Running parallel to the Queen Street Mall and Adelaide Street between Albert and George streets, Burnett Lane is Brisbane's oldest working laneway. For two jam-packed nights in July and August, it's also the latest place to throw a party. At Burnett Lane: Art Landing, a heap of street artists will show off their skills, while local talent will provide the soundtrack. Expect plenty of paint, colour and light, plus beats as well. Food and drinks-wise, when you're feeling hungry or thirsty, you'll be in the right spot. The laneway has welcomed quite a few new additions this year, such as Death & Taxes, Alba Bar & Deli and El Matador — and, if you're not heading into one of those three spots, there's also Super Whatnot, Pho City, and Funny Funny. The free shindig will take over the lane on two Fridays, so drop by from 4pm on July 26 and August 30.
Pilot and architect by trade, Massachusetts-based photographer Alex S. MacLean knows a thing or two about perspective. Taking a bird's eye view of theme parks, tennis courts, playgrounds and waterslides in the US, MacLean's latest series Playing is a playful reminder of the surrealist, hedonist nature of leisure time. Water parks, tennis courts, putt putt courses, basketball courts, public pools — we've gotten pretty good at adapting to climate, taking advantage of natural geographical perks and building the ultimate escapist fun houses for our selves. MacLean explores about the dynamic relationship the constructed American landscape and the idea of play — we continue to build playgrounds well after our playdates have turned to wine dates. So, taking cues from MacLean and his whole Playing collection, I guess you could say there's a bunch of concrete... playgrounds... out there. Yeeeop. Concrete. Playgrounds... Via Fast Company and Design Wreck. Images courtesy the artist.
If jungle vibes inside a Coorparoo warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10. It's the latest greenery-filled Brissie market from The Jungle Collective, a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Yes, it is trucking its way up north again for another Queensland venture. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. Get inspired by greenery aplenty and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces, all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Best get in quick though — these markets are always popular, with more than 170 different species usually on offer. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on Saturday (8-10am, 10am-noon, 12-2pm and 2-4pm) and two on Sunday (10am-noon, 12-2pm), and attendees will need to register for free tickets in advance from Monday, November 4. Plus, if you wear a Hawaiian shirt — and spend at least $10 — you'll get $5 off your purchase, because this sale is 'tropicana'-themed.
UPDATE: September 16, 2019 — PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at Certain School of Magic & Magic has extended its run, from Sunday, September 15 to Sunday, September 29. This post has been updated to reflect this. More than two decades since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first reached bookshelves, and almost as long since the first film adaptation released in cinemas, it's safe to say that you've probably read your way through the franchise — and binge-watched all of the movies — more than once or twice. With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child currently on in Melbourne, you've likely made the trip to see the series' stage continuation, too. But, we're betting that you haven't delved into the story of the other kids at Hogwarts. An off-Broadway hit that's finally making its way to Brisbane, PUFFS or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at Certain School of Magic & Magic journeys to everyone's favourite enchanted school to spend time with characters other than the usual wizarding trio, their well-known friends or their infamous adversaries. While all the folks we all know and love were going about their epic business, a group of kids in Hufflepuff were there too. This is their tale. Potter parodies aren't new, but this comic take on the Boy Who Lived has proven a smash both in the US and Australia — and now it's playing Brisbane Powerhouse from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, September 29. Whether you just need more spellbinding entertainment in your life, or fancy a good giggle, this popular production promises to deliver faster than you can say "accio fun!".
The Regatta is nothing like we once knew it. Ten dollar jugs and student Wednesdays are but a distant memory, silent discos in The Boat Shed are no more, and now we venue beneath the ground to drink. Go round the back to the servants entrance, down the stairs and below the grand old pub. Here you’ll find the lair/rum den they call The Walrus Club. Think leather chesterfield couches, a raw brick maze of rooms, free spiced popcorn and melting candles everywhere.
If you've been gorging yourself silly on American-style beef, ribs and pulled pork over the last year or so, then you've firmly jumped on the bandwagon of the latest food trend — and you might not even know it. We're not talking about US-themed eateries, though they're endlessly en vogue at the moment. We're talking about meats cooked over long periods of time at a low temperature. Without anyone really realising it, low and slow barbecuing has become Brisbane's favourite style of food preparation, and now there's a festival to prove it. Come July, South Brisbane will be engulfed in the kind of smoky, spicy taste sensations that can only come from taking your time to lock in as much goodness as possible. At Brisbane's first Low and Slow BBQ Festival, as supported by the Australasian Barbecue Alliance (it's a thing), a convoy of food trucks will converge on Wandering Cooks to prove their culinary patience. They'll be starting up their ovens long before their doors open, and you'll get to devour the long-simmering rewards. Between sampling from the likes of Joe's Texan BBQ, Bella BBQ and Char Baby, sipping frosty bevs at pop-up bars and learning up at masterclasses and workshops, you'll also watch teams of professionals battle it out to be crowned the low and slow champions — while scoring free samples of their creations. Look what happened in Port Macquarie: If your own gastronomic itches need scratching, you can then browse the boutique marketplace for barbecue-related products to help you whip up a storm at home. The sounds of DJ Cutloose will provide your ultimate barbecue soundtrack, including his inventive ‘Cut and Cook’ project — which hopefully tastes as good as it sounds. If that seems like too much fun for just one day, that's because it is. Expanding due to popular demand, the festival kick things off on Saturday and keep things cooking on Sunday . Now that's a party that's low and slow by name and by nature. The Low & Slow BBQ Festival takes place on July 18 and 19 at Wandering Cooks, 1 Fish Lane, South Brisbane. Visit their website for more information. Image: Brent Hofacker.
If jungle vibes inside a Brisbane warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2. It's the latest greenery-filled Brissie market from The Jungle Collective, a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Yes, it's trucking its way up north again for another Queensland venture — and this time, it's focusing on pet-friendly plants. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists onsite on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. At a Moorooka warehouse, you'll be inspired by greenery aplenty — and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces — all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Best get in quick though, as these markets are always popular. With more than 150 different species usually on offer, of course they are. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on Saturday (8–10am, 10am–noon, 12–2pm and 2–4pm) and two on Sunday (10am–noon, 12–2pm), and attendees will need to register for free tickets from noon on Monday, May 27. Plus, if you dress up like a cat or dog — and spend at least $10 on plants — to fit the pet theme, you'll get $5 off your purchase.
Whether you're a big nature nerd or err on the indifferent side to the science of it all, chances are you've seen at least some of Sir David Attenborough's Planet Earth. The BBC nature documentary series — narrated by the man himself and accompanied by an epic score from Hans Zimmer — first aired back in 2006, and its follow-up second season, Planet Earth II, was released just two years ago. But the bits you've seen on TV or YouTube are sure to be belittled when the live show comes to Australia this April. Like the performances of Harry Potter and Star Wars we've seen in recent months, Planet Earth II Live in Concert will see the documentary screened in all its glory accompanied by a live orchestra. And it's a big sore. The music has been composed by none other than Hans Zimmer (responsible for epics like The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight Rises and Inception) alongside Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe. In Brisbane, the score will be performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with conductor Vanessa Scammell and, in lieu of Attenborough, Eric Bana will be narrating in real time.
If jungle vibes inside a Coorparoo warehouse sounds like your perfect outing, head along to the Jungle Collective's indoor plant sale on Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6. It's the latest greenery-filled Brissie market from The Jungle Collective, a Melbourne nursery that stocks all kinds of weird and wonderful species. Yes, it is trucking its way up north again for another Queensland venture. Whether you're after a hanging pot plant, some palms for the garden or a giant Bird of Paradise, chances are you'll find it here. Have a reputation for killing your cacti? Overwatering your ferns? Don't worry — there'll be horticulturalists on site on the night to give you advice and chat through any questions you might have. Get inspired by greenery aplenty and learn to incorporate plants into your home and living spaces, all while browsing and soaking up some tunes. Best get in quick though — these markets are always popular, with more than 150 different species usually on offer. Due to expected demand, the sale will be held in four sessions on Saturday (8-10am, 10am-noon, 12-2pm and 2-4pm) and two on Sunday (10am-noon, 12-2pm), and attendees will need to register for free tickets in advance from Monday, September 30. Plus, if you wear a flower crown — and spend at least $10 — you'll get $5 off your purchase, because this sale is 'springtime splendour'-themed.
Once, not that long ago, Brisbanites still had to drive to either Noosa or Surfers Paradise for their Betty's Burgers fix. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case for a couple of years now. Indeed, Betty's keeps opening new stores, with its latest now trading in West End's West Village — and it's throwing a three-day village party to celebrate. This shindig has a few different components, but they all revolve around the same thing: heading to the new site for a burger. Between Friday, July 9–Sunday, July 11, you'll be able to nab two-for-one burg specials, in fact, as long as you're hankering for one of Betty's deluxe, classic vegan or crispy chicken supreme burgers. Also on offer: $5 beers, including Betty's new Village Beer brewed by Pirate Life. Buy the latter, and you'll get a free stubby cooler, too. And, speaking of not spending a cent, there'll be free ice creams in cups and cones as well. Yes, that means you can get a cheap burg, cheap booze and a free dessert.
There's one mass gathering that's immune to the disruptions of COVID-19 and that's the nightly parade of Phillip Island's famed little penguins. And while the feathered friends have been continuing their daily pilgrimage from ocean to burrow without the usual audience, they'll soon be waddling back into our hearts thanks to a new live stream series. From Tuesday, August 25, you can catch the penguins' ritual sunset parade in real time from the comfort of your couch, as it's streamed for free via the Phillip Island Nature Parks Facebook page and YouTube channel. At 6pm (NZT 8pm) each night, tune in for half an hour to see the birds make their familiar journey from the water, across the dunes and back to their homes to cosy up for the evening. Not only will you get to spy those adorable penguins in action without having to brave the cold, but Phillip Island's rangers will be on hand providing some expert commentary to match. Score a daily dose of cuteness, learn a few fun penguin facts and even ask some questions of your own. Top image: Tourism Australia
Over the past couple of decades, Brisbanites have become accustomed to seeing Ben Ely in the city's live music venues — either as part of Regurgitator, or with one of his many other projects. An artist of the visual as well as musical kind, he's also becoming a fixture of Brissie gallery spaces. In fact, just months after bringing his Everything Must Go exhibition to Brisbane Powerhouse, he's back again. Where his last creative showcase focused on the business of selling courtesy of promotional material for a few fictitious items, Ely is focusing on something that's been part and parcel of his on-stage efforts this time around. You can't be a rock star without walking up to the mic, picking up an instrument and putting on one hell of a performance — yep, as the exhibition's title exclaims, it's SHOWTIME! All types of performance, spanning punk rock, circus, burlesque, dance, theatre and comedy, and including everything from behind-the-scenes preparations to post-show antics, fall into this colourful, character-filled display. Gracing the Powerhouse's walls from November 7 to December 3 as part of the venue's Wonderland festival, it's also a chance for fans to snap up a piece for their walls at home, with Ely's artwork also for sale.
