Decades of sci-fi speculation seems set to come true: in 2022, the world will welcome its first luxury space hotel. Claims like this aren't new, but the Aurora Station is determined to make holidaying in space a reality — for a sky-high price, unsurprisingly. In development by US-based company Orion Span, the fully modular space station will be capable of hosting six people at a time, including four guests and two crew members. Operating as a luxe place to stay, it'll feature everything a short-term astronaut could want, such as zero gravity, views of the northern and southern aurora, the ability to participate in space research experiments and a virtual reality holodeck. As souvenirs, visitors can even help grow their own food and take it home with them. Plus, because no hotel can get by without it, guests will be able to access high-speed wifi while they soar more than 300 kilometres above the earth and orbit the planet every 90 minutes. Enjoying all of the above — which means spying an average of 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours — will set eager space cadets back a cool US$9.5 million for a 12-day trip. That price tag hasn't stopped plenty of flush folks putting down a US$80,000 deposit to sign up, with the first four months of reservations selling out within 72 hours of being announced. That's hefty cost for a company with a stated mission — "to build and sustain human communities in space accessible to all" — but soaring into space isn't cheap, so perhaps the accessible part is more of a long-term quest. The company's founder and CEO, Frank Bunger, says that Aurora Station will bring "travellers into space quicker and at a lower price point than ever seen before." Wannabe astronauts will also undergo a three-month training program, which has been condensed from the usual 24-month timeframe, although surely preparing to go into space isn't something anyone would want to rush. Future plans for Aurora Station include zero gravity research, space manufacturing — and, if an interstellar vacation doesn't sound futuristic enough, space condos. "Our architecture is such that we can easily add capacity, enabling us to grow with market demand like a city growing skyward on earth," explains Bunger. "We will later sell dedicated modules as the world's first condominiums in space. Future Aurora owners can live in, visit, or sublease their space condo." For more information, visit the Orion Span website.
They brighten up our days, and our gardens and houses. They make any home, table or shelf feel cheerier. They're a treat to pick, and the fact that they don't last forever offers a colourful reminder that life is both gorgeous and fleeting. But, floral fans, you can be forgiven for adoring flowers and wanting to fill surround yourself with blooms that'll stand the test of time. One solution: fake blossoms. Another: Lego's eye-catching floral kits. At the beginning of 2021, Lego unleashed its new Botanical Collection — part of its growing range for adults, because we're all well past pretending that Lego is just for kids. Back then, it boasted a flower bouquet and a bonsai, letting you add both to your home without worry about care, water, wilting or the expiry date that always comes with cut florals. Or, they made great presents to your nearest and dearest for all of the same reasons. Since then, the toy brand has kept adding to its floral range. In 2022, it came out with succulents and orchids as well, and has also released roses, tulips, sunflowers and a bird of paradise. To start 2023, the company is expanding the collection again, and going big — with another bouquet, this time of wildflowers, and also a centrepiece. If you've got a shiny vase that needs filling — and some spare time to pack with Lego-building — the 939-piece wildflower kit includes eight species, all with adjustable stems. These blooms are inspired by cornflowers, lavender, Welsh poppies, cow parsley, leatherleaf ferns, gerbera daisies, larkspurs and lupins. You make them, then arrange however you like. And, you can combine them with the previous bouquet as well for one large bunch of petals. The 812-piece centrepiece set is designed for tables, obviously, and opts for a dried flower look. So, the colours here are calmer, and you'll see — and construct — a gebera and a rose as its focal point. Lego also suggests that it can be hung on a wall, or paired with two other identical kits on your surface of choice. Terrible at keeping greenery alive? Don't know the first thing about maintaining dried flowers? These are ideal for you, then. As well as looking adorable and adding some splashes of green to your decor, Lego's newest products are designed to help you destress and get mindful — something that the brand has been promoting for adults for a few years now. Both kits cost $99.99 each in Australia, and $99.99 for the bouquet and $109.99 for the centrepiece each in New Zealand — and go on sale on Wednesday, February 1. And yes, they'd make a cute Valentine's Day present, or a gift (including to yourself) just because. For more information about Lego's Botanical Collection, including the wildflower bouquet and flower centrepiece, head to the company's website.
The last time that Timothée Chalamet and Luca Guadagnino joined forces, the best film of 2017 was the end result — and what a swooning, moving delight Call Me By Your Name proved to be. The 1980s-set romance nabbed Chalamet a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and Guadagnino a Best Picture nod, too. So, arriving five years later, it's safe to say that pair's second collaboration is among 2022's most eagerly anticipated movies. That film is called Bones and All, and it'll premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival at the end of August/early September — and it boasts another key factor that'll pique viewers interests. Once again, Chalamet and Guadagnino collaborate on a love story, although this one comes with an extra bite. Forget peaches; here, Chalamet plays one half of a cannibal couple. "You don't think I'm a bad person?" he says as Lee, speaking to Taylor Russell's (Waves) Maren, in Bones and All's just-dropped first teaser trailer — which the Dune, The French Dispatch and Don't Look Up actor himself unveiled via Twitter. The response is exactly what you'd expect: "all I think is that I love you," she replies. While Bones and All will follow its cannibal lovers as they road trip across America, at 28 seconds, this first sneak peek is big on mood rather than plot — and the vibe is yearning, swooning again, but also unsettling. When Mark Rylance (The Phantom of the Open) pops up, he has his finger to his lips in a gesture of warning. Bones and All marks Guadagnino's first feature since 2018's Suspiria remake — after a detour to television with HBO series We Are Who We Are — and sees the director bring Camille DeAngelis' novel of the same name to the screen. Also set to feature in the film: Chalamet's Call Me By Your Name co-star Michael Stuhlbarg, We Are Who We Are alums Chloë Sevigny and Francesca Scorsese (yes, the daughter of filmmaker Martin Scorsese), plus André Holland (Passing), Jake Horowitz (The Vast of Night), filmmaker David Gordon Green (Halloween Kills), and Jessica Harper from both the original Suspiria and Guadagnino's version. Bones and All will release in the US on November 23, but doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — fingers crossed that that changes sooner rather than later. Check out the trailer for Bones and All below: Bones and All hits US cinemas on November 23, but doesn't currently have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is confirmed.
Glamping, you've had a great run, but another fancy camping alternative might be about to take your mantle. You can't carry a shipping container on your back like a tent, but you can move them around — and this new portable hotel was created with packing it up, transporting it elsewhere and setting it up in a variety of different places in mind. Designed by the Prague-based Artikul Architects, ContainHotel boasts all of the comforts of a hotel in a structure that's both demountable and portable. First and foremost, visitors will find all of the comforts they'd expect from a hotel, namely proper beds, rooms and facilities, plus windows and balconies, and custom-made plywood furniture too. Reaching 40 feet in height thanks to its two-level structure, with two 20-foot high shipping containers supporting a third on top, the space can sleep 13 guests in total. The three containers have been divided into five bedrooms, a bathroom, a technical room and a storeroom. Inside and out, they're decked out with reclaimed wood — and they're also built on railroad sleepers to cause as little impact to the hotel's surroundings as possible. With being eco-friendly and self-sufficient part of its moveable plans, complete with an inbuilt tank that takes care of the site's water needs, that's clearly important. ContainHotel can currently be found in Treboutice in the Czech Republic, but just where it'll pop up next is anyone's guess. Via inhabitat. Image: Michal Hurych.
