At the beginning of 2020, the idea that visiting a cafe might mean you'd need to keep a close eye on your health afterwards would've seemed very strange indeed. But, that scenario is now a normal part of life during a pandemic — and one that Queensland residents are getting used to during the state's response to COVID-19. While the Sunshine State has maintained low coronavirus case numbers to-date — with 1092 in total at the time of writing, and six active cases — naming locations and venues visited by folks who test positive to COVID-19 is a key element of Queensland's containment and contact-tracing strategy. So, with that in mind, Queensland Health has announced the latest place that Brisbanites need to note via a public health alert issued on Wednesday, August 19. Anyone who dined at The Jam Pantry cafe in Greenslopes on Sunday, August 16 is asked to watch for symptoms, and to get tested if they develop a cough, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste. That warning applies to patrons who visited all throughout that day; however, health authorities will specifically contact anyone who was on the premises between 9.45–11am. In a statement posted to its Instagram, The Jam Pantry cafe says it will temporarily close for deep-cleaning and all its staff will get a COVID-19 test. https://www.facebook.com/QLDHealth/photos/a.217413675033389/3265284100246316/?type=3&theater As Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young advised in the health alert, The Jam Pantry was frequented on August 16 by a woman who has since left the country, but returned a positive COVID-19 test upon her arrival in Japan. Qld Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. You can find a rundown of testing clinic locations online as well. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.
Whether you're a political junkie or simply appreciate the 44th American President's annual end-of-year culture lists, block out your diary for March: you've got a date with Barack Obama. The former US leader is heading Down Under in autumn 2023 for a two-date, two-city speaking tour about leadership — marking his first Australian visit since 2018. President Obama is making the trip for an event dubbed An Evening with President Barack Obama, as presented by business leadership and events provider Growth Faculty. He'll be the organisation's first headline speaker as part of its return to in-person events, in fact — and restarting with the ex-US leader is quite the statement. Obama will take to the stage on Tuesday, March 28 at Aware Theatre in Sydney and on Wednesday, March 29 at Melbourne's John Cain Arena. For folks who can't make it, won't be in either city or miss out on tickets, the Sydney session will also be livestreamed. As for exactly what Obama will be focusing on — leadership is a broad topic — Growth Faculty quoted the man himself, from back in November 2019, as a guide. "Being a leader is not a matter of having your name up in lights, making speeches or corralling power at the top. It's identifying the power in other people and unleashing it," Obama said. The former US President will also cover unpredictable futures and how to navigate them, something that comes with his past job. In-person tickets start at $195, or there's a VIP option in Sydney with a pre-speech cocktail party — although Obama won't be there sipping drinks before taking the stage. AN EVENING WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA 2023: Tuesday, March 28 — Aware Theatre, Sydney Wednesday, March 29 — John Cain Arena, Melbourne An Evening with President Barack Obama heads to Sydney and Melbourne in March 2023, with tickets on sale from 9am on Thursday, November 24. Head to the Growth Faculty website for further details. Top image: Carol M Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons.
For the past five years, Qantas has been promising to eradicate one of the worst things about international long-haul air travel to and from Australia: the dreaded stopover. First, it announced and then implemented non-stop 17-hour flights from Perth to London; however if you live on the east coast, you still have to get to Western Australia. So, the airline revealed that it was exploring direct routes from Sydney, not only to London but to New York as well, with a launch date of 2022. Since then, Qantas has been pursuing the idea enthusiastically, widening their plan to also include departures to and from Melbourne and Brisbane. This weekend, the Aussie carrier is taking the next step by piloting its first ultra long-haul research flight from New York to Sydney. Initially announced a couple of months back, it's the first trial as part of the airline's Project Sunrise scheme. It's also the first flight by a commercial airline to ever make the huge 19.5-hour journey — and will use a Boeing 787-9 to soar the 16,200 kilometres, all with 50 passengers and crew on board. While the Boeing 787-9 hasn't been designed for such a mammoth trek, when it departs New York's John F Kennedy Airport at 9pm on Friday, October 18 New York time (midday in Sydney on Saturday, October 19), it'll do so with a maximum fuel contingent, a restricted passenger and baggage load, and no cargo. Indeed, almost half of the flight's weight will be fuel, and it's expected to use all but 6000 kilograms of its 101,000 kilogram load during the trip. No members of the public are making the voyage, though, with the flight's passengers comprised of crew and Qantas employees. Given that the aim of the journey is to gather data about inflight passenger and crew health and wellbeing, they'll be fitted with wearable technology devices to monitor their monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, physical movement and use of the entertainment system during the flights. The results will then be assessed by scientists and medical experts from the Charles Perkins Centre, with minimising jetlag, and helping identify optimum crew rest and work patterns part of their research. The flight's four pilots will also take part in studies, working with CRC for Alertness, Safety and Productivity researchers to record their melatonin levels before, during and after the flights, as well as their brain wave patterns and alertness — again, to help ascertain the best work and rest routine when they're commanding those long-haul services. While spending nearly a day on one single plane to get to the USA or Europe is definitely better than jumping on and off different vessels multiple times, it's still a seriously long slog. Yes, you'll avoid the sometimes long, always painful stopovers, but the lengthy journey isn't without its physical, mental and emotional toll — as anyone who has made the Perth to London trip knows — which is what makes this testing so important. Two more trail flights are planned in November and December, including one that'll travel direct between London and Sydney. That trek has actually been made before; however the last time the latter happened was back in 1989, when Qantas made the journey on a Boeing 747-400 with just 23 people onboard. Qantas is expected to announce whether Project Sunrise will progress to making commercial flights, rather than just trial flights, by the end of December 2019. If it proceeds, it'll eclipse the current record for the world's longest direct flight — which clocks in at over 19 hours on Singapore Airlines' 15,322-kilometre Singapore-to-New York route. Image: Qantas.
They're one of the worst things that you can step on — and, no matter whether you're three, in your thirties or somewhere in-between (or older), they're the type of toy that's truly for all ages. That'd be Lego, aka the source of plenty of childhood fun, and now a kidulting staple thanks to boozy Lego nights and pop-up bars. Always wanted to get the A-to-Z lowdown about the world's favourite plastic bricks? Then add a visit to Bricktionary: The Interactive Lego Brick Exhibition to your calendar. On display now at HOTA, Home of the Arts until Sunday, August 7, this brick-fuelled event gives southeast Queensland its second Lego-themed exhibition in mere months, after the Wonders of the World showcase wrapped up in Brisbane just a few months back. Both take advantage of the Lego expertise of Ryan 'The Brickman' McNaught. And, obviously, the state's galleries and museums know one inescapable truth: there's no such thing as too much Lego. You'll certainly find a heap of it at Bricktionary, including over 150 impressive Lego models and six interactive building zones — so you can stare at Lego and make your own creations. More than one million bricks have been used at Bricktionary, which is spread out over 1000 square metres at the Gold Coast venue. The ticketed event is a family-friendly affair, obviously, so expect to have young Lego lovers for company.
You, yes you. Put down that burger. First we told you where all the great new burger joints are, then we told you how to get fit for free, and now we're telling you how to amp up your nutrition. Who needs a life coach when you have us to balance you out? Brisbane’s first raw organic vegan cafe, Orawgi, is moving up and out of Woolloongabba and into bigger and better headquarters at Hamilton. Jamie Louise and the team have closed the small store on Ipswich Rd to put love and energy into the new headquarters. With the new cafe and wellness space set to open on September 30, expect to find a new menu using seasonal organic ingredients, with everything made 99% raw. The new store will be open six days a week from 7am–7pm, giving all of those who live and work full-time outside the Gabba a chance to finally try Orawgi's creations. If the idea of committing to an entirely raw meal makes you feel like a rabbit, then perhaps give the new Sol Natural Foods in Fortitude Valley a guernsey. Open two weeks under the new Alpha Mosaic Hotel, the venue offers organic pizza, salads, raw sweets, cooked breakfasts and craft beer to keep everyone happy. Cheers! Also on our radar is a juice trend sweeping the city. Teneriffe has just welcomed an organic cold-pressed juice cafe, Press'd, to its streets. All the while, the Liquify brand have been busy securing six sites across the city to open hole-in-the-wall type juice bars and cafes in. The Liquify team are opening Australia's first 24hr juice and superfood outlet in Mt Gravatt, so early morning runs and late night stumble homes can be equally health-conscious. Did we mention that they all serve kale? Go forth to eat your #superfoods. Images: Orawgi.
The weekend means one thing – brunch. And for a unique brunch experience, we suggest heading to The Regatta Hotel's picturesque al fresco dining space The Courtyard to indulge in their Summer Harvest Brunch. Think: fresh food, river views and all-round good vibes. If you're looking for weekend plans, look no further. Taking place every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 1pm, enjoy fresh, seasonal and hearty brunch plates against the backdrop of a relaxed and vibrant atmosphere. Dining at The Courtyard is almost the next best thing to your local farmer's market, but without the crowds and without having to do any of the cooking. Plus, you get views of the Brisbane River. For just $79 per person, immerse yourself in exclusive farm-to-table offerings like a mouthwatering Farmers Board — loaded with seasonal delights including smoked meats and farm-fresh accompaniments — like corn and leafy greens. Thirsty? You can enjoy a premium beverage package to keep the palate feeling fresh and the vibes high. For a laid-back weekend brunch, Summer Harvest Brunch at The Regatta Hotel is an easy, delicious way to enjoy a weekend out with friends and family. Spaces are limited, so book your table today and savour the flavours of summer. Images: supplied.
With small businesses relying so heavily on the vaccine rollout to get Australians out of lockdown, many are encouraging everyone to go out and get their first jab with freebies and discounts. Marrickville brewery Hawke's supplied 250 free slabs to freshly vaccinated Sydneysiders, while the Bald Rock Hotel is offering anyone who's received both shots free pints. Bondi sneaker brand Von-Routte is joining the drive to encourage vaccination by offering anyone who has been vaccinated 20 percent off its sneakers. The promotion is valid on all full-priced items from Friday, July 30 until the end of Sydney's lockdown and is open to all Australians. All you have to do is DM the brand on Instagram with your proof of vaccination and you'll receive a personalised coupon to use online. Von-Routte is imploring other businesses to join the charge and offer vaccinated Aussies discounts. "The more people are vaccinated, the faster we can be back to "normal". If every business copies this idea — which they are welcome to — we could, significantly, motivate people to accelerate the vaccination rate. It's better for everyone: businesses, people and the economy," Von-Routte Co-Founders Gus Agra and Marina Tokarski said. The Bondi brand prides itself on creating ethical sneakers that last and offers customers the opportunity to bring their shoes in for a complimentary clean to give sneakers a refresh. You can browse its selection at the Von-Routte website.
Planning to listen to the Hottest 100 on January 26? Aren't we all. Planning to pair the music countdown with a smorgasbord of seafood? Well, you should be now. Newstead's Gasworks Precinct isn't just throwing a listening party — they're putting on a seafood festival as well. While you're tuning into the top tunes of the last year, you can wander between pop-up bars serving drinks, glorious drinks, plus the ocean's finest bounty. And if you're looking for some extra mid-song fun, why not enter one of the fest's competitions dedicated to peeling prawns, eating watermelon and lamingtons.
Rise up, Hamilton fans — especially if you're a Brisbanite who's thrilled that the biggest musical of the past decade is finally heading our way. We know you're excited. You've probably streamed the filmed version on Disney+ while you've been waiting. Maybe you've been in the room where it happens in Sydney or Melbourne, too. Whichever category you fall into, here's something else to add to your diary: The Brightside's On Repeat: Hamilton Party. You won't want to throw away your shot to spend a night celebrating Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed creation. You don't need to be young, scrappy and hungry to go along, either. And, you don't need to have seen oceans rise and empires fall — but you will want to be a huge Hamilton fan, of course. Get some skin in the game from 11pm on Saturday, September 17, with DJs spinning tunes from the musical, plus other theatre favourites, until 3am. Also set to get a whirl: tracks spanning everything from Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Hairspray, In the Heights, Matilda and High School Musical through to Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Dear Evan Hansen, West Side Story and Heathers. Tickets to attend cost $15.30 in the first release, going up to $20 for the final batch. And if you need a refresher on all things Hamilton, check out the Disney+ trailer below: Top image: Hamilton filmed version courtesy Disney+. Updated September 13.
More than 18 months after the Australian Government introduced an indefinite ban on international travel, holidaying overseas will be back on the agenda in some parts of the country in mere weeks. From November, when each state hits the 80-percent doubled-vaccinated threshold, they'll be permitted to reopen to overseas trips — but, if you're now eyeing off a jaunt to the UK, one popular route to London is undergoing a considerable change. Back in September, Qantas announced that its direct Perth-to-London route probably wouldn't be able to return until April 2022 due to Western Australia's strict border rules. Now, the Aussie carrier has confirmed that that's the case, and that it'll be temporarily heading non-stop from Australia to the UK out of Darwin instead. Accordingly, if you're the kind of traveller who likes fewer stopovers, and can also cope with spending almost a whole day on a plane non-stop, you might have a visit to the Northern Territory in your future. The flight from Darwin to London will take 17 hours and 20 minutes to travel 13,800 kilometres, and will actually initially originate in Sydney — departing from New South Wales five times a week from Sunday, November 14. "The Kangaroo route is one of the most iconic on the Qantas international network and we are delighted that Darwin will play a vital role in Australia's post pandemic reopening to the world," said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce in a statement. "Qantas has been flying repatriation services from London to Darwin as part of the airline's efforts to help bring Australians home over the past 12 months, so our pilots already have extensive experience operating this particular route," he continued. The super-long flights are slated to run out of Darwin until April, when it's expected that the direct route from Perth to London will be able to resume. That said, the airline's statement does also flag that "while this is a temporary change to the route, Qantas will watch how it performs and is open-minded about what it could lead to down the track." Also, travellers will have a different experience flying in and out of Darwin depending on whether they're keen to jet off as soon as the international travel restarts, or if they wait until a bit later. The arrangement is being rolled out in two stages, with the first step allowing transiting passengers from all Aussie states, or returning from London, to visit the international lounge and shops at Darwin Airport. It isn't till the second phase that transiting passengers will also have the option to leave the terminal and visit Darwin, however. When the Perth-to-London flights first launched back in 2018, they were obviously a big deal. Taking one is certainly an experience, from the layover time spent in the Perth airport if you're starting out from another city, through to what it feels like to sit on a plane (or get up and walk the aisles every now and then, for exercise) for that very lengthy spell. You might remember that, pre-pandemic, Qantas was contemplating starting non-stop routes from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to both London and New York, too. In fact, it had even run two trial journeys, and was poised to announce whether it was feasible in March 2020. We all know what happened to international travel then, though, so clearly the topic hasn't been a priority since. Qantas' direct flights from Darwin to London will take to the air in the week beginning Sunday, November 14. For more information, head to the Qantas website. Images: Qantas
They're the TV equivalent of page-turners: the shows that have you hanging on every twist and revelation, and that you just want to keep watching when each episode comes to an end. You know the type. They're filled with mystery and intrigue, as well as wild plot developments that constantly keep you guessing. And they're exactly the thing to watch when you've had a long and busy day and just feel like immersing yourself in someone else's ups and downs. Perhaps you want to jump into a moody supernatural thriller. Maybe an involving crime drama is more your style — or you could prefer the ins and outs of a marriage rocked by scandal, the trials and tribulations of a hitman who really just wants to be an actor, or to see what happens when a flight attendant comes under suspicion for murder. They're all on offer on Binge, and we've teamed up with the streaming service to explain why you'll want to add them all to your must-watch list — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
"We're not done with golf": in the just-dropped official teaser trailer for Happy Gilmore 2, they're Virginia Venit's (Julie Bowen, Hysteria!) words to the movie's main character; however, they clearly apply to Adam Sandler, too. Almost three decades after first getting tap, tap, tapping as a hockey player with an anger problem who makes the jump to golf — and after Happy Gilmore became one of the best-known comedies of the 90s, as well as one of Sandler's best-known films — he's back on the green on-screen. In the first film, Happy won the Tour Championship in 1996. As the just-dropped new sneak peek at Happy Gilmore 2 shows, he's repeated the feat several times over, and now has a bust of his head to honour five-time winners to show for. It's been years since he has picked up a club, though, and he's a little intimidated by today's golfers — but soon he's back in the swing again. Alongside Sandler (Spaceman) and Bowen, Ben Stiller (Nutcrackers) and Christopher McDonald (Hacks) return from the original Happy Gilmore. Joining them among the cast: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Cassandro) aka Bad Bunny; Sander's daughters Sadie (You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah) and Sunny (Kinda Pregnant); Travis Kelce; and Blake Clark (a regular Sandler collaborator, as seen in The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr Deeds, 50 First Dates, Click, Grown Ups and more). Then there's the lineup of IRL professional golfers, such as John Daly, Rory McIlroy, Paige Spiranac, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Bryson DeChambeau. A new happy place, unexpected reunions, broken clubs, more than a few rounds of advice encouraging Gilmore to get back to the sport: they're all part of the new trailer, too, which follows a past teaser to start 2025. Just like with the original, Sandler co-wrote Happy Gilmore 2 with Tim Herlihy (who has also penned or co-penned Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and eight other Sandler flicks through to Hubie Halloween), but Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery) steps into the director's chair instead of the initial film's Dennis Dugan (Grown Ups 2). Check out the official teaser for Happy Gilmore 2 below: Happy Gilmore 2 will stream via Netflix from Friday, July 25, 2025. Top image: Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix © 2024.
