Cinderella, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast have all taken to Australia's stages in recent years, bringing beloved narratives that everyone associates with Disney movies from the cinema to the theatre. For the next show that falls into that category, no one needs to grow up. The inhabitants of Neverland, where Peter and the Starcatcher is set, certainly aren't known to. A five-time Tony Award-winner for its 2012 Broadway season, the production earned theatre's coveted accolades for its costumes, sound design, scenic design and lighting, and for Best Featured Actor in a Play — but the version that's hitting Brisbane comes with a twist. For Peter and the Starcatcher's long-awaited debut Aussie season, which is touring the country Dead Puppet Society (The Wider Earth, Ishmael) is reimagining the stage favourite, which is a prequel to JM Barrie's Peter and Wendy. Accordingly, from Friday, March 14, 2025 at the QPAC Playhouse, expect puppets helping to spin a tale that features more than 100 characters, as well as live tunes. Originally based on Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's novel Peter and the Starcatchers, then adapted for the stage by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), the play heads to Neverland before Peter Pan visited — before Captain Hook inspired terror, too. So, it's an origin story, complete with an island, a moustachioed pirate, an orphan without a name and Wendy's mother Molly. Images: Daniel Boud.
If your idea of a perfect evening out of the house involves staying in a hotel, lounging around in comfy robes and tucking into plenty of dessert, then you might want to make a date with QT Sydney's latest addition. For an entire month, the Market Street site is devoting one of its suites to Tim Tams. Yes, it's theming the room after the beloved chocolate biscuits — and, yes, eating them while you're there is definitely on the menu. From Tuesday, February 16–Tuesday, March 16, QT Sydney's Tim Tam suite will welcome in dessert fiends for an indulgent night away from home. Some of the usual amenities will be Tim Tam-themed, so you'll be thinking about bikkies when you pop on your robe, slippers and sleep mask. You might want to pay close attention to the wall art, too, as one piece will emit a chocolate scent. Because you'll obviously be feeling more than a little peckish, you can also order as many Tim Tams from the room service menu as you like — and they're complimentary. Or, bust out your wallet and take your pick from a custom-designed in-room menu filled with Tim Tam-inspired sweet treats, which specifically take their cues from the biscuit brand's current 'Crafted Collection' range. It includes coffee crumpets with coffee ice cream and crumble; mango parfait with macadamia, white chocolate crumble and passionfruit; and another mango dish that combines mango sabayon cheesecake, white chocolate and vanilla bavarois, fresh mango and shards of yoghurt meringue crisp. If you opt for the 'Tim Tam Tira Misu', you'll get layers of coffee Tim Tam, Kahlua-soaked savoiardi sponge, macerated strawberries, mascarpone cream and pieces of couverture chocolate. Head down to the onsite spa, and you can also have a coffee wrap treatment inspired by Tim Tams as well. The suite is available to book for the month, or you can enter a competition to win a night there, as run by Arnott's and QT Hotels. Five folks will score an overnight stay, which also includes travel credits to get to Sydney if you don't live locally, plus $250 to use on dessert and amenities during your hotel visit. You'll need to be available between March 8–12, and you'll need to explain why you want to stay in the suite in 25 words or less as part of your entry (which, let's be honest, really shouldn't be difficult). And if you're wondering why the Tim Tam suite has come about, it's part of a promotion tied in with the aforementioned new Tim Tam range. Also, February 16 is National Tim Tam day, because there really is a day for everything. To book a night in QT Sydney's Tim Tam Suite — which is available between Tuesday, February 16–Tuesday, March 16 — head to the QT Hotels website. To enter the competition to win an overnight stay in the suite, hop over to the Arnott's website.
The last time that Emma Stone made a movie with Greek Weird Wave director Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018's excellent The Favourite was the end result. The Cruella star earned an Oscar nomination for her troubles, deservedly so, and the filmmaker's style and sense of humour gained a wider audience. Indeed, the made a winning pair, in what was one of the former's very best performances of Stone's career. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that they've reteamed again. Also far from astonishing: that another unique movie looks set to hit screens. This time, they've traded regal dramas for a riff on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein — which will never stop being a gothic-horror masterpiece, or inspiring stories across the page, stage and screen. And, while Poor Things doesn't actually use that f-word, it looks mesmerising, eerie and stunning in both its initial and just-dropped trailers. Also, Stone is clearly playing a version of Frankenstein's monster. Poor Things adapts Alasdair Grey's 1992 award-winning novel, but the parallels with Shelley's mother-of-all horror greats are as obvious as a bolt of lightning. The focus: Bella Baxter, a woman resurrected by an unorthodox scientist, distinctive in her mannerisms afterwards and eager to learn about a world that isn't quite sure how to react. Continuing the movie's top-notch casting — and Lanthimos' in general, as seen in everything from Dogtooth and Alps to The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer as well — Poor Things features Willem Dafoe (The Northman) as the tinkering Dr Godwin Baxter; Mark Ruffalo (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Duncan Wedderburn, a slick lawyer that Bella runs off with; and also Ramy's Ramy Youssef, plus On the Count of Three co-stars Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott. Poor Things jolts Stone's career back onto the screen a few years away, too — Cruella released in 2021, and only The Croods: A New Age, Zombieland: Double Tap and TV's Maniac sit on her resume since The Favourite. Viewers Down Under will get to see how this surreal-looking take on a literary masterpiece turns out on October 12. Check out the full trailer for Poor Things below: Poor Things will release in cinemas Down Under on October 12. Image: Yorgos Lanthimos. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
The Von Erich family's second generation of wrestlers was born ready to rumble, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. After diving into a cult's thrall in Martha Marcy May Marlene, then the idea that money and status can buy happiness in fellow psychological thriller The Nest, writer/director Sean Durkin adds another exceptional and gripping film to his resume with The Iron Claw — a movie that draws upon elements of both, too, as it tells its heartbreaking true tale. Unpacking the weight carried and toll weathered by brothers locked into one future and way of life from the moment that they existed, this is a feature about the shadow cast by power and dominance by those caught in its shade, and the cost of doggedly chasing one concept of triumph and masculinity above all else. The Zac Efron (The Greatest Beer Run Ever)-voiced narration pitches it as a picture about a family curse as well, but the supernatural has nothing on an authoritarian force refusing to let anyone flee his grasp. The Iron Claw introduces the IRL Von Erich sporting dynasty with patriarch Fritz (Holt McCallany, 61st Street) doing the grappling, busting out the trademark grip that gives the movie its name, as his wife Doris (Maura Tierney, American Rust) and two of his boys wait outside. When they all come together after the match, it isn't just the pledge that Fritz will bring the National Wrestling Association's World Heavyweight Championship to their brood, which he's certain will fix their struggling plight, that lingers. Equally inescapable is the unyielding fixation burning in his steely glare, a look that will rarely falter in the film's 132-minute running time — and how his adoring sons (first-timers Grady Wilson and Valentine Newcomer) are already trained to see this world of rings, frays, throws and belts as their home, career path and destiny. Those two children, Kevin and David, are played as men by Efron — beefed up to a jaw-dropping degree, in a remarkable physical transformation that makes his Baywatch stint look lean in comparison — and Harris Dickinson (A Murder at the End of the World). When The Iron Claw leaps to the duo's adulthood in the 70s and 80s, they are indeed engrained in the family business. And it is the Von Erichs' business via World Class Championship Wrestling, where Kevin is initially the star performer. He's chasing the same prize as his dad did. Fritz, as firmly determined as ever, is always pushing and pressuring. Ranking his surviving boys (Jack Jr died at the age of six) is standard breakfast conversation. "Now we all know Kerry's my favourite, then Kev, then David, then Mike," he decrees over a table laden with eggs, sausages, bacon and juice. "But the rankings can always change." A man passionate about little other than wresting, winning and his offspring doing both, Fritz isn't lying: when David shows more skill with the microphone than his elder sibling, perfecting the patter and bragging-heavy rapport, and wowing crowds, the Von Erich dreams for glory shift down the line. After talented discus athlete Kerry (The Bear's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Jeremy Allen White) has his Olympics quest dashed by the US boycott of the 1980 summer games in Moscow, he joins his brothers in spandex, making Fritz's eyes gleam. The younger, lankier Mike (Stanley Simons, Superior) is more interested in music, but that isn't the approved corner, ensuring that he has his time in the ring as well. Durkin leaves out Chris, the baby of the family, who also attempted to follow in the expected footsteps. A third generation has done the same since — Kevin's sons Ross and Marshall, plus Kerry's daughter Lacey — in events similarly beyond The Iron Claw's focus. Few biopics rigidly stick to every fact and detail, but Durkin, who was a wrestling-obsessed 90s kid when the Von Erichs' fates were making regular headlines, truncates The Iron Claw's story for one reason: the sorrowful spiral of tragedy that's befallen its subjects is that relentless and devastating. The real-life details don't belong in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction category — rather, they're evidence that life's worst exceeds anything that cinema can deliver, and that doubting that more blows can be on the way is the falsest move its characters, or anyone, can make. Agony, anguish and death stalk the Von Erichs, each new round chipping away at Kevin and his siblings' bonds of brotherhood. Among Fritz's boys, this isn't a movie about feuding kin; why Kevin is the feature's anchor is much more heartwrenching. In a different year, when Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy and The Holdovers' Paul Giamatti weren't duking it out for awards season's Best Actor accolades, Efron would be in the square. Achingly raw, the High School Musical, Bad Neighbours and Gold star turns in his finest performance so far as someone struggling not to become fodder in his all-American family's pursuit of the American dream (Fritz was born Jack Adkisson in Texas, then took on his pseudonym while playing the heel as part of an "evil German" double act). Vulnerability courses in the veins on Efron's muscled-up limbs — vulnerability in the face of masculinity's most-toxic manifestations and expectations at that — as does affecting tenderness in Kevin's yearning for love and acceptance that's always conditional from his dad yet never wavers from his brothers. Earnestness ripples as well, especially in scenes with his other well-cast colleagues, with White at his broody best; Dickinson and Simons both seesawing between spirited and haunted, each in their own ways; and Lily James (What's Love Got to Do with It?) vibrant, supportive but no-nonsense as Kevin's fan, girlfriend and then wife Pam. Although wrestling and torment are no strangers in film — The Wrestler earned Mickey Rourke an Oscar nomination, and the lucha libre-based Cassandro barely preceded The Iron Claw to screens — Durkin's addition to the genre is a deeply resonant jump off the top ropes. It's also enamoured with laying bare the thrills and highs of the sport, aka what the Von Erichs keep seeking, with the in-ring action masterful in its choreography and showmanship no matter your fondness for the field going in. Behind the lens, cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (Foe, and also Durkin's The Nest and TV miniseries Southcliffe) excels in seeing the theatre and performativeness of the space, just as his outdoor shots of Kevin and his brothers at their most content together glow with light and naturalism. The demand to play a part versus craving simply to be is The Iron Claw's central contrast, after all. Boom boom boom: as impeccably executed and acted, and crushing to watch, this is cinematic gold.
Taylor Swift's Eras tour is the gift that keeps on giving, whether or not you're actually heading along in person when it finally hits Australia in February. Since October 2023, concert film Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour has let Swifties enjoy the show on the screen, first in cinemas and then via digital. Its next stop, if you're ready for it: Disney+ from mid-March. When the blockbuster movie hits the Mouse House's streaming platform on Friday, March 15, it will feature five extra tunes, including 'cardigan' and four acoustic tracks. So, Disney is calling it "the concert film in its entirety for the first time". You might be dubbing it reason enough to don your friendship bracelets in your lounge room. If your wildest dreams have been about getting in on Taylor Swift's Eras tour since it was first announced, then this is gorgeous and enchanted news, clearly. And if you missed out on tickets to the live shows, consider this the next best thing. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current massive tour into a movie that's also proven a smash, taking in over $260 million at the worldwide box office. The film offers a money-can't-buy view of the 'Shake It Off', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig, working through her entire career so far by playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, ten-act spectacular. The IRL Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023 in the US, then headed to Mexico and Brazil. Japan — around the Super Bowl — then Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Canada, a return to the US and, of course, Australia, are all on the itinerary in 2024. "The Eras Tour has been a true phenomenon that has and continues to thrill fans around the world, and we are very excited to bring this electrifying concert to audiences wherever they are, exclusively through Disney+," said Disney CEO Bob Iger, announcing the film's impending arrival on the service. If you fancy picking yourself up some Eras tour merchandise to wear at home while you dance along, and you'll be in Sydney or Melbourne in February, that's on the agenda as well — via merch presales and a one-day-only Melbourne pop-up. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour will stream via Disney+ from Friday, March 15, 2024. Read our review. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.
Tackling climate change can feel like an impossibly tough task at times, but having a positive impact on our planet is possible — and more so when you get your house in order. With around eight percent of greenhouse gases caused by food waste, making smarter decisions at the shops and implementing sustainable kitchen tricks are just some ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. Whether you learn how to pickle old fridge veg or make the switch to buying organic, seasonal produce from local growers, these small choices can equate to something much bigger. We've teamed up with Glad to celebrate its new Glad to be Green range — and to bring you six simple ways you can combat climate change from your very own kitchen. LEARN HOW TO PICKLE You might be tempted to instantly dump shrivelled, scary-looking vegetables you find at the back of the fridge straight into the bin. Don't be so hasty, though, as you could be throwing away an easily pickled snack. Not only are pickled veggies tasty, but they will also rapidly cut down your food waste at home — if you make them yourself, that is. Pickling has been a go-to preserving method for thousands of years and it's pretty easy to do. Just reach for those old apples, onions, carrots, cucumbers and basically any other plant-based product. Throw in whatever combination you want inside a sterilised glass jar. Add the brine, which is made up of water, vinegar, salt and your favourite spices, and make sure all produce is submerged. Seal tight and put in the fridge. Depending on what kind of pickling you're going for — quick, canned, fermented — the process can take as little as 90 minutes and sometimes as long as around five weeks. Still feel a bit daunted? The pickle legends at Cornersmith run online classes as well as in-person ones for Sydneysiders. [caption id="attachment_778329" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacqui Manning[/caption] BUY ORGANIC, SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEG FROM LOCAL GROWERS Australia is blessed with some of the best produce around, so why not go straight to the source? Hitting up your local farmers market for organic, seasonal fruit and vegetables ensures you get your hands on the freshest produce available, meaning it's likely to keep for longer. It doesn't matter if the produce is 'ugly' by supermarket standards, either, so pick up that wonky carrot or gnarly lemon and know that at growers markets, it's all about the taste (and reducing the waste). Plus, buying local often means less food miles involved and pesticide-free produce is better for the environment, too. You'll also get among your community and directly support local farmers. GROW YOUR OWN HERBS The right herbs can make or break a dish. But going to the supermarket for another bunch of basil when you only need a little isn't exactly an environmentally friendly choice. Yep, after a few days that basil will become brown and sad and you'll chuck it. And so the cycle continues. Unless, that is, you start your own mini herb garden. You can do this on your windowsill, balcony or in your garden and, when you need to liven up your meals, all you have to do is cut off a few leaves. Don't have a green thumb? Rest assured that keeping a herb garden alive is easy with some simple planning. Just decide on a selection of herbs you'll actually use, choose a sunny spot and go easy on the water. START A WORM FARM When food waste breaks down in landfill, it releases methane: one of the most potent greenhouse gases. So, instead of chucking your scraps in the bin, why not start a worm farm? That way, your scraps are repurposed and take on a new life. Fortunately, compost worms, such as tiger and red worms, love to munch on many food types, so you can load them up with vegetable scraps, fruit skins and coffee grinds. A thriving worm farm traps gases released from scraps in the soil, diverting some of the emissions that are usually a direct result of the food waste coming from your kitchen. Visit your local hardware store to find ready-to-go worm farms or make building one your next DIY project. Some local councils even offer discounts on worm farms via Compost Revolution. [caption id="attachment_766152" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Fotios[/caption] COMPOST YOUR ORGANIC MATTER (OR DONATE IT) According to Foodbank Australia, the average Australian household throws away 2.5 million tonnes of edible food each year. So, it's no wonder reusing our waste in worm farms and compost has proven to be one of the best ways to reduce food waste and its harmful gas emissions. Many Aussie councils have started implementing composting schemes, so check out your local council to see if you can hop on the bandwagon. All you have to do is throw your scraps into an organic matter bin for collection and, eventually, it'll be turned into compost. The Glad to be Green Compostable Kitchen Caddy Liners are made from 30 percent renewable material cornstarch and are certified compostable to Australian standards. Or, if you have a proper compost operation going — and too much product to fertilise your own garden — you can donate your compost to local community gardens, schools and other organisations. STORE YOUR LEFTOVERS PROPERLY It might sound simple, but so much food goes to waste just because it hasn't been stored properly. If you've cooked up a storm and need a convenient way to store leftovers, you don't have to stock up on cheap plastic containers that'll end up in the trash before long. If you're keen to invest in some snazzy reusable lunchboxes, consider this the dangling of the proverbial carrot. Otherwise, you can opt for Glad to be Green's Reseal Bags and Cling Wrap, which are made from 50 percent plant-based materials, including sugarcane, and provide a robust bio-based alternative. Go green and visit the Glad website for more tips and tricks. Top image: Cottonbro, Pexels UPDATE: Friday, June 25 —Sydneysiders who work or live in Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney Councils are currently under stay at home orders. Buying essential groceries is one of the four reasons to leave home, but you must wear a mask. You can stay up to date with the developing COVID-19 situation in Sydney, as well as current restrictions, at NSW Health.
