Dalby. World famous (somewhat) for its coal mining, wheat production and cattle trade, is set to become famous for an entirely different reason. Dalby can now lay claim to being one of the select few towns nominated to host the annual Triple J One Night Stand. Fortunately for us city slickers, this year’s event is slightly more accessible. Located just over two hours west of Brisbane, it is but a mere road trip for anyone looking for a fun filled day of outstanding Australian music. Touring for the first time since their breakthrough in 2010, Temper Trap are set to play the headline slot. Supporting them for the evening will be 360, who’s song ‘Boys Like You’ reached number 8 in this year’s hottest 100. Prior to his performance, Stonefield, the four sisters from rural Victoria will no doubt unload a blistering set that has seen them perform at none other than the Glastonbury festival. Second on the bill is Matt Corby, the talented Idol reject who came good, reaching number 3 in this year’s hottest 100, and finally, opening the evening is recent Unearthed winners, Mace and Motor. So load your car with your least annoying mates and head west to where the stars shine both in the sky and on stage.
UPDATE: June 14, 2020: Amazing Grace is available to stream via Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play and YouTube. In January of 1972, Aretha Franklin walked into Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, stood in front of Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir, and started singing. For two nights, she turned a place of Christian worship into somewhere heavenly for everyone — because you don't need to have faith to recognise a transcendent experience. Those lucky enough to be there, including Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts on the second evening, were understandably ecstatic. As the Queen of Soul recorded her latest gospel album, the crowd sang and cheered, with many moved to tears. And, for nearly half a century, their joy was the stuff of legend. Music fans, even those who don't consider themselves aficionados of the genre or who weren't yet born, have long wished they could've been there That envy wasn't just sparked by stories, or by the success of Franklin's resulting album, which is still the biggest-selling disc across her entire recording career. In addition, it stemmed from wondering what could've been. As the two shows left attendees rapturous, filmmaker Sydney Pollack recorded the whole thing with the intention of turning it into a documentary, however technical problems and legal issues got in his way. After 47 years and a lot of wrangling, the concert doco now exists. It's a case of better late than never, obviously. An exceptional film, as well as a hefty reminder about the importance of following standard filmmaking procedures (Pollack didn't use clapperboards while he was shooting, making it immensely difficult to synchronise his audio and visuals), Amazing Grace was definitely worth the wait. Directed by Pollack but brought to completion in the years after his 2008 death by editor Alan Elliott, this is a concert doco of the highest order. For the first time, the entire world can watch one of the finest performances by one of the finest singers ever to unleash their vocal cords — and understand why Franklin, this record and the shows it sprang from are all so revered. There's nothing quite like seeing someone at their very best, which Amazing Grace firmly demonstrates. And yet, the movie's power runs much deeper. This is a snapshot of collective reverence, respect and euphoria, radiating from Franklin's passionate gaze, floating through the air with her melodious voice and infecting everyone in earshot. Solely focusing on its star and those in the room with her, it's a portrait not just of two memorable gigs, but of the way that great art transforms those making and witnessing it. The act of peering intimately at Franklin, who manages to seem both serene and determined whether she's holding a prolonged note or taking a moment's pause, is truly one of bearing witness. So too is seeing the effect that she has on her audience when she's belting out a tune (when she's not singing, she barely says a word). To appreciate all of the above requires something that every concert demands, yet is becoming all too rare, especially with today's gig-goers increasingly filming on their phones first and watching the show in front of them second. Amazing Grace is a testament to many things, including Franklin and her prodigious talent, a community not often seen on-screen, and the perseverance required to actually get this movie into theatres — but it also proves an ode to simply being in the moment. When you're so lost in what you're doing that nothing else matters: that's what Amazing Grace immortalises. The world around Franklin and her on-lookers could've completely disappeared and no one would've have noticed — not the charming Reverend Cleveland, who emcees the proceedings; not her father CL Franklin, who kicks off the second night with a few words; and not even Pollack, who is sometimes spotted flitting around the church. Capturing this is one thing; conveying it to Amazing Grace's viewers and making them feel the same way is another entirely. Both feats are achieved here, perhaps never more so than when Franklin unfurls all 11 minutes of the documentary's titular track. How sweet the sound — and sight, and experience — indeed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N7WthSspQ4
When you want to get wet on a whim in Tropical North Queensland, head to Crystal Cascades. This stunning swimming spot is a popular place for locals to plunge and it's located only a 20-minute drive from the Cairns CBD. Crystal Cascades boasts a series of swimming holes and waterfalls that tumble down the mountain in a section of Freshwater Creek. If you don't feel like walking far, cool off in one of the cascade's lower pools. Or, if you're keen for a longer stroll, head to the top to take a dip at the larger waterfall at the track's end. The arching rainforest canopy provides for shady swimming and the granite boulder-filled creek helps to keep the pools cool year-round. There are picnic tables and barbecue facilities available too, so pack yourself some seasonal tropical fruit to refuel after all your waterfall exploration.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 13: SBS Viceland has confirmed that it'll screen Brooklyn Nine-Nine's seventh season from Friday, February 7, 2020 in Australia. The below article has been updated to reflect this announcement. The fine fictional detectives of Brooklyn's 99th precinct have long held a soft spot in sitcom viewers' hearts, but that hasn't always proven the case for TV's powers that be. After airing on America's Fox network for five seasons between 2013–2018, the show was cancelled in May last year — only to be picked up for a sixth season by rival US channel NBC just 31 hours later. That 18-episode sixth season finished airing back in May, screening on SBS Viceland in Australia. Thankfully, the show was renewed for a 13-episode seventh season in March — and, if you've been missing everyone's favourite comedic cops, as well as their Die Hard gags and 'title of your sex tape' jokes, it now has a 2020 release date. Yes, Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans can't utter "noice" fast or often enough. Or, as Andy Samberg's Jake Peralta would say: cool cool cool. The sitcom will return on Thursday, February 6 in the US — which is Friday, February 7 in Australia — with an hour-long season premiere. Aussie fans have been very fortunate in recent years, with SBS dropping new episodes in line with their US screenings, and that'll continue in 2020. https://twitter.com/nbcbrooklyn99/status/1192882629671997440 Breaking out a celebratory yoghurt, Terry Jeffords-style, is definitely in order. If you're more like Captain Raymond Holt, perhaps you'd like to treat yourself to a trip to a barrel museum. Or you could channel your inner Gina Linetti and dance about your happy feelings. However you choose to mark the news, it's worth it. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's seventh season will start airing from Friday, February 7, 2020, Australian time on SBS Viceland. Via Deadline / SBS.
The Good Place might've just finished its third season, but Netflix isn't done serving up smart existential laughs just yet. The streaming platform's latest series once again tasks its protagonist with wondering what this whole life business is all about — however, in Russian Doll, New Yorker Nadia (Natasha Lyonne — who you'll most likely recognise from Orange Is the New Black) is forced to relive her 36th birthday shindig over and over again. While getting stuck at a celebration in your own honour will sound like a literal party to most folks, that's not Nadia's path. Co-created and co-written by Lyonne, Amy Poehler and filmmaker Leslye Headland (Bachelorette, Sleeping with Other People), this eight-episode show takes its acerbic, misanthropic lead character through the kinds of twists and turns that are really best discovered by watching. Her closest pals (Greta Lee and Rebecca Henderson), friendly ex (Yul Vazquez), wise aunt (Elizabeth Ashley) and cute roaming cat all feature, and so does a determined but neurotic guy (Charlie Barnett) who lives around the corner. If you're getting strong Groundhog Day vibes, then you're on the right track. Netflix is even launching Russian Doll on Friday, February 1 — aka the day before this year's real-life Groundhog Day, which will be celebrated on February 2. That said, this isn't just a rehash of a movie about rehashing the same events, even if the series does have plenty of fun with its concept. Examining fate, logic, life's loops and wading through limbo in a clever and compelling way, Russian Doll is dark, heartfelt, hilarious and inventive all at once. And, although the do-over premise has become a well-established trope on both the big and small screens, the series never feels like it's relying on a gimmick. Like its name, this is a layered effort that keeps revealing new charms, as does Orange is the New Black's Lyonne. Of course, Netflix has played with branching narratives already this year, all thanks to Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. While Russian Doll lets Nadia choose her own way through her repeated days, it isn't a choose-your-own-adventure affair for viewers — but, in a nice little coincidence, Nadia is a computer game programmer. While you're waiting for the show to drop its entire first season, check out Russian Doll's two trailers below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHcKoAMGGvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPELCYFK-Wg Russian Doll hits Netflix at 6pm AEDT / 5pm AEST on Friday, February 1. Image: Netflix.
When season five of The Crown arrives in 2022, it'll continue to explore a part of royal history that's been talked about for decades: the difficult marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles. As part of the show's latest change of cast, Tenet's Elizabeth Debicki will play the former, The Pursuit of Love's Dominic West will step into the latter's shoes, and the acclaimed Netflix series will tease out the details — but, on the big screen, the Kristen Stewart-starring Spencer will get there first. This isn't quite a twin films situation — where two movies about the same or similar topics appear around the same time, like Armageddon and Deep Impact in the 90s, Finding Nemo and Shark Tale in the animation space, and the two Fyre Festival documentaries in 2019 — but only because The Crown is a TV show and Spencer is a feature. Otherwise, there will indeed be two different takes on the tale hitting screens small and large in short succession. In Spencer's case, it hails from Pablo Larraín, the Chilean filmmaker who has never made a bad film — see: his recent masterpiece Ema — and also directed Natalie Portman to an Oscar nomination in Jackie. In both of these movies, he's honed in on complex women in difficult situations, one fictional and one factual, and shown a stunning eye for emotion and detail. And, based on the just-dropped teaser trailer for Spencer, that isn't going away in his next feature. After last appearing in films as varied as Underwater, Charlie's Angels, Seberg and Happiest Season, Stewart plays Diana in 1991, at a time where her relationship with Prince Charles (Jack Farthing, Official Secrets) is struggling, but the royal family has gathered together for Christmas. Spencer focuses on a few specific days, as rumours swirl about affairs and divorce, and Diana attempts to navigate the obviously complicated situation. Timothy Spall (The Party), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible — Fallout) also co-star, and the film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September ahead of its US release in November. When it'll hit Down Under hasn't yet been announced. Check out the trailer below: Spencer releases in US cinemas on November 5, and doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced.
NYE got you feeling a little weary? The New Year's Bash delivers the ideal tonic that not only offers boundless excitement, but keeps your holiday party going. This Wednesday, January 1, the Brisbane Heat face off against the Melbourne Stars in a thrilling encounter featuring some of the world's best T20 batters and bowlers. UK superstar Example will be performing at the game with his iconic dance tracks that'll lift the mood even if your team if down and out. Set the tone for 2025 in the best way possible from the stands, with awesome live music, fireworks displays and top-notch sporting action wowing the crowd. Enter the game-day charity raffle to contribute to the KFC Youth Foundation's fundraising efforts or donate directly through Ticketek when your purchase your ticket for more good feels and bonus karma to start the New Year.
These days, whenever an old pop culture commodity comes back in a new guise, it's easy to feel complacent. It happens all the time, whether it's a classic franchise receiving its second reboot, a cult 80s movie making the leap to the small screen or a huge TV hit jumping into prequel territory to continue its story. But if you're a fan of a certain undead-killing late 90s and early 00s television show, you'll know that great things can start this way. It's the path that Buffy the Vampire Slayer took, after all. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, the Sarah Michelle Gellar-starring series might just be the finest example of a film-turned-TV show — well, it's definitely the best example in the high school-set vampire genre — as the world came to learn across seven seasons that initially aired between 1997–2003. Buffy has remained a cult favourite ever since, and plenty of devotees still have the huge DVD collections to prove it. Now, binging your way through the whole show is as easy as heading to Australian streaming platform Stan. As part of a deal with Disney that's also brought How I Met Your Mother, Sons of Anarchy, Grey's Anatomy and Family Guy to the service, all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are available to stream. Whether you now know what you're doing this summer, have your after-work viewing planned for the foreseeable future or are planning to devote many a weekend to a rewatch, it's all there — from Buffy's arrival in Sunnydale, to her romantic fondness for brooding vamps Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters), to all the hijinks that the Scooby Gang got up to while living on top of a hellmouth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1v_q6TWAL4 Because this is a series that, fittingly, no one wants to die, a Buffy spinoff was announced back in 2018 — however, to date, it's yet to come to fruition. There's nothing quite like the original Joss Whedon-created show, though, even if it wasn't the very first take on the feisty character. Grab your stakes, line up a range of suitably garlic-flavoured snacks and get ready for a whole world of small-town, high school hell — with vampires, demons, witches, plenty of dark forces, wise watchers like Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Wesley (Alexis Denisof), and, of course, Buffy's besties Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon). All seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are now available to stream on Stan.