When Saturday, February 5, 2022 hits, Australia was going to welcome a situation that it hasn't experienced in almost two years: open state borders with Western Australia. But the country's current Omicron outbreak has seen the WA Government announce that it's delaying its reopening to the rest of the nation — and to the world — as Premier Mark McGowan revealed in a late-night press conference on Thursday, January 20. If you're wondering when WA will now allow vaccinated folks from other Aussie states to visit without quarantining — and WA residents to take getaways somewhere other than your home state and then return home easily, too — the Premier hasn't yet set a new date, postponing the planned reopening indefinitely. In a statement, the WA Government advised that "the updated plan means the full border opening will be delayed given the full impacts of Omicron in Australia are still unknown, with peak infections not yet reached in jurisdictions with widespread transmission" — and that "further reviews of border controls will be considered over the course of the next month". The change means that Western Australia's hard border policy that it's had in place throughout the pandemic will remain in effect for now, as now covered by the state's updated safe transition plan. There are a few amendments that'll kick in, though, with the list of people allowed to bypass the hard border expanding to include compassionate reasons — but still with a 14-day quarantine period. In light of what has occurred across the country, having closely assessed the situation over east and listening to the latest health advice, we have reworked WA's Safe Transition Plan to fit the environment that now confronts us. pic.twitter.com/o7Qb2vRrMU — Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) January 20, 2022 Here's how it'll work: from Saturday, February 5, to get into WA from interstate you'll need to meet specific exemption criteria, have had either two of three doses of a COVID-19 vaccination — three if you're eligible for them all, two if you're not yet eligible for your third jab — and have returned a negative rapid antigen test within 24 hours of departure. You also need to get one of WA's border passes, the G2G Pass, then undertake 14 days quarantine upon arrival. And, there's a PCR testing requirement within 48 hours of getting there, and on day 12 afterwards. Exemption categories will include returning Western Australians who have strong recent connections or direct legitimate family connections with WA; compassionate grounds, which covers funerals, plus palliative care or terminally ill visits; if you're a family member of an approved traveller; and entering for urgent and essential medical treatment. Also on the list: reasons of national and state security; commonwealth and state officials, members of parliament and diplomats; people providing specialist skills that aren't available in WA, plus health services and emergency service workers; those who have to attend court matters, judicial officers and staff of court, tribunals and commissions; and special considerations and extraordinary circumstances as determined by the State Emergency Coordinator or Chief Health Officer. For international travellers, you'll have to meet the federal requirements to come to Australia under the nation's arrivals cap, and go into 14 days of quarantine — which includes seven days in hotel quarantine and seven days of self-quarantine if you have somewhere suitable for the latter. There's also PCR testing on days one, six, nine and 12 after your arrival, and mandatory use of G2G Now. This applies if you're coming to WA directly from overseas; if you're arriving via another state or territory first, you'll fall under the same rules as interstate visitors. Announcing the reopening delay, the Premier said that "it would be irresponsible and reckless for the State Government to ignore the facts, and ignore the reality of the situation playing out on the east coast". McGowan continued: "it is expected that they will be reaching the peak of this current wave in the coming weeks. At that point, after the peak, I hope we can have a better understanding of Omicron and what it means for Western Australia." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Western Australia, and the state's corresponding restrictions, visit its online COVID-19 hub.
If jungle vibes inside a Brisbane warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, December 1. It's the second greenery-filled Brissie market from The Jungle Collective, a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Yes, its trucking its way up north again for another Queensland venture. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. At a yet-to-be-revealed secret location, you can be inspired by greenery aplenty and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces, all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Best get in quick though — these markets are always popular, with more than 150 different species usually on offer. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on both days (8-10am, 10am-noon, 12-2pm and 2-4pm), and attendees will need to register for free tickets from noon on Monday, November 26. Plus, given that it's timed right in the lead up to Christmas, if you dress up like Aussie Santa — however you choose to interpret it — you'll get $5 off your purchase.
It came, it celebrated, and it filled Melbourne with art, music and performances. Across its official 12-day run from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 for 2025, RISING proved another hit. Not ready to say goodbye to the winter festival's huge lineup — which featured 100-plus events from 610 participating artists, including 16 brand-new commissions — just yet? Didn't make it down from interstate to the Victorian capital? A few of its highlights are sticking around, so you can still enjoy a RISING experience in the coming days, weeks and even months. Swingers — The Art of Mini Golf was the first event announced for RISING 2025 — and the art exhibition that's also a putt-putt course will be the last to finish, too. Until Sunday, August 31, it's welcoming in audiences at Flinders Street Station to get tap, tap, tapping around greens designed by female-identifying and gender-diverse artists. Kajillionaire filmmaker and All Fours writer Miranda July is behind one of the surreal and mindbending creations, riffing on her latest book's name with an 'all fores' setup. [caption id="attachment_994702" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eugene Hyland[/caption] Also helping to shape Swingers — The Art of Mini Golf: Soda Jerk switching from bringing TERROR NULLIUS and Hello Dankness to the big screen, plus Australian artists Kaylene Whiskey and Nabilah Nordin, Japan's Saeborg, the United Kingdom's Delaine Le Bas, Indonesia's Natasha Tontey, Atlanta rapper BKTHERULA and Hobart-based photographer Pat Brassington. If you haven't seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch before, this is your chance to redress that gap in your theatregoing, with this new Australian production of the rock musical starring Filipino Australian singer Seann Miley Moore. It's running at Athenaeum Theatre until Sunday, June 29. You've got even longer, until Saturday, July 12, to grab a seat at Fairfax Studio for The Wrong Gods — the new piece by S Shakthidharan, the playwright behind RISING 2024's Counting and Cracking. Embracing a playful stage musing on romantic woes with the appropriate soundtrack remains on the agenda at Heartbreak Hotel at Arts Centre Melbourne until Sunday, June 22, too, while Melbourne Theatre Company's Legends (of the Golden Arches) is at Southbank Theatre until Saturday, June 28. "We're thrilled and grateful that audiences have once again embraced RISING in 2025. It's a testament to Melbourne's appetite and reputation for culture that over 12 massive days and nights, people turned out in huge numbers making the city feel alive with creativity," said RISING co-Artistic Directors and co-CEOs Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek. "It's exciting to see that momentum continue, with several works extending beyond the festival dates by popular demand. There's still so much to discover, whether it's artfully absurd mini golf at Flinders Street Station, or powerful new theatre and performance across Melbourne." [caption id="attachment_1009673" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brett Boardman[/caption] RISING 2025 Extended Seasons Until Sunday, June 22 — Heartbreak Hotel at Arts Centre Melbourne Until Saturday, June 28 — Legends (of the Golden Arches), Southbank Theatre Until Sunday, June 29 — Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Athenaeum Theatre Until Saturday, July 12 — The Wrong Gods, Fairfax Studio Until Sunday, August 31 — Swingers — The Art of Mini Golf, Flinders Street Station [caption id="attachment_994694" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andi Crown Photography[/caption] RISING 2025 ran from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 across Melbourne, but several events and shows are still enjoying their seasons over the next days, weeks and months — head to the event's website for further information.
Since Pixar first hit the big screen with 1995's Toy Story, the animation studio's films have all shared a few traits. They're each gorgeously animated, of course; however they also layer their eye-catching imagery over a shared existential question. Pondering toys, bugs, monsters, fish, superheroes, cars, rats, robots, dinosaurs and emotions with feelings, Pixar's flicks ask what it means to be alive — even the now Disney-owned outfit is spinning stories about traditionally inanimate objects. As you might've noticed, the animation powerhouse has been leaning into this idea with even more force of late. Inside Out focused its attention on the emotions warring inside the heart and mind of a young girl, guiding her every thought, feeling and decision, while Coco drew upon the Mexican Day of the Dead, following a young boy as he wandered through the world beyond the mortal coil. Now, with Soul, the studio looks to be borrowing from and combining parts of those two movies. It hones in on a school teacher who dreams of becoming a jazz musician, then falls down an open manhole and into a dark realm that looks rather like the afterlife. His titular essence is detached from his body, comes across a far more cynical counterpart and, in the process, starts wondering what it really means to have a soul. Jamie Foxx voices jazz-lover Joe Gardner, who is already musing on life's important questions — why is he here, what is he meant to be doing and what existence is all about — before his accident. Once he has tumbled down the manhole, he spends his time bantering with 22, voiced by Tina Fey. As well as whipping out a nifty cowboy dance, 22 doesn't think that life on earth is all that great. Soul's just-released first trailer sets the scene for Joe's metaphysical journey, and gives a glimpse of Foxx and Fey's comedic double act. The film also features the vocal talents of Questlove, Phylicia Rashad and Daveed Diggs, and will boast a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And if you're wondering where the movie's central idea comes from (other than Pixar's back catalogue), writer/director Pete Docter started thinking about the origin of our personalities when his son was born 23 years ago. Docter also helmed two of Pixar's big hits — and big emotional heavy hitters — in Up and Inside Out, nabbing Oscars for Best Animated Feature for both. Check out Soul's trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TojlZYqPUo Soul releases in Australian cinemas on June 18, 2020.
Mere days in and 2023 is already starting off in an exciting — and extremely delicious — fashion. Each month, Melbourne and Brisbane's Lune Croissanterie unleashes a fresh range of menu specials, spanning new and beloved creations. To kick off the new year, that means the return of quite the Frankenstein's monster of baked goods: the Iced Vovo cruffin. Back in 2022, the cult-favourite bakery began the year with lamington cruffins. 2023's choice is clearly just as tasty. The words you're looking for? Yum and yum. It's exactly what it sounds like, stuffing a cruffin with coconut custard and raspberry jam, dipping it in raspberry glaze, sprinkling coconut on top and adding another button of jam as well. Fans of Kate Reid's pastry haven can pick up a pink-hued treat at Lune's Fitzroy and Armadale stores in Melbourne, as well as at its South Brisbane digs in Brisbane — and you can order them online in Brissie, too. In the tastebud-tempting stakes, it also has company, spanning both sweet and savoury dishes. Also on the menu: a coconut rough pain au chocolat, the OG Lune twice-baked pain au chocolat. It includes a chocolate coconut frangipane filling, plus large coconut flakes and drizzled chocolate on top — and it's on offer at all Lune locations, and online from South Brisbane and Burnett Lane. The January specials list also boasts twice-baked almond frangipane and vanilla crème croissants, which are topped with a slice of raw honey; mixed berry danishes, highlighting summer fruits; and pineapple upside down cakes, for a retro bite. And, the savoury special is spanakopita as an escargot, as filled with a spinach, ricotta and feta mix, then seasoned with lemon and herbs. Different specials are on offer at different stores, and only the Queensland venues also do pre-orders. Lune's January specials menu runs from Tuesday, January 31, with different specials on offer at Fitzroy and the CBD in Melbourne, and South Brisbane in Brisbane. In Brisbane only, you can also order them online. Images: Peter Dillon.
Who made the rule that Valentine's Day was just for pairs, couples and duos? You can turf that old-school thinking out the window, because we're here in 2023, happy in the knowledge that love comes in all shapes and sizes. And this year, the QT hotel chain is embracing that notion with an inclusive Valentine's Day celebration that's best enjoyed in a crew of three. On Tuesday, February 14, the brand's sites around the country — in Melbourne, plus also Sydney, Bondi, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle and Perth — are paying special homage to the throuples and trios out there in lovers' land with a one-night-only You, Plus Two package. While venues across the nation will likely be brimming with tables for two, these hotels will be celebrating three as the magic number. The details vary slightly in different cities, but the first step is the same: book a table for three at a resident QT restaurant (or, for QT Bondi, at North Bondi Fish). Do so at Gowings at QT Sydney, Pascale at QT Melbourne, Capitol Grill at QT Canberra, Jana Restaurant at QT Newcastle and Santini Grill at QT Perth that evening and you'll enjoy a little extra love in the form of the venue's Aphrodisiac Hour offering. That's half a dozen oysters and three mini vodka martinis on the house, all to kick off your date night right. At Yamagen at QT Gold Coast, you'll receive the half-dozen oysters for Aphrodisiac Hour. And at North Bondi Fish, you won't score any free bites, but you will go in the running for a giveaway that's running everywhere. That competition? All tables of three at each venue on the night will be in with a shot at being crowned the Throuple in Residence for that QT hotel. If you win at whichever QT spot you're at (or North Bondi Fish for QT Bondi), you'll be invited to keep the loved-up festivities going with a private hotel room, complete with robes, pillows and all the cushy amenities you could hope for. QT's You, Plus Two package is available for all tables of three booked for Tuesday, February 14, with slightly different deals at different hotels. Secure your spot online.
Green living and financial prosperity are often pitted against each other, but a little village in Bavaria, Germany has shown that the two can actually get along quite nicely. Wildpoldsried, a village with a population of just 2,600, has put itself on the map via its concerted efforts to become energy efficient. It currently has four biogas digesters, seven windmills, three small hydro plants, seven public builidngs and 190 private houses fitted with solar panels. Indeed, the village is now so energy efficient that it produces 321% more energy than it requires, which has enabled the village to sell energy back to the national grid thus providing the village with US$5.7 million dollars in annual revenue. As a result, the village has become a bastion for green businesses and green initiatives. It has also become a model for other councils, both nationally and internationally, who are looking to ensure a greener, yet financially viable future. Not content with their current success, the people and council of Wildpoldsried have bigger and greener plans for the future, including another biogas digester, two more windmills, installing LED street lights and to initiate Project Irene (Integration of Renewable Enery and Electric Vehicles). There is also plan to add a hotel to the cafe and community centre to house the politicians and eco-energy tourists that have flocked to the area. Sounds like a good place for our politicians to visit on the next jaunt around Bavaria.
Brisbanites, if you haven't yet clocked Big Ben with your own eyes, stood before the Arc de Triomphe or checked out the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you're not going to be able to in the near future. But, while Australia's closed borders means that holidaying overseas and seeing the world's most stunning sights is currently off the cards, you can still mosey over to Queensland Museum and scope out their Lego counterparts. At the Brickman Wonders of the World exhibition, more than 50 structures have been recreated using plastic bricks — because Lego definitely isn't just for kids. This is a family-friendly showcase, so expect to have more than a little pint-sized company. You're never too old to take a peek at a four-metre-tall Lego space shuttle, see a 120-kilogram replica of the Titanic or check out a 4.65-metre-long map of Tokyo's subway system, though. That's all on offer until Sunday, January 30 — with more than 1.3 million bricks used to create everything from the Pyramids of Giza to the Great Wall of China. And yes, the exhibition was due to end at the beginning of October; however, it has been updated due to demand. Updated September 30.
