rollercoaster approach to evoking that reaction, rolling its story down the most glaring of tracks. You can anticipate each jolt and shake on any given amusement ride, see every up and down coming, and still relish the experience — and that's what No Way Home is hoping for. It wants to be the fun flick that gleefully makes Spidey fans' dreams come true, and to coast on the buzz of all those fantasies fulfilled. That's all busy and nostalgic and undemandingly entertaining but, even though No Way Home isn't short on twists that haven't been laid out in the trailers, this is one of the least surprising MCU films yet. Three-time Spider-Man screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna make every expected move they can with this greatest hits package, both within the usual Marvel formula and with the parts of their script that are meant to startle and astonish. As a result, No Way Home's best moments swing in one of two directions: weighty or silly. Much of the movie hovers in the middle, resembling the empty space between an arachnid's silky threads, but when it either burrows deep or keeps things goofy, there's enough that sticks. Pondering the cost of being Spider-Man, the film doesn't fling itself into new territory — and yet it manages to add extra strands to the 'being a superhero is tough' scenario by recognising how such woes keep recurring. Finding laughs in the whole situation isn't unique either, and No Way Home isn't as funny or as loose as Homecoming or Far From Home. Still, that's the vibe that suits Holland; in his stretch in the red-and-blue suit, he's always played Peter like an excited, awkward and overwhelmed teen who's daffily grappling with what it all means, which is particularly pivotal here. There is one brief glorious moment during No Way Home's climax — a trio of shots, all edited together rapidly and framed to match each other — that perfects what Watts is aiming for overall. It's astute, amusing, enjoyable and, although still undeniably obvious, thoughtfully taps into the existential Spidey struggle while simultaneously proving loving and playful. It's the full web, even spanning just seconds, but that term doesn't fit the bulk of the feature that sprawls around it. No Way Home isn't without its charms — Holland and Zendaya's chemistry still sparkles, it's a definite treat to see Dafoe and Molina back in the fold, and, as blasts from the pasts keep popping up, Watts cleverly juggles the varying tones of all three different web-slinging franchises — but this spider-sequel is always happiest when it's trying to catch the audience's claps and cheers just like flies.
For everyone who has ever been to a festival, soaked in everything it has to offer but wished it went for longer, the Scenic Rim's annual celebration of the region's food and drink firmly understands. When it has rolled around in past years, Eat Local Week has served up a massive incentive to wander around the southeast Queensland area. Indeed, the jam-packed event has always been so overflowing with things to fit in that it has made a big move, expanding to become Eat Local Month in 2023. That hefty change was announced earlier this year, with the first-ever month-long program spanning across a huge 32 days from Thursday, June 1–Sunday, July 2. That's quite the way to celebrate the fest's 12th birthday, and it'll be overflowing with ways to do so, too, thanks to the 139 different events on the just-announced Scenic Rim Eat Local Month 2023 program. "When Eat Local Week started in 2011, ten events were staged, attended by a few hundred people. In 2014, the program featured 80 events with 15,000 attendees and last year, in 2022, there were 125 events and almost 40,000 attendees. This year, there's 139 events," said Scenic Rim Regional Council Mayor Greg Christensen, announcing the lineup. Eat Local Month also has the support of some impressive food names thanks to its ambassador chefs. Alison Alexander, Ash Martin, Brenda Fawdon (Picnic Real Food Bar), Cameron Matthews (Mapleton Public House), Caroline Jones (Three Girls Skipping), Glen Barratt (Wild Canary), Javier Codina (Moda), Josh Lopez (Monstera Group), Kate Raymont (Scenic Rim Farm Shop Café) and Richard Ousby (Ousby Food) were already on the list before the 2023 program dropped. Now, chefs Jack Stuart (Blume and The Bowl at Boonah) and Simon Furley (The Paddock at Beechmont Estate) have joined them. All that culinary talent is getting behind a heap of excuses to eat and drink — and explore — while showcasing Scenic Rim produce, the people behind it and a region that was named one of the best places to visit in 2022. On offer: 37 long lunches, degustations and dinners; 43 workshops and classes; and 37 tours and experiences. And more, spanning both new additions to the lineup and returning favourites, including an array of 'meet the producer' events. Making a comeback this year is the beloved winter harvest festival, which will feature 70-plus stalls, complete with camel milk products and carrot ice cream. Still on those orange-coloured vegetables, the usual day dedicated to them is back as well, and you'll even be able to pull them up out of the soil. [caption id="attachment_883177" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Elsewhere, attendees can look forward to a degustation dinner at Witches Falls Winery on Tamborine Mountain; Copperhead Restaurant's first sunset soiree; and Floravesence — An Evening in the Flowers, which will take place on Elderflower Farm's flower field, and feature floral-leaning Cauldron Distillery cocktails. Or, there's a Mediterranean long-table feast in the olive grove at Olive View Estate, and the broader fest's inaugural fermented food festival — which is all about pickling and the like. Gin-blending classes, edible-flower picking sessions (and then using said blooms to decorate cupcakes), rainforest picnics, burgers and beer on the grass, a three-course feast heroing native ingredients, truffles aplenty, sunset cocktails: they're all on the agenda, too. "In its 12th year and in a new month-long format, Australia's most authentic paddock-to-plate, food and farming experience now has more time to shine the light on the farmers, growers, producers, artisans, chefs and creators in our region, and on our spectacular seasonal produce.This expansion reflects the hard work of our community, and the support of visitors from across the country," continued Mayor Christensen. Scenic Rim Eat Local Month 2023 runs from Thursday, June 1–Sunday, July 2 at various locations in the Scenic Rim. Head to the festival's website for more information and tickets.
It's true when you're on holidays, kicking back in far-flung locations with a drink in your hand. It's true if you're a Brisbanite heading down the coast for a day, weekend or short getaway, or if you're a Gold Coast local as well. That unfaltering reality? That everything tastes better when it's paired with beach views — including lively Tex-Mex brand El Camino Cantina's OTT margaritas. The chain's Surfers Paradise outpost marks its 13th nationwide and sixth in Queensland, including at Bowen Hills, Chermside and South Bank in Brisbane, and also Robina on the GC since 2020. If you've been to one of its venues, you know what to expect menu- and vibe-wise, but this is the only Sunshine State spot with that beachy backdrop. For newcomers to the chain, think loud, bright and filled with giant cocktails, rock 'n' roll jukeboxes, free sombreros and other Tex-Mex fare. Skulls, crosses, cacti and lightning bolts also feature heavily, alongside a corrugated iron bar decorated with flame graffiti — and the new joint will also boast a custom-designed mural by Ben Brown featuring a surfing skeleton. El Camino's Surfers Paradise digs seats 250 patrons, including the 30-seat al fresco dining space, with booths, high-top tables for large groups and swing-style seats all available — the latter playing up the beachfront angle. Slushie machines, a big feature at the chain's other venues, are part of the fitout as well. Cue big nights and brain freezes. El Camino's margaritas come in multiple sizes and renditions — such as a tropical Red Bull flavour, which really says it all. Other options include a host of beers from near and far, and a sizeable collection of mezcals and tequilas. The food lineup is as fun and casual as the drinks, spanning fiery buffalo wings, sizzling fajitas, plump burritos, and soft shell tacos loaded with punchy flavour combinations. The Surfers Paradise joint also boasts El Camino's signature specials, including $2 tacos on Tuesdays and ten-cent wings on Wednesdays. And, it's also the brand's first spot to also serve up breakfast, with brekkie tacos coming packed with grilled sirloin and scrambled egg, refried black beans and queso fresco, and streaky bacon with jalapeno and cheddar.
December might be all about festive viewing for some, but this year's merriest month is also delivering a new dose of TV medical nightmares. As promised since mid-2022 and feared since the first season in 2021 — if you're not fond of hospital horror stories, that is — Dr Death is returning with another true-crime tale about a sinister surgeon. The new doc in the spotlight: surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who earned the nickname 'Miracle Man' for his innovative operations. But his charm starts to fade when investigative journalist Benita Alexander approaches him for a story — a tale that'll change her life forever, too. Once again, all of the details are drawn from reality. Once again, Dr Death is bound to prove disturbing whether you already know the ins and outs or you're set to discover them for the first time — as terrifying medical details, especially about deadly doctors, always do. The just-released trailer will get you feeling unsettled already, in fact, before the series drops all eight of its season-two episodes on Stan on Friday, December 22. Édgar Ramírez (Florida Man) plays Macchiarini, while Mandy Moore (This Is Us) steps into Alexander's shoes. Macchiarini's first reason for getting famous: leading the surgery for the world's first synthetic organ transplant. As for why else he's been in the news, that's what watching the series will tell you. When it hit streaming queues in mid-2021, Dr Death initially focused on Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson, Fatal Attraction), a surgeon who was full of charm when he was trying to encourage folks with spinal pain and neck injuries into his operating theatre — or when he was attempting to convince hospitals, particularly in Texas, to hire him. But again and again, those surgeries ended horrendously. Actually, that's an understatement. Duntsch's story is done and dusted; however, he was just the first medical professional that the OG Dr Death — aka the Wondery podcast that shares the TV show's name — has explored. Since then, the audio series has released two further seasons, with its third batch of episodes now providing the basis for the second TV adaptation. Check out the trailer for Dr Death season two below: Season two of Dr Death will stream via Stan from Friday, December 22. Images: Scott McDermott/Peacock.
Five years ago — and plenty of years before that as well — South Bank spent a winter weekend each year doubling for France. From crepes and baguettes to mussels and champagne, if it treated your tastebuds to a Gallic feast, it was on offer here. At Le Festival, aka the Brisbane French Festival, so was saying bonjour to French culture without paying for an airfare. Then the pandemic hit, putting the event on hold for three years. When Le Festival returned in 2023, it made the move to Victoria Park / Barrambin for the first time. In 2024, the fest is shifting again, to return to South Bank for a three-day riverside French party across Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 7. If you regularly wish that you were on the other side of the world staring at the Eiffel Tower, sipping champers and living the Emily in Paris life, this is the closest that you'll get to a European summer without leaving Brisbane. Francophiles, get ready for an array of French staples — although the wine selection is always especially popular, as are the cheese display and macarons. While 2024's full details haven't yet been revealed, drinking French red and white wines, sparkling rosé, beer and non-alcoholic beverages is always on the menu, too. Thanks to Le Festival's market, attendees can also browse for homewares, gifts, fashion, books and magazines, with showcasing French and French-inspired products the key aim. Entertainment-wise, alongside live music, the fest typically features cabaret performances and can-can dancing. Masterclasses, including on French table art, will be on the lineup this year as well. Taking over the South Bank Cultural Forecourt and Parklands from 4–10pm on the Friday, 8am–10pm on the Saturday and 8am–5pm on the Sunday, Le Festival has something specific to celebrate in 2024: the Paris Olympics, which will follow Brisbane's embrace of France by three weeks. Images: Ange Costes.
Returning for a second year after a widely-publicised Parklife rebrand, national electronic dance music festival Listen Out has locked in dates for another year. Spearheaded by organisers and promoters Fuzzy (the team behind Field Day, Shore Thing and Harbourlife), Listen Out marked its debut last year to generally upward thumbs and rants about Azealia Banks' smokebomb. Stopping by Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane in spring, Listen Out's so-called 'boutique' set-up will "showcase the best dance music in a small but perfectly formed setting," according to Fuzzy. The nationally-touring festival will return to Sydney's Centennial Park, Perth's Ozone Reserve and Melbourne's Observatory Precinct, with a change in Brisbane venue from Southbank's Cultural Forecourt to the Brisbane Showgrounds. Headlined by staggeringly popular UK duo Disclosure last year with highlights including Azealia Banks (very briefly), AlunaGeorge and Classixx, this year's lineup sees Flume, Chet Faker, Zhu, Schoolboy Q and more crank the beats up in the Brisbane Showgrounds. LISTEN OUT 2014 LINEUP: FLUME (only 2014 shows) CHET FAKER ZHU SCHOOLBOY Q FOUR TET YG TA-KU TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS (DJ Set) SHLOHMO BONDAX YOUNG FATHERS YAHTZEL (DJ Set) GOLDEN FEATURES TKAY MAIDZA TRIPLE J UNEARTHED WINNER + more Image by Dominic Loneragan. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lk3vbB_yuk0
This post is presented by the All New Toyota Corolla Sedan. There's plenty of fun to be had in this city each week, but there's only a small handful of truly fresh urban adventures to be had. We've partnered with Toyota to find the very best of these shiny-new experiences in Brisbane. Presented by the All New Toyota Corolla Sedan, these are our picks to put you on the road to a life of goodtimes. Now your only challenge is getting to them all. This week is all about jaffle appreciation, rooftop hot tubbing, handling the heat and smashing art forms together. Eat: Little Pawpaw It can be hard being the younger sibling, especially when your older sister is so successful. This week the Venzin Group (owners of Pawpaw Cafe, Mons Ban Sabai, Picnic and Green Papaya) made the bold, unheard of move to open their fifth venture north of the river. Going where no southsider has ever gone before, Little Pawpaw’s first week has not been without rave reviews and we hear they are bringing back the jaffle. Enjoy the kitsch and vibrant interior while sipping your favourite Campos brew. 145 Kitchener Road, Kedron Drink: Limes Fortunately for us Queenslanders, it’s never too late in the year to celebrate a rooftop relaunch. Limes Hotel’s top deck was recently refurbished, and finally christened last weekend — with Olympic synchronised swimmers to seal the deal. Expect a relaxed space to kick back at the alfresco cinema, enjoy resort-style drinks and a Sunday afternoon barbecue, or stay up late for the midnight pool parties. Most notable to the reno are the two rooftop hot tubs. Pack your togs (or not) and head over for a dip. 142 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley See: Seen + Heard GoMA is here to prove that pop culture isn’t all Andy Warhol and Simpsons references. The latest exhibition, Seen + Heard, is here for a good time, not for a long time, and draws on major artworks, installations and multiples from the gallery’s collection. The works address the intersections, clashes and marriages of pop culture, music, sound and visual art with pieces from sculptural sound pioneer Nam June Paik and musical, performance and sound installations to keep you ticking. See it and hear it until April 3. Do: judge a chilli comp Kettle and Tin is doing the honours by kicking off Brewsvegas’ with the first festival event, the Second Annual Chilli Cook Off. This Sunday contestants coming from various Brisbane restaurants will compete for the prestigious title of Chilli Master. If you think your tastebuds are ready to handle the heat, trot on over from 11am to help judge the People’s Choice award. And when the spice gets the better of you, Burleigh Brewing Co will have your back with a crafty cold one.