On September 23 and 30, Palace Centro will become the most magical place in Brisbane, as all nine films grace the Fortitude Valley cinema's screens for 20 hours of wizarding wonder. BYO time-turner if you don't think you'll be able to stay awake. Nine films, you say? Yep, this really is a celebration of every Potter-related flick there is, which means the eight movie versions of J.K. Rowling's original seven books, plus the film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well. Watch Harry, Hermione, Ron and co. spend their first day at Hogwarts, play quidditch, search for the deathly hallows and battle He Who Must Not Be Named. And, then jump back several decades earlier to explore the exploits behind one of their textbooks — as presented in glorious 70mm, too. With no new Potter-related films due until the Fantastic Beasts sequel next year, this will help you get your big screen spellbinding fix — and, let's face it, you've already watched your DVDs hundreds of times. Kicking off at 11am and screening through until the following morning, Potterfest — A Harry Potter Marathon will also include plenty of other Potter fun, with dressing up in costume as highly recommended as a pint of butterbeer.
When M Night Shyamalan earned global attention and two Oscar nominations back in 1999 for The Sixth Sense, it was with a film about a boy who sees dead people. After ten more features that include highs (the trilogy that is Unbreakable, Split and Glass) and lows (Lady in the Water and The Happening), in 2019 he turned his attention to a TV tale of a nanny who revives a dead baby. Or did he? That's how Apple TV+'s Servant commenced its first instantly eerie, anxious and dread-filled season, a storyline it has followed in its second season in 2021, third in 2022, and now fourth and final batch of episodes currently streaming. But as with all Shyamalan works, this meticulously made series bubbles with the clear feeling that all isn't as it seems. The director's Knock at the Cabin, another highlight to his name, isn't his only project worth spending time with in 2023. It isn't the only intriguing use of former Harry Potter star Rupert Grint on his resume, either, in a part that's the actor's best post-Wizarding World role. With Servant's latest go-around, Shyamalan is in producer mode, after popping in and out as a helmer across past ten-episode seasons. He's also still in his adored thriller territory, still paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock and still playing with twists, this time in a show that resembles a dark take on Mary Poppins. What happens if a caregiver sweeps in exactly when needed and changes a family's life, but she's a teenager rather than a woman, disquieting instead of comforting, and accompanied by strange events, forceful cults and unsettlingly conspiracies rather than sweet songs, breezy winds and spoonfuls of sugar? That's Servant's basic premise. Set in Shyamalan's beloved Philadelphia, the puzzle-box series spends most of its time in a lavish brownstone inhabited by TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files) and her celebrity-chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot). Living well-to-do lives, the wealthy pair appear the picture of happiness, complete with a newborn son to fulfil their perfect family portrait. But as 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) quickly learned in Servant's first season, there's nothing normal about baby Jericho. After the tot tragically passed away, he's been replaced by a lookalike doll to calm the otherwise-catatonic Dorothy's grief. Leanne's job: selling that well-meaning deception. Just as Knock at the Cabin unveils its first big twist early, so did Servant when it began. Before its debut episode was over, writer/producer Tony Basgallop (Berlin Station) revealed that the reborn doll filling Jericho's place has come alive after Leanne's arrival. So arises questions that are still being explored and mysteries that keep deepening in season four, including the young nanny's role in it all and the true meaning of her ties to the Turners. As the increasingly suspicious Dorothy, more-accepting Sean and Dorothy's recovering-alcoholic brother Julian (Grint, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) start discovering early, Leanne springs from an unconventional background with heavy religious ties — from a disturbing group intent on bringing her back and willing to stop at nothing to do so — and her happiness appears closely linked to the state of affairs in her new household. As Servant's seasons have inched by, Basgallop, Shyamalan and an impressive array of filmmakers — Raw and Titane's Julia Ducournau, Casting JonBenét and The Assistant's Kitty Green, Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge's Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Holiday's Isabella Eklöf and Predators' Nimród Antal among them, plus Shyamalan's daughter Ishana — have kept the series focused on grief, belief and how they each feed into each other. Whatever the reason behind Jericho's comeback, having faith in him being back has kept Dorothy and the Turners' townhouse functioning. Sean and Julian are willing to accept the unusual turn of events to maintain a facade of normality, but have the family unwittingly made a bargain with severe consequences? Since Leanne crossed their doorstep, decay has also blighted their home. Jericho returned, but Sean's taste and smell disappeared, splinters started showing up everywhere and that gorgeous home began to crumble. Termites, maggots, bed bugs: they've all plagued Servant's covetable abode, which sprawls up and down but also ripples with a claustrophobic air. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis — a veteran of Shyamalan's Old, Jordan Peele's Us and 2014 horror hit It Follows — winds through its main setting's halls, floors, nooks and crannies like he's creeping through a festering haunted house. His lensing is ghostly in its movements, elegantly but emphatically disrupting the sense of balance visually in every way it can. Sometimes, it pivots suddenly. Sometimes, it peers on from afar when a moment screams for a closeup, and vice versa. Often, it flits from focused to unfocused — and, in telling its off-kilter tale, the show's framing has little use for symmetry. Servant isn't just impeccably shot — see: season four's debut episode, an unease-dripping spin on The Birds that sees Leanne swarmed in the street by cult members — but also unnervingly scored. The childlike plinking of the opening theme, with composer Trevor Gureckis (Voyagers) doing the honours, is unshakeably haunting from the get-go. In its music box-esque notes, bursts of playfulness and innocence echo, and also the feeling of sweetness turned sour. That's the mood lingering in the latest deliberately paced, insidiously atmospheric episodes, as Dorothy returns home after season three's big finale and fall, Sean attempts to balance his TV success with his family commitments, and Leanne and Julian become the de facto parents of the house. Leanne demands domestic bliss, but Dorothy is more certain than ever that the Turners would be far better off without the teen, even hiring nurses Bev (Denny Dillon, The Outsider) and Bobbie (Barbara Kingsley, The Flight Attendant) as a buffer. In Servant's last hurrah, there's still no such thing as a cosy status quo — and doesn't the series have the spellbinding performances to show it. Alongside a never-better Grint at his most gruff, begrudging and scattered, Kebbell is mesmerising as a man pinballing back and forth between work and home, Dorothy and Leanne, and what he knows and believes. That said, as Dorothy and Leanne keep doing battle as rival matriarchs — including with a Misery-style situation thanks to Dorothy's injuries, with the nanny segueing from Mary Poppins to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest's Nurse Ratched as well — Ambrose and Free are nothing short of phenomenal. However Shyamalan and Basgallop wrap up this discomforting tale, and whether or not they stick the landing, Servant has gifted viewers four seasons of spectacular duelling caregivers and gripping domestic tension, and one of streaming's horror greats. Check out the trailer for Servant season four below: Servant streams via Apple TV+.
Yabun Festival is held annually on January 26 at Victoria Park in Camperdown, Sydney, on Gadigal Land. Yabun — which means "music to a beat" in the Gadigal language — features a wide range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent. Each year, Yabun consists of Corroboree, performances from First Nations musicians, a marketplace, discussions and speeches. This year, for the festival's 20th anniversary, the festival is running little differently, with three different ways for you to experience all the action — including from anywhere you like. The first is in-person at both Victoria Park and the Seymour Centre. Over at its usual home in Victoria Park, attendees can watch Indigenous cultural performances, wander through the marketplace and grab a bit to eat at the food stalls. Across the road at the Seymour Centre, the Yabun Stage will host musicians including rapper Kobie Dee, indie-pop group Pirra, the Gomeroi Dance Company and the Sounds of Freedom musical group which features survivors of the Stolen Generation and descendants including Vic Simms, Nadeena Dixon & Johnny Huckle. If you want to attend the 500-capacity Seymour Centre event, you'll need to apply for your free tickets online. If you can't make it to the city, don't feel comfortable attending in person or you live in regional NSW or interstate, you can also watch via a live stream on the festival's website or tune into the yearly broadcast of the festival on Koori Radio 93.7fm. It all kicks off at midday and will run until 10pm.
When he penned The Beach, the 90s-era must-read novel that became a Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon)-led movie and started his own working relationship with filmmaker Danny Boyle (Yesterday), Alex Garland told a tale of shattering the Thai holiday idyll. As his backpacker protagonist travelled to Asia, pure shores gleamed, but the supposedly utopian community on a hidden coastline that he sought, and found, was never destined to fulfil the promise of beyond-the-postcard perfection. Garland soon moved to screenwriting, kicking off the 28 Days Later franchise with Boyle and reteaming with the director on the also Cillian Murphy (Small Things Like These)-starring sci-fi gem Sunshine. Grim realities lurk in both, after an escaped virus sparks a zombie pandemic that shatters life as everyone knows it, and on a space mission to attempt to reignite the dying sun. Warfare, Garland's sixth project as a director himself, also has that familiar idea in its sights: that grasped-onto perceptions, facades and status quos always crumble or conceal horrors, or both, as driven by human nature. The same concept has proven a part of his other works as a filmmaker, starting with 2014's tech nightmare Ex Machina, then continuing through fellow movies Annihilation, Men and Civil War, plus TV series Devs — and before them, on screenplays for Never Let Me Go and Dredd. It's reasonable to expect Garland and Boyle's upcoming 28 Years Later, as well as its sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (written by Garland but helmed by The Marvels' Nia DaCosta), to continue the trend. Warfare is that idea put into action, however, by the feature's entire existence and purpose. Co-directed with former Navy SEAL and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza, drawing solely upon the latter's memories and those of his platoon during a 2006 mission in Ramadi, unfurling in real time and playing out as almost one entire hellish scene, it is as committed to depicting the nightmare reality of combat, and immersing its cast and audience in it, as is cinematically possible. The picture's singular focus and sensory saturation relies upon a valid assumption: no one is watching this in a vacuum, so no one needs the feature to spell out the context, let alone overtly express anything but total realism. The latter conveys everything anyway, and anything more vocally pointed would be beside the point. Warfare is "simply us accumulating memories, accumulating bits of information and trying to piece together what happened", Garland tells Concrete Playground. "The intention is to try to understand what happened in a sequence of events. There is no hero. There is no protagonist, because at different times different people are doing different things, and sometimes they're doing it concurrently." For D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs), who portrays Mendoza as the film follows his unit on a surveillance mission surrounded by insurgents, it's pivotal that "we don't glorify anything, romanticise, make anything up. Almost all the words you hear in there are from actual memory. Everything is basically from memory," he shares. "The audience is an adult. This is not a film for children. It's a film for grownups, right? It's a film for people who live in the fucking world, right? And any adult who does not have an understanding of the Iraq War and why it happened and how it happened is an idiot. It is all available to them to find out. It's a huge global event, and if they have no historical and intellectual curiosity, that is on them. That's not on the film," Garland says, chatting about his second movie in a row, after Civil War, where the justified lack of an all-caps-style, shouting, hand-holding agenda has become a talking point, much to his frustration "I think that the concept behind that is so lazy, and it comes from a culture that we exist in at the moment where you are not allowed to offer something into the world unless you're making your private agenda clear. And I don't like that. I object to it. Because what it means is all information that is put out into the world is attached to an ideology, which means that either people are being reassured or they're feeling attacked. And some people like to be reassured and some people like to feel angry that they're being attacked, and it's juvenile, it's childish," Garland continues. "It's important: if you're going to understand something about how horrific war is, you need to be able to look at it and you need to be able to trust the information. And if we attached an agenda to it, it would make the information untrustworthy, and then we would have failed in our objective. It was the same dreary, whiny bullshit with Civil War as well, and I thought it was lazy, I thought it was unsophisticated and I thought it was dishonest. It was effectively people saying 'why aren't you agreeing with me?' — and that is the same [here]. That is what our polarised state is." For Warfare's cast, enlisting for the movie was as close to that — enlisting — as a film production can get. Before the cameras began rolling for the impressive lineup of Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter (Death of a Unicorn), Cosmo Jarvis (The Alto Knights), Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II), Charles Melton (May December), Kit Connor (Heartstopper), Michael Gandolfini (Daredevil: Born Again), Noah Centineo (The Recruit) and more, they went through a Mendoza-led three-week boot camp. During that phase, the group spent every moment together, even when they weren't specifically training. Speaking with us, Woon-A-Tai and Poulter stress how crucial the bond that the actors formed during that experience was, for them and for the picture. Mendoza is equally as adamant. His dedication to authentically recreating what he went through, plus his fellow soldiers like Elliott Miller (who can't remember it due to the traumas of the incident, as viewers witness, and who Jarvis plays), couldn't be more apparent. Enforcing the hierarchies of their characters in the film, mirroring leadership positions and communication channels, shaving each other's heads: that was all built into the boot camp. "Quickly, I think it was very unique and very different on this set compared to others," explains Woon-A-Tai. "First and foremost, I haven't played a soldier prior. I haven't been on a set that had a war — a war set — before. So I'm new and I don't understand it. But what was different that I do acknowledge is that the position that Will Poulter here, and Charles Melton and Joseph Quinn, were in," he continues. "They knew our schedule, which is not common. If I wanted to know what we're shooting that day or when's lunch or et cetera, even to ask to use the restroom, I would go to Will. And that was set up perfectly by Ray and by Alex, and also these gentlemen right over here, who I just said before, who filled in those shoes very quickly, to keep that leadership position going on-screen and off-screen. And that was beautiful." Not its stars, not Garland, not Mendoza — who worked as the military advisor on Civil War, following technical advisor jobs on the likes of Lone Survivor, Jurassic World, Mile 22, The Outpost and The Terminal List — and not audiences: no one should quickly shake Warfare, its like-you're-there naturalism and its distressing-by-reality portrait of war after viewing. With Woon-A-Tai, Poulter and its two directors, we also unpacked that key preparation process, the film's long-take visual style, why its vision of battle stands out, human nature and physically demanding productions, among other subjects, including Civil War's potential premonitions. On the Importance of Warfare's Pre-Shoot Boot Camp in Cementing a Bond Among the Cast and Helping Them Respond Authentically to Such a Testing Experience On-Screen Will: "Absolutely pivotal and central to everything that we did. And the boot camp was really the environment that fostered those bonds and allowed us to develop very sincere, authentic and real relationships and understandings between each other. I think the boot camp really served two purposes as far as us being able to execute the objective of this project. First was the emotional side of things, and those bonds that I mentioned. And then, second I think was the development of a skill set to be able to put our best foot forward as far as accurately representing Navy SEALs. And as actors, we were under no illusions about the massive gulf between us and the real individuals who serve, and the women and men who operate at that level. But Ray is a fantastic instructor — both a great teacher and a great director — and so he really couldn't have put us in a in better stead to replicate seal culture to the best of our abilities." D'Pharaoh: "And plus, if we didn't prioritise working on this bond from the jump, you would honestly see a different result on-screen, I'm sure." Ray: "It was extremely important, actually. It was one of my three critical nodes of what I wanted to do, not only just for the practicality of what you mentioned, and as it contributed to the brotherhood and what we would eventually see on film or on the screen, but I just wanted them to experience something that they could take away for the rest of their lives as well. Just the concept of the team before self, what it means to sacrifice, the burden of leadership, identifying everyone's weaknesses and strengths, and how they can help each other, essentially. There's a concept that we're only as fast or as strong as our slowest or weakest person. And then, applying those principles, all that stuff is what they were using to draw on in regards to their performances, as you mentioned. So it was a super important. It was one of the things I focused on the most." Will: "I think the guys, obviously from the point of signing on, began to just engage in even more physical conditioning and whatnot to make sure that we're all showing up to boot camp in the best shape possible. But, really, I think what we all experienced — at the risk of speaking for anyone, but I feel like I can safely generalise in this by saying that I think physically and mentally, especially, it pushed us all further than we were even necessarily prepared for. And that was absolutely necessary. A fundamental part of the story is a response to things going wrong and loss, and the reaction to that. And it's typical of Navy SEAL training to analyse how people respond to duress, and how they respond to things going wrong, and what their reaction is to things being especially difficult, and that was integrated into the training. So regardless of what individual preparation we've done, the boot camp really became defined by how we'd respond to things that Ray knew would lead us to fail." On Woon-a-Tai's Task Portraying Mendoza — While Mendoza Was Co-Directing the Film D'Pharaoh: "Of course I have a sense of responsibility that I represent this man on-screen for countless of people to watch it. And but in all honesty, though, he had way more pressure on his shoulders than I could ever have. So I don't really want to sit here and tell you how much pressure I had because, yeah I did, but it was also very much a gift. The fact that I was the only one to have to have my guy be there every single day, I can't complain. And as much pressure as it was, I wouldn't have did it any other way or wanted to do it any other way. But really, Ray had way more pressure on his shoulders than I could have ever had. He's telling the story on behalf of his personal story and the people, their personal stories who were there, but also countless other veterans who served in multiple different wars who can relate to that exact same story. And sadly, maybe in Hollywood, the depiction of a lot of stereotypes in the military community that he was breaking down with this film." On How Garland and Mendoza Came to Reunite for Warfare After Civil War Alex: "We got to know each other during the shooting of Civil War. Ray was a military advisor, and the idea to work together in a really concrete way arrived in post-production with Civil War. Ray and I had stayed in touch. Ray had some project he was working on and we discussed it — and I was very interested in some of the sequences that Ray had choreographed, and some of the qualities of realism that Ray introduces because of his experience prior to working in the film industry. And so I approached him saying 'would you be interested in working together to make a real-time movie that attempted to be forensically accurate about combat and removed some of the tricks and devices of cinema?'." On the Cast's Experience Working with Co-Directors with Completely Different Backgrounds and Skill Sets Will: "It's very, very cool to see two very authoritative leaders practise the humility and self-awareness that is required to co-lead a project like this, while never stepping on each other's toes — and both, I suppose, leading in their own ways and based on their own areas of expertise. Alex will be the first to say that Ray naturally ought to lead on anything that related to the experience of being at war, and anything that we were doing, I would say, sort of from an emotional standpoint — and anything that pertained to operating like a SEAL. And then I think Ray would also readily admit that Alex took slightly more of a lead when it came to the camerawork and things that related to technical direction. And they were a brilliant complement to one another." On Using Long Takes, and the Pros and Cons of How One-Shot Scenes Can Immerse Audiences and Create an Unrelenting Sense of Tension Alex: "Right or wrong, that would be, in a way, for other people to decide. But what I would say is that me personally — this is just me — I find that, for example, scenes that are all shot in a oner, where there's no cuts, I find I start to think about the filmmaking more than what is happening on-screen. So I get detached from the characters. I get detached from the narrative. And I start thinking 'where are the secret cut points?' or 'how did they orchestrate this movement through the door or over the car?' or whatever it happens to be. So I find it distancing. And what I think is, while we're talking to each other now, at the moment I'm looking at the screen, so in a way that's a close-up — but sometimes I might look over here and then it's a wide. And actually the grammar of cinema, with edits between mids and close-ups and wides, is very like our experience walking down the street or talking to someone in a room. You're sat opposite someone in a restaurant, but then you see the waiter approach, it's turned from a close-up to a wide. You blink. There are these little sort of interruptions, which are very like edits. So for me, the most truthful version is actually the classical film version of moving between close-ups, mids and wides — whereas a oner, I find slightly artificial, and not how I experience the world, paradoxically." On the Difference in How Warfare Approaches the Depiction of War Compared to Other Films, How It Continues Activist Work and Why It Should Start Conversations Will: "I think one of the things that attracted me to this project was that it seeks to break with the conventions around how war is often depicted in Hollywood. I think the tendency within Hollywood when it comes to war is to mine warfare environments for entertainment. And a lot of the time in the depiction of war, American soldiers and British soldiers especially, their place in warfare environments and their actions are glorified and romanticised. And I was excited to be part of a project that sought to go against the grain in that respect, and really focus more on depicting the real-life events with a degree of objectivity that that rarely, rarely is seen in Hollywood. So that was a process that was too exciting to turn down. I think as a civilian, a lot of our understanding of war is based in these Hollywood recreations, and they don't necessarily optimise for truth and accuracy. So we stand to learn something potentially a bit new and a bit more truthful by watching a film like Warfare. And then also my hope is that veterans feel more accurately represented, and therefore at less risk of being misunderstood by the general public in respect of what they do and why they do it." D'Pharaoh: "So with this film, what I loved about it so much when I was reading the script and while we were shooting it is that we didn't romanticise anything. We didn't make anything up or make anything look cool. And one thing that I hope people will see with this is a sparked conversation on what happened in Iraq. I think that this is a film that doesn't have a bias. I feel like this film is more like a transcript. It just states what happened and that's it. And as audience members, we should leave the theatre talking about what happened over there — yeah, talking about what happened over there. So to answer your question about activism or et cetera, this a good part of that. I don't think I'm steering away from my activism at all. I think this is sparking conversation of what happened in Iraq. It's an important conversation to have. And to have a film that doesn't have a bias or doesn't make a stance, if you may, is a perfect example to have those conversations. Because we didn't glorify anything. We didn't make anything look cool. In my opinion and in my personal opinion only, it makes it seem like this film may not want people to join the military. I don't when I watched that movie." On How Mendoza Looks Back at the Iraq War with Everything That the World Knows About It Now, Including the Claims Used to Justify It Ray: "I think when I first heard, yeah, I mean I felt a little heartbroken about it for sure. Like, I did ask myself 'what was it all for?'. There's a lot of good we did there — besides the mission set of, like 'all right, we're a direct-action force, we get tasks given that we do missions'. But there's a lot of humanitarian effort when you coexist with the people of that country. There's a lot of good humanity. You see the full spectrum, of the worst side of humanity to the best side of humanity, on both sides. And we took a lot of autonomy to do, outside of the scope of our mission, to do as much good as we could. Because when you're there and you see people that are in need — there were people that were being oppressed, whether you agree with me or not; I was there and we saw it — and we helped a lot people. Didn't have to. It wasn't something that was passed down as a policy. We're occupying their country. We would go into these people's homes — and not there for them, but just using it as depicted in the movie, as a position to use, to observe or to operate out of, and you learn a lot about them. I'm not there to hurt them. It's just we're using the home for what we need it for. And so yeah, you just learn and you want to help where you can. And there's a lot of assets we have — or whether it's just providing water or colouring books, or aid stations for battered women or battered children or foster children. So there's a lot of good we did, and that's the only salvageable thing coming out of that. Even though ISIS came back in and took it over, there's a lot of good done there. I guess that's the only way I can really live with it." On What Garland Has Learned About Human Nature Through Interrogating It On-Screen and on the Page Across His Career Alex: "I would say that part one of the answer is in what Ray just said, which is that Ray is speaking from the point of view of someone who's seen a lot of combat, and spent a lot of time at war and involved in the military. But what you can hear is — I can hear, I'm sure you can hear — is a concern for compassion and a desire to have done something good, even amidst a dreadful, horrific situation. Ray said 'this is what I can salvage from this in order to live with it, is that some good was done'. And I think that one crucial part of the human condition is that most people have a desire for goodness. And I think the other part that I've observed is that we seem to all suffer from a kind of Alzheimer's-like dementia, where we are unable to remember things for very long. So important lessons can be learned. I was born in 1970. I thought there were some lessons that were learned from the Second World War that would never be forgotten, and now I'm 55 and many of them have clearly been forgotten. There were lessons learned from Vietnam that should never have been forgotten, and then they were forgotten. And there will be lessons learned from Iraq, should be remembered, have been forgotten. And so it goes on. So a good example for me right now is that you have the leader of the most-powerful democracy in the world rather casually talking about militarily owning their sovereign peaceful neighbour, as Greenland. To me, a world leader, particularly an American world leader, in the immediate memory space of some of these things, would simply never talk like that. You could only talk like that if you've forgotten many important lessons. So goodness and dementia would be my takeaway." On Whether Poulter Enjoys Taking on Parts in Physically Demanding Productions, with Warfare Joining The Revenant on His Resume Will: "I think I do. I've been very fortunate to have those opportunities first and foremost, so I'm grateful for them. That's, I suppose, the overbearing feeling around it. But where possible, I do like to expose myself to those sort of challenges — and comparable in the sense that I guess it definitely was a test from a mental and physical standpoint. And I think that, to a degree, I couldn't necessarily have done this had I not gone through certain challenges prior. But this is totally unique in respect of what a team-orientated and collectivist process it was, and that's what I'm most grateful for. I think that we all practise this idea that we were all a team before we were individuals, and the bonds that we formed are truly unlike anything else I've experienced. So that's what I'm most grateful with in respects of Warfare, and it's the feeling that I'm left with — and I imagine will be left with long after this film was released." On If Anything Else on Woon-A-Tai and Poulter's Resumes Helped Them Prepare for Warfare D'Pharoah: "No. This is such a completely different role for me, and the fact that I had Ray Mendoza there for me by my side throughout the whole process, it would have felt very disrespectful to do anything opposite of what he wanted." Will: "There was only one other role that comes to mind for me. I was involved in a sort of satirical film that was kind of a critique, I suppose, of war, and it was called War Machine. And I played a US Marine and took part in a boot camp. And that was certainly helpful as far as being able to predict, to some degree, how close we would all get over the process and what would be required of me in a leadership position. But also to echo D'Pharaoh's point, this film broke with convention in so many ways and was so unique that really, it sort of exists in a category of its own, both as an experience and as a film." On Whether Garland Feels Like Civil War Was a Premonition — and If It That Was the Sense While Making It Alex: "At the point of writing it, it felt to me like many people were having the concerns that were reflected in the script. At the point of making it, then January the 6th that happened, where American law-enforcement officers were attacked brutally, and the seat of government was attacked brutally by someone who was denying an electoral result. And now that person is floating, in a sort of mischievous but also serious way, about a third electoral term, which means changing the constitution. It's not exactly that it's changed — it's more that it hasn't changed. So all of these conditions existed back then and they still exist now. I think they probably have gotten more serious. I think they probably have gotten more dangerous. The strange thing for me is that the fever hasn't broken. That something as basic as wanting to stick up for Capitol law-enforcement officers is somehow not possible in these conditions. It's a very, very strange situation." Warfare opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Images: Murray Close/A24.