Lives of extravagant luxury. Globe-hopping getaways. Whiling away cocktail-soaked days in gorgeous beachy locales. Throw in the level of wealth and comfort needed to make those three things an easy, breezy everyday reality, and the world's sweetest dreams are supposedly made of this. On TV since 2021, HBO's hit dramedy The White Lotus has been, too. Indeed, in its Emmy-winning first season, the series was a phenomenon of a biting satire, scorching the one percent, colonialism and class divides in a twisty, astute, savage and hilarious fashion. It struck such a chord, in fact, that what was meant to be a one-and-done limited season was renewed for a second go-around, sparking an anthology. That Sicily-set second effort arrives Down Under on Monday, October 31, airing week to week — via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand — and the several suitcase loads of scathing chaos it brings with it are well worth unpacking again. Sex, status, staring head-on at mortality and accepting the unshakeable fact that life is short for everyone but truly sweet for oh-so-few, regardless of bank balance: they're The White Lotus season two's concerns. All three played key parts in season one as well, but this sunnily shot seven-episode second run emphatically stresses that the bliss money is meant to bring is truly a mirage, as is the carefree air of a vacation. Accordingly, another group of well-off holidaymakers slip into another splashy, flashy White Lotus property — this time in Taormina in Italy, sat atop jagged cliffs and beneath the looming Mount Etna — and work through their jumbled existences over drinks by the pool, dinners at the bar, hefty room-service bills and sightseeing trips around town. Another death lingers over their trip, with The White Lotus again starting with an unnamed body — bodies, actually — then jumping back seven days to tell its tale from the beginning. Running the Sicilian outpost of the high-end resort chain, White Lotus manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore, Across the River and Into the Trees) is barely surprised by the corpse that kicks off season two. Non-plussed about the hotel's demanding guests, her staff and men in particular, she's barely surprised at much beforehand, either. Initially, viewers will share her lack of astonishment, with writer/director/creator Mike White (Brad's Status) setting up this return visit with similar elements as season one. New location, new hotel employees, a mostly new cohort of travellers, same malaise and mayhem: that's The White Lotus' second season at the outset and on the surface. As it proved the first time around with such potency, however, this series is exceptional at letting the supposedly straightforward and idyllic blister like a sunbather catching some rays — and at peeling away layer upon layer of ostensible ecstasy in a seeming utopia. Now married to Greg (Jon Gries, Dream Corp LLC), who she met in Hawaii in season one, Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (Jennifer Coolidge, The Watcher) is among the resort's fresh arrivals — and, with her husband, the show's familiar faces. Everyone else around Sicily skips through the series for the first time, some with a heartier spring in their step than others. Tanya's assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson, After Yang) is hardly thrilled when she's dispatched to her room, for instance, after Greg gets furious that she's on their vacation with them. She wants this jaunt away to be an experience after spending years alone in her room doomscrolling through the pandemic, but her boss just wants an emotional lap dog. Actually, Portia wants her trip to become a lusty Italian sex comedy, which White gleefully plays up across his slate of season-two characters; when in the country, clearly. Also having a conflicted time are three generations of Di Grasso men: Bert (F Murray Abraham, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities), who wants to visit his mother's village and flirts with every woman he sees; Dominic (Michael Imperioli, The Many Saints of Newark), a Hollywood hotshot navigating a marital breakdown due to his philandering; and the Stanford-educated Albie (Adam DiMarco, The Order), who's determined for his relationships with women to be everything his grandad's and dad's aren't. And, there's another far-from-content group in the Spillers and the Babcocks, with tech whiz Ethan (Will Sharpe, Defending the Guilty) and his employment-lawyer spouse Harper (Aubrey Plaza, Best Sellers) newly flush with cash after the former sold his company, but begrudgingly accepting a getaway invite from his finance-bro college roommate Cameron (Theo James, The Time Traveller's Wife) and his stay-at-home wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy, The Bold Type). In the superbly written first five episodes of season two, White examines an array of familiar and relatable dynamics among Sicily's tourists, spanning new and long-standing couples, bosses and employees, and fathers and sons. When Portia and Albie cross paths early, it adds strangers potentially tumbling into a vacation romance to the itinerary a well. Delightfully, devilishly detailed characters are one of this show's strengths again, though, as aided by pitch-perfect performances all-round — especially from Coolidge once more, the endlessly cynical and expressive Plaza, and the tumultuous-and-loving-it Abraham. Another of The White Lotus' key drawcards, as paralleled in the new opening credits which play with Renaissance-style paintings: exposing how much emptiness, unhappiness and uncertainty sits behind such privileged lives, even in picturesque surroundings where opulence and relaxation are touted as the only aims. Eating the rich — and why they're eating themselves — is one of film and TV's favourite topics of late, whether Succession is spinning it into a similarly stellar satire across streaming queues, or Parasite and then Triangle of Sadness are winning the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or. The White Lotus has always found extra bite in surveying the high-end holiday industry that relies upon well-to-do tourism, catering to such guests' every whim no matter how demanding or outlandish, too, by contrasting the vast difference between such vacationers and the staff at their beck and call, and acknowledging that true euphoria is never the end result. In season two, the remit broadens to Sicily locals who don't work at the titular resort — not officially, anyway. Sex worker Lucia (Simona Tabasco, The Ties) and aspiring singer Mia (Beatrice Grannò, Security) hang around the hotel to meet and chase both clients and dreams, and to covet the excess around them. All that glitters isn't gold for them, either. All similarly isn't quite what it seems for Palermo-dwelling Brit Quentin (Tom Hollander, The King's Man), who decamped to Sicily decades back and, with his nephew Jack (Leo Woodall, Cherry), rounds out season two's key character list. Through them, The White Lotus' widened scope also encompasses the expat community, as well as the reality behind turning a holiday into your daily life. There's new shades to the show this time around, but its overall insights aren't surprising, of course. Still, White keeps pushing further, cutting both sharply and deep as he takes down and tears apart the fallacy of wealth and lavishness. What's always made The White Lotus so delicious — and such a potent, perceptive, snaky and amusing must-see — isn't just its moneyed misery and messiness, after all, but smartly stripping bare the idea that stacks of cash and scenic settings can buy perfection and satisfaction, even fleetingly, for anyone. Check out the trailer for The White Lotus season two below: The second season of The White Lotus starts streaming Down Under from Monday, October 31 via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season one. Images: HBO.
When you scroll through Netflix's menu, everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton might catch your eye. Over on Disney+, you could make a beeline to The Mandalorian and WandaVision, while Amazon Prime Video may pique your interest if you're keen on The Boys or Tales From the Loop. But, if you're fond of homegrown films and television programs, you might've noticed that the huge range of streaming platforms on offer Down Under don't typically fund, create and make available all that much new Australian content. The current situation is somewhat better than it was. When Netflix officially launched in Australia back in 2015, its buffet of streaming movies and TV shows noticeably lacked new original local content (indeed, it took more than two years for the popular platform to finally announce that it was making its first Aussie series, Tidelands). It still doesn't overflow with Aussie fare, although it did give Aunty Donna its own delightful comedy. Fellow streamer Stan has been beefing up its catalogue with Aussie movies and shows, though, with the likes of No Activity, Wolf Creek, Bloom, Bump, After the Night, A Sunburnt Christmas, Relic and True History of the Kelly Gang among the local titles joining its ranks. If a group of Australian creatives has anything to do with it, however, there'll be much more local content added to streaming platforms in the future. High Ground's Simon Baker, Hungry Ghosts' Bryan Brown and Justine Clarke, and Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt)'s Marta Dusseldorp are all part of the Make It Australian campaign, which is lobbying the Australian Government to implement quotas. The proposal: that all streaming services operating in Australia that have at least 500,000 subscribers are required to spend 20 percent of their local revenue on new Aussie dramas, documentaries and content for children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVoYKwTc4E If the idea sounds familiar, that's because it has been under consideration before, and for some time — with a green paper on the topic published in late 2020, and a consultation period currently open — but nothing has come to fruition as yet. This time around, the group behind the move put forward their case at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday, March 16, particularly noting the importance of Australian audiences being able to watch local stories as streaming platforms grow in popularity. Similar quotas are in place regarding Australian programming on both commercial free-to-air television and pay TV — although requirements were altered in 2020 due to the pandemic. And if you're thinking that the Aussie screen industry seems to be in good shape at the moment considering that a huge number of Hollywood titles are being filmed here at present — including everything from Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder to Nicole Kidman-starring TV series Nine Perfect Strangers, plus new movies directed by Ron Howard and starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts soon to shoot — the current situation isn't the norm. Big productions have been coming to our shores during the pandemic given that Australia's COVID-19 case numbers are low, protocols are in place and it's safe to film here as a result, but that isn't guaranteed to continue once life returns to normal in the US. For more information about the Make It Australian campaign, head to its website. For more information about the media reform green paper, head to the Australian Government website.
Given its title, Avengers: Endgame was always going to feel like a finale. Marvel's huge superhero blockbuster wasn't just the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, complete with the eagerly awaited response to the snap heard around the movie-loving world, but marked the penultimate film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's third phase. It also said goodbye to a few beloved characters, and left viewers uncertain about the future — because, while Spider-Man: Far From Home was always going to arrive afterwards to cap off the current portion of the now 11-year, 23-title saga, no films beyond this point had been officially announced. Until now, that is. With San Diego Comic-Con in full swing — and dropping trailers to everything from Cats and IT: Chapter Two to The Witcher and Snowpiercer quicker than fans can probably watch them — Marvel has finally unveiled just what it'll be thrusting in front of audience's eyeballs for the next few years. Almost of all of its just-revealed titles were already known in some shape or form, primarily due to casting news, the hiring of certain directors and the programming slated for Disney's new streaming platform, Disney+. Now, it's all 100-percent confirmed. On the big screen, cinema-goers will have a bit of a break from Marvel's huge franchise until May 2020, when Black Widow will drop — giving Scarlett Johansson's character a long-awaited solo movie, with the prequel helmed by Australian Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome), and co-starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz and Ray Winstone. It'll be followed by The Eternals in November, which'll focus on a species of humanity that originally created sentient life. The Rider's Chloe Zhao sits in the director's chair, while Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and Brian Tyree Henry star. Come 2021, fans have three films to look forward to, starting with newcomer Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in February. Marvel's first Asian-led flick, it focuses on the Master of Kung Fu, boasting Short Term 12's Destin Daniel Cretton behind the lens, and is led by Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) as the titular character, as well as Hong Kong great Tony Leung and Awkwafina. Next arrives two massive sequels: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which hits in May, and Thor: Love and Thunder, which'll bow in November. Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong will return to the former, alongside filmmaker Scott Derrickson, and with Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlett Witch also popping up. As for the latter, it'll once again bless viewers with the combo of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, which is what everyone wants after Thor: Ragnarok (and even after Men In Black: International, too). Even better — Taika Waititi is back as both the film's writer and director (and, presumably, as Korg as well). Natalie Portman will also be making her return to the franchise, with her character Jane Foster becoming the female Thor. Marvel will also be making a new Blade film starring Mahershala Ali as the undead vampire hunter, plus sequels to Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Now that Disney — which owns Marvel — also owns Fox, it'll try its hand at another take on the Fantastic Four, as well as a new strand of X-Men movies. Here's hoping the last two improve on their most recent predecessors. If that's not enough caped crusader antics, a heap of Marvel's previously announced Disney+ series now have release windows. In August 2020, you'll be able to binge on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, focusing on Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan's characters. Then, 2021 will bring WandaVision (about Olsen's Scarlett Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision), Loki (complete with Tom Hiddleston) and Hawkeye (about Jeremy Renner's arrow-slinger, and introducing comics character Kate Bishop). Via: Marvel Studios / IndieWire / The Verge. Top image: Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel Studios 2018.
Film techniques are always evolving and now a Canadian duo have explored what will likely become a staple of film festivals in future years — filming entirely on the screens of our devices. It is unlike anything you have seen before, yet like everything you see every day. Ryerson University film students Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg used the innovative technique to explore the sincerity of online identity, privacy and connections in this digital age. The 17-minute-long film, titled Noah, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this week and has made waves online since. The film opens with Noah typing in his computer password, and his successful login reveals a desktop wallpaper of his girlfriend and himself, immediately providing context. It then proceeds to tell the story of their break-up, which occurs after Noah overanalyses some of her Facebook updates. All the time you cannot help saying to yourself, 'no you fool, don't do it.' This is because it succeeds in being surprisingly compelling for a work that involves watching people Skype, Facebook, text and Chatroulette. We can connect as we have all used these mediums (or are at least familiar with them) and we thus appreciate the multitasking that brings about Noah's seeming disconnection and insincerity. The immensely intricate details of the film, including the online profiles created (and cleverly employed to promote the film) and the 'Cuddle Jams' playlist, allow you to immerse yourself in the film. However, the truly compelling message of the film resonates when it distracts you. The Facebook notification noises will make you wonder if it is yours or Noah's that is receiving messages, driving home the concern that we are too connected and concerned with our digital self and the fallacies associated with it. Be warned, you will see unexpected and unwanted penis thanks to Chatroulette, so it's NSFW, but this film is a must-watch exploration of our online presence and how making connections online is no substitute for real-world conversation.
Everyone likes a bit of Shakespeare in the springtime, especially in an outdoor arena. There’s something about the old-school storylines, language and costumes that just seems right being viewed in natural surroundings. For their 2011 season, the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble are bringing to life The Merchant of Venice the way it was meant to be seen. Performing in the Roma Street Parklands Amphitheatre, the audience is seated on-stage with the story coming to life around them. If both the seating and Shakespeare’s words haven’t been enough to reel you in, then hear ye, hear ye. It’s directed by major international Shakespeare director Curt L. Tofteland, and stars the senior drama lecturer from the University of Queensland, Dr Rob Pensalfini. If studying Shakespeare in year 12 made you want to pull out your hair, I feel seeing this production would change you into a lover of The Bard. The show’s season also runs for two and a half weeks so you have plenty of time to catch it.
Back in early May, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said that when interstate travel was allowed once again, flights could drop as low as $19. Today, Friday, June 19, he's delivered on his promise. Qantas and Jetstar have just announced a huge tourism recovery sale with 200,000 discounted fares across the two airlines — including 10,000 flights on Jetstar for just $19. The domestic flight sale kicks off at 9am today and runs until midnight on Monday, June 22, or sold out. In the sale, you'll find cheap flights on more than 35 routes to 15 destinations across NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the NT and Queensland — but, before you book, we suggest you check in on when interstate borders are opening. Travel between NSW, Victoria and the ACT is currently allowed, but Queensland is working towards reopening to visitors from other states on July 10, although that hasn't been officially confirmed as yet, while the Northern Territory announced it'll reopen on July 17 — and South Australia is slated to do the same on July 20. Neither WA nor Tasmania have yet to announce reopening dates — but flight deals to these destinations are expected to be added when they are. Regional travel within your state is allowed, too, and you'll also find cheap flights from Sydney to Byron Bay (for $19), and Brisbane to Mackay (for $49). Other discounted flight routes include Sydney to Hamilton Island ($79), Brisbane to Darwin ($79) and $19 one-way flights on 22 routes, such as Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to Gold Coast, Melbourne to Byron Bay, Brisbane to Whitsunday Coast and Adelaide to Cairns. Flights are available between July 14 and October 31. [caption id="attachment_743607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Whitsunday Beach by Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] With Australian borders likely to remain closed to international travel until 2021, the Government has been telling Aussies to get out and explore their own backyards, which Joyce hopes this sale will also encourage. "We know that these low fares will encourage even more people to get on a flight to take a short holiday or visit family and friends. We've already seen our flights from Sydney to Cairns fill up on the days after the proposed Queensland border opening date of 10 July 2020, so we're adding more," Joyce said in a statement. "This is a great opportunity to go to the amazing places in our own backyard that you haven't got around to seeing like the Barossa Valley or the Great Barrier Reef." As we are still in the middle of a pandemic, flying will be a little different to normal. Qantas and Jetstar have introduced a range of safety measures, including hand sanitisation stations, contactless check-in and masks provided to all passengers (but wearing them is not mandatory). Qantas and Jetstar's domestic sale runs from 9am on Friday, June 19 until 11.59pm on Monday, June 22 or sold out.
