Welcome to the joys of major film festivals in spring, Sydney. Getting holed up in a cinema for a week or so is usually a winter activity in the Harbour City, because that's when Sydney Film Festival takes place; however, the first-ever SXSW Down Under is arriving in 2023 with its very own celebration of peering at screens. So, for eight October days, movie lovers can wander in and out of darkened rooms while the weather is pleasant outside, not frosty — and see everything from Saltburn, the new Jacob Elordi (Euphoria)-starring thriller from Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell, to the freshly remastered 4K version of iconic Talking Heads concert flick Stop Making Sense. SXSW Sydney's debut Screen Festival will boast 75-plus sessions that'll get projectors a-flickering from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22. It all starts with opening night's Australian thriller The Royal Hotel from Casting JonBenet and The Assistant director Kitty Green (and starring the latter's Julia Garner), then features the world premiere of documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles and everything from features starring Indonesian rappers and docos about Tokyo Uber Eats riders. Saltburn will enjoy its Australian premiere at SXSW Sydney, while Stop Making Sense will get The ICC's Darling Harbour Theatre echoing in glorious 7.1 surround sound. The venue will be home to the fest's biggest titles, which also includes opening night and The Wiggles doco; ONEFOUR: Against All Odds about the eponymous drill rap band; and Ryuichi Sakamoto|Opus, which covers the recorded concert by the late, great The Revenant composer, who passed away in March 2023. Also on the bill: supervillain parody The People's Joker, which gives the caped-crusader realm a queer coming-of-age spin; TLC documentary TLC Forever; Sleep, a Korean horror-comedy by Bong Joon-ho's former assistant; the Hugo Weaving (Love Me)-starring The Rooster, which follows a hermit and a cop who form a bond during a crisis; and a retro session of Aussie classic Lake Mungo. Or, SXSW Sydney's film fans can see Black Barbie, a Barbie flick that isn't filled affection; the Indian Australian Sahela, which tells a queer tale set in Western Sydney; Satranic Panic, a homegrown road movie and a creature feature; Milli Vanilli, another of the event's music docos; and Uproar, as starring Hunt for the Wilderpeople's Julian Dennison, Our Flag Means Death's Rhys Darby and Starstruck's Minnie Driver. Among a feast of screen content that also encompasses 40 shorts, plus 20 music videos and 13 XR projects, TV will get some love — that's why the event is called a Screen Festival, not a film fest. Standouts span Night Bloomers, a horror anthology from both Korea and Australia; Erotic Stories, another anthology that'll deliver exactly what it sounds like; and Doona!, a Korean rom-com led by Suzy Bae. Alongside indoor sessions at Darling Harbour Theatre and Palace Cinemas Central, free outdoor screenings are also on the bill at the SXSW Sydney 2023 hub in Tumbalong Park. The complete lineup there is still to come, but the program will survey the OG fest's best and brightest, starting with Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's What We Do in the Shadows — the movie, not the also-ace TV show — as well as classic anime masterpiece Ghost in the Shell and Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused. As well as viewing movies and TV shows aplenty, the 2023 SXSW Sydney Screen Festival also features an array of speakers. Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker is one of the headliners — not just of the screen component, but of SXSW Sydney overall. Similarly getting chatting: Indigenous filmmakers Leah Purcell (The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson), Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road: Origin) and Jub Clerc (Sweet As); Osher Günsberg recording an episode of his podcast Better Than Yesterday with a yet-to-be-announced special guest; and Gone Girl, The Nightingale, The Dry, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers producer Bruna Papandrea and Binge's Executive Director Alison Hurbert-Burns. [caption id="attachment_917938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
If you're starting to pencil in some strategic long weekends and well-deserved trips this year, here's one to add to the mix: Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort in Port Douglas has just launched a Bali-inspired floating breakfast. Designed for a loved-up pair or two partners-in-crime, this luxurious floating breakfast is available exclusively for guests staying as part of the Sheraton's Float Into Paradise accommodation package, which includes a three-night stay in a Mirage Studio Garden View Room. The menu runs to the likes of smashed avocado with perfectly poached eggs, charred sourdough and kale with whipped feta and seeds. A vegan-friendly scrambled tofu is paired with avo and tomato bruschetta, or a climate-appropriate coconut acai bowl is made with an almond-milk base and loaded with yoghurt, banana, macadamia and goji berries. If you take a more flexible approach when it comes to holiday nutrition, look towards the indulgent part of the menu. You can expect a three-cheese and tomato sourdough toastie, fresh banana bread or a brekkie burger with hash brown, smoked bacon, cheese and a fried egg. [caption id="attachment_888044" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Ellen Seah[/caption] The crowning jewel of the floating breakfast menu is a succulent half-lobster, served stuffed with creamy scrambled eggs, chives and garlic Turkish bread. Fresh fruit, yoghurt, pastries, a pair of coffees and juice are also included. The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort itself boasts over two hectares of sparkling saltwater pools in Tropical North Queensland, meaning you can spend more time lounging by the water and less time travelling. Lagoons on-site include spots with sandy beaches, as well as serene private cabanas nestled on the waterfront. The five-star resort is also home to 147 hectares of lush tropical gardens, an 18-hole golf course and seven restaurants and bars on-site. In particular, the hatted Harrisons headed up by Spencer Patrick is a must-visit as one of Port Douglas' best restaurants. [caption id="attachment_888046" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Sunset Sessions[/caption] While the pool (and poolside) food and cocktails will keep you plenty busy, the hotel also runs Sunday sunset sessions complete with tapas and live tunes, or you can head along to a monthly rum masterclass. If you are keen to venture further during your stay, there are a variety of eco-friendly and sustainable tour options you can book. Locally-run Back Country Bliss runs swimmable tours through the Daintree Rainforest, which includes a snorkel and float tour of Mossman Gorge. Sailaway is a family business running half-day and full-day charters to Great Barrier Reef, including the Low Isles and Mackay Coral Cay on the Outer Reef. Finally, Four Mile Beach adventures with a twist can be booked with locally-operated Port Douglas Segway Tours. You can book the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort floating breakfast via the hotel website. It is available until December 18, 2023. If you want to extend your Queensland getaway, check out our curated Whitsundays packages on CP Trips which includes a four-day stay, snorkel and sail adventure with a day cruise.
Delivery service apps like UberEats continue to rise in Australia and New Zealand, claiming exclusivity deals with everything from major grocery stores to hardware giants. Yep, hardware, you read it right. The latest Australian megastore to join the order-to-your-door offer posed by Uber Eats is the home of things home and garden — Bunnings. Following a successful Victorian pilot program in January, the nationwide rollout will begin in 15 locations across Australia, with plans to expand further and over to New Zealand throughout the year. The partnership will give eligible customers access to 60-minute guaranteed deliveries of over 30,000 items from the Bunnings catalogue — including lawn mowers, power washers, pet food, gardening equipment, DIY products, nuts, bolts and packing boxes. Bunnings COO, Ryan Baker, told 9Honey that the partnership will "offer customers another convenient way to shop a wide range of products from Bunnings, delivered directly to their home or worksite via the Uber Eats app. While many customers enjoy visiting our stores to browse and get advice in person, we know there are times when convenience and speed are the priority." [caption id="attachment_1076390" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ceri Breeze via iStock[/caption] "This partnership complements our existing delivery options and helps us better understand how customers want to shop with Bunnings," Baker added. Lucas Groeneveld, General Manager of Uber Eats APAC, said in a press release, "From last-minute DIY fixes and garden projects, to preparing for a BBQ or keeping a work site moving, this partnership makes it easier than ever for customers to get what they need, delivered on demand, whatever the occasion." Bunnings joins a mix of other non-edible delivery partners on Uber Eats, including Pet Barn, Officeworks and EB Games. If you're wondering, though, Bunnings snags are not included in the delivery service — you'll still have to get those yourself. Check to see if your local Bunnings delivers via UberEats here, more stores are expected to roll out later in 2026. Images: iStock
Brisbane is scoring a new $3.6-billion precinct right in the heart of the city, complete with a towering deck filled with restaurants and bars that will sit 100 metres above the CBD. That's the Queen's Wharf promise, and has been for over nine years now. But you'll still have to wait a bit longer to check it out, with the impending addition to the River City pushing back its opening date from April 2024 to August. Queen's Wharf is no stranger to changing its launch timing. 2022 was also floated in the past. The latest push comes after a heap of specific details about what's in store at the precinct — including some of the specific watering holes and eateries that patrons will be able to hit up — were revealed in 2023. So, here's hoping that enjoying the end results is truly getting closer to becoming a reality. There's no exact opening date in August yet, so you can't go circling anything in your calendar for the time being. Also, Queen's Wharf and its Sky Deck will launch in stages. Accordingly, which aspects will welcome in Brisbanites and tourists first hasn't been confirmed — but there's plenty in store. On the precinct's highest perch, bar Cicada Blu will give the Queensland capital a new place for a cocktail with a killer view, operating both day and night with a particular focus on drinks with botanical infusions. Sky Deck will also boast signature restaurant Aloria, complete with a dedicated martini menu and a 'cellar in the sky', plus European and Australian bites on offer. And, at Babblers, there'll be a more-relaxed dining experience. All three venues will form part of Sky Deck's 250-metre rooftop runway with a glass-floor viewing platform. And the vistas? Expect a 360-degree vantage out over the Brisbane CBD, Brisbane River, Mt Coot-tha and Moreton Bay. The riverside precinct's lofty tourist attraction will fall under The Star's remit, just as the reimagined Fat Noodle, cocktail bar Cherry and Italian eatery Cucina Regina also will. When it does launch between Alice, George, Queen and William streets, Queen's Wharf's crowning glory will be located above other dining options, hotels, shops, apartments and a heap of public space. While part of one of Queen's Wharf's resident resorts — it's set to feature four hotels, including the five-star The Star Grand, 4.5-star Dorsett and Australia's only Rosewood hotel — Sky Deck will be open to the public. Also, it isn't small, with a capacity of 1500 visitors at a time. Expect it to be popular, then, with the Queensland Government anticipating that an estimated 1.4 million international, interstate and local visitors to the city each year might stop by. As for the rest of the Queen's Wharf Brisbane redevelopment area, it spans across 12 hectares in the CBD, and will include around 50 new bars, cafes and restaurants; a casino; those four aforementioned hotels; approximately 1500 apartments; and a swathe of retailers in a huge new shopping precinct. The full precinct also covers repurposed heritage buildings, plus the Neville Bonner Bridge and Brissie's first riverside bikeway cafe. Queen's Wharf is slated to start opening in the Brisbane CBD from August 2024. We'll update you when a specific date is announced — and you can find out further details in the interim via the development's website.
When word first arrived in 2020 that Cali Beach was turning a Gold Coast rooftop into a beach club with pools and bars, everyone's thoughts immediately went to splashes and sips while the summer sun is shining. Just like most of southeast Queensland, Surfers Paradise doesn't get a three-month super-frosty stretch, so taking a dip in winter didn't seem out of the question, either. But this venue has had broader plans for its sky-high perch when the middle of the year has hit since 2022. For the past two years, The Rooftop Lodge has taken over the 5000-square-metre venue on a fourth-floor rooftop on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Elkhorn Avenue, featuring snow-topped trees, an ice-skating rink and cosy lodges. That isn't the 2024 experience, however. Until spring hits, running from Friday–Sunday weekly, Cali Beach is now an inflatable nightclub. An alpine angle remains in the temporary makeover, taking cues from the Swiss Alps — albeit with poolside daybeds, which you won't find come winter at the real thing. By day on Saturdays and Sundays, you can still bask in the sun, knock back cocktails, play party games and listen to DJ-spun beats. By night, the festivities blow up, with the inflatable fun dubbed Wintersun. Inflatable igloos? Check. Fire pits? Check again. Fire performers and fireworks? That's two more checks. Lighting displays add to the mood, as do more games, giant hanging inflatables above the pool, and a wintry food and drink menu. Entry is free, but you'll obviously need your wallet for whatever tempts your tastebuds.
Lockdown is bringing wholesome home activities back into the spotlight. If you've already birthed a sourdough starter, planted new seedlings and started leaning te reo Māori, it may be time to start flexing your puzzle skills. New Zealand's national museum Te Papa is getting in on the action for those who forgot to stock up and has turned taonga (treasures) from its collection into online jigsaw puzzles. Unwind as you piece together Bernard Roundhill's colourful 1956 painting of Auckland, make up the skeleton of a Stewart Island brown kiwi or complete the fossil of an iguanodon tooth from 132-137 million years ago. Te Papa is closed to the public until further notice. Read about the museum's collections, research and stories at tepapa.nz.
A Tasmanian distiller by the name of John Hyslop has created a Willy Wonka version of the mighty whisky. The newly established Deviant Distillery has just released Anthology, a drop they claim tastes like a ten-year-old spirit, yet was made in just ten weeks. Hyslop achieved this wonder by studying what happens when you place whisky in a barrel for a decade. Then he created an environment in which this process was accelerated by manipulating physical elements governing oxidation, esterification and evaporation. The only catch is that, legally, the resulting product cannot be called whisky. It's hand-distilled in a copper pot still with the usual four ingredients — barley, water, yeast and oak — and without any additives, but the lack of conventional ageing process means that only the label "single malt spirit" can apply. "Other than the ageing process, everything about our spirits is what you would expect from an ultra-premium craft whisky — we just can't call it that," Hyslop says. "I explain it like this: instead of putting a supercharged engine into a car and racing it to the finish line, we just remove all the obstacles in its way and let it become what it wants to be." Hyslop sees two major advantages in speeding up whisky making. Firstly, it enables frequent experimentation with various flavour profiles. "With the traditional distilling model, what is bottled today was barrelled 10 years ago," he says. "But now, in theory, we can conduct several centuries' worth of flavour tests and arrive at an ultra-premium drink that no single generation ever could before." Secondly, he considers it greener. On average, when whisky ages, between 30 to 50 percent of the spirit evaporates. However, Hyslop loses only four percent to the air, meaning the distillery uses much less water and ingredients. In addition to this, the distillery produces minimal waste and is working towards carbon neutrality. Right now, the whole operation takes place in Hyslop's mum's garage in Somerset, where he produces about 120 bottles per month. He's hoping to move to bigger, commercial premises in Hobart by early 2018. While Hyslop claims the spirit tastes like an aged whiskey, we're keen to give it test it out ourselves. Anthology is available online for $86 from today and in selected bottle shops in Tassie.
Since opening in 2018, W Brisbane has been one of the city's most luxe stays. Now, the hotel is looking more plush than ever, as a recently completed renovation has transformed its 32 suites. Designed with a more vibrant, playful spirit in mind, these generously sized rooms will have you happily languishing from dawn to dusk. Building upon the hotel's existing design narrative, 'A River Dreaming', this theme was conceived to pay respect to the region's Turrbal people, who consider the Brisbane River to be the giver of life. Now, the revamped suites blend even more references to the surrounding landscape's natural and cultural significance. Curved forms represent the river's gentle ebb and flow, while terracotta and eucalyptus tones evoke its soil and the distant Mount Coot-Tha hills, seen through the suites' floor-to-ceiling windows. Metallic artwork and custom furnishings offer a subtle nod to the city lights reflecting off the river after dark. But there's more to the rejuvenated W Brisbane than just freshly designed suites — there's also a brand-new trio of personalised in-room experiences ready to enhance your stay. 'Turn it On' features champagne and chocolate fondue for two, plus locally sourced bath amenities. 'Turn it Up' includes a disposable camera for guests to capture their experience, alongside a curated playlist and a custom cocktail bar. Finally, 'Turn it Down' levels up the wellness vibe, giving guests access to a personalised meditation app, yoga mats, soothing pillow mist, and rejuvenating face sheets and elixirs. All suites also include an enhanced Mixbar, stocked to the brim with indulgent favourites and special treats, like Maybe Sammy lychee martinis, Maybe margaritas and Loco Love chocolate pralines. To celebrate its fresh look, W Brisbane is offering a special upgrade for guests until Wednesday, October 1. Just reserve one of the 32 newly revamped suites to score the Turn it Up, Turn it Down or Turn it On service. Making stays even better, the offer also includes valet parking, $100 of hotel credit and breakfast for two at W Brisbane's stellar in-house restaurant, The Lex. W Brisbane is open at 81 North Quay, Brisbane. Head to the website for more information.
