What music goes best with turning eight-million Lego bricks into the largest collection of life-sized Lego Star Wars models ever assembled? 'Luke's Theme', aka the franchise's main tune? 'The Imperial March' when things get tricky? 'Parade of the Ewoks', just because? That's a question for Ryan McNaught aka Brickman, who has been spending time turning plastic rectangles, squares and other shapes into a recreation of a galaxy far, far away. The end result: Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition, which is a world-first showcase of Lego models based on the George Lucas-created space saga. It'll arrive in Australia in 2025, making its global premiere — and it sparks another question for attendees: which tracks will pair well with walking through this Lego Star Wars wonderland? The force is strong with this one — the Lego-building force, that is. Exactly where all of those millions of Lego bricks will display hasn't been revealed as yet, and neither have exact exhibition dates, but you can start getting as excited as a Skywalker learning how to first use a lightsaber. The full list of models that'll feature also hasn't been unveiled so far, but battle scenes between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader will be on display, plus Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul duelling, and also Emperor Palpatine's throne flanked by two Royal Guards. If you're in Melbourne and Sydney, you can also get a sneak peek right now — with the first two at Westfield Doncaster from Wednesday, May 1–Monday, May 6, and the third at Sydney Arcade's huge Lego store (the world's largest, in fact) for the month of May. As it constructs an immersive experience and follows in the footsteps of the Jurassic World franchise, which has also scored the Lego treatment from Brickman, Star Wars: The Exhibition has plenty of material to draw upon. On-screen, the series spans the initial film trilogy that released from 1977–83, then the prequels from 1999–2005, then the sequels — including The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker — from 2015–2019. Rogue One, Solo, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka: the list goes on across the big and small screens. There's also TV's The Acolyte, which arrives in June 2024, plus the wealth of animated efforts in the saga. "Building real people and characters is one of the hardest things you can possibly make out of Lego bricks. Each model not only has to represent who it is in incredible detail, but also needs to capture the moment, the emotion, the struggle, the tension," said McNaught about Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition. "Translating those epic scenes, iconic characters and spacecraft from Star Wars into little bricks is really hard and that's why they are rarely done, and even more so on this scale. Nobody has ever recreated these fight scenes at this scale out of Lego before — and I'm excited to be able to help premiere this in Australia for the first time in 2025." Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition will hit Australia in 2025, with when and where still to be revealed — we'll let you know more when it is announced. Head to the exhibition's website to sign up for updates in the interim.
Whether it sports a catchy beat, an intoxicating riff, a punchy melody or instantly quotable lyrics, a brilliant pop tune never gets old. As Girls5eva demonstrates with its second season, the same proves true for smart and hilarious sitcoms about pop stars who climbed the charts, lived the late-90s/early-00s girl group fantasy and, two decades later, are trying to become more than one-hit wonders. And yes, this Tina Fey-executive produced sitcom — which shares the same joke-avalanche approach that 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Great News and Mr Mayor do, too — is also filled to the brim with ridiculously infectious songs. When it first hit streaming in 2021, Girls5eva introduced viewers to the eponymous band when reclaiming their fame wasn't even a blip on their radars — until, unexpectedly, it was. Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles, Broadway's Waitress), Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton), Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps, I Feel Pretty) and Gloria McManus (Paula Pell, AP Bio) had left their days as America's answer to the Spice Girls behind, barely staying in contact since the group split and their fifth member, Ashley Gold (Ashley Park, Emily in Paris), later died in an infinity pool accident. But then rapper Lil Stinker (Jeremiah Craft, Bill & Ted Face the Music) sampled their single 'Famous 5eva', and they were asked to perform backing vocals during his Tonight Show gig. Jumping back into the spotlight reignited dreams that the surviving Girls5eva members thought they'd extinguished long ago — well, other than walking attention-magnet Wickie, who crashed and burned in her attempts to go solo, and was happy to fake it till she made it again. Dawn had settled into life as a mother (to four-year-old Max, played by debutant Julius Conceicao), wife (to school guidance counsellor Scott, played by Billions' Daniel Breaker) and manager at her brother's (Dean Winters, Joe vs Carole) Italian restaurant. Summer was an Insta-celebrity among conservatives and Christians thanks to her longstanding marriage to ex-boy band member Kev (Andrew Rannells, The Prom). And Gloria was a successful dentist whose other claim to fame since Girls5eva was being part of the first gay couple to get divorced in New York City. It's a glorious premise, as brought to life with a pitch-perfect cast — there's zero weak links among Bareilles, Goldsberry, Philipps and pell — with Girls5eva's first eight-episode season bopping through the group's contrasting personalities and their shared dynamics. As they reunited, Wickie's oversized ego, Dawn's uncertainty, Summer's seeming ditziness and the now-forthright Gloria's engrained trauma from pretending to be straight back in the day all swirled around. So too did a cavalcade of clever and perceptive gags about the show's two favourite topics, unsurprisingly: the ludicrous chaos of the entertainment industry, in the 90s and now alike; and the way not only showbiz but the world in general treats women, especially anyone beyond their 20s. Arriving on Stan in Australia and TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand on Friday, May 6, dropping three episodes at once before unfurling weekly afterwards, season two picks up where its predecessor left off, in narrative, vibe and themes. It's also back with more rapid-fire pop-culture references and digs; the same knowing, light but still sincere tone; and a new parade of delightful tunes composed by Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband and source of music across every sitcom she's produced. Having stormed the Jingle Ball stage at the end of the last batch of episodes, Girls5eva now has a new record deal on their own terms, with Dawn penning all of their songs. That said, they're signed to a label owned by the Property Brothers, they've been given just six weeks in the studio by their assigned executive (Grey Henson, Suburgatory), and Gloria busts her knee during a show as they're hitting the publicity circuit. One of the joys of Girls5eva — one of many — is how gleefully absurd it skews, all while fleshing out its central quartet, their hopes and desires, and their experiences navigating an industry that treats them as commodities at best. That silliness is as much a trademark of Fey-produced comedies as Richmond's soundtracks, and it's a template that creator/showrunner Meredith Scardino clearly learned while writing for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and co-scripting the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend movie. It's easy to watch Girls5eva and spot similarities with 30 Rock, Kimmy and the like as a result, but the devil is in the detail in everything with Fey's name attached. Wickie boasts plenty in common with 30 Rock's Jenna Maroney and Kimmy's Titus Andromedon, for instance, but feels like a sibling, not a clone. She's a new song from a familiar band, rather than a cover version — and the same can be said of Dawn, Summer and Gloria, all of whom have counterparts in fellow sitcoms that feature Fey's fingerprints. Girls5eva has always been about second acts, second chances and new beginnings — and wading through the baggage that can hinder all three — so the fact that it hums to a recognisable refrain has never been anything but extremely fitting. The show's sophomore season finds much to satirise with that in mind, while also diving deeper and pushing Wickie, Dawn, Summer and Gloria to grow. Another of its supremely apt underlying riffs: how difficult it is to follow your own heart and let your light shine when life keeps putting you in the same old box. That pulsates through as Wickie falls in love with someone other than herself, Dawn keeps trying to balance her home and work commitments, Summer adjusts to singledom and Gloria woos back her ex-wife (Janine Brito, Wine Country), only to wonder if that's what she really wants. Along the way, there's an onslaught of goofy gags for every occasion (Wickie's boyfriend is a "lunch lord", for example), as well as a tune. Sometimes, Dawn is trying to work all 430 definitions of the word 'set' into a song. Elsewhere, the group belts out bangers such as immediate earworm 'BPE (Big Pussy Energy)'. At one point, they take cues from The Beatles and hit up a rooftop to play the anthemic 'Bend Not Break', which is actually about Gloria's knee injury, to the NYC streets. And season-one highlight 'New York Lonely Boy' gets an equally melancholic and lovely sequel called 'New York City Moms', too. There's power and self-reflection, ridiculousness and earnestness, determination and heart in everything about this series, music, jokes, characters and storylines included — and it just keeps proving a laugh-a-minute gem to watch. Check out the trailer for Girls5eva season two below: The first three episodes of Girls5eva's second season hit Stan in Australia and TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand on Friday, May 6, with new instalments dropping weekly afterwards. Read our full review of season one. Images: Stan/Peacock.
Passion flows as feverishly through the Australia's women's national football team as talent, and Matildas: The World at Our Feet boasts plenty of examples to show it. Covering the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, this six-part documentary series sees enthusiasm and emotion everywhere, regardless of who the squad is playing, why or where, and the end score. Kicking goals? Joyous. Winning games? Euphoric. Taking every step needed to do their best at soccer's ultimate contest, especially because it's being held on home soil for the first time ever? A positively peppy and determined task. Inspiring girls across Australia to follow in their footsteps? For Sam Kerr and company, that's what their hard work is all about. To start this Disney+ doco's sixth episode, Kerr and several teammates chat about how much it means to them to be galvanising tomorrow's female athletes, a topic that pops up more than once across the entire series. In this particular instalment, they also discuss the equivalent influence in their own lives: Cathy Freeman's 400-metre gold-medal run at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "We didn't have a role model in women's football, or any sport," shares goalkeeper Lydia Williams. "Watching Cathy Freeman at 2000, that just kind of ignited my dreams," she continues. "At the time, I was just amazed — blown away that every single person in the country could be talking about one person, and she was a female athlete," adds Kerr. "As I sat in my lounge room as a nine-year-old girl and watched her, that inspired me to one, be proud of who I am, but to also follow my sporting dreams to play football for Australia," says fellow striker Kyah Simon. The force of their feelings radiates from the screen, even more so in light of the squad's 2023 Women's World Cup achievements so far. Indeed, while Matildas: The World at Our Feet has been streaming since April, but it couldn't be more essential viewing as the team progresses through the pinnacle of international soccer — and that Freeman adulation, and those dreams of having the same impact, couldn't be more apt. With their stunning quarter-final defeat of France in the longest penalty shootout in the tournament's history, the Matildas likely eclipsed all other Aussie sporting moments in viewership since Freeman's famous race. The influence that their current campaign is having Australia-wide can't be so easily boiled down to numbers, but it's just as massive. No matter how the Matildas' Women's World Cup plays out from their semi-final match against England onwards — they're guaranteed to hit the pitch again after that, either to vie for the whole thing or compete for third place — consider Matildas: The World at Our Feet the origin story. The team's past goes back further than 2021's hosting announcement and coach Tony Gustavsson's present tenure, of course, but director Katie Bender Wynn (The Will to Fly) focuses on Kerr, Williams, Simon, Katrina Gorry, Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter and more as they prepare for 2023's global contest. The successes, the struggles, the sacrifices: they're all included. Game-day thrills, behind-the-scenes glimpses, to-camera interviews: they are as well. A rousing portrait of Australia's favourite national sporting team as it embraces its biggest moment yet: that's the whole must-watch doco. Bender Wynn takes her cues from soccer in the documentary's approach, celebrating the team overall first and foremost, yet always seeing the exceptional contributors that make today's Matildas era what it is. When the doco lingers among the group, their communal energy is palpable and infectious. Gustavsson's always-positive attitude, beaming brightly like a Swedish Ted Lasso with a wealth of the right football experience, comes through just as strongly. Amid peeks at spirited training sessions and camaraderie-filled camps, too, it's no wonder that each victory feels not just exuberant but truly shared. As Gustavsson puts the Matildas on an ambitious path to face top nations like the US, Spain and Canada as Women's World Cup prep, it's similarly hardly surprising that any loss hits hard, as always accompanied by the coach finding at least one learning or benefit as a silver lining. As captain, Australia's leading international goal scorer across both women's and men's soccer, and the best female striker in the world — when a calf injury isn't keeping her off the turf — Kerr earns the doco's individual focus early, but also swiftly shares the spotlight. As she chats, including in New York on breaks from both the Matildas and Chelsea, and while finding a slice of normality in London around her Women's Super League schedule, she doesn't just sing Freeman's praises, championing everyone that she's representing her country with. Some pre-date her on the team. Others she's grown up with. A few she's clearly an idol to. How they all can combine to ideally win the Women's World Cup is as crucial to the candid Kerr as it is to the series. Matildas: The World at Our Feet also charts midfielder Gorry's journey through motherhood, including returning to play after giving birth — and, with Tameka Yallop's daughter as well, sees the difference that having children and family around during the Matildas' camps makes. It follows forward Fowler's leap overseas as a teenager, and her growing confidence in the game while playing in France and England, albeit away from her family. It watches defender Carpenter go from strength to strength for Lyon, then face coming back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in time for the Women's World Cup. Williams explores her connection to Country, her role as a leader and her memories of the Matildas back when washing their own kits was a given. The fleet-footed Caitlin Foord talks through the commitment required not just on her part to get to this point, but from her single mother when she was a kid. Just like passion, there's no shortage of stories in Matildas: The World at Our Feet, whether Steph Catley is stressing the Matildas' "never say die" mentality, Emily Gielnik is all nerves leading up to proposing to her girlfriend, or Kerr is rightly fuming when she's the subject of a horrendously sexist article after besting Tim Cahill's all-time goal-scoring record. Along the way, this fly-on-the-wall series lays bare the heart, soul and perseverance that've gone into the current phenomenon that has all of Australia talking and barracking, and also supporting women's sport. No one gets to the final four in a World Cup and becomes national darlings overnight, as everyone in this insightful and sincere doco's frames constantly stresses. In fact, celebrating the Matildas right now without stepping through everything that Kerr and her teammates have gone through first would feel incomplete — so, without watching this series — is a bit like hitting the crossbar while taking a penalty kick. Check out the trailer for Matildas: The World at Our Feet below: Matildas: The World at Our Feet streams via Disney+.
Sometimes, he's played by an over-the-top Robert Downey Jr. As TV fans know, sometimes a curmudgeonly Benedict Cumberbatch does the honours. Ian McKellen has even taken the job, as has Will Ferrell. In fact, on the big and small screens for over a century, a lengthy list of actors have stepped into Sherlock Holmes' shoes and worn his deerstalker cap. But Netflix's new film isn't really about the famed sleuth — instead, it's about his sister. As brought to the screen by Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown, Enola Holmes is the family's youngest sibling. Naturally, she has a mystery to solve — she is a Holmes, after all. When her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing on the morning of Enola's 16th birthday, it's up to the teenager to find out where she has gone and why. Her brothers, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), aren't too pleased, though. They're not very happy with her demeanour either, and would rather send her to a finishing school to learn how to become a 'proper' young lady. As the just-dropped full trailer for Enola Holmes shows, yes, Enola does say "the game is afoot". She also becomes caught up in quite the adventure, as based on Nancy Springer's young adult book series. This is a period-set version of the Holmes story, too, not a modernised one — so expect to see Enola flit around 1880s England when the movie hits Netflix on September 23. In addition to Brown, The Crown's Bonham Carter, The Witcher's Cavill and The Nightingale's Claflin, the film also stars Medici's Louis Partridge as a young runaway Lord who crosses Enola's path. Behind the camera, Fleabag and Ramy's Harry Bradbeer directs — with the filmmaker earning an Emmy in 2019 for the former. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0Zf9sXlHk Enola Holmes hits Netflix on September 23. Image: Alex Bailey.
Halloween is over, so it's officially that time of year: time to get Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' stuck in your head for two months straight. That's been a Christmas tradition since 1994, when the upbeat ditty became everyone's go-to seasonal soundtrack — and it has only grown in popularity since. Back in 2019, the track even topped the US charts. It didn't achieve that feat back when it was initially released, making it the song that has taken the longest journey ever to the top spot. And yes, the end of the year was obviously filled with plenty of festive cheer before Carey released the song, but no one can now remember Christmas without it. Last year, the singer actually gave us all another holiday staple, too, thanks to Apple TV+'s Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special. What's better than just listening to 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' on repeat? Watching the pop queen sing it, obviously. If you were planning to rewatch the 2020 special again this year, that's understandable — but Carey has another gift for us. As Apple TV+ has just announced, she's teaming up with the streaming platform again on Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues. Another Christmas, another Mariah Christmas special. Yes, that's the present we all need in 2021. While Carey has re-recorded 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' several times, and already has several holiday albums to her name, this new special will coincide with her new festive single 'Fall in Love at Christmas'. It's a collaboration with Khalid and Kirk Franklin, and they'll all be performing it on Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues. As for what else the special has in store, that'll be unwrapped sometime in December. If that's now all you want from the rest of 2021, Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues hasn't been given an exact release date yet — but obviously it'll arrive at the right time of year. There's no trailer for the special as yet either; however, because we already know you're humming it to yourself, you can check out the music video for 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' below: Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues will hit Apple TV+ sometime this December — we'll update you with an exact date when it's announced.
Tokyo is a city of extremes. It has the physicality of a big city, which it is, yet the people are personable and warm. The toilets sing, the streets are immaculate and everything from dentist's surgeries to street signs is adorned with a cartoon character. This bite-sized whirlwind guide to Tokyo is here to give you a snapshot of what you should add to your trip list. Whether you're going to experience the breathtaking blooms of the cherry blossom season, to shop till you drop or to consume your weight in ramen, half the fun of exploring a new city is discovering your own favourite locations. Armed with a guide to Tokyo, you'll be set up to scratch the surface and carve out your own perfect-sized Tokyo trip. First, some general tips: walk everywhere (sneakers a must), explore a new district each day and do not commit to using a toilet unless you're 100% confident you know how to flush it. Trust us. ACTIVITIES Street Go-Karting What better way to explore this vibrant city – especially for Mario Kart lovers – than on a street go-karting experience? Discover downtown Tokyo including Asakusa, Ueno, the sky tower and more. Just don't forget your driver's licence. Top points on Nintendo won't count for squat when you're on the ground in the city. District: Akihabara Mori Tower Take in panoramic views of Tokyo from the Roppongi Hills Observation Deck in Mori Tower. This place is also home to contemporary art gallery Mori Art Museum — located on floors 52 and 53 — where exhibitions are varied and world-class. Head up high and take in both the art and spectacular views. District: Roppongi Cherry Blossoms You cannot think of Japan without the cherry blossoms — they are truly iconic and an absolute must-see if you're there. If you are lucky enough to be in Tokyo during cherry blossom season, there's everything from petal-filled festivals to optimal viewing spots in the city. So, no matter what you feel like doing in sakura season, you will be spoiled for choice. District: all over Shibuya Crossing There are countless things to see and do in Tokyo, but one of the greatest pleasures can be those brief moments when you are doing nothing but sitting and watching the crowds of fantastically dressed locals walk by. If you're after some truly spectacular people watching, head to the renowned Shibuya Crossing, and wonder at the flashing neon lights as throngs of people come and go. Want a bird's eye view? Head to Shibuya Sky and take in the city from the Sky Edge, the rooftop deck with glass railings. theLet the lights absorb you as you become one with the energy of Tokyo. District: Shibuya [caption id="attachment_893096" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tsukiji Fish Market.[/caption] EATING Food Courts Apart from the toilet flushing thing, the other best practical Tokyo tip we can share is to explore the food courts below all major department stores. Descending into the midst of what is the most plentiful display of every food item ever created is akin to what it probably felt like for Augustus Gloop at Wonka's Factory. You can buy a salad and it can come with a mini ice pack to keep it cool. Pure genius. Hit up Tokyu Foodstore if you're near Shibuya Station, but you will find one of these food courts in the basement of any department store. District: all over Fish Markets Lovers of Japanese cuisine should not pass up the chance to visit one of the largest food markets of its kind and explore Tokyo's food culture and culinary history at the Tsukiji Fish Market and Toyosu fish market. Toyosu is the new inner market located in central Tokyo. Weave your way through the stalls, hear stories from the stall holders, and taste the authentic and fresh sushi. District: Tsukiji, Toyosu Izakaya Ism Izakayas have a casual bar-like atmosphere and also serve food. There are thousands of them in Tokyo. With a distinctly local vibe and with the addition of English menus, the food here is brilliant, the atmosphere energetic and the sake flowing. District: Shimokitazawa [caption id="attachment_893088" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tokyo.[/caption] SHOPPING T-Site Tucked away in dreamy Daikanyama is T-Site, the architecturally stunning Tsutaya bookstore that demands hours of attention. A beautiful place to spend the afternoon pouring over the never-ending shelves of books that cover every conceivable topic, this huge double-storey space houses an incomparable selection of both English and Japanese titles. There's also a cute cafe on the second floor where you can rest your weary eyes. District: Daikanyama Dover Street Market Joined at the hip with the Uniqlo store in snazzy Ginza, Dover Street Market is an absolute must. Renowned for being the Comme des Garçon's mothership, IRL it's kind of like six super beautiful boutiques stacked on top of each other stocking many trendy designer labels (like Jacquemus, Ann Demeulemeester, Rick Owens and the entire Comme des Garçons range). District: Ginza Loft You cannot make it to the end of your trip without purchasing a sparkly sticker, glitzy notepad or wacky highlighter. Brighten up your office supplies at the stationary floor of Loft, where all your wildest kawaii organisation dreams become realities. Countless pens, stickers and colourful folders await you here. Multiple locations 1LDK Be the most well-tailored version of yourself at 1LDK, an amazing clothing and lifestyle store with locations in trendy Aoyama and Nakameguro. Stocking brands like Maison Margiela, Bless, COSMIC WONDER Light Source and Orphic, it's a real haven for high-quality everyday wear in a minimalist, timber-fitted space. District: Nakameguro, Aoyama Parco If you've come to Tokyo to indulge in some retail therapy, a great one-stop shop is Parco. The one-stop shop features all the classics, like Frapbois, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons, as well as a range of pop-ups and event stalls that can change overnight. Grab an onsite iced coffee to give you the energy boost you need to continue your Tokyo adventure. District: Shibuya Once you've booked your trip to Tokyo, Klook will ensure the rest of your trip is easy, affordable and full of all the highlights. To start planning, head to the website.
