Arguably one of the most common and long-running artistic traditions, landscape painting serves a purpose beyond simply recreating a scenic vista. The artist’s memories of a place and time are captured in light and colour, with their brushstrokes allowing others to truly experience that place through someone else’s eyes. Land Scope explores this sense of nostalgia and memory through the works of two Brisbane artists. Clare Cowley’s oil paintings bring her connection to the land to life with rich colour and energetic brushwork, while Grace Herrmann uses watercolour to capture scenes with a quiet, dreamlike softness. The exhibition creates a feeling of intimacy and interconnectedness between the artists and viewers alike. Land Scope exhibits at the Woolloongabba Art Gallery from 1 to 12 September, with an opening night event on Friday 4 September.
Umbrellas at the ready, Sydneysiders. Spoons full of sugar, too. In the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious news you'll hear all day — and all year as well — the Mary Poppins musical is making its way Down Under. Between May–October 2022, you'll be able to revisit the tale of the singing nanny onstage at the Lyric Theatre Sydney. Disney and theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh's current version of the show tells the same tale that everyone knows from the 1964 film — which, as well as inspiring this stage adaptation, also gave rise to big-screen sequel Mary Poppins Returns in 2018. Everything to do with the English governess harks back to PL Travers' books about the character, of course, and pop culture has been thankful for and downright delighted with her stories for almost six decades now. Exact dates for the musical's Sydney season haven't yet been revealed, but theatre fans can look forward to a new version of the show that last graced the city's stages — and won eight Helpmann Awards — back in 2011. Since Mackintosh first teamed up with writer Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) to bring Mary Poppins to the theatre in 2004, the production has won four Olivier Awards and a Tony as well. Mackintosh is bringing The Phantom of the Opera to Sydney this year, too, and a Cinderella musical is also headed the city's way — so it's a great time to love stage musicals based on classic tales, clearly. Whether Mary Poppins will float on elsewhere in Australia hasn't yet been announced; however, Sydney's season has been marked as the Australian premiere. So, residents of Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide – and everywhere else in the country — you can start crossing your fingers that Poppins, the Banks family and their Cherry Tree Lane abode might also come your way in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiT6Og3lDbw Mary Poppins will play the Lyric Theatre Sydney from May–October 2022, with exact dates yet to be revealed. To sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website — with tickets due to go on sale in August 2021. Top image: Johan Persson.
April 14, 2018, will forever go down in history as the day Beyoncé took to the Coachella stage and made it her own. If you were lucky enough to be there, you'll no doubt remember it forever. If you watched the live stream — and it became the most-watched live-streamed performance of all time, so you probably did — then you'll never forget it either. Whichever category you fell into, you likely wish you were closer to the action — to the stage for the 137-minute performance, to the 100-plus dancers, to its powerful homage to America's historically black colleges and universities, and to the backstage antics as well. Enter Netflix's Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé, the concert documentary you definitely knew you needed, but didn't know existed until now. Yesterday, Wednesday, April 17, the streaming platform released the in-depth look at Bey's epic show, revealing "the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement". Like the real-life performance, the film clocks in at 137 minutes, so expect a lengthy and intimate tour through the festival set everyone has been talking about for a year, including behind-the-scenes footage and candid chats that delve into the preparation process and Bey's stunning vision. You know what else is lengthy? The 40-track live album Bey just dropped on Spotify. Yep, the Queen has blessed us on two platforms this week. We are not worthy. As well as live renditions of 'Sorry', 'Crazy in Love' and 'Soldier' — the latter which was performed with former Destiny's Child group mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams — from Coachella, the album, also called Homecoming, features a song by Blue Ivy (Bey's daughter) and two bonus tracks. It's also doubly exciting that the album is available on the easier-to-access Spotify, as Bey dropped her most-recent album Lemonade exclusively on Tidal, her husband Jay-Z's streaming service. The long weekend is here. You have four hours of Beyoncé content to consume. Happy listening and viewing, friends. Head to Netflix to watch Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé and listen to the album below:
The middle of the year means shorter days and longer nights — and, rather than yearning for Brisbane's summer sun, you might as well embrace the two. Here's one way: Milton by Moonlight, Milton Markets' returning midyear shindig. On the agenda: everything that makes this inner-west market a firm favourite, but during an early winter evening. Taking place from 4–10pm on Saturday, June 21, 2025, the event will start serving up bites to eat — and setting up 140-plus stalls to shop — in the late afternoon, so you can jump into the fun as twilight approaches. Then, when the moon comes out, you can browse, buy, sip, munch and dance the night away. With gourmet street food, artisanal wares and live entertainment on offer — the former usually including dumplings, tacos, noodles and wings; the latter normally across multiple stages — you'll have plenty to see, taste, purchase and listen to. And to drink as well, thanks to the pop-up craft beer bar, and also glühwein. Entry costs $3 at the gate — and if you're driving there, parking usually costs $2 as well.
When you're as fond of chocolate as you are of gelato, there's no Easter egg like a Messina Easter egg. And if you're a fan of the brand's ice cream, as well as cheesecake and pretzels, then you probably know that the chain's Mr Messina flavour is one of the best. Combine Messina's annual Easter special with one of its most-beloved gelato varieties, then, and the result is a mighty delicious 2025 treat. Gelato Messina's chocolate eggs come filled with gelato — and while in some years, the purveyors of frosty sweet treats have made multipacks, this year's version remains a one-kilogram giant. Yes, it's giving us the Easter delight that we all coveted when we were kids: a hefty-sized egg. Of course, this one is even better than the foil-wrapped supermarket versions, thanks to the Messina gelato inside. Once you crack into the handpainted chocolate shell, layers of cheesecake mousse await, plus pretzel crumb and clusters coated in milk chocolate. You'll also find pretzel chocolate dip and Basque cheesecake gelato with baked cheesecake chunks, as well as a soft pretzel caramel centre. The chain's 2025 egg is designed to serve six, but if you're keen to keep it to yourself, we understand. You'll be paying $80 either way, and getting in quick when they go on sale is recommended as they usually sell out. Messina's 2025 Easter eggs can only be ordered online on Thursday, March 27 for collection over Easter — naturally — between Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20. To get details about specific on-sale times, you'll need to register in advance via the Messina website. Gelato Messina's 2025 gelato Easter eggs are available to order from Thursday, March 27 for pick up between Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20 — head to the Messina website for further details.
Everyone's going wild these days, at least as far as films are concerned. Cameron Diaz caused chaos in the classroom, Seth Rogen and Zac Efron demonstrated how not to be neighbourly on two separate occasions, and now the one group you probably thought was immune to displays of errant behaviour has joined in on the inappropriate fun. Yes, Bad Moms shows just what happens when some over-stressed, under-appreciated mothers let loose. It's as raucous as you might expect, and as formulaic too — but thanks to its warm message and committed cast, it has both heart and spirit. With a happy family and a cool job at a coffee company, on the surface it looks like Amy (Mila Kunis) is the type of woman who has it all. She doesn't quite view it that way, though – in fact, she sees her life as a constant struggle. When she's not looking after a husband (David Walton) who doesn't appreciate her, she's appeasing her younger boss (Clark Duke), ferrying her kids (Oona Laurence and Emjay Anthony) to their extra-curricular activities, and attempting to avoid the wrath of the bossy PTA president (Christina Applegate) at their school. But after one particularly hectic day, she decides to stop trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, with fellow outsiders Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and Kiki (Kristen Bell), she determines to unleash her own kind of mothering. As written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, Bad Moms is mainly an excuse to make a party flick about ladies trying to find a way to cope with their considerable responsibilities. That the pair also helmed 21 & Over and wrote the script for The Hangover is telling. Thankfully, while giving Kunis, Hahn and Bell an excuse to act like teenagers, the film also unpacks the many expectations placed on women who have children – and women in general for that matter –, including the standards they impose on themselves and the scathing judgments they level at each other. The combination makes for a movie that's funny, thoughtful, and offers the kind of non-schmaltzy ode to motherhood that the interminable Mother's Day showed no signs of mustering. Though it trades in a few too many stereotypes and straightforward situations, the film does at least manage to subvert the former on occasion, while finding plenty of jokes in the latter. Like women-centric comedies Sisters and Bridesmaids before it, it's the cast that keeps Bad Moms moving. The rapport between the three leads brightens up every scene they share. That said, as she has repeatedly in television series such as Parks and Recreation and Transparent, it's Hahn that really steals the show. Not only does she nail the blend of irreverence and affection Lucas and Moore are aiming for, but she also makes the movie's most outrageous character more than just the source of laughs. The end result is a film that, although outwardly about the kind of behaviour your own mum might not encourage, ends up playing as an amusing and empowering tribute to being the person you really want to be.
Don't believe that boy bemoaning, loudly, the lack of live music venues in Sydney. There's no truth to that rumour. Dig a little deeper, kid, and you'll see there's a whole range of places out there. Choose your own adventure from Concrete Playground's list of favourite spots, featuring everything from long-term Sydney stalwarts to DIY new kids on the block. 1. The Enmore TheatreWhere: 118-132 Enmore Road, Enmore Undeniably Sydney's most beautiful theatre, the Enmore maintains an antique, old-world feel inside a contemporary venue. Built in 1908, this art deco theatre has gradually been transformed into the kind of luxury that is pure rock 'n' roll: band posters are plastered beneath luxurious chandeliers, drinks are purchased from a bar in the foyer, and the seats in the stalls are, depending on the occasion, removed to make way for standing room audiences. If the ambiance alone isn't enough to entice you, never fear: the Enmore plays host to some of the biggest acts to visit our shores. We're talking The Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, Wu Tang Clan, The Pretenders, Grace Jones... The list goes on. And while the size and prestige of this place is strong enough to attract the big acts, the performance space remains cosy and intimate. The combination of the theatre's traditional acoustics and an immense front of house system also results in exceptional sound, making the Enmore one of Sydney's premier live venues. Click here for venue review and details. 2. The Red RattlerWhere: 6 Faversham Street, Marrickville A new arrival on the live music scene, the Red Rattler is a community-based venue and innovative arts space. It's a space determined to make a lot of noise, and is named for the old Red Rattler trains that did the same. Building on the shoulders of Sydney's infamous illegal warehouse scene (which many of these Rats were involved in), this is a completely legal venue that seems far too good to be true. It's an inspiring space that feels more like a home than a warehouse. Plush red velvet curtains, mismatched second-hand couches and an intimate, friendly atmosphere make a night spent at the Rattler completely unique. The fact that it's run by a collective of artists guarantees an exceptional spectrum of performers, with past highlights including The Church, Naked On The Vague and the High Reflections experimental music nights. Click here for review and details. 3. The Annandale HotelWhere: 17 Parramatta Road, Annandale This pub rock institution is the lifeblood of the Sydney music scene. A '30s Aussie pub, converted in the early '80s into a live music venue, the Annandale has long been the quintessential Australian rock venue. There's the distinct stench of blood, sweat and tears in the air to prove it. With a substantial stage and lighting rig, and a sound system perfectly worn in to the room, any Australian band worth their salt aspires to play here (or already has). A rite of passage for up and coming bands, a night at the Annandale is memorable for musicians and punters alike. And to help the memory factor, the paved courtyard behind the hotel hosts 'pub cha' every Saturday and Sunday, offering regular favourites as well as weekly specials. Click here for review and details. 4. GoodGodWhere: 53-55 Liverpool Street, Sydney This cosy danceteria is bursting at the seams with character: think walls covered with coloured tiles and wooden wagon wheels, mirror balls and bright disco lights, and a crowd that still manages to distract from the interior. The most important feature here is the dance floor, which I guarantee you'll find yourself carving up in no time at all. The music policy varies each night, so look to the website if it's live music that's your thing. Past favourites include Jack Ladder, La Mancha Negra, The Coolies and live karaoke (meaning you plus live band), run by Siberia Records. Click here for review and details. 5. 505Where: 280 Cleveland St, Surry Hills Spartan would be one word used to describe 505. You'd quite easily walk past its front when strolling down Cleveland Street without even glancing up, or knowing that behind a bland, unobtrusive door lies a music venue showcasing some very groovy up and coming Sydney talent. And not just that - it also hides a great place for a drink. While it's not somewhere that you'd visit if you were just after a quiet night out, if you like music with your beverage of choice then this is the place, though that does mean there's usually a cover charge in order to get in. Still, with an array of music to suit your appetite and the fact that it's an artist run space that brings local talent to the stage nearly every night of the week, 505 definitely deserves to not escape your notice. Click here for review and details. 6. The VanguardWhere: 42 King Street, Newtown While it might feel as if you've slid back into the '20s, this comfortably luxurious venue was in fact purpose built. Channeling New Orleans in the heart of Sydney, the Vanguard is a bohemian haven and a place to experience something a little bit different. The restaurant offers a mix of modern Australian and 'soul food', while the stage plays host to an eclectic range of musicians and performers. For those whose tastes lie in jazz and blues, cabaret and burlesque: you've found your man. Click here for review and details. 7. The Factory Theatre Where: 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville The intentions of this venue are clear: a bar, a wide open space (soon to be dance floor) and an empty stage. If you arrive early, it may all feel a little bare, but this only means more room for shenanigans later on. Live music is the core of the Factory's operation, with acts as diverse as Ratcat, the Herd, Holly Throsby and Jamie Lidell. There's plenty of other good options to look out for as well, as this venue also plays host to unique events like the Sydney Underground Film Festival. Click here for review and details. 8. The LansdowneWhere: the corner of City Road and Broadway, Sydney Previously better known for its $10 meals than its live music policy, the Lansdowne is an old pub that's making way for new music. The recently renovated band room is impressive, and now offers live music six nights in a typical week. What's even better is that all shows are free, with an impressive array of local bands on board. Recent shows have featured The Laurels, Dark Bells and Domeyko/Gonzalez. Plus, the cheap meals are still on offer in the cosy bistro upstairs. In other words, a win win situation. Click here for review and details. 9. Black Wire RecordsWhere: 219 Parramatta Road, Annandale If it's the underground you're seeking, this is where you'll find it. Technically a record store, Black Wire offers not only an impressive array of music to purchase but also an enviable dedication to showcasing live bands. Rough and ready is the rule, with bands setting up to play early evenings on the shop floor. All shows are cheap and all ages, providing a vital opportunity for everyone to access cult music. Recent performers have included Alps of New South Wales, Kirin J Callinan and Slug Guts. 10. Oxford Art FactoryWhere: 38-46 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst Perhaps one of the most ambitious venues to open in Sydney in recent years, the Oxford Art Factory is inspired by Andy Warhol's seminal Factory, and intends to operate as a focal point of music and the arts in Sydney. The main room caters to larger and international acts, such as The Dead Weather, Digitalism and Warpaint. The Gallery Bar showcases local acts, with a feature wall repainted frequently by guest artists. Between the two lies the Glass Cube, an exhibition space that regularly features live performance art. Click here for review and details.
J-horror devotees, rejoice: Australia's Japanese Film Festival is back for 2023, and it boasts a couple of highlights for lovers of scary cinema. If you're a fan of Japan's contribution to frightening flicks, then The Forbidden Play is your first must-see. Behind the lens is Hideo Nakata, the director of 1998's iconic Ringu, aka the movie that helped spark a global obsession (and the American spinoffs, too). This time, the filmmaker tells of a son wanting to bring his mother back to life, so much so that he keeps chanting a resurrection spell that awakens something evil. This year's JFF isn't just about unsettling titles, but it does also feature Immersion, which hails from Ju-On: The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu (who also helmed the first US remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar). In his latest effort, he's playing with grudges again, as well as traditional Japanese superstitions, virtual reality and a secluded island — which is never a good setting for a horror film. That's the unnerving contingent for JFF 2023, which is focusing on films that explore connections between the past and the present when it tours the country across spring. Of course, it will also serve another function: letting audiences head to Japan from their cinema seats. Everyone has a favourite place in the world to visit. If you love travelling vicariously through movies when you can't do the real thing — in-between trips, or when your budget or just life in general doesn't have room for big holidays — then you likely have a favourite country-focused cinema event as well. JFF is one such event, surveying the latest and greatest in the nation's filmography. 2023 marks its 27th year, in fact, complete with a packed program. Among the delightful aspects of this film festival is its two-pronged approach in most cities, giving both recent and retrospective titles their own time to shine. One part of the event heroes latest releases, the other goes big on classics, and each has their own run of dates. You'll find that setup in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney from September–November, with Perth the only location solely focusing on new movies. Officially opening the fest for 2023: We're Broke, My Lord!, a character-driven story about an unexpected inheritance from director Tetsu Maeda (And So the Baton Is Passed). From there, audiences can also look forward to the aforementioned to J-horror pictures; the animated Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom; Citizen Kitano's tribute to actor, comedian and filmmaker Takeshi Kitano (Outrage Coda); and Yokaipedia, which is about three boys on a monster-filled quest. Fellow standouts include Yudo: The Way of the Bath, a comedy about bathhouse rituals; romance We Made a Beautiful Bouquet; Natchan's Little Secret, where three drag queens head to a funeral; and Single8, with director Kazuya Konaka's paying tribute to filmmaking before the digital era. And, in the special series — aka the fest's retrospective thread — post-war Japanese cinema figure Kо̄ Nakahira is in the spotlight. JFF will screen 1956's Juvenile Jungle and Milkman Frankie, 1957's Temptation, 1962's Danger's Where The Money Is!, and 1963's Mud Spattered Purity, as well as Flora on the Sand, Only on Mondays and The Hunter's Diary from 1964, plus 1965's The Black Gambler. JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: Canberra: Special series: Saturday, September 30–Monday, October 2 at NFSA Latest releases: Wednesday, October 11–Sunday, October 15 at Palace Electric Perth: Latest releases: Monday, October 16–Sunday, October 22 at Palace Raine Square Brisbane: Special series: Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 11 at QAGOMA Latest releases: Wednesday, October 18–Sunday, October 22 at Palace Barracks Melbourne: Latest releases: Monday, October 23–Sunday, October 29 at The Kino and Palace Balwyn Special series: Thursday, November 2–Sunday, November 5 at ACMI Sydney: Special series: Monday, October 23–Wednesday, October 25 at The Chauvel Latest releases: Thursday, October 26–Tuesday, October 31 at Palace Central, Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona The 2023 Japanese Film Festival tours Australia from September–November. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website. Top images: ©2023 The Forbidden Play Film Partners, © 2023 IMMERSION Production Committee.
In recent years, Frankston has levelled up its offering for residents and visitors alike with a bigger focus on art and events, becoming a hub of activity for street artists, beach lovers and everyday folk looking for a break from the city. Coming up in 2025 are events for all interests, giving you all the more reason to come down and check out the offerings of culture, cocktails, and coastal vibes. Read on to find out what's happening in Frankston in the coming months. South Side Festival — Thursday, May 8 to Sunday, May 18 The fun seemingly never stops in Frankston, since the community favourite South Side Festival will return in 2025, marking its fourth year of showcasing and celebrating the colourful, cultural core of the Frankston area. The ten-day celebration is set to include playful circus shows from Circus Trick Tease, neon-lit art installations in Beauty Park, a dance performance by the Sydney Dance Company at Frankston Art Centre, a chilly ocean swim, artist residences, film screenings, community workshops and more. Australian Sand Sculpting Championships — Saturday, April 5 to Sunday, April 27 If you're of the opinion that sand is course, rough, irritating and that it gets everywhere, then you need to check out this autumn event. For the month of April, artists from across Australia will make a return to the championships home on the Frankston waterfront and transform it into a landscape of sculptures, recreating iconic villains from throughout literature. Attend the opening weekend to see the designs come to life and see the winner announced, or visit before the 27th to see the designs in full. You'll also get the chance to vote on a winner for the People's Choice Awards or partake in some sand-centric activities — including sand sculpting workshops, sand easter egg hunts, a sand museum and more. Frankston Street Art Festival and Block Party — Monday, March 17 to Sunday, March 23 - CONCLUDED Another popular entry on the Frankston events calendar, these annual festivals showcase the vibrant street art of the area in over a week of celebration. Celebrating the local artistic scene, the Frankston Street Art Festival attracts local, national and international artists to do their thing on the walls and laneways throughout Frankston City. In 2025, the artist lineup includes Aussie creatives like Damien Arena, Jasmine Crisp and Trent Downie, alongside international talents Simon Beuve, Manuel Guiro and Candela Colors. Celebrations kick off with the Festival Launch Party on Tuesday, March 18, with drinks, music and meet-and-greets with the artists at the Cube gallery, plus the chance to get your say in next year's lineup with the People's Choice Award. For the rest of the festival, you can take things as you please from the program. Get hands-on with workshops and speaking sessions, or take advantage of Frankston's street art tours becoming free for the week to see the new murals and maybe meet the artists before it all culminates with Block Party. This free street celebration finale will feature music from DJs Pixleton and CuznMatt, roaming entertainment from the Snuff Puppets and street art workshops popping up in White Street Mall on Saturday, March 22. The Carlsberg Beach Club — Friday, January 31 to Sunday, March 30 - CONCLUDED If you can't justify the cost of a Euro summer adventure in 2025, get a sip of the experience at Frankston Pier instead. The Carlsberg Beach Club will bring a European beach club-inspired experience to the waterfront, inviting guests to sit and take in the coastal scenery with cocktails and summer snacks between 12pm and sunset every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from January 31 to March 30. Access is free but space is limited so you'd best pre-register. Once you've secured a spot, enjoy live music from the likes of Darley, So Frency So Chic, Oil Busta, Alice Ivy, Madame Reve and more, grab a Carlsberg beer or cocktail and wash down a steak sandwich or any of the other tasty treats on the menu. Enjoy the sunset and go for a dip while you're there, too. For more information on any of the above events and to see what else is coming to Frankston in 2025, visit the website.
