Director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) puts mankind under the microscope in his enigmatic sci-fi thriller Under the Skin. Unfolding like an arthouse version of Species, the film stars Scarlett Johansson as an extraterrestrial creature who travels around Scotland seducing human men. A cold, disturbing, impenetrable piece of filmmaking, it's a movie that will understandably alienate mainstream audiences, even as it carves a place for itself as a modern-day cult classic. Reversing typical images of sexual predation, Glazer puts Johansson — a pale-skinned, dark-haired female — in the driver's seat of an anonymous white van. The bulk of the film takes place in the vehicle, as Johansson cruises the outskirts of Glasgow in search of her next victim. What happens to the men once they're ensnared is one of many pieces of information Glazer initially withholds, playing with our fears and assumptions and cultivating a sickening sense of dread. Aesthetically, Glazer adopts a naturalistic style that's sundered by moments of Kubrickian intensity. Lingering shots of pedestrians have an air of dispassionate voyeurism — at times it feels as though we too are from another world, viewing our own species from afar. A soundtrack of mechanical rumblings and synthesised screeches sharpens the already menacing atmosphere. Particularly haunting is the track that accompanies the seduction sequences, which rises and falls with mesmerising rhythm. Johansson's performance is the chilling antithesis of her recent work in Spike Jonze's Her. Although frequently frightening, there's a genuine sense of otherworldliness to her characters that prevents us from seeing her as a straight-up villain. More than once, you wonder how aware she is of the consequences of her actions, a question that, as the movie continues, leads to unexpected feelings of empathy. It's a credit to Johansson that she's able to walk that line. Her victims, meanwhile, are played by actual Glaswegian hitchhikers, picked up by Johansson and filmed on hidden cameras (consent was sought afterwards). The guerrilla approach heightens the movie's realism, as the 'actors' are legitimately unaware of the gruesome fate that awaits them. Creepy and glacially paced, Under the Skin is certainly not for everyone; it's easy to imagine viewers enticed by the prospect of seeing a nude Scarlett Johansson storming out of the cinema and asking for their money back. But for anyone keen on expanding their cinematic horizons, Glazer's latest is the best film of 2014 so far. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7S1yhSp5jaI
Under normal circumstances, when a new-release movie starts playing in cinemas, audiences can't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the pandemic forcing film industry to make quite a few changes over the past year — widespread movie theatre closures will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you're in lockdown. Perhaps you haven't had time to make it to your local cinema lately. Given the hefty amount of films now releasing each week, maybe you missed something. Film distributors have been fast-tracking some of their new releases from cinemas to streaming recently — movies that might still be playing in theatres in some parts of the country, too. In preparation for your next couch session, here's nine you can watch right now at home. JUNGLE CRUISE Take two charming actors, then couple them up for a feature-length volley of fast-paced banter: that's the screwball rom-com formula. Place this pleasing pair in a scenic but challenging setting — one that'll highlight their individual strengths, see them turn seeming weaknesses into new skills, and will obviously bring them closer together — and that's exactly how plenty of action-adventure movies have unfurled. Sending the always personable and likeable Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt to the Amazon, Jungle Cruise stitches together these two well-established formulas. It traverses its cinematic rapids in the slipstream of 80s fare like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone (and their respective sequels), and even rollicks along in the footsteps of The Mummy franchise of the late 90s and early 00s (a series which actually gave Johnson his first big-screen roles). But, as anyone with even a passing knowledge of Disney's theme parks knows, Jungle Cruise also falls from the attraction-to-film mould that the Mouse House clearly loves. Pirates of the Caribbean is an overt influence, right down to the way that some of this new flick's villains look, and thrusting all these blatant templates to the fore — and together — doesn't quite result in movie magic. Indeed, despite Johnson and Blunt's charismatic and capable pairing, as well as the movie's visually boisterous imagery, the film's modest pleasures all fade oh-so-quickly, as happens with every amusement ride. Directed by Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night and The Commuter's Jaume Collet-Serra, who makes a workmanlike but hardly memorable jump from unleashing Liam Neeson's special set of skills, Jungle Cruise wants to whisk viewers off on a spirited ride. That's the experiential aim of most theme park-based films: these flicks want audiences to feel like they've stepped inside the attraction from their cinema seat. So, before the movie's title card graces the screen, two sequences endeavour to set this tone. It's 1916, and Dr Lily Houghton (Blunt, A Quiet Place Part II) sneaks into an all-male science society to look for a treasured arrowhead from the Amazon. She's tasked her fussy brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall, Good Omens) with deflecting the organisation's members by telling them her theories about a fabled South American tree, called the Tears of the Moon, that can cure any illness or break any curse. The men are dismissive, but she knows they will be. She's there to steal the trinket so it can lead her to the mythical plant, all while Prince Joachim of Germany (Jesse Plemons, Judas and the Black Messiah) tries to get his hands on it as well. When Lily comes out on top, the Houghtons are off to Brazil to hit the river, but they'll need a captain to guide their watery jaunt. In his introductory scene, the roguish Frank Wolff (Johnson, Jumanji: The Next Level) is spied conducting tourist trips down the Amazon, every step choreographed like an amusement park ride, and with his own pun-heavy showman patter narrating the journey. He's corny, and he has a jaguar in on the act, too. Accordingly, there are zero surprises when Lily enlists his services reluctantly and after some subterfuge on his side, or when he keeps trying to trick her into giving up her quest. Jungle Cruise is available to stream via Disney+ with Premier Access. Read our full review. TALL POPPY — A SKATER'S STORY When skateboarding makes its debut as an Olympic sport in Tokyo this winter, it'll do so with Poppy Starr Olsen flying the flag for Australia. A world champion since her teens, she first hit the Bondi Skate Park at the age of eight, and proclaimed at the time that she'd like to spend her adult life carving, ollieing, flipping and grinding — one of those childhood wishes that, in this case, has proven more than just a kid's outlandish fantasy. Audiences know about this youthful exclamation because it was caught on camera. Yes, Tall Poppy — A Skater's Story belongs in the camp of documentaries that are inescapably blessed by the constant lens through which many of our lives have been captured since video cameras became a household gadget and then a standard mobile phone feature. Accordingly, making her first feature-length doco, filmmaker Justine Moyle has ample material to draw upon as she weaves together a portrait of Olsen's life from pint-sized bowl-rider to Australia's best female skater, the fourth best woman on a board in the world and an Olympian, all by the age of 21. This isn't just a film compiled from home videos, though, although the feature. In front of Dane Howell's (Without a Tracey) lens as she has grown up, Olsen is candid, open and relaxed as she literally comes of age before the camera, and her skateboarding skills are just as riveting to watch. You can tell much about Olsen by just seeing her in the bowl or on the park, no matter her age, wherever she happens to be at the time, or if she's competing, practicing or just skating for fun. It hardly comes as a surprise that she takes to the pastime because it feels so freeing; as she rolls up and down in Bondi after first giving skateboarding a try, she may as well be flying. Tall Poppy — A Skater's Story captures the rollercoaster ride from there, as she's eager and enthusiastic at both local and international competitions, visibly nervous at her first X Games, and also a little disillusioned once she's put on an Olympic path. She's a teenager, in other words, and her emotional ups and downs mirror those on the board. This is a film about resilience, perseverance and taking on the world on your own terms, however, as Olsen works out who she wants to be and how that ripples through in her skateboarding. She's already a role model, whether or not you want to follow in her footsteps. Here, she's doubly so for her personal ebbs and flows, including through COVID-19, as much as her professional achievements. Tall Poppy — A Skater's Story is an affectionate movie, of course. Its release is also impeccably timed, it's as deservedly loving towards female skaters as the fictional Skate Kitchen and its TV spinoff Betty, and it shows the beauty in every commonplace and exceptional skateboarding trick. But Olsen's presence, passion and prowess drive this rousing documentary above all else. Tall Poppy — A Skater's Story is available to stream via ABC iView, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. FAST AND FURIOUS 9 Fast cars, furious action stars, a love of family and oh-so-many Coronas: across ten movies over 20 years, that's the Fast and Furious franchise. It might've started out as a high-octane spin on Point Break, but this long-running series has kept motoring across nine flicks in its main storyline, and also via a 2019 spinoff. The latter, Hobbs & Shaw, actually casts a shadow over the saga's latest instalment. Because Dwayne Johnson was part of that sidestep, he doesn't show up in Fast and Furious 9. He's missed, regardless of whether you're usually a diehard fan of the wrestler-turned-actor, because he's managed to perfect the F&F tone. Over his decade-long involvement to-date, Johnson always seems amused in his Fast and Furious performances. He's always sweaty, too, but that's another matter. Entering the F&F realm in Fast Five, he instantly oozed the kind of attitude the franchise needs. He knows that by taking the outlandish stunts, eye-catching setpieces and penchant for family with the utmost seriousness, these films border on comedic — and by navigating five flicks with that mood, he's been the saga's playful and entertaining barometer. Without Johnson, Fast and Furious 9 isn't as willing to admit that it's often downright silly. It's nowhere near as fun, either. Hobbs & Shaw wasn't a franchise standout, but Fast and Furious 9 mainly revs in one gear, even in a movie that features a high-speed car chase through Central American jungles, a plane with a magnet that can scoop up fast-driving vehicles and a trip to space in a rocket car. The latest F&F is as ridiculous as ever, and it's the least-eager F&F film to acknowledge that fact. It's also mostly a soap opera. It leans heavily on its favourite theme — yes, family — by not only swapping in a different wrestler-turned-actor as Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel, Bloodshot) long-lost sibling, but also by fleshing out the warring brothers' backstory through flashbacks to their tragic past. Fast and Furious 9 starts with an 80s-era Universal logo, because that's the time period it heads to first — to introduce a teen Dom (Vinnie Bennett, Ghost in the Shell), his never-before-mentioned younger brother Jakob (Finn Cole, Dreamland) and their dad Jack (JD Pardo, Mayans MC). It's 1989, the elder Toretto is behind the wheel on the racetrack, and his sons are part of his pit crew. Then tragedy strikes, tearing the Toretto family apart. In the present day, Dom and Jakob (John Cena, Playing with Fire) definitely don't get along. Indeed, when Roman (Tyrese Gibson, The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two), Tej (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Show Dogs) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel, Four Weddings and a Funeral) drive up to the rural hideout that Dom has been calling home with wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez, Crisis) and toddler son Brian (first-timers Isaac and Immanuel Holtane) since the events of 2017's The Fate of the Furious, he doesn't even want to hear about the latest mission that demands their help. The only thing that changes his mind: realising that Jakob is involved and up to no good. Fast and Furious 9 is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. Read our full review. GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE Cutesy name, likeable stars, stylised brutality, a familiar revenge scenario: blend them all together, and that's Gunpowder Milkshake. There's one particular ingredient that's missing from this action-thriller's recipe, though, and its absence is surprising — because much about the film feels like it has jumped from the pages of a comic book. That's one of the movie's best traits, in fact. The world already has too many comics-to-cinema adaptations, but although Gunpowder Milkshake doesn't stem from a graphic novel, it actually looks the part. Its precise framing and camera placement, hyper-vibrant colours and love of neon could've easily been printed in inky hues on paper, then splattered across the screen like the blood and bullets the feature sprays again and again. Writer/director Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves) and cinematographer Michael Seresin (War for the Planet of the Apes) have made a visually appealing film, and a movie with evident aesthetic flair. All that gloss is paired with a generic assassin storyline, however, and a half-baked feminist thrust. It's Sin City meets John Wick but gender-flipped, except that the Kill Bill movies and Atomic Blonde have been there and done that. Crafting a film that's entertaining enough, but largely in a mechanical way, Papushado and co-scribe Ehud Lavski (a feature first-timer) attempt to complicate their narrative. The basics are hardly complex, though. As skilled killer Sam (Karen Gillan, Avengers: Endgame) notes in the movie's opening narration, she works for a group of men called The Firm, cleaning up its messes with her deadly prowess. It's an inherited gig, in a way. Fifteen years earlier, she was a fresh-faced teen (Freya Allan, The Witcher) with a mum, Scarlet (Lena Headey, Game of Thrones), who did the same thing. Then her mother abandoned her after a diner shootout, leaving Sam to fend herself — and, to ultimately get her jobs from Nathan (Paul Giamatti, Billions), one of The Firm's flunkies. It's on just that kind of gig that Sam kills the son of a rival crime hotshot (Ralph Ineson, Chernobyl), and he wants revenge. Soon, her employers are also on her trail, after she takes another assignment in an attempt to sort out her first problem, then ends up trying to save eight-year-old Emily (Chloe Coleman, Big Little Lies) from violent kidnappers. The cast also spans the impressive trio of Angela Bassett (Black Panther), Michelle Yeoh (Last Christmas) and Carla Gugino (a Sin City alum), albeit sparingly, with all of Gunpowder Milkshake's female figures solely tasked with navigating an inescapably clear-cut scenario. Gunpowder Milkshake is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. Read our full review. SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY In the misfire that's always been 1996's Space Jam, basketball superstar-turned-unconvincing actor Michael Jordan is asked to hurry up. "C'mon Michael, it's game time! Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the ballpark," he's told. Spoken by go-to 90s schemester Wayne Knight (aka Seinfeld's Newman), this line couldn't better sum up the film or the franchise it has now spawned. The Space Jam movies aren't really about the comedic chaos that springs when a famous sportsperson pals around with cartoons. That's the plot, complicated in the original flick and now 25-years-later sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy by evil forces that turn a basketball game into a battle ground; however, it's also just a means to an end. These features are truly about bringing brands together in a case of mutual leveraging, as product placement always is. Connect Looney Tunes with the NBA, and audiences will think of both when they think of either, the strategy aims. It has worked, of course — and with A New Legacy, the approach is put to even broader and more shameless use. Everyone who has ever even just heard of Space Jam in passing knows its central equation: Looney Tunes + hoop dreams. The first Space Jam's viewers mightn't also remember the aforementioned product name-drops, but Warner Bros, the studio behind this saga, hopes A New Legacy's audience will forever recall its new references. All the brands shoehorned in here are WB's own, with its other pop culture franchises and properties mentioned repeatedly. The company also has Harry Potter, The Matrix, the DC Extended Universe flicks such as Wonder Woman, and Mad Max: Fury Road in its stable. Its catalogue includes Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, The Lord of the Rings, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, too. And, it holds the rights to everything from The Wizard of Oz, Metropolis and Casablanca to A Clockwork Orange and IT. A New Legacy wants to forcefully and brazenly impress these titles into viewers' minds so that they'll always equate them with the studio. In other words, this is just a Warner Bros ad with LeBron James and Looney Tunes as its spokespeople. You don't need to be a cynic or have zero nostalgia for the OG Space Jam to see A New Legacy as purely a marketing exercise, though, because corporate synergy is literally what the movie's villain, an algorithm named Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle, Avengers: Endgame) that runs the on-screen Warner Bros, aims to achieve in this shambles of a film. Space Jam: A New Legacy is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. Read our full review. DREAM HORSE Life-changing conversations can happen in bars — as Jan Vokes well and truly knows. Played in Dream Horse by Toni Collette (I'm Thinking of Ending Things), the Welsh supermarket employee and pub barmaid overheard Howard Davies (Damian Lewis, Billions) chatting about his past success as a racehorse owner. In his beer-fuelled boasting, he doesn't discuss how it almost left him bankrupt and divorced, but Jan is still inspired to both follow his lead and enlist his help. Having bred whippets and racing pigeons before, and won prizes for doing so, she decides she'll turn her attention to horses. Husband Brian (Owen Teale, Game of Thrones) isn't initially convinced, but soon she's studying guides, finding a mare and then a stallion, and convincing her friends and neighbours to put away a tenner a week to pay for this little endeavour. The syndicate's focus: a foal they name Dream Alliance, who spends his early days being raised on the Vokes' allotment, and eventually ends up with racing hotshot Philip Hobbs (Nicholas Farrell, The Nevers) as its trainer. Dream Horse wouldn't exist if success didn't follow, and it leaves no doubt that that's the case; however, director Euros Lyn (The Library Suicides) and screenwriter Neil McKay (Mad Money) chart lows as well as highs, and always ensure their characters are their primary focus. Dream Alliance was always going to gallop into cinemas, of course — and not just via 2015 documentary Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance. His is a story too crowd-pleasing for filmmakers to ignore, especially given the UK's penchant for against-the-odds tales about motley crews of struggling salt-of-the-earth characters who band together over an unusual but swiftly shared interest that ends up revitalising their lives in more ways than one. That's the template Dream Horse plays to, even though it's based on a true tale and an actual horse. The Full Monty, Calendar Girls and similar feel-good flicks provide as much inspiration here as the actual real-life details, in fact. Accordingly, this is a movie that's easy to get caught up in. It's almost impossible not to, really. That said, it's also a film that wears its warmth, sentimentality and shameless heartstring-pulling as a badge of honour. As a result, it's also impossible to ignore the buttons the movie keeps gleefully pushing, and the parts of the tale that must've been smoothed out to elicit the desired cheer-inducing response — even around Collette's committed performance. But this happily mawkish feature and its characters are all doing it for the "hwyl", a Welsh term that means "emotional motivation and energy", and neither is willing to let that mission dwindle even for a second. Dream Horse is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. SNAKE EYES: GI JOE ORIGINS Every film doesn't have to spawn a franchise, and most shouldn't; however, when a Hollywood studio teams up with a toy manufacturer to turn action figures into a movie, and then wants to keep using the latter to sell the former, apparently that stops being the case. That's why cinema audiences have been forced to suffer through the Transformers movies over the years, and why we also now have Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins, the latest addition that no one wanted to a dull saga that started with 2009's GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and then continued via 2013's GI Joe: Retaliation. Channing Tatum isn't part of the story this time around, with the focus shifting to the eponymous Snakes Eyes (Henry Golding, Monsoon). Before the character becomes a member of the GI Joe team, he's a man out to avenge the murder of his father (Steven Allerick, Westworld) from back when he was a kid. That quest first leads him into the employ of yakuza kingpin Kenta (Takehiro Hira, Girl/Haji), where he helps smuggle guns in giant dead fish. From there, he gets his shot with the Arashikage clan — a family-run enclave of Japanese powerbrokers that the ambitious Tommy (Andrew Koji, Warrior) thinks he'll lead next, is unsurprisingly wary of outsiders, but eventually and after much suspicion from head of security Akiko (Haruka Abe, Cruella) lets Snake Eyes undertake its secretive testing process to become a member. It's a credit to director Robert Schwentke (Insurgent and Allegiant), and to writers Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Unholy), Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse (Rebecca), that Snake Eyes isn't obsessed with obnoxiously stressing its franchise ties. It does all lead up to uttering a well-known GI Joe adversary's name, other recognisable characters such as Scarlett (Samara Weaving, Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Baroness (Úrsula Corberó, Money Heist) pop up, and nefarious terrorist organisation Cobra plays a part, but none of these links ever feel like the movie's primary purpose. Still, that half-heartedness speaks volumes about a movie that displays that trait again and again, is fine with remaining a generic Tokyo-set ninja revenge movie — complete with gratingly obvious shots of Mount Fuji, the Shibuya scramble crossing and Tokyo Tower — and also works giant snakes rendered in visually abhorrent CGI into the mix. The best element: Golding, who has never been less than charismatic in any of his on-screen roles (see also: Last Christmas, A Simple Favour and Crazy Rich Asians). He can't lift this formulaic franchise-extending slog, though, and neither can his rapport with both Koji and Abe, Schwentke's eye for his settings or the movie's often eye-catching costuming. The film's unenthused action scenes prove an apt weathervane, because they're by-the-numbers at best, even when The Raid's Iko Uwais is involved. Snake Eyes is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Prime Video. SIR ALEX FERGUSON: NEVER GIVE IN Even among sports agnostics who know next to nothing about football of any code, and don't want to, Sir Alex Ferguson's name still likely rings a bell. The prodigiously successful soccer manager was synonymous with equally prosperous English Premier League team Manchester United for almost three decades between 1986–2013, leading them to 38 different trophies — including 13 EPL titles. He oversaw an era that featured star players such as David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, all famous names that are also known beyond sports fans. Accordingly, Ferguson is a highly obvious candidate for a documentary, particularly an authorised film directed by his own son Jason. But the best docos don't just preach to the already celebratory and converted. A piece of non-fiction cinema has the potential to turn any viewer into an aficionado, and to get everyone watching not only paying attention, but wholly invested. As the vastly dissimilar, not-at-all sports-related The Sparks Brothers also does, that's what Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In achieves. It steps through its eponymous subject's life story, all with the man himself narrating the details, sharing his memories and musings, and looking back on an extraordinary career. Helpfully when it comes to standing out from the crowded sports doco crowd, Never Give In has an angle: in 2018, Sir Alex was rushed to hospital and into surgery due to a brain haemorrhage. At the time, his biggest fear was losing his memories, which the younger Ferguson uses as an entry point — and as a touchstone throughout the birth-to-now recollections that fill the film otherwise. This approach helps reinforce exactly what Sir Alex has to recall, and what it all means to him. It also makes his plight relatable, a feat his footballing achievements were never going to muster (we can all understand the terror of having our lives' best moments ripped from our consciousness, but few people can claim to know what his level of professional success feels like). In his Scottish brogue, the elder Ferguson proves a lively storyteller, talking through his upbringing in Glasgow, his childhood adoration of Rangers Football Club, his ups and downs as a player — including taking to the pitch for Rangers and against them — and the path that led him to coaching first in Scotland, then for Manchester United. A wealth of archival footage assists in fleshing out the tale, as do interviews with players such as Cantona and Ryan Griggs. The result: an easy win of a film, but a nonetheless compelling and skilful one, too. Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. SPIRIT UNTAMED The first time that a Kiger Mustang named Spirit cantered across the silver screen, it was in 2002's Oscar-nominated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Back then, the film marked just the sixth theatrical feature that Dreamworks Animation had brought to cinemas — following Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run and Shrek — and if anything stood out, it was the movie's hand-drawn animation. Almost two decades later, Spirit Untamed returns the energetic and determined horse back to theatres. The movie he's in still looks gorgeous, even if computers have replaced pencils in bringing him to life. That said, this isn't actually the franchise's second step, with Netflix series Spirit Riding Free also telling the apple-loving animal's story across 78 episodes since 2017. In both look and feel, Spirit Untamed has more in common with its streaming counterpart than its big-screen predecessor, unsurprisingly. It's happy to primarily court the show's young audience, too. Indeed, while voice work by Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home), Julianne Moore (Lisey's Story), Walton Goggins (Fatman), Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Eiza González (Godzilla vs Kong) is designed to appeal to adults, there's little else but scant traces of nostalgia and pastel-hued imagery to keep anyone past their teens interested. Her vocals stem from a different actor — with Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) doing the honours — but Fortuna Esperanza "Lucky" Prescott still sits at the heart of Spirit Untamed. Like Spirit Riding Free, the new film tells of Lucky's arrival in the frontier town of Miradero, her connection with Spirit and her efforts to save him from wranglers (led by Goggins). Also covered: her budding friendship with fellow horse-lovers Pru (voiced here by Little's Marsai Martin) and Abigail (Mckenna Grace, Annabelle Comes Home). They're the pals she needs when Spirit and his wild companions are snatched up by the nefarious rustlers, who plan to ship the horses off and sell them. Together, the pre-teen trio then sets off across the dangerous plains, determined to save the galloping animals and do the right thing. There's an obvious but still welcome and powerful message in Lucky's story, as she ignores her worried dad's (Gyllenhaal) warnings and her doting aunt's (Moore) fussing, choosing to follow her own heart and path instead. (Her father frets because her mother, voiced by González, worked as a horse-riding stunt performer and died during a show.) Similarly pleasing, even if the movie basically just remakes the TV show's first episode: that this all-ages wild west tale heroes women, although it pales in comparison to the recent Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary. Spirit Untamed is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Check out our lists of movies fast-tracked from cinemas to streaming back in May, June and July. You can also take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows.
It's been more than three years since City Winery opened its doors in Fortitude Valley, giving Brisbane its first inner-city winery — but it's been four since Carl's started pouring vino. Initially, the latter was meant to be a six-month pop-up before the crew's flagship Wandoo Street venue launched; however, it has kept welcoming in customers ever since. That'll change come Sunday, September 25, with the hole-in-the-wall wine bar and bistro closing in its current spot — for the best possible reason, because it has outgrown the space. So, while it is shutting the doors on Wyandra Street, Carl's will open them again in a yet-to-be-revealed new location sometime in the near future. "We did think this day might come," said City Winery co-founder Adam Penberthy. "Our little home on Wyandra Street has been extraordinary — we've hosted everyone from the German Ambassador through to small weddings and probably half of the New Farm peninsula in the pint-sized wine bar, it's been a truly remarkable venue and the local support has been phenomenal." Exactly where Carl's will move to can't yet be announced because Penberthy and the team are still looking at spaces. "We're in advanced discussions with a couple of landlords, and will hopefully be sharing the news of where Carl's will be moving too very soon," Penberthy said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carl's (@carlsnewstead) Unsurprisingly, the bar and bistro's existing 22 Wyandra Street site holds plenty of memories — and the City Winery crew are keeping the tenancy. Expect a new concept to open in Carl's OG place, also soon and still with a big focus on vino. "We're not sharing too much about the new concept just yet, but lets just say that Newstead locals won't have to walk too far for a wine in the not-too-distant future," Penberthy advised. [caption id="attachment_827153" align="alignnone" width="1920"] City Winery, Kiff & Culture[/caption] Find Carl's Bar and Bistro at 22 Wyandra Street, Newstead until Sunday, September 25. We'll update you with details of its new location — and its replacement on Wyandra Street — when they're announced.
Brisbane's pubs have started looking a little different, with a heap of watering holes around the city undergoing considerable makeovers over the past year or so. As seen as spots such as Cleveland Sands Hotel, Salisbury Hotel, the Crown Hotel in Lutwyche and Bribie Island Hotel, bars owned by Australian Venue Co have been getting revamp — and The Wickham in Fortitude Valley is about to join them. The 137-year-old heritage-listed pub has just announced a $1.5-million renovation, which'll see its ground-floor bar, beer garden and second floor all transformed. While the refurbishment is under way, the venue has also temporarily closed most of its spaces, effective Monday, August 8, except its gaming room. A reopening date hasn't yet been set, but The Wickham will welcome patrons back in before 2022 comes to a close. When it throws open the doors again, it'll boast dedicated areas for socialising, casual dining, group gatherings and events — and, crucially, for dancing. With Newline Design leading the makeover, the hotel will also sport a modernised look and feel, although exactly what that'll entail hasn't been revealed. That said, Chief Operating Officer Craig Ellison advised that "The Wickham is a Fortitude Valley icon. We want to make The Wickham the best version of itself, and offer Brisbane's LGBTQIA+ community the best experience every time they visit." [caption id="attachment_680674" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] Regulars can also look forward to a new entertainment program — with existing popular weekly events such as trivia and drag bingo returning, of course, as well as guest DJs. The Wickham will continue to host LGTBQIA+ street party Big Gay Day once a year as well. And, under Executive Chef Dylan Kemp, the venue will score a new menu — which will include woodfired pizzas, bar snacks and late-night options, including a sizeable range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The Wickham is no stranger to nips and tucks during its century-plus existence, last undergoing a refresh back in 2014, which gave the spot five completely new spaces. The Wickham will reopen its bar, beer garden and studio at 308 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, sometime before the end of 2022 — we'll update you with an exact date when one is announced.
When the Scream franchise posed the question it'll forever be known for, it skipped over a key word. Ghostface is clearly asking "do you like watching scary movies?", given the entire point of frightening flicks is seeing their thrills and chills, and being creeped out, entertained or both. We all know that's what the mask-wearing killer means, of course, but the act of viewing is such a crucial part of the horror-film equation that it's always worth overtly mentioning. Enter new slasher standout X, which splashes its buckets of viscera and gore across the screen with as much nodding and winking as the Scream pictures — without ever uttering that iconic phrase, though, and thankfully in a far less smug fashion than 2022's fifth instalment in that series — and firmly thrusts cinema's voyeuristic tendencies to the fore. That name, X, doesn't simply mark a spot; it isn't by accident that the film takes its moniker from the classification given to the most violent and pornographic movies made. This is a horror flick set amid a porn shoot, after all, and it heartily embraces the fact that people like to watch from the get-go. Swaggering producer Wayne (Martin Henderson, The Gloaming), aspiring starlet Maxine Minx (Mia Goth, Emma), old-pro fellow actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow, Pitch Perfect 3) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi, Don't Look Up), and arty director RJ (Owen Campbell, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and his girlfriend/sound recorder Lorraine (Jenna Ortega, doing triple horror duty in 2022 so far in Scream, Studio 666 and now this) are counting on that truth to catapult themselves to fame. Hailing from Houston and aroused at the idea of repeating Debbie Does Dallas' success, they're heading out on the road to quieter climes to make the skin flick they're staking their futures on, and they desperately hope there's an audience. X is set in the 70s, as both the home-entertainment pornography market and big-screen slashers were beginning to blossom. As a result, it's similarly well aware that sex and death are cinema's traditional taboos, and that they'll always be linked. That's art imitating life, because sex begets life and life begets death, but rare is the recent horror movie that stresses the connection so explicitly yet playfully. Making those links is Ti West, the writer/director responsible for several indie horror gems over the past decade or so — see: cult favourites The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers — and thrusting a smart, savage and salacious delight towards his viewers here. Yes, he could've gone with The Texas Porn-Shoot Massacre for the feature's title, but he isn't remaking the obvious seminal piece of genre inspiration. In this blood-splattered throwback, which looks like it could've been unearthed from its chosen decade in every frame (and was actually filmed in New Zealand rather than Texas), West pays homage to a time when flicks like this did pop up with frequency — while slyly commenting on what's changed to shift that scenario. He also explores the process of filmmaking, of putting both sex and death on-screen, and the conversation around both, all while his characters decamp to a quiet guesthouse on a remote property where they start making the film-within-the-film that is The Farmer's Daughter. Upon arrival, gun-toting, televangelist-watching, pitchfork-wielding owner Howard (Stephen Ure, Mortal Engines) is instantly unfriendly. Wayne hasn't told him why they're really there, but he's soon snooping around to see for himself. Also keen on watching the bumping 'n' grinding is Howard's ailing wife Pearl, who he warns his guests to stay away from, but is drawn to the flesh on show. There's a genius stroke of casting in X that deserves discovering while watching, and speaks to one of the movie's other thematic obsessions. As West ponders the heyday of the type of flick he's making — and the picture within it as well — he contemplates what kinds of bodies we fetishise and find horrific. Desire and shame are flipsides of the same coin, and Pearl's lust towards her young and virile visitors contrasts with Maxine's insecurity, too, although the latter remains determined to use nature's gifts to shoot her shot. X doesn't always cut especially deep, but its musings on commodifying and worshipping youth and beauty still pierce, particularly when aided by such a committed and compelling turn by Goth, charismatic work from Henderson, Mescudi and Snow, and a crucial spurt of slipperiness from Ortega. That said, nothing carves as forcefully and gleefully as the film's many expertly staged death scenes. Knocking its pretty young things (and in Wayne's case, a tad older) off one by one, X revels in and relishes the art of depicting movie's kills. In fact, that depictions of erotica and mortality can be art is another of the film's fascinations. Viewers watch the two out of curiosity, titillation, and a mix of shock and allure, but find far more in porn and horror when they're executed with exacting eyes. Accordingly, as shot by West's frequent cinematographer Eliot Rockett — an alum of The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers as well — X's atmospheric and textured imagery makes this point inherently in all of its retro-styled glory. Every element in the movie is meticulous about its timeframe, right down to Maxine's Linda Lovelace-esque appearance, and never in the service of mere nostalgia. West's love of slow-burn horror setups also plays an influential part, teasing things out before the army of money shots. So too does his knowledge that whatever his audience imagines in their head will always be more shocking than what he commits to celluloid — yes, even with ample amounts of guts still strewn all over the place in the second half, and often. A pivotal moment about a third of the way through, and perhaps X's best, says plenty: in a lake by their cabin (because West eagerly nods to Friday the 13th also), Maxine swims while a snapping alligator closes in behind her. The film peers down on this scene patiently from above, basking in stillness as the mood turns tense, unsettling and terrifying — and serving up one helluva sight. In other words, West makes X a flick that viewers don't just want to peer at the sleaze and the nasty body count, or to see people get screwed in multiple ways, but because it's so smart, savvy and spectacularly staged while straddling and embracing that fine line between pleasure and pain. "We turn people on and that scares 'em," Bobby-Lynne says early, and it's a fitting mantra for the movie overall. And when it climaxes, it firmly leaves audiences wanting to watch more. In great post-viewing news, West has already shot a prequel called Pearl as part of a planned trilogy.
It takes a brave filmmaker to see cancer and climate change, and think of art, evolution and eroticism in a possible future. It takes a bold director to have a character proclaim that "surgery is the new sex", too. David Cronenberg has always been that kind of visionary, even before doing all of the above in his sublime latest release — and having the Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly helmer back on his body-horror bent for the first time in more than two decades is exactly the wild and weird dream that cinephiles want it to be. The Canadian auteur makes his first movie at all since 2014's Maps to the Stars, in fact, and this tale of pleasure and pain is as Cronenbergian as anything can be. He borrows Crimes of the Future's title from his second-ever feature dating back 50-plus years, brings all of his corporeal fascinations to the fore, and moulds a viscerally and cerebrally mesmerising film that it feels like he's always been working towards. Long live the new flesh, again. Long live the old Cronenberg as well. In this portrait of a potential time to come, the human body has undergone two significant changes. Three, perhaps, as glimpsed in a disquieting opening where an eight-year-old called Brecken (debutant Sotiris Siozos) snacks on a plastic bin, and is then murdered by his mother Djuna (Lihi Kornowski, Ballistic). That incident isn't unimportant, but Crimes of the Future has other departures from today's status quo to carve into — and they're equally absorbing. Physical agony has disappeared, creating a trade in "desktop surgery" as performance art. Also, a condition dubbed Accelerated Evolution Syndrome causes some folks, such as artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen, Thirteen Lives), to grow abnormal organs. These tumours are removed and tattooed in avant-garde shows by his doctor/lover Caprice (Léa Seydoux, No Time to Die), then catalogued by the National Organ Register's Wippit (Don McKellar, reteaming with Cronenberg after eXistenZ) and Timlin (Kristen Stewart, Spencer). When Crimes of the Future stages one of Saul and Caprice's gigs, it drips not with blood but spectacle and seduction. Indeed, it's no wonder that a curious Timlin utters that catchy observation about medical slicing and intimate arousal shortly afterwards. Alluring, eerie, grotesque and enthralling — and the epitome of the feature's sparse yet entrancing look and mood in the process — it's a powerhouse of a scene, with a self-autopsy pod at its centre. Saul lies still, Caprice uses an eXistenZ-esque fleshy video-game controller to get the contraption cutting, and an enraptured audience hang on every incision. Saul and Caprice do, too, although their visibly aroused reactions have nothing on their time later in the suite alone. (Cronenberg does love eschewing traditional ideas about what titillates; see also: his 1996 film Crash, about characters excited by car crashes. It's a clear precursor to this, and the movie that purred so that 2021 Palme d'Or winner Titane, by filmmaker Julia Ducournau, could rev.) Crimes of the Future's scalpel-equipped coffin is just one of Saul and Caprice's Lifeform Ware gadgets; if eXistenZ, Naked Lunch and Dead Ringers procreated, these are the devices the three flicks would spawn. HR Giger could've conjured them up as well, and thinking of the biomechanical artist's contribution to Alien, which saw him share an Oscar for visual effects, is as natural as feeling spellbound and perturbed by Cronenberg's movie in unison. This is a grimy world where a bed covered with skin and tentacles floats in Saul's home, calibrated to cater to his "designer cancer"-riddled body's needs as it slumbers — and where a chair that looks like a skeleton reassembled as furniture contorts Saul as he's eating, something he is having increasing trouble with otherwise. In other words, it's a world where the old flesh isn't doing what it always has, new flesh is sprouting in a changing and devastated reality, and technology fills in the gaps as it is always designed to. Is Crimes of the Future a Cronenbergian nightmare painted using tools of horror as a brush, just as Caprice uses the autopsy bed as hers? Is it a probing and penetrating pondering of what lies in store on this planet of ours, where machinery keeps progressing, the environment continues to be pushed to its limits, and human bodies are in a state of metamorphosis? The answer: it's both, just as it's sensual and sinister — and, story-wise and thematically, there's still more to come. Writing as well as directing, Cronenberg works with his own original ideas for the first time since the constantly relevant eXistenZ, and doesn't stop questioning what physical, emotional, intellectual and psychological mutations may await humanity. Unsurprisingly, in a script he penned back in 1999, what he posits is bleak — his sci-fi body-horror visions always are — and thoroughly riveting. Connecting the dots, Cronenberg brings Brecken's plight into Saul and Caprice's life via a request by the shadowy Lang (Scott Speedman, Best Sellers), the boy's father, for a public autopsy. The feature has Saul carrying out missions for a detective (Welket Bengué, Berlin Alexanderplatz), and sees a pair of Lifeform Ware technicians (Yellowstone's Tanaya Beatty and Private Eyes' Nadia Litz) hovering around. Plus, Crimes of the Future spans an Inner Beauty Contest, with a zipper inserted in Saul's stomach for the occasion, which Caprice licks in the film's most carnally salacious moment. If Cronenberg's name hadn't already been adapted to describe his aesthetic, fascinations and narratives, it would be based on this movie. Actually, the filmmaker takes it back. He's shared the term with a raft of imitators, but no one holds a blade to Cronenberg at his best. Well, one fellow director comes close: his son Brandon, whose Antiviral and Possessor couldn't be more worthy of the family moniker. Crimes of the Future is an art-world and celebrity satire among everything else — when artists modifying bodies become stars, as happens here, how can it not be? And, joining the list, it's as strong an example there is of Cronenberg's masterful ability to use the instruments at his disposal to bring disturbing but enticing musings to a stunning fruition. There isn't a misstep among his cast, including his cloaked-up A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method star Mortensen oozing vulnerability and looking like death (a The Seventh Seal-style figure, to be exact); Seydoux serving up a picture of slinky passion; and Stewart delivering a delightfully nervy supporting turn. Every shot lensed by Douglas Koch (Funny Boy) exudes a ravaged air in multiple ways, and the score by Cronenberg's usual composer Howard Shore is devilishly menacing. Surrendering to their skills, and to Crimes of the Future's thrills, proves just like evolution: inescapable.