When you live in a river city as pretty as ours, particularly by night, then you want to work the local sights into every occasion. No, we're not suggesting you spend New Year's Eve near a Doughnut Time — spend it drinking cocktails by the water in the heart of the city. At Customs House's Sunset Spritz Cocktail Party, you'll sip Aperol Spritzes, Negronis, Prosecco and Peronis, you'll devour cocktail food, and you'll listen to the acoustic stylings of Oscar Richardson. You'll also gaze out over the CBD reach of the river, with the Storey Bridge towering over you. Are you thinking what we're thinking? Expect fireworks and more.
A spoonful of sugar isn't needed to make this medicine go down: the Mary Poppins musical is coming to Brisbane. Umbrellas at the ready for the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious news that you'll hear all day, and all year as well, with the tale of the singing nanny set to take over QPAC's Lyric Theatre from Saturday, October 22. Mary Poppins comes to Brissie fresh from its Australian-premiere Sydney season, and marks a homecoming for two if its stars. Brisbane performers Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers, who've been acting together since childhood, play Mary Poppins and Bert, respectively. Hailing from Disney and theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh, this current version of the show tells the same enchanting tale that everyone knows from the hugely popular, five-time Oscar-winning 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. When it soars through its Brisbane season between Saturday, October 22–Sunday, December 11, local theatre fans can look forward to a new version of the show that last graced Australia'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. A Cinderella musical is coming the city's way this winter, too — and Frozen started off 2022 as well — so it's clearly a great year to love stage musicals based on beloved tales. If you'd been crossing your fingers that a date with Poppins, the Banks family and their Cherry Tree Lane abode might also come Brissie's way, consider that wish granted. Consider 'A Spoonful of Sugar', 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', the Oscar-winning 'Chim Chim Cher-ee' and 'Let's Go Fly a Kite' stuck firmly in your head until October blows in, too. Check out the musical's trailer below: Mary Poppins will play QPAC's Lyric Theatre from Saturday, October 22–Sunday, December 11. To sign up for the ticket waitlist, head to the musical's website — with presales from 10am on Monday, August 1 and general sales from 9am on Monday, August 8. Images: Daniel Boud.
I hear the word organ and think of church and layered hymns that get the congregation singing badly, or perhaps leave them falling asleep. The world of organs has changed though, with the introduction of Barry Morgan! Appearing on Spicks and Specks not so long ago, Barry Morgan shot to fame with his infectious passion for organ music, and his amazing organ stylings. His favourite organ is the 1981 Hammond Aurora Classic, on which he will blow your mind when he rocks out playing bossa novas, tangos, 70s grooves and lounging classics. From the Adelaide suburb of Sunnyside, Morgan has long held a passion for the organ. In the local mall Barry has the world famous Barry Morgan’s World of Organs superstore, for all your organ needs. He really is just a walking, talking organ enthusiast. For two nights only he will perform his brand of beautiful, wholesome organ music at the Powerhouse - a journey into the 70s and 80s era of organ popularity. Described by Adam Hills as “a cross between Dennis Lillee and Bob Downe”, this is a show not to be missed.
The war on waste isn't just about banning plastic shopping bags, recycling plastic drink containers, phasing out plastic straws and finding alternatives to disposable coffee cups. That's a great start, but humanity's reliance upon single-use plastics includes cutlery, plates, stirrers, cotton buds and more. Europe has pledged to stop using such items by 2021, building upon similar decisions in the UK and France, while Australia is working towards banning all non-recyclable packaging by 2025 — but one Aussie state is considering taking matters into its own hands. As reported by the ABC, the South Australian government is exploring implementing its own ban on single-use plastic items. It has been proposed by SA Environment Minister David Speirs, who is calling for public feedback on the plan by releasing two discussion papers. SA was the first state in the country with a container refund scheme, introducing its 10-cent refund for eligible items back in 1977 — and causing an entire generation of interstate dwellers to grow up making jokes about driving a haul of cans and bottles to Adelaide to collect some cash. It was also the first state to phase out lightweight plastic bags, a move that came into effect in 2009. In comparison, New South Wales only brought in container refunds in 2017 and is yet to commit to banning single-use plastic bags. Victoria doesn't have a container refund scheme on the horizon, but will phase out plastic bags in 2019. And Queensland enacted both container refunds and a plastic bag ban in 2018. According to The Advertiser, SA will also contemplate changing both of its successful existing regimes, including possibly expanding the plastic bag ban to thicker plastics and changing the 10-cent refund amount on recyclable containers. While action at a government level continues to take its time across the country — apart from in Hobart, where takeaway containers are set to be banned next year — companies have been stepping in themselves. McDonalds will remove plastic straws from its packaging by 2020, IKEA is phasing out single-use plastics by the same year, Melbourne's Crown Casino is cutting down its plastic usage and Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly is committed to becoming the world's first single-use plastic free airline by the end of 2019. Via the ABC / The Advertiser.
If Mohammed won't come to the mountain, as the old adage goes, the mountain will just have to come to Mohammed's apartment block. In this instance, the role of Mohammed is played by eccentric and visionary doctor of Chinese medicine Zhang Biqing, and the mountain is literally a mountain, albeit a monumental $130,000, two-storey Eden/monstrosity that Zhang has painstakingly spent the last six years building atop his 26-storey residential building in Beijing's fancy Haidian district. Is it legal to build a mountain on your apartment building? No. Will Zhang get away with it? No. Do we love it anyway and want one of our own? Yes. In keeping with the zeitgeisty theme of greening urban spaces, what with all the recent edible green walls, adorable terraria, city farms and electric scooters born from plants, Zhang was obviously seeking to create an idyllic haven from polluted and chaotic city life. Rumours abound that the wealthy founder of acupuncture clinics hosts glamorous soirees with celebrities at his lofty lair. What started out as your average, non-Alpine 340 square-metre penthouse eventually became a 1000 square-metre wilderness through the introduction of countless artificial rocks, wooden panels and real grass and trees (which, according to Zhang's bitter neighbours, have been clogging the service elevator for years). After constant complaints from residents of the building, who are justifiably concerned about safety issues posed by all the construction and the hassle of noisy renovations and water leaks, last week local government officials finally issued Zhang an order to dismantle his hanging gardens of Babylon within 15 days. Zhang has said he will comply. Just another round in the epic battle waged between mankind and nature since the dawn of our race. Nature appears to have lost this time. Conceptually at least though, we can hope that Zhang's mad genius inspires someone to start building mountains in a somewhat more legal fashion. Via This is Colossal.
In a week where homosexual rights are in the spotlight, The Laramie Project shines bright for Moises Kaufman and the members of local theatre group, The Tectonic Theatre Project. If you're not familiar with the Laramie tale, then do brace yourself for a emotional, confronting and shocking theatrical journey. Following the heart wrenching death of twenty one year old University student Matthew Shepard, The Laramie Project explores the homophobic hate crimes of Wyoming in 1988. After conducting more than 200 interviews from townspeople on the kidnapping, assault and murder, the performance explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the highest of compassion of which they can reach. The importance of The Laramie Project is that it addresses community issues from a community forum. Although the horrific acts of humanity are easy to shadow, it's bringing issues to light that truly make them fade. For a performance that is informing, entertaining, educating and inspiring, don't miss The Laramie Project.
2024 marks seven years since Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy) last featured on the big screen Down Under. Playing at this year's Queer Screen Film Fest, Close to You brings his absence from local cinemas to an end. The film boasts the actor's first male movie role, as a trans man heading home to his family for the first time since transitioning. It's also the Sydney-based cinema showcase's first-ever narrative centrepiece pick in its 11 year history. Close to You sits on the just-announced in-person lineup alongside opening night's Buenos Aires-set The Astronaut Lovers, plus closing night's dialogue-free Gondola — the former about two men crossing paths over a summer, the second about female cable-car conductors expressing their emotions in the sky. In total, QSFF 2024 will show 35 titles, with the fest running from Wednesday, August 28–Sunday, September 1 at Event Cinemas George Street, then sharing the love online nationally with a week of movies streaming from Monday, September 2–Sunday, September 8. Hailing from Queer Screen, which also runs the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of each year, this celebration of LGBTQIA+ flicks has other recognisable names gracing its frames alongside Page. Evan Rachel Wood (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) plays a cheerleading coach in Backspot, with Devery Jacobs (Echo) as the squad's newcomer. In the gay shorts package, both Lukas Gage (Road House) and Keiynan Lonsdale (Swift Street) make appearances via the bite-sized Stay Lost. Elsewhere on the program, other highlights include the world-premiering Strange Creatures, which heads on a road trip to Narrabri with fighting siblings; fellow Aussie effort Videoland, about a video-store clerk; and Frameline Outstanding Documentary Feature-winner Fragments of a Life Loved, a journey through former lovers with filmmaker Chloé Barreau. For both of the two Australian titles, the filmmakers will be in attendance. Or, Sydneysiders can catch Baby, about the connection between a São Paolo sex worker and an 18-year-old man just out of juvenile detention — and Hong Kong's All Shall Be Well, the recipient of this year's Berlinale Teddy Award and Frameline Audience Award for Narrative. Online, as well as Gondola, and the gay, sapphic and trans and gender-diverse shorts strands, viewers have American Parent, about a lesbian couple raising a toddler during the pandemic; Big Boys, focusing on a teen with a crush; All Shall Be Well director Ray Yeung's 2019 film Twilight's Kiss; and The Judgment, about US-based Egyptian boyfriends returning home and dealing with the supernatural, among the choices. Queer Screen Film Fest 2024 runs from Wednesday, August 28–Sunday, September 1 at Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney — and online nationally from Monday, September 2–Sunday, September 8. For more information, visit the festival's website.
Killing It starts with a pitch. It's the first of many because that's just life these days, the show posits. Adding another sitcom to his resume after The Office, Ghosted and his beloved Brooklyn Nine-Nine guest spots, Craig Robinson keeps his first name as a Miami bank security guard with big aspirations — if he can rustle up some startup funds. His vision: owning a saw palmetto farm and living the American dream, because he believed his dad back when he was told as a kid that hard work and perseverance always pay off in the USA. For $20,000, he plans to buy land in the Everglades, then sell the fruit to pharmaceutical companies, who'll use it in prostate medicines for the lucrative health market. First, Craig needs to convince his branch manager to give him a loan. So, when this new satirical series from B99 co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici kicks off its ten-part first season, its lead is honing his spiel, certain he'll soon be rewarded for his efforts. But rejection comes quickly, bluntly and amid racist comments, all while someone who thwarts the rules waltzes in and nabs a rich payday. That's a contrast that Killing It repeats over and over, just like its slick speeches from ordinary people attempting to seize opportunities. The dreams seen are modest — not having to work nine different jobs is another — but there's always someone above them scheming or stealing their way to success, and being celebrated for it. Striving for a better life, styling yourself to meet society's expectations, getting brutally trampled down: that's Killing It. It's a perceptive and savvily funny series about aiming for a shiny future to escape the swampy present, but getting stuck slithering in a circle no matter what you try. Or, as Craig's low-level criminal brother Isaiah (Rell Battle, Superior Donuts) puts it after seeing his sibling's legitimate endeavours flail again and again, it's about how the world is "nothing but snakes all the way down". Capitalism breeds serpents eating each other's tales if they're lucky, and devouring their own if they're not, the show suggests. That said, Killing It is still very much a comedy, and sees kindness and camaraderie as the antidote to the reptilian status quo. If The Good Place was wholly set in Florida and followed down-on-their luck folks chasing glory by slaying pythons, this'd be the end result. What it takes to be a good person — and what the point of even trying is in a world that stacks the odds against most — is a question that working on B99 has inspired twice now, given that The Good Place also sprang from one of the cop-focused sitcom's co-creators. That shouldn't be surprising when the power afforded law enforcement in America has become a key subject of debate recently. For eight seasons, Goor helped conjure up warm-hearted laughs via the antics of likeable characters who belong to a highly privileged profession. Now, he's unfurling US society's stratifications by honing in on everyday people who sometimes find themselves on the other side of the line, and rarely by choice. Killing It's snakes are indeed literal, too, and a ladder to cash. After getting knocked back for the loan, Craig winds up in an Uber driven by Jillian (Claudia O'Doherty, Our Flag Means Death), a chatty Australian who makes a pitstop to casually swing a hammer at a python. It's a profitable business, she reveals. Also, there's a contest awarding $20,000 to whoever kills the most. Craig is reluctant to join in, but as more misfortune slinks his way, he soon has few other choices. Giving up on his dream isn't an option — and he's also desperate to show his ex-wife Camille (Stephanie Nogueras, Switched at Birth) and daughter Vanessa (Jet Miller, Young Dylan) that he's someone they can count on and be proud of. Clubbing critters and cutting into class inequalities mightn't seem an intuitive duo, but Killing It proves otherwise. Another of the series' crucial questions: what drives someone to spend their days wielding a nail gun at reptiles, or earning pittance for helping the ultra-rich avoid tax, or filming their snake-hunting exploits? The latter comes courtesy of fellow competition entrant Brock (Scott MacArthur, The Mick), who makes videos with his teen son Corby (Wyatt Walter, NCIS: New Orleans), has amassed a YouTube following of 150,000 viewers, and yearns for social-media stardom. He's Killing It's most cartoonish underdog, but also distills its essence perfectly. In a world where one-percenters and influencers reign supreme — getting away with their grifts scot-free, fetishising manual labour without dreaming of doing it, and treating the less financial as jokes, marks or pets — he's unashamed about diving in head first, but he's also constantly battling. Of course, Killing It doesn't offer up any insights that haven't been covered in other 'eat the rich' fare of late, such as The White Lotus, Squid Game and Succession. But staring clear-eyed at the divides that have become an accepted part of western existence, recognising the struggle for anyone who wasn't born wealthy or faked it till they made it, and giving the whole situation an astutely comic spin works devilishly well here nonetheless. It helps that the series knows when to lean into absurdity, when to let its tender heart beat loudly, and how much cynicism to wind into its tale. There's ludicrousness, kindness and bleakness in each and every episode, even if setting the show around the 2016 US election feels unnecessary. Robinson was bound to thrive in a comedy like this, and unpacks the swagger that's long been baked into his on-screen persona in the process. Always a delight to watch, Aussie comedian O'Doherty (Love, Sarah's Channel) is just as well-cast as the tireless but beleaguered Jillian, and gets most of the show's best lines and deepest moments along the way. They're an odd-couple duo, because Killing It eagerly draws upon a familiar formula, but their performances have plenty to say — and skewer — about simply trying to get by in unforgiving climes. It's no wonder, then, that it's easy to slide through and laugh along with the sitcom's snake-filled first season in one sitting, and to buy everything it's pitching. Check out the trailer for Killing It below: Killing It's first season is available to stream in Australia via Stan. Images: Alan Markfield/Skip Bolen/Peacock.
When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows dropped its last terrible three words on us at the close of the book, all was not well. It would never be well without Harry, Ron, Hermione fighting the Dark Lord in a series of fantastical and wholly engrossing scenarios. But, little did we know, this would not be the end of the Age of Harry Potter. Thanks to the internet and the sheer demand for all things HP, Harry has lived on through new books, fan website Pottermore, the Fantastic Beasts film spinoff series and all manner of events dedicated to the franchise. One of the biggest things to come of the post-Harry Potter era has been Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, of course — aka the West End play that's essentially the eighth book in the series. It first arrived in Australia in February 2019, hitting up Melbourne's Princess Theatre, and proved unsurprisingly popular. Now, after closing down during the Victorian capital's 2020 lockdowns, then returning early in 2021, the production has announced that it's sticking around until the end of the year. Muggles, rejoice. Harry Potter fandom aside, this is also something that all theatre-goers can get excited about. Since debuting in London in July 2016, the production has won a swathe of awards and has proven a repeated sell-out — in the West End, on Broadway and in San Francisco, too. Melburnians — and other Australian Harry Potter and/or theatre aficionados — will be able to access tickets for the new dates from 9am on Thursday, April 29. You'll be able to book right through until Sunday, December 12. So yes, if you feel like a pre-festive date with all things Potter, that's on the cards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gp6ekBcNYY&feature=emb_logo So what exactly is The Cursed Child about? Well, it picks up 19 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and that abominably cheery epilogue on Platform 9 3/4. Harry is now an overworked Ministry of Magic employee, and the play focuses on both him and his youngest son Albus Severus Potter as they grapple with the past and future. The production is presented in two parts, so you'll have to book into two performances, either on the same day (matinee and evening) or on consecutive evenings. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is playing at Melbourne's Princess theatre until December 12, 2021, with tickets for the newly extended season on sale from 9am on Thursday, April 29. Top image: Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made.