You don't need to be an audiophile to appreciate the difference a half-decent speaker makes to your listening experience. Whether it's films, TV, music or gaming, a good soundbar brings new depth and clarity to whatever you're watching or listening to. Soundbars are designed to work in tandem with televisions — and in this case, size really does matter. If your TV is on the smaller side (50 inches or less), you'll want a compact soundbar to match. Larger screens, on the other hand, demand a soundbar with enough power and width to balance the scale and sync sound placement across the display. If you're chasing that true 3D sound experience, start your search with something like the JBL BAR Gen 4. The slimline model packs Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and both HDMI input and HDMI ARC, delivering a full surround-sound experience ideal for film buffs, gamers and music lovers alike. It's sleek, reliable and built to last — a perfect pick for anyone who wants immersive audio without the bulk of a full home theatre setup. For those working with a smaller budget, the LG Sound Bar S40T makes an excellent entry point. At around $400, it offers 300W of output power — impressive volume for its size — and Dolby Audio processing for solid sound quality, though it doesn't include Dolby Atmos. It's a compact, dependable choice for apartment living or anyone upgrading from basic TV speakers. If you're looking for a middle ground, the Bose Smart Soundbar offers the best of both worlds. It combines Dolby Atmos with Bose Truespace technology, which intelligently scales up lower-quality audio for a cinematic feel. If you already own Bose earbuds or headphones, you can even pair them for a true surround experience — perfect for late-night viewing. At the high end, the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini is a powerhouse, packing Dolby Atmos, Bluetooth, smart home compatibility and automated self-calibration that tailors its sound to your room. It's compact, elegant and precise — designed for those who want to hear every sonic detail. Then, of course, there's the full-blown home theatre route. Samsung's Q-series Soundbar HW-Q990F brings 11.1.4 channel sound with subwoofers and rear speakers for a completely immersive experience — all yours for just under $2000. Sony's home theatre packages offer similar setups, letting you mix and match components without sacrificing sound quality. And if you want to build your own setup, Sony offers modular home theatre packs that let you mix and match soundbars, subwoofers and satellite speakers without losing sound quality. The result is rich, cinematic audio that scales to your space — whether you're in a small apartment or a full home cinema. Whichever way you go, upgrading to a proper soundbar setup will instantly elevate your home listening experience — and might just make you wonder how you ever lived without it. Image: JBL
There are few words to describe Pete Rock without completely gushing over his immense talent. He's one of the greatest producers of our generation and without him, jazz would have never found a way to be blended into the hip hop genre. Brisbane has been privy to some massive talent of late and Pete Rock is no exception. The eccentric American rapper, DJ and producer hails from the Bronx and has produced tracks for Run DMC, Nas, Public Enemy and the late Biggie Smalls. He's also well known for his collaborations with the Wu-tang Clan and most notably his contribution to Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', which itself is absolutely epic. As if that wasn't enough, Mr Rock is an established DJ: he's remixed countless singles for music artists (Mary J Blige, Madonna, The Roots to name a few) and has played to live audiences around the world. He mixes his own flavour of hip hop – a combo of jazz and funk – along with samples from anything from country music to motown classics. He is definitely in a league of his own and you will be too if you get along to see him blow your mind with his skillz.
Put Shannon Martinez in charge of a menu and plant-based delights will await. Neon Dreams, a just-announced addition to Vivid Sydney 2025, is the latest example of that statement proving true. Popping up at Darling Harbour — transforming the Pier Street underpass, in fact — this event is an ode to American diners of the 1950s. Expect Happy Days flashbacks, and also Martinez's takes on burgers, mac 'n' cheese, milkshakes and jelly doughnuts. Expect a roller rink for a pre- or post-meal skate, too. "We all know and love the classic American diner menu, and what we have planned for Neon Dreams will be even more delicious. You won't even notice it's completely plant-based," advises the acclaimed chef. "All this with a retro aviation fitout and some roller-skating — let's just say Vivid Sydney hasn't seen anything like this before." [caption id="attachment_999006" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kristoffer Paulsen[/caption] As Martinez notes, the decor will fit the seven-decades-back theme, but also have another skew. If you've ever wanted to see a mail plane turned into a DJ booth — where the tunes spun will set the mood for hitting the rink — that's also on offer. For those having a skate, the venue will be fully accessible, including for wheelchairs and mobility aids. Back to the menu, you'll also be able to sip low-waste cocktails made with foraged and native ingredients — think: lemon myrtle margaritas and Illawarra plum sours — when Neon Dreams runs across Vivid's dates of Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14. The overall festival isn't done expanding its food lineup yet, just days after it also added Martha Stewart chatting about her career and her lifestyle empire to the program — and with Nigella Lawson's touch on its culinary side part of 2025's event since the program first dropped. So, alongside Neon Dreams, the festival will also boast Hollywood Dreaming, a 23-night roster of events in the Hollywood Quarter in Surry Hills. There'll be bites to eat, and also films, music and performances — and, thanks to shindigs called Hollywood Dreaming: A Taste of HQ and Hollywood Dreaming: Foy Lane Lights Up, there'll be two huge free street parties. Accordingly, you can head by during Vivid's full run to hit up The Food Trail, where exclusive menus will be on offer at the precinct's restaurants and bars; The Neon Trail, which is where iconic movies come in; and The Gig Trail, aka live tunes and shows at Hollywood Hotel, Paramount House Hotel Rooftop and Butter. Or, make a date with A Taste of HQ on Saturday, May 31 and Foy Lane Lights Up on Saturday, June 14. The first will shut Foster Street to traffic and focus on al fresco dining, aided by Firedoor, Nomad, Gildas, Nel, Kiln, Poly, Brooklyn Boy Bagels, Alberto's Lounge, Tio's Cerveceria and Butter. The second, produced by Ace Hotel, will feature a curated digital art show, plus live tunes and pop-up snack options. "In 2025, Vivid Food offers a range of experiences for all tastes and price points. Neon Dreams and the Hollywood Dreaming program are perfect examples of Vivid Sydney constantly innovating and providing visitors with new and financially accessible experiences," explains Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini. "Darling Harbour will be the place for family friendly fun, with Neon Dreams surrounded by captivating light installations and free live music. Shannon Martinez is an absolute rock star in the culinary world, and we're excited for visitors to experience it for themselves. "After dark, Surry Hills will come alive throughout the entire festival for Hollywood Dreaming, where you can dine, drink and dance your way through the Hollywood Quarter." Vivid Sydney 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14 across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information.
If a certain bespectacled boy wizard and two best friends have taught us anything, it's that life really is magical sometimes. Take the latest Harry Potter-themed event, which we're certain is going to become the next big pop culture/fitness craze craze. Who doesn't want to bend and stretch in a HP yoga class? Yep, on October 30, the folks at Circle Brewing Co in Austin, Texas did something even more wonderful than make delicious alcoholic beverages; they made many a Harry Potter fan's dreams come true. It's part of their Pints & Poses series (which seriously sounds like our kind of exercise), and was held as both a fun Halloween and Dia de los Muertos-esque shindig, and a celebration of the life of Lily and James Potter on the eve of the anniversary of their passing. Attendees worked Slytherin cobra and Whomping Willow poses, wielded wands to summon a Patronus and cast off Dementors, and were told to "imagine you're sitting on the Hogwarts Express," according to Cosmopolitan in the US. They also ate sorting hat-shaped cookies, visited a potion station, and, afterwards, everyone had a pint of Circle (non-butter)beer. Of course they did. The class was so popular that two more are now slated for November, should you happen to be in the vicinity this month. Given that we already have silent yoga, silent disco yoga, cat yoga, blindfolded yoga, hip hop yoga, brewhouse yoga, rooftop yoga, Beyonce yoga, Drake yoga and stand-up paddleboard yoga on our fair shores, it really is the kind of thing that someone in Australia ought to conjure up, and fast. Accio fitness, and all that. Images: Circle Brewing Co.
Fine dining can drift into performance — more chef's narrative, less dinner. At Singapore's Marguerite, Chef Patron Michael Wilson has made a series of choices to dismantle that rigour: an open kitchen that reads like a row of domestic island benches, total accessibility to the pass, and a standing invitation to wander over, ask questions, or simply watch. The atmosphere is notably calm — no barked orders, no theatre for theatre's sake — which makes a long tasting menu feel less like a marathon and more like an unhurried, convivial evening. The setting is singular. Marguerite lives inside the city's famed Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay — the world's largest glass greenhouse — and the restaurant leans into that sense of immersion. Plants thread through the room and curl around tabletops set with course-specific cutlery and crockery collected on Wilson's travels. In contrast, a ten-seat private room — inspired by mountain peaks and cumulus clouds — is wrapped in deep blue, burgundy, grey and dark forest green. Singapore's climate complicates strict seasonality. When your pantry can include Australian finger limes, New Zealand lamb and French cream for house-churned butter, "place" becomes a choice. Marguerite chooses freely — loosely French in spirit, but adapted for the tropics with lighter sauces, smaller bites and lucid riffs on classics. Steak frites becomes a bite-sized potato tart filled with tartare and crowned with a fried quail egg; ajo blanco appears as an ethereal foam; and New Caledonian prawn paste is transformed into delicate "tagliolini", glossed with clear spiced consommé and bright aromatics. Course after course arrives like edible sleight of hand — entire plates of flavour distilled into a mouthful. Pairings echo the kitchen's precision. Alongside a generous, far-reaching wine match, Marguerite's Temperance program offers non-alcoholic pairings — clarified juices and fermented jun tea — designed to deliver complexity without cloying sweetness. A mixed "demi" option straddles both. Service keeps the tone grounded and genuine throughout. Wilson's path explains the poise. Melbourne-born, he worked with Andrew McConnell and Guy Grossi before earning a Michelin star at Phénix in Shanghai just five months after opening. Marguerite followed in November 2021 and earned its own star within eight months, showcasing what he calls "creative cuisine" — craft, provenance and produce brought into clear focus. All bookings at Marguerite include a complimentary limousine buggy to and from the Gardens entrance and Flower Dome access for a pre- or post-meal stroll. Images: Supplied
We're off the see The Wizard again: in not one but two movies, the first arriving in cinemas in November 2024 and the second in 2025, the wonderful world of Oz is returning to screens. It took a mere two years for L Frank Baum's 1900-published book to reach the theatre, with the debut film version following almost four decades later. Now, 85 years have passed since The Wizard of Oz initially entranced cinemas. Its latest big-screen comeback owes debts to both the page and the stage, but beyond the novel that started it all. Wicked first enchanted in print in 1995, when author Gregory Maguire conjured up an alternative Oz-set tale. Since 2003, it has worked its magic as a Tony-winning Broadway musical, before it too makes the eagerly anticipated leap to picture palaces. The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the novel's subtitle, explains Wicked's focus. Whether reading the book, seeing the play or watching the upcoming two features, audiences are whisked into origin-story territory — not only for the green-skinned Elphaba but for Glinda. At the Land of Oz's Shiz University, the pair meet and, despite their differences, cement a friendship. Even before they cross paths with The Wizard, everyone who has ever seen Judy Garland follow the yellow brick road with the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Man knows Elphaba and Glinda's destinies. Giving Wicked the movie treatment: a wide-ranging cast and crew led by director Jon M Chu, with the Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker making his second and third stage-to-screen musicals in succession following In the Heights. On-screen, he's enlisted Emmy-, Grammy- and Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo (Pinocchio) as the misunderstood Elphaba, Ariana Grande (Don't Look Up) as Glinda and none other than Jeff Goldblum (Kaos) as The Wizard, plus Michelle Yeoh (A Haunting in Venice), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and more. Off-screen, a six-time Oscar-nominee — five of them for Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) films — also couldn't be more pivotal. When Academy Award recognition comes your way for art direction on The Prestige and The Dark Knight, then for production design on Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet — and for Damien Chazelle's First Man as well — jumping to Oz on Wicked's two parts might seem like a massive change. But English production designer Nathan Crowley is interested in world-building first and foremost, and has been ever since his first screen credit on as a junior set designer on 1991's Hook. Also on his resume recently: The Greatest Showman and Wonka. And, he's a veteran of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Braveheart, Mission: Impossible II, Escape From LA, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, John Carter and the Westworld TV series as well. When you're taking a well-trodden path thanks to multiple books, the Wizard of Oz movie that's been beloved for generations, blockbuster stage musicals, and everything from The Wiz to Oz: The Great and Powerful, you're embarking on an enormous task. That isn't lost on Crowley, he tells Concrete Playground, although the full scope dawned on him slowly. Not only does he need to bring Oz to life beyond the painted backdrops of the Garland-starring film, but he has the job of creating Shiz University — not to mention a field filled with nine-million tulips as part of Munchkinland and a throne room featuring a mechanical version of Goldblum's head, plus various forms of transport, such as by rail, river and air. Ahead of the first Wicked film's release in cinemas — including premiering at Sydney's State Theatre on Sunday, November 3, with Erivo, Grande, Goldblum, Bailey, fellow stars Marissa Bode (a screen debutant) and Ethan Slater (The Marvellous Mrs Maisel), plus director Chu, all in attendance — we also chatted with Crowley about those nine-million flowers, the joy of practical effects, aiming to get audiences to fall into a fantastical world, what he makes of his career so far and more. On How Planting a Field of Nine-Million Tulips in Norfolk Is Symbolic of the Scale of the Task of Bringing Wicked to the Screen "It was the first major challenge for me. My thing is, I love doing things practically because there's a colossal joy to it. So one of the first challenges was: what do all the munchkins do? I need something for them to do in their village. Okay, they're flower farmers and they use the dyes to make colours, because they're colourful people. And so each house, that allowed me lots of scope with the colours of the buildings. So then it was like — and I think it must have been Jon — 'well, what if it's the colours of the rainbow?'. Which is a massive thing. So then what goes in strips of colour? Tulips? You grow tulips in strips of colour. So that's kind of where 'oh we need tulips'. And then it was like 'well, let's grow them'. It was myself and the location manager Adam [Richards, Wonka], who I've worked with many times before. It like 'where can we grow tulips? We can go up to Norfolk'. He found a tulip farmer and was like 'let's go up there and see if we can grow'. I'm going quickly, but there's lots of between. I planted 500 acres of corn in Interstellar in Canada. So I've been a farmer before and I knew if could find the right farmer — and with Adam's help, because ultimately it was crown property; I needed it to be without trees, because in Oz trees are circular. I needed it to be a perfectly large sky, a tulip sky. So we found Mark the farmer, who's just simply brilliant, and he got us our bulbs. Then I had to go back to the production and explain: 'we have a field, we have permission from crown properties to plant, you need to write a check for tulips. You've got to get them from Holland. And we've got to get them in the ground quickly before it freezes'. When you're a flower farmer, you've got to get the bulbs in the ground. And so there's a lot of umming and aahing, and it was difficult, but I think it set the pace of what we were trying to achieve. And Jon, and Donna Langley from Universal, was very into it. She was like 'I love it. Let's do it'. We planted them and we got to know the farmer. He was into it, and we got the colours — and it was just a great life experience. You need to step out of your department occasionally and get into the real world. So, practical filmmaking. So that started it off, and then of course, it snowballs. But they all grew, they all worked. It was brilliant." On Valuing Practical Effects in Age Where CGI Is Everywhere in Visual Effects — and Combining the Two "That [CGI] is very powerful tool now. But you have many tools. We have 120 years of filmmaking experience. My thing is if we can make it enough for real, and light it and get real photography, we can tell visual effects what it should look like and their job becomes symbiotic with ours — and we become one rather than working as a line. So I always feel the balance is essential and we can do it. I guess it's so obvious to me that you build as much as you can until you can't foe whatever reasons: landscape, weather, money, time. So you have to balance it — and then if you balance it, and this really goes back to the audience in the cinema, can you not make them not notice how you did it? Can you do a film, especially a fancy film, where they don't pay attention, they're into the film, they're not paying attention, nothing bounces them out, so you fall into the film? Ever since I was little, when I go to the cinema, I want to fall into the telling of the story. And so I believe that we almost have to go quietly — and to do that, I strongly believe you have to do it practically, because if you suddenly cut to visual effects, I think audiences know that. The emotion is taken away from the audience. It flattens it. So if you can make it seamless, I don't want the audience to notice. Because then you're just in it and you're into the emotion of it." On the Massive the Scope in Not Just Bringing One of the 21st Century's Biggest Stage Musicals to the Screen, But Reimagining Much That's Crucial to The Wizard of Oz "I guess I was a little naive about how big Wicked, the stage show, was. I had three daughters who had grown up and they were like 'what, oh my god!'. And The Wizard of Oz, to me, they sit side by side. What was brilliant is that Wicked is the alternative story to The Wizard of Oz — so together, what a piece of cinema. The realisation I had to recreate Oz kind of slowly dawned on me. And that was like 'oh'. It was like 'Jesus, we've got to remake, we've got to figure out Emerald City'. And Emerald City was just a painting on a backdrop, and everyone's childhood, everyone's reimagined what that is — it's very clever. Everyone's filled in all the blanks of what they didn't show you. So we're going to tread on people's nostalgia for Emerald City — and how do we do that? And then you've got the Wicked fans, there's little things that they want in the film, Shiz details, and it's very important. But luckily we had Marc Platt [the film's producer, and also the stage musical's], who's all things Wicked. So he was my constant guide to Wicked. And then Wizard of Oz was just making sure I didn't hurt and I enlarged people's opinion of what Oz is, rather than shrunk it. So, it was a massive challenge. The biggest challenges, the two films in my career that sit as giant design challenges: Wicked and Interstellar. And they both hurt your head. It's not a physical thing, it's like they hurt your design brain. On How the Wicked Set Became the Most Complex of Crowley's Career So Far "First of all, it was the design, because Shiz, there's so many versions of Shiz — the school, Hogwarts, Cambridge, there's all these perceived ideas. So, one, you have to find a design. And secondly, I realised that the first day of school when everyone comes in, we've got no horse and carriages because the animals aren't enslaved. We've got no trains because they belong to The Wizard, and we have to introduce them later. We can't come by airship, because the balloon belongs to The Wizard. There's no cars. So how do you get anywhere in Oz? And then it was like 'oh, we go by a river' — which is a tradition. Of course we go by river. But what that means is the set, we have to build a giant water tank for the set so we can row the boat into the Shiz courtyard. And of course I like everything practically, so it's like 'we've got to build a giant water tank that takes seven days to fill'. And that was a challenge because, if you know about practical filmmaking, there's never been a tank that didn't leak. So you have a servicing problem with it. Every tank always leaks. Then Shiz for me was about finding architecture. The Wizard of Oz is an American fairy tale, so I need Americana, so White City of Chicago, 1893 World's Exposition, those giant Burnham and Root arches. I need to put some Americana in it. I need to put the scale of America in it. But then I need the nostalgia of every great ancient educational facility. So I need you to, when you walk into to Shiz, you feel this sort of ancient learning vibe. I need to take architecture from all over the world and change the materials of it, and try to blend it — from onion domes to Venice staircases. So I was really trying to make it fantastical, but familiar. So when you watch it, you'll see something that's kind of familiar to you. And if you've been a tourist in in Italy, you'll feel it a bit — or if you've been to Spain, to the Alhambra, you'll feel it a bit. Or maybe a little bit of Melbourne. Not much Georgian architecture, I'm afraid. On the Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity of Building a Throne Room Around a Mechanical Version of Jeff Goldblum's Head "It was so exciting. Every film has influenced the last one. So back on The Prestige — and really Bram Stoker's Dracula, we did automatons and mechanics, and we had to puppeteer the head and get expressions. So the joy of realising we had, one, a phenomenal special effects scene. Who could do that? And puppeteer it? And then secondly, okay, we've got the head, and if we could come through the curtain and say 'I am Oz' and put an eye through it, that's exciting. But then you think, 'well, what about the curtain?'. And so we came up with all these string curtains, it's almost like an art installation. We sat there for a very long time with drapers and mechanical people. We'd sit there at the end of the day and try all different things. And we had Joss [Carter, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom], the puppeteer, who was just brilliant. It comes down to just trying something, developing it and and being with the right people. And it's people — you're with all these people, and they're all creative, and the fun out of it is remarkable." On What Crowley Makes of His Career Three-Decade-Plus Career in Cinema So Far — and What Gets Him Excited About a New Project "I think when I look back, I just think 'wow, I got a bit lucky with the people I met'. There's a huge part of luck in if you happen to bump into the right people when you're younger. It's just like if you turn left at a certain time. So I look back at it and wonder 'how did all that happen?'. And I just like to get excited. So what does that mean now? Still to this day, I remember walking on to the old MGM lot for my first day at Hook and there was a ship on stage 27. They built a water tank. There was a ship in it, the Hook ship. It was giant, and it was just like 'this is incredible'. [caption id="attachment_614251" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Interstellar[/caption] So I'm really just looking to world-build. Films like Wonka and Wicked opened those doors — things I've not done before. I wouldn't have said, I couldn't have said to you that I would end up making lots of musicals. To me, that wasn't even in my mind when we were doing Interstellar. 'I do lots of musicals? You're going to do four musicals?' I couldn't imagine that, but they've been some of the most-interesting design jobs I've ever had. So definitely new experiences, new journeys. You've got to keep yourself interested, you especially as you get older." Wicked releases in Australian cinemas on Thursday, November 21, 2024, with limited previews on Wednesday, November 20 — and tickets for the latter on sale now.