Maybe you don't ever manage to find the time to celebrate International Lobster Day each September. Perhaps you're just keen on an indulgent October and November feast. Or, you could simply want to treat yo'self to lobster whenever and wherever you can. Whichever one of these categories fits, you've got a date with Kangaroo Point's One Fish Two Fish from Tuesday, October 1–Saturday, November 30. The Main Street eatery is celebrating all things lobster, clearly — and, yes, by serving up the obvious. And, it's doing so across two entire months. No wonder that it's calling the event House of Lobster. Make plans to dine in and you can tuck into a $125 multi-course feast, which starts with lobster toast as an appetiser and lobster soup complete with tail pieces for a starter. From there, after pineapple and lime granita as a palate cleanser, there's two options to pick from for entrees and mains. So, you can go for a lobster salad or lobster spiral ravioli, then lobster masala or lobster mornay. And for dessert? Your choice of either raspberry sorbet or deep-fried vanilla ice cream. Booking quickly is recommended, with seats available for dinner Wednesdays–Fridays and lunch Fridays–Sundays. Updated Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Since its founding in 1989, the story of Bangarra Dance Theatre has been the story of First Nations culture and tales leaping, spinning, swirling and twirling across the stage via some of the best dance works that Australia has ever produced. Sometimes, including in the films Spear and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, those stories and that unparalleled artistry has also swayed across the screen. Wherever Bangarra's talents have spread, the end results have always proven a must-see. In the organisation's 35-year history so far, however, it hasn't ever put together a show like Horizon before. Playing the QPAC Playhouse in Meanjin from Thursday, August 8–Saturday, August 17, this is the iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, expanding its focus to include tales from across Oceania. Joining forces: Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, a veteran of Atamira Dance Company who is now the Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company; and Deborah Brown, a Helpmann Award-winning senior Bangarra dancer for 13 years with Torres Strait and Scottish heritage. In a production that takes its name to heart by pondering the space where the sky and sea meet, Patterson and Brown's The Light Inside pays tribute to the duo's respective countries while musing on what it means when we peer at the horizon looking for guidance and the way home. Beforehand, audiences are also treated to Sani Townson's Kulka, with an expanded form from its 2023 debut at Dance Clan opening Horizon. Images: Daniel Boud.
When Suicide Squad opened in cinemas back in 2016, it received plenty of attention. The film really wasn't great — it was worse than that, in fact — so some ridiculous fans wanted to shut down Rotten Tomatoes because the movie received negative reviews. No one should ever try to get websites taken down because other people didn't like a flick they loved, obviously, and thankfully the same thing didn't occur with this year's The Suicide Squad. Something that did happen: a smaller Australian release due to Sydney and Melbourne's lockdowns. Yes, missing movies you'd like to see in a cinema is sadly a part of pandemic life. So is watching those same films at home much sooner than you normally would've, with a lengthy list of flicks making the leap from the big to the small screen over the past 18 months or so. Before the pandemic, big-name movies wouldn't ever be available to view at home within a month or so, because films that release in cinemas usually didn't make the jump to home entertainment for 90 days. Fast-tracking to digital happens all the time now, however, so it isn't surprising that The Suicide Squad is doing just that — including while it's still in theatres in some parts of the country. Come Thursday, September 2, fans of the DC Extended Universe — the interconnected franchise that started with Man of Steel, and also includes Wonder Woman and its sequel, Aquaman and Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) — can stream this second stab at bringing the eponymous supervillain crew to the screen. It'll be available to buy and rent via video on demand, including from digital movie services such as Google Play, YouTube Movies, Amazon Video and iTunes. Accordingly, if you've already sat down to watch an extended new version of Justice League this year like it's still 2017, you can now pretend it's still 2016 with this confusingly named franchise effort — because no one has challenged themselves thinking of The Suicide Squad's moniker. Plot-wise, this sequel follows its titular gang as they're sent to the island of Corto Maltese on a deadly quest — to save the world in secret, and after being given zero choice by shady parts of the US Government, of course. Margot Robbie (Dreamland) returns as Harley Quinn and proves one of the best things about the movie, while Idris Elba (Cats) as Bloodsport is also a standout. They're joined by Joel Kinnaman (The Secrets We Keep) making a comeback as Rick Flag, Australian actor Jai Courtney (Honest Thief) doing the same as Captain Boomerang, and 2021 Oscar-nominee Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) returning as the agent overseeing this band of world-saving supervillains. John Cena (Playing with Fire), Peter Capaldi (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island), Sylvester Stallone (Rambo: Last Blood) and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) show up, too — and so do Guardians of the Galaxy alums Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn, which makes complete sense given that GotG filmmaker James Gunn is behind the lens and also penned the screenplay. Check out the trailer for The Suicide Squad below: The Suicide Squad is currently screening in cinemas in Australia — where cinemas are open — and will also be available to stream online via video on demand from Thursday, September 2.
Fans of The Handmaid's Tale have had to wait longer than expected for its fourth season, with the dystopian series' next batch of episodes among the many things that were postponed due to the pandemic. But, come April, that delay will come to an end — and if you're wondering what's in store, another tense trailer has just dropped. This is the third time that viewers have gleaned a sneak peek at the show's next season, after a first teaser last year and a second glimpse last month. And yes, June (Elisabeth Moss) is still battling against Gilead after season three's cliffhanger ending. In fact, after everything that the oppressive regime has done to her and her loved ones — and the ways in which it has changed life for women in general — she's firmly out for justice and revenge. The new season will kick off Down Under on Thursday, April 29, airing weekly on SBS and streaming episodes via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Based on the three trailers so far, you can expect your anxiety levels to ramp up several notches while you're watching. Of course, viewing The Handmaid's Tale has never been a stress-free experience. Given its storyline, that was always going to be absolutely impossible. Fans will be seeing where the show's narrative heads for some time to come, too, with a fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale green-lit before the fourth even airs. Toppling a totalitarian society that's taken over the former United States, tearing down its oppression of women under the guise of 'traditional values', and fighting for freedom and equality doesn't happen quickly, after all. Neither does exploring the tale initially started in Margaret Atwood's 1985 book via an award-winning TV series. Check out the latest season four trailer below: The fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale will hit start airing in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, April 29 — on SBS TV, and to stream via SBS On Demand and Neon, with new episodes arriving weekly.
Never forget that the first American version of Godzilla thwarted the titular behemoth by using "an internet". That's the ridiculously awful 1998 film's legacy (well, that and fruitlessly trying to follow in Jurassic Park's footsteps more than its own Japanese predecessors). Deploying the same logic, Reddit should probably be the saviour in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It isn't, but that might've proven more interesting. Continuing the new US-made series that began with 2014's Godzilla and will link up with Kong: Skull Island once next year's Godzilla vs Kong comes around, this 'MonsterVerse' sequel actually does take a few cues from its late-90s American counterpart — more than any movie should, and not to its benefit. Some come through in the story, including a routine finale in a sporting arena. Others are evident at the human level, corralling yet another array of dull, feuding characters scrambling all over the place. But the main similarity is something that all US Godzilla reboots have struggled with: not knowing what to do with its hulking star. It's unsurprisingly strange to watch people quaking in the famous kaiju's shadow, whether in awe, fear or both, while the film they're in focuses on their reactions instead of the towering figure. King of the Monsters ups the creature factor considerably, giving Godzilla friends (Mothra), frenemies (Rodan) and foes (King Ghidorah) amongst a 17-strong cohort of havoc-wreaking 'titans'. At a narrative level, it doesn't just lean into the idea that more of these giant, city-levelling critters exist — it makes that very notion its premise. Alas, the film prefers to explain that supersized lizards, insects, pterodactyls, mammoths and three-headed dragons are frightening via clunky dialogue and pained faces, rather than offer much monster-on-monster action. Taking over from Godzilla's Gareth Edwards, writer-director Michael Dougherty has a background in horror thanks to Trick 'r' Treat and Krampus, but misappropriates one of that genre's key elements. Watching scared folks react to mysterious bumps and jumps in the night works a treat, all thanks to the powers of suggestion and imagination, however the same isn't true when your whole movie screams "Aaaaaaah! Fucking huge monsters! And so many of them!" Five years after Godzilla emerged from the earth's depths to battle a massive unidentified terrestrial organism, humans are basically yelling the aforementioned line. The government wants to know how many titans exist so that it can exterminate them. Shadowy outfit Monarch, led by scientists Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), plead that people and Godzilla can live together, and that maybe good ol' Zilly could even save us all. Also working for Monarch in a Chinese facility, paleobiologist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) appears to feel the same way, creating a bioacoustics system that can communicate with the creatures. When she's kidnapped, along with her technological breakthrough and her teenage daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), another group enters the fray. Overseen by British soldier turned eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance, because every movie has to feature someone from Game of Thrones), their aim is to let all of the titans loose, watch as they do their worst and hope that the ravaged planet is reborn in the aftermath. Thanos would be proud. Also popping up is Emma's kaiju-hating ex-husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), who once worked at Monarch, has a bone to pick with Godzilla and loves yelling about it while trying to rescue his daughter. And so everyone fights over what to do, with the shouting getting louder as Jonah keeps awakening more and more titans. Human noise isn't what anyone wants from King of the Monsters, though. And if someone does want to watch people squabble in the face of literally existence-shattering critters, the last live-action Japanese Godzilla, 2016's Shin Godzilla, delivered just that in a smart, thoughtful and engaging way. Here, the paper-thin, consistently cliched story doesn't justify so much chatter. Indeed, it feels as if it's been written to slot in beside the big beasty battles, then hurriedly padded out and over-extended when those massive monster melees didn't turn out as planned. Godzilla and Ghidorah do go head-to-head, more than once. Mothra and Rodan get to flap their wings, and brief clips of other creatures are glimpsed as well. King of the Monsters doesn't completely shy away from its prehistoric giants, but they're never the main attraction — or even much of an attraction at all. There's welcome reverence and respect directed Godzilla's way, however the movie barely acknowledges the character's metaphorical significance, preferring to show its love via a few impressive wide shots instead. And while simply pairing it with its fellow iconic figures in the same picture is inherently exciting, King of the Monsters essentially rests there. When it comes to the film's frays, they arrive packaged in dim, dark, Game of Thrones-esque lighting, blighted by ugly special effects and hardly serving up a spectacle. In fact, the battles feel rushed, busy, and never as fun and lively as you'd expect given the whole titan-versus-titan situation. Hollywood is never going to admit that it just doesn't quite get Godzilla, but perhaps it should. Or, maybe it should stop trying to style American Godzilla flicks after whatever else happens to be popular recently — Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a clear influence on King of the Monsters, as is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it isn't a coincidence that the film taps Stranger Things' Brown for her big-screen debut. 65 years after the enormous lizard-style gargantuan made its initial appearance in the first Japanese Godzilla, it deserves better than by-the-numbers franchise-extending entries. The kaiju genre deserves better too, but at least it has Guillermo del Toro's great Pacific Rim. The fact that King of the Monsters delivers its most thrilling aspect in its credits — the sounds of the original, exceptional, still rousing Godzilla theme, not the obligatory post-reel stinger — screams louder than the movie's humans, and than Godzilla's own roars as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3xYYJ6NoE
As a filmmaker, he co-created the Saw and Insidious franchises, and has since been tackling iconic horror tales with The Invisible Man and 2025 release Wolf Man. As an actor, he popped up in The Matrix Reloaded. Before all of that, he was a film critic on beloved late-90s Saturday-morning music TV show Recovery. That's a helluva career so far — and next, Leigh Whannell is heading to AACTA Festival to chat about it. In 2024, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards launched a festival to sit alongside its accolades, and to celebrate the latter's move to the Gold Coast. That event is returning in 2025 in a bigger guise, running for five days between Wednesday, February 5–Sunday, February 9, and hosting more than 100 sessions. AACTA Festival will also welcome Australian The Greatest Showman filmmaker Michael Gracey, who has been earning some love from the academy of late. Better Man, his unconventional Robbie Williams biopic, topped the 2025 AACTA nominations — and attendees will hear all about the film at his festival session. Equally huge news is enlisting Paul Kelly to perform at the live How to Make Gravy concert, which also features Meg Washington, Brendan Maclean and Beddy Rays — and yes, it's easy to predict what the Australian icon will be singing. Plus, Late Night with the Devil is in the spotlight via filmmakers Colin and Cameron Cairnes getting talking, while Netflix's upcoming Apple Cider Vinegar series will score a behind-the-scenes look. Another massive drawcard: the Working Dog team, aka Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Michael Hirsh and Rob Sitch, coming together for an in-conversation session that's bound to touch upon everything from The Castle, Frontline, Thank God You're Here and Utopia to The Dish, The Hollowmen and Have You Been Paying Attention?. The Dish is also the screening program, and the Working Dog team will receive the prestigious AACTA Longford Lyell Award. Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser, who won an Oscar for Dune and is highly tipped for another one for Dune: Part Two, is another big-name inclusion, chatting about his Hollywood work. Also in the same category: John Seale, who took home an Academy Award for The English Patient, and was nominated for Witness, Rain Man, Cold Mountain and Mad Max: Fury Road. Everyone can also look forward to authors Trent Dalton and Holly Ringland returning from 2024's lineup, chatting about Boy Swallows Universe and The Lost Flowers of Alice on the small screen, respectively; a dive into the Heartbreak High soundtrack; a panel on queer storytelling with RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under season two winner Spankie Jackzon and Deadloch's Nina Oyama; and a session with First Nations filmmakers. And if you're keen to watch movies, Gettin' Square followup Spit will enjoy its Queensland premiere, complete with star David Wenham (Fake) chatting about the feature's journey; Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up will make its Australian debut, at Movie World, of course; and upcoming action film Homeward with Nathan Phillips (Kid Snow) and Jake Ryan (Territory) will take viewers behind the scenes.
This is the X-Men movie for X-Men aficionados; a filmic Grange Hermitage, Stradivarius and Cohiba Behike rolled into one. That's not to say newcomers won't enjoy themselves, but X-Men: Days of Future Past is a considered, intricate and devoted film that rewards both the audience's fidelity to, and memory of, its predecessors. It's set (initially) in the future, where earth's mutants — good and bad — have all but been exterminated via an unstoppable army of adaptive, mutant-seeking robots named 'Sentinels'. With one last throw of the dice available, the survivors send their own indestructible spork, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), back in time to 1974 to attempt to alter the course of history. Wolverine's principal task is to reunite a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) with the man responsible for putting him in a wheelchair — the metal-manipulating champion of mutants known as Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Xavier, however, has become an addict of alcohol and painkillers whilst Magneto has been buried in a cement prison for participating in a tricky little incident in Dallas, 1963. Together, they must all reconcile their grievances and work collectively towards stopping an embittered Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from attacking the inventor of the Sentinels, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). Back in the director's chair is Bryan Singer, whose first two X-Men films were by far the strongest in the franchise. The key to their success was focusing on stories bolstered by special effects, rather than delivering 'special effects movies' for the sake of special effects. They were rip-roaringly fun and exciting pictures that also represented compelling parables on prejudice and discrimination. One or two space-time continuum hiccups notwithstanding, X-Men: Days of Future Past rediscovers that balance and the result is a complex and comprehensive film that ingeniously marries the old Singer cast with the younger, First Class one. It also introduces some fantastic new mutants, including a Portal-esque character named Blink and the lightning fast Quicksilver (Evan Peters), whose keynote slow-mo scene is the film's undisputed highlight. X-Men: Days of Future Past is a delightful reboot of a series that was in danger of losing its way. Full of subtle yet instructive allusions to future moments from past films (remember: time travel), it refreshingly keeps things relatively small-scale amid a growing compliment of contemporaries that now deem city-wide devastation par for the course. Dark, enthralling and undeniably exhilarating, it's an elegant and accomplished thrill-ride for both new fans and old. https://youtube.com/watch?v=pK2zYHWDZKo
As a five-year-old in India in 1986, Saroo Brierley didn't expect to be whisked nearly 1,500 kilometres away from his family, and not be able to find his way back. Then, after being adopted by an Australian couple, he definitely didn't expect that he'd have a date with Google Earth as an adult, trying to locate the place that sparked so many memories. This stranger-than-fiction tale inspired a book, and now a movie too. And while a big screen adaptation of his life story might be the latest thing the real-life Saroo didn't anticipate, it's audiences that are in for the biggest surprise. If you didn't know that Lion was based on actual events, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was simply a feel-good fantasy. First-time film director Garth Davis (TV's Top of the Lake) and writer Luke Davies (Life) recount Saroo's story faithfully, including its well-publicised ending. Yet despite the twists and turns having played out in the media, the Australian duo still manage to deliver a thoughtful, sensitive and emotional viewing experience. Yes, you'll know that tears are coming. But they'll still feel well and truly earned. Aerial shots of the Indian landscape immediately set audiences on a journey, with a charming little boy (newcomer Sunny Pawar) their guide. Tagging along as his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) seeks work to help their mother (Priyanka Bose) with the family finances, Saroo falls asleep on a train. By the time he awakens, events have been set in motion that will see him fending for himself on the streets of Calcutta, before eventually being adopted by Tasmanians Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John Brierley (David Wenham). It's two decades later, as an adult (now played by Dev Patel), that Saroo turns on his computer and begins his search for home. Sometimes, it's the simplest things that have the strongest impact: a child's warm, cheeky smile; the pain of a lost past lingering in a man's eyes; haunting visions of familiar places embedding themselves in the mind. Saroo's quest owes a lot to a certain search engine, but that's neither the most interesting thing to watch nor the most important part of the narrative. Crafting a highly personal story that conveys universal themes, Davis and Davies ensure that Lion doesn't forget this fact. Even as it balances several competing elements — the two countries Saroo calls his own throughout his life, his feelings for his two families, and the push and pull between old-fashioned human connection and the influence of modern technology — the film never loses its footing Indeed, the key to the movie is people. Or, to be specific, one person and two shining performances. Pawar and Patel each possess the naturalistic spark that keeps viewers along for the ride — one innocent and endearing, the other oozing inner conflict and yearning. As a result, Lion does exactly what it needs to make hearts soar and tears swell. It might do so in a standard fashion, but, boy does it do it well.