First, it was avocados in Amsterdam. Now, it's peanut butter on toast in London. Forget variety; loving one particular thing, and only wanting to see that one thing on the menu — that's the latest food trend, so it seems. The pop-up cafe dedicated to slathering warmed, brown bread with a crunchy or creamy paste of nuts is the brainchild of Pip & Nut, a UK-based company that makes natural peanut, almond and coconut almond butter. Until February 12, the Pip & Nut Toast Bar will serve gourmet slices decked with a combination nutty toppings and other healthy ingredients, recreating the creations outlined in their recipe book. The hungry masses can choose from sourdough or rye toast for starters, then select the treats heaped on top. Options include marinated strawberries and almond butter, peanut butter with grated apple and maple syrup, peanut butter with fresh chilli, lime and coriander, and avocado and almond butter and spiced seeds. Yes, your stomach should be rumbling. Yes, you start hoping something like this pops up closer to home. Via Time Out London.
At the end of 2019, Brisbane scored a brand new music festival, with Wildlands focusing on dance, electronic and hip hop, and showcasing a heap of local, Australian and international talent. The event boasted an impressive pedigree, too, hailing from the teams behind Melbourne's Beyond The Valley and Perth's Origin Fields fests. And, it filled Brisbane Showgrounds for one mighty big day. Wildlands didn't return before 2020 is out, because that's just what last year was like — but, come Sunday, December 26–Monday, December 27, 2021, it'll be back in the same spot as a two-day affair. There'll be just one stage per day, so you can see absolutely everyone. And each day will be ticketed separately. As for who you'll be checking out and dancing along to, the lineup unsurprisingly focuses on all-homegrown talent, as headlined by Golden Features, Lime Cordiale, Cosmo's Midnight, The Veronicas and What So Not. Mosey along to one day, or both — the choice is yours. WILDLANDS 2021 LINEUP Day 1 — Sunday, December 26 ChillinIT Dena Amy Golden Features Godlands JK 47 Lastlings Lime Cordiale LUUDE Mallrat Masked Wolf Running Touch ShockOne Sophiegrophy Spacey Jane Sycco Willaris. K Day 2 — Monday, December 27 CHOOMBA Cosmo's Midnight Crooked Colours dameeeela Eves Karydas George Alice jamesjamesjames Motez Nina Las Vegas SAFIA Skin On Skin Telenova Torren Foot Triple One The Veronicas
While introducing The Rover at the Sydney Film Festival, just a few days ahead of its wider theatrical release, writer-director David Michôd said he finally understood the concept of "second album syndrome". Born in Sydney, Michôd shot to international prominence in 2010 with the release of his debut feature Animal Kingdom — the gripping, nihilistic crime drama that scored Jackie Weaver an Oscar nomination and left critics wondering what this striking new Australian talent would tackle next. "The first that became apparent to me after Animal Kingdom played at Sundance in 2010 was that I had about a million more opportunities available to me than I'd had before," Michôd tells Concrete Playground the day after the festival screening. "I spent a couple of years doing a lot of meetings, reading a lot of scripts and looking at a number of different ways of putting movies together. And then I ended coming back to The Rover." AN ELEMENTAL FABLE "There was a very early skeleton that Joel Edgerton and I worked on in about 2007," Michôd explains. "At the time, we thought it would be a movie for Joel's brother Nash to direct. It was an action movie in the desert. But I was also very aware as I was writing it that it was full of stuff that was more me than Nash." "When I revisited the screenplay after Animal Kingdom, I went in and stripped out a lot of the action, and made solid that dark, elemental fable that I had always wanted the movie to be," Michôd remembers. "I really loved the idea of making a movie that was working in a tonal world that was similar to the menace and the brood of Animal Kingdom, and yet would be very different on a formal level." The result is a bleak, minimally plotted thriller set in a barren future Australia, a decade after Western society's collapse. "I hadn't ever really been out to the desert in Australia before," says Michôd of the film's setting. "I loved being out there. I loved the strange stillness of it. I loved the feeling of being in a place that, if left to my own devices, would swallow me whole." VOICES IN YOUR HEAD At the centre of The Rover are actors Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, playing unlikely allies in Michôd's grim, lawless world. After working together on Animal Kingdom, Michôd wrote Pearce's role specifically for him. "I like to write with actors voices in my head, and I certainly wrote The Rover with Guy's voice in my head," the writer-director says. Pattinson's character, on the other hand, he describes more as "a blank canvas". "For one reason or another, I didn't have a particular actor in my head as I was writing it, and so then I got to go through that exhilarating process of seeing people bring it to life [in auditions]… Rob was the person who came in with a version of the character that was beautifully in tune with what I had always imagined. It was instantly clear to me that he was a really good actor, but it was also clear that he had a really beautiful understanding of the character's vulnerabilities and aspirations." "It's always nerve-wracking when you're casting," Michôd continues, "because this is where the movie lives and dies. It's kind of a cliché to say that 80 percent of a director's work is in casting, but it's kind of true. If you cast the movie wrong, it can be very difficult to salvage." A BRUTAL SORT OF LOVE When asked what it is that draws him to such bleak and brutal stories, Michôd takes a moment to pause. "For some reason," he says, "I really enjoy the feeling of creating moments that feel menacing and beautiful and sad. There's something about that on a basic human emotional level that is very powerful for me. "Having said that", he continues, "I think that Animal Kingdom is a way bleaker movie than this one. Because Animal Kingdom is about, at its core, a young man discovering that there is nothing other than self-interest. That sort of weird little world you're left with at the very end of Animal Kingdom is a completely loveless world. And it's one that I would never particularly want to revisit. I wouldn't even necessarily want to know what happens to those characters, because they'll probably just continue to eat themselves alive." "Whereas to me, The Rover starts in a really brutal and inhospitable place, but at its core is about how even in those circumstances, people still have a basic need to form intimate human connections with other people. To the extent that, as weird as it sounds, The Rover, to me, is a movie about love." The Rover is in cinemas now. Read our review here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChM2icbWo9w
Not only is Lunar New Year one of the biggest celebrations in the Asia Pacific region, it's easily also one of the most delicious. If you're not celebrating it already, your palate is missing out. Cue family feasts — friends are also more than welcome — and a table stacked with all the greatest hits. The biggest at-home celebration of LNY typically happens on Lunar New Year's Eve and usually takes the form of a dinner that's not unlike Christmas lunch. The best part about the celebration is that the dishes you'll typically find are surprisingly simple to prepare and come together in no time at all. Whether the celebrations are taking place in Hanoi or Hong Kong, Singapore or Sydney, everyday dishes tend to land on Lunar New Year's Eve dinner tables. There are regional differences when it comes to must-have Lunar New Year dishes, but dumplings and fish or seafood are mainstays in most places where Lunar New Year is celebrated. You'll find them at LNY dinners and enjoyed as ordinary meals throughout the year. The enduring appeal of these dishes is just how easily they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. And that's before we even factor in how delicious they are. [caption id="attachment_987199" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] After some inspo for an authentic festive spread that's easy enough for everyday meals but seriously impressive for a celebratory gathering? Look no further. In partnership with Oriental Merchant, we've called in chef Jason Chan, owner of newly opened pan-Asian restaurant Rice Kid, for two recipes he turns to when it's time to ring in Lunar New Year at home. XO Pipis [caption id="attachment_987205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Seafood is a staple ingredient in many quintessential Lunar New Year dishes. The festivities are a reason to shell out on premium seafood to celebrate the special occasion. For Chan, Lunar New Year is the time to "have all those special dishes that you don't really get to eat every week." And it doesn't get more impressive or mouth-watering than XO pipis, which — despite being known as a restaurant special — is a surprisingly straightforward dish that can be replicated at home. In Chan's recipe, half a kilo of fresh pipis transform into a delectable showstopper that packs an umami punch thanks to the sauce trifecta of XO, soy and oyster. Ingredients: 500g fresh pipis (if you can't find live pipis, you can substitute with prawns or any other seafood to your liking) 100g Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce 50ml Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce 50g Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce 100ml Shao Xing cooking wine 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt 1 tsp chicken powder 1L water 50g shallot rondelle Coriander for garnish Slurry: 50g corn starch or potato starch 100ml water Method: Use a wok or pan on high heat and add Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce and cook for 5–10 secs, deglaze with Shao Xing cooking wine, add water and bring it to the boil. Once boiling, add pipis and cook until they are completely open. Discard any unopened pipis. Add Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce, sugar, chicken powder, salt and shallot rondelle and cook for a further minute to infuse all the flavours into the pipis. Mix slurry and pour into the XO pipis to thicken. Garnish with coriander or shallot rondelle. [caption id="attachment_987287" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Moreton Bay Bug and Prawn Siu Mai or Wonton [caption id="attachment_987203" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Dumplings are another dish which sit proudly on dinner tables — particularly in northern China — during Lunar New Year festivities. Traditional dumplings are said to resemble ancient Chinese money and are symbolic of prosperity. Today, all kinds of dumplings and wontons make the festive cut. Whether they're crescent-shaped dumplings, wontons or siu mai, this is a dish that is great for everyday dinners as well as during Lunar New Year. For an elevated everyday wonton or siu mai (the only difference is how you wrap them), this recipe is as fun as it is delicious. Finesse your folding skills by wrapping your parcels of seafood yourself, or get the whole dinner crew involved before sitting down to celebrate. Ingredients: 250g fresh or frozen prawn meat 250g Queensland Moreton Bay bug meat 25ml Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce 25ml Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand soy sauce 10g minced garlic 10g coriander root finely sliced (use stems for extra aroma) 5g lime zest 20g sugar 25g potato starch 50ml garlic oil (canola oil can be substituted) 1 packet of wonton skin Method: Place prawn and bug meat in food processor and slightly pulse 4–5 times. Ensure the prawn and bug meat retain small chunky pieces for texture. Take out the processed prawn and bug meat and place in bowl. Add in Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Oyster Sauce, minced garlic, coriander, sugar, garlic oil and mix until everything is combined and bound together. Add in the remaining ingredients: potato starch and lime zest. CHEF'S TIP: You don't want the starch to form clumps, do not skip step 3 with step 2! Place filling in fridge for 30 minutes. Once it is set, you can begin making the dumplings. Blanch wontons for about 5–6 minutes or until they float. To serve, place blanched wontons in a bowl and garnish with shallot and a few drizzles of sesame oil. Dip into preferred sauce (see below for sauce options). [caption id="attachment_987286" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Mullins[/caption] Simple Dipping Sauce for WontonAdd Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Style Chilli Oil, soy sauce, sesame oil and black vinegar. Season to taste. Simple Dipping Sauce for Siu Mai Add Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Style Chilli Oil and soy sauce. Season to taste. Experience the flavours of Lunar New Year everyday with Oriental Merchant authentic Asian ingredients.
Immersive and Instagrammable art is all the rage right now in Australia. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Room has taken up permanent residence in Canberra, Sugar Republic's "dessert museum" toured the country in 2019 and an extremely photogenic pop-up "museum" for pets is set to hit later this year. Next on the must-photograph list: Happy Place. Dubbed the "world's most Instagrammable exhibit", the multi-room installation has already travelled across the US and Canada and is now heading to the rooftop of Sydney's Broadway Shopping Centre from Friday, March 6–Sunday, May 3. Once inside the exhibition, you'll find many OTT rooms to explore, including a rubber ducky bathtub room, a cookie room that actually smells like freshly baked cookies, a room filled with 40,000 golden handmade flowers and a giant rainbow with a golden ball pit (no leprechauns though, sorry). If that doesn't have you reaching for your smartphone, there's also a mind-bending upside-down room and the "world's largest confetti dome". As well as the rooms, the exhibition has a lemonade stand — with all money from the Sydney one going to Red Cross Australia — a retail store and a cafe. One million snap-happy folks have already visited Happy Place in the northern hemisphere — including, supposedly, celebs such as Adele, Hilary Duff and Kourtney Kardashian — and we're guessing it's going to be equally popular Down Under. While the exhibition is "on a mission to spread happiness around the world", let's hope it's not actually like The Good Place — or, speaking of Kardashians, as nightmare-inducing as Kylie Jenner's Stormi World. Either way, it's going to sell out — fast. Tickets are on sale now for $39 a pop, so go get 'em if you're keen. Find Happy Place on the rooftop of Broadway Sydney, 1 Bay Street, Ultimo from Friday, March 6–Sunday, May 3. It's open from 3–9pm Monday–Tuesday, 12–9pm Wednesday–Thursday and 10am–8pm Friday–Sunday. Tickets will set you back $39 and are available now via Moshtix.
June 2022 marked 30 years since the High Court of Australia's groundbreaking Mabo decision, which confirmed native title and traditional ownership by Indigenous Australians. That's a milestone well worth commemorating, so the State Library of Queensland is spending a few months doing just that — and celebrating Eddie Koiki Mabo, the man behind it, in the process. Running until Saturday, October 8, Legacy: Reflections on Mabo features work by 24 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, all in the spirit of reconciliation. As co-curated by Mabo's daughter Gail Mabo with Dr Jonathan McBurnie and Kellie Williams, the showcase highlights both established and emerging creatives, with a particular focus on North Queensland talents. The lineup of artists with pieces on display is impressive — starting with 2022 Archibald Prize-winner Blak Douglas plus Adam Geczy, and also including Elisa Jane Carmichael and Sonja Carmichael, Toby Cedar, Dian Darmansjah, Katina Davidson, Hayley Megan French, Marion Gaemers and Patricia Hoffie, among others. Free to attend at the South Brisbane cultural institution, Legacy: Reflections on Mabo does exactly what its moniker promises — and, yes, that's a broad-ranging mission. So, expect to peer at works that cover Mabo's life, activism and politics alike. Visitors can head by from 10am–5pm daily. Images: Lewis James Media, 2022.