You probably don't want to trek far from a chill spot when summer descends on Brisbane. But there's no shortage of incredible activities to explore between dips in charming river waters or beneath the waves at your favourite beach. The cultural calendar overflows with unique experiences luring you from your quiet place, from multi-sensory events that test your fear of flying to the must-see cinema at the British Film Festival. Best of all, these exciting events make it easy to hide from the humidity. Yet that doesn't mean you should avoid all heat this summer, especially when it comes to sporting excellence. The KFC Big Bash League returns with dramatic matches underneath the floodlights, where cool summer air contrasts with fierce on-field action. Supported by dazzling fireworks and crowd-pleasing vibes, it's just another way to make your summer even more satisfying.
Summer in Brisbane is getting a major new soundtrack. A brand-new program called Southwave: summer Electronic Series will take over South Bank across January and February 2026 and every event in the lineup is completely free. Running from January 2 to February 21, the series will host nine openair events at south Bank's Rainforest Green, transforming the riverside pocket into a tropical dance floor backdropped by greenery, pop-up bars and late-summer sunsets. Presented by South Bank, Double Agency and The Tivoli Group, Southwave is shaping up to be one of the biggest additions to Brisbane's summer events calendar. And the lineup is stacked. International names include Maribou State (DJ), Folamour, Rose Gray, DJ Seinfeld, Jimi Jules, Bimini and ABSOLUTE., joined by a deep roster of Australian favourites like Big Wett, Sampology, DJ JNETT, Jordan Brando, Laura Vizer, Wax'o Paradiso, Natural Steps and dozens more across the season. Each event is co-presented with some of the country's most trusted promoters, including Handsome Tours, Astral People, Kindacool, No Time, Mushroom Group, Family Tree and Natural Steps, curating riverside afternoons that slide into deeper twilight sets. "Electronic music has always been about connection and possibility," said Dave Sleswick, Curator and Creative Director of The Tivoli Group. "This series takes the spirit of the club and puts it into the heart of the city. We're giving artists and audiences space to dance, breathe and celebrate what Brisbane can be when culture is accessible, ambitious and proudly ours." Southwave also arrives alongside the inaugural On the Banks live music series, creating a new cultural moment for the precinct as south Bank leans further into accessible, openair programming. "Southwave will add a new rhythm to south Bank's summer," said south Bank CEO Julia Scodellaro. "Our collaboration with The Tivoli Group reflects a shared commitment to supporting artists, celebrating diversity and making culture accessible to everyone." All events are free to attend, but registration is essential via the Southwave website. Registration doesn't guarantee entry, but helps organisers manage capacity, communicate set times and provide any weather updates. If an event reaches capacity, entry will operate on a one-out, one-in basis. Brisbane's 2026 summer is already looking huge, and Southwave is set to be its new pulse, a chance to dance under the trees, discover new artists and welcome international favourites back to the river.
Art exhibitions are fleeting, gracing walls and halls for just days, weeks or months at a time, then moving elsewhere or never being seen again. The Lume, Melbourne's multi-sensory digital art gallery, is also set to be a brief addition to Australia's cultural scene. The venue opened in 2021, and has now announced that it will shut its doors in 2026, after deciding not to extend its lease at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Whether you're an art lover based in the Victorian capital or elsewhere around the country, you've now got just over a year — before January 2026 — to head by. Until early December 2024, Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius is filling The Lume with a tribute to the iconic artist. Then, come Boxing Day 2024, the site is bringing back its Vincent van Gogh exhibition, complete with The Starry Night projected large, taking over an entire room; the immersive Sunflower room, where golden petals stretch as far as the eye can see; an immersive cafe inspired by the artist's Café Terrace at Night; and more. "The Lume Melbourne's lease at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre was up for renewal in January 2026, and we have made the decision to not extend the lease beyond that time. This decision, made in alignment with our parent company Grande Experiences, reflects our ambition to explore new directions and technologies that build on our success here in Melbourne," said the team behind the gallery in a statement. "Since opening in November 2021, The Lume Melbourne has become a beloved cultural destination, inviting audiences to experience art in an inclusive, accessible and engaging way. We are incredibly proud of what's been achieved over the past three years." "Looking forward, The Lume is excited to embrace new technologies that deepen connections with our audiences and will transform the way visitors engage with art and culture. This evolution will guide us toward opportunities best suited to support these creative possibilities," the crew continued. "We look forward to an unforgettable final year at MCEC and to sharing this exciting new chapter of The Lume as we continue to push the boundaries of how technology can bring art and culture to life." When it initially opened, The Lume launched with its immersive van Gogh showcase — making the exhibition's return a full-circle moment. Also wowing audiences at the gallery: a celebration of Monet and his contemporaries, a huge showcase dedicated to First Nations artists and, since early 2024, all things da Vinci. The Lume Melbourne is set to close at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 5 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, Melbourne, in January 2026. Leonardo da Vinci — 500 Years of Genius displays until Sunday, December 8, 2024. Van Gogh at The Lume opens on Thursday, December 26, 2024. Head to the venue's website for tickets and further information. Images: Morgan Sette / Miles Noel Photography / Grande Experiences.
Heading to Sydney this year? Now's your chance to expand your horizons and explore beyond the city limits. New South Wales boasts 809,000 square kilometres of bountiful land, spanning ocean and desert, that are waiting to be discovered. And the next six months are chock-a-block with live music events, food festivals, sporting carnivals and breathtaking natural phenomena. From the lush Orange vineyards to the crystal waters of Nelson Bay, there are festivals and events for every taste. Without some planning, however, you'll never leave the city. To help you out, we've teamed up with Destination NSW to put together a handy list of top things to do with your entourage just in time for the new year.
When Brisbane Open House returns for 2024, it'll let Brisbanites take a wander through a space that dates back to 1846 and is also the River City's oldest European-style residential property. That place: Newstead House. But that's not your first chance to check out the historic riverside site after its three-year restoration. If you're keen to pop by before that — and enjoy live tunes, food trucks, markets, lawn games and tours — then head to the abode's one-day official reopening shindig between 10am–2pm on Saturday, July 6. Before the restoration and also prior to the pandemic, the Newstead spot regularly held picnic-worthy weekend sessions — and this celebration is following in that trend. Entry is free, but you'll need your wallet for whatever you choose to eat when you get cosy on the sprawling grass. To take a peek at Newstead House's unveiling, you'll be wandering through the site at your own pace, spying how far it has come from its first days as a two-level Georgian cottage. You'll also notice period decor that dates back to between 1862–90, when it was home to local businessman George Harris and his family. For kids — because this is a family-friendly affair — there'll be a roving magician, face-painting and an educational reptile showcase.
National Young Writers' Festival (NYWF) is the four-day writerly celebration that takes over the imaginations of young writers around the country. Directors Alexandra Neill, Jessica Alice and Lex Hirst's colourful program features familiar names like Benjamin Law, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Clementine Ford, Lawrence Leung, Genevieve Fricker, Steph Harmon, James Colley, Patrick Lenton and more (including some other names you might not recognise now but definitely will in the next five years). As well as more serious talks on slacktivism, mandatory detention and identity, NYWF won't be holding back on the life's practical truths, informing young writers about how to get paid as a writer, how to become an astronaut, how to make a sumptuously good sandwich and how to keep a diary and still be cool. Like any good writers' festival, Breakfast Book Club will start each day with impassioned discussion on life changing books, ones that make you plain angry and ones that are so good you turn into a nocturnal creature. Over 60 panels, discussions, workshops, performances and launches will carry you through deep into the evening when you'll get to sit back and relax to late night romance, crime and dystopian readings. Did we mention the whole festival is free? Yep, all of it. Blowing out 17 candles this year, NYWF is growing bigger and wiser by the year. But a festival is never too old for an intergalactic-themed ball and a spelling bee-cross-Hunger Games-style battle of the brains, right? NYWF runs from 2-5 October. Check out the full program here. Image: Alan Weedon.
Already a go-to for gelato, burgers, Italian eats, Mediterranean cuisine and Hungarian pastries, West Village in West End has just become Brisbane's latest spot to tuck into a Greek feast, too. Bringing the tastes of the Aegean to the inner-city precinct: Yamas Greek + Drink, the newest venture from the team behind Opa Bar + Mezze and Fatcow Steak & Lobster. For most Brisbanites, West End already conjures up visions of impressive Greek spreads thanks to The Greek Club and the annual Paniyiri festival — and now those local favourites have company. Hospitality duo Michael Tassis and Caio Rossetto are focusing on modern Greek flavours in their latest venture, heroing in on cuisine from Thessaloniki, with plenty of seafood and souvla on the menu. Also on offer: saganaki and stuffed zucchini from the mezze lineup, and wagyu beef moussaka and leek and cheese filo among the large plate selection. Keen on tucking into the ocean's finest? The seafood range includes taramasalata for starters, oysters with ouzo, grilled octopus, lobster from the tank, a sand crab and prawn dish, and whole baby barramundi with orzo pasta. Those souvlas feature meat cooked on the spit, tzatziki, a touch of ground beef and pork, rice, chestnuts, pine nuts, sultanas and herbs — and the full menu also spans everything from haloumi chips and lamb ribs through to spicy village sausage 150-day-plus dry-aged t-bones. Dessert options include baklava, halva, filo-wrapped semolina baked custard (aka galaktoboureko) and chocolate bougatsa pastries — and if you simply can't pick from the entire spread, there are two banquet options (a nine-dish banquet for $68 per person with a minimum of two, and an 11-dish version for $90 per person with at least four people required). While you're taking in the parkside views thanks to Yamas' location next to Mollison Park — and enjoying the sleek, terracotta-hued decor, or sitting in the pink-coloured booths — you can also sip cotton candy-topped spritzes, lychee martinis, a lineup of house speciality and classic cocktails, and wine by the glass. And, Yamas opens at 9am daily for breakfast and brunch as well, should you fancy starting the day with Ioannina eggs with manouri cheese, red sauce and pita bread. Find Yamas Greek + Drink at West Village, 45 Mollison Street, West End — open from 9am–9pm daily. Images: Markus Ravik.
Not content with launching a Ritz-Carlton on the Gold Coast in 2026, the Marriott International hotel chain is bringing another of its luxe accommodation labels to the Glitter Strip: St Regis, which'll open its first-ever Australian outpost in Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise. Holidaymakers will need to wait until 2027 to soak in the brand's lavish surroundings; however, there'll be plenty to enjoy, all as part of the under-development $1.7-billion La Pélago resort and precinct. La Pélago won't be small, sprawling over 12,000 square metres, and including 5500-plus square metres of dining and drinking options, as well as shops. St Regis Gold Coast Resort won't be modest itself, featuring 185 guest rooms and suites, each with either ocean or hinterland views. Also set to feature at the new St Regis: a sky bar, pool bar and lounge, a specialty restaurant, the chain's signature St Regis Bar and a spa, turning every stay into an excuse to kick back with a drink — while looking at stunning vistas, over a splash, with a meal or before chasing your bliss. Sporting the brand's usual focus on glamour — complete with its bespoke butler service — the Gold Coast's St Regis resort will take over one of La Pélago's towers, and comes in collaboration with property development company Gurner and investment house Wingate. It's set to be the first tower to open, in fact, and joins a list of 55-plus fellow St Regis hotels and resorts worldwide since the chain's first site opened in New York in 1904. You might've heard of its Big Apple venue, and the St Regis New York King Cole Bar, thanks to a well-known tipple. It was the supposed birthplace of the bloody mary back in 1934, with the hotel brand unsurprising touting the spicy cocktail as its signature sip since then. Do genuinely expect to feel on top of the world at the St Regis Gold Coast; as part of the La Pélago design plans, all of the hotel's rooms and amenities, including the bar and restaurant, will sit above the rest of the towers in the precinct. The St Regis building itself will be 50-percent taller than any other surrounding tower, in fact. That means arriving at the porte cochère entrance, then making your way up to the second — and main — hotel lobby on level 42. "This signing for the St Regis brand in Australia is momentous for Marriott International, and a wonderful advancement for the Gold Coast. The St Regis name promises a vanguard spirit steeped in history and tradition, and is synonymous with global luxury," said Richard Crawford, Vice President Hotel Development, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific for Marriott International, announcing the news. "The St Regis Hotel brand redefined luxury when it first opened its doors in New York over 100 years ago and as such we are incredibly selective when choosing the right locations and developments to launch new St Regis Hotel sites, that are befitting of the strict requirements and expectations of the brand," Crawford continued. St Regis was initially due to make its Aussie debut in Melbourne, as announced back in 2018; however, that plan hasn't come to fruition. When the chain's Gold Coast hotel opens, it's expected to be Marriott International's fourth site in the Queensland city thanks to the existing JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa, and theSheraton Grand Mirage Resort Gold Coast, plus the aforementioned Ritz-Carlton Gold Coast. Start dreaming about those swanky 2027 vacations now. The St Regis Gold Coast Resort will open at the new La Pélago precinct, 112 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise sometime in 2027 — we'll update you with further details when they're announced. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
As most visitors to the city will notice, Tokyo is home to many unique and wonderful quirks, from specialised bars to subcultures within subcultures. Tokyo's food scene is no different; however one of the city's most interesting dining experiences actually comes from Australia. Meet OUT, the concept restaurant that was conceived in Australia, inspired by Italy and executed in Japan. Built with the aim to create a carefully curated moment of complete gastronomic and sensory satisfaction, OUT is a truffle and pasta bar that serves one dish of buttery truffle covered pasta, one type of red wine and plays music by one artist, Led Zeppelin. This full-body culinary experience was created by Melbourne restaurateur David Mackintosh, entrepreneur Tom Crago and Tokyo-based gastronomic consultant Sarah Crago. "The idea started as a joke during a boozy dinner party back in Melbourne," says Sarah, who decided to take the gag one step further. Now, just a few years later, she finds herself running the popular Tokyo dining spot. https://www.instagram.com/p/BWuQw82Addy/?taken-by=outrestaurant Why choose Tokyo out of every city in the world? Given the sheer ubiquity of high-quality eating establishments already scattered throughout the city, it seems like a competitive scene. "We could only do something like this in Tokyo," Sarah explains. "Tokyo is all about pursuing true craftsmanship and perfecting technique." Opening in Shibuya in June this year, and seating 13, the restaurant has already welcomed a wide range clientele interested in trying the OUT experience. "We get all different people in," says Sarah, "but we do have regulars." As the seasonal ingredients change, many of them notice the subtle differences. "Some of them even noticed when we changed the shape of our pasta." "I moved to Japan two and a half years ago to start the project and it's been hard," Sarah shares. "Because we're completely independent, we don't have any Japanese companies propping us up, so everything has been a lot more difficult." That hard work has paid off, and lucky patrons can now find the eatery up and running six nights a week until late. If you find yourself in Tokyo, it's a fascinating way to dine. Find OUT at 〒150-0002 Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Shibuya, 2 Chome−7−14, Vort Aoyama 103, Japan or visit www.out.restaurant.
If Stone & Wood's ales and lagers happen to quench your hard-earned thirst, then you now have a new place to drink them, with the Byron Bay-based brand opening up a brewery and taproom in Brisbane. Five nights a week, Brissie beer lovers will find the amber liquid flowing at 99 Bridge Street in Fortitude Valley. Of course, even when the doors aren't open at the heritage-listed building — which has been preserved on the outside, gained custom-built Blackwood Collective furniture on the inside, and is also decked out with very fitting stone and wood decor, as well as plenty of greenery — the eight-hectolitre brewhouse and its five fermenters will still be operational. First announced in mid-2018, and launching in late 2019, Stone & Wood's new Brisbane base is serious about its beer. Onsite, it brews one-off small batch tipples that are only served at the venue — and, even better, they're poured straight into your glass from tanks located behind the bar. Don't expect cocktails, wine or spirits to sip on, or pub-style entertainment like TVs or pokies, either. While you're here, you'll drink beer, talk about beer, look at beer-making apparatus and just generally be made fully aware that you're in a brewery. If everything else doesn't do the trick, hanging planters made from old kegs will definitely help remind you of your boozy location. The spot does include a merchandise outlet, should you be keen on wearing your affection for Stone & Wood on your sleeves in a literal sense — and there's also a space that'll be used for community events, as well as training workshops by the brewer's trade partners. Food-wise, the brewery welcomes a rotating array of local food vendors, picking outfits that match its beers. First up is Mr Bunz, because steamed buns and brews go together mighty nicely. If you're keen to settle into the 150-person space, start knocking back cold ones and take in the view over the street, the venue doesn't take reservations, so just walk on in. The 90-person function area will be available from December, should you be eager to add some beer to your Christmas merriment, too.