In 2004, Denzel Washington starred in Man On Fire, a violent action thriller about an ex-special forces loner named John who establishes a special bond with a young blonde girl and then embarks upon an uncompromising vengeful rampage against a cartel that assaults her. His latest film The Equalizer is entirely different in that his character's name is now Robert. Not that there's anything wrong with typecasting yourself every now and then, especially in this genre. Liam Neeson's practically become a synonym for 'gruff vigilante', though when Denzel busts out his busting chops, he's as good as anyone at rocking the unflappable one-man-army vibe. In The Equalizer, the unfortunate recipients of Robert's wrath are a gang of Russian mobsters, who he coolly dispatches in a Sherlock Holmes-esque sequence of blow-by-blow preemption. That enrages their Moscow-based kingpin, who orders his 'fixer' (Marton Csokas) to track him down and restore order. Instead, Robert begins to singlehandedly dismantle every tier of the crime lord's operations. It's bloody, violent and wildly implausible, yet — like so many of these recent vigilante flicks — also largely satisfying. The Equalizer was directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose previous collaboration with Washington in Training Day garnered two Academy Awards. While his leading man has lost none of the cool that made his turn in Training Day such a powerhouse performance, what's lacking this time round is tension. Robert is simply too good at kicking arse, thereby making The Equalizer a victim of the 'Superman zone' wherein a character's ostensible invulnerability robs the film of any suspense. It's a solid action film, but without at least a hint of peril for the main man, you're left feeling like you just saw a superhero movie minus the superpowers. https://youtube.com/watch?v=64QGV7bf3hE
When Freaks and Geeks first aired on Australian TV, it was one of those series that you had to actively search the television guide for. If you were devotedly scouring the listings at the time, then you already knew that the Paul Feig (Another Simple Favour)-created show was instantly among the coming-of-age greats, and also destined for a cult following. The past quarter century has proven that true of this glimpse at 80s-era suburban high-school life, but here's something that viewers back in the late-90s and early-00s couldn't have foreseen: a 14-hour marathon featuring all 18 episodes of the series screening at SXSW Sydney in 2025. Feig is SXSW Sydney's Screen Festival keynote speaker and its first recipient of the new SXSW Sydney Screen Pioneer Award. If that's not enough love for the director, writer, producer and actor, the Harbour City fest is also pairing his visit, chat and accolade with a retrospective of his work. Audiences can see three key titles from across the filmmaker's career, including that all-day stint with Freaks and Geeks. If you're keen to binge-watch the Jason Segel (Shrinking)-, Linda Cardellini (Nonnas)-, Seth Rogen (The Studio)-, Busy Phillips (Girls5eva)-, John Francis Daley (Game Night)- and Martin Starr (Tulsa King)-starring show on the big screen, that's on the agenda at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick on Saturday, October 18, kicking off at 9.30am. Or, a few days earlier, you can see the cinematic comedy sensation that is Bridesmaids, complete with Feig in attendance and taking part in a Q&A. If you have any burning questions about the Maya Rudolph (Loot)-, Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale)- and Rose Byrne (Physical)-led flick, Wednesday, October 15 is your chance to ask them. For the film's wedding-themed chaos, you'll also be heading to the Ritz Cinema. The third part of the retrospective program is a Sunday, October 19 session of The Heat, Feig's odd-couple buddy-cop comedy with Sandra Bullock (The Lost City) and Melissa McCarthy (Only Murders in the Building), also at the same venue.
Learning to always keep hand sanitiser within arm's reach is a very 2020 lesson. Working out how many jigsaw puzzles you can do in a single month is too. So is accepting change — because a year can start out normally, then transform into something completely different. And while we didn't need a pandemic to tell us this, a person's entire life can go through similar shifts as well. Someone can start out in one job, for instance, then make a once-in-a-lifetime leap to pursue another. That's the story behind Wilson Brewing Company, which is based in Albany. It also applies at Illegal Tender Rum Co, in Springfield in Western Australia's midwest. Or, a person can jump into the wine industry in one part of the country, then end up making it in a completely different area. That tale rings true at Ferngrove Wines in the Great Southern region, for instance. What hasn't changed lately, though, is how much Australians love Wilson, Illegal Tender and Ferngrove's drinks. When BWS asked Aussies to pick the country's top tipples as part of its Local Luvvas initiative, all three emerged victorious in WA. They'll now receive an extra helping hand with getting their products stocked in more BWS stores — and we've chatted to key players from all three to discover just how life's changes brought them to this point. FROM THE MINING INDUSTRY TO MAKING BEER IN AN OLD NURSERY If you were to ask the entire Australian population how they'd spend their time if they could have any job they wanted, we're betting that a considerable number would mention brewing beer. Matty Wilson would now, but he mightn't have known how much he loves his work if he hadn't been a boilermaker in the Pilbara first. It was there, as one of the mining industry's many fly-in, fly-out employees, that his cousin Leon first introduced him to brewing. "I was instantly addicted, and loved the combination of science, cooking and chemistry," he says. "After about six months, I realised that I had a knack for brewing and recipe development — and started thinking about opening a brewery in Albany." Opening a brewery isn't a part-time endeavour, of course. For Wilson, it meant calling time on his existing career, buying an old garden nursery with a big dilapidated shed out the back, and putting all his energy into making Wilson Brewing Company a reality. He didn't completely farewell his old skills at first, though, using them over the course of nine months to fix up the property and build his first brew kit by hand — a key early step in making the leap into the professional beer business after five years of home brewing. That was back in 2016 — and while it represented an enormous change for Wilson, this year would bring more. "2020 has proven to be a time of overcoming challenges," he says; however, it has also been one of "banding together and supporting each other". When he started Wilson Brewing, he sold his first keg to the Earl of Spencer Pub in Albany. Now, in this tough period, the community in WA's southwest and the state as a whole has been pivotal. "They've truly proven why it is so great to live here," Wilson shares. "We have had unprecedented support, and have had the opportunity to support others like never before. We learned that we can take a beating, stick it out, and come out the other end stronger and still chasing our dreams." LEAVING A CAREER AS AN ELECTRICIAN TO DISTILL RUM At first glance, Illegal Tender Rum Co's origin story is rather similar to Wilson Brewing Company's — and that of the former's Codie Palmer to the latter's Matty Wilson, too. Palmer was previously an instrumentation electrician by trade, working in iron ore mining in Dampier. Now, after selling his house and car to finance his dream, he has been distilling professionally for six years out of Dongara. For Palmer, however, making rum was always his "true calling". In fact, he's been doing it for more than half of his life. "There is something about it that just ensnared me; something with the process and how you could take raw ingredients and really make them your own," he says, explaining that it's "a curiosity that beckons to you like a bright light in the night". He relishes the process, and the hard work that's required along the way. "A truly great spirit is something that is nurtured from start to finish — no shortcuts," he notes, explaining how Illegal Tender guides its 100-percent Australian ingredients through the brewing stage, then through fermentation, then double distillation, and finally through maturation. In 2020, Illegal Tender has been making something else as well: hand sanitiser. Add that to the big changes that have marked Palmer's rum-distilling path — but, while unexpected, it's one he'll always cherish. "It saw us help thousands of vulnerable people in our area, and that's something that we will be proud of for the rest of our days," he says. Indeed, it has allowed him to support a community that has supported him. "Without it, we simply would not be around. When we began our journey, it was the local support we received from the very beginning that made us feel like we were a part of a greater family," he explains. "Being local should be something all producers are proud of… and supporting locals should be at the forefront of people's minds in this day and age." SWAPPING THE BAROSSA VALLEY FOR WA'S GREAT SOUTHERN REGION Unlike his fellow Local Luvvas winners, Ferngrove Wines' Craig Grafton didn't experience a stint in mining before following his vino dreams. But he still probably wouldn't have predicted that he'd become the chief winemaker at a Western Australian vineyard — especially given that he grew up north of South Australia's Barossa Valley; has spent time working in the Yarra and Clare valleys, Geelong and Bellarine, and Mildura; and has also plied his trade in the Bordeaux region of Southern France, in California's Sonoma Valley, and also in Nashik in India and Ningxia in China. The move to WA was the result of years of respect for the area, though. "I have always held the Great Southern region in high regard," he says, noting that that's proven true across his 20 years as a winemaker. And if you're going to make a top-notch drop, Grafton believes that you need the very best location. "It is a little clichéd, but it is absolutely true that great wines really are made in the vineyard." Ferngrove's location since 1998 — where "the cool climate of the Frankland River allows our vines to produce some incredibly intense fruit, and we have relatively warm days which allow the fruit to fully ripen in flavour," as Grafton explains — is a little off the beaten path. It's 360 kilometres south of Perth, in fact. That makes local support crucial for Ferngrove Wines, even before 2020 delivered its challenges. "Being loved as a local winery is what we've been striving for as remotely located vineyard. We have to work a little harder to get our wines out there, and it means that we have to shout and scream at the top of our lungs that we are a winery that's worth tasting, enjoying and seeking out," he says. As a self-confessed wine fanatic, that's a task that Grafton enjoys, however; "the romance, the history, the people, the places that are all involved in wine production made me want to forge a career and lifestyle around this". To find these or other Western Australian drinks as part of the BWS Local Luvva's initiative, head to your nearest BWS store.
What do you get the KFC lover who has everything? The recipe for the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices is the holy grail for fried-chicken fans, and a date to down drumsticks should always be on the menu. But if your chicky chicky fry fry-adoring pal — or yourself — wants to look finger lickin' good whether or not you're not licking your fingers after a chook-heavy meal, Kentucky Fried Couture will do the trick. KFC is no stranger to merchandise and gimmicks, dropping ugly Christmas sweaters (including a pet version), releasing augmented reality games, offering wedding services, doing cocktails, and letting you meditate to the soothing sounds of chicken frying and gravy simmering. It also had a super-Aussie range of apparel and items on sale back in 2018. This time, however, the fast-food brand wants you to don varsity jackets, hoodies, party shirts, bucket hats and more. Forget two-piece feeds — these are your new favourite pieces from the Colonel, and they're all available online via the KFC merch store. Love Zingers so much you need a tee to proclaim it to the world? Obsessed with past KFC logos? Looking for something comfy to eat fried chicken in? Trying to bring bumbags back? You're all sorted here. Prices start at $20, which will get you a pair of KFC socks — either with the Colonel's face on them, or sporting drumsticks aplenty. At the other end of the scale, that varsity jacket will cost you $90. Even better, you'll be doing a good deed by supporting efforts to improve mental health, with profits going to the KFC Youth Foundation and its charity partners The Black Dog Institute, ReachOut Australia and Whitelion. Are KFC threads more resilient when it comes to fried-chicken grease? There's only one way to find out. Shop KFC's new merch via the fried-chicken chain's online store.
When Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) decided to bring The Great Gatsby to the screen, he enlisted 2010s Sydney to double for 1920s Long Island and New York. Then, a decade after the Australian director's Oscar-winning movie hit cinemas, a The Great Gatsby-themed club popped up in the Harbour City to host a The Great Gatsby-inspired cabaret variety show. Cut to 2025 and that event, aka GATSBY at The Green Light, now has a different Aussie city in its sights: Brisbane as part of this year's Brisbane Festival. This time, the River City's Twelfth Night Theatre in Bowen Hills is following in Luhrmann's footsteps, with GATSBY at The Green Light making its Brisbane debut between between Tuesday, September 2–Sunday, September 28. The production will take over the Bowen Hills venue with an array of excuses to pretend that it's a century ago — and that you're on the other side of the globe. The GATSBY part of the big spring event's moniker refers to the entertainment, while The Green Light is the temporarily rebadged venue where this party-esque experience will occur. First, the show: taking its cues from F Scott Fitzgerald's book, which is marking its 100th anniversary in 2025, GATSBY gives the classic text the aerial, burlesque, dance and circus treatment. As performers show off their skills, live contemporary music accompanies their efforts. Then, the club: The Green Light gleans inspiration from prohibition-era speakeasies. Yes, drinks are involved. Indeed, while you watch, you'll be able to say cheers to the entertainment with a martini in hand. When it initially hit the stage at the Sydney Opera House — which hosted a sellout season — GATSBY at The Green Light hailed from director Craig Ilott, who added the event to his resume alongside Smoke & Mirrors, La Clique Royale at Edinburgh Festival's The Famous Spiegeltent, and also American Idiot, Amadeus and Velvet Rewired. With GATSBY co-producer Stuart Couzens, he was also involved in L'Hôtel, the dinner theatre experience which turned the exact same Sydney space into a French hotel with cabaret, circus and burlesque. "Our treatment of GATSBY has been akin to that of a concept album; riffing on the essence of a familiar text through a new form to create an evocative experience," said Ilott of GATSBY at The Green Light back when its Sydney run was announced. "We've taken elements entrenched in the 1920s — the vaudeville, the fashion, the hospitality — and remixed them with a bold 2020s beat, with the aim of creating an evening that feels both contemporary and captivating." GATSBY at The Green Light will take over Twelfth Night Theatre, 4 Cintra Road, Bowen Hills, between Tuesday, September 2–Sunday, September 28, 2025 during Brisbane Festival. Head to the fest's website for more details and tickets. Brisbane Festival 2025 runs from Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27 at various venues around Brisbane. Head to the fest's website for tickets and further details. Images: Daniel Boud / Prudence Upton.