Since making his feature debut in a glow of sci-fi and action with 2010's TRON: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski can't stop feeling the need for speed. Just over a decade after his first film, the director was behind the helm of Tom Cruise-starring 2022 megahit and 36-years-later sequel Top Gun: Maverick, aka the movie that helped bring audiences back to cinemas in a big way after COVID-19 closures and lockdowns. Now comes another huge flick with ample adrenaline, dashing modes of transport aplenty and a zooming pulse, as well as another silver-screen must-see: F1, which isn't just set in the world of Formula 1, but was shot within it, including on real race weekends. Kosinski came to his sixth feature — 2013's Oblivion, 2017's Only the Brave and 2022's Spiderhead are also on his resume — during the pandemic's early days, sparked by an obsession that's shared by many. Chalk up another win for Formula 1: Drive to Survive, then. Being interested in a sport, immersed in a TV show about it and driven turn that love into a movie isn't the same as having experience in it, though. Enter Formula 1's record-holder for the most amount of wins (and pole positions and podium finishes, too), seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He's not just one of F1's producers, but also a crucial player in ensuring that authenticity is at the forefront of the movie. Introducing Kosinski at a press Q&A, the IRL star driver himself called the end result "the most-authentic racing film you will ever experience in a cinema". The just-dropped full trailer for the film and its past teasers give viewers a sneak peek of how F1 strives to make good on Hamilton's promise. "Joe, Jerry [producer Bruckheimer], Brad, the cast and the whole filmmaking team put an incredible amount of effort to deliver a genuine Formula 1 racing experience unlike anything you've ever experienced before on screen," Hamilton continued. "As you may have heard, the film was shot during the F1 races over the course of a season — and with Joe at the helm, audiences around the globe are going to feel like they're on the track and in the driver's seat. Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see, because it's not something you can just learn overnight. And the dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness." Chatting ahead of hitting the track for his Ferrari debut at 2025's Melbourne Formula 1 season opener, Hamilton also called being involved with F1 "such a thrill for me — and I genuinely promise this film delivers on every level". [caption id="attachment_994934" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films.[/caption] The excitement on Hamilton's part is real. The same can be said for Kosinski, who also co-penned the story for the film with screenwriter and fellow Top Gun: Maverick alum Ehren Kruger. The filmmaker couldn't praise Brad Pitt's (Wolfs) driving prowess enough, too: "he just had that natural feel for grip in the car, and what we're doing on this film is dangerous. You have to be fearless, and when you see Brad driving, that's not acting. He's really concentrating on keeping that car on the track and out of the wall during all those scenes. So that's something that you just can't fake, I think. I hope the audience feels that when they watch the movie," Kosinski advised. F1 tasks Pitt with playing Sonny Hayes, a former racer ("the best that never was", the new trailer notes) who returns to the sport as part of fictional team APXGP. Damson Idris (Snowfall) co-stars as his hotshot colleague Joshua Pearce — someone who Hayes clashes with, as the film's trailers illustrate — while Kerry Condon (Skeleton Crew), Javier Bardem (Dune: Part Two), Tobias Menzies (Manhunt), Sarah Niles (Fallen), Kim Bodnia (Nefarious) and Samson Kayo (House of the Dragon) also feature. "This is a movie about friendship, teamwork, sacrifice, redemption," Kosinski noted, stressing that it's not just for Formula 1 diehards. "The story, I think, is universal. It just happens to be set in this incredibly exciting world of Formula 1." What were the filmmaker's biggest highlights in bringing the picture to fruition? "There's so many. It's hard to pick one, but I'll say working alongside Lewis and all the other drivers on the grid, and having them embrace us — because certainly asking to be part of that family and that world, and to say you're making a movie, there's going to be some reticence there. But when they saw how determined we were to make it authentic and represent their sport in the absolute best way we could, to have them embrace us and to be able to have them play themselves in the film, to be able to shoot on the track alongside them, showed a level of trust that was really remarkable," he continued. "There's just no way this film would exist without that." The filmmaker also discussed his Drive to Survive inspiration, capturing Formula 1's genuine intensity, working with Hamilton and other names in the sport, challenges along the way, the sound of the film — Hans Zimmer's (Mufasa: The Lion King) score included — and more. On Why Kosinski Wanted to Make a Movie About Formula 1 "Well, I think like a lot of people during COVID, I found myself starting to watch the races and found this great television show called Drive to Survive — and I found that it's an incredibly unique sport in that your teammate is also, in many ways, your greatest competition. And for me, that makes for a great drama. I also loved how the first season of the show focused on the last-place teams, the underdogs, rather than the Ferrari, the Mercedes, the Red Bull, the teams that you see at the front of the pack. And I thought that there was an interesting story to be told about an underdog team in trying to not win the championship, but just trying to win one race against these titans of the sport. So that's where it started. And lucky for me, I had a contact who was in Formula 1 that I could reach out to, so I did." On Bringing the IRL Intensity of Formula 1 to the Screen "The first thing I did was I reached out to Lewis Hamilton, and obviously he lives that sport every day. He's one of the greatest of all time, and I asked him to be my partner on making this film. So having Lewis gave me this incredible in into this world, and one of the people he introduced me to was Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes. And I started talking with them about wanting to capture the speed of this sport — and it was actually Toto who came up with the idea of, rather than making a movie car fast enough to achieve these speeds, he said 'why don't you start with a race car and take a real race car and then work the cameras that you need into that'. So we did that. We actually bought six F2 cars, real F2 race cars, and worked with Mercedes-AMG, the Formula 1 team and their engineers, to build real race cars that could carry our camera equipment, recorders and transmitters for making this film. So every time you see Brad or Damson driving in this movie, they're driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track. So that's how we approached the making of this film." On Getting Brad Pitt and Damson Idris Up to Speed to Do Their Own Driving in the Film "Brad and Damson are both driving in this film, and in order to get them into these race cars, it required months, literally months of training. But the first day was really fun. It was me, Brad and Lewis Hamilton at the track together, all of us jumping in cars and driving each other around in sports cars — which was one of those things, I'll never forget having Lewis Hamilton as your driving instructor. But what we learned, and what Lewis was really interested in, was seeing did Brad know how to drive, right? Because if Brad can't drive, this whole film wasn't going to work. And what Lewis was very happy to discover was that Brad had a lot of just natural ability right from the start. And I don't know where he got that or if he was born with it — and he rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it — but he's just a very talented, naturally gifted driver, which for Lewis, after that first meeting, gave him a lot of confidence that we might have a shot at pulling this off." On Collaborating with Lewis Hamilton and Other Formula 1 Professionals "Lewis was instrumental in not only the technical aspects, obviously, but in the real formulative stage of the movie, formulating this narrative. We tell the story of Sonny Hayes, who's a veteran racer, and then Joshua Pearce, who's a rookie. Lewis has been both. He's been the rookie, almost winning his first season in Formula 1 — and now with seven world championships, he's kind of seen it all. So his perspective on shaping the narrative of these two characters and giving me real insight into what it is that drives him, what makes these guys want to do this day in day out, it was really, really helpful. We couldn't have made this film without him." On Ensuring That the Film Isn't Just About the Racetrack Action, But Is Filled with Compelling and Authentic Characters Within the Formula 1 World "It always starts with a great script and a great story. I knew that no matter how accurate or exciting the racing is, it doesn't mean anything if you're not telling a story supported with great characters. So it all starts with the script, and I worked with Ehren Kruger, who also worked on Top Gun: Maverick. He wrote an incredible script for us to start with. And then the most important thing a director does beyond developing the script is casting. Casting is everything. And the group of actors that we pulled together for this film is pretty incredible. Javier Bardem and Brad together, their friendship, which is an old one — three decades old — really is the core of this story and of this film, and just seeing them together on-screen is really special. Kerry Condon — yeah, she's incredible. She plays the team technical director, so she's the person in charge of designing the car and the engineers and the drivers. There's some healthy tension there on every team, and it makes for a great relationship between the two of them. And then Damson Idris, who people might know from his television career, but maybe not from the movies — I'm really excited for people to see him here going toe to toe with Brad on a big screen and a big story. So yeah, we have an incredible cast of supporting actors as well. And yeah, it's a great ensemble." On How Filming on Location — and During Race Weekends — Impacted F1's Narrative "I mean, the tracks, the location is one thing, but on race weekend it just becomes this whole different world. It's like a traveling circus. So we couldn't just shoot at the track without the race going on. It would've been the wrong dynamic. So we were actually there on race weekend with hundreds of thousands of people watching us finding these timeslots between practice and qualifying, that Formula 1 graciously afforded us. So we'd get these ten- or 15-minute slots where we'd have to have Brad and Damson ready in the cars, warmed up with hot tyres ready to go — and as soon as practice ended, they would pull out onto the track. We'd have 24, 30 cameras ready, rolling, and I'd have to shoot these scenes in these very short, intense, high-speed windows. But the crowd you're seeing was really there in the stands. I don't think the crowd realised that Brad Pitt was in the car that was in front of them. And so there was definitely this heightened quality to every race. We were also shooting dramatic scenes on the grid before races, so it was a very unique way of working, rather than having a whole day to shoot a scene like you normally would on a movie. We had these nine- or ten-minute slots, so it was like a live stage play, but in front of hundreds of thousands of people shooting at 180 miles an hour, literally. So it was an adrenaline rush every weekend, but what we captured is something you can't fake, you can't stage. It's really happening, and I think the audience will see that." On the Challenges of Shooting in Such a High-Octane Environment "The big challenge was just the camera system itself. I mean, we had to develop a brand-new camera system, taking everything we learned on Top Gun: Maverick and pushing it much further. You can't put 60 pounds of gear onto a race car and expect it's going to perform the same way. So we took those Top Gun cameras and we worked closely with Sony, sizing them down to something about a quarter of the size. And then on top of that, something I really wanted to do on this film was actually be able to operate and move the cameras while we were shooting, which was something we weren't able to do on Top Gun. So we have motorised mounts on the car as well. So you have transmitters that are transmitting the picture back. We've got transmitters controlling the movement of the camera. I'm sitting at the base station with Claudio [Miranda, also from Top Gun: Maverick], our cinematographer, looking at 16 screens. I've got camera operators on the controls for the cameras and it's calling out camera moves like a live television show while they're shooting. So much research and technology and development went into just being able to roll a frame of footage, in addition to the training for the actors and the logistics of shooting at a real race. So it was a lot of prep to be able to pull this off." On the Sound of F1, Complete with a Hans Zimmer Score "Sound is a huge part of racing. So we have a sound designer, Al Nelson, also from Top Gun: Maverick. You're seeing a theme here, I guess, in terms of collaborators. He was there at the track recording all the real sounds of the real cars. We got microphones on the real F1 cars, which was, as you can imagine, very difficult to do because they count every gram that they put on those cars. So getting our recorders on the real cars was a huge aspect of getting it right. And then the other type of sound, the score, we've got Hans Zimmer creating another epic theme and score, and he's got a lot to compete with sound-wise in this movie. So he really brought it. The score for this film is something I'm really excited for people to hear. It's Hans. What Hans does, what few composers can do, is he can write a real theme, a real melody that you just can't get out of your head. And he's written another one here that I can't wait for people to hear." F1 releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
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 anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue in January (and yes, we're assuming you've already watched Kaleidoscope in whichever order you preferred). BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL NOW COPENHAGEN COWBOY Ten years ago, Nicolas Winding Refn released his second Ryan Gosling-starring film in succession, won his second Sydney Film Festival Prize, and was a reliable source of dazzling and blisteringly atmospheric crime fare thanks to Drive and Only God Forgives — and also the Pusher trilogy and Bronson before that pair. In the past decade, however, he's only brought one more movie to cinemas. The Neon Demon was a gem, too, and about as Refn as Refn gets, but that was back in 2016. Smaller screens have been beckoning the Danish director, thankfully. He launched his own free streaming service, and also co-created, co-wrote and directed the ten-part, Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick)-starring Too Old to Die Young. Refn's latest effort gets episodic as well, and sees him return to his homeland for the first time since Valhalla Rising — and, while it feels filtered through David Lynch's sensibilities alongside his own, Copenhagen Cowboy remains Refn through and through. The visuals have it, as they always do when this filmmaker is behind the lens. Neon aplenty, how he composes a room, how his characters peer on at the world around them, the use of 360-degree pans, the chilly mood, his overall aesthetic flair: they're all here. So, too, is another of the director's essentials, courtesy of a synth-heavy score by Cliff Martinez. That combination makes an entrancing mix, as it has over and over before, but Copenhagen Cowboy is never simply a case of empty style, sound and vision. Also present is an enigmatic tale, this time about the magnetic and mysterious Miu (Angela Bundalovic, Limboland). Considered a "living lucky charm" and highly sought after for her talents, she's the show's entry point to Copenhagen's criminal underworld. Can she help Rosella (Dragana Milutinovic, also Limboland) get pregnant? What kind of eerie situation has she found herself in? Are her gifts genuine? It wouldn't be a Refn project if questions didn't linger in the pulsating sense of stillness. Copenhagen Cowboy streams via Netflix. THE MAKANAI: COOKING FOR THE MAIKO HOUSE At the beginning of The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, 16-year-old best friends Kiyo (Nana Mori, Liar x Liar) and Sumire (Natsuki Deguchi, Silent Parade) leave home for the first time with smiles as wide as their hearts are open. Departing the rural Aomari for Kyoto in the thick of winter, they have internships as maiko lined up — apprentice geiko, as geishas are called in the Kyoto dialect. Their path to their dearest wishes isn't all sunshine and cherry blossoms from there, of course, but this is a series that lingers on the details, on slices of life, and on everyday events rather than big dramatic developments. Watch, for instance, how lovingly Kiyo and Sumire's last meal is lensed before they set out for their new future, and how devotedly the camera surveys the humble act of sitting down to share a dumpling soup, legs tucked beneath blankets under the table, while having an ordinary conversation. Soothing, tender, compassionate, bubbling with warmth: that's The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House from the outset. There's a key reason that this cosy and comforting new treasure overflows with such affection and understanding — for its characters, their lives and just the act of living. Prolific writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda simply isn't capable of anything else. Yes, Netflix is in the auteur game at the moment. Its January question: why give streaming queues the world over one new series by an acclaimed filmmaker in a month when you can gift them two? The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House couldn't be more different from Nicolas Winding Refn's Copenhagen Cowboy (see: above), but it is unmistakably the work of its rightly applauded creative force. One of the biggest names in Japanese cinema today, and the winner of the received Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or back in 2018 for the sublime Shoplifters, Kore-eda makes empathetic, rich and deeply emotional works. His movies, including 2020's France-set The Truth and 2022's South Korea-set Broker, truly see the people within their frames. On the small screen, and hailing from manga, the nine-episode The Makanai is no different. It's also as calming as a show about friendships, chasing dreams and devouring ample dumplings can and should be. The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House streams via Netflix. I HATE SUZIE TOO Watching I Hate Suzie Too isn't easy. Watching I Hate Suzie, the show's first season, wasn't either back in 2020. A warts-and-all dance through the chaotic life, emotions and mind of a celebrity, both instalments of this compelling British series have spun as far away from the glitz and glamour of being famous as possible. Capturing carefully constructed social-media content to sell the fiction of stardom's perfection is part of the story, as it has to be three decades into the 21st century; however, consider this show from Succession writer Lucy Prebble and actor/singer/co-creator Billie Piper, and its blood pressure-raising tension and stress, the anti-Instagram. The unfiltered focus: teen pop sensation-turned-actor Suzie Pickles, as played with a canny sense of knowing by Piper given that the 'Honey to the Bee' and Penny Dreadful talent has charted the same course. That said, the show's IRL star hasn't been the subject of a traumatic phone hack that exposed sensitive photos from an extramarital affair to the public, turning her existence and career upside down, as Suzie was in season one. In I Hate Suzie Too, plenty has changed for the series' namesake over a six-month period. She's no longer with her professor husband Cob (Daniel Ings, Sex Education), and is battling for custody of