In Hobart for Dark Mofo 2023 earlier this month, Max Richter performed all night. That mightn't seem like surprising news at the winter festival, but his show was designed to be listened to while attendees slept. Keep that in mind for a second. Also, take note of the upcoming plan in Brisbane to break the world record for the most amount of kazoos played at once. Supernova at HOTA, Home of the Arts is primarily about the piano, but this Gold Coast event is also playing music all evening as Friday, June 23 becomes Saturday, June 24. And, it's endeavouring to get into the history books in the process. Composer Charlie Chan will tinkle the ivories for more than 24 hours in an effort to set the world record for the longest improvised piano concert — with a slumber-focused 8.5-hour sleep experience where you'll get some shuteye to binaural beats part of the performance. The sleepover costs $40, but the rest is free to attend as Chan — and a few friends — hit the keyboard. Supernova kicks off at 4pm on the Friday with yoga and tunes, greets Saturday morning the same way, welcomes dogs over breakfast, will feature First Nations stories about the sky, and pays tribute to Charlie's 40-year career as a pianist and composer across the full stretch. Also on the lineup: learning about composing for the screen with Elvis' Elliott Wheeler, tunes with local Indigenous didgeridoo players and a jazz-fusion orchestra for the big-bang finale.
When 2020 hits, one of Brisbane's big music and party venues will cease to operate in its current form. That'd be The Brightside, which is joining forces with Crowbar to create a mega venue at ol' Brighty's current address. It'll be called Crowbar Brisbane, with the adjoining space currently known as The Valley Drive In taking on the Brightside name. Obviously, this big change is something worth celebrating, which we're sure the revamped site will do when it relaunches. For now, The Brightside is throwing a big party to say goodbye to the status quo — and it's calling on DZ Deathrays, Bugs, Jeremy Neale and Sycco to hit the decks to help. All of the above will take on DJing duties and, as always, there'll be plenty of drinks on offer. Head along to Bye Bye Brightside from 7pm on Saturday, December 28 to mark the end of an era — with tickets costing $10.
When Thomas Weatherall was in high school, that he'd eventually spend his days pretending to be back there wasn't his plan. Until his final year, neither was acting. Dancing was the dream, and he had no awareness of Heartbreak High, which aired its seven 90s seasons before he was born. Now, he's one of the stars of Netflix's revival of the show. For his performance as Malakai Mitchell in the 2020s take on Australia's most-beloved teen series — which itself has become a huge hit that's rocketed up the streaming platform's viewership charts with both its first and second seasons, and has a third and final season locked in — he's now an AACTA- and Logie-winner. Weatherall's acting career started with ABC miniseries Deadlock back in 2018, when he was finishing high school. So, it didn't kick off with Heartbreak High. Next came short film Shed, short-form comedy series All My Friends Are Racist, the detective-driven Troppo and RFDS, which was also follows on from a past series — The Flying Doctors — that aired in the 90s. Onstage, his playwriting debut Blue premiered in Sydney, and now heads to Brisbane, with Weatherall also starring. But Heartbreak High and Malakai have been life-changing by his own account ("it feels cliched to say," he tells Concrete Playground about how that description rings true). Next up: two very different TV series, with Exposure a thriller led by Alice Englert (Bad Behaviour) that's bowing at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival and The Narrow Road to the Deep North a page-to-screen drama with Jacob Elordi (another on-screen high schooler in Euphoria). Weatherall knew that Malakai, the sporty Bundjalung student who is new to Hartley High in season one, was a standout role from the get-go. "I just hadn't seen a character like this," Weatherall tells us. The depth of the writing in fleshing him out on the page, the fact that he was an Indigenous teen pushed to the fore and never a token inclusion, that his culture wasn't what defined him: they all left an impression. After getting cast, so did the script for season one's fourth episode — the unforgettable instalment that sees Malakai experience police brutality — which he read in one sitting in his car. He was then willing to do whatever it took for the part. Again, his performance earned him Australia's top TV accolades. That episode had a title that means something in Heartbreak High history: 'Rack Off'. Utter the phrase to anyone familiar with the 90s iteration and they'll instantly think of Hartley High's first run on-screen. Weatherall didn't go back to watch the OG show when he got the gig, but there's no escaping the legend of those two words, and that they were as strong as a free-to-air series could get in its language. "It is funny, I forget — I read the script sometimes and the things that we're allowed to say, I just imagine if we had that same network TV censorship, you're probably cutting about 80-percent of the show. So we're probably lucky in that regard," he advises. In season two, as Hartley's students keep expressing themselves in not-safe-for-90s-Aussie-television terms — and also getting caught up in an ideological battle about toxic masculinity, and terrorised by a mystery figure they dub Bird Psycho — Malakai's journey takes him from stairwell hookups with Amerie (Ayesha Madon, Love Me) to connecting with the latest newcomer in Dubbo export Rowan (Sam Rechner, The Fabelmans). A love triangle, exploring both his sexuality and his identity, and yearning to connect all follow. It's another complicated path for the character, as for each of Heartbreak High's main figures. Crucially, it also satisfies one of Weatherall's aims as an actor. "It can feel like quite a selfish career a lot of the time, because you're often on your own, and you have to put a lot of time and effort into breaking down characters, and spending time on your own and things like that — but for me, I never want to just be playing the one character. That's the beauty of Malakai, it feels like you're playing several different characters and notes in one person," he says. From how the response to the first season felt through to the way its second season ended for Malakai, we chatted with Weatherall about all things Heartbreak High — choosing not to check out the original, what excited him about stepping into Malakai's shoes in the first place, how he sees the character's story across the two seasons so far and making the leap to acting from dancing all included. On the Massive Success of Heartbreak High's First Season "Very surreal. Very unexpected. It's a funny thing, I think you never know how a show's going to come out while you're making it — and while we were making it, and once we wrapped, you knew that we had something special. It felt really good. I think that was pretty unanimous across the board. There wasn't any real stress. Sometimes, I think you can also finish a job and know if it's a dud. But for it to then get picked up the way that it did, and for people to care about it in the way they did, was pretty shocking. And it's very flattering and humbling to be in that position. I was having dinner with Bryn [Chapman Parish, Mr Inbetween], who plays Spider, and we were chatting about that. Because it's your job, it's a great job to have, but you do get used to it and it becomes a normal part of the career. You forget that it means as much as it does to some audiences — and I think that's the special thing. It's lovely that it had a big reach and that it was successful, but when you get to actually talk to an audience member who really identifies with Malakai, or one particular storyline, or the show as a whole, that's — I've been very lucky that I've got to do quite a few shows now and all I'm very proud of, but none have landed in that way and built that connection with an audience. And for it to kick off in the awards and things like that, it really, it feels cliched to say, but it is pretty life-changing once that conversation starts and you find yourself in that world professionally and artistically. It opens you to a lot more professional opportunities. It then does make the second season a bit more terrifying, because there's something to, I guess, try to live up to and match. But it's a very lucky position to be in at the same time." On Starting the Show as a Heartbreak High Newcomer Off-Screen — and Not Going Back to Watch the Original "I was at drama school at the time when I got cast, and the only reason I knew about the show was the head teacher at my drama school played one of the teachers in Heartbreak High. And so it was this whole thing always that she'd mention Heartbreak High — and all of us, it was a bit of an eye roll. We were like 'okay, we get it'. But it wasn't something that I had seen before. It was before my time, and I didn't even, with my older siblings, I didn't really have any gauge on it. When I got cast, initially I was going to go back and watch the show. That felt like the right thing to do, and it would be helpful. But once the scripts came through, it felt as if it was going to be quite different, and much more obviously rooted in today's climate and what's going on for young people now — it became too scary and intimidating to go back and watch it. Because you also don't want to try to recreate something. That show was great and did everything that it did, but it is a product of that time. I think there's still similarities between the two versions. We're speaking to a lot of the same truths. But for me, I didn't want to confuse those contexts, and try to not have any anticipation or idea of trying to replicate anything — and just stay true to what we're trying to say in this show." On What Excited Weatherall About Playing Malakai When He Was First Cast "I'm still quite early on in my career, but it was very early on back then. I'd been up for a few things and I'd done a little bit of work. I was getting good auditions, but I just hadn't seen a character like this. I had never been sent a role like this, obviously, for a show with this scale or anything like that. But to see — he was just a really well-written character, and that was it for the self-taped scenes before the audition, and that was exciting to be seen for that. It wasn't till when I got offered the role and was sent the scripts, they sent me episode four of season one, which is a very significant episode for Malakai. And I finished that episode and just called my agent straight away and went 'I'll do anything to play that'. I think back to when I was 16 and the sort of the shows that were being made. There were some for young people that I felt were doing a pretty decent job and honestly depicting what it's like to be a teenager, but it always felt like they were holding the punches a little bit. And this show was just not afraid to do that at all. And then to have that lens of this young Indigenous character not just being a side plot point but being one of the lead characters — and being one of the main lead romance arcs as well, and then having a very dramatic storyline. A lot of the scripts that I'd seen and read, or a lot of the shows that I had watched growing up and even lately, often those characters, they're one little subplot. They're one little mention. They serve one capacity or another. And suddenly you had this young Indigenous kid, one of the leads of the show and getting to do a bit of everything, and that was really refreshing. He's part of the massive ensemble, but I hadn't read anything like that. He wasn't ashamed of his culture, but it also wasn't the most-important thing in his life, and he was going through the same experience as every other kid from every other culture and every other gender and every other experience. And for me, that was a really refreshing take, rather than trying to tokenise it in any way. Then, as I said, pretty much I'm in credit to the writing team. The moment episode four landed in my emails, I read it in one sitting on my phone. I didn't even get out of my car. I just read the whole thing and went 'yep, okay, anything for that'." On Stepping Back Into Malakai's Shoes for Season Two — and What Changes, and What Gets Easier and Harder "I was shooting the second season of this other show I do called RFDS, and I had four days off between wrapping that and starting the second season of this. I flew in from Broken Hill, where we shoot the other show, and it was just four days of existential crisis because I was going 'do I still remember how to play this character? How does he sound like? What does he look like?', you know, and trying to tap into that again. I think it's a credit to the writing on this that all of the characters are fully formed. Really, the writing does all the work for you. You don't have to bring much to them and they kind of jump off the page. But I also noticed the difference, as we get to know the writing team and the producers, I think they tend to tweak little things to match you and your sensibilities as well, which is nice. The moment you shave and you go into makeup, and they do that Malaki haircut, and they put the colourful jumpers on me. Music's a big thing for this character, back to those playlists — it really was muscle memory and just kicked in, which was nice to still feel that that was there. So the actual transforming and getting back into the character was quite easy and swift, which was a relief, frankly. But that first few weeks of filming, it was that voice in the back of your head going 'you've got to make sure that you're staying to that same level as last season'. I'm very grateful for the recognition it got and the success that I received from the show, and that the show was a whole received, but it definitely did put that pressure on trying to go 'well if you don't get nominated for an AACTA again, did you do your job?' sort of thing. It was lovely that audiences responded well to Malakai, but you want to make sure that you sustain that throughout the second season. But the more days on shoot and the more I get to spend time with this cast — we have a lot of group scenes that we tend to load at the top of the show as well, and once that dynamic creates — all that concern sort of falls away and you can just get the job done." On Weatherall's Take on Malakai's Journey in Season Two "Once I read the whole show and knew the entire arc, it was really bittersweet. I don't mean it in a rude way, but I don't tend to get too attached to the characters. I sort of go 'whatever services the story, that's the job'. But I really felt for him, and I don't know if it was just a reflection of where I was in my life. I often think back to myself at 16 and there's a few similarities between us, but we are very different. But really at the heart of it, he's just searching for contentment and he's trying to find his people in a romantic sense, but in just a friendship and community sense as well. I think he's this charming and charismatic guy, but underneath all of that, there's this real search for belonging, which I can definitely relate to at 16. I mean, I can relate to it at 23. I noticed that. It was hard, because he's charming and he knows how to have fun, and there's all the romance and things like that — that was a big thing that stuck with me this entire season, that journey and never quite getting it right, or the times where he thinks he is and something changes, and the indecision of being 16 and not knowing what the right choice is but also desperately attempting to make that decision. When you're 16, everything feels like the most important thing in your life, and then you leave high school and you go 'yeah, life goes on'. I definitely I felt for him a lot this season. I think he's crammed a lot of a self-discovery journey into a term of high school. I don't know how I would have held up if I was 16 doing that." On Balancing Malakai's Charm and Outgoing Nature with His Interiority, Uncertainty and Being Caught in a Love Triangle "That's kind of the best — it's a blessing as an actor, is that you've always got that in the back of it. So it's the question of when he is being that charming, charismatic, loud, funny, whatever it is, that he's using the persona that he's putting on, how much of that is a facade to cover up either that insecurity or that questioning or discomfort? Again, Malakai and I are quite different, but I remember at 16, that's exactly how I coped with those questions or with whatever was happening in my life — that facade that you can put on. As I said, for an actor, it's wonderful that you get to play both sides of that. And in this show particularly, you have one scene where you're on the top of the world and it's this beautiful romantic moment, and it's all about love and the joys of being a 16-year-old, and being ignorant and free. And then the next scene, you're crying on an airplane, because you know you also have very little control over a lot of the things that happen to you at that age. Because you're still a minor. You're still figuring things out. And you're at the mercy of your peers in school and your parents, and all of those bigger concepts. As an actor, that's the best thing to do, rather than just having to be the funny guy or be the heart of the show or the introspective one. He fluctuates between all of them." On the Acting Dream When Weatherall First Made the Leap From Dancing "There wasn't one, to be honest. I'm still just holding on for dear life and seeing where it goes. I was certain to be a dancer. That was the be-all and end-all of my life. And I got interested in acting through writing. I was really interested in writing and filmmaking towards the end of high school, and got cast in this ABC series in year 12 and that was just it. My first day on set, I just went 'this is it. I want to do this'. I remember telling my mum after 11 years of 40-hours-plus dance training a week, I was like 'I'm going to be an actor, no more dancing' — and just quit on the spot and made that decision. And to her credit, she completely supported that. I think I've always been interested in creativity in a larger sense, with writing, and the thought of maybe directing or producing one day and creating work. And I think acting is a part of that, and it's a part that I love and I hope I can do for as long as people keep giving me jobs. I like to think of it in a bigger sense in creating a bit more work. If you had told 17-year-old Tom who's getting his first audition that he'd be on a Netflix show or doing some of the other work I've been doing recently, I wouldn't have believed a word of it. I've been very lucky, again, to be on a show like this and have the reach it has. I've been able to work with actors I really admire, and creatives that I've sort of genuinely dreamt of working with. So yeah, it's been very surreal." Heartbreak High streams via Netflix. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Images: Netflix.
When you've already filled Brisbane with towering bubbles, Antarctic icebergs and giant bird nests, what comes next? For Curiocity Brisbane, everything from cats and robots to seesaws and seven-metre-tall living artworks are on the agenda for 2023. This annual festival doesn't just celebrate art, but showcases its intersection with science and technology — it does fall into World Science Festival Brisbane's program, after all — and it has quite the array of pieces planned for its next event. 2023's Curiocity Brisbane will run for 12 days from Wednesday, March 22–Sunday, April 2, featuring a lineup of interactive works delivered by Queensland Museum Network and curated by Jay Younger — 14, in fact, from artists around the globe. To enjoy the full (and free) program, Brisbanites will need to hit up several inner-city destinations. South Bank Parklands will host seven installations, plus another at the Cultural Centre. The CBD will also welcome a piece, while four others will pop up at various schools. And, there's also a digital-only inclusion. Among the highlights, feline fanciers will be keen on Cat Royale by the UK-based Blast Theory, which'll be meowing in the Queen Street Mall. Livestreamed from the other side of the globe, it features three cats living out a life of leisure. So, yes, doing standard cat things. The catch? Their utopia is controlled by robots, with a dedicated artificial-intelligence system watching them eat, sleep and play — and learning what they like. Prefer seeing how robots interact with each other? A habitat for them is also part of the program, thanks to Hochschuh and Donovan's Cybernetic Intimacy. It focuses on 15 semi-autonomous droids and, like Cat Royale, peers on. This one also has its robots craft a real-time soundtrack, and ponders how species communicate with each other. Or, on South Bank's Little Stanley Street Lawn, Curiocity attendees can seesaw up and down thanks to Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey's PIVOT. It features a field of what's being called "semi-intelligent seesaws", because the park equipment talks, sings and creates conversations with its riders, all by listening for texts and replying via word recognition. Other standouts include Simone Eisler's seven-metre-tall The Climate Wars, as inspired by the myths of the Trojan Horse and Noah's Ark; Amplify/Defy by Indigenous artist Jennifer Herd, which explores camouflage and speaks out against the silencing of First Nations' perspectives; and T.H.E.M., a collaboration between Interactive Media Collective and Griffith University that's about electronic and human kinetic energy. Plus, there's Martin Edge and The Culture Crusader's I SEE Martin Edge, which uses augmented-reality playscapes to focus on inclusive cultural experiences for young people who are neurodiverse. Curiocity Brisbane will pop up around the city between Wednesday, March 22–Sunday, April 2, 2023. For further information, head to the World Science Festival website.
You can glean much about an artist by the way that they commit their own likeness to paper. You can discover plenty about someone through their possessions, too. Art lovers are accustomed to exploring what made Frida Kahlo tick through her self-portraits, and they do indeed feature at Australia's latest exhibition dedicated to the icon. Her personal belongings are as much in the spotlight, however, at Aussie-exclusive showcase Frida Kahlo: In Her Own Image at the Bendigo Art Gallery. Announced in 2024, open at the regional Victorian venue since Saturday, March 15, 2025 and on display until Sunday, July 13, this tribute to the Mexican painter sees how she bared her soul in her work, especially in pieces where she stares back at audiences — but it also dives into a treasure trove of items belonging to Kahlo as well. Garments that she wore, her favourite cosmetics, hand-painted medical corsets that she donned following spinal surgeries: they're all on display, all direct from the Museo Frida Kahlo in Mexico. Many of the artworks and items featured have never been seen in Australia before. In fact, some were sealed for 50 years in her family home when Diego Rivera ensured that the site would become a museum after Kahlo passed away in 1954, and that her most-personal objects were stored in the bathrooms away from public eyes. It isn't just paintings, plus items such as clothes and makeup that've made the trip to Bendigo, but also mementoes, sketches and photographs. As a result, a visit to this exhibition will get you peering at traditional Mexican garments, including a headdress from the Oaxaca region — and Revlon cosmetics, such as lipstick, nail polish and an eyebrow pencil. Among the medical corsets, one featuring a broken Tuscan column to represent her spine is a highlight. From the art pieces included, Appearances Can Be Deceiving, a self-portrait drawing that provides a view through her clothing to her corset x-ray style, is another. 1940's Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird is also one of the works displaying in Australia for the first time ever — and add 1951's Still Life with Parrot and Fruit to the same list. "It is such an honour to have the opportunity to work with the Museo Frida Kahlo to tell the story of one of the world's most mythologised artists. This remarkable collection rarely travels outside Mexico, and has never before been seen in Australia," said Bendigo Art Gallery Director Jessica Bridgfoot. "Kahlo's much-loved home La Casa Azul, now the Museo Frida Kahlo, was the embodiment of her art, philosophies, and design influences," Bridgfoot continued. Australia keeps heroing Frida Kahlo: In Her Own Image's subject at institutions around the country, with this exhibition following the Art Gallery of South Australia's 150-work Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution showcase of Mexican modernism in 2023, and also Sydney Festival's multi-sensory Frida Kahlo: Life of an Icon the same year. Frida Kahlo: In Her Own Image displays at Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street, Bendigo until Sunday, July 13, 2025. Head to the gallery's website for further details. Images: Bendigo Art Gallery.
When is a cafe more than just a cafe? When it transforms into a vintage-styled bar by night. While the sun is shining, the Bowen Hills spot is known as caffeine fiend central, aka Boutique Espresso. When evening hits on Wednesday through to Saturday, it becomes Yorks Hollow. If the name conjures visions of a quaint hangout, you're on the right track, vibe-wise — think that, complete with retro furniture, mixed with a jazz-infused speakeasy. Yes, that means you know exactly what type of mood-setting music you'll hear here, including live performances on Friday evenings. When it comes to satisfying not just your ears but your stomach, expect a tapas menu perfect for sharing with friends over a drink, whether cheese, meat, dips or sun-dried tomatoes take your fancy. Then, you can choose to wash it all down with a craft beer or a glass of wine; however cocktails are Yorks Hollow's specialty. The absinthe sour sounds like the type of drink everyone must try at least once, but if you don't warm to that or anything else on the list, the bartenders will whip up whatever you feel like — just ask.