In wrestling – of the competitive rather than staged variety – combatants trade in proximity, physicality and supremacy. They come in close, sizing up each other’s strengths through grabbing and grappling, and then exploiting weaknesses for their own glory. Sudden moves may be made, but little happens quickly. It takes time to push and shove into positions of power, and to feel out avenues for domination. Telling a tale of violence and sought-after victory that can only be ripped from reality, Foxcatcher mimics the sport at its centre, progressing slowly yet never relenting from its atmosphere of tension. Three men jostle for the spotlight: the Olympic Gold medal-winning Schultz brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave (Mark Ruffalo), and wealthy and eccentric wrestling aficionado John E. du Pont (Steve Carell). Though both siblings shared success at the Los Angeles games in 1984, the awkward, lonely Mark remains in the shadow of charismatic family man Dave, their training sessions the highlights of his daily routine. Du Pont’s unexpected offer to finance his – and the American wrestling team’s – repeat shot at the top spot is the opportunity Mark has been waiting for, but his second chance serves his benefactor’s ego, not his own dreams. As Dave asks when Mark tries to convince him to come along at du Pont’s urging, “What does he get out of all this?” The outcome is the stuff crime reenactments are made of; however, 2014 Cannes Film Festival best director recipient Bennett Miller heightens the simmering anxiety of clashing personalities and motivations over the sensationalist result. Those familiar with the filmmaker’s previous two efforts, fellow true crime feature Capote and the baseball-oriented Moneyball, will be well versed in his approach. Once more, Miller’s film is studied and sparse on the surface but explosive underneath; inspired by history but unafraid to shape events to fit its own statement on masculinity, capitalism and America; and coloured by the purposefully unsettling shades of a chilly, blue visual look. Patient pacing — particularly in long shots framing each of the trio against the surroundings of busy training room, claustrophobic apartment and expansive country estate — allows the pressure to build, though what really blossoms is the Foxcatcher’s troika of obsession and aggression-laced character studies. Details are drip-fed horror-style, not only in the script’s unraveling of psychological unease, but in the intensity of the performances. With Oscar nominations apiece, Carell and Ruffalo command attention, albeit in vastly different ways. The affectations of the former, perfecting the control of the privileged yet paranoid, clash with the naturalistic caution of the ever-agreeable latter. It is Tatum, however, who steals every scene, lumbering, vulnerable, and always with the air of the loser even when Schultz is winning. His character might be an innocent initially easily manipulated, but his layered, internalised portrayal ascends to the apex of the against-type cast. Perhaps it is fitting that he has been eclipsed in the awards chatter — overlooked once again as life imitates art depicting real-life circumstances.
Brisbane artist Erika Scott teases the chaos out of everyday objects in her latest exhibition 'No Wonder'. Graduating from the Queensland University of Technology with Honours in Visual Art and as the co-director of Accidentaly Annie St space, if there were anyone fit to develop such an intricate showcase, it's the talented Scott. Using second hand fish tanks, photographs, gap filler, boxer shorts, dusters, glass and a live axolotl, she challenges the order of our world, in turn unveiling the pandemoneum that lies beneath. All out of interest in shifting definitions, ambivalent attitudues, confusion, allusion and a little bit of delusion, Scott's installation looks to seek a 'space' where the subjective ackowledges 'carefully caliberated feeling'. This exhibition is a sculptural collage that exposes, interrupts and investigates our simple world, and it's relation to beauty.
It's not every day that an inner-city street shuts down for an onslaught of music and fun. No, just Big Gay Day. Now in its 19th year, the annual event returns to The Wickham and the surrounding roadway for an afternoon and evening of music and celebratory mayhem. Topping the bill is a name that Brisbanites will be more than familiar with: The Veronicas. The local pop duo will be joined by Sheldon Riley, Emily Williams, Maribelle, The Marion Cranes, Being Jane Lane, a heap of DJs and the Big Gay Extravaganza — which'll feature more than 30 drag performers. Consider them the icing on the cake on what has proven the city's most colourful and diverse street festival for the past 18 years, and will continue to do so again in 2019. Roving carnival acts, multiple performance spaces, food trucks, themed bars and plenty of partying people are also on the agenda, as is raising funds for six charity partners that help the LGBTQIA+ community.
Australia's latest environmental protests will span an entire week, featuring rallies, marches, flash mobs, sing-alongs and more. Organised by Extinction Rebellion Australia — which has been ramping up its actions around the country over the course of the year — the co-ordinated series of national events is once again designed to demand government action on climate change. Running until Sunday, October 13 in Australia's major cities, the protests form part of the group's international Spring Rebellion campaign. The rallies kicked off on Monday, with different activities planned each day in each location. Reports from the Spring Rebellion's first two days include inner-city road closures, groups of 'dead bees' blocking major thoroughfares and meditation sessions outside Victoria's parliament. They also include plenty of arrests — Victoria Police reports that, along with yesterday's arrests, 59 people were taken into custody in Melbourne today, as was a protestor who suspended himself from Brisbane's Story Bridge in a hammock. Like September's Global Climate Strike, which was overseen locally by School Strike 4 Climate, the current events aim to draw attention to the changing state of the global environment — drastic changes that've caused soaring temperatures, prolonged drought conditions, and the horrific bushfires that plagued Queensland and NSW last month. Extinction Rebellion's Aussie protestors are also focusing on three demands: that the government declares a climate emergency, and urgently communicate the need for change; that state and federal governments commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025; and that a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice is convened. As always, disruptions and delays are expected as a result of the protest actions, including possible road closures and traffic diversions. If you're planning to join the crowds or need to consider your transport options for the week, here's how the events will go down in your city. [caption id="attachment_735589" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Extinction Rebellion SEQ[/caption] SYDNEY Extinction Rebellion's Sydney activities will change daily, with flash mobs meeting at Belmore Park at 9am tomorrow, Wednesday, October 9, before hopping on trains from Central Station and spreading their message through the rail network. From 12.30pm on Friday, October 11, protestors will literally place their heads in the sand (in holes that still allow enough room for them to breathe) on Manly Beach. At 9.30am on Saturday, October 12, they'll amass on the Coogee Beach Esplanade wearing blue and green, all to highlight the impact of climate change on the seas — and then, from 10.30am on Sunday, October 13, they'll descend on Bondi Beach to form a huge hourglass near the Icebergs end. For public transport and traffic updates each day, check Transport NSW and Live Traffic Sydney. MELBOURNE Melburnians can stop by the week-long family camp at Carlton Gardens, which forms Extinction Rebellion's local hub — it'll be holding arts and crafts, philosophy workshops, family-friendly Q&A sessions, music and performances throughout the week. From 3pm on Wednesday, October 9, they'll head to RMIT to rally, with traffic disruptions along Swanston Street likely. Then, from 7.30am on Friday, October 11, they'll perform a dress rehearsal for one of the group's next big actions — a blockade of the International Mining and Resources Conference between October 28–31 — by protesting outside of BHP's offices. The week culminates on Saturday, October 12 with the Nudie Parade, with folks stripping down to their underwear, painting their bodies with messages and marching from Carlton Gardens from 10am. For public transport and traffic updates each day, check Yarra Trams and Vic Traffic. BRISBANE Setting up shop in Queens Gardens on George Street, Brisbane boasts a jam-packed protest schedule — with flash mobs starting from outside the casino each morning until Friday, October 11. They'll gather from 7.30am, with sing-alongs taking place from noon each day, speakers hitting the microphone from 1pm daily, market stalls selling arts and crafts from 9am–5pm and a photobooth onsite as well. Live performances will also take place from 5pm, featuring bands on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a freestyle rap battle on Thursday. Tuesday will also see a public rally demanding action from the gas industry, which'll take place from midday at 32 Turbot Street, plus slam poetry in Queens Gardens from 7pm. On Wednesday, there'll be a weaving session at 10am in Queens Gardens, then a zero-waste gathering at the same site from 3pm. Come Thursday, protestors will stage a funeral procession down William Street to Parliament House from midday. And, on Friday, the group will occupy the William Jolly Bridge from 10am. For public transport and traffic updates each day, check Translink and Qld Traffic Metro. Extinction Rebellion's Spring Rebellion protests will take place at various times until Sunday, October 13. For further details, visit the organisation's website. Image: Extinction Rebellion Victoria
Since arriving in town a few years back, Salt Meats Cheese has been giving Brisbanites a pizza-filled treat. And, as part of its lineup of Italian eats, it's been known to give the city's residents plenty of specials in its time — including the return of its $25 all-you-can-eat pizza nights every Monday at its Newstead store. "Does this look like someone who's had all they can eat?" isn't something you'll be saying when you devour as many slices as your stomach can handle in 90 minutes, so calm your inner Homer Simpson. The main catch is that you'll have to buy a drink as well, but you can choose from both boozy and non-alcoholic options. Available from 5pm, this hefty feast serves up multiple options, too. You can stick with the $25 pizza-focused option, or add any pasta from the menu to your all-you-can-eat dinner for an extra $5. And if you're vegan or eat a gluten free diet, those can also be catered for for another $5. You do need to finish each serving of pizza or pasta before ordering your next, but that's hardly a tough rule.
Maybe you're keen to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of the warmer weather. Perhaps 2022 has just been a chaotic year for you, as it has for most of us, and you're desperate to get away. You could always be yearning for a holiday, as almost everyone is. And, you might have the perfect vacation partner that you haven't been able to spend enough time flying to scenic spots with during the pandemic. If a few, most or all of the above applies, Jetstar comes bearing great news: a fly a friend for free' flight sale. Until 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, August 28 — or sold out — the Aussie airline is doing package deals for paired travellers, with one person's airfares included for nothing. Your wallet, your calendar, all that stress you're carrying around in your shoulders — they all love this for you. So will whichever mate or date you're now hitting up for a discounted holiday adventure. The packages cover flights, hotels and, usually, breakfast as well — with deals from Sydney including $484 for two nights at the Holiday Inn Express Little Collins Street in Melbourne, $1122 for five nights at Meridian Port Douglas, and $604 for a three-night getaway at voco Gold Coast. There's also a $732 three-night package at Pacific Hotel Cairns, a $1316 option for three nights at Daydream Island Resort and a $1151 stay for three nights at Hobart's Mövenpick Hotel. Offers and prices vary per city, as do dates for travel, but most destinations remain the same. Melburnians can also stay at the Metro Hotel Marlow Sydney Central for two nights for $434, for instance — and get cheaper prices to Hobart and slightly more expensive costs to Queensland. Whichever you pick — including options leaving from Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and more — you'll need to book online. When you do so, to get the deal, you'll also need to add an extra passenger. Also, checked baggage isn't included, so factor that into your budget — or pack light. Jetstar's 'fly a friend for free' sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, August 28 — or until sold out. Images: Jetstar.