The Bundaberg region is alive with natural wonders that draw visitors from all over the world. One of the most unique is the Mon Repos Nightly Turtle Encounter, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that'll leave you feeling like David Attenborough in the making. During Bundaberg turtle season, which runs from November to March, you can experience turtle conservation first-hand on the only ranger-guided turtle encounter on the east coast. Between November and January, you can witness mother turtles emerge from the deep blue and make their way up the beach to nest under the moonlight. Later in the season (late-January to late-March), you'll be able to look on as adorable hatchlings emerge from their sandy nests and scurry down to the beach. Images: Tourism and Events Queensland
Buckets of sunshine, adrenaline-inducing thrills in the heart of the city, plus dreamy white-sand islands and lush rainforests on its doorstep... Brisbane and its surrounds are a wonderland for outdoor adventurers. There's the iconic Brisbane River where you can captain your own eco-friendly boat or abseil down 230 million-year-old rock formations at sunset. Or, further afield you can find the epic sand islands of Bribie, Moreton and North Stradbroke/Minjerribah, hugged by crystal clear waters, covered in national park and packed with wildlife — from green sea turtles and dolphins to wallabies and koalas. Then there's the Lamington National Park that provides nature lovers and enthusiastic hikers with magnificent waterfalls or the chance to kick back in a spa overlooking ancient rainforest. Read on for seven unmissable outdoor adventures in and around Brisbane for your next adventure. [caption id="attachment_856015" align="alignnone" width="1920"] River to Bay Tour at Moreton Island. Image courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.[/caption] TAKE A RIVER TO BAY TOUR Just east of Brisbane you can find islands galore to explore. The easiest way to experience them? Book in a day trip with River to Bay. For snorkelling among tropical fish and green sea turtles at the picturesque Tangalooma Wrecks, spotting koalas among tall trees and wandering around the haunted ruins of Queensland's first penal colony, take the Moreton Island Bay Tour. Alternatively, go for incredible swimming beaches, spectacular scenery and boutique cafes in a historical village on the Stradbroke Island Tour. Another tempting option is the Champagne and Oyster Tour, which involves sipping bubbly and sampling oysters fresh from the ocean while watching the sun set. GO ABSEILING WITH RIVERLIFE For an adrenalin rush, go abseiling with Riverlife. On the Day Abseil, you'll complete a 90-minute ascent and descent of the 20-metre high Brisbane Kangaroo Point Cliffs. They're heritage-listed formations of 230 million-year-old volcanic rock which flank the Brisbane River, just a stone's throw from the CBD. Once you make it to the top, you'll be rewarded with panoramic views of Brisbane City and its surrounding waterways. For an even more magical experience, book a Twilight Abseil Tour. And if you're a nervous abseiler, don't worry. Riverlife is all about helping you overcoming your fears. [caption id="attachment_807856" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Go Boat Brisbane. Image by Lean Timms.[/caption] JUMP ON A GO BOAT One of the newest additions to the adventure scene is Go Boat. Founded in Copenhagen in 2014, it was launched in Brisbane to make the most of the city's glorious weather and winding river. For up to three dreamy hours, you'll captain a blissfully silent electric boat made of recycled PET bottles transformed into fibreglass. Pack a cheeseboard, a bottle of bubbly and up to seven mates, and see Brisbane from a whole new perspective on the water. Pets are welcome. By the way, there's no need for a boating licence, as the Go Boat crew will show you what to do before waving you off on your adventure. [caption id="attachment_856018" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hot Air Ballooning Brisbane. Image by Sam Lindsay/Tourism and Events Queensland.[/caption] GO HOT AIR BALLOONING WITH FLOATING IMAGES Once you've seen Brisbane from the water, the next logical step is to see it from the sky. You can do just that with Floating Images. Their sunrise flight takes you up where the air is clear for 60 glorious minutes. Prepare for incredible views of the Brisbane city skyline, backdropped by the Great Diving Range, the Scenic Rim and the countryside of Somerset. Afterwards, you'll be treated to a breakfast fit for royalty at a local restaurant. Chief pilot Graeme has flown air balloons for three decades on three continents, so you can relax knowing you're in safe hands. TAKE AN ADVENTURE TOUR WITH G'DAY Another spot on the must-see list for visitors to Brisbane is Bribie Island, the fourth largest sand island in the world. It, in itself, is an outdoor adventurer's kingdom packed with national parks, wild surf beaches, idyllic coves for swimming and the Pumicestone Passage, a protected marine park home to dolphins, turtles and dugongs. To get amongst it, take a tour with G'Day Adventure Tours. Their frolics range from the three-hour 4WD beach and bunker tour to the two-day, one-night Camping Adventure, which sees you kayaking through Norfolk lagoon, swimming in Mermaid lagoon, toasting marshmallows around a campfire and meeting wallabies. [caption id="attachment_856009" align="alignnone" width="1920"] O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. Image courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.[/caption] RETREAT INTO THE RAINFOREST AT O'REILLY'S Another of Brisbane's drawcards is its proximity to lush ancient rainforests. One way to immerse yourself is a visit to O'Reilly's, an eco-retreat overlooking the World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park. Visitors have been escaping here for nearly 100 years. There's a bunch of activities to try, including an adventure trek to the Thunder and Lightning Falls, indulgent treatments in the Lost World Day Spa, a glow worm experience and e-bike tours. To fit them all in you'll want to stay overnight, either at the campground with your own tent or go a little more luxe with a variety of studios and villas. [caption id="attachment_856007" align="alignnone" width="1920"] North Gorge Walk at North Stradbroke Island. Image courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.[/caption] VISIT NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND / MINJERRIBAH If beaches are your thing, then you'll want to put North Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah on your itinerary. It's the world's second largest sand island, which means there are beaches for surfers, swimmers and sun-soakers of all kinds. For stunning views (especially at sunset) hit Flinders Beach (Point Lookout). For a long seaside walk try a stretch of sand across the 33km-long Main Beach. For amazing surfing (not for beginners) get some epic swell off Frenchmans Beach or Cylinder Beach. For solitude make your way to Toompany Beach and for laidback swimming in gentle crystal-clear waters visit Amity Beach. And, since you can't pack all that paradise into one day, you should definitely stay for a night (or three). Ready to plan a trip to Brisbane and its surrounds? Learn more at the Visit Brisbane website.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to the multi-award-winning Saffire Freycinet on Tasmania's East Coast. We've also teamed up with Saffire Freycinet to offer an unforgettable two-night stay in one of its Luxury Suites. The exclusive deal includes three meals at the private restaurants, complimentary lounge and minibar beverages and a $100 voucher to use on the hotel's spa treatments and signature experiences. This is peak treat-yourself stuff. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This Tassie hotel is like no other — from the panoramic views across the Hazards Mountains, Freycinet Peninsula and pristine waters of Great Oyster Bay to the hyper-personalised service, sleek design of the rooms and the long list of bespoke travel experiences. You'll pay handsomely to stay here, but it is totally worth it. Earmark Saffire Freycinet for the next time you're looking to spoil yourself silly. THE ROOMS This vast property has just 20 suites. Plus, the restaurant, bar and luxe spa are only accessible to hotel guests, so it often feels like you have the whole place to yourself. Each of the rooms looks out over the surrounding bay and mountains — seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows and private decks. Design-wise, the large suites are made up of an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary fittings, with locally made timber pieces sitting alongside mid-century classics such as chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames and Herman Miller. Super king beds (yes, they've super-sized the beds), double walk-in showers and deep baths, extensive complimentary mini-bars, bluetooth music systems, retractable LCD TVs, private courtyards and fast wifi are also on the menu at each accommodation. FOOD AND DRINK All things local are celebrated at Saffire Freycinet's two dining rooms. Palate Restaurant is home to an elegant degustation menu that changes every day depending on what's coming out of the nearby paddocks and waters. You always have the option to pair each course with a sustainably made Tassie wine, too. The Lounge is a little more laidback, offering up a space to chill with a book or quietly hang with your travel buddies. During the day, you can enjoy fresh local produce from the barbeque and outside terrace. And at night, the lounge livens up a little as guests mingle with evening canapes and pre-dinner drinks in hand. It's serving The White Lotus realness. THE LOCAL AREA This lavish hotel is set within Tasmania's Freycinet National Park, home to stunning vistas and a thriving local ecosystem — think koalas, roos and colourful birds rummaging around lush green forests. It is also home to some of the state's most famous beaches, mostly notably Wineglass Bay. The Saffire Freycinet team will help organise scenic flights over the area, guided hikes to some of the greatest vistas and boat trips for those wanting to sneak in some snorkelling and boat-side swimming. You can arrive at the hotel by air or via the Great Eastern Drive. During this road trip, you'll pass by several wineries with cellar doors and eateries such as Devil's Corner, Spring Vale, Craigie Knowe, Milton, and the famous Kate's Berry Farm in Swansea. Hobart is also just a 2.5-hour drive away, so you can easily stop by the city for a couple of days before or after your stay. THE EXTRAS Saffire Freycinet has won award after award for its extensive list of luxury travel experiences — easily added to any stay. Each of the 14 unique activities focuses on connecting guests to place through nature, culture and produce. You can do some beekeeping on the property, taste fresh oysters at its own oyster farm (with sparkling wine in hand, of course), join one of the small group (or private) cruises of the area, quad bike around the mountains with a guide and learn how to fly-fish in the Currawong Lakes. Follow these food, culture and adventure tours with a late afternoon spa sesh. Get a massage, scrub or facial before soaking in a bath overlooking the natural surroundings. This is an unbelievably dreamy place. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world.
Come October 2023, Disney fans Down Under can enter a whole new world, hitting the sea on the Mouse House's cruise line on its first voyages from Australia and New Zealand. Fancy sailing further afield, from Sydney to Honolulu or vice versa? In 2023 and 2024, the company is also launching its first-ever South Pacific cruises — one coming to Australia, the other heading to Hawaii. These legs are known as repositioning cruises, aka the journeys that ships take when they've finished their stints in one area and need to make their way to another for a new season. Of course, vessels don't make those trips without passengers, so if you're keen on spending a couple of weeks floating around the South Pacific surrounded by all things Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, now you can. Tickets go on sale at 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, with two voyages scheduled around the Mouse House's maiden 'Magic at Sea' Australian and NZ cruises: a 13-night voyage from Honolulu to Sydney departing on October 13, 2023, then a 15-night trip the other way leaving on February 16, 2024. Unsurprisingly, the 'Magic at Sea' legs between Australia and Aotearoa have proven as popular as Disney movies with, well, everyone, so expect these legs to attract plenty of interest. And yes, these lengthy South Pacific trips are only sailing to and from Sydney — so if you live elsewhere, you will need to factor that into your travels. Disney has been running cruises for nearly a quarter-century, taking fans of its ever-growing array of pop culture wares on themed vacations, all thanks to its Disney Cruise Line. Alas, setting sail to and from Down Under hasn't been a possibility until now. Onboard, you'll watch live musical shows, see Disney characters everywhere you look and eat in spaces decked out like Disney movies. Those musicals include a Frozen show; another production dedicated to the company's old-school favourites like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Cinderella and Aladdin; and a Golden Mickeys performance, which is obviously all about Mickey Mouse. Or, there's a Mickey party set to DJ beats, nightly fireworks and a pirate shindig on the vessel's deck. The entertainment also includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Moana, Tiana, Cinderella, Woody, Jessie and more wandering around the ship. Plus Chewbacca, Rey, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Thor as well, if you like hanging out around folks in costumes. The dining setup rotates, so each day of the cruise takes you to a different location with a different theme. One day, you'll hit up the Animator's Palate, which focuses on bringing Disney characters to life — including getting patrons to draw their own characters — and on the next, you'll get munching in a restaurant inspired by The Princess and the Frog, and serving up New Orleans-inspired dishes. Or, there's also Triton's, which offers an under the sea theme given it's named after Ariel's father, and serves four-course French and American suppers. For folks travelling with young Disney devotees, there's also a whole range of activities just for kids — but adults without littlies in tow are definitely catered for, complete with a dedicated pool for travellers aged 18 and over, an adults-only cafe, the Crown & Fin pub, cocktail bar Signals, Italian eatery Palo, and a day spa and salon. Room-wise, there's ten different types to choose from — some with private verandahs, and some with ocean views through portholes. Disney Cruise Line's 'Magic at Sea' cruises will sail from Honolulu to Sydney in October 2023, then from Sydney to Honolulu in February 2024, with bookings open from 8am AEDT on Thursday, October 13, 2022. For more information, head to the cruise line's website. Images: Matt Stroshane / Kent Phillips / Todd Anderson. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Jed Kurzel boasts one of the most-enviable recent resumes in Australia's film industry. It was back in 2011 that the founding member of The Mess Hall added a haunting layer to Snowtown, the first feature directed by his elder brother Justin, via its score. The pair have worked together on every one of Justin's films since. But Jed doesn't just have the sounds of stunning Shakespeare adaptation Macbeth, game-to-screen flick Assassin's Creed, the dark-but-playful True History of the Kelly Gang, the complicated Nitram and the upcoming The Order to his name. Jennifer Kent's The Babadook and The Nightingale, Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, Dev Patel's feature directorial debut Monkey Man: he has scored them all as well. With a filmography that also hops from The Turning, All This Mayhem and Slow West to Overlord, Seberg and Encounter — plus Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities on the small screen — it might seem an impossible task to pick favourites. Even whittling down what to talk about at Kurzel's Screen Commentary session at SXSW Sydney 2024, where he's chatting through his work, might sound difficult. But ask him which of his projects stand out, as Concrete Playground did, and he has answers, even if he notes that his responses differ over time. "There's a few. But then they start to change as I go on, because I guess you learn more things, and some films follow a particular style that you might have gotten onto, or a particular thing that I've discovered and I will push that through a few films," he explains. "Snowtown for me is the one that that really stands out, I think because it's the first one and I still get offered films today that have put Snowtown in their temp music, which is the music they put in while they're editing — it's kind of crazy that's it's still being used. So that one particularly, it still pops up. Macbeth as well, I think just because it was the first real string score I've done, orchestral score, and I did it all over in the UK, so I met a lot of people that I'm still collaborating with then and I felt like we were all jumping into this thing together," Kurzel advises. "I think those two stand out for me, and The Babadook." His fruitful career composing for the screen might've come about as one could expect when your brother is a filmmaker — Justin asked him to have a go at scoring Snowtown — but working together and taking this path wasn't a long-held childhood plan. "Never. No, I don't think that we have ever spoken about it. It was just how it worked out," Kurzel notes. "We'd been working together before that, in that he'd been doing the video clips for us and all that kind of stuff. We were always doing things together. So it wasn't like it felt like an 'oh, here we go' kind of thing. It was really just one of those things where we're always a part of what the other was doing." Viewers can be thankful for sibling bonds and the route it has taken Jed down. As brilliant as everything they each splash across the screen is, Snowtown, Macbeth, Nitram, The Babadook, The Nightingale and more wouldn't be the films they are without Kurzel's scores. Ahead of his session at SXSW Sydney, we also chatted to the composer about what sparked his contributions to some of the above films, how collaborating with Justin is different to working with other filmmakers, ensuring that his music isn't commenting on the content of the movies, the influence of genre, challenges he'd like to take on and plenty more. On How Kurzel Began Composing for the Screen "I was touring around with The Mess Hall and I had some time at home. Then Justin, my brother, was doing his first film Snowtown, and he asked me if I'd like to have a go at scoring it because, outside of the things I was doing with the band, I was always messing around with stuff at home. I guess it was more in the film soundtrack kind of land, but I was just doing it for my own enjoyment. And he said 'oh, you know, some of that stuff could work well, all that kind of thing could work well'. And I said 'I've never done that before, so'. And he said 'look, it's fine if it doesn't work, I'll get someone else. But you have a go with it'. So I did and then that was kind of it, it just it snowballed from there. It wasn't something that I had set out to do really. At that point, I was really happy playing music — and playing, actually. But I was missing just being in the room and making music. We were out playing a lot, and it's very hard to make music when you're doing that. So I was missing that at that time — so it came at a perfect time, I think." On Collaborating with Justin on All of His Features So Far — and How It's Different to Working with Other Filmmakers "It is different now, because I think we've developed — I mean, we always had a shorthand, but it feels like it's become even shorter now. We almost hardly ever discuss it while we're doing it. It just happens, in a way, now. We used to take a long time. I'd start really early on his films and it would be this drawn-out process, and sometimes the process could get quite difficult as the edit changed and things like that. I think just through experience, we've started to work out an efficient way to work that is still as creatively rewarding. And the last couple of things I've done with him, like The Order, it was all very free-flowing and it came quite quickly, and it wasn't something that we laboured over. I think we've discovered that the more we labour over things, it doesn't help anything." On What Sparked the Score for a Film as Complicated as Snowtown "With that one, we always talked about that hitting the bullseye was a very slim chance in some ways, because we found that with most music that we put on it, it felt like it was commenting on it. So immediately it was like 'well, we don't want to do that' because that just wasn't what the film was doing — and it didn't want it anyway. So it became a really instinctive thing about what it wanted, and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing of changing the edits to suit where we were taking it. So a lot of back and forth between us. And then, I always feel like if you just listen to the film, it'll eventually tell you what it wants. You throw things on it and just sort of shrug it off, and then there'll be something that starts to stick. And as soon as it starts sticking, you're on your way." On Whether Working on Films Like Snowtown, Nitram and The Nightingale Brings a Sense of Responsibility Given the Historical Details They're Diving Into — and How to Avoid a Score That Comments "I think so. But, I mean, I think with those projects, you're well-aware of that before you've even started them. There is a certain responsibility, I think, not to — I guess what it is musically, I'm always aware of not commenting, and that you're adding. I feel like you're just adding another layer and energy to the film, rather than going 'this character comes on and they've got a theme' or anything like that. It's just different, it's adding a feeling. It's what the film wants — and if you start commenting with some of these films, it just doesn't work. It just feels wrong. But on other films, you can go into those areas and the film absolutely wants to have that. I think it just depends on what you're working on. I always love to look at the film itself, and how it feels and what it looks like, and where it's set and those kind of things, because I think with music, you can actually add to that even more so. Even cinematography, I think, is really a big one for music, too, that maybe gets overlooked a little bit, because we are responding to images, so that's the first thing you're looking at." On Adding Playfulness to a Score That's Also Quite Dark, Such as True History of the Kelly Gang "That one, I'm glad you said that, because actually that's what I wanted to achieve with that score — that there was a playful quality to it. I always really loved the Sidney Nolan paintings, and I was sort of taking a cue from that. And also I love the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons and things like that. So for me, they were the influences that I was grabbing. I guess if you've got a concept or an idea that you want to launch things off of, that's always helpful." On How to Find the Score for a Shakespearean Adaptation Like Macbeth When There's So Many Past Big-Screen Versions —Including Initially Skewing Electronic "I remember doing that and both of us [Jed and Justin] feeling a lot of pressure because it's been done. There's not many times when you do a film that's like 'well, this has been actually been done before word for word'. When films are made, I think there's some directors who've got it all in their head and then they go out and make it, and what happens in the edit is the film just wants to be something else — and if you fight against that, usually you'll end up with something that's probably nowhere near your vision, and that frustrates you. Whereas if you follow what the film wants and then listen to it, and just go with where it wants rather than trying to hold onto your initial idea, then I think you can end up in really interesting places. In that case, yeah, it started out as an electronic score, that's what we wanted to do, but the film just, again, didn't want it. So we had to change tact a little bit, and we got something completely different, but I think it's the same sort of idea that we started out with. We had an initial idea, and then we just followed our gut while we were doing the edit." On How Working on Something Smaller, or More Character- or Mood-Driven, Differs From a Big-Budget Sci-Fi Sequel Like Alien: Covenant "I think there's similar pressures with both. On a smaller film, even though it's a smaller budget, there's almost more at stake because a lot of the times that might be someone's first film that they've directed. So they're kind of like someone's baby. Whereas the big-budget films, there's so many people involved, and they keep changing and they tend to have a lot more time to sit with things. The smaller budgets, the smaller films, they don't, they have to finish by a particular time because they don't have the money to keep editing or keep doing things. So I think there's different pressures with both. But in terms of scoring them, I just I think they just different hills to climb." On the Way That Genre Has an Impact on How Kurzel Approaches Scoring a Movie "We all grow up watching films, so we've all got that language. So whether you like it or not, you're aware of genres, and what those genres are and what's come before you, which I think is great because it can set benchmarks for you. If you're looking at something and going 'I want to do a horror film' and 'what are the films that I really like in this sort of genre?', you can go back and have a look, and just see the way they've been approached — which may make you go 'well, I don't want to approach it like that, I want to approach it like this'." On What Drives an Unnerving Score Such as The Babadook "That's a good question because that score, the inspiration for that — I think I wrote this in the sleeve of the vinyl — when I was scoring that, I was living in Erskineville and there was a possum on my roof or in the tree above me. And it was knocking things down through the night, and it would jump off the tree onto the roof. So I was always listening to what sounded like people throwing bodies on my roof. On top of that, it would make these strange noises, or there'd be strange noises outside. So a lot of the time, I was keeping the door open and making music, and just letting those sounds come in as well — and going 'okay, that's interesting. I could kind of do something'. So I think what I'm listening for is what's unnerving me — and particularly late at night, if I'm doing something, you can hear things. The world really is making music all the time. So the environment's always really great, if you've got your ear out, you can always hear really interesting stuff. But in terms of horror, I like to be unnerved. I'm not that much into the jump scares and things like that. I like an eerie, unnerving kind of feeling." On the Response to The Babadook — Then and Now "Even internationally, you mention it and everyone knows it, and the characters. It's pretty amazing. I'm really proud of the work we all did on that and how much Jen stuck to her guns with the film. I think it's just been re-released on screens in the US, it's doing a tour of America at the moment, which is amazing. And that was a film that if you told us that's what was happening, and most of the things that happened with that film, we would have laughed at the time because it just was not on anyone's radar. Even when it was released here, it had such a tiny release, I don't think anyone even knew it'd come out." On Being in Action Mode with Monkey Man, But Using the Score to Build an Emotional World "That was really different, because Dev already had, for a lot of the action scenes, there was already a lot of source music placed in there as music that already existed. And he had a definite thing for me, which was 'I want the film to be the emotional underground of the character'. So a lot of it, we talked a lot about memory, and the music was representing his memory of his mother. And so it was really strange, I was doing an action film but I wasn't really doing the action side. There's a few chase scenes and things like that. But in terms of that being the focus, it really wasn't, it was this whole other world that Dev was after which I found really appealing and exciting when we first spoke about the film." On the Most-Important Task for a Film Score to Achieve "I always feel like I'm there to add a layer that's almost not even music — it's another layer to the film that wasn't previously there, that if you took out, you would really notice it. A lot of people talk about watching films and not noticing the music. But I feel the other way. I want to notice it. And I want it to give me another layer on there that I know wouldn't exist otherwise — the performances wouldn't get it, the editing, it's adding something that's unique and almost impossible to describe, which is what to me that music is. It feels like some sort of magical language." On the Ultimate Challenge in Composing for the Screen That Kurzel Hasn't Taken on Yet — But Would Like To "I really don't know, because I find everything that I do, there's a new challenge and it usually rears its head pretty quickly. You get into something and you think 'oh yeah, I know how to do this' — and suddenly the film, like I said, the film starts to move into a direction and that tilts everything. Being aware of those things, I think that's the exciting part about it. If you're living in the moment and scoring things for the moment, listening out for really happy mistakes — which I call those things that you kind of go 'ohh, I'm going to try this' but something else happens that was a mistake, and you think 'that's actually better than what I was going to do. I'm going to go down that path for a while'. They're the things that I love about composing. In terms of feeling like there's something I haven't done yet, I haven't really done any romantic comedies. But I just, for some reason, I don't think I'm the go-to guy for those." [caption id="attachment_875685" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Netflix © 2022[/caption] Concrete Playground: "I chatted with Justin about Snowtown and he told me at the time that the next film he had in mind was a tennis rom-com." Jed: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Concrete Playground: "So maybe if he does end up doing one, you'll get one." Jed: "I keep saying to him, because he's very funny, so I keep saying 'you need to do a comedy. That has to be your next one'." Screen Commentary: Jed Kurzel takes place at SXSW Sydney from 11am–12pm AEDT on Friday, October 18, 2024 at Fortress Sydney. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for more details.