UPDATE, Wednesday, June 19, 2024: Dream Scenario is available to stream via Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Gushing about Paddington movies, channelling Elvis, screaming about being a vampire, swooning over Cher, kidnapping babies, fighting cults, battling demonic animatronics, driving ambulances, flying with convicts, swapping faces, avenging pet pigs and milking alpacas, Nicolas Cage has gotten himself lodged in many a moviegoer's brain before. Dream Scenario takes that idea to the next level, not with the screen's most-inimitable star as himself — this isn't The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — but in a film that works as well as it does, and as sharply, because he's its irreplaceable lead. Although writer/director Kristoffer Borgli didn't write his third feature (after DRIB and Sick of Myself) with Cage in mind, there's pure magic in matching his tale of pop-culture virality, fame and its costs to the man born Nicolas Kim Coppola. Who else could play someone so ubiquitous in the collective consciousness that everyone knows him, has deep-seated feelings and opinions about him, and can't stop thinking about him? Albeit for different reasons, it as much a stroke of genius as enlisting Being John Malkovich's namesake. Dream Scenario wears its comparisons to Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys Story) and Charlie Kaufman's (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) masterpiece better than anything else between 1999 and now, other than their subsequent collaboration Adaptation — as starring none other than Cage — and the Kaufman-penned, Michel Gondry (Kidding)-helmed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. David Lynch (Cage's Wild at Heart director) and Ari Aster also come to mind while watching Borgli's film, which blends the surreal and satirical, and also spins a nightmare where dread paints every frame. Aster produces, lending a hand on a movie that pairs well with his own Beau Is Afraid, aka another flick where a schlubby, awkward and unhappy middle-aged man has his life upended in no small part thanks to his own anxiety. Dream Scenario isn't attempting to ape its predecessors, or Borgli's own Sick of Myself, another musing on celebrity, attention and the fact that almost everything about 21st-century existence has become a performance. Rather, the Norwegian filmmaker's latest plays like its title suggests: the product of slumbering while having all of the above swirling, twirling and dancing in your synapses — and with Cage always lurking, of course. The Renfield actor loiters as the bulk of Dream Scenario's characters get some shuteye, too, skulking on the edge of nocturnal reveries conjured up by their sleeping subconscious. But for the folks within Borgli's movie, they're sharing their headspace with an average biology professor that no one outside of his own university has initially heard of. Even then, his students and colleagues barely think twice about him. One former classmate-turned-fellow academic (Paula Boudreau, Take Me Back for Christmas) has ripped off his research for her book without worrying about any repercussions. When Dream Scenario opens inside the napping mind of Paul's teenage daughter Sophie (Lily Bird, The Northman), she's witnessing him sweep up leaves, then do nothing when items fall from the sky and she flies into the air. In a reaction that the feature makes plain would be shared by his other high-schooler daughter Hannah (Jessica Clement, Gen V), plus his wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), she believes it's strange enough to tell him about — and that it keeps recurring — but isn't losing sleep over why he's so passive. Cage plays Paul Matthews, who far more people than just one of his children is spotting when they close their peepers. Soon, it's harder to find someone who isn't dreaming about him among his pupils, acquaintances, exes, his city, America and globally. A past love (Marnie McPhail Diamond, Orphan Black: Echoes) pens an article about the phenomenon, which thrusts Paul to worldwide attention in everyone's waking hours as well. And there is attention, springing from the internet, the news, a lofty old pal (Dylan Baker, Hunters) who never normally invites him to his exclusive dinner parties, and social-media marketers Trent (Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) and Mary (Kate Berlant, The Other Two). With their assistant Molly (Dylan Gelula, Loot), the latter duo endeavour to capitalise upon Paul's yearning to get published by pitching Sprite campaigns and dangling Barack Obama's purported interest. The one largely non-plussed party: Janet, who isn't seeing him as she snoozes, but Paul tries to make wish that she was (and in a Stop Making Sense-style oversized suit). That Paul's pilfered work focuses on "antelligence", his term for creatures arranging themselves into communities, is a telling early detail in Dream Scenario. So is how much Janet's apathy about Paul suddenly being everywhere as the planet kips — pottering rather than engaging — differs from the general response. And, obviously, there's the entire gag about someone who stands out so scarcely when they're awake that they're only given any notice for being an overnight bystander who literally does nothing. As it digs into crowd behaviour, group think, herd reactions, psychological contagion and social conformity, Dream Scenario is rarely subtle, nor is Borgli trying to be. Eschewing nuance doesn't make the picture any less shrewd and playful, however, including when it starts embracing the blatant in the heartiest of ways after Paul's luck twists. First, his unwitting A Nightmare on Elm Street experience turns terrifying for those inflicted with the dream epidemic, making him an aggressor in their mind's eye. Then, getting to the detail that sparked the film's screenplay, he becomes the new poster child for cancel culture. In a world rightly obsessed with Cage across his 100-plus on-screen credits, no one has likely thought that overlooking the Leaving Las Vegas Oscar-winner — and Adaptation Oscar-nominee — would, should or could happen. That's another of Dream Scenario's stellar jokes, alongside evidence of why this wouldn't be the movie it is without him. No one can ever ignore Cage, especially in one of his finest comic performances as someone so regularly disregarded, then made an icon and later a pariah. In fact, his portrayal of Paul is so rich because he brings such empathy and complexity to a neurotic man who loses control over reality's sense of who he is and can't do anything about it. It's not hard to expect that the much-memed Cage might relate; naming an actor whose go-for-broke commitment is so feverishly stripped of its context by the online masses, making him famous for being Nic Cage over any one project or his talent, is impossible. Cage is visibly having fun as well, as is the entire movie around him. Borgli isn't skewering wokeness, supporting the cancelled or decrying the validity of society deeming some behaviours unacceptable; instead, he's parodying the irrationality of chasing validation through digital exposure and its spread, the narcissism that fuels that urge and beams just as brightly in internet compliance, and the commodification and performativeness of just about everything in 2020s-era life. As shot by Mandy cinematographer Ben Loeb, edited by the filmmaker himself and featuring Cage as a producer — he's that all-in — Dream Scenario is at its best when it's showing rather than telling, though. When its hallucinatory dream sequences prove eerie and unsettling in their mundanity and horrors alike, it draws its audience into a realm where anything can happen, yet the worst usually does in both routine and wild ways. That's when Dream Scenario is exactly what everyone should want in their heads — with Cage, naturally.
Annabelle opens with unnecessary intertitles, advising that dolls are liked by children and collectors, and used in occult rituals. Next, the spin-off from The Conjuring links to its predecessor, revisiting that feature's introductory snippet of three housemates quivering in fear over a frightening figurine. So far, so standard — and so it continues in the same obvious, uninteresting vein. The scene is set for haunted horror cliches centred on a possessed porcelain plaything, sans punch or personality. A year prior, doctor-in-training John (Ward Horton) bought it to complete the antique collection of his pregnant wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis). When murderous satanic cultists break into their Santa Monica home, it is the doll they covet, leaving it splattered in blood. Strange things soon start happening around the house, but moving to a Pasadena apartment doesn't solve their problems. Even throwing Annabelle away proves pointless, while seeking the assistance of a friendly bookstore owner (Alfre Woodard) and local priest (Tony Amendola) just immerses others in their supernatural troubles. As things go bump in the night, lights flicker and doors slam, Annabelle doesn't deviate from run-of-the-mill scares, employing the same techniques as its predecessor. What's missing is subtlety and suspense, with everything telegraphed so far in advance that eliciting genuine jumps becomes impossible. The usual inexplicably moving items are handled well enough, though the same can't be said for cheap-looking CGI as demonic forces manifest. Lingering shots of the titular toy benefit from slow panning and zooming; however, simply staring at something isn't particularly terrifying. The Conjuring isn't the only film cinematographer-turned-director John R. Leonetti unsuccessfully attempts to imitate — and sadly, it isn't Child's Play's off-kilter chaos he evokes, either. Though the movie's central mother gives birth early, the idea of her home alone, afraid and exercising her maternal protective instincts recalls Rosemary's Baby, albeit dulled and dumbed down, not to mention plagued by highly questionable character decisions. When Annabelle resurfaces from the trash, wouldn't disposing of her again be the clear option? Sure, the feature would be over, but so would its patchy pastiche of poorly rendered tropes. Leads Horton and Wallis do little to lift B-movie writer Gary Dauberman's script, their wooden reading of equally stilted dialogue giving the film a TV movie-of-the-week flavour. As they talk about ignoring the bizarre occurrences because they've moved their clothes, furniture and good memories to their new apartment and should keep playing happy families, it's hard not to laugh, particularly with nothing remotely spooky offered as distraction. Making a bad horror film is forgivable; making a bland one, less so. Where Annabelle best succeeds is in enthusing audiences for next year's The Conjuring sequel, hopefully a blatant departure from this and the proper follow-up the series deserves. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZlCkrl7ZRjU
Obsessing over mysteries is human nature. We're hard-wired to piece together puzzles, trawl through murky terrain and look for answers; in fact, you could say that's what life is all about. Gothic tales understand this. They take audiences to dark, strange, far-from-straightforward places, and as a rule we're more than willing to go along. They unsettle, unnerve and ooze with unease — and that's precisely what makes them so alluring. These are the sensations conjured my My Cousin Rachel as it immerses viewers in a story of love, death, money and mistrust. For Philip (Sam Claflin), that's also the feeling he gets from the film's title character (Rachel Weisz), his cousin by marriage. When she arrives at the Cornish estate he'll inherit upon his upcoming 25th birthday, he's bubbling with anger and intent on vengeance, believing that she murdered her husband. And yet Philip soon finds himself mesmerised by the new woman in his life, even if he can't quite quell his suspicions. A Gothic romance penned by Daphne du Maurier back in 1951 (and first brought to the screen one year later), My Cousin Rachel leans into its enticing climate of wariness; this is a movie where a stiff gust of wind leaves everyone shaken, and where flickers of candlelight cast telling shadows. Writer-director Roger Michell (Le Week-End) successfully bathes every frame of the film in tension, using his handsome period staging to further the mood. A grand old house in the English countryside — and one typically seen during the daytime, too — has rarely elicited such feelings of seductive discomfort. Simmering beneath the feature's mastery of tone, however, is an exploration of both the power of perception and the battle of the sexes. It shouldn't escape attention that Philip is quick to condemn a woman he doesn't know based purely on conjecture, nor that he mostly changes his mind — becoming determined to help her, and unable to hide his affection — when she pays him attention. Similarly, noticing the response that Rachel receives for wanting to live her own life, have her own money and make her own decisions is crucial. Indeed, for all of its talk of potential poisonings, subterfuge and betrayal, as well as its pondering of Rachel's true nature, perhaps the most perturbing element of the film is the bewildered reaction directed towards her for daring to be independent. Is she a killer? Does she deserve Philip's doubts? They're questions that My Cousin Rachel asks; questions that Weisz's inscrutable performance makes it impossible to answer. Ambiguity is often the key to Gothic narratives, drawing you in to themes and situations that have no easy answers. Weisz expresses that conflict perfectly. That probably wouldn't have been the case in another actor's hands, but, as she's made a career of doing, she inhabits the role of Rachel so completely that it's hard to imagine anyone else doing it justice. While Claflin does well playing the naive but stubborn Philip, the movie's real point of interest is right there in its name: an enigmatic woman, the talented actress that brings her to life, and the mystery that follows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C-q7by64mA
Book in a date with 2 M3GAN 2 Furious now: even if it doesn't take that name, which it won't, a sequel to 2023's first guaranteed horror hit will come. Said follow-up also won't be called M3GAN 2: Electric Boogaloo, but that title would fit based on the first flick's TikTok-worthy dance sequence alone. Meme-starting fancy footwork is just one of the titular doll's skills. Earnestly singing 'Titanium' like this is Pitch Perfect, tickling the ivories with 80s classic 'Toy Soldiers', making these moments some of M3GAN's funniest: they're feats the robot achieves like it's designed to, too. Although unafraid to take wild tonal swings, and mining the established comedy-horror talents of New Zealand filmmaker Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) and screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant) as well, this killer-plaything flick does feel highly programmed itself, however. It's winking, knowing, silly, satirical, slick and highly engineered all at once, overtly pushing buttons and demanding a response — and, thankfully, mostly earning it. Those Child's Play-meets-Annabelle-meets-The Terminator-meets-HAL 9000 thoughts that M3GAN's basic concept instantly brings to mind? They all prove true. The eponymous droid — a Model 3 Generative Android, to be specific — is a four-foot-tall artificially intelligent doll that takes the task of protecting pre-teen Cady (Violet McGraw, Black Widow) from emotional and physical harm deadly seriously, creeping out and/or causing carnage against everyone who gets in its way. Those Frankenstein-esque sparks, exploring what happens when humanity (or Girls and Get Out's Allison Williams here, as Cady's roboticist aunt Gemma) plays god by creating life? They're just as evident, as relevant to the digital age Ex Machina-style. M3GAN is more formulaic than it should be, though, and also never as thoughtful as it wants to be, but prolific horror figures Jason Blum and James Wan produce a film that's almost always entertaining. In her job for toymaker Funki, working under brash CEO David (Ronny Chieng, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Gemma is responsible for three of the movie's most perturbing aspects. Yes, M3GAN is one of them. But the "cyborg puppet show", as David initially dubs it dismissively, comes about after his star employee installs listening software in the company's bestselling PurRpetual Pets — aka furry, troll-like trinkets that chat back, poop if you overfeed them and, as a parody-leaning ad openly says, bests IRL dogs and cats by never dying. As technology advances, ignoring how insidiously it's surveilling us is the bargain we've generally struck, but M3GAN doesn't forget it. Fleshing out a story co-conjured up by Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring's Wan, Cooper doesn't forget the other deal we've made with our smart gadgets and even just our ever-present screens, letting them make our lives easier by eradicating plenty of our human interactions. Gemma is meant to be working on a new, cheaper but shinier version of PurRpetual Pets, with a competitor undercutting Funki with a more affordable knockoff to David's dismay; however, her heart belongs to M3GAN. Then, via a tragedy, she's suddenly Cady's guardian — and because she wears flannelette, keeps collectibles and gets cranky about her overbearing neighbour's wandering pooch, she's immediately coded as anything but the mothering type. So, getting M3GAN functional serves multiple purposes, including giving Cady the kind of caregiver that her aunt instinctively isn't. "We're gonna kick Hasbro's dick!" David exclaims when he sees M3GAN in action as a walking, talking, bonding, nurturing, do-it-all bestie-slash-nanny that he can sell for $10,000 a pop. While the doll itself doesn't ever utter anything similar — she's murderous, but also child-friendly — as its AI learns and evolves, it's gonna knock about everyone who threatens Cady and its own existence. Hasbro's wares have scored the movie treatment in the Transformers, Power Rangers and GI Joe flicks and more, and M3GAN makes junk of most. They all largely did that themselves anyway, but none have this film's namesake, who makes one helluva horror nemesis. Clearly the product of ample time meticulously getting the specifics exactly right, M3GAN sports a lifelike-enough appearance that dwells deep in the uncanny valley, and could never visibly be confused for actual flesh-and-blood up close. And yet, the size is right, it pals around with Cady like they're peers and it dresses more like a stylish 70s Barbie than a standard doll. Its physical movements are preternatural, and its arch retorts and reactions — and often just its voice — would make Mean Girls' Plastics wither. Young actor Amie Donald (Sweet Tooth) plays the part, while TikTok star Jenna Davis (Maggie) provides M3GAN's vocals, with every detail pitch-perfect. Execution: M3GAN chiefly slays it, but because Gemma fluffs it (rushing to get the job done, overlooking parental controls as well as parameters for morals and ethics, and being too eager to avoid her guardian responsibilities), M3GAN savagely and repeatedly slays. As the brutal plaything's inventor and main target, Williams is fascinating, too, especially given that she comes to the part — any part — with her most famous past role's considerable baggage. She isn't playing Marnie Michaels as an expert coder here, obviously. In fact, the fact that the deranged toy she's facing patently resembles Williams is a savvy way of having the actor tear down the idea that she's crafted herself an on-screen type. Gemma isn't the uncomplicated hero of the piece, though, as a workaholic who happily outsources caring for a child to an untested gadget, revels in creating AI life to help cope with loss, then finds herself firmly standing in Victor Frankenstein's shoes. There's bite to Gemma's path, and to M3GAN's musings on motherhood, work-life balance, corporate culture and 21st-century chaos, as familiar as they all are — and, even when simply jerkily tilting its head or stealthily sneaking up unexpectedly, to M3GAN. There isn't as much blood to the film, sadly, with needing to appeal to a teen audience ensuring that it never fulfils its gory and deranged potential, including when the body count starts ramping up and the final act goes for adolescent-appropriate broke. What this sci-fi nightmare lacks in splatter, it compensates for with that gleefully campy, tongue-in-cheek and utterly self-aware vibe, forceful as it can be; M3GAN's trailer and its choreography didn't go viral months before the movie hit cinemas by accident. Indeed, Johnstone evokes the right sardonic atmosphere with the efficiency of his central robo-slasher. 2023 was already set to be the year of the big-screen doll thanks to Barbie, but M3GAN stalks the cinematic toy chest formidably and fiendishly first.