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVe_8CS6vU RADIOACTIVE Even without sourcing and quoting an exact number, it's obvious that an immense amount of people owe their lives to Marie and Pierre Curie's research on radioactivity. Without their work — Marie's passion project, which she reluctantly agreed to collaborate on with Pierre after they first crossed paths in Paris — cancer treatment would've likely been vastly different over the past century. The results for scores of cancer patients would've been as well. But the pair's discovery of two new elements, radium and polonium, also led to disturbing side effects and cataclysmic events that changed the course of history in other ways. Radioactive touches upon both, from life-saving oncology usage and the ability to conduct x-rays on World War I battlefields to the bombing of Hiroshima and Chernobyl's nuclear reactor meltdown. Via the inclusion of clips in a 50s hospital, in Japan, in the Ukraine and at a nuclear bomb test in Nevada in 1961, this becomes a far more thoughtful feature than its usual biopic trappings often indicate (and make no mistake, much of the script reads from the biopic-101 playbook). It might seem strange for a film about Marie to leap forward at different moments, jumping to years and decades past her death in 1934, all to show how the physicist and chemist's work made and continues to make a colossal impact upon the world. But that's the most interesting thing about Radioactive: its willingness to contemplate both the significant benefits and proven dangers of Marie (Rosamund Pike, an Oscar-nominee for Gone Girl) and Pierre's (Sam Riley, Rebecca) pioneering discoveries. The latter is tasked with vocalising this battle in his acceptance speech for their shared 1903 Nobel Prize in physics, acknowledging the struggle but opining that "mankind will derive more good than harm". As directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and adapted from Lauren Redniss' graphic novel about the Curies, Radioactive film doesn't simply take Pierre at his word, however. It shows his radiation sickness, and Marie's. It touches upon the backlash when news of radioactivity's health effects started becoming widely known. And those aforementioned flash-forwards to both positive and negative applications of the Curies' research keep the same conversation going, because Radioactive doesn't try to offer a right or wrong answer. Something can be two things at once, after all, as this often-probing movie shows in a variety of ways. Read our full review. https://vimeo.com/451401547#at=17 BRAZEN HUSSIES Chatting to activists involved in Australia's women's liberation movement during the 60s and 70s, Brazen Hussies doesn't lack in witty and wise ladies making pivotal points. But it's filmmaker Margot Nash (The Silences) who offers one of this documentary's most telling observations, and the one that crystallises exactly why this movie had to be made. "History has to be told over and over again," she advises. She's a talking head in the film, rather than the writer or director behind it — those roles fall to first-timer Catherine Dwyer — but she couldn't encapsulate Brazen Hussies' purpose any better if she was the doco's driving force. As the feature explains, it's easy for people to overlook this chapter of history, and the fact that it all happened so recently. It's easy to forget that women's lives were drastically different, as was the way they were regarded by the world around them. Brazen Hussies surveys pay inequality, legal abortion, funding for childcare, the way both queer women and Indigenous Australian women are treated, society's abhorrence of female sexuality and the first Advisor on Women's Affairs to a head of government anywhere in the world — plus everything from tackling domestic violence and the victim-blaming that can go along with it, to the simple struggle to survive that single mothers faced as well. But this happens in tandem with a historical recounting of Australia's actual fight for women's liberation, with Dwyer inspired by working on 2014 documentary She's Beautiful When She's Angry (which did the same from a US perspective). She examines what drove the more than 25 women she counts among her eponymous group to act and what they achieved, of course. At every moment, however, she's just as interested in how they battled for that change. Having access to a treasure trove of materials helps considerably in this engaging, informative and impassioned film. If the doco's talking-head lineup is impressive, it's bested only by the immense range of archival images and footage that Dwyer and editor Rosie Jones (director of The Family) splice together. With the rest of the filmmaking team, the pair sifted through more than 4000 photographs, journals, artworks and posters, and 800-plus news clips, documentaries and dramatic movies — and, unsurprisingly, Brazen Hussies is all the more detailed for it. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roo8p8sDX24&feature=emb_logo A LION RETURNS Following the clandestine return of a radicalised Muslim man to Sydney to see his dying mother, A Lion Returns is a film about extreme actions and the consequences they bring. And yet, as written and directed by Serhat Caradee — marking his second feature after 2009's Cedar Boys — it's a movie driven primarily by talk about those actions. Indeed, its opening third takes place in a car outside the Alamein family residence, where brothers Omar (Danny Elacci, Trust) and Jamal (Tyler De Nawi, On the Ropes) reunite in secret while their relatives gather inside. Before academic Omar can work out how to usher Jamal inside without anyone else seeing, especially their father Yusef (Taffy Hany, East West 101) who is likely to call the police, the siblings discuss everything that has led them to this juncture. Omar outlines the grim health predicament their ailing mother Manal (Helen Chebatte, Alex & Eve) faces, with hospice her next step. He also demands answers from Jamal about why he left his own wife (Jacqui Purvis, Neighbours) and young son to fight in Syria, makes his brother explain exactly what he did during his time with the Islamic State and tries to ascertain what he hopes to achieve by making a comeback. A Lion Returns is so dialogue-heavy — and so driven by two- and three-way conversations about bonds of family, faith, the lengths one will go to for both and the repercussions that follow — that it could've easily graced the stage instead of the big screen. But there's an intimacy to this independent, low-budget, shot-in-ten-days Australian drama about ripped-from-the-headline matters that's cinematic. Set in an ordinary vehicle and a just-as-standard suburban home, and unfurling in real time, its visuals mightn't provide an overt spectacle; however, the connection that Caradee evokes with his complicated characters, and with the complex ideas and themes they discuss and sift through, benefits from the film's ability to get literally close to the animated chatter happening within its frames. This is a feature that makes every move possible to place its audience in the heat of the moment with its arguing family members, to share their tension and to confront the same thorny issues with them, and does so with precision. There are few surprises, narrative-wise, as not only Jamal's abandoned loved ones but the defector himself grapple with his choices and the shadows they've left overseas and at home, but A Lion Returns excavates a difficult situation with assurance and poise, as well as with passionate performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPie_hKO6pM IP MAN: KUNG FU MASTER It's unlikely that filmmakers will ever get sick of making movies about Ip Man, much in the same way that they never seem to tire of bringing the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula to the screen. Ip Man was a real person, though. A martial arts grandmaster in the kung fu style known as Wing Chun, his life spanned fascinating chapters in both mainland China and Hong Kong, including a stint with the police force and training Bruce Lee — and it has also spawned many a film over the past couple of decades as a result. Ip Man features in movies about Lee, naturally. He has been the driving force behind the Donnie Yen-starring Ip Man, Ip Man 2, Ip Man 3 and Ip Man 4: The Finale, too, and Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster as well. And, first in The Legend Is Born – Ip Man, then in Kung Fu League and now in Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, he has been played by wushu champion-turned-actor Dennis To (who actually had a minor role in Ip Man and Ip Man 2). In Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, To steps into the famed figure's shoes during his law enforcement stint in Foshan. First, he's the subject of a revenge scheme by the daughter of a mobster who is killed in police custody despite Ip Man's best efforts to ensure otherwise. Then, he's targeted by the Japanese army as they make their presence known in the period between the first and second Sino-Japanese wars. Both elements of the story intertwine — as does the birth of Ip Man's first son, and his need to protect his family as multiple parties endeavour to hunt him down — but writer/director Li Liming is far more interested in the movie's frenetically choreographed martial arts scenes than its narrative. Indeed, anything that doesn't involve fighting often feels like filler. There's no doubting the impact of Ip Man: Kung Fu Master's balletic displays of flying fists, though, or how stylishly they're shot. They can't substantially lift a film that'll never be the go-to Ip Man movie, or even one of the best flicks about him either, but they're the standout elements of an otherwise average movie. 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 July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; and October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin, Peninsula, Tenet, Les Misérables, The New Mutants, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Translators, An American Pickle. The High Note, On the Rocks, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Antebellum, Miss Juneteenth, Savage, I Am Greta, Rebecca, Kajillionaire, Baby Done, Corpus Christi, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and The Craft: Legacy. Top image: A Lion Returns via Bonafide Pictures.
When it comes to ticket lotteries to score you budget-friendly seats to smash-hit stage musicals in Brisbane, it really is beginning to feel like a tale as old as time. Mary Poppins had one. Hamilton did as well, plus Moulin Rouge!, too. The next on the list: Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Musical, which wants you to be its guest for cheap. How cheap? For just $24 a seat via TodayTix, which has been behind past Brissie lotteries. The first chance to head along at a significant discount opened on Friday, February 2, and will close on Friday, February 9 — with winners advised each Friday for the coming week's performances. After the first round, the lottery will open on Saturdays at 12.01am weekly. For every single Brisbane show, there'll be 24 of the $24 tickets available. Disney's Beauty and the Beast musical is headed to QPAC's Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from Thursday, February 15, on its latest stop Down Under as a newly reimagined and redesigned production. Playing until April, this Beauty and the Beast first made its way to the stage in the UK in 2021, and reworks the original show that premiered in the US in the 90s — adapting Disney's hit 1991 animated movie musical, of course. Fans can expect the same Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated score courtesy of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice, including all the beloved tunes such as 'Be Our Guest' and 'Beauty and the Beast'. It also comes with new dance arrangements by David Chase, and with original choreographer Matt West revisiting his work. And yes, that $24 price is accurate. Yes, this is your chance to see the acclaimed production for less than the price of a dinner (and, at some places, breakfast and lunch). To take part in the lottery, you will need to download the TodayTix app, which is available for iOS and Android. And if your name is selected, you'll have an hour to claim your tickets from when you receive the good news. If you need a reminder, you can also sign up for lottery alerts via TodayTix, too. Check out the trailer for Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Musical below: Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Musical plays QPAC's Lyric Theatre in Brisbane from Thursday, February 15, 2024. To enter the Today Tix $24 lottery, download the company's iOS or Android app, and head to the company's website for more information — and to set up an alert. Images: Daniel Boud.
No one grows out of Easter. You're never too old for all the chocolate you can handle — and for an annual excuse to treat your sweet tooth however you like. But there are definitely adults-only ways to celebrate the occasion, including over high tea. At Motion Dining at Marriott Brisbane, for instance, getting a huge choc fix on Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9 also involves three hours of drinks. For two days only, from 12.30–3.30pm on both Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, this Queen Street spot is serving up chocolate hazelnut tarts, passionfruit dark chocolate sandwiches, and jasmine tea mousse and strawberry cream groove tarts — and chocolate scones with rose, lychee and strawberry reserve, plus spiked Baileys cream tarts as well. Upon arrival, you'll sip a Toblerone cocktail served in a chocolate bunny, too, as part of a drinks package that'll flow for the duration of your sitting. Also on offer: Moet & Chandon rosé champagne among other boozy beverages. Heading along costs $149 per person, and includes a savoury spread featuring finger sandwiches in multiple varieties. Think: shrimp, cucumber and dill; smoked turkey, watercress and apple; ham, tomato and relish; and egg and herb.
Brazilian beer company Antarctica Beer has created one of the most innovative products to ever come out of a brewery, the Beer Turnstile. Created for the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, one of the world's biggest parties, of which Antarctica Beer is the official sponsor, it was designed to inspire partygoers to catch public transport to and from the festival. When they arrived at the subway station to head home, they did not have to buy a ticket; all the drinkers had to do was pop their empty beer can into the turnstile and, once it was recognised by the reader in the machine, they gained access to their ride home. Whilst the turnstile was an excellent business move — if people do not have to drive they can of course drink more Antarctica Beer throughout the evening — it likely contributed to the 43 percent decrease in drink driving recorded at this year's event and lowered the impact of the festival on the environment, as every can submitted was recycled and the turnstile averaged more than 1000 patrons an hour. It also created less mess for the city to clean, music to the ears of some happy Brazilian workers. Via PSFK.
Record Store Day might only come once a year, but each month, Brisbane gets into the spirit of the occasion. A treasure trove of vinyl descends upon a specific spot in this fair city of ours, showering music fiends in the stuff collectors' dreams are made of. Brisbane Record Fair is the type of event that gives aficionados reason to salivate, deliberate, negotiate, and then spend, spend, spend — after rifling through crates and crates of rare material, obviously. And since 2020, it has been popping up in a brand new place, with the monthly event moving from West End to Aspley. Thousands of items are for sale, with Brisbane Record Fair taking over the Aspley Central Shopping Centre at 1368 Gympie Road. Expect a smorgasbord of sounds — offering up music of all types — when you head along to the next event from 8.30am–3pm on Saturday, March 13. Vinyl-wise, whether you're after a decades-old gem or something newer on an LP or a 45, chances are you'll find it here. Sellers come from far and wide to share their wares, including private collectors parting with their sonic pearls. And no matter the time of year, a selection from their stash would make a perfect present, whether for someone else, or for yourself. Updated March 12.
Each year, the advertising world's mad men and women descend on Cannes for a week-long jaunt on the Riviera. Aside from likely providing the world with more instances of cocaine use by aged executive creative directors than any other event in the world, the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival showcases the world's best commercial creativity across a variety of mediums, including TV, print, outdoor, PR and online. The proliferation of new media channels and the growth of social media has made an already cluttered marketing world a dangerous place to be for cowardly chief marketing officers and the brands they steward. Last year, Old Spice made headlines for their ability to engage consumers in a campaign that repositioned a tired brand in one fell swoop via innovative use of social media. But what lay at the heart of the campaign was its ability to make an emotional connection with audiences through humour. Ads, after all, are a like people: the ones you love and hate are the same ones you remember. This year's best 15 ads were decided over the weekend, with the Grand Prix being awarded to the 'Write The Future' campaign launched by Nike during last year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Here they are, ordered according to how they impressed us here at Concrete Playground HQ. https://youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0 1. 'Force' by Volkswagen Agency: Deutsch Los Angeles https://youtube.com/watch?v=dBZtHAVvslQ 2. Cannes Grand Prix 2011: 'Write The Future' by Nike Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam https://youtube.com/watch?v=xdOoJjvr0GM 3. 'Braids' by H2OH! Drink Agency: BBDO Argentina https://youtube.com/watch?v=CoxCF1xZ7Pk 4. 'After Hours Athlete' by Puma Agency: Droga5 New York https://youtube.com/watch?v=2qD_PiZAz6k 5. 'Premature Perspiration' by Axe Agency: Ponce Buenos Aires https://youtube.com/watch?v=TLgetLmlggA 6. 'The Entrance' by Heineken Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam https://youtube.com/watch?v=VFFnfHQhg-s 7. 'Shoelace' by Otrivin Nasal Spray Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Geneva https://youtube.com/watch?v=DtCU43MteYY 8. 'Slo Mo' by Carlton Draught Agency: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne https://youtube.com/watch?v=8I550mx8QlI 9. 'See The Person' by Scope Agency: Leo Burnett Melbourne https://youtube.com/watch?v=T3guZ7dMAkc 10. 'Born Of Fire' by Chrysler Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Portland https://youtube.com/watch?v=BKnhyhm3GdQ 11. 'Office' by Mexican Insurance Institution Association Agency: Ogilvy Mexico https://youtube.com/watch?v=nCgQDjiotG0 12. 'Chrome Speed Tests' by Google Agency: Google Creative Lab New York https://youtube.com/watch?v=Oech5Rpom2g 13. 'Cage Cop' by Skittles Agency: BBDO Canada https://youtube.com/watch?v=lZqrG1bdGtg 14. 'Dead Island Trailer' by Deep Silver Agency: Deep Silver https://youtube.com/watch?v=k0fm3JS4p8U 15. 'Demo Slam: Chubby Bunny' by Google Agency: Google Creative Lab New York [Via Mumbrella]
Winter is here, the gloves and beanies are out of storage, and it's time to start loading up on sweets and carbs. That's how every June starts — and, this year, Krispy Kreme wants to help with the latter. How? By giving away an extremely excessive number of doughnuts. You're probably now wondering what constitutes an excessive amount of doughnuts. Polishing off a packet by yourself doesn't count, at least in this instance. Krispy Kreme's giveaway is going big, with the chain slinging 100,000 doughnuts in conjunction with National Doughnut Day. Whether or not you're a big fan of food 'days', we're guessing you are quite fond of free doughnuts. To snag yourself a signature glazed freebie, head to your closest store in Sydney, Brisbane or Perth on Friday, June 4. Sydneysiders have 11 stores — stretching from Penrith to the CBD — to choose from, while Queenslanders can pick from seven different doughnut shops, with the most central in Albert Street in the CBD. And, in Perth, you can head to one of four Krispy Kreme stores. The deal isn't available at BP outlets, 7-Eleven stores, Jesters or Woolworths, or in states other than New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Because of stay-at-home restrictions in Victoria, National Doughnut Day won't be celebrated in the state just yet. Krispy Kreme plans to in the future, though — we'll keep you updated when something eventuates. The 100,000 doughnuts will be spread across the participating stores, so you'll want to get in relatively early if you want to kick off your Friday with a free sweet and doughy treat. Krispy Kreme's free doughnut giveaway is happening in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth on Friday, June 4. To find your closest store and check its opening hours, head to the Krispy Kreme website.