If you like music and skiing, Snow Machine has served up a winning combination of the two since 2020. It takes place in chilly climes. It enlists a heap of top-notch talent to provide the tunes. And, as it soundtracks a snow-filled week, it plays out like a massive frosty party. For Australians, it also boasts another huge drawcard: getting you to take an overseas alpine holiday. When Snow Machine first debuted its savvy mix, it did so in Japan. Then came an expansion to Queenstown in New Zealand in 2022, where it's still going strong and will return come September 2024. Thinking ahead to the colder weather in the northern hemisphere in 2025, the fest has not only locked in its plans for Hakuba, its OG home, but is expanding to Niseko as well. Snow Machine has also unveiled the lineup for its two next Japanese dates, with Hakuba first up from Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9, then Niseko from Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15. Chase & Status leads the bill in both locations, with Action Bronson, Hot Chip doing a DJ set, Melanie C, A-Trak and Ken Ishii among the other names. Attendees will catch a club set from Bob Moses as well, plus DJ sets from each of Jungle and Sbtrkt. The roster of talent keeps going from there with Claptone, Cyril, Dillon Francis, DJ Kentaro, DJ Nobu & Wata Igarashi, Horse Meat Disco, Jimi the Kween, Monorochrome and Riton — plus Vintage Culture in Niseko only. Snow Machine Japan might next return when autumn will be kicking off Down Under, but it's one helluva excuse for a getaway during Japan's snow season. No matter where it's taking place, this is the hottest festival for the colder months, treating festivalgoers to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events and its hefty lineup of international acts against an idyllic backdrop. And, because this is Japan, onsen trips, sake aplenty and yakitori bites are usually also on offer. Other than the wintry setting, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span five or seven nights of accommodation, and include a festival ticket across the entire event, plus a four-day lift pass for Goryu & Hakuba 47, Tsugaike, Iwatake, Happo, Norikura and Cortina in Hakuba — and Niseko United in Niseko. A word of warning: unsurprisingly, the packages are popular. Although the Snow Machine Japan 2025 lineup has only just been announced, packages are already 70-percent sold out. If you're keen to take care of your own place to slumber and just nab a festival ticket, that's an option as well — via both day and four-day passes. Snow Machine Japan 2025 Locations and Dates: Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9 — Hakuba Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15 — Niseko Snow Machine Japan 2025 Lineup: Chase & Status A-Trak Action Bronson Bob Moses (club set) Claptone Cyril Dillon Francis DJ Kentaro DJ Nobu & Wata Igarashi Horse Meat Disco Hot Chip (DJ set) Jimi the Kween Jungle (DJ set) Ken Ishii Melanie C Monorochrome Riton Sbtrkt (DJ set) Vintage Culture (Niseko only) Snow Machine Japan 2025 will be held across Tuesday, March 4–Sunday, March 9 in Hakuba and Monday, March 10–Saturday, March 15 in Niseko. For more information and tickets, visit the festival's website. Images: Pat Stevenson. 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.
Look what Australia's massive demand for Eras Tour tickets made Taylor Swift do: add extra shows to her next trip Down Under. After two rounds of presales for the singer-songwriter's February 2024 concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, and before general sales even start, the 'We Are Never Getting Back Together', 'Shake It Off' and 'Bad Blood' musician has announced an extra gig in both cities. If you've been struggling to nab a seat so far, and also stressing about the next ticket release on Friday, June 30, this enchanted news — which comes due to "historically unprecedented demand" — means that there'll be a heap more on offer. Tickets for both new dates will also go on sale on Friday, June 30. Good luck in the queue, Swifties. [caption id="attachment_907314" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] The additional shows come at the end of her stints in both cities, so Swift will now play MCG in Melbourne across Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, then head north to hit the stage across at Sydney's Accor Stadium from Friday, February 23–Monday, February 26. At all gigs, she'll have Sabrina Carpenter in support. That blank space in your calendar that you were hoping to fill with Swift working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular? You now have more chances to do so. [caption id="attachment_906254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Sadly, Swift hasn't added concerts in any other cities across Australia. And, this is apparently it, with Frontier, the touring company that's bringing the star our way, advising that "no further dates will be added for the Australian tour". The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, where it's still playing. Swift will also head to Mexico, Argentina and Brazil in 2023 — and Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Australia until August 2024. [caption id="attachment_906252" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] This'll be Swift's first tour Down Under since 2018, when she brought her Reputation shows to not only Sydney and Melbourne, but Brisbane and Perth, too. Thanks to the extra dates now, she'll become the first artist since Madonna in 1993 to perform three concerts at the MCG — and the first-ever artist to play four concerts at Accor Stadium. It's no wonder that the Victorian Government declared her Melbourne stint a major event so that anti-scalping legislation would apply to tickets. TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR AUSTRALIAN DATES 2024: Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18 — Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Friday, February 23–Monday, February 26 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Taylor Swift will bring The Eras Tour to Australia in February 2024. General ticket sales for the Melbourne shows start at 10am AEST on Friday, June 30, with the Sydney shows on sale at 2pm AEST on Friday, June 30. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons
Not only a destination to soak in crystal-clear waters during the warmer months and explore undeveloped islands, New Zealand's Far North has a food culture worthy of shouting from the rooftops. With a big focus on seasonal produce, menus are ever-changing and no two visits to the Bay of Islands will taste the same. Thanks to its handy placement on the fringe of the world's largest ocean, you can expect to lap up an abundance of seafood plus locally made cheese, chocolates and wine all year round. This is your guide to eating and drinking in the Bay of Islands. Before even setting off on your island adventure, the outskirts of Kerikeri has a number of eateries worth swinging into. The Rusty Tractor is a good place to get a feel for the community and refuel with generous portions. The family-friendly cafe is the kind where everyone knows everyone. On this visit the barista could be found hopping between the coffee machine and working in the gardens, while another local was spotted making himself at home behind the counter for a chat. The menu offers a contemporary (and hefty) take on breakfast classics, including mince on toast with poached eggs and onion rings, mushrooms in a cobb loaf with pea and feta salsa verde, and cinnamon sugared doughnuts. If you're in the business of caffeine, the cafe uses first-rate Supreme beans and has the option of a four-shot coffee bucket. If you have an afternoon to wile away, Marsden Estate is a short trip from the airport. At the winery you can enjoy an educational wine tasting before settling on your preferred varietal. We also suggest grabbing the antipasto platter of local cheeses, handmade terrine, dips and spreads and perching under the vines in the courtyard. Afterwards, take a stroll around the subtropical vineyard gardens with another glass of vino in hand. [caption id="attachment_986518" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Old Packhouse Market[/caption] For something on the run (especially if you're around on a weekend), head to The Old Packhouse Market. Found in Kerikeri, literally in an old packhouse, the weekly gathering of more than 100 vendors is the perfect spot to load up on supplies before heading off on a road trip. Expect to pick up everything from homemade pies to raw milk, deep-fried oyster po' boys and fruit and vegetables from producers that reside just around the corner. Enjoy your finds while listening to live music, receiving a palm reading or getting a reflexology massage. Across the road is another must-visit attraction. As soon as you enter Makana Confections the smell from the adjoining factory will be tugging on your heartstrings. The best part is that free samples are handed out upon arrival in the gift shop so you can try before you buy — you'll also see staff crafting the exact same thing through the window, so you know it's fresh. The cafe offers a lineup of gelato, chocolate truffles, cakes and slices for dine-in or takeaway. While you're in Kerikeri, head to Cafe Jerusalem for authentic Israeli cuisine that encapsulates the flavours of the Levant. En route to Russell, you'll pass through Paihia. Here you'll have the option of quick bites spanning kebabs, pizza and ribs. On the other side of the one-way bridge from the township lies the official birthplace of New Zealand, Waitangi. As part of the historical Waitangi Treaty Grounds you can enhance your visitor experience by witnessing the unveiling of a traditional hāngi — a Māori method of cooking in the earth with hot stones. Hāngi chefs will introduce the cooking process before you tuck into the feast. [caption id="attachment_986502" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paroa Bay Winery[/caption] Once off the car ferry en route to Russell, make a short detour for Paroa Bay Winery, a family-owned property set against the rolling hills and overlooking Paroa Bay. The boutique vineyard has a big focus on sustainability, using techniques of dry-grown vines across chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, syrah, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and merlot. Go for a tasting flight and stay for the Mediterranean and European-inspired menu at onsite restaurant, Sage. With its award-winning restaurant set right on the water, The Duke of Marlborough is a pristine destination to stop in Russell for a bite to eat. The property was erected in 1827 and later became the first licensed hotel in New Zealand. The property still retains its vintage appeal; the rooms are grand with high ceilings, the walls are covered with marine memorabilia and the solid furniture certainly has a story to tell. The restaurant is all about showcasing local seasonal produce and modern interpretations of classic favourites. You can expect to sample local oysters or oven-roasted fish that was caught directly in front of the hotel. The beverage list is extensive with over 100 wines and 30 beers from the Bay of Islands to Burgundy. The wine tasting rack is a good option for indecisive diners, offering three generous samples to sip back as the sun drops over the inlet. [caption id="attachment_986497" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Gables[/caption] Just down the main strip from The Duke is The Gables, the oldest licensed restaurant in the country. The building was originally built by an immigrant shoemaker who purchased the land from a Māori chief. It's now owned by Robert and Jenny Loosley, who have retained the old world charm and a collection of documents — including the original deed of sale. The kitchen aims to showcase classic New Zealand flavours, with fresh local seafood and grass-fed meat big players on the menu. Elsewhere is Hone's Garden in the warmer months offers wood-fired pizza, fresh beer and friendly community vibes; and Hell Hole is a great option to start your day with loaded bagels and fresh coffee. GETTING THERE Kerikeri Airport is the region's main port of call. From Auckland Airport it's a breezy 50-minute flight to the sleepy terminal. Alternatively, it will take you just over three hours to drive from Auckland to Paihia and Russell. Find your very own Aotearoa New Zealand here.
It's that time again for 2024: time for Australia's Red Centre to glow with other hues, including across ranges dating back 300 million years, thanks to giant puppets and on the ochre earth. Every April, Parrtjima — A Festival in Light returns to the Northern Territory with art, music, talks and an all-round celebration of First Nations culture. This year's event is on now, kicking off on Friday, April 12 and running till Sunday, April 21 — and if you're not there or on your way, this is what you're missing out on. When Arelhe Urrperle strolls along, people take notice. A six-metre-tall puppet that weighs 600 kilograms wandering around draws attention. Seeing it mosey through Alice Springs Desert Park, sharing Arrernte stories and language, is a main attraction at 2024's Parrtjima — A Festival in Light, in fact — and just one of the highlights of this Indigenous arts festival. Erth, which has also brought dinosaurs and sharks to life around the country in the past — and held prehistoric picnics featuring puppets — is behind Arelhe Urrperle. In New South Wales, Marri Dyin, which also reaches six metres in height, has taken a stroll at Vivid Sydney 2018 and 2019, plus at the Nights on Crown Festival in Wollongong in 2019. Arelhe Urrperle is specific to the Red Centre, however, with Erth's puppeteers training local Indigenous performers to operate the roving puppet for Parrtjima's 2024 run. Representing Arelhe matriarchs, Arelhe Urrperle is one of this year's signature installations — and a new addition to Parrtjima for 2024. Fancy feasting your eyes on illuminated cars that form a collage of work celebrating Eastern, Western and Central language groups? Walking through an immersive passageway that pays tribute to late Arrernte leader Dr MK Turner? Thanks to fellow installations Arrernte and Honouring, they're also on the festival's program right now. One of the Northern Territory's annual highlights — and one of its dazzling sights, alongside natural features Uluru, the Tjoritja gorges and Kings Canyon, plus nightly light show Wintjiri Wiru, as well as Bruce Munro's Field of Light and Light Towers — this arts, culture and storytelling event takes place against the MacDonnell Ranges. 2024 marks the ninth Parrtjima, with its lineup focusing on the importance of interconnectedness across First Nations culture for this year. That's partly happening through two things that are always on the bill: two of the festival's regular annual attractions, aka a huge artwork that transforms a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival; and Grounded, the installation projected over the red dirt at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park. The Ranges Light Show has taken over additional projection space in 2024, while Grounded has become more interactive. Over its opening weekend, the program also included a three-night marketplace for the first time in the fest's history. The Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) Buy Blak Market featured both food and other products from local Aboriginal businesses. On the music roster across the entire event, Troy Cassar-Daley, Shellie Morris, Miiesha and Mulga Bore Hard Rock are taking to the stage. Cassar-Daley and Morris are also on the talks lineup, alongside Floyd Doyle and Dr Josie Douglas. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from Friday, April 12–Sunday, April 21, 2024, at venues around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: Parrtjima – A Festival in Light. 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.
If every trailer started with narration by Taika Waititi, we'd all spend our entire lives solely watching sneak peeks at upcoming movies. They all don't, of course — but, unsurprisingly, the just-dropped second glimpse at Thor: Love and Thunder definitely does. Arriving a month after the superhero sequel's first teaser back in April, the new trailer begins with an unseen Waititi — who directs again as he did with Thor: Ragnarok, co-writes with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet/Vicious), and appears on-screen as Korg — giving viewers a few instructions. "Kids, get your popcorn in. Let me tell you the story of the space viking," he utters. The tale he unfurls steps through Thor's (Chris Hemsworth, Extraction) years spent saving the world, the aftermath, and his evolution from "dad bod to god bod" post Avengers: Endgame — plus his efforts to reclaim his title "as the one and only Thor". But if you watched the film's first trailer, you'll know that his task doesn't end as he expects. Now, his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, Vox Lux) is in possession of Mjolnir. This new look at the upcoming movie — the 29th MCU film overall, following Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and also the fourth to focus on Thor — dives deeper into Thor and Jane's woes, gets Chris Hemsworth in the buff, and unveils two of the feature's big new additions. That'd be Russell Crowe (Unhinged) as Zeus and Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari) as Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer with a world-changing plan: eradicating the gods. Also covered: goofy vibes, as that Waititi-voiced narration makes plain; a firmly comedic mode, obviously; and general caped crusader chaos. Thor has to give up his search for inner peace to stop Gorr the God Butcher, and call upon help from King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson, Passing) and Korg — plus Jane, who seems to be settling into her new role quite nicely. Shot in Australia, clearly looser in mood than most MCU entries, and arriving in what's already a huge year for Waititi — after getting streaming viewers swooning over warm-hearted pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, and also featuring in a portrait that won the Archibald's Packing Room Prize — Thor: Love and Thunder hits cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, July 6. It marks Portman's return to the MCU after appearing in the first Thor flick back in 2011, but sitting out the rest. And, also set to pop up are the Guardians of the Galaxy crew (as played and/or voiced by Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel). Check out the new trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder below: Thor: Love and Thunder opens in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, July 6. Images: photos by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Curating the perfect wine list is an oft-underrated skill. How do you balance pleasing the crowd while also pushing the envelope? Creating something far-reaching while still carving out an identity? Well, a group of Australian venues have been recognised at the international Star Wine List of the Year awards for 2023 for doing just that, with a Sydney bar taking out the top prize in one of the categories. The Star Wine List of the Year International Final took place in Stockholm in June, with Redfern's La Salut becoming the first-ever Australian venue to ever claim gold in one of its fields. The Cleveland Street haunt that specialises in Spanish and Catalonian wines, with an onus on minimal-intervention drops, was nominated for two different awards: Best Medium-Sized Wine List and the Special Jury Prize. While London's Michelin-starred Trivet took out the top mid-sized list gong for venues offering 200–600 wines, La Salut was crowned the champion in the Special Jury Prize. [caption id="attachment_860300" align="alignnone" width="1920"] La Salut, Dexter Kim[/caption] This award recognises "a venue that has done something extra with their wine list, such as the direction, the style or the value". La Salut beat out finalists from across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia to claim the prize, being praised for the exemplary spotlight it places on Spain's best vino and the storytelling it achieves through its curation. "It often feels like Spanish wine is largely ignored by wine-focused venues in Australia, which is a huge shame considering that Spain is currently producing some of the most exhilarating wine in the world," says La Salut co-owner Matt Swieboda. "I suppose our philosophy might be different to others in that we want to really push guests to try wine styles that they may never have had the opportunity to have tried." [caption id="attachment_658147" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Embla[/caption] Elsewhere, other Australian spots received nominations but didn't claim gold. Melbourne's Embla was nominated for the Best Short List for bars with under 200 wines, Bentley Restaurant & Wine Bar was nominated in the Grand Prix for bars with over 600 wines, and Perth's Rockpool Bar & Grill received nominations for both the best wine list with Austrian wines and Best Sparkling Wine List. A couple of regional favourites also picked up nominations, with Margaret River's Setter's Tavern recognised in the sustainability-focused category and Mornington Peninsula's Ten Minutes by Tractor earning some love in the Best By the Glass List category. You can start making plans for a few wine-fuelled nights around Australia — and abroad ‚ by browsing the full list of nominees and winners. [caption id="attachment_637744" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bentley Restaurant + Bar[/caption] For more information about the Star Wine List of the Year, head to the awards' website. Top image: Nikki To.
Best Picture Will Win: 12 Years a Slave Should Win: Her Her was an almost perfect movie; however, its engaging quirkiness will also likely be its downfall, robbing it of the kind of gravitas the Academy likes to see in its dramas. There's also the Academy's history of loving history. Seventeen of the last 24 winners in the Best Picture category have been stories based on real events, and while that does keep American Hustle in the mix (which notably took out the Screen Actors Guild back in January), the asymmetry between 'cute crime caper' and 'essay on reprehensible crimes against humanity’ places 12 Years A Slave firmly in the driver’s seat. What then of Gravity? History’s not on its side either. Sci-fi is batting 0-84 in the Best Picture category, though the Academy won’t mind denying it the Best Picture victory since its director, Alfonso Cuarón, is a shoe-in for Best Director. Best Director Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón Should Win: Alfonso Cuarón Steve McQueen’s been on a golden run since his debut with Hunger, so much so that it would take either a monumental collapse in talent or his outright departure from the industry to think he won’t — in the next five years — walk away with this statue. For the 2014 awards, however, Cuarón should, and almost certainly will, come in for the win. Gravity was a breathtaking film, and with barely more plot than there is oxygen in space, the responsibility for that vests first and foremost in its direction and the performances Cuarón secured from his two leads. Last week’s BAFTA win for the Mexican director only narrows the odds further. Best Actor Will Win: Matthew McConaughey Should Win: Oscar Isaac Let’s talk about Leo first. The feeling that the guy is due is palpable, but just because a roulette table throws up nine reds in a row doesn't mean it has to be black’s turn next time round. While DiCaprio's Wolf of Wall Street performance was a fearless endeavour, it still lacked the critical poignancy of an enslaved parent or HIV-positive pioneer. A two-horse race hence seems most likely, and as good as Chiwetel Ejiofor was in 12 Years A Slave, McConaughey’s remarkable reinvention by way of smaller, character driven ensemble pieces has earned him both enormous respect and the Golden Globe. The big surprise here is Oscar Isaac, whose sublimely reserved yet beguiling performance in Inside Llewyn Davis didn’t even garner a nomination. Best Actress Will Win: Cate Blanchett Should Win: Cate Blanchett There’s arguably never been a better description of Meryl Streep than Colin Firth’s suggestion that she is "unreasonably good". Typically, then, in August: Osage County we saw just the latest in an impossibly long line of flawless performances so good one feels the interests of fairness might warrant handicapping her somehow for all future roles, perhaps by only allowing her to speak in vowels. Yet she won’t win this year. In a collection of powerhouse performances by a field of nominees who’ve all previously won the award save for Amy Adams, it was Cate Blanchett who proved the undeniable standout. Her Jasmine was elegant desperation and icy vulnerability wrapped up in an overt, sexually charged Ingmar Bergman-esque archetype. She’s already won the SAG, Golden Globe and BAFTA, making this about as sure a thing as the Oscars permit. Best Original Screenplay Will Win: Her Should Win: Her With ‘Will’ and ‘Should’ locked in there, Her would seem a foregone conclusion, but it’s not nearly that clear-cut. Was Spike Jonze’s screenplay the most original of the nominees? Absolutely. Was it also the best? Again, yes, but does that mean it will win? …Probably. Standing in its way is American Hustle, whose script — while lengthy — was a rollicking, unceasing procession of zingers, plot twists and exquisite turns of phrase. It also has the box office momentum behind it. For Her to win, which it should, it’ll need the Academy to consider the ‘Original’ part of 'Best Original Screenplay’ its most important characteristic.