For nearly six decades, Robert Redford has sparkled on the silver screen, dripping charm across the original The Great Gatsby, solo seafaring drama All Is Lost and everything in between. His resume is as sizeable as his charisma, but as his acting career reportedly comes to an end, the 82-year-old's allure couldn't shine brighter. The primarily 1980s-set The Old Man and the Gun is the story of two men: a real-life thief and the detective on his trail. It's also a tale that's intricately attuned to its leading man. Seeing Redford rob banks and stage heists once more feels like the perfect swansong for a talent who became a star thanks to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. Likewise, that the movie is all about doing what you love couldn't feel more fitting for his final on-screen role. After stating that The Old Man and the Gun would be his last performance, Redford somewhat walked back those comments with a 'never say never' attitude. If this does turn out to be the four-time Oscar nominee's final hurrah in front of the camera, he's leaving viewers with a treasure of a filmic goodbye that keeps its scale small and intimate, but boasts a big heart as it ponders big existential matters. A loving tribute and a wistful take on a true story combined, The Old Man and the Gun recognises that pursuing a passion is what life is all about and, if you're able to do just that, it changes everything. Much to cinema's great benefit, Redford has chased his dream through acting since 1960. The man he's playing here did the same by walking into banks and demanding their money. Dressed respectably, hat, jacket, tie and all, Forrest Tucker's (Redford) modus operandi is always the same. He steps into a financial institution, steps up to a member of staff and courteously asks for their cash. He gestures gently towards the gun under his arm, all while conducting his stick-up politely, smoothly and with a smile. Afterwards, once he's waltzed out with the loot without customers noticing, bank employees routinely tell the police how nice he is. In his 70s and out of jail again after one of his many stints inside, Tucker is still doing what he does best, usually with long-term pals Teddy (Danny Glover) and Waller (Tom Waits). Sparking up a romance with widow Jewel (Sissy Spacek) doesn't change Tucker's love for his chosen profession, and neither does the sleuthing of determined Texas cop John Hunt (Casey Affleck). Drawn from a 2003 New Yorker article with the same evocative name, Hunt's, er, hunt for Tucker helps shade in some of the latter's backstory. But this isn't about documenting all of the details, with getting a sense of the eponymous old man more important than working through his biography. That's what Jewel does, as their relationship progresses even after Tucker is upfront about his line of work. The film follows her cues, offering a casual stroll through the twilight years of its likeable and kindly criminal. Shot in warm tones on 16mm stock, and given the nostalgic sheen of someone reflecting on fond memories, it may be a bank robber drama, a detective quest and a romance all in one — but it's first and foremost an affectionate yarn about its engaging protagonist and his dedication to remaining true to his outlaw self. In other words, The Old Man and the Gun fits snuggly into the oeuvre of writer-director David Lowery, who has amassed an impressive resume with his four movies to date. Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Pete's Dragon and A Ghost Story might seem worlds away from the filmmaker's latest effort, and from each other, but the yearning need to remain true to oneself sits at the centre of each. Lowery also excels at splashing emotion across the screen subtly but powerfully. It's there when he lingers on the twinkle in Redford's eye, and when he documents Tucker's many prison escapes by using footage from across the actor's career. And, it's evident in the film's other standout performance. Harking back to her breakout role in Badlands, Spacek once again falls for someone who's committed to doing wrong, and once again gleams, this time like her character's name. That makes The Old Man and the Gun a gorgeous and entertaining ode to not just one cinema legend, but two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWybz4vdaFs
What happens when one of the most-beloved fantasy tales adds singing and dancing? In 2025 in Australia, theatregoers heading to The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale will be able to find out. The stage production layers tunes into JRR Tolkien's iconic story, including as its hobbits go on perilous Middle-earth adventures. A Sydney season was announced back in August — and now Melbourne and Perth are also locked in for a musical LoTR journey. On screens big and small for decades so far (and into the future, with more TV episodes and movies on the way), hobbits have trekked, ate second breakfasts and attempted to project precious jewellery. Onstage Down Under from January, they'll also be marking an eleventy-first birthday, receiving a gold ring, taking a quest to Mordor and attempting to fight evil in The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. The Harbour City season at the State Theatre comes first, followed by a stop at Crown Theatre in Western Australia from March, then a Victorian stint at Comedy Theatre that starts in April. Dating back to 2006, just after the original live-action movie trilogy, this stage musical was revived in the UK in 2023, opened in the US in July 2024 and will hit New Zealand this November before crossing the ditch. Your guides for the show are the hobbits, of course, as Frodo and company celebrate Bilbo Baggins, then depart The Shire upon a life-changing journey. Thanks to Tolkien, what occurs from there has enthralled audiences for 70 years now, with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers initially hitting bookshelves in 1954. There's been no shortage of ways to indulge your Lord of the Rings love since Peter Jackson's features — including his Hobbit trilogy — helped fan the flames of pop culture's affection for Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Merry and the franchise's many non-underground-dwelling characters. Cinema marathons, visiting the Hobbiton movie set, staying there overnight, hitting up pop-up hobbit houses, sipping hobbit-themed beer: they've all been on the agenda. Only The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is combining all things LoTR with tunes and dancing, however, in a show that sports a book and lyrics by from Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day the Musical), plus original music by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner AR Rahman, folk band Värttinä from Finland and Matilda the Musical alum Christopher Nightingale. The Australian cast has also just been announced, including Rarmian Newton as Frodo Baggins, Wern Mak as Samwise Gamgee, Jeremi Campese as Merry and Hannah Buckley as Pippin. Laurence Boxhall is playing Gollum, Andrew Broadbent steps into Elrond's shoes and Terence Crawford is Gandalf — with Rohan Campbell as Boromir, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Conor Neylon as Legolas, Jemma Rix as Galadriel, Ian Stenlake as Saruman and Ruby Clark as Rosie, too. The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale Australian Dates 2025 From Tuesday, January 7 — State Theatre, Sydney From Wednesday, March 19 — Crown Theatre, Perth From Monday, April 21 — Comedy Theatre, Melbourne The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is touring Australia from January 2025. Head to the production's website for further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Liz Lauren.
It's a claim made by another animation powerhouse and their bricks-and-mortar wonderlands; however, for fans of Studio Ghibli, the beloved company's Japanese museum might just be the happiest place of earth. Not only does it celebrate the gorgeous on-screen work created by the studio — with Ghibli never making a bad movie yet — but it brings everything from My Neighbour Totoro and Laputa, Castle in the Sky to Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service to life. Understandably, that's made the Studio Ghibli Museum a must-visit place for travellers to Tokyo, with the site located on the western side of the metropolis, in Inokashira Park in Mitaka. But, unless you've actually made the trip to go there, the extent of its delights aren't that widely known, with photography forbidden once you're onsite. That means that Ghibli fans have heard about the museum's cute little cinema with bench seating, its eye-catching stained-glass windows based on the company's films, its towering spiral staircase, and the exquisite detail evident in the site's wallpaper, signage, fixtures and more — but those yet to pop by probably haven't seen it for themselves. Until now, that is, with the Studio Ghibli Museum newly opening its doors to fans virtually, all via a series of online video tours. With the venue currently temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and with a reopening date not yet announced — Ghibli aficionados can still get their fix via the studio's YouTube channel. The videos are brief, each roaming through a different part of the museum, but they firmly showcase just how adorable the entire place is (something we can confirm from our own visits). A new video drops each week, with seven online at the time of writing — and plenty of the museum's highlights yet to be featured. Remember, this is the place that boasts an entire Catbus room, complete with a giant Catbus that kids (but not adults) can play on. Check out a glimpse at the Studio Ghibli Museum building – including its rooftop garden and its Totoro-inspired windows — in one of the venue's videos below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaX15taUGFY To check out the Studio Ghibli Museum's videos, head to the site's YouTube channel. Top image: George N via Flickr.
Ah, gluten. Scourge of coeliacs, this humble wheat protein has been making life difficult for as long as we've been eating sliced bread. But fortunately for all the folks out there with gluten intolerances, VEND Marketplace in Virginia will be a gluten-free zone for a day. At the Gluten-Free Pop-Up Market from 10am–3pm on Saturday, October 19, 2024, mobile food vendors will set up their stalls and roll in their trucks to sling tasty treats without a single bit of wheat, rye or barley in sight. At earlier events, SoCal Tacos, The Dagwood Dog Guy, King of the Wings and Big J Woodfired Pizza were among the eateries making an appearance, alongside OMG Donuts, Roll It Ice Cream, Golden Churros and Mama Mac's Macarons — and others. There'll also be a number of stalls selling a variety of gluten-free products to take home, so you can stock your pantry as well. The dog-friendly event will let you take advantage of VEND's usual 130-plus small businesses, too, for a stint of shopping with your gluten-free eats. The October timing? Yes, that's perfect for getting your Christmas shopping done early.
They've given you all the chicken you can handle, both in a poultry-packed menu and in a one-off all-you-can-eat wings day. Next on The Coop's agenda: cheap tacos. When Thursdays roll around, that's your lunch and dinner plans sorted thanks to Bueno Bueno. When it was first announced back in January, Bueno Bueno was an evening affair — but thanks to popular demand, it's now happening all day and all night every single Thursday. Each week, seven types of taco will be on offer for $3 each. And it's not just a few spoonfuls of mince in a crunchy shell, aka the kind of thing you could make at home, either. Their menu includes the Demonio Blanco (24 -hour pulled cola pork with beans, pickled red cabbage and chipotle mayo) and The Generalisimo (BBQ pulled beef taco with caramelised onion, pickles and parmesan cheese). Or, have some karaage in your tortilla with the Gallo Fantástico (chicken, diced pickled onions, blue cheese and chipotle BBQ sauce), or opt for a beetroot-filled meat-free option with the Verde Delicioso (beetroot patty, pearl couscous, diced tomato and onion, parsley, smoked ketchup and tahini dressing). Wash it all down with an appropriate beverage — Dos Equis stubbies, sangria, margaritas and tequila shots — and call it a prelude to your weekend.
UPDATE, July 29, 2020: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Sharing his name with six live-action films in 16 years, Spider-Man is no stranger to the big screen. Since 2002, he's saved New York from disaster again and again, kissed his sweetheart while hanging upside down, and turned evil and danced down the sidewalk. The friendly neighbourhood web-slinger has ripped off his mask to reveal the faces of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland, gotten cosy with Kirsten Dunst, Emma Stone and Zendaya, and eventually joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet, the best Spider-Man movie doesn't involve most of the above. It's not just about Spider-Man, but spider-men. It also features a spider-woman, spider-robot and spider-pig, as well as Nicolas Cage as a 30s-era spider-vigilante. In other words, it's the animated delight that is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Returning Spidey to his cartoon roots — his first screen appearance came via the animated 60s TV series with that catchy theme tune — this addition to the fold isn't your regular take on Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's iconic character. Rather, it recognises that a wealth of different spider-figures have swung through the comic book realm, because Spider-Man really could be anyone. Radioactive arachnids don't discriminate. They just sink their fangs into whoever's in their path. In Into the Spider-Verse, it's Brooklyn high-schooler Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) who's on the receiving end of a tiny but monumental bite. When he's not feeling like he's disappointing his cop dad (Brian Tyree Henry) and wishing he could spend more time with his outcast uncle (Mahershala Ali), Miles is also a rather big fan of the established Spider-Man, Peter Parker (Chris Pine). Two people donning the famous red and blue costume? With nefarious crime kingpin Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber) tearing a hole through multiple universes using a supercollider, two are just the beginning. The uncertain Miles is soon buddying up with Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), who's more than a little over being Spider-Man — consider him an on-screen avatar for spider-fatigued audiences. Like filtering all things Spidey through an episode of Rick and Morty, they're joined by other web-slingers, including Peter Porker (John Mulaney), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Cage), and Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and her mechanical offsider SP//dr. The fate of several worlds is at stake, and the futures of several spider-people (and spider-animals) too. Arriving at a time when superhero movies (let alone Spider-Man flicks) are no longer a special event, Into the Spider-Verse offers what so few caped crusaders can muster these days: an endless array of surprises. It also serves up jokes about whether Spidey could or should wear a cape, although it's the film's ability to astonish that sticks firmer than Spider-Man's web. Who knew that a character who's been seen on screen over and over again for decades — and one who sports a 56-year history on the page as well — could seem so vibrant, thrilling and fresh? That's not a knock on the various live-action iterations, which have each boasted their own appeal, even if some fare better than others. But in embracing the entire big, bustling and diverse spider-world, Into the Spider-Verse genuinely feels new. In recent years, only Black Panther has bounced through cinemas with the same kind of vibe, feeding viewers' eagerness to finally watch something different. Into the Spider-Verse ramps that idea up a few notches, not only showcasing the first Afro-Lantino Spider-Man alongside a number of other interpretations, but playing with superhero and storytelling conventions. While good-versus-evil plots and coming-of-age themes are engrained in Spidey lore, neither notion bows to formula in the hands of filmmakers Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians) and Rodney Rothman. Instead, this adventure spins tales upon tales at a mile-a-minute pace — with a healthy dash of irreverence and amusement, ample nods to past comics and flicks, plus a warm-hearted willingness to make fun of the whole spider-shebang. That Rothman co-wrote the script with The Lego Movie's Phil Lord, and that Lord produced the picture with his usual directing partner Christopher Miller, partly explains Into the Spider-Verse's immense charms. Led by the soulful Moore as Morales, and peppered with hilarious work by Cage and Mulaney, the excellent voice cast also plays a part in making this the new high point for Spider-Man films. That said, Into the Spider-Verse could've dispensed with dialogue altogether and it'd still mesmerise. We mean that literally, because the standard and style of animation on display, and the action scenes and sight gags that go with it, resembles nothing else that's been beamed into cinemas before. Fast, bright, imaginative and often even abstract, it blends a hand-drawn feel with the most inventive visuals that computer-generated imagery can deliver. In this vivid, kaleidoscopic world, Spider-Ham's Looney Tunes aesthetic, Peni Parker and SP//dr's anime look, and Spider-Man Noir's dark approach all fit in perfectly. So too does a new plucky school kid who embodies the most important spider-fact of all: that everyone can do whatever a spider can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbfIIGRfRJg
Whenever its doors are open — whenever patrons are walking through its halls, too — QUT Art Museum's walls are filled creative pieces. That remains the case during Thinking Into Being, the Gardens Point venue's summer-long exhibition; however, pondering not just the final product but the method behind it is a pivotal part of this art and design showcase. Highlighting the exceptional work created by former QUT students who've gone on to do huge things in creative fields — 3D artist and set designer Benjamin Donnelly has been working on upcoming Marvel sequel Thor: Love and Thunder, for instance — this exhibition is all about the thought process that brings objects, products and experiences to fruition. Each piece on display is designed to make you contemplate its design, and how design in general can bring about change. Standout works include a seven-metre site-specific wall sculpture by design practitioner Jennifer Marchant — and a printed wall map by Kyle Bush, who studied landscape architecture and now operates in the field of social and environmental activism. Visitors will also explore sound waves, mind maps and astrophotography, and see a game of hopscotch used to explain design processes — all until Sunday, February 27, with free entry. Images: Installation view of Thinking into Being: QUT Alumni Triennial, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, 9 October 2021 to 27 February 2022. Photos by Louis Lim.