O captain, my captain. There are few actors that can make your heart break and your sides hurt in one feel-fuelled moment. Perpetually twinkly-eyed, Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams had done just that for many of us, becoming a sort of surrogate dad for many of our childhoods with his high-pitched Doubtfires, high-fiveable genies and Sesame Street how-tos. "Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets," remarked President Barack Obama this morning. With the tragic news of the 63-year-old comic genius's passing this morning, we took time to delve into the impact Williams has made on audiences young and old, opening minds through unrivalled slapstick comedy, Academy Award-worthy drama and that loud, lively, unforgettable voice. While an entire, kickass career can't be summed up in a list of ten (special mention to his unbreakable role as Aladdin's genie, the heartbreaking Patch Adams, everyone's favourite Jumanji and the terrifying One Hour Photo), here's a modest snippet of ten ways Robin Williams opened minds, hearts and lamps with his extraordinary talent. https://youtube.com/watch?v=vdXhWS7lLvs Dead Poet's Society The quintessential lesson in seizing the day, 1989's Dead Poets Society saw Williams take on unforgettable English teacher John Keating (and nab an Oscar nomination for it). Kicking his students into gear with a love of poetry and a fierce ability to tackle life head on, Williams' Keating is one of those captivating, To Sir With Love-like teacher characters who kicks your own butt into gear along with the characters. And then there's that table-topped scene. We're all standing tall with an "O Captain, My Captain," today. Williams Gold: "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse." https://youtube.com/watch?v=mXkApy0gkjM The Birdcage Making plain the ridiculousness of right-wing conservative homophobia, The Birdcage saw Williams delve into the world of gay cabaret to expose widely shared prejudice and bullshit. Playing South Beach drag club owner Armand Goldman in this remake of the hugely popular French musical farce La Cage aux Folles, Williams and his drag queen partner (Nathan Lane) have to put up a 'straight front' in front of a his son's fiance's narrow-minded parents. Damn good comedic timing from Williams and Lane makes a mockery of disdain and small-minded attitudes, with the subtlety of Williams balanced by the high pitched screams of Lane. Williams Gold: "Yes, I wear foundation. Yes, I live with a man. Yes, I'm a middle-aged 'fag'. But I know who I am, Val. It took me twenty years to get here and I'm not gonna let some idiot senator destroy that. Fuck the senator, I don't give a damn what he thinks." https://youtube.com/watch?v=qM-gZintWDc Good Will Hunting The role that earned Williams his Oscar (and rightly so). Teaming up with Matt Damon for a genuinely kickass onscreen partnership, Williams channelled all previous dramatic experience into his role as Sean Maguire, counselling Damon's troubled mathematical genius. Nailing a particularly rousing, almost one-take monologue in the park, Williams' performance cuts to the core of knowledge versus experience, knowing about something as opposed to feeling it. Then there's his delving into "superphilosophy" and Dead Poet's Society-like Take Control speeches. Williams Gold: "You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated." https://youtube.com/watch?v=MAp8j4c2LGs Mrs Doubtfire Tackling divorce in an accessible way for your inevitably young viewers is a masterful skill for any film team — and Chris Columbus's Mrs Doubtfire nailed it. Dragging up in order to secretly spend time with his kids, Williams' wild and wonderful lead role as Daniel Hillard was deliberately appealing to a broad audience, dissolving the stigma attached to divorce at the time by making the simple facts plain (not to mention the Tootsie-like gender role adventure). Groundbreaking for the time, Sally Field (Miranda Hillard) and Williams didn't get back together in the end. So while audiences were chortling over Williams' fiery breasts or whipped cream face mask, the comedic master was giving a lesson in attitude change. High-freakin-five. Williams Gold: "Sink the sub. Hide the weasel. Park the porpoise. A bit of the old Humpty Dumpty, Little Jack Horny, the Horizontal Mambo, hmm? The Bone Dancer, Rumpleforeskin, Baloney Bop, a bit of the old Cunning Linguistics?" https://youtube.com/watch?v=W4fmVJ3nPs0 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Soaring through the rainforest canopy and throwing down a mean rap, Williams' Batty Koda taught us one important environmental lesson: humans truly suck. Teaching us to respect the natural environment, stop being tossers and Damn the Loggers, FernGully saw the fairy community and the recently-freed-from-animal-testing Batty take on a freakin' terrifying Tim Curry-voiced, human-released menace called Hexxus. Rapping out his terrifying past and constantly 'changing channels' through his human-installed aerial, Batty was one of Williams' most underrated performances — voiced the very same year as his kickass Aladdin genie (every inch worth a spot in our ten, we ran out of room for Williams chockers resume). Williams Gold: (Best rapped out loud) "I've been brain-fried, electrified, infected, and injectified, vivisectified and fed pesticides. My face is all cut up 'cause my radar's all shut up. Nurse, I need a check-up from the neck up. I'm Batt-ay." https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gl3e-OUnavQ Sesame Street A constant friend to the imaginary, education-addicted New York City street, Williams opened our minds to many a truth nugget as youngsters. While it's actually quite sad to watch his tutorial on how to tell whether something is alive, his clip unpacking conflict (above) is just adorable. Then there was that time he gave Elmo a stick. For years, Williams trained our silly young'un minds about things that matter, now Sesame Street mourns their lost, loveable friend. Williams Gold: "You can be playing baseball in the World Series, hit it over the fence and realise "I'M THE ONE." Or maybe you can be playing hockey... or you can be at the Olympics, throwing the javelin... Or you can be doing incredible things like riding a horse through the pass, leading all the wagons through. Or you can have a cane and you're dancing around with Tommy Tune, or it can be a conductor's baton... You can be at the head of the parade, or you can be AN ENGLISH OFFICER MARCHING FOR NO REASON, AROUND, BACK AND FORTH, or you can be playing pool..." (Williams on the uses of a stick.) https://youtube.com/watch?v=JsJxIoFu2wo Hook Growing up is overrrated. We all knew this was the main Peter Pan soapbox, until Williams took us through imaginary food fights, insult-slinging and Dustin Hoffman showdowns while keeping his grown-up life (read: family) together. The film that pretty much embodied Williams' anti-growing up lifelong persona, Hook saw Williams lend a new street cred to Pan, one absent in Jeremy Sumpter's poor 2003 effort. Williams opened our minds to the art of insults at the dinner table, a true artform. So if growing up comes with being a fusty, fun-hating adult and losing your ability to silence a regular Rufio, sign us up for a ticket to Williams' Neverland. Williams Gold: "Rufio, if I'm a maggot burger why don't you eat me! You two-toned zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin' paramecium brain, munchin' on your own mucus, suffering from Peter Pan envy! I'll tell you what a paramecium is. That's the paramecium. It's a one-celled critter with no brain, that can't fly. Don't mess with me man, I'm a lawyer!" https://youtube.com/watch?v=wuk8AOjGURE Good Morning Vietnam Shaking things up on breakfast radio is one thing, doing it on a US Armed Services Radio station during the Vietnam War is another. Playing the highly unorthodox DJ , Williams nabbed another Oscar nomination for giving a finger to the system as Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam. Diverting from his dull, monotonous radio predecessors, Cronauer's dynamite, wacky morning broadcasts turn real when he experiences first-hand the horrors of war — a broadcast truth that sees him replaced and facing another battle to get back on the air. Williams balances wacky outlandishness with dramatic poignancy, channelling all the Damn the Man finesse with high-fiveable conviction. And if we could wake up every day to Williams respect for microphone technique instead of certain bullshit shock jocks, we'd be outstandingly happy campers. Williams Gold: "GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAAAAAAAAAAAAM." https://youtube.com/watch?v=PXeSgVk5aH4 Stand-Up Outspoken on everything from porn to the Vatican (and often blending the two), Williams made no compromises for his stand-up gold. Exposing hypocrisy in the Bible, taking digs at the Pope and slamming homophobia, Williams countless stand-up tours opened minds to prejudice, stupidity and the questionable nature of religious doctrine — made immortal through the biggest catalogue of vocal impressions you've ever seen in one sitting. Williams Gold: "In the beginning, Genesis, 'let there be light.' Could that be a metaphor for the Big Bang? 'No. God just went click.'" https://youtube.com/watch?v=v9g1yRXF8I8 Mork and Mindy "Nanu-Nanu." Less WTF than Bowie's The Man Who Fell to Earth and significantly less heartbreaking than ET, Mork and Mindy made a rambunctious ride out of alien-human relations. One of Williams' first real lead roles, Mork was a spin-off show from his bit character on Happy Days — Williams had impressed producer Gerry Marshall who cast him on the spot, later quipping that Williams was the only alien who auditioned for M&M. A bonafide archive of Williams' comic voices, slapstick and twinkly humour, Mork made us question the weird, wonderful and (most often) trivia parts of human life and the things we take for granted. Williams Gold: "If my knees knock any louder, I'm gonna look inside my pants and see who's there." Vale, Robin Williams. You freakin' ruled. Anyone across Australia experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide can contact Lifeline. Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation their trained volunteers are ready to listen, provide support and referrals. Lifeline answer around 1800 calls every day from Australians needing crisis support and suicide prevention services. Lifeline provide all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to online, phone and face-to-face crisis support and suicide prevention services. Call 13 11 14 for 24hr telephone crisis support or visit their website here.
Enjoying a glass of wine might come with plenty of medical benefits, but having a tipple isn't typically an exercise-heavy pastime. You sit. You drink. You get up, top up your beverage and repeat. You usually don't walk particularly far, let alone run. At a new series of wine-tasting fun runs about to take place around Australia, however, you'll put in the hard yards before you get the boozy rewards. The Grapest 5K run consists of two sections. First, you sprint, jog or set forth at whatever pace suits you best, making your way through scenic vineyard surroundings. Then, you walk another kilometre — yes, in addition to the first five, or ten if you're feeling extra energetic — while stopping at tasting stations along the way and sampling the good stuff. Don't worry, if you're not up to the first part and you're simply keen on wandering and sipping, that's an option (although it does defeat the idea of combining fitness with throwing back drinks). The first run takes place on February 11 at Balgownie Estate in Bendigo, with a second scheduled on March 4 at Coolangatta Estate in Shoalhaven, south of Woollongong. Further events are mooted in the Hunter Valley, Brisbane, Margaret River in Western Australia, Langhorne Creek in South Australia and Canberra throughout the rest of the year. For more information, visit the Grapest 5k run website.
Follow is a new design concept store huddled in the warmth of a heritage-listed former pharmacy at 380 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills that has just opened its doors to the world. The store is the work of the same duo who produced the Finders Keepers Market, who we are very much a fan of, through which they have been supporting emerging design since they began back in 2007. At the moment, shop doors will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 11am – 6pm, and Sundays from 11am-4pm. Follow showcases a carefully curated selection of over 40 independent designers from all over Australia, featuring products from art prints, contemporary jewellery, clothing, textiles and homewares. The designs and limited edition products will be continually rotated, so you're sure to always find something new and exciting, particularly if their amazing work with Finders Keepers in anything to go by. ‘But,’ you are saying, ‘this place is all the way over in Surry Hills and that’s an entire bus ride away and not only is it raining outside but I have had three colds in two months and every time I get on a bus I get sneezed on by someone who clearly hasn’t learnt sneezing etiquette.’ (This may or may not be a projection of my state of mind on to you). However, allay your concerns - they are also working on an online store. And you know how I feel when I hear things like that? Unconditional love and a fierce impulse to accept the bank's offer of an increase on my credit card limit. Check them out below.
When Fortitude Valley gained its newest laneway, California Lane, it celebrated the occasion with a festival. Of course, there's never a bad time to throw a fest in the Valley, so the suburb's trio of laneways — aka Bakery Lane, Winn Lane and California Lane — are putting on three weekend-long mini festivals between November 3 and 17. Welcome Back to the Lanes gets underway with live tunes across the three spots, as well as Tym's Guitars, from 11.30am on Saturday, November 3. Then check out three hours of music at Phase 4 from 3pm on Sunday, November 4 — and come back again for the next two weekends. The times and lineup will change each week, so keep your eyes peeled; however A Love Supreme, Sacred Shrines, Stone Cold Fox and the Pete Allan Collective are among the first acts on the bill. As well as a free soundtrack, the event is designed to get you soaking up the space between Ann Street, Brunswick Street, McLachlan Street and Winn Lane — so, between sets, you won't be lacking in places to eat and drink.
On the lookout for a dope new denim jacket? Or do you want to be rid of that weird-looking lamp taking up space in the living room? Then, by golly, you're in luck. The Garage Sale Trail works with local council partners Australia-wide to get as many trash-and-treasure troves happening on the same day as possible. More than 18,000 garages are expected to open their doors to bargain hunters, selling two million items, when the event returns for its tenth time across the weekend of Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20. Aside from the retro goodies up for grabs, the Trail is all about sustainability. Instead of ending up in landfill, unwanted clutter becomes a fantastic find. So get that tight pair of sunnies for peanuts and help the environment at the same time. The Garage Sale Trail began humbly in Bondi in 2010 and is growing bigger every year. There'll be a right slew of sales happening all around Brisbane, so keep your eyes on the event website — or register online from Saturday, August 10 to make a quick buck from your old junk and hang out with the friendly folks in your hood.
First we had beer flavoured like food, and now at long last we've got beer that is food. Yep, move over Nutella, there's a spreadable beer in town by the name of Birra Spalmabile. It hails from Italy's Cittareale, where Emanuela Laurenzi of Alta Quota Brewery and Pietro Napoleone of Napoleone Chocolatiers have combined their expertise in something of a dream team. The duo unveiled their invention at Turin’s Salone de Gusto food fair, where the spreadable beer caused quite a stir, and we're not surprised. Birra Spalmabile (literally translated to 'beer spread') reportedly goes down nicely with a slice of cheese. (And you thought you were weird for combining peanut butter and vegemite on your sandwiches.) Also useable as a filling in cake, the spread comes in two flavours — Omid dark ale and Greta blonde ale, the first being a little more intense than the latter and each made of 40 percent beer. Though not stocked in any Aussie stores, you can order a jar or ten directly from the source by emailing commericiale@birraaltaquota.it. Just expect to pay its weight in gold for delivery. Via NY Post
Getting philosophical about existence can mean bobbing between two extremes. At one end, life means everything, so we need to make the absolute most of it. At the other, nothing at all matters. When genre-bending and mind-melting time-loop comedy-drama Russian Doll first hit Netflix in 2019, it served up a party full of mysteries — a repeating party overflowing with chaos and questions, to be precise — but it also delivered a few absolute truths, too. Fact one: it's possible to posit that life means everything and nothing at once, all by watching Natasha Lyonne relive the same day (and same 36th birthday party) over and over. Fact two: a show led by the Orange Is the New Black, Irresistible and The United States vs Billie Holiday star, and co-created by the actor with Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler, plus Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People filmmaker Leslye Headland, was always going be a must-see. Russian Doll's first season wasn't just one of the best TV shows of 2019, but one of the smartest, savviest and funniest, all while making the utmost of its Groundhog Day-meets-The Good Place setup. It tasked Lyonne's chain-smoking, acerbic and misanthropic New Yorker Nadia Vulvokov with cycling through the same date again and again, experiencing both gruesome and mundane deaths, and attempting to work out what this whole life business is all about. It was dark, heartfelt, amusing and innovative, as well as clever and compelling, especially in examining fate, logic, life's loops, wading through limbo, what counts in the time we have and if anyone can ever truly make a difference. (Also, it made the world appreciate how Lyonne pronounces "cockroach", something that never, ever gets old.) It took three years, but Russian Doll has finally returned for its seven-episode second season. The glorious news for sweet birthday babies who've gotta get up, gotta get out, gotta get home before the mornin' comes: it's smarter and weirder than its predecessor, and just as delightful. In the process, it achieves a tricky feat, because making more of a show that's already about duplicating the same events could've proven a lazy and easy rehash. Indeed, Russian Doll season two stresses another key fact: that taking a leap, twisting even further, and seeing life's ups and downs as a trip is always better than treading water. At the end of Russian Doll's first season, self-destructive video-game designer Nadia closed the live-die-repeat dilemma plaguing both her and mild-mannered fellow NYC-dweller Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett, You). The pair found a way to wind up "the one about the broken man and the lady with a death wish that got stuck in a loop," as Nadia describes, and the series came to such a glorious conclusion that no follow-up was really necessary. But in season two, death isn't the problem. Instead, time is. It was an issue before, given the duo couldn't move with it, only back through the same events — but now, via the New York subway's No 6 train, Nadia and Alan are speeding into the past to explore cause and effect, inherited struggles and intergenerational trauma. "Inexplicable things happening is my entire modus operandi," Nadia notes — with Lyonne as dynamite as ever in the wisecracking, angry-yet-tender, career-reshaping part — but it's also Alan's as well. They're now time prisoners, and their efforts to improve the present through the past leave sizeable ripples upon the pair themselves. There's no party as a catalyst, but there's still a birthday, with the narrative unfolding as Nadia's about to turn 40. Reaching that age has long been shorthand for reflection, crisis, taking stock of regrets and rethinking the future; however, it doesn't usually mean hopping to Berlin and Budapest from years gone by to learn not only how to stay alive, as the first season covered, but how to truly revel in every heartbeat regardless of whether it counts for something, nothing or everything. It's impossible to imagine how Russian Doll would work without Lyonne at its centre. Its mood, humour and look are so tied to the actor, who spits out sharp lines as naturally as breathing, wears the hell out of Nadia's overcoat and cascading crimson curls, and ensures that the flimsy chasm between being carefree and reckless is layered and relatable. Season two sees Lyonne also take over showrunning duties from Headland — and writing and directing three of its episodes, including its first and last instalments — so the fact that it dances so firmly as one with its leading lady is unsurprising as well as thrilling. Barnett's Alan doesn't get as much screentime as viewers would like as a result, but he's just as adept at making a splash in the time he has as he was in season one. (Add that to the show's list of truths across its entire run, clearly.) Sprawling and surreal, inventive and heartfelt, and somehow both skeptical and sentimental, Russian Doll is many things in season two, as it was in its debut airing. Now, it's also home to more of the always-welcome Chloë Sevigny (The Girl From Plainview) as Nadia's late mother Nora, the similarly returning Greta Lee (Sisters) as party-throwing pal Maxine, plus Schitt's Creek and Kevin Can F**k Himself star Annie Murphy and District 9's Sharlto Copley as series newcomers. Naturally, the twists that lead the latter two into the story are best discovered by watching, but they arise within a show that jumps backwards and keeps questioning that move simultaneously. That comes through stylistically — see: the visual cues taken from 70s cinema — and in snappy dialogue, profound themes and wily plot developments that muse on constant change versus hard-earned acceptance. Yes, Russian Doll is definitely back, entertainingly so, and serving up another wonderful on-screen matryoshka doll of life-pondering insights and time-twisting trickery for audiences to entrancingly unstack. And, it inspires its own IRL loop for beguiled viewers, too — because once you're done watching it, you'll want to cycle back and start all over again. Check out the full trailer for Russian Doll's second season below: The second season of Russian Doll is available to stream via Netflix. Read our review of the first season. Images: Netflix.