When the 2021 Academy Awards took place this week, much about the ceremony was different. From the format and order to the venue and vibe, change was definitely in the air. But another big shift was evident even before the gongs were handed out. Both in cinemas and via streaming, the Best Picture contenders were all available to watch Down Under before the ceremony — so you could check out Sound of Metal from your couch, for instance, then head to your local cinema to see Minari. Nomadland, which won the Best Picture prize, has also been showing in cinemas. It actually first started screening theatrically in Australia on Boxing Day last year, then returned to the big screen in early March. That's a little unusual, and so is the next piece of news: it'll be available to stream via Star on Disney+ from this Friday, April 30. A number of movies have been making the leap from the big to the small screen quite quickly of late, including while they're still in cinemas. Wonder Woman 1984 did just that after Christmas, in fact. That's how the film business has been adapting to the pandemic era. Still, being able to stream the year's Best Picture winner at home mere days after it nabbed the coveted award isn't a usual part of Oscar proceedings. The Chloé Zhao-directed and Frances McDormand-starring film follows the widowed, van-dwelling Fern — a woman who takes to the road, and to the nomad life, after the small middle-America spot she spent her married life in turns into a ghost town when the local mine is shuttered due to the global financial crisis. Charting her travels over the course of more than a year, this humanist drama serves up an observational portrait of those that society happily overlooks. It also won Zhao the Best Director gong, making her the first woman of colour and only second woman ever to nab the prize. McDormand won the Best Actress Oscar, too, and the feature was our best film of 2020 as well. Disney+ viewers will be able to watch Nomadland as part of their regular subscription, with the movie available part of its new Star brand — a just-added new section of the streaming platform that joined the service back in February. For folks yet to see the Oscar-winning film — or if you need a refresher — check out the Nomadland trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jePa57J0Ang&feature=youtu.be Nomadland will be available to stream via Star on Disney+ from Friday, April 30. Top image: Searchlight Pictures. © 2020, 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved
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.
UPDATE, February 17, 2021: Waves is available to stream via Amazon Prime, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. The sight of streaming sunlight, South Florida's scenery and a blissful young couple shouldn't hit like a gut punch, but in Waves, it does. When this magnificently moving film opens, it does so with high-schooler Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and his girlfriend Alexis Lopez (Alexa Demie). They sing and drive with carefree exuberance — buoyed by both youth and first love — with their happiness not only captured by fluid, enticing camerawork that circles around and around, but mirrored by the use of Animal Collective's upbeat, energetic 'FloriDada' on the soundtrack. Waves continues its sinuous cinematography and alluring tunes as it follows Tyler through a snapshot of his teenage existence, too. Viewers meet his upper middle-class family, who dote on his every word. We witness his prowess on the school wrestling team, where he's a star. We see how infatuated he is with Alexis, and vice versa. But, as intoxicatingly sensory as all of this is — and as expertly calibrated by writer/director Trey Edward Shults to convey exactly how Tyler is feeling — its glow fades quickly when the agonised glimmer in Tyler's eye becomes evident. It's only there when he's alone, looking in the mirror, but it's a picture of heartbreak. As played with a complicated mix of charm, arrogance, sadness, anger and vulnerability by the excellent Harrison, Tyler navigates his seemingly content life with an outward smile, while balancing on a knife's edge. He doesn't completely know it, though, although he can clearly feel the pressure mounting. Forceful in reminding him that African Americans are "not afforded the luxury of being average", his father Ronald (Sterling K Brown) is well-intentioned, but also stern and domineering. He pushes Tyler to be better at every turn and, when they train together for the teen's wrestling matches, even gets competitive. Stepmother Catherine (Hamilton's Renée Elise Goldsberry) is far more gentle; however the focus placed on Tyler compared to his younger sister Emily (Taylor Russell) is always obvious in her household. And so, when an injury threatens to undo his sporting future and his romance with Alexis breaks down, Tyler makes a series of self-sabotaging decisions. One leads to tragedy — and the fact that this isn't a joyful movie becomes devastatingly apparent. Waves is a graceful movie, though, even as it relentlessly hits hard. It starts with a feverish, frenzied outburst of adolescent life, pivots on a shocking and shattering night, then switches its focus to Emily in the painful aftermath — and it does so nimbly, compellingly, and with poise and precision. This is a film that's carefully crafted to not just tell several intertwined tales, but to express the bustling emotions that go with them. It's also exactingly engineered to ride the crests of the Williams' family's lives, sink into the troughs, and bob back up and down again as each given moment calls for. It is called Waves, after all. And, as that well-chosen name nods to, it follows the sadness that ripples through the lives of its characters, their attempts to keep afloat however they can, and all the other ebbs and flows they endure. They drift apart and glide back together, and Shults provides an immensely affecting account of their experiences, with the feature always raw and resonant as it grapples with loss, love, and the chaos and reality of being a Black teenager in America today. In Emily's section of the story, charting the above path from her perspective comes with a swift change of style: switching aspect ratios, easing back the pace, and taking a quieter, calmer, more lyrical approach. Where Waves' window into Tyler's life is frantic, fast-paced and, as the drama intensifies, often cloaked in lurid hues from parties and police lights, the film prefers slower, smoother and softer imagery for his sister, who must try to regain some sense of normality after the movie's big turning point. She's always been in Tyler's shadow, so the transition makes emotional sense, too. She's more reserved, accustomed to watching on rather than being the centre of attention, and well-versed in soaking in what slivers of happiness she can. Accordingly, as the Williams' family tries to recover from Tyler's life-changing actions, Emily makes a new connection with classmate Luke (Lucas Hedges), helps him deal with his own traumas and allows herself to be herself. Best known for Netflix's Lost in Space remake and horror flick Escape Room so far, Russell is just as phenomenal as the more overtly powerful Harrison. In fact, Waves proves a superbly acted movie all-round, with Shults wrangling intricate, intimate and expressive performances out of his entire cast. That shouldn't come as a surprise given the filmmaker's resume. But, while he already has the stellar Krisha and effective It Comes at Night to his name, this is his best work yet. With exceptional assistance from his usual cinematographer Drew Daniels, his own deft editing with Isaac Hagy (Guava Island), and a magnetic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — and a willingness to cover weighty issues such as race relations, the US legal system and engrained discrimination as well — every second of Shults' film pierces and probes as it cuts to the heart of Tyler and Emily's tales, and the impact upon their loved ones, school and community. The result: a stunningly visceral, stirring and profound drama that rushes, peaks and rolls like its moniker suggests, sweeping audiences along for every single moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIzchAe5H5A
The term "passion project" is usually thrown around when a filmmaker tries to make something near and dear to them, but doesn't quite achieve the success they'd hoped for. Fences clearly meets the first half of that definition, with Denzel Washington directing and starring in a stage-to-screen adaptation of the play he previously won a Tony award for on Broadway. With the aid of his co-star Viola Davis, who also follows the project from the theatre to film, Washington crafts a picture full of commanding lead performances and blistering drama. And yet, like so many passion projects, it's never quite everything that it could be. Just why that's the case is apparent from the outset, when Pittsburgh garbage collector Troy (Washington) returns home on a Friday afternoon with both his pay packet and a bottle of gin in his hand. The working week is over, and so he's jovial, tipsy, talkative, and cheekily playing up for his dutiful wife Rose (Davis) and his long term friend and work colleague Jim Bono (Stephen Henderson). It's the type of performance-centric opening scene designed to make an impact, and in a theatre it would certainly cause an immediate splash. On film, it simply offers the first of many reminders of the movie's origins on the stage. In a script written by the late August Wilson based on his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Troy unleashes his thoughts, problems and memories upon Rose, their teenage son Cory (Jovan Adepo), his first son from a previous relationship Lyons (Russell Hornsby) and his brother (Mykelti Williamson). He wants to become a driver, while Cory yearns to pursue a football career against his father's wishes, and Rose remains suffering but still poised in the middle. The more Troy talks as time passes, the more revelations are in store. Slowly, his bravado and bluster fades. The almost constant chatter continues, only quieter, with the characters weighed down by their mounting troubles. If that sounds like a whole lot of arguing, that's because Fences doesn't shy away from the spoken word. The script serves the film's cast well, and each player delivers their lines with passion and conviction. Above all else, this is an actor's showcase. Washington perfects the transformation from confident to wearied, while Davis charts the opposite trajectory. The space where they collide is the place where pride is undone, legacies are shattered, hearts are broken, and racial and socio-economic truths are exposed. Distilling all of that into their performances, it's almost enough just to watch them circle around each other for 139 minutes. Of course, the key word there is almost. As a filmmaker, Washington obviously believes in the strength of the scenario and the acting it inspires. In a way, that's the problem, since it means his direction ends up feeling rather stagey. Given that the film's characters are both fenced in and trying to burst beyond their confines, a sense of constraint comes with the territory. And yet, for all its attempts at intimacy, the end result still keeps viewers at a distance. Fences feels more like a great play captured on camera, rather than a great movie in its own right.
When it comes to televised singing battles, there's only one that matters. No matter what reality television keeps throwing our way, that's Eurovision. Back in 2015, Australia became the first country from Oceania to join the clearly Europe-centric competition, in what was supposed to be a one-off move — and to celebrate five years of belting out pop tunes on the world stage, we're getting our very own pre-Eurovision event to pick the 2019 Aussie entrant. Yes, SBS Australia is hosting a national song contest to decide who'll represent the country in the international song contest. After beaming Eurovision onto our screens for 35 years and spearheading our involvement in recent years, Eurovision - Australia Decides is the next step for the Aussie broadcaster. With the nation's participation in the 2019 Tel Aviv event confirmed, SBS will put together a series of live performance shows to highlight potential entrants, with the general public able to vote for the song and singer that'll follow in Guy Sebastian, Dani Im, Isaiah Firebrace and Jessica Mauboy's footsteps. Even better — if you've always thought that you could whip up a great pop track, this is your chance to shine, as SBS is calling on Aussie songwriters to submit their original songs. Entries are now open until November 4, all tracks mustn't have been previously made publicly available, and they need to range between two and three minutes. You won't be able to actually croon it in Israel, however, but tunes will be shortlisted later this year, paired with some of Australia's most recognised artists, and then performed live for a public vote on Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9, 2019. Produced in collaboration with SBS's production partner Blink TV, Eurovision - Australia Decides will be hosted by Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey, who've hosted Australia's Eurovision coverage since 2017. A yet-to-be-named jury will also be involved in the decision-making process. And if you'd like to not only help pick the Aussie contender, but head along to Eurovision - Australia Decides to watch live in person, it'll be held on the Gold Coast in conjunction with Tourism and Events Queensland. A trip to the Goldie is cheaper than a trip to Europe, obviously. For more information about Eurovision - Australia Decides or to enter your original song, visit sbs.com.au/eurovision.
In its opening moments, Bupkis unloads — twice, in completely different ways, while ensuring there's zero doubt that this is a series about Pete Davidson starring Pete Davidson as Pete Davidson. First, the former Saturday Night Live comedian gets Googling while alone in the basement of the Staten Island home he shares with his mother Amy (Edie Falco, Avatar: The Way of Water). The results about Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale and Kim Kardashian's ex aren't positive; one headline simply exclaims 'Yuck!'. So, to shake off the unpleasantness of reading '12 Things Horribly Wrong with Pete Davidson', which is one of the nicer statements, he switches from "scumbro" with "butthole eyes" comments to porn. He's wearing a VR headset, and he's soon deep in self-love. Then his mum walks in. Streaming from Thursday, May 4 on Binge in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand, Bupkis clearly isn't wary about getting crude. It isn't concerned about satirising its central figure, either. Instead, this semi-autobiographical dramedy relishes the parody. At the age of 29, Davidson has reached the "you may as well laugh" point in his career, which is hardly surprising given he's spent the past decade swinging his big chaotic energy around. Or, more accurately, how pop culture has hung on every twist in his love life and off-screen mess far more than his eight SNL seasons and big-screen roles in Big Time Adolescence, The Suicide Squad, Bodies Bodies Bodies and more. Missed those flicks? Bupkis riffs on them, too, while also following in The King of Staten Island's footsteps. Partway through the eight-episode series, while keen to claim some perks for being Davidson's mother — other than doting on her son, that is — Amy shouts at wait staff that "Marisa Tomei played me!". Add that to Bupkis' gleeful, playful nods to reality. An opening statement before each instalment stresses the difference between fact and fiction, and why the show has the name it has, but art keeps imitating life everywhere. There's no switching names, however. Davidson is indeed Davidson, his IRL mum is called Amy and his sister is Casey (Oona Roche, The Morning Show). As in The King of Staten Island, they've been a trio since 9/11, and dealing with losing his New York City firefighter dad still isn't easy. Off-screen, Davidson must be a fan of My Cousin Vinny, plus the gangster genre. Hailing from the former as Tomei does, and famed for his performances in the latter like The Sopranos star Falco, Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman alum Joe Pesci is a pivotal part of Bupkis as Davidson's grandfather Joe — a hilarious and delightful part, unsurprisingly. When Joe drops grim health news, the series gets one of its through lines, with Davidson determined to spend as much time with his grandpa as possible. He's clueless about what to do, though, whether he's hiring him a sex worker or seeking advice about why no one ever takes him seriously. Joe is blunt: "they see you as a joke because you are a joke — and you act like a fucking joke." There's roguish self-awareness to the way Bupkis leans into Joe's assessment — with Davidson lampooning himself, could there be anything else? — alongside an earnest-but-comic effort to unpack why that's such a widely held view. Joe also advises that he needs to stop trying to make himself happy and focus on other people for a change, another thread tying the show's episodic antics together. Sometimes, Davidson endeavours to prove he can look after a kid (there's that Big Time Adolescence nudge). Elsewhere, he attempts to push his career into blockbusters (which is where The Suicide Squad comes to mind, but here he's making a war epic with Brad Pitt). Often, he's unable to work out how to have a normal relationship with his girlfriend Nikki (Bodies Bodies Bodies' Chase Sui Wonders, who played his character's girlfriend in that savvy slasher and is reportedly Davidson's real-life paramour at the time of writing). Creating Bupkis with The King of Staten Island co-writer Dave Sirus and Crashing's Judah Miller (so, a veteran of another comedy where a comedian plays himself), Davidson also battles a troll who keeps posting a photo of him that he hates, looks back on the aftermath of his father's death with 'Cotton Eye Joe' as a soundtrack, and goes to rehab with Machine Gun Kelly and Black Bird's Paul Walter Hauser. He has Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett and Nine Perfect Strangers' Bobby Cannavale as surrogate father figures, and Ray Romano as a nemesis. Everyone from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day and Miracle Workers' Steve Buscemi to SNL's Kenan Thompson and John Mulaney pop up, plus Jon Stewart, Al Gore and Method Man. He hangs out with an entourage — Evan (Philip Ettinger, Angelyne), Derek (Derek Gaines, The Last OG), Crillz (first-timer James A DeSimone), Dave (Sirus) and Gilly (Shane Gillis, Gilly and Keeves) — like the show is a Staten Island-set version of Entourage, and enlists Red Rocket's Simon Rex for a killer Florida-set Fast and Furious spoof. What is it like to be Pete Davidson? Returning to that key question again and again on-screen, the honest answer in Bupkis is anarchic and absurd, usually of his own making. If the series wasn't as sincere as it is, it could be accused of throwing anything and everything it can at the sitcom's walls and letting it all stick — but there's always insight shining behind even its silliest and most surreal stretches. When he's ruining funerals, missing his sister's graduation, proving the truth behind 'Is Pete Davidson on Drugs?' articles, not taking big gigs seriously and opting for mystery substances over a quiet night alone abroad over the holidays, Bupkis doesn't avoid the glaringly obvious, either: it's the sitcom's version of Davidson who is making his own choices. The King of Staten Island was also candid, raw and lived-in, as well as thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny. Davidson delivered a compelling wayward-yet-vulnerable performance, too, while surrounded by excellent supporting players. No wild escapade is ever exactly the same twice, of course, as Davidson's on-screen characters keep experiencing — and repeating himself turns out entertainingly and astutely when he's this intent to keep interrogating his own existence. Pesci and Falco couldn't be more perfectly cast, both seeing through the tabloid facade (one with no-nonsense gruffness, the other with an abundance of warmth), but Davidson knows how to leave an imprint as himself. Here, he's again unloading his real struggles, and he's also unwilling to bask in sitcom happiness. The details might be embellished and fictionalised Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ramy-style, but that definitely isn't bupkis. Check out the trailer for Bupkis below: Bupkis streams via Binge in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand from Thursday, May 4. Images: Heidi Gutman / Peacock.
There's no opera quite like Wagner's Ring Cycle. Totalling 15 hours of brilliance, the lengthy production is being split into four nights of powerful, operatic wonder at QPAC later this year — all ticket packages include tickets to all four parts. Even if you've seen it before, we're sure you've not seen anything like this upcoming rendition, which is brought to Brisbane by Opera Australia. From Friday, December 1– Thursday, December 21, the production from Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng will bring together performers from here and abroad. The version places Wagner's classic interpretation of Germanic mythology into a futuristic, parallel-universe setting, using digital art to create virtual landscapes. Breathtakingly original, the music is led by French conductor Philippe Auguin, who has headed up The Ring Cycle on numerous occasions. If you're an opera buff or just a fan of fantasy, futurism, timeless tales and truly epic theatre, this is an unmissable cultural event.