Dropping all commitments, staying indoors and bingeing Netflix was just shorthand for being an introvert six months ago. Now, it's the reality of many of our lives. As Australia, along with the rest of the world, battles to contain COVID-19, many of us are spending more time indoors than ever before, and we're searching for new ways to fill the minutes of the day that seem to tick by at a glacial pace. Streaming marathons, virtual trivia nights, indoor exercises and completing many, many jigsaw puzzles are solid ways to pass the time. But it's unlikely you'll ever have these chunks of uninterrupted free time at your disposal again, so you may as well use them to learn a new trick or two. There are a bunch of courses, workshops and activities that'll help you upskill while you're bunkering down — here are eight of our picks. LEARN TO COOK WITH SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST CHEFS Chances are you'll be getting quite familiar with your kitchen over the next couple of weeks. If up until now, you've mainly used the kitchen as a place to grab cutlery for your takeaway feast, then you're going to be looking for a little guidance. In a very real example of the 'we're all in this together' aspect of this crisis, many of the world's best chefs are also social distancing, self-isolating or in quarantine, and they're using that spare time to share some of their top tips. Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura is live streaming nightly tutorials on Instagram, while celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has launched the Keep Cooking and Carry On series, with easy-to-follow recipes and simple swaps (since some ingredients can be hard to come by), which you can catch on 10 Play. Meanwhile, if you're inspired by (almost) your entire Instagram feed making sourdough and want to have a crack at your own loaf, Bon Appetit's baking extraordinaire Claire Saffitz has a step-by-step tutorial saved on her Instagram highlights. A little closer to home, Aussie culinary legend Maggie Beer has started her own social media cooking series, as have chefs like Mitch Orr (Ciccia Bella), Neil Perry (Rockpool Bar & Grill) and Danielle Alvarez (Fred's). LEARN TO CODE FOR FREE Coding is going be such an important skill in the future it's now part of the curriculum for primary school students. But you haven't completely missed the boat just because you graduated (many) moons ago. There are hundreds of online courses you can take to learn to code, including General Assembly's. As well as Dash, its free online coding course, GA is also running free sessions on UX design and data analytics. If you want to have some fun with it, also check out Girls Who Code. The platform is releasing fun online and offline coding activities to download every week — like debugging tasks and a digital storytelling game — and each one also showcases a woman kicking goals in the tech world. [caption id="attachment_696381" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jean Malek[/caption] LEARN TO WRITE WITH LITERARY LEGENDS Have you always thought you were capable of writing the next great Australian novel, if only you weren't so busy? Now is the time to put your money where your mouth is. If you're not feeling quite so confident, Masterclass can help you get started. Like many other online education platforms, this San Francisco-based startup offers extensive courses on a range of topics, but what sets it apart is the truly astonishing lineup of instructors. For writing, that includes author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments) leading a creative writing course, Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code, Inferno) teaching on writing thrillers and essayist David Sedaris (Calypso, Me Talk Pretty One Day) on storytelling and humour. If words aren't your thing, Masterclass also has legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz teaching photography, Martin Scorsese teaching filmmaking, Doctor Jane Goodall explaining conservation and Hans Zimmer speaking on film scoring. Of course, the big names come at a price. There's an annual membership fee of AUD$280, but that grants access to every course on the platform. Plus, Masterclass is currently running a limited-time 'buy one, get one free' membership offer, so you can split that cost with a mate. LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY (AND LEVEL UP YOUR INSTAGRAM GAME) Photography as an art form has been muddled in recent years by way of us all documenting everything we do, eat, drink or see on social media. But there is a huge quality difference between pointing and shooting on your phone (and then promptly forgetting about it), and mastering manual mode on a DSLR camera. Once you get into it, you'll appreciate the value of a well-framed, well-lit HD photo so much more. Throughout April, Nikon is making its suite of online photography tutorials free to stream. Each video is hosted by a professional photographer covering topics like the fundamentals of photography and videography, understanding DSLR features, unlocking creativity and tips on shooting different subjects or environments. For now, you may be stuck practising on your pets, kids or housemates but, when the restrictions are lifted, you can reenter the world with your camera in hand, ready to capture all the beautiful things you missed. Just remember, nobody really cares what you ate for dinner — even in high definition. [caption id="attachment_662277" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent van der Jagt[/caption] LEARN TO MAKE WINE AND COCKTAILS We're not here to encourage excessive drinking, but we're also not going to skirt around the facts: you're probably consuming a bit of alcohol at home during this time. There are plenty of bars that have pivoted to delivering cocktails to your door, but you may also want to have a go shaking and stirring, too. If it's just recipes you're after, we've got plenty to get you started. Just pick your poison: vodka, gin, prosecco or spiced rum. Or you could go the whole hog and follow Ina Garten's (otherwise known as Barefoot Contessa) hilarious giant cosmopolitan recipe, which went viral on Instagram. If you want more of a guiding hand, check out Sydney Cocktails' Home Five O'Clock-tails video tutorials. Each day at 5pm, it'll share a new cocktail masterclass on Facebook, and it's getting Aussie bartenders who are out of work due to the current lockdown restrictions to host them. Or you could use this extra time to become the oenophile you've always wanted to be with The University of Adelaide's online course: World of Wine: From Grape to Glass. The free six-week course will teach you everything from the principles of grape growing and sustainable vineyard management to how to critique and describe a specific drop. You'll never need bluff your way through a restaurant wine list again (that is, once we're allowed back into restaurants). LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE TRAVEL Aussies have always been avid travellers, so it's safe to say there'll be plenty of itchy feet raring to set off on adventures as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted. You may not be able to make any solid plans right now, so use the spare time to add another language to your travel arsenal instead. The Open University has a number of introductory language courses available via its free Open Learn platform including German, Spanish, French, Welsh and ancient Greek and Latin. Each course takes between 5–20 hours to complete, so they should eat up a chunk of self-isolation time. After you've mastered your second, third or fourth language, take a look at some of the other courses available on the platform — there's everything from forensic psychology and art history to Egyptian mathematics. LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR OR MAKE MUSIC You've seen the Italians singing from their balconies, watched Lin-Manuel Miranda and the rest of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton singing 'Alexander Hamilton' via Zoom and danced up a storm to a virtual gig or two in your living room. And now it's time for you to create your own beats. Figure out which of your roommates has a neglected guitar hidden in the back of their wardrobe and jump onto Fender's website — it's offering three months of free online guitar, bass and ukulele lessons right now. Meanwhile, Apple is offering a 90-day trial on music production software system Logic Pro X, and Ableton is granting free access to a bunch of its music making resources, including the Ableton Live 10 Suite program, Spectral Textures presets pack and the Learning Music and Learning Synths tutorials. LEARN TO PAINT AND DRAW (WITH A GLASS OF WINE IN HAND) After spending so much time inside, you may get a little tired of staring at those same blank bedroom walls. Get those creative juices flowing and make something that you'll actually enjoy looking at via a virtual paint and sip class. All of the studios are currently shut down, so some of them, like Sydney's Cork and Canvas, have pivoted to offering online classes instead. For $25, you can access a step-by-step video tutorial to follow along whenever you like with a glass of wine in hand. And, if you need supplies, the studio is also delivering creative kits with paintbrushes, paint and canvases to your doorstep. There are single packs ($65), double packs ($120) and family packs ($230) available, and they all include a $20 voucher to Different Drop so the vino side of things is sorted, too. Or, you could check out the National Gallery of Victoria's Virtual Drop-By Drawing sessions, which are now happening online. Melbourne artists like Minna Gilligan and Kenny Pittock will guide you through a sketching session inspired by a piece from the gallery's collection, and all you'll need is a pencil, piece of paper and internet connection.
We can all agree that the annual racing carnival should just be renamed the Season of Bubbles. It's a great occasion to splash out, pop Champagne and eat cheese like it's going out of fashion. And the good people at Mumm — purveyors of fine Champagne, fun times and free holidays — want to take you there. They're giving away a luxe Melbourne Cup Emirates Stakes Day experience and, trust us, you don't want to miss this. The winner — and their luckiest friend — will win a killer race-day adventure. Fly to Melbourne (from Brisbane or Sydney) and prepare to be chauffeured around by a private car (to and from your five-star hotel, mind you). You'll have access to the Mumm Marquee, too, where you'll enjoy flutes of Mumm Champagne, delicious canapes and a big screen to take it all in. And because Mumm knows how to take care of you, they've set up a luxurious (and greasy) breakfast at your hotel the next day, before your private car whisks you back to the airport. Now that's race day glamour. To enter, see details below. If you're a Sydneysider and don't win the comp, fret not. You can head down to the Cup Day Festival at Barangaroo — there'll be pop-up eateries, live music and, of course, plenty of Mumm to go around. Entry into the event is free and Barangaroo's restaurants and bars will be serving up race-day specials (many of which include complimentary Champagne). Splash out on seafood at Cirrus, a Shanghai feast at Lotus or a nine-course Turkish banquet at Anason. We'll tip our hats to that. [competition]642528[/competition]