No one needs an excuse to visit Tasmania, especially if you're keen to enjoy the Apple Isle's splendours in winter, but Dark Mofo has been giving us all one anyway for a decade. One of two massive festivals run by the Museum of Old and New Art alongside summer event Mona Foma, it's home to a dark and sinister music and arts program befitting the frosty June weather — and it'll be back again in 2023. The next fest will see Dark Mofo officially hit ten years, in fact — and will run from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, if you're already thinking about how to spend the frostiest part next year. While it'll clearly be a big birthday party, with the program to be announced in autumn, the festival will also mark Creative Director Leigh Carmichael's last at the helm. [caption id="attachment_763673" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Remi Chauvin[/caption] Carmichael will step down after Dark Mofo 2023, making way for a new Artistic Director from 2024 onwards. "I feel that after ten years curating the Dark Mofo program, it's time for new energy and new ideas to move the festival forward," Carmichael said in a statement. "Dark Mofo occupies an important place in the Australian arts landscape, and I am confident that it will continue to provide opportunities for artists and audiences to experience challenging art in the darkest weeks of the year. I will be devoting more time and energy into DarkLab's other cultural projects, and pushing for better venues and more public infrastructure for Hobart so that it can cement its place as a vibrant cultural city." [caption id="attachment_849628" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Blue Rose Ball. Photo credit: Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2018. Image of Société Anonyme Costume Ball Hadley's Orient Hotel. Image courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] Previous years' lineups have seen a fantastical combination of musical performances, performance art and large-scale installations come together. In 2019, the program featured the likes of artists Ai Weiwei and Mike Parr, American musician Sharon Van Etten and one of the world's largest glockenspiels, for instance. In 2022, patrons were treated to performances by The Kid LAROI, and the sounds of Chernobyl and Candyman — plus rainbow installations, and signature festivities such as the Nude Solstice Swim, the City of Hobart Winter Feast, Night Mass: Transcendence in the In The Hanging Garden precinct and the Reclamation Walk. Already keen to get booking? Fancy a Tasmania trip in the interim? Our Concrete Playground Trips Hobart getaway might also be of interest. [caption id="attachment_800592" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lusy Productions[/caption] Dark Mofo 2023 will run from Thursday, June 8–Thursday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania. The 2023 program will be announced in autumn. Top image: Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2021. Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2021. Image courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 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.
When an arts festival gifts its chosen city with shows, it also brightens up the darkness whenever its program spills into venues and spaces around town after night falls. Many such fests like taking that idea literally. At Brisbane Festival, for example, after-dark light event Lightscape was on the lineup in 2023 and 2024, getting the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens glowing. The same fest is heading to the same place in 2025, but with something different: the fiery Afterglow. Brisbane is hosting the world-premiere run of this luminous experience, which is part of the 2025 Brisbane Festival program. Across Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27, Afterglow will fill one of the River City CBD's leafiest parts with fire sculptures and candlelit installations, and also live performances. If you want to be among the first on the planet to enjoy it, you'll need to be in the Queensland capital. At Afterglow, you'll wander. You'll follow the flame-lined 1.4-kilometre path through an inner-city patch of greenery. You'll soak in the work of fire artists, too, and you'll watch the evening blaze away in the process. "Across time and cultures, people have always felt a connection to fire — as an element of nature, a force of renewal, or a symbol of ceremony and ritual," said Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina, announcing Afterglow as part of 2025's lineup. "Afterglow is a slow-burn experience, an invitation to deliberately and respectfully engage with the artistry and power of fire." [caption id="attachment_1008781" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] If this sounds familiar, that might be because you're thinking of Fire Gardens, another installation event with flames at its centre. It was last in Australia in 2024 for Illuminate Adelaide — and back in 2019, it was meant to also be part of the Brisbane Festival program. A hit everywhere from Stonehenge to the Pont du Gard before it began making stops Down Under, Fire Gardens hails from French art collective Compagnie Carabosse, a group that has been starting fires professionally for more than two decades. Its planned Brisbane trip six years ago didn't eventuate, however, due to devastating bushfires carving a destructive path across the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast at the time, plus a total fire ban that was put in place across southeast Queensland as a result. Afterglow is completely separate to Fire Gardens, though — and will run every 15 minutes each evening across its dates from 5.45pm. The trail is family friendly, and also accessible. The event falls within the jam-packed 2025 Brisbane Festival program, which also includes a Gatsby-themed show and pop-up club, turning some of the city's pedestrian bridges into an art trail, a tribute to beloved restaurant Sultan's Kitchen, and a world-premiere dance work by acclaimed choreographer Benjamin Millepied and LA Dance Project, to name just a few of its 106 productions and 1069 performances. [caption id="attachment_1008784" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Ogilvy[/caption] Afterglow will take over the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, Alice Street, Brisbane between Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27, 2025 during Brisbane Festival. For more information and tickets, head to the fest's website. Brisbane Festival 2025 runs from Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27 at various venues around Brisbane. Head to the fest's website for tickets and further details. Top image: Mellumae and Sean Dowling. All images: Sony Music Entertainment.
In a river city like Brisbane, eating, sipping and kicking back by the water — or in sight of it — is the hospitality holy grail. That's true along Eagle Street, where waterside restaurants and bars pair their menus with impressive vistas. And it's a big drawcard at Tillerman, the CBD roadway's latest addition, which has just opened its doors inside Riparian Plaza. A restaurant can't get by on views alone, of course. Tillerman's riverfront location includes a vantage over the river across to the Story Bridge, with that sparkling vision able to be glimpsed from all tables. But restaurateurs Andrew and Jaimee Baturo, plus Naga Thai chef Suwisa Phoonsang, want their food and drink offering — and the just-opened venue's decor and mood, too — to be as much of an attraction. Initially announced in August and now serving customers from lunch onwards from Tuesday–Saturday, Tillerman marks the latest collaboration between the Baturos and Phoonsang, after Naga Thai has shut its doors at Eagle Street Pier — the fact that the riverside precinct is being torn down to make way for a new $2.1-billion development will do that. Clearly the trio can't get enough of that part of the CBD, or the waterfront. And this time, nestled into the mezzanine level between Madam Wu and River Bar, they're focusing on seafood, that watery backdrop and a relaxed holiday-style vibe. "Locations like this don't come around very often and Tillerman gave us the idea of designing a restaurant where you can be transported, maybe through the charm of the coastal menu, or simply admiring the exceptional view in comfort with a glass in hand," said Andrew Baturo. "Tillerman's been created for the warm Queensland climate and will you'll want to stay all day." First, the decor — with Brisbane's Hogg & Lamb taking cues from travel across a timber-heavy setup that seats guests at both high and low tables, banquettes and mini booths. Spotted gum features heavily around the 120-seater space, the main bar spans ten metres in legnth, and floral and botanical prints help add a breezy, comfortable feel. Textured porphyry stone sits among the floorboards, too, and pendant lighting adds a glow. Plus, three backlit portholes draw the eye while adding a touch of nautical theming. For folks looking for an intimate dining experience with their nearest and dearest, there's also a glam private dining room behind a sheer copper curtain, with a wine wall lining one side. In the kitchen, Phoonsang has designed a menu that's guided by fresh, premium seafood, rather than a particular cuisine or culture — but the culinary range takes inspiration from the best dishes found around the world. Highlights include Fremantle octopus carpaccio, salmon jerky, kingfish with crepes, fish of the day served with nuoc cham, Balmain bugs and salt-baked Murray cod, spanning both small bites and mains. Tillerman doesn't only serve up seafood, though. Among the other standouts: wagyu flanks, chicken roulade, pork spare ribs with dark rum and candied cherry tomatoes, and goose frites with cherry vinegar. And, for dessert, choices cover rum and raisin deep-fried ice cream, lemon meringue pie, and chocolate mousse with brown butter, confit-spiced pear, peanut praline and cocoa sorbet. The drinks lineup also nods in a clear direction: the world's oceans and waterways, fittingly. With that in mind, Tillerman's signature martini is called is the Mariner Martini, and uses Never Never Oyster Shell Gin. Or, there are four types of daiquiris built on Plantation 3 Stars white rum, plus six gin and tonics. Flavours to look out for include earl grey, lemon and fennel, musk, and watermelon and cucumber among the daiquiris, and elderflower, hibiscus and rosemary in the G&Ts. The vino offering spans 30 wines via Coravin from a 150-tipple list all up, with whites from Veneto and Margaret River, pinot noirs from the Mornington Peninsula, and reds such as grenache and chilled provencal rosés a big feature. And, as well as bubbles, the sherry and port selection gets a hefty focus, while the full drinks range also covers beer, cider and spirits. Find Tillerman on the mezzanine level inside Riparian Plaza, 71 Eagle Street, Brisbane — open from 11.30am–2.30pm Tuesday–Saturday for lunch; 3–5.30pm Tuesday–Saturday for drinks, snacks and starters; and 5.30pm–late Tuesday–Saturday for dinner. Food images: Judit Losh.
Believe: it's the one-word slogan that helped a fictional football club change its mindset and its fortunes on the turf, and truly become a team. IRL, it was even adopted by the AFL's Brisbane Lions on their way to winning the 2024 premiership. It's also what Ted Lasso fans have been doing since 2023, having faith that the kindhearted Jason Sudeikis-starring Apple TV+ hit would return after its third season seemed to wrap up the show's storyline. That belief has proven well-founded: Ted Lasso is officially returning for season four. And yes, lead and executive producer Sudeikis (Hit-Monkey) will be there with it, stepping back into his two-time Emmy-winning role, donning the American-in-London coach's moustache again and presumably continuing to improve the character's knowledge of soccer. Keen to know what's in store? Other details are scarce for now, including who else among the cast will be returning. Brendan Hunt (Bless This Mess), aka Coach Beard, has been named among the new season's producers, however — a behind-the-camera role he also held in the first three seasons — so fingers crossed that he'll be back on-screen, too. Announcing Ted Lasso's fourth season, Sudeikis did provide broad details about the theme in the spotlight this time around. "As we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to 'look before we leap', in season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to leap before they look, discovering that wherever they land, it's exactly where they're meant to be," he shared. "Ted Lasso has been nothing short of a juggernaut, inspiring a passionate fanbase all over the world, and delivering endless joy and laughter, all while spreading kindness, compassion and unwavering belief. Everyone at Apple is thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Jason and the brilliant creative minds behind this show," said Apple TV+ Head of Programming Matt Cherniss about the fourth season. Bill Lawrence, who co-developed Ted Lasso with Sudeikis, Hunt and Joe Kelly (Detroiters) — and who has been busy on the also-warmhearted Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking, which he co-created with its star Jason Segel (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) and Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein (The Garfield Movie) — will be back for season four as an executive producer as well. How will Ted Lasso pick up from the end of season three? Will Goldstein return — and be here, there and everywhere — as Roy Kent? Is everyone from Juno Temple (Venom: The Last Dance), Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy), Jeffrey Swift (Sweetpea) and Nick Mohammed (Renegade Nell) to Phil Dunster (Surface), Toheeb Jimoh (The Power), Cristo Fernandez (Sonic the Hedgehog 3), Kola Bokinni (Foresight), Billy Harris (The Outlaws) and James Lance (The Famous Five) also coming back? Hopefully more will be revealed soon, although recent reports have mentioned Goldstein, Waddingham, Swift and Mohammed's involvement, as well as possibly Hunt and Temple. There's no trailer yet for Ted Lasso's fourth season, understandably, but check out the trailer for season three below: Season four of Ted Lasso will stream via Apple TV+ — we'll update you when a release date is announced. Read our full review of season two and season three, and our interview with Brendan Hunt.
Big names from Australia and overseas. A new stage dedicated to dance music. A health and wellness zone with guided meditation and ice baths. With the returning lantern parade, too, as well as Steven Bradbury hosting the Great Australian Pineapple Toss and the onsite ferris wheel offering a helluva view, that's how The Big Pineapple Festival is making the most of its 2025 event. After announcing its Saturday, November 1 date earlier in the year, the Sunshine Coast fest has unveiled its lineup and more about its plans to mark its ten-year anniversary. Leading the bill: Hilltop Hoods, The Cat Empire, The Jungle Giants and PNAU, as well as Polaris, SIX60, Hands Like Houses, MKTO, Rum Jungle and Thelma Plum. Superlove Arena, that purpose-built haven for electronic tunes, will feature Baauer, Bushbaby, Anna Lunoe B2B Nina Las Vegas, KLP B2B Mell Hall, Little Fritter B2B Wongo, Paluma B2B Kessin, Shimmy and Raw Ordio. And Betty Taylor, Beckah Amani, HEADSEND and IVANA are also on the fest's lineup as well, all helping the event back up being named the Festival of the Year for the fourth time at the 2025 Queensland Music Awards. For those keen to dance in the shadow of a giant piece of tropical fruit — and one of Australia's most-famous big things — hitting Pineapple Fields in Woombye also comes with the option of camping, whether you'll be bringing your own tent, hiring one onsite or glamping. "When we started this festival years ago, our goal was to put Australian artists front and centre, and create an unforgettable experience for fans," said Mark Pico, The Big Pineapple Festival's Founder and Festival Director. "To be here over a decade later with the festival stronger than ever and even earning industry awards again ... is incredibly humbling. It's a testament to the amazing community of artists, attendees and partners who have believed in The Big Pineapple Festival from the start." The Big Pineapple Festival 2025 Lineup Hilltop Hoods The Cat Empire The Jungle Giants PNAU Polaris SIX60 Hands Like Houses MKTO Rum Jungle Thelma Plum Baauer Bushbaby Anna Lunoe B2B Nina Las Vegas KLP B2B Mell Hall Little Fritter B2B Wongo Paluma B2B Kessin Shimmy Raw Ordi Betty Taylor Beckah Amani HEADSEND IVANA The Big Pineapple Festival returns on Saturday, November 1, 2025, with presale tickets available from 8am AEST on Monday, July 28 and general tickets from 8am AEST on Tuesday, July 29. Head to the fest's website for more details. Select images: Claudia Ciapocha / Charlie Hardy.
Donald Glover's filmography is expanding, as is his directorial resume as well. The next time that he graces a movie, the star also known as Childish Gambino play a hit musician on-screen, in a flick that he's helming himself. If it seems like art imitating life, however, we're betting that IRL Glover — whether or not he's in his Gambino guise — hasn't found himself on an island teeming with greenery, largely devoid of people and also home to giant animals. In the just-dropped trailer for Bando Stone & the New World, Glover is the film's namesake — "the singer: 'Starlight', 'Let's Make It Happen', 'Party Monkey'," he tells a woman (Jessica Allain, The Continental: From the World of John Wick) pointing a gun his way when they cross paths in a convenience store. She doesn't know who he is, has a kid in tow and is on a mission to get to the other side of the island. But they can only move during the daytime, because at night is "when everything comes out". By everything, the movie means a massive boar, octopus and flock of flightless birds, plus glowing laser netting and structures — all of which Bando is ill-equipped for. "Can you shoot? Can you hunt? Do you know how to fish? Do you know how to set a trap?" he's asked. His reply: "I can sing". Bando Stone & the New World will mark Glover's feature directorial debut, after helming a short film as Childish Gambino, his own music videos, and episodes of both Atlanta and Swarm. The script comes courtesy of Evi Wilder, while Glover's frequent collaborator Hiro Murai — who has directed a heap of his music videos as well, plus 26 Atlanta instalments, two episodes of the 2024 Mr & Mrs Smith series and 2019 movie Guava Island — is an executive producer. As for the soundtrack, that's unsurprisingly springing from Gambino. Exactly when the film will drop, other than 2024, hasn't been revealed — and nor has any Down Under release plans. It's headed for big screens in the US, though, with the trailer announcing that it's an exclusive IMAX event. Whether audiences in Australia and New Zealand will get to see Bando Stone & the New World before Childish Gambino brings his latest tour this way in 2025 also hasn't been advised so far. Check out the trailer for Bando Stone & The New World below: Bando Stone & the New World doesn't yet have a release date, other than 2024 — we'll update you when more details are announced.
Missed La Soiree last time it played in Brisbane? Heard everyone you know — and everyone they know — talk about it? You'd best redress that gap in your theatre-going this time, or prepare for another year or so of being told how great it is. For ten years, La Soiree has travelled the world showcasing their blend of cabaret, new burlesque, circus sideshow and contemporary vaudeville. So far, so standard; however, their efforts really do defy definition, let alone expectation. You've never been to a show quite like it, to put it plainly. Take everything you think you know about acrobats, contortionists and chanteuses, and throw it out the window. Developed by the performers behind La Clique and featuring an ever-changing lineup of performers, La Soiree is spicier, stranger and funnier — and with more glamour and fewer inhibitions — than an average night's entertainment, or an unusual evening's show, come to think of it. You'll not only find out why it has won awards and hearts in tandem, but you'll also get up close and personal to the action. Here, every audience member sits on stage within touching distance of the performers. Yes really. Image by Prudence Upton.
We know that we can't grow outwards forever. So coming up with new and better ways of growing upwards is high on the global architectural agenda. That's why, for nine years now, eVolo magazine has been running an international skyscraper competition. Designers from all over the world are invited to come up with groundbreaking visions for vertical living. This year, 525 entries were submitted from 43 nations. Here's what came out on top. First Prize: Vernacular Versatility Designed by Yong Ju Lee, this skyscraper can be built without a single nail. It's based on the Hakon, a traditional Korean housing style known for its curved wooden roofing, which is adjustable according to sunlight intensity. So far, it has only been applied to single-storey buildings, but contemporary software modelling is enabling the exploration of multi-storey possibilities. Second Prize: Car and Shell Skyscraper: Or Marinetti's Monster Envisioned by US-based creatives Mark Talbot and Daniel Markiewicz, the Car and Shell is a city in the sky, planned with Detroit in mind. All the elements of a regular suburb (footpaths, streets and constructions) are contained in a single cube. Third Prize: Propagate Skyscraper: Carbon Dioxide Structure Goodbye, construction team. The Propagate grows all by itself. It's made of hypothetical materials that are able to absorb carbon dioxide and transform it into, well, architectural extensions. Definitely the ultimate in sustainability. Honourable Mention: The Seawer This underwater UFO doesn't house people, but it does capture trash floating in the ocean and recycle it. Honourable Mention: Sand Babel These part underground, part aboveground solar-powered towers present a new way of living in eco-friendly comfort (and style) in the desert. Honourable Mention: Climatology Tower Not only is it the best terrarium ever, the Climatology Tower functions as a research centre where the focus is on healing our sickly environment through the analysis of microclimates and urban meteorology. Honourable Mention: Launchspire It might look like the set for the next Star Wars remake, but the Launchspire is actually an "electromagnetic vertical accelerator to eliminate the hydrocarbon dependency of aircraft during takeoff".