If you're looking for a bite to eat in Fortitude Valley, then odds are you're making a beeline to Brunswick Street and its surrounding nooks and crannies. But soon the inner-city suburb will have a new dining destination: King Street. If the name doesn't sound all that familiar, that's because it's a bit further away from the central hangout spot that is the Valley mall (but not that far away, don't worry). Expect to mosey on over to the RNA Showgrounds — that is, the area that's been under construction for quite a while now — for a plethora of new restaurants in the brand new King Street precinct. The double-header that is The George Bar and Bistro and GG Espresso have duplicated their city stores for the new development, as has everyone's favourite Valley dumpling house, Fat Dumpling. Joining them is Italian restaurant Il Verde — and though it isn't an offshoot of an existing tried and tested, it does come with plenty of history. If you're among the Brisbanites that've enjoyed a meal at Gino's on Kingsford Smith Drive in Hamilton at some point over the past forty years (which is pretty much everyone), you'll be pleased to know that Il Verde springs from the same family. While the first three eateries are already up and running in time for the Ekka, which kicked off last week, the 90-seat pizza and pasta joint is due to start stoking its wood-fired oven in September. Either way, expect a whole heap of new eating options when you're next in that part of the Valley. Find The George Bar and Bistro, GG Espresso, Fat Dumpling and Il Verde on King Street, Fortitude Valley. For more information, check out livekingstreet.com.au. Image: Fat Dumpling.
When Dolly Parton sang about pouring herself a cup of ambition in the giddily catchy 80s hit '9 to 5' — the song that accompanied a film of the same name four decades back, now echoes in a stage musical as well and will never, ever get old — she wasn't talking about wine. But Zimbabwean quartet Joseph Dhafana, Tinashe Nyamudoka, Marlvin Gwese and Pardon Taguzu have lived up to those lyrics one glass of top-notch vino at a time, despite not drinking alcohol as Pentecostal Christians. Clearly, these men have quite the story to tell. It starts with fleeing their homeland under Robert Mugabe's rule, and then sees them each make new homes at considerable risk in South Africa, where they all also eventually found themselves working with the grape. In the process, they discovered a knack for an industry they mightn't have ever even dreamed of contemplating entering otherwise — and, in 2017, they took Zimbabwe's first-ever team to the World Wine Blind Tasting Championships in Burgundy, France. In the words of the always-great and ever-quotable Parton again, Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin and Pardon waited for their ship to come in, and for the tide to turn and all roll their way. '9 to 5' doesn't actually have a single thing to do with Blind Ambition, the film that splashes through the Zimbabwean sommeliers' story, but their against-the-odds journey is equally infectious and uplifting. The Australian-made documentary about the foursome has also been likened to another on-screen underdog tale, this time about Black men seeking glory in a field that isn't typically associated with their country of birth. Blind Ambition isn't the wine version of Cool Runnings for numerous reasons — it hasn't been fictionalised (although it likely will be at some point) and it isn't a comedy, for starters — but the comparison still pithily sums up just how rousing this true story proves. The reality is far more profound than a Disney flick, of course. Making their second wine-focused doco of the past decade, Warwick Ross and Rob Coe — the former the co-director of 2013's Red Obsession, the latter its executive producer, and both sharing helming credits here — decant emotion aplenty from the moving and inspiring Blind Ambition. It flows freely from Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin and Pardon's plights, which the film begins to drip out individually, harking back to before the quartet had even met, then blends together. Getting across the border was especially harrowing for Joseph, for instance, while ensuring that his new life honours his parents back home is particularly important for Pardon. Overcoming poverty and adversity echoes through their stories, as does the hope that their newfound affinity for wine brings — including via Tinashe's desire to plant vines on his grandfather's land one day. From those histories grows a keen eagerness to turn vino into their futures, and amid those dreams sits the World Wine Blind Tasting Championships. The activity that gives the competition its name is serious business; the first word isn't slang for getting black-out drunk or even just knocking back drinks to the thoroughly sozzled stage of inebriation, but describes how teams sample an array of wines without knowing what's rolling over their palates. Every national squad, all with four people apiece, is given 12 drops. From the six red and six white varieties, they must pick everything they can just by sipping — the grape, country, name, producer and vintage — to earn points. And, they also need to spit out the answers quickly, within two minutes of taking a taste. Yes, it's an event that you need to train for. No, it doesn't involve getting sloshed. As stressed verbally and visually throughout the doco, there's a specific — and very white — crowd for blind wine-tasting. It's also a pursuit marked by wealth and privilege, and by the access to a vast selection of different wines that springs far more easily when you come from or have access to both. Accordingly, Team Zimbabwe instantly stands out, not that its members ever let that stand between them and their next tasting glass. While Blind Ambition could've just stuck to the feel-good angle that gushes from Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin and Pardon's efforts as outsiders within this insular realm, it smartly dives further, knowing that anything else would be too superficial and tokenistic. Accordingly, while the film celebrates their achievements, it also ensures that the racial and class divides that are as inherent to this part of the wine world — and to the wine world in general — as grapes fermented into alcohol remain as prominent as a red wine stain on a white tablecloth. That makes Blind Ambition a multi-layered movie with something to say as well as a heartwarming true tale to share, aka the kind of real-life situation that documentarians fantasise about. Heralding diversity and exposing its historical absence rank high among Team Zimbabwe's feats, and the footage that follows them training in South Africa and navigating the competition in Burgundy speaks volumes about the Eurocentric and money-driven industry they've plunged into. Competitive blind wine-tasting is a sport that requires coaches, too, and developments arise when both South African coach Jean Vincent Ridon and French wine expert Denis Garret become involved. All the way through, however, Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin and Pardon's contagious joy, pride and enthusiasm for the field, for competing at the Olympics of the wine world, for the fact that their journey has taken them from refugees to finding a new calling, and for opening up the world to African vino, is never anything less than resonant. Like any standout plonk, wine or otherwise, Blind Ambition leaves viewers wanting more, though. Ross and Coe cover plenty in the film's 96 minutes, including postscript glimpses into the team's lives following their World Wine Blind Tasting Championships debut, but wishing for deeper notes at several stages along the way — the tension of the contest and its ins and outs, noticeably — is the prevailing aftertaste. While moderation is a wise approach to imbibing, parts of the film feel like just a sample themselves. It's still a delightful doco drop that lingers long on the cinematic palate, but another pour wouldn't go astray.
Australia's annual Alliance Francaise French Film Festival marked its 30th year back in 2019, and celebrated the big occasion with no troubles at all. Proving that no one loves entering their 30s, however, the event hit a few struggles when it turned 31. That happened in March 2020, when Australia started to go into lockdown. The fest was already underway, so AFFFF had to stop screening, postpone its plans, then pick things up again in July and August after cinemas started reopening. Here's hoping that 2021, the fest's 32nd year, all runs smoothly. AFFFF has 37 films on its hefty lineup this time around, and it's touring them around the country from March 2–April 22. The event will be making its usual capital city stops, so French movie fans in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart can start blocking out time in their diaries. There'll also be seasons playing in Byron Bay and Parramatta as well. As for what you'll be seeing, AFFFF will open its 2021 lineup with Eiffel, a new biopic starring Romain Duris (All the Money in the World) as the civil engineer who gave Paris' most famous attraction its name. At the other end of its program, the fest will close out with rom-com #Iamhere, which follows a French chef who falls in love via Instagram. And, in-between its two big bookending events, viewers can look forward to a heap of movies starring recognisable faces — including Monica Bellucci, Lupin's charming Omar Sy, the incomparable Isabelle Huppert and Kristin Scott Thomas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXVezkYnDL0 Highlights include The Man Who Sold His Skin, a twisty tale about a Syrian refugee, a tattoo artist and an unusual bargain; Summer of 85, the latest film from acclaimed director François Ozon; and police drama Night Shift, which dives deep into not only law enforcement, but alsoits handling of immigration matters. Or, there's Fahim, the Little Chess Prince, about the Bangladeshi refugee who became a national French chess champion; The Godmother, which sees Huppert tussle with the drug game; and Aline, which is inspired by the life of Céline Dion. Elsewhere, the story of France's first restaurant hits the screen via 18th-century-set period drama, Delicious; Final Set sees an ageing tennis player try to win the French Open; Miss follows a boy who'd like to enter the Miss France beauty pageant; and delightful animated feature Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary imagines Calamity Jane's early years. Fans of Deerskin filmmaker Quentin Dupieux can also check out his latest, Mandibles — and, because AFFF always shows at least one absolute classic French flick, this year it's screening Jean-Luc Godard's 1959 masterpiece Breathless. Check out the festival trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBm8ztOVnC4 The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia from March 2–April 22, screening at Sydney's Palace Central, Palace Verona, Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema and Hayden Orpheum Cremorne from March 2–April 5; Melbourne's Palace Cinema Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, Astor Theatre, The Kino and Pentridge Cinema from March 3–April 5; Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Windsor Cinema, Luna on SX and Camelot Outdoor Cinema from March 10–April 11; Brisbane's Palace Barracks and Palace James Street from March 17–April 15; and Adelaide's Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas from March 23–April 22. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the AFFFF website.