Did you promise yourself that 2022 would be the year that you make that long-awaited trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef? Well, now you can finally tick that bucket-list trip off your list — on us. To celebrate the launch of the Qantas Green tier program, Qantas Frequent Flyer has teamed up with the destination leader in sustainable travel in Australia — Tropical North Queensland — to give away an eco-conscious holiday to the tropical north for you and a plus one. The prize is valued at over $11,000 and includes all the sustainable travel trimmings. You'll start with return airfares with Qantas that are 100-percent carbon offset. Then you'll spend three nights at the luxe carbon-neutral Daintree Eco Lodge, a Qantas Hotels eco-accredited property. The prize also includes an eco-certified trip to the Great Barrier Reef with National Sustainability Award winner, Sailaway, an exclusive rainforest conservation experience at Rainforest Rescue with a smoking ceremony by a Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owner, provided by Walkabout Cultural Adventures, and more. To take things one step further, we'll also be donating $5000 to Rainforest Rescue to help the organisation continue its crucial work in preserving and conserving the ecosystem in Tropical North Queensland. So you'll be doing good while you have a very, very good time. Keen to nab this incredible tropical holiday? Simply fill out your details below for your chance to win. [competition]844390[/competition]
Skip the hassle of flights, long airport queues and overcrowded tourist traps, and embark on a Euro-inspired adventure in the renowned food and wine region of Orange, NSW, instead. With world-class wineries and notable restaurants dotted across rolling hills and endless vineyards, Orange combines a European bon vivant lifestyle with the easygoing, laidback charm of Australia. Its spectacular views, superb eateries and top-notch wineries will have you feeling like you've crossed continents, without having to leave the country. Want to know where to start? Here's how to soak up those Euro-summer feels in Orange and its surroundings. Scenic Views First, you'll need to set the scene so you can really kickstart your cross-continental holiday. Channel the serene beauty and rustic magic of the European countryside at one of Orange's scenic landscapes. Situated below Mount Canobolas, Lake Canobolas is an idyllic spot for swimming, hiking, cycling or just basking in the sun with a picnic. Spice up your Euro-inspired adventure with some uniquely Australian flora and fauna — you are still home after all — as you make your way up to Pinnacle Lookout or Federal Falls for panoramic views across Towac Valley, Canobolas and beyond. For those seeking an expedition with a Euro twist, hop on a bike and pedal through the picturesque countryside of Orange and its surrounding villages. There are numerous trails to choose from in the region, no matter your skill level. With endless scenic routes, you'll be stopping every few kilometres just to take in the views. Delightful Dining Now that you've worked up an appetite, it's time to settle in for a leisurely long meal with indulgent dishes, flowing wine and good company. Transport yourself to Italy at Lucetta Dining or Fiorini's, which both offer authentic Italian fare in the heart of the region. Hidden in an unassuming barn, Fiorini's serves a selection of traditional dishes — think rigatoni alla carbonara, spaghetti alla vongole, saltimbocca alla Romana — in a warm, homey space that feels like a family-run restaurant in the Italian countryside. Lucetta Dining is a touch more glamorous, dishing out contemporary plates in an intimate, industrial space. The menu includes pesce crudo with yuzu; burrata with fermented chilli oil and bottarga; pappardelle with mixed mushroom ragu, mascarpone and truffle pecorino; and lamb rump with leek, bronze fennel and rosemary caramel. For dining with a view akin to feasting under the Tuscan sun, head to Rowlee Dining & Bar for family-style, farm-to-table plates amidst the winery's sprawling rows of vines. If you're just after a quick bite, you can also nibble on snacks and smaller plates at the Garden Bar. With a restaurant, outdoor courtyard and bar, The Union Bank will see you through from day to night with aperitifs, wines and modern-European plates. Housed in a historic bank dating back over 165 years, the spacious venue slings dishes such as crudo with blood orange, bone marrow with salsa roja, and sirloin with miso bagna cauda, along with additional options for an express lunch and set menus for groups. Sun-drenched Sips You don't need to jet off to sip world-class wines amid breathtaking scenery — Orange's 40-plus cool-climate vineyards bring a slice of Europe to you. Start your journey at celebrated local winery Nashdale Lane, where you can savour local drops as you take in sweeping views across the vineyard. In fact, Nashdale Lane Wines was dreamt up while the team were visiting a vineyard in Radda in Chianti, so you can expect strong European influences. Continue your taste of Italy at See Saw Wines, where you can sit al fresco and sip the only locally produced prosecco in the region. Next up on your vineyard tour is a stop-in at Tamburlaine Organic Wines. Sample Tamburlaine's range of organic, vegan-friendly and low-sulphur wines at its cosy cellar door in nearby Millthorpe. While you're there, discover the village's charming assortment of boutiques, cafes, wineries and bed-and-breakfasts. Head to Mayfield Vineyard or Logan Wines for more impressive vistas and unconventional wines. At Mayfield Vineyard, you'll be able to taste elegant minimal-intervention wines in rustic, French-inspired surrounds, before kicking back with a vino in the airy and sun-filled cellar door at Logan Wines' new Orange location. If you're overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wineries to choose from, let someone else handle the decisions (and the driving) with Orange Private Tours or Orange Trike Tours. Plan your trip now to the Orange Region at the Orange360 website. Additional author: Orlaith Costello Images: courtesy of Destination NSW and Orange360.
Espionage intrigue, explosions, chases, fights, Tom Cruise wearing masks: that's all heading back to cinemas, and soon, with Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One on its way in July. The seventh instalment in the spy franchise will also task viewers with the usual mission, should they choose to accept it. Since the saga's first big-screen outing back in 1996, watching Cruise work his way through all manner of stunts is a given in each and every movie — and the just-dropped full trailer for the series' latest entry enthusiastically keeps the trend going. That said, at this point in his career, all new Cruise movies seem to belong to a broader saga: "one of the world's biggest stars does death-defying stunts to lure audiences into cinemas" (see also: Top Gun: Maverick). The Mission: Impossible flicks have been keeping those daredevil flames burning for almost three decades now, and its leading man just keeps upping the ante. And yes, he's still committed to doing as many dangerous feats as he can himself, including riding a motorcycle off a cliff this time around. Hitting cinemas Down Under on July 13, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One has Cruise's Ethan Hunt and his Impossible Missions Force team on the trail of a new humanity-threatening weapon. As usual, the fate of the world is at stake. And, saving the day means hopping around the globe and putting everything on the line, all while facing off against Esai Morales (How to Get Away with Murder) as the film's villain. This latest sneak peek comes after a first glimpse back in 2022, more than a year before the movie's release. Both trailers cover plenty of other familiar faces, of course, including the characters of Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg, The Boys), Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson, Silo), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames, Father Figures), and Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby, The Son). Also in Dead Reckoning — Part One's cast: Hayley Atwell (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Cary Elwes (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), Rob Delaney (The Power), Indira Varma (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Shea Whigham (Perry Mason), Mark Gatiss (Operation Mincemeat) and Charles Parnell (Barry). Five years after helming the series' sixth film, aka 2018's Mission: Impossible – Fallout, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie returns for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One — his third M:I flick in a row after also doing the honours on 2015's Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. And yes, as the name makes plain, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One will have a sequel, which is set to release on June 27, 2024. Check out the full trailer for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One below: Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One releases in cinemas Down Under on July 13, 2023. Images: Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
The streaming television market is a helluva place to be in 2023. So many platforms are competing for our attention, time and money to deliver content to our eyeballs. It has its perks, though. Never before has there been so many great choices available. If the competition is too much for you, and you can't remember which service costs $14 a month and which costs $10, there is a free solution on hand. Enter SBS On Demand. The Australian channel doesn't just broadcast — it streams as well. But what you might not know about its on-demand service is that it's completely free, and comes with a perfect blend of homegrown Aussie and internationally sourced content. If the costs of streaming are getting you down, maybe it's time to trim your subscriptions and take a tour of the SBS On Demand catalogue. Let's start with drama — here are eight shows to watch. EROTIC STORIES: EIGHT STORIES OF LOVE AND INTIMACY IN MODERN AUSTRALIA Brand-new in 2023, Erotic Stories joins the ever-growing SBS On Demand catalogue as a fresh, original title. Told in an anthology form, this series shines a light on the intricacies of modern relationships: from middle-aged mates experimenting with remotely controlled sex toys to breaking a sexual drought by trying out dating apps. The series doesn't shy away from getting spicy, wondering how spicy each episode is? Read our ranking. Erotic Stories has a star-studded cast that any Australian drama fan will recognise: talents like Frances O'Connor (The End), Kate Box (Deadloch), Rärriwuy Hick (Wentworth), Zahra Newman (Thirteen Lives), Catherine McClements (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) and Danielle Cormack (Rake) and Alex Fitzalan (The Twelve). FARGO: THE CRIME CAPER RETURNS FOR SEASON FIVE No, this isn't the legendary 1996 film directed by the Coen brothers. If this is your first time hearing about the small-screen adaptation, you've been missing out. Since its premiere in 2014, Fargo has returned four more times with twisted tales of murder in the American midwest. In the latest instalment, an unexpected series of events lands a seemingly innocent housewife in hot water and under potentially lethal scrutiny. Fargo season five stars Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) as Dorothy 'Dot' Lyon, Jon Hamm (Good Omens) as Roy Tillman, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Hunters) as Lorraine Lyon, Joe Keery (Stranger Things) as Gator Tillman, David Rysdahl (Oppenheimer) as Wayne Lyon, Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever) as Minnesota deputy Indira Olmstead and Lamorne Morris (New Girl) as North Dakota trooper Witt Farr. THE DOLL FACTORY: A PERIOD DRAMA ABOUT LOVE, ARTISTRY AND OBSESSION Coming to Australia through SBS On Demand, The Doll Factory is a six-part historical thriller that adapts the bestselling novel by Elizabeth Macneal. Take a trip to London in 1850, where protagonist Iris paints dolls for a living and dreams of a career as an artist when she meets a taxidermist and a painter, who will take her down a path of dark obsession that she might not return from. The Doll Factory stars Esme Creed-Miles (Hanna) as Iris, Éanna Hardwicke (Smother) as Silas, Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin) as Rose, George Webster (Wedding Season) as Louis and Sharlene Whyte (Sanditon) as Madame. SAFE HOME: A BOLD STORY TACKLING AUSTRALIA'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC The gripping limited series Safe Home from SBS On Demand is only four episodes in length, but wastes no time and pulls no punches in telling a series of captivating and nerve-wracking stories centred around a family violence legal centre. Protagonist Phoebe has just moved into a new communications role at the centre after leaving a major law firm, but the situations in which she finds herself in this tense new environment are as confronting as they can be. Safe Home stars Aisha Dee (The Bold Type) as Phoebe Rook, Mabel Li (Erotic Stories) as Jenny Lee, Thomas Cocquerel (The Gilded Age) as Julian MacDonald, Antonio Prebble (Double Parked) as Grace MacDonald and Chenoa Deemal (Troppo) as Layla Morris. ROGUE HEROES: THE ORIGIN STORY OF THE INFAMOUS BRITISH SAS Based on the bestselling book by Ben Macintyre, Rogue Heroes tells a World War II tale of how three young and daring British officers created the original unit of the British SAS. The modern elite special forces team had to start somewhere, and its beginnings involved a small team of cheeky soldiers disobeying orders, parachuting behind enemy lines and quickly becoming the worst nightmare of Axis forces in 1940s North Africa. Rogue Heroes stars Connor Swindells (Sex Education) as David Stirling, Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Jack O'Connell (Lady Chatterley's Lover) as Paddy Mayne, Sofia Boutella (Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) as Eve Mansour and Jacob Ifan (A Discovery of Witches) as Pat Riley. WHY WOMEN KILL: A DARK DRAMEDY OF FASHION, LEADING LADIES AND MURDER Hailing from creator Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), this comedic drama features two seasons that stand apart. Season one stars Lucy Liu (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as Simone Grove, Ginnifer Goodwin (Zootopia) as Beth Ann Stanton and Kirby (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) as Taylor Harding. The season follows three women from different decades who are connected by living in the same Californian mansion, all experiencing infidelity in their marriages and dealing with it with a touch of violence. Season two delivers a new story and cast with the same glamour, humour and even more murder. This time the focus is what it means to be beautiful, and also what it means to hide one's true face from the world — with Allison Tolman (Fargo), Lana Parrilla (Once Upon a Time), Nick Frost (The Nevers), BK Cannon (Switched at Birth), Jordane Christie (The Haunting of Hill House), Matthew Daddario (Shadowhunters) and Veronica Falcón (Queen of the South) starring. DARK WINDS: NAVAJO TRIBAL POLICE INVESTIGATE A SERIES OF STRANGE MURDERS Based on the Leaphorn and Chee novels by Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds combines elements of a psychological thriller, cultural history piece and compelling crime drama. Set in the Navajo Nation in 1971, the series follows tribal police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and his deputy Jim Chee as they investigate a series of unusual murders that tell a much darker tale than either of them can imagine. Dark Winds stars Zahn McClarnon (Reservation Dogs) as Joe Leaphorn, Kiowa Gordon (Roswell, New Mexico) as Jim Chee, Jessica Matten (Tribal) as Bernadette Manuelito, Elva Guerra (Reservation Dogs) as Sally Growing Thunder and Noah Emmerich (Space Force) as Leland Whitover. VIGIL: A DETECTIVE WORKS A MURDER CASE ONBOARD A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE In its first season, Vigil has all the trimmings of your favourite UK police thrillers: a skilled detective, a mysterious death, and a clash between politics and justice. What makes Vigil unique? The death is onboard a nuclear submarine, and the Scottish police Detective Chief Inspector looking into the case must remain there as the vessel patrols the Atlantic while she investigates. Vigil stars Suranne Jones (Gentleman Jack) as Amy Silva, Rose Leslie (The Time Traveller's Wife) as Kirsten Longacre, Shaun Evans (Endeavour) as Glover, Paterson Joseph (Boat Story) as Newsome, Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project) as Tiffany Docherty and Connor Swindells (Rogue Heroes) as Hadlow. All of these titles and more are streaming for free on SBS On Demand. To find more information or other great shows, visit the website.
New York, Berlin … might Sydney soon be on the list of cultural capitals? If all we do is work and play Facebook, will we explode? Marcus Costello finds out by chatting with a man from the future who happens to be in Australia this week for The Future Laboratory's annual trend briefing. Martin Raymond is the company's co-founder and current strategy and insight director, and he had much to share with us on how trend forecasting works, what shopping centres might look like in the next decade, why you shouldn't make that sea change, and, yes, why Sydney might culturally overtake Melbourne yet. This is certainly a bright and early start for me, but you've just got off a plane, how's it for you? I've just come from Burma, which was part work part play. So I'm in good form. Ah, you're an early adopter of 'The New Sublimity' (The Future Laboratory's term for the impending "digital switch-off, back-to-basics, retreat to nature for emotional reboot" among under 25s). Can you explain the concept to me? [laughs] Sure. In happening cities where stress levels and stimulation are high, the next crop to enter the workforce will start building a buffer between work and free time. They'll realise that work-life balance doesn't work when you can work from anywhere and be contactable 24/7. The nomadic lifestyle that the baby boomers considered romantic when they were in their 20s is actually a practical reality for the upcoming generation thanks to remote computing and other technologies. Kerouac's On the Road was recently made into a film and young progressives are moving to places like Berlin where the bohemian lifestyle is seen as a legitimate way of living. So that's the modus operandi of The Future Laboratory: track what culture is being consumed and make predictions. I'm intrigued because a laboratory suggests a place that makes things. Do you think there's an element of causation in trend forecasting — build it and they will come, sort of thing? Can you really spot things before they happen or is it that you see what's bubbling beneath the surface and foresee its rise? Good question. Our methodology is structured in three branches: Intuition, Observation, and Interrogation. It's the same principle you apply to ethnographic or sociological field studies. With these lines of research you can foresee the rise of organic food a decade before it happens, for example. We also have well-honed observation skills and a solid understanding of mimetics, so it's more than blind predictions. Basically, we identify a pattern then look for the anomalies. These anomalies signal the early adopters and innovators. And there are some cities that better allow for these people to thrive, like Seattle, Seoul, Buenos Aires, Berlin. A place like Munich, on the other hand, is not one of those places. [laughs] My sister is part of a very interesting internet start-up in a town just outside Munich where rent is cheap and good skiing is close-by. Perhaps she's the exception to the rule — or maybe she's an early adopter of The New Sublimity — but it makes me think that the big cultural capitals like Berlin/NYC are nearing saturation with creative professionals, making it prohibitively expensive and competitive. Cities like Detroit, I would have thought, are the ones to watch. Good point. The pendulum does swing, and yes, Detroit has the telltale signs, if you know how to spot them,of a city on the rise: empty warehouses for cheap live-in studios, wide open spaces, young people flocking there. It's the same set of factors that gave rise to East London and so many other cities. The next wave of residents to arrive are those who superficially associate with the core activities but who aren't part of it. They're graphic designers, not artists. They'll buy-in once the aesthetic can be commodified. Hipsters, in a word. NYC is eternally cool but can you tell me about other happening — or about to happen — cultural capitals? I would argue that over the next five years Melbourne will become less of a talking point and Sydney will have its time in the sun. Then again, Sydney will rise because its mimicking Melbourne's laneway culture. Los Angles is on the way up. Vienna is a tired, bourgeois, racist part of Austria, but that makes it rife for a shake-up. It's full of old people about to die, which leaves cheap apartments for students. On the other hand, there's Switzerland, where everything is, well, nice. But I say to people, "Why live in a place where there's nothing to annoy you, to challenge you?" Switzerland will never become fashionable. Canada, likewise, will never become fashionable. Isn't the New Sublimity all about "secular spiritualism as consumers take to the land, sea, beaches and mountains in search of meaning, mindfulness, inattentive learning and an emotional reboot"? Switzerland and Canada both abound in natural wonder. [laughs] Nature doesn't have much to do with cultural revolution. People still want to be in cities, but they'll create mental space to get away, or reinterpret the built environment to make spaces for mindfulness. There's a bunch of guys in NY who have set-up bivouacs on rooftops so people can sleep out and experience the sounds, the smells, the stars of the city. In England it's really trendy to spend time away in monasteries — it's different, it's detached, it's cheap. People don't want a full-blown sea-change because cities are good and, let's be honest, interesting people love the concrete jungle, they're not afraid of it. As soon as you exit the city, you exit life. People who live in the countryside tend to be dull; and worse, they believe that they're living the right way. Well, they're not. They're living their way. As a company who consults to retailers, should retailers be concerned that mindfulness is about to wash over their consumers? One of our clients in the UK, Selfridges, has just produced a festival called No Noise which embraced the concept of the New Sublimity. They created rooms within the department store where shoppers could go to relax. So they can revitalise for more shopping. They could do that. But they also had night walks, and walks with philosophers and all kinds of things. They even persuaded brands to remove logos and graphics from their products. Of course, this actually reinforces brand identity because consumers have to consider product design. Yes, you could say it's a cynical exercise in retail marketing, but it's no more cynical than religion. If there's a trend that questions the nature of consumption and you can turn a profit from that as a retailer, well, I think that's a good thing. I'd rather consumers shop with a sense of why they're shopping than with no sense at all. Consumers are clever, they know what's online, and this is a really problem for retailers. The customer base is nomadic like a hobo and what attracts the hobo is the bright glittering light on the horizon and retailers are failing to offer that. Isn't what attracts the hobo a turning away from commercial consumption? That depends on how you define commercialism. At the moment people are spending their money on experiences: theatre, music, food, conviviality. To me, that's commercial and I'm not inclined to separate commerce and culture. As we continue to shop online we are going to expect more cultural experiences from our stores. Rousseau wrote about 19th-century department stores as places of education and imagination; places where someone could go to see the world brought to them. That's how we think about galleries and museums today and how we might think about department stores tomorrow. The Future Laboratory 2013 Australian Trend Briefings will be held in Melbourne on Thursday, February 14, and in Sydney on Tuesday, February 19. Go here for more details.