With 13 Academy Award nominations, Emilia Pérez has achieved a feat that no other film in a language other than English has ever managed before. The musical crime drama made history by earning the most amount of nods of any non-English movie, more than the ten received by both Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma in 2000 and 2018, respectively. When 2025's nominations were announced by Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Rachel Sennott (Saturday Night), Emilia Pérez unsurprisingly topped the list of all contenders this year. By the numbers, competing to take home a shiny statuette on Monday, March 3, Australian and New Zealand time, The Brutalist, Wicked, A Complete Unknown and Conclave all sit next on the list, with ten apiece to the first pair, and eight each for the second duo. This year, the Academy loves post-war explorations of the impact of trauma through architecture, stage-to-screen musicals inspired by classic flicks, Bob Dylan and feuding cardinals, clearly. All five of the aforementioned films are in the running for Best Picture, a field that also includes 2024 Cannes Palme d'Or-winner Anora, sandy sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two, body-horror gem The Substance, Brazilian political drama I'm Still Here and the page-to-screen Nickel Boys. Thanks to The Substance, this is the sixth year in a row that at least one Best Picture-nominee has been helmed by a female filmmaker. The creative force behind it, Coralie Fargeat, is also 2025's only woman in the Best Director category, somehow marking just the tenth time that a nomination in the field hasn't gone to a man in the Oscars' now 97-year history. From Down Under, The Brutalist's big bag of nods includes one for Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce, while cinematographer Greig Fraser is among Dune: Part Two's five nominations after winning for the first Dune. Equally huge local news: stop-motion delight Memoir of a Snail making Harvey Krumpet Oscar-winner Adam Elliot a nominee again, contending in the Best Animated Feature field. Among the other highlights, deeply moving animation Flow's two nods (for Best Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature), Demi Moore backing up her Golden Globe win with a Best Actress nomination for The Substance, Sebastian Stan getting recognised for The Apprentice, the latter's Jeremy Strong battling it out with his Succession brother Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) for Best Supporting Actor, must-see Japanese documentary Black Box Diaries scoring a spot and four nominations for Nosferatu all stand out. Chief among the surprise omissions is the Golden Globe-winning Challengers score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross not making the cut — but, as always, plenty of worth films don't make the cut every year and still remain worthy films. What and who else is hoping for some time in the spotlight at the Conan O'Brien-hosted ceremony in March? Here's the full list of nominations: Oscar Nominees 2025 Best Motion Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez I'm Still Here Nickel Boys The Substance Wicked Best Director Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, Brady Corbet A Complete Unknown, James Mangold Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard The Substance, Coralie Fargeat Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison, Anora Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I'm Still Here Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown Ariana Grande, Wicked Felicity Jones, The Brutalist Isabella Rossellini, Conclave Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice Best Original Screenplay Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg September 5, Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David The Substance, Coralie Fargeat Best Adapted Screenplay A Complete Unknown, James Mangold and Jay Cocks Conclave, Peter Straughan Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes Sing Sing, Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John 'Divine G' Whitfield Best International Feature Film I'm Still Here The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow Best Animated Feature Flow Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot Best Documentary Feature Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Sugarcane Best Original Score The Brutalist, Daniel Blumberg Conclave, Volker Bertelmann Emilia Pérez, Clément Ducol and Camille Wicked, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers Best Original Song 'El Mal', Emilia Pérez, Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard 'The Journey', The Six Triple Eight, Diane Warren 'Like A Bird', Sing Sing, Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada 'Mi Camino', Emilia Pérez, Camille and Clément Ducol 'Never Too Late', Elton John: Never Too Late, Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin Best Cinematography The Brutalist, Lol Crawley Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser Emilia Pérez, Paul Guilhaume Maria, Ed Lachman Nosferatu, Jarin Blaschke Best Film Editing Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, David Jancso Conclave, Nick Emerson Emilia Pérez, Juliette Welfling Wicked, Myron Kerstein Best Production Design The Brutalist, Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia Conclave, Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter Dune: Part Two, Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau Nosferatu, Craig Lathrop, Beatrice Brentnerová Wicked, Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales Best Visual Effects Alien: Romulus, Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan Better Man, Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs Dune: Part Two, Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke Wicked, Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould Best Costume Design A Complete Unknown, Arianne Phillips Conclave, Lisy Christl Gladiator II, Janty Yates and Dave Crossman Nosferatu, Linda Muir Wicked, Paul Tazewell Best Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man, Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado Emilia Pérez, Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini Nosferatu, David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne StokesMunton The Substance, Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli Wicked, Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth Best Sound A Complete Unknown, Tod A Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco Dune: Part Two, Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill Emilia Pérez, Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta Wicked, Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis The Wild Robot, Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A Rizzo and Leff Lefferts Best Documentary Short Subject Death by Numbers I Am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl in the Orchestra Best Animated Short Film Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress Magic Candies Wander to Wonder Yuck! Best Live-Action Short Film A Lien Anuja I'm Not a Robot The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent The 2025 Oscars will be announced on Monday, March 3, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Let's make some choices: this month, after a three-year wait, you can choose to dive back into Netflix's Groundhog Day-meets-The Good Place hit Russian Doll. Or, you can decide not to be a sweet birthday baby and do something else. We recommend the former, because spending time getting up, getting down and getting home before the mornin' comes with the smart and twisty Natasha Lyonne-starring show is always a good move, even when it's actively trying to melt your brain — which, as everyone who watched season one knows, is always. In Russian Doll's first batch of episodes, Orange Is the New Black, Irresistible and The United States vs Billie Holiday star Lyonne played Nadia, who had a 36th birthday she'd never forget — although she desperately wished that she could. The New Yorker kept attending a party in her honour, then dying, then repeating the experience while trying to work out what the hell was going on. Also trapped in a loop: the determined but neurotic Alan (Charlie Barnett, You), who lives around the corner from Nadia, and was a stranger until this day kept cycling over and over. When the show returns on Wednesday, April 20, Nadia is once again experiencing something wild. Now, however, she's a time traveller time prisoner, as she advises in the just-dropped full trailer for Russian Doll season two. "Inexplicable things happening is my entire modus operandi," she also notes — and based on this sneak peek, there's plenty of that coming her way. Alan is also caught up in the chaos again, with both characters jumping into their pasts quite literally, and into an intergenerational tale as a result. Accordingly, if you've ever wondered what happens when someone manages to conquer death, getting blasted into the past to trying to solve your family's unfinished business is it — in this series at least. Also returning: Nadia's closest pals Maxine and Lizzy (Sisters' Greta Lee and Werewolves Within's Rebecca Henderson), her godmother Ruthie (Elizabeth Ashley, Ocean's 8), her late mother Nora (Chloë Sevigny, The Girl From Plainview) and her cute roaming cat Oatmeal. Schitt's Creek and Kevin Can F**k Himself star Annie Murphy and District 9's Sharlto Copley join the cast — and co-creator Lyonne (alongside the one and only Amy Poehler, plus Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People filmmaker Leslye Headland) co-writes as she did last season, and directs as well. Given its focus on fate, logic, life's loops and wading through limbo — and, this time, the ties that bind and the troubles that echo as well — Russian Doll isn't short on twists. From both the new trailer and the initial sneak peek from back in March, NYC's subway system, a stash of gold lost on a train twice, graveyards and out-there parties all factor in. And yes, the chain-smoking Nadia is still as acerbic and misanthropic as ever, of course — because dying repeatedly and riding the rails into history can't change that. Check out the full trailer for Russian Doll's second season below: The second season of Russian Doll will be available to stream via Netflix on Wednesday, April 20. Read our review of the first season. Images: Netflix.
When the Melbourne International Film Festival kicked off its 2020 event on August 6, and did so with Kelly Reichardt's sublime First Cow, it really didn't matter that it wasn't all happening in person. We'd all rather be getting our three-week-long winter film fix in person, of course — crowding into cinemas, standing in snaking lines on Russell Street, making the mad dash along Swanston Street and braving Melbourne's frosty weather, as has been the case every other year — but a great movie remains a great movie whether it's opening a festival physically as we're all used to, or virtually as these COVID-19 times dictate. In MIFF's case, it doesn't just have one stellar film on its 2020 bill. MIFF 68 1/2, as this year's fest has been badged, really did start as it intends to continue. Until Sunday, August 23, at-home movie buffs can watch their way through more than 100 titles, including full-length fare and shorts, from the comfort of their couches — and from the fest's jam-packed features lineup, we've reviewed (and heartily recommend) these ten absolute highlights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_D5D7HayMc&feature=emb_logo EMA A new film by Pablo Larraín is always cause for excitement, and Ema is no different. In fact, it's a stunning piece of cinema that stands out even among the Chilean director's already impressive resume. He's the filmmaker behind stirring political drama No, exacting religious interrogation The Club, poetic biopic Neruda and the astonishing, Natalie Portman-starring Jackie — to name just a few of his movies — so that's no minor feat. This time, he hones in on the dancer (Mariana Di Girolamo) who gives the feature its name. After adopting a child with her choreographer partner Gastón (Gael García Bernal), something other than domestic bliss followed, and now she's not only trying but struggling to cope in the aftermath. Di Girolamo is magnetic, whether she's dancing against a vivid backdrop, staring pensively at the camera or being soaked in neon light, and Larraín's skill as both a visual- and emotion-driven filmmaker is never in doubt. Indeed, this film's imagery — and its exploration of trauma, shock and their impact — aren't easily forgotten. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFEgrIRp7s&feature=emb_logo ROSE PLAYS JULIE In Rose Plays Julie, a young Irish veterinary student born with the name Julie, adopted out to a new family as a baby and then given the moniker Rose (Vikings' Ann Skelly) begins a search for her birth mother (Orla Brady) — and then her biological father (Game of Thrones' Aidan Gillen), too. Don't go dismissing this potent, purposefully thorny and provocative film as a standard family drama, though, no matter how straightforward that description sounds. In a movie that plunges into disturbing thriller territory and seethes with tension from the outset, writer/directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawler have something very different and far more complex in mind. As brought to the screen with taut, precise visuals, a slow-burn pace and a layered performance by Skelly, Rose's foray into her past unearths a shatteringly tragic incident that could forever change the young woman's sense of self. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGscwJZ5rFA NO HARD FEELINGS Winning the Teddy Award at this year's Berlinale — the prize for the festival's standout film with LGBTQIA+ themes, as previously given to the likes of A Fantastic Woman and The Kids Are All Right— No Hard Feelings is the work of a certain rising star. It's writer/director Faraz Shariat's first film, it's partly based on its own experiences, and it deeply, thoughtfully, engagingly and vividly interrogates and explores the life of a queer man of Iranian descent who has spent his entire life in Germany. Parvis (Benny Radjaipour) was born and raised in Europe, and he's out and proud. Dancing and drinking the night away ranks among his favourite pastimes, alongside passionate Grindr hookups. But when he's sentenced to community service at a refugee centre after a stint of shoplifting, then befriends fellow Iranian Banafshe Arezu (Banafshe Hourmazdi) and sparks up a romance with her brother Amon (Eidin Jalali), the way he's seen by his adopted homeland — and the treatment afforded asylum seekers and anyone considered different — is firmly thrust into focus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN-mYRcJaf0&feature=emb_logo LAST AND FIRST MEN At present, every movie filled with everyday folks amassing in public, or even just hugging or shaking hands, feels more than a little like science fiction. We've said it before, and we're sure we'll say it again. And yet, while Last and First Men is an eerie and intelligent dystopian sci-fi film through and through, it doesn't feature a single person on-screen. Instead, the one and only movie directed by Oscar-nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, The Theory of Everything) before his 2018 death trains the camera at towering sculptures that prove instantly mesmerising to look at — and look, this movie does — and even a tad unsettling. The concept, as inspired by the 1930 novel of the same name, explained in lyrical waves of poetic prose spoken by Tilda Swinton, presented as a message from one of the earth's very last residents, and accompanied by a haunting score: several billion years into the future, after several leaps in evolution and drastic changes to life as we currently know it, humanity faces its extinction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVf8in0dj9s LA LLORONA In 2019, in one of the many spinoffs from The Conjuring franchise, The Curse of La Llorona dallied with Mexican folklore. The aim: to rustle up some formulaic scares, a task that proved largely unsuccessful but won't stop the blockbuster series from continuing to do what it does. Also first surfacing last year at international festivals, Guatemalan movie La Llorona isn't that film, thankfully. It's a feature about being haunted, too; however the ghosts caused by not just trauma but genocide, the ideology that enables such atrocities and the ongoing impact generations later all linger over this commanding, compelling and rightly award-winning psychological horror effort. The latest film by The Volcano's Jayro Bustamante, it follows the reckoning due to former army general Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz) over his state-sanctioned role in oppressing and attacking Guatemala's Mayan people three decades earlier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn5fZ5XwtZ4 JUST 6.5 Iranian actor Payman Maadi has many top-notch performances to his name, including in Asghar Farhadi's About Elly and A Separation, as well as in TV series The Night Of. Add Just 6.5 to the growing list, with the involving, hard-hitting crime drama casting him as a cop on the trail of drug traffickers — a job that, given the country's notoriously punishing treatment of those caught dealing illicit substances, is not only a tough and demanding gig day in and day out, but comes with grave consequences for the criminals he apprehends. Ramping up the tension to almost relentless levels, filmmaker Saeed Roustayi explores all sides of the law-and-order war against narcotics, from those slinging drugs for profit to the police officers battling to stem the flow. Aided by excellent portrayals not just by Maadi, but also co-star Navid Mohammadzadeh as the main man in his character's sights, this is a riveting thriller from start to finish — and a movie with much to say about the situation it grimly depicts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLWSW77iWTI KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN With Kill It and Leave This Town, veteran animator Mariusz Wilczyński unravels a surrealist nightmare that's unlike any other animated movie you've ever seen. The product of a decade's work, and also marking his feature filmmaking debut, it's set in communist-era Poland in the 60s and 70s — as everyday events, particularly interactions between parents and their children, beget waves of anxiety and absurdism drawn from the filmmaker's own experiences and memories. Both tender and tragic moments dance across the screen, as brought to life with a handmade aesthetic that's distinctive, disarmingly effective, and also channels the industrial-leaning paintings (no, not films) of none other than David Lynch. This is truly a movie that's best discovered by watching, and also a feature that can only be really appreciated by letting its visuals and vibe wash over you. Equally affecting and out-there, unsurprisingly, it's quite the trip. 9TO5: THE STORY OF A MOVEMENT We know, we know: you know have Dolly Parton's immensely catchy '9 to 5' stuck in your head. Yes, it pops up in the documentary that shares its name. Yes, you'll be singing it to yourself for days after you watch this film. Yes, you'll hear Jane Fonda tell a great behind-the-scenes tale about the first time she heard the song. But this isn't just an ode to a very popular tune, or the movie of the same moniker either. Rather, as directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar — who just this year won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for American Factory — 9to5: The Story of a Movement chronicles the real-life campaign for equality in the workplace that gave rise to the hit track and comedy flick. A pivotal history lesson, as well as an important reminder about what has and hasn't changed since women in the workplace were expected to remain happy as underpaid, overworked, wife-like secretaries, this is an archival footage-filled, talking heads-heavy, always-engaging doco with insights not only into the past, but into employment today as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdzSVxLJwrU&feature=emb_logo MOGUL MOWGLI Riz Ahmed not only stars in but also cowrites Mogul Mowgli — and given that he's playing a British Pakistani rapper, and the Four Lions and Rogue One actor also happens to be British Pakistani rapper himself, this incisive drama understandably feels personal. It's also electrifying from the moment when, early in the film, Ahmed's character Zed takes the stage and unleashes his politically charged lyrics about his experiences to a responsive audience. Zed is on the cusp of stardom but, just as he secures his next big opportunity in a supporting slot on a lucrative European tour, his health unexpectedly begins to fail him. Exploring the fallout, including the professional disappointment, Zed's struggles with his cultural heritage upon his return home to London and the tough reality of facing a shattering diagnosis, writer/director Bassam Tariq makes an exceptional debut, crafting a film that's as bold, dynamic and probing as its central performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKvliqAoN00 WOMEN MAKE FILM: A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA MIFF isn't just virtually screening a whole heap of movies in 2020 — it's also screening a mammoth 14-hour documentary about the very medium it loves and cherishes. Exactly what Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema covers is obvious from its title; however don't expect this female-focused exploration of cinema history to only tell you what you already know. As the iconic The Story of Film: An Odyssey already established, Mark Cousins' lengthy docos never take a standard approach. They rove and roam through their subject, overlaying expert analysis and personal insights across a treasure trove of clips, and positively bursting with cinephilia of both the astute and intimate kind. Here, with Tilda Swinton narrating (yes, again) alongside Jane Fonda (another MIFF 2020 favourite), Adjoa Andoh, Sharmila Tagore, Kerry Fox, Thandie Newton and Debra Winger, Cousins dives as deep as anyone can into the oft-overlooked canon of works by women directors — 183 of them, in fact — as well as their visual and narrative techniques over the years. MIFF 68 1/2 runs from Thursday, August 6–Sunday, August 23. For further details and to buy online tickets, visit the festival's website.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Brisbane at present. 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, 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. CANDYMAN Who can take tomorrow and dip it in a dream? 'The Candy Man' can, or so the suitably sugary earworm of a song has crooned since 1971. What scratches at the past, carves open its nightmares and sends them slicing into the present? That'd be the latest Candyman film, a powerful work of clear passion and palpable anger that's crafted with tense, needling thrills and exquisite vision. Echoing Sammy Davis Jr's version of the tune that virtually shares its name across its opening frames, this new dalliance with the titular hook-handed villain both revives the slasher franchise that gave 90s and 00s teen sleepovers an extra tremor — if you didn't stare into the mirror and utter the movie's moniker five times, were you really at a slumber party? — and wrestles vehemently and determinedly with the historic horrors that've long befallen Black Americans. It'll come as zero surprise that Jordan Peele produces and co-penned the screenplay with writer/director Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) and writer/producer Win Rosenfeld (The Twilight Zone). Candyman slides so silkily into Peele's thematic oeuvre alongside Get Out and Us, plus Peele-produced TV series Hunters and Lovecraft Country, that his fingerprints are inescapable. But it's rising star DaCosta who delivers a strikingly alluring, piercingly savage and instantly memorable picture. Alongside bloody altercations and lashings of body horror, razor blade-spiked candy makes multiple appearances, and her film is equally as sharp and enticing. In a preface that expands the Candyman mythology — and savvily shows how the movie has everyday realities firmly on its mind — that contaminated confectionery is thrust to the fore. In 1977, in the Cabrini-Green housing estate where the series has always loitered, Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove, Chicago PD) is suspected of handing out the laced lollies to neighbourhood kids. Sent to do laundry in the basement, pre-teen Billy (Rodney L Jones III, Fargo) soon comes face-to-face with the man everyone fears; however, after the boy screams and the police arrive, he witnesses something even more frightening. Jumping to the present (albeit absent any signs of the pandemic given Candyman was initially slated to release in mid-2020), Cabrini-Green is now Chicago's current poster child for gentrification. It's where artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen) and curator Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris, WandaVision) have just bought an expansive apartment, in fact. They're unaware of the area's background, until Brianna's brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Generation) and his partner Grady (Kyle Kaminsky, DriverX) start filling them in on the legend that's long been whispered across the local streets — and, struggling to come up with ideas for a new show, Anthony quickly clasps onto all things Candyman for his next big project. Read our full review. ANNETTE Dreamy and dazzling from its first moments, rock opera Annette bursts onto the screen with a simple question: "so may we start?". As the opening credits roll, the long-awaited latest film from Holy Motors director Leos Carax addresses its audience before it poses that query — via an unseen announcer who tells viewers "you are now kindly requested to keep silent, and to hold your breath until the end of the show" — but the movie doesn't begin to truly kick into gear until the filmmaker himself asks if things can get going. Images of a recording studio flicker, with Carax on one side of the glass and Ron and Russell Mael, of art-pop duo Sparks, on the other. Carax tells his real-life daughter Nastya that the fun is about to commence, and the Mael brothers start singing and playing keyboard, with a band around them. Soon, however, everyone is on their feet and spilling out into the street, with the feature's stars Adam Driver (Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker), Marion Cotillard (We'll End Up Together) and Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) joining them in the glorious, song-fuelled, sing-and-walk scene. No one is playing a character here yet, but they're all still playing a part. They're finally coming together for the big spectacle that is this eagerly anticipated film — which has been in the works since 2016 — and they're setting the vibe in a bold and sensational way. The tune is pure Sparks, with the pair both composing the movie's music and writing the feature itself with Carax. The tone bubbles with the pair's avant-garde sensibilities, too, and the whole song echoes with the promise of remarkable things to come. Nine years ago, Carax gave the world a once-in-a-lifetime gem. Annette is a different film to Holy Motors, obviously, but it gleams just as brightly and with the same beguiling, inimitable, all-encompassing allure. There's an ethereal, otherworldly quality to Carax's work — of heightening reality to truly understand how people feel and act, and of experimenting with artforms to interrogate them — and that sensation seeps through every second of his gleefully melodramatic musical, which deservedly won him the Cannes Film Festival's Best Director award. Everything about Annette has been turned up several notches on every setting, from its lush and lavish imagery to its cascade of toe-tapping, sung-through tunes that keep propelling the narrative forward. Every character detail, both external and internalised, has been amplified as well. This is a movie where Driver's Henry wears the same shade of green over and over like a uniform, beaming his envy at every turn. It's a film where sex scenes involve singing, as though they're the only way these characters can really convey their innermost emotions. And, it's a feature where the titular character — the baby born of standup comedian Henry McHenry (Driver) and opera star Ann Defrasnoux's (Cotillard) mismatched but passionate and all-consuming love — is played by a marionette. This is a tragedy and a fairy tale, in other words, as it charts how Henry and Ann "love each other so much", how their dissimilarities tear them in different directions, and how Annette comes into their lives but can't save them from stormy seas. Read our full review. DON'T BREATHE 2 When a horror film spawns a sequel, it often resurrects the villain rather than reunites with the hero for an obvious reason: watching a familiar murderer terrorise new victims is a far easier formula to replicate, and to sell, than tasking the same protagonist with surviving an unnerving ordeal again and again. There are exceptions; typically when the Halloween franchise works best, it brings back both Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, for instance. Some movies also tweak the template slightly, as seen with Don't Breathe 2. This five-years-later follow-up to 2016's grim, gritty and effective genre hit once again focuses on 'The Blind Man', aka Norman Nordstrom, and not only because it makes the most narrative sense. This second effort also brings him back because Stephen Lang (The Good Fight) put in such an imposing and memorable performance as the wrong person to burgle the first time around. Unsurprisingly, there's a purposeful, unshakeable but still unpleasant level of discomfort that comes with siding with a killer who had also kidnapped and forcibly impregnated a woman in the last feature — and tried to do the same thing to one of its home invaders — and it just plays as disconcerting rather than edgy. This is a movie about the lesser of two evils, though, after a shady criminal gang led by the sinister Raylan (Brendan Sexton III, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie) breaks into Nordstrom's home with designs on the now-11-year-old girl, Phoenix (Madelyn Grace, Grey's Anatomy), he's been raising as his daughter for the past eight years. Helmed by directing first-timer Rodo Sayagues, who co-wrote the initial feature with filmmaker Fede Alvarez (The Girl in the Spider's Web) and does so again here, Don't Breathe 2 still unleashes much the same violent mayhem in much the same setup. Nordstrom's home is infiltrated, and he subsequently battles back against the culprits — but this time to genuinely save Phoenix, rather than to try to keep someone captive and his secrets safe. The mechanics of the sequel's new cat-and-mouse standoff favour muscular and sinewy physical confrontations as its predecessor did, and rely heavily upon Lang embodying those exact traits. He attacks, reacts and helps bring the gore with almost-preternatural, action hero-esque precision, but it all expectedly feels repetitive now that the series is being given a second spin. One area where the film doesn't repeat itself: its soundscape. Don't Breathe 2 isn't as fussed with toying with acoustics as much, to the movie's detriment — so, gone is the anxiety of feeling that that every noise could spell doom for Nordstrom and Phoenix, even though hiding and keeping silent still plays a large part in the story. And, thanks to the big dose of orchestrated unease that stems from the choice to set two grimy adversaries against each other, tension is mostly absent. Don't Breathe 2 doesn't bother to engage any shades of grey lurking within Nordstrom, either, or truly make its audience question what makes a hero and a villain. Accordingly, as experienced with 80s-era direct-to-video sequels — which this film resembles at every moment — it's hard to care who survives when the movie barely cares about anything but following a formula itself. 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 April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22 and April 29; May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27; June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24; July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29; and August 5, August 12 and August 19. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Nobody, The Father, Willy's Wonderland, Collective, Voyagers, Gunda, Supernova, The Dissident, The United States vs Billie Holiday, First Cow, Wrath of Man, Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Ema, A Quiet Place Part II, Cruella, My Name Is Gulpilil, Lapsis, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Fast and Furious 9, Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, In the Heights, Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect and The Night House.