No one likes leaving their pet at home when they go on holiday. No one loves moving interstate with them flying in the cargo hold, either. A solution might be on the way, however, with Virgin Australia announcing its intention to allow small dogs and cats in the cabins of its aircraft — as long as it gets the regulatory tick of approval to do so. At present, all pets except authorised service and assistance dogs can't join humans while they're soaring through the skies. Instead, they fly underneath amid the luggage. But everyone who shares their life with a pooch or mouser knows that they want to do everything that people can do. In fact, they think they're people. Here's one way they'll be able to, ideally within 12 months. If it is signed off by the aviation powers that be, this will be the first time that an airline in Australia has allowed pets in its cabins. There will be rules, of course, including the fact that only small dogs and cats will be permitted, that the option will only be available on selected domestic routes and that pets will have to stay in a Virgin Australia-approved pet carrier under the seat in front of you for the whole flight. There'll also be designated rows for folks travelling with pets — which mightn't suit your cat if it isn't fond of dogs, or vice versa. And, if you're dreaming of your pupper or feline sitting on your lap or walking around the cabin, that obviously won't be allowed either. On the ground before you hop on the plane, then once you disembark, your pet will need to stay in its carrier as well, other than at the relief areas that will be part of Virgin's terminals. There's no word yet which routes will soon allow four-legged friends for company, or how much bringing them onboard might cost — but there will be a fee. The current arrangement with service and assistance animals will continue, so they'll still be permitted to travel in the cabin without an extra cost. Virgin Australia also will still transport pets in the cargo hold. "We expect the pets in cabin concept will prove a popular offering and we look forward to working with Virgin Australia to make it a reality," said Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus. Tell your pet to pack their suitcase — and start asking them about their dream interstate holiday. Virgin Australia hopes to allow small dogs and cats in its cabins on select domestic flights within the next 12 months. We'll update you when more details are announced. For more information about Virgin Australia's current pet policies in the interim, head to the airline's website. Images: Alex Coppel.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. X When the Scream franchise posed the question it'll forever be known for, it skipped over a key word. Ghostface is clearly asking "do you like watching scary movies?", given the entire point of frightening flicks is seeing their thrills and chills, and being creeped out, entertained or both. We all know that's what the mask-wearing killer means, of course, but the act of viewing is such a crucial part of the horror-film equation that it's always worth overtly mentioning. Enter new slasher standout X, which splashes its buckets of viscera and gore across the screen with as much nodding and winking as the Scream pictures — without ever uttering that iconic phrase, though, and thankfully in a far less smug fashion than 2022's fifth instalment in that series — and firmly thrusts cinema's voyeuristic tendencies to the fore. That name, X, doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. In this blood-splattered throwback, which looks like it could've been unearthed from its chosen decade in every frame (and was actually filmed in New Zealand rather than Texas), West pays homage to a time when flicks like this did pop up with frequency — while slyly commenting on what's changed to shift that scenario. He also explores the process of filmmaking, of putting both sex and death on-screen, and the conversation around both, all while his characters decamp to a quiet guesthouse on a remote property where they start making the film-within-the-film that is The Farmer's Daughter. Upon arrival, gun-toting, televangelist-watching, pitchfork-wielding owner Howard (Stephen Ure, Mortal Engines) is instantly unfriendly. Wayne hasn't told him why they're really there, but he's soon snooping around to see for himself. Also keen on watching the bumping 'n' grinding is Howard's ailing wife Pearl, who he warns his guests to stay away from, but is drawn to the flesh on show. Read our full review. RIVER Some actors possess voices that could narrate almost anything, and Willem Dafoe is one of them. Move over Morgan Freeman: when Dafoe speaks, his dulcet vocals echoing atop gorgeous imagery of the world's waterways as happens in River, being entranced by the sound is the only natural response. He's tasked with uttering quite the elegiac prose in this striking documentary, and he gives all that musing about tributaries and creeks — the planet's arteries, he calls them at one point — a particularly resonant and enthralling tone. Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) knew he would, of course. She enlisted his talents on her last documentary, Mountain, as well. Both films pick one of the earth's crucial natural features, lens them in all their glory at multiple spots around the globe, and wax lyrical about their importance. Both make for quite the beguiling viewing experience. Thanks to writer Robert Macfarlane, Dafoe has been given much to opine in River — and what he's asked to say is obviously even more crucial than the fact that it's the Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Card Counter, The French Dispatch and Nightmare Alley star expressing it. The subject is right there in the title, but the film's aims are as big and broad as an ocean, covering the history of these snaking streams from the planet's creation up until today. "Humans have long loved rivers," Dafoe announces, which seems like a self-evident statement; however, not one to trade in generalisations without evidence, River then unpacks exactly what that means. It also uses that idea as a foundation, but paired with another, which Dafoe also gives voice to — this time as a question: "as we have learned to harness their power, have we also forgotten to revere them?". The answer is blatant, lapping away at the souls of everyone who lives in a river city and passes their central watercourse daily without giving it a second thought. Indeed, that plain-as-day response ripples with even more force to anyone who has been struck by the waterways' power when natural disasters strike, a fact that hits close to home after Australia's disastrously flooded summer across Queensland and New South Wales — timing that the movie isn't overtly trying to capitalise upon, given it first started doing the rounds of film festivals in 2021, and has had its March 2022 date with Aussie cinemas booked in for months. A documentary doesn't have to tell viewers something wholly new to evoke wonder, though. Conveying well-known truths in unforgettable and affecting ways has always been one of cinema's key skills, whether working in fact or fiction. River's sentiments won't come as a surprise, but it still feels like a fresh splash of water upon a parched face. Dafoe's narration and the film in general hone in on the importance of rivers to human civilisation since its very beginnings, starting with the unshakeable reality that rivers have made much in our evolution possible. Also just as pivotal: the devastation we've wrought in response since we learned to harness all that water for our own purposes, irrigate the land far and wide, and take an abundance of H2O for granted, which River doesn't ebb away from. The prose is flowery, but never overdone; its eager quest for potent poetry, or to be mentioned in the same breath as Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, always feels attuned to the awe it holds for its eponymous streams. It's also on par with Dafoe, Peedom and Macfarlane's work back in 2017 on Mountain, which was similarly hypnotic — and became the highest-grossing non-IMAX Australian documentary ever made, a claim to fame it still holds today. Read our full review. NOWHERE SPECIAL If the way that cinema depicts cancer was plotted out on a scale, Babyteeth and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could easily demonstrate its extremes. One sees its protagonist as a person first and a patient last; the other uses terminal illness as a catalyst for other people's sorrows and struggles (the "dying girl" part of its moniker, right there at the end, is oh-so-telling about how it regards someone with cancer as little but an afterthought). Nowhere Special thankfully sits at the Babyteeth end of the spectrum. That said, its premise screams weepie, and being moved by its story happens easily. But there's an enormous difference between earning that response through an intimate and delicate story about a person's plight — and, here, their quest to provide for the person dearest to them after they're gone — and merely treating their life-and-death tussle as easy grist for the tear-jerking mill. Nowhere Special follows a 35-year-old single father in Belfast, John (James Norton, Little Women), who needs to find an adoptive family for his four-year-old boy (first-timer Daniel Lamont). His cancer has progressed, and now the doting dad and window cleaner's days are numbered, so he's determined to save his son Michael from more sorrow than his absence will naturally bring — in a situation that's pure emotion-courting fodder, but never manipulatively treated as such. Indeed, writer/director Uberto Pasolini opts for understatement and realism, including over overtly endeavouring to incite the kind of non-stop waterworks that most movies with this premise would eagerly turn on. The filmmaker's last feature, 2013's Still Life, was also just as beautifully measured and tender without mawkishness. Although the gap between his two latest pictures is sizeable time-wise, Pasolini hasn't lost his touch for making sensitive and affecting cinema. Suffering an illness that's turned fatal, and possessing little energy to get through everything that comes with being a single father, John's own fate isn't his primary concern. Nowhere Special takes time to dwell in the routine that marks its protagonist's remaining days — washing panes of glass, making the most of the time he has left with Michael, trying to secure his son new parents, feeling exhausted by all of it but still soldiering on while he can — which seems both mundane and extraordinary in tandem. The always-unspoken fact that life goes on even when it doesn't lingers throughout the film, as stark as a freshly cleaned, newly gleaming window, and contributes to the prevailing bittersweet mood. That's Nowhere Special's baseline. As it charts John's efforts to get Michael the best future he possibly can without himself in it, it soaks in the ups and downs of the pair's life together, recognising that it's both ordinary and remarkable — because all lives are. The search at hand is a difficult one, even when pursued with the best of intentions — by John and with the help of social worker Shona (Eileen O'Higgins, Misbehaviour). Unsurprisingly, finding the right people, or person, to entrust your child to forever is a heartbreaking job, and the weight of what John grapples with never fades from the film's emotional landscape. Features that treat ailing characters so considerately may be uncommon, and they are; however, pictures that willingly face the complicated questions, worries and fears that come with knowing your existence is about to end are rarer still. It might come as little surprise that Pasolini found his tale in reality, reportedly after reading a newspaper article about a man in the same circumstances as John, but how gracefully, attentively and still unflinchingly Nowhere Special fleshes out its story never fails to astonish. Read our full review. RRR The letters in RRR's title are short for Rise Roar Revolt. They could also stand for riveting, rollicking and relentless. They link in with the Indian action movie's three main forces, too — writer/director SS Rajamouli (Baahubali: The Beginning), plus stars NT Rama Rao Jr (Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava) and Ram Charan (Vinaya Vidheya Rama) — and could describe the sound of some of its standout moments. What noise echoes when a motorcycle is used in a bridge-jumping rescue plot, as aided by a horse and the Indian flag, amid a crashing train? Or when a truck full of wild animals is driven into a decadent British colonialist shindig and its caged menagerie unleashed? What racket resounds when a motorbike figures again, this time tossed around by hand (yes, really) to knock out those imperialists, and then an arrow is kicked through a tree into someone's head? Or, when the movie's two leads fight, shoot, leap over walls and get acrobatic, all while one is sat on the other's shoulders? RRR isn't subtle. Instead, it's big, bright, boisterous, boldly energetic, and brazenly unapologetic about how OTT and hyperactive it is. The 187-minute Tollywood action epic — complete with huge musical numbers, of course — is also a vastly captivating pleasure to watch. Narrative-wise, it follows the impact of the British Raj (aka England's rule over the subcontinent between 1858–1947), especially upon two men. In the 1920s, Bheem (Jr NTR, as Rao is known) is determined to rescue young fellow villager Malli (first-timer Twinkle Sharma), after she's forcibly taken by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, Vikings) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody, Beaver Falls) for no reason but they're powerful and they can. Officer Raju (Charan) is tasked by the crown with making sure Bheem doesn't succeed in rescuing the girl, and also keeping India's population in their place because their oppressors couldn't be more prejudiced. There's more to both men's stories because there's so much more to RRR's story; to fill the movie's lengthy running time, Rajamouli hasn't skimped on plot. Indeed, there's such a wealth of things going on that the film is at once a kidnapping melodrama, a staunch missive against colonialism, a political drama, a rom-com and a culture-clash comedy — involving Bheem's affection for the sole kindly Brit, Jenny (Olivia Morris, Hotel Portofino) — and a war movie. It's a buddy comedy as well, starting when Bheem and Raja join forces for that aforementioned bridge rescue, yet don't realise they're on opposite sides in the battle over Malli. It's also as spectacular an action flick as has graced cinema screens, and as gleefully overblown. Plus, it's an infectiously mesmerising musical. One dazzling dance-off centrepiece doubles as a rebuff against British rule, racism and classism, in fact, and it's also nothing short of phenomenal to look at, too. Spectacle is emphatically the word for RRR — not quite from its scene-setting opening, where Malli is ripped from her family, but from the second that Raju shows how well he can handle himself. That involves taking on a hefty horde of protesters single-handedly with just a stick as a weapon, because extravagance and excess is baked into every second of the feature. Super-sized is another term that clearly fits, because little holds back even for a second. And a third word, if the film bumped up its moniker to the next letter in the alphabet? That'd be sincere. An enormous reason that everything that's larger than life about RRR — which is absolutely everything — works, even when it's also often silly and cheesy, is because it's so earnest about how determined it is to entertain. You don't use that amount of slow-motion shots if you don't know you're being corny at times, unashamedly so. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on November 4, November 11, November 18 and November 25; December 2, December 9, December 16 and December 26; January 1, January 6, January 13, January 20 and January 27; February 3, February 10, February 17 and February 24; and March 3, March 10 and March 17. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Eternals, The Many Saints of Newark, Julia, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Zola, Last Night in Soho, Blue Bayou, The Rescue, Titane, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Dune, Encanto, The Card Counter, The Lost Leonardo, The French Dispatch, Don't Look Up, Dear Evan Hansen, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Lost Daughter, The Scary of Sixty-First, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, The Matrix Resurrections, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Worst Person in the World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, The King's Man, Red Rocket, Scream, The 355, Gold, King Richard, Limbo, Spencer, Nightmare Alley, Belle, Parallel Mothers, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Belfast, Here Out West, Jackass Forever, Benedetta, Drive My Car, Death on the Nile, C'mon C'mon, Flee, Uncharted, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Cyrano, Hive, Studio 666, The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog and Anonymous Club.
If it's a challenge you seek, try travelling the depths of Scandinavia on a budget. Many are deterred from visiting the region based on how expensive it's known to be, but we're here to tell you that even the most frugal person who dreams of traversing these extrafjordinary countries can make it happen. And it's hella worth it. Travelling through Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland is never going to be as budget-friendly as backpacking around Southeast Asia, but there are always ways to cut down on expenditure — whether it's kayaking down a fjord, teaching yourself Swedish or eating Norwegian hot dogs for every meal. Here are our top tips. [caption id="attachment_604853" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Holbergsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark. Image: Tony Webster via Flickr.[/caption] GET ON YER BIKE Well, someone else's bike. Public transport tickets in Scandinavian countries pummel the wallet. A two-hour bus ticket in Oslo or Copenhagen will cost you about AUD$20. Instead, hire a bike. You can find them for as low as AUD$40 a day. These cities are seriously built for cycling; in Copenhagen bikes outnumber cars, and it's unrivalled as the world's best city for cycling, with endless and impeccable bike lanes and parking. If you're staying in an Airbnb, don't be afraid to ask if your host has a bike you can borrow — just give them a little extra cash for it. [caption id="attachment_604839" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Svolvær, Lotofen Islands, Norway.[/caption] LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION Most of the time, hostels are more expensive than renting an Airbnb. Even the cheapest of Airbnb's are great alternatives — Scandinavians have an embedded sense of style, so most apartments are a pleasure to stay in. From our experience, they're often decked out with chic furniture and kitchen utensils you never knew existed. If staying in an actual building is too mainstream for you, try a 'botel' (a boat converted into a hotel). The canals of Stockholm's Södermalm are lined with long budget-friendly botels such as The Red Boat and Mälardrottningen. [caption id="attachment_604830" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway.[/caption] MAKE USE OF THE NATURAL WATERWAYS Mother Nature favoured Scandinavia with plunging fjords and glistening lakes — and they're totally free to swim in. You don't need to be in the countryside to find these either — salvation by H20 can also be found in the big cities. Stockholm's canals, amazingly, are clean enough to swim in. Notable spots include Långholmen and Liljeholmsviken. Oslo's city centre has a fjord at its doorstep, and in the summer people flock to Tjuvholmen, a small beach located near the Opera House for their dose of refreshment. [caption id="attachment_604841" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Aurland, Norway.[/caption] WHEN IN NORWAY, GO COUNTRY To travel to the fjord-packed lands of Norway ignites something in everyone. Don't be surprised if you spot seven waterfalls at once, or are startled by a gang of elk galloping by. Getting to the countryside may not be cheap, but you'll find yourself immediately inspired. Even if you're not usually a hiker, you'll get into it here. Norway, Sweden and Finland also have this nifty little law known as 'the freedom to roam', which guarantees everyone's right to access uncultivated lands. This means you can virtually camp anywhere that isn't classified as private property. So buy yourself a tent and get going. [caption id="attachment_604831" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Triangeln Station, Malmö, Sweden.[/caption] BOOK TRANSPORT TICKETS IN THE COUNTRY'S NATIVE LANGUAGE Sure, this is a little risky. But if you book a ticket in English, chances are the price will rise. It's the equivalent to waving your arms around screaming 'hi, I'm a tourist, exploit me!'. For instance, booking an overnight ferry on Hurtigruten from Norway's iconic Lofoten Islands up to the northern city of Tromsø will cost you about $350 if you book in English. Ain't no one got money like that for one night in a pitch black cabin with no window — even Jack had it better on the Titanic. Book in Norwegian, and you'll save about $150. You'll find that Scandinavian languages have some level of mutual intelligibility with English. But if you're still not 100 percent sure, ask a local to assist you. [caption id="attachment_604855" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Chris Street via Flickr.[/caption] CHOOSE A KAYAK OVER A DAY CRUISE Kayaking is significantly cheaper than day cruises of fjords and canals. You'll see the same thing — and arguably more — on a kayak. Plus, it's an opportunity to work off all that softis (an addictive Norwegian soft serve ice-cream) you guzzled down the day before. [caption id="attachment_604859" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: David Blangstrup via Flickr.[/caption] MAKE SUPERMARKETS YOUR BEST FRIEND Food in these countries is notoriously expensive, and if you're eating out, it adds up quickly. And while you should save some moolah to tuck into a few local delicacies — Swedish meatballs, anyone? — native food isn't really the region's strong point, so you won't be missing out on too much. Cook at every chance you get. Aldi, Rema 1000, Coop and Netto are a few supermarkets look out for. Speaking of groceries, buy them in Denmark and take them overseas. 'Don't leave without going to the supermarket!' is a common phrase for Danish people leaving the country to hear. Denmark's goods are significantly cheaper than anywhere else, so stock up before moving on. [caption id="attachment_604846" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Malmö, Sweden.[/caption] GO TO MALMÖ Malmö is Sweden's cosmopolitan underdog. It's the country's third largest city and has too much to offer. Firstly, going there after spending some time in Stockholm is totally relieving on the money front. Secondly, it's plump with modern museums, medieval buildings and stunning parks — you'll never be bored. And thirdly, the city is made up of 150 ethnicities, meaning the variety of cuisines on offer is extensive. You'll find Middle Eastern wraps almost every 300 metres, as well as your breakfast croissants and baguettes. It's also a great point of access to Copenhagen. All it takes is a 25-minute train ride over the Øresund Bridge to cross countries. [caption id="attachment_604857" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Ruocaled via Flickr.[/caption] MAKE USE OF IKEA Yes, we're serious. Among the many amazing things to come out of Sweden is the glorious adult's playground, IKEA. The store offers a free shuttle bus from Stockholm's city centre, where you can indulge in a meal of Swedish meatballs topped with lingonberry, gravy and complemented with mash potato, all for a whopping AUD$6. [caption id="attachment_604851" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Francisco Antunes via Flickr.[/caption] EAT HOTDOGS Cheap, tasty, everywhere. Top it with some sprøstekt løk (Norwegian dried onion flakes) and you'll be laughing. And totally satisfied. [caption id="attachment_604832" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Oslo Opera House, Norway.[/caption] FIND FREE ACTIVITIES (YES, THERE ARE SOME) Scandinavia has no shortage of insane buildings — there's enough to impress the biggest design aficionado you know, right down to those with no interest in architecture at all. You could spend hours waltzing around Oslo's iconic Opera House, or visiting Holmenkollen, one of the city's old ski jumps that has been converted into a museum. That's among endless design, naval, and Viking museums scattered around each country. [caption id="attachment_604850" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.[/caption] SEEK OUT STUDENT DISCOUNTS The joys of being a student. If you're lucky enough to still be one, you can get discounts on selected transport tickets, museum tickets and more. An International Student Identity Card (ISIC) will be accepted at most places, but others will accept your university student card if you're lucky. Caterina Hrysomallis is a food and travel writer based in Melbourne, and is pretty nifty with a budget. All photos are her own unless otherwise stated.