their young son Frank (debutant Matthew Jordan-Caws), who is deaf — and her manager and lifelong friend Naomi (Leila Farzad, Avenue 5) is off the books, replaced by the no-nonsense Sian (Anastasia Hille, A Spy Among Friends). Also, in a new chance to win back fans, Suzie has returned to reality TV after it helped thrust her into the spotlight as a child star to begin with. Dance Crazee Xmas is exactly what it sounds like, and sees her compete against soccer heroes (Blake Harrison, The Inbetweeners), musicians (Douglas Hodge, The Great) and more. But when I Hate Suzie Too kicks off with a ferocious, clearly cathartic solo dance in sad-clown getup, the viewers aren't charmed. Well, Dance Crazee Xmas' audience, that is — because anyone watching I Hate Suzie Too is in for another stunner that's fearless, audacious, honest, dripping with anxiety, staggering in its intensity, absolutely heart-wrenching and always unflinching. I Hate Suzie Too streams via Stan. Read our full review. DUAL New movie, familiar query: what would you do if you physically came face to face with yourself, and not just by looking in a mirror? Films about clones, including all-timer Moon and the recent Mahershala Ali (Alita: Battle Angel)-starring Swan Song, have long pondered this topic — and so has the Paul Rudd-led series Living with Yourself. In Dual, there's only one legal option. This sci-fi satire shares Swan Song's idea, allowing replicating oneself when fate deals out a bad hand. So, that's what Sarah (Karen Gillan, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) does when she's told that she has a rare but terminal disease, and that her death is certain. Cloning is meant to spare her boyfriend Peter (Beulah Koale, Shadow in the Cloud) and her mother (Maija Paunio, Next of Kin) from losing her, making a difficult situation better for Sarah's loved ones. But when she doesn't die after all, the law states that, just like in Highlander, there can be only one. To decide who lives, Sarah and her doppelgänger must fight to the death in a public dual — with Trent (Aaron Paul, Better Call Saul) helping train the OG version. Even with its twist, on paper Dual sounds like a feature that any filmmaker could've made — one that any actor could've starred in, too. But this is the meaty, meaningful and memorable movie it is thanks to writer/director Riley Stearns and his excellent lead Gillan. With his penchant for deadpan, the former pondered working out who you truly are through an unlikely battle in 2019's very funny The Art of Self-Defense, and does so again here. He's also fond of exploring the struggle to embrace one's personality, and confronting the notion we all have in our minds that a better version of ourselves exists. That said, Dual plays like a sibling to The Art of Self-Defense, rather than a clone itself. It'd certainly be a lesser flick without Gillan, who sheds her Nebula makeup, wades out of the Jumanji franchise's jungles, and turns in two powerful and nuanced performances as Sarah and Sarah 2.0. And while Paul is in supporting mode, he's a scene-stealer. Dual streams via Netflix. HUNTERS Call it a conspiracy thriller. Call it an alternative history. Call it a revenge fantasy. Call it another savage exploration of race relations with Jordan Peele's fingerprints all over it. When it comes to Hunters, they all fit. This 70s-set Nazi-slaying series first arrived in 2020, following a ragtag group determined to do two things: avenge the Holocaust, with many among their number Jewish survivors or relatives of survivors; and stop escaped Third Reich figures who've secretly slipped into the US from their plan of starting a Fourth Reich. The cast was stellar — Al Pacino (House of Gucci), Logan Lerman (Bullet Train), Tiffany Boone (Nine Perfect Strangers), Jeannie Berlin (Succession), Carol Kane (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Lena Olin (Mindhunter) and Australia's own Kate Mulvany (Elvis) among them — and Get Out and Us filmmaker Peele executive produced a gem as he also did that same year with Lovecraft Country. And, when it wrapped up its first season, it did so with one mighty massive cliffhanger: the fact that Adolf Hitler (Udo Kier, Swan Song) was still alive in 1977. Returning for its second and final batch of episodes three years later, but largely moving its action to 1979, season two of Hunters sees its central gang initially doing their own things — but unsurprisingly reteaming to go after the obvious target. Jonah Heidelbaum (Lerman) is living a double life, with his new fiancee Clara (Emily Rudd, Fear Street) in the dark about his Nazi-hunting ways, but crossing paths with the ruthless and determined Chava Apfelbaum (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Possessor) ramps up his and the crew's efforts. Knowing this is the final go-around, the stylishly shot series isn't afraid of embracing its OTT leanings, tonal jumps and frenetic camerawork, and always proves entertaining as it hurtles towards its last hurrah. The best episode of the season, however, is one that jumps back to World War II, doesn't focus on any of its main stars and is as clever, moving and well-executed as Hunters has ever been. If the show ever gets revived in the future, which it easily could, more of that would make a great series even better. Hunters streams via Prime Video. THAT '90S SHOW The teenagers of Point Place are at it again: hangin' out down the street, that is, usually in Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp, WandaVision) and Red Forman's (Kurtwood Smith, The Dropout) basement. This time, decades have passed on- and off-screen since the world first met a group of high schoolers happily doing the same old things they did last week in the fictional Wisconsin town, and enjoyed their relatable antics. Netflix's new That '90s Show picks up just over 15 years after That '70s Show's timeline, embracing all that the mid-90s had to offer from raves and Alanis Morissette's initial fame to video stores and Donkey Kong. (Yellowjackets isn't the only series going all-in three decades back right now.) For viewers, the 1995-set series arrives 17 years after its predecessor said farewell, and also delivers endearing, laidback, easily bingeable throwback that's quite the good time. The years might've changed, but the basics stay the same in a wave of familiar places, faces, scenarios and themes — and the overall formula. From 1998–2006, Eric Forman (Topher Grace, Home Economics), girl-next-door Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon, Orange Is the New Black), and pals including Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher, Vengeance), Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis, Luckiest Girl Alive) and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama, NCIS) earned That '70s Show's attention as they chatted through their hopes and dreams, got stoned frequently, and tried to work out who they were, who they loved and what they wanted. Now, doing the same is Eric and Donna's 14-year-old daughter Leia (Callie Haverda, The Lost Husband), plus the new friends — feisty riot grrrl Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide, Four Kids and It), her airhead brother Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan, Gabby Duran & The Unsittables), ladies' man Jay (Mace Coronel, Colin in Black & White), the witty Ozzie (Reyn Doi, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) and the super-smart Nikki (Sam Morelos, Forgetting Nobody) — she makes while visiting her grandparents. That '90s Show streams via Netflix. Read our full review. BLACK SNOW Fans of weighty Australian fare that reckons with the country's past are fans of the Mystery Road franchise, spanning both the big and small screens. They're fans, then, of the way that the outback-set saga surveys the nation's distinctive ochre-hued landscape from above in picturesque drone shots, all while contemplating the racist ills waged to live and work upon it. Six-part series Black Snow borrows much that's made Mystery Road such a hit, including a shock murder in a small town, a cop riding in to solve the mystery it heralds, a grim look at Aussie history and a bird's-eye view of its setting. But when this instantly compelling show peers down, it spies fields of green sugar cane fields far and wide. And, when it explores the country's traumas, it focuses on the treatment of the Australian South Sea Islander community — especially blackbirding, which involves forced relocation, severe underpayment and brutal working conditions, a grim form of slavery that isn't forgotten here. Seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker (talented debutant Talijah Blackman-Corowa) is the first person seen in Black Snow's opening moments, riding her bike hurriedly through the cane in the thick of night, making a frantic call from a remote phone booth and getting spooked by a music-blaring car's sudden appearance. The year is 1994, and the evening is the high schooler's Year 12 formal, as well as her last alive. Black Snow's second face belongs to James Cormack (Travis Fimmel, Raised by Wolves), a Brisbane-based Cold Case Unit police officer trying his luck in 2019 at a claw machine in a pub. He's troubled in a different way, haunted by emotional pain he attempts to deaden by paying for a Fight Club-style beating in the bar's back alley. After a time capsule buried by Isabel and her classmates reveals more than pop-culture blasts from the past, he's swiftly trying to solve her death — with help from her shrewd sister Hazel (potent first-timer Jemmason Power). Black Snow streams via Stan. Read our full review. NEW SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK THE LAST OF US If the end of the world comes, or a parasitic fungus evolves via climate change, spreads globally, infests brains en masse and almost wipes out humanity, spectacular video game-to-TV adaptation The Last of Us will have you wanting Pedro Pascal in your corner. Already a standout in Game of Thrones, then Narcos, then The Mandalorian, he's perfectly cast in HBO's latest blockbuster series — a character-driven show that ruminates on what it means to not just survive but to want to live and thrive after the apocalypse. In this smart and gripping show (one that's thankfully already been renewed for season two, too), he plays Joel. Dad to teenager Sarah (Nico Parker, The Third Day), he's consumed by grief and loss after what starts as a normal day, and his birthday, changes everything for everyone. Twenty years later, he's a smuggler tasked with tapping into his paternal instincts to accompany a different young girl, the headstrong Ellie (Bella Ramsey, Catherine Called Birdy), on a perilous but potentially existence-saving trip across the US. Starting to watch The Last of Us, or even merely describing it, is an instant exercise in déjà vu. Whether or not you've played the hit game since it first arrived in 2013, or its 2014 expansion pack, 2020 sequel or 2022 remake, its nine-part TV iteration ventures where plenty of on-screen fare including The Road and The Walking Dead has previously trodden. The best example that springs to mind during The Last of Us is Station Eleven, however, which is the heartiest of compliments given how thoughtful, empathetic and textured that 2021–22 series proved. As everything about pandemics, contagions and diseases that upend the world order now does, The Last of Us feels steeped in stone-cold reality as well, as spearheaded by a co-creator, executive producer, writer and director who has already turned an IRL doomsday into stunning television with Chernobyl. That creative force is Craig Mazin, teaming up with Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog, who also wrote and directed The Last of Us games. The Last of Us streams via Binge. Read our full review. POKER FACE Cards on the table: thanks to Russian Doll and the Knives Out franchise, Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson are both on a helluva streak. In their most recent projects before now, each has enjoyed a hot run not once but twice. Lyonne made time trickery one of the best new shows of 2019, plus a returning standout in 2022 as well, while Johnson's first Benoit Blanc whodunnit and followup Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were gems of the exact same years. The latter also saw the pair team up briefly — Lyonne and Johnson, that is, although getting a Russian Doll-meets-Knives Out crossover from the universe, or just the Netflix algorithm, would be a dream. Until that wish comes true, there's Poker Face. It's no one's stopgap or consolation prize, however. This new mystery-of-the-week series is an all-out must-see in its own right, and one of 2023's gleaming streaming aces already. Given its components and concept, turning out otherwise would've been the biggest head-scratcher. Beneath aviator shades, a trucker cap and her recognisable locks, Lyonne plays detective again, as she did in Russian Doll — because investigating why you're looping through the same day over and over, or jumping through time, is still investigating. Johnson gives the world another sleuth, too, after offering up his own spin on Agatha Christie-style gumshoes with the ongoing Knives Out saga. This time, he's dancing with 1968–2003 television series Columbo, right down to Poker Face's title font. Lyonne isn't one for playing conventional detectives, though. Here, she's Charlie Cale, who starts poking around in sudden deaths thanks to an unusual gift and a personal tragedy. As outlined in the show's ten-part first season, Charlie is a human lie detector. She can always tell if someone is being untruthful, a knack she first used in gambling before getting on the wrong side of the wrong people. Then, when a friend and colleague at the far-from-flashy Las Vegas casino where Charlie works winds up dead, that talent couldn't be handier. Poker Face streams via Stan. Read our full review. SHRINKING Viewers mightn't have realised they'd been lacking something crucial until now, but Shrinking serves it up anyway: a delightfully gruff Harrison Ford co-starring in a kind-hearted sitcom. Creating this therapist-focused series for Apple TV+, Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel didn't miss this new gem's immediate potential. Lawrence and Goldstein add the show to their roster alongside Ted Lasso, which the former also co-created, and the latter stars in as the also wonderfully gruff Roy Kent to Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning effect. It too bathes in warmth amid chaos, all while understanding, exploring and accepting its characters as the flawed folks we all are. As for Segel, he's no stranger to playing the type of super-enthusiastic and super-earnest figure he inhabits again here, as seen in Freaks and Geeks and How I Met Your Mother. If Ted Lasso downplayed the soccer, instead emphasising the psychologist chats that were a pivotal part of season two, Shrinking would be the end result. Also, if Scrubs, another of Lawrence's sitcoms, followed doctors specialising in mental health rather than working in a hospital, Shrinking would also be the outcome. Round up those familiar elements and details brought over from elsewhere, and Shrinking turns them into a series that's supremely entertaining, well-cast and well-crafted — and an engaging and easy watch. The focus: Segel (Windfall) as Jimmy Laird, a shrink grieving for his wife Tia (Lilan Bowden, Murderville), making bad decisions and leaving parenting his teen daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell, Generation) to his empty-nester neighbour Liz (Christa Miller, a Scrubs alum and also Lawrence's wife). When he decides to start checking back in, and to also give his patients like young war veteran Sean (Luke Tennie, CSI: Vegas) some tough love, it causes ripples, including for his boss Paul (Ford, The Call of the Wild) and colleague Gaby (Jessica Williams, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore). Shrinking streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. RECENT AND CLASSIC MOVIES YOU NEED TO CATCH UP WITH CENSOR You don't need to fondly remember the height of the VHS age to know that Censor, the exceptional, intelligent and inventive debut by Welsh writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond, sports a killer concept. Set in Britain in the 80s, this is a video nasty-loving flick about video nasties, aka low-budget, frequently exploitative, blood- and gore-filled horror movies that proliferated when home entertainment finally became affordable for the masses. Watching and assessing such fare for the British Board of Film Classification — and judging what's acceptable for release, what can get by after a little or a swag of cuts, and what should be banned outright in the process — Enid Baines (Niamh Algar, The Wonder) spends her days wading through the violent, visceral and queasy. If she and her colleagues make the wrong call, there's a public outcry, as happens when a man gets murderous and the media ties it to a recent title. Amid the resulting uproar, Enid finds herself drawn to a different director's OTT work, seeing uncanny parallels within his frames with her own traumatic experiences. An attention-grabber at Sundance back in 2021, Censor doesn't ascribe to the view that wild screen content sparks wild behaviour — but it does have a brilliant amount of fun cleverly toying with it. Bailey-Bond knows the discourse and satirises it savagely. She knows the type of movies that Enid has to evaluate, too, with her confident first film both lovingly nodding to and playing with them. Rising star Algar, who was also a standout in The Virtues and Calm with Horses, is intense and inimitable as workaholic Enid; the always-welcome Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters) enjoys his sleazy role; and cinematographer Annika Summerson (Mogul Mowgli), editor Mark Towns (Choose or Die) and composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (Rocks) help get the look, feel and sound just right. Creepy, immersive, and boasting a multi-layered ending that works as a parody, a statement and a balls-to-the-wall horror spectacle, Censor demands close and engrossed notice — and marks Bailey-Bond as a talent to keenly watch. Censor streams via Stan. MIAMI CONNECTION Back in 1987, an out-there martial arts movie that really has to be seen to be believed first hit screens. There was one huge problem with this collaboration between director Park Woo-sang (American Chinatown) and star YK Kim, however: Miami Connection wasn't a success with critics or audiences at the time, despite featuring a band called Dragon Sound that's filled with Taekwondo aficionados, a motorcycle-riding ninja gang and a cocaine war. That lacklustre response is thoroughly understandable. Miami Connection isn't great, and wouldn't have been even amid the 80s action boom — but it is 100-percent worth watching at least once. It debuted well before The Room but made a comeback afterwards, and proves immensely entertaining in the same so-bad-it's-just-so-bad manner. Post-Tommy Wiseau's hit, Miami Connection was unearthed and revived by the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas, then worked its way around the festival circuit, including playing the Brisbane International Film Festival. An obvious caveat applies to this Florida-set flick: watching it with as big a group of people as you can, even while streaming it at home, is the ideal way to have the best time with everything that it throws at the screen. And make no mistake, Miami Connection gets a-hurling, including when it comes to makeup, ridiculous dialogue, a plot that's absurd and jumps all over the place, choreography, montages, musical numbers, acting and action. Story-wise, Dragon Sound's members become the target of the film's ninjas over a gig. Don't go expecting much that's coherent springing from that basic premise, though. Do get ready for the kind of movie that no one could ever set out to make on purpose, and that no one can truly be prepared for before viewing. Throwing spoons isn't required here, but you might want to anyway. Miami Connection streams via SBS On Demand. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2022. You can also check out our list of standout must-stream 2022 shows as well — and our best 15 new shows of last year, top 15 returning shows over the same period, 15 shows you might've missed and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies of 2022.