There's no doubt we're a bunch of fierce lovers of the whole fabulous RuPaul's Drag Race franchise — you only need to look at the success of Drag Race Down Under to know just how much. Well, Drag Race fans across Australia and Aotearoa, we've got great news: your 2023 plans just got better — and brighter, bolder and sassier, too. Several of the biggest names from past US seasons are heading for our shores for a new, aptly named Legends tour in May 2023. Icons Trinity The Tuck (Drag Race season 9, All Stars season 4 and All Stars season 7), Monét X Change (Drag Race season 10, All Stars season 4 and All Stars season 7) and double winner Jinkx Monsoon (Drag Race season 5 and All Stars season 7) will be travelling across Australia and New Zealand in May 2023, treating fans to their one-hour show filled with all the dazzling high jinks and cabaret campery we've come to know and love through our screens. Across nine Australasian cities, the trio will be performing a mammoth 11 shows — including a one-hour performance during the opening night of Sydney's Drag Expo. They'll also have their own expo booths so fans can get autographs, photos and merchandise. The Legends tour kicks off in New Zealand with an all-ages show at Christchurch's Isaac Theatre Royal on May 3, before the queens make their way up to Auckland and Wellington for a couple of R18 performances. They'll then head across the ditch to Hobart for an all-ages show on May 9, before delighting fans with shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Lucky Sydneysiders get several opportunities to see the queens — including an hour's R18 performance at the Drag Expo opening concert, before two all-ages shows that weekend. Finally, they'll finish things off with an R18 show in Perth before making their way home. If you're a true fan you'll probably want to save your pennies and fork out for one of the extremely limited VIP ticks — these include an extended meet and greet with Trinity, Monét, and Jinkx, and a personal photo moment. Start planning those photo 'fits now. It's a huge tour but if the hunger fans down under have for the show is anything to go by, we'd recommend getting in early for tickets — they're on sale now at itdevents.com. The full Legends 2023 schedule: Wednesday, May 3, 2023: Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, NZ All ages, seated Friday, May 5, 2023: Studio, Auckland, NZ Restricted 18+, standing Saturday, May 6, 2023: The Hunger Lounge, Wellington, NZ Restricted 18+, standing Tuesday, May 9, 2023: Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS All ages, seated Friday, May 12, 2023: Plenary 2 (MCEC), Melbourne, VIC All ages, seated Saturday, May 13, 2023: The Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD All ages, seated/standing Wednesday, May 17, 2023: The Great hall, Adelaide, SA All ages, seated/standing Friday, May 19, 2023: Drag Expo opening concert at Home The Venue, Sydney, NSW Restricted 18, standing Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21 2023: Drag Expo, Sydney All Ages Tuesday, May 23, 2023: The Rechabite, Perth Restricted 18+, standing The Legends tour starring Trinity The Tuck, Monét X Change and Jinkx Monsoon will be touring Australia and New Zealand in May 2023. Tickets are on sale now.
Not many people read Australian fiction. The industry is small and in a spot of trouble, and a lot of Australians seem to have cultural cringe when it comes to the artistic output of their own country. Part of thois may be attributed to the fact that the local books we're taught in school are so serious and forbidding. But once you take a look at the books they don't teach you, you realise how rich and beautiful Australian literature really is, and you wonder why nobody let you in on it before. It's been an exciting time for local books of late. With the recent announcement of this year's Miles Franklin Award as well as the release of the Text Classics range — a collection of locally-written books at cheapskate prices — the time is right for the best of Australia's oft-forgotten cult classics to be embraced en masse. So, to help you out, Concrete Playground has picked out some of our finest local wordsmiths' efforts. Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas Tsiolkas, of The Slap infamy, published his first novel in 1995 and arguably hasn't written anything as powerful since. Set over one hedonic night in Melbourne, Loaded follows Ari, who's unemployed, misanthropic and refuses to be defined by either his Greek heritage or his emerging homosexuality. The novel's prose hums with the intensity of alcohol-soaked late nights and pill-fueled early mornings; it's the kind of novel you'll read in one sitting and be left breathless by once you're done. Loaded was also made into a brilliant film, Head On, in 1998. Available here Wake In Fright by Kenneth Cook If you ever want a reason not to go out into the outback, this is it. Wake In Fright is a horror story set in a fictionalised Broken Hill, where a pale and naive city kid, John Grant, is trapped in a hell of alcohol-fuelled violence, sexual humiliation and spiritual nightmare. Made into a film, which was restored and re-released in 2009, in 1972, Wake In Fright is a terrifying and sadly neglected classic in both its forms. Available here Praise by Andrew McGahan The ultimate novel about being young, unemployed and not caring in early '90s Brisbane, Praise pretty much defined the 'grunge lit' genre when drugs were cheap and Kurt Cobain was still loping around stages in a grotty cardigan. The novel follows Gordon Buchanan, chain-smoking asthma sufferer, his girlfriend Cynthia, a former heroin-addict with chronic eczema, and their awkward attempt to stay together. Written in a simple style and often described as 'raw' in a frustratingly ambiguous way, Praise isn't for the faint-hearted. Available here Monkey Grip by Helen Garner Published in 1977 and made into a film in 1982, Helen Garner's first novel of share houses, junkies, and irrational, anarchic desire in 1970s Melbourne has, over the years, become a counter-cultural Australian classic. Like reading somebody's journal, Monkey Grip bears a remarkable resemblance to the lives of most Australians in their twenties, with the main character Nora trying and failing to extricate herself from a messy relationship with Javo, an actor and a junkie. Monkey Grip is available as a Popular Penguin, so you only need a spare tenner to get your hands on it. Available here Candy by Luke Davies If you've heard about Candy it's likely to be the film version featuring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. But we're here to tell you that the book is better. While it's not like there's a dearth of novels about heroin addiction, Candy is one of the best, and just so happens to be Australian. Davies had a habit for over a decade, so he brings the reality of his experiences to a story where the horror of addiction is coupled with love, tenderness and utter confusion. Easy to read, Candy isn't always easy to deal with, because unlike other counter-cultural mavericks, Davies doesn't glamourise a story which, although beautiful, is still one of heartbreak and loss. Available here Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman Only recently re-published, Blue Skies is a bleak insight into the life of a new houswife and mother trapped in the bland hell of 1970s Tasmanian suburbia. Bored with a husband who rarely comes home, she lives for the two days a week she can escape the suburbs and lose herself in weird affairs with, amongst others, her best friend's kaftan-wearing husband. Hodgman's books were praised to the skies when they were published in the '70s, but then circumstances intervened and her writing went out of print until Text brought them back to life this year as 'lost classics.' Available here And The Ass Saw The Angel by Nick Cave Is there anything Nick Cave can't do? Alongside fronting The Bad Seeds, Grinderman and The Birthday Party, penning the screenplays for The Proposition and Lawless, and generally being one of our all-round favourite people, Cave has written two novels; one good, one less so. And The Ass Saw The Angel, published in 1989, is the good one, told from the perspective of a mute living as an outcast in a small town in the Southern US. It's a world of incest, religious fanatacism, madness, and drinking, and like anything Nick Cave, a terrible Biblical revenge will be wrought. Available here
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this months latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from September's haul of newbies. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW THE MAD WOMEN'S BALL Hitting streaming mere days after premiering at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, The Mad Women's Ball marks the latest thoughtful and enthralling stint behind the camera for Mélanie Laurent. The French actor who'll forever be known for Inglourious Basterds features on-screen in this, too, and turns in a layered and textured performance. But, behind the lens for the sixth time — and the first since 2018's Galveston — she transforms an already-gripping tale into a film that's vivid, passionate, empathetic and resonant. You could compare The Mad Women's Ball to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, although that's oversimplifying things. Both are primarily set within comparable facilities, with the Salpêtrière neurological clinic the key location here, and both hone in on the power imbalance between those admitted and those running the show. But the Salpêtrière's patients are all women, most have been checked in against their will, the word 'hysteria' is thrown around too often by the male doctors, and 19th-century Paris treats anyone who doesn't conform to to the placid, dutiful female norm with contempt. That's what Eugénie Cléry (Lou de Laâge, who also starred in Laurent's 2014 film Breathe) learns after she starts hearing spirits. When her wealthy family find out about her new ability to communicate with the dead, she's packed away despite her pleas and protests, and confined to a place where she's little more than an inmate for men to torture with ice baths and other supposed cures. Laurent plays a nurse who becomes sympathetic to Eugénie's cause, but the film has just as much time for the sense of camaraderie that springs between the facility's wrongly institutionalised charges. It also offers space for other on-screen women to make an imprint, and serves up not just a potent but a handsomely staged adaptation of Victoria Mas' novel Le bal des folles. The Mad Women's Ball is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. SQUID GAME Exploring societal divides within South Korea wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but its success was always going to give other films and TV shows on the topic a healthy boost. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between the acclaimed movie and Netflix's new highly addictive Squid Game — the show that's on track to become the platform's biggest show ever (yes, bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton) less than two weeks since it released. Anyone who has seen even an episode knows why this nine-part series is so compulsively watchable. Its puzzle-like storyline and its unflinching savagery making quite the combination. Here, in a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're all competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. That includes series protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae, Deliver Us From Evil), a chauffeur with a gambling problem, and also a divorcé desperate to do whatever he needs to to keep his daughter in his life. But, as it probes the chasms caused by capitalism and cash — and the things the latter makes people do under the former — this program isn't just about one player. It's about survival, the status quo the world has accepted when it comes to money, and the real inequality present both in South Korea and elsewhere. Filled with electric performances, as clever as it is compelling, unsurprisingly littered with smart cliffhangers, and never afraid to get bloody and brutal, the result is a savvy, tense and taut horror-thriller that entertains instantly and also has much to say. Squid Game is available to stream via Netflix. MIDNIGHT MASS No one can accuse Mike Flanagan of being lazy. In the past three years, he's made four different Netflix horror series, plus The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep. In the two years before that, he directed four other movies. Yes, he's prolific, and he also knows and loves his unsettling niche. Midnight Mass is the third of those aforementioned shows, and forgoes the ghostly setup of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor — and it spins its musing on loss in multiple forms, faith in just as many varieties, and mortality and everything it means into a commanding seven-part miniseries. For Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford, Good Girls), the show's narrative begins with the biggest mistake of his life. After killing a woman while drunk driving, he spends four years in prison, haunted by her bloody face whenever he tries to close his eyes. Upon his release, he has no choice but to head home to Crockett Island, where his god-fearing mother (Kristin Lehman, Altered Carbon) is thrilled, his Ron Swanson-esque dad (Hill House and Bly Manor alum Henry Thomas) barely says a word, and his now-pregnant childhood sweetheart (Kate Siegel, Gerald's Game) has just made a comeback after her own absence. Also upsetting the status quo: the arrival of Father Paul (Hamish Linklater, Legion) to fill in for the island's ailing priest, and a wild storm that wreaks havoc. When he's spinning episodic stories, Flanagan likes to tease. He likes fleshing out his always-eclectic range of characters, too, and Midnight Mass is no different. Here, he adores monologues as well, but that's hardly surprising given the stellar cast he's writing for. It's been a great year or so for disquieting miniseries set on small, sparsely populated islands, thanks to The Third Day as well, and this is just absorbing. Midnight Mass is available to stream via Netflix. STRONG FEMALE LEAD When The Final Quarter opted to explore AFL footballer Adam Goodes' career purely using footage from the time — focusing on his stint on the field during its last stages, as the name makes plain — it weaved together media clips from his games, general AFL coverage, news stories, press conferences and interviews from the era. The result: a heartbreaking picture of the ex-Swans captain's experiences with racism that couldn't paint a clearer picture. Strong Female Lead does the same, but swaps sports for politics and discrimination based on race for prejudice predicated upon gender. Given that Australia has only ever had one female Prime Minister, that's where this fast-paced documentary heads, with director Tosca Looby (See What You Made Me Do) and editor Rachel Grierson Johns (Roller Dreams) letting existing media materials about Julia Gillard do all the talking. Anyone who can remember the headlines, news commentary, panel shows and talkback radio discussions from her 2010–13 spot in the nation's top job will know what they're in for, but seeing it all so deftly sliced together couldn't be more powerful. The sexism she faced at every turn isn't a relic of that not-at-all-distant past, of course. Indeed, Looby's approach makes all the horrendous words flung Gillard's way cut like a fresh wound, and simultaneously also sting like an old scar that won't heal. That's the cumulative effect of enduring the horrific things said, her overall treatment as PM, the odious behaviour of her parliamentary peers, and the belittling comments and placards, too. Strong Female Lead is a film to get angry with, as it's meant to be. It's also a celebration of Gillard's achievement in becoming Prime Minister, her work both along the way and in the role and other world leaders who've broken the glass ceiling. What lingers, though, is the fierce and formidable indictment of what women in positions of authority have been forced to navigate. Strong Female Lead is available to stream via SBS On Demand. EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE They're both underdog stories, they're both set in Sheffield in England's north, and they both have the accents to prove the latter. They each follow struggling locals trying to carve out a better life, and feature the entertainment industry prominently. And, they both chronicle characters breaking out of their comfort zones, shocking plenty around them, and working towards a big show, event or both. The movie that got there first: The Full Monty. The newcomer: Everybody's Talking About Jamie. That's about where the similarities between the two end, however, other than the inescapably feel-good vibe they both stir up. In this case, that crowd-pleasing sentiment springs from teenager Jamie New (first-timer Max Harwood), his quest to become a drag queen and his determination to chase that dream by first frocking up for his school prom. Already bullied, considered a disappointment by his soccer-loving father (Ralph Ineson, Gunpowder Milkshake), but adored by his mother (Sarah Lancashire, Yesterday) and best friend (fellow film debutant Lauren Patel), he isn't certain about showing his drag side to the world. He needs mentoring by a former drag icon (Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), in fact, to even get the courage to do so. And, from there, the path to unleashing his inner queen is nowhere near as sparkly as the red heels his mum gives him for his 16th birthday. Where Everybody's Talking About Jamie isn't at all surprising, whether you're familiar with the stage production it's based on, or the real-life tale it's inspired by — or if you've just seen other against-the-odds British flicks such as Kes and Billy Elliott. Nonetheless, from its first frame to its last, this lively and sweet musical still shimmers, glows and charms. Everybody's Talking About Jamie is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE In the initial two episodes of Scenes From a Marriage, Mira (Jessica Chastain, IT: Chapter Two) and Jonathan (Oscar Isaac, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker) brush their teeth in front of their ensuite mirror. It's an everyday task in a familiar place, spanning something we all do in a space we all use, but this five-part HBO miniseries turns these two scenes into a complex snapshot of its central couple. It takes not just skill but feeling and understanding to turn such a mundane activity into a must-see; however, that's this weighty show's remit. Scenes From a Marriage gets viewers engrossed in cleaning teeth because it's ordinary, and because everything within its frames fits the same description. Its central relationship careens from happy to heartbroken, comfortable to distraught, and assured to messy, but it also charts a path that countless others have. Accordingly, Mira and Jonathan start the series cemented in their routine, but with each of its five episodes dedicated to a significant day over the course of several years, much changes. The ambitious tech industry executive to his ex-Orthodox Jewish philosophy professor, Mira drops a bombshell, their lives shift over and over, and yet plenty stays the same as well. As penned and helmed by The Affair's Hagai Levi — remaking the 1973 Swedish TV miniseries by iconic film director Ingmar Bergman — Scenes From a Marriage is a show about patterns, cycles and echoes, in fact. It ponders how they ripple through relationships and, when broken or changed, how their absence is felt. The result is devastating and powerful, shot and scored with intensity, and home to exceptional performances from Chastain and Isaac, who prove just as irresistible in their second collaboration in a stormy union as they did in 2014 also-stellar A Most Violent Year. The first three episodes of Scenes From a Marriage are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING If you've ever listened to a true-crime podcast, decided that you'd make a great Serial host yourself and started wondering how you'd ever follow in Sarah Koenig's footsteps, then you should be watching Only Murders in the Building. The Disney+ series follows three New Yorkers who follow that same process. Actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die) are all obsessed with a series hosted by the fictional Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva), to the point of bonding over it as strangers. Then, when someone turns up dead in their building, they decide that they can sleuth their way through the case — by getting talking themselves, naturally. But being a true-crime podcast diehard and making a true-crime podcast clearly aren't quite the same thing, and turning amateur detective isn't clearcut either. Entertaining and exceptionally well-cast, Only Murders in the Building makes makes the most of its main trio's mismatched vibe. It's filled with hearty affection for everything it jokes about, resulting in an upbeat satire of true-crime obsessions, podcasting's pervasiveness and the intersection of the two. It adores its single-setting Agatha Christie-lite setup, it's always empathetic, and it also loves peppering in highly recognisable co-stars and guest stars such as Fey, Nathan Lane (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), Amy Ryan (Late Night) and even Sting. The series is also written and acted with enough depth to pair relatable character insights with its bubbly, clownish fun. If Knives Out was a sitcom, and also a little goofier, it'd turn out like this — and that's a delight, obviously. The first seven episodes of Only Murders in the Building are available to stream via Star on Disney+, with new episodes dropping weekly. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS How do you match a season of TV that introduced the world to yet another ace Matt Berry character? That's a question What We Do in the Shadows faced with its third season, after its last batch of episodes featured Jackie Daytona — the "regular human bartender" persona adopted by Berry's bloodsucker Laszlo Cravensworth. Thankfully, this vampire sharehouse comedy found an easy solution. It's still doing what it does best, which includes gifting the glorious Berry (Toast of London) and his co-stars Kayvan Novak (Four Lions), Natasia Demetriou (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), Mark Proksch (The Office) and Harvey Guillen (Werewolves Within) reams of witty and hilarious dialogue. Picking up where the last season left off, the show's vamps now have a new job running the local Vampiric Council; however, the mockumentary-style series still knows that it's at the best when its stars are riffing either together or directly to the camera. Obviously, the Staten Island-dwelling bloodsuckers' new gig comes with ample chaos and, as it dives into everything that follows, What We Do in the Shadows is still one of the silliest yet smartest horror-comedies that's ever been made. But as proved the case with the movie it sprang from — aka Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's 2014 film of the same name — so much of the joy and laughs here come from watching exceptional comedic talents inhabit their characters' fangs, banter about undead tropes and bounce off of each other. That hasn't changed in season three, and the entire series is still a side-splitting gem in each and every episode. The first five episodes of What We Do in the Shadows' third season are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. Y: THE LAST MAN On paper, Y: The Last Man sounds familiar, even if you haven't read the source material. Based on the 2002–08 comic book series of the same name, it steps into a post-apocalyptic time where an eerie illness wipes out everyone with a Y chromosome — humans and other mammals alike. Accordingly, it initially resembles a reverse version of The Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men. Thankfully, this dystopian tale heads in its own direction. First, it spends an episode plotting out the pre-plague status quo for Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer, The Grizzlies), his US Congresswoman mother Jennifer (Let Him Go) and his paramedic sister Hero (Olivia Thirlby, Goliath). Then, it dives deep into the world-changing event that sees males wiped out en masse. It isn't a spoiler to say that Yorick survives, because the title ensures that's clear. Also making it through: his Capuchin monkey Ampersand. As the globe's women react, adjust and endeavour to traverse a whole new way of life, Yorick endeavours to do the same — and, based on its first episodes, it makes for gripping viewing. It's the type of show that starts out with an obvious been-there-done-that vibe, especially at the moment. Anyone who has filled even part of the pandemic binge-watching movies about contagions, outbreaks and infections will recognise plenty of elements, but this is also the kind of series that takes its time to settle in, and to expand and grow. It's ongoing focus on what comes next, rather than simply exploring what happened, is also filled with possibilities — timely ones, too, given the current state of reality. The first five episodes of Y: The Last Man are available to stream via Binge, with new episodes dropping weekly. A RECENT MUST-SEE YOU CAN (AND SHOULD) STREAM NOW ANOTHER ROUND Even the most joyous days and nights spent sipping your favourite drink can have their memory tainted by a hangover. Imbibe too much, and there's a kicker just waiting to pulsate through your brain and punish your body when all that alcohol inevitably starts to wear off. For much of Another Round, four Copenhagen school teachers try to avoid this feeling. The film they're in doesn't, though. Writer/director Thomas Vinterberg (Kursk) and his co-scribe Tobias Lindholm (A War) lay bare the ups and downs of knocking back boozy beverages, and also serve up a finale that's a sight to behold. Without sashaying into spoiler territory, the feature's last moments are a thing of sublime beauty. Some movies end in a WTF, "what were they thinking?" kind of way, but this Oscar-winning Danish film comes to a conclusion with a big and bold showstopper that's also a piece of bittersweet perfection. The picture's highest-profile star, Mads Mikkelsen (Arctic), is involved. His pre-acting background as an acrobat and dancer comes in handy, too. Unsurprisingly, the substances that flow freely throughout the feature remain prominent. And, so does the canny and candid awareness that life's highs and lows just keep spilling, plus the just-as-shrewd understanding that the line between self-sabotage and self-release is as thin as a slice of lemon garnishing a cocktail. Another Round is available to stream via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August this year — and our top straight-to-streaming movies and specials from 2021 so far, and our list of the best new TV shows released this year so far as well.
