Colourful seating, umbrellas as decor and palm tree murals set the scene at Mika Airlie Beach. With a menu that spotlights Mexican favourites, it's an easy choice for a day spent hanging out on the Esplanade. Fresh, local ingredients meet classic recipes. There are chips and dips (guac and queso) to snack on, as well as fresh ceviche made with locally caught fish. Fajitas and tacos are filled with tender steak, marinated chicken or roast lamb. If you can't decide, there's share plates that spotlight some of the best bits of the menu – and make room to show off plenty of Aussie seafood. The drinks menu echoes the tropical atmosphere, with margs, mojitos and sours made to order. The "Frozen Fiesta" section caters to particularly hot days – a pina colada, strawberry daiquiri or mango spliced are equal parts drink and dessert. If you're in the mood for something sweet, cinnamon churros, which are deep-fried and dusted in cinnamon sugar, can be served with chocolate or caramel sauce for dipping. Music and events that tap into Mexican culture bring even more atmosphere to the space, which looks over the water right in the heart of Airlie Beach.
Head to GPO's new 1920s-themed lounge bar, which is fittingly called The Gatsby, and you won't be able to miss the venue's old vault. It's a reminder of the distinctive building's history, with the structure starting its life back in 1887 as the Fortitude Valley General Post Office. It's also a symbol of GPO's reopening, which feels like reclaiming an iconic Brisbane location after a stint of safekeeping — or, to be more accurate, following the 136-year-old site's hefty $9-million revamp. It was in August 2022 that it was revealed that the structure was being taken over by Artesian Hospitality, with news of its key staff, three-venues-in-one setup and opening date unveiled since. Then, on Saturday, July 8, GPO started welcoming Brisbanites back through its doors. Now, the full trio of its hangouts behind its heritage-listed facade — the aforementioned The Gatsby, contemporary dining venue TAMA, and post-work drinks spot The Tax Office — are greeting patrons. The first is a late-night, walk-in-only cocktail and whisky bar on the building's upper level. The mood here is lavish and upscale, as the name makes plain, including velvet booths, leather accents and brass features as part of the design. As well as featuring the building's original, now-restored vault, The Gatsby soundtracks the sipping with DJs and a live saxophonist. Also, as demonstrated by the 74-page menu, the bar well and truly prides itself on its drinks. Highlights include the chilli-infused tequila and mango gasper, a Gatsby bellini using peach tea-infused vermouth, one cocktail made with edible citrus paint, and another that can be served either hot or cold. All of the classic sips are taken care of, too, or you can build your own manhattan, negroni, martini or old fashioned — each chosen because they're the most popular concoctions of F Scott Fitzgerald's era. At TAMA, the sprawling 100-seat restaurant filled with natural light has taken over the site's ground level, offering diners a radiant experience thanks to the high ceilings and double-storey windows in the two-storey atrium that doubles as the main dining room. Visitors will find be stone and marble flooring, bursts of greenery, velvet-clad booths and soft furnishings, too, and both original beams and custom chandeliers. As for the vibe, it's thoroughly old-school. Here, the wine is a big drawcard, given that there's a cellar stocked with 1000 handpicked bottles of vino and champagne. In the kitchen, Executive Chef Richard Ousby is using his experience overseas and locally to shape the restaurant's menu. "TAMA offers something for all occasions with an expansive ground floor restaurant and a mezzanine that can play host to private dining for 40 guests, and more intimate rooms for parties of six to eight," Ousby notes. "From pastas served tableside to carefully selected seafood and steaks, including a two-kilogram angus tomahawk and cut-to-order wagyu scotch fillet, TAMA's menu will cater to anyone looking for a casual meal through to those wanting a seriously elevated experience," he continues. Standout dishes also include cold seafood platters among the starters, charcoal calamari and beef tartare, plus half and full lobsters, quail and mushroom tart. And, there's a selection of handmade pasta dishes that includes four-cheese tortellini and crab bisque linguini. Feeling particularly cashed up? Opt for the caviar service. "The majority of bottles won't break the bank, sitting between $50–200; however, we will have a variety of selections and vintages that are exclusive to the venue and sit within our private cellar. There's something to fit every budget, taste and occasion," says Alan Hunter, the sommelier and ex-General Manager at OTTO Brisbane who is helping oversee the GPO's new guise, of the vino list. Hunter comes to the new GPO with plenty of accolades, including being named the Pol Roger 2013 Sommelier of the Year, and helping lead OTTO Brisbane to nabbing the Wine List of the Year award in the Good Food Guide in 2019. As for Brisbane local Ousby, he's drawing upon his time in England at Michelin three-star restaurant Waterside Inn, in Sydney at Sous Chef at Quay, and as Executive Chef of Stokehouse's restaurants in Melbourne and Brisbane. GPO also features The Tax Office, where folks can head to sit around an island bar. Food-wise, panko beef ribs, halloumi fries, Sriracha salmon tartare, potato scallops with chive sour cream, duck ragu and buttermilk chicken burgers are all on offer. Among the sips, beers come both bottled and on tap, accompanied by a curated wine list. Outside, the building's Victorian Italianate facade has been preserved, as have its balconies, stairwells and ceilings (with heritage paint tones a big feature after a colour study). And back inside, the design pairs modern finishings with OG touches — so exposed beams and brick, plus fireplaces. The end product is the result of a collaboration between The Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Brisbane City Council, heritage architects, Zero9 Builders (The Dorsett Hotel, The Star, and Edwards and Co) and Space Cubed Design Studio (Donna Chang, Iris Rooftop and Boom Boom Room). Find GPO Hotel is located at 740 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley — and head to The Gatsby, TAMA and The Tax Office websites for more details.
Seattle fans got a mid-2000s throwback last night (Tuesday, September 24) when the Jonas Brothers reunited with The Veronicas on stage for the first time in 17 years. As part of their JONAS20: Greetings From Your Hometown 20th anniversary tour, Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas have been surprising audiences with guest performers. On Tuesday, they brought Brisbane sisters Jess and Lisa Origliasso on stage to perform their 2005 hit '4ever'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by THE VERONICAS (@theveronicas) It was the first time the two acts had performed together since 2008, when The Veronicas supported the brothers on their Burnin' Up tour at the height of Disney-fuelled pop mania. For fans who came of age in that era, the reunion was a full-circle moment — The Veronicas were breaking through internationally while the Jonas Brothers were cementing themselves as teen-pop icons. The brothers teased the cameo with a tongue-in-cheek skit posted earlier in the day, in which Kevin asked, "You think they're going to play 4ever by The Veronicas?" A deadpan Joe replied, "No," before cutting to the onstage moment. Within hours, the clip had amassed more than 500,000 views. @jonasbrothers @THE VERONICAS ♬ original sound - Jonas Brothers Clips of the joint performance quickly flooded social media, with fans calling it "the crossover we didn't know we needed" and "2007 in the best way possible." For the Jonas Brothers, it was another highlight in a tour that's doubled as both a victory lap and a nostalgic tribute to their history. For The Veronicas, it was a reminder that '4ever' still hits hard, 20 years on. Top image: Getty
For the second year in a row, Splendour in the Grass will be without one of its big-name acts, with Lewis Capaldi cancelling his plans to head Down Under in July. The Scottish singer-songwriter announced in a statement that he's taking a break from touring following his Glastonbury set, which means sitting out Byron Bay's annual excuse to wear gumboots, as well as his other planned gigs in Australia and New Zealand. "The fact that this probably won't come as a surprise doesn't make it any easier to write, but I'm very sorry to let you know I'm going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future," said Capaldi via social media. "I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I'd hoped three weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I'm still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's, and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come," he continued. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lewis Capaldi (@lewiscapaldi) "I know I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to take some time out when others can't, and I'd like to thank my amazing family, friends, team, medical professionals and all of you who've been so supportive every step of the way through the good times and even more so during this past year when I've needed it more than ever." "I'm so incredibly sorry to everyone who had planned to come to a show before the end of the year but I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve. Playing for you every night is all I've ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can." Capaldi was set to lead the 2023 Splendour in the Grass lineup from Friday, July 21–Sunday, July 23 alongside Lizzo, Flume, Mumford & Sons and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — the latter of which were slated to headline 2022's Splendour in the Grass lineup, but cancelled in the lead up. With his solo shows, the 'Someone You Loved', 'Before You Go' and 'Wish You the Best' talent was due to play two shows in Sydney and Melbourne, and one each in Perth, Adelaide, Auckland and Wellington, all in July. Before Glastonbury, he had also taken a break from touring. [caption id="attachment_907307" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alexandra Gavillet[/caption] Splendour now has three gaps in its lineup, with Slowthai and Rainbow Kitten Surprise also no longer appearing at the festival. Organisers have advised that replacements for all three will be announced this week. The festival will contact Friday-only ticketholders via Moshtix about the process for refunds, while folks with tickets to Capaldi's headline shows will automatically receive their money back in full via whichever method they paid with. [caption id="attachment_891054" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2023 MUSIC LINEUP: Lizzo Flume (Australian exclusive: ten years of Flume) Mumford & Sons (Australian exclusive) Yeah Yeah Yeahs Hilltop Hoods J Balvin Sam Fender Idles Little Simz Tove Lo 100 Gecs (Australian exclusive) Arlo Parks Ball Park Music Iann Dior King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard 070 Shake Pnau Ruel Loyle Carner Benee Marlon Williams Hooligan Hefs Peach PRC Palace Dune Rats Tkay Maidza Noah Cyrus Skegss Sudan Archives Cub Sport Meg Mac X Club. Claire Rosinkranz Jack River The Smith Street Band Lastlings Jeremy Zucker Young Franco Sly Withers MAY-A The Vanns Telenova Vallis Alps Jamesjamesjames Kaycyy RVG Teenage Dads Balming Tiger Automatic Harvey Sutherland Gali Del Water Gap Royel Otis Shag Rock Big Wett Mia Wray Memphis LK Gold Fang Milku Sumner Forest Claudette Full Flower Moon Band William Crighton Hellcat Speedracer Triple J Unearthed Winners Mix Up DJs: Tseba Crybaby Latifa Tee Foura Caucasianopportunities Luen Mowgli DJ Macaroni Crescendoll Splendour in the Grass will take over North Byron Bay Parklands from Friday, July 21–Sunday, July 23, 2023 — head to the festival website for further details and tickets. Top image: Harald Krichel via Wikimedia Commons.
There aren't many better, or cheaper, ways to feed an entire family than a hot roast chook. And with the cool winter weather meaning the rich, tender, warming flavours hit even harder, now is the perfect time to load one into the oven. However, Portuguese chicken maestros Oporto are inviting you to put your feet up this winter with a special holiday giveaway. From 12pm on Tuesday, June 10, over 200 participating stores across the nation are handing out 10,000 Portuguese flame-grilled chickens for free. Coinciding with Dia De Portugal, aka Portugal Day, this festive event is the ideal excuse to get the whole family together — or your closest pals — with a free meal bound to fill your belly and lift your mood this cold season. "This is about more than just chicken," says Ben Simmons, head of marketing at Oporto. "Dia De Portugal, or Portugal Day, is a global event in Portuguese culture, and what better way to mark it than with our craveable, Portuguese flame-grilled chicken? It's our way of bringing people together with food, flavour and generosity." Made the Portuguese way — that means butterflied and basted in flavourful options like lemon and herb, original chilli or extremo picante — these flame-grilled treats are incredible on their own or served with plenty of hearty sides. Each participating restaurant has a minimum of 50 free chickens to give away, with a limit of one per customer. If you miss out, the good news is that Oporto's much-loved Bondi Burger is also available for $5 to mark the occasion, too. Oporto's 10,000 free chicken giveaway is available at participating stores from 12pm on Tuesday, June 10. Head to the website for more information.
There is a lot of hype surrounding the remake of Stephen King's It, an adaptation of the 1986 novel (and 1990 Tim Curry-starring mini-series, of course) in which a murderous clown terrorises a group of Maine children, due on September 7. If you can't wait until then to get your Pennywise fix (if you're into terrifying clowns), and if you happen to be on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles, you'll find a two-storey replica of 'where IT lives' open to the public and totally free. Groups of seven will be guided by 'Georgie' through the 464 square-metre house, room by room, through immersive film-inspired scenes complete with authentic set props, "disorienting images", jump-scares and shit-your-pants terror, for what will probably be the longest 20 minutes of your life. What's the catch? There isn't one, really. But visitors are advised to "be prepared to be scared" and enter at their own risk. They also have to sign a waiver beforehand. "People with medical and emotional conditions should not enter The IT Experience: Neibolt House Hollywood including, without limitation, those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, anxiety or emotional disorders, fear of enclosed spaces, medical sensitivity to dizziness, movement or disorientation, and expectant mothers." You know those crappy haunted houses you get at run-down theme parks where the animatronics don't work and the scariest thing you might find is a used condom? We've got a feeling this will not be one of those things. From August 14 until September 10, 1–11pm. See 'The IT Experience' for more information.
Long before the pandemic hit, all manner of books, movies, self-help websites, Instagram feeds and slogan-emblazoned homewares told us that we should all value the little things in life. That message has probably felt particularly relevant over the past year — or, right now, given the spate of lockdowns that have recently swept through most of Australia's state capitals. So, even though it's the very definition of a s small win, scoring a free packet of Tim Tams likely seems especially appealing at the moment. Locked-down residents of Sydney — and folks in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, too — can nab a chocolate biscuit fix on Wednesday, July 7. The occasion: World Chocolate Day. Yes, it's one of those food-focused celebrations that pops up all the time, but it's also an excuse to indulge your sweet tooth. Deliveroo and Tim Tam have teamed up to give away 5000 packets of bikkies. You'll need to order some food for delivery, you'll have to spend at least $25, and you'll need to pick from one of 100 participating restaurants nationwide, too. Also, you'll need to get in early, because the freebies are available until stocks last. Eateries taking part include Bar Luca, the Rashays chain and Johnny Bird in Sydney; Boss Burger Co, Peach's Fried Chicken and Royal Stacks in Melbourne; and Arrivederci Pizzeria, Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers South Brisbane and The Yiros Shop Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. In Perth, Charco's The Flaming Chicken and Kitchen Inn Express are on the list, while Adelaide's Lukuomades and The Potato Project are also taking part — and so are Fricken Fried Chicken and Mama Dough Pizza Shop in Canberra. On Wednesday, July 7, if you order a meal that costs at least $25 from 100 different restaurants, you can score a free packet of chocolate biscuits. For further details, head to the Deliveroo app. Top image: Bilby via Wikimedia Commons.
Whether you love his work, get frustrated by his off-screen behaviour or just don't know what to make of him, Shia LaBeouf can't be accused of being boring. His resume spans everything from family sitcoms, Transformers flicks and lyrical road trips into America's heartland, to performance art at the Sydney Opera House and live-streamed anti-Trump protests — as well as marathoning his own movies in public, and wearing a paper bag on his head at the Berlin International Film Festival. His output and antics can only be described as eclectic, and, as much as anything can fit that pattern, LaBeouf's next project seems to. Called Honey Boy, it's an autobiographical film written by and starring the actor. Delving into his past as a child star, LaBeouf doesn't play himself, but instead steps into his father's shoes. Laying bare his own tumultuous ups and downs during his childhood and young adult years, LaBeouf grapples with his fame, mental health and addictions — while getting Noah Jupe (Wonder, A Quiet Place) and Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird, Boy Erased, Ben Is Back) to play versions of his on-screen alter-ego, called Otis, at different ages. Directed by first-timer Alma Har'el, the film also features FKA Twigs, Natasha Lyonne, Clifton Collins Jr, Maika Monroe and Martin Starr. While, on paper, Honey Boy certainly sounds as if it could go either way — as many of LaBeouf's stunts have over the years — it premiered at Sundance back in January to rave reviews. And, as the just-released first trailer shows, it doesn't hold back when it comes to delving into trauma. The same can be said of LeBeouf's performance as his dad, and of Hedges' impersonation of LeBeouf as a teenager. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2jNCFjALSA Honey Boy doesn't have a release date Down Under as yet — we'll update you if and when that changes.
Emporium's Piano Bar glitters every day of the year, all thanks to its cascading gold and crystal chandelier, as well as its sizeable array of shiny black mirrored surfaces. So, come special occasions, it doesn't need to do much decorating to sparkle as a result. Still, with the Ekka on at the moment — and finally back in-person this year — the luxe South Bank spot is serving up a special themed boozy beverage to get you in an extra-sweet mood. (And yes, if you head here, you can avoid the crowds at Brisbane Showgrounds.) Until Sunday, August 14, Brisbanites can mosey on in for a Sideshow Alley cocktail. It combines pink gin, chocolate liqueur, peach liquor, strawberry milk and hazelnut foam, and comes topped with fairy floss and dried rose petals, and it's the Ekka-related treat that you didn't know you needed until now. And if that's not enough Royal Queensland Show-themed sipping for you, upstairs at The Terrace — yes, 21 floors up, and with striking views over Brisbane to prove it — you have another choice. The Strawberry Fields turns the beloved Ekka strawberry sundae into a boozy concoction, as made with strawberry gin, sparkling rosé and more.