If you're fond of a certain 1996 sports comedy that features Adam Sandler (Spaceman) taking to the green, then this'll be magic: the full sneak peek at Happy Gilmore's long-awaited sequel. Netflix has been teasing the film for months, but the streaming platform has saved the longest look at the movie yet for just under two months out from Happy Gilmore 2's Friday, July 25, 2025 arrival. As Virginia Venit's (Julie Bowen, Hysteria!) told the feature's namesake in an earlier teaser trailer, "we're not done with golf". Almost three decades after first getting tap, tap, tapping as a hockey player with an anger problem who makes the jump to a different sport — and after Happy Gilmore became one of the best-known comedies of the 90s, as well as one of Sandler's best-known films — its star is back chasing more glory with a club in his hand. In the initial flick, Happy won the Tour Championship in 1996 in an effort to make enough money to save his grandmother's house. Since then, he's repeated the trophy-claiming feat several times over, and now has a bust of his head to honour five-time winners to show for. It's been years since he has played the sport, though, and he's a little intimidated by today's golfers — but soon he's back in the swing again, albeit with a few missteps, to help rustle up some cash to put his daughter through ballet school. Alongside Sandler and Bowen, Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers) and Christopher McDonald (Hacks) return from the original Happy Gilmore. Among those joining them in the cast: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Cassandro) aka Bad Bunny; Sander's daughters Sadie (You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah) and Sunny (Kinda Pregnant); Travis Kelce; Blake Clark (a regular Sandler collaborator, as seen in The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr Deeds, 50 First Dates, Click, Grown Ups and more); and Margaret Qualley (The Substance). Then there's the lineup of IRL professional golfers, such as John Daly, Rory McIlroy, Paige Spiranac, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Bryson DeChambeau. All part of trailers so far, too: a new happy place, unexpected reunions, broken clubs, more than a few rounds of advice encouraging Gilmore to get back to the sport, shanking shots, Happy's temper, breaking in his caddy, getting everyone talking and, unsurprisingly, a heap of nods to the first film. Just as with the original, Sandler co-wrote Happy Gilmore 2 with Tim Herlihy (who has also penned or co-penned Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and eight other Sandler flicks through to Hubie Halloween), but Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery) steps into the director's chair instead of the initial film's Dennis Dugan (Grown Ups 2). Check out the full trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 below: Happy Gilmore 2 will stream via Netflix from Friday, July 25, 2025. Images Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix.
Journey to where the sugar-white sand is oh-so-sweet on the feet and there are more shades of blue than you can count. The Maldives will have you dozing off while fish glide by at Huvafen Fushi’s underwater spa, or diving off your private deck into a crystal clear lagoon to join them at Cocoa Island by Como. Each atoll is an idyllic natural wonder and Mr & Mrs Smith has some sensational sunseeker offers that will have you barefoot and blissful in no time. One&Only Reethi Rah A PADI National Geographic dive centre, 12 beaches and eight dining destinations make up One&Only Reethi Rah, a lush, sprawling Maldivian island retreat. From huevos rancheros in the morning to lobster gyoza at Tapasake in the evening, your palate will take an international trip each day. Hint: the island’s boutique, Neo, stocks Louboutin espadrille wedges designed especially for the resort, just in case you tire of flip-flops. Action-hungry travellers can zip from the Grand or Duplex Villas to the resort’s climbing wall in a golf buggy, dice with danger on a shark safari, then watch the sunset while swaying in a hammock between the palms on a private sandy stretch. Lazy landlubbers might find the hammock too hard to leave from dawn til dusk. Cocoa Island by Como An exquisite blue lagoon is the true champion at Cocoa Island by Como, although the villas are nothing to scoff at either. From outside, the overwater villas resemble tradtional dhoni boats resting atop the lagoon. Understated bright white interiors paired with timber furnishings make the turquoise waters the statement – even more so from your private sun-deck. Bend like the palms at yoga every morning then feast on the daily catch at Ufaa, where a combination of Mediterranean- and Thai-inspired dishes use only the best seasonal produce and local seafood. Como Shambhala Spa has world-class treatments and guided meditation to ease lingering tensions. Anantara Kihavah Villas Enjoy nature’s best at Anantara Kihavah Villas, where sandy beaches and island isolation are just the beginning. There’s an underwater wine cellar and an overwater spa with views into the azure lagoon in each treatment room – you’ll also find yoga mats, sun hats and beach bags at the ready in every villa. Sway in the ocean breeze on the Overwater Pool Villa’s hammock-strung terrace or sink your toes into your own stretch of sand in a Beach Pool Villa (wine-coolers included). Take a dip at night in the 49-metre pool where LED lights in the tiled floor mimic the stars above to create the perfect stage for romance. Naladhu Reef-fringed Veligandu Huraa is where you’ll find the boutique resort Naladhu and its 19 villas nestled between a sheltered lagoon and the Indian Ocean. Enjoy sea breezes from bedroom to bathroom – a glass panel is all that separates the soaking tub from your private pool and the horizon beyond. Dive, snorkel and swim until your heart’s content in this romantic water-bound paradise. Under a thatched roof overlooking the lagoon is the Living Room, where torches light up the night sky and you can feast on grilled tiger prawns, spicy lemongrass red snapper and more internationally inspired dishes that draw from fresh market ingredients. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa An eco-friendly oasis on one of the largest Maldivian atolls, North Huvadhoo, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa instils immediate holiday calm. Floor-to-ceiling windows in minimalist villas ensure constant island views from verdant tropical fronds to azure waters. Fancy learning something new? Tackle the mojito mixology class, where you’ll have to try your concoctions so you know you’re getting it just right. There’s an intricate mosaic of marine life just steps (or strokes) away at the in-house reef, which you can explore with the resident marine biologist. Laidback foodies will love the Island Grill with its sandy floor and locally inspired dishes such as plantain ragout or Wagyu tenderloin with spicy papaya. Baros Baros is a boutique on the North Malé Atoll that’s sure to fulfil your castaway island dreams (with added luxury, natch). Hide yourself away in one of the secluded Water Pool Villas on the end of the winding jetty. Each has a private pool, canopied day-bed and personal Villa Host at your beck and call. Beach Villas are nestled among palm trees and tropical fronds and have an extra portion of privacy. Travel across the lagoon to a strip of sand for morning yoga practise, then explore the reef and learn about the resort’s coral planting programme that helps sustain the local marine habitat. Huvafen Fushi Everywhere you look you’ll discover a different shade of blue at Huvafen Fushi. The toughest decision you’ll have to make here is whether you want sand shores within reach in a Beach Villa or direct ocean dips from the overwater bungalows, which come with a private plunge pool. Visit the world’s first underwater spa, Lime, where you’ll float on a bed of relaxation while watching stingrays, clownfish and co. glide by. Enjoy fine dining paired with perfect wines at Vinum, but not before sampling something from the extensive cocktail list at UMbar — the Crouching Tiger (lemongrass, lychee, gin sake, ginger liqueur and jasmine tea) is delectable. Niyama On the deserted Dhaalu Atoll, Niyama’s hovering overwater bungalows will make you swoon with their reclaimed wood exteriors, luxurious marble bathrooms and lavish rain showers. Brilliant azure waters, shimmering sands and lush palm fronds are standard here; Subsix, the world’s first underwater club, is anything but standard, with its aquarium-like feel creating definite wow-factor as you sip cocktails among vivid corals and flirty fish. Opt for a Beach Studio with Private Pool on the sunset side of the island for its prime people-watching potential — Number 14 is right in the thick of the action. Viceroy Maldives The sparkling Shaviyani Atoll has water-a-plenty, especially when you consider that all the villas at Viceroy Maldives have private plunge pools to boot. Beach Villas boast monochromatic elegance; the Water Villas’ cool greys, blues and timber furnishings allow no loud, colourful distractions from the sounds of the ocean. Wander up to Treehouse for spectacular views and delicious mezze platters at sunset and cross wooden platforms to find your own secluded dining spot. Be your own bartender in a private beach cabana for two and mix favourite tipples or tropical concoctions into the early hours. Constance Moofushi Picture this: a crystal clear lagoon with vivid corals, swaying palms and tunes from the in-house DJ drifting on the sea breeze. Welcome to laidback luxury at Constance Moofushi. For a break from the party scene at Manta Bar, take your Moofushi Nasta Lemonade (home-made lemon and ginger marmalade with bourbon, fresh mint and cucumber) back to your Water Villa. Numbers 30–35 are perfect for counting stars on your private terrace and have the best of both worlds — sandy beach on one side; the Indian Ocean on the other. Browse more hotels in the Maldives, discover the Mr & Mrs Smith collection and exclusive offers online, or contact Smith’s expert Travel Team.
When 2023 reached its midway point, Brisbane said goodbye to Milano's and the Pig 'N' Whistle in the Queen Street Mall, with both closing their doors at the end of June. Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced plans to demolish the two to free up more open space, as part of the Brisbane City Council's City to South Bank Vision, aka its roadmap to revamping the popular stretch of inner-city pavement. Don't go thinking that you can't still get something to eat at the respective George Street and Edward Street ends of the QSM, then. Replacing the two structures is a series of pop-ups, which the council also outlined last year. And, the first dining activations are now up and running, including the mall's debut pop-up restaurant, plus excuses to tuck into dessert and coffee. In the Edward Street section, Sons of Napoli has set up shop. Operating out of a vintage farm truck, it has launched a 60-seater slinging woodfired pizzas, and will stick around until early February "We're absolutely thrilled to be offering Queen Street Mall patrons a sample of delicious Italian fare from our restaurants this summer," said Sons of Napoli co-owner Judy Dillon. At the George Street end, Gelato à Go Go and Fonzie Abbott are doing the honours, giving QSM visitors more dessert and caffeine options. The two share a seating area, so you can still sit down to sip your cuppa or lick your way through an ice cream. "Our plans to revitalise Queen Street Mall will pave the way for new activations to pop up around peak seasonal dates or when major events come to town, delivering further economic benefits for Brisbane," said the Lord Mayor. "Queen Street Mall is still one of the busiest malls in Australia with more than one million movements through the mall every week and that's because it has continued to evolve over the past 40 years." Back when the council first revealed its new mall plans, it advised that turning the reclaimed space at either end of the paving into licensed pop-ups was on the cards. Gin bars and brewery tastings were also floated, so fingers crossed that they come next. Tearing down Milano's and the Pig 'N' Whistle is one of two massive changes in the Queen Street Mall in the past year. The other: losing the Myer Centre, with Myer moving out and the shopping complex itself renamed Uptown. Find Sons of Napoli at the Edward Street end of the Queen Street Mall, Queen Street, Brisbane — and Gelato à Go Go and Fonzie Abbott at the George Street end. Sons of Napoli will be onsite until early February. For more information about Brisbane City Council's City to South Bank Vision, head to Councillor Vicki Howard's website.
Where do artists find inspiration? The answer to that question is virtually endless, as perusing the Archibald Prize finalists every year illustrates. For the acclaimed Australian portraiture award, sometimes actors, musicians, comedians and filmmakers provide a spark. Authors, footballers, the folks doing the painting themselves: they all fit, too. Frequently, though, fellow artists inspire others to get the creative juices flowing. Among recent Archie winners, that was true for Tony Costa with Lindy Lee, Blak Douglas with Karla Dickens and Peter Wegner with Guy Warren, for instance — and, in 2025, it's also the case for Julie Fragar with her likeness of Justene Williams. This year's pick for the prestigious prize, Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene), is also an instance of one Brisbane artist painting another to claim the $100,000 award. Fragar's win makes it three in a row for women at the Archies since 2023, following Laura Jones in 2024 with her portrait of author Tim Winton and Julia Gutman the year prior for a depiction of Montaigne. That said, Fragar is still just the 13th woman to win the 104-year-old art accolade. Even with recipients who've emerged victorious more than once — Judy Cassab in 1960 and 1967, and Del Kathryn Barton in2008 and 2013 — this is still only the 15th time that the prize has gone to a female talent. [caption id="attachment_1003358" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Archibald Prize 2025, Julie Fragar 'Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene)', oil on canvas, 240 x 180.4 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter.[/caption] "You work your whole career imagining this might happen one day. Thinking back to myself as a 17-year-old showing up at the Sydney College of the Arts — a kid from country New South Wales — it's incredible to think I have won the Archibald Prize," said Fragar about her win. "Portrait painting wasn't taken as seriously in the 1990s as it is today. I have always regarded the Archibald Prize as a place that understood the value of portraiture. To be the winner of the Archibald Prize is a point of validation. It means so much to have the respect of my colleagues at the Art Gallery. It doesn't get better than that." Fragar is the Head of Painting at the Queensland College of Art and Design, where Williams is the Head of Sculpture. "Justene is incredible. I feel very fortunate that she allowed me to do this portrait. There is nobody like her. The work is a reflection on the experience of making art to deadlines, and the labour and love of being a mother," said Fragar of her now-Archibald Prize-winning subject. "Here are two of Australia's great artists in conversation about what matters most to them. Julie Fragar has a sumptuous ability to transcend reality and depict her subjects technically but also psychologically. Justene Williams is a larger-than-life character, a performer — cacophonous and joyous," noted Art Gallery of New South Wales Director Maud Page about 2025's pick. "In this work, she is surrounded by her own artworks and, most important of all, her daughter Honore as a tiny figure atop a sculpture. It speaks to me as a powerful rendition of the juggle some of us perform as mothers and professionals." Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene) was selected from a pool of 57 finalists, including another awarded two-artist combination in Abdul Abdullah's portrait of fellow creative Jason Phu, aka 2025's Packing Room Prize recipient. Other contenders included likenesses of Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Boy Swallows Universe star Felix Cameron, Miranda Otto, Grace Tame, Vincent Namatjira, filmmaker Warwick Thornton and comedian Aaron Chen, as whittled down from a total pool of 904 Archibald Prize entries for 2025. AGNSW also awards the Wynne and Sulman prizes at the same time as the Archibald — and across all three, from 2394 submissions, 2025 marks the first year that there were more finalist works by women artists in the accolades' history. [caption id="attachment_1003359" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Wynne Prize 2025, Jude Rae 'Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal', oil on linen, 200 x 150.4 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio.[/caption] For $50,000 Wynne Prize, which is all about landscape painting — and is Australia's oldest art award — Sydney artist Jude Rae's Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal was picked from 52 finalists and 758 entries. This is the third time that Rae has made the top batch of Wynne contenders. She's also been an Archie finalist four times (in 2014, 2019, 2021 and 2022) and was a Sulman finalist in 2021. "There is something compelling about the constantly flashing gantry lights and the floodlights blasting away in those hours just before dawn. I am up at various times and love to watch the pre-dawn light, when the sky is just starting to change colour. From my bathroom window on the fifth floor of my building, I have a clear view of that scene. There is no way to photograph it — it's too subtle and too fleeting. It's a big sky and we're all really little," Rae said about her piece. [caption id="attachment_1003361" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winner Sulman Prize 2025, Gene A'Hern 'Sky painting', oil and oil stick on board, 240 x 240 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio.[/caption] The Sulman rewards genre painting, subject painting and mural projects, with Gene A'Hern 2025's pick for the Blue Mountains-inspired Sky painting, getting the top nod for the $40,000 gong from this year's 30 finalists and 732 entries. "Painted with expansive movements to capture a sense of scale and colour, this painting unfolded as I immersed myself in skywatching, while reflecting on the ceremonial choreography of the surrounding environment. It conveys a sensation of nature's gestures, composed to resonate from within, translating an omnipresence that comes from dust and returns to dust," said A'Hern. "The work draws on charged memories — birds singing in harmony, branches sighing in the wind, the closing curtain of the setting sun, all forming a living landscape that I breathe with and through. For me, the sky and the Blue Mountains intertwine and reveal themselves as a place of origin, deep memory and belonging." 2025's winners and finalists across all three prizes are on display at AGNSW from Saturday, May 10–Sunday, August 17, 2025, before touring to Geelong Gallery, Gosford Regional Gallery, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Mudgee Arts Precinct and Shoalhaven Regional Gallery over the 11 months afterwards. Archibald Prize 2025 Exhibition Dates Saturday, May 10–Sunday, August 17, 2025 — Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW Saturday, August 30–Sunday, November 9, 2025 — Geelong Gallery, Victoria Saturday, November 22, 2025–Sunday, January 11, 2026 — Gosford Regional Gallery, NSW Saturday, January 23–Saturday, March 7, 2026 — Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, NSW Friday, March 20–Saturday, May 3, 2026 — Mudgee Arts Precinct, NSW Saturday, May 16–Sunday, July 19, 2026 — Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, NSW 2025's Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prize-winners will display at various locations around the country from Saturday, May 10, 2025. If you can't make it to any of the above exhibition dates, you can check out the winners and finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes on the Art Gallery of NSW website. Top image: Excerpt of winner Archibald Prize 2025, Julie Fragar 'Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene)', oil on canvas, 240 x 180.4 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter. Sitter: Justene Williams. Excerpt of winner Wynne Prize 2025, Jude Rae 'Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal', oil on linen, 200 x 150.4 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio. Excerpt of winner Sulman Prize 2025, Gene A'Hern 'Sky painting', oil and oil stick on board, 240 x 240 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio. Installation images: Installation view, 'Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2025', Art Gallery of New South Wales, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio.
On Tuesday, a landmark decision was made that will affect hundreds of thousands of Australians. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has announced that discounted junior pay rates will no longer apply to young Aussies, with workers aged 18 to 20 now entitled to salaries reflective of those received by their older coworkers. This means that starting from December 2026, an estimated half a million employees will be entitled to a pay rise. Specifically, the ruling dictates that young employees are required to have at least six months of experience to be eligible for the rates, and employees aged 17 and below will still be paid on junior rates. Said discounts are based on the historical precedent that young employees incur training costs to offset their inexperience, and that businesses have historically been incentivised to hire younger employees because they'd have to pay them less. [caption id="attachment_1088266" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Getty Images[/caption] Typically, young people in Australia get their start in hospitality, fast food, pharmaceutical and retail industries, and responses within those industries have been mixed. According to the Australian Retail Council (ARC), one in eight Australians gets their first job in retail, and in a statement, ARC Ceo Chris Rodwell said that while the ARC welcomes the FWC's decision, it "does add another layer of cost at a time when many retailers are dealing with a cost-of-doing-business crisis." The ruling was set in motion in 2024 by an application from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). Following the ruling, SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer said, "It may take longer than we would have liked, but the principle has been established that no longer will 18-year-olds be treated as second class citizens," citing that 18-year-old employees are old enough to vote, enlist in the armed forces and to drive, adding the decision was "up there with the introduction of equal pay for women in the 1970s." View this post on Instagram A post shared by SDA SA/NT (@sda_sa_nt) While the added cost for businesses cannot be overlooked, this decision will go a long way to support young Australians struggling to make a start amidst the cost-of-living crisis. It will take some time to go into full effect, though, with the rates set to increase five percent each year until 2029 until they match adult rates. Upon completion, 18-year-olds will be entitled to 70 percent of the adult pay rate, 19-year-olds to 80 percent and 20-year-olds to 90 percent. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
In order to empower at-risk children, Spanish organisation Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation has launched an anti-abuse advertising campaign embedded with a secret message. When the average adult views the bus stop billboard, they will only perceive a disheartened boy with the words "Sometimes, child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it." However, when viewed from below the height of the average 10-year-old, the boy's face appears bruised and the text now reads, "If somebody hurts you, phone us and we'll help you," alongside the number for their anti-abuse helpline. This feat of eye magic is achieved through a lenticular top layer, which displays different images at varying angles. While it is chilling to ponder that ANAR is targeting children travelling with their abusers, it is also inspiring that such innovation is stemming from the non-profit sector. And, thus, that the campaign aims to empower children, rather than sell them hamburgers or new phones. However, some fear that this will trigger new advertising strategies aiming to sell from the waist down — targeting kids into asking for specific brands upon seeing messages their parents have missed. As Gizmodo's Andrew Liszewski asks, "how long will it be before toy companies start doing to the same thing to hawk their products directly at kids?" (We give them three months.) It's still not as much of a worry as the Minority-Report-esque interactive billboards that IBM are reportedly developing. Apparently they could scream out our kid's name to tell them they could use a Guinness. Eeek.
Visited Japan in recent times? You probably heard more than a few Aussie accents. From the snowy slopes of Hakuba to the crowded backstreets of Tokyo, the relatively cheap and somewhat short flights mean it'd be more surprising if you didn't come across someone from our part of the world. Yet it's always good to have the numbers to back up your impression. According to new data collected by travel booking platform Klook, Australians are visiting Japan more than ever. So far in 2025, the Japan National Tourism Organisation reports an 18% increase in visits. That means we can expect a significant jump from 2024 figures, which saw a record 920,196 Australians touch down in Japan. But perhaps more interesting is that where we go and what we do is changing for Australian travellers. With many tourists returning for the second, third or fourth time, lots are looking beyond the well-worn 'Golden Route' of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Instead, regional cities and nature-based activities are experiencing a popularity boom. Klook reports that lesser-known cities like Nagoya, the gateway to the Japanese Alps, have seen interest in overnight stays increase by 166%. At the same time, the northern capital of Sapporo has seen demand increase by 173%. Meanwhile, a host of destinations within touching distance of the main tourist hotspots are capturing more attention. In Kyoto Prefecture, the city of Miyazu and its enchanting coastal town, Amanohashidate, have received a 50-fold increase in searches. Likewise, Yokohama — a short shinkansen ride from Tokyo — has seen a 10-fold increase in tour demand. While you could spend weeks exploring the sprawling megalopolis, travellers are looking to explore Japan's abundant nature, with appetite for outdoor and wellness activities up 41%. "We know that Japan is a favourite for Australian travellers, and what's exciting is that many are choosing to go beyond the usual tourist routes," says a Klook spokesperson. "Our data shows a clear rise in bookings to lesser-known destinations and cultural and nature experiences, being driven by travellers looking for more immersive, authentic experiences and a slower, more meaningful way to explore Japan." Klook's top searches reflect this inclination, with travellers eager to explore the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route or tour the Nachi Falls, the tallest single-tier waterfall in Japan at a staggering 133 metres. Although you wouldn't be blamed for loving a beer and ramen session as much as the most raucous salaryman, we're also gravitating towards cultural experiences, with a 72% increase in bookings for museums and art galleries. Supported by the stats, convincing your pals to explore further afield on your next Japan trip might not be so difficult. Heading to Japan soon? Check out this guide to its natural wonders or dive deeper into the best of Tokyo food and culture.