It has been 11 art-filled years since Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art first opened its doors, and the creative riverside hub just keeps going from strength to strength. As unveiled on Friday, July 13, GOMA is now home to an illuminating new permanent work: Night Life, a brand light installation by artist James Turrell. You might be familiar with the Arizona-based artist's pieces if you've been to Mona or the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). He's the one behind the sky-centred installations at both galleries — at Mona, the gazebo-like Armana lights up at sunrise and sunset each day, and at the NGA in Canberra, Within without acts as an outdoor viewing chamber to enhance your view of the sky. All up, Turrell has created 80 'skyspaces' like these around the world. Brisbane's Turrell piece isn't a standalone structure like these other two Australian works. Instead, Night Life lights up GOMA's eastern and southern white façades from within the building, using an 88-minute-long shifting pattern of vibrant coloured light developed by Turrell especially for the location. GOMA director Chris Saines describes it as "a permanent solid light installation that is a deeply immersive field of slowly changing colour." When illuminated — which it will be from sunset to midnight each and every night from this point onwards — the gallery is visible from across the river and around South Bank's cultural precinct. Commissioned for GOMA's tenth anniversary, while Night Life is a new addition, it actually ties into the gallery's history. As Saines explains, "during the development of GOMA, lead architects Kerry Clare, Lindsay Clare and James Jones envisaged an artist-illuminated 'white box' on the gallery's main pedestrian approaches. More than a decade on, Turrell's architectural light installation realises the potential of GOMA's white box façade, and completes a major aspect of the architects' original design intention." Images: James Turrell's architectural light installation at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. Photograph: Natasha Harth, QAGOMA.
If the end times were coming, and the antichrist as well, how would an angel and a demon on earth cope? That's the question that fantasy authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman explored in 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, winning awards and plenty of fans as a result. Now, what'd happen if Michael Sheen (Quiz) was that heavenly figure and David Tennant (Doctor Who) his demonic counterpart? That's exactly what the Good Omens streaming series dived into when it initially arrived back in 2019. Four years later, the Prime Video show is finally returning for season two. With Sheen back as Aziraphale and Tennant as Crowley, that key casting remains intact. Jon Hamm (Confess, Fletch) also returns as Gabriel, this time showing up at Aziraphale's bookshop with zero memory of who he is — sparking the show's new mystery. Cue hiding the archangel from all interested parties — below and above — and, as is Good Omens' custom, getting Aziraphale and Crowley leaning on each other. Cue jumping from before The Beginning through to modern times as well, including stops in the biblical and Victorian eras, and the Blitz in 1940s England. As the trailer for season two shows, divine chaos ensues, even though Aziraphale and Crowley thwarted the apocalypse in season one. How it all turns out, other than amusingly, will be revealed when the series hits streaming again on Friday, July 28. Also back for a second go-around are Doon Mackichan (Toast of Tinseltown) as archangel Michael, plus Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as archangel Uriel, while Miranda Richardson (Rams), Maggie Service (Life) and Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials) return as well — but in different parts. They're all joined by series newcomers Liz Carr (This Is Going to Hurt), Quelin Sepulveda (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Shelley Conn (Bridgerton), the latter as Beelzebub. And Neil Gaiman is back as executive producer and co-showrunner, helping guide a season that now expands past its source material. Check out the trailer for Good Omens season two below: Good Omens returns for season two from Friday, July 28 via Prime Video.
At the age of 22, Billie Eilish has nine Grammys, two Oscars, a couple of huge albums with a third set to hit in May 2024 and, ever since her first record When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? proved such a huge success, all-round music sensation status. She also has a brand-new just-announced world tour about to do the rounds, including to Australia in 2025 — with the 'Bad Guy' and 'Happier Than Ever' singer heading Down Under for three huge weeks. Eilish will spend close to a week in each of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, playing four shows apiece in all three cities. She's spreading out her gigs on each leg, doing two nights back to back, then taking an evening off, then doing two more consecutively. [caption id="attachment_952889" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Drumm[/caption] The dates: from Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 and then Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 in Brisbane; Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 and then Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 in Sydney; and Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 and then Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 in Melbourne. This is an arena tour, with Eilish heading to Brisbane Entertainment Centre when she's in the Sunshine State capital, Qudos Bank Arena in the Harbour City and Rod Laver Arena for her Victorian stint. [caption id="attachment_827919" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Crommelincklars via Flickr[/caption] Eilish toured Australia in 2019 and 2022, and her fame has only gotten bigger since the latter — hence the 12 Aussie shows announced off the bat. These are the only gigs that she'll be playing on her Aussie visit, with no others set to be added, so getting in ASAP when tickets go on sale is recommended. Pre-sales start from Wednesday, May 1, with general sales from Friday, May 3 at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne. Since her last tour for her second album Happier Than Ever, Eilish has acted in TV series Swarm and seen her track 'What Was I Made For?' from the Barbie soundtrack become one of the songs of 2023. Her third record Hit Me Hard and Soft, which her new tour is in support of, releases on Friday, May 17. Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Australian Dates 2025: Tuesday, February 18–Wednesday, February 19 + Friday, February 21–Saturday, February 22 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Monday, February 24–Tuesday, February 25 + Thursday, February 27–Friday, February 28 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, March 4—Wednesday, March 5 + Friday, March 7–Saturday, March 8 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour will come to Australia in February and March 2025, with ticket pre-sales from Wednesday, May 1 and general sales from Friday, May 3 (at 1pm AEST for Sydney shows, 2pm AEST for Brisbane and 3pm AEST for Melbourne). Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
UPDATE, November 19, 2021: Tick, Tick… Boom! screens in select Brisbane cinemas from Thursday, November 11, and streams via Netflix from Friday, November 19. "Try writing what you know." That's age-old advice, dispensed to many a scribe who hasn't earned the success or even the reaction they'd hoped, and it's given to aspiring theatre composer Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield, Under the Silver Lake) in Tick, Tick… Boom!. The real-life figure would go on to write Rent but here, in New York City in January 1990, he's working on his debut musical Superbia. It's a futuristic satire inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and it's making him anxious about three things. Firstly, he hasn't yet come up with a pivotal second-act song that he keeps being told he needs. Next, he's staging a workshop for his debut production to gauge interest before the week is out — and this just has to be his big break. Finally, he's also turning 30 in days, and his idol Stephen Sondheim made his Broadway debut in his 20s. Tick, Tick… Boom! charts the path to those well-worn words of wisdom about drawing from the familiar, including Larson's path to the autobiographical one-man-show of the same name before Rent. And, it manages to achieve that feat while showing why such a sentiment isn't merely a cliche in this situation. That said, the key statement about mining your own experience also echoes throughout this affectionate movie musical in another unmissable way. Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't write Tick, Tick… Boom!'s screenplay; however, he does turn it into his filmmaking directorial debut — and what could be more fitting for that task from the acclaimed In the Heights and Hamilton talent than a loving ode (albeit an inescapably overexcited one) to the hard work put in by a game-changing theatre wunderkind? If this was a case of telling viewers that this is Miranda's movie without telling them, the concept would obviously do the trick. So would a few notable cameos in a standout song-and-dance number that's best discovered by watching. There's plenty in Tick, Tick… Boom! that was already layered with musical theatre history before it became a film, too; in the source material, Larson even wrote in a homage to Sondheim's own musical Sunday in the Park with George. That's the level of insider knowledge that's a foundation here, and the film frequently reverberates in an insular, theatre-obsessive, spot-the-references register. As great as it is if you stan the same productions and people, it also makes Tick, Tick… Boom! less accessible and resonant. It's as if Miranda can't choose between indulging his own adoration or truly sharing that love with his audience. (Tick, Tick… Boom! also became a three-person stage musical in 2001, and Miranda played its lead in a 2014 revival opposite Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr and In the Heights' Karen Olivo.) Garfield's sing-to-the-rafters version of Larson is first seen in faux home-video footage, performing the rock monologue iteration of Tick, Tick… Boom!, his bouncy hair waving about as he croons and plays piano. Miranda and screenwriter Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) then segue between the lively presentation and the tale it also tells about Superbia, the looming workshop and the impending birthday. In the latter scenes, Larson can't come up with the missing song, earn enough as a composer to keep the power on, or juggle his pursuit of his dream with the complexities of his personal life. The alternative: opting for a safe career, which his ex-actor ex-roommate Michael (Robin de Jesus, The Boys in the Band) has done in advertising, and his dancer girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp, X-Men: Dark Phoenix) is contemplating with teaching. Selling out is the villain here, but while there might've been bite to that idea in 1990, when Tick, Tick… Boom! debuted off-off-Broadway, there's far less in a film that's also an origin story for a famous theatre name. Recognising this, Miranda and Levenson start the feature not just with nods to Rent's success — the reason that Larson's dilemma is absent tension in the first place — but also with the tragic news that their subject died on the morning of Rent's first off-Broadway preview performance in January 1996. The passage of time indicated by the movie's moniker takes on an added dimension as a result, as does all the on-screen frenzy about making it before it's too late. Wanting to succeed now, and to savour every moment, also gets another refrain in a HIV subplot, albeit in a more cursory and gratuitous fashion than Larson must've originally intended. Still, when Tick, Tick… Boom! works, it's largely due to its energy — more so than its attempts to hit huge emotional beats. There's no mistaking the two wellsprings of experience that are so crucial to the film, with both Larson and Miranda working with what they knew or know, but that echoes loudest is the frantic and urgent atmosphere. The movie plays like something that desperately had to come to fruition, both in Miranda's quest to pay tribute, and in Larson's initial efforts to turn his Superbia experience into something creatively meaningful. The feature's seemingly non-stop musical numbers bound across the screen with that type of attitude, and Miranda unsurprisingly has the eye and timing to stage them with flair. Perhaps Garfield's on-screen fortunes sum up Tick, Tick… Boom! best, though; he's always on, eager and singing with his fullest voice, and also always putting on a forceful performance. He impresses with his commitment and gusto, yet is less convincing at finding nuance in Larson's frustrations, the daily grind of trying to start his career, and in his relationships. Trying to do too much and swing too big isn't the worst thing that a film and a lead portrayal can do, especially in a stage-to-screen musical that also doubles as an exuberant eulogy — and weaves in a Rent origin story of sorts via its protagonist's everyday life, too — but it's still noticeable. It's clearly a case of art imitating life, with Larson's enthusiasm for the art form he cherished so feverishly coming through strong; however, it also always feels like a show. Top image: Macall Polay/Netflix.
Ted Lasso fans, rejoice — the Magic Mike franchise is taking its lead from the hit sitcom now. Swap soccer for stripping, obviously. From there, the sports-themed favourite and Magic Mike's Last Dance both transport their namesakes to London, then give them jobs under wealthy women managing publicly beloved assets after bitter marriage breakdowns, all as those ladies try to spite their exes while also finding themselves and sorting out their lives. In the third film in the Channing Tatum (Bullet Train)-starring series, there's a team to oversee featuring players from around the globe, too, plus a gruff butler doing his best not-AI Roy Kent impression. And, it all climaxes with a showcase event demanding dedicated training. That said, only this exceptionally choreographed but never earth-shattering flick fills its final quarter with wall-to-wall gyrating, including a male-revue number soundtracked by 1998 Dandy Warhols' single 'Boys Better' that has to be seen to be believed. New Magic Mike movie splashing glistening chiselled abs across the screen, same Magic Mike, though. Tatum and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (Kimi) — the prolific creative force who helmed, shot and spliced the first instalment; then just lensed and cut the second with his regular assistant Gregory Jacobs (Wind Chill) directing; and now returns to his trio of OG roles (still credited as Peter Andrews for his cinematography and Mary Ann Bernard for his editing) — have Mike Lane living his own Groundhog Day in a way. The more things change, the more that plenty stays the same for the saga's hero. This series started out not just putting its star's ripped physique and knack for erotic dancing to eye-catching use, but drawing upon his own story thanks to Tatum's past onstage Florida. He isn't currently getting by stripping while striving to follow his passion, of course. Before Magic Mike was scorching the screen, he'd already made it big. But these films, all three of which are penned by Reid Carolin (Dog), understand that Tatum's reality isn't the way that this tale usually goes. In the franchise's first 2012 strip, Mike strutted in g-strings to make cash to design custom furniture, but little was turning out as planned. In 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL, Mike and his fellow Kings of Tampa (Archenemy's Joe Manganiello, The Boys in the Band's Matt Bomer, John Wick's Kevin Nash and Criminal Minds' Adam Rodriguez) kept disrobing on the road to other fully attired goals, but the group and film wholeheartedly appreciated the joy and empowerment that the series' central line of work gifts women. This time, Mike's business went bust in the pandemic, so he's bartending in Miami. When ultra-rich socialite Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault, House of Gucci) tempts him back with a $6000 private sensual gig — because she needs a distraction from her messy separation — his prowess moving his hips and removing his clothing firmly remains a means to an end. Pouring drinks at a waterside charity gala, crossing paths with a former client from the first flick and spending a night dazzling Max: that's how Mike winds up on a plane to the UK, once more just following the money. Soon he's staying in Max's home — where valet Vincent (Ayub Khan-Din, London Bridge) frowns and Max's teen daughter Zadie (Jemelia George) proves cynical — and also turning director. In her divorce proceedings from adulterous media mogul Roger Rattigan (Alan Cox, New Amsterdam), she's now the owner of a theatre that shares his surname, and she has a Mike-inspired itch she wants scratched. Ditching the stuffy period drama that's been treading the boards there for years, she tasks him with spreading his talents by putting together an upmarket performance. Not that Magic Mike Live needs it, but Magic Mike's Last Dance doubles as an ad for the IRL tour, while having Tatum and company work towards staging exactly that kind of production. To address the 'Pony' in the room, Ginuwine's track gets another spin, its slinky, sultry beats again capturing the mood throbbing through this steamy, sweaty, lusty and thrusting — and sex- and body-positive — saga. Magic Mike's Last Dance makes viewers wait for the tune the series is virtually synonymous with, a delay that doesn't matter at all to the movie itself yet also echoes the underlying approach. Unlike round one, this isn't primarily a playful drama about the struggle to pursue the American dream. Unlike this stripper-verse's second swing, it isn't a joyous comedy, either. Teasing out what it knows the audience wants, it's primarily a will-they-won't-they romance and a backstage musical instead — a move that, although packaged with Tatum's smooth moves alongside his mostly personality-free fellow dancers, and given its pulse through Tatum and Hayek Pinault's chemistry, comes oiled with by-the-numbers melodrama. Viewers might remember that Magic Mike XXL was touted as a last ride, too; this second final hurrah isn't as focused or as thrilling a swan song. There's a clunkiness and awkwardness to Magic Mike's Last Dance that begins with the film's narration, which waxes lyrical about the seductive and connective power of dance, yet also feels distancing as it waves about an unnecessary fairy-tale vibe. Compared to its predecessors, this supposed farewell is tamer and politer in tone even at its raciest. It yearns for more titillation, and more flesh to back up Max's certainty that the world needs and women want Mike's skills — and it longs for more of Manganiello, Bomer, Nash, Rodriguez and their male camaraderie. Midway through, Magic Mike's Last Dance temporarily twists into Ocean's- and Logan Lucky-style caper, adding pointless padding. And while championing female pleasure, desire and erotic fantasies still thrums through the movie, it's with a light buzz rather than anything deeply penetrating. Still, at their weightiest (part one) and most entertaining (part two, also the horniest), the Magic Mike movies have never been flawless — and Magic Mike's Last Dance has other charms. Whenever dancing bumps and grinds across the screen, presses up against windows, dangles from beams or slides through onstage puddles (giving 2023 its second Singin' in the Rain nod in as many months), the film is ecstatic, as well as varied in its types and forms of fleet footwork. Whenever the committed Tatum and Hayek Pinault share the frame, flirting, bantering and getting acrobatic in that helluva opening tango, intimacy and radiance pierces through Soderbergh's uncharacteristically dark lensing. Indeed, when there's genuine heat to Magic Mike's Last Dance, it sizzles from that choreography and that core duo. Everything else too often feels like foreplay at its most routine and half-hearted.