Pumpkins, lollies and dressing up in costume: they're the parts of Halloween that suit everyone, even if you're not a fan of scary movies. Hitting up Victoria Park's pop-up Halloween-themed outdoor cinema night actually falls into that category, too — because while these flicks suit the occasion, they don't include spine-tingling frights. On Saturday, October 29, just days before Halloween itself, this inner-city patch of turf is hosting two flicks — for free, out on the grass, and with picnics welcome. It all kicks off at 6.30pm with Pixar's supremely family-friendly Monsters, Inc, which'll also deliver a big dose of nostalgia. Then, come 8.15pm, Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands will unfurl its gothic fantasy — and a prime Winona Ryder performance. Entry doesn't cost a thing but, if you don't pack your own snacks and drinks, you'll want your wallet to hit up the onsite food truck. They'll be serving from 5.30pm. Also, this movie night is dog-friendly, but Rover will need to remain on a leash. And if you feel like getting tap, tap, tapping around a Halloween mini-golf course, too, you'll be in the perfect place for it. That'll cost you as well, however.
It's been a couple of years since the Art Series Hotels made its first foray into Brisbane, and its Spring Hill site lives up to the brand's concept. Every room in the 83-suite property nods to the space's namesake: Sydney-born abstract artist Michael Johnson. The hotel is full of his original paintings and prints, including the trademark horizontal bars that have hypnotised art lovers in Australia and abroad for more than four decades. This is a sleek, minimalistic abode that finds its style in the hefty array of art; however, the hotel's pared-back approach doesn't clash with its tasteful feel. Or with the resort-style 50m pool, deck bar and downstairs restaurant. For a stay that's close enough to the city and the Fortitude Valley and James Street precincts for a simple stroll but tucked into a leafy suburb away from the hustle and bustle, this is a great option without a major price tag. It's right up there with all the other top hotels in Brisbane.
When you enter a darkened room to commune with cinema, you stare at a big screen. That silver surface in front of you is the place where celluloid dreams are made, but it's also a window. Peer into it and you'll see the world — including sights you spy daily, just cast in a whole new light. GOMA's new season of flicks about cities firmly falls into that category, especially given that you can spot the Brisbane CBD from outside the South Brisbane building. City Symphony surveys movies from across an entire century, all featuring depictions of bustling urban spaces. GOMA's Australian Cinematheque doesn't just want you to watch, however, but also to listen. So, it's pairing its chosen flicks with stunning new live soundscapes — or you can catch them with their original soundtracks, the choice is yours. [caption id="attachment_894298" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Production still from Calcutta 1969 / Dir: Louis Malle / Image courtesy: Gaumont.[/caption] Each title shows twice: first with its newly composed accompaniment, then a week later in its OG form. The initial sessions happen on Sundays monthly, then the second the following Saturday. You'll need to pay for the live show, but the followup screening is free to attend. As for what you'll be watching, highlights include 2021's Lines, which roves over Bratislava; four films that explore New York, Tokyo and Stockholm; the Berlin-set People on Sunday from 1930; and 1969's Calcutta. And, the list of talents doing the honours with the tunes spans Timothy Fairless, Johnny Ng, Madeleine Cocolas, Zemzemeh, hazards of swimming naked, Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra and more. [caption id="attachment_894300" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Production still from People on Sunday 1930 / Dir: Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer / Image courtesy: Praesens Film.[/caption] Top image: Timothy Fairless.
Cheese and pasta go together like few food combinations. As great as they both are individually, a particularly enticing alchemy of flavours occurs when they join forces. But simply sprinkling grated mozzarella or ground parmesan over your spaghetti is definitely yesterday's news. Eating pasta served out of a cheese wheel is what it's all about now. Salt Meats Cheese has been hopping on everyone's current favourite Italian culinary bandwagon for a while now, so its weekly night dedicated to the dish isn't new — but it's still tasty. Drop into the chain's Gasworks eatery on Wednesdays from 5pm, and you'll tuck into the cheesiest bowl of pasta you're ever likely to taste for $29. Flavour-wise, there's a few available, because even a meal like cheese wheel pasta can use a few additions. Just classic cheese is still on the menu, as are two other varieties each week. In the past, everything from truffle and carbonara to pesto genovese, gorgonzola and smoked mozzarella have been dished up, so arrive hungry. Bookings are essential and can be made online.
Two venues. Three months. More than 30 shows. That's the maths behind Open Season 2023. This series of gigs and performances debuted in 2020 at The Tivoli, just as Brisbane started to find its normality after the pandemic's first lockdown. Since then, it's kept coming back — adding Woolloongabba's Princess Theatre to its footprint in 2021, and now returning to both sites in 2023. Think of it as a big multi-gig festival — one that runs from late May through till the end of August, too. That means that Brisbanites have multiple places to head to, multiple dates to do so, and multiple bands and shows to see, all from the first lineup announcement. Leading the bill: Oneohtrix Point Never, Sleaford Mods, UK punk legends The Damned, New Zealand's Kimbra, US producer Thundercat, Weyes Blood and Aussie favourites King Stingray. Molchat Doma are also bringing their post-punk synth-pop sounds to the River City from Belarus, while The Pharcyde will team up with Masta Ace and Marco Polo, and Ngaiire will do the same with Queensland Symphony Orchestra. [caption id="attachment_870971" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zennieshia Butts[/caption] Open Season's roster goes on, complete with Bernie Dieter, Tourist, Winston Surfshirt, Lastlings, Middle Kids, Gordi and more. Also on the bill: the return of First Nations festival Blak Day Out, which was postponed from January to July. The Glam Awards also makes its debut, giving Brisbane both a new set of queer performing arts awards and a club night, with a heap of the country's best drag and queer performers set to feature. And, closing things out is A Night for the Queen, with Polytoxic and Hot Brown Honey overseeing a night of cabaret, circus, performance art and drag. Everything is femme-fronted, and the evening is all about raising cash for Busty and her cancer journey. [caption id="attachment_871206" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vincent Shaw[/caption] OPEN SEASON 2023 — THE PRINCESS THEATRE: Saturday, May 27 — Northeast Party House Wednesday, May 31 — Kimbra Friday, June 2 — Winston Surfshirt Saturday, June 3 — Weyes Blood Tuesday, June 6 — Sleaford Mods Wednesday, June 7 — The Damned Saturday, June 10 — Coterie Thursday, June 15 — Molchat Doma Friday, June 16 — Middle Kids Saturday, July 7 — Lastlings Saturday, July 15 — Oneohtrix Point Never Wednesday, July 19–Saturday, July 22 — Bernie Dieter in Konzert Friday, July 28 — Tourist Friday, August 4 — Ngaiire and Queensland Symphony Orchestra Saturday, August 5 — Set Roulette Friday, August 11 — Full Flower Moon Band Saturday, August 19 — First Beige and special guests Thursday, August 24 — Gordi OPEN SEASON 2023 — THE TIVOLI: Wednesday, June 7 — Thundercat Sunday, June 11 — The Pharcyde with Masta Ace & Marco Polo Saturday, July 7 — King Stingray Sunday, July 16 — Blak Day Out Saturday, August 19 — GLAMAPALOOZA Friday, August 25 — A Night for the Queen Updated: August 25, 2023. Princess Theatre image: James Griffin.
It's cocktail-sipping season, Brisbanites. And this city of ours has just delivered a new — albeit short-term — place to get drinking. Pomona Distilling Co is based in the Noosa Hinterland, but the small-batch distillery has made the merry jump down to Teneriffe for a couple of weeks of pre-Christmas gin tipples. Each Thursday, Friday and Saturday until Saturday, December 19, Pomona Distilling Co's Summer Pop-Up Gin Bar will be in full swing at 132 Commercial Road. On the menu: drinks made with the company's botanical-infused spirits, which are made on a family-run nature reserve farm. Heading by for after-work drinks is definitely on the agenda as well, or for a cruisy Saturday afternoon beverage (or several) — with the bar open from 3–10pm each day it's running. Bookings are recommended, unsurprisingly. Pomona Distilling Co's Summer Pop-Up Gin Bar is actually also sticking around between December 20–24, but only for event bookings — if you still have a festive party to organise.