Gift giving can be stressful business. Finding that perfect gift that ticks all the boxes of convenience, affordability, and, most importantly, thoughtfulness can become a mission. Lucky for us that perfect gift is simply a click away thanks to the hundreds of boutiques popping up on the net. Here are eight of the most quirky, inspiring, and fun online boutiques for gift shopping. Prepare to waste many, many hours bookmarking from these sites. And while you're at it, go on buy yourself a little present, too. Bodega Deluxe Sometime in 2011 Bodega Deluxe popped onto the radar. Frustrated with Australian shopping and too impatient to wait weeks for items to deliver, the folks at Bodega Deluxe took matters into their own hands and set up shop. Inspired by New York's local neighbourhood convenience stores, 'bodegas', the boutique sources the most quirky and fantastically random gifts and titbits that won't break the bank. Think Japanese anime DVDs (Totoro, anyone?), paint-your-own babushka dolls, and cinnamon mint flavoured toothpaste sourced from Italy. Despite the relatively small range, Bodega Deluxe's mix of tongue-in-cheek gifts and spiffed-up everyday items makes it a fuss-free, stress-free shopping zone. http://www.bodegadeluxe.com/ Culture Label Hailing from the motherland, Culture Label should be your go-to site when you’re looking for a gift that's just a little bit fancy. The site describes itself as the "crossroads of the cultural world; where art, design, style, heritage and emerging talent meet". Or in other words, so trendy it hurts. If you're stuck for ideas of what to buy the guy/girl who has everything, Culture Label will sort you out. There are hundreds of luxury or unusual gifts that ooze quirky British humour, such as vintage posters (a la Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), a Shakespeare's Hamlet-inspired Kindle cover, and a lips telephone. Bonus features such as personalised currency converter, giftware guides, and limited edition items give Culture Label the tick of approval. As the site acts as a hub for individual vendors, keep in mind that different postal costs apply depending on what you order. http://www.culturelabel.com/ Hello Polly Well, Hello there Polly. This young gun may have only been established for a year, but it feels like home, sweet home. It’s no surprise that, coming from an art background, founder Sarah Kelk has filled this cute-as-a-button boutique with crafty knickknacks for the home, graphic artwork, and bright accessories. It's the perfect online shopping destination to source gifts for the hostesses, decorators, and little ones in your life. You’ll find offbeat products like a breadboard shaped as a button or cardboard convertible toys by Flatout Frankie that will certainly prompt a squeal of delight from the lucky gift receiver. https://hellopolly.com.au/ Lark Sorry boys, this one's for the ladies. Hailing from Daylesford, Australia to the worldwide web, Lark is all quirky, cute, and girly. Think an '80s chick-flick in web form. This family-run boutique certainly lives up to its motto, 'live a beautiful life'. You'll find smile-inducing items such as a classic Etch A Sketch, brightly coloured metal signs spelling 'don't worry be happy', and, just in time for the silly season, that neon Christmas tree you always dreamed off. You'll have to spend over $120 to get the free shipping deal, but frankly, your mum, best friend, and niece will thank you for bulk buying their presents. http://www.larkmade.com.au/ Pigeonhole In five short years Pigeonhole has gone from being a one-man show in an old arcade in Perth to a five-store-strong, cafe-touting, and online extravaganza. For those not living on the west side, Pigeonhole online brings the best of their fashion and gift ranges to the masses. As far as gift shops go, Pigeonhole sits nicely in the all-rounder corner with something for every family member or friend. Shopping for a keen photog? Buy them the Impossible Project From Polaroid to Impossible book. Your mum’s a caffeine fiend? Show her you care with a heart-shaped espresso cup. Is your boyfriend always running late? Give him a hint and a 100 percent natural wood watch. http://www.pigeonhole.com/ Society 6 One of the best parts about gift giving is that it doesn’t have to be something the recipient needs but something they want (or don't yet know they want). This is where Society 6 comes in. Society 6 sources artwork in the form of prints, iPhone cases, T-shirts, and more from thousands of artists worldwide. If you want to buy someone special something very personal and unique, you can't go past this site. Prepare to waste many hours agonising over whether to buy one of the dozens of Batman prints, a stormwalker (moonwalking stormtrooper) laptop case, or a skull sprouting flowers tote bag. http://society6.com/ Think Geek Whether it’s Star Wars or superheros, Think Geek takes your fandom seriously. This online shopping site wholeheartedly celebrates all things tech, sci-fi, and fantasy with its range of gadgets and pop culture memorabilia. You can even shop by category and, yes, as we go to print there are almost a hundred products in the Zombies & Bacon category. It's a great place to find a gift for your mate that shows you care but won't have you breaking open the piggy bank. How about Star Wars Chop Sabers ('eat sushi, defend the galaxy') ora cupcake-shaped stress ball? Keep in mind that shipping depends on what you are ordering, how much you are ordering, and where it is shipping. http://www.thinkgeek.com/ Top 3 by design Top 3 by design live by the motto less is more. This online boutique stocks up to three products per category. This thorough editing process means each product really lives up to its potential. The range of functional, original, and clever products has an industrial rather than handcrafted edge. You'll find classic designs that have withstood the test of time, such as Josef Hartwig for Naef's Bauhaus chess set and board alongside modern innovations such as Andreas Engevik's Menu Pin Table (an outdoor table that literally can be pushed into the grass like a pin). Be warned that designer gifts come with designer prices, so save this site for when gift-buying for a special occasion or pool in with others. http://www.top3.com.au/index.html Main image: Hello Polly.
When Game of Thrones came to an end, HBO filled that gap by making prequel House of the Dragon, and also exploring a heap more spinoffs as well. Plenty have been rumoured, including focusing on Jon Snow and devoting a second new series to the Targaryens — but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is the next to get the official go-ahead. The American cable network and source of plenty of Binge, Foxtel and Neon's programming Down Under is announcement mode, revealing that it's renaming its own streaming service from HBO Max to Max — a platform that isn't available in Australia or New Zealand as yet — and also dropping details about a range of new shows that folks can look forward to watching on it. We hope you like TV versions of hit movies, too, because HBO's upcoming slate goes big on well-known properties. Harry Potter, The Conjuring, IT, The Batman: they're all covered in one way or another. A century before @GameofThrones, there was Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg. Executive produced by George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker, Ryan Condal, and Vince Gerardis, A Knight of the #SevenKingdoms: The Hedge Knight has received a straight to series order. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/MRPUke5Upt — HBO Max (@hbomax) April 12, 2023 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is a prequel, and will boast George RR Martin as a writer and executive producer. It comes to the screen from the novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg, and has been rumoured for a few years now. The story follows knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they wander Westeros a century before the events of GoT, when the Targaryens remain on the Iron Throne and everyone still remembers dragons. Yes, there's an odd-couple vibe. The first-ever Harry Potter TV series has also been whispered about for years, with that chatter getting louder recently. Bringing the Wizarding World to the small screen, it will run for a decade and cover all of the original books — a tome per season, diving into more detail than the movies were able to. Your Hogwarts letter is here. Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/3CgEHLYhch — HBO Max (@hbomax) April 12, 2023 Newly revealed is a drama series set in The Conjuring universe — a supernatural big-screen realm that's already hefty, given that it spans The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, The Curse of the Weeping Woman, Annabelle Comes Home and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and will score The Nun 2 later in 2023. There's no word yet on what it'll cover, other than that it'll continue the story established in the features. Australian filmmaker James Wan, who helmed the first two The Conjuring movies, may executive produce. The American network is also making IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, which it announced earlier in 2023. Plus, it also has a spinoff from The Batman, aka The Penguin, on the way for its 2024 lineup — with Colin Farrell reprising the show's titular role. Welcome to Derry. Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, and Chris Chalk have been cast to star in the Max Original Series and prequel to the IT films, coming in 2024 to Max. #WelcomeToDerry #ITSeries #ITMovie 🎈 #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/wnX3YTIB21 — HBO Max (@hbomax) April 12, 2023 And, arriving in May, there's the animated Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a prequel to the 80s movies that heads back to 1920s Shanghai and the Wing family's first meeting with Gizmo. Clearly, the answer to how HBO will cope with not just the OG Game of Thrones ending, but the looming post-Succession void, is leaning into other well-known properties. There's been no word of any spinoffs, prequels or sequels to the Roy family saga — even after its latest episode, and the fact that this is the acclaimed series' final season — however, based on the current announcements, don't be surprised if HBO gives it a try down the line. Most of the above HBO shows don't have exact release dates yet — we'll update you when further details are announced. Top image: courtesy of Max.
If there's one way to forget that you're still in your own city, staycationing within a short drive from home rather than heading further afield, it's splashing around up high while peering down on familiar sights from a completely different angle. Sydneysiders, another place to do just that is in your future, with TFE Hotels set to launch its first Collection property in the Harbour City in early 2024 — complete with a rooftop infinity pool. The new Collection by TFE Hotels property will be a big feature of the in-development Surry Hills Village, sitting on Baptist Street as part of a precinct that'll also include shops, apartments, event spaces, work spaces and dining. The Sydney spot joins the brand's Savoy Hotel on Little Collins in Melbourne, Hotel Kurrajong in Canberra, Calile Hotel in Brisbane and Hotel Britomart in Auckland. That's impressive company, and the new boutique hotel will continue the same design-led, individual-focused approach. When it comes to slumbering, there'll be 102 rooms. While exactly what they'll feature, and what other amenities guests can expect, hasn't yet been revealed, the hotel will boast curved brickwork and stone pathways as part of its design — and greenery aplenty. Also set to be a highlight: the Cloister, the hotel's restaurant and bar space. And, yes, that sky-high pool with scenic views, of course. "Surry Hills is home to one of the city's premier restaurant, dining, and boutique precincts," said TFE Hotels CEO Antony Ritch, announcing the new hotel. "This Collection property will become a destination in its own right." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Surry Hills Village By TOGA (@surryhillsvillage) Within the 1.2-hectare mixed-use development that is Surry Hills Village itself, Sydneysiders can also look forward to a new 517-square-metre public park, plus up to 12,000 square metres of retail and commercial tenants. There'll also be a new public pedestrian thoroughfare linking Marriott Street and Baptist Street — and, as part of the hospitality offering, a new restaurant from Fink Group, the team behind Quay, Bennelong, Otto and newly anointed third-best steak restaurant in the world Firedoor. And yes, new hotels are sprouting up thick and fast around Sydney, with the new Collection by TFE Hotels site joining the soon-to-launch Porter House Hotel; the just-launched Ace Hotel, Australia's first outpost from the chain; and none other than the Waldorf Astoria, which'll also opening its first-ever Australian hotel in Sydney in 2025. That's obviously excellent news not just for staycationers, but for folks visiting the city from interstate as well. TFE Hotels' new Collection property at Surry Hills Village, on Baptist Street in Surry Hills, is due to open in 2024. Head to the Collection by TFE Hotels and Surry Hills Village websites to keep an eye out for further information.
As dairy fiends already well and truly know, adding burrata to any meal automatically levels it up several notches. Add the delicious blend of mozzarella and cream to every dish as part of a five-course dinner and, well, you've got yourself quite the cheesy, indulgent and delicious feast going on. That's what's happening at Burrata Night. Nope, that name doesn't disappoint. Salt Meats Cheese's Newstead store is whipping up a heap of burrata-topped options on Tuesday, April 5, then letting you eat your way through them. This is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of dinner, so you can pick as many — or as few — options as you like, and pay accordingly. Your options include burrata on top of meatballs, burrata with gnocchi sorrentina, a burrata version of spaghetti carbonara, and paired with shortbread and berries. Yes, there's dessert burrata this time around (because SMC hosts burrata nights every now and then, and the menu always changes). Taking the plate-by-plate approach, you'll pay between $16–26 a pop. It all kicks off at 5pm, and booking in advance for this one-night-only menu is essential.
Gelato Messina first introduced its cookie pies to the world in 2020, and tastebuds across Australia thanked them. Then, it kept bringing the OTT dessert back when we all needed an extra dose of sweetness across the year. In fact, the dessert fiends have been serving them up for more than 12 months now. Messina celebrated that one-year milestone back in April; however, it isn't done with cookie pies yet. The chain has proven that a few times already over the past couple of months. And, it's committing to the concept in a big way in its stores going forward. Melburnians and Brisbanites, get ready to head into the Fitzroy and South Brisbane venues, then walk out with a single-serve cookie pie. Yes, this cookie pie really is just for one person — and not just because you're not willing to share. The smaller-sized desserts come ready to eat as well. They're also topped with a scoop of gelato, because of course they are. Hang on, cookie pie? Yes, it's a pie, but a pie made of cookie dough. If you're new to the concept, that's all you really need to know. To pick up one of these single-serve desserts, you'll need to head to the Fitzroy and South Brisbane stores from 6pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. That's the only time they're available, so marking your calendars is perfectly sensible. Don't worry about pre-ordering, though, as that isn't required. Expect to pay $12 with a scoop, or $10 if somehow you don't want gelato on top. And if you're a Sydneysider reading this, the pies were trialled at Rosebery pre-lockdown, but are on hold while the city is under stay-at-home conditions. Gelato Messina's single-serve choc chip cookie pies are available on Monday and Tuesday nights from 6pm at its Fitzroy and South Brisbane stores.
Calling all rom-com fans, Notting Hill aficionados and Rose Matafeo devotees — aka everyone who discovered marvellous new series Starstruck in 2021, fell head over heels for its firmly 21st-century take on dating a famous actor and has probably binged it more than once in the past eight months. Because February is stereotypically a time for all things romantic, the HBO sitcom is making a return, and it's just dropped its first trailer. Last year saw plenty of great new TV shows hit screens and streaming queues, and Starstruck was one of the best of them — which, given Matafeo's talent and the show's deep-seated love for its chosen genre, really didn't come as a surprise. The premise: a 28-year-old New Zealander in London who splits her time between working in a cinema and nannying, Jessie (Matafeo, Baby Done) isn't expecting much when her best friend and roommate Kate (Emma Sidi, Pls Like) drags her out to a bar on New Year's Eve. And, for most of the evening, her lack of enthusiasm proves astute. But then she meets Tom (Nikesh Patel, Four Weddings and a Funeral), ends up back at his sprawling flat and realises the next morning that he's one of the world's biggest movie stars. From featuring Matafeo enjoying a morning-after stride of pride to the sounds of 90s hit 'Return of the Mack' to swirling through the chaos of being in the orbit of someone so famous (and just general twentysomething life and dating mayhem as well), Starstruck's first season was smart, sidesplittingly funny and all-round charming — and the trailer for its second season sets it up to continue the trend. After its initial six episodes ended with a nod to The Graduate (yes, this show knows its rom-com history), the new batch of chapters is poised to dive into the reality of Jessie and Tom's efforts to make a real go of it. In other words, get ready for the story after the point where big-screen romantic comedies usually end — which doesn't look like it's going to go smoothly for the show's protagonist. Jessie has never just been a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her, and that still appears the case in Starstruck's sneak peek at its second season. Also a part of season two: Minnie Driver, after the About a Boy star first popped up in season one as Tom's agent, and also Russell Tovey (Years and Years). And, behind the scenes, Matafeo and fellow comedians Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson are still on scripting duties. Starstruck's new episodes will hit ABC iView in Australia from 9pm on Wednesday, February 16 — with an airdate via TVNZ in New Zealand yet to be confirmed, but hopefully arriving sooner rather than later. Check out the trailer for Starstruck's second season below: Starstruck's second season will be available to stream in Australia via ABC iView from 9pm on Wednesday, February 16 — and we'll update you with a New Zealand airdate via NZTV as soon as we have one. Read our full review of Starstruck's first season.