Usually when you visit Japan — something that's now back on the agenda thanks to the country's newly reopened borders — you can't also enjoy a meal from one of Copenhagen's most acclaimed restaurants. But for ten weeks between March and May 2023, you'll be able to soak in the sights of Kyoto and eat dishes from René Redzepi's Noma, all courtesy of the latter's latest residency. That timing also coincides with cherry blossom season, so add all those gorgeous pink flowers to your itinerary, too. Every now and then — more often prior to the pandemic, obviously — Redzepi's globally renowned, three-Michelin-starred, five-time World's Best list-topping eatery hops around the planet, temporarily setting up shop in another city. It's done just that in Japan before, just in Tokyo; in Sydney as well; and in Tulum, Mexico. Who doesn't want to head to Japan more than once, though? The Kyoto residency will take place at Ace Hotel Kyoto, another outpost of the hotel chain that just opened its first Australian venue in Sydney earlier in 2022. The dates to pop in your diary: Wednesday, March 15–Saturday, May 20, with services running four days a week for lunch and dinner, once per day, between Wednesday–Saturday. [caption id="attachment_874227" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yoshihiro Makino[/caption] "I believe Kyoto to be the birthplace of the western tasting menu, and it remains one of the most important cities through which to understand the fine dining scene today. Much of my own journey and inspiration can be boiled down to a handful of important moments, and going to Japan and Kyoto for the first time is one of them. We have always wanted to return and explore this region as a team," said Redzepi, announcing the pop-up. "We have been working on this specific project for the past two years, and we have had a team on the ground since late spring, foraging and researching what will form the foundation of our Kyoto menu. Our main inspiration comes from the very heart of Kyoto, the kaiseki cuisine, while not at all being a Japanese restaurant. We come to be inspired, to learn, to absorb new creative processes and to hopefully bring back new perspectives and a clearer vision for how to be Noma," Redzepi continued. In Ace Hotel Kyoto's 64-seat restaurant, Redzepi and his team will serve up a menu that highlights produce from the Kyoto region — and spring produce specifically, given that'll be the season in Japan at the time — with ingredients sourced from local farmers, hunters, fishmongers and foragers. Diners will pay €475 / around AU$745, for the menu — and there's an accompanying beverage option, with a choice of boozy and non-alcoholic drinks, for €300 / AU$ 470 per person. Then, there's a ten-percent service charge as well, and all costs have to be paid when you book. Yes, this is a true treat yo'self kind of experience. Reservations for meals only open at 11pm AEDT on Monday, November 7, and expect them to book out quick — Noma's pop-ups always do. Ace Hotel Kyoto is also doing meal-and-stay packages, so you don't have to travel far once you're finished feasting. They also aren't cheap, starting at ¥120,000 JPY / €846 / AU$1321 for two nights for two people. That price also includes a deluxe king room, free daily breakfast, an early check-in and late check-out, and two reservations at Noma's Kyoto residency — but the costs of the Noma meals and beverages will be separate. Wondering what else to do in Japan? Check out this Concrete Playground Trips package, which'll take you on a cultural tour from Kyoto to Tokyo. Noma's Kyoto residency will run from Wednesday, March 15–Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Ace Hotel Kyoto, 245-2 Kurumayacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8185, Japan. For more information, and to sign up to book reservations with room packages when they become available, head to the Ace Hotel Kyoto's website. For restaurant reservations only — which will become available from 11pm AEDT on Monday, November 7 — head to the Noma website to sign up for the restaurant's newsletter. René Redzepi / Noma images: Amy Tang. 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.
You can put a beloved animated series into cryogenic stasis, but someone is going to thaw it out one day. In Futurama's case, US streaming platform Hulu has announced plans to defrost the Matt Groening-created show about life in the 31st century, marking the second time that it has been brought back. Originally airing from 1999–2003, the futuristic animated series then returned from 2008–2013 — and now it'll be revived again in 2023. Obviously, in the words of Professor Hubert J Farnsworth: good news, everyone! Hulu has announced a new 20-episode run for Futurama, as well as the return of most of the original voice cast. That means that you'll be spending more time with Philip J Fry (voiced by Billy West), the 20th-century pizza delivery guy who managed to get accidentally cryogenically frozen on New Year's Eve 1999, only to defrost a thousand years later — and then get a job delivering packages with Planet Express, the cargo company run by Farnsworth, his distant nephew. It also means more antics with one-eyed Planet Express captain Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal); fellow company employees Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr), Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) and Zoidberg (also West); and everyone from self-obsessed starship captain Zapp Brannigan (West again) and his amphibious 4th Lieutenant Kif Kroker (Maurice LaMarche) through to scheming corporation owner Mom (Tress MacNeille). One key cast member who hasn't yet been confirmed for the Futurama revival: John DiMaggio, aka the voice of constantly sauced robot Bender Bending Rodríguez. Variety reports that it's still hoped that DiMaggio will return for this trip back to the animated future, but if that doesn't happen, Bender will be recast. Whoever will be exclaiming "bite my shiny metal ass!", Futurama will keep doing what it did hilariously well over its past seven seasons and four direct-to-DVD movies: peering at life in the year at 3000 and beyond in its offbeat way. "I'm thrilled to have another chance to think about the future... or really anything other than the present," said David X Cohen, Futurama's head writer and executive producer, in Hulu's announcement. "It's a true honour to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again," added The Simpsons great Matt Groening. Viewers Down Under can likely expect to watch the new Futurama via Disney+, given that the Mouse House owns Hulu and airs Hulu shows in Australia and New Zealand via its Star expansion — but expect further specifics to be confirmed, alongside a premiere date, as 2023 approaches. New episodes of Futurama are set to air in 2023 — we'll update you with further details, including where you'll be able to watch Down Under, when they're announced.
For most millennials, the Nokia name evokes memories of a very different technological era; a time when colour screens were barely a thing and phones weighed about the same as a small child. Well, just as we've done the whole growing up thing, so too has this long-serving phone brand, with owner HMD today unveiling its new line of products. The Finnish company dropped the news at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, introducing an anticipated trio of smartphones (the Nokia 6, the Nokia 5, and the Nokia 3), alongside a revamped version of Nokia's classic 3310. With new minimalist designs and headline-aiming features, these new phones are attempting to tap into a fresh generation of discerning phone users. Here are five dot points about the new Nokias that you can use for prime water cooler material at work. THEY'LL RUN ANDROID NOUGAT All three smartphones will offer that classic Android experience, boasting monthly security updates and all the latest Google services. Yes, that includes your new digital bestie, Google Assistant — the integrated feature that lets you engage in two-way conversation with your phone. THEY WON'T BREAK THE BANK In a win for anyone with a budget to stick to, these beauties sit at the blessedly affordable end of the smartphone spectrum. The Nokia 3 will retail globally at around AU$190, the Nokia 5 at AU$259, and the Nokia 6 at AU$314. THE SCREENS ARE NOKIA'S MOST ADVANCED YET Nokia has definitely upped its game in the visual department, with the new phones boasting screens that are both big and beautiful. They've opted for Corning Gorilla Glass laminated displays, with a 5.5" full HD screen for the Nokia 6, a 5.2" IPS HD display for the Nokia 5, and a 5" screen for the Nokia 3. EACH PHONE'S FEATURES MULTIPLY PER MODEL Each phone has its own unique features that'll appeal to different kinds of users; from the 8MP wide aperture cameras in both front and back of the Nokia 3, to the Dolby Atmos sound, smart audio amplifier, and dual speakers of the Nokia 6. Although this makes it more of a 'choose what features suit you' situation, it makes it slightly hard to pick one phone. THE NOKIA 3310 IS MAKING A COMEBACK And in a nostalgia-inducing move, Nokia also announced the return of its best-selling 3310 — a new-school riff on a handset first released back in 2000. This little head-turner comes in four distinctive colours (warm red gloss, yellow gloss, dark blue matte, and grey matte), retails at just AU$67, and blitzes plenty of its competitors with a 22-hour talk time. Unfortunately, with local providers switching off the 2G network, this one's probably not really an option for Aussie consumers.
When the first Wednesday in June rolled around this year, something was missing. Usually, that's Sydney Film Festival's night of nights — the annual cinema showcase's opening night ahead of 11 more days of movies. But, due to COVID-19, that wasn't the case in 2020. Back in March, SFF cancelled its physical event, then announced an online replacement a month later. Dubbed Sydney Film Festival: Virtual Edition, the digital-only event isn't quite the same as watching film after film (after film after film) at the State Theatre or Event Cinemas George Street, of course. Still, running from June 10–21, it's a chance to watch 33 movies that you mightn't otherwise get the chance to see — and for audiences Australia-wide to join in. This time, you're just doing so from the comfort of your couch. That should be a familiar feeling thanks to the past few months; however, you're not going to find SFF's 2020 batch of films in your current Netflix queue. On the agenda: ten movies made by female filmmakers from Europe, ten Australian documentaries covering a broad range of topics and 13 shorts — including three as part of SFF's regular Screenability program that highlights the work of filmmakers and creatives with disability. That's a sizeable at-home offering, so we've watched and reviewed ten titles from the feature lineup. Now, all you need to do is nab an online pass, pop some popcorn and get viewing yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFJxW46F0YQ SEA FEVER With Sea Fever, first-time feature director Neasa Hardiman gifts viewers a richly atmospheric thriller set within the claustrophobic confines of an Irish fishing trawler. It's a film with a clear cinematic lineage, tracing back to everything from Alien and The Thing to The Abyss. It's also a movie with a timely premise purely by accident, with this isolation and contagion-focused affair first premiering in 2019 long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. More importantly, though, this is an unflinching, smart and suspenseful examination of not only extreme behaviour in close quarters, or of an attack by a monstrous organism from the ocean's depths, but of the discomfort humanity feels when easy answers aren't forthcoming. Also impressive: Hermione Corfield (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi) as student scientist Siobhan, whose arrival on the Niamh Cinn-Oir coincides with a treacherous decision by its captain Gerard (Dougray Scott). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fXQm4ZLlFg FORCE OF HABIT The most striking thing about Force of Habit, a Finnish anthology film that interweaves six shorts into one potent portrait of everyday female life, is just how commonplace its scenarios are. In one, a teenager on a bus is harassed by loutish, entitled boys. In another, a young woman is forced to fend off unwanted sexual attention from a male friend. In yet another, a husband reacts more strongly to his wife's response to being groped publicly by a stranger than to the latter altercation itself. Also examining workplace politics and gossip, legal and bureaucratic barriers, and the normalisation of women as victims that's perpetuated by entertainment, this powerful feature is so filled with recognisable situations that he overall point stressed by filmmakers Alli Haapasalo, Anna Paavilainen, Reetta Aalto, Jenni Toivoniemi, Kirsikka Saari, Elli Toivoniemi, and Miia Tervo — that, for society, instances like these have just become habitual and accepted — proves absolutely searing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Npj2cIbYs MORGANA Many a big-screen drama has stepped into the existence of a middle-aged woman unhappy with the state of her life. But fiction couldn't conjure up anything as distinctive, empowering and intriguing as Morgana Muses' tale — with the Albury housewife leaving her husband and small town behind in favour of a feminist pornography career that's earned her acclaim and attention from Melbourne to Berlin. Indeed, it's no wonder that filmmakers Isabel Peppard and Josie Hess were eager to document Morgana's story and share it with the world, including her resolute determination to bravely put herself first, express her own desires, and create both sex-positive and age-positive erotica. Candid and complex, Morgana is the type of subject that all filmmakers wish they could stumble across, as Peppard and Hess continually show in their engaging film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwQAqW9GW0k&feature=emb_logo CHARTER In Norwegian disaster films The Wave and The Quake, Ane Dahl Torp battled natural forces. As Alice in tense Swedish drama Charter, she battles with the natural maternal instinct to spend time with and protect her children — fighting against her soon-to-be ex-husband (Sverrir Gudnason) who, in an act of retaliation for her unhappiness, won't let her even see her distressed young son Vincent (Troy Lundkvist) or angry teenage daughter Elina (Tintin Poggats Sarri). Amanda Kernell's sophomore feature after the similarly involving Sami Blood, Charter tasks its protagonist with making drastic and difficult choices while trying to evaluate what's right for both herself and her kids. Following Alice's exploits from Sweden's rural climes to the sunny surroundings of Tenerife, this deeply felt film offers not only a blistering showcase for its lead actor, but a perceptive exploration of a parent's continual quest to do what's best even when faced with imperfect options. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roAM3tZvJvU&feature=emb_logo THE SKIN OF OTHERS Douglas Grant was an ANZAC soldier, a prisoner of the war and, during his time in Germany's Halbmondlager camp during World War I, a driving force in helping his fellow detainees. He was a draughtsman, radio journalist and human rights activist as well, fighting for the fair treatment of his fellow Indigenous Australians almost a century ago. As a child he was also taken from the scene of a North Queensland massacre during the frontier wars, brought up by a Scottish couple and, though treated well by his adoptive parents, considered an 'experiment' outside of his home. Alas, Grant's story isn't as widely known as it should be, so Tom Murray's comprehensive and informative documentary The Skin of Others recounts the crucial details — as aided by lively recreations of Grant's life starring late Australian actor Balang (Tom E.) Lewis (Spear, Goldstone, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith) in his final film role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsB8RFnFFGM A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY In her sensitive and affecting debut feature, writer/director Malou Reymann examines a situation that's close to her heart. Following the pre-teen Emma (Kaya Toft Loholt) as her father Thomas (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) becomes a woman, the Danish filmmaker draws upon her own story, with Reymann standing in her protagonist's shoes when she was the same age. Dramatised on-screen, the result is a thoughtful and intimate drama that charts the sudden change to Emma's world, and to the soccer-loving girl's relationship with the now football-abhorring Agnete. As well as serving up nuanced, naturalistic performances that convey the full emotional spectrum traversed by Emma and her older sister Caroline (Rigmor Ranthe) as life as they know it changes, A Perfectly Normal Family purposefully refuses to simplify the complicated family dynamics that arise from Agenete's transition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-m8HSGrQMM&feature=emb_logo ZANA Also informed by its director's own experiences, Antoneta Kastrati's Zana interrogates the fallout of life-shattering conflict, specifically the lingering impact left by the Kosovo War. A decade afterwards, Lume (Adriana Matoshi) still struggles to cope — particularly with the expectation that she'll bear her husband Ilir (Astrit Kabashi) more children after their young daughter was killed during the combat. Her overbearing mother-in-law (Fatmire Sahiti) shuffles Lume between various healers and mystics, blames superstitions and the supernatural, and even endeavours to motivate her fertility by encouraging Ilir to take a second wife; however, Lume's scars of loss and pain run deep. Matoshi is exceptionally moving as a woman haunted several times over — by her grief, the war, societal expectations and her lack of agency — while Kastrati and Casey Cooper Johnson's script doesn't shy away from Lume's all-encompassing trauma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d37ZkjGDSks&feature=emb_logo WOMEN OF STEEL SFF's annual showcase of Australian documentaries often skews locally not just on a national but a more intimate level. That's the case with Women of Steel, which heads to Wollongong, to the city's steel industry and into a monumental battle for equality — with women forced to fight for their right to be employed at the steel works after being routinely told that there were no jobs available for them. Through both recent and past interviews, as well as a treasure trove of archival clips, director Robynne Murphy steps through the ups, downs, ins and outs of a movement that she was a part of forty years ago, which gives her film an impassioned and vital feel. In addition to chronicling a chapter of local history that many mightn't be aware of, her documentary also sets Wollongong's Jobs for Women Campaign in context in terms of societal norms and changes, both at the time and over the decades since. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLF2zVhsLMg A YEAR FULL OF DRAMA For theatre aficionados, being paid to watch every stage production performed over the course of a year is the stuff that dreams are made of. For 21-year-old Estonian resident Alissija, it's a job — one that specifically advertised for someone who'd never been to the theatre, that requires her to move away from her family to live in Tallinn, and that thrusts her not only into a new field but also firmly outside her comfort zone. It's easy to see why filmmaker Marta Pulk wanted to document this unique story; however she couldn't have predicted Alissija's revelatory reactions to her year-long gig, her existential malaise and her overall journey as she traipses between 224 shows in 365 days. A documentary that's intricately tied to one person, one industry and one country, yet also overwhelmingly universal in its coming-of-age themes, A Year Full of Drama more than lives up to its title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tABY6w6py6Q&feature=emb_logo THE LEADERSHIP From gender equality to climate change, The Leadership charts a course through a sizeable array of topical subjects. While this jam-packed documentary touches upon everything from toxic workplace behaviour to the destruction of the natural world, it actually focuses on the Homeward Bound program — which takes talented women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics on a 20-day intensive leadership course while sailing around the Antarctic, with its maiden voyage overseen by Australian leadership expert Fabian Dattner. That trip was notable in a plethora of ways, as Ili Baré's debut feature documentary lays bare. There's so much to cover, so many viewpoints to explore and such a wealth of data to share that The Leadership often feels like it could go in any direction; however when it unpacks the challenges facing Homeward Bound's first participants and facilitators, it does far more than serve up familiar messages amidst scenic icy landscapes. Sydney Film Festival: Virtual Edition runs from June 10–21, with all films available to stream online. For further information — and to buy virtual tickets — visit the festival's website.