It all gets a bit much sometimes, doesn't it? With global warming, economic collapse in America, riots in London, population explosions in India, the destruction of forest in Indonesia, the cost of housing in Sydney (in fact, the cost of everything in Sydney), even the optimists among us would have to agree that we have some serious challenges to meet, and we will need some seriously good ideas to meet them. So it is nice to know that there are people like Polish architect Aleksander Krasinski, a man whose foresight might prove to be as far reaching as his imagination. Krasinski, who already has a enviable architectural career, has developed and designed the concept of the floating artificial island in response the potential threats of rising sea levels. The artificial island, which resembles a giant skyscraper, would be approximately 1000 metres in height and diameter and would include luxury apartments, office spaces, an airport, a sea port, gardens and pubic areas, all of which would centre around inner atrium, which would be dedicated to commercial and recreational pursuits. It is also remarkably beautiful. Housing up to 52,096 people, the artificial island might be the antidote to some of the world's future potential geographical and ecological problems. And while realistically, it may not be something we see in our lifetime, it nice to know the grandkids might have somewhere nice to live.
When COVID-19 first started making an impact around the globe, the pandemic felt eerily familiar to movie buffs, all thanks to decades of films about contagions and outbreaks. Now, the coronavirus has forced much of the world to retreat indoors, cancel all plans for the foreseeable future and practise social-distancing — and, via a whole heap of flicks about isolation, getting stuck inside and being trapped in one location, cinema has plenty of tales that feel overwhelmingly relevant. For years, we've all been heading to cinemas to see movies about folks stranded in space, renting DVDs about kids left home alone and adding features about sisters confined to their house to our streaming queues. Unsurprisingly, these types of films seem like perfect viewing material at this very moment. As always, it's important to remember that they're only fiction — and that whiling away your days inside won't really make Jack a dull boy — but if you're looking to watch a few movies about being cooped up while you're cooped up, here are ten that you can stream right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb3exxD2nGo MOON If you're looking for new hobby ideas while you're stuck in one spot, Moon's Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has more than a couple of suggestions. During his three-year stint living solo in a mining base on the far side of earth's only natural satellite, he has worked up a regular exercise routine, watched plenty of old sitcoms and whittled a miniature village out of wood. But, as this stellar sci-fi film explores, Sam's attention soon gets diverted elsewhere. Two weeks before he's due to be sent home, he crashes his lunar rover — and nothing is quite the same again. The debut feature by Duncan Jones (the director of Source Code, Warcraft: The Beginning and Mute, and also David Bowie's son), Moon proves smart, sharp, contemplative and engaging as it charts a distinctive scenario. And, while it was made nearly a decade before Rockwell won a Oscar for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, this remains his absolute best performance. Moon is available to stream on YouTube, Google Play and iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ftmr17M-a4 THE THING There are few places on the planet as isolated as Antarctica, the setting for not one, not two, but three versions of The Thing. And, with zero offence meant to 1951's The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter's 1982 remake is the best of the bunch (no, the recent 2011 film with Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead doesn't come close to beating it). All three draw upon John W. Campbell Jr's 1938 novella Who Goes There?; however Carpenter's sci-fi/horror classic finds the perfect mix of action thrills, unnerving frights and existential dread. It also benefits from a perfectly cast Kurt Russell leading the charge. The setup: in an American research station at the globe's southern-most point, a parasitic alien life-form starts not only attacking the residents, but taking over their bodies first. The Thing is available to stream on Foxtel Now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td_ksayX4tU MUSTANG While many movies about confinement and solitude toy with horror and sci-fi scenarios, Deniz Gamze Ergüven's Mustang instead ponders the grim reality of life for women in conservative Turkey. Set in a remote village, the Oscar-nominated film steps into the teenage existence of five orphaned sisters (Güneş Şensoy, Doğa Doğuşlu, Elit İşcan, Tuğba Sunguroğlu and İlayda Akdoğan), who take a trip to the beach with some boys from school. Upon returning home, the quintet are forbidden from leaving the house by their horrified uncle. When the sisters start rebelling against their isolation, their grandmother decides to start marrying them off. While The Virgin Suicides might instantly spring to mind, Ergüven's debut feature is marked by its cultural specificity and its spirited tone — and this account of female empowerment and camaraderie has much to say about the expectations placed upon girls in patriarchal societies. Mustang is available to stream on Kanopy, YouTube, Google Play and iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcBPzqxBnRU WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE In Where the Wild Things Are, Max (Max Records) doesn't need to be trapped in one place to feel lonely. His parents are divorced and his sister barely pays him any attention, so the eight-year-old spends more time by himself — and dressed in his favourite wolf costume, too — than with anyone else. After a fight with his mother (Catherine Keener) about her new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo), Max runs away. And, as anyone who read and re-read the book of the same name when they were a kid will know, he soon finds himself on an island inhabited by beasts known as Wild Things. Brought to the screen with imaginative visuals, excellent effects and a rich vein of thoughtfulness, the result is a moving and melancholy delight that contemplates being alone on multiple levels. Director Spike Jonze has helmed plenty of gems, including Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Her and a heap of Beastie Boys videos, but this is his most tender and heartfelt work by far. Where The Wild Things Are is available to stream on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C5Az-239uM JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES Unfurling in real time across more than three hours, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles charts the highlights of three days in the life of its titular character (Delphine Seyrig). At first, 'highlights' might seem like an overstatement, with Jeanne's housebound routine revolving around cooking, cleaning her house, taking care of her son and — in order to earn money to pay the bills — sleeping with men for money. As the time passes, however, Belgian writer/director Chantal Akerman not only examines the ins and outs of Jeanne's daily existence with meticulous precision, but uses one single mother's time in her home to lay bare the minutiae of domesticity. Both when it first released in 1975 and still today, Jeanne Dielman is unquestionably experimental; however it's also unshakeably brilliant at immersing viewers in its eponymous figure's reality. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles is available to stream on Kanopy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZspM1JrOmA8 THE SHINING Stephen King famously hated it. The Simpsons parodied it. Last year, cinemas welcomed its long-awaited sequel. For four decades now, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining has cast an enormous shadow over popular culture — as you'd expect of one of the greatest films ever made. Whether you're watching it for the first time or the hundredth, this horror masterpiece is never less than nerve-rattling. Indeed, that's the case from the moment its iconic opening scene, with its windy drive through the Rocky Mountains and its ominous theme music, initially creeps across the screen. As the Overlook Hotel's new winter caretaker Jack Torrance, Jack Nicholson puts in an exceptional performance as a man plunging into unhinged delirium in his isolated (and haunted) new surroundings, while both Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd also make an imprint as Torrance's wife and son. The Shining is available to stream on YouTube, Google Play and iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8KBYAvYpO4 BURIED Before he became Deadpool's merc with a mouth, but after he was one of the titular figures in 90s sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (hint: he wasn't the pizza place), Ryan Reynolds endured an incredibly tense stint in a coffin. In the economical and supremely effective Buried, he plays Paul, an American civilian working in Iraq who awakens one day to find himself stuck in a casket. Said coffin is already six feet under when Paul discovers his unfortunate predicament. He's desperate to escape; however he only has a lighter and a mobile phone on hand. Dedicating its concise 95-minute running time to its trapped protagonist's efforts to extricate himself from the situation, Buried serves up Hitchcock-level thrills, smarts and style with its one-location setup. And, while his character obviously feels otherwise, Reynolds adapts to the scenario by dishing up one of his most memorable performances. Buried is available to stream on Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKdVYUXyBzU GREEN ROOM If you only see one movie featuring Patrick Stewart as a fascist, heavy metal club owner, make it Jeremy Saulnier's follow-up to the criminally under-seen Blue Ruin. The actor also known as Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Xavier will send chills down your spine — but there's a just as impressive bunch of actors trying to fend him off. As the title suggests, the bulk of Green Room takes place backstage. After punk band The Ain't Rights (Anton Yelchin, Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat, A Prayer Before Dawn's Joe Cole and Emma's Callum Turner) stumble across something they shouldn't have, they become trapped behind the scenes as the locals endeavour to make sure they don't talk. Prepare to feel on edge as you watch this violent, claustrophobic and all-round excellent thriller — and prepare to appreciate Yelchin's many talents for one of the last times as well. Green Room is available to stream on SBS On Demand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzdpqRGA1qc HOME ALONE At some point in the next year or so, it's likely that a brand new Home Alone movie will be demanding your attention. Yes, the 90s classic is getting remade — by Disney+, and with Jojo Rabbit's Archie Yates, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Ellie Kemper and Catastrophe's Rob Delaney among the cast. But the Mouse House's streaming platform is already serving up classic Home Alone delights, with the 1990 original, 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost In New York and 1997's Home Alone 3 all currently available. Naturally, the first flick is the one that not only calls everyone's names each Christmas, but whenever you find yourself sitting in your house solo (i.e. quite often in today's COVID-19 times). Home Alone was the highest-grossing live-action comedy at the US box office for more than two decades for a very good reason, after all. Watch as Macaulay Culkin puts in a star-making performance, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern play bumbling burglars, and plenty of inventive booby traps get in the way. Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York and Home Alone 3 are all available to stream on Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5BKctcZxrM I AM MOTHER Sci-fi thriller I Am Mother might seem familiar, story-wise; however this Australian-made standout definitely finds its own niche. Led by certain future star Clara Rugaard — who channels shades of science-fiction cinema's best leading ladies, such as Alien's Sigourney Weaver and The Terminator's Linda Hamilton — writer/director Grant Sputore's movie introduces viewers to a girl who has been raised in a high-tech underground bunker by a supremely intelligent robot she calls Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne). For years following the decimation of the human race, the pair have only had each other for company. Then, unexpectedly, a stranger (Hilary Swank) arrives asking for help. The rest is best discovered by watching, with an already bleak and twisty movie delving further into its dystopian premise. I Am Mother is available to stream on Netflix. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
There are more than 150 Big Things across Australia — from the five-metre high can of Tooheys New that crowns a pub in the outback town of Cobar to the controversial Big Bogan of Nyngan, 190 kilometres northwest of Dubbo. These Big Things have become something of an obsession for Australians — in 2007 Australia Post even promoted them on a series of 50-cent stamps — perhaps for the way they're uniquely Australian, silly and provide a beacon of life on seemingly endless highways through hot, dry, barren country (or, at the very least, a toilet stop). Next time you go a-road tripping, consider paying one of these fantastic gigantics a visit. Before heading on a road trip or interstate, check the relevant state's COVID-19 guidelines. [caption id="attachment_698047" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] BIG BANANA, COFFS HARBOUR, NSW Dream destination of many a Sydneysiding child is the Big Banana. Found in Coffs Harbour – around 5oo kilometres north of the city – it's the gateway to warmer climes and summer holidays. It's also one of Australia's oldest big things, having been built in 1964. When you're done getting a pic, go exploring the surrounding fun park, which abounds in giant slides, toboggans, ice skating opportunities and real-life bananas. [caption id="attachment_697874" align="alignnone" width="1920"] South Australia Tourism Commission[/caption] BIG LOBSTER, KINGSTON, SA One of the most painstakingly detailed of the Big Things is the Big Lobster in Kingston SE, which you'll find on the South Australian coast around 300 kilometres south of Adelaide. It was the initiative of local lobster fisherman Ian Backler, who partnered with Rob Moyse, to commission builder Paul Kelly to construct a 17-metre high spiny lobster as realistically as possible. After going onto the market in June 2017, the Big Lobster (known to locals as "Larry") was snapped up by pastoralist Tim Brinkworth. BIG MELON, CHINCHILLA, QLD Our newest Big Thing is the Big Melon, which dominates a park in Chinchilla, the melon capital of Australia, located 300 kilometres northwest of Brisbane. The Melon was the winner of a competition run by accommodation website Wotif, which asked the Australian people to vote on their favourite submission. Among the other finalists were Glen Innes' Big Kilt (NSW), Mittagong's Big Tulip (NSW) and Kingaroy's the Big Peanut (QLD). Every February, the Chinchilla Melon Festival attracts 15,000 visitors from all over the world. [caption id="attachment_698048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] THE BIG BENCH, BROKEN HILL, NSW The Big Bench isn't as well-known as many of Australia's other Big Things – mainly because it's all the way out in Broken Hill. But, it's one of the most fun and photogenic. If you've ever wondered how Lilliputiens feel, take a seat. The Big Bench is 2.5 times the size of a normal bench, putting the seat around shoulder height (when you're standing next to it) and making sure your legs are a long way from the ground (when you're sitting on it). It was built in September 2002, as part of Landscapes and Backgrounds, a contemporary public art exhibition. [caption id="attachment_698050" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Australia[/caption] BIG GUITAR, TAMWORTH, NSW In 1988, country legend Slim Dusty unveiled the Big Golden Guitar, a tribute to Tamworth's obsession with country music. Every January, the town swarms with tens of thousands of folk for the Tamworth Country Music Festival, the second biggest country music festival in the world (after Nashville). The guitar's twelve golden metres of fibreglass and steel tower over the Tamworth Tourist Centre. Head inside to visit a wax museum dedicated to country music stars, a collectors museum packed with Donald Bradman memorabilia and a music shop. If you're looking for more spots to visit in Tamworth, check out our weekender's guide. [caption id="attachment_698049" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] BIG MERINO, GOULBURN, NSW The Big Merino's hard to miss: not only because of its enormous horns, but also because of the constant stream of vehicles veering off the Hume Highway to bathe in its woolly wonders. 15.2 metres high, 18 metres long and weighing a whopping 97 tonnes, it's one of the biggest of all the Big Things. But that didn't stop the locals moving it 800 metres in 2007, when the arrival of the Goulburn bypass threatened its popularity. Next door you'll find a gift shop peddling an array of merino apparel, from scarves and ponchos to jumpers and socks. [caption id="attachment_697955" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wikimedia Commons[/caption] BIG PRAWN, BALLINA, NSW In 2010, the Big Prawn came close to death when the Ballina Shire Council voted in favour of its demolition. However, the public revolted and the motion was never carried out. Today, the nine-metre high crustacean towers in all its bright orange splendour outside Bunning's hardware store, who own the land over which the Big Prawn reigns and revamped it to the tune of $400,000. The original design, built in 1989, allowed you to walk inside the sculpture and climb its internals via a spiral staircase. Those days are well over, though; you'll have to settle for a photo. [caption id="attachment_698027" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anne and David via Flickr[/caption] BIG PINEAPPLE, WOOMBYE, QLD Drive directly west of Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, and, after about 20 minutes, the Big Pineapple will loom on the horizon. Built in 1979, it's now a heritage-listed entity. Previous visitors include Charles and Lady Diana. When you're finished Big Thinging, head to the onsite wildlife zoo to meet red pandas and tuck into a pineapple-inspired feast at the cafe. [caption id="attachment_697945" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wikimedia Commons[/caption] BIG POTATO, ROBERTSON, NSW One of the closest Big Things to Sydney is the Big Potato, in the Southern Highlands village of Robertson. We almost lost this beauty back in 2016, when a supermarket owner threatened to buy it – to destroy it and create a parking lot. However, locals Heather and Neil Tait came to the rescue. Unlike so many of the other Big Things on this list, the Big Potato is totally uncommercial. You won't see gift shops, gimmicks or ticket booths. There is, though, a picturesque park, dotted with hedges and daffodils, some of which were planted by local artist Ben Quilty. [caption id="attachment_698070" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michael Zimmer via Flickr[/caption] BIG MANGO, BOWEN, QLD On a Monday night in February 2014, the Big Mango went missing. The theft was no mean feat, given that the colossal fruit is ten metres high and weighs in at seven tonnes. A Twitterer known as Urban Roo claimed to have found it floating off the Victorian coast, among the Twelve Apostles. However, the next morning, Bob, a local farmer, called ABC Radio to say he'd found it, hidden by tarps and branches, in a nearby paddock. A few hours later, Nando's claimed responsibility. These days, the Big Mango is back in its rightful place, beside the Bruce Highway, four kilometres south of Bowen, near Airlie Beach.