Thanks to its pop culture-influenced productions based on the Beatles, Adele, Miley Cyrus and Love Actually — aka Lady Beatle, Rumour Has It, Wrecking Ball and Christmas Actually — The Little Red Company has been an integral part of Brisbane's cabaret scene in recent years. For its next show, however, it's taking inspiration from a different source: these self-isolating, stay-at-home times. The IsoLate Late Show has a few purposes. Firstly, it brings together Queensland creatives in a period when gigs and performances are being cancelled all over the place. Secondly, it's raising money for performing arts professionals affected. And, last but by no means least, it's keeping you entertained while you're cooped up at home. At 8pm AEST (9pm AEDT and 11pm NZDT) on Friday, March 20, host Naomi Price and performers Luke Kennedy (The Voice Australia), Tom Oliver (Velvet), Irena Lysiuk (Sweet Charity), Jason McGregor (Lady Beatle), Scott French (Christmas Actually) and Mik Easterman (Christmas Actually) will be putting on a live-streamed cabaret show — and belting out plenty of hits. Watch along via Instagram or Facebook, and help support Queensland creatives by donating. To get you in the mood, check out a glimpse of Christmas Actually below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkm9YzNo_4 Top image: Dylan Evans
Going back to study part-time can be a daunting process. Learning how to balance work and social obligations can be hard enough without adding in the massive third edge that is a uni course. Studying online with leading Australian universities via Open Universities Australia (OUA) can certainly combat some of the hurdles of juggling work and study — like needing to be in two places at once. However, it's still kind of scary to consider adding more to your already hectic schedule. But you don't need to jump in headfirst without any help. To give you a deeper insight into how to make your part-time study work for you, we spoke with Sydney career expert and psychologist Suzie Plush. Plush chatted to us about the challenges, hacks and keys to success when considering taking on part-time study. Here's what we found out. [caption id="attachment_732003" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzie Plush[/caption] LEARN THE ART OF THE PIVOT In a perfect world, your work-life-study priorities would be completely balanced — but we all know that life doesn't work like that. So, to achieve somewhat of a balance, Plush suggests you learn the 'art of the pivot'. "The concept of the pivot is more around leaning into what the priority is each week. If you're studying part-time and you're working part-time, you might have one week that's really crazy at work — that just means you pivot to focus on work, and then the next week you'll pivot back and do more studying." The goal here is not to achieve a perfectly balanced schedule all the time. Instead, you 'pivot' toward which is more important. Studying through OUA gives you the flexibility to scale up or down the number of subjects you're taking over the year. So, if you've got a huge project at work, a holiday planned or something else unexpectedly pops up in your life, you decrease your study load during one period and catch up later once things settle down. According to Plush, this can take a lot of the pressure off, because you're "purposely neglecting something rather than feeling like you're dropping the ball altogether." PACE YOURSELF AND DEVELOP A GAME PLAN Taking on too much at once will only lead to burnout. Instead, Plush suggests you pace yourself and focus on chipping away at your studies, rather than take on big chunks of work at once. A successful way to go about this is to develop a game plan early on. "Instead of procrastinating when you study, it's important to get organised. If you don't feel like studying, get all the dates in your calendar, download all your files and make sure you have a system at home for where you put your notes. So, when you do have that time to study, you don't have to waste it getting organised." Another study hack Plush recommends is to always take the time to listen to your lectures, as going over those audio files will save a lot of time when you sit down to study later. Having a study system in place is especially key for online work, as you really need to be a self-starter to ensure you don't fall behind. UTILISE THE SUPPORT THAT'S AVAILABLE When undertaking online study, it is all too easy to feel disconnected and isolated. But those support systems are there — you just need to know how to tap into them. It's so important to take advantage of every avenue of support that is available to you, whether that be chat rooms, forums, study groups or one-on-one teacher assistance. "You really want to try and build connections with people that are doing the same course as you and are in the same mode. Reach out to teachers as well — if you're doing online study, you may not be super clear on what an assessment is, so asking makes sure you're answering things appropriately. Be assertive and get that clarification and support you need." To aid with this, OUA gives you free access to a platform called Smarthinking — a tool that offers 24-hour access to qualified tutors. These tutors can help you plan assignments and work through them, too. Plus, Smarthinking tutors can also read through assessments and give constructive feedback before you formally submit them. Plush says it's also necessary to let your family and close friends know what your needs are and ask them to pick up some slack for you where possible. Managing your expectations and those of the people close to you helps minimise stress in your already busy life. [caption id="attachment_732002" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzie Plush[/caption] PLAY TO YOUR NATURAL RHYTHMS Whether you're a night owl or an early bird, it's important to notice when are you most productive and play to those strengths. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to balance, work, study and personal commitments. By paying attention to those natural rhythms, you will become your most productive self. It will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and disconnected, too. "Really leverage your natural state. Are you better studying at night or waking up early? Play to those natural preferences rather than copying what other people do." Other daily hacks Plush mentioned include trying to incorporate some of your studying into your everyday routine, like listening to lectures on your commute. It helps you make studying part of your day-to-day and avoid procrastination. TAKE TIME TO RECHARGE With so much on your plate, it can be easy to lose sight of why you went back to study in the first place. "When it gets hard, always come back to the 'why' of it. It can get you the extra push of motivation and remind you why you're studying in the first place." But burnouts can still happen, and it is important for you to take time to recharge. Plush recommends spending ten minutes per day on mindfulness exercises — apps like Smiling Mind and Head Space can help you through your meditation. She also insists on staying active. "I talk a lot to clients about the art of recharging. Even for athletes, it's important to rest. You need to have those two modes and have strategic times of rest so that, when you're going back to studying, you're fresh." Plush suggests getting outside, into nature and away from screens. Moving your body and raising your dopamine levels gives you a fresh perspective, too. Often we think we're too busy to stop, but that's the most important facet in maintaining a healthy balance. Decided to take on part-time study, but haven't found the right course for you? Explore hundreds of degrees from leading Australian universities — offered online through Open Universities Australia. Hop to it.
The Swedish village of Harads is home to only 600 people, but houses something truly special. Treehotel is a unique hotel that sits in the undisturbed forest. The hotel has five different rooms, all of which are themed differently and offer much more than your standard bed and complementary chocolate. These rooms created by Treehotel aren't just cool designs; they also contain environmentally-friendly combustion toilets and are built from chemical-free wood. One room uses mirrors on all its outer walls to reflect the surrounding trees, but is coated in infrared film so that birds don't fly into it. Amazingly considerate. Another room is decorated as a giant bird's nest, and according to Treehotel it is 'camouflage so you quickly disappear and become part of the surroundings.' Hopefully you don't get swarmed by feathered Swedish creatures upon entry. While this room sits in harmony with the surrounding nature, another room does the exact opposite as it is shaped as a UFO. Spread over two levels, it can house up to four people and comes with some cute astronomy-themed cushions too. The best part is that you can call your mates staying in the bird's nest and all head to the communal sauna for a good dose of relaxation. According to Treehotel, Greek philosopher Plato 'knew that trees and steam baths together made the perfect stimulus for philosophical thoughts and ideas.' Therefore you might want to read some books before heading up the sauna for some intense discussion about the purpose of human existence. While there are five different rooms avaliable now, a total of 24 rooms have been planned.
When is an English-style pub more than just an English-style pub? When it also throws nautical theming into the mix, too. That's what's on offer at The Hope & Anchor, the fresh addition that Paddington has been calling out for. Indeed, the roadway that morphs from Caxton Street to Given Terrace to Latrobe Terrace boasts many things — including Lefty's Old Time Music Hall and Ginger's from Hope & Anchor owner Jamie Webb — but it doesn't have anywhere quite like this. Taking over the quaint, heritage-listed space that was originally a bakery and has housed The Lark and Shingle Inn in recent years, the two-level H&A combines historic charm with a laid-back atmosphere to become everyone's new favourite watering hole. Thankfully, there's more to the pub than a great look and feel, even if it does ooze both in spades. Drinks-wise, prepare to imbibe craft, microbrewery and even ginger beer by the bottle or on tap, or peruse the hefty wine, cocktail and spirits lists. And if you're hankering for a bar snack (and who isn't?), then opting for beef jerky and chips or the old favourite that is the chip butty is a must, with everything from fish fingers, peppercorn steak, and half a chicken with sausage gravy and mash available for those with bigger appetites.
West End is known for food. For drinks. For being a place where you can go on dates, group hangs and sit-down dinners. Whether you're on Boundary Street for beers or Hardgrave for pho, you can pretty much guarantee a good time. And while we love our tried and trusted haunts, we could hardly ignore the huge new pub on Montague Road. Aptly named The Montague Hotel, this new spot — which has room for a whopping 400 people — has been christened The Monty (because four syllables are way too many) and apart from turning out some pretty great feeds, they also do $10 espresso martinis. All the time. Got your attention? Good. If you're lucky enough to work closeby, you shouldn't have too much trouble wrangling a crew together for a post-work drink and some snacks. For grazing, their sweet potato fries ($9) are chunky, decadent and crispy. The haloumi fries ($13) also definitely warrant a look in. If there's a few of you, a sharing board with buffalo wings, beer-battered pickles, assorted fries and onion rings ($39) is the business. If you're in here for dinner, you might grab a cheeseburger ($14), a lemon and rosemary half roast chicken and veggies ($26), or share a pizza. At lunch, The Monty is doing a $14 superfoods menu, which lets you pick up a mushroom burger, a detox salad or a rainbow wrap between noon and 4pm. It's a smart move to persuade some cafe-goers to the pub at lunchtime. The interior is all greenery and polished copper, with an eye-watering number of beers to choose from (last count was 17 on tap) snaking from a massive vat above the bar. There are numerous spots to sit — once you've locked down your food order and got the first of your espresso martinis on the way, you can people-watch on the street or take it easy on the terrace. Not too arduous a task in such a fine location. The Monty is still a new bar, but they seem to have nailed the vibe of the perfect after work or weekend drinks spot, and with great food and a pretty spot-on drinks list it's just a matter of time before they're one of you West End go-tos.
Once a year, The Wickham shuts down a Fortitude Valley street to throw a huge queer party. When Big Gay Day rolls around, it takes over not just the beloved — and recently renovated — pub that hosts it, but the surrounding roadway. And in 2023, it's doing just that again, this time with help from Peter Andre. The 'Mysterious Girl' and 'Gimme Little Sign' singer, who grew up on the Gold Coast, headlines Big Gay Day's just-revealed October lineup. Also on the bill: The Rogue Traders doing a DJ set, Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir, Briefs and Jawbreakers, plus a heap of DJs and drag performers. If you've noticed something different about 2023's afternoon and evening of tunes and LGBTQIA+ celebrations, yes, it has moved its timing from the end of April this year to the beginning of October. As announced before its usual date hit, Big Gay Day was shifted "due to scheduling conflicts with neighbouring stakeholders", swapping places with The Wickham's also-annual Little Gay Day. And, to answer the big question that might've popped into your head, Big Gay Day is still happening on a Sunday as part of a long weekend. That date: Sunday, October 1. Andre headlines after 'Absolutely Everybody' singer Vanessa Amorosi did the same at 2022's Big Gay Day, and Mel C from the Spice Girls did the honours in 2020. The event also spans multiple performance spaces, food trucks, themed pop-up bars and plenty of partying people. And, it gets to enjoy The Wickham's $3.1-million revamp, which has added a weather-proofed beer garden, late-night snacks, monthly drag brunches and a dedicated food menu for dogs to the venue. BIG GAY DAY 2023 LINEUP: Peter Andre The Rogue Traders (DJ set) Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir Briefs Jawbreakers Isis Avis Loren DJ Dolly Llama's Mega Drag DJ Victoria Anothony DJ Jonny Marsh Adam Noviello Reef vs Beef Divas: Live! Host: Paul Wheeler
Iggy Pop has been hitting the stage — mostly topless — for nigh on 50 years, both as the frontman of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Stooges and as a solo artist. Now, the 'Godfather of Punk' is heading back to Australia in April, 2019. As well as his debut performance at the Sydney Opera House, Iggy Pop will be performing at Melbourne's Festival Hall and at Byron Bay's Bluesfest — where he'll take to the stage alongside the likes of Paul Kelly, Hozier, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals. Iggy Pop may be almost 72 (his birthday on the night of the Melbourne show), but his shows aren't getting any less raucous. And the legendary singer only two years ago released his 17th solo album, Post Pop Depression. If you are, in any way, doubting his virility, please watch this video of Iggy performing 'The Passenger' at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2016. Yep, still shirtless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9srgtTTVwk IGGY POP 2019 DATES Sydney — Sydney Opera House, April 15 and 17 Byron Bay — Bluesfest, April 19 Melbourne — Festival Hall, April 21 Bluesfest tickets are on sale now. Melbourne and Sydney pre-sale tickets will be released at 12pm on Wednesday, December 12, with general sale following at 12pm on Friday, December 14. Sydney Opera House shows can be purchased here and Melbourne shows through the Bluesfest Touring website. Image: Ross Halfin.
Inspired by European craft beer vibes and co-founded by Gerard Martin and Matt McIver, Range Brewing takes seasonality very seriously. It doesn't have a specific core range like most breweries do. Instead, its brews are ever-changing, depending on the season and available ingredients. Expect hoppy, dark and sour beers to dominate, all brewed with Californian-designed equipment. At the time of writing, its current list of beers reaches 55. Located in Newstead, just a few blocks north of Gasworks, Range's warehouse-style taproom serves up whatever is pumping through the ten taps from Thursday–Sunday. The space has a Scandinavian-inspired fitout, which was designed and built by the Range crew. Think a beer hall with concrete-topped share tables, steel-based chairs and communal booths that seat 90, with space for 120 all up. For food, Range slings sourdough pizzas from their onsite commercial kitchen. If you're keen to try something other than beer — however blasphemous that may be — the bar also offers wine, gin, whisky and soft drinks from all-Australian and independently-owned producers. And don't forget that Range is within walking distance of Green Beacon Brewing and Newstead Brewing Co., making the suburb your new go-to for a weekend brewery crawl.
Every patch of Brisbane needs a leisurely watering hole where whiling away an afternoon with a drink in your hand feels like the only thing on anyone's agendas. Matt McIver and Gerard Martin, founders of Range Brewing, are doing their part to make that dream a reality. They've already set up shop in Newstead, which is where their brewery is based. After that, they then hopped over to the city's inner west to open Patio in Rosalie in 2023. By the time that September 2024 is out, the duo will also be slinging beers on the River City's southside. Camp Hill is McIver and Martin's latest Brissie destination, with the suburb about to become home to Rays, their fourth venue in the city (as well as Range and Patio, they also have The Bethnal, the barrel room and event space next to Range, to their name). This time around, the inspiration comes from European corner bars. So, the Range team is giving Brisbane its version, setting up shop in a Newman Avenue space that catches the afternoon light. "When we opened Patio, we wanted to create a place where the community could come together, relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of good food and drink," explains Martin. "Rays is a natural extension of the Patio, and the next step in that journey. The blend of indoor and outdoor spaces, along with a curated food menu that balances what our guests already love with exciting new dishes, means we're creating another place that locals can call their own." [caption id="attachment_970803" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] Rays has set Friday, September 27, 2024 as its launch date, so it'll be pouring brews from its ten taps not only in time for summer, but for the bulk of spring. If you've visited Patio over the past year, you'll know the vibe that McIver and Martin are aiming for — and the feeling of community as well. "We've been so humbled by the support from the local community at Patio, and seeing so many regulars become part of the family in just one year has been amazing," explains McIver. "At Rays, we wanted to build on that same sense of community, while offering a space that reflects the unique character of Camp Hill and Coorparoo. These neighbourhoods share that same warmth and charm as Paddington, and we're excited to bring our take on a local watering hole to this part of town." [caption id="attachment_970805" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_970804" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_970806" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_904831" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_970807" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_904830" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Patio[/caption] Find Rays at 4 Newman Avenue, Camp Hill from Friday, September 27, 2024 — and head to the venue's website and Instagram in the interim for more details.
Winter might currently be in full swing in Australia, but here's a trusty reminder that there's plenty of summer fun to look forward to: the ticket ballot for 2025's Meredith Music Festival is officially open. If spending three days and two nights watching one stage at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is your favourite way to kick off the warmest season of the year, then you'll want to go in the running to attend the regional Victorian fest ASAP. 2025 marks the beloved event's 33rd year, and its' promising "a midland melodrama in three parts". This three-decade-plus tradition will take over its namesake locale across Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. In the festival's own words, patrons can look forward to the "same shape, same size, and all on the one stage" once more. The other crucial date for your diary right now is Monday, August 11, 2025 — and 10.33pm AEST specifically that day. As at Wednesday, July 16, 2025, that's when the three-day BYO camping festival's ticket ballot is open until for this year. So, book that long weekend, enter for tickets, then cross your fingers that you'll be spending a trio of days at The Sup. There's no lineup as yet, as Meredith has long stopped being the kind of festival where attendance is dictated by whoever is taking to the stage. In both 2023 and 2024, the roster of acts dropped in mid-August. This year, Meredith has confirmed that 2025 lineup will be revealed with the ballot draws. 2023 saw Kraftwerk, Caroline Polachek, Alvvays, Alex G, Eris Drew & Octo Octa, Flowdan, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Sneaky Sound System, No Fixed Address, Souls of Mischief and plenty more on the bill. For 2024, Jamie xx, Waxahatchee, Genesis Owusu, Mk.gee, ZAPP, Angie McMahon, The Dare and Glass Beams were just some of the fest's names. Meredith Music Festival will return to Meredith from Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. To put your name in the ballot to get your hands on tickets, head to the festival's website before 10.33pm AEST on Monday, August 11. Images: Chip Mooney, Ben Fletcher, Chelsea King and Steve Benn.
Formerly the location of Bulimba's 'working man' pub in times gone by, the spacious modern venue of Oxford 152 continues the egalitarian spirit by offering something for everyone. The contemporary, open-front layout is immediately inviting, with glass doors and windows sliding back to let in natural light and breeze. Within this local watering hole, you find basically every venue type: lounge, bar, bistro, reception space, gaming room, chilled-out courtyard and a 'club' with a resident DJ. Oxford 152 provides down-to-earth eats in a smart-casual setting, serving up big brekkies, including custom omelettes — and a lunch and dinner menu with crispy pizzas, hearty meat mains and veg options, and premium beef steaks with a range of sides and toppers so you can customise your juicy slab. For sipping, they offer cocktails, juices, craft beer and, like any spot catering for big events and functions, some high-quality bubbly. Images: Grace Smith.