Expect something old and something new at The Village Social, Nundah's newest watering hole. Prominent reminders of the Sandgate Road venue's past provide the former, while a craft beer focus comprises the latter. If you like your dive bars accompanied by a slice of local history, it's a marriage made in heaven. That's what every nearby neighbourhood hangout should offer, after all: a cozy drinking spot and a cavalcade of community charm. And once you walk past the feature wall boasting a photo from the site's early days, pull up a stool at the rustic timber bar, and order one of the four brews — Fortitude's Pacer 2.8, Holgate Brewhouse's Roadtrip IPA, 4 Pines Pale Ale and My Wife’s Bitter — on tap, that's exactly what you'll find. Of course, that's not all The Village Social has to offer, especially when it comes to beverages. A selection of bottled beers awaits those looking for more options, as does a cocktail list that combines old favourites with brand new house-made concoctions. Enjoying your drink of choice a cheese and charcuterie platter is recommended, as is dropping by on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. That's when your tasty tipple will come with a live jazz, blues, roots and reggae soundtrack — and demonstrate yet another aspect of the bar's local focus.
There's nothing quite as tranquil as a lake. There's something about the still water that forces your brain to relax — regardless of how wired you've been or for how long. Australia's massive open plains and long mountain ranges create plenty of space for lakes to form, from Western Australia's brilliant pink watery delights to Queensland's tropical swimming holes to the endless expanse of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre. Been feeling a bit frazzled lately? It could be time to hit the road and spend a day or two beside one of these natural beauties. From pristine beaches and bountiful wine regions to alpine hideaways and bustling country towns, Australia has a wealth of places to explore at any time of year. We've partnered with Tourism Australia to help you plan your road trips, weekend detours and summer getaways so that when you're ready to hit the road you can Holiday Here This Year. Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, there are restrictions on where you can go on holiday. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. [caption id="attachment_741619" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] HUTT LAGOON, WESTERN AUSTRALIA If you like your pink gin, flowers and homewares, you need to visit Hutt Lagoon. It's quite remote, being located on the Coral Coast, around 515 kilometres north of Perth, between Port Gregory and Kalbarri. If you're visiting on a road trip, you'll get the best views along Port Gregory Road. But do be tempted to see it from the air on a scenic flight. Hutt Lagoon's pink is always changing, with the most stunning shades usually on show at sunset. The lake gets its colour from dunaliella salina, which is an algae that produces caroteinoid. [caption id="attachment_741600" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] LAKE MCKENZIE, QUEENSLAND In sore need of some sand and sun? Make tracks to Fraser Island in Queensland, to visit Lake McKenzie. This natural phenomenon is a perched lake — that is, a special kind of lake that contains rainwater. And rainwater only. Unlike most other lakes, it's sealed off from groundwater and isn't connected with any streams or rivers. On top of that, the sand in and around Lake Mckenzie is made entirely of silica. All this means it's unbelievably clear, whether you're taking a dip or enjoying the views from the shore. [caption id="attachment_741605" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] LAKE MUNGO, NEW SOUTH WALES Strictly speaking, Lake Mungo isn't a lake. But, it was one tens of thousands of years ago. And it's still one of the most important places to see in Australia because it's where the oldest human remains were found, being those of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady, who lived at least 40,000 years ago. If you're up for a road trip, take the 70-kilometre Mungo Track. There are also plenty of walking trails, including the ten-kilometre Zanci Pastoral Heritage Loop and a bunch of short strolls to lookouts and significant spots. [caption id="attachment_741602" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] LAKE EACHAM, QUEENSLAND Around 1400 kilometres north of Brisbane lies Crater Lakes National Park and, within it, you'll find Lake Eacham. This dreamy spot — formed by a volcanic crater — is encircled completely with rainforest. Spend your time in whatever way suits you, be it swimming, fishing, hiking, picnicking or jumping in a kayak (but note that motorboats aren't allowed). Both Lake Eacham and the forest in its vicinity are part of the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics of Queensland, which means they're protected so tread with care. [caption id="attachment_690974" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Charles Hill via Tourism Tasmania[/caption] LAKE ST CLAIR, TASMANIA Lake St Clair — found in the southern section of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tassie — took two million years to form, via slow-moving glaciers. Of all the freshwater lakes in Australia, it's the deepest, at 160 metres. There are many ways to experience this watery wonder, from short walks to multi-day camping expeditions. If you like a little luxury with your wilderness experience, then a stay at Pumphouse Point or Lake St Clair Lodge might be the way to go. [caption id="attachment_741599" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robert Blackburn via Visit Victoria[/caption] LAKE EILDON, VICTORIA Lake Eildon's claim to fame is the town of Bonnie Doon, where you'll find the Kerrigans' holiday home from 1997 film The Castle. These days, it's listed on Airbnb, so you can experience "the serenity" for yourself. But what's less known about Lake Eildon is its epic size. With 515 kilometres of shoreline, the lake is so big that it holds six times the water of Sydney Harbour. You won't run out of territory to explore, whether you spend your time kayaking around Eildon's many inlets or stick to picnicking on land. [caption id="attachment_741635" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ockert le Roux via South Australian Tourism Commission[/caption] BLUE LAKE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Maybe Blue Lake should be called Blues Lake. That's because it changes colour. Visit between March and November, and you'll see a deep, dark, wintry blue. Change your schedule to sometime between November and March, and you'll be met with a striking turquoise. Either way, the best way to experience it is on foot via the 3.6-kilometre walking track that follows the shore. You can also go underground on an aquifer tour. Blue Lake is just outside of Mount Gambier, in South Australia's southeast, right near the state's border with Victoria. [caption id="attachment_741624" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jeffrey Drewitz via Destination NSW[/caption] BLUE LAKE, NEW SOUTH WALES One of the loveliest spots on the walk to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko is Blue Lake. It's a cirque lake, which means it was formed by glacial erosion during the Ice Age around 10,000 years ago. Though you can't tell when you're standing on the shore, Blue Lake is a whopping 28 metres deep. Plus, it contains the freshest water on the Australian mainland. Both the lake and the 320 hectares surrounding it were recognised as a Ramsar site in 1996, so they're protected under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. [caption id="attachment_741634" align="alignnone" width="1920"] South Australian Tourism Commission[/caption] KATI THANDA-LAKE EYRE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA This extraordinary natural wonder is the most famous lake on this list for a few reasons. First up, it's the biggest lake in the country — at 9,500 square kilometres. Secondly, it's home to the lowest point on the Australian mainland, at 15 metres below sea level. Thirdly, when it's full of water, it's as salty as the sea. So don't arrive thirsty. Also, if you're keen to see the lake at its most dazzling, check on water levels before hitting the road. It's dry a lot of the time, with a large amount of water arriving just once every eight years. In fact, during the past 150 years, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre has filled to capacity on only three occasions. [caption id="attachment_741617" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] LAKE HILLIER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA Another of Western Australia's pink watery sights is Lake Hillier. When we say this lake is pink, we really mean it. We're not talking pale pastel, either — we're talking bright, brilliant, lollipop pink. And what makes the colour even more dramatic is Lake Hillier's location on Middle Island, where it's separated by a narrow strip of land from the deep blue of the Southern Ocean. To get there, you first need to get to Esperance, on Western Australia's southern coast, then catch a boat or plane. Whether you're planning to travel for a couple of nights or a couple of weeks, Holiday Here This Year and you'll be supporting Australian businesses while you explore the best of our country's diverse landscapes and attractions. Image: Hutt Lagoon via Tourism Western Australia. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Late in January, the Alliance Française French Film Festival confirmed the news that Australian movie-goers wanted to hear: not only that the annual cinema showcase would be back this year, notching up its 33rd round of fests, but that it had set its dates and first ten movies. Now, the event has freshly unveiled its full program — so get ready to watch your way through more than 40 flicks that'll whisk you off to France while you're munching popcorn in your cinema seat. There's no shortage of highlights from this year's complete lineup — including the festival's opening night pick, the 19th-century Paris-set Lost Illusions, which had already been announced — but Claire Denis' Fire is easily one of the most exciting films on the bill. It'll play AFFFF straight from the Berlinale, and marks the acclaimed French filmmaker's first release since 2018's exceptional High Life. It also stars her Let the Sunshine In lead Juliette Binoche, with the romantic drama pairing the latter up with French actor Vincent Lindon (Titane) for the first time. Also a standout: Happening, winner of the 2021 Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, which adapts Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel about the rights of women in France in the 60s. It just nabbed filmmaker Audrey Diwan a BAFTA nomination for Best Director, and follows a bright young student who gets pregnant, then sees her options — for her future, and regarding what to do about her situation — quickly dwindle. When AFFFF tours Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart — and in Byron Bay and Parramatta, too — from Tuesday, March 1–Sunday, April 24, the exceptional Petite Maman also sits at the very top of the fest's must-see list. The latest film from Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Céline Sciamma, it already made a few Australian festival appearances in 2021, and channels the director's trademark sensitivity and empathy into a sci-fi-skewing tale of mothers and daughters that's instantly among Sciamma's best. Other top new picks from its complete lineup include the latest film in the OSS 117 spy spoof series, OSS 117: From Africa With Love, once again starring The Artist Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin; François Ozon's Everything Went Fine, which sees the Summer of 85 filmmaker tackle the right to die with dignity; Paris, 13th District, a love story from A Prophet and Rust and Bone's Jacques Audiard; and Murder Party, a murder-mystery with big Cluedo vibes. Or, there's also Anaïs in Love, a rom-com about a woman having an affair with a married man but then falling for his wife; biopic Authentik, about French hip-hop duo Suprême NTM; World War II drama Farewell, Mr Haffmann, as based on the play; and friendship drama The Braves, about two twentysomething women following their dreams to become theatre actors. And yes, the list of French cinema treats gracing the fest's full bill goes on — so don't say you don't have anything to see at the cinema in March and April. ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2022 DATES: March 1–April 6, with encore screenings from April 7–10: Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema and Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, Sydney March 2–April 6, with encore screenings from April 7–10: Palace Electric, Canberra March 3–April 6, with encore screenings from April 7–10: Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Como. Palace Westgarth, Pentridge Cinema, The Kino and The Astor Theatre , Melbourne March 9–20: State Cinema, Hobart March 9–April 6, with encore screenings from April 7–10: Camelot Outdoor Cinema, Luna Leederville, Luna on SX, Palace Raine Square and Windsor Cinema, Perth March 16–April 13, with encore screenings from April 14–18: Palace Barracks and Palace James Street, Brisbane March 24–April 24, with encore screenings from April 25–26: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Adelaide, plus Victa Cinemas, Victor Harbor March 30–April 14, with encore screenings from April 15–16: Palace Byron Bay, Byron Bay April 7–10: Parramatta Riverside Theatres, Parramatta The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia from Tuesday, March 1–Tuesday, April 26. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the AFFFF website.
For too long, Brisbane has been missing out on one of the best aspects of a European Christmas. Yes, we lack snow — but we've also been missing out on proper seasonal shopping. In what can only be described as a holiday miracle, Wandering Cooks is about to change that. Think festive aromas, fresh baked goods, drinks, cheer and all things Christmasy at Wandering Cook's first ever Christmas Markets. On December 9th and 16th, Fish Lane will be transformed into a delicious, festive wonderland — and the perfect place to stock up on all those last minute Christmas gifts. If you're shopping for someone with a sweet tooth, hit up 31 Degrees Custom Chocolates or Bee One Third Neighbourhood Honey. If you're looking for something to put on the dinner table and claim credit for, Fiori Bakehouse can help. There are dozens of local producers, crafters and cooks who will also be out and about selling their products. Make sure to bring friends and family along to these two very special nights. Dinner can be grabbed from a range of food trucks, and there's even a bar in case you need a beer or wine to get into the festive spirit.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced artists and musicians to come up with even more innovative ways to make money, as well as keep us beloved fans entertained. Despite all the live-stream festivals, fun merch and unexpected new albums, though, there is no substitute for seeing your favourite bands and solo performers in the flesh — even if we can't all be crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in a sweaty venue for the foreseeable future. Enter Great Southern Nights, the NSW Government-led initiative aiming to kick-start the live music industry by putting on 1000 COVID-Safe gigs across the state this November. Sydney might be the state capital, but that doesn't mean it's where all the action is. With summer fast approaching and no prospect of international travel on the horizon, there's no better time to explore our own backyard. We've partnered with NSW Government to bring you eight gigs we think are worthy of a road trip. So, load up your bags, put on your ultimate playlist and hit the road.
Whether you've got a political conscience or reckon you should be allowed to have an IV of VB hooked up to your arm until sunrise, you better get to Brightside this Friday for Stoogefest. In what inevitably will be the Live Aid of Brisbane lockout laws, crowds of musicians, artists and fans alike will congregate under the divine light of one spokesperson who had been pretty spot on about this rot since day one: Friendlyjordies. If you don't know him, you can crawl back into the hole Pauline Hanson has spent a lifetime digging, or check out his videos. He'll be taking part in a panel discussion which will hopefully transcend from drunken annoyance to one of brainstorming to help create a better Brisbane. Accordingly, there will also be plenty of music from Tundra, Wolver, Post Dream, Quintessential Doll, These Guy, FeelsClub and Madalene Joy throughout the night. You have to nab tickets online (we suggest you do so quick), and be sure to prep yourself for a late night — because you don't need anyone telling you what time to go to bed.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njIoUGIDrwA DIRT MUSIC An adaptation of a beloved novel, a tourism campaign for Western Australia and a soapy, Nicholas Sparks-esque romance: combine all three, and that's the long-awaited big-screen version of Dirt Music. For most of the past two decades, Australian filmmakers have been trying to give Tim Winton's 2001 multi-prize-winning book the cinematic treatment; however, the movie that results doesn't prove worth the wait. Winton's work, and its poetic, descriptive prose, isn't the easiest to turn into a script or movie. The Turning was able to translate short stories into a short film collection, and Simon Baker's version of Breath was soulful, well-acted and found a way to explain, explore and convey the lure of the ocean, but Dirt Music has long been considered difficult to adapt. It's clear why thanks to Gregor Jordan's film. Strip out the lyrical words and spend too long inserting shot after shot of the scenic location, and all that's left is a padded-out love triangle populated by stock-standard tortured souls. Georgie Jutland (Kelly Macdonald) is unhappy in her live-in relationship with commercial fishing magnate Jim Buckridge (David Wenham), so when often-shirtless town outcast Lu Fox (Garrett Hedlund) motors his boat into the patch of ocean she's skinny-dipping in, it doesn't take long for something to spring between them. But the ex-musician turned poacher has a troubled past, as flashbacks to happier times in a band with his brother (George Mason) and sister-in-law (Julia Stone) — and to hanging around his rural house with his niece Bird (Ava Caryofyllis), too — demonstrate. And, when Lu is attacked, he's very quick to take off through WA's rugged outback and to its scenic remote islands. What feels rich on the page is far too thin and flat in the hands of Jordan (Ned Kelly) and screenwriter Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes), and while Macdonald and Hedlund are both great actors (see: Boardwalk Empire and Mudbound), they're hemmed in by the script's lack of depth. Also distractingly noticeable is how heavily Dirt Music stresses its surroundings, and therefore its all-round homegrown nature, while also enlisting overseas talent to play its quintessentially Aussie protagonists. Indeed, at almost every point, this film goes through the motions rather than meaningfully and substantially trying to convey the heart and essence of its source material. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgUZ2AHp4rU MISS JUNETEENTH It doesn't take long in the observant, tender but clear-eyed film Miss Juneteenth for a simple truth to arise. Working two jobs and still struggling to get by, Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie) hasn't been living the life she wished for as a child, and she's striving to ensure that things are better for her 15-year-old daughter Kai (Alexis Chikaeze). Also evident: that Turquoise was on a different path a decade and a half ago, after winning the local Miss Juneteenth beauty pageant and earning a scholarship to the historically black college of her choosing. Doing the math, it's easy to work out why Turquoise's plans faltered, and why she's so determined that Kai enter the upcoming pageant, wow everyone, win and make the most of the coveted opportunity. Miss Juneteenth is a movie about choices, though — a movie about grabbing what you can when so much is snatched away or simply out of reach for unfair reasons — and it never forgets that it takes strength and courage to truly understand what the best options are. The feature directorial debut of writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples, Miss Juneteenth makes a careful and graceful effort to balance two ideas: that American society doesn't just have a problematic history with race relations, but that inequality is now engrained in everyday life; and that choosing one's own future, rather than ever simply towing a mandated line, is wholeheartedly worth fighting for even with seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the way. Turquoise describes her 2004 crown win as feeling "like I was walking into a new life", while Kai would prefer to join her school's dance team and hang out with her boyfriend (Jaime Matthis) than don formal gowns, memorise Maya Angelou poems and learn which cutlery to use when. Little about Miss Juneteenth's message, themes or the clashing predicament the film covers is new, of course. Nor is the time spent watching, with a cynical eye, the pomp and ceremony of the eponymous pageant. And yet this affecting drama always proves keenly observed, sincerely handled and authentic, as aided not only by naturalistic cinematography, but the picture's naturalistic central portrayals — including complex, nuanced performance from Shame, Black Mirror and Little Fires Everywhere actor Beharie. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK3eDfkXBzg SAVAGE Tattoos covering his cheeks, nose and forehead, a scowl affixed almost as permanently, but raw sorrow lurking in his eyes, Jake Ryan cuts a striking sight in Savage. He's a walking, drinking, growling, hammer-swinging advertisement for toxic masculinity — how it looks at its most stereotypical extreme, and how it often masks pain and struggle — and the performance is the clear highlight of the Home and Away, Wolf Creek and Underbelly actor's resume to-date. Playing a character named Danny but also known as Damage, Ryan's efforts also perfectly epitomise the New Zealand gang drama he's in, which similarly wraps in-your-face packaging around a softer, richer core. Savage's protagonist and plot have had plenty of predecessors over the years in various ways, from Once Were Warriors' exploration of violence, to Mean Streets' chronicle of crime-driven youth, plus the bikie warfare of Sons of Anarchy and even Aussie film 1%, but there's a weightiness on display here that can't just be wrung from a formula. That said, although written and directed by feature debutant Sam Kelly based on true tales from NZ's real-life gangs spanning three decades, Savage does noticeably follow a predictable narrative path. Viewers first meet Danny in 1989, when he's the second-in-charge of the Savages, which is overseen by his lifelong best friend Moses (John Tui, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, Solo: A Star Wars Story). The film also jumps back to two prior periods in his life, in 1965 and 1972, to explain why Danny is in his current situation physically, mentally and emotionally. Aided by suitably gritty and restless camerawork that mirrors its protagonist's inner turmoil, Savage packs a punch when it lets that unease fester in quiet moments. It's also particularly astute when honing in on Danny and Moses's complicated friendship, and how pivotal it is throughout their constantly marginalised lives. There's never any doubting that Savage is a movie about family, including the traumas they can inflict, the hurt that comes with being torn away from loved ones at a young age, the kinship found in understanding pals and the concept of brotherhood in gangs, and the feature is at its most affecting when it lets these truths emanate naturally. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB1kzj5xH7g&feature=emb_logo BLOODY HELL All that Bloody Hell's protagonist Rex (Ben O'Toole, Detroit) wants is to ask out bank teller Maddy (Ashlee Lollback, In Like Flynn), but he happens to time his latest attempt to do just that with an armed robbery. The whole ordeal leaves him dateless, turns him into both a viral star and a convicted criminal, and eventually sees him en route to Finland to flee the resulting infamy and attention. There, however, worse awaits. In this Gold Coast-shot film, Rex is American, but he could be forgiven for exclaiming this horror-comedy's title like a stereotypical Aussie, and doing so more than once. Shortly after his arrival in Europe, he's kidnapped, strung up and stuck at the mercy of a twisted Helsinki family with vicious plans — although Alia (feature first-timer Meg Fraser), who doesn't quite in with the rest of her relatives, just might be the only chance he has to both escape and survive. There's an added twist to Bloody Hell, and it stems from a serious case indecision and self-doubt. Whether deciding what to do in the bank or facing a grim situation chained up in a basement, Rex is mighty fond of talking to himself, with director Alistair Grierson (Sanctum) and screenwriter/editor Robert Benjamin bringing this fact to the screen visually — tasking O'Toole with playing two roles, including the cooler, more confident version of Rex that pops up to try to assuage his worries. It's a gimmick in a film that otherwise follows a predictable storyline, but O'Toole's committed dual performances make it work. Indeed, Rex's back-and-forth banter with himself, and the rhythm that springs, comprises many of the movie's best moments. Fraser also shines, in a part that'll hopefully be her springboard to bigger things, and Grierson delivers a slick dose of jumps, bumps, gore and laughs with gusto. This is the type of movie that gels together better the longer it continues as well, after taking time to both set up its scenario and settle into its vibe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZvrlkF4TjM LUCKY GRANDMA Lucky Grandma might be the second American-produced film about a Chinese grandmother in as many years, but no one should be mistaking Sasie Sealy's feature writing and directing debut for The Farewell. That isn't a criticism of either movie, both of which offer up something special in their own ways, but rather it's recognition of how their similarities are truly only superficial. Here, the titular elderly woman (Tsai Chin, Now You See Me 2) is first seen chain-smoking and glaring her way through a fortune teller's appointment. When Grandma Wong is told that luck is coming her way — and on a specific day — she's quickly on the bus to Atlantic City. And when she spies a hefty stash of cash in the bag belonging to the gentleman sitting next to her on the return ride home, she barely hesitates. This string of events comes with consequences, however, with local Red Dragon gangsters soon following her every move. To cope, the feisty senior enlists the help of their rivals, the Zhongliang gang, and pays the towering Big Pong (Hsiao-Yuan Ha) to stick by her side as her bodyguard. Chin, who has featured in everything from You Only Live Twice to The Joy Luck Club, is such a gruff, no-nonsense delight to watch in Lucky Grandma — and Sealy smartly lets audiences peer her way closely and regularly. As Grandma Wong tries to evade one set of mobsters with the help of another, and test whether she really is having a stroke of good fortune, Chin navigates both the silly and more reflective aspects of the film's narrative with pitch-perfect precision. There's much to wade through, too. Sometimes, Lucky Grandma is a drama about a widowed woman trying to make the most of what's left of her life. Sometimes, it's a crime caper that's hopping around Chinatown with glee. In Sealy's hands, that combination always works — even if it doesn't seem like it should — and this dark comedy proving both engaging and entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q4jVzVbkss THE LEADERSHIP From gender equality to climate change, The Leadership charts a course through a sizeable array of topical subjects. Indeed, this jam-packed documentary touches upon everything from toxic workplace behaviour to the destruction of the natural world — so much so that it often feels as if one film won't do justice to everything that it keeps bring up. These topics are all not only important, but thoroughly worthy of standalone investigation; however, they all tie into the feature's primary focus. The main point of interest here is the Homeward Bound program, which takes talented women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics on a 20-day intensive leadership course while sailing around the Antarctic, with its maiden voyage overseen by Australian leadership expert Fabian Dattner. As Ili Baré's debut feature documentary lays bare, that first trip was eventful and notable in a plethora of ways. Again, there's much to cover — so many ideas to sift through, so many viewpoints to explore and such a wealth of data to share — that it often feels as if The Leadership could go in any direction. The onboard cinematography alone, peering over the Antarctic, could fuel its own film. The tension that springs throughout the voyage could do the same; many a fictional thriller has coasted by on far less. But in unpacking the many challenges facing Homeward Bound's first participants and facilitators, who all take to the seas and head south with the best of intentions, The Leadership hits its mark. This documentary could've simply served up familiar messages amidst scenic icy landscapes, but what it offers instead is a fascinating fly-on-the-wall look at what happens when great, noble and crucial aims — including around lifting up women by women in fields that aren't known for their gender inclusivity — don't turn out as planned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD_7hl87a3Q THE OUTPOST In The Outpost, in north-eastern Afghanistan circa 2009, a unit of US soldiers stationed in difficult circumstances just try to do their jobs. They're tasked with getting local villagers onside and also stopping the Taliban in the area, a mission made all the more complex thanks to their base's location — with Combat Outpost Keating sitting right in the heart of a valley surrounded by mountains where enemy fighters can easily hide. Still, they persevere. And in telling this true tale about their efforts and the resulting Battle of Kamdesh, The Outpost itself takes the same approach. This is a workman-like film with a clear aim and a no-fuss attitude to making it happen. As tends to be the case with US-focused war films, patriotism plays an unavoidable part, and there's no escaping its occasional lack of nuance (one character calls the part of the world they're stationed in a shithole, and it stands out); however, for most of its two-hour running time, this is a movie more concerned about men in a tough situation just trying to see it through than flag-waving and celebrating the country that put them there. To play its real-life figures, The Outpost features plenty of recognisable faces, including Scott Eastwood (Pacific Rim: Uprising) and Orlando Bloom. Some characters make it through the combat, some don't — and, while death's lingering presence is felt, the film doesn't try to trade in easy tears. Indeed, there's a matter-of-fact air to the lengthy scenes where the unit plans and prepares, fights back when they're under attack, stages dangerous quests and tries to survive the main battle. Adapting Jake Tapper's non-fiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, director Rod Lurie (Straw Dogs) prefers to show the soldiers in action, doing their jobs and attempting to simply get by, rather than continually overtly playing for sentiment. That tactic results in a well-staged, well-performed addition to the always-growing war movie canon. It doesn't quite threaten 1917 as this year's most visually immersive example of the genre, but it's still impressively choreographed and executed. Also, The Outpost constantly benefits from casting Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Dead Don't Die) as the most complicated, conflicted and compelling of the unit's men. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; and October 1. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin, Peninsula, Tenet, Les Misérables, The New Mutants, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Translators, An American Pickle. The High Note, On the Rocks, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Antebellum. Top image: Savage, Domino Films, Matt Grace.