Back in 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it was adding a new award to the Oscars for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film. If you can't remember which flicks have won it, there's a reason for that: the gong was scrapped quickly thanks to a heap of backlash. Across plenty of years since, the reason that that accolade wasn't needed has been proven. Black Panther, Joker, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Oppenheimer and Barbie have all featured heavily among the nominations, for instance — and everything except Barbenheimer so far has notched up wins. Both Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig's latest films are among the flicks with the most nominations in 2024, with 13 and eight apiece. They're also massive global box-office hits. So, going into this year's ceremony, you've likely seen at least those two contenders — but if you're wondering where to catch everything else, we've got the rundown. We've predicted who we think will emerge victorious, but the winners will be anointed on Monday, March 11, Down Under time. Right now in Australia, you can catch up with 31 movies that are hoping to score trophies. Some you need to hit the cinema to see. Others you can catch on the couch. With a few, you have the choice of heading out or staying home. From Barbenheimer (of course) and twists on Frankenstein to animated Spider-Man antics and devastating documentaries, here's where to direct your eyeballs. On the Big Screen: Anatomy of a Fall Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Justine Triet), Best Actress (Sandra Hüller), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing Our thoughts: A calypso instrumental cover of 50 Cent's 'P.I.M.P.' isn't the only thing that Anatomy of a Fall's audience won't be able to dislodge from their heads after watching 2023's deserving Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winner. A film from writer/director Justine Triet (Sibyl) that's thorny, knotty and defiantly unwilling to give any easy answers, this legal, psychological and emotional thriller about a woman (Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest) on trial for her husband's death is unshakeable in as many ways as someone can have doubts about another person: so, a myriad. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. Four Daughters Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: There's a reason that Four Daughters can't include its entire namesake quartet, with just two appearing on-screen themselves and the other two played by actors. Unlike the younger Eya and Tayssir, the older Rahma and Ghofrane are no longer at home with their mother Olfa; instead, they left their family after becoming radicalised, with Islamic State in Libya their destination. So explores Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin), in a documentary that's as gripping as it is heartbreaking — and uses recreations with a purpose unlike almost any other movie. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. May December Nominations: Best Original Screenplay Our thoughts: May December takes inspiration from Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had a sexual relationship with her sixth-grade student in the 90s. A simple recreation was never going to be Todd Haynes' (Dark Waters) approach, however. Starring Julianne Moore (Sharper) and Charles Melton (Riverdale) as its central couple decades after the scandal, plus Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder) as an actor about to feature in a movie about them, this a savvily piercing film that sees the impact on the situation's victim, the story its perpetrator has spun, and the ravenous way that people's lives are consumed by the media and public. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. The Zone of Interest Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Glazer), Best International Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Our thoughts: Quotes and observations about evil being mundane, as well as the result when people look the other way, will never stop being relevant. A gripping, unsettling masterpiece, The Zone of Interest is a window into why. The first film by Sexy Beast, Birth and Under the Skin director Jonathan Glazer in more than a decade, the Holocaust-set and BAFTA-winning feature peers on as the unthinkable happens literally just over the fence, but a family goes about its ordinary life. If it seems abhorrent that anything can occur in the shadow of any concentration camp or site of World War II atrocities, that's part of the movie's point. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas. Read our full review. In Cinemas or at Home: The Holdovers Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Supporting Actress (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing Our thoughts: Melancholy, cantankerousness, angst, hurt and snow all blanket Barton Academy in Alexander Payne's (Nebraska) The Holdovers. It's Christmas 1970 in New England in this thoughtful story that's given room to breathe and build, but festive cheer is in short supply among the students and staff that give the movie its moniker. Soon, there's just three folks left behind: Angus Tully (debutant Dominic Sessa), whose mother wants more time alone with his new stepdad; curmudgeonly professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti, Billions); and grieving cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Only Murders in the Building). Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Killers of the Flower Moon Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Actress (Lily Gladstone), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ('Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)', Scott George), Best Production Design Our thoughts: Death comes to Killers of the Flower Moon quickly. Death comes often, too. While Martin Scorsese will later briefly fill the film's frames with a fiery orange vision, death blazes through his 26th feature from the moment that the picture starts rolling. Adapted from journalist David Grann's 2017 non-fiction novel Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, this is a masterpiece of a Lily Gladstone (Reservation Dogs)-, Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up)- and Robert De Niro (Amsterdam)-starring movie about a heartbreakingly horrible spate of deaths sparked by pure and unapologetic greed and persecution a century back. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Apple TV+, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Martin Scorsese. Poor Things Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Yorgos Lanthimos), Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Production Design Our thoughts: Richly striking feats of cinema by Yorgos Lanthimos aren't scarce, and sublime performances by Emma Stone are hardly infrequent. The Favourite, their first collaboration, ticked both boxes. Screen takes on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein also couldn't be more constant. Combining the three in Poor Things results in a rarity, however: a jewel of a pastel-, jewel- and bodily fluid-toned feminist Frankenstein-esque fairy tale that's a stunning creation, as zapped to life with Lanthimos' inimitable flair, a mischievous air, Stone at her most extraordinary and empowerment blazing like a lightning bolt. Where to watch: In Australian cinemas, and streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Via Streaming: American Fiction Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Supporting Actor (Sterling K Brown), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score Our thoughts: Here's Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison's (Jeffrey Wright, Rustin) predicament when American Fiction begins: on the page, his talents aren't selling books. So, sick of hearing that his work isn't "Black enough", he gets a-typing, pumping out the kind of text that he vehemently hates — but 100-percent fits the stereotype of what the world keeps telling him that Black literature should be. It attracts interest, even more so when Monk adopts a cliched new persona to go with it. Wright is indeed exceptional in this savvy satire of authenticity, US race relations and class chasms, and earns his awards contention for his reactions alone. Where to watch: Streaming via Prime Video. Read our full review. American Symphony Nominations: Best Original Song ('It Never Went Away', Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson) Our thoughts: Jon Batiste has enjoyed a dream career so far, with the musician packing more into his 37 years than most people do in a lifetime. Matthew Heineman's (Retrograde) American Symphony isn't that tale, though. Instead, it spends a year with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's former bandleader and Soul Oscar-winner — a year where he's nominated for 11 Grammys, and endeavours to compose the symphony that gives this intimate and touching documentary its name. Also shaping the 12 months: in his personal life, grappling with the return of his wife and bestselling author Suleika Jaouad's leukaemia. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Barbie Nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song ('I'm Just Ken', Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt; 'What Was I Made For?', Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design Our thoughts: No one plays with a Barbie too hard when the Mattel product is fresh out of the box. The more that the toy is trotted through DreamHouses, though, the more that playing with the plastic fashion model becomes fantastical. Like globally beloved item, like live-action movie bearing its name. Barbie, the film, starts with glowing aesthetic perfection. It's almost instantly a pink-hued paradise for the eyes, and it's also cleverly funny. The longer that it continues, however, the harder and wilder that director Greta Gerwig (Little Women) goes, as does her lead-slash-producer Margot Robbie (Babylon) as Barbie and Ryan Gosling (The Gray Man) as Ken. Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Bobi Wine: The People's President Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: In western countries where democracy is entrenched, the system of government is too easily taken for granted. Bobi Wine: The People's President shows what the fight for a nation that's free, fair and gives its people a voice looks like, chronicling the plight of its titular figure. Bobi Wine was an Ugandan pop star, and a popular one. Then, in response to the autocratic rule of Yoweri Museveni since 1986, he turned to political activism. Filmmakers Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp, both first-time directors, also show how important and difficult his quest is — and there isn't a second of this documentary that isn't riveting. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+. The Color Purple Nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Danielle Brooks) Our thoughts: On the page, stage and screen, The Color Purple's narrative has mostly remained the same, crushing woe, infuriating prejudice and rampant inequity included. Musicals don't have to be cheery, but how does so much brutality give rise to anything but mournful songs? The answer here: by leaning into the rural Georgia-set tale's embrace of hope, resilience and self-discovery. Ghanaian director Blitz Bazawule follows up co-helming Beyoncé's Black Is King by heroing empowerment and emancipation in his iteration of The Color Purple — and while it's easy to see the meaning behind its striving for a brighter outlook. Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Creator Nominations: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects Our thoughts: Science fiction has never been afraid of unfurling its futuristic visions on the third rock from the sun, but the resulting films have rarely been as earthy as The Creator. Set from 2065 onwards after the fiery destruction of Los Angeles, this tale of humanity clashing with artificial intelligence is visibly awash with technology that doesn't currently exist — and yet the latest movie from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards, which focuses on an undercover military operative Joshua (John David Washington, Amsterdam) tasked with saving the world, couldn't look or feel more authentic and grounded. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. El Conde Nominations: Best Cinematography Our thoughts: What if Augusto Pinochet didn't die in 2006? What if the Chilean general and dictator wasn't aged 91 at the time, either? What if his story started long before his official 1915 birthdate, in France prior to the French Revolution? What if he's been living for 250 years because he's a literal monster of the undead, draining and terrifying kind? Trust Chilean filmmaking great Pablo Larraín (Ema, Neruda, The Club, No, Post Mortem and Tony Manero) to ask these questions in El Conde, which translates as The Count and marks the latest exceptional effort in a career that just keeps serving up excellent movies. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. Elemental Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: With Elemental, Pixar is in familiar territory — so much so that this film feels like something that was always destined to happen. Embracing the the studio's now-standard "what if robots, playthings, rats and the like had feelings?, it anthropomorphises fire, water, air and earth, and ponders these aspects of nature having emotions. The result from filmmaker Pete Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) is just-likeable and sweet-enough, despite vivid animation, plus the noblest of aims to survey the immigrant experience, opposites attracting, breaking down cultural stereotypes and borders, and complicated parent-child relationships. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Eternal Memory Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: After The Mole Agent, writer/director Maite Alberdi earns her second Oscar nomination in two successive films for a documentary that's just as layered — but she's no longer telling a caper-esque tale. This time, Augusto Góngora and Paulina Urrutia receive her attention. The former is an ex-former journalist and broadcaster. The latter is an actor and politician. Góngora's diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease sits at the centre of this haunting effort, which focuses on how its central couple endeavour to cope with his memory loss, the role that reflecting on the past has on our present and future, and how love endures. Where to watch: Streaming via DocPlay. Flamin' Hot Nominations: Best Original Song ('The Fire Inside', Diane Warren) Our thoughts: The feature directorial debut of Desperate Housewives actor Eva Longoria, Flamin' Hot is a product film, as Cheetos fans will instantly know. If you've ever wondered how the Frito-Lay-owned brand's spiciest variety came about in the 90s, this energetically made movie provides the answer while itself rolling out a crowd-pleasing formula. Eating the titular snack while you watch is optional, but expect the hankering to arise either way. This story belongs to Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia, Ambulance) — and it's also an underdog tale, and an account of chasing the American dream, especially when it seems out of reach. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+. Read our full review. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Nominations: Best Visual Effects Our thoughts: Arriving to close out a standalone trilogy within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 zooms into the saga's fifth phase with a difference: it's still a quippy comedy, but it's as much a drama and a tragedy as well. Like most on-screen GotG storylines, it's also heist caper — and as plenty of caped-crusader flicks are, within the MCU or not, it's an origin story. The more that a James Gunn-written and -directed Guardians film gets cosy within the usual Marvel template, however, the more that his branch of Marvel's pop-culture behemoth embraces its own personality. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Nominations: Best Original Score Our thoughts: Old hat, new whip. No, that isn't Dr Henry Walton 'Indiana' Jones' shopping list, but a description of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. While the fifth film about the eponymous archaeologist is as familiar as Indy films come, it's kept somewhat snapping by the returning Harrison Ford's (Shrinking) on-screen partnership with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag). If you've seen one Indy outing in the past 42 years, you've seen the underlying mechanics of every other Indy outing. And yet, watching Ford flashing his crooked smile again, plus his bantering with Waller-Bridge, is almost enough to keep this new instalment from Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold whirring. Where to watch: Streaming via Disney+, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Maestro Nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Carey Mulligan), Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Our thoughts: When a composer pens music, it's the tune that they want the world to enjoy, not the marks on a page scribbling it into existence. When a conductor oversees an orchestra, the performance echoing rather than their own with baton in hand and arms waving is their gift. In Maestro, Bradley Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) is seen as Leonard Bernstein in both modes. His portrayal is so richly textured that it's a career-best turn. But Cooper as this movie's helmer and co-writer wants Maestro's audience to revel in the end result — and if he wants love showered anyone's way first, it's towards Carey Mulligan (Saltburn) as Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. Where to watch: Netflix. Read our full review. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Nominations: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects Our thoughts: Just as its lead actor's gleaming teeth do, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, the seventh instalment in the TV-to-film spy series, thoroughly shines. Like Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick) himself, it's committed to giving audiences what they want to see, but never merely exactly what they've already seen. This saga hasn't always chosen to accept that mission, but it's been having a better time of it since 2011's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, including since writer/director Christopher McQuarrie jumped behind the lens with 2015's Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Napoleon Nominations: Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects Our thoughts: When is a Ridley Scott (House of Gucci)-directed, Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid)-starring trip to the past more than just a historical drama? Twice now, so whenever the filmmaker and actor team up to explore Europe centuries ago. Gladiator was the first; Napoleon follows — and where the Rome-set first was an action film as well, the second leans into comedy. This biopic of the eponymous French military star-turned-emperor can be funny. In the lead, Phoenix repeatedly boasts the line delivery, facial expressions and physical presence of someone actively courting laughs. When he declares "destiny has brought me this lamb chop!", all three coalesce. Where to watch: Streaming via Apple TV+, YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our full review. Nimona Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: Bounding thoughtfully from the page to the screen — well, from pixels first, initially leaping from the web to print — Nimona goes all in on belonging. Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal) wants to fit in desperately, and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it in this animated movie's medieval-yet-futuristic world, where there's nothing more important and acclaimed than being part of the Institute for Elite Knights. But when tragedy strikes, then prejudice sets in, he only has one ally. Nimona's namesake (Chloë Grace Moretz, The Peripheral) is a shapeshifter who offers to be his sidekick regardless of his innocence or guilt. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. Nyad Nominations: Best Actress (Annette Bening), Best Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster) Our thoughts: Most sports films about real-life exploits piece together the steps it took for a person or a team to achieve the ultimate in their field, or come as close as possible while trying their hardest. Nyad is no different, but it's also a deeply absorbing character study of two people: its namesake Diana Nyad (Annette Bening, Death on the Nile) and her best friend Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster, True Detective). The first is the long-distance swimmer whose feats the movie tracks, especially her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida in the 2010s. The second is the former professional racquetball player who became Nyad's coach when she set her sights on making history as a sexagenarian. Where to watch: Netflix. Read our full review. Oppenheimer Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr), Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Our thoughts: Cast Cillian Murphy and a filmmaker falls in love. There's an arresting, haunting, seeps-under-your-skin soulfulness about the Irish actor, including when playing "the father of atomic bomb" in Christopher Nolan's (Tenet) epic biopic Oppenheimer. Flirting with the end of the world, or just one person's end, clearly suits Murphy. Here he is in a mind-blower as the destroyer of worlds — almost, perhaps actually — and so much of this can't-look-away three-hour stunner dwells in his expressive eyes, which see purpose, possibility, quantum mechanics' promise and, ultimately, the Manhattan Project's consequences. Where to watch: Streaming via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Past Lives Nominations: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay Our thoughts: Call it fate, call it destiny, call it feeling like you were always meant to cross paths with someone: in Korean, that sensation is in-yeon. Partway through Past Lives, Nora (Greta Lee, Russian Doll) explains the concept to Arthur (John Magaro, The Many Saints of Newark) like she knows it deep in her bones, because both she and the audience are well-aware that she does. That's what writer/director Celine Song's sublime feature debut is about, in fact. The term also applies to her connection to childhood crush Hae Sung (Teo Yoo, Decision to Leave) in this sensitive, blisteringly honest and intimately complex masterpiece. Where to watch: Streaming via Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Celine Song. Rustin Nominations: Best Actor (Colman Domingo) Our thoughts: After Selma, One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah arrives Rustin, the latest must-see movie about the minutiae of America's 60s-era civil rights movement. All four hail from Black filmmakers. All four tell vital stories. They each boast phenomenal performances, too, including from Colman Domingo (The Color Purple) as Rustin's eponymous figure. His turn as Bayard Rustin, who conceived and organised the event where Martin Luther King Jr gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, isn't merely powerful; it's a go-for-broke portrayal from a versatile talent at the top of his game while digging into the every inch of his part. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. Society of the Snow Nominations: Best International Feature, Best Makeup and Hairstyling Our thoughts: Society of the Snow isn't merely a disaster film detailing the specifics of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571's failed journey, the immediate deaths and those that came afterwards, the lengthy wait to be found — including after authorities called the search off — and the crushing decisions made to get through. JA Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), who also helmed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami-focused The Impossible, has made a weighty feature that reckons with the emotional, psychological and spiritual toll, and doesn't think of shying away from the most difficult aspects of this real-life situation, including cannibalism. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix. Read our full review. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Nominations: Best Animated Feature Our thoughts: When 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took pop culture's favourite web-slinger back to its animated roots, it made flesh-and-blood superhero flicks and shows, as well as the expensive special effects behind them, look positively trivial and cartoonish. The end result was a deservedly Academy Award-winning masterpiece — and its first sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which hails from directors Joaquim Dos Santos (The Legend of Korra), Kemp Powers (Soul) and Justin K Thompson (Into the Spider-Verse's production designer), plasters around the same sensation like a Spidey shooting its silk. Where to watch: Streaming via Binge, Prime Video, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. To Kill a Tiger Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: A battle for justice sits at the heart of To Kill a Tiger, a documentary that is as powerful as it is heavy, and is also an essential piece of filmmaking. When his 13-year-old daughter becomes the victim of sexual assault, Ranjit is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice. Not that that's a straightforward feat anywhere, but it isn't the same quest in India as it is in western countries, as writer/director Nisha Pahuja (The World Before Her) examines. Ranjit is dedicated to the fight, even knowing how difficult it is — from the backlash that he receives across his village to the horrifying statistics regarding the frequency of rape in the country and the paltry conviction rate. Where to watch: Streaming via Netflix from Friday, March 8. 20 Days in Mariupol Nominations: Best Documentary Feature Our thoughts: Incompatible with life. No one ever hears those three devastating words — one of the most distressing phrases there is — in positive circumstances. Accordingly, when they're uttered by a doctor in 20 Days in Mariupol, they're deeply shattering. So is everything in this on-the-ground portrait of the first 20 days in the Ukrainian city as Russia began its invasion, as the bleak reality of living in a war zone is documented. Directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, that this film even exists is an achievement. What it shows — what it immerses viewers in, from shelled hospitals and basements-turned-bomb shelters to families torn apart and mass graves — can never be forgotten. Where to watch: Streaming via DocPlay. The 2024 Oscars will be announced on Monday, March 11, Australian time. For further details, head to the awards' website. Wondering who'll win? Check out our predictions.
When you think of beer in Milton, it wouldn't be remiss of you to think of the iconic Castlemaine Brewery, which has been wafting the smell of yeast and hops over the residents of Paddington, Red Hill and Rosalie since 1878. And while this brewing behemoth can crank out XXXX tinnies by the truckload, there's something a whole lot craftier taking place just around the corner. Open on Milton's Railway Terrace (right near craft beer specialists Scratch Bar and perpendicular to Park Road) is Aether Brewing. This beer-lover's paradise is a passion project from two ex-engineers, Dave Ward and Jimmy Young. The gents say that their journey from engineers to full-time brewers and bar owners has been really rewarding — though not without its challenges. "Everything was a pretty big learning curve, but we got here," Jimmy declares. And when you've got a venue this impressive to show for it, a couple of hiccups is a small price to pay. Working in collaboration with Salvador Farrajota and Joshua Abel from Brissie design studio The Artificial, Aether Brewing is a venue to dazzle. A spacious, airy, ground floor bar is flanked on one side by a formidable row of stainless steel brewing tanks, and on the other side by a long bar. Brewing capacity is five hec — which translates in layman's to 500 litres of beer. Everything is brewed on site in six fermenters, with three bright beer tanks in-house as well. If choice is something you crave, you'll be in your element. The bar downstairs serves 12 beers at one time — nine of the Aether Brewing variety, plus three guest taps. When you head up the staircase to the first floor, you can enjoy the second bar/function area, complete with custom furniture, or perhaps relax into the night over a leisurely meal in the sit-down dining area/bar. Drinkers with an appetite can tuck into ten tapas options, including pork belly pieces on kimchi pancakes, buffalo wings and crispy garlic pickles — or six types of pizza, the same amount of burgers, or mains such as wagyu brisket and chicken kiev. Image: Aether Brewing.
Whether you're committed to reducing your use of single-use plastics or dedicated to a vegan diet, it's easy to change your consumption habits for the good of the environment — while you're in your own home. Once you venture out, however, there's much that's out of your control. Sure, you've eliminated disposable plastic from your routine, but every business you patronise mightn't have done the same. And you've ordered a vegan meal at your local cafe, but does the place you're eating at use animal products in its decor? On the plastics front, plenty of organisations and brands are starting to do their part, with the likes of IKEA, McDonald's, Melbourne's Crown Casino and Coca-Cola Amatil phasing out single-use items, and one airline pledging to become wholly plastic-free. When it comes to living a vegan lifestyle, Hilton's London Bankside is joining in by opening the world's first entirely vegan luxury hotel suite. Now available for bookings, the room only uses plant-based substances, fibres and surfaces — so you won't find any leather, feathers and wool among its wares. With the suite designed by food artists Bompas & Parr, what you will find is a material created from pineapples. The bed's headboard is made from pineapple leaves, while vegan-friendly fruit leather piñatex features heavily. It's made from the cellulose fibres sourced from pineapples, and is not only used in the upholstered seats, footstools and cushions, but in the room's keycard as well. With no animal products to be found in any of the suite's materials or inclusions, guests will step onto cotton carpets and bamboo floors; sleep on pillows made from organic buckwheat, millet hulls, kapok or bamboo fibres (your choice); grab a snack from the complimentary vegan mini-bar; and use cruelty-free toiletries. When your room is cleaned by housekeeping, they'll also be using vegan products. Even when you're checking in, you'll be doing so at a plant-based counter. And if you're keen to order in, of course the vegan range extends to the in-room menu. Find Hilton London Bankside at 2–8 Great Suffolk Street, London, and visit the hotel website for further details. Images: Hilton London Bankside.
Even if you're not much of a fast food fan, odds are that you've heard about McDonald's Szechuan sauce. It was originally released in 1998 as a tie-in with Disney's original animated Mulan, then became internet famous almost two decades later after being name-dropped in Rick and Morty. In fact, in the animated series, Rick was so determined to get hold of the dipping sauce that he didn't care if it took "nine seasons" or "97 more years". You might've felt the same way, actually, as it hasn't been on the Macca's menu in Australia. Until now, that is. McDonald's is finally bringing the coveted condiment our way — all as part of a new limited-edition four-sauce range. It'll hit the menu at the Golden Arches from Wednesday, July 6–Tuesday, July 19, alongside the return of Macca's Cajun sauce (a blend of Dijon mustard, vinegar, honey and spices). That's two of the four special condiments covered. The other two won't be revealed until sometime in July. But, if you're keen to get a taste before they hit stores, Macca's is also running a sauce quest. What's a sauce quest? It's a three-day sauce hunt, all digital, which'll get you sleuthing to find clues — and win IRL sauce. From 9am on Tuesday, June 28, McDonald's will be putting up hidden sauce splatters online, which you'll need to find to go into the draw to nab a personal stash of its limited-edition sauces. To take part, you'll want to keep an eye on the chain's socials — and follow the hints from there. New to the whole Szechuan sauce frenzy? It's a mix of soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. And, the last time that McDonald's re-released the much-hyped McNugget condiment in America, the demand outweighed supply. In the US, fans queued for hours, one person traded their Volkswagen and another paid almost US$15,000 for one measly pottle. Rick and Morty's legion of devotees were clearly keen for a taste — and condiment hysteria took flight. In 2020, it was also made available at the global fast-food brand's stores in New Zealand for a limited time. McDonald's Szechuan sauce will be available nationwide from Wednesday, July 6–Tuesday, July 19, alongside its Cajun sauce. Two more limited-edition sauces will follow, with details revealed in July.