UPDATE, Wednesday, June 19, 2024: Dream Scenario is available to stream via Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Gushing about Paddington movies, channelling Elvis, screaming about being a vampire, swooning over Cher, kidnapping babies, fighting cults, battling demonic animatronics, driving ambulances, flying with convicts, swapping faces, avenging pet pigs and milking alpacas, Nicolas Cage has gotten himself lodged in many a moviegoer's brain before. Dream Scenario takes that idea to the next level, not with the screen's most-inimitable star as himself — this isn't The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — but in a film that works as well as it does, and as sharply, because he's its irreplaceable lead. Although writer/director Kristoffer Borgli didn't write his third feature (after DRIB and Sick of Myself) with Cage in mind, there's pure magic in matching his tale of pop-culture virality, fame and its costs to the man born Nicolas Kim Coppola. Who else could play someone so ubiquitous in the collective consciousness that everyone knows him, has deep-seated feelings and opinions about him, and can't stop thinking about him? Albeit for different reasons, it as much a stroke of genius as enlisting Being John Malkovich's namesake. Dream Scenario wears its comparisons to Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys Story) and Charlie Kaufman's (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) masterpiece better than anything else between 1999 and now, other than their subsequent collaboration Adaptation — as starring none other than Cage — and the Kaufman-penned, Michel Gondry (Kidding)-helmed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. David Lynch (Cage's Wild at Heart director) and Ari Aster also come to mind while watching Borgli's film, which blends the surreal and satirical, and also spins a nightmare where dread paints every frame. Aster produces, lending a hand on a movie that pairs well with his own Beau Is Afraid, aka another flick where a schlubby, awkward and unhappy middle-aged man has his life upended in no small part thanks to his own anxiety. Dream Scenario isn't attempting to ape its predecessors, or Borgli's own Sick of Myself, another musing on celebrity, attention and the fact that almost everything about 21st-century existence has become a performance. Rather, the Norwegian filmmaker's latest plays like its title suggests: the product of slumbering while having all of the above swirling, twirling and dancing in your synapses — and with Cage always lurking, of course. The Renfield actor loiters as the bulk of Dream Scenario's characters get some shuteye, too, skulking on the edge of nocturnal reveries conjured up by their sleeping subconscious. But for the folks within Borgli's movie, they're sharing their headspace with an average biology professor that no one outside of his own university has initially heard of. Even then, his students and colleagues barely think twice about him. One former classmate-turned-fellow academic (Paula Boudreau, Take Me Back for Christmas) has ripped off his research for her book without worrying about any repercussions. When Dream Scenario opens inside the napping mind of Paul's teenage daughter Sophie (Lily Bird, The Northman), she's witnessing him sweep up leaves, then do nothing when items fall from the sky and she flies into the air. In a reaction that the feature makes plain would be shared by his other high-schooler daughter Hannah (Jessica Clement, Gen V), plus his wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), she believes it's strange enough to tell him about — and that it keeps recurring — but isn't losing sleep over why he's so passive. Cage plays Paul Matthews, who far more people than just one of his children is spotting when they close their peepers. Soon, it's harder to find someone who isn't dreaming about him among his pupils, acquaintances, exes, his city, America and globally. A past love (Marnie McPhail Diamond, Orphan Black: Echoes) pens an article about the phenomenon, which thrusts Paul to worldwide attention in everyone's waking hours as well. And there is attention, springing from the internet, the news, a lofty old pal (Dylan Baker, Hunters) who never normally invites him to his exclusive dinner parties, and social-media marketers Trent (Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) and Mary (Kate Berlant, The Other Two). With their assistant Molly (Dylan Gelula, Loot), the latter duo endeavour to capitalise upon Paul's yearning to get published by pitching Sprite campaigns and dangling Barack Obama's purported interest. The one largely non-plussed party: Janet, who isn't seeing him as she snoozes, but Paul tries to make wish that she was (and in a Stop Making Sense-style oversized suit). That Paul's pilfered work focuses on "antelligence", his term for creatures arranging themselves into communities, is a telling early detail in Dream Scenario. So is how much Janet's apathy about Paul suddenly being everywhere as the planet kips — pottering rather than engaging — differs from the general response. And, obviously, there's the entire gag about someone who stands out so scarcely when they're awake that they're only given any notice for being an overnight bystander who literally does nothing. As it digs into crowd behaviour, group think, herd reactions, psychological contagion and social conformity, Dream Scenario is rarely subtle, nor is Borgli trying to be. Eschewing nuance doesn't make the picture any less shrewd and playful, however, including when it starts embracing the blatant in the heartiest of ways after Paul's luck twists. First, his unwitting A Nightmare on Elm Street experience turns terrifying for those inflicted with the dream epidemic, making him an aggressor in their mind's eye. Then, getting to the detail that sparked the film's screenplay, he becomes the new poster child for cancel culture. In a world rightly obsessed with Cage across his 100-plus on-screen credits, no one has likely thought that overlooking the Leaving Las Vegas Oscar-winner — and Adaptation Oscar-nominee — would, should or could happen. That's another of Dream Scenario's stellar jokes, alongside evidence of why this wouldn't be the movie it is without him. No one can ever ignore Cage, especially in one of his finest comic performances as someone so regularly disregarded, then made an icon and later a pariah. In fact, his portrayal of Paul is so rich because he brings such empathy and complexity to a neurotic man who loses control over reality's sense of who he is and can't do anything about it. It's not hard to expect that the much-memed Cage might relate; naming an actor whose go-for-broke commitment is so feverishly stripped of its context by the online masses, making him famous for being Nic Cage over any one project or his talent, is impossible. Cage is visibly having fun as well, as is the entire movie around him. Borgli isn't skewering wokeness, supporting the cancelled or decrying the validity of society deeming some behaviours unacceptable; instead, he's parodying the irrationality of chasing validation through digital exposure and its spread, the narcissism that fuels that urge and beams just as brightly in internet compliance, and the commodification and performativeness of just about everything in 2020s-era life. As shot by Mandy cinematographer Ben Loeb, edited by the filmmaker himself and featuring Cage as a producer — he's that all-in — Dream Scenario is at its best when it's showing rather than telling, though. When its hallucinatory dream sequences prove eerie and unsettling in their mundanity and horrors alike, it draws its audience into a realm where anything can happen, yet the worst usually does in both routine and wild ways. That's when Dream Scenario is exactly what everyone should want in their heads — with Cage, naturally.
When a culinary figure branches out to a new city, one of two things tend to happen. They might take a concept and a name that's worked for them elsewhere, then expand it to another location. Or, they could conjure up something that's completely fresh that they haven't done before. If Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann pondered which path to take in Brisbane, "why not do both?" must've been the answer. Well-established Melbourne favourite Supernormal is on its way to the Queensland capital — but newcomer Bar Miette is already open. After revealing in 2022 that they were bringing their hospitality empire north with a Queensland outpost for Supernormal, McConnell and McGann announced in May 2024 that casual European-style haunt Bar Miette — a terrace cafe and a wine bar all in one, doing breakfast, lunch, cocktails, dinner and everything in-between — would beat it to launching. Supernormal Brisbane is now meant to open sometime before the middle of the year, after its sibling began welcoming in patrons to kick off July. Their shared Brissie address: 443 Queen Street in the River City CBD, perched between the Queen Street Mall and Howard Smith Wharves. While anyone who has visited Supernormal's OG site down south knows what's in store there — with the Brisbane outpost also plating up contemporary Australian dishes that also take inspiration from McConnell's time in both Hong Kong and Shanghai — Bar Miette is a new commodity. As McConnell explains, patrons can use it "as they wish and as the occasion dictates: for coffee and breakfast, lunch (early or late), snacks and dinner, a cocktail or a glass of wine". Letting customers enter via the riverside boardwalk as well as Queen Street, the location itself is a drawcard, hence the hospitality figure making the most of it by operating not one but two venues. Folks stopping by can enjoy views of the Brisbane River and the Story Bridge, with Bar Miette taking them in from street level, above Supernormal. On the menu seven days a week, from a range of dishes designed to hero local produce, are breakfast options such as tahini and cinnamon toasted granola, house-made spelt crumpets, croque monsieurs, a crispy bacon bap with gentleman's relish, and house-cured and -smoked trout to start off the morning. To wash all of the above down with, you can sip coffees, teas, tisanes, juices and sodas. Come lunch and dinner, anchovy gildas, raw Hervey Bay scallops, oysters and three types of caviar will start tempting your tastebuds. Or, dig into the marinated octopus with potato and aioli, wagyu bresaola, duck liver parfait, a mortadella stack on a milk bun, the charcuterie selection and crab mayonnaise on toast. And for dessert, créme caramel, affogatos, gelato and the cake of the day sit alongside four cheeses. If it's a cocktail that you're after, they join the lineup from 10am, starting with a bloody mary and milano fizz. The full range includes a signature martini, margarita frappé and tropical old fashioned among the highlights, as well as a number of aperitif picks, non-boozy concoctions, and five pages of wines from around Europe and Australia. Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of Sydney's ACME are on design duties for both Supernormal and Bar Miette, but are giving them each their own look and feel. For Bar Miette, that means skewing "classically European", McConnell explains. That said, the 86-seater — 16 at the curved bar, then 70 on the terrace — is also nodding to its place in Brisbane, gleaning inspiration from the city's Kangaroo Point and Howard Smith Wharves cliffs, and also the river. Find Bar Miette at 443 Queen Street, Brisbane from Monday, July 1, 2024 — open from 7am–10pm Monday–Friday and 8am–10pm Saturday–Sunday. For more information, head to the bar's website. Images: Josh Robenstone.
UPDATE, September 17, 2020: The Red Turtle is available to stream via SBS On Demand, Google Play and YouTube Movies. Amidst the swirling chaos of streaming waves and thunderous seas, a lone man struggles to survive. Clinging to the remnants of his wrecked vessel, he's almost enveloped by the sound, fury and force of the water, his status as a mere speck in the ocean never in doubt. When he washes up on a deserted island, he finds himself similarly dwarfed by his surroundings. Sand stretches as far as the eye can see, as the taunting tide laps at the coastline. Cavernous nooks and crannies appear inviting, yet also threaten to swallow him whole. The foliage bears fruit, but little comfort. Welcome to the detailed natural realm conjured up by Dutch-British illustrator-turned-animator Michael Dudok de Wit in his feature filmmaking debut, The Red Turtle. That his Cannes Un Certain Regard special jury prize-winning effort is a co-production with beloved Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli — their first-ever such collaboration, in fact — gives an indication of the beauty and intricacy on offer. However, as magical as the movie's hand-drawn sights appear, this is a tale designed to evoke a different kind of wonder: not for an adventurous, fantastical journey, but for the complicated splendour that springs from man's relationship with the world around him. So it is that the unnamed figure explores the space that has become his new home, before swiftly turning his attention to fashioning a raft to escape back to civilisation. Alas, each attempt is stymied, particularly when an enormous red turtle starts to interfere. It's this new companion that reveals another side of our hero's predicament, and prompts the film's elegant probing of the nature of human existence — though the specifics are best discovered by watching. Part of The Red Turtle's potency comes from its simplicity, although it is far from a simple film. Instead, it's a feature that embraces conflict and contrast, and finds vast depth in defying expectations. It's largely dialogue-free, yet rages with noise and swells with the sounds of composer Laurent Perez Del Mar's gentle score. Though focused on one man's plight, its eye-catching imagery hones in on the texture of every scurrying crab, splash of water and blade of grass around him — and never fails to stress its protagonist's place in the world. While brief at 80 minutes, it fills every second and frame with emotion. Similar stranded situations have graced cinema screens before. Tom Hanks conversed with a volleyball in Castaway, while Paul Dano bonded with the corpse of Daniel Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man earlier this year. With that in mind, The Red Turtle proves enchanting not because it's novel, but because it's rich, dense, and delicately devastating in its examination of the parts of life that truly matter. Take a chance, and let this beautiful film sweep you away.