Prepare to spend more time scrolling through streaming queues — Apple is following in Netflix's and Disney's footsteps and releasing its own streaming platform. Called Apple TV+ and set to launch in spring this year — in the southern hemisphere — the new subscription service will feature a heap of new original television shows, movies and documentaries. They'll all be available ad-free and on demand, with access via the company's existing Apple TV app. While the platform's exact release date hasn't been announced, nor has pricing or the regions that it'll be available in, the company has revealed a sizeable lineup of new series it hopes will attract your TV-loving eyeballs. Fancy watching Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell navigate the world of morning television in the appropriately titled drama series The Morning Show? Jason Momoa in a new sci-fi show called See, which is set in a world where humans are born blind? A revival of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories anthology series? A new docu-series from Oprah — and the return of her book club? They're all on the way. So is Are You Sleeping?, which is based on a novel about true crime podcasts and featuring Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul; crime thriller Defending Jacob, starring Chris Evans; and a TV remake of Terry Gilliam's film Time Bandits, with a pilot directed by Taika Waititi. The list goes on, and includes a comedy set in a video game development studio from the folks behind It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a yet-to-be-named CIA undercover agent series starring Brie Larson, and new shows from both M. Night Shyamalan and La La Land director Damien Chazelle (separately, not together — although a collaboration between the two would certainly be interesting). In preparation for its new streaming service, Apple also announced an update to its existing Apple TV app, which'll be available from May. The app will also become available on Samsung Smart TVs in the second half of the year, and via Amazon Fire TV, LG, Roku, Sony and VIZIO platforms sometime in the future — meaning that you won't need an Apple device to watch Apple TV+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=Bt5k5Ix_wS8 Also on the cards: Apple Arcade, a paid gaming subscription service that'll feature more than 100 new and exclusive games on an all-you-can-play, ad-free basis — and, crucially, with no additional in-game purchases required. It's due to release in more than 150 countries around the same time as Apple TV+, and will be accessible via a new tab in the App Store. For news junkies, the company also launched Apple News+. Available now in the US and Canada, but not coming to Australia until later this year, it offers access to more than 300 magazines, newspapers and digital publishers in one spot. Titles included range from Vogue to National Geographic Magazine to The Wall Street Journal, for the US price of $9.99 per month. Apple TV+ is set to launch in spring 2019, Australian and New Zealand time. We'll keep you updated with further details when we have them.
Giving music lovers Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival, Spilt Milk and Harvest Rock is a massive task and achievement, but that's not all that's on Secret Sounds' festival calendar. This summer, the team is also bringing a lineup led by Flume, Foals and The Avalanches to three Australian cities as part of the returning Heaps Good. To get 2023 started in style, Adelaide scored a brand-new music fest in January, with Heaps Good starting as a one-day, one-city event with Arctic Monkeys headlining. It clearly went well, because Secret Sounds announced back in August that the festival will triple its footprint to see out this year and begin 2024. Now, it has unveiled who'll be taking to the stage in Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_918622" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zac Bayly[/caption] Having Flume and The Avalanches on the same bill is quite the homegrown feat, with Britain's Foals joining the two at all three stops. Also playing every city: Griff, Holly Humberstone, MAY-A, Sycco and Logan. Melbourne will score a Basement Jaxx DJ set as well, while SBTRKT is playing everywhere but Adelaide — and Declan McKenna will hit Adelaide and Brisbane but skip Melbourne. [caption id="attachment_918623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rashidi Noah[/caption] Adelaide Showground is still hosting Heaps Good's SA stop, this time on Saturday, January 6, 2024 — but the fest will first hit up Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, then Sandstone Point in Brisbane. Need something to do for New Year's Eve, Melburnians? That's now sorted, because that's when the event is coming to town. Sandstone Point in Brisbane gets the nod to usher in 2024, taking place on Tuesday, January 2. Yes, that's all the reason you need to extend your Christmas and New Year break. [caption id="attachment_912808" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dylan Minchenberg[/caption] HEAPS GOOD 2023–24 DATES: Sunday, December 31, 2023 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Tuesday, January 2, 2024 — Sandstone Point, Brisbane Saturday, January 6, 2024 — Adelaide Showground, Adelaide HEAPS GOOD 2023–24 LINEUP: Flume Foals The Avalanches Griff Holly Humberstone MAY-A Sycco Logan MELBOURNE ONLY: Basement Jaxx MELBOURNE AND BRISBANE ONLY: SBTRKT ADELAIDE AND BRISBANE ONLY: Declan McKenna ADELAIDE SOUND ARCHIVE: Mall Grab KETTAMA salute Logic1000 RONA. Denim Heaps Good will hit Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide across December 2023–January 2024, with ticket pre sales from 4pm AEST on Tuesday, September 19 and general sales from 4pm on Wednesday, September 20 — head to the festival's website for further information. Top image: Ian Laidlaw.
If there was a Morpho machine IRL rather than just in The Big Door Prize, and it dispensed cards that described the potential of television shows instead of people, this is what it might spit out about the Apple TV+ program that it's in: "comforting". This mystery-tinged existential dramedy is filled with people trying to discover who they are and truly want to be after an arcade game-esque console appears in their small town out of nowhere, and the series is both thoughtful and charming. In making the leap from the page of MO Walsh's book to the screen not once but twice now, The Big Door Prize has always also proven both cathartic and relatable viewing. Timing, dropping season one in 2023 as the pandemic-inspired great reset was well and truly in full swing, is a key factor in why the show resonates. Last year as well as now — with season two debuting on Wednesday, April 24 — this is a series that speaks to the yearning to face questions that couldn't be more familiar in a world where COVID-19 sparked a wave of similar "who am I?" musings on a global scale. Everyone now knows the scenario, then, before even watching a minute of The Big Door Prize. Everyone has been living this concept for half a decade. For viewers, of course, it was the drastic change of life as we know it due to a deadly infectious disease that got the planet's inhabitants probing how we're each meant to spend our lives — and to pine for an easy response at a time that's been anything but. Nothing IRL is doling out "royalty", "superstar" and "liar" in white lettering atop a gorgeous shade of blue, though. Actually, the Morpho in The Big Door Prize isn't anymore, either. The difference for the residents of the US midwest locale of Deerfield in the show's second spin: their path no longer simply involves pieces of cardboard that claim to know where the bearer should be expending their energy, but also spans new animated videos that transform their inner thoughts and hopes into 32-bit clips. Some snippets link to memories dating back decades. Some present alternative futures. Each ushers in a new wave of contemplation — because the focus of The Big Door Prize is how high-school teacher Dusty (Chris O'Dowd, Slumberland) and his neighbours react to the clairvoyant contraption and the information that it imparts. When the machine first made its presence known, Irishman-in-America Dusty was cynical. Initially, he held back as everyone clamoured for their business card-sized fortune. When he finally relented, he was unimpressed with the results: "teacher/whistler", the gizmo decreed about his destiny. Now, in a place where the Morpho remains the number-one talking point, he's taking the same route as everyone else in his community. As his wife Cass (Gabrielle Dennis, The Upshaws) and daughter Trina (Djouliet Amara, Fitting In) both are, Dusty has given in to letting the Morpho steer his decisions. Another question that The Big Door Prize poses: if being guided in the right direction was as straightforward as putting a quarter into a console, could you resist? Whether Dusty is making moves that'll impact his marriage, or his restaurant-owning best friend Giorgio (Josh Segarra, The Other Two) is leaping into a new relationship with Cass' best friend Nat (Mary Holland, The Afterparty), uncomplicated happiness rarely follows in this astute show. So when Dusty and Cass deem the Morpho's visions, as the townsfolk dub them, a sign that they need some space to stop being stuck in a rut, it isn't the move they think it will be. As their friends and acquaintances also hold up the Morpho up as a source of wisdom, the same keeps proving true. Trina's relationship with Jacob (first-timer Sammy Fourlas), the twin brother of her deceased boyfriend; Jacob's own efforts to grapple with loss and being without his sibling; his widowed father Beau (Aaron Roman Weiner, Power Book III: Raising Kanan) exploring echoes from his childhood; Cass' mum and Deerfield mayor Izzy (Crystal Fox, The Haves and Have Nots) working through her relationships: they all chart the same course. The Big Door Prize's tech element could fuel a Black Mirror instalment. In fact, The Big Door Prize is as concerned with what humanity does with the inventions that we create to better our existence as Charlie Brooker is. But bleakness never swirls through the mood here. Rather, this is a curious and empathetic series. While season two of the David West Read (Schitt's Creek)-developed show still treats its magical machine as a puzzle for characters and viewers to attempt to solve — and, especially through bartender Hana (Ally Maki, Shortcomings) and local priest Father Reuben (Damon Gupton, Your Honor), still ponders why the Morpho exists, how it knows what it knows and where it comes from — it firmly digs deeper into the quest for answers that we all undertake while gleaning deep down that there's no such thing as a simple meaning of life. In season two as in season one, it's no wonder that The Big Door Prize keeps feeling like staring in a mirror, then — and that it keeps constantly intriguing as well. When Dusty and company each return to the apparatus that holds such sway, they're greeted by a message: "are you ready for the next stage?". The show's audience may as well be asked the same. After 2023's episodes established The Big Door Prize's characters — and with Mr Johnson (Patrick Kerr, Search Party), who owns the store where the Morpho materialises, also among the main figures, there's no shortage of them — 2024's revisit can examine why they respond to the promise of knowing their life's purpose as they do. Not in its style of humour, but in its portrait of a town's eclectic residents, there's a Parks and Recreation, The Simpsons and, yes, Schitt's Creek vibe as the show unlocks another level of potential. It also helps that The Big Door Prize is extremely well-cast, starting with being well-led by O'Dowd. He isn't new to portraying a state of arrested development — going back to The IT Crowd, his resume is built upon it — but he turns in as sincere a performance as he ever has as someone beginning to confront the term. Everyone in Deerfield was cocooned in their routines, sometimes contentedly and sometimes not, before the Morpho appeared. Now, whether sporting oversized personalities (Segarra still steals every scene he's in) or as naturalistic as characters come (Amara, Fourlas, Maki and Gupton fall into that category), they're all fluttering towards finding light in their lives. The Big Door Prize knows that the story is in the journey, crucially — and if it continues flying, viewers will want to stay along for the ride. The Big Door Prize streams via Apple TV+. Read our review of season one, and our interview with Chris O'Dowd and Josh Segarra about season two.
It's been two years since New Zealand's huge One Love Festival made its Australian debut, bringing a day-long reggae festival not only across the ditch, but to the Gold Coast's scenic waterside surroundings. Rebadged Good Love for its second Australian event in 2022, it keeps proving a hit, selling out both shows so far. Based on the just-announced 2023 headliners, expect the same to happen next year as well. Given the fest's origins, it's fitting that New Zealand's history-making chart-toppers Six60 lead the lineup — fresh from breaking the record held by Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on the NZ album charts last year. Joining them is another huge name, especially given Good Love's chosen genre. Where can you see Bob Marley's son play Australia's biggest reggae festival? Here, with Julian Marley and the Uprising also topping the bill. So far, Coterie, DMP and Bradamon are also on the roster, with more acts to be announced for the Saturday, February 4 event. Exactly where on the Gold Coast the fest will take place also hasn't been revealed, so there's plenty more information to come. The day of Jamaican-influenced tunes popped up at Southport's Broadwater Parklands in 2020, and Doug Jennings Park at The Spit in 2022. Wherever Good Love is headed in 2023, clearing your diary, grabbing your sneakers and preparing to spend some time dancing to reggae by the water should definitely be on your summer agenda. Its counterpart is quite the big deal across the ditch, attracting more than 20,000 festival-goers each year for a decade before the pandemic. Planning to attend next year's Gold Coast fest? Expect to have more than 14,000 fellow music fans for company. GOOD LOVE FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Six60 Julian Marley and the Uprising Coterie DMP Bradamon Good Love Festival will hit the Gold Coast, at a yet-to-be-revealed venue, on Saturday, February 4. To sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the festival's website.
Hordes of imitators have spilled ones and zeros claiming otherwise, but the greatest move The Matrix franchise ever made wasn't actually bullet time. Even 22 years after Lana and Lilly Wachowski brought the saga's instant-classic first film to cinemas, its slow-motion action still wows, and yet they made another choice that's vastly more powerful. It wasn't the great pill divide — blue versus red, as dubiously co-opted by right-wing conspiracies since — or the other binaries at its core (good versus evil, freedom versus enslavement, analogue versus digital, humanity versus machines). It wasn't end-of-the-millennia philosophising about living lives online, the green-tinged cyberpunk aesthetic, or one of the era's best soundtracks, either. They're all glorious, as is knowing kung fu and exclaiming "whoa!", but The Matrix's unwavering belief in Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss is far more spectacular. It was a bold decision those two-and-a-bit decades ago, with Reeves a few years past sublime early-90s action hits Point Break and Speed, and Moss then known for TV bit parts (including, in a coincidence that feels like the product of computer simulation, a 1993 series called Matrix). But, as well as giving cinema their much-emulated gunfire-avoidance technique and all those other aforementioned highlights, the Wachowskis bet big on viewers caring about their central pair — and hooking into their chemistry — as leather-clad heroes saving humanity. Amid the life-is-a-lie horrors, the subjugation of flesh to mechanical overlords and the battle for autonomy, the first three Matrix films always weaved Neo and Trinity's love story through their sci-fi action. Indeed, the duo's connection remained the saga's beating heart. Like any robust computer program executed over and over, The Matrix Resurrections repeats the feat — with plenty of love for what's come before, but even more for its enduring love story. Lana goes solo on The Matrix Resurrections — helming her first-ever project without her sister in their entire career — but she still goes all in on Reeves and Moss. The fourth live-action film in the saga, and fifth overall counting The Animatrix, this new instalment doesn't initially give its key figures their familiar character names, however. Rather, it casts them as famous video game designer Thomas Anderson and motorcycle-loving mother-of-two Tiffany. One of those monikers is familiar, thanks to a surname drawled by Agent Smith back in 1999, and again in 2003 sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. But this version of Thomas Anderson only knows the agent from his own hit gaming trilogy (called The Matrix, naturally). And he doesn't really know Tiffany at all, instead admiring her from afar at Simulatte, their local coffee shop. Before Reeves and Moss share a frame, and before Anderson and Tiffany's awkward meet-cute, The Matrix Resurrections begins with blue-haired hacker Bugs (Jessica Henwick, On the Rocks). She sports a white rabbit tattoo, observes a scene straight out of the first flick and helps set the movie's self-referential tone. As a result, The Matrix Resurrections starts with winking, nodding and déjà vu — and, yes, with a glitch, with Lana and co-screenwriters David Mitchell (author of Cloud Atlas) and Aleksandar Hemon (Sense8) penning a playful script that adores the established Matrix lore, enjoys toying with it and openly unpacks everything that's sprung up around it. Long exposition dumps, some of the feature's worst habits, explain the details, but waking up Anderson from his machine-induced dream — again — is Bugs' number-one aim. The Matrix Resurrections' main task: reteaming Neo and Trinity, and getting them to realise that they even are Neo and Trinity. Once more, Wachowski knows where the saga's heart resides, that its existential dramas are about people, and that the bonds that bind us are our lifeblood. But now that Neo and Trinity inhabit a realm where a game series with the exact same plot as the first three Matrix movies is Anderson's livelihood, the path to simulation-dismantling love is unsurprisingly paved with difficulties. Here are three: the demands by Anderson's business partner (Jonathan Groff, Hamilton) for a sequel to the games, the blue pills prescribed by Anderson's analyst (Neil Patrick Harris, It's a Sin), and Tiffany's husband Chad (played by the John Wick franchise's director Chad Stahelski, who was also Reeves' stunt double in the first Matrix flick) and all he represents. Reviving a romance last seen on-screen 18 years ago, raising its main players from the dead, bringing back other characters in altered guises, liberally weaving in clips from past films — stitched together as it is from oh-so-many familiar parts, you could call The Matrix Resurrections a Frankenstein's monster of a movie. Wachowski has found a rare way to make that a positive more often than not, however, because deprogramming the notion that anything is just one thing alone couldn't be more crucial here. That truth pulsates through the film's action, too, which can't live up to the original and doesn't particularly seem to try. Enough of the movie's fights and chases and sci-fi trickery still look stunning, but The Matrix Resurrections wants audiences to go "whoa!' over its ideas, emotions and meta-philosophising above all else. Even the warmer colour scheme — sorry, fans of futuristic green — casts this new tumble down the rabbit hole in multiple lights. A film can be daring, evolve its franchise while mining nostalgia with care and savvy, and make the utmost of its biggest strengths — Reeves and Moss, clearly, who could melt faces with their chemistry. It can be both fun and funny, and also skewer the company resuscitating it (that'd be Warner Bros, with The Matrix Resurrections doing a superior job of making the joke than the studio's horrible Space Jam: A New Legacy). It can offer a sincere ode to love, human connection and perseverance, too, and transform old parts to make them feel different in the process. Still, while so much about The Matrix Resurrections dazzles — Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Candyman) joining the fold and rocking magnificent suits among them — sometimes it's just clunkily new and clumsily self-referential rather than fresh. Believing in Reeves and Moss remains its biggest superpower, though. If the energy from their timeless on-screen romance can help the world forget how underwhelming The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions both proved, it can fuel this mostly thrilling, almost-always-entertaining look back in the sci-fi mirror.