Once a year, The Wickham shuts down a Fortitude Valley street to throw a huge queer party. When Big Gay Day rolls around, it takes over not just the beloved — and recently renovated — pub that hosts it, but the surrounding roadway. And in 2023, it's doing just that again, this time with help from Peter Andre. The 'Mysterious Girl' and 'Gimme Little Sign' singer, who grew up on the Gold Coast, headlines Big Gay Day's just-revealed October lineup. Also on the bill: The Rogue Traders doing a DJ set, Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir, Briefs and Jawbreakers, plus a heap of DJs and drag performers. If you've noticed something different about 2023's afternoon and evening of tunes and LGBTQIA+ celebrations, yes, it has moved its timing from the end of April this year to the beginning of October. As announced before its usual date hit, Big Gay Day was shifted "due to scheduling conflicts with neighbouring stakeholders", swapping places with The Wickham's also-annual Little Gay Day. And, to answer the big question that might've popped into your head, Big Gay Day is still happening on a Sunday as part of a long weekend. That date: Sunday, October 1. Andre headlines after 'Absolutely Everybody' singer Vanessa Amorosi did the same at 2022's Big Gay Day, and Mel C from the Spice Girls did the honours in 2020. The event also spans multiple performance spaces, food trucks, themed pop-up bars and plenty of partying people. And, it gets to enjoy The Wickham's $3.1-million revamp, which has added a weather-proofed beer garden, late-night snacks, monthly drag brunches and a dedicated food menu for dogs to the venue. BIG GAY DAY 2023 LINEUP: Peter Andre The Rogue Traders (DJ set) Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir Briefs Jawbreakers Isis Avis Loren DJ Dolly Llama's Mega Drag DJ Victoria Anothony DJ Jonny Marsh Adam Noviello Reef vs Beef Divas: Live! Host: Paul Wheeler
When it comes to fresh sushi, sashimi, ramen, tempura, udon and the like, you can never have too many options. South Brisbane's Izakana-Ya Okuman demonstrates this in two ways: in adding to the city's growing range of Japanese restaurants, and in their hefty menu. Open twice daily for lunch and dinner, that selection of dishes includes all the classics and all the taste sensations you could want. Bento boxes, available in seven varieties, are a midday favourite. For an evening meal, platters are your friend, showcasing the eatery's daily fresh fish deliveries. Then, wash it all down with a rice lager or one of ten types of sake. Of course, the food is the first part of the Izakana-Ya Okuman experience. The second, as in any good restaurant, stems from the atmosphere. That the space is styled like a traditional Japanese bar and dining room certainly boosts to the latter. Kimono-wearing waitresses, ordering via iPad and a very lively vibe also does plenty. Images: Anwyn Howarth
Few could deny the cinematic juggernaut that is the Marvel machine right now. In just the past decade we've had one Captain America, two Hulks, three Iron Men, four Spidermen and five X-Men movies, to say nothing of 2012's billion-dollar blockbuster The Avengers. In a few weeks another Captain America film hits cinemas, but opening this week is the second instalment from yet another Avengers spinoff, Thor: The Dark World. The original Thor was released in 2011 and, under the direction of Kenneth Branagh, proved equal parts action and comedy as the impossibly-ripped Chris Hemsworth hammered his way through hordes of alien something-or-others then saved Earth. Two years later he's back, hammering his way through all-new hordes of alien something-or-others by day, whilst pining for his human, earth-dwelling girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), by night. When she inadvertently releases an ancient mystical threat, the two star-crossed (or rather Bifrost) lovers are reunited, forced to evade and then confront yet another horde of aliens, known as the Dark Elves. As appealing and charming as Hemsworth is in the lead, once again it's Tom Hiddleston as the mischievous Loki who proves himself the franchise's most charismatic and essential figure, grinning through clenched teeth and staring with burning intensity as the world around him crumbles. There is more depth to his character than all the others combined; a petulant villain seething with jealousy yet privately vulnerable and burdened with unspoken regret. Hiddleston's sublime performance manages to draw focus even when there's a full-blown, four-alarm CGI clusterfuck going on around him, and in this film that's a common occurrence. Humour has always played a key part in the Marvel franchises, and — as with the original Thor — The Dark World derives most of its comedy from 'Norse-demigod-out-of-water' scenarios, this time juxtaposing the majesty of Thor with the banality of London's daily grind. It's missing the deftness of Branagh's touch, and while it doesn't play for laughs quite as often, those that feature generally land firmly. In some cases, exquisitely so. Most importantly, though, Thor: The Dark World is a fun film to watch. The script is snappy, the action sequences are well paced and the final battle in Greenwich offers up a diabolical, Portal-like component that brings an exciting new meaning to 'war of the worlds'. Portman is more likeable this time round, too, dropping much of the goofy, doe-eyed traits that felt so out of place for an actress of her calibre in the original. Lastly, Thor: The Dark World features not one, but two post-credits scenes, giving fans twice as many reasons to stay seated and discover who performed 'Key Grip' on set. https://youtube.com/watch?v=npvJ9FTgZbM
Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, is a fine example of what might be termed 'a trailer movie’. Not because it’s stereotypically cheap, unsophisticated and championed by a guy named ‘Russell', but because it gives the impression of having been written, produced and directed entirely around a vision for how it might be sold to audiences. The Water Diviner's trailer, for example, features a perfect meld of spectacular visuals and intimate disclosures: a sandstorm of biblical scale followed by: “You can find water but you can’t even find your own children!”; a body-littered battlefield illumined by blinding explosions, with: “Gallipoli? There’s nothing there but ghosts”. You see the trailer and you think: “Man, I’ve got to see that film”, then you see that film and you think: “Man, that trailer was really good”. How this plays out in practice is that The Water Diviner feels very deliberate; a converted warehouse apartment of a film in that it's unembellished and beautiful, yet with all its parts exposed. You see how it was assembled, how everything fits together — a tradeoff of striking visuals at the expense of mystery. The plot, based on an astonishing true story, concerns an Australian farmer and father named Joshua Connor (Russell Crowe) whose three sons were all killed on the same day at Gallipoli. At the close of the war, Connor travelled to Turkey to locate their bodies, though with tens of thousands of remains, both Australian and Turkish, scattered across the wasteland, most considered it an insurmountable task. The film’s title, however, refers to Connor’s almost mystical ability to seek out subterranean water reserves in the otherwise barren Australian outback, and he uses that same gift to locate his dead sons on the battlefield. The latter application is admittedly less plausible and would feel horribly hinky were it not for Crowe’s understated sincerity and his character’s frank admission that he fails at the former "all the time". The Water Diviner's narrative flicks back and forth between Connor’s endeavours and his sons' final hours on the battlefield, and it's those brief scenes between the brothers where the film is at its heart-wrenching best. Most impressive is its entirely inglorious depiction of the Anzac experience, acknowledging the heroism but focusing exclusively on the horror. The guttural, almost animalistic wailing of one wounded brother is one of the most unsettling scenes ever depicted in a war movie and is to be commended both on its direction and performance. Less impressive is the clumsy and unnecessary romantic subplot between Crowe and his Turkish hotelier, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko). It’s disappointing that so far Hollywood has proven itself incapable of capturing the subtlety of Kurylenko’s earlier work in films like L’Annulaire (The Ring Finger), favouring an emphasis on her beauty rather than her genuine talent. Still, with 2015 marking the centenary of Gallipoli, this is a well-timed and well-intentioned movie that marks a decent directorial debut for the Academy Award-winning Crowe.
Need a reason to make a date with Bluesfest in 2025, in what might be the event's last year? There's plenty. Ten-time Grammy-winner Chaka Khan and rains-blessing rock group Toto are two, and also showcase the Byron Bay festival's commitment to variety. There aren't many events in Australia where audiences will find the Queen of Funk and the yacht-rock favourites behind 'Africa' on the same bill. Khan is playing an Australian-exclusive set to celebrate 50 years in music, and returns to Australia two years after headlining the 2023 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Among the Chicago-born singer's hits: 'I'm Every Woman', which was later covered by Whitney Houston; the Prince-penned 'I Feel for You'; and 'Ain't Nobody' with her funk band Rufus. As well as hearing the drums echoing tonight in 'Africa', Toto's discography includes fellow anthems 'Hold the Line' and 'Rosanna' — and its members are known for playing on a wealth of albums from other artists in the 70s and 80s, including 'Thriller'. [caption id="attachment_986631" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michelle Brody[/caption] Across the Easter long weekend, so from Thursday, April 17–Sunday, April 20, 2025, Bluesfest will also welcome Crowded House, Ocean Alley and Vance Joy, plus Hilltop Hoods, Budjerah, Kasey Chambers and The Cat Empire — and Xavier Rudd, John Butler, Tones and I, Missy Higgins, George Thorogood & The Destroyers and many more. 'Sailing' and 'Ride Like the Wind' singer Christopher Cross is another yacht-rock inclusion. Before it started announcing its roster of talent in August 2024, the festival advised that it would bid farewell with its 2025 event, marking the end of an era — and coming at a time when Australian fests have been struggling and cancelling (see: Groovin the Moo, Splendour in the Grass and Spilt Milk, for just three high-profile examples). Bluesfest saying goodbye may no longer be happening, however, with reports that discussions are underway about the festival's future and also that artists are already being booked for 2026. Bluesfest 2025 Lineup: First announcement: Crowded House Vance Joy Ocean Alley Tones and I Gary Clark Jr Rag'n'Bone Man RY X Allison Russell Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram Brad Cox Here Come the Mummies The California Honeydrops Marc Broussard Pierce Brothers Taj Farrant Fanny Lumsden 19-Twenty WILSN Cimafunk Neal Francis Second announcement: Hilltop Hoods Xavier Rudd John Butler The Cat Empire Kasey Chambers Melbourne Ska Orchestra CW Stoneking Budjerah Lachy Doley Group Ash Grunwald Kim Churchill Miss Kaninna The Beards Velvet Trip FOOLS ROSHANI Sweet Talk The Memphis Three featuring Fiona Boyes, Jimi Hocking and Frank Sultana Third announcement: Missy Higgins George Thorogood & The Destroyers Rodrigo y Gabriela Nahko BJ The Chicago Kid Melody Angel Don West Fourth announcement: Chaka Khan Toto Christopher Cross Maoli Clarence Bekker Band Hussy Hicks Eric Stang The Steele Syndicate The Royals Bluesfest images: Joseph Mayers, LD Somefx and Roger Cotgreave.
When you're making a movie about a well-known historical figure, how do you let audiences know you're not just traipsing through familiar territory? In Churchill, it's as easy as letting the breeze knock a hat from an old man's head. With the film's central figure famous for his headwear, Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man) wastes no time sweeping away Winston's favoured homburg with a stiff gust of wind. It's an obvious move designed to dispense with the war-time British Prime Minister's usual image. Still, it's an effective one. The hat, the silhouette, the cigar — yes, they're all here in this World War II-era examination of Winston Churchill. And yet this isn't a cradle-to-grave biopic or an applauding portrait of a political icon. You could say that Churchill asks audiences to trust in its approach in much the same way that Winston himself asked the public to believe in him, and you'd be right. Neither always take the standard path; however, when they hit the mark, they well and truly command attention. Set in lead up to the D-Day landings in June 1944, and featuring Brian Cox as the leader in question, Churchill is a film of discussion rather than action. In conversations with King George VI (James Purefoy), US army general Dwight D. Eisenhower (John Slattery), his Boer war pal Jan Smuts (Richard Durden), his dutiful wife Clementine (Miranda Richardson) and his new assistant Helen (Ella Purnell), Churchill talks and tussles with the impending mission in Normandy. His colleagues deem it necessary to stop the advancing Germans. But haunted by the First World War, all Churchill can foresee is the possibility of needlessly sending men to die. What follows is an anxious, depressed and struggling vision of the man once named the greatest-ever Briton. Teplitzky and screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann are unconcerned with depicting the broad scope of the man's life and legacy. It's mentioned, of course, but on the whole the film prefers to focus on this particular moment in time – and all the contemplation and turmoil that came with it. While plenty of other biopics have done the same thing, revealing the complicated thoughts, choices and emotions plaguing historical icons, Cox's towering performance makes Churchill feel as though it's stepping into fresh territory. Everything around him is competently shot and handsomely staged in the typical historical drama manner. But the veteran actor is the bolt of electricity the film really needs. Inhabiting rather than simply impersonating, Cox falls on the Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln side of the spectrum, rather than Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Audiences can expect to be captivated by his bluster-filled speeches, even though much of his screen-time involves chatting and looking grim. At least, that's how it appears at first, but then that's the other thing about Cox's turn in Churchill: look closer, and a world of complexity lurks within. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCxUDHY0iWQ
Brisbane's funniest time of the year is getting closer for 2024, with Brisbane Comedy Festival set to fill Brisbane Powerhouse and other venues around the city with laughs from late April. Across its full lineup, the fest features 130-plus comedians putting on more than 350 shows. Eager to attend but not feeling too financial? BCF is doing $24 tickets to a hefty batch of gigs — but only for a 24-hour period. Comedy lovers, you've got from 10am AEST on Tuesday, March 12 until the same time on Wednesday, March 13 to nab cheap seats to more than 100 shows — or until the allocation of discounted tickets is sold out. Getting in quick, aka ASAP, is recommended, then. You'll need to enter the code 24FOR24, and you will still pay a booking fee on top of the $24, but you won't be paying full price overall to head along. 2024's Brisbane Comedy Festival will take place from Friday, April 26–Sunday, May 26, at New Farm's riverside arts venue, plus sites such as The Princess Theatre, Fortitude Music Hall and The Tivoli. The program is jam-packed — and, with so many gigs slashing ticket prices during the $24 sale, so is the roster of shows that you can catch for less than the price of dinner. Josh Thomas, Lizzy Hoo, Nat's What I Reckon, Nina Oyama, Arj Barker, Ed Byrne, David O'Doherty, Rhys Nicholson: they're some of the comedians that you can see for $24. There's also Mel Buttle, Reuben Kaye, Stephen K Amos, Tom Ballard, Takashi Wakasugi and Will Anderson. Among BCF's events that aren't standup sets, improvised whodunnit Murder Village and Sh!t-faced Shakespeare are also slinging $24 seats — and so are Queerstories, Thank God You're Queer and The Debate. The list goes on, spanning Joel Creasey, Luke Heggie, Ivan Aristeguieta, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Felicity Ward, Tommy Little, Peter Helliar, Dave Hughes, Akmal, Fern Brady, Urvi Majumdar, Jenny Tian, Connor Burns, Chris Parker, Dilruk Jayasinha, Geraldine Quinn and Hannah Camilleri, too. Rom-com production 44 Sex Acts in One Week; Bob Franklin, Tony Martin, Bev Killick and Gretel Killeen teaming up for an Aussie Comedy Legends night; Aboriginal Comedy All Stars with Andy Saunders, Elaine Crombie, Janty Blair, Jay Wymarra, Kevin Kropinyeri and Sean Choolburra: you can pick up $24 tickets to each as well. [caption id="attachment_850754" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Atmosphere Photography[/caption] Brisbane Comedy Festival 2024 takes place between Friday, April 26–Sunday, May 26, with $24 tickets available for 24 hours between 10am AEST on Tuesday, March 12–10am AEST on Wednesday, March 13. Head to the festival's website for further details and the $24 sale page — where you'll need to enter the code 24FOR24 — for $24 tickets. Top image: Atmosphere Photography.
Our pick of Sunshine Coast Hinterland accommodation is Bird Song Valley, one kilometre from Montville. The 1920s Queenslander offers a large space for you and five of your best mates to settle in for a long weekend. Here you'll find several free-standing baths, a fireplace and views over the surrounding hinterland, plus each guest gets their own robe and slippers. Plus, the Sunshine Coast Hinterland is rich with culinary experiences and beautiful sights in equal measure. You can go for rainforest walks, chase waterfalls and catch views of the coastline, all while hunting down excellent local pubs and cafes. Order beers for delivery from Brouhaha Brewery in Maleny for sampling quality craft brews (like the strawberry rhubarb sour) and pop over to Kenilworth Country Bakery to sip your coffee from a doughnut or, better yet, have its one-kilogram doughnut delivered to your accommodation.