UPDATE: June 18, 2020: Spider-Man: Far From Home is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Here's the great thing about the recent batch of Spider-Man movies: they are, like their protagonist, smaller, friendlier and far more humble than their superhero contemporaries. Crucially, they're about a teenage boy firs, and superhero stuff second, which not only keeps them grounded in about as much reality as films of this genre can hope for, but also provides for an endless source of conflict as the two themes inevitably clash. The extreme version of that incompatibility was explored in the original (Tobey McGuire) franchise, with Spidey declaring he was "Spider Man no more". Far From Home takes one step back from that level of angst, compelling Tom Holland's character not to retire the suit but leave it hanging in the closest while he goes on a European field trip with his classmates. Fair enough, too, since he and the other Avengers did just save the universe from annihilation. Who are we to begrudge him a little down time? Of course, the aftermath of the recent Avengers films (especially the 'snap') lingers long in the memories of everyone on earth, both for those who never left, and those who became dust and then returned. That divide is given a neat comedic angle in Far From Home, too, by virtue of some of Peter Parker's classmates now being five years older and more mature — which proves especially problematic in the case of Australian actor Remy Hii who emerges as a handsome rival for Peter's romantic crush, MJ (Zendaya). For Peter, though, the impact of the Endgame conflict vests squarely in the loss of his friend, mentor and father-figure, Tony Stark. To make matters worse, not only does he have to grapple with that loss in virtual secret solitude, he's also constantly being asked whether he is to be Tony's heir-apparent in replacing Iron Man as the lead Avenger. A Venetian/Parisian holiday alongside MJ and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) looks to be the perfect way to leave all these worries behind for a while. That is until world-destroying monsters rear their giant heads and imperil his friends and strangers alike. This time, however, Spidey isn't alone. A mysterious new hero with remarkable powers emerges in the form of Mysterio, played by a terrific Jake Gyllenhaal. Mysterio and Peter seem like kindred spirits, blessed as they are with extreme intelligence, reluctant heroism and sensitive souls. As with the previous Spidey movies, and indeed the MCU at large, it's these intimate, quiet connections that continue to drive this universe forward far more so than the bombast of the battles and special effects wizardry. Which isn't to say there aren't still some phenomenal effects in Far From Home, including an intensely trippy, mind-bending sequence that comfortably rivals its equivalent in Dr Strange. Holland remains the perfect casting for Peter Parker: baby-faced and eminently likable, he absolutely captures the sweaty awkwardness of a teenage crush absent the confidence to actually act upon it. Zendaya, too, gets much more screen time in Far From Home, and immediately proves she's worthy of it with a witty, nuanced and really quite tender performance. Some old hands also return to bolster the supporting cast list, including Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and the man who started this whole thing off back with the original Iron Man, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). Their presence, along with the constant allusions to Tony Stark, remind us that this is still an MCU movie, but never so much that it loses its distinct and unique feel. Its "Spidey sense", if you will. Overall, Far From Home isn't quite as polished as Homecoming, nor as resonant as Endgame. But it makes up for it in humour and heart, serving as both a fitting end to Marvel's Phase 3 and a launch pad for the new era to come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt9L1jCKGnE
If drinking spritzes is your favourite way to sip — and basking in stunning river views is your favourite way to spend an afternoon, too — then a waterside date filled with drinks by Brisbane's ol' brown snake should definitely be in your future. That's all on the agenda at Customs House, which is celebrating the warmer weather by turning its terrace into a Chandon-pouring pop-up garden. It's the Queen Street venue's latest seasonal makeover, and it comes complete with greenery aplenty (and pops of orange as well) for you and your mates to hang out in — while peering at the river and knocking back a range of beverages, of course. The drinks list will hero the Chandon garden spritz, which combines Chandon's sparkling wine with orange bitters; however, there'll also be French, Italian and Australian vino, plus margaritas and espresso martinis. Open Thursdays–Sundays weekly until Thursday, October 27 — from 4pm on Thursdays and Fridays and 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays — the pop-up is also serving up a selection of bites to line your stomach. Customs House's beloved Moreton Bay bug croissant is back, this time featuring citrus-poached bug. Or, there's caviar with blini and crème fraiche; salmon gravlax with blood orange, smoked sour cream and chive oil; and fromage croquettes with pickled walnut and rosemary aioli.
Next time you slurp down some oysters, you needn't solely opt for natural molluscs served with lemon and Tabasco. There's nothing wrong with that old favourite; however, it has company among the oyster dishes at One Fish Two Fish's returning Oyster Frenzy. Between Wednesday, January 25–Sunday, January 29, the Kangaroo Point eatery is serving up a six-course oyster feast, taking seafood lovers through six different flavours. Start with the tried, tested and aforementioned combination, then move onto oysters with barbecue mornay and pancetta, served with tarragon and garlic butter gratin, and paired with native pepper berry and oak-aged chardonnay mignonette. You'll also be snacking on a three-cheese variety — think gorgonzola, asiago and grana padano — plus oysters with limoncello and finger lime caviar. In total, you'll slurp your way through 18 oysters all up — three per dish — for $95 per person. Because oysters are always popular, bookings are essential — with Oyster Frenzy running sittings at 6.30pm daily for dinner, and 1.30pm lunch sittings on Saturday and Sunday.
The latest addition to the ‘rom-con’ genre by writer/director duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid Love), Focus is a surprisingly enjoyable film in spite of its flaws. With the audience guided early on by the Grifter’s Mantra — "Never break focus. Die with the lie." — it’s one where you’re persistently trying to anticipate the next twist and deconstruct every line to reveal its true meaning, only to find yourself constantly (and refreshingly) wrong. Fronting the film is Will Smith in a role that at last plays to his strengths of charm and wit rather than the physical kind (like so many of his recent, ill-conceived outings). Smith plays Nicky, a lifelong conman at the top of his game who one night finds himself the target of the aspiring but guileless gonif Jess (Margot Robbie). Sensing her potential, however, Nicky shows Jess the ropes and invites her to join his crew in New Orleans as they take on the unsuspecting hordes during Superbowl week. From then on, Focus buffets you with twists, deceptions and double-crosses with such marked regularity that you’re never quite sure where you stand. Key to its appeal is the chemistry between Smith and Robbie, simmering deliciously back and forth between master and apprentice, lover and temptress. Robbie’s sex appeal is undeniable, but here — unlike in The Wolf of Wall Street — it’s treated as a playful trait rather than her raison d’etre, even going so far as to make her character spectacularly bad at the art of seduction. It’s a refreshing angle and one that allows Robbie to showcase her genuine acting chops. Solid performances from Smith and Robbie notwithstanding, it’s the secondary characters, however, who ultimately prove the scene stealers (or should that be grifters?). Rodrigo Santoro (Love Actually) makes for a convincing billionaire playboy come Formula 1 team owner, BD Wong is almost unrecognisable as a cashed-up gambler with a near-sexual response to wagers, and Adrian Martinez delivers a laugh a line as Smith’s long-time accomplice ‘Farhad'. The highlight, though, is Gerald McRaney (House of Cards) in a role that very much channels his iconic Major Dad character from the early '90s. Playing Santoro's interminably suspicious bodyguard, he at one point delivers a sublime rant on today’s youth, covering off everything from lazy Sundays to panini and — best of all — “Sarcasm: another pillar of your generation. If you don’t like somebody’s jacket, don’t say ‘Hey nice jacket’, say ‘Fuck off’”. Overall, Focus might not match the sophistication of Ocean’s Eleven or the passion of The Thomas Crown Affair, but it’s an enjoyable enough distraction whose only real major letdown is an unnecessarily twisty ending.
After bringing Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley back to the big screen for the first five films, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra is giving the sixth film in the wizarding franchise the same movie-and-music showcase in 2023. On Saturday, February 25, across two sessions at 1.30pm and 7.30pm, the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre will come to life with the sights and sounds of the Burrow, potions classes, quidditch matches and the funeral of one beloved character — because the boy-who-lived and his pals are never far away from a theatre, or a concert hall. This time around, viewers can expect something a little different. While the event will run as usual, it's the score itself that'll stand out. After doing the honours on the first three HP flicks, veteran composer John Williams stood aside, with two-time Oscar nominee Patrick Doyle (Hamlet, Sense and Sensibility) in charge of the fourth, and Nicholas Hooper whipping up wondrous wizarding soundtracks for the final three. Hooper's score for the Half-Blood Prince is the highest-charting of all six films' soundtracks. If you're keen to accio some tickets, they go on sale on Wednesday, July 27.
One king. Six wives. Centuries of folks being fascinated with the regal story. Throw in pop songs as well, and that's the smash-hit SIX the Musical formula, as Australian audiences discovered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 — and can again in Brisbane from Thursday, January 2, 2025 at QPAC Playhouse. If you've ever needed proof that some stories never get old, the ongoing obsession with Britain's royal history provides plenty. In IRL, it's relentless. On screens and stages, a slice of regal intrigue is regularly awaiting our viewing, too, interpreting and remixing the past in the process. The Crown might've taken ample artistic license with reality, but it's got nothing on the empowering pop-scored twist on the 16th century that's been wowing audiences in SIX the Musical. This theatre sensation gleans a few cues from well-known history, adds toe-tapping tunes and makes stage magic. If you think that you know the stories of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr, then you probably do — even those with little interest in Britain's past kings and queens are likely aware that Henry VIII had six wives — but SIX the Musical's version isn't about telling the same old tale. First premiering back at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, then jumping to London's West End — and winning Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Costume Design, plus a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album, along the way — SIX the Musical gleans inspiration from one of the most famous sextets there's ever been. It also finds its own angle despite how popular the Tudor monarch's love life has been in pop culture. So, move over 00s TV series The Tudors and 2008 movie The Other Boleyn Girl — and this one takes the pop part rather seriously. SIX the Musical is presented as a pop concert, in fact, with the Catherines, Annes and Jane all taking to the microphone to tell their stories. Each woman's aim: to stake their claim as the wife who suffered the most at the king's hands, and to become the group's lead singer as a result. Images: James D Morgan, Getty Images.
Fancy getting an early start on a big citywide festival? And, while you're at it, celebrating Vietnamese Lunar New Year? Before BrisAsia Festival takes over Brisbane for the first three weeks of February, filling as much of this town of ours with as many events as it can — as it does every year — it's marking the changing of the lunar calendar at the Hội chợ Tết 2023 Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival. Your destination: Richlands. Running from 5.30–10pm on both Friday, January 13–Saturday, January 14, this LNY celebration is organised by the Queensland Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, takes place at CJ Greenfield Complex Park, and includes food stalls, lion dances, music performances and a traditional costume parade. Drop by for Vietnamese cuisine aplenty, arts showcases and possibly even learning a new skill — calligraphy is on the lineup, too. Also on offer: firecrackers, a martial arts performance, and an official festival photo booth to snap some memories while you're there.