Good bagels are few and far in Australia. Sure, you can find a sausage roll or pie any time of any day, but no amount of flaky pastry and questionable meat filling can satisfy a fresh, soft dough hankering. A need for something dense, doughy and bagelly delicious. However, you might not have to travel as far as you thought to get your fix, because Brisbane's experiencing a rather tasty bagel boom, and it's hitting taste buds hard. Scout Scout has perfected everything a bagel should be: packed to the brim with a glorious amount of meat, a wholesome dollop of tomato relish and a touch of rocket to keep things healthy. Their breaky bagel is a menu stunner, lashed with rich kaiserflesch, egg, chedder and a dynamo relish and aioli duo. Scout's lunch menu holds more bagel treats, with spiced chicken, guacamole, cucumber, chipotle mayo and iceberg headlining alongside haloumi, roasted zucchini, Moroccan spiced carrot, hummus, aioli and rocket. Pair your Scout bagel with a coffee, or better still a banana milkshake, and find yourself in a tummy-hugging daze – beware the addiction. 190 Petrie Tce, Red Hill The Bagel Boys Hailing from the Sunshine Coast, these guys dot up all around Brisbane with their tasty selection of bagels and a crowd to complement. The boys mix, roll, boil and bake their bagels in a traditional recipe that took them four weeks of practice to perfect – they've even been praised by New Yorkers, saying their recipe is better than any yankee bagel. You can find them selling bagels at Noosa Farmers Market on Sundays, Queens Street Mall Markets, Brisbane every Wednesday and Powerhouse Markets, New Farm on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, Eagle Farm, Rocklea, Manly and now also Mitchelton. You could say they are the masters, the boys also supply their goods to Scout and Bagel Nook. 58 Commercial Road, Newstead, Brisbane, 4006 La Vosh Patisserie With 11 different types of bagels, this small bakery knows what’s what in the bagel world. Founded by Steve Day after an all too persuasive trip to New York, this café relishes the simplicity of the bagel – sometimes all it takes is a cream cheese and chive filling to spark a bagel addiction. You can eat your bagel, while watching one of the skilled bakers make the next batch from the comfort of your seat – it's the perfect in store entertainment. 154 Musgrave Rd, Red Hill Brewbakers The original masters of the Brisbane bagel, well worth travelling across town for. With a blackboard that boasts the daily bagel special, and a cabinet of classics, they show a no-fear approach to the perfect bagel. Swoon over the sweet bagels or dig into to something far heartier at one of Brisbane's most established bagel breeding bakeries. 1/337 SandgateRd Albion, QLD Betty's Espresso Fresh faces on the West End block. Betty's Espresso holds a not-so-secret cure to any hangover – bagels. Down your Bagel of Death Metal with a salted caramel shake, and find yourself spiralling into a John Hughes movie scene as a truly satisfied member of Betty's Breakfast Club. 11 Browing St, South Brisbane Flour and Chocolate The bagel philosophy at Flour and Chocolate Bakery is a simple one - keep it traditional, and do it well. You won't find a ritzy selection of fillings at this Parisian-style bakery - the bagels alone are enough, and needn't be compensated with lavish partners. Flavours include plain, sesame, caraway and rock salt, spanish onion with black sesame, cinnamon raison - our favourite - and if you're lucky, blueberry, all going for just $1.80 a pop, or 6 for $9.50. There's a pack of effort that goes into making a traditional boiled bagel so you can only catch them at Flour and Chocolate on a Friday, making it the perfect place to stock up on bagels of every flavour for the weekend. 621 Wynnum Rd, Morningside Bagel Nook A classic New York bagel feel right in the heart of our CBD - even if you don't have wheels, you've no excuse for trying this bagel joint. With a bagel filling selection that carries every cuisine and calorie-count, Bagel Nook can be the ideal lunch-break health-kick or indulgent snack. Where there's a bagel vendor within a 10 meter radius of anywhere in New York, Bagel Nook is Brisbane's answer to a closeby bagel fix that won't exhaust the bank or belt line. 100 Creek St, Brisbane City In conclusion:
On Steve Zahn's 2020s-era resume, there's no place like Maui resorts and buried silos that house 10,000 souls across 144 underground levels. The actor has been calling both home, or home away from home, in two of the best television series of this decade. In the process, he's also been giving some of the finest performances of his career. An Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Emmy nomination came his way for The White Lotus, an accolade won by his co-star Murray Bartlett (The Last of Us). More awards attention deserves to arrive now that Zahn is among the cast of Apple TV+'s page-to-screen sci-fi dystopian thriller series Silo in its second season. The Minnesota-born and -raised actor has been a screen mainstay since the 90s, when he starred in one of the defining movies of the period: alongside Winona Ryder (Stranger Things), Ethan Hawke (Leave the World Behind), Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers) and Janeane Garofalo (The Apology), he was part of Reality Bites' core quintet. From there, everything from That Thing You Do! and Out of Sight to You've Got Mail and an episode of Friends followed before the 00s even hit — and his Independent Spirit Award-winning performance in Happy, Texas as well. Zahn has since voiced a Stuart Little character, acted for Werner Herzog in Rescue Dawn and played Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes, alongside parts in Riding in Cars with Boys, Dallas Buyers Club, Treme and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_984317" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Perez/HBO[/caption] In The White Lotus, he portrayed a husband (to Dear Edward's Connie Britton) and dad (to Immaculate's Sydney Sweeney and Gladiator II's Fred Hechinger) endeavouring to escape his worries in Hawaii. One such concern: his character's health. Joining Silo sees Zahn go from one extreme to another, then. Instead of opting for the tried-and-tested route of a vacation to avoid your everyday life — not that that ever works out well in The White Lotus, either in the Zahn-starring first season in 2021 or the anthology series' second in 2022 — he's now locked in with his woes. Zahn's Solo dwells in a new setting for the show: Silo 17, where Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson, Dune: Part Two) ventures after leaving her own. As streaming via Apple TV+ since mid-November 2024, dropping its ten-episode season weekly, Silo opens its second run with a glimpse of how life can go awry drastically and devastatingly when human existence is confined beneath the earth. That's been one of the series' throughlines overall anyway, but the situation in Silo 17 has left Solo alone behind a locked door after a revolution cleared out his fellow residents. He's wary of newcomers, unsurprisingly, but Solo is also curious about the world beyond his vault and empathetic to Juliette's need for help. After the events of season one cast her outside the only walls that she'd ever called home, she's eager to return back to her own silo to stop Silo 17's fate repeating there. So unfurls a season split across two places, and hopping between the aftermath of Juliette being sent out to clean — as being forced outside a silo is dubbed in the series' parlance — and her and Solo's efforts in the other bunker. In one of season two's locations, rebellion festers among the masses. In the other, two people attempt to survive. Chatting with Concrete Playground, Zahn compares his portion of Silo to a play. Since its 2023 debut, this has always been a TV must-see that feels the intimacy of creating societies beneath the ground, but that sensation earns a new dimension when it's just Solo and Juliette in Silo 17. How did Zahn approach portraying someone who is rediscovering what it's like to have company after being on his lonesome, and is clearly traumatised by his experiences while also eager to do the right thing by assisting Juliette? What was he excited about digging into as Solo? And what make he make of his jump from The White Lotus' beaches to Silo's subterranean levels? We talked with Zahn about the above, and also about how shooting their scenes in order helped him and Ferguson build their characters' rapport organically, what excites him about new projects more than three decades into his career and more. On Going From Playing Someone Trying to Escape Their Worries on Holiday in The White Lotus to a Man Locked in with His Traumas in Silo "Lately I've been lucky enough to do the extremes. And this character is definitely — the world is extreme but also the character. I've never played anything quite like this. And it was it was daunting, but it was also quite simple. I think because of Rebecca and the story, I really love it. It's daunting to play a character like this. It's hard. Day one is really difficult, because you're so self-conscious, right, when you play characters like that. Day one of playing Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes was unbelievably hard, because that character that you establish goes to the end, whether it's good or bad, compelling or not. So you just hope your instincts are right. And you get addicted to playing people like this. I'm a proud character actor, put it that way." On Zahn's First Take on Solo in Silo, and What He Was Excited About Bringing to the Character "I found his childlike vulnerability to be fascinating, and I thought that was something that spoke to me and that I could tap into. That was compelling to me. I loved the story under a microscope, compared to the rest of the story. In season two, you've got chaos happening in volume, and then in this world you have water dripping and quiet and calm. And those two worlds together are insane." On Portraying Someone Who Is Dutiful to His Task to Protect His Vault, But Also Curious About the World — and Lonely and Yearning to Connect "It was a constant balancing act. There are times when he's a child — kids wear their emotions on their sleeves, they don't know the boundaries, they haven't learned all these things that we learn from other people. So at times he can be very scary, almost violent, and then in the next breath it turns on a dime and he can be this kid again. So you don't know how he's going to act in any certain situation. I felt like, and Rebecca and I felt like, we were doing a play — like we are doing some Beckett or some Pinter play in the West End. And every day we just got to explore these two individuals. And we shot it into order, which was actually really unique. We had a controlled environment. We had all these sets. And it was just her and I. So we could actually go in order. So the first week of shooting, you didn't see me. It was just really unique. It just doesn't happen." On How Filming in Order Helped Zahn Unpack Solo and Juliette's Relationship with Rebecca Ferguson Basically in Real Time "It absolutely helps, especially when it's incremental like this. It's these tiny steps that they take towards each other — and away from each other, depending. Honestly, if we had to shoot this out of order, it would have been really difficult to track all that. We would have had to spend a lot of time talking about that, where we didn't have to because it was a natural progression. We learned to trust each other as human beings, as actors, at the same time — it paralleled our characters, which was interesting. And so we could actually live in moments and let them breathe, and let that story evolve on its own. And so dialogue changed and intention changed, because of what we were doing, which is really cool. It happened. So much of the time you feel preoccupied with what you're doing that you don't live freely in moments. And when you're an actor and you get lost in a moment, that's the goal. I mean, I always joke like 'god, we were almost acting'. Which is a real compliment to the show, because it's rare when you're really just acting and everything else goes away. Usually it's in a play that you're doing. You get lost in that. This is all heavy actor shit, but you know, it was really fun, man. It was really fun." [caption id="attachment_984315" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mario Perez/HBO[/caption] On What Gets Zahn Excited About a New Project After More Than Three Decades On-Screen "Story. Being a part of a really cool story. That's what, day one, that's what compelled me. Being in a really good play was awesome, that people liked. And then character and all that stuff, but for me it's the story. And I've been lucky enough to be approached by people that are good storytellers. I've been able to work with so many great, amazing people. And now Graham Yost [Silo's creator], he's a legend. And I worked with him a long time ago on From the Earth to the Moon back in the 90s. It's funny, when I'm walking around, I think of myself as 25. And it's weird to be the guy that people are calling 'sir' on set. It's weird. It's weird, it's bizarre, getting older. Because it's not a bank. We don't have that kind of hierarchy in our business. If I'm working with a 15-year-old, they're my peer. Fred on White Lotus, he's the same age as my son, we're like pals — because we did a show together." Silo streams via Apple TV+. Read our review of season one.
Melbourne comes alive in summer. Outdoor bars and restaurants fill up with people taking advantage of longer days, parks and gardens are gloriously green and the city's arts and culture venues host a huge range of events. Yes, you can certainly run away to beaches for spectacular nature-filled getaways. But summer is as good a time as any for a city break — and we've curated the ultimate way to do it in Melbourne, whether you're a first-time visitor or you know the Hoddle Grid like the back of your hand. [caption id="attachment_658995" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Stano Murrin[/caption] FRIDAY Begin your Melbourne city break with a sundowner at Bar Triana. Located within the AC Hotel Melbourne Southbank, this sophisticated bar offers up views over the city alongside a truly impressive selection of gin. Melbourne is known for its world-class arts and culture institutions, but we recommend you dive a little deeper into the city's lesser-known haunts like The Butterfly Club. This cosy theatre, bar and welcoming space is hidden down a CBD laneway. Once you find the entrance, head inside for a smorgasbord of weird and wonderful theatre. Get tickets to whatever is on and go along for the ride — you won't regret it. For something a bit more orthodox (but just as intimate), head to Bird's Basement for an evening of live jazz. Like The Butterfly Club, you shouldn't worry yourself with what specific artist is performing — just book a table and let the music sweep over you with a cocktail in hand. SATURDAY If you're one of those mysterious morning people we've heard so much about, we suggest taking a stroll to The Shrine of Remembrance for spectacular sunrise views. Take your time wandering around this incredible space and look out over the city, watching it wake up and come alive. From here, head to the shops and grab your picnic essentials before nabbing what is arguably one of the best barbecue spots in all of Melbourne. On the edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens and right on the Yarra River, you'll find a host of free-to-use barbecues overlooking Melbourne's skyline, and is an ideal spot to soak up some sun. If you're looking escape the sun, you won't need to go far. This spot is conveniently located right by Melbourne's celebrated arts precinct where you'll find all kinds of brilliant things to do. See an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria or catch a matinee at the Arts Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company or Melbourne Recital Centre. For a pre-dinner drink, make a beeline to The Westin Melbourne's Lobby Lounge. Settle in to a plush club chair in this grand Collins Street space as you indulge in an aperitivo — and maybe a dozen oysters — before dinner. On the menu? Clever and creative Modern Australian at Lollo, a welcoming culinary space with a menu overseen by celebrated chef Adam D'Sylva. Lollo draws inspiration from Melbourne's multicultural heritage to serve up globally inspired dishes that showcase local and seasonal produce. [caption id="attachment_711646" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Josie Withers for Visit Victoria[/caption] SUNDAY Start your Sunday off by catching the tram to the South Melbourne Market. Grab a coffee from Pieno di Grazia and a freshly baked croissant from Agathé Pâtisserie before browsing the aisles featuring wares from local makers and producers who have made this bustling market a unique destination that highlights the city's diversity. Once you've eaten and shopped your way around the market, hire a bike from the AC Hotel to have one last Melbourne jaunt. Take to The Capital City Trail for a cycling journey that winds past Melbourne's most iconic landmarks. You can attempt the full 30 kilometres or just do a portion of the trail — whether that's Southbank to Burnley Gardens, Moonee Ponds Creek to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre or Abbotsford to Parkville. Whichever you choose, it's the perfect way to end your Melbourne city break. Looking to make the most of your next city break? Find your home away from home with Marriott Bonvoy. Book your stay not at the website. Top image: Dmitry Osipenko (Unsplash)
Imagine if you could see a full lifetime's ageing process happen before your very eyes, sped up just enough that its imperceptible changes became perceptible. But not in an Indiana Jones Nazi uber ageing kind of way; rather, in a tasteful, filmmaker Anthony Cerniello kind of way. In the video below, Danielle, a tiny girl looks at us with a bored-yet-slightly-curious gaze, blinking occasionally. A few seconds later she's changed, only we can't quite tell how — a little broader in the forehead, a little more space between her eyes and eyebrows, maybe? You'll find yourself looking for those minute changes throughout the video. Don't skip through, though — the illusion will be totally ruined. This is because what looks like a lifelong timelapse of one woman's face is actually a very clever and meticulous blending of a whole collection of different portraits, all taken from a single family. Cerniello used faces from the family of his friend Danielle and employed high-tech methods throughout the process: after having photographer Keith Sirchio take shots of all the young cousins and relatives of different generations who looked alike, Cerniello scanned them using a drum scanner and selected those whose bone structure was most similar. Next he enlisted the talents of animators Nathan Meier, Edmund Earle and George Cuddy to meld the shots together, complete with realistic blinking and a convincing suggestion of breathing. Mark Reveley created the musical score, which adds a feeling of depth to the visuals; what we're witnessing, after all, is a whole life passing by. As the signs of ageing appear in faint traces of strain and wrinkles, we can't help but imagine the ups and downs of this virtual person's existence, and sympathise. It's a beautiful short film and a very cool use of technology to assist in making art. Via Colossal
Usually, Australia's own Four Pillars is busy filling our gin shrines — or gin shelves, gin sections of the liquor cabinet or wherever else you store your juniper-based spirits. But with its latest release, it wants you to pop a bottle in your freezer. Next time you want a gin martini, you'll be thankful that you did. Forget shaking or stirring — sorry Bond, James Bond — because with Four Pillars' new bottled cocktail, all you need to do is pour. It's made with gin, but it isn't just gin. Instead, it's a ready-to-pour Double Gin Martini. You simply add the olives (well, you'll want a glass to pour it into, too, obviously). This new bottled favourite features two Four Pillars gins: the savoury Olive Leaf Gin and the citrus-heavy Fresh Yuzu Gin. There's no vermouth, however, with the distillery opting for aromatic Lillet Blanc and Toji Daiginjo Saké, as well as yuzu bitters. The serving suggestion? Drink it cold — hence the use of your freezer — and in a glass that's just as frosty. Yes, that's your fuss-free spring and summer cocktails taken care of. If you're now hankering for a beverage, understandably, the new Double Gin Martini is available from the distillery's website for $60 per bottle, and also from Four Pillars' gin shops at its distillery door in Healesville and its Sydney Laboratory in Surry Hills. For more information about Four Pillars' Double Gin Martini, or to buy it from Saturday, October 1, head to the distillery's website.
In the 18 years that Gelato Messina has been in business, over 4000 special flavours have made their way through its 20 gelato cabinets around the country. To celebrate some of these oldies but goodies, Messina is dedicating an entire week to its top 40 greatest hits. From June 5–11, lucky Sydneysiders, Melburnians and Brisbanites will be able to treat themselves to an entire freezer-full of limited-edition gelato flavours. While last year's greatest hits were a buy-in-shop-only deal, this year it's all preordered tubs — so you don't have to worry about long queues and empty cabinets. You can preorder 500-millilitre tubs of the 40 flavours (we'll get to those in a minute) from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 and pick up from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores, Melbourne's Fitzroy store and Brisbane's South Brisbane store between the aforementioned dates. Individual tubs can be filled with just one flavour and will set you back $16, or you can get three for $45, six for $85, nine for $125 or — if you have the freezer space — 20 for $260. Now, we'll get to what you're all waiting for: the flavours. Jon Snow (white chocolate gelato with dark chocolate mud cake and almond praline), Fairy Bread (toast and butter gelato with 100s & 1000s), Mango Pancake (mango gelato with vanilla cream and pancake crunch), Old Gregg (Baileys and butterscotch sauce) and the Robert Brownie Jnr (milk chocolate gelato, chocolate brownie and chocolate fudge sauce) are all on the lineup. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMtFiqA7Mp/ You've got two days to make a list of your favourites before preorders open, so we suggest you start making some hard decisions ASAP. Here's the full lineup: MESSINA'S 40 GREATEST HITS Fairy Bread Montgomery's Goldmine Triple Whammy Super Duper Dulce de Leche Hodor Twixed Gorgeous Dave True Romance Derelicte Cremino Old Gregg The Voicemail Have a Gay Old Time Lady of Winterfell Jon Snow The Hat Trick Drop It Like White Choc Mr Potato Head The Maltster Pavlova Super Flan Number Two Sticken To Me Date NYC Plus Milomiso Robert Brownie Jr Iron Born Just Like a Milkshake Musk Finger Bun Peach Bellini Baklava Oreogasm Duke of Earl The Boss's Wife Mango Pancake Messina's Momofukup Red Velvet Molto Bueno Alfajores Gelato Messina's Greatest Hits are available to preorder from 1pm on Thursday, May 21 with pick up between Friday, June 5 and Thursday, June 11 from Sydney's Rosebery, Tramsheds, Bondi and Darlinghurst stores; Melbourne's Fitzroy store; and Brisbane's South Brisbane store.
When flowers as far as the eye can see are involved, it's never too early to start making spring plans, even when 2023 has barely begun. The event to pop in your calendar ASAP: the annual Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, which will return for the entire month of September — and for its whopping 74th year. This excuse for Brisbanites to head west to frolic among the blooms didn't always run for 30 whole days, but it's been brightening up the Darling Downs city for as long as it can since 2021. And, when it did exactly that in 2022, too, it broke its attendance record, with 364,775 people making a visit. "For the second year, Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers was celebrated over all 30 days of September, headlined by 190,000 spectacular blooms, flourishing under the hands of an army of Council gardeners, with the result being more attendance and revenue figures broken as people from all over Australia converged on our Garden City," said Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Cr Paul Antonio. "The continued expansion of this iconic event has generated extraordinary financial and social benefits for the community. Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a significant economic performer for the region and Queensland, and we look forward to our 2023 event, and then, in 2024, celebrating 75 years of flower power," Mayor Antonio continued. The 2023 program won't be revealed until Thursday, April 27; however, garden lovers can look forward to blossoms and floral displays galore between Friday, September 1–Saturday, September 30. Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers takes over a variety of locations — including Laurel Bank Park and the Botanic Gardens of Queens Park — to showcase all of the gorgeous florets and growths and gardens around town, kaleidoscopic arrays of tulips, petunias and poppies included. 2022's fest also spanned everything from park tours to food trucks slinging bites to eat, plus an illuminated night garden, a ferris wheel, a series of talks in local pubs, both guided and non-guided walking tours, pinot and painting sessions, a floral parade, the three-day Festival of Food and Wine, and cinema under the stars. And, it boasted the #trEATS regional food trail, too, which showcases local eateries, and sees participating cafes, restaurants and bars serve up floral-inspired dishes. Whatever ends up on the 2023 lineup, there's no bad time to head along throughout September — and you might want to make the trek more than once. Indeed, when it comes to scenic spring sights, there's no prettier place to be. And, given it takes less than two hours to head up the mountain from Brisbane, it's perfect for a weekend day trip. The 2023 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will run Friday, September 1–Saturday, September 30 across Toowoomba. For further information, head to the event's website.