As most things did in 2020, Sydney Fringe Festival went digital last year, adapting to a period unlike any other in the event's history. In 2021, it's also following the prevailing trend — this time by returning with a physical month-long fest. That said, this festival isn't known for going with the flow. Its program always proves eclectic and varied and, when it drops in July, this year's is bound to be no different. For now, however, event organisers have detailed a few aspects of the fest that Sydneysiders can look forward to between Wednesday, September 1–Thursday, September 30. Performances, exhibitions, music, theatre, comedy, visual arts, film, dance, circus, literature and poetry — they'll all be covered when the complete lineup drops. If you're particularly interested in locally made theatre productions and cabaret, dance and musicals, though, you'll be heading to hubs dedicated to each. The Young Henry's Made in Sydney Hub will set up shop at PACT in Erskineville, and focus on works by independent Sydney theatre makers that are ready to tour. As for the City Tatts Musical Theatre and Cabaret Hub, it'll be based in the Segars Ballroom and Omega Lounge at City Tattersalls Club on Pitt Street, and also include a pop-up wine bar by Innocent Bystander. [caption id="attachment_812806" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Seiya Taguchi[/caption] A development program called Art in Isolation will be part of this year's Sydney Fringe Festival, too, featuring works that ruminate on life in the time of COVID-19. An ongoing initiative, it started commissioning and funding 20 artists back in September 2020, with the latest pieces set to premier at this year's fest — at another new hub that's all about experimental and cross artform programming, to be located at Mothership Studios in Sydenham. Other parts of the 2021 include weekly AUSLan-interpreted performances every Monday at Darlinghurst Theatre Company, plus a brand new program for kids — complete with a silent disco at Darling Quarter for young Fringe-goers. The Touring Hub will once again take over Fringe headquarters in Newtown to present must-see shows from international and interstate festivals, and the laughs will flow at Fringe Comedy at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville. Plus, the set-to-be-revamped Erskineville Town Hall will play host to the Emerging Artist Touring Hub. Sydney Fringe Festival 2021 will take place between Wednesday, September 1–Thursday, September 30, with the event's full program set to be announced in July. For further information in the interim, head to the fest's website.
Move over Muriel's Wedding — Australia's getting another homegrown comedy about life, love and tying the knot. That'd be Top End Wedding, which tells a completely different tale, but looks set to warm hearts all the same. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week among a record contingent of Aussie flicks, Top End Wedding follows the chaos that comes with popping the question, trekking across the country and trying to track down a runaway relative. At its centre sits newly engaged couple Lauren (Miranda Tapsell) and Ned (Gwilym Lee). Head over heels and heading off to Darwin to stage Lauren's dream wedding — in the super short timeframe of just ten days — they discover that her mum (Ursula Yovich) has gone AWOL. Tapsell not only stars in the movie, but co-wrote the script. She also reunites with The Sapphires filmmaker Wayne Blair, who sits in the director's chair again here. And if Lee looks familiar (and looks like he should be wearing a massive mop of curls), that's because he's just been seen in Bohemian Rhapsody as Queen guitarist Brian May. Fellow The Sapphires star Shari Sebbens also features in the new film, alongside a cast that includes New Zealand's Kerry Fox and The Bill alum Huw Higginson. Given the film's title, plenty of the Northern Territory's scenery looks destined for some screen time as well. It's not often that we get an Aussie rom-com that takes a road trip through the top end, after all. Check out the first feel-good trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=uoDBvGF9pPU&feature=youtu.be Top End Wedding will hit Australian cinemas on May 2.
Handheld camerawork can be a gimmick. It can be distracting, too. When imagery seems restless for no particular reason other than making the audience restless, it drags down entire films. But at its best, roving, jittery and jumpy frames provide one of the clearest windows there is into the souls that inhabit the silver screen in 90-minute blocks or so, and also prove a wonderful way of conveying how they feel in the world. That's how Compartment No. 6's cinematography plays, and it couldn't be a more crucial move; this is a deeply thoughtful movie about two people who are genuinely restless themselves, after all. Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) wants what all of the most perceptive filmmakers do — to ensure his viewers feel like they know his characters as well as they know themselves — and in his latest cinematic delight, he knows how to get it. How Kuosmanen evokes that sense of intimacy and understanding visually is just one of Compartment No. 6's highlights, but it's worthy of a train full of praise. With the helmer's returning director of photography Jani-Petteri Passi behind the lens, the film gets close to Finnish student Laura (Seidi Haarla, Force of Habit) and Russian miner Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov, The Red Ghost). It peers intently but unobtrusively their way, like an attentive lifelong friend. It jostles gently with the locomotive that the movie's central pair meets on, and where they spend the bulk of their time together. It ebbs and flows like it's breathing with them. It rarely ventures far from their faces in such cramped, stark, 90s-era Russian surroundings, lingering with them, carefully observing them, and genuinely spying how they react and cope in big and small moments alike. Pivotally — and at every moment as well — it truly sees its key duo. With their almost-matching names, Laura and Ljoha meet on a train ride charting the lengthy expanse from Moscow to Murmansk. She's taking the journey to see the Kanozero petroglyphs, ancient rock drawings that date back the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC, and were only discovered in 1997; he's heading up for work. Laura is also meant to be travelling with Irina (Dinara Drukarova, The Bureau), her Russian girlfriend, but the latter opted out suddenly after an intellectual-filled house party where mocking the former for her accent — and claiming she's just a lodger — threw a pall of awkwardness over their relationship. Making the jaunt solo is still sitting uneasily with Laura, though. Calls along the way, answered with busy indifference, don't help. And neither does finding herself sharing compartment number six, obviously, with the tough- and rough-around-the edges Ljoha. It's been 71 years now since Alfred Hitchcock gave cinema the noir thriller Strangers on a Train. It's been 27 years since Richard Linklater also had two unacquainted folks meeting while riding the rails in Before Sunrise, which started a terrific romance trilogy starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Accordingly, the idea behind Compartment No. 6 is instantly familiar. Here, two strangers meet on a train, a connection sparks and drama ensues. Kuosmanen, who nabbed an award at Cannes for The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki and then earned the 2021 competition Grand Prix, which comes second only to the prestigious Palme d'Or, for this, is clearly working with a well-used setup. But even though this isn't a movie that's big on surprises, it's still a stellar film. It's also a reminder that a feature that's personal and raw, also attuned to all the tiny details of life in its performances, mood and style, and firmly character-driven, can make even the most recognisable narrative feel new. Laura and Ljoha are a chalk-and-cheese pair. He gets drunk almost instantly; is crude and rude to his unimpressed fellow compartment dweller from the get-go; and his hunched, agitated, me-against-the-world posture seethes with boorish anger. But the duo are also virtually trapped in close confines — wandering the train's corridors and using its bathrooms are hardly escapes, even for a few minutes, on a trip that takes several days. They're both lost, lonely and yearning, too, in their own fashions but also in a more similar manner than they each initially expect. So, they rub each other the wrong way at first, then settle into chilly animosity, then begin to thaw. Schnapps plays a part, as does the dining car. Pitstops along the way, stolen possessions and language trickery do as well. Needing love and companionship, even just fleetingly, has the biggest influence. Kuosmanen cowrote Compartment No. 6's screenplay with Andris Feldmanis and Livia Ulman, co-scribes themselves on Estonian TV show Kättemaksukontor — and adapts Rosa Liksom's novel of the same name. In the process, the director and his collaborators move the story by around a decade from the end of the USSR to the end of Boris Yeltsin's time in power. That means that Laura and Ljoha follow in Before Sunrise's Celine and Jesse's footsteps by mere years on-screen (Titanic gets a mention, helping anchor the movie in time), but they're always roaming and locomoting through their own film. Compartment No. 6 is that lived in, that astutely drawn and that naturalistically played, as aided immensely by its meticulous production design. Just as the handheld camera places viewers in the characters' headspace with precision, the immaculate like-you're-there touches that fill every frame are equally as immersive. It's easy to see Hollywood wanting to hop on Compartment No. 6's tracks, riding its way to an English-language remake. If that happens — probably more like when — good luck to whoever's behind it in repeating such casting perfection. All of the expertly and expressively deployed cinematography in the world, or even just across a 35-hour-plus trip to the top of Russia, can't bond an audience to fictional characters if they don't already feel so real that you could be them; the latter springs from extraordinary performances, of course, which Kuosmanen guides out of Haarla and Borisov. In their time together, Laura and Ljoha shift, ruminate and open up, including to themselves. That's a delicate journey, as relatable as it is, and also immensely complex to portray with emotional resonance, honesty and nuance. Compartment No. 6's untethered imagery sees that. It revels in it. That's what two strangers on a train enjoying an unexpected bond en route do with each other's company, eventually — and, again, this unconventional love story has everyone watching share the same sensation.
When The Market Folk first brought a heap of stalls to Newstead's Gasometer a couple of years back, it was clearly a smart move. Browsing and buying beneath one of inner-city Brisbane's most striking sights — what's not to love? Because some ideas are too great to stop, this winning combination has made a comeback for 2021. And, it's happening on a regular basis. Once a month — usually on Friday evenings, but sometimes on Saturdays instead — you'll be heading to Newstead and shopping for fashion, art, homewares, plants, pots and ceramics. Next taking place from 5–9pm on Friday, April 9 — and after that on Friday, May 14 and Saturday, June 12 — the Gasworks Markets will feature plenty of artisanal goodies to tempt your wallet. As always, Brisbane creatives will be in the spotlight, so you'll also be showing them some love as well. Top image: Andrew S via Flickr
Four years after adding a new celebration of cinema to Brisbane's annual calendar, Queensland Film Festival returns with perhaps its most ambitious event yet — and its most topical. Running from July 19 to 29, the 2018 festival will not only span high-profile new titles, multiple cinephile-friendly retrospectives and QFF's first gallery installation, but will also boast an overwhelmingly strong contingent of female filmmakers. From opening night's Australian duo of Terror Nullius and Strange Colours (with filmmakers Soda_Jerk and Alena Lodkina in attendance), to festival circuit favourites You Were Never Really Here and The Rider, to a restored print of under-appreciated local coming-of-age horror gem Celia, more than 80 percent of QFF's lineup of 59 features and shorts is either directed or co-directed by women. That includes the fest's showcase on French filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, with the pair coming to Brisbane for QFF ahead of their appearance at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Renowned for lurid genre films that toy with everything from horror to crime to spaghetti westerns, Cattet and Forzani's three full-length efforts to date — the psychosexual, psychedelic Amer; follow-up The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (which actually initially screened at the first QFF back in 2015); and their latest effort Let the Corpses Tan — all feature in the program. From the rest of QFF's 2018 bill, other highlights include Lucrecia Martel's Zama, which marks the long-waited next effort from the acclaimed Argentinian filmmaker; as well as the gorgeously otherworldly The Wolf House by Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cociña — an astonishing piece of stop-motion animation that turns a meticulous and creative art installation into an entrancing movie. And, among the fest's other retrospectives, the festival will celebrate the work of avant-garde Czech director Věra Chytilová, whose subversive comedy Daisies is considered one of the landmark films of the 60s. Anthropologists and documentarians Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel are also in QFF's spotlight, thanks to a program focusing on their observational and immersive explorations of both the natural and man-made world. As part of the latter, GOMA will screen a free, ongoing installation of the duo's work for the duration of festival. Elsewhere, the fest will feature German horror Hagazussa, about women deemed witches during the Dark Ages; An Elephant Sitting Still, the bleak but moving first and last film by Chinese filmmaker Hu Bo; and creative 3D effort Prototype, which ponders both the deadliest natural disaster in US history strikes and the history and future of cinema. Then, closing out the fest is a pair of movies that combine film and sport: documentary John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection and fictional effort Diamantino, about a soccer star coping with everything from neo-fascism to the refugee crisis to genetic modification. Queensland Film Festival runs from July 19 to 29 at New Farm Cinemas, Elizabeth Picture Theatre, the Gallery of Modern Art and the Institute of Modern Art. To view the full program or buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Lasagne is a bit like lamingtons, even though they taste and look absolutely nothing alike. Their one big commonality: if there's an inventive way to twist either in any way, whatever that dish happens to be is definitely worth trying. Actually, the two foods share something else in common, because Australia's world-famous Lune Croissanterie has also given them both a whirl. It first served up lamington cruffins to kick off 2022, and now it's doing lasagne pastries to welcome in winter. Lasagne, but a pastry? Yes, that's now a real thing that exists — but only for this month, until Thursday, June 30, at all Lune stores around the country. That spans Fitzroy and the CBD in Melbourne, plus South Brisbane in Brisbane. While the brand also has three new outposts in the works — a third in Melbourne, a second in Brissie and its first ever in Sydney — none will be open in time to dish up this limited-time special. So, what are these instantly tastebud-tempting lasagne pastries? Prepare to meet, devour and love the lasagne escargot. It's the first time that Lune has whipped up this particular Frankenstein's monster of a bakery creation — and it's bound to set your stomach alive with deliciousness. Yes, it comes stuffed with bolognese and béchamel. There's also shredded mozzarella cheese, because of course there is. And, that pastry is then topped with parmesan before it goes in the oven. In Melbourne, you'll need to physically head into a Lune to get your mitts on this creative lasagne dish. In Brisbane, you can also order it online. The lasagne escargot leads Lune's June specials menu, which also features peanut pretzels and coconut pandan. For Brisbanites only, there's also cardamom buns, quince and vanilla danishes, and rhubarb and custard cruffins, too. Lune's lasagne escargot are available from all stores — Fitzroy and the CBD in Melbourne, and South Brisbane in Brisbane — until Thursday, June 30. In Brisbane only, you can also order them online.