As filmgoers, it would seem that we have a unique fascination with anthropomorphised machines. From WALL-E to Blade Runner to Spike Jonze’s recent Her, movies are full of artificially intelligent creations who have captured the imagination of audiences, and in doing so blurred the line of what it truly means to be human. The most recent robot to achieve sentience on screen is the title character in Chappie, the latest film from writer-director Neill Blomkamp. A member of Johannesburg’s robotic police force, Chappie (voiced and motion captured by Sharlto Copley) is earmarked for decommission after being damaged during a drug raid. Instead, his designer Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) decides to use him as a guinea pig for a radical new form of AI, one that more closely resembles human consciousness. But Deon’s success is soured after Chappie is stolen by a group of gangsters (South African rap group Die Antwoord playing fictionalised versions of themselves), who plan on using the impressionable robot to execute a heist. Three films into his career, Blomkamp has proven himself as a storyteller with a lot on his mind. His hit debut District 9 used an outlandish sci-fi premise as an allegory for racial prejudice and discrimination, while his big-budget follow-up Elysium touched on notions of immigration and class divide. In Chappie his ideas get even bigger, hitting everything from police militarisation to the nature of consciousness, loss of faith and even alternate modes of parenting. If anything, Blomkamp maybe tackles too much, packing his movie with a litany of different concepts at the expense of covering any of them in depth. There’s an argument to be made for quality over quantity, yet it’s hard to fault the director for his ambition. Nor can you ignore the amount of food for thought the film provides — brains being an increasingly rare commodity in Hollywood blockbusters, after all. And to its credit, Chappie succeeds as more than just a think piece. Possessing the innocence and excitability of a child, Chappie makes for a wonderful protagonist, with Copley’s mo-cap and vocal performance comparable to the work of Andy Serkis. As Chappie slowly matures, viewers will find themselves caught up in his emotional journey; particularly moving is the dynamic between Chappie and his surrogate mother Yolandi, who helps the robot attune his moral compass. Chappie does unfortunately suffer from one major flaw, and it comes in the form of its villain. Sporting his natural accent in one of the most poorly written parts of his career, Hugh Jackman plays the brutish Vincent Moore, a former soldier who plans on sabotaging Deon’s police robots — including Chappie — so that the force might invest in his more heavily armoured, remotely piloted drones. Even if you can ignore his cringeworthy Australian slang and unintentionally hilarious Steve Irwin-style khakis, Moore’s motivations remain excruciatingly one-dimensional. His only purpose is to manufacture conflict, and he basically derails the movie whenever he appears on screen. Luckily, Chappie is always there to get the story back on track. And perhaps it’s only fitting that, in a story about artificial humanity, the most emotionally intricate character isn’t a human at all.
It may have taken 15 years and two full blown reboots, but the Spider-Man movies finally have a decent villain. Gone are the Green Goblins and anthropomorphic sandpits, replaced at long last by...a guy. Just a guy; a vulnerable, human, salt-of-the-earth labourer trying to carve out a little something of his own amongst the rubble and ruin of a post-Avengers New York City. Played by Michael Keaton, Adrian Toomes is an ordinary character in an extraordinary world, whose bare bones simplicity helps ground this refreshingly low-key entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And low-key is the key to this movie's appeal. Spidey (Tom Holland) isn't a world saver, but a hero for the little guy; intervening in grocery store holdups and helping grandparents with their luggage. The problem is that he wants more. He's fought alongside Iron Man and taken on Captain America, and the expectation of future avenging is what drives his daily routine. Expectation, however, soon falls short of reality, as he's told by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) that which no teenager ever wishes to hear: "you're not ready". What's worse is that Stark is plainly right. Thing is, gaining super-powers doesn't mean you automatically gain super skills, and Spidey/Peter Parker is a superhero still very much in the training wheels phase. It's a clever device by director Jon Watts, whose hero – like a giraffe attempting its nervous first steps – repeatedly fumbles his landings, misses his web castings and wreaks low-level havoc in suburban backyards while chasing down the bad guys. Paired with raging hormones in a body that's also transforming in a more typically teenage way, and Peter makes for an immensely likeable lead. It helps that Holland makes for a far more plausible teen than either Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. The teenage superhero setup has always given Spider-Man an added complexity (one perhaps only shared by Superman), in that his public persona is painfully weak and nerdy. Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark get to be billionaire playboys when they're not battling criminal kingpins, but Peter Parker is perceived as a weedy, bookish, scatter-brained dork who rolls over for bullies and can never keep an appointment. His life would be immediately and immeasurably better if he simply revealed his true, courageous self. But to do so would invite sudden and deadly peril upon all those he cares about. That dilemma, in turn, passes on to the audience, as you find yourself grappling with your desire to see Spider-Man take down the villains but also make his date with the dream girl. Even better, it all comes without another version of Uncle Ben's 'great power comes with great responsibilities' speech, or another retelling of Parker's spider-bite origins. Spider-Man: Homecoming is a film that knows what we already know, and just gets on with telling its story. If there's a drawback to all of this, it's that the final product feels a little bit childish. Yes, it's a film about a teenage superhero, but plenty of movies have captured the teenage experience without feeling like they were written by teenagers as well. There's far too much 'whoa, awesome, dude, bro, cool' going on here for our liking, although thankfully the adults (Downey Jr, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei and Keaton) provide plenty of counterbalance. Minor flaws aside, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun cinema experience, and a refreshingly human story amidst the surfeit of superhero movies that continue to flood our screens. Oh, and yes, there are the additional Marvel scenes – so if you're so inclined, remember to stay through to the very end of the credits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9DwoQ7HWvI
The world ignoring the threat of global extinction, an exploding volcano, the collapse of the USA, a potentially rocky romantic turn: the trailer for Futurama season 13 is here and features all of the above, as seen in the just-unveiled trailer. Also pivotal: a giant Bender doing battle with a kaiju, aka the type of moment in the longrunning animated series that we can't say you didn't know you needed because it has been probably on your wishlist for years and even decades. Rampaging robots and amorous rivals are just the beginning in the show's ten-episode latest run, which drops on Disney+ Down Under on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. As always, Futurama will continue charting the antics when a 20th-century pizza delivery guy gets cryogenically frozen for a thousand years, defrosting when 2999 is flicking over to the year 3000, then navigates chaotic days at an intergalactic courier company. Futurama has been telling that tale for more than a quarter of a century now, focusing on Philip J Fry (voiced by Billy West, Spitting Image), distant uncle to Planet Express cargo company Professor Hubert J Farnsworth (also voiced by West), plus the rest of the outfit's crew: one-eyed ship captain Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal, Dead to Me); robot Bender Bending Rodríguez (John DiMaggio, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts); fellow employees Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr, Craig of the Creek), Amy Wong (Lauren Tom, Dragons: The Nine Realms) and Zoidberg (also West); and everyone from self-obsessed starship captain Zapp Brannigan (West again) and his amphibious 4th Lieutenant Kif Kroker (Maurice LaMarche, Rick and Morty) through to scheming corporation owner Mom (Tress MacNeille, The Simpsons). The animated series hasn't spent the full 26 years since its 1999 debut on-screen, weathering a on-again, off-again run; however, it keeps coming back again, baby — thankfully. The Matt Groening-created show about life in the 31st century has been in vintage form across its recent 11th and 12th seasons, which both embraced the fact that anything and everything can and will happen as it always has. When Futurama's return was first announced in 2022, it was for a 20-episode run, so season 12 was always going to follow. Then in 2023, the show was also renewed for two more seasons beyond that, so not only is 2025's season 13 on the way, but also season 14 as well. Clearly, you can put a beloved show into suspended animation, but someone is going to thaw it out one day — and more than once, as fans have experienced for decades now. Initially airing from 1999–2003, the futuristic series then returned from 2008–2013, before now being given another run. Check out the trailer for Futurama season 13 below: Futurama streams Down Under via Disney+, with season 13 available on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Read our review of season 11.
Whether you're checking into a nearby spa for the day or heading further afield for a lengthier stint of bliss, visiting a wellness retreat is supposed to be relaxing. But that doesn't seem to be the case in upcoming miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers. The star-studded show was shot in Byron Bay, so it looks the scenic part — but the nine guests who turn up in search of a new lease on life all appear set to get much more than they've bargained for. That's how the series' new trailer unfolds, at least, with the latest sneak peek offering a bigger glimpse at the show following a very brief clip back in April. Given the cast involved — including Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Melissa McCarthy (Thunder Force), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Luke Evans (Crisis) and Asher Keddie (Rams) — Nine Perfect Strangers is easily one of the big series of the year, and that long list of famous faces will be navigating quite the eerie and creepy situation. Also part of the show: Bobby Cannavale (Superintelligence), Regina Hall (Little), Samara Weaving (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Melvin Gregg (The United States vs Billie Holiday), Asher Keddie (Rams), Grace Van Patten (Under the Silver Lake), Tiffany Boone (The Midnight Sky) and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), who'll all navigate a ten-day retreat overseen by Kidman's Masha throughout the drama's eight episodes. The latter oversees a resort that promises to transform nine stressed city-dwellers — but, clearly, things aren't going to turn out as planned for the show's titular figures. As with Kidman's last two miniseries — Big Little Lies, which like Nine Perfect Strangers, was also based on a book by Liane Moriarty; and The Undoing — David E Kelley (LA Law, Ally McBeal, Mr Mercedes) is leading the charge behind the scenes. He's the show's co-writer and co-showrunner, with Long Shot's Jonathan Levine directing every episode. And if you're wondering where and when you'll be able to see the results, Nine Perfect Strangers will stream Down Under via Amazon Prime Video, with the series set to debut on Friday, August 20. Check out the full trailer below: Nine Perfect Strangers will start streaming in Australia and New Zealand on Friday, August 20 via Amazon Prime Video — starting with its first three episodes, with new episodes then dropping weekly afterwards. Images: Vince Valitutti/Hulu.
Add the Mardi Gras Film Festival to the list of cinema events that have been making a big leap over the past year — and making cinephiles around the country very happy in the process. In 2021, the Sydney-based fest is forging ahead as a physical event to mark its 28th year. But, whether you're a Sydneysider who is unable to head along to everything you'd like to see or you're a fan of LGBTIQ+ movies located elsewhere in Australia, you'll also be able to enjoy MGFF online as well. Different flicks will play in cinemas and online, with the festival running between Thursday, February 18–Thursday, March 4. In person, socially distanced screenings are slated for Event Cinemas George Street and Hurstville, Ritz Cinemas in Randwick, the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne and Moonlight Cinema, and will span more than 60 sessions — with the entire program including 94 features, documentaries, shorts and episodes from 30 different countries. On the bill: opening night's Dating Amber, which'll see the fest launch at Moonlight Cinema for the first time; closing night's Rūrangi, which was made by members of New Zealand's queer, Māori, and gender-diverse communities; and the Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci-starring Supernova, a moving drama about a couple facing considerable health woes and big decisions. Other highlights include British feature Make Up, which is set in a Cornwall caravan park; German standout No Hard Feelings; a showcase of films by Israeli director Eytan Fox; the Vanessa Kirby-starring The World to Come; and the latest film from the inimitable Bruce LaBruce, with Saint-Narcisse following a man who discovers that he has a secret twin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxx76RnyVIo
Welcome to the world of wild speculation surrounding the destination for The White Lotus season three. According to Variety, the next season will be set somewhere in Thailand. HBO hasn't confirmed this news, but it does seem to be the likely home of Mike White's next murder mystery. But the predictions don't end there. Variety has sourced — from multiple folks close to the publication — that The White Lotus team might also stick with filming at Four Seasons resorts. They have doubled as the titular fictional hotel chain for two seasons so far, meaning it isn't a stretch to think they'll be used again. That puts four possible Thailand spots on the list: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and the Golden Triangle. And we've done some digging around our own travel booking website, Concrete Playground Trips, to come up with an even juicier theory. As it stands, you can book three of these lavish hotels and resorts through Concrete Playground Trips, but one of them is unavailable for many months. Has Mike White already placed his reservation? Or are we simply grasping at straws? Read on to get a closer look at each of the Four Seasons hotels we think might be the next filming location for The White Lotus — three of which can be booked with us right now. FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BANGKOK This opulent Four Seasons hotel is located within Thailand's bustling capital city. You can enjoy views over the Chai Phraya River and of the surrounding cityscape from one of the 299 rooms, the three outdoor pools or the six restaurants and bars. Within the hotel, there are clearly heaps of luxe filming locations where guests could meet their untimely end. The local galleries, boutique stores, restaurants and cafes would certainly need to make an appearance — as well as many of Bangkok's other superb travel destinations. This would be the first city location for The White Lotus, which may be an interesting change of pace for the show, too. FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP — GOLDEN TRIANGLE (CHIANG SAEN) A series of luxury treehouses and lodges scattered around the jungle in Chiang Saen — in the north of Thailand, right near Myanmar and Laos — would be a pretty epic setting for the next series. We can already hear the ominous The White Lotus music playing now, as guests wander around the remote landscape in designer clothes. Want to visit? You'll wake up in your own glamping tent fitted out with bamboo furniture, free-standing bathtubs and large private balconies overlooking the nearby river and lush rainforest before exploring more of the area. FOUR SEASONS RESORT KOH SAMUI Thailand's island of Koh Samui is an incredibly popular tourist destination. People flock here all year long, exploring the gorgeous beaches backed by tropical vegetation and some of the nearby islands where you can either party or totally escape from the rest of the world. The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui offers up access to all of this, with ridiculous levels of comfort — expect bespoke travel experiences, a glamorous spa, pools aplenty and a long list of places to eat and drink within the property's grounds. FOUR SEASONS RESORT CHIANG MAI This Four Seasons is currently unavailable to book, so we're wildly speculating that Mike White has something to do with it. White hinted about the next series of The White Lotus focusing on traditional Eastern culture and religion, making this remote location absolutely perfect. At Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, several villas and residences are spread out amongst rice fields and wild countryside. Guests can play tennis, join yoga classes, walk to hidden waterfalls, learn local crafts or simply swim about their private pools overlooking the property. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top images: Four Seasons Tented Camp — Golden Triangle
What happens when one of the most-beloved fantasy tales adds singing and dancing? In 2025 in Australia, theatregoers heading to The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale will be able to find out. The stage production layers tunes into JRR Tolkien's iconic story, including as its hobbits go on perilous Middle-earth adventures. A Sydney season was announced back in August — and now Melbourne and Perth are also locked in for a musical LoTR journey. On screens big and small for decades so far (and into the future, with more TV episodes and movies on the way), hobbits have trekked, ate second breakfasts and attempted to project precious jewellery. Onstage Down Under from January, they'll also be marking an eleventy-first birthday, receiving a gold ring, taking a quest to Mordor and attempting to fight evil in The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. The Harbour City season at the State Theatre comes first, followed by a stop at Crown Theatre in Western Australia from March, then a Victorian stint at Comedy Theatre that starts in April. Dating back to 2006, just after the original live-action movie trilogy, this stage musical was revived in the UK in 2023, opened in the US in July 2024 and will hit New Zealand this November before crossing the ditch. Your guides for the show are the hobbits, of course, as Frodo and company celebrate Bilbo Baggins, then depart The Shire upon a life-changing journey. Thanks to Tolkien, what occurs from there has enthralled audiences for 70 years now, with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers initially hitting bookshelves in 1954. There's been no shortage of ways to indulge your Lord of the Rings love since Peter Jackson's features — including his Hobbit trilogy — helped fan the flames of pop culture's affection for Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Merry and the franchise's many non-underground-dwelling characters. Cinema marathons, visiting the Hobbiton movie set, staying there overnight, hitting up pop-up hobbit houses, sipping hobbit-themed beer: they've all been on the agenda. Only The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is combining all things LoTR with tunes and dancing, however, in a show that sports a book and lyrics by from Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day the Musical), plus original music by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner AR Rahman, folk band Värttinä from Finland and Matilda the Musical alum Christopher Nightingale. The Australian cast has also just been announced, including Rarmian Newton as Frodo Baggins, Wern Mak as Samwise Gamgee, Jeremi Campese as Merry and Hannah Buckley as Pippin. Laurence Boxhall is playing Gollum, Andrew Broadbent steps into Elrond's shoes and Terence Crawford is Gandalf — with Rohan Campbell as Boromir, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Conor Neylon as Legolas, Jemma Rix as Galadriel, Ian Stenlake as Saruman and Ruby Clark as Rosie, too. The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale Australian Dates 2025 From Tuesday, January 7 — State Theatre, Sydney From Wednesday, March 19 — Crown Theatre, Perth From Monday, April 21 — Comedy Theatre, Melbourne The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is touring Australia from January 2025. Head to the production's website for further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Liz Lauren.