Footscray's Mr West is known for many things: its craft beer-packed bottle shop, its dog-friendly bar, its charcuterie boards and its espresso martini and negronis on tap. Previously, you had to visit the Melbourne bar to try said cocktails, but now you can have them delivered to your door. In 1.5-litre 'bagnums', no less. Made with Mr Black Coffee Liqueur, Boston Black cold drip coffee, stout and vodka, the Good Spirits espresso martini packs a serious alcohol- and caffeinated-punch. The Good Spirits negroni is made with Poor Toms dry gin, Campari and Mr West's house-blended vermouth. It's suggested you serve the latter over ice with an orange garnish, but straight-up in a mug is okay, too. Each 'bagnum' (a portmanteau of 'bag' and 'magnum') costs $99 and contains 12 serves of espresso martini and 20 serves of negroni, which works out to be about $8 a serve for the former and $5 for the latter (a bargain). As an added bonus, the espresso martini bag also comes with a mini Parisian cocktail shaker, so you can froth up your drink a little before serving. If you're located in surrounding suburbs in Melbourne, you can get the bagnums delivered to your door within an hour from 1–7pm daily for a $7.50 flat rate. Sydneysiders and Brisbanites can get them shipped in three-to-ten days from $12. Mr West's online bottle shop doesn't just have oversized cocktail bags, either. You'll also find a whole heap of craft beers, natural wines, local and international spirits, sakes and so much more. Those wanting to commit to more regular drinking can also sign up to Mr West's subscription service Good Booze Project, which sees boxes of three, six or 12 wines and beers delivered to your door every month. You can order a Good Spirits espresso martini or negroni bagnums via the Mr West online shop.
Canberra music, food and art festival Spilt Milk is set to return to the capital this November, celebrating its third outing with a suitably huge lineup, announced this morning. Heading up the bill is none other than US hip hop star Childish Gambino, fresh off the back of a #1 Billboard Charts debut for his single This Is America. He hasn't yet announced any other Australian shows, but Spilt Milk isn't billing his appearance as an exclusive, so chances are he'll announce at least a few more shows. (We've still got out fingers crossed that he bring his Pharos festival here after New Zealand.) He'll be joined at the capital's Commonwealth Park on November 17 by fellow international stars, UK pop legends The Wombats and LA producer RL Grime. There's also plenty of homegrown goodness on the menu, with the likes of Sydney singer-songwriter Vera Blue, indie-pop sensation Jack River, dance floor darling Hayden James and Canberra's own high-energy duo Peking Duk all set to take the Spilt Milk stage. But the musical lineup's not to be outdone by the rest of the program, with a ripper serve of visual art, tasty eats and pop-up bars on the cards. Get ready for a multisensory feast, as Hamburg-based artist Stefanie Thiele leads a team of local talent in creating a wondrous playground of installations and art experiences. And keep those taste buds satisfied throughout the day, with eats from the likes of Dirty Bird Food Truck, Bao Brothers, Happy As Larry and Chur Burger. If you fancy being a part of Spilt Milk round three, you'd best not dilly dally — the festival's debut event in 2016 sold out in a mere 18 minutes, while the following year's tickets were all snapped up within nine minutes. This year, Canberra locals will get first dibs, with Homegrown tickets on sale July 1. After that, pre-sale tickets will be available Australia-wide from noon on July 3, with a general admission release on sale at 12pm, Thursday, July 5. In the meantime, here's what you came for — the full lineup for Spilt Milk 2018. SPILT MILK 2018 LINEUP Blanke Camouflage Rose Channel Tres Childish Gambino Cub Sport Ebony Boadu Hatchie Hayden James Jack River Kinder Kira Puru Kwame Manu Crook$ Methyl Ethel Miss Blanks Moaning Lisa Peking Duk RL Grime Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Shockone Skeggs Thandi Phoenix The Jungle Giants The Wombats Thundamentals Vera Blue Willaris. K YG ARTISTS Faith Kerehona JBR Roskoe Stefanie Thiele VOIR (With more to be announced) FOOD Bao Brothers Eatery Chur Burger Dirty Bird Food Truck Happy As Larry Sofrito Paella Spilt Milk Festival will run on Saturday, November 17 at Commonwealth Park, Canberra. Tickets go on sale next week at spilt-milk.com.au. Image: Cole Bennetts.
UPDATE, February 12, 2021: The Big Sick is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Video. On paper, The Big Sick sounds like the standard kind of rom-com that's been made countless times before. Guy meets girl, sparks fly, only for roadblocks to get in the path of true romance... yep, we all know how that story goes. Not only that, but given the film depicts star and writer Kumail Nanjiani's real-life courtship with his co-scribe and now-wife Emily V. Gordon, we actually know how this specific story ends as well. Still, there's plenty to like about the sweet, sincere and heart-swelling details and detours that this emotionally insightful gem offers up along the way. When we first meet Kumail, he's a standup comic slogging it out in Chicago. Fame remains a distant dream, as does making a living out of comedy, but at least his set strikes a chord with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan). While neither of them are really looking for love, their one-night-stand soon becomes something more. There are one or two complicating factors, however. For starters, he can't bring himself to tell her that his Pakistani parents expect him to have an arranged marriage, any more than he can bring himself to tell them he's fallen for an American. But that's just a minor speed bump compared to the mysterious condition that renders Emily comatose for much of the movie's second and third acts. The Big Sick isn't being poetic or ironic with its title, even if a heady dash of romance can feel a bit like an illness. Instead, it's an accurate description of the film, which largely revolves around Emily's sickness, and the uneasy dynamic between Kumail and her parents (the always excellent Holly Hunter, and a surprisingly great Ray Romano). That it manages to make a thoughtful and earnest rom-com out of some of the worst experiences a person can go through is a testament to the movie's success. Life is chaotic, bodies fail, relationships are hard, and this film does't shy away from any of it. Truth be told, the further that Nanjiani and Gordon's script gets into the tumultuous early days of their romance, the messier and more surprising everything becomes. Crucially, director Michael Showalter (one of the creative forces behind Wet Hot American Summer) manages to layer cultural, generational and interpersonal clashes with dating banter, medical drama, family tensions and twenty-something existential dilemmas. In his hands, a film that could have come across like a Judd Apatow-produced version of '90s Sandra Bullock vehicle While You Were Sleeping instead proves a textured, multifaceted example of rom-coms at their very best. It's also worth giving The Big Sick credit for getting the best out of its leading lady, even while she spends much of the film's running time in a coma. Though Emily's illness stems from reality, it still could have easily felt like a cheap ploy – a way to keep the focus on the male protagonist. Yet that's never the case here, in large part because Kazan makes such a lasting impression when her character is conscious. This may be Nanjiani's life story, but his performance wouldn't feel nearly so honest — or the movie so authentic — without Kazan making sure we're all as enamoured with Emily as he is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5fXEczlGQ
"It's a hard film to Google," says Molly Manning Walker of How to Have Sex, simply due to her debut feature's moniker. "Everyone's always really loved the title, and it's been the title since the beginning. I guess it gets complex when it goes onto the internet and you get bots saying 'maybe I'll learn something' or 'they think they could teach me how to have sex'," the British writer/director continues. "The only thing I think someone once said was 'why don't we call it How Not to Have Sex?'. And I was like 'I think that's too obvious'. As it spends time with three 16-year-old British girls on a boozy Greek getaway to Malia, Crete — a Schoolies-esque rite-of-passage vacation where getting sloshed, soaking up the sun and slipping between the sheets are the only aims — How to Have Sex is as candid as its name. But Walker is never interested in being bluntly overt or neat; rather, everything about the movie is honest, raw and authentic. Premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and collecting the Un Certain Regard Award in the process, her picture resonates because it's so lived in, so ripped from reality and so familiar to everyone who has ever been a teenager. It isn't a slice-of-life documentary, but finding someone who doesn't recognise their own youth in its frames will be rare. Walker doesn't just understand that sensation, which she's seen firsthand among audiences after screenings; she's in the same camp. Amid its fluorescent colours, strobing lights and sweaty intimacy, How to Have Sex sports a doco feel because its guiding force's own teen experiences partly inform this tale of Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce, Vampire Academy) and her best friends Em (debutant Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake, Halo) heading abroad to let loose, drink away their days and hook up. That includes witnessing fellatio on a stage in front of a heaving crowd, a scene in the feature — and in actuality — that couldn't say more about how cavalier that teen attitudes on sex can be, especially when aided by free-flowing alcohol. It also helps show the mindsets, plus the lack of thinking, that contribute to not taking an active approach to consent. How to Have Sex sees Tara lose her virginity in an inebriated haze of coercion and peer pressure. It also sees how and why a situation like this is so heartbreakingly common and recognisable, and unravels the aftermath. Walker's aim isn't to direct judgement at any character within the film, but to start conversations. Workshops also helped her gauge IRL takes on consent among today's teens. In England and Wales, How to Have Sex will now be shown to the age group it depicts as part of lawyer-led sessions run by the Schools Consent Project. With her first stint in the director's chair — she's also a cinematographer, lensing Scrapper, which debuted at Sundance 2023 — Walker has made an unforgettable feature. The BAFTA-nominee has also crafted a piece of essential viewing. And, as she always hoped, it is sparking discussions. "I think even without these holidays as such, these experiences happen when you're out and about in your local town as well. So I think as much as it was a comment on these holidays, it's a bigger conversation than that for sure," Walker says. Still, wanting that to be the outcome wasn't the same as knowing that's how people would respond. "It's been beautiful to see how people react to the film. We never expected it. When we were in the edit, you finesse over all these small things and spend so long stressing about how people might see it. So yeah, it's been pretty magical." Walker hopped from Cannes to the New Zealand International Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival with How to Have Sex last year, describing the period as "pretty hectic, just really full on". "We finished the film on like the Friday and we went to Cannes on the Tuesday, so I hadn't really had time to breathe or think about it," she also tells Concrete Playground. Her must-see feature receives a general release in cinemas Down Under from Thursday, March 7, 2024 — and Walker kept chatting with us about getting people talking, the movie's inspirations, those workshops, casting British Independent Film Awards' Best Lead Performance- and BAFTA Rising Star-winner McKenna-Bruce, ensuring that Tara wasn't just a victim and more. [caption id="attachment_944364" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Molly Manning Walker behind the scenes on Scrapper.[/caption] On What Inspired How to Have Sex, Including Walker's Own Experiences "I was very different as a teenager. I was like, when I was 16, long fake hair, fake eyelashes, covered in fake tan — and I went on loads of these holidays. I went on a holiday with some friends, and we were recalling some of the scenes from these holidays that we remembered, and I started to think it had a big impact on our perception of sex and how we navigate sexual experiences. That's where the idea sort of started. I guess it's all a combination of experiences and just imagination as well. The blowjob on stage is something I witnessed when we were on holiday." On the Research and Workshops That Helped to Shape the Movie "We lived in Malia for two weeks on the scout. We lived there in high season in the middle of a party town, so we were witnessing a lot of chaos all the time. Some of that, we were going up to people and saying 'we're making a film, can we take pictures of your outfits?'. And they were up for it. So it was all direct reference from reality or from memory. We went all around the UK doing some workshops, and it was just mad to see their perception on consent. Not many of them were wised up to consent. We would show them the assault scene and they would be like 'yeah, but, you know, they slept together the night before, so it's fine'. Or stuff like that. So it was really shocking, to be honest." On Giving How to Have Sex That Ripped-From-Reality Specificity "Every choice was to make it as authentic as possible, to ground it in reality. I would never have wanted it to feel like it was a film. So all across the production design, costumes, we chose a documentary cinematographer — everything was to ground it in reality. I wanted to really live and breathe it with them. The first half of the film is meant to be this really joyous party experience — and the second half, you start to see the underbelly of the party town. You see the glitter and then you see the darkness of it. It was split in two halves, both in every design, in production design, in lighting, in everything." On Finding Mia McKenna-Bruce to Play Tara, and the Impact of Her Performance on the Film "It was actually pretty early in the casting process. We got a tape of of Mia, and she's just so funny and her tape was so funny, but there was so much going on behind her eyes. I was pretty sure straight away that she was the one, which we were shocked at because we thought Tara would be the harder one to cast, considering how much she has to go through. But I was just really confident. I don't know what it is — when you see someone, you just kind of know. She's such a legend, Mia. She's a superstar, and she comes to set every day with energy. And often her first take, you'd be like 'so good', so you know where to go with that. But what it did mean was that we could experiment loads because she would always nail it on the first take, so we could bring some options to it. Sometimes, we would try a take with no words or we'd run lots of different experiments, which was really fun — and we could only do that because Mia was so good at nailing it the first time." On Ensuring That This Wasn't a Standard Victim Tale — and That Tara Was Resilient "With Tara, we wanted to not tell a victim story as we classically see it on screen. She's meant to be a bubbly character like all of us. We all go through these experiences and we're not just ruined for life as a film often shows it. So it's meant to show the resilience of young women. It's not that she's not affected by it, because of course she's going to be affected by it, but that she's resilient like people are. They carry on with all of their experiences." On Approaching the Film's Characters and Friendships Without Judgement "I guess they all have their own little stories going on, and the main thing for me was that we never looked down on them, and we never judged them — especially the boys. We want men to recognise themselves in them, in order to open the conversation up. We want it to be fun and for people to want to be on that holiday, but also to question what they're up to. So it was it was complex, for sure. The main thing for me was not to judge them, even though they're all going through their own stuff. But we've all been in those situations." On Starting Conversations with How to Have Sex — and the Reactions to the Film "We didn't really know to what extent people had been affected by this topic. Like, we knew that we wanted to talk about it, but we didn't really know how big the the impact would be. So many young women are coming out of screenings saying 'thank you for making this film, I feel seen'. I guess the quantity was unknown, but we were always hoping to to start a conversation for sure. I think one of the most powerful experiences was, it was like a 65–70-year-old guy pacing after the one of the screenings, and one of the distributors went up to him and said 'are you okay?'. And he said 'I've just realised that I've been that guy. I've been Paddy before.' That sort of blew my brain open because if we can do that for one person, then the film's done its job." How to Have Sex opens in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Read our review. How to Have Sex images: Nikolopoulos Nikos.