When historians in some far-flung future crack the books on 2023, one thing that will be immediately apparent is that it was an absolute red letter year for video games. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Super Mario Wonder, Diablo IV, Armored Core IV — the list of bangers goes on and on. But it wasn't just big games that shone – indie developers also had a cracker 12 months and that's what we're here to celebrate. Here, in no particular order (and, as a person with a full time job and a child, by no means exhaustive), are the best ten smaller games the year blessed us with. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnClIPdnXUs[/embed] Storyteller There's no better example of a passion project on this list than Storyteller. Created by Argentinian solo developer Daniel Benmergui, it's been a labour of love that has lasted almost 14 years since he first started work. Thank goodness he stuck with it. This puzzle game plays on the concept of narrative familiarity. Each level presents you with a title — for instance 'Seeing The Ghost Of A Lover', or 'Witch Becomes The Mirror's Favourite' – and tasks you with arranging a choice of characters and scenes in a visual setup not dissimilar to comic panels to build a suitable story. Your solutions update in real time as you move elements around, allowing for rapid-fire experimentation when the stories start to get tricky. The art style could be described paradoxically as 'restrained cartoony', but it works so well, imbuing each of the characters with enough personality to give you a sense of how they operate when deployed. Perhaps its greatest strength is how approachable it is. The gameplay is so simple that you could hand it to a 90-year old who has never touched a controller and they'll be up and running in no time, particularly when using touchscreen controls on a phone, tablet or Switch. Take that, generational gap. Available on: PC/Mac, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrhivCSKZxk[/embed] Fading Afternoon 'Auteur' is not a word thrown around often in gaming, but it's not without merit to apply it to Russian-based developer Yeo. His latest, Fading Afternoon, is a rumination on the tension between the past, the present and the future. Step into the shoes of Seiji Maruyama, a legendary Yakuza enforcer who starts the game at the end of a stint in prison. His old crime family welcomes him back, but with advancing age and a cough that won't go away, is it really the life he wants? That's up to you to decide, with player agency forming the core of the storytelling, allowing you to fight for former glory, betray colleagues, dive into degeneracy or simply spend your hours fishing. It's got surprisingly deep combat mechanics – side note: breaking an enemy's arm and taking their weapon never stops being cool as hell – and a finely curated soundtrack that matches the various moods of the game perfectly. Plus there are controls that allow you to remove your character's jacket and sling it over your shoulder, put sunglasses on, comb your hair, light up a cigarette and more, turning something as simple as walking down the street into a moment. Fading Afternoon is not a game that holds your hand, which some may find frustrating, but approach it with an open mind and you'll encounter numerous 'wow, I didn't know I could do that' moments that are as rewarding as they are surprising. Available on: PC [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85VHMpE0to[/embed] Dave The Diver The game that launched a thousand online threads about what truly constitutes an 'indie', it's being included in this list because it's too damn good not to talk about. You play the portly title character as he joins an old crony on a new venture: to establish a sushi joint next to a mysterious blue hole in the ocean that teems with sea life from around the world. Spend your days exploring this marine miracle rendered in stunning pixel art and catching its inhabitants, and your nights running the restaurant, both of which present gameplay challenges that are a joy to master. It's honestly unbelievable how much South Korean developer MINTROCKET managed to cram into the game. There's a wide cast of characters; a variety of different narratives involving merpeople, shady eco-warriors, and snooty food critics; boss battles; a whole farm management element; vast amounts of upgrades for your equipment, your staff and your dishes, and a whole lot more. What's most amazing is how balanced all these elements are, allowing you to choose where to focus at any given time without feeling overwhelmed. Be warned, it is addictive and you'll find yourself wondering if you can fit in another dive when the clock says 2AM on more than one occasion. Available on: PC/Mac, Nintendo Switch [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOD6tKr3dHE[/embed] El Paso, Elsewhere Some breakups are amicable. Some are bad. Some lead to the apocalypse. That's just the way love goes. El Paso, Elsewhere, developed by Strange Scaffold, sees you dealing with the third type of end to a relationship. You're James Savage, a folklore researcher with a pill problem and a score to settle with your ex-girlfriend Draculae, a powerful vampire who is bringing about the end of the world from an extra-dimensional space underneath a roadside motel in El Paso, Texas. Gameplay-wise, it's an unashamed love letter to the Max Payne series, with satisfyingly chunky gunplay augmented by slo-mo dives that are as cinematic as they are tactical. In your journey through the increasingly surreal sub-floors of the motel, you'll face off against werewolves, biblically accurate angels, living suits of armour and more, each requiring you to switch up your approach which keeps the combat interesting, particularly when crowds of enemies start testing your ammo reserves. Where this game really shines is just how fucking cool it is. The script is so hard-boiled it wouldn't be out of place in a Caesar salad. Savage is pitch-perfectly voiced by Strange Scaffold's creative director Xalavier Nelson Jr., and each cutscene in between levels is a welcome narrative reward for the chaos you've navigated. It's a journey into addiction and heartbreak that will stick with you long after the credits roll. Available on: PC, Xbox One/S/X [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00B3pbxoFvI[/embed] Blasphemous 2 There's no rest for the penitent. Spanish outfit The Game Kitchen brought us back to the grim, guilt-soaked lands of Custodia for another pilgrimage of exploration and gory combat in Blasphemous 2. The sequel leans more heavily into its metroidvania roots than its predecessor, adding in classic elements like double jumping and air dashing that give more options for both combat and traversal. There's also the expanded range of weaponry the Penitent One can wield, each with its own skill tree and strengths, meaning you'll be hot swapping up a slaughter during your journey. With its dense, lore-heavy plot that evokes shades of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, Blasphemous 2 goes beyond the usual fantasy fare into something that is more memorable (and occasionally bleak). And the world is huge, with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore whenever you unlock new abilities. Special mention should be made of the boss battles as well, with excellent character design and confrontations that induce just enough frustration to leave you fist-pumping when you finally triumph. Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/S/X, Playstation 4/5 [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHfzY-nIQxw[/embed] Cocoon The true measure of any puzzle game is the sense of achievement you feel when you finally crack a solution. Cocoon, the first release by Danish studio Geometric Interactive (founded by former employees of Playdead, developers of Limbo and Inside, which is an immense pedigree), is a symphony of such 'Aha!' moments. It's a game about orbs. As a small winged figure, you traverse a variety of biomes that blend the biological and mechanical, discovering these various pearls along the way. Bring them to specific machinery and you can dive into them, opening up new worlds to explore. The kicker? You can carry worlds into worlds, leading to some truly matryoshka-esque puzzles that can tax your brain to the limit. These conundrums are never unfair, though. The overarching game design is beautifully done, with each mechanic introduced and explored until familiar before the next one comes along. There's no backtracking, no missed items, no external information needed – everything you need to arrive at a solution is right in front of you in that particular moment of gameplay. You only need to think. Narrative fans be warned, it's vastly more weighted to exploration than exposition, but there is a plot at play here that crescendos in a cosmic fashion. But the real story is that warm glow you get throughout as you overcome obstacles and realise hey, I am smart! Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/S/X, Playstation 4/5 [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ws82dj_fA[/embed] Dredge Who would've guessed that adding a handful of horror to a fishing game would be such a good recipe? New Zealand developers Black Salt Games, that's who. Leaning into the cold hard fact that the ocean is a terrifying place full of nightmares, Dredge puts you behind the wheel of a small fishing vessel as a captain whose memory was taken by a shipwreck. You'll earn your keep by pulling fish out of the ocean through a variety of methods, each with their own minigame that keeps the gameplay fresh. Some of these fish, however, are… wrong, which speaks to the wider tension of the game. There's something sinister afoot in the various archipelagos you visit, from eldritch cults to abyssal monsters, and while you're never tasked with finding a solution to these problems, investigating them is chilling fun nonetheless. Supporting the eerie atmosphere that pervades the game are some excellent decisions around gameplay mechanics. Your ship has an upgrade tree that gives pleasantly concrete results in game. The aforementioned minigames are coupled with a Tetris-style mechanic of arranging your catch in your hold, leading to some hard decisions about what to keep and to jettison when you hit the space limit. Throw in an encyclopedia that tracks all the species you catch, and you've got a range of addictive gameplay loops that'll keep you heading out to sea. Available on: PC, Playstation 4/5, Xbox One/S/X, Nintendo Switch [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXgktRWrHaI[/embed] Thirsty Suitors If you've ever been in public, caught sight of a former romantic partner and felt a wave of panic engulf you, then have we got a game recommendation for you. Thirsty Suitors is the product of Outerloop Games, a studio in Seattle with a penchant for exploring underrepresented cultures and themes. You play as Jala, a second generation Indian immigrant and young LGBTQIA+ woman who is back in her Pacific Northwest hometown of Timber Falls for her sister's wedding. Only thing is, dear sister is not talking to you and there are a slew of ex-romantic partners who are eager for a reckoning due to your past problematic behaviour. While topics like this could be approached in a heavy-handed manner, Thirsty Suitors instead takes an over-the-top path that is as entertaining as it is sensitive. Each ex gets a showdown that plays out through turn-based combat, combining wildly imaginative battlefields and moves with conversational back-and-forths that tackle codependency, betrayal, the expectations of South Asian parents, navigating life out of the closet and more. Better yet, victory is not about domination but understanding, giving each battle a far more satisfying denouement. Throw in a deep and humorously acrobatic cooking minigame, Tony Hawk Pro Skater-style traversal and maybe one of the best video game fathers ever, and it's a truly unique experience with emotional enlightenment at its centre. Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/S/X, Playstation 4/5 [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKDwnRWroto[/embed] Sludge Life 2 It's time to go back to the sludge, baby! The crassest, coolest vandalism simulator made a return this year, shepherded into existence by developer Terri Vellman and musician DOSEONE. You're back as Ghost, an elite tagger turned artist manager responsible for the rapper Big Mud. He's got a gig to play, but after a night of epic partying with his Click Sick crew he's nowhere to be found. Time to leave your trashed hotel room and track him down. Sludge Life 2 builds on its predecessor in the simplest way: by being bigger across the board. There's more world to explore, more NPCs to engage with and more tools to help you get around, from sneakers that allow double-jumping to a portable launcher that throws you high into the air, helping you to reach the 100 tagging spots scattered around the city - some obvious, some fiendishly hidden. There's also a higher level of cheerful cynicism present. The world has evolved since the first game, with the corporate presence of the Ciggy Cig company now dominating the map with their efforts to get children puffing their wares (now with vitamins!). As you make your way around and talk to the inhabitants, you'll uncover a revolution brewing, which you can wind up playing your own part in. Also, the cat with two buttholes is back. Really, it's a game with something for everyone. Available on: PC [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__hzPH3tcvA[/embed] Chants of Senaar Chants of Senaar, developed by French team Rundisc, is the answer to the question 'what if the Tower of Babel and the Rosetta Stone had a baby that was a puzzle game?' The game sees you exploring a mystical tower divided into levels populated by groups organised around castes, each of whom has a unique language consisting of logograms (or symbols that represent words, for those who haven't studied linguistics too deeply). To progress, you need to decipher these languages using a variety of context clues, interactions and signs scattered throughout the environments. Your efforts are tracked in a notebook, where you can record what you think various symbols mean and confirm them in sets once you've discovered enough of them, a mechanic that helps to defeat a brute force approach. Eventually, grammar is layered in as another aspect to consider, testing your skills even more. The tower itself is a joy to explore, with distinct colour palettes and architectural styles for each of the levels and a great use of light and shadow throughout. Breaking up the language puzzles are the occasional stealth sections, giving a welcome variety to the gameplay. As mentioned earlier, puzzle games can be measured by the sense of achievement you feel, and watching the world around you gradually become more intelligible, not to mention helping the different castes actually communicate, well, it doesn't get more satisfying than that. Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/S/X, Playstation 4/5
He's famous for a series about nothing. He's now heading Down Under to share something: Jerry Seinfeld, that is, with the comedian just announcing Australia and New Zealand dates for his latest stand-up show. Instead of rewatching old Seinfeld episodes for approximately the 75th time, you can catch the iconic talent on a seven-city trip that marks his first visit since 2017. Those gigs sold out faster than a Seinfeld character can say "what's the deal?", and expect tickets to his 2024 trip to get snapped up quickly as well. Mark June in your calendar, as that's when Seinfeld will be going all "yada yada yada" in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne in Australia, plus Auckland and Christchurch in Aotearoa. So far, every city scores one show except Melbourne, where Seinfeld will take to the stage for two nights. Back in 1998, he called the Victorian capital the "anus" of the world — but perhaps his feelings have now changed. In NZ, Seinfeld's Christchurch stop will mark his first ever in the city — with Auckland a return to the spot where he played his debut New Zealand gig in 2017. [caption id="attachment_925505" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] "I can't wait to bring the laughs Down Under once again," said Seinfeld about his next trip our way, which comes 43 years after he initially appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and 35 years since Seinfeld — which was co-created by its namesake and Larry David — premiered. His career also spans everything from web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, films such as Comedian and Bee Movie — with a new flick Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story on the way — and books Is this Anything? and Seinlanguage. And yes, we're assuming that he won't be stepping behind the microphone wearing a puffy shirt. JERRY SEINFELD AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2024 DATES: Saturday, June 15 — RAC Arena, Perth Sunday, June 16 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Wednesday, June 19 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Thursday, June 20 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Saturday, June 22–Sunday, June 23 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Monday, June 24 — Spark Arena, Auckland Wednesday, June 26 — Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch Jerry Seinfeld is touring Australia and New Zealand in June 2024, with Telstra presales from 12pm local time on Tuesday, November 14 TEG Dainty presales from 1pm local time on Thursday, November 16 and general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, November 17 — head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.
A vibrating chamber filled with light. Guided night walks through Hobart led by teenagers. Forty-nine search lights beaming up into the sky. Multiple performances by Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore. Throw in an after-hours art path, late-night parties and a fiery waterside display, and that's still just a taste of Dark Mofo's just-revealed 2021 lineup. The Tasmanian winter arts festival will return to Hobart between Wednesday, June 16–Tuesday, June 22, after being forced to scrap 2020's event due to the pandemic. Something that definitely isn't on the bill: the now-cancelled Union Flag artwork, which was announced back in March as this year's first program inclusion, then sparked a thoroughly unsurprisingly backlash. Instead, arts lovers can experience the world premiere of Russian performance duo 404.zero's aforementioned vibrating installation, peer at the always-vibrant Spectra, enjoy Moore's residency (including gigs with electronic music composer Wobbly and New Zealand's The Dead C), and watch a series of sculptural false gods come to life thanks to Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran's Earth Deities. [caption id="attachment_800593" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hunniford[/caption] Elsewhere, a reclamation walk on opening night will focus on the city's vegetation, exhibition Paradise Lost will explore the work of suspected serial poisoner-turned-acclaimed colonial artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, Chicago-based composer and singer Haley Fohr will sing with music boxes she received on 18 different birthdays, and Jonathan Schipper's Slow Room will see a living room slowly pulled into a hole in a wall over the festival's duration. Yes, there's plenty to tempt you to Tassie in the full program — and, in good news for your wallet (especially after you've booked flights and accommodation for the fest), most of the lineup is free. Ticketed events still feature, especially among Dark Mofo's music gigs, but attendees can still see the bulk of Dark Mofo's 2021 offerings without paying a cent. That includes heading along to its annual Winter Feast in the Princes Wharf precinct, which'll offer free entry after 9pm and all night on Sunday — and going for a splash during the Nude Solstice Swim, another of the fest's returning signature drawcards. [caption id="attachment_812063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jonathan Schipper, Slow Room. Courtesy Jonathan Schipper and Crystal Bridges Museum. Dark Mofo 2021[/caption] This year's Dark Mofo lineup is also designed to christen Hobart's new Darklab Bell Tower. It's the first bell tower that has been erected in Hobart in around 100 years, and features a 1800-kilogram bell that's been salvaged from a demolished church in Chicago. So, when you're dancing to DJs late at night at In The Hanging Garden, you'll be helping to celebrate one of the city's big new additions. And, although the blood-soaked Union Flag is no longer on the bill, Dark Mofo is still planning to make art from its audience — or from their loved ones' remains, to be exact. As part of a piece called Memorial by Alex Podger, the festival is calling for Tasmanian residents to provide the ashes of their loved ones, which will be placed into a handmade firework shell and then launched above the Derwent River, all to pay a fleeting but eye-catching tribute to life's beauty and complexity. Dark Mofo returns to Hobart from Wednesday, June 16–Tuesday, June 22. Tickets will be on sale from late May — for further details and to check out the full lineup, head to the festival website. Top image: Ivan Volkov, courtesy of 404.zero and Dark Mofo 2021.
Not every horror movie changes the way that its audience thinks, even if it conjures up haunting, engaging and entertaining bumps, jumps, spooks and scares. Since it first made its way to cinemas in 2000 after starting its life as an unsolicited and unproduced script for The X-Files, Final Destination and the franchise that it has spawned has indeed had that viewpoint-altering impact. For viewers, watching along with any of the saga's six films so far can get you seeing the deadly potential of every situation. That's the whole premise, after all: death's inevitability, plus how mortality stalks and creates fatal danger, including by taking everyday anxieties and fears to their worst and grisliest cause and effect-style possible outcomes. HBO's Six Feet Under, which arrived on the small screen the year after the first Final Destination movie, also played a little in this terrain, beginning most of its episodes with someone shuffling off this mortal coil, sometimes via accidents and misfortunes. But where it was a thoughtful and moving prestige TV drama, the Final Destination movies embrace their place in the horror genre, as well as blood and gore. After the OG flick, Final Destination 2 followed in 2003, then Final Destination 3 in 2006, fourth effort The Final Destination in 2009 and Final Destination 5 in 2011. Now Final Destination Bloodlines has following after a 14-year gap — and with a new twist, sending the end that awaits us all slaying its way through families. Is spying death lingering around every corner one of the side effects of directing a Final Destination movie, too? For filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein (who also co-helmed Freaks and Kim Possible), the answer is yes. "Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I think we've always been fans of how Final Destination really brings anxiety to life. And definitely when we're working with the writers and producers on all the things we could ruin for people in this movie, you really have to mind your own anxieties and your own fears to figure all that out," Stein tells Concrete Playground. "But we also had the fun of basically becoming death for this movie, because in Final Destination there's no killer with a knife coming after you. It's the filmmaking that comes for the characters. It's all the little close-up shots edited together that come for the character. So we got to be death in this movie, also." "I was driving down the highway just a few weeks ago," Lipovsky shares, "and a garbage bin came flying out of the back of the truck and kind of bounced down the road. And I saw it coming a mile away, because I was like 'ohh, here we go. I've seen this movie'. And I was able to pull out of the way." Pipes in Stein immediately: "Final Destination could save your life." In Final Destination Bloodlines, a huge scene-setting setpiece again establishes the story, this time harking back to 1968, to the opening of a sky-high restaurant in a new tower where young couple Iris (Brec Bassinger, Stargirl) and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones, The Irrational) are excited to be in attendance. Premonitions have their part in the narrative, but this is a killer opening in more ways than one. From there, the film jumps to the present day, with college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana, The Friendship Game) and her loved ones learning that they're the next in death's grasp. Her younger brother Charlie (Teo Briones, Chucky) and estranged mother Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt, Orphan Black: Echoes), plus cousins Erik (Richard Harmon, The Flash), Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner, Julie and the Phantoms) and Julia (Anna Lore, Gotham Knights), then start discovering what it's like to live your days attempting to outsmart eternal rest. Does spotting lethal peril IRL carry over to a Final Destination movie's cast, too? Bloodlines' lineup of actors vary in their answers when asked. "I feel like I've always been a little psychic. I'm not kidding. I have really great intuition. I'm so good at it. I mean, not as far as predicting that somebody's going to die. I have a really strong gut feeling and I feel like I can sense things around me," says Santa Juana, who, as Stefani, is the sleuth of the picture — the character who is definitely discerning everywhere that death might pop up. "Accident-wise?" Kihlstedt, her on-screen mum, poses in return. "Yeah. That's why I'm so afraid of power chords, because I know that those things are pesky little buggers, and they will, if you get some water on them, they'll explode." Kihlstedt doesn't think that way. Nor does Briones: "I just sort of stumble around life, no care in the world". And Harmon believes that "life's too short to be worried". Lore, though, advises that "I think that watching it, being in it, being around a Final Destination film, yeah, makes you very makes you a little paranoid". Notes Joyner: "it's a little spooky". They're all now part of not only Final Destination's comeback, but also of a wave of 90s and 00s horror becoming new again. Scream returned in 2022, dropped another sequel in 2023 and has Scream 7 on the way in 2026. The fourth I Know What You Did Last Summer film, also just called I Know What You Did Last Summer, hits cinemas in July 2025. News of more Urban Legend with Until Dawn's Gary Dauberman penning the script is mere weeks old as Final Destination Bloodlines releases. Bloodlines' stars and filmmakers also worked alongside a Final Destination original, with genre and franchise great Tony Todd (Candyman), who passed away in November 2024, making his final appearance in the saga. We spoke with Lipovsky, Stein, Santa