UPDATE, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25: Since releasing its initial list of places visited by positive COVID-19 cases connected to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, Queensland Health has issued an update, adding further locations. The below article and list has been amended to reflect this. Sneezing into our elbows, maintaining a 1.5-metre distance from other people, and washing our hands thoroughly and often: they're just some of the practices that Australians have adopted in 2020 in response to COVID-19. So is paying particular attention to where we've all been, which links into ongoing contact-tracing efforts — because naming locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited is a crucial part of the country's containment strategy. That includes in Queensland, where state authorities have been issuing health alerts outlining places that residents should note. By now, it has become a familiar routine: if you've visited these spots on the dates and during the times outlined, you should monitor your health, and self-isolate and get a test for COVID-19 if you start suffering from even the mildest of symptoms. Today, Sunday, August 23, Queensland Health has released its latest list, in response to a growing number of cases it is calling the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre cluster. Spanning places in Brisbane's west and southeast, and dating between Sunday, August 9–Friday, August 21, it's a lengthy rundown. The big ones: IKEA in Slacks Creek, covering anyone who went looking for affordable Swedish furniture between 11am–2pm on Friday, August 14; various stores at Browns Plains Grand Plaza, spanning different dates and times; a number of shops at Forest Lake Shopping Centre, again at varying dates and times; and a selection of retailers at Westfield Carindale on Wednesday, August 19. But again, this is a very comprehensive list — with places in Birkdale, Browns Plains, Camp Hill, Carina Heights, Carindale, Crestmead, Forest Lake, Greenbank, Greenslopes, Marsden, Mt Gravatt, Slacks Creek and Wacol all named. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1297328838536437761 Check out the full list of places, dates and times below: Sunday, August 9, from around 6.30–6.40am: IGA Express, Forest Lake Sunday, August 9, 11am–12.10pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Sunday, August 9, 11am–12pm: Woolworths, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 9.30–9.45am: Spotlight, Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 10–10.15am: Coles, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Monday, August 10, 10.15–11.25am: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Monday, August 10, from around 11am–12.30pm: Woolworths, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Monday, August 10, 5.30–5.40pm: Greenbank Takeaway, Greenbank Monday, August 10, times unknown: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Tuesday, August 11, from around 6–6.15am: BP Wacol (Corner of Boundary and Progress roads), Wacol Tuesday, August 11, from around 10.30–11.45am: Mt Gravatt Swimming Pool, Mt Gravatt Tuesday, August 11, from around 12pm until an unknown time: Dami Japanese Restaurant, Mt Gravatt Wednesday, August 12, from around 4.30–5pm: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Wednesday, August 12, 6–6.15pm: Thai Antique, Carina Heights Wednesday, August 12, from around 7.15pm until an unknown time: Coles, Browns Plains, Grand Plaza Browns Plains Thursday, August 13, 11am until around 12am: Australian Nails, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, 11am–3pm: Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, from 12pm until an unknown time: Fig Tree Bakehouse, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Thursday, August 13, from after 12pm until an unknown time: Nandos, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 14, from around 10–10.10am: Officeworks, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from after 10am until before 11am: Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, 11am–2pm: Ikea, Slacks Creek Friday, August 14, from around 11.15–11.30am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Friday, August 14, 2.20–3.30pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from around 2.30–3pm: Bunnings, Browns Plains Friday, August 14, from around 4–4.30pm: Aldi, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 14, from around 4–4.30pm: Coles, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Saturday, August 15, from around 9.30–9.45am: K-Mart, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Saturday, August 15, 10.25–11.35am: Anytime Fitness, Village Square Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, from around 10–10.15am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Sunday, August 16, from around 10.30–11am: Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, 12.10–12.15pm: 7-11 service station, Springfield Sunday, August 16, 1.20–2.30pm: Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: Riverlink Shopping Centre, Ipswich Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: The Reject Shop, Ipswich Sunday, August 16, at an unknown time in the morning: Jamaica Blue coffee shop, Ipswich Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: BUPA, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11am–1pm: Origin Kebabs, Indooroopilly Monday, August 17, 11.30–2pm: Calamvale Shopping Centre, Calamvale Monday, August 17, from around 6.30–6.40pm: Greenbank Takeaway, Greenbank Monday, August 17, at an unknown time in the afternoon: Costco Bundamba self-service fuel station, Bundamba Tuesday, August 18, from around 12.30–1pm: BCF, Greenslopes Tuesday, August 18, from 1pm until an unknown time in the afternoon: Rock and Roll Butcher (formerly Brisbane Bulk Meats), Logan Road, Greenslopes Tuesday, August 18, at an unknown time in the afternoon: Chemist Warehouse (on Waratah Drive), Crestmead Tuesday, August 18, 5.45–6.15pm: Uncle Bill's Takeaway, Brassall Tuesday, August 18, 6.05–6.12pm: United Fuels, Springfield Tuesday, August 18, at an unknown time in the evening: BP Wacol (Corner of Boundary and Progress roads), Wacol Wednesday, August 19, 8–9.30am: 12 RND Fitness, Birkdale Wednesday, August 19, from around 9.30am until an unknown time: Woolworths, Browns Plains Grand Plaza, Browns Plains Wednesday, August 19, 10.30–11.45am: The Jam Pantry, Greenslopes Wednesday, August 19, 11–11.10am: Officeworks, Ipswich Wednesday, August 19, 12.30pm until around 1pm: Red Cross Op Shop, Sherwood Road, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, 12.30–1pm: Sherwood Transport and Main Roads Customer Service Centre, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Bras 'n' Things, Westfield Carindale, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Ghanda clothing, Westfield Carindale, Carindale Wednesday, August 19, from around 1–3pm: Myer, Westfield Carindale Carindale Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Myer, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: David Jones, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Touch of Indian, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1–4pm: Sweets from Heaven, Indooroopilly Wednesday, August 19, 1.10pm until around 1.20pm: Newsagent on Sherwood Road, Sherwood Wednesday, August 19, from around 5.30–5.40pm: Baskin Robbins, Camp Hill Market Place, Camp Hill Wednesday, August 19, from around 5.30–5.40pm: Pho Inn, Camp Hill Market Place, Camp Hill Wednesday, August 19, 7.30–7.35pm: 7-11, Springfield Wednesday, August 19–Thursday, August 20, 11pm–6.19am: Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department, Ipswich Thursday, August 20, from around 10–10.15am: Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth shopping centre, Marsden Thursday, August 20, 12.05–12.13pm: USQ Campus Cafe, Springfield Thursday, August 20, 3.15–4pm: Coles, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.30–10.45am: Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.45–11.15am: The Chop Shop, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, from around 10.45–11.15am: Best & Less, Forest Lake Shopping Centre, Forest Lake Friday, August 21, 4.15–5pm: Orion Shopping Centre Springfield, Springfield Qld Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. You can find a rundown of testing clinic locations online as well. Today's alert follows the announcement yesterday, Saturday, August 22, of reinstated social gathering restrictions in the Greater Brisbane area — capping visitors to homes at 10 people, and limiting groups amassing in public to the same number. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. Top image: IKEA; Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.
Already in 2023, Cate Blanchett has scored her seventh Oscar nomination. Thanks to her phenomenal performance in conductor drama Tár, she's likely to win her third Academy Award, in fact. However her luck pans out on Hollywood's night of nights in March, she'll be towering over Melbourne in June regardless — in a historic space built in 1867, across a film installation spanning an array of huge screens, and in one mighty impressive 360-degree display. The first event announced for this year's RISING, Melbourne's major annual arts festival, will feature Blanchett in her latest starring role for artist and filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt. The duo reteams for Euphoria after working on 2015's stunning installation Manifesto together. Set to take over Melbourne Town Hall from Friday, June 2–Sunday, June 18, their new multichannel work doesn't just focus on the acclaimed Australian actor playing multiple parts, however, instead honing in on the weighty topic that is capitalism. The Berlin-based Rosefeldt tackles his current topic — aka two thousand years of greed and the effect that unlimited economic growth has — via a spiral of screens that'll sit throughout the venue. On the ground floor, 24 screens will showcase a life-sized choir of Brooklyn Youth Chorus singers, while five jazz drummers will duel on the screens above them. And, there'll also be five theatrical vignettes looping above, too, which is where Blanchett playing an anthropomorphic tiger stalking supermarket aisles comes in. Those drummers? They include Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer Antonio Sánchez, who also composed the score for 2014 film Birdman. And those vignettes? They'll also feature Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul favourite — and recent Kaleidoscope star — Giancarlo Esposito among a cast that'll speaking thoughts penned by economists, writers and thinkers like Warren Buffett, Ayn Rand, Angela Davis and Snoop Dogg. As well as Blanchett as a jungle cat, RISING's first major international commission — which hits this year's fest as an Australian exclusive, and enjoyed its world premiere at the Park Armory in New York back in November 2022 — features homeless men chatting about economics, executives getting acrobatic in a bank lobby, and an all-round unpacking of capitalism via its own excess. Paired with it, Euphoria's original score by Canadian composer Samy Moussa and British saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi goes big on jazz, the tunes sung by the children's choir and those uttered ideas. Befitting the theme, the installation will run with a pay-as-you-can pricing model, and welcome in visitors for free on Fridays during its season. 2023 is turning out to be a stellar year for spectacular takeovers of town halls by citywide arts fests, after Sydney Festival turned Sydney Town Hall into an indoor beach — temporarily, of course — for an opera performance back in January. Check out the trailer for Euphoria below: RISING 2023 will take place across Melbourne from Wednesday, June 7–Sunday, June 18, with Euphoria displaying at the Melbourne Town Hall on from Friday, June 2–Sunday, June 18. Tickets for Euphoria go on sale to RISING subscribers from 12pm on Tuesday, February 14, with general sales from Friday, February 17. First top image: Katja Illner.
October is made for weird, wild and wonderful movies filled with shocks and scares. 'Tis Halloween season, after all. So, the world obliges, including on screens big and small — and, in 2023, via the return of Australia's genre film festival Monster Fest, which is dedicated to flicks of the spooky, dark, twisted, offbeat and out-there variety. Monster Fest doesn't always pop up in the month when everyone is worshipping pumpkins and thinking about costumes; however, the timing obviously couldn't be more perfect. As it always does, it'll run long in Melbourne, where the fest was born back in 2011, then head to Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide for a shorter season in each city all on the same weekend. Melburnians, mark Thursday, October 12–Sunday, October 22 in your calendar for this showcase of strange, surreal, thrilling and chilling pictures at Cinema Nova. Everyone else, you'll want to make a date with Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney, Event Cinemas Uptown in Brisbane, Event Cinemas Marion in Adelaide and Event Cinemas Innaloo in Perth between Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29. On the lineup: the latest and greatest in genre filmmaking, spanning horror, sci-fi, comedies with elements of either and all-round unnerving movies. Standouts titles on the 2023 program include Suitable Flesh, which stars Heather Graham (Extrapolations) as a doctor going mad, takes its inspiration from HP Lovecraft and boasts Joe Lynch (Creepshow) behind the lens; The Last Video Store, a horror-comedy set, yes, in one of the last video stores; and Norwegian flick There's Something in the Barn, about a gnome uprising that plagues an American family (including Party Down's Martin Starr) who've relocated to Scandinavia. Or, there's also sci-fi comedy Time Addicts, Australian slasher Bloodmoon getting a 4K restoration 33 years after its OG release and Trim Season's nightmarish trip to a weed farm. All of the above titles are doing the rounds nationally; however, with its extra days, Melbourne scores a few more highlights. When Evil Lurks and its demonic infection will launch the Victorian capital's leg of the fest. From there, that's also where Red Rooms, which recently won Best Feature at the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, joins the program. And, so does the kung fu-filled The Invisible Fright, a 4K restoration of Jim Jarmusch's (The Dead Don't Die) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and a 30th-anniversary session of ninth Friday the 13th entry Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (screening on the appropriate date, of course). On the doco front, erotic thrillers are thrust into the spotlight in We Kill for Love, Satan Wants You looks back at 80s-era satanic panic and Enter the Clones of Bruce surveys the talents that endeavoured to replicate Bruce Lee after his death. Going all in on Bruceploitation, Monster Fest is also putting on a double of The Dragon Lives Again and Challenge of the Tiger, where Dracula and James Bond are among Bruce's foes. MONSTER FEST 2023 DATES: Thursday, October 12–Sunday, October 22 — Cinema Nova, Melbourne Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Uptown, Brisbane Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Marion, Adelaide Friday, October 27–Sunday, October 29 — Event Cinemas Innaloo, Perth Monster Fest 2023 runs throughout October around Australia. Head to the festival's website for further details.
If there weren't already enough reasons to visit France, the nation has just erected a ten-level superstructure dedicated entirely to life's magnum opus: wine. Located in the heart of Bordeaux wine country, La Cité du Vin (translating to The City of Wine) is more than just a museum about squashed grapes. From the outside the building is a masterpiece in its own right, the architecture charging its glass to the curvature of the infamous vineyard-bordered Garonne River, knotted vine stocks and the swirl of wine in a glass. Indoors, there are both temporary and permanent features, including a self-guided tour through 20 themed spaces showcasing wine from across the world, across the ages, across all cultures and all civilisations. The immersive experience kicks off in a wooden vault moonlighting as the hull of a wine-trading ship before taking visitors through several other multi-sensory areas. The final phase leads up to the top floor to take in 360 degree views of the city and for the most eagerly anticipated section of the tour: wine tasting. All that wine knowledge can be put to use in one of two restaurants, together sharing a wine cellar with upwards of 14,000 bottles from more than 80 wine producing countries. To top it all off the entrance hall doubles as the departure point for wine tasting excursions via boat along the Garonne or down the road to the plentiful Bordeaux vineyards.
He may be young, but Ed Sheeran is turning heads all around the world for all the right reasons. After writing and recording his own EP at the tender age of 14, Ed Sheeran has taken the world by storm and gained legions of supporters, including Grime maestro Example and Jamie Foxx. The talented red-head is a great singer-songwriter known for his compositions containing guitar loops and beat-boxing creating a superbly unique brand of hip-hop. With more than a million likes on Facebook and countless more fans around the world, the 21 year old sensation is bringing his talents to South Bank for an intimate performace at the QPAC Concert Hall.
James Bond is a fictional character. If literature and cinema's super-suave spy was real, however, he might be interested in a new bar that's set to start pouring cocktails in Melbourne from April. At Le Martini, one drink is in the spotlight. That cocktail can come in an array of varieties, though — yes, including shaken, not stirred — as patrons here will be able to enjoy. This 33-seat watering hole on the ground floor at Crown Melbourne won't just hero one kind of tipple. It'll also be all about one variety of vodka, too. Operating from 5pm–late Thursday–Sunday, the intimate Le Martini is the world's first-ever Grey Goose martini bar, so you know what'll be in each martini. Exactly what kinds of martinis will be on offer hasn't been revealed as yet, but they'll also change thanks to guest bartenders from overseas who'll whip up their own menus. One such person: New York's Dale DeGroff, whose career dates back to the Rainbow Room in the 80s. He's in charge of the opening martini lineup. Whatever the range of curators opt for, you can probably look forward to the alcohol brand's signature martini, which combines its own vodka, Noilly Prat dry vermouth and a dash of orange bitters. French bites to eat will be paired with the beverages, with Bistro Guillaume at Crown Melbourne responsible for the culinary range. "Here, we are creating a place where guests can sip on the very best expertly crafted Grey Goose martinis while immersed in exquisite surrounds," said the brand's Marketing Manager Sander Janmaat, announcing Le Martini. Find Le Martini on the ground floor at Crown Melbourne, Southbank from sometime in April, open from 5pm–late Thursday–Sunday — we'll update you with an exact launch date when one is announced.
It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's returning to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which was originally slated to deliver its fifth annual program between Friday, April 3–Sunday, April 12 — but, after delaying its 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now do so between Friday, September 11–Sunday, September 20. The move marks the fest's temporary return to the latter half of the calendar, following a shift to an earlier autumn timeslot in 2019 — which attracted a record crowd of 25,000 attendees. Regardless of this year's coronavirus-inspired change of dates, the fest will continue its free ten-day public celebration of Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling — and its focus on dazzling light installations — in the CBD's Alice Springs Todd Mall, as well as at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park Precinct just out of town. On the bill: the festival's signature installations, new luminous displays, live music and other performances, all falling under the theme 'lifting our spirits'. The 2020 fest is particularly enthusiastic about "lifting the spirits from the work of artists, old and new, to the spirit of this year's audience". While an initial 2020 program was released earlier this year, just how much of it will make the leap to September is yet to be revealed. [caption id="attachment_715721" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Lighting the Ranges, Parrtjima festival, Alice Springs, Australia.5/4/2019. Images courtesy Parrtjima / NTMEC[/caption] That said, as it always does, the Alice Springs Desert Park will come alive with the festival's main attraction. Once again, a huge artwork will transform a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival. Just what it'll feature this year hasn't been unveiled, but it's always spectacular — and it always highlights stories, symbols and knowledge of Aboriginal culture.Another returning favourite is Ahelhe Itethe – Living Sands (Grounded), where installations are projected onto the earth accompanied by a striking soundscape. Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2020, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from September 11–20, 2020 around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: James Horan.