Getting paid to do what you love is the ultimate employment dream. Finding a job doing something that everyone loves? That's a next-level kind of gig. When Gelatissimo turned taste-testing new gelato flavours into an actual position, it fell into that category. When Domino's wanted someone to eat garlic bread for cold hard cash, it did too. And over at hospitality group Australian Venue Co, there's a similar kind of job on offer. Fancy adding 'secret sipper' to your resume? That's the gig that AVC is currently advertising again, with 100 positions available around the country. You'll get assigned to cover some of the company's bars and pubs in your city, and you'll get paid for dining, drinking and then submitting a review once a month. If you've ever worked in retail and heard about mystery shoppers, then you know the drill. That's how these roles work, but in hospitality. So, you'll be posing as a customer and interacting with the venue's staff to scope out their service — and you'll be so discreet that they'll be unaware that you're on AVC's payroll, like they are. Members of the company's Secret Sipper Club, as the lucky wining-and-dining folks are called, will receive a $30 meal allowance for their monthly visit, plus $200 for each review. For that cash — which will make this a side hustle rather than your only gig — you do need to do more than offer a few words, completing a detailed written report after each meal. You don't need to have any experience in the field. Obviously, we're all veterans at eating and drinking, but you don't need to have done this type of job before. There are some pre-requisites, though, such as being over 18; having your own transport and access to a mobile device; being passionate about the industry; attentiveness and impartiality; and having time to do 12 visits each year. And if you're wondering which venues you might be visiting, it could be any in AVC's stable. In Sydney, that includes everywhere from The Winery, Cargo and Kingsleys through to BrewDog South Eveleigh, The Rook and Little Pearl. For Melburnians, you might be hitting up The Espy, The Duke and Sarah Sands Hotel, or BrewDog Pentridge, State of Grace and Trinket. Brisbane's venues include The Wickham, The Regatta, Crown Hotel and Riverland, plus the likes of Burleigh Town Hotel, The Local Tavern and Wallaby Hotel on the Gold Coast. In Adelaide, The Hope Inn, The Unley and The West End Tavern are on the list, while Perth residents could find themselves at Raffles Hotel, Sweetwater Rooftop Bar, The Globe and Wolf Lane. Find out more about AVC's Secret Sipper Club — and apply — by heading to the company's website.
Earlier this year, we wrote about how Elon Musk's high-speed vacuum tube transport system could be a reality by 2018. Well, because it's Elon Musk, the whole thing looks like it's actually running on schedule — and potentially coming to Australia. What, here? Where everything comes last? Yep. According to The Australian, Los Angeles-based firm Hyperloop One — who Musk has given the task of bringing this thing to life — are looking for a place to test the technology, and they have the Sydney to Melbourne corridor firmly on their radar. "We're very keen to explore the potential for doing proof of operations in Australia and the reason for that is there's a clear long-term need for ultra-fast transport on the Australian east coast," Hyperloop One's vice president of global business development Alan James told The Australian. "So we would be looking, either in NSW or Victoria, or possibly in ACT, to develop the first section of that route, to prove the operation of Hyperloop, to get regulatory approval." Described by Musk as a "cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table" the proposed Hyperloop system — which is almost cartoonish in design — would consist of a long route of elevated vacuum-sealed steel tubes, through which pressurised capsules ride cushions of air at speeds of up to 1220 kilometres per hour. Hyperloop One claims it can have you travelling from inner-city Melbourne to inner-city Sydney in only 55 minutes. 55 minutes. (Do you hear that? It's the sound of Tiger and Jetstar quaking in their boots.) To drive between Melbourne and Sydney would set you back about nine hours; currently, to get the train, it takes 11.5 hours. Australia — and particularly the Sydney-Melbourne corridor — is the perfect candidate for high speed rail transport because the track could slip nicely along the Hume Highway. There has, of course, been much talk and debate over a high-speed rail system connecting the two cities, but so far no government has been willing to commit to the project. The Hyperloop One team seem to have made rapid progress since they started testing in LA last year. They recently revealed the first prototype will be up and running in the Nevada desert early in 2017 before (potentially, hopefully) kicking off the large scale trial in Australia in 2018. Can it be the future already? For too long we've been at the mercy of Tiger's delays, expensive terrible airport coffee and the drive down the Hume with only Maccas to break up the monotony. We, for one, welcome Musk and his terrifying pneumatic tubes. Via The Australian.
What looks like it takes its design cues from The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Shining's Overlook Hotel and Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? What gives the escape-room concept a game-fuelled twist and drips with nostalgia as well? What also combines all of the above with booze for the ultimate in kidulting fun? And, what marks the latest Queensland venue for Funlab, the company behind Strike, Holey Moley, Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq, and B Lucky and Sons? Actually, another question: what's now open in Surfers Paradise, and wants you to play and sip your way through it over summer? The answer: Hijinx Hotel, Funlab's adult-focused twist on sleuthing your way through various spaces with a beverage or several in your hand. Instead of escaping here, patrons here hit up challenges. Making its Queensland debut on the Gold Coast first opening in Sydney midyear, the new venue spans ten game rooms filled with entertaining things to do. That includes a ball toss room, one dedicated to television, another that's all about basketball and yet another that's devoted to Rubik's cubes. Basically, the whole concept is a bar decked out like a hotel, but getting attendees to complete challenges rather than get a-slumbering in its various spaces. It also gleans inspiration from all those supremely Instagrammable pop-up installations that include ball pits, but this one is sticking around southeast Queensland permanently. And, it boasts bars for cocktail-drinking opportunities, nods to New York hotels in its facade, and just generally overflows with homages to movies and board games from the 80s and 90s. Shaking off your regular routine is clearly the name of the game here, and partying like you would've before you were old enough to drink alcohol — but with the hard stuff definitely on offer. That all starts when you enter via the faux hotel lobby bar, which is full of colour and surrealist touches. Instead of merely checking in, though, that's where you'll find cocktails. As for the not-quite-hotel rooms themselves, you gain access by heading to reception t0 pick up a swipe card. As well as the aforementioned activities, Sydney faves such as the Adore-a-ball, Scrambled, Threenicorn and candy ball pit rooms have been replicated in Surfers. And, yes, the Big-style piano room with a giant keyboard across the floor is included here as well. Open since December 2022, Hijinx Hotel has company at its Piazza on the Boulevard home, underneath Cali Beach on Elkhorn Ave in Surfers Paradise, as part of a 3279-square-metre precinct with a capacity for 410 guests. Fellow Funlab brands Holey Moley and Archie Brothers have also opened their doors, for tapping around 18 pop culture-themed greens and getting a sideshow experience. In total, the entire space — encompassing Hijinx Hotel, Holey Moley and Archie Brothers — features 72 arcade machines, six bowling lanes, ten game rooms and 18 holes of golf. Also a highlight: those three bars serving up creative cocktails, and breaking up all that kidulting.
No plans for Valentine's Day and no interest in making any? You're in luck. Go about your usual business next Thursday — that is, as far as humanly possible away from red roses, schmultzy songs and pashing pairs — and you could still be in for a nice little surprise. That's because Penguin Random House is planning on helping you to escape — by setting you up with a book, instead of a person. After all, books can't talk back and, if they end up being not what you thought they were, you can always put them back on the shelf. Said books will be dropped in bundles on trains and street libraries all over Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin and Launceston this Valentine's Day. The books will be wrapped in nondescript orange paper so there's no way of knowing if you've picked up a new release or a modern classic. The idea is to do away with pre-conceived ideas, promoted by particular genres, authors and cover art. The publishing house is scattering the books in partnership with Street Libraries Australia, Sydney, and Books on the Rail, which launched in Melbourne in early 2016 and regularly circulates books on Melbourne's public transport. If you find one, take it home and read it — just remember to pop it back on the train when you're done.
Entering an Australian supermarket at the moment, you can be forgiven for thinking that you're walking into the set of a post-apocalyptic film. People are everywhere but shelves are bare, with shoppers panic-buying everything from toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta and milk. As the COVID-19 situation has evolved over the past few weeks, local supermarket chains have been implementing item limits. They've also set aside dedicated shopping times for the elderly and people with disability as well. But the hoarding keeps happening and everyday staples keep selling out, leading Coles and Woolworths to roll out further caps. Announced today, Wednesday, March 18, both big chains have mandated restrictions on a number of items — in addition to previously revealed limits. At Coles, there's now a two-pack-per-person cap on eggs, sugar, frozen vegetables, frozen desserts, canned tomatoes, pasta, all dry rice regardless of size and liquid soap. And additional limits may be placed on other items on a store-by-store basis, too, so it's best to pay attention to the signage while you're shopping. Over at Woolies, it's limiting such a wide variety of items that it has actually listed what isn't restricted. There are no caps on fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh milk, yoghurts, deli items, seafood, bakery items, canned fish and meat other than mince — or on drinks, baby food, wet dog food, wet cat food, and Easter confectionery and merchandise. If you're after anything else, however, a two-pack-per-person limit applies in general, with some items down to one-pack-per limit. Already in the restricted category at both chains — as anyone who has tried to buy groceries recently well knows — are toilet paper, serviettes, baby wipes, antibacterial wipes and bulk rice over two kilograms, which are down to one pack per person. Tissues, hand sanitiser, dry pasta and flour have all been limited to two packs per person at both companies for days now. And paper towels vary, restricted to one per person at Woolies but two at Coles. Aldi and IGA haven't announced any new limits as yet, although Aldi already has caps on toilet paper (one pack), dry pasta, dry rice, flour, paper towels, tissues and sanitiser (two packs). At IGA, it's a store-by-store decision. "Each store has placed purchase limits on items that are critically low in stock. These limits are being managed on a store by store basis and are increasing day by day," the chain advised in a statement. All four brands have also released a collective plea for consideration, stressing the need to stick to product limits — and reminding shoppers something that should just be a given, aka that hardworking supermarket staff should be treated with courtesy and respect. For more details on Australian supermarket item limits, keep an eye on Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA's websites. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
"Why can't you enjoy life?": when that line arrives in Hard Truths, it's not only a haunting moment within the latest film from British writer/director Mike Leigh, but the same from any movie in the past few years. First, the perennially depressed, angry and disillusioned — and also agoraphobic, paranoid, confrontational and hypochondriac — Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Surface) utters it, giving voice to the accusations that she felt were directed her way by her late mother. Pansy's sister Chantelle (Michele Austin, Boat Story) then repeats it back, but as her own question, asking someone so clearly always in pain why such hurt, unhappiness and fury is her default status. "It was the combination of a lot of improvisations and preparation. It just came out of the blue," Jean-Baptiste tells Concrete Playground about that piece of dialogue. "It was obviously months of rehearsing and developing the characters that led up to it." She continues: "it just summed up the frustration that Chantelle has with her sister Pansy, but also I think something releases for Pansy when she actually answers truthfully." Leigh sees it as "part of the investigation of the relationship", he advises. "The moment, like all the moments — and all the action and all the dialogue and everything else — came out of the whole exploratory process of making the film by finding out what the film is on the journey of making it." As all projects by the iconic filmmaker are — across an on-screen resume that started with 1971's Bleak Moments; saw Jean-Baptiste nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Leigh's Secrets & Lies in 1996; and also covers Life Is Sweet, Naked, Career Girls, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year, Mr Turner, Peterloo and more — the London-set Hard Truths was built from the ground up with his collaborators. His famed method of working involves casting first, constructing characters one on one with his actors sans script, tasking them with improvising the dialogue and, along the way, finding the storyline while only telling the members of his ensemble what they each need to know to play their parts. Here, the result is a two-time BAFTA nominee, including for Best Actress for its lead, who won the same category at the British Independent Film Awards. Alongside standing out as a portrait of the daily lives of a Black British family, a rarity in cinemas, Hard Truths is also a stunning study of a character who holds onto her agony, fears, rage and exasperation so tightly inside, and unleashes it so frequently at anyone and everyone in her vicinity. Pansy's contented salon-owner sister — a single mother with two daughters, one training to be a lawyer (Sophia Brown, Dead Shot) and the other in cosmetics (Ani Nelson, One Day) — isn't the only target of her distress. Hard Truths' protagnist's husband Curtley (David Webber, My Lady Jane) and adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett, Back to Black) are as visibly weary from attempting to cope as Pansy clearly is. Jean-Baptiste describes the character as "somebody who is in a lot of pain, but doesn't quite know where it's coming from. There's a lot of fear as well. It's 'attack before I'm attacked'. She's petrified of life and it manifests itself in a very aggressive way". If her performance hardly feels like one — not that she's Pansy IRL for a second — that's again a result of Leigh's process. "Michele Austin and I, obviously we've worked together before with Mike, but we would get into a room and Mike would talk to us about the girls. And so we had to build their parallel history," she explains, offering one example of how such fully realised characters came about. "Their parents, their grandparents, where they lived in London, what schools they went to, the bus route to their schools. How did they get there? Did they walk? Did they have to go past the park? And then we go and find that in London. So located it, so there's a visual memory of what that would have looked like, and that continues and continues until we get to a point — we do birthdays, parties, holidays, all that information. So imagine when you're in an improvisation a month and a half later, you've got all this stuff, all this wonderful history, all these experiences, that you can pull on at any given point within the improvs. So that's how that works." And yes, across a resume that also spans The Cell, City of Ember, the RoboCop remake, In Fabric, seven seasons of Without a Trace, Broadchurch, Blindspot, Homecoming and much more, Jean-Baptiste advises that she's benefited from Leigh's approach even when he's not her director. What appeals to Leigh, one of cinema's great excavators of life's complexities — struggles, joys and everything in-between — about investigating humanity through his work, and collaborating with his cast to create characters that feel like they could've walked off the street and into his movies? And what has driven him to do so for more than half a century? "It comes naturally to me. As a little kid, I was drawing caricatures of the grown-ups," he notes. "I don't make movies about movies. I love watching movies, but that's separate from the films that I make. I am not interested in received notions of plot and structure or anything else. For me, film — and indeed theatre, when I do stage plays, including in Australia — it's about a way to look at real life. People say to me 'where do your ideas come from?'. Well, I've only got to walk down the street and there are ten, 12, 20, 50, 100 films, because it's people, and that's really what it's about for me, basically." With Leigh and Jean-Baptiste reuniting for Hard Truths not only after Secrets & Lies and collaborating for the stage, but after Jean-Baptiste composed the score for Leigh's Career Girls, too, we also chatted with the pair about their working relationship, Leigh's starting point with each project, getting into and out of character, and the challenges and freedoms of his process, among other topics. What continues to inspire them and what they make of their respective careers: we spoke with the two about that as well. On Building Pansy as a Character Over Months and Months Marianne: "Mike asks you to come to the first session, where he works with you one on one, and to have a list of people from real life, real-life people that you know. And you start talking about all of these people and a list is formed, and the list gets smaller and smaller and smaller. So it's important to ground the characters in reality. And from that point, it's a stepping off point, because the character changes. For example, if you have three people, you've taken characteristics from those three people and you've merged them, what you would then do is start from scratch and build a new character — from their first memory to the age they're going to play when you actually see them in the film. In that process, you start to, with Mike always — he takes the position of god, he makes the decisions that none of us can make for ourselves — so with Mike, there's a collaboration whereby he asks lots of questions and you start filling in answers to who this person is. And then things that you wouldn't be able to decide, he makes those decisions. And in doing so, the disappointments, the heartbreaks and things like that, start to build in that person's life. So on a simplistic level, you could say that she is a combination of all of the bad experiences she's had — some real, some imaginary." Mike: "It's a difficult question to answer, really. Because obviously at one level, such people resonate for me — just as for everybody else, no doubt, including you — with experiences that you've had. What we do on my films, and this film is absolutely no exception, is I collaborate with each actor to give birth to a character. And drawing on various things, including some people that Marianne Jean-Baptiste actually knows, we evolved the basis of the character, which then grew." Marianne: "My experience in life. Observation. Being fascinated by human beings. That's the sort of thing that I generally draw on. And just knowing that — it's like being a kid again, almost — knowing that I'm absolutely free to imagine and create. One of my first jobs out of drama school, actually, was doing a Mike Leigh play — and it's exactly the same process, but it was early enough in my career to influence the way that I approached my work and almost approach life in that sort of people-watching way, and just being fascinated. So I think that just being in a safe environment where that was okay to make stuff up, and to pull stuff from my imagination is acceptable. I think you're just in-character in this process. We warm up into character and we snap out of it quite quickly. But as I said, it really is the culmination of months and months of working. We rehearsed for three and a half months — and that's a short rehearsal process for Mike. So if you can imagine, that's months of building layers and layers and layers. So there's every disappointment she's had. There's everything that she hoped for but didn't achieve. There's every slight or perceived slight that she's had. There's that idea that nobody listens to her, nobody values her, nobody likes her. So that's going on for three and a half bloody months. So by the time you get to those sort of scenes, it's like it's all there — it's all there already." On Reteaming Not Only After Secrets & Lies, But After Stage Collaborations and Jean-Baptiste Composing the Score for Leigh's Career Girls Mike: "We did work together 30 years, 31 years ago, in a stage play. And then of course, she was famously in Secrets & Lies, in which, incidentally, in both of those projects she paired with Michele Austin, who plays her sister in this film. It's a long time since Secrets and Lies, and I wanted to work with her — and she with me — for a long time. Often it's the case that you want to work with an actor and they're actually very busy doing other things. Finally we said 'well, let's go for it. Let's do it'. We were going to make the film sooner, but the pandemic put paid to that." Marianne: "I think he's very bold. He's a bold storyteller. He loves people and he loves actors. And I think, as an actor you have more agency working with him than you do with most other types of work. It's truly collaborative — and collaborative all round with production design, with hair and makeup. Everybody works together and everybody's on the same page about the way that they're going to approach the work. I think we've got a very similar sense of humour, so that really helps as well." On Leigh's Starting Point with His Actors on Each Film Mike: "I work individually, separately and privately with each actor. And part of the deal with these films is that the actors take part, agree to take part, and the deal is you'll never know anything about the rest of it, except what your character knows. So they're all working, as it were, in isolation from each other. And I sit down at some length, with quite a lot of sessions, with each actor, and we talk about real people and gradually we talk into existence the basis of the character. So that's the starting point. Then it's about putting them together and exploring relationships, and building up the world and doing any research that needs to be done — into activities or work or whatever it is. To arrive at something that is completely organic and three-dimensional, and is also thus the basis of a film, which then, during the shooting period, we construct as we go along scene by scene, sequence by sequence, location by location, arriving at the end." On Ensuring That Leigh's Cast Can Step Out of Their Characters, Especially Someone as Complicated as Pansy, When Each Scene and Day Ends Marianne: "It's hard to shake in that you still keep, it's still there in your head working. Mike's very, very strict about coming out of character. So there's a whole protocol on-set about warming up into character and warming down. But with Pansy, because of the intrusive thoughts that the character had, obviously you have to create that thought process for yourself in order to play it. So it took a while for me to shut her up." Mike: "As soon as we start to get the characters on the go, I'm very strict, right from the beginning. But actors should warm up and get into character, be absolutely in-character when they're in-character, but as soon as we stop — which is to say not at the end of the day, but each improvisation or whatever it is — to come out of character. So the actor is then able to be objective about what happened in the improvisation or about the character. I'm also very strict that the actor, when talking about the character, refers to the character as 'him' or 'her, not 'I' — which a lot of actors, as you know, do, they talk about 'I' and there's a crossing of wires. So that's really a discipline. And that's what you're talking about, to be sure the actor can be totally in it when in it, but totally comfortable and not screwed up when not in it." On the Challenges and Freedoms of Leigh's Approach Marianne: "It's exhilarating, terrifying and freeing — all those wonderful things. There's nothing else like it, being able to work in this way. There were times when you feel like crying, because you're like 'what on earth am I doing? What is this?'