The 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the only one arriving in 2024, is giving the sprawling pop-culture franchise something that fans have been waiting for for years. Deadpool will officially enter the MCU. So will X-Men hero Wolverine. The movie? Announced in 2022, Deadpool & Wolverine has a date with cinemas this July. In the just-dropped first trailer for the flick, which arrived during the 2024 Super Bowl, the Merc with a Mouth obviously knows exactly what to say. "Your little cinematic universe is about to change forever" advises Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, Ghosted) when he's brought into the Marvel fold by the Time Variance Authority. His way of describing himself now that he's in the MCU? "Marvel Jesus", of course. One won't stop cracking wise. The other prefers to say as little as possible. Naturally, they're about to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe's favourite big-screen odd couple. Reynolds has been playing Deadpool since 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so this isn't the first time that him and Hugh Jackman (Faraway Downs) are teaming up as their famous characters — but, again, it is the first time in the MCU. Before now, Jackman has already busted out the adamantium claws in nine movies, starting with 2000's X-Men and running through to 2017's Logan, which was poised as his swansong in the role. But when you've been playing a part for that long, in that many flicks, what's one more go-around? After a non-Wolverine gap spent starring in The Greatest Showman, The Front Runner, Bad Education, Reminiscence and The Son, Jackman is clearly ready to get hairy again. That Deadpool & Wolverine is part of the MCU, the comic-to-screen realm that's been going since the first Iron Man flick and will likely never ever end, isn't a minor detail. The two characters have always been Marvel characters, but because of rights issues behind the scenes, they've stayed in their own on-screen sagas. But when Disney (which owns Marvel) bought 20th Century Fox (which brought the X-Men and Deadpool movies to cinemas so far), those business issues disappeared. Deadpool & Wolverine arrives six years after 2018's Deadpool 2. It also marks a reunion in another way. Behind the lens: director Shawn Levy, reteaming with Reynolds after Free Guy and The Adam Project. Check out the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer below: Deadpool & Wolverine will release in cinemas Down Under on July 25, 2024. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
It's a tale as old as time: feuding siblings, an envy-fuelled rivalry, and an attempt to survive in harsh conditions. All three elements drive Icelandic effort Rams, as do the titular animals. Yet there's little about this perceptive examination of the bonds of blood, the struggles of farming life, and the importance of finding hope and humour in even the bleakest of circumstances, that feels routine or overly familiar. Perhaps focusing on the woolly creature's importance to rural townships helps, with the feature's narrative following brothers Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Theodor Juliusson) as they operate neighbouring sheep farms. Perhaps the measured pace, meticulous detail and observational atmosphere does as well, all stemming from writer/director Grímur Hákonarson's documentary background. Indeed, though Rams is a work of fiction, in exploring the hardships of working the land it seems ripped straight from reality. After entering their prized beasts into an annual competition, Kiddi emerges victorious, but a bitter Gummi is convinced that something is awry. Secretly inspecting the winning critter, he spies signs of a highly contagious disease that could wipe out Kiddi's flock, infect his own and cripple the entire village's livelihood. The duo hasn't spoken in four decades, exchanging messages via sheepdog to communicate when needed. However only by working together can they hope to save their animals and their community. While compromise might be called for within the story, as the bickering brothers are forced to unite to fight a shared cause, the movie itself prefer to dwell upon contrasts rather than find common ground. Hákonarson doesn't try to soften the difficulties he depicts, even when he's giving them the quirky comic treatment. Instead, he endeavours to present both tough times and happy moments, and demonstrate the importance of taking the good with the bad. Accordingly, Rams becomes not just an empathetic tale of striving to triumph over adversity, but an intricate exercise in balance. The film shows amusing attempts to outwit the agricultural authorities one minute, and the fearsome impact of the unforgiving Icelandic environment the next. But it never lets the former overpower the latter or vice versa. Of course, when a feature revolves around squabbling siblings, more than a bit of to-ing and fro-ing is to be expected. What makes the film soar isn't its determination to delve into opposing sides, but the way in which it embodies those underlying divides in everything from its visuals to its performances. Cue images that jump between vast sights and intimate interiors, and portrayals that similarly pit bold and subtle traits against each other. In Hákonarson's hands, the many juxtapositions prove not just effective in conveying the story, but insightful as well. Here, the extremes of existence exist as part of a continuum, constantly coming into conflict and yet still managing to coexist. That's the core of Rams, and the secret to making a film feel both immediate and timeless.
When it comes to originality, place Violent Night on cinema's naughty list: Die Hard meets Home Alone meets Bad Santa meets The Christmas Chronicles in this grab-bag action-comedy, meets Stranger Things favourite David Harbour donning the red suit (leather here, still fur-trimmed) and doing a John Wick impression. The film's beer-swigging, sledgehammer-swinging version of Saint Nick has a magic sack that contains the right presents for the right person each time he reaches into it, and screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller must've felt that way themselves while piecing together their script. Pilfering from the festive canon, and from celluloid history in general, happens heartily and often in this Yuletide effort. Co-scribes on Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, the pair are clearly experienced in the movie version of regifting. And while they haven't solely wrapped up lumps of coal in their latest effort, Violent Night's true presents are few and far between. The main gift, in the gruff-but-charming mode that's worked such a treat on Stranger Things and in Black Widow, is Harbour. It's easy to see how Violent Night's formula — not to mention its raiding of the Christmas and action genres for parts — got the tick of approval with his casting. He's visibly having a blast, too, from the moment his version of Santa is introduced downing drinks in a British bar, bellyaching about the lack of festive spirit in kids today, thinking about packing it all in and then spewing actual vomit to go with his apathy (and urine) from the side of his midair sleigh. Whenever Harbour isn't in the frame, which occurs more often than it should, Violent Night is a far worse picture. When you're shopping for the season, you have to commit to your present purchases, but this film can't always decide if it wants to be salty or sweet. Harbour's Kris Kringle: saltier than a tub of beer nuts. Still, after his sloshed pub stint, he keeps grumpily doing his job, because Christmas Eve isn't really the time to quit. Then, at the Lightstone abode, aka "the most secure private residence in the country" as viewers are told, more booze and a massage chair calls him — and that butt-vibrating rest sees him unwittingly caught up in an attack on the property. As wealthy matriarch Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo, Shooter) lords over her adult children and their families, mercenaries storm in with their sights set on the mansion's vault. What the self-described Scrooge (John Leguizamo, The Menu) and his interchangeable colleagues aren't counting on, of course, is a formidable Father Christmas skulking around. He's trying to get away more than initially save the day, but he'll happily dispense season's beatings to do both. Just as the John Wick films, then Atomic Blonde, then Nobody all knew — Bullet Train director David Leitch has either helmed or produced them all, doing the latter with Violent Night — there's visual poetry and visceral thrills to be found when someone super-competent at holding their own dispenses with nefarious foes. That's the case even when they're battling scenery-chewing, "bah humbug"!-spouting, Hans Gruber-wannabe antagonists like Scrooge, plus his flimsier henchmen. As that's happening, and frequently, Violent Night ticks off many a movie's wishlist, but that's only part of the premise here. Those Lightstone offspring include Jason (Alex Hassell, Cowboy Bebop), who has his ex Linda (Alexis Louder, The Terminal List) and seven-year-old daughter Trudy (Leah Brady, The Umbrella Academy) in tow, and wants this Christmas jaunt to be a permanent reunion. That's a layer of drama Violent Night doesn't need, adding nothing but filler, just like Jason's sister Alva's (Edi Patterson, The Righteous Gemstones) Succession-esque clamouring for the family company. There's usually never a bad time to eat the rich, but Violent Night's efforts are a half-chomp at best — the gun-toting crew of intruders trying to rip off millions of dollars are always the real bad guys, after all. Casey and Miller haven't penned a movie with much in the way of depth, and attempting to pretend otherwise proves as clunky as it sounds. The saccharine side that Trudy's presence brings is similarly just a way to take up time; Bad Santa's bad Santa has a pint-sized offsider, which means this flick's does as well, apparently. Trudy has also just watched Home Alone and screams about it (yes, the nods are that blatant). The sizeable scene that puts her fandom to good use, nails, bowling balls, sabotaged ladder rungs and all, is among Violent Night's most entertaining, though. The film knows how to make its familiar parts gleam when it wants to, but that isn't often enough. Director Tommy Wirkola must've been a simple hire for the job, however, thanks to Dead Snow and its sequel, plus Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. The filmmaker has stuffed his stocking with high-concept this-meets-that flicks, the exact type of movie that Violent Night is from go to whoa to ho-ho-ho. Unsurprisingly, he fares best when his picture is letting loose and living up to its enticing idea, complete with kinetic fight choreography, blood and gory deaths, and everything from icicles to lit-up star tree-toppers used as weapons. In pure action terms, there's an around-the-world sleigh ride's worth of mileage in a literally killer Santa Claus turning slasher not in a horror-flick fashion (despite its many borrowings from elsewhere, this isn't a Silent Night Deadly Night do-over), but to play hero. Comedy isn't Wirkola's strength, or the feature's — see: the laboured attempts at laughs around Alva's actor spouse Morgan (Cam Gigandet, Without Remorse) and aspiring-influencer son Bert (Alexander Elliot, The Hardy Boys) — which is why all those nods to Gremlins, The Ref, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and more land with the hollow thud of an empty box. Holiday schmaltz and reminders that there's more to the festive season than material aren't highlights either, and Casey and Miller haven't stretched themselves in trying to come up with either amusing or heartfelt dialogue. Even with a The Northman-style backstory part of Violent Night's take on the jolly man, that leaves Harbour with a heap of heavy lifting in the film's first two thirds. He's up to the task — again, it's an ace premise with ace lead casting — but he's never walking audiences through an ultra-violent Christmas movie wonderland.
Since the 19th century, writers, filmmakers and musicians have fantasised about moving to Mars. And now, space agencies all over the world are working furiously to make it happen, though none has a 100% firm plan of action yet. After all, Mars isn't the friendliest place: the air is almost oxygen-free, temperatures swing from -150 to 20 degrees celsius and the winds are fierce. Despite that — and the prospect of never returning home — thousands of people applied to join Mars One, a Dutch non-profit hoping to send four travellers on a one-way mission to Mars in 2031. Meanwhile, NASA has its sights set on putting humans into orbit by the 2030s and on the surface by the 2040s. With Sydney Science Festival kicking off on August 8, we thought it the perfect time to dive into the possibility of one day colonising the Red Planet. So, we put our lab coats on and tracked down some of the people working to make this interplanetary dream a reality. Here, we chat with Josh Richards, one of 100 short-listed candidates for Mars One, and Dr Mitch Schulte, a scientist working on NASA's 2020 rover mission, about what living on Mars might involve. GETTING THERE Before stepping foot on the Red Planet, before testing the environment, before figuring out how to make Mars home, the first obstacle for the next giant leap for mankind is getting there. So far, two-thirds of all spacecrafts to have tried have failed. Mars's atmosphere is 100 times thinner than Earth's, which means that when a rocket enters, it takes much longer to slow down, making a crash landing a major risk. In addition, monstrous dust storms howl across the planet's surface, which is covered in hazardous rocks. That said, seven spacecrafts have made it successfully — all free of people, however — and right now, two rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity, are up there roaming around. "The rovers travel by direct trajectory. We send them directly from Earth to arrive at a particular spot," says Dr Schulte. "That requires going from 35,000 miles an hour when the rover hits the atmosphere to 0 miles at the surface. We slow them down with hypersonic parachutes, which open at incredibly fast speeds... When you send humans into orbit, you have to use rockets to slow them down, so that gravity captures the spacecraft." So, the trick now is figuring out how to slow humans down safely. "After we've successfully accomplished that and brought people back, we can think about putting them on the ground, as happened with the moon missions." [caption id="attachment_631550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NASA.[/caption] BREATHING When or if anyone does manage to land on Mars in one piece, the next challenge will be breathing. The air is made up of 96% carbon dioxide and 0.2% oxygen, as opposed to ours which contains 21% oxygen. To live on the Red Planet permanently, we'd need to develop the technology to do some serious harvesting and storing. "One of the goals of the 2020 mission is to demonstrate an instrument that could extract oxygen from the atmosphere, but it would be used primarily for propellant grade oxygen for rocket fuel," says Dr Schulte. "At this stage, any human travelling to Mars would have to take all the air they need with them." Should things go as planned for Mars One, there'll be rovers capable of extracting oxygen from Mars's rocks and atmosphere by the 2020s. With this technology in place, the rovers will head up in advance of the crew, ensuring hundreds of litres of breathable air are ready to go. [caption id="attachment_631541" align="alignnone" width="1922"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] SETTING UP DIGS The first humans on Mars won't be spending much time outside. Mars One's idea is to have them living in inflatable pods similar to the BEAM module currently attached to the International Space Station but much bigger. Two of these pods are currently in orbit, having their resilience tested. "Each is fifty metres long; they look like big, white caterpillars," Richards says. "The first crew [on Mars] will be four people... [though] for the first two years, they won't be going out very much, unless it's critical." Richards explains how the team will operate similarly to winter crews in Antarctica. And as with the oxygen extraction technology, rovers will travel in advance to also bring and set up modules that'll provide spare parts and life support systems, like the SpaceX Dragon Capsule, explains Richards. Meanwhile, one of NASA 2020's goals is to deepen our meteorological understanding. "We'll be flying a weather package," says Dr Schulte. "It's a set of instruments to measure temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speeds and ultra violet radiation levels." Knowing more about these conditions will help set up a proper living environment for the future. [caption id="attachment_631544" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] EATING OFF THE LAND (EVENTUALLY) Some will rejoice, some will mourn, but it looks like life on Mars will be more than just vegan-friendly; once a food system has been set up, life will be vegan only. "We'll land with six years' worth of food," says Richards. "Then, we'll start growing food as quickly as we can, which means setting up greenhouses and, essentially, going vegan, which for me is a terrifying thought... It's the worst thing about going to Mars." Mars will understandably be a pretty sustainable place as well, where even human waste will be reprocessed and used as a resource. "There's an old saying on the International Space Station," Richards tells, "'Yesterday's coffee is today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee'. What you pee out gets cleaned, filtered and put back into the water supply." LIVING WITH LOW GRAVITY "The gravity on Mars is about 35% what it is on Earth," says Dr Schulte. If you've ever watched the moon landing, you'll know reduced gravity can make for some bouncy fun — though the Moon is a bit bouncier than Mars, with gravity about 15% what it is on Earth — but no one's sure of the long-term effects on the body. Astronauts living on the International Space Station, which is gravity-free, have noticed their spines lengthening and, if they don't exercise regularly, muscular atrophy. Richards says that a big part of each day will be spent testing and measuring bone density and muscle strength, to find out how he and the crew are faring. (He's also planning to pack a Kindle loaded with novels and his ukulele.) Plus, if all goes well, the team will be prepping for the arrival of the second crew, who'll set off two years after the first Mars One mission. [caption id="attachment_631548" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] MEETING THE NEIGHBOURS Finally, of course, there's the question of whether or not Mars is already taken. "The bottom line is, we don't know if life exists — or did exist — on Mars, but we do know it's geologically and geochemically similar to Earth," says Dr Schulte. "There are environments that indicate there was liquid water near the surface and that [there are] the kinds of rocks from which organisms could extract chemical energy. "The problem now, though, is that the surface is very dry and liquid water is not stable there, so it exists as ice or gas. If life were to exist now, it would have to be underground, where pressures and temperatures would be high enough — at least as far as we understand how life exists here on Earth." Could we see the colonisation of Mars in our lifetime? Time will only tell, but with the ferocity in approach and devotion to the cause by the likes of Mars One, NASA and others, it looks like a strong potential to us. If you're in Sydney for the next two weeks, you can hear more about what life on Mars could be like from Dr Mitch Schulte at Life on Mars: The 2020 Rover Mission and from Josh Richards at Becoming Martian, both at Sydney Science Festival this month.
Dig out the Thai fisherman pants from the back of your closet, Woodford Folk Festival is back for another year. If you've never been, Woodford is the perfect place to disconnect from the daily grind, become one with nature (read: mud) and check out some of Australians best musicians with a chilled and festive vibe. This year's offering is no exception; the recently released lineup has 'best summer ever' written all over it. Festival mainstays like The Cat Empire and Lior will be back once again. They will also be joined by an A-list crowd of Australian ladies like Kate Miller-Heidke, Bertie Blackman, and Mia Dyson. But the real crowdpleaser will come from The Violent Femmes. Who wouldn't want to listen to 'Blister in the Sun' while dancing in the wilderness in the height of summer? Bliss. Though The Violent Femmes may be a little past their prime, there will also be a bunch of up and coming musicians on stage. Husky and Hiatus Kaiyote will be representing Melbourne talent and The Cairos will be playing to what's basically a home crowd. With over 400 acts jammed into the full program, Woodford is all about discovering new sounds. As well as music, the festival covers visual arts, circus, comedy, vaudeville and dance. Set up camp, let your hair get knotty, and roam the makeshift tarpaulin towns of this super chilled festival. It's time to channel your inner hippy. Woodford Folk Festival is on from December 27 - January 1. Tickets are on sale now. Lineup highlights Archie Roach Bertie Blackman The Cairos The Cat Empire Christine Anu Darren Middleton (ex-Powderfinger) Del Barber The East Pointers Hiatus Kiayote Husky Jeff Lang Jenn Grant John Smith Kate Miller-Heidke Lau Led Kaapana Lior Matt Anderson Mia Dyson Nahko and Medicine for the People Shooglenifty Sticky Fingers Tiny Ruins The Topp Twins Violent Femmes We Two Thieves Via Music Feeds.