Netflix's hefty stable of original programming spans every genre imaginable, from nostalgic sci-fi thrillers such as Stranger Things and smart existential comedies like Russian Doll to crime procedurals such as Mindhunter and period dramas like The Crown. But as fans of Making a Murderer, Tiger King and Unbelievable all know, the streaming platform has also been leaning rather heavily upon true tales in recent years — both via docuseries and dramatised versions. Add Unorthodox to the latter pile, with the new four-part miniseries based on Deborah Feldman's best-selling 2012 autobiography Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. As the book's title makes plain, the memoir and the TV adaptation each explore her decision to leave her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, New York, flee her arranged marriage and everyone she's ever known, and escape to Berlin to start a brand new life. Names and details have been changed, as tends to be the case with dramas based on real-life stories; however Unorthodox still follows the same overall path. In a tense but instantly commanding opening to the show's first episode, 19-year-old Esther 'Esty' Shapiro (Shira Haas) slips out of the apartment she shares with her husband Yanky (Amit Rahav), picks up a passport from her piano teacher and nervously heads to the airport. Once she arrives in Berlin, she's just as anxious and uncertain — whether she's thinking about contacting her estranged mother (Alex Reid), who lives in the German capital; trying to work out where she'll sleep, given that she knows no one and brought nothing with her; or befriending a group of music students, cherishing making new connections and hoping she can join them at city's conservatory. Netflix's first original series primarily in Yiddish, Unorthodox then jumps between multiple narrative strands — chronicling Esty's sudden awakening into a secular existence far removed from her previous life; charting Yanky's desperate efforts to track her down under orders of their rabbi, with his cousin Moische (Jeff Wilbusch) on hand to help; and flashing back to Esty's childhood, her time with her beloved grandmother (Dina Doron), the lead up to her marriage and the wedding itself. Directed by German actress-turned-filmmaker Maria Schrader (Deutschland 83 and Deutschland 86), the end result proves a unique and intriguing coming-of-age tale, a thoughtful thriller, and an eye-opening but always careful and respectful look at a culture that's rarely depicted on-screen in such depth. Israeli actress Haas (The Zookeeper's Wife, Foxtrot, Mary Magdalene) turns in a nuanced, weighty and gripping performance as Esty, too — which is absolutely pivotal in making Unorthodox so compelling to watch. And, for viewers stuck at home and eager for a window into the wider world, the series makes great use of its Berlin setting — viewing the busy city with the same wide-eyed wonder as its protagonist. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVhRId0BTw Unorthodox is currently streaming on Netflix. Images: Anika Molnar/Netflix.
A top-notch cocktail is something worth savouring. It's worth searching for, too — and what a delicious quest that is. Rather than add every bar ever to your must-visit list, however, plenty of competitions, lists and rankings exist to help you find the best of the best, so that you can spend more time sipping ace drinks. One such contest: the Patrón Perfectionists Australian Cocktail Competition, which then ties into a global tournament. Its focus: getting standout bartenders shaking up and mixing tequila, and using far more than just lemon and salt. The 2022 Aussie event has just been held, with a new best local bartender crowned, as announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, November 9. Tequila lovers of Australia, you'll want to make a date with Melbourne's Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters, because the glam bar's Alex Boon just took out the Patrón Perfectionists Australian Cocktail Competition title. To win, Boon had to mix up two cocktails: one that blends Patrón Silver tequila with something representing local culture, using ingredients from a prescribed list, and another speciality drink that featured one Australian ingredient. For the first beverage, Boon's Frankie was inspired by Uncle Toby's oats — yes, you'll never think about the breakfast staple the same way again — while his second, the 60 Hands Highball, used mango in three different ways. Ten Australian bartenders competed for the title, hailing from an impressive list of bars from around the country, including Kayla Reid from fellow Melbourne spot Nick & Nora's; Haadee Bahar of Mimi's & Will's and Storm Evans of Cantina OK! in Sydney; and Andie Bulley of Savile Row, Bec Bayley of Before + After and Martin McConnell of Frog's Hollow Saloon, all in Brisbane. Chris Tilley of Neon Palms and Volare Bar represented Perth, Talis Heggart of Shotgun Willie's and Memphis Slim's House of Blues did the same for Adelaide, and Etien Celzner of Rude Boy flew the flag for Hobart. Boon next vies for international glory, mixing up his best against bartenders from another 18 countries, in March 2023 at Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco, Mexico. If he emerges victorious on the global stage, he'll give Australia two winners in a row, after Cantina OK!'s Harrison Kenney took out the worldwide title last year. For full details on the Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition, head to the event's website.
First, Good Things confirmed that it would be back in 2025, and also announced its dates. Now comes the next key detail: where the festival is heading this year. Music lovers already knew that the event is returning to its three annual stops — Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — but now organisers have locked in the specific venues in each city. There's no change in the Victorian capital, with Flemington Racecourse again playing host to Good Things. In the Sunshine State, Brisbane Showgrounds is doing the honours again, too. But Sydneysiders will be hitting up Sydney Showground instead of Centennial Park, in a move made to increase capacity, shelter, transport options and accessibility. As it has in past years, the fest will play all three cities across one huge weekend. So, you can mark Friday, December 5 in your diaries for the Melbourne, then Saturday, December 6 in the Harbour City and Sunday, December 7 in Brisbane. As for who'll be on the bill, that still hasn't been revealed as yet, but it's safe to expect it soon. While 2022's lineup dropped in June, 2023's and 2024's each arrived in August. Last year, Korn, Violent Femmes and Billy Corgan were on headlining duty, with Electric Callboy, Mastodon, The Gaslight Anthem, L7, Kerry King, Jet, The Living End, The Butterfly Effect and Killing Heidi among their company. 2023's fest featured Devo, Limp Bizkit, Corey Taylor, Pennywise, Bullet for My Valentine, Taking Back Sunday, I Prevail, Enter Shikari, Pvris, Behemoth, Sepultura, Spiderbait, Frenzal Rhomb, Jebediah and Eskimo Joe, among other acts. In 2022, the reunited TISM, Bring Me the Horizon, The Amity Affliction, NOFX and Millencolin led the roster. Good Things 2025 Dates and Venues Friday, December 5 — Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne Saturday, December 6 — Sydney Showground, Sydney Sunday, December 7 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Good Things will hit the Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in December 2025. We'll update you when the lineup is announced and tickets go on sale — head to the festival website for more information and to sign up for the event's mailing list in the interim. Images: Kane Hibberd.
With the temperature and acidity of the oceans gradually rising comes the possibility of the extinction of the colourful, gorgeous coral reefs that are home to thousands of sea creatures. So, MUSA (Museum Subacuático de Arte) was created in 2009 in an attempt to preserve the precious coral reefs, using the ocean floor near Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc, Mexico as a museum for sculptures that would also help sustain life beneath the surface. Senior TED Fellow and artist Colleen Flanigan's innovative Biorock sculptures have been chosen to become part of the project. Flanigan's metal sculptures are designed to counter the damage already done by global warming and pollution and regenerate the coral by raising the pH level of the surrounding water and help them acquire sufficient calcium carbonate for the coral's exoskeleton. The Biorock structures will also provide the living reefs with an alkaline environment that will increase resistance to environmental stressors. $15,000 is needed to fund Flanigan's underwater installations in MUSA, so she's kickstarted a Kickstarter account. $12,542 has been donated to date, but there is still a ways to go before the April 12th deadline. If you donate just a dollar, Flanigan will even say your name as she plants a polyp — every little bit helps.
UPDATE, March 14, 2022: After a three-week closure due to Brisbane's floods, both the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art will reopen — and the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art as well — on Friday, March 18. Filling your summer with overseas travel mightn't quite be on your agenda yet, but packing it with artworks from around the Asia Pacific can be at the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. As the two Brisbane galleries do every three years, they're turning their attention to the Asia-Pacific region — to take stock of Brissie's place in this part of the globe, and to celebrate the exceptional work being created by the area's talented artists. Displaying across the two South Bank sites from Saturday, December 4–Monday, April 25, this Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art marks the tenth hosted by either QAG, GOMA or both — and has been its flagship series since first gracing Queensland Art Gallery's walls almost three decades ago. To celebrate, APT10 is showcasing 69 artworks from more than 150 Asia-Pacific creatives, covering more than 30 countries. Among both newly commissioned and recent pieces, one key highlight is participatory shrine installation Shrine of Life/ Benjapakee Shrine by Vipoo Srivilas. It'll feature five hand-crafted ceramic deities decked out with gold and floral embellishments, with the quintet signifying identity, love equality, creativity, security and spirituality. Or, there's also the striking Hairloom by Rocky Cajigan, which does indeed possess a descriptive title. The Filipino artist has made a ten-metre-long loom of human hair, which is designed to comment on the Cordillera region of the Philippines. Also on the bill: a cave-like environment made out of found materials, as crafted by Balinese artist I Made Djirna; huge sculptural vessels fashioned out of fibreglass and synthetic resin by Kuwait City- and San Juan, Puerto Rico-based artist Alia Farid; and Indonesian Australian artist Jumaadi's large-scale painted stories on cloth prepared by Indonesian artisans. Plus, Chong Kim Chiew will provide an installation that paints maps directly onto tarpaulin, and comments on reorientiation — geographically and politically — in Malaysia and throughout southeast Asia. The full roster of APT10 participants also spans artists from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Myanmar, Iran, India, Singapore, China, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and Vietnam — and yes, the list goes on. [caption id="attachment_836711" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT 10)Members PreviewGOMA[/caption] Images: Installation views, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 10, Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, J Ruckli and C Callistemon
First he brought the entirety of his Berkshire restaurant The Fat Duck to Melbourne for a residency, in which seats went for $525 each (plus wine). Then it was Dinner by Heston, which, while not as exorbitant, still costs a pretty penny (a starter of savoury porridge goes for $36). But now, in UK celeb chef Heston Blumenthal's latest Melbourne project, he'll be opening a series of one-night-only pop-up restaurants for a considerably affordable price — that is, $0. Yes, free. As in, no money will be changing hands, and no credit card details are required. The Hidden Heston pop-ups are part of MasterChef machine's Heston Week — and while they will no doubt involve nervous contestants fumbling over intricate and ridiculous dishes, they'll nonetheless be extremely exclusive events. So be prepared to earn yourself a place at the table. There will be four pop-ups in total, each running for one service only in a "top-secret" location in Melbourne that will only be announced before the doors open. Punters will have to keep an eye on MasterChef's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts for clues, and enter online to receive an invitation. According to MasterChef, each restaurant will offer a "completely different dining experience", and the lucky winners will get "an experience they will remember forever". So, fingers at the ready — this is your chance to get a slice of the meat fruit pie without forking out a whole month's rent. The Hidden Heston pop-ups will be coming to Melbourne in March. For more info, keep checking the MasterChef Facebook page.