It's lucky that Chris Pine is so likeable in Wonder Woman 1984, or the scene where his character wanders around in the titular year and marvels slack-jawed at the advancements of the period would be unbearably cheesy. It's still cheesy, and inescapably so. He's wearing a bumbag, so it has to be. But, it's also engagingly performed. The look on his face: wonder. The A Wrinkle In Time star once again plays American pilot Steve Trevor, who was last seen in 1918 in Wonder Woman. He's now a man thrust far beyond his own time, and he has much to marvel at. But this sequence also acts as a stark reminder, sending a message to the audience about the film they're watching. No matter how much returning director Patty Jenkins and the powers-that-be behind the DC Extended Universe hope that Wonder Woman 1984's viewers share the same expression — and how much they believe that simply making a sequel to their 2017 blockbuster is enough to cause it — the movie doesn't earn much more than a resigned sigh. When it hit cinemas three years ago, the first movie about Princess Diana of Themyscira — also known as Diana Prince — stood out. Even though the DCEU started five years after the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC bested its rival by focusing on a female character in its fourth film (for Marvel, it took 21 pictures, only achieving the feat with 2019's Captain Marvel). DC didn't waste its opportunity, either. Wonder Woman isn't a mere cookie-cutter superhero flick, just focusing on a character of a different gender. It champions understanding and emotional intelligence, handles its engaging origin story with sincerity and warmth, and unfurls an adventure where both strength and vulnerability exist in tandem. It also relays a fulfilling tale; a sequel was inevitable, but the initial feature didn't just whet the audience's appetite for the next, plus all the other caped crusader films certain to follow. In other words, Wonder Woman bakes the traits that make its eponymous figure something special into its story and approach, and is all the better for it. In contrast, Wonder Woman 1984 has Diana (Gal Gadot, Justice League) tell everyone again and again that being truthful is far more important than anything else — after an opening scene set among her matriarchal society of Amazons, where she learns the lesson as a girl (Lilly Aspell, Holmes & Watson) during a high-stakes competition against older women. And, with the brightly hued film arriving after a year almost starved of franchise-related comic book tales (other than the pre-pandemic opening of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and the long-delayed release of The New Mutants), this sequel has also decided that more is more in the easiest of fashions. Wonder Woman 1984 doesn't spin the most complicated story, but it's so repetitive and meandering across its 151-minute running time that it's needlessly bulky, muddled and weighed down. A few notable scenes aside, its glossily shot action sequences share the same dragged-out, overblown sensation. Jumping forward almost seven decades within the Wonder Woman films' timeline, Diana has taken up an anthropologist job at the Smithsonian, and turned swinging through malls on her Lasso of Truth to fight crime into her side hustle. But then insecure archaeologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) starts working beside her, gets tasked with assessing a mysterious gem, and lets Donald Trump-esque infomercial salesman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) take the strange object home with him. It's no ordinary rock, however. It grants wishes, so Maxwell wants to take advantage of that power — and, unknowingly, both Diana and Barbara have already uttered their dreams aloud while holding the stone. These fantasies come at a cost, of course, even before Maxwell uses his to try to take over the world. Yes, in the script penned by Jenkins, Geoff Johns (Aquaman) and Dave Callaham (Zombieland: Double Tap), a magic rock drives the plot — and the aforementioned, overstressed idea that truth triumphs over all, too. Accordingly, it's no wonder (pun intended) that Wonder Woman 1984 feels padded out. And, with Steve's return, Maxwell's hunger for domination and Barbara's transformation into comic book character Cheetah all demanding attention, it's little surprise that Wonder Woman herself is rarely the main attraction. The film misses her, even though she's supposed to be its protagonist. Perhaps that's why the movie opts for spouting the same maxim over and over, instead of sharing her characteristics. It's harder to make a feature that reflects its chief figure when that ostensible point of focus is so often pushed aside. It's far easier to stick to a broad template, stretch it out and assume everyone will just be pleased that Wonder Woman is back in a movie that bears her name. Wonder Woman 1984 also shares Captain Marvel's struggle, because it's so generic that it doesn't ever do its central character justice — or do much more than deliver a paint-by-numbers tale set in a decades-ago era with a woman as its primary superhero. Perhaps serving up lacklustre, formulaic flicks about male and female caped crusaders alike is Hollywood's idea of equality? Viewers are always left wanting more here, because Gadot demands it. She's immensely charming and graceful as the warrior queen — radiating empathy and decency with an earthiness that should clash with Wonder Woman's shining armour and golden tiara, but doesn't — and navigates tightly choreographed stunts as deftly as big emotional moments. She's nicely paired with both Pine and Wiig, the latter first as a friend and later an adversary, but Gadot sparks her own wonder. Wonder Woman 1984 certainly knows how to trot out well-worn beats packaged as part-upbeat heroism, part-social satire, but it just doesn't realise where its true strengths reside often enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW2E2Fnh52w
Not content with opening its first-ever Down Under venue in Brisbane back in 2019, which also doubles as its Australian base, Scottish craft beer behemoth BrewDog is now going one better. Come 12pm on Friday, November 11, the booze-loving company will also launch its second Aussie spot in the Sunshine State capital — courtesy of a three-level beer bar in Fortitude Valley. The brand's OG Murarrie location in Brisbane's east was always meant to be its debut step on the path to more Aussie outposts; however, we all know what's gotten in the way since then. Now, BrewDog is going full steam ahead on its expansion plans, including teaming up with Australian Venue Co to set up bars around the country, with sites on the way in Melbourne and Sydney. But welcoming beer lovers into its second Brissie venue is happening first. As initially revealed midyear, Brisbanites keen on a BrewDog beer in a BrewDog bar will now be able to pick between two locations. That said, BrewDog's Head of Australian Operations Calvin McDonald doesn't expect that it'll be a difficult choice. He loves the OG Brissie venue and is excited about the new Valley watering hole — but he also thinks that the Murarrie spot will continue to draw in eastsiders, while the new Brunswick Street digs will appeal to everyone else. Folks keen on checking on BrewDog's Valley home will find it in the heritage-listed Tranberg House building across the road from the Valley Metro complex, nestling into all three levels, all with their own bars pouring brews from 20 taps each. On the entry level — from Brunswick Street — beer lovers will find a space that caters to 115–120 people, while the big drawcard is the beer hall-style lower-ground floor that'll fit around 120 folks as well. Then, up on the top storey, patrons will find two six-metre-long shuffleboard tables, as well as a space that'll be able to be used for functions. Brews and food-wise, BrewDog will keep doing what its doing — pouring its own beers, celebrating other local brewers, and sticking with a pub grub-heavy menu that spans pizzas, burgers, vegan eats and the like. That includes serving up a 50-percent plant-based culinary lineup, complete with two-four-one vegan meals on Mondays, and doing $25 all-you-can-eat wings on Wednesdays. Also, to mark the Fortitude Valley bar's opening, BrewDog is also giving the first 200 customers through the doors from 12pm on launch day the chance to win a year's worth of beer. If a new bar wasn't reason enough to say cheers, surely that is. Find BrewDog Fortitude Valley at Tranberg House, 235 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, from 12pm on Friday, November 11 — open afterwards from 11am–12am Thursday–Saturday and 11am–10pm Sunday–Wednesday. Images: Markus Ravik.
There's only one place in Brisbane that serves Mac Daddy burgers filled with mac 'n' cheese. Well, three if you count Miss Kay's different stores in the CBD, Mitchelton and Woolloongabba. Whether the Kris Kross joke came first, or the idea for a macaroni and dairy-filled burg, we don't care — when you're going to put cheesy pasta between two slices of bread, no one does. The pop culture-themed, American-style diner's concoction also features a beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, sweet barbecue sauce, mayo and fries; however jump jumping for its other ingredient is understandable. Cheese lovers can also enjoy a poutine burg with haloumi, or a good ol' fashioned cheeseburger of the single or double variety.
UPDATE, April 24, 2021: Parasite is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. When writer-director Bong Joon-ho lets two families roam around and unleash their best and worst in an opulent South Korean mansion, he couldn't have placed them in a better spot. The kind of house that anyone would dream of living in, Parasite's main setting is a multi-storey playground filled with wide-open spaces, gleaming surfaces and modernist decor, all opening out onto a grassy, leafy backyard. A real estate agent's fantasy as well, this not-so-humble abode is the bricks-and-mortar pinnacle of success and wealth. As created by production designer Lee Ha-jun to meet Bong's specific vision (a real house that matched the filmmaker's needs simply didn't exist), the labyrinthine structure is a puzzle box, too. Within its walls, mysteries linger. Here, anything and everything could happen. Parasite proves exceptional in every single frame and detail that it flicks onto the screen — but the way that this sprawling central home encapsulates the movie's very essence is a towering feat. Already lauded and applauded, not to mention awarded the top prizes at both the Cannes and Sydney film festivals, Parasite isn't short on achievements. Internationally renowned and beloved as the auteur behind The Host, Snowpiercer and Okja, Bong has crafted a bleak, twisty blend of black tragi-comedy, pulsating thrills and socially relevant horror — a movie that's such a phenomenal example of all that cinema can and should be that you'll want to high-five the filmmaker after watching it. Parasite possesses a pitch-perfect cast of both veteran and up-and-coming actors, all playing their parts with devastating precision. It's scripted, with Okja assistant director turned first-time co-writer Han Jin-won, to tease, mesmerise, infuriate, satirise and amuse in equal measures. And its look and pace, courtesy of the finessed work of cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (Bong's Mother) and editor Yang Jin-mo (Bong's Okja), is as polished and probing as its all-important setting. When viewers first meet Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), his wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), and their young but grown-up children Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Ki-jung (Park So-dam), they're dwelling in a damp, cockroach-infested basement apartment. They're also all out of work. Piggybacking whichever unlocked wi-fi network they can find keeps them going — and, when the streets outside are being fumigated, the family isn't opposed to keeping the windows open to take advantage of the free pest control (health consequences be damned). Combined, their only regular source of income comes from folding pizza boxes, with zero other prospects on the horizon. Then Ki-woo's former classmate Min (Park Seo-joon) asks if he'll fill in at a lucrative private tutoring gig. While Ki-woo doesn't have the requisite university degree such a position usually needs, it's easy to manufacture thanks to Ki-jung's impressive photoshop skills. Taking plenty of cues from this early bit of subterfuge, Parasite could be dubbed the ultimate 'fake it till you make it' movie. Stepping foot inside the film's main setting, Ki-Woo wows not only his new, quickly love-struck teenage pupil Da-hye (Jung Ziso), but her flighty mother Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) too. He's soon part of the household, which also includes tech entrepreneur patriarch Park (Lee Sun-kyun), pre-adolescent son Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun) and their housekeeper (Lee Jeong-eun). With Ki-woo eager to bring his own family into this rich, luxurious orbit, an underhanded plan emerges. Without spoiling any specifics from this narrative juncture onwards, Bong was inspired to write Parasite after spotting a smudge on his pants. This intriguing tidbit gives very little away, although corrupting an otherwise pristine environment — and pondering whether a splatter of disarray makes supposed perfection and privilege better or worse — is the film's thematic stomping ground. The movie's lush locale draws viewers in, all so that it can shatter the allure. Slippery performances, with seemingly clear-cut characters becoming anything but, do the same. So too does Bong and his crew's exacting craftsmanship, which keeps audiences both immersed and guessing. Add shifting tones and changing genres to the fold as well, because evolution and elusiveness are among the movie's most crucial tools. Indeed, from sets and actors to framing and mood, every element of Parasite is weaponised. More than that, it's all calibrated and wielded for maximum impact. This isn't just a killer picture on all of the standard levels, however. Contemplating society's growing class collisions and inequities, Parasite also makes a killer statement. It shouldn't escape attention that three of the past year's absolute best and most astute works, all from South Korean or Japanese filmmakers, have taken aim at the increasing gap between the haves and the have nots. Or, looking to America as well, that one of 2019's great horror releases plays in the same terrain while also bringing race into the equation. Parasite shares its grifting, struggling family with Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters, its tonal flips and wiliness with Lee Chang-dong's Burning, and its malevolent tone with Jordan Peele's Us, adding to a blossoming field of urgent, intense and diverse cinema that interrogates the societal status quo with a rightfully scathing eye. That said, there's no mistaking Bong's dark, devious and delightful thriller for any other film — or for anything but a hands-down masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0KJAzyUJc