Juana, Briones, Kihlstedt, Harmon, Joyner and Lore about what it means to step into a beloved franchise like this one, too, alongside Todd's involvement, shifting the way that audiences think, the family connection in Bloodlines, intergenerational trauma, great deaths in the saga, the fun of dying on-screen and other topics. On What Makes a Great Final Destination Death Setup Zach: "I think the key thing is what Adam was talking about, which is ruining something. Meaning it's something very relatable that we all experience, we all can run into in the rest of our lives, and figuring out a way to just dement that in a way that is incredibly scary and graphic and anxiety-inducing. And then figuring out all the different ways that you can make that ultimate death surprising. And so creating all sorts of misdirects around it with other relatable, realistic things that could theoretically happen — so that it's a sequence that is relatable, that is surprising, and ultimately incredibly graphic and gory." On Knowing You've Had a Part in Making People Think Differently About Everyday Objects and Situations Adam: "We hope people still go get their necessary MRIs. Let's just say that." Zach: "Even safer than they would have before." Adam: "But I think that's what's made Final Destination so iconic, that things just stick with you. Logging trucks — 20 years later, nobody can take it. We just hope that we can live up to the logging truck — and maybe when you have a frosty glass full of ice or you hear the song 'Shout', you think of our movie 20 years from now." Anna: "Very proud. Yeah, very proud. I mean, the goal of these movies is to ruin things for people." Richard: "Yes." Anna: "And the more everyday the thing, the better." Owen: "That's the number-one ambition." Anna: "The number one." Owen: "Not to entertain." Anna: "Even before making a movie of any kind or filming it or …" Owen: "How can we traumatise people?" Anna: "How can we traumatise?" Richard: "And I hope we did our jobs." On Whether the Cast Tap Into a Seize-the-Day Perspective While Making a Movie Where Death Can Be Anywhere Kaitlyn: "I think for this one it's a little bit different, because it's about a family. And when I think about what I would do to protect my family, I don't really think risk for myself is involved. I love my family and Stefani also loves her family, even though they are a little bit distant off the top. So I can only imagine that she would pretty much do anything and risk her safety to make sure that the others are safe, too, because that's what I would do." Rya: "I mean, the truth is if we could all carry that a little more into our day-to-day lives, it would be really great." Owen: "I guess that helps, right? That's a great tip. Maybe I should have used that. It could have helped. But, I don't know, it was such a weird flip-flop where you go through some traumatic moment with a family member, and then the next scene you're supposed to take the audience through a light-hearted scene and allow everyone to relax before you get into the next big scary murder plot. So, for me, it was really just taking it scene by scene, and trusting the writers and the directors of knowing how to transition out of different moments to lead the audience through a fun time." Richard: "Yeah. Hey, that's well-put." On Adding a Focus on Families as Death's Target to the Franchise for the First Time Zach: "That was the best part of hearing that they were making a new Final Destination movie, as we heard that it was about a family tree — because it does so many different things at once. Right away, it allows for the structure of Final Destination to be a little bit different, which freshens the franchise. Because now you have a whole group of people that are related but are different ages — and that creates a lot higher stakes because they really, really love each other. And we have this beautiful element of this family that starts with a rift and they're kind of apart from each other, having to come together as death comes for them one by one. And it really enriches each of the characters, because they can all have family secrets and grudges and alliances and history. And that allows for a Final Destination movie that I think people will be surprised has a lot more heart and depth to it on the character side — and all that comes from that bloodlines idea." Adam: "I heard the cast talking about it earlier today, and what they settled on as their tagline is: 'bigger heart, bigger stakes'." Zach: "Nice." On Playing Bloodlines' Sleuth, and Trying to Solve the Puzzle of What's Happening — and How to Save Stefani's Loved Ones Kaitlyn: "I have really strong family morals, so just thinking about what I would do to protect them. I would do all of these things to protect the people that I love. Another thing is, throughout the film with my acting coach, I worked on the three different people that Stefani is in this movie. And in the first little bit, she's the detective. Like you said, she's trying to figure out what's going on. In the middle sequence, she's what I would deem as a protector. And in the end sequence, she's a survivor. You shoot everything out of sequence, and just grounding myself and remembering 'who am I right now?' and 'what would I do in this scenario?' was what helped me stay true to my character arc." On Digging Into Intergenerational Trauma When Death Starts Stalking Families Rya: "I was really intrigued by and am very interested in the idea of family constellations and carried trauma — I feel like most of us carry some kind of trauma that maybe does not belong to us, that's been carried down for generations, that's not ours to own. And I think that's Darlene. That sums her up. She is carrying trauma from her mother, and suddenly realises that her daughter is now carrying this. She thought she left in the hopes that she was going to save her daughter from the same trauma. Exactly what she did is exactly what she didn't want to do. And I love that idea." On What It Meant to Be Able to Bring Tony Todd Back to the Franchise for the Final Time Adam: "He's an absolute legend. We were really grateful to be able to work with him, and it was so important to have him in this movie. We weren't sure if he would be able to do the movie, because we knew he was sick. And he kept telling us 'do not write me out of this movie, I have to be in this movie'. It was very important to him to be in the movie, and to do a couple of things. One, to give Bludworth a bit more of a backstory, a bit more of a human character to this character who, in the other movies, has been a bit mysterious and undefined. And it's led to a lot of fan theories about 'is he an angel? Is he death itself?'. And Tony was very excited to be able to bring a bit more of a backstory on a human level to the character, so he would have that explanation to why he is the way he is. And, to give him not just a proper beginning but a proper goodbye, because we were pretty sure this would be his last Final Destination movie — just because they take years to make and we knew he was sick. We didn't realise it would be his last movie overall, which is, of course, very tragic. And he was very excited, though, to say goodbye to the fans of Final Destination — to the point that on set, we asked him if he would be willing to put the script aside and speak directly to the fans in that final goodbye moment. 'Is there anything he wants to say? Is there anything he wants to leave the fans with?'. And the final lines he says in the movie were just spoken off-script, from the heart, of what he wanted to leave the fans with as a final message, and I think that's why it's so emotionally powerful." On What You Draw Upon to Convey the Fear That Clearly Has to Sink in for Bloodlines' Characters Richard: "Well, the acting went out of the window when they lit the fire underneath me. I think the acting just ... " Owen: "You went method right there." Richard: "You no longer act. You're just like 'I don't want to burn to death'. So yeah, I feel like that Final Destination does such a good job of that, even with like the fake blood and everything, where the acting just goes out of the window and you just do it." On the Fun of Playing Death Scenes Teo: "This might just be me, but I've died a few times at this point on-screen — I love filming those scenes. They're the most fun things to film. It's awesome." Rya: "I was going to say the same thing. They're really fun." Teo: "They're really fun." Rya: "They're hard work. It depends on how you die. it depends on the situation." Kaitlyn: "It's so epic. There's something so epic about doing it." Rya: "Particularly in this, because they're so heightened and so dramatic." Kaitlyn: "I know, it's beautiful." Rya: "It's bloody, gory." Kaitlyn: "It's honestly beautiful. It's so romantic. There's a romance to it." Richard: "It's some of the most fun I've ever had in my career, for sure." Owen: "It's the honour of the whole experience." On Adding a New Standout Opening Sequence to the Franchise Zach: "I think knowing that you're doing a Final Destination movie, the first thing you think is 'oh boy, that means that we're going to have to make an iconic opening', because these movies are known for their openings. And to even be given the torch to add one more to that pantheon is quite a weight to bear. And so we spent years, we were working on that opening setpiece to try and make it worthy of being in a Final Destination movie. We tried to give it a huge amount of scope. We tried to give it a huge amount of heart. We tried to prey on all sorts of relatable fears. Adam has a fear of heights, and so we really tried to bring a fear of heights into it and play with that in creative new ways. We didn't want to just do the standard push-pull vertigo shot. We wanted to try experimental other ideas to really create a sense of vertigo when you're that high up — and give people something that's also really beautiful and touching at the same time that it's horrifying. And we were really inspired by like movies like Titanic that balance all of those things — of being epic and beautiful and personal, but also just horrifying and stick with you forever so that you always think about them. And we're really glad to see that people are responding to that setpiece, because we spent years trying to make it worthy of that title." On Why the Final Destination Films Have Enjoyed Such a Following Over a Quarter of a Century — and Being Tasked with Carrying on That Legacy Zach: "I think that everyone has some amount of anxiety and has that little voice in their head saying 'you know what, this feels a little off — aaah, it's probably fine'. And in Final Destination, you see that 'no, it's not fine and it's actually horrible'. And so I think there's something that's kind of delightful about that. I also think that Final Destination is really unique as far as being an experience where you can have a lot of fun with how people are dying, I think that's quite unique. A lot of films that are gory end up being really dark in a non-fun way — and I think Final Destination strikes this perfect balance where you can kind of cheer and root for death, because death is so clever, but also root for the characters to escape and hope that they're okay. And it gives you all the different emotions that you can have in a movie theatre. And it just sticks with you — from the moment you leave that theatre, all the different things that are in a Final Destination movie, you'll never be able to look at the same way again. And every little weird accident or something that happens in your real life, even if it's not in a Final Destination movie, you'll think that it could be in a Final Destination movie, and that's just a testament to these films' staying power." Anna: "I think we all felt the pressure of it." Owen: "The thing that helped me was, there was plenty of pressure in terms of making sure that we made millions of fans happy, but we had an amazing team that really understood what the fans wanted and the fabric of the franchise, and what was important in each of them. But it did help that the real stars of the movie are the deaths, right? So as long as you can execute on those, I don't think you have to dig deep and bring out some riveting performance — just try to have fun with the audience." Richard: "Make it enjoyable. Make it entertaining." On the Significance and Fun of Joining the Franchise for the Cast Rya: "I think it's really finally hitting us. I guess I'll speak for myself, but I think we've been talking about this a little bit — I think it's finally hitting us how much this movie and this franchise means to its fans. So we're really aware of what an honour it is and how lucky we are." Kaitlyn: "Absolutely." Teo: "Something that was always on my mind while we were filming is making a movie that, because I'm a huge fan of this franchise — I just wanted to make sure that we were making a film that the fans would love, and the fans would love to watch over and over and over again. Because that's what these movies are for me. They're movies that you watch — I watched these a couple times a year, honestly. And I was just hoping that we'd be able to recreate that. And I think we really did." Kaitlyn: "I think so, too." Teo: "And I think the fans are going to really love it. And the fans are already loving it." Richard: "I was 11 when the second one came out, and I saw the second one at a friend's sleepover that we were having — and we got it and were were like 'we shouldn't be watching this'. And I just fell in love with it. Then I went back and watched one, and then I watched all of them when they came out after that. I've been a massive fan of the franchise since then — and this was, I literally cried on the phone when they told me that I booked this role, because I get to bring my dreams to reality by being a part of horror royalty. I'm not saying I'm horror royalty. I'm just saying Final Destination is horror royalty." Owen: "We are. We're saying it." Richard: "We're all horror royalty." Anna: "My first memory of Final Destination, I didn't see it, but I remember I think being in sixth grade or something and everyone talking about the rollercoaster. And they were like 'oh yeah, there's a rollercoaster, there's an accident with a rollercoaster'. And I was like 'what, that sounds really scary'. But I didn't watch the movies until actually after I auditioned for this, because, I was like 'I'm going to watch them all the way through before I go shoot it'. So I just started with one — and my boyfriend was a huge fan. He changed my name in his phone to 'Anna Final Destination' when I auditioned for it. I'm still to this day in his phone: 'Anna Final Destination'. And so while we're watching them, I was just like 'these movies are awesome'." Richard: "Fun." Anna: "Like 'these are so great'." Owen: "I think for me, I was at the age where it was just already such a big part of our pop culture, so I feel like it's just always been this thing for me. I was never like 'I woke up one day and I saw the film and there was like an explosion for me' — it's just always been huge." Richard: "It's been lingering over the top of you your entire life." Owen: "It's been lingering, sprinkling trauma." Anna: "Omnipresent." Owen: "And feeding my anxiety for years." On Everyone's Favourite Death Setups — in Bloodlines and in the Rest of Franchise Adam: "If we had to pick one individual death, the MRI sequence, usually it gets the biggest reaction from audiences — except for one death in the opening where a little boy gets killed. That really, I still remember the first screening we had for audiences while we were editing. When the audience cheered when that boy was killed, I realised 'okay, we're on to something here. This is a real audience movie'. And that was — it's just so much fun, every time." Rya: "The piano's a good one." Teo: "The piano's good. MRI machine is my favourite." Kailtyn: "I like the piano one, because I love music." Rya: "And I've got to say I like the Reese's peanut butter cups." Kailtyn: "Yeah, I like those too." Teo: "Those are good." Owen: "If Richard were to die. If Richard were to play a character named Erik, and that character were to die." Anna: "If he died." Owen: "I think that would be my favourite." Richard: "I'm emotional." Anna: "I really like all of them. It's hard to think what I don't like. But first thing comes to my mind is in the fourth one, this guy gets squished through a chain-link fence. That one was really gross. Because when you see him up against the chain-link fence, just standing there, you're like 'they're not going to squish him through the chain-link fence, right?'." Owen: "I thought a really smart one was the gymnastics one." Richard: "It's brutal." Owen: "Because I feel like if you're not involved in gymnastics and you see people do that, I feel like you naturally think that that's just going to kind of happen." Richard: "It's inevitable." Anna: "And that's a great swerve, too, the gymnastics one, because you're like 'what's going to happen' — and then it's so simple." Richard: "And then it's just the chalk up — and then it's so good." Anna: "Yeah, exactly." Richard: "I like Timmy in the second one getting squished by a pane of glass. I like that one." Final Destination Bloodlines opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Brisbane is building up a stock of multipurpose eateries that offer a variety of drinking and dining options for any time of the day or night. Of these, Malt is one of the best. Malt sits within Market Street's Wenley House, erected in the 1800s to house the first incarnation of the produce markets now found at Rocklea. It is easy to appreciate the olde worlde charm of the locale, and the interior of the place retains some of the history and nostalgia so immediately evident in its exterior. In a move that is very of the times, Malt has opted not for minimalism, but an enthusiastic mix of old and new. Though not quite a hole in the wall, there is a real warmth to the fitout. Rather than cold industrial lighting bouncing off blindingly white tablecloths, the Attic restaurant is warmly lit with exposed brick walls, original timber flooring and dark wood tables and chairs. The service is as inviting as the surroundings. Accepted wisdom would be to start with the beetroot cured salmon with Pommery cream and fennel lavosh ($20), and finish with the popular Malt brownie with salted caramel, chocolate textures and peanut brittle ($15). For mains, you are unlikely to find a dud amid the lineup, which at this point in time includes smoke wagyu sirloin sous vide brisket with confit potato, vine-ripened tomato and goat's cheese eschallots ($45). If you're after just a quick nibble with a tipple, try the Malt steak tartare with 64° egg yolk and fennel lavosh ($15) from the bar menu. The moody downstairs bar has found an enthusiastic patronage, with the small space made cosier by the low lighting and economic (but not too squashed) seating arrangement. The atmosphere here could almost convince you that you've found yourself an exclusive little drinking hole, except that the secret is well and truly out.
Landlocked surfers of Melbourne, rejoice — Australia's first surf park has finally announced its opening date. And it's a whole lot closer to the city than Torquay or the Peninsula. Urbnsurf Melbourne will officially open in Tullamarine, near the airport, just 16-kilometres north of the CBD, on Monday, January 6. Plans for the park first surfaced way back in 2016 and, while the team was initially hoping for a spring opening, Urbnsurf is finally opening its doors this summer. The two-hectare space is powering up to 1000 waves per hour — day and night — with the waves coming from an 85-metre pier running down the centre of the lagoon. A series of pistons located on the pier push the water to the left, then to the right, to create the waves. Being ability to create waves means that the park is built for both pros who are looking for steep, barrelling waves and novices looking for a safe place to get their start in the surf. [caption id="attachment_756496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Urbnsurf and Ed Sloane[/caption] The waves are split into three sections: The Bays (beginner) with gentle rolling waves; The Point (intermediate) with 1-1.5 metre, mid-range turn waves; and The Point (advanced) with steep, long, barrelling waves up to two-metres-high with high-octane turns. At Urbnsurf, founder Andrew Ross predicts most novices will stand on their board within an hour and ride across the green face within two. And not only will you get guaranteed waves — you won't be fighting for them. The park holds a maximum of 24 riders in The Bays and 18 on each side of The Point. [caption id="attachment_756495" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy Urbnsurf and Stu Gibson[/caption] You'll be able to experience all of these waves for a very reasonable price, too, with one-hour sessions starting at just $25 for adults and lessons from $69. If you see yourself becoming an Urbnsurf regular, you can also splash out on a discounted ten-pack of sessions ($620 for beginners, $700 for pros) and monthly memberships, which start at $100 a month. More of a watch-and-cheer than a tumble-around-in-the-water person? All-day spectator passes are also available for just $5 — and they get you access to the day beds, cabanas and hot tubs (when they open in autumn). If you need a break between sessions on the water, Urbnsurf will also be home to a new two-storey restaurant by the owners of Sydney's Three Blue Ducks, which is set to open in early autumn. Until then, pop-ups by a heap of Melbourne's favourite food trucks, bars and eateries will look after the food and drinks. If you're not in Melbourne, you'll be happy to know that a second Urbnsurf is set to open at Sydney Olympic Park in 2021. Find Urbnsurf from Monday, January 6, near Melbourne Airport. It's open from 6am–10pm in summer and 9am–6pm in winter. You can now book in for surf sessions, surf lessons and spectator passes on the website. Images: Courtesy Urbnsurf, Ed Sloane and Stu Gibson.
Winter is coming, as Game of Thrones has been telling us for years — and if the idea hasn't quite sunk in, the show's latest trailer is here to help. After announcing that the series would return in April for its final season with a very brief clip, HBO has dropped another short teaser. Expect snow and dragons, obviously. While we're still hanging out for a proper trailer, the latest sneak peek features the series' Dragonstone table map, aka a painted depiction of Westeros. Sadly, there's no footage from the new season — but there is enough icy intrigue to whet fans' appetites. After leaving everyone hanging for the entirety of 2018, Game of Thrones' eighth and final season will hit the small screen in April 2019, nearly two years after season seven premiered in July 2017. The US network hasn't announced an exact premiere date as yet, but even knowing which month to look forward to is good news. If you're eager to get your fix of the series' staples — that is, battles, bloodshed, betrayal, bare chests, family bickering, Jon Snow knowing nothing (including about his long-lost aunt) and plenty of dragons — then you can almost start counting down the days. Of course, we all know that this isn't really the end of the world created by author George RR Martin — and no, we're not talking about the now seven-year wait for his next book in the literary franchise, The Winds of Winter. A prequel TV series to Game of Thrones is in the works, set thousands of years before the events we've all be watching since 2011, with Naomi Watts set to star. Come next year, you'll also be able to tour original GoT filming locations in Northern Ireland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NspqGM0DbbQ Game of Thrones season eight will arrive on HBO in April, 2019.
To celebrate a momentous 50 years since the very first appearance of LEGO bricks in Australia, the Danish toymaker is putting on a Festival of Play throughout the year. LEGO is the number one toy in Australia, with each Aussie owning an average of 70 LEGO bricks. This influential product has changed many of our childhoods and reconstructed our perceptions of inspiration, creativity and play. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming competitions, like the 50 from 50, where your creativity is put to the test for brickvention, art displays like the one appearing at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum showcasing unique mosaics of Lego brick art, or the exciting new Build with Chrome innovation, which allows you to explore and build a world of 3D LEGO creations online anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. Here, we take a look at some of the most spectacular giant LEGO creations around the world in recent times. LEGO Colosseum, Nicholson Museum Tiny Romans and architecture at this exhibition on the ancient world at the University of Sydney, which runs until early 2013. LEGO Forest, Martin Place For those who missed this spectacular surprise forest appearing in Sydney's CBD, the set of 15 LEGO flower and pine tree structures are an exact replica of the original pieces, only 66 times bigger. LEGO Forest, Broken Hill Going on tour, the forest next appeared against the vibrant backdrop of outback Australia's red dust plains in Broken Hill. Who knows where the gigantic LEGO pieces will appear next? LEGO Staircase, New York This dazzling staircase and railing in a Chelsea Loft is fashioned from an enormous 20,000 LEGO bricks, designed by artist Melissa Marks and interface designer Vicente Caride. LEGO Skyscraper, Seoul This phenomenal structure, built solely out of LEGO bricks, set the new world record for the highest LEGO building ever. The Skyscraper took 4,000 children 5 days to construct using 50,000 bricks. LEGO House, Surrey 1,000 volunteers collaborated together for BBC 2 show, Toy Stories, to create this enormous 32-million brick, two-storey house. Despite designer James May's best attempts to sell the structure to Legoland in Windsor, the house was demolished in 2009. LEGO Furniture by Lunablocks Release your inner decorator and inner kid simultaneously with these soft and stackable LEGO furniture items. They come in an array of shapes and sizes that offer endless opportunities to design and reconfigure your lounge room. LEGO Dispatchwork Using LEGO as dispatchwork is a movement launched by German artist Jan Vormann a few years ago. What started as a fun, colourful and creative way to patch old walls at the contemporary art festival in Boccignano, Italy, has now become an ongoing project spreading worldwide. LEGO Church, The Netherlands The 20 metre Church of the Holy Brick, called Abondantus Gigantus, was built last year in the town of Enschede for the Grenswerk Festival. It was designed as a venue for town meetings, raves, LEGO building contests and even a mass at one stage. LEGO Bridge, Wuppertal It took German Street-artist Megz four weeks to transform this drab bridge into a wonderment of colour and vibrance, resembling giant LEGO bricks. LEGO Car, Munich 800 kids + four days + 165,000 Lego bricks + German Automakers = Life-size replica of a BMW X1 made out of lego.