Before the pandemic, when a new-release movie started playing in cinemas, audiences couldn't watch it on streaming, video on demand, DVD or blu-ray for a few months. But with the past few years forcing film industry to make quite a few changes — widespread movie theatre closures and plenty of people staying home in iso will do that — that's no longer always the case. Maybe you've been under the weather. 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 simply 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 are 13 that you can watch right now at home. BONES AND ALL To be a character in a Luca Guadagnino film is to be ravenous. The Italian director does have a self-described Desire trilogy — I Am Love, A Bigger Splash and Call Me By Your Name — on his resume, after all. In those movies and more, he spins sensual stories about hungry hearts, minds and eyes, all while feeding his audience's very same body parts. He tells tales of protagonists bubbling with lust and yearning, craving love and acceptance, and trying to devour this fleeting thing called life while they're living it. Guadagnino hones in on the willingness to surrender to that rumbling and pining, whether pursuing a swooning, sweeping, summery romance in the first feature that put Timothée Chalamet in front of his camera, or losing oneself to twitchy, witchy dance in his Suspiria remake. Never before has he taken having an insatiable appetite to its most literal and unnerving extreme, however, but aching cannibal love story Bones and All is pure Guadagnino. Peaches filled with longing's sticky remnants are so 2017 for Guadagnino, and for now-Little Women, Don't Look Up and Dune star Chalamet. Biting into voracious romances will never get old, though. Five years after Call Me By Your Name earned them both Oscar nominations — the filmmaker for Best Picture, his lead for Best Actor — they reteam for a movie that traverses the American midwest rather than northern Italy, swaps erotic fruit for human flesh and comes loaded with an eerie undercurrent, but also dwells in similar territory. It's still the 80s, and both hope and melancholy still drift in the air. The phenomenal Taylor Russell (Lost in Space) drives the feature as Maren, an 18-year-old with an urge to snack on people that makes her an unpopular slumber-party guest. When she meets Chalamet's Lee, a fellow 'eater', Bones and All becomes another sublime exploration of love's all-consuming feelings — and every bit as exquisite as Guadagnino and Chalamet's last stunning collaboration. Bones and All is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE MENU Getting "yes chef" bellowed his way as Julian Slowik, the head chef at exclusive fictional restaurant Hawthorne, Ralph Fiennes (The Forgiven) is a sinister delight in the vicious and delicious The Menu. With his character terrorising staff and customers alike, but similarly trapped with his employees in the hospo grind, Fiennes is also visibly having a ball in an entertainingly slippery role. He plays the part with the instant presence to make a room of well-paying patrons snap to attention just because he's there, and his facial expressions — his eyes in particular — are a masterclass in passive malevolence. There's a cruel streak in Slowik, as there is in the movie, but The Menu is a black, bleak, vengeful comedy as well. Director Mark Mylod (What's Your Number?) and writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy (The Onion) know the best thing to eat, aka the rich, and turn their fine-dining factory into a savage, savvy and scathingly amusing satire about coveting $1250-a-head meals but letting the workers behind them slice, steam, stir and sweat through upscale kitchen drudgery. Babbling snootily about mouth-feel before even getting to Hawthorne by boat, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult, The Great) doesn't spare a passing thought for the restaurant's workers. A self-confessed foodie who can't abide by the eatery's no-photography rule for a single course, he's in fanboy heaven after finally scoring a booking — and doesn't his companion Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy, Amsterdam) know it. She's less enthused, and her lack of fawning over her surroundings, Slowik, each plate and the theatre of it all rankles her date. She's the least-excited diner of the evening's entire list, in fact, which also spans status-chasing finance bros (The Terminal List's Arturo Castro, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' Mark St Cyr and The Now's Rob Yang), a cashed-up couple (Mass' Reed Birney and Julia's Judith Light) who attend regularly, an arrogant food critic (Janet McTeer, Ozark) and her editor (Paul Adelstein, The Greatest Beer Run Ever), and a movie star (John Leguizamo, Encanto) with his assistant (Aimee Carrero, Spirited). The Menu is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. MISTER ORGAN A single tweet has sparked many things for many people; however, the chaos started by a social-media missive from New Zealand journalist and filmmaker David Farrier has few parallels. In 2013, he commented on Twitter about a friend parking their car at Auckland's now-closed Bashford Antiques, then weathering an unpleasant experience: the threat of towing, instant abuse, and an immediate demand for $250 in order to be allowed to leave. Farrier next began writing articles about it all, and what seemed like a clamping racket, in 2016. In his first piece, he covered being asked by his employer three years prior to delete his tweet, too. But his own ordeal was only just beginning, because his ordeal involves Michael Organ. "You pay a soul tax for every minute you spend with him," Farrier notes in the documentary he's made about all of the above, complete with far more twists than anyone can imagine going in — and watching Mister Organ, the feeling behind that observation is starkly apparent. As well as helping impose onerous conditions on folks parking outside an antiques store, and becoming the owner's constant companion in the process, claiming to be royalty is also part of this tale. Organ has defended himself in serious court cases, and assisted with bringing legal proceedings against others, including Farrier. His web of interpersonal dealings, as fleshed out through discussions with ex-housemates and acquaintances, brings bewildered and infuriated interviewees into the doco. Finding someone to say a kind word about him is almost impossible, other than the endlessly talkative Organ himself. For newcomers to this situation, it's best to get the ins and outs by watching, stolen boats and all, because no description does them justice — but Farrier's time with Organ, as he tries to get to the bottom of his story, never fails to surprise. Viewers of filmmaker's Tickled and Dark Tourist will easily glean why he was drawn to tell this tale, though; for starters, it's another disturbing, perplexing, so-messy-it-can-only-be-true slice of life. Mister Organ is available to stream via DocPlay, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. SKINAMARINK Age may instil nocturnal bravery in most of us, stopping the flinching and wincing at things that routinely go bump, thump and jump in the night in our ordinary homes, but the childhood feeling of lying awake in the dark with shadows, shapes and strange sounds haunting an eerie void never seeps from memory. Close your eyes, cast your mind back, and the unsettling and uncertain sensation can easily spring again — that's how engrained it is. Or, with your peepers wide open, you could just watch new micro-budget Canadian horror movie Skinamarink. First-time feature filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball has even made this breakout hit, which cost just $15,000 to produce, in the house he grew up in. His characters: two kids, four-year-old Kevin (debutant Lucas Paul) and six-year-old Kaylee (fellow newcomer Dali Rose Tetreault), who wake up deep into the evening. The emotion he's trading in: pure primal dread, because to view this digitally shot but immensely grainy-looking flick is to be plunged back to a time when nightmares lingered the instant that the light switched off. Skinamarink does indeed jump backwards, meeting Kevin and Kaylee in 1995 when they can't find their dad (Ross Paul, Moby Dick) or mum (Jaime Hill, Give and Take) after waking. But, befitting a movie that's an immersive collage of distressing and disquieting images and noises from the get-go, it also pulsates with an air of being trapped in time. It takes its name from a nonsense nursery-rhyme song from 1910, then includes cartoons from the 1930s on Kevin and Kaylee's television to brighten up the night's relentless darkness. In its exacting, hissing sound design especially, it brings David Lynch's 1977 debut Eraserhead to mind. And the influence of 1999's The Blair Witch Project and the 2007-born Paranormal Activity franchise is just as evident, although Skinamarink is far more ambient, experimental and experiential. Ball has evolved from crafting YouTube shorts inspired by online commenters' worst dreams to this: his own creepypasta. Skinamarink is available to stream via Shudder and AMC+. Read our full review. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn't the movie it was initially going to be, the sequel to 2018's electrifying and dynamic Black Panther that anyone behind it originally wanted it to be, or the chapter in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that it first aimed to be — this, the world already knows. The reason why is equally familiar, after Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer in 2020 aged 43. At its best, this direct followup to the MCU's debut trip to its powerful African nation doesn't just know this, too, but scorches that awareness deep into its frames. King T'Challa's death starts the feature, a loss that filmmaking trickery doesn't reverse, no matter how meaningless mortality frequently proves when on-screen resurrections are usually a matter of mere plot twists. Wakanda Forever begins with heartbreak and pain, in fact, and with facing the hard truth that life ends and, in ways both big and small, that nothing is ever the same. Your typical franchise entry about quick-quipping costumed crusaders courageously protecting the planet, this clearly isn't. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Creed) like its predecessor — co-scripting again with Joe Robert Cole (All Day and a Night) — Wakanda Forever is about grief, expected futures that can no longer be and having to move forward anyway. That applies in front of and behind the lens; as ruminating so heavily on loss underscores, the movie has a built-in justification for not matching the initial flick. The Boseman-sized hole at Wakanda Forever's centre is gaping, unsurprisingly, even in a feature that's a loving homage to him, and his charm and gravitas-filled take on the titular character. Also, that vast void isn't one this film can fill. Amid overtly reckoning with absence, Coogler still has a top-notch cast — returnees Letitia Wright (Death on the Nile), Angela Bassett (Gunpowder Milkshake), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Lupita Nyong'o (The 355) and Winston Duke (Nine Days), plus new addition Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico), most notably — drawing eyeballs towards his vibrant imagery, but his picture is also burdened with MCU bloat and mechanics, and infuriating bet-hedging. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is available to stream via Disney+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. BLUEBACK Films about humanity's affinity with animals are films about our ties to the natural world — and doesn't Blueback splash that truth around. Plunging from The Dry into the wet, writer/director Robert Connolly reteams with Eric Bana for another page-to-screen adaptation of a homegrown book; this is another movie inseparable from its landscape, too, again exploring the impact people have upon it. This time, however, Bana isn't the star. He's memorable as larrikin abalone diver and fisherman 'Mad' Macka, and this Tim Winton-based feature would've benefited from more of his presence, but the Dirty John actor is firmly in supporting mode. Set against the enticing Western Australian coast as the author's work tends to be, this is a picture about the sea's thrall, existential importance and inherent sense of connection — as filtered through the bond between a girl and a wild blue groper, plus the evolving relationship between that same child and her eco-warrior mother. Mia Wasikowska (Bergman Island) plays Blueback's fish-befriending protagonist as an adult, with the text's Abel becoming Abby here. Radha Mitchell (Girl at the Window) shares the screen as Dora, her widowed mother, early in the film's year-hopping timeline. Still, in their second of three movies in succession — arriving before upcoming The Dry sequel Force of Nature — Connolly and Bana dip back into familiar territory. Obvious swaps are evident, including a beachside rather than a farming community, and atrocities against the planet and its wildlife instead of crimes against people, but it's easy to see Blueback's appeal as a reunion project. Among the key differences as Abby and Dora fight to save their town and its aquatic treasures, still battling wrongs to strive for what's right: this is an overtly and eagerly family-friendly affair. Blueback is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. SISSY Thanks to everything from The Saddle Club and I Hate My Teenage Daughter to Sweet/Vicious and The Bold Type, Gold Coast-born Australian actor Aisha Dee knows what it's like to live life through screens. She's been acting since she was a teenager, and she's charted the highs of her chosen profession — all in front of a lens. In Sissy, she hops in front of a camera again, naturally, and not only once but twice. In this delightfully savvy and funny Aussie horror film, Dee turns in a wonderfully layered performance as the titular Instagram influencer, whose soaring follower count, non-stop flow of likes and adoring comments, and online fame all stems from her carefully poised and curated wellness videos. Also known as @SincerelyCecilia, the character's sense of self springs from that virtual attention too; however, when she reconnects with her childhood best friend Emma (co-director/co-writer Hannah Barlow), gets invited to her bachelorette weekend and finds old schoolyard dynamics bubbling up, that facade starts to shatter. If Mean Girls was a slasher film set in a remote cabin in rural Australia, it might look something like Sissy — and that's a compliment multiple times over. Every horror movie wants to be smart and savage on multiple levels, but Barlow and fellow co-helmer/co-scribe Kane Senes (reteaming after 2017's For Now) weaponise everything from influencer culture and pastel, rainbow and glitter colour palettes to toxic friendships, all while spinning a clever, cutting and comedic take on the impact of bullying. They also fill their feature with as gloriously diverse a cast as Australian cinema has boasted, and with one helluva lead performance. If Carrie was set in today's always-online world, amid cancel culture and plentiful praise at the press of a button, it'd look like this, too, but this instant Aussie horror classic takes its own bold stab at plenty of genres. Sissy is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. ARMAGEDDON TIME What's more difficult a feat: to ponder everything that the universe might hold, as James Gray did in 2019's sublime Ad Astra, or to peer back at your own childhood, as the writer/director now does with Armageddon Time? In both cases, the bonds and echoes between parents and children earn the filmmaker's attention. In both cases, thoughtful, complex and affecting movies result. And, as shared with everything he's made over the past three decades — The Yards, The Immigrant and The Lost City of Z among them — fantastic performances glide across the screen, too. Here, in a portrait of a pre-teen's growing awareness of his privilege, the world's prejudices, the devastating history of his ancestors, and how tentative a place people can hold due to race, religion, money, politics and more, young stars Banks Repeta (The Black Phone) and Jaylin Webb (The Wonder Years) manage something remarkable, in fact, more than holding their own against a reliably excellent Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Anne Hathaway (Locked Down) and Jeremy Strong (Succession). Repeta plays sixth-grader Paul Graff, Gray's on-screen surrogate, and Armageddon Time's curious and confident protagonist. At his new public school circa 1980, he's happy standing out alongside his new friend Johnny (Webb), dreaming of being an artist despite his dad's (Strong) stern disapproval and disrupting class whenever he can to his mum's (Hathaway) dismay — and outside of it, he's happiest spending time with his doting grandfather (Hopkins). But Paul will start to understand the luck he has in the world, hailing from a middle-class Jewish family, compared to his black, bused-in friend, even if that comfort is tenuous, too. And, he'll keep seeing the way the world has Johnny at a disadvantage in every way possible, from their instantly scornful teacher to Paul's own parents' quick judgement. As lensed with the look and feel of a memory, Armageddon Time is clear about the small moments that leave an imprint, and the small deeds left undone that cause craters. It's a powerful work from a filmmaker surveying happy and sorrowful slices of the past, and doing so with unflinching eyes. Armageddon Time is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. THE VELVET QUEEN "If nothing came, we just hadn't looked properly." Partway through The Velvet Queen, writer Sylvain Tesson utters these lyrical words about a specific and patient quest; however, they echo far further than the task at hand. This absorbing documentary tracks his efforts with wildlife photographer Vincent Munier to see a snow leopard — one of the most rare and elusive big cats there is — but much in the entrancing film relates to life in general. Indeed, while the animals that roam the Tibetan plateau earns this flick's focus, as does the sweeping landscape itself, Munier and his fellow co-director and feature first-timer Marie Amiguet have made a movie about existence first and foremost. When you peer at nature, you should see the world, as well as humanity's place in it. You should feel the planet's history, and the impact that's being made on its future, too. Sensing exactly that with this engrossing picture comes easily — and so does playing a ravishing big-screen game of Where's Wally?. No one wears red-and-white striped jumpers within The Velvet Queen's frames, of course. The Consolations of the Forest author Tesson and world-renowned shutterbug Munier dress to blend in, trying to camouflage into their sometimes-dusty, sometimes-snowy, always-rocky surroundings, but they aren't the ones that the film endeavours to spy. The creatures that inhabit Tibet's craggy peaks have evolved to blend in, so attempting to see many of them is an act of persistence and deep observation — and locking eyes on the snow leopard takes that experience to another level. Sometimes, pure movement gives away a critter's presence. On one occasion, looking back through images of a perched falcon offers unexpected rewards. As lensed by Amiguet (La vallée des loups), Munier and assistant director Léo-Pol Jacquot, The Velvet Queen draws upon hidden cameras, too, but so much of Tesson and Munier's mission is about sitting, watching and accepting that everything happens in its own time. The Velvet Queen is available to stream via Docplay, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. GLORIAVALE Exploring the story of the religious community that shares its name, New Zealand documentary Gloriavale makes for stunning, gut-wrenching and infuriating viewing. It's been a booming time for NZ films that earn that description over the past few months — see also: Mister Organ above — but this true tale was always going to stand out and leave an imprint. Given that it involves chatting to survivors of the cult-like organisation, particularly excommunicated members relaying their heartbreaking experiences, being aghast at their ordeals is a natural reaction. Feeling angry that this can happen is, too, including as the film charts legal proceedings to bring Gloriavale's horrors to light. What has gone on behind closed doors, in a closed community, in the West Coast-based sect heartily requires this type of exposé — and with brother and sister John and Virginia as their key interviewees, filmmakers Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth (reteaming after 2019's Camino Skies) are up to the task. The specifics date back to the late 1960s, when the organisation was founded and started drawing in members, who were soon living under the sect's strict beliefs. Here, for instance, women are expected to work all through their waking hours to keep Gloriavale running — not even sitting down for meals — and cramming the group's many families all under one big roof is the norm. Also, when sexual abuse claims arise, including with children as victims, blame is directed everywhere but the accused perpetrators. As Gloriavale steps through details like these again and again, it's unsurprisingly harrowing from the outset. Archival footage from within the community only adds to the distressing mood, and charting the legal cases ups the drama, but the accounts of what's gone on at the titular place would be damning and gripping as is even if Grady and Smyth only had talking-head interviews at their disposal. Gloriavale is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY In the decade since her death in 2012, Whitney Houston has proven one of filmmaking's greatest loves of all. No fewer than five movies have told her tale, including documentaries Whitney: Can I Be Me and Whitney — and that's without including a feature about her daughter Bobbi Kristina, a miniseries focused on her ex-husband Bobby Brown and dramas clearly based on her story. All of that attention echoes for obvious reasons. Houston's mezzo-soprano voice, which earned her the nickname "The Voice", soared to stratospheric and literally breathtaking levels. Still holding the record for the most consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, which she took from The Beatles and the Bee Gees, her career zoomed skyward as well. That swift rise from New Jersey church choir member to one of the biggest bestselling music artists ever was matched by tabloid-fodder lows, however, and that tragic, gone-too-soon passing — and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody charts it all. Taking its name from one of Houston's most exuberant singles isn't just music biopic 101 (see also: Bohemian Rhapsody, also penned by this film's screenwriter Anthony McCarten). Kasi Lemmons' (Harriet) feature follows the standard Wikipedia entry-like genre template, but the filmmaker wants those titular words to reflect how Whitney (Naomi Ackie, Master of None) just wanted to be herself, to be loved as such, and openly be with Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams, Black Lightning), the girlfriend-turned-creative director that her gospel singer mother Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie, Cowboy Bebop) and stern father John (Clarke Peters, The Man Who Fell to Earth) disapprove of. Instead, after being signed to Arista Records at 19 by producer and executive Clive Davis (Stanley Tucci, The King's Man), Whitney becomes America's princess next door. Ackie turns in a commanding, multi-layered performance as the conflicted singer — even while lip-synching, with the movie smartly using Houston's own vocals — in a film that's impassioned, wisely filled with electrifying performance recreations, yet is happy to just hit every expected note. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE The Paddington movies did it better. That's a general catch-all statement that can apply to almost anything, zero context required, and it's also the prevailing feeling while watching Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Instead of a marmalade-coveting bear, a singing crocodile is trying to win hearts — and the similarities don't stop there. The page-to-screen leap from a children's favourite? Tick. An adorable animal winding up in a family of humans who need its unique presence to make their lives complete, bring them together and show them what truly matters? Tick again. The strait-laced dad, creative mum, nasty neighbour and kindly kid? Keep ticking. Also present in both: the titular critter donning human clothing and craving fruity foods, warm colours aplenty, a vintage look and feel to interior spaces, a tense and traumatic capture, and an accomplished star having a whole lot of fun going big, broad and cartoonish (Javier Bardem here, and worlds away from The Good Boss, Dune or Everybody Knows). Bardem's playful turn as magician Hector P Valenti is the best thing about Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which is breezily watchable but so indebted to Paddington and its sequel — so desperate to be an American version of the charming English franchise — that orange conserve might as well be smeared across the lens. As directed by Office Christmas Party's Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and scripted by Johnny English Strikes Again's Will Davies (adapting from Bernard Waber's books), the film is also a musical, with the eponymous croc (voiced by Shawn Mendes) able to sing but not speak. Those forgettable songs pad out a slight story, after Valenti discovers Lyle, hopes to get famous as a double act and loses his New York City brownstone when his gambit fails. Then the new residents, the Primm family, find the reptile in the attic, son Josh (Winslow Fegley, Come Play) finds a friend and his parents (Hustlers' Constance Wu and Blonde's Scoot McNairy) find their own reasons to get snapped up in the critter's singing-and-dancing vibe — although Mr Grumps (Brett Gelman, Stranger Things) downstairs obviously lives up to his moniker. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH Since arriving in cinemas in 2001, Shrek has inspired three more ogre-centric flicks, a heap of shorts and TV specials, and a stage musical for the whole family. It's also the reason that green-hued burlesque shows exist, plus all manner of parties and raves — none of the last three of which are appropriate for kids, obviously. But beyond the Mike Myers (The Pentaverate)-voiced titular figure himself, only Puss in Boots has become solo big-screen fodder from among the franchise's array of characters. Like much in this series, the shoe-wearing feline hails from fairy tales, but the reason for its ongoing on-screen popularity is as simple as casting. Who doesn't want to see a kitty swashbuckler voiced by Antonio Banderas (Official Competition), basically making this a moggie Zorro? Based on the 2011 Puss in Boots' $555 million at the box office, that concept is irresistible to plenty of folks — hence, albeit 11 years later, sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Pairing the right talent to the right animated character doesn't instantly make movie magic, of course; however, The Last Wish, which literally has Puss seeking magic, is among the best films that the broader Shrek saga has conjured up so far. The eponymous cat begins the picture being his usual swaggering self and caring little for the consequences, including his own dwindling lives. One raucous incident sees him realise that he's died eight times already, though, and knowing this ninth go-around is his last according to feline lore suddenly fills him with existential woe. That's a thoughtful premise for an all-ages-friendly flick, and one that's never dampened by the film's plethora of fairy tale nods, high-energy vibe and usually amusing gags. So, Puss, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek, House of Gucci) and their new canine companion Perro (Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows) attempt to find a famed wishing star that can make avoiding death a reality — but Goldilocks (Florence Pugh, The Wonder) and the three bears (Black Widow's Ray Winstone, Mothering Sunday's Olivia Colman and Our Flag Means Death's Samson Kayo) are also after it, as is a no longer 'little' Jack Horner (John Mulaney, Big Mouth). Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Looking for more at-home viewing options? Take a look at our monthly streaming recommendations across new straight-to-digital films and TV shows — and fast-tracked highlights from January, too. You can also peruse our best new films, new TV shows, returning TV shows and straight-to-streaming movies, plus movies you might've missed and television standouts of 2022 you mightn't have gotten to.
If you're heading to the South Island of New Zealand for a vacay, people are going to have some questions for you. "Was it gorgeous?" Duh. "Was it cold?" Only a little. "Do you now have a whole album of photos of you standing in front of crystal lakes, rugged mountain ranges and glorious plains that you'll cherish until the end of time?". Well, obviously. They'll also expect you to have visited vineyards and know your way around a bottle of wine. So you can study up, we've collated a list of the absolute best wineries on the South Island. Hit them up if you want to learn a thing to two about your pinots and rieslings. TERRACE EDGE WINERIES, WAIPARA Once you touch down in Christchurch, there are a few great reasons to head north first. Mostly wine. Head up the scenic coast and only an hour out of Christchurch you'll find Waipara, which is home to many iconic wineries. We recommend Terrace Edge. They won Vineyard of the Year at the NZ Organic Wine Awards 2018, so you can go ahead and raise your expectations sky high. Head to the tasting rooms and try some of their famous pinot noir and riesling. Hot tip: make sure you phone ahead so they know you're coming. They're a small, family-owned and -run establishment and can give you tiptop service and tasting notes if you only give them some notice. Near the tasting room, their picnic tables overlook the lush vineyards and, with the mountain backdrop, are the perfect place to enjoy a glass or two. While you're there, grab a bottle of their olive oil; they make it from olives grown on the site. FRAMINGHAM WINES, RENWICK While you're in the north, set your sights on Renwick, a little town east of Blenheim in the Marlborough region of the island. Here you'll find Framingham, a winery that does away with snootiness and replaces it with live music and good times. You won't find any winery cliches here — except for the views, of course. Plan ahead so you can enjoy the spectacular panoramas before dusk (they are particularly glorious in autumn when the first snows start to dust the distant mountains) and grab a glass while watching a local band. They have some of the oldest riesling vines in Marlborough so we definitely recommend tasting what they produce, as well as the Sauvignon Blanc. The other interesting thing about Framingham is they are accredited as environmentally sustainable and practice organic estate viticulture, which is the future of winemaking. Snaps for Framingham. SAINT CLAIR FAMILY ESTATE, BLENHEIM While you're in the region, you'd be a fool to miss Saint Clair Family Estate, one of the north's best wineries. This winery is a little more what you're used to — a classic set-up with stunning views, a tasting parlour, grounds aplenty and a menu that will make your mouth water. Their staff will talk you through their best drops. We recommend trying a sauvignon blanc, pinot gris or chardonnay as, in a line-up of many (and we mean many) award-winning wines, these varieties boast the most awards. If you're peckish, grab a table among the vines and order one of the local plates. Options include fresh produce from the sea, land or from their winery gardens. From land to plate, right before your eyes — what could be better? RIPPON VINEYARD, WANAKA Once you've made your way back down south, Rippon Vineyard is only a short drive west of Lake Wanaka (another must-do on your NZ itinerary) and boasts spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The grounds are steep and, in spring and summer, blooming with glorious wildflowers. You can partake of generous tastings in the parlour or enjoy a glass on the lawn overlooking the grapevines and catch a glimpse of Ruby Island in the middle of the lake. Rippon doesn't charge a tasting fee, but they do take donations for a Habitat Restoration programme so if you have a taste, give generously. If you're a larger group (seven or more), you can book in a private tasting with a knowledgeable host to educate you on half a dozen wines. And if you get a moment, take a looky-loo around the building itself. It's a gorgeous old space with high ceilings and abundant fireplaces. CHARD FARM, OTAGO While you're in Otago, head south from Wanaka to Chard Farm, just east of Queenstown. The drive along Lake Dunstan is pretty special, and you'll be rewarded with one of the most rustic wineries you ever did see. Chard Farm is nestled at the base of a gentle mountain and alongside the deep trench of Kawarau River. In winter it's covered in snow, but the rest of the year, the blocky, peach buildings are surrounded by wildflowers and shockingly lush vineyards. It's run by a sweet family and their cellar door is open seven days a week. We recommend the pinot noir (their speciality), but the riesling and pinot gris are also great. If you're a larger party, six or more, be sure to call ahead so they can accommodate you. Otherwise, just turn up and enjoy a quality drop while overlooking the pretty countryside. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, Brisbane is starting to awaken from its pandemic-induced slumber. At Ivory Tusk, that's cause for celebration. And, with International Tequila Day popping up in July, too, the Fortitude Valley is hosting a very appropriate festival to mark both occasions. That'd be Margarita Fest. Yes, you know what you'll be drinking here. Taking place from 8pm on Friday, July 24, it'll feature plenty of tequila, lime and salt — with five different varieties of margs on offer. There'll also be canapes to help line your stomach, plus DJs and live entertainment. Two types of tickets are available, to suit both your budget and your thirst. Nab a 'lime and salt' ticket for $19, and you'll get a margarita on arrival and access to the food. Level up to the 'tuskarita' package for $85, and you'll sip your way through three hours of bottomless margs, plus tuck into more than a few bites to eat. Tickets are on sale now, but it's worth noting that capacity is limited — life isn't quite back to normal just yet. So, if you're keep to spend a night downing margaritas, you'll want to get in quick smart. Margarita Fest takes place from 8pm on Friday, July 24 at Ivory Tusk.
From anime-inspired gyoza hubs and teppanyaki riverside bars to cheap and cheerful sushi joints, Brisbane has developed an insatiable taste for the delicate culinary delights of Japan. Gear up for mouth-melting sashimi, hearty ramen and fresh nigiri worth lining up for as we take a tasty tour through Brisbane's best Japanese spots. HAI-HAI RAMEN, PADDINGTON Shiyo or shoyu? You gotta do you. Whatever you choose, your fragrant ramen from Hai-Hai in Paddington will be flavoured à la minute. This means your big bowl of pork broth with pork belly, black garlic, nori and tsukemono is going to be the freshest business on the block. Vegos chow down on a truly divine kelp and shiitake concoction and you can pimp your ramen with miso butter, among other treats. They sell Hitachino Nest beers. Why are you still reading? Go. Go now. 102 Latrobe Street, Paddington. OISHII SUSHI BAR, SUNNYBANK HILLS Cheap and cheerful is the order of the day at this Sunnybank Hills fixture. Do you feel like sushi and your mate wants a big bowl of udon noodles? No worries. With a combination of sashimi, sushi, noodles and other delights everyone will find what they want at Oishii Sushi Bar. Top tip: try the spider roll ($14). Shop 2, 70 Pinelands Road, Sunnybank Hills. SAKE, CBD Dining at Saké is all about choice. Where to sit? How to order? What to eat? What to drink? Choice is usually a good a thing; it means you don't have to settle. If you're not a fan of zashiki seating (traditional, on the floor), ask to be seated at a communal table, nab a spot at the sushi counter, kick back in the bar or book out a private dining room with your buds. 1/45 Eagle Street, Brisbane. BIRD'S NEST YAKITORI, SOUTH BRISBANE Food served on a stick has always held a certain appeal. This interest probably started with dagwood dogs and has now become a full-blown obsession. If you too are a things-on-sticks aficionado, please get yourself to Bird's Nest Yakitori immediately. With sophisticated offerings to satisfy meat eaters and vegetarians alike (and a stonking saké list) you will be in yakitori heaven here. Shop 5, 220 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane. HARAJUKU GYOZA, FORTITUDE VALLEY Things to bring to Harajuku Gyoza: 1. Your inner anime character, 2. A sense of celebration, 3. An empty stomach, 4. Paracetamol for your ear-ache afterwards. From the minute you step through the giant heavy sumo-like door, you are greeted with a loud "Irasshaimase!", which is Japanese for "Welcome, come in". The gyoza (dumpling) menu is impressive and for all the lovers of these parcels of pleasure, the peanut butter and white chocolate gyoza dessert is a bucket-list worthy treat — as is the famed raindrop cake. Without a doubt, Harajuku Gyoza is renowned for its fun atmosphere and gorgeous staff equipped with some serious pipes. Don't believe it? Order a shot of celebratory sake and watch what happens. 394 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley. SONO, HAMILTON With delicious food, impeccable service and a sleek, minimalistic interior, there's a lot to love about Sono Japanese restaurant at Portside (the stunning river views don't hurt, either). From the moment you remove your shoes to take a seat at one of the sunken tables by the window at Sono, you'll be immersed in the modern Japanese dining experience. You can order from the lengthy a la carte menu, take a seat at the Teppanyaki bar, or stick to the six-course tasting menu for an indulgent meal. 39 Hercules Street, Hamilton. SUSHI KOTOBUKI, EAST BRISBANE Kotobuki is cheap, cheerful and no fuss, with great staff and a good vibe. The sushi is all made-to-order — guaranteeing delicious freshness. Don't walk past the crunch chicken ($8): this fusion double roll is filled with a generous serve of (usually warm) fresh crumbed chicken and thinly sliced cabbage, seaweed on the inside, rice on the outside and, like icing on the cake, it is dressed with a tempura crumb and served with a sweet soy. 3/53 Lytton Road, East Brisbane. MIZU, TENERIFFE Mizu has been a Teneriffe fixture for nearly a decade, and recently opened a second restaurant in West End. It is BYO as well as licensed and boasts a wide range of Japanese beers and sake. The izakaya-style menu revolves around fresh seafood, fried snacks such as gyoza and karaage, and larger plates for sharing. For something different on a weekend morning, try the Japanese breakfast (although this is only available at Teneriffe). 2 Macquarie Street, Teneriffe. [caption id="attachment_585914" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Jamie Hamel-Smith[/caption] LR SUSHI, CBD The queue is a permanent fixture outside this incredibly popular takeaway sushi joint. Don't worry though — it moves quickly and the sushi is well worth the short wait. Fillings such as lobster salad, chicken, peach and cream cheese, and California roll may not be all that authentic, but they sure are delicious. Other fillings include fresh sesame tuna, prawn and wasabi, grilled unagi (eel), and Japanese omelette. 149 Adelaide Street, Brisbane. WAGAYA, CBD Entering Wagaya is a little like floating into a Miyazaki film. Wooden interiors play on patterns of light and shade with occasional splashes of stone, giving the impression you're wandering into a Japanese forest. Touch screens sit at the end of every table, allowing you to browse the menu, order at your leisure and stay updated on your meal while it's sizzling. The menu is authentically Japanese, with common favourites like gyoza, karaage and tempura at your fingertips, a point away from Wagaya's eclectic selection of sashimi, ramen and hot pots. Rounded out with a generous beverage list, Wagaya serves up all your Japanese go-tos with gumption. Level 1, 315 Brunswick Street, Brisbane. By Meegan Waugh and Laura Dawson. Top image: Sake. View all Brisbane Restaurants.
Nosferatu. The Wolf Man. Frankenstein. All three names are icons of classic horror cinema. All three are headed back to the big screen in 2025. The entire trio are also making a comeback with impressive directors leading the charge, with Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) giving Nosferatu a new spin, Leigh Whannell moving from The Invisible Man to Wolf Man and Guillermo del Toro behind the latest iteration of Mary Shelley's masterpiece (to the surprise of no one who has seen the Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Nightmare Alley and The Shape of Water helmer's past movies). Nosferatu will hit picture palaces first — and, in true Eggers fashion, it's keen to unnerve. So, what happens when the acclaimed filmmaker directs his attention to the second-most famous name there is in vampire tales for his fourth feature? If both the initial teaser trailer and just-dropped new sneak peek for Nosferatu are anything to go by, embracing a twist on Bram Stoker's Dracula is set to turn out chillingly. More than a century has passed since the initial Nosferatu flickered across the big screen, a German Expressionist great that adapted Stoker's story with zero authorisation, hence changes such as its count being named Orlok. The film has been remade before, with Werner Herzog (The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft) giving viewers 1979's Nosferatu the Vampyre. Now, Eggers is sinking his teeth in — and visibly loving it. The new Orlok: Bill Skarsgård, fresh from action-star mode in Boy Kills World but pivoting back to creepy villains, just swapping IT and IT: Chapter Two's Pennywise for another insidious pop-culture figure. In the two looks at Eggers' Nosferatu so far, the writer/director plays coy with his monster, but not with Orlok's impact. "My dreams grow darker," cries Lily-Rose Depp in the initial trailer, trading the nightmare of The Idol for the gothic horror kind as Ellen Hutter. Joining Skarsgård and Depp is a stacked cast of fellow big names, including Willem Dafoe enjoying another stint in gothic mode after Poor Things and returning to Nosferatu after his Oscar-nominated performance in 2000's Shadow of a Vampire, where he played Max Schreck, the IRL actor who played Orlok back in 1922. Nicholas Hoult jumps from dancing with Dracula in Renfield to more undead eeriness, and Emma Corrin (A Murder at the End of the World), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (The Fall Guy) and Ralph Ineson (The First Omen) all also feature. In the US, audiences have a silver-screen date with Nosferatu on Christmas, but viewers Down Under will see the film from Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Check out the full trailer for Nosferatu below: Nosferatu releases in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Images: courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
Summer might be over until the end of the year, but that doesn't mean that all of the fun is heading indoors in Brisbane. Autumn and street parties go hand in hand in the River City, including at two Labour Day weekend favourites that are both returning in 2025. Fresh from Big Gay Day locking in its lineup for this year, now Stones Corner Festival has announced its date. If this fest is always on your calendar, then its details for your diary won't come as a surprise. Yes, you'll be heading along on the Sunday of the May long weekend — this year on Sunday, May 4. Program specifics are still to come, but expect live tunes, markets, food trucks and beers from a heap of local brewers. This'll also be an extra-special celebration, given that Stones Corner Festival is marking its ten-year anniversary. David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Martha and the Vandellas, The Kinks, Little Richard, Van Halen, the Grateful Dead: when they all sung various versions of 'Dancing in the Street', they were onto something. There's nothing quite like partying on a roadway when it's closed to cars, with traffic replaced by stalls and bars as well as stages filled with live music. That's the Stones Corner Festival setup. Some events feel like they've always been part of Brisbane's cultural scene and this is one of them, even if it is only hosting its tenth fest this year. That's the sign of something special, with this free street party on the corner of Logan and Old Cleveland roads swiftly becoming one of the city's must-attend celebrations. While there's no sneak peeks at the music roster so far, The Market Folk is in charge of the stalls filled with preloved, handcrafted and eco-friendly wares. The all-ages event will also include family-friendly entertainment for the full spectrum of patrons. You can expect Black Hops, Revel, CBCO, Better Beer, Balter, Your Mates, Burleigh Brewing, Heads of Noosa, Green Beacon and Stone & Wood to help quench your thirst. Eating-wise, Our Kitchen, Greek Street Kantina, Chipstars, and Catch & Kiss are among the options. If you're planning a big one, that public holiday the next day is oh-so-convenient. Also, entry remains free but, as in past years, giving a gold coin donation to the MND and Me Foundation is recommended. \ Stones Corner Festival 2025 takes place from on Sunday, May 4 on Logan Road, Stones Corner. For more information, head to the festival's website.