Timing is everything in Where the Crawdads Sing, the murder-mystery melodrama set in America's Deep South that raced up bestseller lists in 2018, and now reaches cinemas a mere four years later. Its entire narrative hinges upon a simple question: did North Carolina outcast and recluse Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fresh), cruelly nicknamed "the marsh girl" by locals, have time to speed home from an out-of-town stay to push star quarterback Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson, The King's Man) from a fire tower, then resume her trip without anyone noticing? On the page, that query helped propel Delia Owens' literary sensation to success, to Reese Witherspoon's book club — she's a producer here — and to a swift film adaptation. But no timing would likely have ever been right for the movie's release, given that Owens and her husband are wanted for questioning in a real-life murder case in Zambia. Unlike the film, those off-screen details aren't new, but they were always bound to attract attention again as soon as this feature arrived. One of the reasons they're inescapable: the purposeful parallels between Owens' debut novel and her existence. Like Kya, Owens is a naturalist. The also southern-born author spent years preferring the company of plants and animals, crusading for conservation causes in Africa. Where the Crawdads Sing is timed to coincide with Owens' own life as well; it's set in the 50s and 60s and, as a child (played by Jojo Regina, The Chosen) and a teenager, Kya is around the same age that Owens would've been then. Another reason that the ways that art might link with reality can't be shaken, lingering like a sultry, squelchy day: what ends up on-screen is as poised, pristine and polished as a swampy southern gothic tale can be, and anyone in one. There's still a scandal, but forget dirt, sweat and anything but lush, vivid wilderness, plus a rustic hut that wouldn't look out of place on Airbnb. That Instagram-friendly aesthetic comes courtesy of filmmaker Olivia Newman (First Match), who helms a visually enticing movie — again, incongruously so given the story it unfurls and the location it dwells in — that's as typical as a murder-mystery meets coming-of-age tale meets southern romance can be. The film starts with Chase's body, the investigation that springs and the certainty around the insular small town of Barkley Cove that the supposedly feral and uncivilised marsh girl is responsible. Evidence is thin, but bigotry runs deep against someone who grew up with an abusive father (Garret Dillahunt, Ambulance), was left behind by her other family members and spent the bulk of her years fending for herself in poverty. That said, as in Owens' source material, that's just the framework. On the screen, though, Where the Crawdads Sing's dive into Kya's life feels like it's also been adapted from Nicholas Sparks' pages. Most of Barkley Cove has always shunned Kya, other than generous store owners Jumpin' (Sterling Macer Jr, House of Lies) and Mabel (Michael Hyatt, The Little Things), who she sells mussels to — the feature's only Black characters, who are woefully only used to stress how callous the rest of the town proves, rather than to even dream of digging into matters of race in America's south as the civil rights movement started to gather steam. Also kindly, taking on her defence, is her Atticus Finch-esque local lawyer Tom Milton (David Strathairn, Nightmare Alley). But romance still blossoms not once but twice for Kya, first with the doting, poetry-reading Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith, Blacklight), and then with arrogant rich kid Chase. That's where Newman's film prefers to reside, charting the ups and downs of Kya's affairs of the heart. That's why the movie appears so immaculate that it shimmers with a marsh-chic gleam as well. Smooching in the swamp replaces The Notebook-style kissing in the rain here. Skimming the surface replaces fleshing out what makes Kya tick, what her surroundings truly mean to her, and humanity's complex ties to nature. Kya is the strongest part of Where the Crawdads Sing, but the film makes everything about and around her so by the numbers. Taken from the book, sometimes-evocative turns of phrase litter Lucy Alibar's (Beasts of the Southern Wild) script, endeavouring to conjure up a rich atmosphere and bring Kya's inner feelings to life, including her love for the bayou. They're always far too neat, however, like everything within view. And as impressive as Edgar-Jones is as an actor (see also: fellow page-to-screen hit Normal People), it's impossible to reconcile Where the Crawdads Sing's careful words and dreamy vision of marsh life — such as the way its star is styled — with what the film tells rather than shows about its central character. Kya's kinship with the wetlands is stressed over and over, of course. Where the Crawdads Sing rarely misses an opportunity to mention it. The audience is informed that it's where she feels safe and at home, and learns to be herself — and also provides the inspiration behind her career as an illustrator, cataloguing the creatures that only live in the kind of thick bushland described in the movie's title. But viewers are still stuck doing exactly what the picture rallies against in its narrative: believing their eyes and taking appearances at face value. The only alternative is sketching in minutiae and texture that just isn't in the film — that is, bringing what's present in the book to this version of the story, including what Newman and Alibar left out, then combining the two in your head. That's not how turning novels into movies should work; they're standalone pieces of art, not visual companions. It doesn't fit the tale being told — one that includes child abandonment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and both societal and legal prejudices — but the movie's backdrop does always look stunning, as lensed with the golden glow of a tourism commercial by cinematographer Polly Morgan (A Quiet Place Part II). That's Where the Crawdads Sing, though: pretty rather than profound, meaningfully complicated or substantial. Dickinson and Smith's plights also sum up the film perfectly. While the always-welcome and ever-reliable Strathairn puts in a fine performance that's largely defined by rousing speeches, both Dickinson and Smith do exactly what's asked of them without being given much room to play anything but stock roles. That's Where the Crawdads Sing at its very best, too: always utterly standard. That said, although never visibly or emotionally, it's usually far muddier than that.
Saying goodbye to your pet as you leave for work in the morning has to be among life's most devastating moments. The look on their little face as you hurry to lock the door? Utterly soul-destroying. Nothing makes you feel more like a negligent puppy parent than the sound of their tiny, dejected footsteps as you walk away from the door. But this is a happy story, we promise. Because at the end of every working week comes two whole blissful days where you get to squeeze in maximum hang-time with your furry bud. While you may have a sweet little routine down pat (park, beach, car ride, rinse and repeat), there might be some weekend occasions where you want to bring your pupper along to some two-legged celebrations. Our friends at American Express know that you have no shame in your crazy dog-person game. Your fur baby may not share your DNA, but you love that crazy hound as if it were your own. We've put our noses to the ground and sniffed out Brisbane's best American Express-accepting, dog-loving venues. Because your pooch needs to know that he is a very, very good boy. Got yourself in another dining situation and need some guidance? Whatever it is, we know a place. Visit The Shortlist and we'll sort you out.
Since 2019 in Brisbane, a trip to Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq has meant stepping inside a circus-themed arcade bar that's primed for kidulting. And, that's still the case; however, once a month from May until November, the chain is ramping its core concepts of circus, arcade fun and nostalgic activities for adults up a few levels. Run by Funlab, the group also responsible for Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and B. Lucky & Sons, Archie Brothers is kicking off a new Showtime event series. After launching on Saturday, May 8 in Toombul, it'll take place on the second Saturday of each month, turning the venue into an adults-only circus and cocktail pop-up. From 7–10pm each month, attendees can expect stilt walkers, magicians, burlesque and beverages — and tarot card readings, face painting, unicycling, acrobatics, diabolo and balloon modelling as well. The carousel-themed Archie Brothers bar will be pouring Showtime Disco Mirror Ball cocktails, which combine Red Bull, passionfruit, cranberry juice, triple sec, whiskey and lime, while the rest of the chain's usual drinks list will be on offer, too. Food-wise, the theme park and American diner-inspired menu will span sandwiches, pizzas, sliders, onion rings, mac and cheese and other dishes. And, all of Archie Brothers' usual games and activities will be on the agenda, as will prizes. So, you'll be whipping out your Mario Kart skills, hitting the dodgems, bowling and just generally mashing buttons in May, and again come June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9 and November 13. Then, you'll be trading all the tickets you amass for gaming consoles, 90s paraphernalia and more (and there won't be any kids around vying for the same goodies). Images: Zennieshia Butts.
Yeronga's newest eatery clearly loves its location. Why else would it reference its distance and direction from the CBD in its name? And line one of its walls with shelves made from salvaged timber, offering a reminder of the area's flooded past? Yes, there's no escaping the distinctive local flavour at Seven South, though that's not all that the latest venture from former Home Cafe owners Gavin and Kylie Bartholomew champions. All-day offerings that give traditional dishes a tasty twist are the highlights of the Hyde Road restaurant's menu. Take their hot cakes for example, which come bursting lemon thyme, blueberry and ricotta, and topped with creme fraiche and pistachio praline. Or their fishcakes for lunch, of the smoked salmon variety. You'll find meals that don't feature the word "cake" in their description, of course, such as smokey bourbon and maple glazed beef ribs. Plus, Seven South is dog-friendly — because you can't open a new neighbourhood hangout without welcoming pet pooches, too.
If you've been making plans to revamp your style, but haven't been able to rustle up the coin or are sick of online shopping, here's your chance. Hugo Boss is hosting a mega sale at its outlet stores. You'll be able to score a further 50 percent off menswear, womenswear, footwear and accessories. Whether you're after a suit for a special occasion or looking to level up your work wardrobe, Hugo Boss's mid-year outlet sale will have you sorted for a fraction of the fashion label's usual prices. You'll have to get in quick to score a bargain though, with the sale running from Wednesday, July 7 until Sunday, July 11 (or until stocks last). To get stylish new threads, Melbourne mates can head to the Preston Boss outlet (Friday–Sunday only) or Essendon DFO, Perth pals to Perth DFO and Gold Coast friends to Harbour Town. The Hugo Boss mid-year outlet sale will run from Wednesday, July 7 till Sunday, July 11, or until stocks last. To find your closest outlet, visit the website.