In A Real Pain, as two cousins make a pilgrimage to walk in their dearly departed grandmother's shoes, the concept of alternative possible lives arises. Jesse Eisenberg's second film as a writer/director after 2022's When You Finish Saving the World doesn't hop between timelines science fiction-style; rather, when different pasts or futures come up, it follows a relatable Sliding Doors-esque train of thought about the events and decisions that've shaped David (played by Eisenberg) and Benji Kaplan's (Kieran Culkin, Succession) existences. They're in Poland, where their Grandma Dory grew up, and where they might've too if the Holocaust hadn't occurred. On their guided tour, Benji muses with David about their parallel-universe selves, where they're Polish with beards and everything that they've ever known is completely different. A Real Pain itself is the product of a comparable journey; it could've been a different movie and, originally, it was meant to be. Eisenberg was endeavouring to bring another project to the screen, adapting a short story that he'd penned for Tablet magazine. It was about two friends, not cousins, and instead of Poland they were travelling to Mongolia together. But the Oscar-nominated The Social Network actor, not to mention star of everything from the Zombieland and Now You See Me movies through to TV's Fleishman Is in Trouble, had himself been to Poland. He'd paid tribute to his own family history, visiting the house that his aunt Doris had lived in. He'd also been inspired by that trip to write 2013's off-Broadway play The Revisionist, about a young American man with an older Polish cousin who had survived the Second World War. An ad for "Auschwitz tours, with lunch", which Eisenberg randomly spotted online, helped him pull together influences from all of the above — the screenwriting task that he'd actually set himself, his prior play, his personal experiences and history — into A Real Pain. Audiences should be grateful that it did. Awards bodies have been so far, including via four Golden Globe nominations (for Best Film — Musical or Comedy, Best Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for Eisenberg, Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture for Culkin, and Best Screenplay — Motion Picture, again for Eisenberg), plus love from the Gotham Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. At Sundance, where A Real Pain premiered, the dramedy took home a screenwriting accolade. Eisenberg isn't just filtering elements of his family's past into the movie, or recreating a trip that he took with his now-wife two decades back. As he did with the Julianne Moore (May December)- and Finn Wolfhard (Saturday Night)-starring When You Finish Saving the World, he's also tapping into his own IRL anxieties. What he's digging into is right there in A Real Pain's name. As he tells Concrete Playground, "I'm trying to examine and ask the question that I ask myself every day: is my pain valid?". When there's such bigger struggles, troubles and atrocities haunting the world beyond the everyday woes of a person with a largely comfortable life, how can someone feel angst and hurt while also confronted with the bigger picture? In A Real Pain, David and Benji were born mere weeks apart and were almost inseparable as kids, and now make a chalk-and-cheese pair — as is immediately evident while the former leaves a series of messages about meeting up at the airport, where the latter has already been contentedly for hours — but both have their own tussles. In their interactions one on one and with others, one is a ball of tension and apprehension, while the other is laidback and charming. (Based on casting, it's easy to pick which is which before even watching, although Eisenberg initially planned to play Benji.) Where David has also settled into adulthood while grappling with his stresses, however, Benji is in a state of arrested development. Their grandmother's passing hasn't helped. At a pivotal moment, chatting over dinner with the pair's tour group — which includes Will Sharpe (The White Lotus) as their guide, plus Jennifer Grey (Dollface), Kurt Egyiawan (The Agency), Liza Sadovy (A Small Light) and Daniel Oreskes (Only Murders in the Building) as fellow travellers — while Benji is in the bathroom, David unburdens his feelings in a powerful torrent. "I love him and I hate him and I want to kill him and I want to be him," he notes, getting to the heart of the cousins' complicated relationship. Earlier, they'd been at Lublin's Old Jewish Cemetery. The next day, they'll visit the Majdanek concentration camp. A Real Pain sees its titular emotion in micro and macro, then, and knows how awkwardly that the two clash. Just as with questioning the legitimacy of routine trials versus all of the worse things in the world, Eisenberg drew that crucial monologue from his own emotions and experiences. "It's also the most-personal part of the movie — and this is a movie that is very personal," he told us. We also chatted with the Rodger Dodger, The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, The Double, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Vivarium and Sasquatch Sunset star about how A Real Pain came together, working with Culkin — including Emma Stone's advice as one of the film's producers that he shouldn't play Benji himself — and what he makes of his career 25 years after his screen debut in TV series Get Real. On What Keeps Drawing Eisenberg to the Question of 'What Pain Is Valid?' as a Writer/Director, First in When You Finish Saving the World and Now in A Real Pain "I've been in the arts since I'm a kid, and I married somebody who works in social justice. And so anytime time I feel I'm doing well or something, I'm reminded that my wife is maybe working with people in more immediate need than I am. And my mother-in-law ran a domestic violence shelter for 35 years, and was unimpressed that her daughter had been married to somebody in movies. So in that first movie, Julianne Moore plays a woman who runs a domestic violence shelter, and she's kind of unimpressed with her kid, who's her family, not doing anything of social value according to her. And then in A Real Pain, the characters are experiencing this very personal pain. My character has OCD, but medicates it away. And my cousin's character has very dark, dark demons inside of him, but it's on an individual level. And so I thought it would be interesting to put these guys against the backdrop of real historical global objective trauma, like the Holocaust. Because in both movies I'm trying to examine and ask the question that I ask myself every day: is my pain valid? I live in a comfortable apartment with a nice wife and kid, and work, I have a nice job. But yet I still feel miserable all day. And why do I have those feelings? So both movies are exploring that exact question. Questions of privilege versus pain — questions about how is it possible that we could feel bad for ourselves when there are so many worse things in the world? In the case of the first movie, it's about domestic violence, and in the case of this movie, it's the Holocaust. And that's just my preoccupation, which just comes from a very self-centred question of 'why do I deserve to feel self-pity?'. On A Real Pain Coming Together From First Trying to Write a Different Film, Then Seeing an Online Ad for Auschwitz Tours "with Lunch", and Also a Past Off-Broadway Play, Plus Eisenberg's Own Personal History and Trip to Poland "It's funny, my friend and I, he's a writer too, we write next to each other at the library every day, and he always says 'once you're on the downslope of the script, you know it's going well'. 'The downslope' in our lingo is basically just once you get past the point of setting everything up and the things are in motion and everything feels right, kind of resolving everything or maybe it's not resolving anything, but that downslope to the end is really smooth. So the last ten pages of this movie, I wrote, I think, in like five minutes, because my wife was texting me I'm going to be late to pick up my kid, and I was like 'I know, but I know the ending, I just have to..'. [caption id="attachment_985500" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Agata Grzybowska. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.[/caption] So I just wrote it really quickly and all this great stuff came out about me hitting him in the airport, and then this just sad ending of me going home to my family and him stuck at the airport, and it just happened because everything had been set up. And it was in my mind, as you mentioned, throughout several other plays and short stories and stuff, and a real trip with my wife. So once I was at that point, where the dominoes were all falling, I knew, 'oh, this is a story that feels complete'. And then I sent it to my parents and they had no idea what they were reading, because I sent it to them, I don't write in screenwriting programs, so I sent them an e-mail with no names above the characters. Anyway, they said 'this is terrible, what did you what did you do?'. And then I made it more official." [caption id="attachment_985499" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Agata Grzybowska, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures, © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.[/caption] On What Eisenberg Was Excited About with Working with Kieran Culkin — and Casting Him in a Role That He Was First Planning to Play Himself "I was originally thinking I would play the role of Benji. And our producer is Emma Stone, and she is obviously a very successful producer/actress, and she told me just it would not be a good idea to play a character like that, who's so kind of unhinged and spontaneous, while also trying to direct the movie where I had to be in my other side of my brain of managing a crew. So once I decided I wasn't going to play that role and I was thinking about who could play it, the only person that seemed to me — it's strange, because he's not a Jewish actor — but the only person that seemed to me of my ilk is Kieran. [caption id="attachment_985496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited[/caption] I don't know what it is, that we're both from New York and speak in this kind of way, and have an energy about us that is similar, but I needed somebody similar and different to me. And Kieran is like me in so many ways and then completely the opposite of me in so many ways. He doesn't feel anxiety about acting. He doesn't think about it. He just wants to get to the set and to just perform. He doesn't want to talk. He does want to analyse it. He doesn't even sleep the night before, and he never wants to rehearse. And he's just comfortable in his own skin. He's now winning, like today, he just won two major awards for the role. I think he doesn't even care. I sent him a congratulations message. He's never going to get back to me. He just takes care of his kids and doesn't care about ambition, fame, success, any money, anything. He lives a really unusual life and it's exactly what I needed for the character. So what we were experiencing on set as colleagues was quite similar to what they're experiencing on set in character." On Capturing the Relatable Dynamic of Loving Someone But Also Hating Them in a Powerful Monologue — and How Pivotal That Moment Was for Eisenberg "Oh, very strangely pivotal in the sense that I was so conscious of the fact that I, as the writer/director, have a monologue in the movie. And I was so panicked about filming it, because I thought I would screw it up, and then I thought 'I don't want the other cast to be sitting there all day while I do this shot of myself'. So the cinematographer and the producer Ali Herting [I Saw the TV Glow, The Curse] basically forced me into doing this long shot that pushes in. We did one take and I was too embarrassed to do it again, because it just seemed indulgent. It's the only take we got. And because I knew I only wanted to one take, I put all the eggs in the basket of it, and so it was very lived in, so to speak. It's also the most-personal part of the movie — and this is a movie that is very personal. We film the movie at my family's house in Poland and it's about my family's history, and yet the most-personal part of the movie is where I say that stuff. Because I guess what I'm talking about is just the way I've felt in my relationships with other guys growing up, just finding people that I'm in awe of — not just guys, also women and family members and all sorts of people — where I have these dual feelings of wanting to be them and kill them at the same time, and loving them and hating them at the same time. I'm living in the shadow of Benji, but in some ways my life has greater stability than his. In most ways, my life has more stability. And so I understand that I've created the life I want, and yet still every time I'm with him he brings up those childhood feelings of envy." On What Eisenberg Makes of His Path From His Screen Debut in TV Series Get Real 25 Years Ago to Everything That's Come His Way Since, Including Writing and Directing "When I was like 16, I got my first professional acting job, which was acting in this TV show. And I'll never forget the audition, all the executives were there, and I remember I was just trying to be funny in front of them. And I was not thinking of myself as a funny person at that point. I was trying to be funny, and people were laughing, like adults were laughing. And I thought 'oh, that's interesting, I wonder if I'm allowed to just be funny the way I want to be funny — it can translate'. I didn't have to be funny like Adam Sandler or something. I could just be funny like myself. So that TV show allowed me to explore, let's say, my own voice as an actor. So that was a really, really lucky experience that no one watched. And since then, I've been very lucky to play roles where I can bring myself to it or bring my own sensibility to certain things, especially in a movie like A Real Pain, which is like my story, and I'm always surprised that anybody likes it. Because when you think of something that's your own, and that's private or artful or creative or something that's funny in your head, you never expect to have any kind of public reaction. But now I've found myself in this very weird position where I get to write stuff and can produce it, and it just feels quite strange because it all still feels very personal." A Real Pain opens in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, December 26, 2024. Images: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Since first making the jump from the page to the screen in 2019, The Boys has never been afraid to splash OTT violence — gory carnage, too — across its frames. The same proved true in 2020's second season and 2022's third, and also in college-set spinoff Gen V in 2023. That isn't changing in The Boys season four, which will hit streaming in June. But the show will reckon with why fights and frays (and killing as well) are always a solution for its characters, no matter whether they're meant to be good or evil. "Look, we've all done bad shit. What's insane is that our solution to every problem is murder," says Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid, Oppenheimer) in the fourth season's just-dropped full trailer, which follows an initial teaser back in 2023. "Violence isn't brave," he continues. The counterpoint, coming from The Deep (Chace Crawford, Gossip Girl): "violence is power". Fans will know that Hughie is part of the show's titular crew, becoming a member after his girlfriend died at the hands of a superhero. The Deep sits among the caped crusaders and, specifically, The Seven. The latter is comprised of the superheroes that are placed above all superheroes in this vision of a world where superpowers are a regular occurrence, and therefore where the kinds of tales that Marvel and DC bring to cinemas and TVs are real. Chaos is still set to ensue, of course, as this new glimpse at season four makes plain. Cue: a supe-slaying virus and superheroes as "wrathful gods", for starters. The Boys' latest episodes will begin streaming Down Under from Thursday, June 13. The season will also see its world dealing with Homelander (Antony Starr, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant)-versus-Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic) factionalism, and just being ready to tear itself apart in general. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) is getting closer to the Oval Office, too, with Homelander pulling the strings. Also on the way: no-nonsense Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok) facing the fact that he's only got months left, and that he's no longer leading The Boys — aka the eponymous ragtag team intent on bringing down Vought International, Homelander, and the company's caped-crusader industry and dominance. And, there's a new face, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) joining the cast, adding another Supernatural link after Jensen Ackles did the same in season three. The Boys has always stood out as an antidote to narratives about powerful folks who are supposedly better than most, by both parodying and questioning that very idea. Here, superheroes work for Vought. They're still the main form of entertainment, but they're real, the most famous celebrities there are and inescapable in daily life. While The Seven are the absolute top talent, most are hardly role models when the public isn't looking. That has made quite the change from the usual cinematic universes as the Prime Video show has kept notching up the seasons, all coming to the small screen from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comics series of the same name. As well as Quaid, Crawford, Starr, Moriarty, Doumit and Urban, Jessie T Usher (Smile), Laz Alonso (Wrath of Man), Tomer Capone (One on One), Karen Fukuhara (Bullet Train), Colby Minifie (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) and Cameron Crovetti (Goodnight Mommy) all return — with Susan Heyward (Hello Tomorrow!) and Valorie Curry (The Lost Symbol) set to be season four newcomers. Check out the full trailer for The Boys season four below: The fourth season of The Boys will start streaming via Prime Video from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Read our reviews of The Boys season three and Gen V.
Floor-to-ceiling views of one of the world's most infamous barriers, sleeping in sight of an Israeli watchtower and bunking down on abandoned army supplies aren't usually listed among a hotel's features. Nor is a rooftop that no one can set foot upon without prior permission from the Israeli military, everything getting locked down at 11pm each night or buying graffiti supplies to make your mark on an adjacent structure — but, of course, The Walled Off Hotel (not to be confused with the Waldorf Hotel) isn't any ordinary accommodation establishment. Set up in secret over the last 14 months and set to open on March 11, the Bethlehem guesthouse is the latest project from Banksy. "Enough said," you might be thinking — and yes, in keeping with the artist's usual modus operandi, the hotel is designed to attract attention. You don't just unveil a new place to stay not only in the West Bank, but with a clear vantage of the barrier that separates Palestine and Israel, without making a statement. The site follows in the footsteps of his Gaza tourism ad and theme park Dismaland in giving a dark, topical twist to the holiday trappings most of us take for granted. https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMFoDzDbGl/?taken-by=thewalledoffhotelbethlehem Once inside The Walled Off Hotel, visitors can expect to be greeted by "the worst view of any hotel in the world", as Banksy explained in a statement reported by The Guardian. "Walls are hot right now, but I was into them long before [Donald] Trump made it cool," he continued. Converted from a pottery workshop, the venue's ten rooms will definitely feel the impact of their close proximity to so many vertical slabs of concrete, with none receiving more than 25 minutes of direct sunlight each day. Anyone keen to book a stay — and given Banksy's involvement, expect there to be plenty — can choose between four levels of accommodation. Perhaps you'd like to kip in one of the rooms customised by different artists, including Banksy, Sami Musa and Dominique Petrin, or scenic lodgings with those not-quite-million-dollar views? Money conscious travellers can opt for budget digs that come with a locker, personal safe, shared bathroom and complimentary earplugs, while the palatial presidential suite will suit those with plenty of spare cash. It boasts a four-person plunge bath, home cinema, Dead Sea bath minerals and water feature made from a bullet-riddled water tank (or, "everything a corrupt head of state would need"). https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMHvSvBo5_/?tagged=walledoffhotel Throughout the building, Banksy-vandalised oil paintings and statues choking on tear gas fumes line the walls, setting a distinctive tone, but tea and scones are still served daily. Both a gallery and a museum will be open to the public, the former curated by historian and critic Ismal Duddera to showcase many of the most notable Palestinian artists from the past 20 years, and the latter providing a biography of the wall. In case you're wondering, no, this isn't a joke. As made clear on Banksy's website — which has been revamped to showcase the new venture — The Walled Off Hotel is a genuine establishment. The site is expected to run for a year to mark one hundred years since the British became involved in Palestine. Via The Guardian. Images: www.banksy.co.uk.
Get your napkins pressed and your hand sanitiser primed because the mother of all finger food chains is at long last arriving in Australia. Wingstop has been running a US-based operation since the early 1990s, so it's been a long time coming to our neck of the woods, but this news will no doubt get mouths watering at the prospect of trying its titular wings on home turf. From little things, big things grow, so Wingstop is starting small with a single Sydney outpost. However, they won't stay small for long, with over 100 stores planned to open Australia-wide. If you can't wait to get your hands on it in your hometown, the inaugural opening is coming to Sydney's Kings Cross, with a special opening event pencilled in for Saturday, May 17. What's on the cards? Doors swing open at 11am and the first 500 diners to visit will get five free wings. Should you miss out on the initial offer, there will also be DJs keeping the energy high throughout the day, along with interactive experiences, games and giveaways. If you were lusting after the viral Maccas, ALDI or KFC merchandise drops that took over social media in 2023 and 2024, not to worry — Wingstop will be running its own merch giveaways on the day, the first of its kind in the country, so you can shove it into the faces of those who were lucky enough to get those aforementioned bucket hats and sweaters. At the end of the day, though, we're all here for the wings, so what's actually going to be on the menu? It's poultry aplenty, with classic and boneless wings and tenders available in packs ranging from three to 50. They're tossed with one of twelve sauces: Lemon Pepper, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Louisiana Rub, Spicy Korean Q, Mild, Hot Honey Rub, Cajun, OG, Mango Habanero and Atomic. Get them with a side of signature seasoned fries (with seven choices of seasoning), house-made cheese or ranch dips, or cajun-spiced corn. Add on a cold drink or even a chocolate brownie to help the wings go down. If you don't make it on the day, keep your eyes peeled for future in-store events or for where the next location will open. Wingstop's first Australian store will open on Saturday, May 17 at 1/111 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point. Visit the website for more information or to make an order.
Over the past decade, streaming has become a firm part of every film and TV fan's life — providing more viewing choices, more places to find movies and television shows, and more excuses to spend hours and hours on the couch. But, it has also sparked a familiar dilemma. Too often, thanks to all of the options available, it's easy to while more time deciding what to check out next than actually watching something. Netflix is planning to release a solution to this problem in 2021, via a new feature. Due to rollout globally across the platform in the first half of the year, it's basically a shuffle function — and will automatically pick something for you to watch, rather than letting you keep scrolling and scrolling (and scrolling) trying to make a decision. The streaming platform revealed the news as part of its latest update to investors about its 2020 earnings, noting that the feature "gives members the ability to choose to instantly watch a title chosen just for them". Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer Greg Peters said that the function would allow Netflix subscribers to indicate "that they just want to skip browsing entirely, click one button and we'll pick a title for them just to instantly play". Obviously, it seems that Netflix will be drawing upon its algorithm — as aided by your past viewing choices — to take your viewing choices out of your hands. It won't be called "I'm feeling lucky", Peters also noted, but that's the approach it'll be asking subscribers to go with in terms of finding something to watch next. The company has been testing this type of functionality in various forms over the past few years — and the concept is hardly new, as users of music streaming services know. In France at the end of 2020, Netflix also trialled a linear channel, which just played films and shows one after the other in the way that broadcast television does; however, Peters said that it is currently "unclear how that's going to work out". The idea behind these new features — whether they're just being trialled, or they're due to become permanent — is to keep people watching and encourage more folks to join up as subscribers, of course. More and more new streaming services pop up all the time, all vying for your eyeballs, or so it feels at least. That's also the reason that Netflix introduced its Top Ten lists in 2020, if you've been wondering why the platform started telling you that everyone was watching Tiger King, The Queen's Gambit and The Midnight Sky. Netflix's new shuffle feature is due to launch sometime in the first half of 2021 — we'll update you when more details are announced.
Six states and territories, six locations, six reasons for a road trip: Groovin the Moo has unveiled its 2024 plans. Largely taking tunes beyond Australia's capital cities, the long-running large-scale touring music festival will traverse the country in April and May, again hitting up South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Grab your diaries, because you've got dates to jot down. In New South Wales, festivalgoers also have a new location to head to, with Groovin the Moo making a major move in 2024. Instead of taking place at its previous site in Maitland, the fest will pop up in Newcastle, with Foreshore Park its new home. The change comes after feedback from attendees, especially regarding transport and accommodation. "We're really excited to be putting on a festival in Foreshore Park. Whilst Maitland has played a major part in the history of GTM, Newcastle's transport and accomodation options will provide a better experience for our patrons. Foreshore Park is a stunning location and we look forward to calling it home," said a GTM spokesperson. "Groovin the Moo will be a valuable addition to this year's events calendar, allowing locals to experience some of the best Australian and international acts at the city's premier events space in Foreshore Park, while also delivering an important boost to local businesses and the visitor economy," added Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelme. In all other states and territories, the festival will settle into the same spots as last year — starting at Adelaide Showground, then hitting Exhibition Park in Canberra and Bendigo's Prince of Wales Showgrounds. After the Newcastle spot, Groovin the Moo will move on to Sunshine Coast Stadium Precinct, then Bunbury's Hay Park. It's a touch too early for a lineup announcement as yet, but cross your fingers for another impressive roster of talent when the festival bill does drop. 2023's included everyone from Fatboy Slim, Denzel Curry, Eliza Rose and Skepta to Amy Shark, Ball Park Music, Barkaa, Skegss, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. GROOVIN THE MOO 2024 DATES AND VENUES: Thursday, April 25 — Adelaide Showground, Kaurna Country, Wayville, South Australia Friday, April 26 — Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), Ngambri and Ngunnawal Country, Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory Saturday, April 27 — Bendigo's Prince of Wales Showgrounds, Dja Dja Wurrung Country, Bendigo, Victoria Saturday, May 4 — Foreshore Park, Awabakal Land, Newcastle, New South Wales Sunday, May 5 — Sunshine Coast Stadium Precinct, Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country, Warana, Queensland Saturday, May 11 — Hay Park, Wardandi Noongar Country, Bunbury, Western Australia Groovin the Moo will tour Australia in April and May 2024. We'll update you with lineup details when they're announced. For more information in the interim, head to the festival's website. Images: Jordan Munns.