Great cinema often feels timely and topical. Even just from its two trailers so far — and even while remaking a South Korean sci-fi comedy from 2003 — Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's next movie together already seems to fit that description. A battle between the one percent and the conspiracy-obsessed is at the heart of Bugonia, when a CEO is kidnapped by two young men who are convinced that she isn't from earth. Another year, another collaboration between two big names who keep teaming up to make stellar films, then. With Bugonia, Stone and Lanthimos combine for their fourth joint feature, following 2018's The Favourite, 2023's Poor Things and 2024's Kinds of Kindness. The first of the bunch earned them both Oscar nominations. The second scored Stone her second Academy Award and made Lanthimos a contender again. The latest? It's a remake of Save the Green Planet!. If you've seen that film, then you'll know the story. If you haven't, get ready for Lanthimos' take on it. Either way, the Greek filmmaker's newest movie is all about a CEO of a major company, two men obsessed with wild theories, the belief that said head honcho is an alien who'll destroy earth and, as a result, an abduction plot to attempt to hold her to account. In her second feature of 2025, and second this year to see her wrapped up with conspiracy-spouting folks after Ari Aster's Eddington, Stone is the CEO in Bugonia. Doing the abducting: Jesse Plemons — who also worked with Lanthimos on Kinds of Kindness, and won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his efforts — plus feature first-timer Aidan Delbis. Bugonia's cast also spans Stavros Halkias (Tires) and Alicia Silverstone (Y2K). Behind the camera, while Lanthimos directs, Will Tracy (The Menu) adapted the screenplay from Jang Joon-hwan's film. Stone is one of Bugonia's producers, too — and so is Aster. The movie just premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where Poor Things did and won the Golden Lion. For audiences Down Under, Bugonia has a date with local cinemas from Thursday, October 30, 2025. Check out the full trailer for Bugonia below: Bugonia releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 30, 2025. Images: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
There are few places in Brisbane that you can order dark chocolate waffles. In fact, we can only be certain of one place that serves them, and that is Kettle & Tin. Served with a raspberry and blueberry compote and vanilla ice cream, this a the breakfast indulgence to break you new-year-resolution - and only two weeks into 2014. #sorrynotsorry Waffles are god's gift to sauce lovers - a vessel created with optimal liquid-holding pockets, and a morsel coveted for its soft yet crunchy design. Kettle & Tin realise waffles are a superior and underrated option and will serve them any way they can - sweet with passionfruit ice cream or savoury - think sweet potato waffles with jamon, corn relish and a poached egg. The problem with making a new years resolution is that in telling yourself you can't have something means you simply want it more. Though, resolving to eat waffles once a month is a resolution we could get behind, and probably achieve. Set in one of those charming Queenslanders Paddington is so well known for, Kettle & Tin, however, do more than waffles and a mean eggs benedict. Pop in after dark when the relaxed day-time crowd start to get rowdy as beer and cocktails creep onto the menu (well, admittedly you can order alcohol from 10am). Just 18 months young, this venue is already proving a classic in Brisbane's dining market and it is not hard to see why. Offering an array or craft beer, cocktail punches and quality food at night, they specialise in a relaxed style dining to be shared with friends. If the venue itself weren't already cool enough, it must be noted that they have a herb garden out the back and a bee hive on the roof - we'll drink to that. A final note to Kettle & Tin: If you remove those aforementioned dark chocolate waffles, you will break hearts and we may break you. Much love, CP.
Yellowjackets wants viewers to be its bloody Valentine in 2025 — and more cannibalism, more haunting reminders of what it takes to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash, and more hunting in both of the hit thriller series' timelines are in store. In November 2024, not only was a Friday, February 14, 2025 return date locked in for the show's third season, but fans scored a first glimpse. Now comes a proper trailer, complete with chases, the faces of the dead popping back up and pondering who should be eaten (or should've been by now). Two years after its second season, Yellowjackets will make is comeback on Valentine's Day to kick off its latest round, again following its characters both in the immediate aftermath of their traumatic accident and when the past keeps intruding on their present after decades have gone by. As viewers discovered when it debuted in 2021 and became one of the best new shows of that year, the instantly intriguing (and excellent) series follows a New Jersey high school's girls soccer team in the 90s after their plane plummets into the forest, and also checks in with everyone that's made it out alive 25 years later. Across two seasons so far, life and friendship have proven complex for Yellowjackets' core quartet of Shauna (The Tattooist of Auschwitz's Melanie Lynskey as an adult, and also No Return's Sophie Nélisse as a teenager), Natalie (I'm a Virgo's Juliette Lewis, plus Heretic's Sophie Thatcher), Taissa (Law & Order's Tawny Cypress, and also Scream VI's Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Misty (Wednesday's Christina Ricci, as well as Atlas' Samantha Hanratty). The latest trailer for season three puts it this way: "once upon a time, a bunch of teenage girls got stranded in the wilderness — and they went completely nuts." The full setup: back in 1996, en route to a big match in Seattle on a private aircraft, Shauna, Natalie, Taissa, Misty and the rest of their teammates entered Lost territory. The accident saw everyone who walked away stranded in the wilderness — and those who then made it through that ordeal stuck out there for 19 months, living their worst Alive-meets-Lord of the Flies lives. Thanks to the new sneak peek at what's to come, get ready for howling, masks, more fighting, ghosts and the present-day crew trying to work out who is after them. After swiftly getting picked up for a second season because its first was that ace, Yellowjackets was then renewed for a third season before that second group of episodes even aired. In Australia, viewers can watch via Paramount+. In New Zealand, the series streams via Neon. In season three, the returning cast — which includes Simone Kessell (Muru) as the older Lottie and Lauren Ambrose (Servant) as the older Van, characters played in their younger guises by Australian actors Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Liv Hewson (Party Down) — will be joined by Hilary Swank (Ordinary Angels) and Joel McHale (The Bear). And from season two, Elijah Wood (Bookworm) is also back. Check out the latest trailer for Yellowjackets season three below: Season three of Yellowjackets will start streaming from Friday, February 14, 2025 via Paramount+ in Australia — and streams via Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season one and review of season two, plus our interview with Melanie Lynskey. Via Variety.
Ever since the world initially watched Squid Game in 2021, Netflix has been obsessed with bringing everyone's favourite South Korean streaming series into real life. First came pop-up stunts. Then arrived reality competition show Squid Game: The Challenge, obviously without a body count. Experiences that let everyone play the show's games without appearing on TV are also part of the IRL fun. As the show's second season approaches, dropping on Boxing Day 2024, Australia keeps welcoming Squid Game activations — starting in St Kilda, where 200 pink guards relaxed on the Melbourne suburb's beach to kick things off. Three years back, however, Young-hee made its eerie presence known in Sydney. The Red Light, Green Light doll has now returned to the Harbour City, crossing the famous waterway by ferry with 300 pink guards as an escort to get to Luna Park Sydney for Squid Game: The Experience. On Thursday, December 12, 2024, a towering sight joined the harbour alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House — and, as the pictures show, it was quite an image to behold. From Saturday, December 14, you can head to Luna Park to be in the doll's company. Just in time for the Christmas holidays and Squid Game season two's release, Squid Game: The Experience will get everyone playing with Young-hee. Call it Red Light, Green Light. Call it Statues. Call it Grandmother's Footsteps. Whichever name you prefer, how good are you at the game that involves folks a-sneaking, ideally without being caught? Now, how would you fare trying to creep forward while avoiding being spotted when Young-hee is lurking? Squid Game: The Experience lets you find out. Get your green tracksuit ready. Front Man will be there to dare you to take the Squid Game challenges IRL. Busting out your marbles skills and walking over the glass bridge are also on the agenda. Some games are inspired by the Netflix program. Others are brand new. You'll only know if Squid Game: The Experience takes any cues from the thriller's second season, though, if you drop by after Thursday, December 26. Players can take part individually, or in groups of up to 25. As you work through the challenges, which get harder as you go along, you'll earn points. Another difference from the series: if you get eliminated from a game, you'll still be able to take part in the challenges that follow. Squid Game: The Experience arrives at Luna Park Sydney, 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, from Saturday, December 14, 2024. Head to the venue's website for more information and to buy tickets. Squid Game season two streams via Netflix from Thursday, December 26, 2024. Season three will arrive in 2025 — we'll update you when an exact release date for it is announced.
Sunshine all year-round, a 130 million-year-old rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, deserted islands, crocodiles — Queensland's 7000 kilometres of coastline has it all. Needless to say, narrowing down the state's hundreds of beautiful beach camping spots to ten was no mean feat, but we've given it a damn good shot. Whether you like to park your tent among crowd-free wilderness, on an exotic island or between the sand and a cocktail bar, there's a pitch for you. Right here. From pristine beaches and bountiful wine regions to alpine hideaways and bustling country towns, Australia has a wealth of places to explore at any time of year. We've partnered with Tourism Australia to help you plan your road trips, weekend detours and summer getaways so that when you're ready to hit the road you can Holiday Here This Year. While regional holidays within Queensland are permitted, some of the places mentioned below may still be closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Please check websites before making any plans. Some of the beaches on this list are not patrolled by lifeguards. To ensure you stay safe, head over to Tourism Australia for its latest tips on water safety. [caption id="attachment_702559" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] CYLINDER BEACH, NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND For proximity to Brisbane and stunning scenery, make North Stradbroke Island your pick. There are a stack of beachside campsites and among the best is Cylinder. Pack your board — there are waves. When you're done with ruling the surf, go koala spotting, stroll along North Gorge walk or play pool with watery panoramas at the Beach Hotel. Facilities are pretty posh — you can count on showers, toilets, barbecues, picnic tables and nearby cafes and restaurants. Book before you go. [caption id="attachment_746537" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick Boustead via Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] INSKIP PENINSULA RECREATION AREA, INSKIP Tossing up between waves and still water? Go to Inskip Recreation Area — a 500-metre wide peninsula — and you won't have to decide. Spend all morning fumbling about on your board and all arvo doing nothing on your lilo. When you need coffee and people, Rainbow Beach is just a 15-minute drive away (check out our weekender's guide here for things to do in town). The campground is divided into four sections, which are named after local shipwrecks, with varying levels of accessibility and comfort. You're welcome to take your dog, as long as he or she sticks to the leash and watches out for crocs (as should you). Reservations are necessary. [caption id="attachment_741600" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lake McKenzie via Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] FRASER ISLAND If you're on a beach camping safari, make World Heritage-listed Fraser Island your next stop after Inskip — boats for the biggest sand island in the world leave from Rainbow Beach and take just ten minutes. There are over 30 campsites and your choice will depend partly on how scared — or not scared — of dingoes you are. To sleep within a dingo deterrent fence, book at Central Station, Dundubara, Lake Boomanjin or Waddy Point. For epic sunrises, pitch at Eastern Beach. For a wilder adventure, go for Western Beach or Great Sandy Cape. Whichever you choose, there are all sorts of escapades to be had, including swimming in Champagne Pools and Lake McKenzie to wandering along Seventy-Five Mile Beach. [caption id="attachment_746565" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matt Glastonbury via Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] MISSION BEACH, CASSOWARY COAST About halfway between Townsville and Cairns — and on the way up to Cape Trib — is the Mission Beach area. There are a number of council-run campgrounds and caravan parks here, but head straight to Kurrimine Beach for a prime beachfront posi. This site is pretty well set up — powered sites with access to a laundry, hot showers and toilets are available along with some unpowered sites in peak season. You can't book, so turn up early in the day and hope for the best. [caption id="attachment_743607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] WHITEHAVEN BEACH, WHITSUNDAY ISLAND Whitehaven's seven-kilometre-long perfect arc of white sand is The Whitsundays' poster girl. And, thanks to her handy campground, you can join her for a sleepover. Protected by shady coastal eucalypts and beyond the clutches of mobile coverage, let your days pass by in a hammock haze — when you're not swimming in Blue Lagoon-esque waters or walking to Hilltop Inlet, that is. To get here, catch a boat from Airlie Beach. Facilities are limited to hybrid toilets and picnic tables. There's a cap of 36 campers across seven pitches, so bookings are essential. [caption id="attachment_746553" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] SANDY BAY, SOUTH MOLLE ISLAND To the west of Whitsunday Island lies South Molle Island, a laidback refuge that has managed to fly under the radar of commercialisation. Its most popular campsite is Sandy Bay, a peaceful stretch of sand on the west coast, with room for 36 campers. Get active on hiking and mountain biking tracks or relax into some gentle beachcombing. The northern end of Sandy Bay is a lovely spot for snorkelling — do be mindful of stingers, though. To reach South Molle Island, catch a ferry from Airlie Beach or Shute Harbour. Campsite facilities are limited to toilets and picnic tables. [caption id="attachment_702583" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] THE WRECKS, MORETON ISLAND Another convenient trip from Brisbane is Moreton Island, just north of Stradbroke. The Tangalooma Wrecks campground is a short walk or drive (via 4WD) from the ferry landing and, as the name suggests, is within view of a series of shipwrecks. The difference between these and most others along Australia's east coast is they were deliberately sunk to create a break wall. Happily, they make for excellent snorkelling and diving, too. Moreton Island National Park is home to miles of pristine beaches, rocky headlands, creeks, lagoons and wildflowers. Facilities consist of cold showers, hybrid toilets and untreated running water. Book in advance. [caption id="attachment_746559" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Australia/Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] COOLUM BEACH, SUNSHINE COAST If your camping vision involves starting your day with a swim and ending it with a three-course feast, then get out your pegs at Coolum Beach Caravan Park. You'll have direct access to patrolled surf, as well as to all the luxuries of bricks-and-mortar living just across the road in Coolum's town centre. Try Canteen or Raw Energy for eats and Gelato Mio for dessert. Stay long enough to check out the local area, especially Noosa National Park. Facilities are top-notch — expect hot showers, toilets, a camp kitchen, laundry and wifi. [caption id="attachment_746620" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Conway National Park by Timothy Wakeham via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] SWAMP BAY, CONWAY NATIONAL PARK Don't let the name deter you. This precious campsite, found within Conway National Park and 12 kilometres from Airlie Beach, has space for four tents only and incredible views of Daydream Island. The only catch is that it's a two-kilometre walk in and the beach is pebbly (so don't forget your reef shoes). Give yourself enough time to explore Conway — there are awe-inspiring rainforest walks to conquer, waterfalls to visit, extraordinary panoramas to soak up and crocs to dodge. Make a booking before you go and don't imagine anything fancy in the way of facilities. All you'll be getting is a pit toilet, picnic tables and, in case the weather turns against you, a shelter shed. [caption id="attachment_743612" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cape Tribulation by Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] NOAH BEACH, CAPE TRIBULATION Noah Beach campground, 80 kilometres north of Port Douglas, puts you smack-bang between the 130-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. It's the only place on the planet where two World Heritage-listed areas find themselves face-to-face. You'll be sleeping 50 metres from the beach sheltered by forest canopy, but do prepare for basic facilities — tap water and bio-cycle toilets are all you'll be getting. There's no mobile coverage and bookings are crucial. Whether you're planning to travel for a couple of nights or a couple of weeks, Holiday Here This Year and you'll be supporting Australian businesses while you explore the best of our country's diverse landscapes and attractions. Top image: Mission Beach by Matt Glastonbury via Tourism and Events Queensland.
On Saturday, September 8, romance will flow through King Street in Bowen Hills thanks to a free wedding for eight LGBTIQ couples. It's part of this year's Brisbane Festival, and the precinct is spreading the love until Sunday, September 29 with three weeks of themed activities and specials. Called Love is King, the event is all about making hearts flutter. Or, maybe it just knows that the way to anyone's heart is through their stomach. Really, it's celebrating the fact that love is now equal thanks to the marriage equality vote — and attendees can expect to eat plenty of heart-shaped food, nab a few freebies and fall head-over-heels for their dinner. Over at Il Verde, free heart-shaped pizzas are on the menu with every main meal and cocktail, while The Lamb Shop is serving up free pink tzatzki and feta with every souvlaki. The Emporium Barber is handing out free espresso martinis with each haircut, and Hello Chicken is offering free chilli rice cakes with every purchase. Elsewhere — and for a price — Sushi & Nori has heart-shaped sushi, The George is doing rainbow muffins, Banoi has two-for-one bowls of pho and Super Combo has added cotton candy Fairy Floss milkshakes to its lineup. If that's not enough, between 4–8pm on Saturday, September 8, the Bavarian Beerhaus will boast a free lolly bar — because love is sweet, obviously.
Whether you're looking for something on a budget, or you're after the best vintage fare, there's nothing like trawling through other people's wares. Forget your regular old household clear-outs, trash and treasure markets, outlet sales and car boot offerings though — Brisbane's biggest clothing garage sale is back again. When it ran pre-pandemic, we're not sure whether that size had been officially confirmed. Post-lockdowns, the event will be a bit smaller, featuring 15 sellers per event rather than its usual 33. Still, it'll keep delivering a massive array of sartorial bits and pieces — taking over Bizzell's Garage on Latrobe Terrace from 10am–3pm on Saturday, July 25. Prepare to arrive with shopping on your mind and leave with a full basket. Prices vary, as will condition, but expect to pay anywhere from $1 to over $100 for clothes, swimwear, shoes, accessories, denim, leather items and jewellery. Brands spanning the sporty likes of Adidas and Puma, the upmarket style of of Burberry, and the street cred of FILA and Calvin Klein will all be on offer. And, if you want to add a few plants to your home garden — including succulents — you'll find greenery on sale too, as well as DVDs, records and books as well. Top image: Lil J's Vintage.
Sydney's best experiences aren't always hidden down laneways or reserved for those in the know. Sometimes, the city's most enduring attractions stick around because they continue to deliver year after year. Whether you're heading to Sydney for the first time as a tourist or are rediscovering your own city, these four Sydney attractions are worth experiencing at least once. And, they're all located in the easy-to-access heart of the city. SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium offers a front-row seat to Australia's underwater ecosystems. Home to thousands of marine creatures, the aquarium takes you beneath the surface through immersive tunnels, coral reef displays and close encounters with sharks, rays and a dugong. Walk beneath glass tunnels as grey nurse sharks glide overhead in Shark Valley, find a world of colour and wonder in the Great Barrier Reef exhibit, meet Dottie the rescue turtle, and get close to a penguin colony with the Penguin Exhibition Boat Ride. For locals, it's the perfect weekend or school holiday experience with the kids. For visitors, it's an introduction to Australia's marine life — no wetsuit required. Madame Tussauds Sydney If you're a pop culture fan, you have to take a trip to Madame Tussauds Sydney in Darling Harbour. Discover a magical world of unrivalled ancient craftsmanship where the Madame Tussauds team combines time-honoured wax techniques with cutting-edge technology. It takes more than 500 exact measurements and 150 images to create each celebrity figure, with the sculpting process taking months and costing as much as $220,000 per icon. At the Sydney venue, you and your friends can pose with global superstars, take selfies with Australian legends, and step into immersive sets that let you feel a part of the action. Whether you're popping in with friends or entertaining interstate visitors, Madame Tussauds Sydney makes for a fun city activity that'll have you walking out with plenty of memories and a full camera roll. WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo If you've ever told overseas friends they'll see kangaroos and koalas "at some point," WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo makes good on that promise, all without leaving the CBD. See kangaroos lounging in the sunlight, koalas napping in Eucalyptus trees, and even come face-to-face with the endangered Tasmanian Devil. There are ten interactive zones for you to wander through, where you can learn more about Australia's beloved animals and the zoo's conservation efforts. Be sure to get your photo snapped with the cuddly koalas (a classic tourist moment) and, if you really want to make a day of it, book in a private group dining experience. Here, you'll receive exclusive after-hours access to the zoo and its exhibitions, a three-course dinner and beverage package as well as the opportunity of a self-guided tour of the surrounds. Sydney Tower Eye There's seeing Sydney, and then there's seeing Sydney from 250 metres above ground. Sydney Tower Eye is a highlight in the city's recognisable skyline and offers visitors 360-degree views that stretch from the Harbour Bridge to the Blue Mountains (on a clear day). For first-time visitors, the observation deck is a breathtaking way to get your bearings. For locals, it's an opportunity to step back and appreciate just how spectacular (and sprawling) the city really is. Watch ferries on the harbour, spot familiar neighbourhoods from a new perspective, and time your visit for sunset to see the city come alive at night. Want to take your trip up a level? The SKYWALK experience takes things one step further, with an outdoor walk around the tower's edge. It's an open-air adventure for those who want to see Sydney from brand-new heights. Book your tickets to these Sydney attractions online now. Image credit: Supplied