Over the last few years, we've seen a certain literary crime-solver follow the action-packed route with Robert Downey Jr, then stalk around modern-day London as Benedict Cumberbatch, and head to America in the guise of Jonny Lee Miller. We've seen Sherlock Holmes in his prime, puzzling over clues and cracking cases. We've seen him save the day, struggle against a nemesis or two and even shoulder a few rough patches. What we haven't seen is the famous "elementary!"-exclaiming figure later in life — well, until now that is. Enter Mr. Holmes, an effort that explores what comes next for the cantankerous detective with the brilliant analytical mind. Set in 1947 and adhering to the original timeline for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, the latest filmic take on the ace investigator sees him older, wiser and a little worse for wear. His deductive skills still put others to shame, but his 93-year-old memory is failing. After a trip to Japan, Sherlock (Ian McKellen) returns to his seaside farmhouse buoyed with hope that he's found the answer to his ailing state; yet even his great intellect can't conjure a solution to getting long in the tooth. As he attempts to gather his wits to write his own version of his last-ever case, he shares his knowhow with Roger (Milo Parker), the young son of his housekeeper (Laura Linney), with the boy eager to learn everything he can from his idol. Watson might be absent, and Baker Street isn't a primary place of interest, but no rendering of the legendary detective would be complete without a cryptic situation (or several) to unravel. Just don't expect a traditional whodunit, because that's what this film is not. Piecing together the tale Holmes is jotting down — as well as the secretive details of his recent overseas jaunt — actually prove the feature's least intriguing parts. In a film that's more character study than mystery, the real enigma in need of untangling is Sherlock himself. Other recent screen incarnations have fleshed out the person behind the reputation, though not in such a delicate and delightful fashion as McKellen's hobbling, grumbling curmudgeon. His super sleuth isn't just a formidable brain packaged with some unsociable traits; he's a fragile elderly man facing a short future while looking back on a life he's no longer all that certain about. It feels fitting, then, that director Bill Condon lets his star steal the show in their second collaboration after 1998's acclaimed Gods and Monsters. In adapting Mitch Cullin's novel A Slight Trick of the Mind and trawling through its driving theme of accepting mortality, the filmmaker hones in not just on matters of the busy head, but those of the unfulfilled heart — and he has the perfect lead for the job. Condon also boasts a fine eye for the warm hues needed to colour Mr. Holmes' interpretation of the icon's golden years, and a feel for the stately rhythm required for what amounts to a hero's last chapter. Yes, his film is old in its protagonist and old-fashioned in its nature, but it's also an elegant, enjoyable alternative to the recent spate of rousing revisionist takes. That dispelling myths about the fictional hero becomes the film's running joke speaks to the vibe he's going for — and when it comes to Sherlock on screen, it's a vibe that's more than welcome.
Brisbane City Council's public libraries are some of the many venues currently closed during southeast Queensland's current lockdown. That doesn't mean that you can't spend your time at home reading as many books as possible, however. Thankfully, Brisbanites are able to access the libraries' hefty collection of digital items — not only including books, but music, magazines and movies as well. As part of that collection, more than 70,000 ebooks and audiobooks are currently on offer. The likes of Trent Dalton's All Our Shimmering Skies, Craig Silvey's Honeybee, Zadie Smith's Swing Time and Sally Rooney's Normal People are available to read online or download for a limited period for free, as are titles in the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones series. The list goes on, of course — and to start digitally skimming through their pages, all you need to do is sign up for a free digital library membership on the Brisbane City Council libraries website, or use your existing library membership. For those who prefer to have a good book read to them, rather than flick through it themselves, library members can also access a heap of audiobooks — which you can either listen to online or download to your own device. Elsewhere on the library's website, you'll find music, magazines, newspapers and journals, as well more than free movies via streaming service Beamafilm. And, if you're still looking for something to do, you can also learn a language, with your library card getting you free access to Mango Languages. Wondering what everyone else has been flicking through? In 2020–21, BCC's digital library experienced more than 2.8 million loans and downloads, with popular ebooks spanning everything from Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe and Michelle Obama's Becoming to Jane Harper's The Survivors and Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Among the audiobooks, hearing Stephen Fry read the Harry Potter series and Reese Witherspoon read Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman also had plenty of fans. Sign up to become a Brisbane City Council libraries member online and explore its digital collection. This article was originally published in April of 2020. It has been updated to reflect new information.
A decade ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find an accessible dining experience of a similar calibre and philosophy as those you saw in shows similar to Chef's Table. Lucky for us in present day, eco-friendly dining is no longer limited to small pockets of artisanal growers and eco-conscious chefs. Restaurants all over Australia are proving time and time again that taste and sustainability aren't mutually exclusive. Sourcing produce from their own 80-acre working farms, creating closed-loop dining experiences with micro rooftop worm gardens and growing heirloom varieties with the help of trusted friends — chefs are honing in eco-friendly practices all while delivering gourmet menus. With that in mind, we've teamed up with Stoneleigh Wild Valley, whose hands-off winemaking philosophy lets nature do its thing to create a 'natural expression' of Marlborough wines, to highlight six innovative eateries across the country with strong connections to nature. [caption id="attachment_677793" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To.[/caption] QUAY — SYDNEY Quay has always been one of the shining beacons of Australia's fine dining scene, but what you might not know is that it's now one of the country's most sustainably minded restaurants, too. World-renowned chef Peter Gilmore has been gardening for over a decade at home, becoming addicted to the lifecycle of plants and herbs. His interest has carried over to the Quay kitchen where produce from trusted farms, like Palisa Anderson's Boon Luck Farm, inform the menu. Specially grown red speckled peas are served with aged Maremma duck; newly created heirloom purple corn is set against a rich oxtail broth; crystallised caramel is punctuated with both a prune jam and a prune cream; and well, you get the picture. It's nature-inspired food at its best. ATTICA — MELBOURNE Long before sustainability was the trend on everyone's lips, Attica's owner-chef Ben Shewry was foraging with his family for mussels and shellfish along the coast of Taranaki, New Zealand. And with one look at Attica's menu, it's obvious those early ideas of hyperlocal eating have stayed him. The menu reveals his respect for eco-friendly seafood such as hand-caught crab and native ingredients like black and green ants sourced from Indigenous farmers. Deliciously gooey whipped emu eggs and honey-laden finger limes also demonstrate his devotion to Australia's homegrown flavours. Then there's Attica's garden. Boasting over 100 varieties of herbs (there's apparently 16 different types of basil) and other flora that makes its way onto dinner plates, it's the cherry on top of an already exceptional commitment to taste, Australian cuisine and, of course, the environment. [caption id="attachment_704269" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould.[/caption] PAPERBARK — SYDNEY If inventive and exciting meat-free cooking sounds right up your alley then it's time to pay a visit to Paperbark. Opened in June 2018, the relative newcomer has quickly made waves in Sydney's already exceptional vegan dining scene. There's no simple way to explain the cuisine here, except to say it's all tied together by a commitment to native Australian ingredients. There's wattleseed and finger lime atop pumpkin tostadas, strawberry gum mole mopped up with doughy rye from eco-friendly bakery Iggy's Bread and mango and lemon myrtle meringue. It's all delicious, all the time. THREE BLUE DUCKS — BRISBANE Three Blue Ducks is no stranger to the eco-friendly dining scene. Ever since the three original owners opened their small paddock-to-plate eatery in Bronte, Sydney in 2010, they've been proving that sustainability doesn't mean sacrificing on flavour, it means improving it. Now, almost a decade later, they have three additional partners and four new locations. Set inside the W Brisbane hotel and open breakfast, lunch and dinner, the latest restaurant sources much of its produce from Three Blue Ducks' own 80-acre working farm in Byron Bay, as well as other local ethical growers. Expect wood-fired proteins with season veg like porchetta with smoked parsnip purée, beetroot and apple salad, fennel granola and mustard jus or the fish of the day with corn, smoked eggplant chilli, cucumber, heirloom tomato and preserved lemon. MESA VERDE — MELBOURNE Meaning 'green table' in Spanish, Mesa Verde brings fresh Mexican dishes to level six at Curtin House. The cantina serves smaller plates from the sea and land, like market fish ceviche or zesty heirloom zucchini tostadas, as well as larger plates of braised lamb shoulder, cauliflower tlayuda and mushroom entomatadas. Then there's the full taco menu with fillings ranging from cochinita-style roasted eggplant to beer-battered fish tacos to braised beef cheek. All of these dishes are peppered with fresh herbs and spices grown in the roof's vegetable gardens. There's even a rooftop worm farm to help fertilise the vege patch. In a feat of small-scale closed-loop cooking, chef Kathy Reed and her team use vegetable off-cuts to feed the worms and create fertiliser, which in turn helps grow the rare Mexican ingredients that pack an irresistible punch on the restaurant's menu. FLOCK EATERY — REDCLIFFE Featuring a winning combination of picturesque views across Moreton Bay and a farm-to-plate dining experience that caters to all your dietary needs, it's no surprise the Flock Eatery in Redcliffe is a closely guarded secret by those in the know. Breakfast favourites like the smokey king brown mushrooms and eggs benny paired with seasonal greens are both delightfully tasty and ethically sourced from nearby farmers. The best part? Any leftovers are composted at the wonderful LOOP.Growers farm so that nothing is wasted. Make sure to try the coffee; Tim Adams Specialty Coffee roasts it locally. Connect to nature through food at the above eateries and through drink with Stoneleigh Wild Valley, whose 2017 sauvignon blanc recently won gold at the New York International Wine Competition 2019. Top image: Paperbark by Trent van der Jagt.
There’s legitimate cause for concern at Jack Rogers and Jonathan McBurnie’s exhibition YOU WORRY ME. Why? Because it’s messy, confusing, a little creepy, sometimes insulting, and a showcase of staggering artistic genius. With the help of some ink, paint and mighty canvases, both artists have created pieces of Daniel Johnston-esque wackiness, with fine-line driven, eclectic expression. You won’t find any conservative art school sketchings at this Hold Artspace curated exhibition, rather pieces that will challenge you to take a chux to their noggins. On one hand, Sydney-based artist Jonathan McBurnie showcases the aggression, trauma, and egos that alter and adhere to no boundaries, through fine-lined, and mathematical sketchings - his work is just as trigonometry heavy in angles as it is terrifying. Rogers, as both contrast and counterpart, is softer, and liberal in curves, his art closer to creative cartoons, than textbook scribblings. McBurnie provides the faultless, and Rogers showcases the aesthetics that lie in flaws. Their artistic marriage in YOU WORRY ME gives a whole new meaning to juxtaposition – both exhibit the same degree of talent, in strikingly different strains of WTF.
There's no shortage of museums in Germany. Berlin has a whole area dedicated to them, serious and important centres exploring the events of Second World War can be found all around the country, and separate spaces celebrate everything from currywurst and Easter eggs to lipstick and David Hasselhoff. The European nation's newest addition just might be its cutest, however — and a reason to make a dash to the Bavarian town of Passau, particularly if you're a dog lover. With a name like Dackelmuseum, there's only one four-legged critter that could be in the spotlight: the daschund. Also known as the Dachshund Small Residence, it boasts the world's largest collection of dachshund-related items. Inside, you'll find more than 4500 objects, and here's guessing that they're all as adorable as dachshund themselves. Drawing upon a collection compiled by florists Seppi Küblbeck and Oliver Stor over the course of 25 years, the museum steps through the history and impact of the sausage-shaped pooch in 21 display cases, with types, cultural references, music, toys and their connection to nobility all covered. Other topics include the dachshund as a muse — which is something anyone who has spent too long looking at the elongated doggos can relate to — plus dachshunds and beer, famous dachshunds, sleeping dachshunds and the 1972 Olympic mascot (who, you've guessed it, was a dachshund called Waldi when the event was held in Munich). Next time you're in Germany, you'd be barking mad to miss it. Images: Dackelmuseum
When the Queensland Film Festival first launched four years ago, it aimed to fulfil a specific niche. With Brisbane's government-funded major film festival scrapped the year prior — seeing the long-running Brisbane International Film Festival become the short-lived Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival — some titles no longer made their way to the city's cinemas. That's where QFF came in. That was 2015. Much has changed since then; in fact, BAPFF is gone and BIFF is back, last year as a Palace-run event and this year overseen by the Gallery of Modern Art. But QFF is still programming films that Brisbanites mightn't have had the chance to see otherwise, as well as championing another worthy cause with its 2018 lineup. Boasting a statistic few other film festival around the world can claim, more than 80 percent of QFF's program is directed or co-directed by female filmmakers. From opening night's Australian double of Terror Nullius and Strange Colours, to a showcase dedicated to distinctive French filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, to festival circuit hits from the last year, women lead the charge at QFF 2018 — which runs from July 19 to 29 at New Farm Cinemas, Elizabeth Picture Theatre, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Institute of Modern Art. It's an astutely programmed lineup, and from the full selection of 59 features and shorts we've picked eight titles to add to your must-see list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONMbWj8u-RA LET THE CORPSES TAN If you've ever seen a feature by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, you'd know it. With an unflinchingly confident sense of their own style, the French duo make movies that not only tantalise the senses, but that value the art of filmmaking like few films do. That's evident in every gorgeously composed shot and energetically timed edit, as well as in each astonishingly precise sound and music cue. After the giallo-influenced Amer and The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (the latter of which also boasts a superb title, clearly), the writer/directors return with a lurid nod to spaghetti westerns, telling a tale of gold-stealing thieves crossing paths with bohemian artists. Double-crosses and shootouts may litter the narrative — to a heightened extreme, in the first case — but, as always with Cattet and Forzani's work, there's no doubting the sheer artistic and filmmaking spectacle on display. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8oYYg75Qvg YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE After screening at Cannes in 2017 — and deservedly winning Joaquin Phoenix the festival's best actor award for his gut-wrenching performance — it has taken some time for You Were Never Really Here to make it to our shores. Don't worry, this exceptional film is completely worth the wait. It's also one of the best movies of this or any other year. The highly anticipated latest feature from We Need to Talk About Kevin's Lynne Ramsay, the dark effort follows Phoenix's Joe, an ex-soldier and FBI agent turned hitman who rescues children from sex trafficking rings. Unsurprisingly, it's a tense, bleak dive through the mindset of a man coping with several layers of trauma; however neither Ramsay or Phoenix put a foot wrong in a feature that dials up its intense revenge thrills to astounding levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlrWRttLTkg THE RIDER All Brady Blackburn wants to do is hop back onto a horse. As a rodeo cowboy and gifted trainer, it's what he's compelled to do. Watching him struggle with life without his only passion makes for one of the year's most empathetic, soulful and heart-wrenching efforts, as Brady wades through the aftermath of an in-ring incident that almost killed him. Shot with lyrical images that find tenderness in Brady's story, suffering and situation, The Rider is also a case of art imitating life, with actor Brady Jandreau going through the same scenario himself after meeting writer-director Chloé Zhao back in 2015. Also starring members of Jandreau's family, the result is a contemporary western with a heart as big as America's sweeping plains — told with devastating intimacy, and making certain stars out of both the quietly-spoken, captivating Jandreau and second-time feature filmmaker Zhao. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570quKmmSF4 CANIBA True crime documentaries might be having a moment, but there are few crimes like Issei Sagawa's — and few documentaries like Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel's Caniba. In 1981, Sagawa killed and ate one of his classmates at the Sorbonne in Paris, only to be declared insane and unfit for trial, then allowed to return to Japan. Filmed in the Tokyo home he shares with his brother and carer Jun, Castaing-Taylor and Paravel get so close to their notorious subject that often only parts of his scarred face fill the purposefully blurry and murky frame. That said, this isn't a film that repeatedly dissects the gory details of Sagawa's ghastly act, but one that's more concerned with his desires and what they indicate about human nature. Still, as the gruesome topic should made plain, this confronting and visceral Venice Film Festival award-winner isn't particularly easy viewing and definitely isn't for everyone, though it's endlessly fascinating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txrlcy2893Q ZAMA Nine years since making her last feature, Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel returns with an effort that matches her reputation: mythic. The acclaimed auteur takes on Antonio di Benedetto's 1956 Argentinean novel Zama to explore the story of an 18th-century Spanish magistrate — the Don Diego de Zama (Daniel Giménez Cacho) of the movie's title — who is stuck in a small South American town, desperately hoping for a transfer and quickly losing his grip on everything. The narrative has plenty to say about colonialism and class, using drama, comedy and tragedy to do so, though it's how Martel conveys its tale and themes that sears this inimitable movie into viewers' brains. As Zama's ideas of his own grandeur are chipped away moment by moment, Zama, the film, charts the opposite trajectory with its exquisite imagery, hypnotic rhythm and distinctive logic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dEksjpe0Ds CELIA Australian cinema is filled with stellar classic titles — films that engage, enthral, say something about our country and showcase the depth of our filmmaking talent. Sadly, the almost-forgotten Celia is rarely cited among such company, although it deserves to be celebrated as one of the best features we've ever had to offer. Set in 1957, its tale is dark, ominous and oh-so-telling as it blends small-town prejudices with fearful childhood imaginings. Written and directed by Ann Turner, the film focuses on an unhappy, grieving nine-year-old school girl (Rebecca Smart) surrounded by a community that's paranoid about communists and unwelcoming to pet rabbits. The kind of coming-of-age horror effort Australia rarely makes, it also looks glorious thanks to the new restoration by the National Film and Sound Archive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5er2UrcUhso AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL In his nearly four-hour debut feature, Chinese writer/director Hu Bo achieves what every filmmaker dreams of: a movie that assembles its parts in such an assured and astute way that changing even one element seems unthinkable. And it's not just the length of his first and only film that makes that such an impressive feat, but the command of tone, the naturalistic yet patient style, and the subject matter. Working with a story from one of his own novels, Hu weaves together intertwined slices of unhappy lives, following four figures miserable in their modern-day Chinese industrial town. Each is going through a particularly bleak day, and all are drawn to a story about an elephant that sits still and ignores the world around it. As a heartbreaking postscript that casts a shadow over every moment of his movie, the author-turned-filmmaker took his own life in October last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id1CwWogrXI DIAMANTINO The timing is certainly right for Diamantino, a Portuguese comedy that won the top prize in this year's Cannes Critics' Week with its over-the-top tale about a fictional soccer star. Alas, when the titular player (Carloto Cotta) loses the World Cup in the final's dying moments, his life becomes anarchic to say the least. He's soon adopting a refugee orphan who actually turns out to be an undercover agent trying to track down laundered money, and also being secretly cloned by the government so that Portugal can create an unbeatable soccer team. It's all as ridiculous as it sounds — but mostly entertainingly so — as first-time filmmakers Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt wholeheartedly commit to their premise, as well as to the accompanying farcical tone. Queensland Film Festival runs from July 19 to 29 at New Farm Cinemas, Elizabeth Picture Theatre, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Institute of Modern Art. To view the full program or buy tickets, head to the festival website.