Brisbane has a brand new hangout spot with plenty of beer to drink, thanks to the opening of Felons Brewing Co. at Howard Smith Wharves. Launching today, Friday, November 23, the brewery is the first of the precinct's bars and restaurants to welcome customers. It's also the city's first riverside brewery, so prepare to sink plenty of hoppy beverages with one mighty fine view of the water, the Story Bridge, Kangaroo Point and the CBD. First announced back in August, Felons serves up brews made on the premises, with an Australian pale ale, crisp lager, middy and IPA always on tap — and a sparkling cider, too. The focus is on "natural and balanced beers of no fuss," says head brewer Tom Champion, who's one of several Felons team members with an ex-Little Creatures background. A rotating array of other beers are also on offer, as well as a wine list; however, Felons' other big highlight is its food. Think shucked oysters, prawns with cocktail sauce, hot wings and burgers, with woodfired pizzas set to join the menu at a later date. If you're settling in for a substantial meal, then mains that range from Moreton Bay bugs to crumbed veal to a whopping one-kilo Angus rib eye are available as well. From the dessert selection, a mango and passionfruit pavlova looks like a standout — as does the warm choc chip and macadamia cookie with vanilla malt ice cream and butterscotch. Making one of HSW's heritage-listed sheds its home, Felons wants everyone to know that it's there — so much so that you can spot its name on the brewery's roof from afar. The black-lettered sign is designed to be a landmark that can be seen from the air, and measures 47 metres long and five metres tall. It's also a nod to the site's past, with the wharves' old warehouses decked out the same way back in the day. When HSW's other two sheds open, they'll do the same thing. On Friday, November 30, Felons will have company, with long-awaited overwater bar Mr Percival's also opening this month. And already available to hire is the first of HSW's venues, Howard's Hall. It boasts uninterrupted river views, retractable glass windows and rooftop terraces. Eventually, the precinct will also include five other indoor entertainment spaces, plus multi-use outdoor spaces and entertainment stages. The list goes on, with the finished precinct also set to welcome Greek taverna Greca, a two-level Asian fusion joint, Brisbane's first Toko restaurant and four other restaurants, as well as the city's second Art Series Hotel, a coffee roaster, a bakery and a green space that supplies HSW's eateries with fresh produce. Find Felons Brewing Co. at the Howard Smith Wharves precinct, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane. For more information visit the brewery's website.
UPDATE, April 4, 2020: Brittany Runs a Marathon is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. Everyone has a friend who goes on a fitness kick, then won't stop talking about it. Suddenly your brunch dates are scheduled around training sessions and optimal heart rates come up in every conversation. That isn't Brittany Forgler (Jillian Bell). The New Yorker barely has the energy to start exercising, and she certainly doesn't want to keep nattering on about it. And while Brittany Runs a Marathon focuses on the avid partygoer's highly out-of-character wellness campaign, the feel-good comedy actually sports a similar attitude — because as enormous a feat as attempting to run a marathon is, it's only one part of Brittany's life. Basing his debut feature on his best friend, playwright-turned-filmmaker Paul Downs Colaizzo spends plenty of time cheering Brittany's efforts. Flags are waved and encouragement is yelled — by her new running pals Catherine (Michaela Watkins) and Seth (Micah Stock) and, metaphorically, by the movie itself. But while the story plays out largely as every underdog sports flick has trained audiences to expect, there's a deeper, darker core to this upbeat and amusing affair. Come for a wry spin on all the usual training montages, keep watching as Brittany progresses from groaning through a slow jog around the block to willingly skipping boozing for exercise, then stay for a perceptive exploration of the tough marathon that is finding self-acceptance. Indeed, late in this likeable movie, there's a scene that sums up the film's true focus — and it makes for purposefully uneasy viewing. Seething with pain and devastation, it has nothing to do with running through the streets. At a birthday party for her sister's (Kate Arrington) husband (Lil Rel Howery), Brittany starts talking to a couple. They appear mismatched, she's had a few drinks, and so she asks an awkward, inappropriate question. It doesn't go down well, but it's clear that Brittany isn't trying to judge or be cruel to those around her. Rather, by pondering aloud how a man she deems attractive could love a woman with a fuller figure, she's voicing the harsh mindset that she has always directed internally. Charting Brittany's attempts to improve her health on medical orders, and then to put one foot after the other during New York's 42-kilometre endurance test, Brittany Runs a Marathon dives into its protagonist's damaging opinion of herself. The film is filled with humour — and many, many running scenes — but, primarily, it's the cinematic manifestation of the idea that to help yourself, you actually have to like yourself . For too long, Brittany has been the funny sidekick. She constantly cracks jokes at her own expense, whether at work, on dates, or with the doctor she's trying to convince to prescribe her Adderall. She's also fantastic at self-sabotage, as her fledgling romance with fellow underachieving twenty-something Jern (Utkarsh Ambudkar) shows. Those habits are hard to break, so Brittany Runs a Marathon confronts Brittany's flagging self-esteem one sweaty step at a time. It's a beauty and wellness industry cliché — the type trotted out to sell soap, as Brittany skewers — but loving the skin you're in is hard. It's also tricky to convey on-screen in an authentic fashion (and no, instant makeovers where someone removes their glasses to reveal they're really a bombshell don't count). Brittany Runs a Marathon turns the task into a physical slog, with viewers witnessing every grimace and struggle, then feeling the exhilaration when its reluctant protagonist gets comfortable pounding the pavement — and, of course, when she does what the title tells us she's going to do. There's a reason that writer/director Colaizzo is happy to spoil the outcome in the movie's moniker, after all: running the New York marathon isn't the film's only point. As astute as it proves in exploring Brittany's battle with her inner demons and millennial malaise in general, Brittany Runs a Marathon has its star to thank for striking such an affecting chord. A scene-stealer in 22 Jump Street, Rough Night and Workaholics, Bell puts her heart, soul and gift for witty quips into this thoughtful and funny movie — and ensures that every step that Brittany takes, both in the right and wrong directions, feels genuine. That sensation sets this crowd-pleaser apart from other recent comedies about women trying to gain confidence in their own shoes, such as Amy Schumer-starring misfire I Feel Pretty. Nothing here is calculated, cynical, exaggerated or muddled; rather, it's relatable, realistic and even inspirational. Forget running — sure, you might leave the cinema eager to jog a marathon yourself, but being kinder to yourself is the bigger achievement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsHlvgTG1iI
In 2025, Sydney Opera House's annual All About Women festival is welcoming than 50 speakers, including artists, thinkers and storytellers from both Australia and overseas, to explore gender, equality and justice. This year's lineup will participate in sessions that span women in sport and the influence of the Matildas, racism and sexism in the music industry, the impacts of skincare routines, and plenty more. For 13 years, marking International Women's Day with talks, panels, workshops and performances has been as easy as attending this highlight of the cultural calendar — a must-attend event not only in Sydney, but also nationally in recent years, thanks to the streaming of sessions online (which continues in 2025). For this year, Kate Berlant and Gina Chick joined the All About Women bill first, as did the return of the Feminist Roast. Kara Swisher, Rachel House, Jaguar Jonze and Grace Tame are among the folks joining them come Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9. Berlant is making her first trip Down Under, with the comedian and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Don't Worry Darling and A League of Their Own actor set to debut a new stand-up show. Alone Australia's first-season winner Chick is on the bill fresh from releasing her memoir We Are the Stars in October, and will chat about following your own path, grief and resourcefulness. On a lineup overseen by the Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team — as led by Chip Rolley, alongside 10 News First's Narelda Jacobs and actor and writer Michelle Law — journalist and Burn Book: A Tech Love Story author Swisher will dig into the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, while Heartbreak High star and The Mountain director House will chat through the importance of community and her Māori culture in her career. Jonze is on the panel discussing the present state of the music industry, as is Barkaa. And Tame is part of the Feminist Roast alongside Michelle Brasier, Nakkiah Lui, Lucinda 'Froomes' Price and Steph Tisdell. The Tillies are on the roster via former Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, plus Football Australia, the Matildas and the ParaMatildas Media Manager Ann Odong, with their session exploring the current situation for women in sport. Elsewhere, Dr Michelle Wong, Jessica DeFino and Yumi Stynes — plus Price again — will examine the impacts of beauty standards, especially upon younger generations. All About Women's 2025 program also spans sessions on the women who gave testimony at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, the rise of domestic violence-related deaths in Australia, systems that are meant to protect First Nations children, perimenopause and how women's health is being commercialised, tradwives, grief, motherhood, the nation's declining birth rate, bodily autonomy and abortion, and being friends for life.
Strange as it may seem, the difference between a good action movie and a great one isn't actually the action. It's the story. You can have the greatest action sequences of all time, but without a compelling story to back them up they'll end up falling flat, and viewers will struggle to care about why their hero is enduring it all. This characteristic was key to the success of the first Bourne trilogy, which chronicled the relentless attempts of Matt Damon's protagonist to pierce the veil of his amnesia and discover the truth about his past. Less so the follow up, The Bourne Legacy, which again contained outstanding action, but struggled in the later stages when the hero's sole motivation was tracking down medication to keep him functioning as a super soldier. The stakes were lessened, and – as a consequence – so too the audience's regard. As the name suggests, Jason Bourne returns the focus to the heart of this franchise, picking up the story with Matt Damon's character now limping through life in Athens as a bare-knuckle fighter in an illegal gambling ring. When an old face resurfaces and provides him with hacked CIA documents suggesting his past mightn't be as clear-cut as he previously thought, he's forced to resume a cat-and-mouse game with his former employers as they try to kill him, and he tries to find out what they did to him during his recruitment. In that sense, Jason Bourne is back on familiar ground. But with deception supplanting amnesia as the obstacle to his clarity, it's something of a Jason Bourne movie without quite the same level of Jason Bourne magic. As always, the villains – in the form of the CIA and their ominously named 'assets' – spend the bulk of their time in darkened surveillance rooms, delivering almost comically jargon-heavy dialogue with unblinking, stone-cold faces. This time round the team is led by Tommy Lee-Jones as CIA Director Robert Dewey, and Alicia Vikander as his ruthless senior analyst Heather Lee. If nothing else, Jason Bourne is a terrifying insight into the technological capabilities now available to the world's top spy agencies, able to surveil the faces of thousands of people instantly and simultaneously within a riot, remotely shut down the power of a building in Reykjavik, and delete the files off a computer via a mobile phone in the same apartment. The emphasis on technology, however, pulls focus away from the man at the heart of the story, and the movie feels slightly hollow because of it. Director Paul Greengrass's preference for minimal dialogue and frenetic, shaky cinematography is well known. In this film he constantly pushes the limits of continuity, resulting in the need for clumsily inserted markers just to keep the audience up to speed. Maps are helpfully labelled "SEWER SYSTEM" in giant letters, every text message is sent in all-caps, and when Bourne nabs several items from a tech convention, they're beneath signs saying "Remote Surveillance Camera" and "Wireless Tracking Device". It's an unfortunate dumbing down of a traditionally intelligent franchise, feeling almost as though the script notes for the props department somehow ended up on screen. Even the action, whilst constant and thrilling, lacks some of the Magyver-esque charm of the earlier films, in which Bourne improvised lethal weapons out of everyday items like biro pens and rolled up newspapers. In a word, it's all very conventional, taking the franchise out of its genre-defining position and dropping it squarely back into the middle of the pack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns
When you're in a crappy situation, you call a plumber. After the news broke that alleged sexual harasser Kevin Spacey would no longer star in All the Money in the World, with his scenes to be reshot with Christopher Plummer, it was one of the internet's better observations. Controversy aside, the end result is astonishing. You'd never guess that 88-year-old Plummer only stepped into his role as real-life oil tycoon J. Paul Getty in November. Nor will you be able to imagine anyone else playing the part, including the excised, prosthetic-clad Spacey with his penchant for over-acting. Trust Ridley Scott, the now-80-year-old director of Alien and Blade Runner, to mastermind such an impressive technical feat. All the Money in the World is his second movie in less than a year, after 2017's Alien: Covenant — and while it mightn't seem like it at first, there's more than a little in common between the two titles, and with Scott's filmography in general. After spending decades contemplating humanity's complicated relationship with mortality — seen not just in his iconic science-fiction work, but also in the likes of Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and The Martian — Scott has jumped from a film that ponders the notion of creation as the only lasting legacy, to one about the downfall of a man who puts his faith in wealth instead. Plummer's Getty is more comfortable collecting objects than nurturing relationships, including with his own son (Andrew Buchan) — "there's a purity in beautiful things that I've never been able to find in people," the world's richest billionaire dismissively croaks. Getty Jr only contacts his father when he's broke and struggling to provide for his wife Gail (Michelle Williams) and four children, though it's his eldest boy, Paul (played by Charlie Shotwell as a 7-year-old), that the old man takes a shine to. Fast-forward nine years to 1973, and the now-16-year-old (Charlie Plummer) is abducted by kidnappers looking to get their hands on a slice of the Getty fortune, but the cantankerous patriarch insists that he doesn't have a cent to spare. That leaves the distraught Gail to work with Getty's security advisor, former CIA operative Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg), to secure her son's release. A word of warning: you'll hear the phrase "all the money in the world" more than once throughout the film. It's as if Scott and his screenwriters, adapting the 1995 book Painfully Rich, just couldn't help themselves. It's an unneeded wink in a movie that slides with thrilling ease into the icy waters of wealth, laying bare the darkness and ruthlessness born of excessive greed in the process. Balancing multiple negotiations, including Gail wrestling with both Getty and Chase, the family liaising with the captors, and young Paul trying to stay alive with the help of one of his abductors (Romain Duris), the movie also serves up the type of brawny, absorbing thriller we don't often see on screens these days. Working with his regular cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, Scott uses grey tones to contrast the haves and the have nots, immersing audiences in the detail and emotion of the scenario at every turn. Moreover, even when the film stretches its story a little too far amidst multiple twists and changes of allegiance, audiences will find themselves gripped by the work of Plummer and Williams. The pair play polar opposites in an equally effective manner — one a heartless man motivated by self-interest, the real villain of the piece; the other a desperate mother who'd give up anything, including money, for the people she loves. If only Scott had found someone other than Wahlberg to play the third person in their tussle. The actor might as well be fighting giant robots, given how by-the-numbers his performance is. All the money in the world clearly couldn't help with that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viQBNu9z6RQ
Thanks to the ever-growing array of streaming platforms vying for your eyeballs — and the always-expanding catalogues of films and TV shows hosted on each, too — picking what to watch when you're settling down on the couch is rarely a simple exercise. Before winter is over, Australians will have another option to choose from, with new streaming service Paramount+ launching on Wednesday, August 11. The platform will actually rebrand the existing 10 All Access streaming service, with parent company Viacom CBS Australia and New Zealand bringing it into line with the global Paramount+ subscription offering that launched in America in March this year. For an $8.99 per month subscription fee, viewers can expect to scroll through — and try to pick between – more than 20,000 episodes and movies. That'll include films and series from Showtime, CBS, BET Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as from Paramount Pictures, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television. If you're the kind of viewer that loves rewatching your favourite flicks, you'll be able to head to Paramount+ to stream movies from the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Jackass, Batman and Dark Knight Trilogy franchises. Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Grease and Good Will Hunting will also be available on the service. And, on the TV front, existing series such as The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Why Women Kill, Charmed and SpongeBob SquarePants will find a new home. Paramount+ is betting big on new television shows being a big drawcard, though, so you can expect to add a heap of titles to your must-watch list. The new series of Dexter is one of them — and so is the Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard)-starring TV adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth; The First Lady, which sees Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) play Michelle Obama; Anne Boleyn, with Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) as the titular figure; and page-to-screen adaptation The Luminaries. New Australian dramas Five Bedrooms and Last King of The Cross are also destined for the platform, as are Melbourne-shot comedy Spreadsheet and coming-of-age feature film 6 Festivals. The list goes on, including spy drama Lioness, a TV adaptation of video game Halo and The Offer, a scripted drama about on the making of The Godfather. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaw6mUV3c6o In the US, Paramount+ will also stream Paramount Pictures' big cinema releases — such as A Quiet Place Part II and Mission: Impossible 7 — between 30 and 45 days after they hit cinemas. Whether that'll also happen in Australia from August is yet to be revealed. Paramount+ will launch in Australia on Wednesday, August 11, rebranding the existing 10 All Access streaming platform, with subscriptions costing $8.99. For further information, head to the Paramount+ website.