Revered for its sun-kissed beaches, iconic landmarks, and buzzing energy, Sydney is a melting pot of multiculturalism and creativity that's constantly evolving. While many flock to the Harbour City during the warmer seasons, Sydney doesn't rest on its summer laurels and hibernate in winter—it comes alive, and Vivid Sydney is the unmissable event that kicks it all off. From cutting-edge light installations and thought-provoking talks to genre-bending music and glorious gastronomy, Vivid Sydney transforms the city into a nocturnal playground of creativity. If you're making a weekend of it and staying in the city during the festivities, Marriott Bonvoy is offering 10% off your stay across six hotels—all you need to do is sign up to become a member (for free). It's also the perfect excuse to extend your stay. Get your itinerary notepad at the ready—here's where to eat, play and stay during Vivid Sydney 2025. Eat A crowd favourite during the festival, Fire Kitchen brings flame-fuelled theatrics and foodies to The Goods Line, Ultimo. Running across 23 nights, the event features live fire demonstrations and fire-cooked dishes by culinary heavyweights such as FOX's Next Level Chef co-host Nyesha Arrington, Firedoor's Lennox Hastie, and World Food Champion and veteran chef, John McFadden. Ready to roll back in time? Acclaimed plant-based chef and author Shannon Martinez is teaming up with Trolley'd for Neon Dream, a roller disco diner pop-up serving juicy American-style plant-based burgers, crunchy fries, creamy mac and cheese, and jelly doughnuts—before guests hit the rink and groove to vinyl beats by DJ Bob Gherkin. Hungry but not sure what for? Vivid Sydney's Food Parks at both Barangaroo and Tumbalong Park offer a rotating menu of food trucks and imaginative bites. Highlights include blacklight-reactive desserts and glow-in-the-dark ping pong at Blacklight Dessert Lab, savoury Asian street eats at Food Trap, crispy Korean fried chicken from Birdman, Mexican bites from Ash's Nachos, and Japanese doughnuts from Mochii Mochii. The Maybe Sammy mixology crew are taking over the W Sydney for a Vivid-inspired pop-up for one night only. Get there between 7–9.30pm on Thursday, June 5, to try a selection of unique, light-themed cocktails. The star of the show? The Monsoon Mirage: a dreamy blend of bourbon, vermouth and peach wine, topped with a Southeast Asian fusion of calamansi and tamarind, layered with Greek yoghurt, and spiced with chilli. Plus, it arrives at your table in a glowing LED box. Play In Circular Quay and The Rocks, some of Sydney's most iconic landmarks are hosting some appropriately spectacular installations and performances. Don't miss David McDiarmind's Lighting of The Sails — Kiss of Light at the Sydney Opera House; Vincent Namatjira's King Dingo lighting up the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Eggpicnic's dreamy Bloom exhibition in the Argyle Cut tunnel, and This Is Loop's entrancing mirrored installation at First Fleet Park, made in collaboration with the NYX Electronic Drone Choir—crafted from 10,000 LED lights. Darling Harbour transforms its waterfront into a dreamscape of light shows and big-name talent. Catch an unfiltered chat with Emmy Award-winning actors and real-life partners Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, The Last Of Us) and Megan Mullally (Will & Grace, 30 Rock), hosted by Zan Rowe. Snap pics under the glowing Cloud Swing, a Burning Man favourite, or explore Samsung Space To Dream—an installation of otherworldly waterfalls in Cockle Bay. After a six-year Vivid Sydney hiatus, Martin Place returns with a sensory-rich program of ideas, music, and visual art. Wander beneath giant cartoonish flowers sprouting from buildings in Flowers' Power, and get lost in the psychedelic projections of BioDream on the Commercial Traveller's Association Building. Other highlights include comedian, writer and architecture aficionado Tim Ross' take on 'The Australian Dream' at The State Library, After Hours: Dreams series at the Art Gallery of NSW, and a spooky and immersive screening of Edward Scissorhands by Haus of Horrors at Town Hall. The Good Lines—Sydney's repurposed urban walkway stretching from Central Station to Darling Harbour—is home to more than just Vivid Fire Kitchen, it's also becoming a corridor of light installations. Explore attractions like Starscape on Hay Street, a 40-metre tunnel illuminated by a galaxy of over 700 stars by Australian lighting design firm Mandylights; Eye of the Beholder, featuring larger-than-life blinking eyes on the Frank Gehry building by artist Sinclair Park; and QUASAR, a doughnut-shaped, hypnotic swirl of light by design duo UxU Studio. Over at Barangaroo, the cultural family-fun continues. Swing under a glowing full moon in Fly to the Moon, wander under a canopy of a thousand iridescent rods in SomniUs by UK-based design studio Illumaphonium, and bask in the glow of tear-shaped, meteorological sculptures in Lumina Dreams. At Barangaroo Reserve, don't miss An Act of Being, a stirring series of projections exploring the ongoing policies on First Nations communities, and marking the 25th anniversary of the People's Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Stay Base yourself close to the Vivid Sydney action at W Sydney. With panoramic views of Darling Harbour, plush king beds, and a heated infinity pool, it's a sky-high sanctuary within walking distance of Darling Harbour, Barangaroo, The Goods Line, and Martin Place. Treat yourself to exclusive Vivid Sydney cocktails in the Living Room Bar before heading out to experience Sydney at its most illuminated. Or, elevate your Sydney stay and opt for the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park's spacious suites. Designed for guests seeking comfort and sophistication in equal measure, it boasts views of Hyde Park and is surrounded by some of Sydney's best attractions. Round out the night at Sydney Common for an exclusive Vivid Sydney dessert—an indulgent layered bowl of sake-infused plum, black sesame crumble, and coconut mousse, finished with a dramatic touch of liquid nitrogen. Prefer a front-row seat to the Sydney Opera House sails? The Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay offers unbeatable harbour views with a side of Vivid Sydney-themed cocktails from Small Mouth Spirits, light show sweets at Three Bottle Man, and a limited-edition craft beer—Let There Be Light—made in collaboration with Sydney's oldest pub, the Lord Nelson Brewery, paired with mouthwatering barbecue in the glowing beer garden. For a mix of luxury and heritage, pick Pier One Sydney Harbour and its rooms built on and over the water. Sip zesty Vivid Sydney-inspired cocktails at PIER BAR while soaking up unbeatable views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Walsh Bay aside floor-to-ceiling windows. A popular spot for local and international Sydney visitors for good reason—this winter offers a rare opportunity to score 10% off your stay during Vivid Sydney and beyond. For something a little different, check into Four Points By Sheraton Sydney in Central Park. This stylish base is enveloped by greenery and ideal for those wanting to explore Vivid Sydney along with some of Sydney's food meccas, like Chippendale, Newtown, and Chinatown, while staying close to Central Station, Hyde Park and the ICC. Keen to skip the crowd but stay connected? Book Moxy Sydney Airport. Offering complimentary airport shuttles, five nights of free parking, and direct train access to Circular Quay from nearby Mascot Station, it's the perfect spot for an overnight Vivid Sydney escape that balances buzz with welcomed downtime. Book your Sydney escape before September 30 to access 10% off your stay and dining with Marriott Bonvoy. All you have to do is sign up as a member—and it's completely free. With access to exclusive member rates, your stay will also earn points towards free nights at over 30 hotel brands around the world. Find out more here. T&C's apply and vary by participating hotels including blackout dates, cancellation restrictions and more. Offer may not apply in properties not participating in the award and redemption of Marriott Bonvoy. By Elise Cullen
Films for grown-ups. They're regretfully rare (and I bemoaned this rarity just last week), but we have one in Performance. What could be construed merely as a music film is in fact a tightly wound, deliberate and sensitive depiction of creative, platonic and romantic relationships on the edge of destruction. Affairs, betrayals, sacrifice — together this list appears as standard soap opera material. But in the assured hands of former documentary-maker Yaron Zilberman, they are so much more. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken and Mark Ivanir give astonishing performances as members of an esteemed Manhattan string quartet. As a creative family, the quartet's future is thrown into doubt when Walken's character develops Parkinson's — a particularly devastating diagnosis for a musician whose profession hinges on the dexterity of his hands. Here is a film that presents the complexities of regret, the price of compromise and the undoable consequences of the decisions you only realise in retrospect were, in fact, decisions. All these themes find their mirror in the intimacy and sacrifice of the quartet's musical collaboration and the intensity of their tenuous creative bonds. Performance is finely tuned and deeply moving. Its precise, dynamic dialogue gives the impression of being written by a master playwright. Its score rates a special mention — composer Angelo Badalamenti also wrote Twin Peaks''unforgettable theme. Its characters are fully fledged vessels of hurt, resentment and miscommunication, but they're not monsters — they're just actually human. And for a real, grown-up, mainstream film, that's not just unusual, that's something to treasure. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yaFTheo2v-E
The National Gallery of Victoria is wrapping up this wild year in style, hosting the blockbuster second edition of its much-hyped NGV Triennial. Taking over the gallery from Saturday, December 19, the exhibition looks set to be the biggest art event to hit the city in three years, featuring works from over 100 artists, representing 30 different countries. Among them, you can expect a diverse response to this year's themes of illumination, reflection, conservation and speculation. With a lineup like this — and many months of missed art appreciation to make up for — it's hard to know where to even start. But we're here to help. We've delved into the program and pulled out five must-see artworks set to grace the gallery's hallowed spaces this summer. Start plotting your post-lockdown art gallery debut now, with this roundup of five captivating artworks to check out at the NGV Triennial. [caption id="attachment_795343" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dhambit Mununggurr, 'Can we all have a happy life' 2019-20, courtesy Salon Indigenous Art Project. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Sean Fennessy.[/caption] DHAMBIT MUNUNGURR: CAN WE ALL HAVE A HAPPY LIFE If you've got a thing for hues of blue, this immersive work from Yolnu artist Dhambit Munungurr will surely resonate. While artists from her home of Yirrkala (Northeast Arnhem Land) traditionally paint using hand-ground ochres and other natural pigments, Munungurr was granted special permission to switch to acrylic paints after a 2005 car accident left her with ongoing injuries. She's since developed a special love for the colour blue and as such, her recent works have left a significant mark on Yolnu art as a whole. This NGV installation Can we all have a happy life (2019–2020) is the latest to embrace the artist's go-to colour palette, featuring a vibrant series of 15 bark paintings and nine larrakitj (hollow poles). [caption id="attachment_795344" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cerith Wyn Evans, 'C=O=D=A' 2019–20, courtesy White Cube, London. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Tom Ross.[/caption] CERITH WYN EVANS: C=O=D=A Big and bold is the name of the game for Cerith Wyn Evans' latest work, titled C=O=D=A (2019–20). The London-based artist has created a large-scale, neck-tilting celebration of light and movement, with his series of neon 'drawings' suspended brightly together in mid-air. Among them, you'll spy frantic scribbles, carefully structured shapes and even doodles referencing chemical compounds, each design experienced in countless new ways from different angles as audiences move around the installation. The full display towers at up to six metres high, challenging viewers to continually switch their perspective as they explore how each shape interacts with the next. [caption id="attachment_795349" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Atong Atem, 'Studio series' 2015, courtesy MARS Gallery, Melbourne. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Tom Ross.[/caption] ATONG ATEM Atong Atem serves up some fresh cultural perspectives with her series of early photography works offering a vibrant exploration of identity. Born in Ethiopia in the 90s and now based in Melbourne, the artist has developed her body of work honing in on migrant stories and post-colonial practices in the African diaspora. For this portrait project she gives a nod to the old-school studio photography practices of her homeland, via a collection of staged shots dripping with colour. The vintage-inspired images are heady and impactful, featuring a festival of patterns and hues delivered through props, backgrounds, textiles and garments. [caption id="attachment_795351" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stuart Haygarth, 'Optical (tinted)' 2009 (foreground), Mark Rothko, 'Untitled (Red)' 1956 (left) and Sabine Marcelis 'Dawn XXXIII' designed 2015. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Sean Fennessy.[/caption] STUART HAYGARTH: OPTICAL (TINTED) A collection of over 4500 recycled tinted prescription spectacle lenses are the unlikely heroes of this stunning piece by British artist Stuart Haygarth. Optical (tinted) (2009) speaks to ideas of consumption, time and loss, as a thing of beauty is hatched from a bunch of discarded objects. Best known for his work repurposing everyday items into unexpected lighting installations, Haygarth here puts together a layered, shimmering sphere of used lenses. The intricate work features a careful assembly of elements, with cloudier lenses at the core making way for clearer glass pieces towards the outer edges. It's then lit from within, creating a sort of dazzling disco ball that'll have you reassessing your thoughts about waste and trash. [caption id="attachment_795355" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Porky Hefer, 'Plastocene – Marine Mutants from a disposable world' 2020, courtesy Southern Guild, Cape Town. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Tom Ross.[/caption] PORKY HEFER: PLASTOCENE — MARINE MUTANTS FROM A DISPOSABLE WORLD We'd imagine there won't be too many times in your life you'll get to admire a giant octopus crafted from hand-felted cigarette butts. But this supersized oceanic beauty will be just one of many featured in a new large-scale installation by Porky Hefer. Plastocene – Marine Mutants from a disposable world (2020) sees the South African artist and his collaborators create a series of handmade sea creatures plucked from some dystopian future. The work's built on the notion of species being able to transmutate, eventually adapting themselves to fit a world of polluted oceans and plastic waste. The NGV Triennial 2020 will be on show at NGV International from Saturday, December 19 until Sunday, April 18, 2021. For more info and to see the full program, visit the NGV website. Top image: Cerith Wyn Evans, 'C=O=D=A' 2019–20, courtesy White Cube, London. Installation view at NGV International, photographed by Tom Ross
In case you were wondering if the IKEA/Airbnb experiment was actually any good, their guests were woken up in the most painfully adorable way possible. After a night staying in the IKEA showrooms, three families were woken up with breakfast in bed, live classical orchestras and tiny, tiny, extra fluffy puppies. But we don't care, not even, shut up, we're not jealous, you're jealous, whatevs. Just a couple of weeks ago, IKEA became the latest registered accommodation on Airbnb, offering Sydneysiders the opportunity to stay the night instore at the furniture giant's Tempe store in Sydney. For free. Setting up their room displays as so-called quirky accommodation, IKEA let three winning families snuggle in to their fake homes for one epic slumber party on Sunday, August 31. After a Sydney-wide competition, IKEA selected three young families to take the three temporary stays — leaving the unwashed, debaucherous rest of us to wait for some kind of bad review with crossed fingers. After the three winning families were to a big communal dinner feast (featuring dem meatballs), the lucky ducks had Playstations to take the slumber party vibe next level. Airbnb put on a whole bunch of sessions with top notch hoster Claire Ferguson on how to make your home better equipped to become an Airbnb hosting (there's the branding exercise). Before all those rotten customers rolled in for the day, IKEA woke up the three families in three pretty kickass ways (even though, you know, you're snuggled in with your parents and surrounded by flashing cameras, no biggie). Awkward strings: Sweet, sweet breakfast in bed with your parents: AND ADORABLE FLUFFBALLS: Plus, they got to keep their sheets. So. Have a great sheetless, puppyless day.
The year was 1997. For the first time, Fortitude Valley's music scene came together to celebrate. Around the inner-city suburb, Valley Fiesta was born. A quarter century later and the event is still going strong, albeit after running in plenty of different formats over the years — and it's back in 2022 to celebrate its 25th birthday with 45-plus acts hitting stages across 13 venues. 2022's Valley Fiesta will run from Friday, November 25–Sunday, November 27, showering Fortitude Valley with live tunes, and giving Brisbanites a helluva way to spend the last weekend of spring. On the lineup: a whole heap of musicians to see, events dedicated to jazz and art, a carpark party, a laneway fest within the fest and even a food fiesta. Leading the music bill: Holy Holy, Gordi, Kian, WIIGZ and Alter Boy, all as part of an entirely free program. They're joined by Jess Day, Safety Club, Scraps, Radium Dolls, Dulcie and more, in venues spanning The Sound Garden, Fortitude Music Hall, outdoors at The Brightside, Woolly Mammoth, Ric's Backyard, Kickons and 4ZZZ. The jazz afternoon will showcase both existing and up-and-coming talent, while the arts session will be filled with creative workshops. Bringing the fun to the Winn, Bakery and California laneways is the returning Hidden Lanes Festival, running as a pop-up event, while King Street will host the King Street Food Fiesta on the Friday night to get this year's Valley Fiesta started. The program also includes a night of voice, circus, burlesque and drag artists; Quivr DJs doing their thing multiple times; a cultural celebration of People of Colour; and the return of 4ZZZ's legendary carpark party. "This year's Valley Fiesta hits upon all of the elements that make Fortitude Valley so unique — from the food experiences on Friday night, to family events in the Laneways; massive music gigs on the Saturday night through to independent community events on the Sunday. It's every reason we love the Valley!" said QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, announcing the program. Now, block out your diary. [caption id="attachment_875909" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dave Kan[/caption] VALLEY FIESTA 2022 LINEUP Holy Holy Gordi WIIGZ Jess Day Safety Club Scraps Radium Dolls KIAN Dulcie Cloe Terare Dean Brady Ash Lune Dulcie DANCINGWATER Andy Martin Moss I Was Eros Arig Guppy Doggie Heaven Valley Fiesta 2022 takes place from Friday, November 25–Sunday, November 27. For further information and to buy tickets, head to the festival's website. Images: Dave Kan.