How do you fill 18 Victorian winter days with movies? That's the glorious problem that the Melbourne International Film Festival is tasked with solving each year. 2025's solution for its 73rd event will span hundreds of pictures, brand-new local features and must-see international award-winners alike, as MIFF delivers every August. Some examples this time around: Jafar Panahi's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning It Was Just an Accident, almost-100-year-old masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc with a new score by Julia Holter performed live, an Australian time-loop comedy involving tequila, a Baker Boy- and Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine)-narrated tribute to David Gulpilil, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind filmmaker Michel Gondry's latest and the world-premiere of natural disaster-focused virtual-reality documentary When the World Came Flooding In. Yes, it's MIFF first glance time, with the festival revealing its initial batch of titles for 2025 — and it's a hefty collection. While there's many more to come, 26 films are now officially on the lineup and set to hit Melbourne's big screens between Thursday, August 7–Sunday, August 24. Some will also play regional Victoria venues across two weekends, Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 17 and Friday, August 22–Sunday, August 24. Then there's the return of MIFF Online via the Australian Centre for the Moving Image's streaming platform Cinema 3, sharing selected fest titles with the rest of Australia across Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 31 (and with Melburnians, too, for a week after the physical festival ends for the year). Among the films mentioned above, the combination of Julia Holter and Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 silent great The Passion of Joan of Arc is taking over Melbourne Recital Centre for two evenings; One More Shot will get the spirits flowing amid temporal trickery with help from Emily Browning (Class of '07), Apple Cider Vinegar co-stars Aisha Dee and Ashley Zukerman, Sean Keenan (Exposure) and Pallavi Sharda (The Office); Journey Home, David Gulpilil charts the iconic actor's journey to be laid to rest; and Maya, Give Me a Title hails from Gondry. But even from the first-glance batch, they're just the beginning. Also on the bill, for instance: Richard Linklater's (Hit Man) Blue Moon with Ethan Hawke (Leave the World Behind), Margaret Qualley (The Substance) and Andrew Scott (Ripley); Carey Mulligan (Spaceman) in music-fuelled comedy The Ballad of Wallis Island; the Dylan O'Brien (Saturday Night)-led Twinless; and Dreams, with Jessica Chastain (Mothers' Instinct) reuniting with her Memory helmer Michel Franco. "It all starts here — the full MIFF 2025 program is soon to arrive; set to be a world-ranging, celebratory and all-out extraordinary collection of films," said Melbourne International Film Festival Artistic Director Al Cossar, announcing his team's debut picks for this year. "I'm excited to share some of our first announcement of titles, and incredible highlights, of this year's MIFF: beloved auteurs, festival blockbusters, the best of new Australian filmmaking, alongside the incredibly special and absolutely unmissable live-score cinema event Julia Holter: The Passion of Joan of Arc." Similarly on the way to Melbourne: A24's Sorry, Baby starring Naomi Ackie (Mickey 17), Harvest's pairing of actor Caleb Landry Jones (DogMan) and Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari (Chevalier), actor Jay Duplass (Dying for Sex) making his solo directorial debut with SXSW Austin favourite The Baltimorons, and The Bear and Beef alum Alex Russell also doing the same with the obsessive Lurker. The 60s-era Bond-style homage Reflections in a Dead Diamond should be at the top of your list as well if you were a fan of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's Let the Corpses Tan when it played MIFF back in 2018, or Amer and The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears in general. Or, catch Cloud, with e-commerce in the spotlight in Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's (Serpent's Path) new thriller. Plus, Marlon Williams: Two Worlds — Ngā Ao E Rua is about its namesake New Zealand musician, while Fwends is set in Melbourne and marks Sophie Somerville's first feature. If you've been paying attention to Sydney Film Festival's 2025 program and you're spotting some familiar pictures, MIFF does indeed share some of the same films, as is the custom each and every year. [caption id="attachment_1002698" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Greg Cotten.[/caption] The Victorian capital's annual major film fest boasts its own premiere fund, though, which helps to finance new Australian movies. That's where not only One More Shot but a range of other titles come in, with 2025's haul also spanning the likes of Filipino Australian photographer James J Robinson's debut feature First Light, documentary Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke about the comedy icon, the competitive Microsoft Excel-centric Spreadsheet Champions and Nigerian stand-up comedian Okey Bakassi in Pasa Faho's window into being African Australian, MIFF's program already goes on from there, and already boasts oh-so-much to get excited about; however for even more, the full 2025 lineup will arrive on Thursday, July 10. [caption id="attachment_997749" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alistair Heap/Focus Features ©2025 All Rights Reserved[/caption] The 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 7–Sunday, August 24 at a variety of venues around Melbourne; from Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 17 and Friday, August 22–Sunday, August 24 in regional Victoria; and online nationwide from Friday, August 15–Sunday, August 31. For further details, including the full program from Thursday, July 10, visit the MIFF website. Top image: Ben King/Stan.
In 2024, Doja Cat topped the Triple J Hottest 100 of songs from 2023 and added Coachella headliner to her list of achievements. This year, she's notching up a first touring-wise: the superstar's debut arena gigs in Australia and New Zealand. Come November and December 2025, the 'Say So', 'Kiss Me More' and 'Vegas' talent will hit Auckland in Aotearoa, then head to Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney on her Aussie stops. The five-city trip Down Under kicks off on Tuesday, November 18 at Spark Arena. In Australia, Doja Cat has a date with Perth's RAC Arena on Saturday, November 22, followed by Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Tuesday, November 25. Next comes Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday, November 29 before wrapping up on Monday, December 1 at Qudos Bank Arena. The Aussie and NZ shows are part of the rapper's Ma Vie world tour, which also has international stints in Manila, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok and Kaohsiung locked in for December. The run of dates takes its name from Doja Cat's upcoming fifth album Vie, which releases on Friday, September 26. Jack Antonoff- and Y2K-produced single 'Jealous Type' is out now, with new tune first debuted live at San Francisco's Outside Lands Music Festival at the beginning of August. [caption id="attachment_1018452" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacob Webster[/caption] Vie follows 2018's Amala, 2019's Hot Pink, Planet Her from 2021 and 2023's Scarlet on the Grammy-winner's discography. It's the latter that delivered 'Paint the Town Red' — 2023's Hottest 100 number one, which marked the first time that a female rapper and woman of colour topped the poll. The tune also sat at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks, was the first rap song to reach those heights in 2023 and topped the Billboard Global 200 chart for four weeks in a row, too. [caption id="attachment_950216" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Clay Junell via Flickr.[/caption] Doja Cat Ma Vie World Tour Australian and New Zealand 2025 Tuesday, November 18 — Spark Arena, Auckland Saturday, November 22 — RAC Arena, Perth Tuesday, November 25 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Saturday, November 29 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Monday, December 1 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Doja Cat is touring Australia and New Zealand in November and December 2025, with ticket resales from Monday, August 25 at 10am local time and general sales from Thursday, August 28 at 11am. Head to Doja Cat's website for more details. Top image: Dana Jacobs/WireImage.
The racing event of the year is nearly here. To celebrate, Jack Daniel's is bringing the hype (and noise) off-track with a bunch of live music and racing experiences across the city. Here's where to join the party. Jack's Street Party at Middle Park Hotel Middle Park Hotel is the destination for catching all of the race week action, no track pass required. From Thursday, March 5, through to Sunday, March 8, Jack Daniel's is bringing four days of racing, food, drinks, and entertainment to Middle Park Hotel. Located just minutes from the track, you and your friends can soak up the atmosphere (and engine sounds). Watch the races on mega screens and TVs, enjoy the pop-up bar and delicious food menu, and dance to live music and DJs every day. As a tribute to the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, Jack Daniel's, one of McLaren's official partners, is taking over the entire venue, with replica uniforms and helmets on display throughout the hotel, along with games, competitions, and prizes. From 5–6pm each day, Jack's Hour will take place, complete with drink specials and exclusive merch giveaways. Jack Daniel's has also collaborated with artist Glen Downey to produce a bespoke McLaren-Jack Daniel's-Melbourne-inspired piece of artwork. One lucky punter will win a driver-signed copy of the artwork by entering the competition during Jack's Hour each day. The weekend is free to attend and unticketed. Simply show up (first-come, first-served) and enjoy the atmosphere of race week at Middle Park Hotel. Jack's Bus Jack's Bus (yes, a literal bus) will be parked at Middle Park Hotel during the day. From 12–3pm each day, attendees will receive a bespoke cocktail on arrival, an expert insight into the history of Jack Daniel's and the McLaren racing team, as well as a tasting of a limited edition Jack Daniel's beverage and exclusive merchandise giveaways. Once the racing action is over, the bus will shuttle punters between Middle Park Hotel and The Espy to keep the party going. Jack's Karaoke at The Espy The Espy's Engine Room is set to transform into a high-energy karaoke arena for the long weekend. Step up, grab the mic, and you may end up the lead singer of Jack Daniel's House Band. Practice sessions are taking place on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6. Saturday, March 7, is the qualifying heat to narrow the singers down to the final four. On Sunday, March 8, the finalists will take to the stage for the Loudest Lap, the ultimate karaoke showdown. The top prize (aside from your 15 minutes of fame) is $5K in cash, with all participants receiving a Jack Daniel's prize pack. Get ready for a weekend of belters and fun at The Espy's Engine Room. Jack's Garage at The Espy Ready to party the night away? Jack's Garage in The Espy's Gershwin Room is taking over with an electrifying lineup of Australian artists across four nights. On Thursday, March 5, electronic duo The Presets will set the tone for the exciting weekend. Friday, March 6 sees Slowly Slowly take to the stage with their local indie rock, while Saturday, March 7 brings DJ Anna Lunoe and her infectious house and electronic beats to The Espy. Finally, on Sunday, March 8, Keli Holiday wraps up Melbourne's race week with a high-energy gig that's sure to get you dancing. All performances are live and free, so RSVP here and arrive early to avoid capacity limits in the Gershwin Room. Even if you miss out on tickets, all gigs will be live-streamed on screens across the venue. This means you can still enjoy the tunes and have a dance at The Espy to some legendary acts. Jack's Pit Stop at Crown Casino Throughout race weekend, Crown Melbourne will become Jack's Pit Stop. By heading to The Pub, Sports Bar and Jackpot, you could win a free trip to Las Vegas with the purchase of any Jack Daniel's product, as well as a Jack Daniel's Pit Crew customisable t-shirt. Make it one of your pit stops across the racing-obsessed week. McLaren will bring speed to the Albert Park racing track, but Jack Daniel's is making sure Melbourne feels the energy. Between parties and fan hubs, live music and karaoke, there's no better way to enjoy the March weekend. Image Credit: Supplied
When a new restaurant and bar opens, or relaunches after a revamp, the menu always takes pride of place — but we all know that that's not the only attraction when you're heading to a venue. Design-wise, what's on the inside counts as well. And, at the Australian Interior Design Awards, top-notch decor in hospitality, residential, workplace, retail and public settings all gets thrust into the spotlight. On AIDA's 2022 shortlist, plenty of places have been given the nod — all now vying to emerge victorious when the gongs are handed out this winter. This marks the accolades' 19th year of showcasing the finest design minds working in Australia's residential, commercial and public sectors, and the work on display by the contenders is unsurprisingly stunning. Obviously, if you like your interiors swish, plush, luxurious and stylish all round, you're going to want to visit, live in or work at all of the places up for this year's awards. Among the hospitality, retail and public spots that've earned some love, dropping by to scope of their interior design is definitely possible. [caption id="attachment_849500" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Genovese Coffee House by Alexander CO. Photography by Anson Smart.[/caption] It helps if you live in Sydney or Melbourne, with spots in New South Wales and Victoria featuring heavily on the shortlists. Starting in the Harbour City, standouts include Genovese Coffee House in Alexandria, Ursula's Paddington, The Woollahra Hotel and The Imperial in the hospo field, and the revamped Theatre Royal Sydney in the public design category. Melbourne's Smith Street Bistrot, Entrecôte Prahran, Yugen Tea Bar, Tokyo Tina, Untitled, Hector's Deli South Melbourne, Ovolo South Yarra, Society, Flower Drum and Yakimono also rank among the places in the running, plus The Lume Melbourne and Victorian Pride Centre. [caption id="attachment_849499" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Fugazzi by studio gram. Photography by Jonathon VDK.[/caption] In Queensland, only six spots have made the cut: homes in Toowong and New Farm, Alba Noosa Providore and Wineism in the retail field, and two workplaces — with the local hospo industry missing out. Elsewhere, Inka Japanese Restaurant in Canberra, and Fugazzi and Arkhé in South Australia join the places in contention. The rundown goes on in all fields, which means that there's no shortage of strikingly designed new, revamped and refurbished places demanding your attention around around the country. This year's winners will be announced in-person at a dinner the Hyatt Regency Sydney on Friday, June 17. For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2022 shortlist, head to the AIDA website. Top images: Society by Russell George. Photography by Sean-Fennessy and Shannon McGrath. / Flower Drum by Studio 103. Photography by Pete-Dillon. / The Imperial by Welsh Major. Photography by Clinton Weaver.
Who better than frank, lively and charismatic First Nations artist Richard Bell to sum up what You Can Go Now is truly about: "I am an activist masquerading as an artist," he offers. The Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang man says this early in Larissa Behrendt's documentary about him, because he and the Eualayai/Gamillaroi After the Apology and Araatika: Rise Up! filmmaker both know how essential and inescapable that truth is. They're not here to reveal that Bell's art is layered with statements. Neither is the feature itself. Rather, in a powerful instant must-see of an Australian doco, they explore and contextualise what it means for Bell to be an activist spreading his advocacy for the country's First Peoples around the world by being an artist, especially when the Aboriginal art realm is so often dominated by white interests. They address and examine not just what Bell's work says but why, what it responds to and how it's significant on a variety of levels, including diving deep into the personal, national and global history — and modern-day reality — informing it. Seeing what Bell's art literally expresses — simply taking it in, as splashed across the screen instead of hanging in a gallery — is still crucial to Behrendt's film, of course. In an array of pieces that frequently use heated words on intricately and colourfully painted canvases, his work utters plenty. "I am not sorry". "Give it all back." "We were here first." "Ask us what we want". "Aboriginal art — it's a white thing." Among these and other declarations, You Can Go Now's title gets a mention, too. Every piece sighted — works that riff on and continue a dialogue with styles synonymous with American artists Roy Lichtenstein and Jackson Pollock among them — conveys Bell's activist-artist raison d'être overtly, unflinchingly and unmistakably. Excellent art doesn't end conversations, however, but continues them, pushes them further and prompts more questions. Not that this is You Can Go Now's main takeaway, but Bell makes excellent art, with Behrendt helping to fuel and unpack the discussion. It's impossible to peer at Bell's work without feeling its anger and frustration, sharing that ire and exasperation as well, and wanting a great many things — more details about his creations, the fair and just treatment of Indigenous Australians that should already be a given anyway, and to live in a world where the nation's traumatic past isn't what it is, for starters. It's also impossible to watch Behrendt's unfurling of the circumstances behind the artist's art, which intertwines Bell's own story, Australia since British colonisation and the fight against racial oppression globally, without appreciating the immense importance of his work. He boasts accolades and international acclaim, but nothing cements the potency of Bell's efforts like Bell. Hearing him talk about his childhood, then witnessing what those formative experiences have inspired: it's what this doco thrives on. So it is that You Can Go Now listens to Bell describe growing up in a tin shack in central Queensland, where he lived until he was a teen, only for it to be bulldozed by the government eight months after the 1967 referendum recognising Indigenous Australians as citizens. In tandem, the movie watches him recreate such a shanty, run it down, film it and play that video piece in another tin shed installed at the Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea in Turin in Italy. With a broader view, You Can Go Now enjoys Bell's paintings of key images from the fights for rights at home and in the US, then shows the photographs that Bell draws upon. And, it steps through the history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy as a protest, plus Bell's replica Embassy — which has been displaying and hosting chats in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Cairns, Moscow, Jakarta, New York, Venice, Kassel in Germany and more, and adds London's famed Tate Modern to its stops in 2023. Also filling this deftly penned, directed, shot (by The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone's Vincent Lamberti) and edited (by 2040's Jane Usher) film: addresses by the infectiously engaging Bell to camera, letting his playful but determined personality shine; text on-screen to emphasise the most pressing takeaways in his monologues; a cast of talking-head interviewees, spanning everyone from his Brisbane gallerist Josh Milani to friend and activist Gary Foley, plus current Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney; and a wealth of archival footage. Behrendt's approach is straightforward, but made dynamic and gripping through her subject, his story, the history behind both and the snippets focused on. And while Bell is an executive producer, ensuring this is his vision of himself, that doesn't make the end result any less thoughtful, passionate or compelling. In the feature's big picture, a portrait emerges of First Nations activism spread across half a century, both heartbreakingly and vitally so. In its Bell-centric guise, so too does a chronicle of activism channelled into his art to keep agitating for change, recognition and a better future. You Can Go Now's snapshot of both is thorough, so much so that it adds another want to its audience's list: wanting more time to sift through it all, something that no lone 82-minute documentary can deliver. Thankfully, this movie has company elsewhere in fellow docos such as Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra and Wash My Soul in the River's Flow. The former hones in on the pioneering and applauded Indigenous dance theatre, the latter on iconic musicians Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach, and both also survey Australia's attitudes towards its Traditional Owners, the creativity such a history has sparked, and how those resulting works are pieces of activism through and through. Indeed, You Can Go Now slides into stellar company, and into an expanding group of Aussie documentaries that will never lose their urgency as similar flicks keep emerging. Not that they can't stand alone, or don't, but You Can Go Now and its cohort actually gain strength from the fact that they're relaying a common tale. The impact of Australia's colonisation, and the prejudice and persecution that has followed, is vast. It always requires constant interrogation and confrontation. Across a life that's traversed gaining a political voice on Redfern's streets, working for the Aboriginal Legal Service, winning the 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, and gatecrashing the 2019 Venice Biennale, too, Bell knows this — and so does this filmic tribute.