"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." This Oscar Wilde quote is featured on the menu at Mons Ban Sabai in Camp Hill. As it turns out, it's an apt introduction to the dining experience at what is one of Brisbane's finest Thai restaurants. Finding authentic Thai food in the suburbs isn't always the easiest of missions, but with Mons Ban Sabai, residents of South-East Brisbane have a gem on their hands. Located amongst a hub of small businesses on Martha Street, the restaurant is open seven days a week and has gained both local popularity and critical acclaim over the years. Although, coming from the same team that's also behind the wonderful Green Papaya restaurant and Pawpaw Café, that's hardly a surprise. Most notably, it was awarded Best Thai Restaurant in Queensland in the Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and gained a Chef's hat in the 2012 Australian Good Food Guide awards. Walking into the restaurant, you'll notice that it's not huge. If you haven't made a booking on a busy night, steel yourself for potential disappointment. Early in the week, however, you should be safe with a walk-in. The interior of the restaurant is divided into sections so that no matter where you sit, the dining space feels intimate and cosy. These spaces can also be configured to suit large groups or functions. Now, to the menu. Entrees on offer range from spring rolls ($10.90) and Tom Yum soup ($14.90) to deep fried tofu ($11.90) and Thai fish cakes ($13.90). Standing out on the curry menu is the Gang Massaman ($22.90) – tender beef and potato pieces in a thick sauce dotted with peanuts – or for something more exotic, the Island curry with roasted duck, lychees and pineapple ($26.90). Of the seafood menu, the Pla Lard Prik – juicy fish fillets in an onion and sweet chilli sauce ($25.90) - is delicious. The servings are generous, but don't worry; if you can't finish your meal the staff will prepare a takeaway bag for you to take home where you can enjoy it all over again. For those who aren't satisfied with just taking great Thai food home, Mons Ban Sabai also runs cooking classes. Images: Hennessytrill
In the United States, Deadpool is officially the second highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, coming in just behind The Passion of the Christ. It's a point made directly to the audience during one of Deadpool 2's many fourth-wall-shattering moments, at once justifying the movie's own existence and letting us know that it knows that sequels usually suck. This particular follow-up, however, is definitely one fans were clamouring for. And they'll be delighted to find it once again delivers an outlandish blend of deeply meta comedy and ultra-violent action. Returning to don the Deadpool mask/burn victim makeup is Canadian newcomer and former Corrs percussionist Ryan Reynolds, whose talent for switching between dry sarcasm and affecting sincerity makes him perhaps uniquely qualified to steer such an unconventional character and film. This time round his alter-ego Wade Wilson finds himself on the cusp of parenthood, only to have the chance tragically wrenched away during the film's unexpected opening scenes (a surprise neatly reflected in the James Bond-style titles sequence featuring credits such as: 'Written By: the real villains of this film' and 'Starring: someone who clearly doesn't like sharing the limelight'). Seeking redemption, Wade first tries (and fails) to join the X-Men Who Aren't Popular Enough To Be Official X-Men, before finding himself tasked with protecting a troubled orphan named Russell (Julian Dennison) from the time-travelling assassin Cable (Josh Brolin). On paper, at least, it's a fairly conventional plot for a franchise that altogether mocks convention – to say nothing of the fact it also largely mirrors the storyline from last year's critically-acclaimed and patently better Logan (starring the unforgettable Hugh Jackman). But Deadpool 2 navigates this issue by peppering its script with literally hundreds of in-jokes, 80s references and endless winks to the audience. Admittedly they don't all land, but as the Inuit saying goes: swing at every pitch and you'll at least hit a few out of the park. Alongside Reynolds are most of the original film's key cast members, including Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin and T.J. Miller. Opposite them, Marvel's current villain-du-jour Josh Brolin delivers the same reserved menace as Cable that he did as Infinity War's Thanos, albeit without the chin scars that make it look like he fell asleep on Roger Federer's racquet. Zazie Beetz of Atlanta fame also joins the team as the scene-stealing Domino, whose superpower is pizzas delivered fresh within 30 minutes or your money back, guaranteed. The challenge for director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, John Wick) is to make fun of comic-book movies while still delivering one worth watching. As an exercise in subversion Deadpool 2 doesn't quite achieve the same level of success as the first film, opting too often to undermine its genre staples by prefacing them with glib one-liners. More successful are the jokes that take place during those sequences, or – even better – the darker twists this film puts on them without an accompanying gag. At one point, for example, Deadpool blocks a gun shot with his hand, only to then slide his now-gaping wound along the barrel and turn it on its handler to shoot him in the head. It's the kind of shocking violence you'll never see in a conventional Marvel movie and yet perfectly conforms to this character's unique, twisted style of problem solving. Thankfully, there are more than enough examples of this kind of gory comedy to keep Deadpool 2 comfortably in the successful column, right down to the closing credits scenes that sit amongst the movie's funniest moments. It may not be the romcom we deserve, but it's the one we need right now, and it's definitely worth your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D86RtevtfrA
When visiting East Brisbane's The Smug Fig, you might place your order in a shipping container; however the bright blue gateway to the cafe isn't a sign of stripped-back things to come. For those looking to grab a coffee and go, the counter doubles as an easy exterior access point. For those wanting to stick around for a meal, it's just the beginning of your breakfast experience. A spacious interior, set over a wooden deck and gazing upon walls painted with blue and white flora and fauna, greets those who venture inside for the latter. A small but delicious menu does as well. Here, it's the taste — not the size — that matters. Substantial lunchtime offerings will join the selection of taste bud-tempting cakes and other offerings later in September, though the brekkie lineup could easily satisfy stomachs hungry around midday for the moment. They include a brie and double smoked ham omelette, the Smug Bennie that adds asparagus to the usual mix, and the aptly titled BAE — because who doesn't love bacon, balsamic tomato and sourdough multigrain with your chosen style of eggs? Find The Smug Fig at 999 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
When it comes to taking to the streets, spraying some paint around and stencilling up a storm, Banksy isn't the only artist worth celebrating. In fact, street art is thriving in Brisbane — so much so that there's now a returning festival dedicated to it. That'd be the Brisbane Street Art Festival, which unleashes its third iteration around the city from March 31 to April 15. If you're wondering just what it involves, let us throw a few numbers and details your way: more than 50 Australian and international artists will create 50 large scale murals around town, for starters. And, of the seven international artists taking part, six are painting their first Australian works in Brisbane. Everything from live graffiti to live music to plenty of parties are on the bill, and at places as varied as QPAC, Sabotage Social, Toombul Skate Park and many a street around the city, too. If that all sounds rad — and it really does — then you have no excuse not to take part. Did we mention that classes, workshops and art battles are on the bill too?
Gone are the days when seeing a theatre show always meant sitting in a seat, directing your eyes at the stage ahead and passively engaging with whatever erupts in front of you. That's still a mainstay of the industry, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it — a stunning production will always draw you in — but theatremakers are also embracing new formats, new ways to immerse audiences and interactivity. Take Adrift, for instance. Running at Metro Arts from Wednesday, November 9–Saturday, November 19, it delivers instructions to attendees via headset, plunging them into a mystery and a game as well. And, it's also a musing on nature and isolation, all in one creative package that also involves dolphins, whales, lighthouses, special effects including light design, and far from your usual time at the theatre. [caption id="attachment_756923" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Blight[/caption] Metro Arts Company in Residence Counterpilot is behind Adrift, as devised by director/co-writer Nathan Sibthorpe, lighting effects and technical designer Christine Felmingham, and sound designer and composer Mike Willmett — as well as co-production designer and technical designer John Felmingham, co-production designer Sarah Winter and co-writer Toby Martin. Running two sessions daily, at 6.30pm and 8.30pm, Tuesday–Saturday within its season dates, Adrift wants its audience to be part of the story — and to be deeply steeped in its sound design. It also weaves its tale in the face of a potential mass extinction event. Yes, you don't experience theatre like this every day. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Counterpilot (@counterpilot_)
Brisbanites venturing outdoors for the next two days could find the whole breathing thing a little less fun than usual — as you may have noticed, it's pretty smoky out there. As the result of bushfires burning across both Queensland and New South Wales, a layer of smoke has made its way across the city and is expected to stick around for at least 48 hours. Needless to say, it's affecting air quality, with the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science's air quality monitor labelling the Brisbane CBD, as well as areas in the city's east, south and west, as "very poor" on the afternoon of Monday, November 11. South Brisbane, Woolloongabba, Cannon Hill, Lytton, Rocklea, Wynnum, Wynnum West and Springwood are among the regions affected — so, a big chunk of the city. So is Flinders View, where Ipswich's readings are taken, and Southport, where the Gold Coast's levels are measured. Also in southeast Queensland, Mountain Creek at Buderim — where the Sunshine Coast's readings are taken — is listed as "poor". Only Deception Bay is marked as "good", while Mutdapilly between Ipswich and the Scenic Rim region ranks as "fair", as does North Maclean, where Logan's levels are measured. https://twitter.com/qldhealthnews/status/1193745571154018305 With air quality levels dropping overnight, Queensland Health has upgraded its warnings to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ipswich residents. The government body suggests that everyone cut back on strenuous outdoor activities, as well as going outside in general — if you can. Those with chronic respiratory or heart conditions are especially advised to avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors where possible. It's also recommended that you carry your inhaler, follow your Asthma Action Plan, and keep your other medication with you for all breathing-related conditions. If you start experiencing symptoms, even if you're otherwise fit and healthy, seek medical advice. For those staying indoors, Queensland Health also suggests turning your air conditioner on — if you have one — and using it on recirculate mode. With Brisbane firmly in the grip of warm end-of-year weather, and temperatures expected to reach 34 on Tuesday and 35 on Wednesday, residents are also advised to be wary of the heat, as well as its combination with the hazy air. Drinking plenty of fluids, taking cool showers to keep your temperature down, soaking your feet in water and draping a wet cloth around your neck are also recommended. https://twitter.com/QldFES/status/1193597589360275461 With a State of Fire Emergency declared across 42 Local Government Areas in Queensland, including Brisbane — and with the Queensland Rural Fire Service continuing to battle numerous blazes across the state — this situation isn't likely to change quickly. Queensland FES expects that bushfire conditions will increase on Tuesday, and linger through until at least this coming weekend. It should go without saying, but as part of the State of Fire Emergency, the lighting of all types of outdoor fires is banned. At the time of writing, the service has 56 current bushfire incidents listed in Queensland. It has also given southeast Queensland from Wide Bay and Burnett down to the NSW border a fire danger rating of at least "very high" until Thursday, November 14 — jumping up to "severe" on Wednesday, November 13. You can keep an eye on the fires burning across the state at the Queensland Rural Fire Service website. For more tips on staying safe during smoky conditions, head to the Queensland Health website. Top image: Air quality in Woolloongabba via Darren Ward.
And boom, just like that, we're a brief nine weeks out from Christmas. We don't quite know where the time went or what happened, but present-buying season is upon us. What better time to kick into gear and avoid the dreaded last-minute shopping scramble, by hitting the Virtual Ethical Christmas Market this weekend. This annual event is normally an IRL situation, but it's headed online this year, now open to shop at your leisure, right up until the big day. Once again, organisers have curated a bumper selection of goodies from a range of small, ethically minded local businesses. If you're after gifts that are fair-trade, eco-friendly, socially-conscious, vegan or all of the above, consider this marketplace your one-stop-shop. Catch homewares from the likes of Plant Lab, Food Wraps 101, The Karma Collective and The Other Straw, or deck out that wardrobe with finds from labels like Colour Coded, Frske and Remuse. There are skincare and beauty products courtesy of The Essentials Lab and Nur Organics, alongside a diverse range of accessories, stationary, kids' gear and food products. Tick off your entire gift list at once and make this Christmas one with a conscience.
On a couple of occasions over the last year or so, McDonald's has spread some lockdown cheer by offering burger-loving customers free delivery. Now, with stores open for in-person dining around the country, it's doing something different — because there's a mighty big milestone to celebrate. Those golden arches have been towering over Australia for 50 years now, so of course Maccas is marking the occasion. On the bill: various different promotions, specials, deals and collaborations, starting with 50-cent Big Macs. You'll want to make a date with your local store on Friday, June 18, because that's when burger lovers can pick up the chain's best-known burg for just a dodecagonal coin at any of the brand's 1009 restaurants around the country. All you need to do is order through the My Macca's app, select the deal, then mosey on down to your closest McDonald's to pick it up. There'll be more promos to follow, too. This isn't the first time that the chain has run a heap of deals in a short span; however, these ones are hanging around for a while. When it comes celebrating a birthday, going big is the only option, so Macca's will be rolling out other yet-to-be-announced specials between right up until the end of August — with the details revealed each week from Friday, June 18.
Thought Brisbane had reached peak doughnut? So had we. It seems that the city's favourite doughy treat-making folks just can't stop opening new stores. To be fair, Brissie residents clearly can't stop eating Doughnut Time's intricately iced, deliciously filled, oozing round orbs of pastry tastiness either. Carindale is the latest suburb to get the Doughnut Time treatment, aka a green hole-in-the-wall serving up the kind of desserts you might've dreamed up as a kid, drawn a colourful picture of, and then been told things like that didn't really exist. Well, now the unicorns of the sweet world have become a reality, and they're all around town. You'll find the newest south-eastern spot in the Metropol Complex on the corner of Creek and Pine Mountain roads. And, as always, you'll also find their shelves filled with cleverly named concoctions that sound as good as they look. Picking highlights is becoming increasingly difficult with every fresh creation; however the Tim Tam-topped Cate Blanchett (with a mix of white, dark and milk chocolate glazes, topped with white chocolate curls), low-gluten All About That Bubble (cream, chocolate and mint glaze topped with mint Aero pieces and chocettes), vegan Sia Later (a red velvet doughnut with vegan butter cream frosting and freeze-dried raspberries) and limited edition It's Always A Gay Time (milk chocolate glaze, crushed biscuits, golden caramelised crepes and filled with honeycomb custard) are certain to get your stomach rumbling. For those keeping count at home, that brings Doughnut Time's Brisbane empire to nine and their recent openings around the city to five. The new Carindale outlet follows in the footsteps of Albert Street in September, Everton Park in August, East Brisbane in July and King George Square in June. Changing the state's coat of arms to a doughnut must be next. Find Doughnut Time in the Metropol Complex on the corner of Creek and Pine Mountain roads, Carindale, or check out their website and Facebook page for more information.
If the Oppenheimer side of 2023's Barbenheimer phenomenon has you wanting to find out more about the atomic age, this year's Jewish International Film Festival has your next viewing option: documentary A Compassionate Spy about physicist Theodore Hall. His tale didn't make the cut in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster, but he was part of the Manhattan Project team at Los Alamos, and also passed intelligence to the Soviet Union, as Hoop Dreams' filmmaker Steve James explores in one of JIFF's must-see efforts at its latest fest. When the Jewish International Film Festival returns for 2023, it'll hit up New Farm Cinemas from Thursday, November 16–Sunday, November 26. On the full nationwide lineup is a hefty 55 Australian-premiere titles spanning both flicks and TV shows — a selection of which is playing in Brisbane. Israel's Matchmaking hits JIFF's opening night after success at home, following a Jewish Orthodox man's romantic ups and downs in a film that's been likened to Romeo and Juliet — but Haredi and a comedy. Also on the 2023 program: Jack L Warner: The Last Mogul, a documentary focusing on one of Warner Bros' titular founders; The Engineer, about the manhunt for bombmaker Yahya Ayyash, as starring Emile Hirsch (Devil's Workshop); and documentary Erica Jong – Breaking the Wall, about the Fear of Flying author. The Brisbane bill also includes gangster comedy Hummus Full Trailer, musical Less Than Kosher, vino-fuelled doco Holy Wine and docudrama Munich '72 on its sizeable list. And, as is JIFF's custom, the program features a large contingent of movies that examine World War II, the Holocaust and their lingering impact. Expect to find Stella Goldschlag biopic Stella. A Life; the vengeance-laden The Jew; the Ukraine-shot, Yiddish-language SHTTL; Filip, which tells a tale of romantic pleasures amid the war; Delegation, about students visiting Poland's Holocaust sites and confronting their Jewish identity; and closing night's The Jewish Nazi?, a doco with Australian ties.
When Netflix officially launched on our shores back in 2015, three things happened. First, everyone without a VPN rejoiced. Next, anyone already familiar with their US offering couldn't help noticing that the Aussie catalogue was considerably smaller. Finally, while the streaming service was eager to sign up Australian customers, it didn't show any signs of putting those subscription fees towards making local content. It might've taken two years, but they're finally addressing the latter issue. Behold, Netflix's first original Aussie series. Due to be made in Queensland in 2018, and presumably providing fuel for late 2018 binge-watch sessions, Tidelands is a supernatural crime drama series about a fishing village with strange inhabitants: a group of dangerous half-Sirens, half-humans called 'Tidelanders'. Ten episodes, each running for 50 minutes, will be made, with Brisbane's Hoodlum Entertainment doing the honours. And Tidelands won't just gift Australian users with a new favourite series, with the show set to land in all 190 countries that Netflix is available in. Thinking you've seen plenty of Aussie stuff on Netflix already? You're not wrong, however, there's a difference between throwing old sitcoms and standup specials into a range inexplicably overflowing with new Adam Sandler movies, and actually funding brand new Australian material. Last year, it was announced that they'd join forces with the ABC to co-produce a second season of Glitch, which showed them dipping a toe in the water — but now they're completely diving in. Tidelands will join the platform's hefty stable of original series, which started back in 2013 with House of Cards, and just keeps growing (Orange Is the New Black, The Get Down, The OA, Wet Hot American Summer, Master of None, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Dear White People, BoJack Horseman, four Marvel series with one more to come — the list goes on). Given the premise, here's hoping it'll be the next Stranger Things, and not the new Hemlock Grove.