Elton John summed it up perfectly: when Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, her candle burned out long before her legend ever would. Six decades since her passing, the actor remains a Hollywood icon. Like Elvis, she may as well be mononymic. Her face is instantly recognisable, and still everywhere. Ana de Armas just received an Oscar nomination for playing her, after Michelle Williams earned one back in 2012 for also stepping into her shoes. And, the Some Like It Hot, Gentleman Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire star is also the subject of a sizeable exhibition heading to Australia for the first time: Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon. This Marilyn celebration will make its Aussie premiere at Sydney Town Hall, in the Lower Town Hall, from Saturday, July 1–Sunday, September 24. On display: more than 200 artefacts spanning Monroe's life, including handwritten notes, personal letters and other possessions. This is the largest Marilyn collection of its kind. Indeed, the objects set to grace the showcase stem from Ted Stampfer, owner the world's largest range of Marilyn items. With Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon, he's aiming to share insights into Monroe as a person, not just a celebrity — spanning her time in the spotlight, of course, but also back when she was Norma Jeane Mortenson. [caption id="attachment_905881" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joseph Jasgur, Ted Stampfer[/caption] Stampfer will be on hand on opening day providing a curator's tour, as part of an events program accompanying the three-month memorabilia exhibition. Friday-night sessions will feature music and entertainment, and film screenings will also be part of the lineup, letting attendees experience Marilyn's movie magic for themselves. As it celebrates the woman who scaled the heights of fame, became a household name, but received horrific scrutiny for her sex-symbol status and her love life — focusing on her hard work, not the stories spun about her — this'll be the only time that Marilyn: The Woman Behind the Icon will open to the public in this form. [caption id="attachment_905878" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ted Stampfer[/caption]
The National Gallery of Victoria has been displaying a plethora of Chinese masterpieces lately, and the opening of its new dual exhibitions — Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality and Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape — are two more unmissable additions. The most monumental part of the exhibition is undoubtedly the Terracotta Army: a collection of sculptures that were created for the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang's gigantic tomb back around 221–206 BCE but were only discovered in Shaanxi province in 1974. It's one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. The NGV had displayed some of them before back in the 80s, but has managed to score eight (of the estimated 8000) terracotta warriors for its 2019 Winter Masterpieces exhibition. They're supported by a cast of two breathtaking life-size Imperial Army horses and two smaller replica bronze chariots, and complemented by a remarkable selection of gold, jade and bronze artefacts that date back a thousand years. Finding parallels with the terracotta warriors, Cai Guo-Qiang's exhibition provides a contemporary perspective on China's culture and ancient philosophies. Across installation, exhibition design and paintings forged with gunpowder, Cai's work illuminates his sincere commitment to the idea that history and ritual can inform great contemporary art. Below, we've picked out six artworks that highlight why this exhibition is one you have to catch — whether you live in Melbourne or interstate. It will be showing right up until October 13. CAI GUO-QIANG [caption id="attachment_722861" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy[/caption] TRANSIENCE (PEONY) From good fortune to compassion and romance, peonies have held an important significance within Chinese culture for centuries. This artwork is made up of two works, with Transience I (Peony) being a huge mound of porcelain, which has been singed with gunpowder. The second part, Transience II (Peony), is an immersive 360-degree painting where Cai Guo-Qiang showcases the peony throughout its four stages of life — from its emergence to its bloom, wilting and eventually its decay. Each colourful petal displayed across the work was created using colourful gunpowder (in a Williamstown warehouse) to scorch the silk underneath forming unique characteristics and shapes. Together, the two works explore the fragility of life and hint at the downfall of the Qin empire — it was the first dynasty of Imperial China and lasted only 14 years as advisors fought for control. [caption id="attachment_722859" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tobias Titz[/caption] MURMURATION (LANDSCAPE) Featuring 10,000 porcelain starlings, this mind-bending installation seeks to recreate the bewildering phenomenon of 'murmuration', where large flocks of birds move effortlessly in harmony — something that scientists still haven't landed on a conclusive answer for. Simultaneously, Cai's intricate work also resembles the undulating slopes of Mount Li, a culturally and spiritually significant place that was chosen by Emperor Qin Shihuang to house his giant terracotta army. Meanwhile, each of the birds in the artwork were produced in Cai's hometown of Quanzhou, which has strong traditions of crafting high-quality white porcelain. However, Cai used gunpowder to ignite his flock into a dramatic shade of black. [caption id="attachment_723262" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tobias Titz[/caption] FLOW (CYPRESS) Like peonies, cypress trees have long been an important emblem in ancient Chinese history. Symbolising resilience and integrity in art and literature, this large-scale creation saw Cai draw with gunpowder and mimic what's known in Chinese as dimai, or 'veins of the earth'. According to feng shui, the Chinese study of energy forces, locations that feature distinct valleys and rivers represent the earth's most abundant settings and have been chosen throughout ancient history as the sites for tombs and other places of supreme importance. This work depicts China's Central Plains, which is considered to be the birthplace of the concepts of yin and yang, Taoism, and the starting point for 400 years of the Han Dynasty. TERRACOTTA WARRIORS [caption id="attachment_723265" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy[/caption] ARMOURED MILITARY OFFICER With an estimated 8000 terracotta warriors buried at the Xi'an excavation site, so far only about 2000 have managed to be successfully removed. However, what has astounded experts is that every figure they've managed to unearth has its own unique attributes, whether that be the uniforms they're wearing, the weapons they carry or the hairstyles of the people. This fact has led many to believe that each of the warriors could actually represent a real-life person from Emperor Qin's army of the time. [caption id="attachment_723264" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy[/caption] KNEELING ARCHER Discovered in one of the excavation site's enormous pits, the kneeling archers are some of the Terracotta Army's best-preserved items that have been discovered to date. Highly realistic with their armour and facial expressions crafted in stunning detail, on average, the kneeling archers stand at about 1.2-metres-tall and are considered absolute masterpieces of ancient Chinese sculpture. It's said that the craftspeople responsible for the Terracotta Warriors paid extra careful attention to the kneeling arches, which can be seen in the stitching on their shoes and the immaculately produced armour plating. [caption id="attachment_723263" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy[/caption] MYTHICAL CREATURE The huge cache of ancient marvels didn't just include thousands of soldiers. For his journey into the afterlife, Emperor Qin decided that he'd need a host of other possessions, people and creatures to help him on his way. So far, archaeologists who remain hard at work digging through the earth have found a wealth of civilian figurines, carriages and even animals, including this remarkably preserved pair of mythical creatures. From singers and acrobats to strongmen, other findings include bronze cranes, horses and suits of armour, plus a host of buildings from his own imperial palace such as halls, stables and offices. Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality and Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape will both be on display at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne until Sunday, October 13. Admission is $30 for adults and includes entry to both exhibitions. You can buy tickets at the gallery or in advance here. Images: courtesy NGV International.
The idea is that you dress in camouflage (see above) or as a zebra — not because sharks don't like zebras, but because the black-and-white stripey look signals poison. Rather than go in for the attack, the nearest great white will either fail to see you at all or avoid you like the plague. Australian company Shark Mitigation Systems (SAMS) worked in conjunction with the University of Western Australia's Ocean Institute to develop the technology. The institute, led by Professor Shaun Collin and Professor Nathan Hart, have been studying the workings of shark sight for years. Among their discoveries are that our predatory friends see in black and white, and that their vision is the sense upon which they depend during the decisive moments leading up to attack. 'Many animals are repelled by a striped pattern, which indicates the potential prey is unsafe to eat,' Collin told the BBC. In initial tests, dummies wearing old school black wet suits were attacked by passing tiger sharks, while those in the stripey numbers were ignored. The onset of summer will see further trials. The impact on the behaviour of great whites remains to be seen. Over the past two years, shark attacks have caused five fatalities in Australian waters and New Zealand suffered its first fatality in over 30 years recently. 'Everyone's looking for a solution, everyone's nervous about going in the water now,' SAMS entrepreneur Craig Anderson said. However, Ali Hood, conservation director for the UK's Shark Trust, pointed out that, 'To suggest that "everyone's nervous of entering the water" is rather strong . . . Sadly, a great number of the fatalities attributed to sharks occur in avoidable circumstances'. She suggested that, relative to the growth in the masses of people engaging in water sports, the number of shark attacks has not increased. SAMS technology has also been applied to stickers, which are said to transform surfboards, water skis, kayaks and underwater air tanks into shark deterrent objects. This weekend, SAMS makes an appearance on National Geographic's documentary, Australia's Deadliest: Shark Coast. [via Grind TV]
Is there anything more popular in the world at the moment than Game of Thrones? The fantasy juggernaut transcends boundaries, enabling readers and viewers of all preferences to immerse themselves in arguably the most dense fantasy offering in literary history and be enthralled by its scope, unable to stop reading and watching. It's wonderfully rewarding but also immensely frustrating, as your favourite character(s) can suddenly be taken out of the game without a word of notice. Well, thankfully you now have the chance to ask why, oh why the Red Wedding happened and gain a unique insight into the wonderful world of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, as writer George R.R. Martin makes his way to Brisbane. He'll be joined by Peter Dinklage, the actor who brilliantly portrays Tyrion Lannister, Martin's favourite character. The man who has sold more than 20 million books worldwide will be providing a window into his incredibly innovative imagination and aspirations for the future of the series, as well as entertaining your questions at the Supanova pop culture expo, which runs from November 8-10. Dinklage, meanwhile, has mastered the witty love-him-or-hate-him nature of Tyrion, deservedly winning Emmys and Golden Globes along the way, and is ready to share the intricacies behind translating the page to the screen as well as plenty of on-set secrets. This is a must-see for any fans of the epic saga — finally, the chance to ask Martin your most pertinent questions. Just don't ask him when the next book will be released.
There's more to going to the movies than just seeing the flicks that fill megaplexes, as Australia's thriving film festival scene demonstrates. As far as Hollywood's addition to the movie-making fold is concerned, that's where the American Essentials Film Festival comes in. Founded in 2016 as a way to fill select Aussie cinemas with the kind of US titles that don't usually make it to our shores, the touring festival returns for its second run with another lineup of noteworthy inclusions — 31 films and 20 Aussie premieres, in fact. Have pre-film drinks at Brisbane go-to Gerard's Bar — or post-film if you have plenty to say.
Usually when a Brisbanite heads to Westfield Chermside, they're going shopping. Or, they could be seeing a movie or having a bite to eat. Normally, though, a trip to the sprawling northside centre doesn't involve swinging in a rainbow room or hopping in a ball pit — or cuddling teddy bears either. From Thursday, June 24, all of the above activities are on the agenda at the busy shopping complex. So is being surrounded by colour and neon lights aplenty, too. The reason: the folks behind the sweet-themed Sugar Republic pop-up museum are returning to the town, bringing their latest multi-room installation with them. So, get ready to make your way through The Selfie Lab (and to see it take over your Instagram feeds, obviously). Whether they're doing Christmas pop-ups in Melbourne or hosting a Museum of Love in Sydney, all of this group's activities are designed to be snapped — so this time they're just calling that out in the event's name. Drop by and you'll find a greatest hits-style set up across The Selfie Lab's 16 rooms. In other words, it's rolling out some of the past spaces that everyone loved, just in a different location. New rooms featuring photogenic decor that audiences haven't seen before will also be part of the installation; think: Palm Springs motels, 50s diners and 80s bedrooms, as well as a space that promises to take visitors to the moon. There'll also be a candy bar — because the Sugar Republic crew were never going to forgo sweetness — and work onsite by Brisbane illustrator Alex Darrafa. Making its home opposite Uniqlo on Westfield Chermside's second level, The Selfie Lab is popping up for a good time, not a long time — but it does seem that this vibrant space might stick around for a bit. The website promises new installations each season; however, given how popular the group's other events have proven, getting in quickly is still recommended. Tickets cost $25 plus booking fee for a one-hour run through the space — phone in-hand, of course, so you can keep snapping pics. Find The Selfie Lab on Level 2 of Westfield Chermside, Corner of Gympie and Hamilton roads, Chermside, from Thursday, June 24 — open daily from 10am. For further details and to book tickets, head to the pop-up's website.