Sydney is currently experiencing a wave of new hotel openings. From the sleek-as-hell Ace Hotel and the lavish Capella Sydney to exciting upcoming openings like the forthcoming W Hotel, the Harbour City is awash with flash new accommodation providers. On top of all of this, a five-star Sydney favourite has just received a multimillion-dollar transformation with heritage CBD hotel Swissôtel unveiling its new look, Euro-influenced rooftop pool and grand lobby bar. Both the bar and pool are located high in the sky, nestled among Sydney's high rises. Enter the hotel from Market Street and head up to level eight to find Arches On Market, a no-holds-barred dining and drinking experience within the building's pre-existing 1930s lobby. A luxurious fit-out has brought new life to the space, and an award-winning chef now heads up the kitchen, serving up a selection of finger food and bar snacks. Take your pick from intimate booths, relaxed lounge seating and the more formal dining space, or take a seat at the eight-metre-long Calacatta marble bar where you can really analyse the cocktail list with the bartenders to determine the beverage your heart truly desires. On the drinks menu, you'll find the signature martini served straight out of the freezer and garnished depending on your preference, as well as sours, cobblers and a twist on an Old Fashioned. Executive Chef John Giovanni Pugliano has pulled together a snack menu that will have you cancelling your dinner reservations elsewhere. Oysters, finger sandwiches, goats cheese and caramelised onion croquettes, prawn cocktails and pork terrine all make appearances alongside caviar and mandarin cheesecake. These vibrant cocktails and stellar eats are all calling to be enjoyed poolside, and hotel guests are in luck with the Arches fare available at the new rooftop pool. This inner-city oasis now boasts built-in cabanas and sun-soaked day beds, as well as booths set up to accommodate a spread of snacks from the lobby bar. Pristine white pool club-style walls surround the timber deck, giving the sky-high swim spot a sense of privacy without shutting it off from the sun and the surrounding skyline. The new-look 369-room hotel and all of its fresh amenities are open now. Rooms start from just over $350 a night and include access to the Ten Stories restaurant, Arches on Market, the rooftop pool and the wellness and spa facilities, all in the heart of the Sydney CBD. Swissôtel Sydney is located at 68 Market Street, Sydney. Restaurant images: Steven Woodburn
One of the oldest, and most intricate questions man has ever posed to his peers is if Frankenstein, Dracula, and King-Kong worked together, could they save Tokyo from Godzilla? The Gallery of Modern Art's latest exhibit, Monsters, probably won’t touch on this topic, but will definitely be providing a rare insight into these legendary cinematic creatures. Monsters, is an exploration of monsters in cinema, covering all six groups of these much feared villains - bloodthirsty fiends; zombies, mutants and shapeshifters; misunderstood monsters; mad doctors; foreign entities; and monstrous absurdities. This unique exhibit offers an opportunity to rediscover some of the most popular films featuring these creatures on the big screen, including recent digital restorations and archival film prints from around the world. Monsters is your chance to not just see vampires, zombies, and mutants, but to ask why vampires? Why zombies? Why mutants? Titles like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Dracula are considered the a part of the stable diet of nearly all cinema goers and this GOMA exhibit is a chance to indulge in these great meals gluttonously, but also introspectively.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this months latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from September's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW THE MAD WOMEN'S BALL Hitting streaming mere days after premiering at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, The Mad Women's Ball marks the latest thoughtful and enthralling stint behind the camera for Mélanie Laurent. The French actor who'll forever be known for Inglourious Basterds features on-screen in this, too, and turns in a layered and textured performance. But, behind the lens for the sixth time — and the first since 2018's Galveston — she transforms an already-gripping tale into a film that's vivid, passionate, empathetic and resonant. You could compare The Mad Women's Ball to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, although that's oversimplifying things. Both are primarily set within comparable facilities, with the Salpêtrière neurological clinic the key location here, and both hone in on the power imbalance between those admitted and those running the show. But the Salpêtrière's patients are all women, most have been checked in against their will, the word 'hysteria' is thrown around too often by the male doctors, and 19th-century Paris treats anyone who doesn't conform to to the placid, dutiful female norm with contempt. That's what Eugénie Cléry (Lou de Laâge, who also starred in Laurent's 2014 film Breathe) learns after she starts hearing spirits. When her wealthy family find out about her new ability to communicate with the dead, she's packed away despite her pleas and protests, and confined to a place where she's little more than an inmate for men to torture with ice baths and other supposed cures. Laurent plays a nurse who becomes sympathetic to Eugénie's cause, but the film has just as much time for the sense of camaraderie that springs between the facility's wrongly institutionalised charges. It also offers space for other on-screen women to make an imprint, and serves up not just a potent but a handsomely staged adaptation of Victoria Mas' novel Le bal des folles. The Mad Women's Ball is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. SQUID GAME Exploring societal divides within South Korea wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but its success was always going to give other films and TV shows on the topic a healthy boost. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between the acclaimed movie and Netflix's new highly addictive Squid Game — the show that's on track to become the platform's biggest show ever (yes, bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton) less than two weeks since it released. Anyone who has seen even an episode knows why this nine-part series is so compulsively watchable. Its puzzle-like storyline and its unflinching savagery making quite the combination. Here, in a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're all competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. That includes series protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, Deliver Us From Evil), a chauffeur with a gambling problem, and also a divorcé desperate to do whatever he needs to to keep his daughter in his life. But, as it probes the chasms caused by capitalism and cash — and the things the latter makes people do under the former — this program isn't just about one player. It's about survival, the status quo the world has accepted when it comes to money, and the real inequality present both in South Korea and elsewhere. Filled with electric performances, as clever as it is compelling, unsurprisingly littered with smart cliffhangers, and never afraid to get bloody and brutal, the result is a savvy, tense and taut horror-thriller that entertains instantly and also has much to say. Squid Game is available to stream via Netflix. MIDNIGHT MASS No one can accuse Mike Flanagan of being lazy. In the past three years, he's made four different Netflix horror series, plus The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep. In the two years before that, he directed four other movies. Yes, he's prolific, and he also knows and loves his unsettling niche. Midnight Mass is the third of those aforementioned shows, and forgoes the ghostly setup of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor — and it spins its musing on loss in multiple forms, faith in just as many varieties, and mortality and everything it means into a commanding seven-part miniseries. For Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford, Good Girls), the show's narrative begins with the biggest mistake of his life. After killing a woman while drunk driving, he spends four years in prison, haunted by her bloody face whenever he tries to close his eyes. Upon his release, he has no choice but to head home to Crockett Island, where his god-fearing mother (Kristin Lehman, Altered Carbon) is thrilled, his Ron Swanson-esque dad (Hill House and Bly Manor alum Henry Thomas) barely says a word, and his now-pregnant childhood sweetheart (Kate Siegel, Gerald's Game) has just made a comeback after her own absence. Also upsetting the status quo: the arrival of Father Paul (Hamish Linklater, Legion) to fill in for the island's ailing priest, and a wild storm that wreaks havoc. When he's spinning episodic stories, Flanagan likes to tease. He likes fleshing out his always-eclectic range of characters, too, and Midnight Mass is no different. Here, he adores monologues as well, but that's hardly surprising given the stellar cast he's writing for. It's been a great year or so for disquieting miniseries set on small, sparsely populated islands, thanks to The Third Day as well, and this is just absorbing. Midnight Mass is available to stream via Netflix. STRONG FEMALE LEAD When The Final Quarter opted to explore AFL footballer Adam Goodes' career purely using footage from the time — focusing on his stint on the field during its last stages, as the name makes plain — it weaved together media clips from his games, general AFL coverage, news stories, press conferences and interviews from the era. The result: a heartbreaking picture of the ex-Swans captain's experiences with racism that couldn't paint a clearer picture. Strong Female Lead does the same, but swaps sports for politics and discrimination based on race for prejudice predicated upon gender. Given that Australia has only ever had one female Prime Minister, that's where this fast-paced documentary heads, with director Tosca Looby (See What You Made Me Do) and editor Rachel Grierson Johns (Roller Dreams) letting existing media materials about Julia Gillard do all the talking. Anyone who can remember the headlines, news commentary, panel shows and talkback radio discussions from her 2010–13 spot in the nation's top job will know what they're in for, but seeing it all so deftly sliced together couldn't be more powerful. The sexism she faced at every turn isn't a relic of that not-at-all-distant past, of course. Indeed, Looby's approach makes all the horrendous words flung Gillard's way cut like a fresh wound, and simultaneously also sting like an old scar that won't heal. That's the cumulative effect of enduring the horrific things said, her overall treatment as PM, the odious behaviour of her parliamentary peers, and the belittling comments and placards, too. Strong Female Lead is a film to get angry with, as it's meant to be. It's also a celebration of Gillard's achievement in becoming Prime Minister, her work both along the way and in the role and other world leaders who've broken the glass ceiling. What lingers, though, is the fierce and formidable indictment of what women in positions of authority have been forced to navigate. Strong Female Lead is available to stream via SBS On Demand. EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE They're both underdog stories, they're both set in Sheffield in England's north, and they both have the accents to prove the latter. They each follow struggling locals trying to carve out a better life, and feature the entertainment industry prominently. And, they both chronicle characters breaking out of their comfort zones, shocking plenty around them, and working towards a big show, event or both. The movie that got there first: The Full Monty. The newcomer: Everybody's Talking About Jamie. That's about where the similarities between the two end, however, other than the inescapably feel-good vibe they both stir up. In this case, that crowd-pleasing sentiment springs from teenager Jamie New (first-timer Max Harwood), his quest to become a drag queen and his determination to chase that dream by first frocking up for his school prom. Already bullied, considered a disappointment by his soccer-loving father (Ralph Ineson, Gunpowder Milkshake), but adored by his mother (Sarah Lancashire, Yesterday) and best friend (fellow film debutant Lauren Patel), he isn't certain about showing his drag side to the world. He needs mentoring by a former drag icon (Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), in fact, to even get the courage to do so. And, from there, the path to unleashing his inner queen is nowhere near as sparkly as the red heels his mum gives him for his 16th birthday. Where Everybody's Talking About Jamie isn't at all surprising, whether you're familiar with the stage production it's based on, or the real-life tale it's inspired by — or if you've just seen other against-the-odds British flicks such as Kes and Billy Elliott. Nonetheless, from its first frame to its last, this lively and sweet musical still shimmers, glows and charms. Everybody's Talking About Jamie is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE In the initial two episodes of Scenes From a Marriage, Mira (Jessica Chastain, IT: Chapter Two) and Jonathan (Oscar Isaac, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker) brush their teeth in front of their ensuite mirror. It's an everyday task in a familiar place, spanning something we all do in a space we all use, but this five-part HBO miniseries turns these two scenes into a complex snapshot of its central couple. It takes not just skill but feeling and understanding to turn such a mundane activity into a must-see; however, that's this weighty show's remit. Scenes From a Marriage gets viewers engrossed in cleaning teeth because it's ordinary, and because everything within its frames fits the same description. Its central relationship careens from happy to heartbroken, comfortable to distraught, and assured to messy, but it also charts a path that countless others have. Accordingly, Mira and Jonathan start the series cemented in their routine, but with each of its five episodes dedicated to a significant day over the course of several years, much changes. The ambitious tech industry executive to his ex-Orthodox Jewish philosophy professor, Mira drops a bombshell, their lives shift over and over, and yet plenty stays the same as well. As penned and helmed by The Affair's Hagai Levi — remaking the 1973 Swedish TV miniseries by iconic film director Ingmar Bergman — Scenes From a Marriage is a show about patterns, cycles and echoes, in fact. It ponders how they ripple through relationships and, when broken or changed, how their absence is felt. The result is devastating and powerful, shot and scored with intensity, and home to exceptional performances from Chastain and Isaac, who prove just as irresistible in their second collaboration in a stormy union as they did in 2014 also-stellar A Most Violent Year. The first three episodes of Scenes From a Marriage are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING If you've ever listened to a true-crime podcast, decided that you'd make a great Serial host yourself and started wondering how you'd ever follow in Sarah Koenig's footsteps, then you should be watching Only Murders in the Building. The Disney+ series follows three New Yorkers who follow that same process. Actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die) are all obsessed with a series hosted by the fictional Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva), to the point of bonding over it as strangers. Then, when someone turns up dead in their building, they decide that they can sleuth their way through the case — by getting talking themselves, naturally. But being a true-crime podcast diehard and making a true-crime podcast clearly aren't quite the same thing, and turning amateur detective isn't clearcut either. Entertaining and exceptionally well-cast, Only Murders in the Building makes makes the most of its main trio's mismatched vibe. It's filled with hearty affection for everything it jokes about, resulting in an upbeat satire of true-crime obsessions, podcasting's pervasiveness and the intersection of the two. It adores its single-setting Agatha Christie-lite setup, it's always empathetic, and it also loves peppering in highly recognisable co-stars and guest stars such as Fey, Nathan Lane (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), Amy Ryan (Late Night) and even Sting. The series is also written and acted with enough depth to pair relatable character insights with its bubbly, clownish fun. If Knives Out was a sitcom, and also a little goofier, it'd turn out like this — and that's a delight, obviously. The first seven episodes of Only Murders in the Building are available to stream via Star on Disney+, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS How do you match a season of TV that introduced the world to yet another ace Matt Berry character? That's a question What We Do in the Shadows faced with its third season, after its last batch of episodes featured Jackie Daytona — the "regular human bartender" persona adopted by Berry's bloodsucker Laszlo Cravensworth. Thankfully, this vampire sharehouse comedy found an easy solution. It's still doing what it does best, which includes gifting the glorious Berry (Toast of London) and his co-stars Kayvan Novak (Four Lions), Natasia Demetriou (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), Mark Proksch (The Office) and Harvey Guillen (Werewolves Within) reams of witty and hilarious dialogue. Picking up where the last season left off, the show's vamps now have a new job running the local Vampiric Council; however, the mockumentary-style series still knows that it's at the best when its stars are riffing either together or directly to the camera. Obviously, the Staten Island-dwelling bloodsuckers' new gig comes with ample chaos and, as it dives into everything that follows, What We Do in the Shadows is still one of the silliest yet smartest horror-comedies that's ever been made. But as proved the case with the movie it sprang from — aka Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's 2014 film of the same name — so much of the joy and laughs here come from watching exceptional comedic talents inhabit their characters' fangs, banter about undead tropes and bounce off of each other. That hasn't changed in season three, and the entire series is still a side-splitting gem in each and every episode. The first five episodes of What We Do in the Shadows' third season are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Y: THE LAST MAN On paper, Y: The Last Man sounds familiar, even if you haven't read the source material. Based on the 2002–08 comic book series of the same name, it steps into a post-apocalyptic time where an eerie illness wipes out everyone with a Y chromosome — humans and other mammals alike. Accordingly, it initially resembles a reverse version of The Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men. Thankfully, this dystopian tale heads in its own direction. First, it spends an episode plotting out the pre-plague status quo for Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer, The Grizzlies), his US Congresswoman mother Jennifer (Let Him Go) and his paramedic sister Hero (Olivia Thirlby, Goliath). Then, it dives deep into the world-changing event that sees males wiped out en masse. It isn't a spoiler to say that Yorick survives, because the title ensures that's clear. Also making it through: his Capuchin monkey Ampersand. As the globe's women react, adjust and endeavour to traverse a whole new way of life, Yorick endeavours to do the same — and, based on its first episodes, it makes for gripping viewing. It's the type of show that starts out with an obvious been-there-done-that vibe, especially at the moment. Anyone who has filled even part of the pandemic binge-watching movies about contagions, outbreaks and infections will recognise plenty of elements, but this is also the kind of series that takes its time to settle in, and to expand and grow. It's ongoing focus on what comes next, rather than simply exploring what happened, is also filled with possibilities — timely ones, too, given the current state of reality. The first five episodes of Y: The Last Man are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. A RECENT MUST-SEE YOU CAN (AND SHOULD) STREAM NOW ANOTHER ROUND Even the most joyous days and nights spent sipping your favourite drink can have their memory tainted by a hangover. Imbibe too much, and there's a kicker just waiting to pulsate through your brain and punish your body when all that alcohol inevitably starts to wear off. For much of Another Round, four Copenhagen school teachers try to avoid this feeling. The film they're in doesn't, though. Writer/director Thomas Vinterberg (Kursk) and his co-scribe Tobias Lindholm (A War) lay bare the ups and downs of knocking back boozy beverages, and also serve up a finale that's a sight to behold. Without sashaying into spoiler territory, the feature's last moments are a thing of sublime beauty. Some movies end in a WTF, "what were they thinking?" kind of way, but this Oscar-winning Danish film comes to a conclusion with a big and bold showstopper that's also a piece of bittersweet perfection. The picture's highest-profile star, Mads Mikkelsen (Arctic), is involved. His pre-acting background as an acrobat and dancer comes in handy, too. Unsurprisingly, the substances that flow freely throughout the feature remain prominent. And, so does the canny and candid awareness that life's highs and lows just keep spilling, plus the just-as-shrewd understanding that the line between self-sabotage and self-release is as thin as a slice of lemon garnishing a cocktail. Another Round is available to stream via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August this year — and our top straight-to-streaming movies and specials from 2021 so far, and our list of the best new TV shows released this year so far as well.