If you've been to see a blockbuster on the big screen this year, odds are that you've been to see a Disney movie. The Mouse House is responsible for Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4 and The Lion King, after all — and it still has both Frozen 2 and Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker to come before the year is out. And now, the huge entertainment company is set to loom large over your streaming viewing, too. This morning — Tuesday, November 19 — it launched its new Disney+ platform Down Under. The service features a heap of content that spans its hugely popular brands, including Disney classics, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic. On Disney+ you'll find over 600 films and 7000 episodes of TV, so it's basically everything your Disney dreams are made of (and there's a free trial to get you started). From previous announcements, we already knew we'd be watching Star Wars series The Mandalorian, the awkwardly named High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, animated Toy Story spinoff Forky Asks a Question and factual series The World According to Jeff Goldblum. And, along with the platform launch, the live-action Lady and the Tramp has also dropped along with the Anna Kendrick-starring Christmas flick Noelle. Disney has also previously unveiled a lengthy list of upcoming shows that'll hit the platform over the next few years, so prepare for multiple Marvel series about Loki, Hawkeye, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and the Scarlet Witch and Vision; a Lizzie McGuire revival; and Star Wars shows about Obi-Wan Kenobi (featuring Ewan McGregor as the beloved jedi) and Rogue One's Cassian Andor as well — although none of the above have release dates as yet. What's noteworthy, too, is the array of classic fare that's now available to stream. Disney has amassed a hefty library over the years and, after merging with Fox earlier this year, it picked up plenty of other films and TV shows. That means that you can stream Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks, Pixar hits, Star Wars movies and all your old favourite Disney animated films, naturally. Home Alone, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Muppets, TRON, Avatar, Sister Act, Hocus Pocus, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Turner and Hooch and The Sound of Music. Boy Meets World, Duck Tales and The Simpsons also rank among a very sizeable pool of titles, as Disney+'s new Instagram video shows. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BWValA0I8/ A bunch of National Geographic docos can also be found on the platform, including rock climbing nail-biter Free Solo, the touching Jane Goodall film that makes great use of archival footage and Leo DiCaprio's 2016 climate cahnge interrogation Before the Flood. The complete list of titles — which you can browse here — confirms what Aussie audiences will able to watch upon launch. Different local rights deals with other platforms have meant that Australian fans couldn't necessarily just assume that their favourite flicks would automatically be available on Disney+ straight away. For example, until recently, Stan had plenty of Disney content available to stream. Of course, it seems that turning Disney+ into a one-stop shop for the company's movies and series is the ultimate aim. On that note, viewers can expect all of the company's aforementioned big 2019 movies to hit the platform, too, as well as its entire film slate from 2020 onwards. If you want to try out the new service before committing to a subscription, you can sign up for a free one-week trial over here. Disney+ is now live, with subscriptions costing AU$8.99 per month or AU$89.99 per year. You can sign-up for a free seven-day trial here. 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.
If all you want for Christmas this year, or at any time of the year, is to make your own gin, Brisbane's latest distillery is here with excellent news. First, Comiskey Distillery has revealed that it exists, opening on Friday, November 25 just in time for 2022's festive season. Secondly, as well as whipping up vodka, rum, bourbon and whisky itself, it also hosts gin-making workshops where you can craft your own 500-millilitre bottle of spirits, then take it home to drink. The latest addition to Comiskey Group's Eatons Hill setup, settling in next to the Eatons Hill Hotel on South Pine Road, Comiskey Distillery will offer cocktail classes as well, and also operate as spirit and cocktail training facility for the company's staff. And, obviously, it's where a heap of booze will be made — for use at Comiskey sites, and to buy at them as well. The Comiskey portfolio includes Eatons Hill Hotel, Sandstone Point Hotel, Samford Hotel and Beachmere Hotel, plus bottle-os, so there'll be no shortage of places to pick up a tipple. That's due to happen from early 2023, and the new distillery will sell it online from then, too. Overseeing the booze-making: award-winning Master Distiller Colleen Walters, who boasts more than 12 years experience in food and spirits. She'll be guiding a range of beverages made in a 1000-litre copper still onsite, which takes pride of place in the space. Take one of those gin workshops, though, and you'll be using a mini traditional Alembic copper still, and picking from 100-plus botanicals. Announcing Comiskey Distillery, Comiskey Group Director Rob Comiskey said that "tThis really is a passion project of ours, something my dad, brother and I have talked about for a long time. Having owned pubs and bottle shops for many years, it feels like a natural progression for us. We've been actively working on this project for over a year and are very much looking forward to seeing the concept come to life." Eleven years after the Eatons Hill Hotel opened its doors, this new addition also forms part of a big renovation of the Harry Brown bottle shop — where patrons can access Comiskey Distillery. The revamp is underway now, with the bottle-o still trading while it happens. Decor-wise, expect 300 authentic wine barrels, antique trucks and exposed brick touches, as well as a European-marketplace look and a glass window to see the the distillery's still. Also in the works for Comiskey Group: a new 150-hectare music and camping festival site 80 minutes north of Brisbane, as well as a big new Sunshine Coast music venue and hotel next to an 11-hectare parkland. Find Comiskey Distillery next door to at Eatons Hill Hotel, 646 South Pine Road, Eatons Hill.
Sometimes, we're all looking onwards, upwards and forwards because we're thinking about the future. Given how normality as everyone knows it has changed and evolved rapidly over the past couple of years, that's hardly surprising. But don't forget to look up literally, too — especially when must-see sights keep gracing the night sky. When it comes to vibrant astronomical visions, this is the latest in the space of a few short weeks, after the Lyrids meteor shower lit up the night back in April. Every autumn, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower sets the sky ablaze, too — and it's that time now. This year, the shower will be at its most spectacular early on Saturday, May 7 — very early, in fact. If you're eager to catch a glimpse, even from just your backyard or balcony, here's how. WHAT IS IT The Eta Aquarids might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but the shower is actually a distant relation — because the bits and pieces you see flying around were on Halley's path a really, really long time ago. And, rather than only being visible every 76 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), the Eta Aquarids come around every year, usually between April 19–May 28 every year. The shower's name comes from the star from which they appear to come Eta Aquarii, which is part of the Aquarius constellation. So, that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. Luckily, being in the southern hemisphere, we get some of the best views in the world. On average, you can see up to 20–40 meteors per hour. [caption id="attachment_769233" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] WHEN TO SEE IT The shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Saturday, May 7, but will still be able to be seen for a few days on either side. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am — but between 2am–6am is also recommended. At that time, you'll be in the running to see as many as 50 meteors every 60 minutes. Each will be moving at about 225,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. HOW TO SEE IT Usually, when a meteor shower lights up the sky, we'd tell city-dwellers to get as far away from light pollution as possible to get the best view. If you can't venture out of town at the moment, you can still take a gander from your backyard or balcony. To help locate the shower, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also has a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Eta Aquarids. It has been updating this daily. The weather might get in the way of your viewing, though, depending on where you live. Melbourne is set for showers until next Monday, and Adelaide is as well until Saturday — fingers crossed that the wet weather takes a break during the early hours. It's also forecast to be wet in Brisbane until Friday, so here's hoping that any rain doesn't hang around till Saturday. In Sydney and Perth, however, sunny conditions await.
Approaching the mental health of your loved ones, and your own, isn't always the easiest, but two Sydneysiders have produced a novel way to get the public opening up to each other. Intangible Goods is an installation by artists Mark Starmach and Elizabeth Commandeur, who've combined year's worth of involvement in the marketing industry with a shared experience of growing up with family members who struggled with mental health. Presented by Art & About Sydney at three CBD locations from now until April 8, Intangible Goods makes engaging with contemporary psychology accessible and easy to interact with. The former advertising colleagues share the unusual bond of having family members diagnosed with schizophrenia and have found an outlet for these experiences to go alongside their exposure to the negative aspects of consumerism that's a mainstay of their professional careers. "In both our lives, we found that our families were very hidden about it," says Elizabeth. "They felt like they couldn't be open with their friends or family and that it wasn't something they could talk about publically." With Intangible Goods, Mark and Elizabeth hope to give people a way to express their inner feelings with an element of fun and whimsy. [caption id="attachment_661905" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katherine Griffiths. Courtesy of City of Sydney.[/caption] VENDING GOODNESS More than familiar with the typically heavy-handed campaigns marketing agencies produce concerning mental health, Mark and Elizabeth approached the subject with a touch of light-heartedness. Noticing similarities between advertising principals and psychological theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy, the duo wanted to make use of their marketing experience, help people consider their own mental wellbeing and embrace these conversations in a more comfortable way. Their solution? Intangible Goods — a vending machine stocked with ten different 'snacks' that'll feed your wellbeing. Neatly designed, each product line is the result of considerable consultation with mental health professionals and a survey of 550 of their fellow Sydneysiders who were asked what they needed most in their lives right now. Mark explains, "Throughout our survey, several answers bubbled to the top. Something like 41% of people responded that they wanted closer connections with the people in their lives, which was a clear outlier. But, in thinking about what connection to others actually is, it can't clearly be defined to just one single type of connection." That's why each individual 'Connection' package has its own concept inside. Where one reminds you to stay in touch with friends and family, others suggest making new relationships or improving your sense of belonging in the community. The same has been done for other responses, which vary from 'Purpose' to 'Structure', 'Spontaneity' to 'Calm'. Each product can be bought from the vending machine for $2 with all profits going towards beyondblue, the Mental Health Association NSW (WayAhead) and the Schizophrenia Research Institute at NeuRA. CONSUMING LESS, LIVING MORE Mark and Elizabeth are first to admit the world of marketing and advertising can promote unhealthy habits around consumerism. As Elizabeth explains, "For me, I think consumerism is habitual and almost an everyday thing. But I think much of it is mindlessly purchasing goods that help fulfil some sort of empty void in our lives." Intangible Goods aims to turn this concept upside-down by redirecting the energy put into promoting products into something positive. By providing visitors with a conversation starter and something that'll elicit an emotional response, the installation is aimed at encouraging visitors to think critically, as well as providing a way to navigate their own mindset. MAKING BIG, FIRST STATEMENTS While the concept had long been floating around Mark and Elizabeth's heads, the nitty-gritty of Intangible Goods took almost a year to complete. Being the first major art project both Mark and Elizabeth have produced, adjusting from their largely structured professional lives to something more abstract and holistic took some getting used to. This adjustment was only made more difficult with Elizabeth working remotely from Copenhagen for the duration of 2017. But after many midnight phone calls, shared online spreadsheets, discussions with vending machine suppliers, budget lists and safety reports, the pair's hard work has finally been realised. Working alongside Art & About Sydney and the City Of Sydney, Mark says the creative process was made easy with the freedom the duo were granted. "Everyone involved gave us license to run with our vision and helped us stick to it faithfully, which is not something we're super used to from working in the world of agencies." Intangible Goods will be vending across Sydney CBD 24 hours a day from March 26 until April 8, 2018. Find it at Martin Place, between Pitt and George streets from March 26–29, Customs House Square from March 30 to April 3 and Pitt Street Mall from April 4–8. See full details here.
Whether you love it or hate it, have flung cutlery at it or only first heard about it thanks to The Disaster Artist, The Room will always retain a unique spot in popular culture. Writer, director, producer, star and all-round enigma Tommy Wiseau might have other projects on his resume — including this year's Best F(r)iends: Volume One with The Room's Greg Sestero — but there's truly nothing like his debut movie. Telling the tale of a banker called Johnny (Wiseau), his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle) and his best friend Mark (Sestero), the film refuses to adhere to any filmmaking rules, conventions or just general common sense, with random images of spoons, men playing football in tuxedos and unnecessary sex scenes all part of the package. And, for reasons only known to Wiseau, it's now available in 1080p high-definition — and for free — on YouTube thanks to the man himself. Wiseau has uploaded the movie to his own YouTube channel, and it's all there — the "oh hi, doggy" moment, the cancer subplot that's brought up out out the blue and dropped just as suddenly, and Wiseau screaming "you're tearing me apart, Lisa!" all included. That's your viewing sorted, well, forever — but don't go throwing spoons at your own screen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-htzzL-JOUg&feature=youtu.be
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=UtVe_8CS6vU RADIOACTIVE Even without sourcing and quoting an exact number, it's obvious that an immense amount of people owe their lives to Marie and Pierre Curie's research on radioactivity. Without their work — Marie's passion project, which she reluctantly agreed to collaborate on with Pierre after they first crossed paths in Paris — cancer treatment would've likely been vastly different over the past century. The results for scores of cancer patients would've been as well. But the pair's discovery of two new elements, radium and polonium, also led to disturbing side effects and cataclysmic events that changed the course of history in other ways. Radioactive touches upon both, from life-saving oncology usage and the ability to conduct x-rays on World War I battlefields to the bombing of Hiroshima and Chernobyl's nuclear reactor meltdown. Via the inclusion of clips in a 50s hospital, in Japan, in the Ukraine and at a nuclear bomb test in Nevada in 1961, this becomes a far more thoughtful feature than its usual biopic trappings often indicate (and make no mistake, much of the script reads from the biopic-101 playbook). It might seem strange for a film about Marie to leap forward at different moments, jumping to years and decades past her death in 1934, all to show how the physicist and chemist's work made and continues to make a colossal impact upon the world. But that's the most interesting thing about Radioactive: its willingness to contemplate both the significant benefits and proven dangers of Marie (Rosamund Pike, an Oscar-nominee for Gone Girl) and Pierre's (Sam Riley, Rebecca) pioneering discoveries. The latter is tasked with vocalising this battle in his acceptance speech for their shared 1903 Nobel Prize in physics, acknowledging the struggle but opining that "mankind will derive more good than harm". As directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and adapted from Lauren Redniss' graphic novel about the Curies, Radioactive film doesn't simply take Pierre at his word, however. It shows his radiation sickness, and Marie's. It touches upon the backlash when news of radioactivity's health effects started becoming widely known. And those aforementioned flash-forwards to both positive and negative applications of the Curies' research keep the same conversation going, because Radioactive doesn't try to offer a right or wrong answer. Something can be two things at once, after all, as this often-probing movie shows in a variety of ways. Read our full review. https://vimeo.com/451401547#at=17 BRAZEN HUSSIES Chatting to activists involved in Australia's women's liberation movement during the 60s and 70s, Brazen Hussies doesn't lack in witty and wise ladies making pivotal points. But it's filmmaker Margot Nash (The Silences) who offers one of this documentary's most telling observations, and the one that crystallises exactly why this movie had to be made. "History has to be told over and over again," she advises. She's a talking head in the film, rather than the writer or director behind it — those roles fall to first-timer Catherine Dwyer — but she couldn't encapsulate Brazen Hussies' purpose any better if she was the doco's driving force. As the feature explains, it's easy for people to overlook this chapter of history, and the fact that it all happened so recently. It's easy to forget that women's lives were drastically different, as was the way they were regarded by the world around them. Brazen Hussies surveys pay inequality, legal abortion, funding for childcare, the way both queer women and Indigenous Australian women are treated, society's abhorrence of female sexuality and the first Advisor on Women's Affairs to a head of government anywhere in the world — plus everything from tackling domestic violence and the victim-blaming that can go along with it, to the simple struggle to survive that single mothers faced as well. But this happens in tandem with a historical recounting of Australia's actual fight for women's liberation, with Dwyer inspired by working on 2014 documentary She's Beautiful When She's Angry (which did the same from a US perspective). She examines what drove the more than 25 women she counts among her eponymous group to act and what they achieved, of course. At every moment, however, she's just as interested in how they battled for that change. Having access to a treasure trove of materials helps considerably in this engaging, informative and impassioned film. If the doco's talking-head lineup is impressive, it's bested only by the immense range of archival images and footage that Dwyer and editor Rosie Jones (director of The Family) splice together. With the rest of the filmmaking team, the pair sifted through more than 4000 photographs, journals, artworks and posters, and 800-plus news clips, documentaries and dramatic movies — and, unsurprisingly, Brazen Hussies is all the more detailed for it. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roo8p8sDX24&feature=emb_logo A LION RETURNS Following the clandestine return of a radicalised Muslim man to Sydney to see his dying mother, A Lion Returns is a film about extreme actions and the consequences they bring. And yet, as written and directed by Serhat Caradee — marking his second feature after 2009's Cedar Boys — it's a movie driven primarily by talk about those actions. Indeed, its opening third takes place in a car outside the Alamein family residence, where brothers Omar (Danny Elacci, Trust) and Jamal (Tyler De Nawi, On the Ropes) reunite in secret while their relatives gather inside. Before academic Omar can work out how to usher Jamal inside without anyone else seeing, especially their father Yusef (Taffy Hany, East West 101) who is likely to call the police, the siblings discuss everything that has led them to this juncture. Omar outlines the grim health predicament their ailing mother Manal (Helen Chebatte, Alex & Eve) faces, with hospice her next step. He also demands answers from Jamal about why he left his own wife (Jacqui Purvis, Neighbours) and young son to fight in Syria, makes his brother explain exactly what he did during his time with the Islamic State and tries to ascertain what he hopes to achieve by making a comeback. A Lion Returns is so dialogue-heavy — and so driven by two- and three-way conversations about bonds of family, faith, the lengths one will go to for both and the repercussions that follow — that it could've easily graced the stage instead of the big screen. But there's an intimacy to this independent, low-budget, shot-in-ten-days Australian drama about ripped-from-the-headline matters that's cinematic. Set in an ordinary vehicle and a just-as-standard suburban home, and unfurling in real time, its visuals mightn't provide an overt spectacle; however, the connection that Caradee evokes with his complicated characters, and with the complex ideas and themes they discuss and sift through, benefits from the film's ability to get literally close to the animated chatter happening within its frames. This is a feature that makes every move possible to place its audience in the heat of the moment with its arguing family members, to share their tension and to confront the same thorny issues with them, and does so with precision. There are few surprises, narrative-wise, as not only Jamal's abandoned loved ones but the defector himself grapple with his choices and the shadows they've left overseas and at home, but A Lion Returns excavates a difficult situation with assurance and poise, as well as with passionate performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPie_hKO6pM IP MAN: KUNG FU MASTER It's unlikely that filmmakers will ever get sick of making movies about Ip Man, much in the same way that they never seem to tire of bringing the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula to the screen. Ip Man was a real person, though. A martial arts grandmaster in the kung fu style known as Wing Chun, his life spanned fascinating chapters in both mainland China and Hong Kong, including a stint with the police force and training Bruce Lee — and it has also spawned many a film over the past couple of decades as a result. Ip Man features in movies about Lee, naturally. He has been the driving force behind the Donnie Yen-starring Ip Man, Ip Man 2, Ip Man 3 and Ip Man 4: The Finale, too, and Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster as well. And, first in The Legend Is Born – Ip Man, then in Kung Fu League and now in Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, he has been played by wushu champion-turned-actor Dennis To (who actually had a minor role in Ip Man and Ip Man 2). In Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, To steps into the famed figure's shoes during his law enforcement stint in Foshan. First, he's the subject of a revenge scheme by the daughter of a mobster who is killed in police custody despite Ip Man's best efforts to ensure otherwise. Then, he's targeted by the Japanese army as they make their presence known in the period between the first and second Sino-Japanese wars. Both elements of the story intertwine — as does the birth of Ip Man's first son, and his need to protect his family as multiple parties endeavour to hunt him down — but writer/director Li Liming is far more interested in the movie's frenetically choreographed martial arts scenes than its narrative. Indeed, anything that doesn't involve fighting often feels like filler. There's no doubting the impact of Ip Man: Kung Fu Master's balletic displays of flying fists, though, or how stylishly they're shot. They can't substantially lift a film that'll never be the go-to Ip Man movie, or even one of the best flicks about him either, but they're the standout elements of an otherwise average movie. 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, October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29. 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, Antebellum, Miss Juneteenth, Savage, I Am Greta, Rebecca, Kajillionaire, Baby Done, Corpus Christi, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and The Craft: Legacy. Top image: A Lion Returns via Bonafide Pictures.