. And then you see it, you see the result and you go 'oh my god'. Because obviously, because everybody's working individually on their characters, you don't know what's happening. The first time I saw the film, I was able to see what happened in the beauty salon, and what Curtley did at work and where Moses went, and what the nieces were like. So it's like, for us, it's like discovering the film for the first time. It's wonderful is all I can say." Mike: "It's totally a combination of the two. It's certainly challenging. Here's the thing: if they say 'okay, here's five or six million pounds and you've got to deliver a film', that is quite a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, of course. It's challenging, but it's highly stimulating. And the freedom of there being no preconceptions or interference or prescriptions from the streamers or the producers or anybody — the backers or the whoever — it's very liberating. Frightening, yes, but then the creative process is dangerous in any context. But liberating. It's wonderful. If I were to ever — many times over the years, the opportunity has come to make a film with certain provisos. 'You have to have a Hollywood star in it.' 'We have to be able to monitor it.' 'You can't have final cut.' All that stuff. Well, I'll just walk away. It just doesn't happen, basically. Which then liberates the freedom to do what artists should do." On How Leigh Works with His Cast to Ensure That Whether or Not the Audience Has Lived a Character's Life, They Feel Recognisable Mike: "You can't underestimate the contribution of the actor. The actor's intelligence, sensitivity, perception, talent. I only work with character actors, which is to say people that don't just play themselves in a narcissistic way, but actually are up for and want to detect, depict and portray real people out on the street. And so my job is to facilitate and to contribute in terms of the narrative ideas — but in the end, what you're asking about relies primarily on her ability to to act, create, empathise, project, distill and investigate all those aspects of the character. There are actors who are, on the whole, good actors, but are not very intelligent. There are actors who are fine actors that have no sense of humour. There are actors who, as I've already said, are not character actors. Marianne Jean-Baptiste, like all the actors in this film, has all of those qualities, not least a sense of character and a sense of humour, and therefore has the ability to get inside different sorts of people and really, really bring it to life." On How Cognisant That Jean-Baptiste and Leigh Were About Hard Truths Standing Out as a Portrait of the Daily Lives of a Black British Family Marianne: "No, we were not aware of it while we were making it. We were aware that there's a predominantly all-black cast, but you obviously don't know what the story is. So you know it's going to be something to do with family and stuff, but yeah, it's a bonus that it's something that people can be proud of and say 'yeah, great, so refreshing'." Mike: "That was a deliberate decision. It wasn't, in no way, a difficult decision, because I just approached the characters and the world and the issues and the emotions and the relationships in this film just as I have every other film I've made, including the period films — which is to say these are people and we're looking at them as people in a real way. However, I was very definitely consciously aware that we were not going to deal in all those cliche tropes that films about Black people on the whole deal with, because that's not what it's about as far as I'm concerned. For me, I would say — and you're no doubt familiar with other films of mine — across all of my films, it's a collection of different aspects of society, but all looking at people as individual, real people. And this film is, if you like, the mere continuation of that ongoing investigation." On Reflecting the Reality of Life by Making a Film That's Both Deeply Moving and Has a Sense of Humour Mike: "It's not a balancing act at all. Life is comic and tragic. Whatever you do, whether you like it or not — how many times have you not laughed at a funeral? Life just comes out of the soil, ready-made comic and tragic. So for me, I don't sit around thinking 'oh, maybe there should be a comic moment' or 'maybe this should be a tragic moment'. That looks after itself, and it certainly looks after itself in this film. It's a barrel of laughs, hopefully, for a good section, a good chunk of the film. And then — and we've had quite a number of public screenings of the film, and you could absolutely chart precisely where the laughter dies away, and it's obvious why that is. It's not a question of balance. It's a question of the truth of what you're depicting and what you're investigating, what you're sharing with the audience and what the audience experiences." On What Inspires Jean-Baptiste and Leigh About a New Project Marianne: "At this point in my life, I'm looking for challenges. I'm looking for something that I can transform myself — something that's going to be fun. For me, that's it. Are they good people? Will it be fun? Will it be challenging in a good way, you know?" Mike: "To me, it's always exciting. It's partly, to be honest, because I don't know what we're going to do and therefore there are all sorts of possibilities. And my head is buzzing with all sorts of possibilities and ideas — 'maybe we'll get him', 'maybe we'll get her to the party'. Then, of course, it's the anticipation and the enjoyment of actually working with people, and making it and making the thing happen. And shooting and working with the actors, all that's just, to me, a joy. Here's the thing that's important: the way I make films is the same way but is parallel to people writing novels, painting pictures, making music, making sculpture, writing poetry, et cetera — which is to say that the artist embarks on a journey of investigation, and discovers what the piece is on the journey of making it. They interact with the material. How many novelists have you heard say 'well, I didn't know what was going to happen, and then somehow the character told me what needed to happen next'? That's really what I do. The privilege I feel I have that painters and novelists, et cetera, don't have, is that I'm not stuck in a room by myself. It's a collaborative, socially pleasurable activity." [caption id="attachment_782569" align="alignnone" width="1920"] In Fabric[/caption] On What Jean-Baptiste and Leigh Each Make of Their Careers So Far Marianne: "I think it's interesting. I think I've had quite an interesting career. I've forgotten some stuff that I've done — it's gotten to that stage where people go 'oh that film' and I go 'oh yeah'. Yes, I think it's been a bit of an interesting one, mine, that's taken me to a few different places. I've been able to be quite selective in the last say five or ten years, which is good." [caption id="attachment_722535" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Peterloo[/caption] Mike: "Well, on the whole, if I was to sum it all up, I think I've been very lucky, actually, really. There've been breaks at times, which made it possible to do the crazy thing I do, which is to say to backers or theatre managers: 'I have no idea what we're going to do. I will not discuss casting. And please don't interfere with it while we're doing it at any stage'. And one could be forgiven for imagining that on that basis, I might never have done anything. So I've been lucky in that sense, and I guess the honest answer to your question is that, really — that I've found it remarkable that I've kind of got away with it." Hard Truths opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 6, 2025 and New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
When international art collective teamLab launched Borderless, its Tokyo-based permanent digital-only art museum, the dazzling space became the most-visited single-artist site in the world in just its first year of operation. Wherever the outfit pops up — be it in Shanghai oil tanks, Japanese hot springs or Melbourne — its installations are always hugely popular. So it's no wonder that the group is expanding its footprint by opening more permanent locations. Late in 2019, teamLab launched a new venue in Shanghai, which is also called Borderless. Come this March, it's also opening a museum called SuperNature in Macao. Located at The Venetian Macao, the latter site will sprawl over 5000 square metres, filling the space with the kind of immersive, interactive installations that have gathered the collective of artists, programmers, engineers, animators, mathematicians and architects such a devoted following. [caption id="attachment_758086" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] teamLab. Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors, Free Floating, 2018, Interactive Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi © teamLab[/caption] In good news for anyone who has visited a teamLab venue or installation previously, SuperNature will also include a selection of brand new works — although, even if you're a seasoned teamLab visitor, these are the types of pieces that you can visit over and over and never get bored. Much will look familiar, playing with concepts and designs that the collective is clearly drawn to, such as floating balls, projected flowers and animals, and other kaleidoscopic imagery Chief among the highlights is The Infinite Crystal Universe, which uses light points, pointillism-style, to create three-dimensional objects. While you're interacting with the piece, you can use your phone to select the elements that make up the universe. The artwork will also response to the presence of people, as most of teamLab's installations do. [caption id="attachment_758090" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] teamLab. The Clouds that Self-Organize, 2019, experimental photo of the new artwork © teamLab[/caption] Then there's Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life, which plays out just as its title suggests. In this installation, giant clouds will float between the floor and the ceiling — and even when you walk through them, breaking them up, they'll form back into shape. Also on the bill: Mountain of Flowers and People: Lost, Immersed and Reborn, which'll let digital flowers bloom and change with the seasons, and Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space — Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors, Free Floating, where bouncing spheres float above visitors, changing colour when they're touched. Like Borderless, SuperNature will also feature an Athletics Park, where you'll really get physical traversing graffiti-covered valleys, climbing a ropes course, scaling a light forest, jumping or playing hopscotch, as well as an educational, kid-focused Future Park. Located in the resort hotel's Cotai Expo Hall F, and set up like a labyrinth — making you wander around and around to find all of its nooks and crannies — SuperNature will welcome visitors through the doors from January 21 for previews ahead of its official opening date. Find teamLab SuperNature at Cotai Expo Hall F, The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Estrada da Baía de N. Senhora da Esperança, s/n, Taipa, Macao SAR, P.R. China from a yet-to-be-revealed date in March. It'll be open from 10am–10pm daily. Images: teamLab. teamLab is represented by Pace Gallery.
When a TV show or movie franchise returns years and years after its last instalment, there's no longer any point being surprised. It happens that often these days, with Veronica Mars, Twin Peaks, Star Wars and Jurassic Park just a few recent examples. The latest past pop culture hit set to make a comeback: Sex and the City. Thankfully, as anyone who sat through the terrible 2008 and 2010 movies of the same name will be hoping, the Sarah Jessica Parker-starring series is returning to the small screen this time around. Parker is back, as are her co-stars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, all starring in a new HBO show called And Just Like That.... The new ten-episode series is a spinoff, rather than an additional season of the existing 1998–2004 program — and there's one big difference. As revealed in the official announcement, the show will follow Carrie (Parker), Miranda (Nixon) and Charlotte (Davis). That means that the character of Samantha isn't part of the revival, and neither is actor Kim Cattrall, who played her. Parker, Davis and Nixon are also named as producers on And Just Like That..., alongside Michael Patrick King, who worked as a writer, director and executive producer on the original (and on the two movies). HBO hasn't released too many other details; however the US network has advised that the series will follow its three main characters "as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s". In America, And Just Like That... is headed to HBO Max, the network's streaming platform. Just when the program will hit and where it'll be available elsewhere (including Down Under) haven't yet been revealed. While you're waiting for the new series, you can check out a clip from the original below — or, in Australia, you can stream Sex and the City's six seasons via Binge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fFNOGU_QRU And Just Like That... doesn't currently have an airdate, either in the US or Down Under, but we'll update you when one is announced.
Wishing that you were spending chocolate season not merely feasting on sweet treats in Brisbane, but pairing Easter with a trip to Japan? Aren't we all. Thankfully, Indigo Isuta Soirée: A High Tea Affair is here to provide consolation for everyone still in the River City, and also to get you celebrating the occasion in a delicious fashion. Here, Easter gets a Japanese spin, complete with yuzu custard bunny teacups, green tea yuzu tiramisu and matcha macarons, plus a glass of sparkling. The high-tea menu also includes green apple mousse flourless tartlets that come flecked with gold flakes, tamago sandos, mini wagyu burgers and, of course, both hot cross buns and Easter eggs. You'll pay $99 per person, with a minimum of two people needed, to get feasting from 11am–3pm daily across the entire month of April — right through till Wednesday, April 30, 2025 — at Bar 1603 inside Hotel Indigo on Turbot Street. Plus, for $15 extra, you can also sip a cherry- and chilli chocolate-infused umeshu cocktail.
If you thought Africa's first underwater hotel room was impressive, how about an upgrade? For an additional US$283,500, you can stay in your very own submarine hotel. Titled 'Lovers Deep', it's the latest offering from luxury travel company Oliver's Travels, whose motto is 'Why Do Ordinary?' Indeed. Why put up with terrestrial limitations, when you could be floating 650 feet deep off a Caribbean island of your choice? Making demands on a dedicated butler? Performing ablutions in company in a dual shower? Watching schools of fish swim by while eating their aphrodisiac friends? You can ask Oliver’s to customise an overnight package according to your desires. Options include sunset beach walks, a petal-scattering service, champagne breakfasts-in-bed and fine dining feasts involving caviar, oysters and chocolate fondant. "All of our hand-picked, luxury properties have something unique and quirky about them," says Oliver Bell, the company's co-founder. "But Lovers Deep really stands out as one of our quirkiest yet." Oliver’s, a UK-based company, specialises in highly unusual, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences. Their stable includes remote, romantic lighthouses, abandoned windmills-turned-hotels, French chateaus and British country mansions surrounded by rolling hills. Via PSFK.
Four decades back, concert film history was made. In December 1983, David Byrne walked out onto a Hollywood stage with a tape deck, pressed play and, while standing there solo, began to sing 'Psycho Killer'. Then-future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme directed cameras towards the legendary Talking Heads' frontman, recording the results for Stop Making Sense. The best way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the event behind the greatest concert film ever made arrived in 2024, and in cinemas. That'd be watching it on the big screen, of course, with cult-favourite independent film and TV company A24 — and Madman Down Under — releasing a complete restoration of Stop Making Sense. What's the second-best way to celebrate the occasion and the movie? Catching that new 4K version at home now that it's on Madman's documentary streaming service DocPlay from Thursday, June 13. Wearing big suits is optional. Now able to burn down your house — not literally, naturally — the 4K restoration premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, and also had a date with SXSW Sydney's Screen Festival in 2023. So, no it isn't the same as it ever was: Stop Making Sense is now even better. The film isn't just iconic for how it starts, which definitely isn't how concerts usually kick off. From there, as captured at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison put on one helluva show in support of their previous year's album Speaking in Tongues. Expect a lineup of hits, a playful approach, Byrne's famous oversized attire and even heftier stage presence, and the feeling that you're virtually in the room. Indeed, everything about this energetic and precisely executed documentary, which records the set from start to finish, couldn't be further from the standard concert flick. As 'Once in a Lifetime', 'Heaven', 'Burning Down the House', Life During Wartime', 'This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)', 'Genius of Love' and more get a whirl, each element of the movie is that fine-tuned, and every aspect of the band's performance, too. And if it feels like Byrne was on-screen not that long ago, that's because his Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)-directed solo concert flick American Utopia did the rounds of Aussie cinemas back in 2020 — and proved one of that year's absolute best films. Check out the trailer for Stop Making Sense's 4K restoration below: Stop Making Sense is available to stream via DocPlay from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Images: Jordan Cronenweth, Courtesy of A24.
When it first launched in New South Wales back 2022, Slim's Quality Burger combined two trends in one: Australia's undying love of burgers and the current affection for all things nostalgic. Started by a trio with knowledge of the burg business, with Michael Tripp, Nik Rollison and David Hales all boasting past ties to the Noosa-born Betty's Burgers and Concrete Co, this chain adores kicking it old school. Think: 50s- and 60s-inspired decor, a throwback vibe like it's operating in America seven decades back, plus classic meat-and-bread combos paired with ice cream sundaes. While Queensland isn't short on places to enjoy burgers, this Aussie brand was always planning on going national — and now it's Brisbane's turn. Head to Kippa-Ring since mid-September and you'll find the chain's Sunshine State debut, with another River City store also on its way. Slim's arrival in the River City has seen the brand notch up a few firsts, too: its first drive-in and drive-thru diner, and its first to offer a breakfast menu. Adding a meals-on-wheels component is the latest step in Slim's ode to Americana, as already splashed through its vintage-leaning aesthetic, with features banquettes in cherry read, neon signage, chequerboard flooring and classic light fixtures. At the now-open Kippa-Ring outpost on Elizabeth Avenue and the soon-to-come Slacks Creek venue, customers will find nose-in parking surrounding the eateries — and views into the open kitchen from your vehicle, too. You can also order from behind the wheel via QR code. Hanging out in the carpark afterwards like this is Grease? That's up to you. This chain is all about a lean menu of options made with simple but quality ingredients. Burger-wise, customers can choose between original, cheeseburger, a double and a triple, plus 'the works' burgs, all made with angus beef — and variations of the above with bacon. There's also four different chicken varieties, including with crispy fried or grilled chook, and a veggie option using a plant-based patty. Sides focus on fries either with sea salt, loaded with cheese and grilled onion, or also featuring maple-smoked bacon. As for those sundaes, they come in hot fudge, salted caramel and strawberry flavours. And to wash it all down, there are spiders — because plonking a scoop of ice cream in some soft drink never gets old — plus post-mix soda from the fountain, and chocolate, vanilla and strawberry thickshakes. For those keen on an early-morning Slim's fix, the breakfast offering spans bacon and sausage burgs, steak and egg burgs, fried chicken burgs, works burgs, veggie egg and cheese burgs, hash browns, chia pudding with strawberries and nut-free granola, a full coffee lineup, freshly squeezed orange juice and more. "Our breakfast menu is designed to offer a great start to the day the Slim's way. We believe Queenslanders will love our unique take on these classics," says Slim's chef Greg Engelhardt. Find Slim's Quality Burger at 2/407 Elizabeth Avenue, Kippa-Ring, operating from 7am–10pm daily. The chain is also opening in Slacks Creek — we'll update you with more details when they're announced.