"You wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out?It's kind of long, but it's full of suspense." They're some of the first words heard in the just-dropped Australian trailer for Zola — and if they sound familiar, that's because this rollercoaster ride of a comedy is based on a lengthy 148-tweet Twitter thread that went viral back in 2015. That October, Aziah 'Zola' Wells tweeted out a hefty tale about a woman she met at Hooters. Zola was her waitress, and they hit it off quickly ("vibing over our hoeism or whatever" is how she explains it in the Twitter thread). Then, the next day, Zola received an invite to head to Florida with her new pal. Where it all goes from there is best discovered either by reading through the chaotic tweets — if you haven't done so already — and, soon, by seeing these OTT events play out in this eagerly anticipated new flick. Indeed, Zola, the film, might ring a bell for a couple of other reasons. It sparked plenty of buzz back at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival — yes, that long ago — but obviously the movie's release both in the US and locally has been delayed by the pandemic, as has proven the case with plenty of other films of late. Also, if you're in Sydney or Melbourne, Zola is one of the already-announced titles on both the 2021 Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival lineups. In fact, it's among the big drawcards at both fests so far. Viewers everywhere across the country will be able to watch the film come September 23, too, as that's when it'll release in Aussie cinemas. Based on the tweets alone, this is one of the year's must-sees. Once you've seen the trailer — which sports a retro aesthetic and a big Hustlers vibe — that feeling will only grow. Bring the story to the screen, Taylour Paige (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) plays Zola, while Riley Keough (The Lodge) co-stars as her new — and short-lived — friend Stefani. Meanwhile, filmmaker Janicza Bravo (Forever, Them, Mrs America) is behind the camera, guiding viewers on quite the journey. Check out the trailer below: Zola will screen at this year's Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival, before releasing in Australian cinemas on September 23.
Before there was The Undoing, there was Big Little Lies — the other HBO series starring Nicole Kidman and written by David E Kelley. They have quite the company, too, both on-screen and off-. The stacked cast also features Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, Alexander Skarsgård and Meryl Streep. Plus, Wild filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée directed its first season and American Honey's Andrea Arnold helmed its second. Based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name, Big Little Lies follows a scandalous murder at a public school in Monterey, California — where the characters played by all of the above cast members each have children or grandchildren in attendance. Its twists and turns are obviously best discovered by watching, but it'll keep you guessing across both seasons to-date. And, the show will have you marvelling at its performances and slick cinematography in the process as well.
For some, The Jungle Book inspires fond memories of pouring over Rudyard Kipling's stories. For many others, the 1967 animated film springs to mind. But whichever one you think of first, they're both covered in the new live-action take on the tale. Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), consider this latest version a best-of package fans of each might have hoped for. It's no easy feat, balancing the darker material seen on the page while still embracing the fun and amusement experienced in the cartoon. But Favreau and company certainly don't shy away from a challenge. Indeed, from the moment the introductory Disney logo gives way to a zoom back through intricately rendered wildlife, The Jungle Book's ambitions are clear. The first frames of the film look so authentic that audiences might just have to resist the urge to reach out and touch them. Of course, viewers aren't the only ones steeped in such a striking environment. On screen, man-cub Mowgli (Neel Sethi) has spent his entire childhood in the jungle. Found as a baby by wise panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley), and raised by wolves Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o) and Akela (Giancarlo Esposito), he's happy and at home in the animal kingdom. But tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) has murder on his mind. To keep Mowgli safe, Bagheera endeavours to escort the boy to the nearest human settlement, a trek that intersects with seductive snake Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), laid-back bear Baloo (Bill Murray) and giant primate King Louie (Christopher Walken). As Mowgli's story deepens, so does The Jungle Book's aesthetic wizardry. The film's hordes of special effects experts haven't just made every swinging vine, stream of water and glimmering ray of sunshine look just like the real thing; they've made the talking animals seem believable as well. Using 3D to add depth within the frame further enhances the sense of photo-realism, as does the seamless blend of Sethi's performance with his motion-captured creature counterparts. In fact, believing that the entire feature was filmed on a sound stage in Los Angeles, and not on location, is practically impossible. Appearing the part isn't just crucial as far as the entire concept is concerned. It also helps the narrative, episodic as it may be, glide along. It also ensures that when a bear starts singing with the voice of Murray, or a snake's hissing sounds like Johansson, it feels fitting. Favreau understands the need to use everything at his disposal to immerse audiences in another world, be it a rousing score sprinkled with a few familiar tunes, or a fresh face who embodies a winning sense of adventure. Accordingly, when it comes to turning The Jungle Book into a live-action spectacular, his engaging attempt more than covers the bare necessities. And of course, it'll get that catchy track stuck in your head too.
In a time of great upheaval for Australian music festivals, it's rare to get a bit of good news. Which is why we're super-excited to hear that the Secret Garden festival completely sold out in just a few hours, despite having no advertising budget and the lineup not having been released yet. It's testament to the amazing work that the organisers have done over the first five years of this fledgling festival: they have created an event with a great vibe, full of good times and dress-ups (and yes, the occasional paint fight) and they work really hard to make sure everyone has an amazing time. This year's lineup — pulled together by FBi Radio host, GoodGod programmer and all-around great dude Adam Lewis — is full of really excellent Australian bands, all of which have been making serious waves in 2013. There's lots more to come; these are just the first handful of around 40 acts to be announced, not to mention the guerrilla arts performances that pop up all weekend and a huge Farmers vs Zombies battle planned for the first day. But without further ado, here is the first lineup. Bloods Client Liaison D.D Dumbo Donny Benet Elizabeth Rose Goldroom (DJ Set) Lancelot (Live) Little May Nantes Olympia Palms Papa Vs. Pretty Richard In Your Mind The Rubens Ryan Hemsworth Shining Bird Straight Arrows Sures The Trouble with Templeton World's End Press
It started with a celebrity sing-along. It ditched the usual grand stage setup for a white platform in the middle of the room. Seth Rogen freaked out about being with so many people in one place during the pandemic. Multiple actors screamed about Kate Winslet being Kate Winslet, as everyone really should. The comedy awards showed that kindness matters. When it came to pure joy at getting their time to shine, the cast of Ted Lasso matched the cast of Schitt's Creek last year — and, presenting awards this time around, the latter had fun grappling with the teleprompter. Kerry Washington gave a touching tribute to late, great Lovecraft Country and The Wire star Michael K Williams. Jean Smart got a standing ovation. Governors Award-winner Debbie Allen served up a powerful speech about telling your own story. They're just a few things that happened at the 2021 Emmy Awards, with Hollywood's night of nights for all things on the small screen anointing its winners for another year. While the 2020 ceremony went virtual, this celebration of TV and streaming excellence was full of famous faces feeling the love in the same auditorium — and, from host Cedric the Entertainer to presenters such as Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and The White Lotus' Jennifer Coolidge, they were all clearly thrilled to be there. Particularly excited: all the deserving folks who won shiny statuettes, obviously. Plenty of great shows demanded our attention over the past 12 months, and many of them nabbed some recognition here. That means that we're all winners, too, because these stellar series make quite the must-watch list. Here's seven you should binge — or re-binge — right now, plus one stage-to-streaming special that also picked up a well-earned gong. TED LASSO What it's about: A sports-centric sitcom that's been like a big warm hug from the get-go, Ted Lasso is the current cheerleader for comedies that focus on nice and caring people doing nice and caring things. It celebrates folks supporting and being there for each other, and the bonds that spring between them — and not just to an entertaining but to a soul-replenishing degree. As played by Jason Sudeikis (Booksmart), the series' namesake is all positivity, all the time. A small-time US college football coach, he scored an unlikely job as manager of British soccer team AFC Richmond in the show's first season, a job that came with struggles. The ravenous media wrote him off instantly, the club was hardly doing its best, owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham, Sex Education) had just taken over the organisation as part of her divorce settlement, and veteran champion Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, Uncle) and current hotshot Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster, Judy) refused to get along. Ted's upbeat attitude does wonders, though, in the best sitcom that's currently in production. You definitely don't need to love soccer or even sport to fall for this show's ongoing charms, to adore its heartwarming determination to value banding together and looking on the bright side, and to love its depiction of both male tenderness and supportive female friendships. Won: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jason Sudeikis), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Hannah Waddingham), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Brett Goldstein). Where to watch it: Apple TV+. Read our full review. MARE OF EASTTOWN What it's about: Kate Winslet doesn't make the leap to the small screen often, but when she does, it's a must-see event. 2011's Mildred Pierce was simply astonishing, a description that both Winslet and her co-star Guy Pearce also earned — alongside an Emmy each, plus three more for the HBO limited series itself. The two actors and the acclaimed US cable network all reteam for Mare of Easttown, and it too is excellent. Set on the outskirts of Philadelphia, it follows detective Mare Sheehan. As the 25th anniversary of her high-school basketball championship arrives, and after a year of trying to solve a missing person's case linked to one of her former teammates, a new murder upends her existence. Mare's life overflows with complications anyway, with her ex-husband (David Denman, Brightburn) getting remarried, and her mother (Jean Smart, Watchmen), teenage daughter (Angourie Rice, Spider-Man: Far From Home) and four-year-old grandson all under her roof. With town newcomer Richard Ryan (Pearce, The Last Vermeer), she snatches what boozy and physical solace she can. As compelling and textured as she always is, including in this year's Ammonite, Winslet turns Mare of Easttown into a commanding character study. That said, it's firmly an engrossing crime drama as well. Although yet again pondering the adult life of an ex-school sports star, The Way Back's Brad Ingelsby isn't just repeating himself by creating and writing this seven-part series, while The Leftovers and The Hunt's Craig Zobel takes to his directing gig with a probing eye. Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Kate Winslet), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Julianne Nicholson), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Evan Peters). Where to watch it: Binge. HACKS What it's about: It sounds like an obvious premise, and one that countless films and TV shows have already mined in the name of laughs. In Hacks, two vastly dissimilar people are pushed together, with the resulting conflict guiding the series. Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, North Hollywood) and her new boss Deborah Vance (Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown) couldn't be more different in age, experience, tastes and opinions. The former is a 25-year-old who made the move to Hollywood, has been living out her dream as a comedy writer, but found her career plummeting after a tweet crashed and burned. The latter is a legendary stand-up who hasn't stopped hitting the stage for decades, is approaching the 2500th show of her long-running Las Vegas residency and is very set in her ways. They appear to share exactly one thing in common: a love for comedy. They're an odd couple thrust together by their mutual manager Jimmy (Paul W Downs, Broad City), neither wants to be working with the other, and — to the surprise of no one, including each other — they clash again and again. There's no laugh track adding obvious chuckles to this HBO sitcom, though. Created by three of the talents behind Broad City, Hacks isn't solely interested in setting two seemingly mismatched characters against each other. This is a smart and insightful series about what genuinely happens when this duo spends more and more time together, what's sparked their generational conflict and what, despite their evident differences, they actually share beyond that love of making people laugh. And, it's a frank, funny and biting assessment of being a woman in entertainment — and it's also always as canny as it is hilarious. Won: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Jean Smart), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Lucia Aniello). Where to watch it: Stan. Read our full review. I MAY DESTROY YOU What it's about: Newly returned from a working trip to Italy, struggling to write her second novel after her first struck a sizeable chord and pushing up against a draft deadline just hours away, Arabella (Michaela Coel, Chewing Gum) takes some time out from an all-nighter to procrastinate with friends over a few drinks in a couple of London bars. The next morning, the Twitter-famous scribe is shaky, hazy and feels far from her normal self — and across the next 11 episodes of this instantly blistering 12-part series, I May Destroy You delves into the aftermath. Arabella realises that she was raped that evening, and that devastating event understandably rattles everything in her life. As she faces the situation, the series she's in is nothing short of phenomenal. Not only created and written by the unflinching and captivating Coel, but inspired by her own real-life experience with sexual assault, the result is as bold, raw and frank as it is sensitive and affecting. It also feels personal at every single moment. An immensely powerful show that intimately interrogates power on multiple levels and features an unsurprisingly potent performance by Coel, I May Destroy You was easily 2020's number-one must-see show, and its absolute best. It also sits among the best series of the 21st century so far as well, and won't be losing that title any time soon. Won: Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Michaela Coel). Where to watch it: Binge. HAMILTON What it's about: If you haven't been lucky enough to catch Hamilton on the stage — and, let's face it, most of us haven't — a filmed "live capture" version of the popular hip hop musical here to fill the gap. The story, for those who aren't intimately acquainted with US revolutionary history, chronicles the Caribbean-born eponymous "bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman" from his arrival in New York in the early 1770s. As the informative opening number explains, Alexander Hamilton will go on to become "the ten-dollar Founding Father without a father", with the production charting how he "got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter and by being a self-starter." And, as shot on Broadway back in 2016, the results really are as exceptional as we've all been hearing for the past five years. The entire cast, including not only creator, writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda but Tony-winners Daveed Diggs (Snowpiercer) and Leslie Odom Jr (Murder on the Orient Express), Mindhunter's Jonathan Groff and Waves' Renee Elise Goldsberry, is superb, as is every element of the production. Infectiously exuberant from its first moments, and not only lively but frequently funny, Miranda's rich, dense but always-accessible words and songs interrogate US history with passion, intelligence and energy. They'll also become firmly lodged in your head, too, so don't say we didn't warn you. Won: Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). Where to watch it: Disney+. Read our full review. THE CROWN What it's about: When we say that fans of The Crown had been particularly looking forward to the show's fourth season, that isn't meant as a criticism of anything that preceded it. No disrespect is directed towards the regal drama's previous episodes, or to the past cast that took on the program's main roles before an age-appropriate switch was made at the beginning of season three. But, now more than halfway through the program's planned six-season run, this latest chapter focuses on two big showdowns that changed the shape of the royal family in the 80s. Firstly, Queen Elizabeth II (Oscar-winner Olivia Colman) and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (The X-Files icon Gillian Anderson) don't quite see eye to eye, to put it mildly. Also, with Prince Charles' (God's Own Country's Josh O'Connor) marriage to Lady Diana Spencer (Pennyworth's Emma Corrin) a big plot point, the latter clashes with the entire royal establishment. Among a cast that also includes Helena Bonham Carter (Enola Holmes) and Tobias Menzies (Outlander), Colman, Anderson, O'Connor and Corrin are all astounding — and in a show that's always been buoyed by its performances, that's saying something. Won: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Olivia Colman), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Josh O'Connor), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Gillian Anderson), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Tobias Menzies), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Peter Morgan), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Jessica Hobbs). Where to watch it: Netflix. THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT What it's about: In much of The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon sits at a chessboard. As a child (Isla Johnston), she demands that orphanage janitor Mr Shaibel (Bill Camp, The Outsider) teach her the game. As a teenager (Anya Taylor-Joy, Radioactive), she earns a reputation as a chess prodigy. As her confidence and fame grows, she demonstrates her prowess at tournaments around America and the globe, while also spending her spare time hunched over knights, rooks, bishops and pawns studying moves and tactics. None of the above sounds like innately thrilling television unless you're a chess grandmaster, but this seven-part miniseries proves that you should never judge a show by its brief description. Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, written and directed by Oscar-nominee Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Logan), and dripping with lavish 50s and 60s decor and costuming to reflect its period setting, The Queen's Gambit doesn't expect that all its viewers will be chess aficionados; however, it's made with an acute awareness that anything can be tense, suspenseful and involving — and that every different type of game there is says much about its players and devotees. The series doesn't lack in creative and inventive ways to depict chess on-screen. It knows when to hang on every single move of a pivotal game, and when to focus on the bigger story surrounding a particular match or Beth path through the chess world in general. And it's especially astute at illustrating how a pastime based on precision and strategy offers an orphaned girl a way to control one lone aspect of her tumultuous and constantly changing life. Won: Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Scott Frank). Where to watch it: Netflix. Read our full review. HALSTON What it's about: American fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick, better known just as Halston, has already received the documentary treatment. But the wild tale of his successes, struggles, ups and downs, as well as his frequent presence at Studio 54, his list of celebrity friends and his ill-advised business decisions, similarly drives the five-part Netflix miniseries that also shares his name. Proving as chameleonic as ever, Ewan McGregor (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)) plays the titular part. He's charismatic, dynamic and all-round fantastic, as he always is, and the series wouldn't be the same without him. Indeed, this is a case of a performance — and a vibe, because Halston embraces exactly the atmosphere you'd expect given that it's set from the 60s to the 90s — doing most of the heavy lifting. Still, that central portrayal and the mood around him makes this a must-see. Because Halston was famously pals with Liza Minnelli, Krysta Rodriguez (Lisey's Story) also steps into famous shoes and, off-screen, Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, American Crime Story, Pose, Glee) adds yet another series to his lengthy resume. Watching the doco as well is recommended, but this is entertaining viewing nonetheless. Won: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Ewan McGregor). Where to watch it: Netflix.