UPDATE, November 11, 2022: Fire of Love is available to stream via Disney+. Spewing fire is so hot right now, and literally always — and dragons aren't the only ones doing it. House of the Dragon and Blaze can have their flame-breathing creatures, and Fire of Love can have something that also seems fantastical but is one of the earth's raging wonders. The mix of awe, astonishment, adoration, fear, fascination and unflinching existential terror that volcanoes inspire is this documentary's playground. It was Katia and Maurice Krafft's daily mood, including before they met, became red beanie-wearing volcanologists, built a life chasing eruptions — The Life Volcanic, you could dub it — and devoted themselves to studying lava-spurting ruptures in the planet's crust. Any great doco on a topic such as this, and with subjects like these, should make viewers experience the same thrills, spills, joys and worries, and that's a radiant feat this Sundance award-winner easily achieves. What a delight it would be to trawl through the Kraffts' archives, sift through every video featuring the French duo and their work, and witness them doing their highly risky jobs against spectacular surroundings for hours, days and more. That's the task filmmaker Sara Dosa (The Seer and the Unseen) took up to make this superb film. This isn't the only such doco — legendary German director Werner Herzog has made his own, called The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft, after featuring the couple in 2016's Into the Inferno — but Fire of Love is a glorious, sensitive, entrancing and affecting ode to two remarkable people and their love, passion and impact. While history already dictates how the pair's tale ends, together and exactly as it seemed fated to, retracing their steps and celebrating their importance will never stop sparking new pleasures. For newcomers to the Kraffts, their lives comprised quite the adventure — one with two volcano-obsessed souls who instantly felt like they were destined to meet, bonded over a mutual love of Mount Etna, then dedicated their days afterwards to understanding the natural geological formations that filled their dreams. Early in their time together, the couple gravitated to what they called 'red volcanoes', with their enticing scarlet-hued lava flows. What a phenomenon to explore when romance beats in the air, and when geochemist Katia and geologist Maurice are beginning their life together. From there, however, they moved to analysing what they named 'grey volcanoes'. Those don't visually encapsulate the pair's relationship; they're the craggy peaks that produce masses of ash when they erupt — Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull, for instance — and often a body count. As narrated by actor and Kajillionaire filmmaker Miranda July, Fire of Love starts with blazing infatuation and devotion — between the Kraffts for each other, and for their field of interest — then establishes their legacy. Both aspects could fuel their own movies, and both linger and haunt in their own ways. And, as magnificent as this incredibly thoughtful, informative and stirring documentary is, it makes you wonder what a sci-fi flick made from the same footage would look like. The 16-millimetre imagery captured during the Kraffts' research trips around the globe, whittled down here from 200 hours to fill just 98 minutes, puts even the most state-of-the-art special effects in a different realm. Pixels can be used to paint gorgeous sights, and cinema has no shortage of movies that shimmer with that exact truth, but there really is no substitute for reality. During Fire of Love's first half, those easy visions of science fiction just keep flickering; if someone else had Dosa's access, and had July employ her dreamy voice to spin an otherworldly narrative, movie magic would likely explode. There's a particular sequence that cements that idea, set to the also-ethereal sounds of Air — layering French icons upon French icons — and featuring the Kraffts walking around against red lava in their futuristic-looking protective silver suits. They wander, they risk their lives, and pure actuality beams back. It's nothing short of extraordinary, as well as enchanting. Fittingly, the film's entire score springs from Air's Nicolas Godin, and it couldn't better set the mood; that said, these visuals and this story would prove enrapturing if nary a sound was heard, let alone a note or a word. Other segments ripple with sheer incredulity — not the several riffs on Katia and Maurice's meet-cute, though, or how he worked the publicity angles to fund their work while she pumped out their books. (In a doco stitched together from archival materials rather than contemporary talking-head interviews, those past TV chats come in handy, too). When Maurice and one of the duo's offsiders decide chalk up the first-ever sailing trip across a lake of sulphuric acid in just a rubber dinghy, floating around the crater of Java's Ijen, jaws can only drop. The footage is breathtaking, and more petrifying than any horror flick. That Katia refused to hop onto the raft also helps spell out the pair's differences. No chemist would trust their life to a bath of acid, yet the geologists are willing to take the chance. Fire of Love falls head over heels for the Kraffts' similarities and mutual fixations, but Dosa, her co-writers/editors Erin Casper (The Vow) and Jocelyne Chaput (Fractured Land), plus producer/fellow co-scribe Shane Boris (Stray), also see where they went their own ways. When Fire of Love focuses on the Kraffts' groundbreaking observations, it's even more astounding. The film covers the crucial life-or-death impact of their work on grey volcanoes, after attempting to educate towns and cities in the vicinity of such masses — so they could react appropriately and in a timely manner to avoid casualties — became a key part of their mission. Spying the fallout when the couple's warnings about potential fatalities went unheeded, including their cautions about deadly mudslides, is simply heartbreaking. Witnessing how one pyroclastic flow from Japan's Mount Unzen in 1991 forever ended the Kraffts' own narratives, albeit not for the same reason, is just as moving. What an existence Katia and Maurice shared — and what a stunningly compiled and edited tribute this is to them, the rock they called home as we all do, the land features they adored, the ash and fire those volcanoes expel into the sky, and the fragility of life, love and, well, everything.
What do perusing the inaugural SXSW Sydney conference program and scrolling through Netflix have in common? Artificial intelligence, cybernetics, tech-enhanced dating, social media's ups and downs, science fiction-esque healthcare applications, digital afterlives and interactive gaming all feature in both — and the list goes on. On the streaming platform, you'll find the above in Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. Since starting with a squeal in 2011, the British anthology series has become pop culture's go-to place for futuristic visions dripping with unease. It ponders what might come, often with prophetic insight, and imagines how humanity's use of any given gadget or advancement will bring out our worst impulses. No one is going home from SXSW Sydney with nightmares, of course. Still, it couldn't be a better place for the creator of Black Mirror to dive into the latest in tech and future innovations. He's one of the keynote speakers at the first-ever SXSW outside of Austin, Texas since it was founded in 1987, getting chatting in an interview-style discussion about his hit series, its ideas and what fascinates him about technology. "Luckily I don't have to deliver a speech," he tells Concrete Playground after freshly arriving in Sydney. "When you say 'keynote speaker', I always get a stab of fear like an anxiety dream where you haven't done your homework, because I have not prepared a speech. So I'm just going to answer questions as off the cuff as I can." [caption id="attachment_922397" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] From the moment that Brooker was added to the SXSW Sydney lineup, joining a bill that also features Chance The Rapper celebrating 50 years of hip hop and Future Today Institute CEO Amy Webb musing on tomorrow's possibilities — plus literally hundreds of other speakers and sessions — the two seemed a dream pairing. Somehow, this is the first time that Brooker and SXSW have connected at all. "I've not been to South by Southwest in the States. I've not been there, and I've never been to Sydney before, either," he explains. "So these are two firsts for me happening concurrently, so that's very exciting, and I'm intrigued to see what it's all about." As well as Brooker's in-conversation session on Wednesday, October 18, SXSW Sydney is about everything from streaming algorithms to simulations. True crime features on the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival lineup, too — but no, even with the two clearly sharing plenty of fields of interest, the event isn't happening inside the latest and sixth season of Black Mirror that arrived this past June. [caption id="attachment_917938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] What should get fans of Brooker's work particularly buzzing is his SXSW Sydney plans beyond regaling an audience. On the list for the former video gaming journalist, satirist, Wipe franchise host, creator of both Big Brother-but-zombies gem Dead Set and the Cunk mockumentaries, and the reason that Netflix also has choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive short Cat Burglar in its catalogue: "digging into obviously the screen side of things, and also the video games and technology side of things". Will the next season of Black Mirror find its basis in SXSW Sydney's talks upon talks? Will Sydney inspire