Since hitting Broadway five years ago, notching up 11 Tony Awards, nabbing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and just becoming an all-round pop culture phenomenon, Hamilton was always going to make the leap to cinemas. So, it's no wonder Disney leapt at the opportunity. The Mouse House was originally meant to bring Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical hip hop musical to cinemas in October 2021 — via a filmed version of the stage production, rather than a traditional stage-to-screen adaptation — but it's doing us all a solid in these rough times and fast tracking it to streaming. And it lands this winter. Hamilton fans around the world will be able to watch the filmed version of the original Broadway production on Disney+ from July 3 (the day before Independence Day in the US). That's a whole 15 months ahead of schedule. Shot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway back in 2016, this cinematic screening of Hamilton is still a big deal. Actually, given the fact that it features the original Broadway cast — including Miranda in the eponymous role — it's a huge deal. Everyone who missed out on the opportunity to see tale of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton live as it toured the US or on London's West End will be able to do the next best thing, with Hamilton jumping on the popular trend of screening filmed versions of plays and musicals in cinemas. In addition to Miranda — who stars, and wrote the musical's music, lyrics and book — this filmed version of the production features Daveed Diggs (Velvet Buzzsaw) as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Leslie Odom Jr. (Murder on the Orient Express) as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (When They See Us) as George Washington, Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter) as King George, Renee Elise Goldsberry (The House with a Clock in Its Walls) as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo (the Broadway version of Amelie) as Eliza Hamilton. Once you've watched the small-screen version, you can get excited about seeing the stage production, too, as it's finally set to arrive in Australia in March 2021. Under the circumstances — and with international travel still banned for the foreseeable future — it's possible that this could be delayed, though. Hamilton is just the latest film to be fast-tracked to streaming, with other big-name flicks, such as Birds of Prey, The Invisible Man and Disney's Onward, also hitting small screens ahead of schedule. You can check out 12 of our favourites over here. While you're eagerly awaiting Hamilton to hit Disney+, you can watch (and rewatch) the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCKfXpAGHc Hamilton will hit Disney+ globally on July 3, 2020. Updated June 22, 2020.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from January's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW ARCHIVE 81 Australian Malignant, The Conjuring and Saw filmmaker James Wan doesn't direct any episodes of Netflix's new sci-fi/horror series Archive 81, but he does lend his executive producing skills to the podcast-to-screen show — and it's easy to see why. The immediately creepy found-footage effort slots in seamlessly among the fright-inducing fare that's helped make his career, all while taking its time to dole out its scares, shocks and eeriness. It's also plain to see why Resolution, The Endless and Synchronic directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead helm two episodes, too, thanks to their already-demonstrated affection for mind-bending, genre-twisting tales that play with space and time. That pedigree alone makes Archive 81 a must-see for movie buffs, and so does the fact that the series also doubles a love letter to everything strange and out-there that's ever been captured on celluloid. Usually devoting his time to unearthing lost gems or just trawling through old video tapes looking for recorded treasure, film archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie, Black Box) gets an unexpectedly lucrative job offer: restoring Hi8 footage shot by college student Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi, Altered Carbon) back in 1994. He has to agree to live in a remote compound, under video surveillance, to take the gig — and he'll be sifting through material that Melody filmed in the Visser, an odd New York apartment building where she was looking for her mother but started to notice otherworldly things afoot. Much of the thrill of the impeccably made Archive 81 stems from its multi-layered mysteries, including what's actually happening back in the 90s, the real motives behind Dan's well-paying position and why the two time periods seem to start bleeding together. Developed, produced and mostly penned by The Boys alum Rebecca Sonnenshine, it makes for tense, trippy and often daring viewing, even when things get a tad silly in the supernatural department. The first season of Archive 81 is available to stream via Netflix. THE TOURIST If making TV shows and movies bubbles down to a formula, it doesn't take much to glean how The Tourist came about. Starring Jamie Dornan as a man caught up in a mystery in Australia's sprawling outback, this six-part series jumps on several popular trends — saddling a famous face with battling the Aussie elements chief among them (see also: the film Gold, which plonks Zac Efron amid the nation's dusty, yellow-hued expanse). Dornan's trip Down Under also plunges into a familiar thriller setup, with memory loss playing a key role. Memento famously did it. The Flight Attendant did as well. Combine the two, throw in all that striking scenery that constantly defines Australia on-screen, and that's the template beneath this well-greased, cleverly plotted, easy-to-binge newcomer. Adding another TV role to his resume alongside The Fall, Death and Nightingales, New Worlds and Once Upon a Time — and another part to his eclectic filmography, given that he's been in the vastly dissimilar Synchronic and Wild Mountain Thyme in the past year, and looks set to get an Oscar nomination for Belfast — Dornan plays an Irish traveller in Australia. The character's name doesn't matter at first, when he's using the bathroom at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere. But after he's run off the road by a steamrolling long-haul truck, he desperately wishes he could remember his own moniker, plus everything else about his past. Local Constable Helen Chalmers (Danielle Macdonald, French Exit) takes a shine to him anyway; however, piecing together his history is far from straightforward. His other immediate questions: why is he in the middle of Australia, why does a bomb go off in his vicinity and why is he getting calls from a man trapped in an underground barrel? The Tourist is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. THE HOUSE Not to be confused with well-cast but decidedly unfunny Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler-starring comedy of the same name, The House dedicates its weird and wonderful stop-motion animated frames to three tales all set in the same abode. In the anthology film's first chapter, a poverty-stricken family mocked by richer relatives luck into a deal with an architect, which results in the movie's central dwelling being built — and its new inhabitants getting more than they bargained for. In the second part, a developer, who also happens to be a rat, finalises his renovations and readies the place for sale; however, two odd prospective buyers won't leave after the first viewing. And in the third section, the home towers above an apocalyptic future flooded with water, with its owner, a cat, struggling with her fellow feline tenants. Each of The House's films-within-a-film hail from a different creative team, boast different voice casts and splash around their own aesthetics — and they're all a delight. The constants: the titular structure, the fabric-style look to the animation (even as each director comes up with their own take) that makes you want to reach out and touch it, and mix of creativity and emotion in its dark-skewing stories. This is a movie that questions the comfortable mindset that bricks and mortar are expected to bring, and where where just trying to get by is recognised as the struggle it is in a variety of wild and inventive ways. And as for that vocal talent, Matthew Goode (The King's Man), Mia Goth (Emma.), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Susan Wokoma (Truth Seekers) and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker all do ace work. The House is available to stream via Netflix. THE TENDER BAR Playing Batman has rarely been about smiles and laughs, but spending time in the cape and the cowl was particularly grim for Ben Affleck. He wasn't the best Bruce Wayne or Dark Knight, and he couldn't have looked more miserable. He hasn't seemed to have had a great time on-screen for a while, in fact, other than his OTT recent performance in The Last Duel. He's a charismatic dream in The Tender Bar, though, with coming-of-age drama enlisting him as the supportive uncle and surrogate dad to the film's lead character and still giving him top billing. With the Sad Affleck memes and the chaos frequently surrounding his personal life, it can be easy to forget how charming an actor the elder Affleck brother can be — and this is also his best performance since 2014's Gone Girl, and by far. That uncle, Charlie, tends bar and helps his sister (Lily Rabe, The Undoing) bring up her son JR (debutant Daniel Ranieri) given that the boy's radio DJ dad (Max Martini, The Purge) is happily and drunkenly mostly absent from their lives. It's the self-taught Charlie that sparks JR's desire to become a writer, too, with The Tender Bar based on real-life novelist and journalist JR Moehringer's memoir. There's much that's familiar about the overall narrative, but George Clooney — in filmmaker mode, but without also appearing on-screen as he did with The Midnight Sky — recognises that a comfortable story told well, and with warmth, affection and thoughtfulness, can still strike a chord. The performances he gets out of Affleck, the engaging young Ranieri, plus Tye Sheridan (The Card Counter) as the college-aged JR, also help considerably, as do the moments between the former and his two main co-stars that firmly fit the film's title: tender. The Tender Bar is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE AFTERPARTY Only Murders in the Building isn't the only new comic murder-mystery series worth streaming from the past few months. Joining it is The Afterparty, which also sports a killer cast — this time Sam Richardson (Detroiters), Ben Schwartz (Space Force), Zoe Chao (Love Life), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), Dave Franco (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Tiffany Haddish (The Card Counter) — and a savvy spin on an oft-used gimmick. Rather than skewering true-crime podcasting, this quickly addictive comedy from writer/director Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) toys with the reality that every tale differs depending on the perspective. Whodunnits always hinge upon that fact, and Miller has also clearly seen iconic Japanese film Rashomon. And, considering that its big murder takes place after a school function, there's a touch of Big Little Lies at play, too. With his directing partner Phil Lord, Miller has made a career out of getting smart and funny with familiar parts, however, and that doesn't change here. The setup: at the afterparty following his 15-year high-school reunion, obnoxious autotune-abusing pop star Xavier (Franco) winds up dead on the rocks beneath his lavish mansion. Enter the determined Detective Danner (Haddish), who starts grilling his former classmates one by one to find out who's responsible. Her interrogations start with the sensible Aniq (the always-great Richardson), who was hoping to finally make a move on his schoolyard crush Zoe (Chao) — and after his version of events, Danner hears from Zoe's macho ex Brett (Barinholtz) in The Afterparty's second episode, then from Aniq's best bud Yasper (Schwartz, riffing on Parks and Recreation's Jean-Ralphio without being quite as ridiculous). The cast is top-notch, the writing is clever, there's much fun to be had with its genre- and perspective-bending premise, and the throwaway gags are simply glorious. The first three episodes of The Afterparty are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new instalments dropping weekly. PEACEMAKER Simply being better than its terrible predecessor couldn't make The Suicide Squad a great movie; however, the DC Extended Universe is still betting big on James Gunn's over-the-top vision for its supervillains. Yes, just like Marvel, the comic-book company has its own sprawling big-screen franchise filled with interconnected films — and now, thanks to spinoff streaming series Peacemaker, that caped crusader-focused world also extends to the small screen, too. John Cena (Fast and Furious 9) returns as the titular character, and feels more comfortable in the role this time around. Gunn is back as the show's creator, writer and main director, helming all but three of the first season's eight episodes. And the tone is still devil-may-care with irreverence and flair, aka the filmmaker's usual mode, complete with rampant helpings of raunch and gore. If you loved The Suicide Squad, this is all clearly great news. Even better: if you weren't fussed overly or at all about Gunn's sequel-slash-do-over and now understandably approach the idea of a TV offshoot with caution, Peacemaker still proves plenty of fun. It follows its central figure after the events of the film, where he's spared from going back to prison by being dragged into another black-ops government squad on a super-secret mission — and while Gunn isn't doing anything new here, he's found a better balance for his brash and raucous approach in this entertaining series than in the flick that preceded it. Casting the radiant Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black) as one of the agents overseeing the egotistical, frequently dancing, often half-naked, always-comic Peacemaker is also a masterstroke. The first five episodes of Peacemaker's first season are available to stream via Binge, with new instalments dropping weekly. SERVANT Ted Lasso is the Apple TV+ series that's been scoring all the praise and love for the past few years, and rightfully so — but the platform's M Night Shyamalan-produced Servant is also one of its winners. Perched at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the warm-hearted soccer comedy, this eerie horror effort spends the bulk of its time in a well-appointed Philadelphia brownstone where TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files) and her chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot) appear the picture of wealthy happiness, complete with a newborn son, Jericho, to fulfil their perfect family portrait. But as 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) quickly learned in Servant's first season, there's nothing normal about their baby — which, after the tot's death, has been replaced by a lookalike doll to calm the otherwise-catatonic Dorothy's grief. That's how the series began back in 2019, with its second season deepening its mysteries — and Leanne's place with the Turners, even as her own unconventional background with cult ties keeps bringing up questions. With the just-started third season, the household is once again attempting to pretend that everything is normal and to also keep Dorothy unaware of the real Jericho's fate, even with a flesh-and-blood infant now back in her arms. But in a slowly paced series that's perfected its unsettling and insidious tone from episode one, serves up a clever blend of atmospheric and claustrophobic thrills mixed with gripping performances, makes exceptional use of its setting and also features Rupert Grint in his best post-Harry Potter role yet, there's always more engrossing twists to rock the status quo. The first two episodes of Servant's third season are available to stream via Apple TV+, with new instalments dropping weekly. EXCELLENT FILMS FROM THE PAST FEW YEARS TO CATCH UP ON BLACK BEAR Aubrey Plaza's resume isn't short on highlights, but Black Bear sits right at the top alongside her instantly iconic turn as Parks and Recreation's April Ludgate and her also-excellent performance in Ingrid Goes West. She does deadpan like few other actors currently working, and can convey more with her eyes and otherwise expressionless face than most of her colleagues can with their entire bodies — but she's asked to use every acting tool in her arsenal in this two-part affair. She always plays a woman called Allison, but her character is initially introduced as a former actress-turned-filmmaker decamping to a scenic lake house in upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains, with getting some writing done (and finding the inspiration to do so) her aim. She's easily distracted by her hosts, though, with Gabe (Christopher Abbott, Possessor) showing Allison a little too much attention amid his bickering with his pregnant partner Blair (Sarah Gadon, True Detective). In the movie's second half, everything changes, including all that the audience knows about the characters, their jobs and their relationships with each other. Now the film takes place in the same spot, but in the middle of a movie shoot that's proving as chaotic as the initial Allison's attempt at a relaxing stay. Helming his third feature, writer/director Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries) leans heavily upon his cast — especially Plaza; Allison is told she's hard to read, and that's a key part to the twisty narrative — but he's also trusted himself with an astute, insightful and playful deconstruction of art and authenticity. There are no weak links at any moment, including in the feature's seesawing between dark comedy and dramatic thrills, and the distinctive aesthetic he applies to the film's two parts. Plaza is astonishing, unsurprisingly, but Abbott and Gadon are similarly impressive in a movie that isn't easily forgotten. Black Bear is available to stream via Netflix. THE RIDER The past two years have been nothing short of spectacular for filmmaker Chloé Zhao. She directed the best feature of 2020, aka Nomadland, then became only the second woman ever — and first woman of colour — to win the Best Director Oscar. And, mere months after achieving that historic feat, she gave the Marvel Cinematic Universe its most ambitious movie yet (and its most gorgeously and naturalistically shot) courtesy of Eternals. But the writer/director's career didn't start here, and also didn't start being phenomenal with Nomadland. A hit on the festival circuit in 2017 and 2018 (the latter in Australia), The Rider wasn't her first excellent film either (that'd be 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me), but the empathetic modern-day take on the western genre instantly cemented her as a talent to watch In this rodeo drama, Brady Blackburn (real-life cowboy Brady Jandreau, playing a version of himself) just wants to hop back onto a horse. He's also a gifted trainer, and this line of work is what he's compelled to do. Watching him struggle with life without his only passion makes for soulful and heart-wrenching viewing, as Brady wades through the aftermath of an in-ring incident that almost killed him. Shot with lyrical images that find tenderness in the story, suffering and situation, The Rider proves a case of art imitating life after Jandreau went through the same scenario himself after meeting Zhao back in 2015 — and she turns the results into a feature that's partly a specific character study and partly a universal tale of chasing and losing a dream, then trying to come out of the other side. Also starring members of Jandreau's family, and told with devastating intimacy, the end result boasts a heart as big as America's sweeping plains. The Rider is available to stream via SBS On Demand. A BELOVED SITCOM TO BINGE — AND CHECK OUT ITS NEW SEASON IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA Since 2005, one sitcom has devoted 162 episodes to the world's worst bar owners, spanning their attempts to run a watering hole, their constant bickering with each other and everything else that life has thrown their way. That show is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, of course. As well as now being the longest-running live-action sitcom ever made, it's a gem filled with the devious, darkly amusing and downright odd antics of the Paddy's Pub gang. Those pals — as played by Charlie Day (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Glenn Howerton (AP Bio), Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest), Kaitlin Olson (Hacks) and Danny DeVito (Jumanji: The Next Level) — usually fail at everything they attempt, and the show never pretends otherwise. Indeed, with a nihilistic and irreverent sense of humour that's all its own, it's one of the least sensible yet also savagely smart shows currently airing. Season 15, which is now on Disney+ alongside the 14 seasons before it — bringing its eight-episode run our way quite swiftly after it aired in America in December last year — sees Charlie, Dennis, Mac, Dee and Frank keep doing what they've always done, and keep pouring out comedy gold in the process. It's the show's first season since COVID-19, so it finds ways to work the pandemic into its always-outrageous setups. Given the American political landscape since 2019, when the previous season aired, It's Always Sunny has much to mine there as well. And, a trip to Ireland, aka hallowed ground for the longterm owners of an Irish pub, also fills half of its episodes. Even this far in, the show never stops surprising, pushing every boundary it can and being sidesplittingly hilarious — and long may it continue, with another three seasons already greenlit. All 15 seasons to-date of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are available to stream via Disney+. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December last year — and our top new TV shows of 2021, best new television series from this year that you might've missed and top straight-to-streaming films and specials as well. Top image: Quantrell D Colbert/Netflix.
We're living in unprecedented times and, thanks to Pantone's colour experts, we now have the hue to match. Every year, the Pantone Colour Institute selects a shade that it thinks will both set the trend for and sum up the 12 months ahead — and for 2022, it's even created a new colour to take the honours for the first time ever. 2022's Colour of the Year: Very Peri, aka Pantone 17-3938, a brand-new shade that's been described as "a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone". Pantone is never short on words for its picks of the year, and has also dubbed this purplish blue as "inquisitive and intriguing" and "displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit". Very Peri is meant to represent transformation, too, as well as the fusion of the physical world and the digital space — all concepts very relevant to forging onwards during the pandemic. Pantone Colour Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman also called it "a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression." Introducing the Pantone Color of the Year 2022, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri, a dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red. Learn more: https://t.co/eNIwkTq2K8 pic.twitter.com/hBfiDusFKU — PANTONE (@pantone) December 9, 2021 Explaining the decision to come up with a new colour, rather than hone in on an existing one, Pantone Colour Institute Vice President Laurie Pressman said that "the Pantone Colour of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that colour can hope to answer." She continued: "creating a new colour for the first time in the history of our Pantone Colour of the Year educational colour program reflects the global innovation and transformation taking place. As society continues to recognise colour as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us." Expect to see all things Very Peri popping up around the place when the new year hits, with Pantone suggesting how they can be used in fashion and accessories, home decor, design and beauty, too. The new shade takes over from 2021's two colours of the year, Ultimate Gray (Pantone 17-5104) and the vibrant yellow Illuminating (13-0647). The year before, Pantone went with Classic Blue, while 2019's colour was Living Coral, 2018's was Ultra Violet and 2017's was Greenery. To find out more about Very Peri — and to check out all the previous Colours of the Year — head to the Pantone website.
Picture this: it's the end of a busy first quarter, and you're unwinding at a dreamy Californian-inspired ranch in Byron Bay's hinterland among rolling hills and wellness workshops you can dip in and out of. Known for its infrared sauna studios at seven locations across Victoria and New South Wales, Nimbus Co is launching a four-day wellness retreat at the fabulous Sun Ranch. With nods to 1970s nostalgia, the sprawling accomodation layers in amenities like a floating sauna and ice bath, a pool straight out of a Palm Springs resort, and a riding club offering horseback trail tours. For Nimbus co-founder Neil O'Sullivan, PAUSE Retreat is a space designed to help people "step out of autopilot and burnout" culture. Wellness experiences are spread across 55 acres of rewilded farmland, inviting weekenders to reflect on their routines, rest with intention, and hopefully, pick up practical tools that can support their wellbeing long after the retreat. "Australia, whilst being the lucky country, is also now one of the most burnout-prone countries in the world due to high workloads, financial stress, and pressure for wellbeing. It's time we did something about that." After settling into one of the poolside suites, private one-bedders or boutique barns that fit up to four, expect workshops designed to soothe frazzled nerves. Boutique wellness studios like Peaches Pilates bring sound healing, pilates and yoga into the mix — and of course, Nimbus Co will be running infrared sauna and ice bath sessions. Zen guided meditations, nature walks or runs through the breathtaking countryside, and yoga and pilates classes fill the mornings, while afternoons are dedicated to inspiring mind-body masterclasses led by accredited experts, such as fertility educator and clinical nutritionist Ema Taylor. Communal mealtimes are a great way to connect with other guests — alongside hands-on cooking workshops by local plant-based caterer and cookbook author Cade McConnel — and evening reflection sessions around a large firepit under the stars. Images supplied
After screenwriter and TV showrunner Damon Lindelof played a pivotal part in bring Lost to screens, but before he revived Watchmen as a phenomenal miniseries, he was behind HBO's The Leftovers. Based on Tom Perrotta's 2011 book of the same title, the applauded show only ran for three seasons; however, it has been a constant topic of conversation since its 2014 premiere for good reason — namely, because it is thought-provoking, absorbing, exceptionally acted and, well, just excellent. The Leftovers is also grim, too. Starring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Liv Tyler and Christopher Eccleston, it follows the aftermath of a world-changing event, with two percent of the planet's population disappearing in an incident known as 'the sudden departure'. That's 140 million people gone without a trace, and it has quite the impact — including on Kevin Garvey (Theroux), a small-town chief of police. And, while plenty happens in the show that makes it a must-see, the fact that much of its third season takes place in Victoria is a definite point of interest.
Time to brush the cobwebs off your novelty gumboots and gear up for some serious footstomping at the Red Deer Music and Arts Festival. The annual overnight BYO (couches and booze) and camping festival returns to the Ed Hope and VMBR stages for another solid marathon of national, emerging and local bands — and legendary festival favourites Art vs Science are at the top. Locked in for October 22 beneath the pretty, pretty D'agular ranges of Mt Samson, Red Deer has also invited The Jungle Giants, Bullhorn, Owen Rabbit, Mar Haze, Charlotte Emily, Free and Whistle Theory, The Hi-Boys, Go Van Go, Maja, The Counterfeit Umbrellas, Leanne Tennant, The Second Affair, beneb, Sundown Jury, The Lyrical, Capre, Inkaza, DJ Blake Thompson and The Dashounds. And, because it's the kind of fest that knows just what you want, you can actually see absolutely everyone on the bill. Yep, their lineup is 100% clash free. True to BYO form, Red Deer allows you to BYO booze (no glass), couches and camping gear. And of course, the festival's not just about music. They'll be selling jungle-themed cocktails at the Jungle Bar, hosting art workshops, plus there'll be food and market stalls. We've got one word to sum it all up: FUN.
What's better than grabbing a meal from a food truck? Trying to choose from a lineup of meals-on-wheels vendors at a food truck pop-up, of course. And that's what's on offer at Abbeville Street Park in Upper Mount Gravatt on Saturday, August 29, with the event rounding up some of Brisbane's standout mobile eateries for a tasty afternoon. Micasa Burger Truck, Rolls Pho Mi and Tender Calamari will all be in attendance, so you can pick different types of cuisine for your late lunch, arvo snack or dinner — or grab something from all three. For dessert, Gelato a Go Go will be there too, so clearly you know what's on offer. Fittingly, this get-together is called the Mt Gravatt Food Truck Pop-Up, and it takes place from 3–7pm. Bring your wallet and your appetite, obviously. The Mt Gravatt Food Truck Pop-Up takes place from 3–7pm on Saturday, August 29 at Abbeville Street Park, Upper Mount Gravatt.
Finding greatness in Bong Joon-ho's Parasite isn't difficult. The perceptive class-clash and eat-the-rich story, the array of pitch-perfect performances, the acclaimed director's stunning mastery of tone, the insightful and revealing production design: they're all examples in this Oscar- and Cannes-winning South Korean masterpiece. Another instance comes courtesy of composer Jung Jae-il's score, which soundtracks the film with tunes both disquieting and baroque. It's no wonder that accolades came Jung's way, too, including from his homeland's Grand Bell Awards. Hearing Jung's contribution echoing as Parasite screens is the best way to appreciate it, of course — and watching him perform it live in Australia with Orchestra Victoria will dial what's already a spectacular experience up a few notches. For the first time, the composer is heading Down Under, all thanks to 2025's Melbourne International Film Festival. The event's commitment to honouring the art of screen composition via screenings that pair live tunes and movies is continuing, and two Parasite in Concert sessions are set to be among this year's fest highlights. At 2pm and 8pm on Saturday, August 23 at Hamer Hall in the Victorian capital, Jung will take to the keys. He'll also be conducting Orchestra Victoria as he plays. Seeing Parasite on a big screen is already a treat, no matter how many times you've watched it before; however, giving the picture the concert treatment is something extra special. It's only happening in Melbourne, if you're located elsewhere in Australia and needed more motivation — beyond the 26 films the fest has already announced for 2025 — to attend this year's MIFF. Jung isn't just known for Parasite. If you've felt the tension emanating from Squid Game's score across its two seasons so far — with the third arriving before June 2025 is out — then you've also appreciated the composer's efforts. Prior to Parasite, Jung collaborated with Bong on Okja, then did so again afterwards on this year's Mickey 17. The tunes in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker hail from him as well, as does the score for MIFF 2025 title Twinless. "Composing the score of Parasite for director Bong Joon Ho was a life-changing experience for me, and it's a work I'm incredibly proud of. I'm so excited to conduct and perform this original score live in concert for the first time in Australia with the talented Orchestra Victoria as part of Melbourne International Film Festival," said Jung about MIFF's Parasite in Concert events. "This isn't just a film with live music, it's something far more rare. To see Jung Jae-il perform and conduct his own score, live, brings an intimacy and immediacy you can't replicate," added Melbourne International Film Festival Artistic Director Al Cossar. "It's exactly the kind of experience that belongs on a festival stage. In collaboration with Orchestra Victoria, we're proud to present something that speaks directly to MIFF's mission to bring audiences the story of the world through unforgettable screen experiences," Cossar continued. Parasite in Concert joins two sessions of almost-100-year-old masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc with a new score by Julia Holter on the music-and-movies side of Melbourne International Film Festival's 2025 program so far. As for what else they'll have for company beyond the already-revealed titles, the fest's full lineup is unveiled on Thursday, July 10. Check out the trailer for Parasite below: Parasite Live in Concert takes place on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank — with tickets on sale from 11am on Thursday, June 12, 2025 via the venue website. The 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 7–Sunday, August 24 at a variety of venues around Melbourne; from Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 17 and Friday, August 22–Sunday, August 24 in regional Victoria; and online nationwide from Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 31. For further details, including the full program from Thursday, July 10, visit the MIFF website.