In 2024, there was plenty of crying over Spilt Milk, when the touring music festival took itself off of Australia's cultural calendar for the year. It still popped up in a few cities to throw events it dubbed house parties, with Troye Sivan, Glass Animals and G Flip leading the lineup, but the full Spilt Milk experience was put on hold until 2025. Here's the excellent news for this year: Spilt Milk is indeed returning, and has just announced its summer 2025 dates. Not every fest that sat 2024 out has made a comeback — both Groovin the Moo and Splendour in the Grass have scrapped their events in both years — but this one has stops in Ballarat, Perth, Canberra and on the Gold Coast locked in for December. 2025's run of Spilt Milk fests will take place across two weekends, hitting two locations on each. It all starts on Saturday, December 6 at Victoria Park in Ballarat, before heading across the country to Claremont Showground in Perth on Sunday, December 7. Then, it's Canberra's turn at Exhibition Park on Saturday, December 13, followed by a trip to the Gold Coast Sports Precinct on Sunday, December 14. As for the lineup, it's on the way — and soon. For now, expect the return of sing-alongs at Guilty Pleasures, plus country bar Howdy Howdy and the Bus Da Move party bus. The art component will feature artists from Studio A. When it cancelled in 2024, the festival advised via social media that it was pulling the plug because it "couldn't get you the Spilt Milk you deserve this year". In 2023, Post Malone, Dom Dolla, Latto, Tkay Maidza and Aitch led the lineup. Flume, Stormzy and The Wombats were named as headliners in 2022 — the first Spilt Milk since the pandemic began — although Stormzy subsequently dropped out and cancelled his Australian tour. Khalid and Chvrches topped the bill in 2019, and Childish Gambino did the honours in 2018. Originally only popping up in Canberra, then expanding to Ballarat, then the Gold Coast and finally also to Perth, multi-city one-dayer Spilt Milk had cemented its spot as a must-attend event on the annual Aussie calendar before it took a year off, including for its lineups — and for its food offering as well, which spanned bites to eat from Chebbo's Burgers, 400 Gradi, Chicken Treat, and the BBQ and Beer Roadshow in 2023. Spilt Milk 2025 Dates and Venues Saturday, December 6 — Victoria Park, Ballarat Sunday, December 7 — Claremont Showground, Perth Saturday, December 13 — Exhibition Park, Canberra Sunday, December 14 — Gold Coast Sports Precinct, Gold Coast Spilt Milk is returning in December 2025, heading to Ballarat, Perth, Canberra and the Gold Coast. Head to the festival website for more information Images: Jordan K Munns, Mackenzie Sweetnam, Jess Gleeson and Billy Zammit.
Three Blue Ducks is expanding its collection of popular farm-to-table eateries with a new road trip-worthy regional restaurant. Following the opening of a Snowy Mountains outpost in 2020, and the recent closure of its original Bronte location, the hospitality group has now turned its attention to the New South Wales mid-north coast. Three Blue Ducks Bellingen will be located at the area's dreamy hotel The Lodge, becoming the group's sixth venue accompanying locations in Rosebery, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Melbourne and Nimbo. Set to open later this year, diners can expect all of the hallmarks of Three Blue Ducks at its latest iteration. Located on the hotel's 16-acre gardens, the restaurant will serve up ethically sourced dishes highlighting local produce. Owners Darren Robertson and Andy Allen have been working with farmers from the region to source ingredients that will feature across the all-day menu. [caption id="attachment_852010" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Three Blue Ducks Providoor, Steven Woodburn[/caption] "Sustainability and ethically sourced produce is a primary focus for us, and this ethos will continue with our menu offering in Bellingen," says Robertson. "The area and its surroundings is a melting pot of different flavours, ideas and innovative ways of presenting food, which makes Bello a must-visit location for food lovers." Bellingen locals, hotel guests and tourists will all be able to head in for a classic Three Blue Ducks spread for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Accompanying the produce-heavy eats will be coffee from Single O, and a robust list of wines and beers from across NSW. There will also be a separate functions menu, with the Three Blue Ducks team working with The Lodge to offer private events and catering for weddings. The Lodge boasts 30 individual rooms, luxury glamping options, a pool with day beds and a bar, and five alpacas that wander the gardens. Three Blue Ducks Bellingen will open sometime in 2023 at The Lodge, 1381 Waterfall Way, Bellingen — we'll update you with a launch date when one is announced.
Ah, piracy. The youthful and agile foe to a government of middle-aged men with dial-up internet and longstanding Foxtel subscriptions. Copyright in the digital age has been an absolute nightmare for artists and legislators alike in the past decade (and a godsend for broke students with a healthy addiction to HBO). Though we all agree in principle that filmmakers and producers should get paid for the work they create, the shift to digital modes of delivery and a dispersed audience has made the process of distribution and regulation completely untenable. It's widely acknowledged as a global problem with no easy answer. But hey, that won't stop the federal government giving it a go. Last week saw widespread reports of potential movement on the issue spearheaded by Attorney-General and Arts Minister George Brandis. Outlining two proposals to be considered by the federal cabinet, Brandis set his sights on the users themselves as well as the torrent sites responsible for making this content available. As the news dropped on a Monday — otherwise known across the country as 'the day for downloading Game of Thrones' — this posed a potential problem for Australian pirates. Take heed of the warning or call the bluff? Since then, there's been no further news on the potential reforms. The proposed measures originally outlined in the ALRC report of Copyright and the Digital Economy have since gone through the wringer of online cynics and tech nerds — and come up wanting. Everyone watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones breathed a giant sigh of relief. In light of all this, we've done a bit of research and compiled for you a handy user's guide: five things you can expect from the Government's so-called piracy crackdown. A few angry letters The first of George Brandis's proposed measures was the creation of a three-strikes policy. In theory, this would involve internet service providers tracking the addresses of those using torrenting sites and issuing warning letters to Australian pirates. Upon receiving their third correspondence, users would be faced with potential litigation, fines and possible termination of their accounts. In reality, this is a textbook scare tactic. Known as the 'graduated response system', this policy has already been implemented in France, the UK, New Zealand and South Korea and has seen only very limited success. Since the law passed in 2009, just one French user has been penalised — 15 days without internet and a fine of €600. It has since been repealed in favour of legislation that instead penalises those profiting commercially off the piracy. In New Zealand the law still stands, though it has proven incredibly expensive to enforce and is commonly referred to as 'Skynet'. If or when this system is implemented in Australia we can expect similar problems with enforcement. As much as I like the idea of Tony Abbott and George Brandis spearheading a militant letter writing campaign with personalised stationery and blood red frowny face stamps, it's hardly a solution to the problem. Politicians yelling about The Pirate Bay The other proposal Brandis raised was the filtering of torrenting sites such as The Pirate Bay. In what is tantamount to the cursed internet filter of 2011, ISPs would be obliged to block Australian users from accessing sites that enable such illegal activity. On one level this seems like a feasible idea. Though it raises recurrent concerns around internet freedom and the bounds of free access, it outwardly seems like a good plan to stop the downloading. Here's the problem: it would never ever work. Anyone who thinks otherwise probably still uses Internet Explorer, has a Hotmail account with an embarrassing alias thought up as a teenager, and is confused why their MSN Messenger is no longer working. It's dumb. Just really, really bad. The very nature of peer-to-peer file sharing means it's near impossible to shut down. With no centralised node to attack, individual users can pop up and share copyrighted content on any platform at any time. Even if The Pirate Bay was blocked, smaller sites would rise up and take its place. It's like trying to rid your apartment of ants by attacking the colony only to realise they're actually also all over your kitchen and snuggled in your bed, obnoxiously writhing around on your face and body. Also they can never die. It won't work. Add to this the fact that a lot of Australian pirates already have location-blocking or VPN software installed on their computers. The ISP block wouldn't be able to pinpoint the user's location and The Pirate Bay would be ready and available anyway. Politicians will moan and gripe about it for awhile in an effort to look tough and scare off some casual users, but really it will do nothing in the fight against the unkillable ants on their face. A few thousand outraged Facebook statuses Of course, this all seems pretty scary to the untrained eye. People hear that Tony Abbott's coming after their Monday night Game of Thrones and they're bound to freak out. Add to that the paranoia that grows when they hear the government is blocking their internet access and ordering ISPs to watch their online activity — there'll be a clicktivism campaign that blows Kony right out of the water. In fact, The Pirate Party — who else? — are already on it. Their Change.org petition to the Australian Senate already has over 5,000 signatures and understandably takes a strong stance against Brandis's proposals. The petition declares its condemnation of laws against online piracy because they are "ineffective", "expensive", and "a serious invasion of privacy". It asks that the Senate not allow the proposed legislation to pass and put any future legislation regarding digital rights to committee, ensuring expert opinions can be considered. When translated to the Facebook dialect of that high school friend you've been meaning to delete, that amounts to: "WTF what even? As if they can look at our computers. That's fkd." Have fun with that. A fight from your ISP The most trying part of the proposed piracy crackdown is that it would have to be controlled and enforced by your ISP. And as a company that makes money off your downloads and your loyalty, why would they ever want to punish you? Not only would the restrictions harm their business, they would also come with an enormous administrative cost. If this is to happen resources must be devoted into tracking online activity, contacting individual users and then issuing punishments. Then, if the ultimate punishment is loss of connection, they lose your valued business too. Regardless, both the government and international production companies claim ISPs need to start taking responsibility for their part in online piracy — providing the platform on which it takes place. From 2008–2010 iiNet battled a mammoth law suit from 34 production houses including Village Roadshow, Universal, Disney, Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks. In a landmark decision, it was ruled that the ISP was not liable for the actions of its users. In the USA and Canada, ISPs have also gone as far as protecting their users' identities when faced with individual litigation. While a recent court ruling ordered a stop to this practice, pirates will find it comforting to know your ISP has your back. They definitely don't support piracy, but they're sure as hell not going to police it. Access to timely legal content at a fair price Loljks. Though everyone pretty much knows this is the correct answer, no one's committing to making it happen. Cheaper downloads from iTunes and streaming services such as Spotify have helped ease the burden in the music industry, but the Australian alternatives for film and television are next to naught. If you want to see Game of Thrones before spoilers flood in from overseas, you better dig deep for that $85 monthly Foxtel bill. Australians are paying more for their entertainment across the board and the lack of competition from new sources only works to drive up prices further. A government inquiry last year discovered that when compared to an industry average, we're actually paying 16 percent more for eBooks, 52 percent more for music and 82 percent more for games. It's no wonder we're all turning to piracy. However, we're definitely still willing to pay for timely, legal content. All we ask is a fair price. American services such as Netflix and Hulu are even seeing big influxes of Australian customers who are willing to circumvent the geo-blocking software in order to set up accounts. It's a legal grey area with no standing precedent, but with how-to guides already published by Junkee, Gizmodo and thousands of blogs, it's quickly becoming common practice. Local alternatives like Foxtel's Presto and Quickflix are trying to crack the market — but as they offer half the content at double the price, it's hardly a fair fight. So, when all's said and done, the piracy crackdown has little likelihood of changing matters. Little can be done about the offences until a new system emerges that better combats the realities of the digital economy — Australia needs innovation before it jumps to legislation. For now, as the trumped up bickering and outraged finger wagging gets ready to hit the nation; George Brandis can take some advice from an unlikely source. In the words of millions of teenage boys' Myspace pages from 2004: "Don't hate the player, hate the game."
It has been seven years in the making, but Splendour in the Grass is moving into its new digs — the North Byron Parklands — just 20 minutes north of NSW's Byron Bay. Securing a location for the winter pilgrimage has been a hazardous task over the last few years, which included a two-year stint in Rockford, Queensland from 2010-11. But today organisers announced that the long-intended permanent home is prepped and the 2013 festival dates are set for the weekend of July 26-28. Today's press announcement also teased at "the next chapter" for avid festival-goers as it settles into 660 idyllic acres. Like all things Byron, festival co-producers Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco emphasised staying true to their roots: "Onsite camping has always been a high priority for us. It creates a real sense of community at the show." Splendour has worked hard to earn its reputation for pulling the big internationals over the last few years — Coldplay, Kanye West, Jack White and '90s favourite Pulp are among the esteemed list of headliners past — while showcasing a strong Aussie punch in their lineups. The 2013 lineup announcement might be a little while off, but the question on our minds is, can we beat the 43-minute record sell-out time of last year?
Australians can now send emoji-filled text and online messages featuring illustrated boomerangs, the Aboriginal flag and other visual representations of the country's Indigenous culture. As first announced earlier this year, Ingenous Studios has created a set of Indigenous images that are now available to download on both Android and iOS platforms — marking the first such collection of emoji-like symbols that celebrate the nation's first peoples. Called Indigemoji, and originally slated to feature 19 pictures but now spanning a whopping 90, the set was developed on Arrernte land in Mparntwe, aka Alice Springs, by Central Australia's young Aboriginal people. The Northern Territory residents were asked to design new emojis that were relevant to their culture and lives, with symbols that feature the Aboriginal flag on crowns, hands and hearts among them. Other images include animals, plants, landscape, vehicles, faces, gestures and symbols. Each of Indigemoji's images also feature their name the Eastern and Central Arrernte language, which is spoken around Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Ltyentye Apurte/Santa Teresa and Titjikala. And while the set of symbols features the term 'emoji' in its name, they function as stickers — because getting any new emoji approved by overseeing body Unicode, let alone a set of 90, is an extensive and difficult process. If you're keen to start adding them to your messages, that means that they don't officially feature in your phone's inbuilt emoji keyboard. But, once you download the Indigemoji app from the App Store or Google Play, you can share them to text messages, WhatsApp, Messenger and social media platforms. The Indigemoji app is now available to download from the App Store and Google Play. For further details, visit the Indigemoji website or Facebook page. Image: Ingeous Studios.
We've all been there. It's 6pm on a Wednesday. You've just commuted home from a long day at the office, and all you want is to switch your brain off with a good doom scroll. The temptation to tap your trusty delivery app in this moment is high. What could be easier than having a takeaway arrive straight to your door? But we all know the truth. From missing items to cold meals and soggy cardboard, the dream of a takeaway is often tastier than the reality. That's why we've partnered with MasterFoods™ to give you three quick and easy midweek dinner ideas that'll curb your cravings and save some precious dollars (and time) without compromising on flavour. Keep reading (and save this article) to have some easy mid-week meals in your kitchen arsenal. [caption id="attachment_1027005" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] Zesty Chicken Wrap Rather than ordering a Greek wrap via delivery (which, realistically, will end up a soggy, mushy mess), this 25-minute dish will have you eating a fresh and flavoursome meal before the delivery driver has even left the restaurant. Ingredients: 500 grams of chicken breast MasterFoods™ Lemon and Pepper Seasoning 1 tbsp of olive oil 4 pitas or flatbreads Sliced red onion Sliced tomato Shredded Lettuce Crumbed Feta (optional) MasterFoods™ Zesty Lemon & Herb No Rules Sauce Method: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast and MasterFoods™ Lemon and Pepper Seasoning. Cook until cooked through. Heat the pita in a dry pan or wrap in foil and warm in the oven for a couple of minutes. To serve, spread a generous spoonful of MasterFoods™ Zesty Lemon & Herb No Rules Sauce onto the warm pita, add your chicken, then top with lettuce, tomato, onion, and feta. Fold, serve and enjoy. [caption id="attachment_1027006" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] Smokey BBQ Beef Burger Is there anything worse than a cold burger after a long day? (And dropping $30 for the privilege?) This Smokey BBQ Beef Burger takes just 30 minutes, makes four serves, and guarantees a hot, mouth-watering meal. Ingredients: 500g regular minced beef 1 tbsp MasterFoods™ All Purpose Seasoning 1 tbsp MasterFoods™ Smokey Barbecue Sauce ½ cup panko breadcrumbs 2 white onions, thinly sliced 1 egg 2 tbsp of olive oil 1 large tomato Iceberg lettuce Pickles Method: Add the minced beef, MasterFoods™ All Purpose Seasoning, egg and panko breadcrumbs into a bowl and mix until combined. Thinly slice the onions and squeeze out excess moisture to ensure extra crispiness. Divide the seasoned mince into four balls and set aside while you preheat the barbecue — no need to chill. Turn your barbecue flat plate or griddle to high and place the meatballs down, ensuring you have space between each to smash flat. Each meatball should be loaded with a generous handful of sliced onion before being smashed as flat as possible into the pan or barbecue plate. Cook for 3-4 minutes and flip. After another one to two minutes, add cheese, let it melt and remove from the heat. Toast your buns and load up with salad: tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, pickles, etc. Don't forget the MasterFoods™ Smokey Barbecue Sauce to top it off. Hot tip: If you're a huge fan of sauce, why not also add a squeeze of MasterFoods™ No Rules Zesty Lemon & Herb Sauce as well? [caption id="attachment_1030078" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Supplied[/caption] Chipotle Mushroom Tacos A guaranteed crowd pleaser, this vegan recipe will spice up your midweek dinner rotation. Featuring MasterFoods™ Taco Seasoning Mix of paprika, oregano and cumin, this four-serve recipe packs a punch and will be on your plate in just 30 minutes. Avoid the takeaway tax (and time) and turn your week around with these delicious mushroom tacos. Ingredients: 400g king oyster mushrooms 4 tbsp MasterFoods™ Taco Seasoning Mix 1 small white onion, finely diced 1 tsp tomato paste 2-3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (for GF version) ¼ cup water 3 tbsp olive oil 1 ripe avocado MasterFoods™ Smokey Chipotle No Rules Sauce 2 limes, halved Pickled red onion Vine-ripened tomatoes, diced Lettuce Vegan sour cream 8 tortillas (flour or corn) Method: Rinse the mushrooms and remove and finely slice the caps. For the stems, make incisions with a fork and pull them apart with your fingers to resemble pulled pork. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the chopped onion, and cook gently for about 10 minutes until translucent and lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and sauté for another 2-4 minutes until fragrant. Stir in four tablespoons of MasterFoods™ Taco Seasoning Mix and cook for one minute. Mix in the mushrooms, soy sauce, and water, cooking until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Season with pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Spread the pulled mushrooms on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 minutes to add a nice crunch. Assemble the tacos with pulled mushrooms, chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, pickled onions, and add lime and vegan sour cream or MasterFoods™ Smokey Chipotle No Rules Sauce as a topping. Craving more flavour-packed ideas? Head to MasterFoods™ for inspiration. MasterFoods™ — You Made It. Lead image: Getty Images
Not only is Lunar New Year one of the biggest celebrations in the Asia Pacific region, it's easily also one of the most delicious. If you're not celebrating it already, your palate is missing out. Cue family feasts — friends are also more than welcome — and a table stacked with all the greatest hits. The biggest at-home celebration of LNY typically happens on Lunar New Year's Eve and usually takes the form of a dinner that's not unlike Christmas lunch. The best part about the celebration is that the dishes you'll typically find are surprisingly simple to prepare and come together in no time at all. Whether the celebrations are taking place in Hanoi or Hong Kong, Singapore or Sydney, everyday dishes tend to land on Lunar New Year's Eve dinner tables. There are regional differences when it comes to must-have Lunar New Year dishes, but dumplings and fish or seafood are mainstays in most places where Lunar New Year is celebrated. You'll find them at LNY dinners and enjoyed as ordinary meals throughout the year. The enduring appeal of these dishes is just how easily they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. And that's before we even factor in how delicious they are. [caption id="attachment_987199" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] After some inspo for an authentic festive spread that's easy enough for everyday meals but seriously impressive for a celebratory gathering? Look no further. In partnership with Oriental Merchant, we've called in chef Jason Chan, owner of newly opened pan-Asian restaurant Rice Kid, for two recipes he turns to when it's time to ring in Lunar New Year at home. XO Pipis [caption id="attachment_987205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Seafood is a staple ingredient in many quintessential Lunar New Year dishes. The festivities are a reason to shell out on premium seafood to celebrate the special occasion. For Chan, Lunar New Year is the time to "have all those special dishes that you don't really get to eat every week." And it doesn't get more impressive or mouth-watering than XO pipis, which — despite being known as a restaurant special — is a surprisingly straightforward dish that can be replicated at home. In Chan's recipe, half a kilo of fresh pipis transform into a delectable showstopper that packs an umami punch thanks to the sauce trifecta of XO, soy and oyster. Ingredients: 500g fresh pipis (if you can't find live pipis, you can substitute with prawns or any other seafood to your liking) 100g Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce 50ml Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce 50g Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce 100ml Shao Xing cooking wine 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt 1 tsp chicken powder 1L water 50g shallot rondelle Coriander for garnish Slurry: 50g corn starch or potato starch 100ml water Method: Use a wok or pan on high heat and add Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce and cook for 5–10 secs, deglaze with Shao Xing cooking wine, add water and bring it to the boil. Once boiling, add pipis and cook until they are completely open. Discard any unopened pipis. Add Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce, sugar, chicken powder, salt and shallot rondelle and cook for a further minute to infuse all the flavours into the pipis. Mix slurry and pour into the XO pipis to thicken. Garnish with coriander or shallot rondelle. [caption id="attachment_987287" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Moreton Bay Bug and Prawn Siu Mai or Wonton [caption id="attachment_987203" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Dumplings are another dish which sit proudly on dinner tables — particularly in northern China — during Lunar New Year festivities. Traditional dumplings are said to resemble ancient Chinese money and are symbolic of prosperity. Today, all kinds of dumplings and wontons make the festive cut. Whether they're crescent-shaped dumplings, wontons or siu mai, this is a dish that is great for everyday dinners as well as during Lunar New Year. For an elevated everyday wonton or siu mai (the only difference is how you wrap them), this recipe is as fun as it is delicious. Finesse your folding skills by wrapping your parcels of seafood yourself, or get the whole dinner crew involved before sitting down to celebrate. Ingredients: 250g fresh or frozen prawn meat 250g Queensland Moreton Bay bug meat 25ml Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce 25ml Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand soy sauce 10g minced garlic 10g coriander root finely sliced (use stems for extra aroma) 5g lime zest 20g sugar 25g potato starch 50ml garlic oil (canola oil can be substituted) 1 packet of wonton skin Method: Place prawn and bug meat in food processor and slightly pulse 4–5 times. Ensure the prawn and bug meat retain small chunky pieces for texture. Take out the processed prawn and bug meat and place in bowl. Add in Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce, minced garlic, coriander, sugar, garlic oil and mix until everything is combined and bound together. Add in the remaining ingredients: potato starch and lime zest. CHEF'S TIP: You don't want the starch to form clumps, do not skip step 3 with step 2! Place filling in fridge for 30 minutes. Once it is set, you can begin making the dumplings. Blanch wontons for about 5–6 minutes or until they float. To serve, place blanched wontons in a bowl and garnish with shallot and a few drizzles of sesame oil. Dip into preferred sauce (see below for sauce options). [caption id="attachment_987286" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Simple Dipping Sauce for WontonAdd Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Style Chilli Oil, soy sauce, sesame oil and black vinegar. Season to taste. Simple Dipping Sauce for Siu Mai Add Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Style Chilli Oil and soy sauce. Season to taste. Experience the flavours of Lunar New Year everyday with Oriental Merchant authentic Asian ingredients.