UPDATE: May 1, 2020: Ad Astra is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. When humanity soars into space, what do we hope to find? Every mission beyond the earth has considered this question, as has almost every movie on the subject. Now, it bubbles inside James Gray's Ad Astra. Initially in this thoughtful and thrilling near-future set film, the answer seems simple. A dedicated astronaut whose calm nature earns him ample praise, Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) has been tasked with literally following in his long-lost father's (Tommy Lee Jones) footsteps. But this quest couldn't be more complicated, with Roy trying to stop a threatening series of interstellar power surges, working through his issues with the assumed-dead dad he's always tried to emulate, and grappling with his place in a mysterious, expansive universe. In his earthbound but also stellar 2016 film The Lost City of Z, Gray contemplated a comparable conundrum, telling the true tale of British explorer Percy Fawcett's trek through the South American jungle. Focusing on another adventurer on both an external and internal journey, it couldn't have been a better precursor to Ad Astra, with the two movies sharing aching parallels. Wherever humankind is stranded, we're just trying to make sense of it all, the filmmaker posits — and whether we're stuck in lush tropics or desolate space, we're holding a mirror up to our souls. Seemingly sparse yet filled with endless intricacies, space suits Ad Astra's protagonist. While Pitt's measured narration gifts viewers a window into his character's head, Roy isn't forthcoming about his feelings otherwise. Again and again, he takes mandatory psychological evaluations, utters what he knows he's supposed to and passes with flying colours. In flashbacks, he's distant with his wife (Liv Tyler), and when he's joined on his new mission by one of his father's old friends (Donald Sutherland), he's unfazed. That said, Roy is unsurprisingly unsettled to learn that his dad might still be out there, and still trying to find extraterrestrial life instead of reclaiming the life he left behind. The fate of the world may be at stake, but a sea of internal turmoil accompanies his venture via the moon to Mars, all to beam his father a government-approved message. Co-writing Ad Astra's script with Ethan Gross (TV's Fringe), Gray paints Roy as someone equally fixated and haunted. Conflict rages both around and within him, as a man so accustomed to control faces existence's many uncertainties. Sometimes, the film launches physical obstacles into his path, as seen in expertly staged scenes involving rampaging moon pirates and savage space travellers. Often, of course, the hurdles are intellectual, psychological, ideological and emotional. Forty years ago, Apocalypse Now depicted a similar struggle, which won't be lost on Ad Astra's audience — but as exceptional as Francis Ford Coppola's war epic is, the comparison doesn't quite do Gray's feature justice. Ad Astra also shows signs of 2001: A Space Odyssey's influence, as all sci-fi flicks have for the past half-century; however its vision of space — complete with rampant capitalism and ol' fashioned human ruthlessness — is definitely its own. The movie also possesses its own weight and texture, as firmly entwined with its leading man. Turning in sublime performances in consecutive films, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor (and also one of Ad Astra's producers) proves a commanding choice to navigate Roy's journey. Pitt's ability to simultaneously eat and emote has long been noted but, here, it's his talent for conveying so much through a silent, searching stare that ripples across the galaxy. Enlisting the ever-excellent talents of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Dunkirk), Gray gives viewers plenty of time to gaze at Pitt's increasingly weary face and its quiet depths. Always a detail-oriented director, he peers just as intently at distant planets, gleaming spaceships and empty nothingness, these entrancing visions speaking volumes as well. Indeed, Ad Astra is a patient and exacting movie. It never lets a moment — or a frame or a plot development — go to waste. When it sends Roy hurtling from a towering space antenna early in the piece, for example, the sequence serves multiple purposes. As well as showing the astronaut's immense grace under pressure, it astutely illuminates the tenuous nature of his and all existence. Breathtaking, tense and gripping, the huge plummet couldn't better encapsulate this mesmerising and moving film, too — a movie that reaches for the stars, grasps them, but knows that every leap comes with a fall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsCNKuB93BA
Just over 12 months ago, in January 2023, Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk to Me screened at the Sundance Film Festival. From there, it was picked up by A24, released to hefty crowds and fanfare midyear, and collected 11 nominations from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. Now, at the Aussie organisation's night of nights, the homegrown horror hit has won eight accolades, the most of any movie — including Best Film of 2023, plus Best Director for the RackaRacka YouTubers-turned-filmmakers. It's official: Talk to Me is the top Australian flick of the past year, a huge feat not only for a horror movie but for the Philippou brothers' first feature. In the film categories, it had company from Warwick Thornton's The New Boy, which picked up four awards from 12 nominations. A heap of other pictures collected a prize each: Noora Niasari's Shayda, with one win from nine nods; The Rooster, with one from four; Ivan Sen's Limbo, Carmen and John Farnham: Finding the Voice, each with one from three; and Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story and The Giants, with one from two apiece. That's an impressive spread, including the Best Actress accolade going to Talk to Me's Sophie Wilde, Best Actor to The New Boy's Aswan Reid, Best Supporting Actress to Deborah Mailman for the latter film and Best Supporting Actor to The Rooster's Hugo Weaving. The AACTAs aren't just about the big screen, however, also rewarding the year's best TV efforts. There, The Newsreader and Deadloch each picked up five awards — including Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan nabbing Best Screenplay in Television for writing Deadloch. Across the small-screen fields, they were joined by fellow big winners Colin From Accounts, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Love Me. The hefty affair, which was held on Saturday, February 10 on the Gold Coast for the first time amid a four-day AACTA Festival, also found more than one way to give Margot Robbie and Barbie some love. Cue Robbie receiving the annual Trailblazer Award, plus the Audience Choice Award for Favourite Actress. Also among the public's picks was Barbie for Favourite Film. And, the list of gongs goes on — for Robbie and Barbie, and in general, with International Awards also handed out. Succession, The Bear, Oppenheimer, Poor Things: they all earned a shiny trophy or two as well. Here's the full rundown: AACTA Nominees and Winners 2024: Film Awards: Best Film Of an Age Shayda Sweet As Talk to Me — WINNER The New Boy The Royal Hotel Best Indie Film A Savage Christmas Limbo — WINNER Monolith Streets of Colour The Rooster The Survival of Kindness Best Direction Jub Clerc, Sweet As Kitty Green, The Royal Hotel Noora Niasari, Shayda, Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou, Talk to Me — WINNER Goran Stolevski, Of an Age Warwick Thornton, The New Boy Best Lead Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Shayda Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Sweet As Cate Blanchett, The New Boy Julia Garner, The Royal Hotel Sarah Snook, Run Rabbit Run Sophie Wilde, Talk to Me — WINNER Best Lead Actor Elias Anton, Of an Age Simon Baker, Limbo Thom Green, Of an Age Phoenix Raei, The Rooster Aswan Reid, The New Boy — WINNER Osamah Sami, Shayda Best Supporting Actress Alex Jensen, Talk to Me Deborah Mailman, The New Boy — WINNER Tasma Walton, Sweet As Mia Wasikowska, Blueback Ursula Yovich, The Royal Hotel Selina Zahednia, Shayda Best Supporting Actor Mojean Aria, Shayda Eric Bana, Blueback Wayne Blair, The New Boy Rob Collins, Limbo Zoe Terakes, Talk to Me Hugo Weaving, The Rooster — WINNER Best Screenplay Kitty Green, Oscar Redding, The Royal Hotel Noora Niasari, Shayda Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman, Talk to Me — WINNER Goran Stolevski, Of an Age Warwick Thornton, The New Boy Best Cinematography Carl Allison, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism Sherwin Akbarzadeh, Shayda Aaron McLisky, Talk to Me Katie Milwright, Sweet As Warwick Thornton, The New Boy — WINNER Best Editing Dany Cooper, Carmen Katie Flaxman, Sweet As Geoff Lamb, Talk to Me — WINNER Michelle McGilvray, Matt Villa, Courtney Teixera, Scarygirl Nick Meyers, The New Boy Best Casting in Film Run Rabbit Run Shayda — WINNER Sweet As The New Boy The Royal Hotel Best Costume Design Blueback Carmen — WINNER Seriously Red The New Boy The Rooster Best Original Score Blueback Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism Suka Talk to Me — WINNER The Big Dog Best Production Design Carmen Scarygirl The New Boy — WINNER The Portable Door True Spirit Best Sound Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism Scarygirl Seriously Red Talk to Me — WINNER Three Chords and the Truth Best Short Film An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It Ashes Finding Addison — WINNER Jia Mud Crab Not Dark Yet Documentary Awards: Best Documentary Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story Harley & Katya John Farnham: Finding the Voice — WINNER The Dark Emu Story The Giants The Last Daughter This Is Going to Be Big To Never Forget Best Cinematography in a Documentary Australia's Wild Odyssey Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival The Dark Emu Story The Giants — WINNER This Is Going To Be Big Best Editing in a Documentary Because We Have Each Other Folau Harley & Katya Queerstralia The Australian Wars — WINNER Best Original Score in a Documentary John Farnham: Finding The Voice Kindred Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey The Dark Emu Story — WINNER Under Cover Best Sound in a Documentary Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story — WINNER John Farnham: Finding The Voice Kindred Memory Film — A Filmmaker's Diary The Dark Emu Story Television Awards: Best Drama Series Bay of Fires Black Snow Bump Erotic Stories Love Me The Newsreader — WINNER Best Narrative Comedy Colin From Accounts — WINNER Deadloch Fisk Gold Diggers Upright Utopia Best Miniseries Bad Behaviour In Our Blood Safe Home The Clearing The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart — WINNER While The Men Are Away Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama Tim Draxl, In Our Blood Travis Fimmel, Black Snow Joel Lago, Erotic Stories Sam Reid, The Newsreader Richard Roxburgh, Bali 2002 Hugo Weaving, Love Me — WINNER Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama Kate Box, Erotic Stories Aisha Dee, Safe Home Bojana Novakovic, Love Me Teresa Palmer, The Clearing Anna Torv, The Newsreader — WINNER Sigourney Weaver, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Best Acting in a Comedy Celeste Barber, Wellmania Kate Box, Deadloch — WINNER Patrick Brammall, Colin From Accounts Harriet Dyer, Colin From Accounts Kitty Flanagan, Fisk Nina Oyama, Deadloch Helen Thomson, Colin From Accounts Julia Zemiro, Fisk Best Comedy Performer Tom Gleeson, Hard Quiz Jim Jefferies, The 1% Club Luke McGregor, Taskmaster Australia Rhys Nicholson, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Nina Oyama, Taskmaster Australia Charlie Pickering, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering Natalie Tran, The Great Australian Bake Off Cal Wilson, The Great Australian Bake Off — WINNER Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama Alycia Debnam-Carey, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Marg Downey, The Newsreader Michelle Lim Davidson, The Newsreader Heather Mitchell, Love Me — WINNER Leah Purcell, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Brooke Satchwell, Black Snow Best Supporting Actor in a Television Drama Tim Draxl, Erotic Stories Alexander England, Black Snow William McInnes, The Newsreader Bob Morley, Love Me Hunter Page-Lochard, The Newsreader — WINNER Guy Pearce, The Clearing Best Direction in a Drama or Comedy Ben Chessell, Deadloch (episode one) Emma Freeman, The Newsreader (episode four) — WINNER Glendyn Ivin, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode one) Matt Moore, Colin From Accounts (episode six) Trent O'Donnell, Colin From Accounts (episode three) Best Direction in Non-Fiction Television Katie Bender Wynn, Matildas: The World at Our Feet (episode two) Stamatia Maroupas, Queerstralia (episode one) Josh Martin, Adam and Poh's Great Australian Bites (episode one) Rachel Perkins, Dylan River, Tov Belling, The Australian Wars (episode one) — WINNER Henry Stone, Aaron Chen: If Weren't Filmed, Nobody Would Believe Best Screenplay in Television Patrick Brammall, Colin From Accounts (episode six) Harriet Dyer, Colin From Accounts (episode three) Kate McCartney, Kate McLennan, Deadloch (episode one) — WINNER Adrian Russell Wills, The Newsreader (episode four) Lucas Taylor, Black Snow (episode one) Best Cinematography in Television Sam Chiplin, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode one) — WINNER Earle Dresner, The Newsreader (episode four) Aaron Farrugia, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (episode one) Tania Lambert, Erotic Stories (episode two) Katie Milwright, Deadloch (episode one) Best Editing in Television Peter Bennett, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (episode one) Danielle Boesenberg, Colin From Accounts (episode three) Angie Higgins, Deadloch (episode one) — WINNER Angie Higgins, The Newsreader (episode four) Deborah Peart, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode one) Deborah Peart, Dany Cooper, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode six) Best Entertainment Program Dancing with the Stars Eurovision Song Contest 2023 — WINNER Lego Masters: Grand Masters Mastermind The 1% Club The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition Best Comedy Entertainment Program Hard Quiz — WINNER RocKwiz Taskmaster Australia Thank God You're Here The Cheap Seats The Weekly with Charlie Pickering Best Factual Entertainment Program Alone Australia Gogglebox Australia Kitchen Cabinet Old People's Home for Teenagers — WINNER Take 5 with Zan Rowe Who The Bloody Hell Are We? Best Documentary or Factual Program Matildas: The World at Our Feet Ningaloo Nyinggulu Queerstralia The Australian Wars — WINNER War on Waste Who Do You Think You Are Best Children's Program Barrumbi Kids Beep and Mort Bluey — WINNER Crazy Fun Park The PM's Daughter Turn Up the Volume Best Standup Special Aaron Chen: If Weren't Filmed, Nobody Would Believe Celeste Barber: Fine, thanks Hannah Gadsby: Something Special — WINNER Jim Jefferies: High & Dry Lizzy Hoo: Hoo Cares!? Rhys Nicholson's Big Queer Comedy Concert Best Lifestyle Program Adam and Poh's Great Australian Bites Gardening Australia — WINNER Grand Designs Australia Love It or List It Australia Selling Houses Australia The Great Australian Bake Off Best Reality Program Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains FBOY Island Australia Hunted Australia MasterChef Australia — WINNER Real Housewives of Sydney RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Best Casting in Television Colin From Accounts Deadloch — WINNER Safe Home The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart The Newsreader Best Costume Design in Television Ten Pound Poms (episode one) The Claremont Murders (episode one) The Clearing (episode one) The Newsreader (episode four) — WINNER While the Men Are Away (episode two) Best Original Score in Television Bad Behaviour (episode one) Deadloch (episode one) — WINNER Fisk (episode four) In Limbo (episode one) RFDS (episode five) Best Production Design in Television Beep and Mort (episode two) Black Snow (episode one) Deadloch (episode one) Gold Diggers (episode three) The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode one) — WINNER The Newsreader (episode four) Best Sound in Television Black Snow (episode six) Last King of the Cross (episode four) The Clearing (episode one) The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode six) — WINNER The Newsreader (episode six) Best Online Drama or Comedy Appetite Latecomers — WINNER Me & Her(pes) Monologue The Disposables The Future of Everything AACTA Audience Awards: Audience Choice Award for Favourite TV Show Ginny & Georgia — WINNER My Life with the Walter Boys Outer Banks The Kardashians The Summer I Turned Pretty Young Sheldon Audience Choice Award for Favourite Film Barbie — WINNER Mean Girls Saltburn Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Wonka Audience Choice Award for Favourite Actress Jenna Ortega Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Lawrence Margot Robbie — WINNER Millie Bobby Brown Sydney Sweeney Audience Choice Award for Favourite Actor Adam Sandler — WINNER Chris Hemsworth Jacob Elordi Ryan Gosling Timothėe Chalamet Vin Diesel Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Media Personality Abbie Chatfield Chloe Hayden Em Rusciano Jimmy Rees Shameless Podcast Sophie Monk — WINNER Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Digital Creator Anna Paul @anna..paull Bridey Drake @brideydrake Georgia Productions @georgia Indy Clinton @indyclinton Kat Clark and family @katclark — WINNER Luke and Sassy Scott @lukeandsassyscott Maddy MacRae @maddy_macrae_ Sofia Ligeros @sofialigeros Audience Choice Award for Favourite Australian Sporting Moment AFL: Carlton reach the finals AFL: Grand Final Collingwood vs Brisbane F1: Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1 Netball: Australian Diamonds win Netball World Cup NRL: Grand Final Panthers vs Broncos Soccer: Matilda's World Cup run — WINNER AACTA International Awards: AACTA International Award for Best Drama Series Beef Succession — WINNER The Crown The Last of Us Yellowjackets AACTA International Award for Best Comedy Series Only Murders in the Building Sex Education Ted Lasso The Bear — WINNER The Marvellous Mrs Maisel AACTA International Award for Best Actor in a Series Kieran Culkin, Succession Matthew Macfadyen, Succession Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us Jeremy Strong, Succession Jeremy Allen White, The Bear — WINNER AACTA International Award for Best Actress in a Series Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown Helen Mirren, 1923 Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us Sarah Snook, Succession — WINNER Ali Wong, Beef AACTA International Award for Best Film American Fiction Barbie — WINNER Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things AACTA International Award for Best Direction in Film Greta Gerwig, Barbie Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon Bradley Cooper, Maestro Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer — WINNER Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actor in Film Bradley Cooper, Maestro Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer — WINNER Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress in Film Cate Blanchett, The New Boy Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Carey Mulligan, Maestro Margot Robbie, Barbie — WINNER Emma Stone, Poor Things AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor in Film Matt Damon, Oppenheimer Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer Jacob Elordi, Saltburn Ryan Gosling, Barbie — WINNER AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress in Film Penélope Cruz, Ferrari Vanessa Kirby, Napoleon — WINNER Julianne Moore, May December Rosamund Pike, Saltburn Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay in Film Cord Jefferson, American Fiction Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Tony McNamara, Poor Things — WINNER The 2024 AACTA Awards were announced on Saturday, February 10. For further details, head to the awards' website.
As one of the world's biggest cities, London sort of has it all. Now they've got scored something most cities most certainly do not have: an urban zip line. Zip World London has this week launched what they say is the world's biggest and fastest urban zip liner, right in the heart of the city. According to the Evening Standard, the adrenaline-fuelled experience will see punters hoisted 35 meters into the air before being pushed down the 225-metre zip line. It's been billed as the "fastest city zip wire in the world" and people will reach speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, which is, well, pretty terrifyingly fast. The whole thing takes place right next to the Thames at Archbishop's Park in Lambeth, so — aside from gliding through the sky like Batman for 30 intense seconds — riders will also get to take in some of the best views of London's iconic skyline, Big Ben included. If you're escaping winter for a London summer, you're in luck, because the zip line is open until Sunday, October 1. Adult tickets are £22.50 and can be booked here. Via the Evening Standard.
Since Disney got its lightsabers out again with Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, a galaxy far, far away has rarely been far from screens. That includes on streaming, where the force has proven particularly strong across three seasons of The Mandalorian, 2021–22's The Book of Boba Fett, and also 2022's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor. The next Star Wars show on its way: Ahsoka, which will give warrior, outcast, rebel and Jedi her own series from August. Rosario Dawson (Clerks III) returns as the limited series' titular figure, after playing the part in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. If you're new to the character, she was Anakin Skywalker's padawan before he became Darth Vader — and, here, she's an ex-Jedi Knight who is determined to battle a threat to the post-Empire galaxy. Her latest exploits will hit Disney+ from Wednesday, August 23. Ahsoka follows animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the TV series it spawned, too, plus fellow animated show Star Wars Rebels — because yes, this franchise about a galaxy far, far away will keep spreading far and wide in this one. From the latter series, Star Wars aficionados will spot rebel crew member Hera Syndulla and former bounty hunter Sabine Wren. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)) plays the former in Ahsoka, while Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Guns Akimbo) steps into the latter's shoes. Also among the familiar characters: fellow Jedi padawan Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels, with Eman Esfandi (King Richard) doing the live-action honours — and Grand Admiral Thrawn, too, as played by Lars Mikkelsen (The Kingdom). Ahoska's cast includes Ray Stevenson (RRR) and Ivanna Sakhno (The Reunion), plus David Tennant (Good Omens). Also, reports have been bubbling for years about Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin, as he did in Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Disney+'s first series focused on a female Jedi; indeed, as a character, Ahoska has long been one of the few women among the franchise's Jedi ranks, dating back to 2008. Off-screen, The Mandalorian writer/director/executive producer Dave Filoni writes and executive produces Ahoska, with Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck also doing the latter — all seasoned Star Wars veterans. Check out the first teaser trailer for Ahsoka below: Ahsoka will stream via Disney+ from Wednesday, August 23. Images: ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. All Rights Reserved.