a new Philomena Cunk instalment after this year's Cunk on Earth? And how does someone navigate a tech, innovation, ideas, music, screen and gaming conference when they gave the world a series that's become synonymous with tech anxiety? As Brooker soaked in the Harbour City's weather — "it seems like there's about ten times the amount of light here, whereas in Britain it always feels a bit like it's on eco-saving mode" — he told us about all of the above, plus marvelling at getting to talk to anyone about Black Mirror, being mistaken for being anti-technology and his dream to make a Black Mirror game. [caption id="attachment_922398" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] ON DISCUSSING BLACK MIRROR AT SXSW — AND STILL MARVELLING AT THE SHOW'S IMPACT Ask Brooker if he ever imagined that Black Mirror would bring him to SXSW's stage and he's emphatic that it didn't even cross his mind. "I didn't conceive that I would be talking to anyone about it other than myself, so I'm amazed and delighted that I can talk to anyone about the show. I wouldn't have foreseen it at all," he advises. "Our first episode, the story of that is quite divisive. Certainly way back yonder when doing the very first episodes of the very first series, at that point I thought 'wow, this is never going to…'. I just, in my head, assumed it would only ever be of interest colloquially in Britain." "It's been astonishing that the show has travelled, as they say, or it's got legs or whatever you want — global reach, whatever you call it. That is constantly startling to me." "I've come here to Sydney, so I'm on the other side of the world from where I normally am. I don't often go out of London, basically. I'm a writer, so I spend most of my time sitting typing in in West London. And so I have to occasionally check myself. I think it's weird I've flown all the way to Sydney, Australia, and I can talk to people who've heard of the show. That's quite odd — that does my head in." ON BLACK MIRROR BECOMING SHORTHAND FOR TECH ANXIETIES, DYSTOPIA AND NIGHTMARES It's inspired by The Twilight Zone. It surveys the tech landscape. It's famed for predicting everything from Prime Minister pig scandals to social currency systems. And it features a spectacular cast, with Daniel Kaluuya (Nope), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Sarah Snook (Succession), Andrew Scott (Fleabag), Annie Murphy (Schitt's Creek), Salma Hayek (Magic Mike's Last Dance), Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Breaking Bad co-stars Aaron Paul and Jesse Plemons, and Miley Cyrus are just some of its stars. Black Mirror isn't just a series that the entire world knows about, though. It has become a term itself. That too isn't something that Brooker ever anticipated. "It is weird. It's an odd thing to have done. I remember the first time I really thought 'ohh okay, this has entered common vernacular in ways beyond the reach of the show itself'. I think it was in 2016 that somebody said, 'hey, did you see Hillary Clinton just referred to something as being a bit Black Mirror?'. And I thought 'oh my god, that's a bit Black Mirror in itself'." "So it's weird. Actually, the only aspect of that I find frustrating is when people assume I'm going to be anti-tech or that I'm some Luddite who thinks we should smash all computers up with his shoe, because I'm actually quite pro-technology. It would be the worst job if you hated technology, doing Black Mirror, because a lot of it involves thinking about product design of some gizmo or other that someone's going to use to wreck their own life. What it's showing is that it's human foibles that are the problem, not the amazing tool that is technology in and of itself." "So that's the only aspect I find frightening. That said, I love it if people are going say, 'oh, that's a bit Black Mirror' about some new Samsung fridge that comes out that sings to you every time you pour milk from it. That's all free publicity for me." ON POTENTIALLY FINDING NEW BLACK MIRROR OR PHILOMENA CUNK IDEAS AT SXSW SYDNEY Anyone who's ever watched Black Mirror is always wondering what's coming next, whether the series is dropping an interactive film such as 2019's Bandersnatch or years have passed between seasons (four from 2019's fifth season to 2023's sixth, for instance). If you've seen Cunk on Earth and its predecessors Cunk on Shakespeare, Cunk on Christmas and Cunk on Britain, the same train of thought applies. Perhaps SXSW Sydney might inspire the next chapter in both Brooker-created shows. "I was thinking we should send Cunk here, because we're always looking for nice filming locations, apart from anything else. And I know Diane [Morgan, who has played Philomena Cunk since 2013–15's Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe] hates it when it's cold. That's her main complaint — she doesn't like being anywhere cold." "Hopefully I'll go home with a head full of all sorts of things. It's interesting because, like I say, it's a new experience for me being here — and then we're also we're going to travel a bit over the next week." "I'm looking forward to digging into the video games and VR side of things that are going on the South by Southwest, partly because I used to be a video games journalist — so I'm also very interested in all of that as well." ON EXPLORING INTERACTIVE AND GAMIFIED STORYTELLING WITH BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH — AND THE DREAM OF MAKING A BLACK MIRROR GAME A series about technological possibilities, Black Mirror fills its frames with new gadgets and inventions — and new evolutions of today's tech as well. As Black Mirror: Bandersnatch showed when it had audiences pushing buttons to guide a gaming programmer through his decisions, Brooker's hit also likes tinkering with its own technology. He'd like to do more. "I'd love to do a sort of full-bore video game, as it were. With Bandersnatch, actually the original design was even more explicitly game-y than the finished thing ended up being. There were going to be achievements you could unlock, and stuff like this. And it was structured a bit more like an escape room puzzle that you had to solve," he explains. [caption id="attachment_922399" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kevin Lake[/caption] "It feels like it's a very different skill set. I think the most-impressive video games that I encounter tend to be, when they tell a story, they tell it in a way that you couldn't do in any other medium. So I'm thinking of games like Lucas Pope — he did a game called Papers, Please and a game called Return of the Obra Dinn." "Those are both fascinating and very different, but really interesting forms of storytelling. I think all scriptwriters should sit down with those games and see how they tell a story in a very deceptive way — they're puzzles, but they tell quite complex stories." "I'm in awe of that sort of thing. I don't think I probably have the skillset to be able to think that way. But I'd love to see a full a full-blown Black Mirror video game. That'd be great." Charlie Brooker in Conversation takes place at SXSW Sydney at 1pm on Wednesday, October 18 in the Pyrmont Theatre at ICC Sydney, 14 Darling Drive, Sydney. SXSW Sydney runs from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22, and SXSW Sydney Screen Festival from Sunday, October 15–Saturday, October 21. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Black Mirror streams via Netflix. Read our review of season six. Cunk on Earth also streams via Netflix. Read our review. Top image: Netflix.
Fancy reliving your childhood film favourites on the stage? That seems to be the current trend. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is doing big business in Melbourne, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical has been taking its golden tickets around the country, and now Shrek the Musical is bringing its all-singing, all-dancing version of the animated movie franchise to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Expect plenty of green when this Tony and Grammy award-nominated stage show finally makes its way to our shores, after first premiering on Broadway back in 2008. Since then, everyone's favourite ogre has sung his way through theatres in the UK, Asia Europe, Canada, Latin and South America, Israel and Scandinavia. Although exact dates haven't been revealed, the character originally voiced by Mike Myers will bound across the Sydney Lyric Theatre at The Star from early January 2020, then hit up Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne and the Lyric Theatre, Brisbane. You know the story, of course — unless you somehow managed to miss the original 2001 Oscar-winning film, its sequels in 2004, 2007 and 2010, and the heap of spin-offs, shorts, TV specials and series that all followed. Based on the 1990 picture book Shrek!, the tale follows the reclusive but kindly titular figure who endeavours to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona from the the fairy tale-hating Lord Farquaad, all while trekking along with a talking Donkey sidekick. Australian cast details haven't been revealed, but Shrek lovers can expect a whopping 19 songs, an obvious colour scheme and plenty of other fairy tale references. Check out the trailer for the production's UK run below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2VQ2pfXbyI Shrek the Musical will tour Australia from 2020, starting with a Sydney season at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star from January. Complete dates — including for the show's seasons at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne and the Lyric Theatre, Brisbane — are yet to be announced. Sydney tickets go on sale on Friday, July 5, with pre-sales from Monday, July 1. Head to ShrekTheMusical.com.au to join the waitlist, and for further details. Image: Helen Maybanks.