What will open with the Australian premiere of one of this year's Sundance hits — an Aussie movie that won one of the prestigious fest's audience awards, no less — and also feature a huge music celebration right at its centre? The 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival. Just under three months out from the Victorian capital's annual cinema showcase, MIFF has revealed its first two titles for this year, both with strong local connections. Launching the festival for 2023 is Noora Niasari's Shayda, which is set and shot in Melbourne, marks the Tehran-born, Australian-raised writer/director's feature debut and tells an autobiographical tale. Seeing Niasari leap from participating in the MIFF Accelerator Lab for short film helmers to opening the fest, the movie follows an Iranian woman and her daughter who seek refuge at a suburban Melbourne women's shelter. Cate Blanchett's Dirty Films executive produces, while 2022 Cannes Best Actress-winner Zar Amir-Ebrahimi (Holy Spider) and Australian great Leah Purcell (The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson) star. Since returning to in-person fests after two pandemic-affected virtual-only years in 2020 and 2021, this is MIFF's second homegrown opener in succession. In 2022, Goran Stolevski's coming-of-age feature Of an Age did the honours. Of course, Shayda will have ample company when it comes to local titles in 2023, including the also just-announced Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story. The documentary will enjoy its world premiere at MIFF, as the festival's first-ever gala screening from its regular Music on Film program. Celebrating the late Australian record executive and promoter, who passed away in 2021, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story steps through its namesake's life and career. Unsurprisingly, it has plenty of well-known names joining in to pay tribute, with featured interviewees spanning Kylie Minogue, Dave Grohl, Sting, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Jimmy Barnes. And, when the Paul Goldman (Suburban Mayhem)-directed doco plays MIFF mid-fest, it will score red-carpet events across multiple Melbourne venues. As for what else will screen in the festival's 71st year, the rest of the program will start being revealed in early June, ahead of the full 2023 MIFF lineup drop in July. Whatever ends up on the bill after Shayda and Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, they'll join a fest that'll continue its 2022 format of playing in cinemas in Melbourne (from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20) and at regional Victorian locations (from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20), and also once again expand its audience by bringing back online platform MIFF Play (from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27). Shayda's opening-night session will screen on Thursday, August 3, with tickets for MIFF members available from 8am on Tuesday, May 23 and general public sales from 10am on Thursday, May 25. If you're keen to see Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, it'll premiere on Thursday, August 10, with tickets available at the same times as Shayda. The 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20 at a variety of venues around Melbourne; from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20 in regional Victoria; and online nationwide with MIFF Play from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 11, visit the MIFF website.
The changes of the past couple of weeks have hit Australia's hospitality industry hard. First, there were the tighter restrictions on venue numbers and spacing; then the government's closure of all non-essential businesses means hospitality venues were forced to shut their doors and rely solely on whatever takeaway service they had operating — or adapt and launch new ones. As a result, a huge number of hospitality workers have been left without jobs. According to website I Lost My Hospo Shift, as of Thursday, April 23, 2594 Aussie hospo workers had lost their jobs and 13,237 shifts had been cut, equating to around $2.1 million in lost wages this week alone. Thankfully, some industry legends are coming to the rescue, lending a helping hand in the form of a few much-needed free feeds. And they're not just helping out unemployed hospo workers either, they're providing free meals to frontline health workers, international students and those just generally doing it tough right now. In Sydney, James Thorpe — co-owner of Petersham's Oxford Tavern and The Taphouse in Darlinghurst — announced both his venues will continue serving up free takeaway meals for any struggling hospo workers. "If you are a casual hospo worker who is currently underemployed, I will pay for your meal," he said in a post on The Taphouse Instagram page last week. "Simply make yourself known at the bar with your RSA in tow (or just let us know where you work if a cafe worker) and our team will hook you up with a menu." https://www.instagram.com/p/B95Th-Np__4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Meanwhile, Newtown restaurant Hearth & Soul made a comeback especially to throw some support behind struggling Sydneysiders. Owner Rachel Jelley closed the venue in November, but has thrown open the doors for a series of free Friday meal services, catering to both staff and employers in any industry who've lost jobs or income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside a crew of volunteers, she's serving up a rotating menu of produce-focused dishes from 12–2pm each week, inviting diners to register via the website. "These are the people who have been working tirelessly to provide you with the dining-out experiences you love," Jelley explained. "They've also been cutting your hair, doing your physio, making your coffee and baking your croissants, and now their livelihoods have simply evaporated overnight, in silence. So, I want to feed them." https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-5LUHjva2/ Over in Enmore, Colombo Social is a Sri Lankan restaurant that provides employment opportunities and support to asylum seekers and refugees. But in response to these turbulent times, it's now expanded its focus, teaming up with Mission Australia and a bunch of other local charities to feed as many vulnerable community members as possible. The kitchen's being put to good use, whipping up over 4600 hot, nutritious meals for free to those who are hungry or struggling to feed their families. Italian chain Fratelli Fresh is also donating 650 meals every week to healthcare workers via its Feed the Front Line program, which is running until the end of June. You can donate a meal for $10 over here, too. Then, there's the group of Manly venues that have banded together in an effort to feed vulnerable hospitality workers. Via a new Go Fund Me campaign, spots like The Cumberland, The Hold, Hugos Manly and 4 Pines are raising money to fund free meals for those in the industry who've lost income and work. Impacted workers are invited to get themselves verified, then to register for any of the nightly-changing, home-delivered dishes. The meals are created using leftover food stocks donated by local restaurants. And Chippendale local Sneaky Possum has transformed into soup kitchens, dishing up free feeds to hard-hit hospitality staff with complimentary hospo meals from 8pm nightly. Down in Melbourne, Attica has set up its own soup kitchen. It's selling $25 Thai-inspired chicken broths, with $5 from each one sold going towards preparing food for unemployed hospitality workers on temporary visas. The crew from Brighton barbecue restaurant Coal Blooded Griller are drumming up donations to enable them to whip up free meals for those in need. Having already raised over $3500, they're able to serve hundreds of ready-to-heat, two-person food packs. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_N8a2rg0wD/ Meanwhile, Essendon burger joint Dribbles is handing out four free meals each week to people who've lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. It's currently taking nominations for the freebies via its Facebook and Instagram. Newly-hatched non-profit event organisation The Issue X has made a mission to shed honest light on the issues and obstacles faced by the hospitality industry. And in these troubled times, it's turned its attentions to our city's hard-hit hospo staff, especially those on temporary visas who can't bank on any government support. The Issue X team knocked up a heap of nightly meals for those in need. And Brunswick's Viet-inspired restaurant Shop Bao Ngoc is giving back to its hard-hit hospo community by offering up a nightly changing meat-free dish, available for contactless delivery within three kilometres of the venue. The crew's encouraging a $10 donation for the meals — think, tofu pad thai and vegetable shepherd's pie — but say no one will be turned away for lack of funds. You can even pay it forward by donating money towards someone's future feed. https://www.facebook.com/baongocbrunswick/photos/a.439164586552477/841547599647505/?type=3&theater In the Brisbane suburb of Annerley, South Indian restaurant Sankalp is lending a hand by cooking up a swag of free vegetarian meals each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The dishes are on offer to international students and any locals in need, to collect from the restaurant between 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Having pivoted its business in response to new public health regulations, Gold Coast eatery The Henchman is now operating as both a takeaway restaurant and food store. For as long as is possible, the owners are inviting anyone feeling the pinch to pop by and fill a bag with pantry supplies, on the house. And on the Sunshine Coast, a group of Noosa Junction venues have joined forces on a mission to support both their local hospo community and international students staying in the region. Together, eateries including Pasta Pronto, Bombetta and Moto are serving a stack of free breakfasts, lunches and dinners, across a range of daily offers. If and when you do decide to head out to get food, remember to follow the Australian Government Department of Health's social distancing guidelines. Know of any other restaurants, cafes or bars doing their bit to help the community? Let us know at hello@concreteplayground.com.
Earlier in 2020, when social distancing and public gathering rules were in place across the country, KFC did everyone a solid by offering up free home delivery for the first time ever Down Under. Life is slowly returning to normal now, but the fried chicken chain is bringing back the deal anyway — so you can round up your housemates again and tuck into those 11 secret herbs and spices. The reason this time: State of Origin. KFC's free delivery will be available across the next three Wednesdays to coincide with this year's postponed games — so on November 4, November 11 and November 18. The great news is that you don't have to care about the matches, or watch them, to get that chicken brought to your door without paying extra. The free delivery is simply available all day on each of those three days, from open till close at your local store. The limited-time offer is available nationwide, too — and there is no minimum spend required. To get your hands on some finger lickin' good chook with no added cost, you'll just need to head to Menulog's website or use the Menulog app. And while your food is on its way, you can meditate with KFChill, a wellness website that lets you unwind to the sound of chicken frying, gravy simmering or bacon sizzling away in a pan. Yes, it'll make you hungry. KFC is offering free delivery across Australia on all orders via Menulog, with the special available on Wednesday, November 4, Wednesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 18. To order, head to the Menulog website and or use the Menulog app.
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 known to give the city's residents plenty of specials in its time — including 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. You do need to finish each serving of pizza or pasta before ordering your next, but that's hardly a tough rule.
Dinner and a movie now has an entire cinema dedicated to it: FoMo Cinemas. The brand's name isn't about fearing missing out; instead, it refers to its blend of food and movies. Every one of the six screens in the new Melbourne picture palace is all about watching a film while having a meal. You'll pick between blockbuster, arthouse and retro flicks on the program, plus pizzas, burgers and deli sandwiches on the chef-designed menu. Before you take your seat, you'll also hit up the neon-lit Blade Runner-inspired bar. First announced in 2023, the 392-seat dine-in FoMo Cinemas opens its doors on Thursday, January 18 at East Brunswick Village — and adds something new not just to Melbourne's but to Australia's cinema scene. Co-owners Natalie Miller AO and Barry Peak, who co-founded Carlton's Cinema Nova, have taken their cues from two famed names in the global business: the Alamo Drafthouse chain across the US, plus Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn. "Barry and I have been partners in the Nova for 32 years, and Barry's always looking for new ideas and new ventures. And he was very anxious to do a cinema with food and movies based on the Nighthawk and the Alamo in America. So he went out on a survey over there and come back with all the ideas," Miller, who also spent 17 years running South Yarra's old Longford Cinema, tells Concrete Playground. "What very much appeals is the fact that people are time-poor and we are trying to encourage people to come 20 minutes earlier, sit down, they can order their food off an app and then the movie will start. Or if they want to, they can do it during the film. But the idea is to let people have their meal and their film together," Miller continues. "It's not a totally new concept because there's gold class and platinum and all those other cinemas, but ours are at standard ticket prices. So you can come at a standard ticket price and order your meal accordingly." As designed by Head Chef Darren Collier, food choices also include cheese and antipasto platters, as well as desserts — and, when it comes time to deliver your bites and drinks as the movie plays, the focus is on discreet service that doesn't disrupt the viewing experience. As is a drawcard at Alamo Drafthouse, all films are preceded by a pre-show presentation. Expect trivia, interactive quizzes and clips celebrating classic movie moments — and trailers, but no ads. The idea is that you peruse the menu while the pre-show plays, and that it's all part of the experience. And the films? Although Cinema Nova is known for its arthouse selections — and Miller is behind film distributor Sharmill Films, which has brought movies such as Triangle of Sadness and Compartment No. 6 to Australian screens in recent years — FoMo is combining those kinds of flicks with broader fare. So, in its opening weeks, you can see the Mean Girls musical, Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, Michael Mann's Ferrari, Golden Globe-winner The Holdovers, wrestling biopic The Iron Claw and Jason Statham in The Beekeeper. Among repertory titles, both Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 will have a date with the venue, as will Chef — all befitting the picture palace's look and focus. Specs-wise, two of FoMo's cinemas have a 3D setup, and the 114-seat biggest theatre with a screen that ten-metres-plus wide boasts 4K resolution. While the newly opened East Brunswick Village is the site of the first-ever FoMo, it won't be the last if the debut location proves a success. "If you ask Barry Peak that question, he'd say absolutely yes," Miller advises about the possibility of expanding the chain across Melbourne and even nationally. "We'll test it out and we'll see how it works. We feel that Brunswick's such a growing area with such a young population and student population, and probably a cross-section of the community. And we'll see how it works, and then take it from there." Find FoMo Cinemas at East Brunswick Village, 133 Nicholson Street, East Brunswick from Thursday, January 18.
It's an interesting experience to watch a film when you know exactly how it's going to end. And when that end is tragedy, it's more interesting still. In the case of Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler's debut feature film, we're aware from the word go that the film culminates in the fatal shooting of a young man. Don't fret, it's not a spoiler: the movie opens with the camera phone footage of the shooting captured by witnesses. It's an interesting way to open the film, as you become instantly aware of the gravity of the movie. You have just witnessed a man die, and you are about to see why. Twenty-two-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) was shot in the back by police officers in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2009, and Fruitvale Station lays out his final hours. The film tracks Grant's relationships with the major players in his life — his mother, his girlfriend, his daughter. The audience is allowed, in a somewhat voyeuristic way, to look into the life of a regular guy. A life that ends up being cut far too short. The film itself is beautifully made. It's filmed entirely with a handheld camera (much like another Sundance Winner, Beasts of the Southern Wild), which adds to the effect of the audience bearing witness to a life, not a story. The camerawork also mimics the actual footage at the start of the film, lending a certain truthfulness to the entire piece. The score is played down and sombre, and so doesn't detract from the dialogue, the plot and the actors at all, while still building a mood of dull dread. The actors are phenomenal, with Jordan (from The Wire and Friday Night Lights) tenaciously capturing the character of a young man yearning for a second chance. In support, The Help's Octavia Spencer is the perfect picture of a concerned and loving mother, and 29-year-old indie star Melonie Diaz is beautifully heartbreaking as Grant's girlfriend, Sophina. The film was produced by screen legend Forest Whitaker and has cleaned up on the awards circuit, including taking out the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The events that transpired at Fruitvale Station featured heavily in the US headlines, detailing the questionably unsubstantiated murder of a young man by law enforcement officers. Oscar Grant's death was a terrible tragedy, and Fruitvale Station carries that emotion onto the silver screen. A film of unmet redemption, it's a stunningly made, deeply emotional story that will have you glued to your seat and, perhaps, wiping away tears. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ceVVVils8z4
Feeling a little chilly, Brisbanites? That's understandable — the sky is grey and cloudy, sunshine is mostly absent and the unseasonably cooler weather isn't expected to lift until next week. It's not just a colder-than-usual spell at this time of year that's making the city shiver, however, but the fact that Brisbane just experienced its coldest May day since 1980. Yesterday, Friday, May 22, the mercury didn't pass 17.9 degrees. And if you can't remember the last time it was this cool at this exact time of year, that's because it has been almost half a century since anything in May came close, the Bureau of Meteorology reports. Usually, Brissie averages a maximum of 23.2 degrees in May, so that frosty temperature is well below the norm. In fact, the average minimum at this time of year is usually 13.3 degrees. Today, Saturday, May 23, might beat yesterday's record, too — with BOM only forecasting a maximum of 17.5. At the time of writing, the mercury hasn't ventured past 13.6 degrees as yet for the day, in case you're wondering why you're feeling particularly cold while you're reading this. https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1263981305408167937 While tomorrow, Sunday, May 24, is only expected to reach a top of 21 degrees, that'll obviously be considerably warmer than the last few days. And, it'll be the start of more normal temps, too. From Monday, May 24 onwards, maximum temperatures will hover between 24–25 and come paired with either sunny or mostly sunny conditions — just the way Brisbanites like their lead-up to winter. Via Bureau of Meteorology.