Spinning a tale about US government-backed operatives plotting to kidnap a Mexican teenager, Sicario: Day of the Soldado was always going to strike a chord. That said, the film's storyline hits home particularly hard at the moment — a time when children are being taken from their parents at the US-Mexico border, and a tweet-happy president keeps raging about cartels and building a wall. Reality casts a long shadow over this sequel to 2015's surprise standout Sicario. Indeed, there's no way to wade into such murky, politically loaded territory without stirring up more than a few real-world parallels. In the movie as in life, the war on drugs has been overtaken by the war on immigration, and there's absolutely nothing pleasant about it. After attempting to stop the influx of illicit substances into the US in Sicario, military contractor Matt (Josh Brolin) and hitman Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) reunite to tackle the cartels' latest cash cow. With the smuggling of people rather than drugs now the US administration's main concern, the duo is given free reign to do whatever they must; there are no rules this time, as the American tells his Colombian counterpart. Opening fire in traffic, prolonged gunfights with Mexican cops, abductions in broad daylight — if it helps to secretly start a battle between rival mobsters, then it's on the agenda. Their main task: kidnap 16-year-old Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of a powerful cartel boss with ties to Alejandro's own sad story, and make it appear as though another gang is responsible. It's with an expectedly unsettling air that Sicario: Day of the Soldado becomes a tense exercise in distress, dancing through dark terrain, and ramping up the anxiety and carnage at every turn. From a soundtrack that drones with each blasting note, to bright yet gritty visuals that lay bare the stark situation on the ground, to a seemingly relentless onslaught of action set-pieces, nothing about the film shies away from its uneasy content and mood. That's an achievement that the picture shares with its predecessor, although this follow-up doesn't quite belong in the same company. With the original film's director Denis Villeneuve, cinematographer Roger Deakins and composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (who passed away earlier this year) all absent, it's left to their replacements Stefano Sollima (TV's Gomorrah), Dariusz Wolski (All the Money in the World) and Hildur Guðnadóttir (a cellist on the first flick) to offer up as close a copy as they can, instead of trying anything different or distinctive. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' might be the motto behind-the-scenes, but it proves a mixed bag on-screen. As the film watches its characters coldly and brazenly apply a familiar approach to a new scenario and expect the same successful result, it doesn't escape attention that the movie does the exact same thing. Well, with one major difference, and a crucial one. Where Sicario centred on a female FBI agent (Emily Blunt) thrust into a murky realm she wasn't prepared for or willingly to go blindly along with, this second effort dispenses with the character altogether. In her absence, so too does the film do away with the idea that someone might stand up for doing what's right, rather than what the government and its ruthless agents deem necessary. That's not to say that Brolin and Del Toro don't sweat moral complexity from their furrowed brows, or that their protagonists don't get caught in situations that test even their tenuous ethical limits. They do both, although that's more thanks to the actors than returning screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Wind River). What's missing here is an outside perspective — a view on this dog-eat-dog world that doesn't just accept the bleak circumstances, the by-any-means mindset, or the cruelty that goes with it. Still, Del Toro comes closest to demonstrating the humanity that often gets caught in the crossfire, even when he's holding a weapon and training it at someone else. The path his assassin takes, and the world-weary performance Del Toro turns in, makes the otherwise grim but standard Sicario: Day of the Soldado worth watching. But the less said about the movie's sequel-baiting last few minutes and the teen gang protege subplot that accompanies it, the better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBOxhfWvVDc
Your mates at Concrete Playground know how much you guys love Nutella. Sydney went nuts over those damn Tella Ball milkshakes, Melbourne eats so much of the stuff they caused a temporary nation-wide shortage back in 2015, and Australia lost its collective shit when, last year, a toaster-shaped Nutella food truck started rolling around the country. Long story short, the food truck will be hitting the road again this month, this time embarking on a road trip from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast. We figured you'd want to hear about it — especially since all the goodies on board will be free. Alistair Fogg, the man behind Sydney's Nighthawk Diner, must have had excess Nutella lying around, because he's once again devised the menu for the food truck. This time, he'll be drizzling Nutella on crumpets, pancakes, granola, bagels, egg waffles and, most interestingly, smashed sweet potato on brioche. And, yes, it's all free — although there is a limit of only one item per customer per day, unfortunately. The 12-stop road trip begins in Sydney's Henry Deane Plaza in Haymarket on Thursday, June 22, before heading to Manly Wharf on the Friday and Penrith the day after that. From there the truck will head up to the Central Coast, through Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast before pulling up in Brisbane's Reddacliff Place on Monday, July 3. It will round out the trip in on the Sunshine Coast the day after. As for everywhere else, well, cross your fingers and hope you might be added to the itinerary. If not, we'll send you a Nutella-smeared postcard. Find the complete list of dates, times and locations for the Nutella Road Trip at their website.
It has been a big year for fans of The Crown, and the show hasn't even released any new episodes in 2020 so far. At the beginning of the year, Netflix announced that it would end the royal drama after its fifth season. Then, it had a change of heart, revealing it would continue the series for a sixth season. That's quite the drama — and all of this before the show's fourth season has even aired. If you prefer your royal intrigue on-screen, however, the streaming platform has now just dropped its first teaser trailer for the aforementioned fourth batch of episodes. The clip only runs for 46 seconds, so it doesn't give very much away at all; however Oscar-winner Olivia Colman is back as Queen Elizabeth II. Fans also get the tiniest of glimpses of The X-Files icon Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Pennyworth's Emma Corrin as Lady Diana Spencer, too. Also included is a rather pivotal tidbit for The Crown aficionados: just when the show will make a comeback this year. Block out Sunday, November 15 in your diaries, as that's when you can start binging. As Anderson's casting intimates, the fourth season is set to take place during Thatcher's time as Britain's prime minister — and as the sight of Diana in a wedding dress demonstrates, will feature the latter's wedding to Prince Charles (God's Own Country's Josh O'Connor). It'll also be the last chance for fans to enjoy seeing the current lineup on talent, with the series' fifth and sixth seasons — which are expected to follow the Queen in the 1990s and 2000s — switching out its cast again. The show already did exactly that after seasons one and two, of course. This time, after season four, Downton Abbey, Maleficent and Paddington star Imelda Staunton will don the titular headwear, and Princess Margaret will be played by Staunton's Maleficent co-star and Phantom Thread Oscar-nominee Lesley Manville. Also, Game of Thrones and Tales from the Loop's Jonathan Pryce will step into Prince Philip's shoes and Australian Tenet, The Burnt Orange Heresy and Widows star Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana. Check out The Crown's first season four teaser below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGInHPoufg The Crown's fourth season will hit Netflix on Sunday, November 15. Image: Sophie Mutevelian / Netflix
Were Daniel and Amelia Miletic always destined to set up shop in South Brisbane's Fish Lane? As the owners of fish 'n' chippery One Fish Two Fish in Kangaroo Point, they're certainly keeping the ocean theme going. Midtown, their newest venture, isn't just about dishes from the sea, though. What the Miletics have dubbed "seacuterie" is on the menu, plus mini versions One Fish Two Fish's lobster croissants; however, this is venue is a martini bar. Opening on Friday, September 8, Midtown takes over an already-luxe space: the site previously home to Butler Wine Bar, Lune Croissanterie's boozy sibling, which launched in July 2022 but closed in March 2023. There must be something about the location playing host drink-focused offshoots to beloved eateries, given that that's what the Miletics are serving up as well. Loving martinis is the number-one thing on offer at Midtown, with nine set alcoholic types available, such as olive leaf, elderflower, apple and rhubarb, espresso and pornstar varieties. There's actually a tenth option, too, that lets you tell the bar how to make it your way — so anything is possible. If you're having trouble choosing, that's where the three-drink flights come in. They're designed to share, and include half serves of elderflower, espresso and the signature Midtown martini (made with Patient Wolf Pink Lakes gin, Cinzano dry vermouth and red onion). And, if you're not partaking in the hard stuff, go with a no-booze espresso, lychee or French martini. The sips do extend past James Bond's favourite drink (that said, we assume that the vesper martini comes shaken, not stirred). Two types of margaritas, plus a negroni, old fashioned, daiquiri, spritz and Charlie Chaplin sit on the rest of the cocktail list, but the bar will whip up anything it's able to if you ask. Beer-wise, the range is highly curated with Australian brews from Balter, Moondog and Little Creatures. Wine devotees will find a page of choices, from sparkling, amber and rosé to whites, reds and even a fortified drop to go with cheese. And for snacking while you drink, the seacuterie (oysters, prawn croquettes, salmon sashimi and more) and lobster croissants are joined by charcuterie, cheese plates, caviar, and a raw bar that also does steak tartare cigars. Gildas, octopus and subs made with cevapi pork sausage are on the menu as well, while Fraser Isle spanner crab tortellini and ten-hour barbecue bourbon brisket are among the mains. For dessert: yuzu brûlée with walnut biscotti and a pina colada tartlet. The whole place is called Midtown, and its digs are firmly on the intimate side, but the Miletics have split it into three areas. The main space that shares the watering hole's name is a 20-seater bar, Uptown is a 6–8-seat dining room and Downtown takes patrons outside for a tipple. Another drawcard: a late-night supper club from 10pm–12am every Friday and Saturday night, doing live music and its own food lineup. Find Midtown at 15 Manning Street, South Brisbane from Friday, September 8 — open 4pm–late Tuesday–Thursday, 12pm–12am Friday and 4pm–12am Saturday.