When projectors start rolling at the Brisbane International Film Festival for 2024, the annual showcase of cinema will kick off with a journey behind the scenes of a TV premiere that changed comedy history. When the movie-worshipping event comes to an end for another year, it'll do so with a portrait of a tennis star. In-between, get ready for everything from Selena Gomez's latest big-screen role to a music biopic made with Lego — and pioneering Australian animation, First Nations' horror, Cate Blanchett navigating a global crisis and more. Yes, the full BIFF lineup is here. The River City's major film fest has been unveiling its titles for a few weeks, so Saturday Night launching the fest and Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story closing it aren't new news. Also already known: that the program includes Anora, the latest feature from Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket filmmaker Sean Baker, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival; the Amy Adams (Dear Evan Hansen)-starring Nightbitch; Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & the Six) and Jesse Eisenberg (Fleishman Is in Trouble) playing a sasquatch family in Sasquatch Sunset; Aussie horror The Red, which is quite the kangaroo story; and the female Iranian judo athlete-focused Tatami. Even just days before the complete lineup dropped, the festival revealed that it's showing Venice Golden Lion-winner The Room Next Door, aka the newest movie from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers, Pain and Glory) and his English-language feature debut, with Tilda Swinton (Fantasmas), Julianne Moore (May December) and John Turturro (Mr & Mrs Smith) starring. And, it advised that it's screening Venice's Silver Lion-winner The Brutalist, which picked up the Italian fest's Best Director prize and hails from actor-turned-filmmaker Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux), as well. Now comes everything else that'll get eight Brisbane venues in the BIFF mood, and audiences with them, across Thursday, October 24–Sunday, November 3. The places to head to: Palace Barracks, Dendy Coorparoo, Reading Newmarket, Five Star Cinemas New Farm, Angelika Film Centre, Dendy Powerhouse and Dendy Portside, as well as taking the festival to the city's western suburbs at Reading Jindalee. Gomez (Only Murders in the Building) joins the BIFF lineup via Emilia Pérez, the musical crime comedy from Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone) that also stars Karla Sofia Gascón (Harina) and Zoe Saldaña (Special Ops: Lioness), and won all its ensemble cast Cannes' Best Actress prize this year. Plastic bricks are on the bill courtesy of Piece by Piece, which gives Pharrell Williams the on-screen bio treatment, but not in the usual way. Blanchett (Borderlands) features in Rumours, which boasts the The Green Fog's inimitable trio Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson behind the lens. And as also mentioned above, BIFF has the world premiere of homegrown animation The Lost Tiger, the first such Aussie flick written and directed by an Indigenous woman, on the bill as well — and also Sundance-debuting horror The Moogai. Other newly unveiled highlights include Malcolm Washington's feature directorial debut The Piano Lesson, which has his brother John David Washington (The Creator), as well as Samuel L Jackson (Fight Night) and Danielle Deadwyler (Till), among the cast; dreamy Buffy-inspired sensation I Saw the TV Glow from We're All Going to the World's Fair's Jane Schoenbrun; and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria)- and Dan Stevens (Abigail)-starring thriller Cuckoo. There's also Sundance Audience Award-winner Sujo, about the son of a cartel gunman; Audrey, as led by Jackie van Beek (Nude Tuesday) as a mother who steals the identity of her teenage daughter, who is in a coma; and restaurant-set dramedy La Cocina featuring Rooney Mara (Women Talking). BIFF attendees can look forward to Inside, too, with the prison drama starring Guy Pearce (The Clearing), Cosmo Jarvis (Shōgun) and Toby Wallace (The Bikeriders) — and directed by Charles Williams, who won the 2018 short film Palme d'Or for All These Creatures. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is the latest film from Mohammad Rasoulf (There Is No Evil), with the movie's place on this year's Cannes lineup seeing him forced to flee Iran after being sentenced to flogging and imprisonment. And All We Imagine as Light was the first Indian film to play in Cannes' competition in three decades. Elsewhere, In Vitro is an Ashley Zukerman (Succession)-led Australian sci-fi thriller about a couple doing biotech experiments, the Ilana Glazer (The Afterparty)-led mom-com Babes is helmed by Pamela Adlon from Better Things, and Carnage for Christmas brings Yuletide mayhem courtesy of a tale about a true-crime podcaster in the sights of a psychotic killer. And for a piece of inspiration, the Osher Günsberg-narrated 150 follows Erchana Murray-Bartlett's attempt to run 150 marathons over 150 days. In total, 52 features grace BIFF's 2024 roster, meaning there's plenty more joining all of the aforementioned flicks — and plenty of excuses for Brisbane movie lovers to spend 11 days doing nothing but watching festival films in cinemas. [caption id="attachment_974225" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC[/caption] [caption id="attachment_974224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elise Lockwood[/caption] The 2o24 Brisbane International Film Festival runs between Thursday, October 24–Sunday, November 3 at Palace Barracks, Dendy Coorparoo, Dendy Powerhouse, Reading Newmarket, Five Star Cinemas New Farm and Angelika Film Centre. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck trying to save the world from an asteroid? That's so 1998. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence attempting to stop a comet from wiping out life as we know it? That's the premise of Netflix's new disaster comedy Don't Look Up, which thankfully isn't a sequel to the aforementioned Armageddon. Instead, it's the latest film from The Big Short and Vice director Adam McKay — and it's set to hit the streaming platform in December. If it sounds familiar, that's because Don't Look Up was one of the big-name movies on Netflix's lengthy list of new flicks heading its way in 2021, as it start teasing back in January. And yes, while plenty of the films named back then have already hit the platform given the year is now nine months in — movies such as Malcolm & Marie, The White Tiger, The Dig, The Woman in the Window, Army of the Dead and Moxie — the streamer really is making us all wait for its starriest picture of 2021. DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Lawrence (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) play astronomy professor Dr Randall Mindy and his grad student Kate Dibiasky, who discover that a Mount Everest-sized comet is orbiting our solar system — and that it's on a direct collision course with earth. So, with just six months left until impact, they endeavour to tell everyone they can about the planet's impending demise, all by embarking upon a media tour. But the President (Meryl Streep, The Prom) and her son and Chief of Staff (Jonah Hill, The Beach Bum) barely seem to care, and neither does the public. Also featuring on-screen as the former "king of the world" and Katniss Everdeen try to save the world: Timothée Chalamet (Little Women), Cate Blanchett (Where'd You Go, Bernadette), Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Tyler Perry (Those Who Wish Me Dead), Ron Perlman (Monster Hunter), Himesh Patel (Tenet), Melanie Lynskey (Mrs America), Kid Cudi (Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Ariana Grande. Yes, as seen in the just-dropped teaser trailer, this film does have quite the cast. Don't Look Up will hit Netflix just in time for your Christmas break, dropping on Friday, December 24. It'll also screen in some cinemas before that, if you'd like to see it on the big screen. And if you're wondering how the film will fare tonally, McKay looks like he's in The Big Short and Succession mode, rather than harking back to his Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers days. That said, Blanchett does play a TV host, so maybe the filmmaker will have audiences thinking about Anchorman as well. Check out the teaser trailer for Don't Look Up below: Don't Look Up will be available to stream via Netflix on Friday, December 24, and in selected cinemas earlier in December. Image: Nico Tavernise/Netflix.
Talking to an audience, or one-to-one, former-billionaire Chris Anderson still comes across as pretty approachable. Anderson is curator — and owner — of the smart, global talk-fest, TED, where talks are notes-free and never more than 18 minutes long. Anderson was in Australia last weekend for TEDxSydney's 2012 collection of talks about robots, quantum computing, imaginary friends and the durability of dirty words. After all but one of the other speakers had taken to the stage, Anderson spoke briefly about TED-Ed, which combines videos and mash-ups into a kind of "magic blackboard", and the Worldwide Talent Search for TED2013. After he left the stage, Concrete Playground was lucky enough to sit down with Chris Anderson for almost exactly a TED Talk's worth of time. You come across, from a distance, as very gentle. Do you find that helps you run a big conference like TED? I don't think anyone's ever asked me that before. Interesting. I think I probably am gentle. Maybe I'm gentle. There's lots of ways to run a business. And I do many of them really badly: but I do have a great team. And TED has a life of its own. So, it's amazing to see it take off around the world. Every day is a surprise. Teenagers get ignored a lot in public. Why did you pick teenagers as your target for TED-Ed? Well, our existing talks are aimed at adults and are certainly devoured by a lot of university-age students. And a little bit in schools. But they're not optimised for school use. They're too long. They displace too much class time. They're aimed at adults. And so, given that ideas matter most for people whose world views are still being formed, and given how important education is to everyone's future, we kind of have no choice, but to do something for that age group. And we spent a lot of time thinking about it. And talking to teachers, and listening. And this is where we've ended up. We've got a lot of interest among 18 and up. And we just wanted to move down. And maybe, if this is successful, we'll continue the trip down. Towards, you know, birth. [laughs] What was school life like for you? You talk a lot about better ways of education. Is that informed from a bad experience or a good experience when you were younger? I was brought up in an international school in the Himalayas in India. And it was a fabulous experience, actually. In fact, if I had a wish … if every kid could spend a few years in an international school, a lot of issues would go away. Because, without even trying, you end up a global soul. And, you know, all the big problems in the world are essentially global problems. So, it would be nice if the people who were trying to solve them were taking a global perspective instead of a tribal perspective, which is why we can't solve a lot of what's out there. So, no — it was a wonderful experience. It was lots of time outdoors. Lots of time in nature. And an incredible cast of characters in the school. So, it was great. I watched the TED-Ed talk 'Questions no one knows the answers to'. I really enjoyed that one. When do you think we might know the answers to some of those questions? You're in a good position to have an idea. There was a bunch of different questions thrown into there. I mean, one of the questions — about 'Why aren't we seeing alien life?' — I think there really is chance that in the next fifteen years that we learn a lot on the question. There's a lot of technologies coming online that will allow real spectroscopic information from nearby planets. We might be able to detect vegetation. There's a lot of things that might show up. And we're involved in this project right now to open up, crowd-source, the search as well. To get millions of people looking for signals, not just a few scientists. I would die happy, if we found real contact with another intelligent species out there. It would be totally thrilling. What do you think might be some of the new questions, once we get rid of the old ones? I certainly think it's right that the more we know, the more questions we have. Reality is infinitely complex. And you have to just view it as: each step of the journey is interesting, exciting and useful. I think I've said before that learning something is a different psychological process to consuming something. That most things we do have a law of diminishing returns. You eat ice-cream, and the fourth and fifth taste aren't quite as nice as the first taste. Knowledge — it actually works the other way. The more you know about the world, the more your sense of wonder explodes. And that's actually really cool. That gives me a lot of hope for the future of TED for one thing. You've said before that there's always one talk that really surprises you. What really surprised you today? I thought the talk on quantum computing was mind-blowing. And if quantum computers come along, all bets are off as to what that means for technology. Charles C Mann wrote a great book called 1491 updating America's pre-Colombian history with things he thought every kid should know. What do you think that grown-ups, kids, should know at the moment, much more generally? I think one of the things is how flawed and quirky human nature is. We don't yet have that mental model. A lot of kids are brought up to believe that they're special snowflakes, or [that] their only job in life is to find their passion and it'll all be okay. And the truth is we're really complex biological machines. And we do a lot of things amazingly, and we do a lot of things really badly, actually. Because we evolved for a different era, and a different set of environmental requirements. And so, knowing that, and learning to navigate around that is a really important part of education. What are you reading right now? Do you have time to read? Less time. I think that's probably true of everyone. We're launching this TED Books initiative, based on shorter books. On the idea that most ideas don't have to be expressed at 80,000 or 100,000 words. They can actually be expressed in maybe 20,000 words. So, TED Talk: 2,500 words. TED book: 20,000 words. Then, non-fiction book: 80,000 words. So, there's a sort of niche there. And it means that you can sit down and read in an hour and a half. I think that's actually a great length. So that's what I'm reading right now: we're going to be publishing these new TED books, one every two weeks. And I'm reading a lot of those. And they're pretty cool. Are you happy? I am happy. Most of my life I've been happy. They say it's seventy percent hard-wired, and the rest is magic. I'm unbelievably lucky —I've got one of the world's most enjoyable jobs, surely. And you know I get to see this thing growing in a way I couldn't have imagined. I'm married to an amazing woman who's a much better impacter of the world than I am. [laughs] So, yeah. I'm a lucky person. Photo by the amazing Enzo Amato, and additional assistance by Tully Rosen.
When Caper Byron Bay Food and Culture Festival debuted in 2022, Louis Tikaram from Stanley in Brisbane was on the lineup. In 2024, the chef from the standout Sunshine State restaurant has curated the program. He has ties to the area, growing up on a 110-acre farm in Mullumbimby before hopping from Sydney's Tetsuya's and Longrain to E.P & L.P. in Los Angeles and then the Queensland capital's go-to Cantonese fine-diner — and he's now doing his part for this culinary fest's second event. Caper returns with a few changes. The festival has expanded its lineup from a four-day weekend to a ten-day run, and also moved from spring to autumn, taking place from Friday, May 17–Sunday, May 26. But its focus remains on celebrating food and culture in its seaside New South Wales home and the surrounding region, whether you're keen to eat, drink, listen to live tunes, or enjoy a drag night and trivia show. Tikaram's program is filled with fellow culinary names, including when the opening party takes over Three Blue Ducks. On the bill just for that night alone: Dave Moyle from Salty Mangrove (who organised the first Caper), Jason Saxby from Raes on Wategos, Ben Devlin from Pipet, Matt Stone from You Beauty, Mindy Woods from Karkalla, Karl and Katrina Kanetani from Beach Byron Bay, Pepsi Nakbunchuay from Bang Bang, Robbie Oijvall from Lightyears, Bruno Conti from The Hut, Marcello Polifrone from Harvest and, of course, Darren Robertson from the host venue. At the other end of the fest, the closing-night event will see Tikaram, Hawaiian chef Kanetani, Ross Magnaye from Serai Kitchen in Melbourne and Jedd Rifai from North Byron Hotel hone in on Hawaiian buffet-style snacks. In-between, long lunches, a yakitori party and a five-course smoke-fuelled feast are all among the fellow Caper highlights. Some meals will get you eating seaside. Other events are serving up an Italian-inspired aperitivo hour or a gin garden party. With Tikaram doing the honours again, you can also tuck into east-meets-west canapés at Byron Chinese restaurant Hutong Harry's. Whatever you're heading to, the North Byron Hotel is the fest's official watering hole, hosting tunes, cooking demonstrations, and cheese and wine tastings. If you've got a ticket to the fest, you'll score a drink coupon for a complimentary beverage, too.
In its opening moments, Bupkis unloads — twice, in completely different ways, while ensuring there's zero doubt that this is a series about Pete Davidson starring Pete Davidson as Pete Davidson. First, the former Saturday Night Live comedian gets Googling while alone in the basement of the Staten Island home he shares with his mother Amy (Edie Falco, Avatar: The Way of Water). The results about Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale and Kim Kardashian's ex aren't positive; one headline simply exclaims 'Yuck!'. So, to shake off the unpleasantness of reading '12 Things Horribly Wrong with Pete Davidson', which is one of the nicer statements, he switches from "scumbro" with "butthole eyes" comments to porn. He's wearing a VR headset, and he's soon deep in self-love. Then his mum walks in. Streaming from Thursday, May 4 on Binge in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand, Bupkis clearly isn't wary about getting crude. It isn't concerned about satirising its central figure, either. Instead, this semi-autobiographical dramedy relishes the parody. At the age of 29, Davidson has reached the "you may as well laugh" point in his career, which is hardly surprising given he's spent the past decade swinging his big chaotic energy around. Or, more accurately, how pop culture has hung on every twist in his love life and off-screen mess far more than his eight SNL seasons and big-screen roles in Big Time Adolescence, The Suicide Squad, Bodies Bodies Bodies and more. Missed those flicks? Bupkis riffs on them, too, while also following in The King of Staten Island's footsteps. Partway through the eight-episode series, while keen to claim some perks for being Davidson's mother — other than doting on her son, that is — Amy shouts at wait staff that "Marisa Tomei played me!". Add that to Bupkis' gleeful, playful nods to reality. An opening statement before each instalment stresses the difference between fact and fiction, and why the show has the name it has, but art keeps imitating life everywhere. There's no switching names, however. Davidson is indeed Davidson, his IRL mum is called Amy and his sister is Casey (Oona Roche, The Morning Show). As in The King of Staten Island, they've been a trio since 9/11, and dealing with losing his New York City firefighter dad still isn't easy. Off-screen, Davidson must be a fan of My Cousin Vinny, plus the gangster genre. Hailing from the former as Tomei does, and famed for his performances in the latter like The Sopranos star Falco, Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman alum Joe Pesci is a pivotal part of Bupkis as Davidson's grandfather Joe — a hilarious and delightful part, unsurprisingly. When Joe drops grim health news, the series gets one of its through lines, with Davidson determined to spend as much time with his grandpa as possible. He's clueless about what to do, though, whether he's hiring him a sex worker or seeking advice about why no one ever takes him seriously. Joe is blunt: "they see you as a joke because you are a joke — and you act like a fucking joke." There's roguish self-awareness to the way Bupkis leans into Joe's assessment — with Davidson lampooning himself, could there be anything else? — alongside an earnest-but-comic effort to unpack why that's such a widely held view. Joe also advises that he needs to stop trying to make himself happy and focus on other people for a change, another thread tying the show's episodic antics together. Sometimes, Davidson endeavours to prove he can look after a kid (there's that Big Time Adolescence nudge). Elsewhere, he attempts to push his career into blockbusters (which is where The Suicide Squad comes to mind, but here he's making a war epic with Brad Pitt). Often, he's unable to work out how to have a normal relationship with his girlfriend Nikki (Bodies Bodies Bodies' Chase Sui Wonders, who played his character's girlfriend in that savvy slasher and is reportedly Davidson's real-life paramour at the time of writing). Creating Bupkis with The King of Staten Island co-writer Dave Sirus and Crashing's Judah Miller (so, a veteran of another comedy where a comedian plays himself), Davidson also battles a troll who keeps posting a photo of him that he hates, looks back on the aftermath of his father's death with 'Cotton Eye Joe' as a soundtrack, and goes to rehab with Machine Gun Kelly and Black Bird's Paul Walter Hauser. He has Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett and Nine Perfect Strangers' Bobby Cannavale as surrogate father figures, and Ray Romano as a nemesis. Everyone from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day and Miracle Workers' Steve Buscemi to SNL's Kenan Thompson and John Mulaney pop up, plus Jon Stewart, Al Gore and Method Man. He hangs out with an entourage — Evan (Philip Ettinger, Angelyne), Derek (Derek Gaines, The Last OG), Crillz (first-timer James A DeSimone), Dave (Sirus) and Gilly (Shane Gillis, Gilly and Keeves) — like the show is a Staten Island-set version of Entourage, and enlists Red Rocket's Simon Rex for a killer Florida-set Fast and Furious spoof. What is it like to be Pete Davidson? Returning to that key question again and again on-screen, the honest answer in Bupkis is anarchic and absurd, usually of his own making. If the series wasn't as sincere as it is, it could be accused of throwing anything and everything it can at the sitcom's walls and letting it all stick — but there's always insight shining behind even its silliest and most surreal stretches. When he's ruining funerals, missing his sister's graduation, proving the truth behind 'Is Pete Davidson on Drugs?' articles, not taking big gigs seriously and opting for mystery substances over a quiet night alone abroad over the holidays, Bupkis doesn't avoid the glaringly obvious, either: it's the sitcom's version of Davidson who is making his own choices. The King of Staten Island was also candid, raw and lived-in, as well as thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny. Davidson delivered a compelling wayward-yet-vulnerable performance, too, while surrounded by excellent supporting players. No wild escapade is ever exactly the same twice, of course, as Davidson's on-screen characters keep experiencing — and repeating himself turns out entertainingly and astutely when he's this intent to keep interrogating his own existence. Pesci and Falco couldn't be more perfectly cast, both seeing through the tabloid facade (one with no-nonsense gruffness, the other with an abundance of warmth), but Davidson knows how to leave an imprint as himself. Here, he's again unloading his real struggles, and he's also unwilling to bask in sitcom happiness. The details might be embellished and fictionalised Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ramy-style, but that definitely isn't bupkis. Check out the trailer for Bupkis below: Bupkis streams via Binge in Australia and TVNZ+ in New Zealand from Thursday, May 4. Images: Heidi Gutman / Peacock.