Every precinct packed with eateries and bars wants patrons to head by more than once. At Portside, Harry Ohayon and Maxime Bournazel have fulfilled the restaurateur take on that concept: they've opened two venues in this riverside patch of Hamilton. First came Rise Bakery. In October 2024, Mademoiselle arrived. Both adore France — which is what happens when two French friends go into business together. With croissants and pains au chocolat staples of its menu, Rise Bakery has been serving up French fare for years, baking that affection not only into its OG Sanctuary Cove venue, but into the patisserie's Portside spinoff since mid-2023 as well. At Parisian-influenced brasserie Mademoiselle, replicating classic French bistros is in the spotlight. Expect traditional dishes given a modern twist. Rotisserie meats and gourmet salads are a feature of the comfortable and cosy 245-square-metre venue, which takes its design cues from France, of course, under Sydney-based architect Tom Mark Henry. Alongside the devilled eggs with fennel cream and confit prawn, the appetisers include French salami served with ribbons of carrot picked in rosé, plus mussels in garlic and chervil butter, while the entrees range from ham hock terrine and skewered scallops to flash-seared sardines and a cured meat board. For something more substantial, steak frites made with a 300-gram grass-fed sirloin sits alongside duck breast with blackberry and juniper reduction, gnocchi, and the catch of the day poached in an aioli-infused broth with mussels and prawns. Fancy sharing? That's where the rotisserie chicken, which comes in half and full serves, is a handy option. Mademoiselle also does a set menu featuring its showcase chook as one of the mains choices, alongside three entrees for the table and a choice of two desserts. Both the crème brûlée and dark chocolate sauce-topped vanilla ice cream are on offer in the group meal and the standalone menu, with Rise Bakery cakes by the slice and a selection of French cheeses also on the latter. Stop by for lunch from Monday–Friday to pick from a one-, two- or three-course spread from a condensed listing, including Julia Child's salad niçoise, a black angus burger with fries, and warm goat cheese and prosciutto on toast. The drinks selection boasts four pages of wine — champagne, sparkling and rosé included — plus black raspberry margaritas, French martinis, Chambord spritzes and mimosa among the cocktail choices. For a non-boozy sip, two mocktails are available. For seating, you can choose from booths indoors or to go al fresco — and if the concept is a success, the hope is to roll it out beyond Portside, including more Brisbane locations and at the Gold Coast. But each won't be exact copies of the other, with tailoring menus to suit each community that Mademoiselle calls home also the plan. Images: Markus Ravik.
Since 2016, Bruce Munro's spectacular Field of Light has been illuminating Uluru, giving the already-stunning Northern Territory sight an ocean of colour via 50,000 glass lights spread across a 62,500-square-metre area. The glowing multi-hued installation unsurprisingly proved popular, and instantly, first getting extended until 2020 and then being locked in indefinitely — and now the Red Centre is scoring Light-Towers, another dazzling work by the acclaimed artist. Add Light-Towers to your must-see list, and make a date with Kings Canyon to bathe in its radiance. Up and shining since April 2023, it's part of Discovery Resorts, and turns both light and sound into an immersive piece. Like Field of Light, it's also sticking around permanently. This time, Munro has constructed a heap of two-metre towers that change colour, swapping their tones in response to music that echoes from inside each structure. There's a whopping 69 towers spread across a circular pattern, all with Kings Canyon as a backdrop — giving visitors quite the visual and aural experience. Light-Towers' soundscape hails from Orlando Gough, while the work helps mark 40 years since Munro's first visit to the Red Centre. If you're keen to drop by, you can pick between three different types of sessions spanning sunrise, sunset and evening. The first two feature a local guide hosting your visit, plus a food and beverage package. For those attending by night, the Luritja Lookout will have somewhere for you to eat and drink before and after you peer at Munro's latest luminous expanse. The British-born Munro first came up with the idea for Field of Light while visiting Uluru back in 1992. When that artwork was earmarked to become one of the area's ongoing feature, he said that he is "truly honoured that the Field of Light will remain at Uluru". He continued, "the ancient landscape of the Red Centre continues to inspire my thoughts, feelings and ideas that shape my life and work." Since then, Munro has displayed large-scale installations in Darwin and in Albany in Western Australia, and has two more pieces on their way to the New South Wales–Victorian border from late 2023. Find Light-Towers at Discovery Resorts – Kings Canyon, Luritja Road, Petermann, Northern Territory — and head to the resort company's website for bookings and further details. 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.
David Byrne started 2025 by singing and dancing with Robyn at Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary concert, then releasing the Saoirse Ronan (Blitz)-starring first-ever music video for 'Psycho Killer' 48 years after the song's debut. In 2026, he'll kick the year into gear by bringing his latest world tour Down Under in January. The iconic Talking Heads founder and frontman is hitting the road to support his latest record, September 2025 release Who Is the Sky?. In Australia and New Zealand, he's playing his first gigs since 2018, when he brought his American Utopia tour — which none other than Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) turned into a concert flick also called American Utopia, aka one of 2020's absolute best films — this way. In Brisbane and thinking "this must be the place"? You're right: Byrne is venturing to the River City, playing Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday, January 17. If you caught his American Utopia gigs or watched the film, you'll recognise some other familiar faces on the Who Is the Sky? tour. Byrne is taking to the stage with 13 musicians, singers and dancers, some of whom were part of the American Utopia band. Just like in those famous shows, his fellow performers will all be mobile throughout Byrne's latest set. Like tour, like album: Who Is the Sky? isn't just Byrne's first set of live gigs since American Utopia, but also his first record since that Grammy-winning release came out in 2018. Launching on Friday, September 5, 2025 — with first single 'Everybody Laughs' out now — the new album features St Vincent, Paramore's Hayley Williams, The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and American Utopia percussionist Mauro Refosco among its guests. Byrne has long been a must-see live performer — and there's long been filmic proof of that fact. Forty-two years ago this December, he made concert film history with Talking Heads when he walked out onto a Hollywood stage with a tape deck, pressed play and, while standing there solo, began to sing 'Psycho Killer'. Then-future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme directed cameras his way, recording the results for Stop Making Sense. [caption id="attachment_1008708" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shervin Lainez[/caption] Live images: Raph_PH via Flickr.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we go to Novotel Wollongong Northbeach, where we are putting up guests who book one of our epic For The Love VIP packages. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This four-and-a-half-star hotel looks out over the picturesque North Wollongong Beach and lighthouse. It's one of the very best places to stay in the area, giving you easy access to local walking trails and swim spots as well as the thriving night life. THE ROOMS The rooms themselves aren't super flash, but they don't really need to be when you have sea views like this. In the morning, grab a seat on your private balcony, breathe in some sea air and watch Wollongong wake up — with the long stretch of coastline your backdrop. Gorge. Each of the 209 spacious rooms have all the necessities too. Air conditioning (a must for summer), a flat screen television, free wifi, a large desk (if you need to work) and a mini bar on demand. Just be aware that not all rooms have those stunning sea views — you'll need to choose one when booking. FOOD AND DRINK Novotel Wollongong Northbeach knows how to entertain. It has four separate bars, each with its own unique menu and level of formality. The Adrift Pool Bar consists of several white wooden booths and a few cute rattan tables set up around the heated pool. The best bit? Fresh seafood and classic cocktails are served out here. Hang out with some locals and fellow travellers at the public Pepe's on the Beach — where you can hire out your own cabana for the day. Or go for something a little more refined at North Bar. An impressive selection of wines adorn this drinks list, alongside a few specialty cocktails and top-shelf spirits. And when the sun goes down, American-style The Frisky Flamingo is the place to be — dress up and start your night out at this glam drinking den. THE LOCAL AREA Yes, you have so many places to eat and drink at Novotel Wollongong Northbeach, but you'd be a fool to spend all your time wining and dining. Either walk down to the beach or seaside pool for an ideal summer jaunt or head to some of the nearby walking trails along the coast to see even more of this gorgeous coastline. Boutique stores, local restaurants and all other town centre necessities are only a short walk away — with a free bus available right outside the hotel for those who want to have a chill one. If you're about to spend a day partying at For The Love, the bus is for you. [caption id="attachment_882178" align="alignnone" width="1920"] North Bar[/caption] Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
There's nothing small about Dark Mofo, the wintry music and arts festival hosted by the Museum of Old and New Art. With everything from rainbows to the Chernobyl score played live in an immersive industrial setting on its initial 2022 program — a doll house, The Kid LAROI, tunes from Candyman, Jónsi from Sigur Rós and 100 artists from 30 countries, too — that's definitely the case this year. But its hefty lineup so far just wasn't enough, it seems, so the fest has gone and added a slew of new shows. Among the newly announced additions: an afterparty following the Reclamation Walk on opening night, headlined by Briggs and Emma Donovan & The Putbacks; Japanese quartet Chai, busting out euphoric live tunes neo kawaii-style; queer dance party Club Mince, which'll take over two floors at Hobart's Altar; and three-night dance party Night Garden at the fest's In The Hanging Garden venue. [caption id="attachment_854706" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image courtesy of the artist, and Dark Mofo 2022.[/caption] Or, there's also a special tribute gig focusing on Ukraine — called With Ukraine, in fact — by musician and Mona's resident composer Dean Stevenson with his Arco Set Orchestra. It'll commit commit $10,000 of proceeds from the performance to charity Voices of Children, which assists Ukrainian children and families affected by the Russian invasion. And, the aforementioned Chernobyl score performances will also donate funds to the people of Ukraine, too. Other new highlights on the bill span more Mona Up Late, rapper Birdz sharing the stage with DENNI and her synth-driven hip hop, Shady Nasty with 208L Containers and Threats, and Import Export: The Dark Sessions — a showcase of Tassie talent presented by Ben Salter. [caption id="attachment_800593" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hunniford[/caption] Arriving unexpectedly — think of it as Dark Mofo bonus — this is the third batch of program announcements for the fest, after it dropped the first highlights for this year's fest back in March. Accordingly, all of the above also joins the previously announced Kim Gordon, who'll bust out songs from her 2019 solo release No Home Record; Berlin-based composer and producer Nils Frahm playing Music For Hobart; and Spiritualized, Deafheaven and American multi-instrumentalist Lingua Ignota. And yes, that's just a taste of what awaits at the Tasmanian festival. Dark Mofo will run from Wednesday, June 8–Wednesday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the festival website. Top image: DarkLab/Jesse Hunniford, 2019. Image Courtesy DarkLab, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Like a stack of Melbourne's large cultural institutions, the National Gallery of Victoria has temporarily shut its doors to the public in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19. But, you can now feast on some of the NGV's art offerings from afar, thanks to its newly-launched virtual programming. A series of online galleries, virtual exhibition tours and eBooks are now free to access via the NGV's website and social media channels. And if you're having a crack at the whole social distancing thing, or stuck in self-isolation, that's a serious boredom-busting win. Over on the new NGV Channel, punters will find a growing haul of virtual content to explore. Right now, you can join a free, curator-led tour of Collecting Comme and the NGV's Indigenous art collection Marking Time. From Saturday, March 21, you'll be able to digitally explore around KAWS: Companionship In The Age Of Loneliness and then, from Saturday, March 28, Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines. [caption id="attachment_742493" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kaws, What Party (2019) photo by Tom Ross[/caption] On the NGV app, there are also guided tours of NGV International and NGV Australia artworks, narrated by curators, artists and special guests. Thanks to a lengthy digitisation project, much of the 75,000-strong NGV Collection is also online for your viewing pleasure, so you can take a peek at the likes of the Spirit of Herbarium couture dress by Maria Grazia Chiuri for Christian Dior, or Katsushika Hokusai's 1830 piece The great wave off Kanagawa. It's easy to search by artist or artwork name, and even boasts a few pieces that aren't usually accessible. Those craving some new reading material can dig even deeper with a bunch of new eBooks and curatorial essays available free online, exploring exhibitions like Collecting Comme and Japanese Modernism. In a first, the almost 60-year-long back catalogue of Art Journal of the National Gallery of Victoria is also yours to browse at your own pace online. And don't forget, there's a whole lot more going on over on the NGV's socials and under the hashtag #NGVEveryDay, with regular insight videos and mini talks from the curators. Top image: Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines, NGV. Photo by Tom Ross.
So, you're in Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide. You love music festivals. You've been watching the winter avalanche of lineup drops for this coming summer. Been eyeing off the Beyond The Valley bill? Lost Paradise's roster of talents? Can't make it to Victoria or New South Wales? That's not the only reason to get excited about Wildlands' return for 2024–25 — but it's one of them. This dance music, electronic and hip hop fest is known to share its big names with fellow festivals around Australia — and its latest round of events, which will kick off in Brisbane to celebrate New Year's Eve 2024, is no different. Accordingly, Fisher, Ice Spice, Chase & Status, Marlon Hoffstadt, Tinashe and Royel Otis are among the acts that now have dates locked in with Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Across all three cities, Lola Young and BARKAA will also take to the stage. Everywhere but Adelaide, Sammy Virji, Wilkinson, RL Grime, Becky Hill, Horsegiirl, Confidence Man and Joy (Anonymous) are on the list as well, as are Malugi, Sam Alfred, Hannah Laing, Issey Cross, Messie, Little Fritter, Sammythesinner, Moss and Djanaba. Just in Brisbane, there's two more talents: 1tbsp and Girlthing. It's now been five years since Brisbane first welcomed Wildlands to the city, with the teams behind Victoria's Beyond The Valley and Perth's Origin Fields fests giving the Sunshine State a big new summer party. Then, it was over the summer of 2022–23 that the festival expanded to Perth and Adelaide as well, taking care of three cities that might've missed its impressive lineup otherwise. As always in the River City, Brisbane Showgrounds is the destination to mark NYE at the fest. After that, Wildlands welcomes in 2024 on Saturday, January 4 at HBF Arena Parklands, Joondalup and Sunday, January 5 at Ellis Park, Adelaide. Wildlands 2024–25 Lineup: All cities: Fisher Ice Spice Chase & Status Marlon Hoffstadt Tinashe Royel Otis Lola Young BARKAA Brisbane and Perth only: Sammy Virji Wilkinson RL Grime Becky Hill Horsegiirl Confidence Man Joy (Anonymous) Malugi Sam Alfred Hannah Laing Issey Cross Messie Little Fritter Sammythesinner Moss Djanaba Brisbane only: 1tbsp Girlthing Wildlands 2024–25 Dates and Venues: Tuesday, December 31, 2024 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Saturday, January 4, 2025 — HBF Arena Parklands, Joondalup Sunday, January 5, 2025 — Ellis Park, Adelaide Wildlands will hit Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide across December 2024–January 2025. Head to the festival website for further details and tickets — including registering for presales, which start at 6pm local time on Wednesday, September 4. Wildlands images: Jordan Munn, Bianca Holderness and Daniel Marks.
You've probably already heard of WeWork, the international coworking movement. They have 230 coworking spaces around the world. In 2016, they opened their first coworking venture in Sydney and they've just thrown the doors on their first massive Melbourne space in the London Stores building. Located on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Street, the WeWork office is a little bit fancy with some distinct Melbourne flair. And when we say massive, we mean massive. With six floors and space for more than 700 creatives to shack up and compete for funniest coffee mug, it's set to become the hippest place to work in Melbourne. But don't expect a cookie-cutter corporate office that will put you to sleep. The interior was designed, interestingly, by graphic designer Sui Yao, and has been decorated by Australia artists Georgia Hill, Mik Shida and FunSkull. With an open-air terrace, and an endless supply of kombucha, nitro cold drip coffee and fruit-infused water, you won't mind staying late at work. So, what kind of perks can you expect from a coworking space? The best part of coworking (apart from meeting likeminded folk and working in a beautiful office) is the events. You can schmooze at ample networking dos, lunch and learn sessions, happy hours, and even yoga and massage events. The WeWork system also gives members access to each other at locations across the globe, like your own in-real-life LinkedIn. The Elizabeth Street location is taking enquiries now and WeWork have already announced a second venue, opening 2018, on Collins Street. WeWork Melbourne, located at 152 Elizabeth Street in the CBD, is open now.