"Imagine you're tracking a terrorist" begins the unseen voice in the opening shot of Dror Moreh's unnerving documentary The Gatekeepers. "You know they're planning an imminent attack and you know they're in a car that your teams have finally located." As he narrates, the clouds on the screen part to reveal footage from a drone flying high above a city. "What you don't know, though, is where they're going to be an hour from now, or who else is in the car with them. So…what do you do?" Moments later there's a flash, an explosion, and the car is destroyed in what you realise is real-world footage of an assassination. In the corner of the screen, an injured bystander slowly attempts to crawl away from the flaming carnage. This is the story of the Shin Bet — Israel's highly secretive internal security service — as told by all six surviving leaders, past and present (and, notably, the only members whose identities are ever made public). Divided into seven sections with austere headings like: 'Collateral Damage', 'Forget About Morality' and 'Victory Is to See You Suffer', The Gatekeepers offers an extraordinary insight into one of the most clandestine organisations in living history. Like 2003's Academy Award-winning film The Fog of War, these interviews reveal both the strategic and philosophical considerations behind some of the organisations most famous (and infamous) operations; however, unlike Robert S. McNamara, the disclosures of these men are remarkably unsentimental and make little attempt at any justification. With their stewardship spanning decades of momentous upheaval, including the 6-Day War, the hijacking of the 300 bus, the invasion of Lebanon, the two Intifadas and the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, there's no shortage of material for the narrators to delve into despite the large pockets of history that remain classified. Rarely do the scenarios veer even close to black-and-white morality, and, not surprisingly, it's questions of assassination and torture that prove most compelling. "What's unnatural is the power you have" , explains the Shin Bet's most recent chief Yuval Diskin, "the power you have to take three people, terrorists, and take their lives in an instant." In all, The Gatekeepers is a candid, revelatory and at times disturbing film that represents one of the 'must-sees' of 2013. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kpk71yrQUQM
When Whitney Houston sang 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody', the world believed her. It wasn't just the energetic beat or joyous tone that struck a chord, but the dynamic power of Houston's voice. Her prowess wasn't new news — released in 1987, the track was the first single from her second album, and became her fourth consecutive number one single in the US. And yet, when she trilled so explosively about finding someone to dance with, she seemed like a woman who not only wanted to share her life with that one special person, but also wanted to share her talent with the entire planet. With Whitney, director Kevin Macdonald tests that theory. Giving the pop superstar the same probing treatment that has driven his previous movies about Bob Marley, artist Cai Guo-Qiang and fellow documentarian Errol Morris, among others, the filmmaker behind Touching the Void, State of Play and Black Sea explores the what, how and why of Houston's life in a thoughtful and solemn fashion. What did she want out of her career? How did she try to achieve it? Why did her story turn out the way it did? They're the questions at the heart of this birth-to-death portrait, all examining the tragic tale of someone who sang like no one else, crooned hits that were heard around the globe and broke music records, but was rarely able to be herself. If you're already a fan, you'll know the minutiae. Even if you're not, you'll still be aware of Houston's substance abuse issues, and the way that her life came to an end. Macdonald combines candid interviews with Houston's loved ones — including her gospel singer mother Cissy Houston and her ex-husband Bobby Brown — with archival footage, performance clips, family photos, recording demos and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the movie's eponymous figure. Of course, it's not only Houston's specific tale that feels familiar, but the fact that this narrative has played out with plenty of other famous folks of late. Recent documentaries about Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain relayed very similar details, and Whitney: Can I Be Me? tread very similar ground just last year, albeit relying more heavily on backstage footage and focusing more firmly on Houston's relationship with friend Robyn Crawford. Whitney mightn't tell viewers much that's new; however it assembles its various pieces with a force on par with Houston's roaring voice. The editing on display in the film's contextual montages — which weave together ads and events from the time, Houston's work, and intimate photographs — sets a swift pace that never lets up, as Macdonald squeezes as much as he can into the documentary's two-hour running time. There are gaps, with Brown refusing to talk about drug use, and only some parts of Houston's career getting in-depth attention. There are also splashes of particularly incisive, penetrating insight, including a dissection of the impact of race and class. And there's one huge, heartbreaking revelation, although the way it's treated as a third-act twist sits cheaply and uncomfortably. Throughout it all, there's Houston herself. As the rise-and-fall music biopic genre understands all too well, there's no substitute for letting a film's subject prove their merits in their own way, with their own voice and in their own words. In Whitney, it's seeing Houston perform that shapes the documentary's sorrowful melody — and, expressly, seeing her shows evolve over the years. First, she's a bright-eyed teenager making her first TV appearance. Soon, she's the most famous singer in the world, unleashing her distinctive take on 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at the 1991 Super Bowl. Later, she's an object of derision during her final tour, which caused walkouts when she came to Brisbane, as the movie shows. Out of all of the above, it's her 1983 rendition of 'Home' on The Merv Griffin Show that echoes throughout the doco, so much so that Macdonald uses it to bookend the picture. With Houston radiant in a purple dress but shining brighter out of sheer talent, the clip perfectly embodies the film's message: that she simply wanted to sing, dance and soar, but couldn't chase away her demons as she chased her dreams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU2g2w70kG0
Start a visit to Ipswich with a stroll around Queens Park, which is home to a Nature Centre packed with native Aussie animals, including wombats, wallabies and bilbies. Yes, they're adorable. And yes, you will squee. Also in the park is Nerima Gardens, a Japanese retreat devised in close consultation with Ipswich's eponymous Japanese sister city. Soak up all the serenity as you meander around these picture-perfect grounds.
By this stage, most of us have come to terms with the fact that jetting off to USA or Europe is a seriously long slog, made worse by unavoidable (sometimes long, always painful) stopovers. But that European or American trip could soon become a whole lot more bearable, with Qantas announcing plans to launch direct flights between the east coast and both London and New York, by 2022. While the airline's already revealed it'll run nonstop flights from Perth to London starting March 24, 2018, the extra distance involved with trips from the east coast capitals is something that none of today's planes can handle. Right now, the world's longest direct flight clocks in at just over 17 hours and 14,529 kilometres, running between Doha and Auckland on a Boeing 777-200LR. So, to realise its grand plans for east coast Aussies, Qantas has put the call out to Airbus and Boeing, the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers, to make a plane that can go the distance. In numbers, that's a 20-hour and 20-minute stint between Sydney and London (16,983 kilometres), and an 18-hour and seven-minute journey from Sydney to New York. The airline's done its homework, analysing a decade's worth of wind and weather data to confirm the routes are actually possible. Now, all it needs are the planes to fly it. Via the Australian Financial Review.
Trends come in cycles. That's a fact that everyone has not only heard but experienced, and it's also a reality that helps us travel back in time. Missed the grunge era? Fashion revived it in 2023. Love 80s synth sounds? They're not hard to find among pop tunes recently. Wish that you could deck out your home with 60s and 70s decor? In comes IKEA, which is making peering backwards its focus right now. The reason that the Swedish retailer is feeling nostalgic is the same reason that plenty of us do: a big birthday. In 2023, IKEA celebrated 80 years of operation. To mark the occasion, it unveiled the Nytillverkad collection, which scours the company's design archives to hero pieces that've proven a hit in the past, and also riff on its prior highlights in general. That wasn't just a once-off, either. Accordingly, the range keeps dropping new pieces, including a big dose of 60s and 70s items earlier in 2024, and now another batch that's especially fond of the period's flower power. The latest homewares will hit IKEA stores in Australia in April, focusing on bright colours, bold designs and retro florals. Sure, it's autumn here at the moment, but that doesn't have to be the theme of your interior decor. Highlights include floral patterns first introduced in the 70s by designer Göta Trägårdh, including on quilt covers and cushions; a pendant lampshade that initially hit IKEA in 1964; and plant stands and coffee tables that also debuted in the 60s. Or, there's the ÖNNESTAD armchair, which reincarnates the brand's GOGO chair that first arrived in stores in 1972 and remained on offer at the time for more than a decade. It's made out of steel tubes, with updating the piece seeing the chain cutting back from 6.8 kilograms to 3.3 kilograms of the material — and now using high-strength steel — so that it can create twice as many. Prices range from $8 for cushion covers to $199 for chairs, with everything from vases ($19) to mirrors ($99) — available in-between. If all these blasts from IKEA's furniture and homewares past has you thinking about its history, there's a reason that almost everyone can't remember a time before the chain was a homewares go-to. Started by Ingvar Kamprad, aka the IK in IKEA's moniker, it began in 1943 and moved into furniture in 1948. The company then opened its first store in Sweden a decade later — and came to Australia in the 70s. The latest pieces in IKEA's Nytillverkad collection will hit Australia, in store and online, from April 2024 until stocks last. Head to the IKEA website for further details.
There's usually only one problem with comedy festivals. Jam-packed lineups mean a wealth of talented folks trying to get you laughing, but we've all only got so much time. Of course, that's the best kind of issue to have, spoiling fans for choice — so, from the 100-plus names and events that'll grace Brisbane Comedy Festival in 2024, prepare to have plenty of options. Hosted by Brisbane Powerhouse each year, the month-long fest features Josh Thomas, Nazeem Hussain, Joel Creasey, Rhys Nicholson, Nina Oyama, Melanie Bracewell and Arj Barker, plus Reuben Kaye, Luke Heggie, Ivan Aristeguieta, Guy Montgomery, Schalk Bezuidenhout and the return of Sh!t-faced Shakespeare. Ed Byrne, Stephen K Amos, Wil Anderson, Lizzy Hoo, Felicity Ward, Tommy Little, Annabel Crabb, Peter Helliar, Dave Hughes, Mel Buttle, Akmal, Effie: they're all also part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival's 2024 celebration of chuckles and giggles. The Brisbane debut of Future Science Talks, which includes both scientists and comedians, is also on BCF's latest roster. So is the return of improvised whodunnit Murder Village, plus everyone from Fern Brady and Urvi Majumdar to Nath Valvo and Jenny Tian, and Connor Burns, Dilruk Jayasinha, Geraldine Quinn, Hannah Camilleri and Takashi Wakasugi as well. 2024's Brisbane Comedy Festival takes place from Friday, April 26–Sunday, May 26, filling not only New Farm's riverside arts venue with laughter, but also The Princess Theatre, Fortitude Music Hall and The Tivoli. As always, BCF is a something-for-everyone fest. If you can't find something to laugh at, you mightn't have a funny bone. The event's new additions sit alongside other already-announced highlights such as the annual Brisbane Comedy Festival Opening Gala; rom-com production 44 Sex Acts in One Week; Bob Franklin, Tony Martin, Bev Killick and Gretel Killeen teaming up for an Aussie Comedy Legends night; and James Schloeffel from The Shovel and Charles Firth from The Chaser bringing Wankernomics: Solutionising the Corporate World follow-up Wankernomics 2.0: As Per My Last Email Brisbane's way.
UPDATE, September 4, 2020: Paddington 2 is available to stream via Netflix, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Break out the marmalade, slather it on a sandwich and stash it under your hat in celebration, because Paddington is back. In 2014, the Peruvian mammal journeyed from author Michael Bond's pages to his first movie adventure, and the resulting blend of heartwarming sweetness and madcap goofiness proved an utter delight. Three years later and we're pleased to report that the follow-up is every bit as much of a joy. As with its predecessor, this sequel adores its furry protagonist every bit as much as generations of readers have, and is determined to bring that love to his latest big-screen excursion. But it's also committed to being entertaining; to jovial jokes, smart sight gags and well-meaning silliness. In short, it'll leave you sporting the biggest, sincerest of smiles. Picking up where part one left off, Paddington 2 sees the eponymous bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) still happy with the Brown family, both in their hearts and in their home. Risk analyst Henry (Hugh Bonneville) is annoyed about losing out on a promotion, his wife Mary (Sally Hawkins) is preparing to swim the English channel, teenage daughter Judy (Madeleine Harris) has started her own neighbourhood newspaper and son Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) is reinventing himself at school. As for Paddington, he's trying to purchase an antique pop-up book for his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) back in the jungle. Working odd jobs helps raise the cash he needs, but soon two problems present themselves. The first comes in the form of famed theatre actor Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant), who is after the text as well. The second arises when the prized tome is suddenly stolen. Quicker than our hero can stuff a toothbrush or two into his ears, Paddington 2 jumps from a carnival to prison to touring London's famous landmarks. With a jailbreak, some amateur sleuthing and a train-top chase included, it's a busy 103 minutes as the talking bear falls victim to prejudice, befriends a burly jail cook (Brendan Gleeson) and tries to restore order. Despite this, however, the movie never feels over-stuffed. Nor is it lacking in visual treats, be it the exceptional CGI work used to bring Paddington to life, or the gorgeous animation that takes viewers through a pop-up world. The film offers up such a feast of precise, playful and picturesque imagery that it's easy to imagine Wes Anderson sitting at the helm. Indeed, if the man behind Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel had a British counterpart, it'd be Paddington director Paul King. Before he steered the series' maiden movie outing, the filmmaker directed all 20 episodes of The Mighty Boosh as well as the similarly surreal comedy Bunny and the Bull, and the offbeat sensibilities of both shine through here. Witty, whimsical and filled with wonder, in King's hands the film is a comic caper that offers a warm hug and a fierce rib-tickling at the same time. It also finds room to make a gentle statement about the merits of inclusiveness — a message that feels extra important given the current climate in Paddington's adopted England, as well as the world at large. All that's left is for the cast to ace their roles, which is exactly what they do. The returnees remain in fine form, with Whishaw's vocal work proving a particularly perfect match for Paddington's famed kindness and politeness. Grant, meanwhile, hams things up spectacularly, turning in his best and most enjoyable performance in years. Moreover, there's an expressiveness and physicality to his efforts that could've worked just as well in a silent movie — as could've much of the immensely bearable fun throughout the film. Everyone talks, of course, but Paddington 2 serves up an array of well-executed nods to cinema history, along with the feeling that it'll be joining all of those classics soon enough. It's not only the best family-friendly flick of 2017, but one of the best of the year in any genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aQR1oc3E40
Christmas means plenty of different things to plenty of different people, but in Brisbane, it also means feasting your eyes on a heap of festive films in open spaces. Roma Street Parkland is one of them, and they're back with another run of Christmas Movies in the Park. 'Tis the season for joining in the merry movie fun, and all that. On the agenda: ten nights of yuletide screen gazing, spanning the usual well-known titles. You know the first rule of Chrissie flicks, though, right? You haven't really seen any of them until know all the lines. So, ho-ho-hop on over to the parklands' ampitheatre to watch interconnected tales combine in Love, Actually, witness Will Ferrell spread festive joy in Elf, discover How the Grinch Stole Christmas and re-live your childhood with Home Alone, among others. And yes, the second rule of Christmas movies declares that no film is too cheesy for the season.