First, her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard. Now, Sweet Relief! is bringing Kelis to Brisbane in 2024. The R&B talent is also on the speaker lineup at BIGSOUND 2024, because why hit up one festival in the Sunshine State capital when she can take to the stage at two? Damn right, this plan is better than yours. At BIGSOUND, Kelis joins the conference lineup at the huge music event, which combines plenty of discussions with live gigs in Fortitude Valley, and returns to Brisbane from Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6 for its 23rd year. Then, on Saturday, September 7, Kelis will be part of Sweet Relief!'s 2024 bill. 2024 marks a quarter century since Kelis' first record Kaleidoscope and also 21 years since Tasty — featuring 'Milkshake', 'Trick Me' and 'Millionaire' — became such a hit, so she'll have plenty to celebrate on her trip to Brisbane. At Sweet Relief!, when she starts busting out tunes in an exclusive show, Kelis will have not just 'Milkshake' and 'Bossy' to sing, but more tunes from her catalogue at the fest's second year. And forcompany at the event, which moves to Ballymore Stadium for 2024 after debuting at Northshore Brisbane in 2023, she'll be joined by The Presets, 2024 Eurovision contestants Electric Fields, Haiku Hands, Dameeeela and Juno so far, with more to be announced. Sweet Relief! images: The James Adams
Never underestimate the importance of casting, or its influence. When a famous name barely appears at the beginning of a film, you can bet they'll turn up again later. When someone notable doesn't seem to have all that much to do, they'll likely become not just noticeable, but crucial. And when two actors best known for recent memorable roles are cast opposite each other, bringing some baggage with them might just be part of the plan. The latter proves the case with Angel of Mine, which pits The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Lisbeth Salander against The Handmaid's Tale's Serena Joy. Kim Farrant's film isn't related to either the Swedish crime franchise or the huge dystopian TV hit, so that's not what literally happens— however with Noomi Rapace playing an unstable woman called Lisbeth, and Yvonne Strahovski portraying someone fighting for her family, the obvious springs to mind. Such comparisons aren't to Angel of Mine's detriment. While the Melbourne-shot movie is actually an English-language remake of 2008 French picture L'Empreinte de L'Ange, which is based on a wild true tale, both stars remain in their element. Rapace's career hasn't ever soared beyond the heights of her Dragon Tattoo days, but she's always been at her best playing complicated characters who are driven to exorcise their internal demons. Strahovski's fame took off when she became a resident of Gilead, and grappling with the complexities of womanhood and motherhood definitely suits her. Unsurprisingly, the two make a formidable duo, which is exactly what the story calls for. Adapted into English by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Luke Davies (Lion) and seasoned TV scribe David Regal (Rugrats), the psychological thriller not only unravels the ties that bind women and their children, but also explores how societal expectations can be a stumbling block for the fairer sex. When Angel of Mine introduces Rapace's Lizzie Manning, she's hardly anyone's ideal mum. Still grieving the loss of her infant daughter, she's separated from her husband Mike (Luke Evans) and shares custody of the primary school-aged Thomas (Finn Little), although her son would rather spend all of his time with his father. Things don't improve when, following a birthday party for one of Thomas' friends, Lizzie becomes obsessed with seven-year-old Lola (Annika Whiteley). Haunted by the girl, who looks just like her own daughter might if she had survived, Lizzie tries to befriend Lola's well-off parents (Strahovski, as well as Richard Roxburgh) to immerse herself in their lives. Just a few decades ago, the thriller genre was filled with tales about feverish fixations: by one-night stands (Fatal Attraction), vengeful nannies (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and over-enthusiastic friends (Single White Female), to name a few examples. Angel of Mine fits the same mould, to a point. Just how it deviates from that trend is part of the film's twists and turns, and therefore best discovered by watching — but as she demonstrated with her debut movie Strangerland, Farrant doesn't trade in standard narratives. Instead, the Australian filmmaker is fascinated by women's reactions to traumatic situations, how the world wants them to act during their most upsetting moments, and what happens when they stick to their guns. While saying anything more about the storyline is saying too much, how this idea ties into Angel of Mine proves one of its strongest elements. That said, the movie's ending is saddled with a hard task. Before its revelatory finale, the film sometimes struggles, relying so heavily on its leading ladies that it can miss the mark elsewhere. There's an uneasy air about Angel of Mine, which is wholly by design, however there's a difference between framing that's purposefully tense and unsettling, and scenes that become clumsy rather than disquieting. Still, given that Rapace and Strahovski turn in such stellar performances, no one can blame Farrant for pushing the pair, the characters' thorny friendship and their differing responses to a difficult situation firmly to the fore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hui0KpDzAwY
When Ana Lily Amirpour made her spectacular feature filmmaking debut in 2014, and made one of the best movies of that year in the process, she did so with a flick with a killer title: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. That moniker also summed up the picture's plot perfectly, even if the Persian-language horror western vampire film couldn't be easily categorised. Take note of that seven-word name, and that genre-bending approach. When Amirpour next made wrote and directed The Bad Batch, the 2016 dystopian cannibal romance started with a woman meandering solo, albeit in the Texan desert in daylight, and also heartily embraced a throw-it-all-in philosophy. Now arrives her third stint behind the lens, the hyper-saturated, gleefully sleazy, New Orleans-set blend of superheroes, scams and strippers that is Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon — which, yes, features a female protagonist (Jeon Jong-seo, Burning) strolling unescorted again, back under the cover of darkness this time. Mona initially walks out of a home instead of towards one, however. And Amirpour isn't really repeating herself; rather, she has a penchant for stories about the exploited fighting back. Here, Mona has been stuck in an institution for "mentally insane adolescents" for at least a decade — longer than its receptionist (Rosha Washington, Interview with the Vampire) can remember — and breaks out during the titular lunar event after gruesomely tussling with an uncaring nurse (Lauren Bowles, How to Get Away with Murder). The Big Easy's nocturnal chaos then awaits, and Bourbon Street's specifically, as does instantly intrigued drug dealer Fuzz (Ed Skrein, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) and a determined but decent cop (Craig Robinson, Killing It). With opportunistic pole-dancer Bonnie Belle (Kate Hudson, Music), Mona thinks she finds an ally. With her new pal's kind-hearted latchkey kid Charlie (Evan Whitten, Words on Bathroom Walls), she finds a genuine friend as well. Amirpour's movies sport a kinetic feel that's as natural to them as breathing is to watching audiences. Her love of movement shines through as brightly as moonlight, too — and Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is another glowing example. Directed with style and boldness to spare, this is a garish, on-the-go, howling-at-the-sky kind of southern Gothic horror flick, purposefully and strikingly so. Slinking along with it is inescapable, whether Mona is unleashing her supernatural skills, navigating the French Quarter's hustle-and-bustle nighttime vibe, or wholesomely dreaming of a safer future. First, though, Mona has to break out of the bayou-adjacent facility she's been forced to call home, which happens in a grim, revenge-seeking, attention-grabbing fashion. The aforementioned nurse usually spits insults the straightjacketed, catatonic Korean detainee's way, including while clipping her toenails. Then the inmate snaps back into focus — maybe the moon that's stirred her? — and uses her gifts to wreak havoc. Without touching the nurse, or anyone else she imposes her will upon throughout the movie, Mona can take control of their bodies. There's no flesh-swapping (another spin on Freaky Friday, this isn't); here, via voodoo-esque physical manipulation, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon's main figure waves her hands or nods her head, then whoever's in her gaze does as she directs. That's a skill that comes in handy once she's out on her lonesome, meandering the city barefoot with threats lurking. It's also a talent that Bonnie observes during a fast-food store car park catfight, with Mona saving her bacon. Deciding that those telekinetic capabilities can be put to cunning, canny and profitable use — look out, strip-club patrons — Bonnie is swiftly offering up her companionship, and her home, although the metal-loving Charlie warns their new houseguest to be wary. Even if obvious nods to Alice in Wonderland weren't baked into the production design, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon would play like a fairy tale (a sweaty, seedy, go-where-the-night-takes-you fairy tale, but a type of fairy tale nonetheless). Its namesake wanders through an otherworldly realm, gets caught in perilous situations, learns lessons and benefits from something akin to magic — aka those just-awakened powers — to mosey forward. Thanks to the movie's moral code, she only deploys her paranormal prowess on folks who deserve it, or uses it to save herself, when the decision to bust out the mind control is hers alone. At its core, the film can be that straightforward. That said, it also stems from a director with a history with deceptive simplicity. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was about exactly what its title describes, after all, and yet it was also filled with oh-so-much more. Starting with easy-to-spot scaffolding, then building a glisteningly distinctive, eagerly detailed flick that couldn't have been crafted by anyone else: that's one of Amirpour's own super skills. Plenty of that pivotal talent comes through visually here, with gloriously atmospheric and neon-soaked help from Hereditary and Midsommar cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski. Indeed, anyone who thinks that style can't also be substance, can't sweep viewers into a film's mood and can't anchor everyone watching in a character's headspace, should be motivated to rethink their position. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon's manic dance through New Orleans after dark is that immersive — and that means something. As thrust across the screen with scuzzy yet giddy flair, and set to a mesmerising soundtrack as well, this spirited picture proves as keen as can be to skip along with people, survivors all of them, that society usually casts aside. Speaking of casts: Jeon's magnetic performance is worth erecting an entire movie around, so Amirpour has. Quietly spoken but infinitely expressive in every look and move — and brimming with mystique — the film's lead is hypnotic; understanding why Charlie and Fuzz are so drawn to Mona isn't hard for a second. Young Whitten helps give Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon its sweetness, and a loveable odd-couple buddy-flick centre. Robinson is unsurprisingly effective and engaging as a cop with compassion, and also part of an immensely amusing chase scene. And opposite almost anyone other than Jeon, the mesh singlet-wearing Hudson would steal the show, revelling in getting trashy but remaining savvy. She takes a dauntless swing and it pays off; so does Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon on both counts.
UPDATE, November 25, 2020: The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, SBS On Demand, Google Play and YouTube Movies. Has there ever been a filmmaker more suited to a story than Terry Gilliam and Don Quixote? In trying to get his adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes' 16th-century novel off the ground for three decades, the Monty Python alum shares many a trait with the literary hero — they're both dreamers driven to persevere, and to see the world as they choose, regardless of the factors stacked against them. Given that Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has been in and out of production since 1989, the odds were rarely in the film's favour. Given that he turned a past failed shoot into making-of documentary Lost in La Mancha, it seemed like this movie would never come to fruition. But Gilliam kept toiling as funding came and went, and cast members too. Everyone from Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor and Jack O'Connell to Jean Rochefort, Robert Duvall, Michael Palin and John Hurt have been attached to the project at various points. Starring Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote now definitely exists, as if Gilliam willed it into being with the sheer force of his undying dedication. If you still feel like you need to see the film with your own two eyes to believe that it has finally been unleashed onto the world, that's perfectly understandable. Awaiting in this comic adventure is an obvious passion project — the clear product of a single-minded talent with a specific vision, boundless enthusiasm and the willingness to devote a big chunk of his life to a particular cause. It's also gleefully anarchic, a missive on both making and being transformed by movies, and a romantic ode to the unflinching combination of fantasy and fortitude. A straightforward version of the tale, this isn't. Instead, Gilliam steeps his filmmaker protagonist, Toby Grisoni (Driver), in several layers of Don Quixote connections. (If you're wondering how much humour the writer-director brings to the movie, he co-wrote the screenplay with his Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas scribe Tony Grisoni, who, yes, has an immensely similar name to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote's main character.) In Spain shooting a Quixote-themed commercial and sleeping with his boss' (Stellan Skarsgård) wife (Olga Kurylenko), Toby is reminded of his last visit to La Mancha, when he made a black-and-white version of the classic story for his student film. Alas, journeying down memory lane, and reuniting with shoemaker-turned-leading man Javier (Pryce), has repercussions. As Toby discovers, Javier has spent the past decade or so thinking that he really is the chivalrous knight. Spying the director's familiar face doesn't snap him out of it; rather, he believes that Toby is his squire and sidekick Sancho Panza. When Pryce's Javier bellows "you think you can hide from me?" while immersing Toby in his fanciful quest, it doubles as The Man Who Killed Don Quixote's statement of intent. This flick spent so many years eluding audiences, and now it's determined not only to exist, but to go forth and prosper on its own terms. Go forth, Gilliam does — with the feverish inventiveness that made his early greats such as Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen such delights, and with a sense of spectacle and occasion to go with it. But there's no mistaking that the filmmaker has much in common with the movie's cynical on-screen filmmaker, too. He knows the reality of his chosen business, and how difficult and convoluted it can be. He also knows what's at stake when you don't follow your dreams. Perhaps that's why The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is so joyous, even when it's ambling about and feeling more than a little shambolic in sections. The film is the product of a guiding hand who's pursuing his passion, is aware of the costs and challenges, and knows that anything worth having is worth working and fighting for. More than that, he's decided that the fruits of his sacrifice and labour are worth sharing as well. As a result, every frame, whether rollicking across dusty plains or literally tilting at windmills, is infused with a can-do, must-do, never-say-die attitude. And while they mightn't have been the director's original choices, Driver and Pryce's intensely committed performances possess the same spirit. After spending so long lost in La Mancha, Gilliam has found his way out, and he's in great company. The twist: even when this loony labour of love proves unsurprisingly indulgent, audiences will still want to get lost in the madcap epic along with him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pf17xRtthc
In 2016, a French documentarian with Senegalese heritage attended the trial of a Senegalese French PhD student who confessed to killing her 15-month-old daughter, who was fathered by a white partner, by leaving her on the beach to the mercy of the waves at Berck-sur-Mer. The filmmaker was fixated. She describes it as an "unspeakable obsession". She was haunted by questions about motherhood, too — her mum's and her own, given that she was a young mother herself as she sat in the courtroom. That story is the story of how Saint Omer came to be, and also almost exactly the tale that the piercing drama tells. In her first narrative film after docos We and La Permanence, writer/director Alice Diop focuses on a French author and literature professor with a Senegalese background who bears witness to a trial with the same details, also of a Senegalese French woman, for the same crime. Saint Omer's protagonist shares other traits with Diop as she observes, too, and watches and listens to research a book. A director riffing on their own experience isn't novel, but Saint Omer is strikingly intimate and authentic because it's the embodiment of empathy in an innately difficult situation. It shows what it means to feel for someone else, including someone who has admitted to a shocking crime, and has been made because Diop went through that far-from-straightforward process and was galvanised to keep grappling with it. What a deeply emotional movie this 2022 Venice International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning feature is, understandably and unsurprisingly. What a heartbreaking and harrowing work it proves as well. Saint Omer is also an astoundingly multilayered excavation of being in a country but never being seen as truly part it, and what that does to someone's sense of self, all through Fabienne Kabou's complicated reality and Laurence Coly's (Guslagie Malanda, My Friend Victoria) fictionalised scenario. As Laurence gets her time in court, Diop takes it all in. "It would make life easier" is the defendant's early characterisation of her crime, a gut-punch of a way to describe infanticide. But before Laurence unravels the minutiae of her life prior to and after moving from Senegal to study — and her daughter Lili's brief existence and death — Rama (film debutant Kayije Kagame) is dreaming, being comforted by her French partner Adrien (Thomas de Pourquery, Perfect Nanny), teaching and finally making the trip for the trial. When she packs, she grabs a sleeping bag. When she checks into her hotel, she replaces the bed's quilt with this small piece of home. It's a revealing gesture, conveying how intensely that Rama is already connecting with Laurence and her journey through the justice system; they're strangers but, as Rama gathers specifics for her book, which will compare Laurence's plight to Medea, this is never anything less than personal. The bulk of Saint Omer is chatter, as Laurence is questioned about what happened, why, her studies, her hopes and dreams, and her relationships with her mother (Salimata Kamate, Represent) and Lili's father (Xavier Many, Notre Dame on Fire). In France's legal setup, interrogating isn't limited to attorneys — the judge (Valérie Dréville, Wonder in the Suburbs) guides the proceedings, with Laurence's lawyer (Aurélia Petit, Rosalie) and prosecuting counsel (Robert Cantarella, My Best Part) inquiring sporadically. The defendant states from the outset that she killed her baby, but doesn't consider herself responsible. She wants the trial to inform not just the court but herself as to why this tragedy occurred. She brings up sorcery, and the immediate incredulity that hangs in the air in a room with only two other Black people, her mum and Rama, is among the plethora of ways that Diop calls attention to the contrast between France as a racially diverse nation and the truth of not being white in the European country. Befitting a movie about a writer, language is one of Saint Omer's stars, courtesy of a script co-written by Diop with the film's editor Amrita David, plus Marie N'Diaye (White Material). Often reworking text from Kabou's case, Laurence's story is told in such an evocative fashion that picturing what she's saying is a given. She talks, and cinematographer Claire Mathon (Spencer, and also Céline Sciamma's Petite Maman and Portrait of a Lady on Fire) hones in on that talking — always as Laurence wears skin-tone matching shirts that visually reinforce how invisible she feels; always standing against wooden panelling with the same effect; and always expressing as much in her stance, gaze and all the things she doesn't say. Occasionally, the judge takes the frame, or lawyers, witnesses or Rama, usually centred. Diop wants viewers to focus on their words, too, and the reactions betrayed by their faces and physicality. This is filmmaking at its most meticulous and emotional, with such carefully measured scenes proving puncturing and searing. As talk flows, so does judgement within the court and beyond. Rama begins querying herself — in her dreams, alone in her hotel, and via flashbacks to her childhood, where things with her mum (first-timer Adama Diallo Tamba) are complex and tense — but the scrutiny Laurence is placed under transcends her deeds. While Saint Omer doesn't excuse her actions for a second, it keeps illustrating how life in France has treated and continues to treat her, and why Rama can spy echoes between their otherwise vastly dissimilar predicaments. During a call after part of the testimony, Rama's editor (Alain Payen, Golden Moustache) notes that Laurence speaks "very sophisticated French". There's no doubting that that wouldn't be said about someone white with the same college background; Rama replies that she just "talks like an educated woman". When the judge also can't believe the claims of witchcraft, or entertain diving into what they mean, it too is a loaded response. There are no easy moments in Saint Omer, or easy answers. There can't be. Diop looks at this delicate situation with sensitivity and probing — and, in yet another parallel with Rama, questions why she's making the film, what she's saying about the situation, the role of myth in processing the incomprehensible, and motherhood's many intricacies and challenges. Indeed, this is a movie made with uncompromising rigour as well as understanding, as expected from a documentary filmmaker turning to fiction. It's a stunning legal drama that's as brilliantly crafted as Custody, another Venice standout from France about a grim situation. And, it's home to astonishing performances by Malanda and Kagame, each haunting in their own ways. Diop will never forget Kabou, and audiences won't be able to get her film, its extraordinary story or its exceptional lead actors out of their heads, either.
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.
Run by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, Dark Mofo is an arts celebration where anything truly can occur. A haven for shows, gigs and installations of the dark, sinister, confronting and boundary-pushing variety, it's back for another stunning year in 2023, taking place in Hobart between Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22. This year's weird and wild lineup includes a Twin Peaks-inspired ball, a teddy bear with laser eyes, sleeping over, catching Soda Jerk's latest film and seeing punk icons Black Flag play their first Aussie gig since 2013. Oh, and Florentina Holzinger's dance theatre performance A Divine Comedy, an Australian premiere and an Aussie exclusive that reimagines Dante's classic examination of hell, purgatory and paradise, That ball both wonderful and strange? That'd be Dark Mofo's hedonistic masquerade, which this year is called The Blue Rose Ball. David Lynch fans, this sounds like heaven — in a mystery venue turned into the Blue Velvet Lounge, and with live tunes and performances all on theme. If your costume includes red and white zigzags, you've obviously nailed it. That teddy bear? It's called Giant Teddy, a new commission by Dark Mofo from EJ Son. Festival attendees will see a giant Korean pop culture-inspired teddy bear that, yes, has lasers for eyes — plus a camera that'll show its live surveillance elsewhere in Hobart. [caption id="attachment_895370" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2022. Photo credit: Rémi Chauvin, 2022. Image courtesy of Dark Mofo 2022.[/caption] The sleepover comes courtesy of Max Richter's SLEEP, which returns to Australia for an eight-and-a-half-hour overnight stint. You'll slumber, and Richter's compositions will play. The former will happen on beds provided by Dark Mofo, and the latter is based on the neuroscience of getting some shuteye. And if you've seen the documentary about it, you'll already be excited — and have your pyjamas ready. Soda Jerk joins the fold with Hello Dankness, which compiles samples into a 70-minute survey of American politics circa 2016–21 — so, a chaotic time. And Black Flag won't have Henry Rollins with them, but will be doing a one-off exclusive Australian show in Tassie. The music bill also features First Nations artists BARKAA, Tasman Keith, dameeeela, DENNI, MARLON X RULLA, Uncle Dougie Mansell, Katarnya Maynard, Rob Braslin and more on opening night; Ethel Cain hitting Australia for the first time; Thundercat breaking out the bass; and Witch with Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis on the drums. Squarepusher, Trentemøller, Drab Majesty, Plaid, Sleaford Mods, Deafheaven — yes, the list goes on, with Zindzi & The Zillionaires, as led by Play School host Zindzi Okenyo, also on offer for younger attendees. Dark Mofo's arts lineup spans two new pieces by Martu artist Curtis Taylor: video work Ngarnda (pain) about blood rituals, cultural rites and lived experiences; and multi-media installation Boong, which focuses on exposing racial violence. And, there's Western Flag from Irish talent John Gerrard — aka a ten-metre-by-ten-metre digital screen depicting a flagpole, but spewing out black smoke non-stop, in a reference to the world's first major oil find in Texas in 1901. [caption id="attachment_895362" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ethel Cain | Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Helen Kirbo. Image courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo.[/caption] Top image: Dark Mofo/Rosie Hastie, 2021. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