In this day and age, sustainability is no longer a 'nice to have'. Fortunately, it has also never been easier to incorporate environmentally responsible ethos and practices into daily life. The BCG economy (bio, circular, green) has led to the creation of products on the cutting edge of sustainability and will be the focus of the Naturally Good Expo happening at the Sydney ICC on Monday, June 5 and Tuesday, June 6. A series of brands and products to be showcased at the Expo are part of the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce's initiative positioning the nation as a global leader in sustainable products and designs that have been conceived and manufactured in Thailand for a global audience. To spread the good (and green) word of this initiative, we've gathered some examples of brands leading the charge toward the products of a greener future. 103 PAPER One material that is an issue in the recyclable world is paper. Waste paper is an issue worldwide — the average Australian will use and dispose of an enormous 230kg of paper products yearly. But imagine seeing your discarded paper and cardboard being used to make a sleek designer ceramics. Imagine no more, because that's the mission of 103 Paper, a team that takes mountains of waste paper and transforms the material into 'paper clay' to be crafted into beautiful ceramic designs. It's a step up from Papier-mâché crafting and the attractive products speak for themselves. LABRADOR Cheap manufacturing is responsible for a lot more than we care to admit. Designer products are often made with a quantity over quality mindset, leading to more waste than product and frequently underwhelming products at that. Thai leather design brand Labrador is on a mission to change that with a quality product born from a sustainable mindset. Each product is handmade in a purpose-designed factory under the principle of 'truth to material', so every product is made from quality raw material with a circular waste process. Nothing goes unrecycled here. Everyone wins — and the gear looks great. QUALY DESIGN Looking at a plastic product, it's easy to imagine that it fails to meet any sustainability standard. But there is such a thing as circular design in plastic products. Qualy Design creates all its products with a circular design mindset so they're made out of recycled plastic with upcycled designs (meaning it's better than the original design of the material) and can easily be recycled upon disposal. Qualy Design creates plenty of products to choose from including mugs, vases, coasters, clocks, stationary, furniture and more, all in a pleasing aesthetic. RUBBER IDEA CO Rubber is a major contributor to many waste issues worldwide. Firstly, it's harvested from limited natural sources and used in hundreds of applications with a great deal of those going straight to waste. In Australia, we waste over 450,000 tons of rubber annually in tyres alone. In Thailand, the Rubber Idea Co is working to combat the issue of rubber waste in one form: gloves. Rubber gloves are a common sight, but the circular design philosophy of RIC guides them in recycling the surplus material of glove production into creating multi-purpose rubber bags and other products. Whether it's shopping, work or style you need it for, there's a bag for you here. UPCYDE One of the more serious waste issues often ignored due to the distance between it and recyclable materials is that of food waste. Food and agricultural waste are among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Fruit farmers and food processing groups must also spend large sums to dispose of plant waste safely. Upcyde is tackling that issue head-on by taking agricultural waste like banana skin, lime peel, coir, pineapple leaves and spent coffee grounds from farmers and manufacturers to be developed into plant-based leather. That leather is then taken and used to create products for fashion, homewares and more. Really impressive. KHRAMER Indigo is a colour to dye for. Sorry, couldn't resist. That unmistakable deep blue colour is traced back to the indigo root, a plant that significantly influences Thai farming communities. Farmers in the town of Sakon Nakorn harvest the trees, using them to make dye to colour fabrics and also protect them from the harsh subtropical sun by keeping them cool and sunburn-free. Contemporary skincare brand Khramer knows the town well, and took inspiration from the local community and their use of all plant elements. Khramer uses the tree's roots, discarded in dye making, to apply the numerous benefits of indigo plants to skincare products. The result is traditional skincare benefits made through contemporary sustainable thinking. MANTRA FOOD If you're one of the millions who watched — and despaired — over Seaspiracy on Netflix, you're aware of the risk we pose to our oceans. Decades of overfishing and irresponsible practices have put one of our most essential resources in incredible danger. And as much as we love good fish and chips, we need to start considering where we get our food. Enter Mantra Food, they've taken to the increasingly popular trend of plant-based meat alternatives with plant-based seafood. These alternatives are packed with pea protein and offer high nutritional value, can last up to a year-and-a-half when stored at certain temperatures, and deal zero damage to our oceans. Keen to explore more sustainable brands? For more information, visit the DITP website, or explore more of Thailand's incredible creative scene here. Or, visit the Naturally Good Expo when it comes to Sydney on Monday, June 5 and Tuesday, June 6 in the ICC, find the above products and more at booth D20.
Every phrase has to start somewhere, and "you had me at hello" started with Jerry Maguire. When it's uttered by Renée Zellweger to Tom Cruise, it's one of those big on-screen moments that lovers of romantic comedy-dramas will still be talking about decades from now — as they have been for the nearly quarter-century since the Cameron Crowe-directed movie first arrived on screens. Everyone knows that aforementioned piece of dialogue, and the film's other catchy line: "show me the money". You might recall that Cuba Gooding Jr won an Oscar for his supporting performance, too. But you may not always remember how astutely the feature steps through its narrative, spinning a story about a sports agent who has an epiphany about the ruthless business he's in, decides that both him and the entire industry should do better, subsequently gets fired from his high-paying job and then goes out on his own.
All year, you might have been bookmarking, dog-earing, Evernoting, Goodreads-saving a towering pile of books to read with all that spare time you never seem to properly find on a weekend. It's often a lofty idea, spending a few hours, hours, doing nothing but perusing a solid narrative on your sand-flecked beach towel, shaded by your nifty new beach tent. But folks, summer's officially in full swing and unless you work in radio broadcasting or public transport you're probably about to land yourself with a good few days of holiday lazing. Grab one of our favourite new releases and make yourself comfortable — we've been churning through Man Booker Prize winners, hilarious biographies and homegrown coming-of-age tales aplenty. THE SELLOUT — PAUL BEATTY For a book recommendation you can trust (sorry lusty Aunt Beryl) you won't be disappointed by this year's Man Booker Prize winner The Sellout by Paul Beatty. The plot follows an African American's plight to reinstitute segregation and slavery into his hometown of Dickens (yes, you heard that correctly.) Naturally, it's a satire and Beatty uses his well-developed wit to broach the thornier issues of racial identity, injustice and legacy. Hilarious, sometimes uncomfortably so. Get it before it does actually sell out. — Erina Starkey DO NOT SAY WE HAVE NOTHING BY MADELEINE THIEN If you don't know much about China's Cultural Revolution, you're not alone. It's been half a century since the movement was launched by then-chairman of the Communist Party Mao Zedong, and accounts of what actually happened are hazy; many of them have been suppressed or altered. Madeleine Thien's new novel delves into one part of this tragic time in history, namely the persecution of musicians at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The book switches between the narration of Li-ling, who is growing up in Vancouver in the '80s and '90s, and the complicated narrative of her father's life in China during the revolution she is piecing together after his death. For such tragic subject matter, Thien is incredibly eloquent and at times even surreal in her writing. It results in a book that is one hell of a compelling read as well as an important incidental history lesson. — Lauren Vadnjal THANKS FOR THE MONEY: HOW TO USE MY LIFE STORY TO BECOME THE BEST JOEL MCHALE YOU CAN BE BY JOEL MCHALE Have you been holding back, not fully realising your potential as the best Joel McHale you can possibly be? Well, put your own unique personality aside for a high-achieving second and brush up on life skills from the Hollywood gadabout behind Community's Jeff Winger. This tell-all memoir's so ambitious and life affirming, it has a trailer. Watch it, or perish in your Joel-McHale-machete-slicing-a-watermelon-midair-less existence. Chapters delve into boyhood head injuries, almost killing Chevy Chase and parental sex lives — you've been warned. — Shannon Connellan THE SECRET HISTORY OF TWIN PEAKS BY MARK FROST It's happening again. That show you love really is coming back in style. Twin Peaks fans have waited 25 years to dive back into David Lynch and Mark Frost's television show, and while the third season won't reach screens until 2017, the latter has gifted us the perfect stopgap. Every one of The Secret History of Twin Peaks' 362 pages is filled with a dossier of details, secrets, and other tidbits that make the town, its mysteries and its eccentric inhabitants even more intriguing (and, just like the owls, little here is what it seems). As a bonus, why not pick up a copy of unauthorised Twin Peaks cookbook Damn Fine Cherry Pie too, and get some Twin Peaks-themed kitchen inspiration. Cherry doughnuts, fish percolator supper or fire walk hot tea smoked salmon, anyone? — Sarah Ward SWING TIME BY ZADIE SMITH Swing Time, Zadie Smith's latest novel, sees the award-winning author trying a few new things. It's her first book with a first-person narrator and it's set partly in West Africa — a departure from her other novels that are primarily set in the US and UK. Like all Smith's books, Swing Time offers a poignant reflection on the messy nature of human relationships and asks a lot of thought-provoking questions. Lyrical, witty, and enthralling, this is a holiday read you won't be able to put down. — Yelena Bide SEINFELDIA BY JENNIFER ARMSTRONG Seinfeldia is a tribute to those who erect a festivus pole every December. It's for people who can't look at a marbled rye loaf without feeling awkward. It's for those of us who make subtle references to the Bubble Boy, the Soup Nazi and the anti-dentite as if its the most natural thing in the world. Written by Jennifer Armstrong, Seinfeldia documents the evolution of one of the most popular sitcoms to grace our TV screens. Armstrong examines its progression from banter in a Korean supermarket, to an unknown struggling sitcom at the risk of cancellation, to the show that has permeated its way into popular culture, decades after it was conceived. The book examines the real-life inspirations for the quartet, and the evolution of the characters (ahem) quirks, as well as the one-off characters who built their careers around their Seinfeld roles. — Natalie Freeland ROLLING BLACKOUTS BY SARAH GLIDDEN Rolling Blackouts is comics-journalism nonfiction by author and artist Sarah Glidden, who follows her news-gathering friends from the Seattle Globalist across 2010-era Turkey, Iraq and Syria. Glidden's reporting flips the camera, showing the harsh dilemmas involved in covering people in danger, working low-budget news and pushing distant editors to publish unsexy, important stories. But this meta-journalism approach is strongest when it takes you behind the scenes of actually getting interviews: the interviewees' aspirations and desperation in talking to reporters, their misgivings and rational anger. Parts road trip, reportage and quick-read comic. — Zacha Rosen THE RED WAKE BY KURT JOHNSON Russia and the USSR is an area that has always felt complex, gritty and interesting to me, and with some old Cold War sentiment creeping back into the news I was super glad to find myself working on a book that took me right to its red heart. The Red Wake draws you in with personal anecdotes and beautiful description and sends you on your way knowing a hell of a lot more about the complicated social and political history of the area, in the style of Anna Funder's Stasiland. More than anything, this book made me want to travel around Russia and the 'Stans, through bleak grey towns still riddled with the bullets of uprisings, to the ruins of Pripyat near Chernobyl, to try to catch a glimpse of a rocket launch in the Kazakh desert, and to a town where abandoned fishing trawlers sit on the now dry bed of the Aral Sea, a gulag or two in the distance. — Lex Hirst (Disclaimer: Lex Hirst works for Penguin Random House, the publisher of this book.) OUR MAGIC HOUR — JENNIFER DOWN Our Magic Hour, the debut novel from Melbourne writer Jennifer Down, is an affecting story of the harsh realisations occasioned by our mid-twenties. Audrey, a cool girl in the truest sense, loses her best friend to suicide, and travels from Melbourne to Sydney and back again, in a journey that mimics her attempts to grasp and process this life-altering event. Down writes equally of significant moments and unremarkable days with sparing beauty. Particularly adept at depiction of place, Down made me wonder if I hadn't sat across from Audrey on the train to Redfern, bumped elbows with her at a bar in Bondi. Down is the kind of writer that you'll be lucky to get on at the ground floor with, she is only going up. — Maggie Thompson. HOT MILK — DEBORAH LEVY Set in the small coastal town of Almería in Southern Spain, amidst the hot desert sand and jellyfish-filled ocean, Hot Milk follows Sophie and her mother Rose as they visit the famed Dr Gomez and his assistant Nurse Sunshine in the hope of uncovering the mystery of Rose's ailing health. This hard-to-put-down novel has a hilarious undertone of sly humour, an enigmatic cast of characters, and a vividly painted landscape that will ensure that even if you can't make it to the beach this summer, Hot Milk will take you there. It's a cracker. — Katie Mayor. HONOURABLE MENTION: FAT BRAD: THE COOKBOOK BY LONG PRAWN Have you ever noticed how much Brad Pitt eats in his movies? He's like some sort of human garbage disposal, slamming down burgers, cookies, chips, Twinkies and whatever else he can find into his (perfect) cakehole. He eats without restraint, without delicacy, as we all should sometimes, and for that reason he's the central figure in a new cookbook called (appropriately but incorrectly) Fat Brad. The team from Long Prawn have collaborated on the project with photographer Ben Clement, PractiseStudioPractise, Tristan Ceddia, Ali Currey-Voumard and Mietta Coventry. The cookbook is a tongue-in-cheek collection of recipes based on Brad's most iconic food moments on film. You'll find instructions for a knuckle sandwich (Fight Club), game bird with taters and Guinness gravy (Snatch), Bellagio Shrimp Cocktail (Ocean's 11), roast turkey drumstick and Grecian salad (Troy) and bloodied roast (Mr and Mrs Smith) amongst others. As well as being straight-up hilarious, the Fat Brad cookbook is also just a really good looking (like its namesake) addition to your cookbook shelf. It's the first in a series of pop culture cookbooks by the Long Prawn crew, so keep an eye out and grab your Fat Brad: The Cookbook here. — Imogen Baker
Visitors to NSW's Royal National Park may be treated to a rare spotting of an iconic Australian animal on their next visit, with nine platypuses set to be reintroduced to the park. This marks the first time the species has called the area home in 50 years. Five female platypuses were introduced this past week, with four males set to join them once the females have successfully established their territory. Originally announced back in 2021, the project is the first-ever translocation program for platypuses in NSW, coming from collaborative work between NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, UNSW Sydney and WWF-Australia. "Shy and enigmatic, platypus are the silent victims of climate change. While their elusive behaviour keeps them from view, under the surface they are particularly susceptible to drought and environmental change," says Taronga Conservation Society Australia's Cameron Kerr. [caption id="attachment_824577" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Platypus Conservation Initiative[/caption] "This translocation not only re-establishes a population in part of their former range but allows us to refine the skills and expertise that will inevitably be required to counter the impacts of increasingly frequent and more severe climate events." The nine duck-billed pioneers were collected from southern NSW before being given health checks and fitted with transmitters at Taronga Zoo's platypus refugee. UNSW and WWF-Australia will now monitor the animals in order to determine whether the reintroduction is a success. The project was started after a 2020 UNSW study that found that the areas where platypuses live in Australia has shrunk by 22 percent in the last three decades. WWF-Australia's Rewilding Program Manager Rob Brewster says: "The last century saw the destruction of so much of Australia's wildlife and wild places. The return of platypus to the Royal National Park shows that we can move beyond just protecting what remains, and actually restore what we've lost." Please enjoy the below videos of the critters being released: @unsw Platypuses will paddle through the Royal National Park for the first time in 50 years thanks to conservation efforts by scientists from UNSW's Platypus Conservation Initiative, @tarongazoo, @wwf_australia and @nswnationalparks ♬ today was a good day - ✗ @unsw I'm so proud of you Kylie 🥲#platypus ♬ original sound - kardashianshulu You'll find more information about the platypus reintroduction project at the NSW Government website.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. At the risk of sounding like your mum, going to the Whitsundays at some point during the next few bitter, blustery months would be for your own good. After all, you need your Vitamin D. The cocktails with sunset views, impossibly white sand, high-speed catamarans, winter spa specials, underwater adventures and breaching whales are simply added bonuses. Here's five reasons to make like a migratory creature and head for the heat. SOAK UP SOME VITAMIN D As difficult as it might be to believe, one-third of we Aussies are Vitamin D deficient. What's more, to inject minimum requirements of the stuff into your diet, you need to drink at least ten tall glasses of fortified milk every day. That's a fair bit of pressure on both you and your pet cow, right? Fortunately, there's a much more palatable alternative: jump on a plane and spend some time baring all under the Whitsundays sun, where, right now, the average temperature is 22°C. In fact, 34.8 percent of holidaymakers say that hitting the beach is their hottest winter activity, 29.2 percent seek out new cultures, 24.7 percent just want to laze by the pool and 9.3 percent are after cool cocktails. Speed up your Vit D intake with a GoDo Whitehaven Beach sailing adventure, which involves some super-fast sailing on the luxury catamaran Camira. SWAP HOT CHOCOLATES FOR TROPICAL COCKTAILS Many of us try to make the frosty, shivery months more digestible by wrapping our mittens around a hot chocolate, snuggling up in a corner somewhere and telling ourselves it'll be over soon. But, thanks to the fact that the Whitsundays are just a hop, skip and a jump away (in plane terms), you could be swapping your cocoa for a cocktail, within hours from now. For poolside beverages, there's The Hamilton Island Reef View Hotel, and for a strawberry and orange Summer Love cocktail, complete with sunset views, you can head to One Tree Hill, Hamilton's stunning hilltop lookout. INDULGE AND GET PAMPERED Is winter doing for your skin what Budget 2014 is doing for the arts? Leaving it drier and more forlorn than a lone penguin in Antarctica? You could stay where you are, pinning cucumbers to your eyes and moisturising like there's no tomorrow, or you could head to Airlie Beach. Endota at Pinnacles Resort and Spa currently has a weekday spa special going on and one of the best things about it is that once you've renewed and rejuvenated, you can get dreamy on their private verandah staring out at the Coral Sea and the Whitsunday Islands for as long as you like. SEE THE UNDERWATER WORLD The teenage temperatures that Australia's southern waters reach in July and August are only fit for hardcore surfers, Bondi Icebergers and masochists. The rest of us have to give up, accept the limitations of a terrestrial existence and wait. But on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, the water temperature hardly ever drops below 23 degrees. Yes, 23! So you can go underwater with Nemo and his friends in comfort all year round, whether you want to snorkel or scuba dive. SPOT A WHALE Whales have been around long enough to have figured out a thing or two. That's why they don't waste time hanging around in freezing cold water getting grumpy; they head for where the central heating's on full. Between July and October every year, you'll see them breaching around the Whitsundays, making occasional visits to the Great Barrier Reef and generally having a fine old time mucking about with their babies. Book your Whitsundays getaway now with Wotif.com.