It's a claim made by another animation powerhouse and their bricks-and-mortar wonderlands; however, for fans of Studio Ghibli, the beloved company's Japanese museum might just be the happiest place of earth. Not only does it celebrate the gorgeous on-screen work created by the studio — with Ghibli never making a bad movie yet — but it brings everything from My Neighbour Totoro and Laputa, Castle in the Sky to Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service to life. Understandably, that's made the Studio Ghibli Museum a must-visit place for travellers to Tokyo, with the site located on the western side of the metropolis, in Inokashira Park in Mitaka. But, unless you've actually made the trip to go there, the extent of its delights aren't that widely known, with photography forbidden once you're onsite. That means that Ghibli fans have heard about the museum's cute little cinema with bench seating, its eye-catching stained-glass windows based on the company's films, its towering spiral staircase, and the exquisite detail evident in the site's wallpaper, signage, fixtures and more — but those yet to pop by probably haven't seen it for themselves. Until now, that is, with the Studio Ghibli Museum newly opening its doors to fans virtually, all via a series of online video tours. With the venue currently temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and with a reopening date not yet announced — Ghibli aficionados can still get their fix via the studio's YouTube channel. The videos are brief, each roaming through a different part of the museum, but they firmly showcase just how adorable the entire place is (something we can confirm from our own visits). A new video drops each week, with seven online at the time of writing — and plenty of the museum's highlights yet to be featured. Remember, this is the place that boasts an entire Catbus room, complete with a giant Catbus that kids (but not adults) can play on. Check out a glimpse at the Studio Ghibli Museum building – including its rooftop garden and its Totoro-inspired windows — in one of the venue's videos below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaX15taUGFY To check out the Studio Ghibli Museum's videos, head to the site's YouTube channel. Top image: George N via Flickr.
Bendigo is fast becoming a cultural hub. Just a couple of hours north-west of Melbourne, the City of Bendigo and its surrounding towns are a gold mine of regional creativity, food and drink. Old school trams rattle through the streets, galleries showcase local art and heritage, and bars stay open late for pints, stories and a healthy dose of small-town charm. In 2019, Bendigo was named Australia's first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy, solidifying its reputation as one of the most exciting spots to explore. It's fitting then, that an exhibition for an artist whose life was an act of bold rebellion against convention and expectation has landed at Bendigo Art Gallery. Until July 2025, Bendigo is giving an intimate view of influential Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in 'Frida Kahlo: In her own image', and it's the perfect excuse to plan a weekend trip. Getting there is easy. Drive up from Melbourne in around 90 minutes, hop on an $11 V/Line train straight from Southern Cross Station to Bendigo's town centre, which is a short stroll over to the gallery, or fly direct from Sydney into Bendigo's own airport. So, whether you're making a day trip or staying for the weekend, here's our guide for where to stay, eat and drink while you're in town. Fiesta Bendigo Venture beyond the gallery walls and you'll discover a citywide fiesta. Across town, the artist's spirit is being celebrated with Frida-inspired experiences and events, murals, Mexican food and tequila flights at local bars. There's even pop-up workshops and cooking classes available for anyone feeling creative. Spend a few hours following the 22-spot Taco Trail, duck into a tequila tasting, or join a street art tour to see the city through Frida's lens. Check out the full Fiesta Bendigo program here. Wine Bank on View Before Bendigo was a hub for the arts, it was a gold rush town flush with ambition and you can still feel that energy inside Wine Bank on View. This heritage-listed former bank has been reimagined as a wine bar and merchant, with soaring ceilings, plush chairs and one of the best wine selections in the region. Come for a quiet glass of something local, or try Chef Callum's Mexican inspired menu during the exhibition period. Nimbus Rooftop If you prefer your post-gallery drinks served with city views, Bendigo's Nimbus Rooftop has you covered. Sitting high above Mitchell Street in the town's centre, this fun, open-air bar offers laid back couches, classic cocktails, pizzas and panoramic views. The vibe is modern and it's open til late Thursday to Sunday, making it the perfect pit stop for a night out on the town. Rifle Brigade Hotel Every city needs a good pub and The Rifle Brigade Hotel (known as the "Gun Club" by locals) has been Bendigo's gathering place since 1887. Located just a stone's throw from the Bendigo Art Gallery, this is where you'll find live music, local brews and that classic pub familiarity. It's casual, a little bit raucous, and 100% the right call for anyone chasing a more spontaneous night out. Alium Alium is a modern, intimate restaurant in Bendigo's heritage-listed Royal Bank building, serving comforting, seasonal dishes until 11pm on weekends. Expect a more fine dining experience, with plenty of local ingredients and unexpected pairings that are crafted to be enjoyed over a slow, long sit-down dinner. Hotel Earnest After a day (and night) of exploring, eating and drinking, rest your head at Hotel Ernest. Housed in another of Bendigo's beautiful heritage-listed buildings just steps from the Frida exhibition, this boutique stay is packed with character, history and understated luxury. Each of the rooms have been thoughtfully designed to blend modern details with historic charm, including featuring a different Australian artist in each space. Frida Kahlo showed the world just how impactful it is to live life on your own terms. In Bendigo, that spirit is alive and well. So, drop a link in your group chat and start planning your next visit. Head to visitmelbourne.com.au to discover more of what makes Melbourne every bit different. By Jacque Kennedy. Images courtesy of Melbourne. Every bit different.
This week has really shown we need to chill out about our phones. Demand for the iPhone 6 has created endurance-testing queues outside every Apple store in the country. People are bartering, arguing and crying; one woman nearly got arrested. This obsession is even starting to find its way into legit infrastructure — China introduced a footpath exclusively for people on their phones. We clearly have a problem. Now, a group of friends from New York have come up with the perfect solution. Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, the NoPhone is a "technology-free alternative" to the new iPhone. Putting an end to our obsession with rudely 'gramming our meal at dinner or Facebooking mid-conversation with someone, the NoPhone doesn't have internet capabilities. In fact, it doesn't work as a phone either. It's just a block of plastic. "With a thin, light and completely wireless design, the NoPhone acts as a surrogate to any smart mobile device," the KickStarter reads. "[Now you can] always have a rectangle of smooth, cold plastic to clutch without forgoing any potential engagement with your direct environment. Never again experience the unsettling feeling of flesh on flesh when closing your hand." Despite launching as a satirical statement about our relationship with technology, in the past week the NoPhone has amassed some serious backers. So far, the project has received nearly US$6,000 in proposed funding and there are still 21 more days to go. One supporter of the project has even made a request for a NoPad. Really, it makes sense. The NoPhone is the first phone to be both completely waterproof and free to run. No hiked up data charges, no extra cost for international calls — it's the dream. It even offers an optional selfie upgrade. "Enjoy sending yourself selfies in real-time. Share selfies with your friends if they’re standing behind you. Add a verbal hashtag by syncing your brain and vocal cords." Despite the surprising popularity (and our absolute love) of the idea, it might be some time before NoPhones actually hit the stands. The proposed funding goal is set at a whopping US$30,000. If you'd like to get in on the ground floor of this stunning investment, pledge some funds over here. The handset will set you back US$12 plus shipping. Alternatively, you could just stop being a douche and put down your iPhone every once in a while.
This just in: giant wads of neon sugary goo are bad for you. Following concerns over the portion size of Allen's Killer Pythons, confectionery manufacturer Nestle have decided to halve the size of the much-loved treat. Where they once weighed in at 47 grams (32.5cm) — big enough to wrap around your neck like the fierce jungle creature they really were — Pythons will now be a mere 24 grams (21cm). No word yet on whether they're changing the name to Killer Penny Lizards. Of course, this move is pretty sensible. Any parent or babysitter can attest to the fact you don't want a kid devouring this much sugar, and any move to improve their nutrition can hardly be a bad thing. "Controlling portion size is an effective, simple and reliable tool that is used in maintaining a balanced diet," dietitian Melanie McGrice said in a statement released today. "A ten year old can now run off a Killer Python in around 30 minutes. With the previous size, it would have taken almost an hour." But this doesn't account for the adults who knowingly want to ingest this much delicious, heavenly sugar. If we can buy steins of beer and slabs of duty-free ciggies, surely we should be allowed full-size Pythons. Let us live with our poor life choices. The new slimline candies will be in stores this month. Understandably, the price for individual sales will halve, and the number of those sold in packs will increase. This isn't enough to appease the masses though. Complaints are going off the hook on the Allen's Facebook page, but this could be temporary. Outrage will probably ease off once everyone eventually comes down off their sugar highs.
Nothing in pop culture every truly dies, and that includes teen-oriented late 80s and early 90s-era sitcoms about high schoolers. Yes, more than three decades since it first hit the air, Saved by the Bell is returning to screens. Sure, you're now past the point of being able to watch it after school each day — but if you want to stream it when you get home from work, that'd be fitting. After initially running from 1989–1993, Saved by the Bell has actually popped up in several guises since. Two spinoffs arrived shortly after the original show, thanks to 1993–94's Saved by the Bell: The College Years and 1993–2000's Saved by the Bell: The New Class. And, it also gave rise to two TV movies: 1992's Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and 1994's Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. Now comes a new series that's simply called Saved by the Bell, and also features some of the show's original cast members. That makes it a revival and a sequel, rather than a reboot or remake — although there's a new bunch of teens navigating high school, obviously. And while the likes of Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen all reprise their characters, they're either the parents or teachers of the series' new kids. Comedy veteran John Michael Higgins also features as Principal Toddman and, if you saw his last sitcom appearance, that's particular good news. Actually, it's a reunion with his Great News costar and that show's creator Tracey Wigfield, who is also doing the latter on the resurrected Saved by the Bell. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0uCr5-5p5Q&feature=emb_title Saved by the Bell starts streaming via Stan in Australia from Thursday, November 26. Details for New Zealand are still to be announced.
Cannes may be the world's most prestigious film festival, but it sure can be predictable. First of all, you can guarantee there will be a host of big name auteurs strutting around with A-list celebrities, you know the films will largely be about war or poverty — and yes, the critics will of course go crazy for them. With all the glitz and the glamour that comes with such prestige, you can't help but yearn for a little more intrigue. So, to combat all the glowing end-of-festival reports written by the world's best critics, here's a list of the festival's oddities — the things we didn't really see coming. Jean-Luc Godard is still alive, and he's messing with our minds Okay, this may sound insensitive but we just had no idea this guy was still around. It's not totally unreasonable either. Now at age 83, this legendary auteur of the French New Wave has officially reached the time usually reserved for shuffleboard and cryptic crosswords. If he was still making films, we'd kind of expect them to be dawdling black and white tales of an elderly intellectual's battle against his noisy young neighbours. Instead Godard's offering to this year's festival, Goodbye to Language, was a daring formal experiment. In terms of plot, the film is unsurprisingly lacking. In fact Indiewire summarised it simply as a film about a couple and a dog: "She wears clothes only very rarely ... he likes to talk about shit while taking a shit, and the dog is drawn to [some] water." But the buzz around the film came from its unexpected use of 3D technology. At one point in the film, the audience was presented with what reviewers described as "a headache-inducing blur". However, when viewed with one eye closed a clear picture comes into focus. When opening the other eye, a different picture comes to the fore. Who would have thought Godard would be the one to bring Magic Eye books into cinematic reality? Films can basically be shot with Instagram now Another noted formal innovation was by the 25-year-old Canadian wunderkind, Xavier Dolan. His prize-winning film Mommy was shot in an unprecedented 1:1 ratio — the same square size as your average Instagram video. Following the story of a single mother and her 15-year-old son who suffers from ADHD, the film coincidentally shared the Grand Jury Prize with Jean-Luc Godard's Goodbye to Language. The move has created an understandable buzz in the filmmaking industry and has been given incredibly positive reviews by critics and audiences alike. It's been reported that this tight field of vision intensifies the action of the film and gives an effective lens to the character's struggle with ADHD. Not to give anything away, but the screen ratio does however change to full-screen in moments of happiness during the film. It sounds a little corny, but with such a huge prize and stacks of audience approval, Dolan must pull it off pretty well. Ryan Gosling made a film and it sucked I know it seems impossible. Ryan Gosling is supposed to be some kind of superhuman specimen capable of anything except eating cereal, but apparently he's not that great at directing either. Lost River was his very first foray into the director's chair. At first it seemed promising — he recruited his buddies Eva Mendes and Christina Hendricks onto the cast, and the film made its way to Cannes. But after being universally panned by both audiences and critics, it's officially being labelled a flop. Following a single mother's struggles in a new city, the film has harshly been described as both "a student film with an A list cast" and "a cacophony of meaningless motifs stumbling round in service of a plot best summed up by 'woman decides to move house'". Yikes, sorry RyRy. Cinema is dead (according to Quentin Tarantino) We really should have seen this one coming. Between throwing whole scripts away and making films that are basically one giant in-joke, Quentin Tarantino does have a reputation for being a bit of a diva. But before entering a screening of his cult hit Pulp Fiction, the legendary director threw a bit of a hissy fit about digital film. "The fact that most films now are not presented in 35mm means that the war is lost," said Tarantino. He complained that screening films in a digital format is basically the same as watching television in public. "What I knew as cinema is dead," he said. Soon after, Tarantino announced new plans to create a TV miniseries from the unused footage of Django Unchained and did a little dance on the red carpet. So, who knows what this guy will do next. Sometimes sex scenes with Robert Pattinson pay off We know that's an unfair way to put it, but it's true all the same. This year Julianne Moore has won a Best Actress award for her role in David Cronenberg's Maps the the Stars — a satirical filmic look at Hollywood in which Moore has sweaty car sex with Pattinson. Obviously she also entirely deserves the award for her unflinching portrayal of an ageing Hollywood starlet, but seriously... who thought some vehicular good times with RPattz could get you a top gong at Cannes? Better luck next time, KStew.
All the best superheroes can zap enemies with laser eyes. Wouldn't it be cool if us ordinary folk also had the power to control the objects in our sights? OK, so the technology empowering our eyes to pulverise hasn't been invented yet... and that's probably a good thing...but today saw the release of the next best thing to it. One of the world's largest computer companies, Lenovo, has partnered with eye-tracking technology experts Tobii to produce prototypes for the first ever eye-controlled computer, and the public has the chance to test it out at digital tradeshow CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. Barbara Barclay, general manager of Tobii North America says “We anticipate that people will be extremely excited to be able to control their computer with their eyes.” Using an infrared light source and a camera that observers a user's eyes, the technology combines software that works out where the eyes are positioned in space in front of the computer, and where they're looking. Computer commands powered by the user's eyes, such as as selecting an icon or scrolling through text, will complement existing functions of the mouse and keyboard. [Via Fast Company]
It's interesting, this current trend of people trying to couple extreme sports and Guinness-record setting adventuring with things like reducing carbon emissions and improving sustainable technology practices. The most recent addition to this group is a pair of German "extreme sportsmen," who made the decision to drive across Australia, from Albany to Sydney, in eighteen days in an electric car powered by a kite. The developers and pilots, Stefan Simmerer and Dirk Gion, collaborated with the industrial group Evonik to produce the Wind Explorer, a car made from lightweight composites and filled up with a bunch of lithium-ion batteries. When the batteries lose power, all they need to do to recharge is to connect them up to a portable wind-turbine - always easy to come across in the Australian desert. When wind turbines are hard to find they can erect their own, made of bamboo, or use their kites, which can reach speeds of 80 km/h. Their hope is that the project will inspire more sustainable technology innovation and more awareness about how self-sufficient environmentally friendly transportation can be. [Via PSFK]
When Suicide Squad reached cinemas screens back in 2016, it garnered plenty of attention. Critics largely hated it, fans loved it and some folks tried to shut down Rotten Tomatoes because of it. Come awards season, it picked up an Oscar (for best achievement in makeup and hairstyling) as well as two Razzie 'worst' nominations. The divisive reactions just kept coming, although there were two things that almost everyone agreed on. Firstly, most people rightfully loathed Jared Leto's interpretation of the Joker. Secondly, the majority of viewers adored Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. While the DC Extended Universe hasn't gotten a whole lot right in its attempts to emulate the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, for example), its powerbrokers did seem to pay attention to the super-sized Suicide Squad debate. In response, they're giving the world what it wants: more Robbie as everyone's favourite ex-psychiatrist turned antihero. In Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Harley Quinn has moved on from the clown prince of crime (much like DC has moved on from Leto, at least for now, with Joaquin Phoenix playing the character in the new standalone Joker film). In the aftermath of their breakup, she rounds up a crew filled with other fearsome Gotham ladies — including Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), the Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) — to thwart supervillain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs), also co-starring Chris Messina and Ali Wong, Birds of Prey marks Quinn's first solo cinematic outing — and as the just-dropped first trailer shows, it's going big. When it hits theatres in February 2020, expect plenty of colour, chaos and formidable gals wreaking havoc, in what's been rumoured to be the first in a Quinn-focused trilogy. With Suicide Squad getting a sequel in 2021, confusingly titled The Suicide Squad and helmed by Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn, the pigtailed prankster definitely isn't leaving screens anytime soon. Check out the trailer for Birds of Prey below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SuGhiVLUrM Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will hit cinemas in Australia and New Zealand in February 2020.
Arguably the worst part of travel is the bit where you actually have to travel. Sitting in an over-cramped, over-air-conditioned metal tube for 20+ hours almost makes post-pasta swims in the Mediterranean seem too much trouble than it's worth (almost). But until we're at The Fifth Element stage where we can just hop in a capsule and get knocked out cold for the duration of the journey, we'll just have to be content with airlines' attempts at cutting down flight times and transfers. So it was welcome news for Aussie travellers when, in December last year, Qantas announced it would introduce a direct flight from Australia to Europe. And now the non-stop flights have officially gone on sale, with the first one set to take to the air on March 24, 2018. The new route will take passengers from Perth to London daily in approximately 17 hours, thanks to their new Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft, which is set to start flying in October. It will be the first and only direct flight from Australia to Europe. It will also be considerably quicker than their current route, which, with their partnership with Emirates, includes a stopover in Dubai. Melburnians will be able to fly to London via Perth, with Qantas also swapping out its daily Melbourne-Dubai-London flight for a daily Melbourne-Perth-London service. Travellers from other cities will have the option to go via Perth when booking too. "This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a Qantas press release. "Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge." We first reported on this back in October 2017, when Qantas were still in negotiations with the Western Australian Government and Perth Airport to lock down the new route. It seems they managed to reach an agreement, as the new Perth-London flight will operate from Qantas' domestic terminal at Perth Airport, to make the stopover as smooth as possible for travellers coming from other states. Qantas will also build a new international transit lounge at the airport. The layout for the airline's new Dreamliner fleet will be two-thirds the size of the 747s they will eventually replace and have only 236 seats (as opposed to the 747's 364 seats). Economy will have a 3:3:3 seat situation (as opposed to the 3:4:3), as well as USB ports and an extra inch of leg room. Hurrah for leg room! The first Perth to London route will take off on in March 24, 2018, and flights are on sale now.