The merriest time of the year is here, and getting festive is on everyone's agenda — and every market's around town, too. But only one will have Francophiles delighting: Le Festival's French Christmas Market, which returns for its second year after its 2021 debut. Running across Saturday, November 19–Sunday, November 20, this two-day affair will get you eating, drinking, shopping and feeling Gallic at West End's West Village. Think of it as Brisbane's usual midyear Le Festival but smaller — and filled with season's greetings. Red, white and blue lights will set the jolly tone, market stalls will sell all manner of French-inspired wares, and there'll be a French bar, too, because all that browsing and buying is thirsty work. Basically, it's the next best thing to heading to France for Christmas (all without the cost of an airfare). Images: Ange Costes
It's just been named one of the best places in the world to visit in 2022, and it's about to give you another reason to stop by. That'd be southeast Queensland's Scenic Rim region, which will play host to the state's newest music event early next year: The Long Sunset. On Saturday, February 12, the music and camping festival will sprawl across Elysian Fields in Canungra — and it'll make the most of its almost 500-acre location. Listening to live tunes may be the main drawcard, as well as bunking down for the night afterwards, but this fest will also fill its sprawling venue with other highlights. Think: cocktail bars, pop-up art galleries celebrating local artists and artisans, and a range of homegrown food highlights. The full event rundown hasn't been revealed as yet, but one key thing has been announced: The Long Sunset's headliners. Angus and Julia Stone will do their first Queensland gig together since 2018, with Brisbane's own Ball Park Music also taking to the stage. Fellow locals Hatchie and Byron Bay's Babe Rainbow are on the bill as well, and more acts are set to be announced. The fest will be an all-ages affair — organisers have used the word "wholesome" to describe it — and it's also aiming to entice visitors to check out the rest of the Scenic Rim while they're there. Combining live music with seeing Queensland's sights was the aim of this year's Queensland Music Trails, too — and The Long Sunset hails from the same team. In fact, it's aimed that the new fest will become an annual event, and form part of the Queensland Music Trails in years to come. And yes, as the name suggests, you can expect quite the dazzling display as day turns to night — with sunset at Elysian Fields seeing beams of light flicker over from the region's surrounding mountain ranges. The Long Sunset will take over Elysian Fields in Canungra, in the Scenic Rim, on Saturday, February 12. Ticket pre-sales will be available from 8am on Monday, November 8, before general sales start at 9am on Tuesday, November 9.
No, this isn’t just the easy option — although it might be the cheapest. Watching fireworks is a New Year’s Eve tradition, and they’re much better seen in person than on television. Brisbane’s annual display at South Bank is up there with the best, but if braving the crowds rushing for the 8.30pm and midnight pyrotechnics isn’t your thing, why not make a day of it by packing a tasty picnic and staking our your ideal spot along the river? Or venture out a little bit further to seek out a few lofty peaks to peer down on the action. Mt Coot-tha, Highgate Hill, Coorparoo and Kangaroo Point also offer great vantage points.
UPDATE, September 16, 2022: Sweet As - Brisbane Dessert Festival has now been postponed again until Sunday, September 17, 2023. This article has been updated to reflect that change. Most food festivals offer a variety of dishes, ranging from snacks and treats to entrees and mains. Sweet As, Brisbane's returning dessert fest, will too — as long as you're fine with meringues, marshmallows and macarons as appetisers, cakes and doughnuts for a hearty meal, and ice cream, sorbet, gelato and dessert cocktails to wrap it all up. That's just our suggested order. With all of the above usually on offer — plus everything from brownies and waffles to cheese and chocolate — there's no right or wrong way to work your way through the menu. All of the treats will be served up by a range of the city's best dessert-makers, with The World Food Markets overseeing the event. And while Brisbane is no stranger to sweet-filled festivals, it really is a situation where the more, the merrier applies. With the festival running from 10am–5pm on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at Musgrave Park, that means dessert is on the menu for a late brunch, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea — and if you opt for to stick around for a few of those meals, there'll be no judgement. For those with dietary requirements, there'll be lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free and vegan options across the board as well. Yep, that truly is sweet as. Also on offer: non-sugary street food, pop-up bars, cooking demonstrations and live entertainment. Tickets aren't on sale yet, but you can currently register to be notified when they become available.
Is buying vinyl is part of your regular weekend shopping plans? Whether you're scouring the racks for something specific or just generally looking for a bargain, make a beeline to the Albert Street Mall. The Queen Street Mall offshoot is playing host to a record fair — an event that marks Brisbane's regular record-selling event's big return to the CBD, in fact. Yes, you can bet there'll be plenty of tunes waiting for a new home. Taking place from 10am–3.30pm on Saturday, March 4, the Brisbane City Mall Record Fair will bring vinyl galore to the CBD location. Expect a whole range of sellers keen to offload their records to avid shoppers and collectors. Rocking Horse Records is one of the organisers, too, so the event has a Brisbane music icon's tick of approval. Entry is free, although you'll want to bring your wallet if you're eager to boost your collection. You can find all manner of delights at a fair like this, from old classics to retro wonders — and albums you never even knew existed. Befitting the type of massive record fair that's set to sprawl across this central patch of pavement, DJ El Norto will setup the decks under the Queen Street Mall archway to spin a soundtrack to shop to.
Making music can be just as political as personal for some, especially if you're Melbourne trio The Basics. Their 12-year career has seen the band go through its fair share of ups and downs, with 1000 shows locally and abroad and even a three year hiatus from the music scene (seeing frontman Wally De Backer embark on a little ol' solo venture as Goyte). Then, 2014 casually saw The Basics' Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder enter the Victorian political sphere as the Basics Rock'n'Roll Party (BRRP), to many a divided opinion. But stronger than ever with brand new material, The Basics are headed back to the stage, hitting Brisbane's Old Museum to launch their brand new EP 'The Lucky Country'. Using music to spread their messages of innovation and education, these boys are going from strength to strength (tackling an election while recording a bunch of stellar tracks at Abbey Road). Supported by fellow Melburnians The Gun Barrel Straights, this promises to be a high-energy set from the reunited De Backer, Heath and Schroeder.
Everyone knows that New Zealand has epic Lord of the Rings landscapes, but far fewer know about its quietly awesome food scene. Much like the people, the country's food is unassuming, approachable and punches above its weight. With plentiful seafood and homegrown produce, New Zealand's cuisine scene celebrates this bounty from land and sea. Come for the scenery, stay for the food — it'll be love at first bite. Good food calls for a great wine match. Enter Cloudy Bay, one of New Zealand's most acclaimed wine brands. Whether you're foraging for fresh crayfish or sailing through the Marlborough Sounds, Cloudy Bay has you covered with its diverse and elegant selection. Together, we've dished up five top-notch food experiences you can only have in New Zealand. TAKE FLIGHT AND FORAGE FOR WILD FOOD Blending jaw-dropping scenery with locally sourced food, a foraging tour with Alpine Helicopters is the ultimate way for food lovers to get a taste of New Zealand. Spend the day flying high as you glide over giant glaciers, majestic mountains, winding rivers and lush native bush, with foraging stops along the way. Fish for trout on the edge of Lake Wanaka, help your heli crew rustle up crayfish from the sea, and fill up your camera roll with the most epic landscapes you've ever seen. Once you've worked up an appetite you'll be flown to a secluded spot for a surreal lunch stop — a Kiwi bush barbecue featuring your catch and gorgeous wines to match. It's no free lunch, but it sure is priceless. Wine match: Cloud Bay Te Koko, a wild take on sauvignon blanc, is the perfect pairing for fresh crayfish. FEAST ON CUISINE COOKED IN WINE BARRELS If you thought wine barrels were just for wine, think again. For an ingenious spin on the classic barbie, sink your teeth into 'barrel cuisine' at The Stoaker Room Bistro and Bar. Using retired French oak pinot noir barrels, the clever chefs cook up mouthwatering eats which burst with smoky, earthy flavours. From goat and wild pork to mussels and salmon, The Stoaker Room specialises in wild meat and seafood. For a real gastronomic experience, arrange a private catered meal at the Cloudy Bay Shed. The Stoaker Room team will roll up with their barrels and put on an incredible multi-course feast, matched with Cloudy Bay wines and dazzling Central Otago vistas. Wine match: Cloudy Bay Te Wahi, a poised pinot noir with a bit of a wild side. GRAZE ON TAPAS AT A PUB STEEPED IN HISTORY Smack bang in the heart of old gold mining country, Bannockburn Hotel in Cromwell, Central Otago, is a restaurant that's got a tale or two to tell. First established in 1862, the Bannockburn Hotel was born during the great New Zealand Gold Rush, which saw the region flooded with prospectors chasing the golden dream. As the first pub to be granted a liquor licence in the region, the hotel was understandably a popular spot with the gold seekers. Today, the old pub remains a popular haunt. Following a makeover or two, it has been transformed into a sophisticated restaurant, with rustic touches celebrating its history. Serving up top-notch tapas made from the best local produce, Bannockburn Hotel is the ideal spot for a cold brew and a grazing session. Feast on goats cheese croquettes, chorizo, meatballs, and relish the views over the craggy, historic countryside. Wine match: enjoy the savoury bites and rich history with a lively Cloudy Bay pinot noir. SAVOUR FRESH SEAFOOD WITH VINEYARD VIEWS A culinary tour of New Zealand would not complete without a visit to Marlborough, one of the world's finest wine regions. With the sparkling waters of the Sounds just a stone's throw away, this region also boasts bountiful seafood. Experience the best of the region's goods in a picturesque vineyard setting at Jack's Raw Bar — the summertime restaurant at the Cloudy Bay winery. Relax in the outdoor wine lounge as you tuck into fresh Marlborough oysters, Cloudy Bay clams, cured salmon and other regional delicacies, all matched with Cloudy Bay wines. Wine match: Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc, the iconic drop that put the winery on the map. DINE IN A BAY THAT'S ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY BOAT Nestled into a lush hillside, in a remote corner of the Marlborough Sounds, Bay of Many Coves is a shimmering sanctuary loaded with views. Take a boat from Picton to visit this tranquil retreat for a dreamy lunch escape. Cool down with a dip in the bay before settling in for a breezy lunch at the cafe on the water's edge. Sample the famous fish 'n' chips or seafood chowder and soak up the serenity. If you fancy a longer visit (and trust us, you will), stay overnight in one of the luxury villas. In the evening, treat yourself to a sumptuous meal in the award-winning restaurant, The Foredeck, which serves up immaculate cuisine from land and sea, and views to dine for. Wine match: an escape in the Sounds is best enjoyed with a glass of sparkling Cloudy Bay Pelorus. Discover the full Cloudy Bay range, alongside plenty more food pairing suggestions, here.