Heading to Marvel Stadium at Melbourne's Docklands usually means watching a game of AFL. Or, you could be hitting up the venue to see a gig. Moseying beneath the space to wander around an underground light show and labyrinth definitely isn't normally on the cards. That'll change come winter, with the city's Firelight Festival returning for 2024 — and, for the first time, bringing the Firelight Labyrinth with it. The fest itself is a three-day affair over the last weekend in June, running from Friday, June 28–Sunday, June 30 at New Quay Promenade, Victoria Promenade and Harbour Esplanade. On the agenda, as in past years: fire performers, fire pits, fire drums, flame jets, fire arches and fire sculptures. There'll also be live music, African drumming, and an array of stomach-warming food and drink options — such as dumplings, smoked meats, paella, churros and hot chocolates. Flame-filled arts — and bites to feast on and beverages to sip while you're enjoying them — aren't the only drawcard this year, though. Cue more than 144,000 lights beaming beneath Marvel Stadium, with the labyrinth sticking around for over two weeks from Friday, June 28–Sunday, July 14. Accordingly, this year's Firelight Festival is also a huge tourist attraction for locals and visitors alike, especially if you want to see a key Aussie Rules venue in a new light — literally. As well as all of those sources of luminousness, the Firelight Labyrinth will feature immersive audio, making the experience an audio-visual maze. While the festival is free to attend — you'll need your wallet for whatever you eat and drink — the Firelight Labyrinth is ticketed, costing $37.50 for adults. "The festival is a firecracker for the local economy — injecting $4.7 million last year in three days. We're expecting to see double the support for traders this winter with the Firelight Labyrinth experience spanning 17 days," said Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp. "Firelight Festival is a beacon of light for Docklands' traders — driving 100,000 visitors to the precinct in 2023, creating 700 jobs, and delivering a smouldering serving of arts and culture on Melbourne's stunning waterfront," added Activation portfolio lead Councillor Roshena Campbell. Firelight Festival will take over Docklands nightly from Friday, June 28–Sunday, June 30, with the Firelight Labyrinth running from Friday, June 28–Sunday, July 14. For further details — and presale tickets from Wednesday, May 1, then general tickets from Thursday, May 2 — head to the festival's website.
Brisbane's craft beer scene is about to score a very high-profile new addition, with legendary Scottish brewer BrewDog opening its state-of-the-art $30 million brewery and taproom in Murarrie next month. First announced in February last year, these new riverside digs, dubbed DogTap Brisbane, are set to be nothing short of grand. As well as a brewing and canning facility, the space will be home to a 485-square-metre patio, a taproom, an arcade games area, a beer cellar in a shipping container, a beer shop and a restaurant. Inside, you'll find blue leather booths and high wooden benches, while a giant wraparound artwork by artist Craig Fisher will star on the building's exterior. The brand's first brewery outside of the USA and the UK, the Brisbane operation will be crafting all of BrewDog's core beers — like the Dead Pony Club pale ale, the Jet Black Heart and the Punk IPA — alongside a selection of small-batch creations designed especially for local beer drinkers. A barrel-ageing facility will also be on site, where a number of Australian-only, wood-aged brews will be created. While the taproom is expected to open in November this year, BrewDog's first Australian-made beers aren't expected to hit the shelves until January 2020. But you won't find just BrewDog at the sprawling riverside spot. Across its 28 taps, the DogTap will also showcase plenty of locally grown hops, including brews from Range Brewing, Currumbin Valley Brewing, Balter, Aether, Brouhaha and Black Hops. A solid lineup of all-Aussie wines will be available, too, as will some local spirits and soft drinks. Alongside the booze, there'll be BrewDog's classic American diner food, such as burgers, hot dogs and buffalo wings, as well as a Brisbane-only selection of Korean-style chicken wings, calamari and barramundi fritters. And, as it's Australia, the brewery will also serve brunch — with the likes of chicken waffles and eggs benny expected to make the cut. DogTap Brisbane is slated to open this November at 77 Metroplex Avenue, Murarrie, Queensland. Its first beers are set to hit the shelves in January 2020.
If high-concept horror nasties get you grinning even when you're squirming, recoiling or peeking through your fingers, then expect Smile to live up to its name — in its first half, at least. A The Ring-meets-It Follows type of scarefest with nods to the Joker thrown in, it takes its titular term seriously, sporting one helluva creepy smirk again and again. The actual face doing the ghoulish beaming can change, and does, but the evil Cheshire Cat-esque look on each dial doesn't. Where 2011's not-at-all spooky The Muppets had a maniacal laugh, Smile does indeed possess a maniacal, skin-crawling, nightmare-inducing leer. In the film, the first character to chat about it, PhD student Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey, Bridge and Tunnel), explains it as "the worst smile I have ever seen in my life". She's in a hospital, telling psychiatrist Rose Cotter (Mare of Easttown's Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick), who clearly thinks she's hallucinating. But when the doctor sees that grin herself, she immediately knows that Laura's description couldn't be more accurate. Toothy, deranged, preternaturally stretched and also frozen in place, the smile at the heart of Smile isn't easily forgotten — not that Rose need worry about that. Soon, it's haunting her days and nights by interrupting her work, and seeing her act erratically with patients to the concern of her boss (Kal Penn, Clarice). Rose upsets a whole party at her nephew's birthday, too, and makes her fiancé Trevor (Jessie T Usher, The Boys) have doubts about their future. There's a backstory: Rose's mother experienced mental illness, which is why she's so passionate about her work and her sister Holly (Gillian Zinser, The Guilty) is so dismissive. There's a backstory to the diabolical frown turned upside down also, which she's quickly trying to unravel with the help of her cop ex Joel (Kyle Gallner, Scream). She has to; Laura came to the hospital for assistance after her professor saw the smile first, then started beaming it, then took his own life in front of her — and now Rose is in the same situation. It springs from debut feature writer/director Parker Finn's own 2020 short film Laura Hasn't Slept, but given how quickly Smile's nods to other horror flicks come — and how blatant they are — it's hardly astonishing how little in its narrative comes as a surprise. A malignant terror spreading virally on sight? A single-minded pursuer that can hop bodies, but always chases its new target with unyielding focus? Yes, as already mentioned, a J-horror franchise and its American remake are owed a huge debt, as is David Robert Mitchell's breakout 2014 hit. And yes, there's no way not to think of a certain Batman adversary each time that eerily exaggerated smirk flashes (given how many times the Joker has featured on-screen, it's downright inescapable). But when Smile is smiling — not just plastering that unnerving grin far and wide, but frequently directing it straight at the camera (and audience) — the fear is real. It's an odd experience, the feeling of knowing how obvious every aspect of a movie's narrative is, yet still having it spark a physical reaction. Finn deploys jump-scares that do genuinely invite jumps. His film goes dark and grim in its look and atmosphere, tensely so, and with cinematographer Charlie Sarroff (Relic) adoring soft, restrained lighting that one imagines the realm between life and death could have. He knows when to let a moment and a shot hang, teasing out the inevitable but still making sure the payoff is felt. And, among all of that, the mood is Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar)-level bleak. The biggest kudos goes to (and the biggest responses come from) that hellish expression that could pop up anywhere on anyone, though. When Smile stops smiling, it's a blander movie — and although the fact that much of it is spliced together from elsewhere, and what isn't is largely generic, doesn't ever slip from view, that's also when the feature gets heftier. A movie that gets its main eerie motif shocking and scaring to a spine-tingling degree, has enough technical nuts and bolts working as well, but ticks oh-so-many recognisable boxes otherwise, can also have something weighty to ponder — and Smile is that movie. Wading through trauma and its longterm effects is a horror genre favourite, with this film's version ruminating on the way that childhood struggles haunt with unshakeable and infernal malevolence. Making that force visible through a suicide-inducing, chomper-baring spirit isn't subtle, but nothing brandishing Smile's smile is overly trying to be. Layering in multiple generations multiple times in multiple ways is an effective touch, too. Still, Finn always seems to be playing with the easiest pieces and emotions, and making the easiest moves; those different instances of trauma, spread across lead, supporting and bit-part characters, also scream of dropping as many breadcrumbs as possible for potential sequels. Smile will likely start a franchise — it has the bones to, even just with its twisted lips and the notion that distressing formative incidences leave a mark. Those smirks can keep adorning and plaguing other faces, and that pain can keep bubbling up. That said, anyone who follows in Bacon's footsteps will have a task ahead of them, especially in conveying how seeing the unhinged grin frazzles and wearies. Aided by camera placement and lighting, Smile's protagonist does indeed come across as a woman fraying in every aspect of her expression and her physicality. Watch enough horror movies and you'll know that showing extreme alarm too often comes down to widening eyes, an agape jaw and a bloodcurdling shriek in by-the-numbers fare; however, there's palpable exhaustion in Bacon's performance that speaks not just to being terrified but tired of spending a life battling many kinds of demons. Gallner's sturdy support also leaves an imprint, and one of Smile's actual surprises comes if you're a Veronica Mars fan expecting him to keep playing the shady or nefarious part — something that hasn't just happened once in his career. As that stroke of casting shows, and Bacon's, there's more than enough in the film that clearly works, but there's still just as much that's almost-dispiritingly standard. Something that's an indisputable delight, a word that can never apply to all of the movie's accursed beaming: realising that plenty of Rose's story fits the lyrics of 'Footloose'. She's been working so hard punching her card. She gets a feeling that time's holding her down. She might crack if she doesn't cut loose — all while something is taking ahold of souls. Dancing isn't banned here and the elder Bacon doesn't pop up, but any flick that's legitimately unsettling and brings Footloose to mind is always going to deserve a hearty grin.
The Mouse House has brought some of its magic our way, with Disney: The Magic of Animation now on display at Melbourne's newly revamped Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Whether you've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse, can remember how it felt when you first watched Bambi, are able to sing all of Genie's lyrics in Aladdin or fell head over heels for Moana more recently, you'll find plenty worth looking at among ACMI's halls and walls. And in its doors, too — because walking beneath mouse ear-shaped openings to move from one area to the next is all part of the experience. Reopening on Saturday, October 30 and running through till Sunday, January 23 (after a lockdown-delayed season that originally launched on Thursday, May 13), Disney: The Magic of Animation is making its only Aussie stop at ACMI. The exhibition explores everything from 1928's Steamboat Willie — the first talkie to feature Mickey Mouse — through to this year's Raya and the Last Dragon. Obviously, a wealth of other titles get the nod between those two bookending flicks. Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book and The Lion King also feature, as do Mulan, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. The big drawcard: art from the Mouse House's hefty back catalogue of titles, and heaps of it. More than 500 original artworks feature, spanning paintings, sketches, drawings and concept art. The entire lineup has been specially selected by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, and will let you get a glimpse at just how the movie magic comes to life, how some of Disney's famous stories were developed, and which animation techniques brought them to the big screen. Get ready to peer at hand-drawn dalmatians (which is timely, given that Cruella released this year), stare closely at Mickey Mouse's evolution, examine Wreck-It Ralph models and pose next to Snow White. Wall-sized artworks pay tribute to a number of movies, too — The Little Mermaid piece is particularly eye-catching — and feeling like you're stepping into a Disney movie is an unsurprising side effect. The extended season will also feature screenings, including sing-along sessions of The Little Mermaid, Moana, Frozen and Frozen 2 — plus a viewing of Disney's upcoming release Encanto. Disney: The Magic of Animation is clearly designed to appeal to Mouse House fans of all ages. You, your parents, today's primary school kids — you've all grown up watching Disney flicks. So, while you're pondering tales as old as time, being ACMI's guest, contemplating the animated circle of life and definitely not letting your nostalgia go, prepare to be accompanied by aficionados both young and young at heart. Images: Phoebe Powell. Updated October 26.
Enter one of Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms, including the Japanese icon's brand-new Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light at the National Gallery of Victoria, and it appears as if the artist's work goes on forever. A great exhibition dedicated to Kusama evokes the same sensation. Accordingly, when you're not staring at a seemingly endless celestial universe while enjoying a world-premiere piece from the talent that's been unveiled for the first time ever in Melbourne, you'll still feel as if Kusama's touches are everywhere around you. Simply titled Yayoi Kusama, NGV International's big summer 2024–25 showcase features 200 works, so there really is enough Kusama art to envelop attendees in dots, mirrors, balls, tentacles, pumpkins, flowers, rainbow hues and her other beloved flourishes. With ten immersive installations, the exhibition breaks the world record for the number of such pieces by the artist assembled in one spot. The showcase is also the largest-ever Kusama retrospective that Australia has ever seen. Open since Sunday, December 15, 2024 and running until Monday, April 21, 2025, Yayoi Kusama has taken over the St Kilda Road gallery's entire ground floor with a childhood-to-now survey of its subject's creative output. With the artist reaching 95 years of age in March 2024, there's eight decades of art on display. Some pieces have never been seen Down Under until now. Some are sourced from private collections, and others from Kusama's own personal stash. In advance of the exhibition's launch, Melbourne welcomed Kusama's five-metre-tall dot-covered Dancing Pumpkin sculpture in NGV International's Federation Court. Outside the gallery, Kusama's Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees wrapped the trunks of more than 60 trees in pink-and-white polka-dotted material before Yayoi Kusama opened its doors, too. Now comes the chance to explore the complete showcase, which is also one of the most-comprehensive retrospectives devoted to the artist to be staged globally. Forget booking in a trip to Kusama's Tokyo museum for the next few months, then — all that Melburnians need to do is stay local, and Australians elsewhere just need to head to the Victorian capital. Other highlights include NGV International's glass waterwall going pink, but with black rather than white dots; Kusama's new version of Narcissus Garden, which dates back to 1966 and features 1400 30-centimetre-diameter silver balls this time around, sitting in front of the waterwall and in parts of Federation Court; and the yellow-and-black spheres of Dots Obsession hanging over the Great Hall. Then there's the artist's sticker-fuelled, all-ages-friendly The Obliteration Room, where audiences young and old pop coloured dots everywhere — 'obliterating', as Kusama calls it — to cover an apartment interior that's completely white otherwise. Flower Obsession is another participatory piece, returning from the 2017 NGV Triennial. Again, you're asked to add to the work. Here, red flowers are applied to a domestic space — and again, obliterating it is the mission. If you adore the artist's way with mirrors, you'll want to see 2016's Chandelier of Grief, which features baroque-style chandelier spinning within a hexagon of mirrors; 2013's Love Is Calling, where tentacles in different colours spring from both the floor and the ceiling; and 2017's The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, which gets viewers peering at glowing pumpkins as far as the eye can see through a small peephole. In Invisible Life, convex mirrors line a twisting and multi-hued corridor. With its six-metre-tall tendrils — which are covered in polka dots, naturally — the yellow-and-black The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe from 2019 is striking without using a looking glass (or several), and makes its Australian premiere. Prefer flowers instead? Set within a dotted space, All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever from 2013 sees a trio of giant tulips loom over audiences. Overall, Yayoi Kusama steps through the artist's 80-plus years of making art via a thematic chronology. While a number of pieces hail from her childhood, others are far more recent. Her output in her hometown of Matsumoto from the late 30s–50s; the results of relocating to America in 1957; archival materials covering her performances and activities in her studios, especially with a political charge, in the 60s and 70s; plenty from the past four decades: they all appear. Any chance to see Yayoi Kusama's work in Australia is huge news, and reason to make a date — including travel plans, if needed. Here's another drawcard: the NGV has also added Friday-night parties to the mix, kicking off on Friday, December 20, 2024 for some pre-Christmas fun, then running for 18 weeks until Friday, April 18, 2025. Yayoi Kusama displays at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne until Monday, April 21, 2025 — and NGV Friday Nights: Yayoi Kusama runs each Friday night from 6–10pm between Friday, December 20, 2024–Friday, April 18, 2025. Head to the NGV website for more details and tickets. Images: Visitors and artworks in the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at NGV International, Melbourne until 21 April 2025. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Photos: Danielle Castano, Sean Fennessy, Tobias Titz and Kate Shannassy.
It was accurate with side-splitting hilarity in The Thick of It and In the Loop, as packaged with heartache in Benediction and in the world of Doctor Who in-between: Peter Capaldi is one of Scotland's most fascinating actors today. Without a "fuckity bye" uttered, any poetry quoted or a tardis in sight, Criminal Record also uses his can't-look-away presence to excellent effect, casting him as Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty, one of the eight-part Apple TV+ series' two key detectives. There's an intensity to Capaldi that's long served him well and, as seen since the show first arrived in January, it's unsurprisingly pivotal in the first role in his four-decade career that has him playing a police officer. His stare alone on-screen has been known to make others wither; in Criminal Record, folks on both sides of the law are trying to avoid that glare, except Capaldi's Torchwood co-star Cush Jumbo. By day, the no-nonsense Hegarty is a force to be reckoned with on the force. By night, he moonlights as a driver, seeing much that lingers in London as he's behind the wheel. In his not-so-distant past is a case that brings Detective Sergeant June Lenker (Jumbo, The Good Fight) into his orbit — a case that she's certain is linked to a distressed emergency call by someone attempting to flee domestic abuse. The mystery woman says that her partner has already committed murder, gotten away with it, sent another man to prison for the crime in the process and now brags about it. Hegarty contends otherwise, vehemently and gruffly. No matter how many times she's warned off, Lenker is determined to discover the truth, find her potential victim, ascertain whether someone innocent is behind bars and learn why every move that she makes to dig deeper comes with professional — and sometimes personal — retaliation. The events in question saw Errol Mathis (Tom Moutchi, PRU) incarcerated for 24 years for the brutal 2011 killing of his long-term girlfriend Adelaide Burrowes (Ema Cavolli, Doctors), with Hegarty leading the charge in sending him away for murder. Lenker is not the only one asking questions. For over a decade, Errol's mother Doris (Cathy Tyson, Boiling Point) has been protesting his innocence, aided by lawyer Sonya Singh (Aysha Kala, The Doll Factory). Although believing the official story, Adelaide's son Patrick (Rasaq Kukoyi, The Kitchen) — who was just six when his mum died, and in the other room as she was attacked — is understandably struggling to move on. But Errol confessed and isn't keen on dredging up the past. To Lenker, however, little adds up, and it isn't just Hegarty's insistence that she leave the case alone that sparks a myriad of questions. The elder cop has cronies DS Kim Cardwell (Shaun Dooley, Saltburn) and DS Tony Gilfoyle (Charlie Creed-Miles, Gunfight at Dry River) on his side, willing to do whatever it takes to get Lenker to drop her inquiries. They'd describe themselves as "old-school". To everyone else, their prejudice and bigotry is as apparent as their sense of entitlement. Lenker isn't one to back down, though, from both trying to find the woman on the other end of the 999 call and getting to the bottom of Adelaide's death. Indeed, she's so focused that work is all that she's thinking about even when she's at home with her partner Leo (Stephen Campbell Moore, Masters of the Air) and pre-teen son Jacob (Jordan A Nash, Breeders) — and when her mother Maureen (Zoë Wanamaker, Black Ops), who doesn't trust the law regardless of that her fact that her daughter has a badge, is around. Two police officers sit at Criminal Record's centre, but creator and writer Paul Rutman (Next of Kin) clearly hasn't crafted an odd-couple cop show. With Shaun James Grant (a TV first-timer) and Jim Loach (The Tower) directing, plus Ameir Brown (Champion), Thomas Eccleshare (Witness Number 3) and Natasha Narayan (Rutman's Next of Kin co-creator) also scripting, this is still largely a two-hander — and saying that it couldn't be better cast is an understatement. Capaldi is already someone who makes every moment that he's on-screen better. So is Jumbo, which makes watching them face off as riveting as television gets. Passive aggression oozes from the frame when Hegarty and Lenker first confront each other. Tension drips throughout the series relentlessly, but with particular vigour whenever its key cops are in close proximity. Criminal Record doesn't waste time keeping audiences guessing about who's dutifully taking to their role as part of the thin blue line and who's among policing at its most corrupt. Instead, it lets two people that are both meant to be on the upstanding end of the law-and-order divide clash, surveying the damage that ripples not just through the fuzz but also the community. That said, this isn't a simple good-versus-evil scenario between fellow officers. Diving into the complexities is as much the show's remit as unfurling a whodunnit. Accordingly, there's no doubting that Hegarty and Lenker both take their jobs seriously. And, there's zero questioning that each thinks that the choices they're making — and have made — are for the best. There's no seeing past how Hegarty has managed to adapt, either, surviving in his post by saying the right things yet retaining a problematic attitude. There's also no avoiding the complications that are a daily part of the gig as well, or the systemic barriers, or the way that the force handles both gender and race. As it primarily walks in Lenker's shoes, there's similarly no escaping the microaggressions that come her way constantly. If she pushes a colleague to help, she's going too far. If she complains about a racist remark from Hegarty, she's told that she's looking for issues. As Lenker continues to probe, to refuse to take no for an answer and not accept Hegarty's claim that everything is above board, the senior cop even advises her to check her own unconscious bias. While twists and mysteries are layered into the show's narrative, they regularly come second to Criminal Record's thematic willingness to tear into what policing should be, can be and often is — and what that means for women and people of colour, both in general and when endeavouring to improve the constabulary from within. Criminal Record isn't just a supremely well-cast procedural that's home to extraordinary performances, then — it's also weighty. And, as this slickly shot series works through its episodes, a matter-of-fact air doesn't only emanate from Capaldi and Jumbo. Rutman and company don't look away from the sincerity of Lenker's wish to truly protect and serve, the desperation to combat law enforcement's most-abhorrent impulses and the bitter disappointment every time that the worst proves true. The series also spies how entrenched the problems that Hegarty and his sidekicks represent are, and how deeply they fester. It does all this while ensuring that viewers can't look away — from its stars, story or heartbreaking, infuriating intricacies. Check out the trailer for Criminal Record below: Criminal Record streams via Apple TV+.
When Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) decided to bring The Great Gatsby to the screen, he enlisted 2010s Sydney to double for 1920s Long Island and New York. Then, a decade after the Australian director's Oscar-winning movie hit cinemas, a The Great Gatsby-themed club popped up in the Harbour City to host a The Great Gatsby-inspired cabaret variety show. Cut to 2025 and that event, aka GATSBY at The Green Light, now has a different Aussie city in its sights: Brisbane as part of this year's Brisbane Festival. This time, the River City's Twelfth Night Theatre in Bowen Hills is following in Luhrmann's footsteps, with GATSBY at The Green Light making its Brisbane debut between between Tuesday, September 2–Sunday, September 28. The production is taking over the Bowen Hills venue with an array of excuses to pretend that it's a century ago — and that you're on the other side of the globe. The GATSBY part of the big spring event's moniker refers to the entertainment, while The Green Light is the temporarily rebadged venue where this party-esque experience will occur. First, the show: taking its cues from F Scott Fitzgerald's book, which is marking its 100th anniversary in 2025, GATSBY gives the classic text the aerial, burlesque, dance and circus treatment. As performers show off their skills, live contemporary music accompanies their efforts. Then, the club: The Green Light gleans inspiration from prohibition-era speakeasies. Yes, drinks are involved. Indeed, while you watch, you'll be able to say cheers to the entertainment with a martini in hand. Images: Daniel Boud / Prudence Upton.
Instead of glumly clicking through your friends’ Facebook photos of their amazing holidays as you sit at home (that they clearly put up just to make you feel bad), plan your own dream holiday, old-school style. The YOUniverse do-it-yourself kits allow you to customise your own vintage globe with different travel routes, photos, banners and travel stickers. All you need is a little old-fashioned imagination and you can plan journeys that defy logic and financial restraints. Make it your resolution to tick one off the list by 2013.
When it comes to what we drink, we can be creatures of habit. We reach for our go-tos: a cheap-yet-standout bottle of vino, ready-to-sip cocktail cans and brews we know and love. But, if you knew how simple it is to craft winning cocktails, you'd be stocking up your bar cart, filling your ice tray and inviting your mates round for a few cheeky ones ASAP. So together with The Bottle-O, and in honour of World Gin Day — which on Saturday, June 10, is fast approaching — we've found a few easy-peasy, three-step wintery cocktails that'll have you sipping gin like a pro. Ready to up your G&T game? Impress your mates with a martini? Add a slice of summer to the cooler months with a gimlet? We've got you. MALFY ROSA G&T The classic G&T is a favourite among many. It's deliciously bitter, spotlights your gin of choice and always refreshing. In this recipe, there's the added juiciness of Malfy Gin Rosa's grapefruit notes and the sweet kiss of a Med-inspired tonic. A wedge of citrus will add some party to your glass (and a sprig of rosemary will jazz it up further), but it'll be just as delicious without. And, if you're pressed for time (or really cannot be bothered), opt for a four-pack of Bombay Sapphire G&Ts or Gordon's Pink Gin & Sodas (if you'd rather leave the tonic) — just stealthily pour the fizz into a glass and your pals won't know the difference. Ingredients Serves one 30ml Malfy Gin Rosa 60ml Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Grapefruit to serve Method Add Malfy Gin Rosa to a glass with ice and top up with tonic water. Garnish with a wedge of grapefruit and enjoy. ROKU GIMLET If you're starting to feel the winter blues — and a tropical holiday is nowhere in sight — this short, sweet, citrusy cocktail is the drink for you. It looks fancy, but once you've secured your coupe, the hardest part is done. You want your glass to be chilly, the liquor to be a delicious pour like Roku Gin and a selection of salty snacks alongside. If you can't find the Japanese spirit, opt for any of the other top-quality (yet affordable) options, like Hendrick's or Four Pillars. Ingredients Serves one 50ml Roku Gin 50ml lime syrup Lime to garnish Method Add Roku Gin and lime syrup to a mixing glass with ice, then stir until the glass feels very cold. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, top with a slice of lime and enjoy. FOUR PILLARS RARE DRY GIN MARTINI If you're looking to impress, the martini is having somewhat of a resurgence. Although its taste divides cocktail-lovers everywhere (some think it's perfection, some know it's too strong), it's the hero on many a cocktail list. Well, the secret to a good martini is in the quality and temperature of your gin: you want something special, and you want it ice cold. Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is the bottle for you. It's classic, herbaceous and citrus-forward — and it's Aussie made. Just quietly, a nip or two of Hendrick's would do nicely too. Ingredients Serves one 60ml Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin 15ml dry vermouth 2 dashes orange bitters Lemon peel to garnish Method Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with a twist of lemon peel and enjoy. Whether you're a seasoned gin lover that's looking for a hot new way to enjoy your pour this winter, or you're a newbie looking to take a delicious dive in, these three recipes will sort you out. Celebrating World Gin Day on Saturday, June 10 will be that much more exciting with a group of friends, some gin chilling in the freezer and a trio of recipes that are easy to nail. To begin with gin, head to your local The Bottle-O and take your pick. The Bottle-O is the independent store slinging your favourite boozy sips all over Australia — and a standout spot to nab the gin for your cocktail of choice this World Gin Day. Ready to dive in? Head to the website. Imagery: Declan Blackall.
UPDATE, JANUARY 6, 2023: New year, new Moonlight Cinema program, with the outdoor venue's January lineup also filled with highlights. Catch sneak peeks of Guy Ritchie's latest Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and British rom-com What's Love Got To Do With It — or check out new Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Tom Hanks getting cantankerous in A Man Called Otto, the culinary savagery of The Menu, Disney's animated gem Strange World and the wild true tale that is The Lost King. Plus, January's retro programming includes Twilight, The Princess Diaries, Con Air, Clueless, Magic Mike and the OG Top Gun. So, that's sparkly vampires, 90s greats, royal hijinks, Nicolas Cage, barely clad men and a need for speed taken care of. If nothing says Christmas to you like catching a festive film under the stars, ideally while kicking back on bean beds and eating a picnic, then Moonlight Cinema's November and December 2022 program has you firmly in its sights. The beloved Australian outdoor movie-viewing setup is back for another summer, and it's kicking off with a heap of recent big-name flicks — plus a couple of weeks of the merriest pictures that it can find. Fresh from revealing its dates for the summer 2022–23, Moonlight Cinema has now locked in its first titles, with the openair picture palace heading to Brisbane's Roma Street Parkland from Thursday, November 24–Sunday, February 19. The lineup kicks off with Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, and also includes Top Gun: Maverick, Smile and Ticket to Paradise — plus Bros, Don't Worry Darling, Where the Crawdads Sing, Bros, Bullet Train, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Adam and Minions: The Rise of Gru. Yes, there's a throwback session of Grease in the first part of the program as well – because retro flicks are always a big part of this event — and then the festive fun begins. Yes, Elf, Home Alone, The Holiday and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are on the lineup. So is Die Hard twice and Love Actually a whopping three times. To wrap up December, there's also a preview session of Steven Spielberg's new release The Fabelmans, culinary thrills with The Menu and a preview of Australian drama Blueback — plus the family-friendly Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. The rest of the Moonlight lineup will drop month by month. Nosh-wise, Moonlight Cinema will again let you BYO movie snacks and non-boozy drinks, but the unorganised can also enjoy a plethora of bites to eat from food trucks — perfect, messy treats made for reclining on bean beds. There'll be a VIP section for an extra-luxe openair movie experience, a beauty cart handing out samples, and dogs are welcome at — there's even special doggo bean beds, and a snack menu for pooches.
There's one mass gathering that's immune to the disruptions of COVID-19 and that's the nightly parade of Phillip Island's famed little penguins. And while the feathered friends have been continuing their daily pilgrimage from ocean to burrow without the usual audience, they'll soon be waddling back into our hearts thanks to a new live stream series. From Tuesday, August 25, you can catch the penguins' ritual sunset parade in real time from the comfort of your couch, as it's streamed for free via the Phillip Island Nature Parks Facebook page and YouTube channel. At 6pm (NZT 8pm) each night, tune in for half an hour to see the birds make their familiar journey from the water, across the dunes and back to their homes to cosy up for the evening. Not only will you get to spy those adorable penguins in action without having to brave the cold, but Phillip Island's rangers will be on hand providing some expert commentary to match. Score a daily dose of cuteness, learn a few fun penguin facts and even ask some questions of your own. Top image: Tourism Australia
If you're heading to the tropical north, chances are you're going for nature. Whether it's the spectacular reefs, the captivating wildlife or the towering rainforest, if you love nature, you'll want to keep it as pristine and protected as possible during your stay. From immersive rainforest education experiences to luxury eco-stays, there are plenty of ways to lighten your footprint while on holiday in Tropical North Queensland.
Michael Ware, the lawyer turned Courier-Mail, Time and CNN journalist turned filmmaker, calls Only the Dead a film that wasn't meant to be made. His documentary is cobbled together from hundreds of hours of footage he shot while in Iraq as a reporter, with a movie never part of his plans. Perhaps that's why the trembling handicam images feel immediate and urgent, even in a time where alarming visuals of combat have become commonplace. Only the Dead charts Ware's obsession with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi following the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Al-Zarqawi wasn't a point of focus for many at the time, but his brutal methods — starting with suicide bombings, then escalating to filmed beheadings of foreign hostages and worse — certainly earned him increasing attention. The faction he founded would become the Islamic State. There's more to Ware and al-Zarqawi's story, just as there's more behind the documentary's existence. Many of the remarkable sights contained within only became possible after Ware forged a connection with the insurgents, who began to feed him discs of their own videos, wanting him to disseminate them to the western media. Becoming an unofficial intermediary, he was placed in a tenuous and tricky position. While Only the Dead doesn't delve into the ethical side of Ware's interactions, it does chart the clear influence the situation had upon his viewpoint. A picture really does speak a thousand words in that regard, although the film isn't short on the latter — filling in the history of the Iraq war, as well as conveying Ware's reflections. Context is helpful, but verbal explanation almost seems unnecessary given how striking the shaky footage proves. And yet, there's something about the combination of distressing visuals and voiceover insights that hits the mark. Ware is the key, starting out "young and dumb enough for war to have its false sense of adventure", but slowly changing as a result of his time chronicling the Iraqi conflict. As his narration makes plain, even as the film depicts violent and bloody events gone by and horrors occurring in a nation far from his own, this strory is overwhelmingly personal. Entertainment, this is not. Cast Homeland, American Sniper or any other screen effort that claim to dissect the war on terror far from your thoughts. Ware's offering — as co-directed with veteran filmmaker Bill Guttentag — walks in the shoes and offers the mindset of someone who's there, and is then lucky enough to be able to look back at what he lived through. It's worth remembering that his account, though released within a world now brimming with YouTube videos and social media posts from those on the ground, predates this now unavoidable phenomenon. You might have seen the likes of Ware's offering before; however prior to this, you've never been brought not just beyond the front lines, but into the complications of his harrowing journey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWdi8JJG-7U