Since making his feature debut in a glow of sci-fi and action with 2010's TRON: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski can't stop feeling the need for speed. Just over a decade after his first film, the director was behind the helm of Tom Cruise-starring 2022 megahit and 36-years-later sequel Top Gun: Maverick, aka the movie that helped bring audiences back to cinemas in a big way after COVID-19 closures and lockdowns. Now comes another huge flick with ample adrenaline, dashing modes of transport aplenty and a zooming pulse, as well as another silver-screen must-see: F1, which isn't just set in the world of Formula 1, but was shot within it, including on real race weekends. Kosinski came to his sixth feature — 2013's Oblivion, 2017's Only the Brave and 2022's Spiderhead are also on his resume — during the pandemic's early days, sparked by an obsession that's shared by many. Chalk up another win for Formula 1: Drive to Survive, then. Being interested in a sport, immersed in a TV show about it and driven turn that love into a movie isn't the same as having experience in it, though. Enter Formula 1's record-holder for the most amount of wins (and pole positions and podium finishes, too), seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He's not just one of F1's producers, but also a crucial player in ensuring that authenticity is at the forefront of the movie. Introducing Kosinski at a press Q&A, the IRL star driver himself called the end result "the most-authentic racing film you will ever experience in a cinema". The just-dropped full trailer for the film and its past teasers give viewers a sneak peek of how F1 strives to make good on Hamilton's promise. "Joe, Jerry [producer Bruckheimer], Brad, the cast and the whole filmmaking team put an incredible amount of effort to deliver a genuine Formula 1 racing experience unlike anything you've ever experienced before on screen," Hamilton continued. "As you may have heard, the film was shot during the F1 races over the course of a season — and with Joe at the helm, audiences around the globe are going to feel like they're on the track and in the driver's seat. Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see, because it's not something you can just learn overnight. And the dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness." Chatting ahead of hitting the track for his Ferrari debut at 2025's Melbourne Formula 1 season opener, Hamilton also called being involved with F1 "such a thrill for me — and I genuinely promise this film delivers on every level". [caption id="attachment_994934" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Scott Garfield, courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films.[/caption] The excitement on Hamilton's part is real. The same can be said for Kosinski, who also co-penned the story for the film with screenwriter and fellow Top Gun: Maverick alum Ehren Kruger. The filmmaker couldn't praise Brad Pitt's (Wolfs) driving prowess enough, too: "he just had that natural feel for grip in the car, and what we're doing on this film is dangerous. You have to be fearless, and when you see Brad driving, that's not acting. He's really concentrating on keeping that car on the track and out of the wall during all those scenes. So that's something that you just can't fake, I think. I hope the audience feels that when they watch the movie," Kosinski advised. F1 tasks Pitt with playing Sonny Hayes, a former racer ("the best that never was", the new trailer notes) who returns to the sport as part of fictional team APXGP. Damson Idris (Snowfall) co-stars as his hotshot colleague Joshua Pearce — someone who Hayes clashes with, as the film's trailers illustrate — while Kerry Condon (Skeleton Crew), Javier Bardem (Dune: Part Two), Tobias Menzies (Manhunt), Sarah Niles (Fallen), Kim Bodnia (Nefarious) and Samson Kayo (House of the Dragon) also feature. "This is a movie about friendship, teamwork, sacrifice, redemption," Kosinski noted, stressing that it's not just for Formula 1 diehards. "The story, I think, is universal. It just happens to be set in this incredibly exciting world of Formula 1." What were the filmmaker's biggest highlights in bringing the picture to fruition? "There's so many. It's hard to pick one, but I'll say working alongside Lewis and all the other drivers on the grid, and having them embrace us — because certainly asking to be part of that family and that world, and to say you're making a movie, there's going to be some reticence there. But when they saw how determined we were to make it authentic and represent their sport in the absolute best way we could, to have them embrace us and to be able to have them play themselves in the film, to be able to shoot on the track alongside them, showed a level of trust that was really remarkable," he continued. "There's just no way this film would exist without that." The filmmaker also discussed his Drive to Survive inspiration, capturing Formula 1's genuine intensity, working with Hamilton and other names in the sport, challenges along the way, the sound of the film — Hans Zimmer's (Mufasa: The Lion King) score included — and more. On Why Kosinski Wanted to Make a Movie About Formula 1 "Well, I think like a lot of people during COVID, I found myself starting to watch the races and found this great television show called Drive to Survive — and I found that it's an incredibly unique sport in that your teammate is also, in many ways, your greatest competition. And for me, that makes for a great drama. I also loved how the first season of the show focused on the last-place teams, the underdogs, rather than the Ferrari, the Mercedes, the Red Bull, the teams that you see at the front of the pack. And I thought that there was an interesting story to be told about an underdog team in trying to not win the championship, but just trying to win one race against these titans of the sport. So that's where it started. And lucky for me, I had a contact who was in Formula 1 that I could reach out to, so I did." On Bringing the IRL Intensity of Formula 1 to the Screen "The first thing I did was I reached out to Lewis Hamilton, and obviously he lives that sport every day. He's one of the greatest of all time, and I asked him to be my partner on making this film. So having Lewis gave me this incredible in into this world, and one of the people he introduced me to was Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes. And I started talking with them about wanting to capture the speed of this sport — and it was actually Toto who came up with the idea of, rather than making a movie car fast enough to achieve these speeds, he said 'why don't you start with a race car and take a real race car and then work the cameras that you need into that'. So we did that. We actually bought six F2 cars, real F2 race cars, and worked with Mercedes-AMG, the Formula 1 team and their engineers, to build real race cars that could carry our camera equipment, recorders and transmitters for making this film. So every time you see Brad or Damson driving in this movie, they're driving on their own in one of these real race cars on a real F1 track. So that's how we approached the making of this film." On Getting Brad Pitt and Damson Idris Up to Speed to Do Their Own Driving in the Film "Brad and Damson are both driving in this film, and in order to get them into these race cars, it required months, literally months of training. But the first day was really fun. It was me, Brad and Lewis Hamilton at the track together, all of us jumping in cars and driving each other around in sports cars — which was one of those things, I'll never forget having Lewis Hamilton as your driving instructor. But what we learned, and what Lewis was really interested in, was seeing did Brad know how to drive, right? Because if Brad can't drive, this whole film wasn't going to work. And what Lewis was very happy to discover was that Brad had a lot of just natural ability right from the start. And I don't know where he got that or if he was born with it — and he rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it — but he's just a very talented, naturally gifted driver, which for Lewis, after that first meeting, gave him a lot of confidence that we might have a shot at pulling this off." On Collaborating with Lewis Hamilton and Other Formula 1 Professionals "Lewis was instrumental in not only the technical aspects, obviously, but in the real formulative stage of the movie, formulating this narrative. We tell the story of Sonny Hayes, who's a veteran racer, and then Joshua Pearce, who's a rookie. Lewis has been both. He's been the rookie, almost winning his first season in Formula 1 — and now with seven world championships, he's kind of seen it all. So his perspective on shaping the narrative of these two characters and giving me real insight into what it is that drives him, what makes these guys want to do this day in day out, it was really, really helpful. We couldn't have made this film without him." On Ensuring That the Film Isn't Just About the Racetrack Action, But Is Filled with Compelling and Authentic Characters Within the Formula 1 World "It always starts with a great script and a great story. I knew that no matter how accurate or exciting the racing is, it doesn't mean anything if you're not telling a story supported with great characters. So it all starts with the script, and I worked with Ehren Kruger, who also worked on Top Gun: Maverick. He wrote an incredible script for us to start with. And then the most important thing a director does beyond developing the script is casting. Casting is everything. And the group of actors that we pulled together for this film is pretty incredible. Javier Bardem and Brad together, their friendship, which is an old one — three decades old — really is the core of this story and of this film, and just seeing them together on-screen is really special. Kerry Condon — yeah, she's incredible. She plays the team technical director, so she's the person in charge of designing the car and the engineers and the drivers. There's some healthy tension there on every team, and it makes for a great relationship between the two of them. And then Damson Idris, who people might know from his television career, but maybe not from the movies — I'm really excited for people to see him here going toe to toe with Brad on a big screen and a big story. So yeah, we have an incredible cast of supporting actors as well. And yeah, it's a great ensemble." On How Filming on Location — and During Race Weekends — Impacted F1's Narrative "I mean, the tracks, the location is one thing, but on race weekend it just becomes this whole different world. It's like a traveling circus. So we couldn't just shoot at the track without the race going on. It would've been the wrong dynamic. So we were actually there on race weekend with hundreds of thousands of people watching us finding these timeslots between practice and qualifying, that Formula 1 graciously afforded us. So we'd get these ten- or 15-minute slots where we'd have to have Brad and Damson ready in the cars, warmed up with hot tyres ready to go — and as soon as practice ended, they would pull out onto the track. We'd have 24, 30 cameras ready, rolling, and I'd have to shoot these scenes in these very short, intense, high-speed windows. But the crowd you're seeing was really there in the stands. I don't think the crowd realised that Brad Pitt was in the car that was in front of them. And so there was definitely this heightened quality to every race. We were also shooting dramatic scenes on the grid before races, so it was a very unique way of working, rather than having a whole day to shoot a scene like you normally would on a movie. We had these nine- or ten-minute slots, so it was like a live stage play, but in front of hundreds of thousands of people shooting at 180 miles an hour, literally. So it was an adrenaline rush every weekend, but what we captured is something you can't fake, you can't stage. It's really happening, and I think the audience will see that." On the Challenges of Shooting in Such a High-Octane Environment "The big challenge was just the camera system itself. I mean, we had to develop a brand-new camera system, taking everything we learned on Top Gun: Maverick and pushing it much further. You can't put 60 pounds of gear onto a race car and expect it's going to perform the same way. So we took those Top Gun cameras and we worked closely with Sony, sizing them down to something about a quarter of the size. And then on top of that, something I really wanted to do on this film was actually be able to operate and move the cameras while we were shooting, which was something we weren't able to do on Top Gun. So we have motorised mounts on the car as well. So you have transmitters that are transmitting the picture back. We've got transmitters controlling the movement of the camera. I'm sitting at the base station with Claudio [Miranda, also from Top Gun: Maverick], our cinematographer, looking at 16 screens. I've got camera operators on the controls for the cameras and it's calling out camera moves like a live television show while they're shooting. So much research and technology and development went into just being able to roll a frame of footage, in addition to the training for the actors and the logistics of shooting at a real race. So it was a lot of prep to be able to pull this off." On the Sound of F1, Complete with a Hans Zimmer Score "Sound is a huge part of racing. So we have a sound designer, Al Nelson, also from Top Gun: Maverick. You're seeing a theme here, I guess, in terms of collaborators. He was there at the track recording all the real sounds of the real cars. We got microphones on the real F1 cars, which was, as you can imagine, very difficult to do because they count every gram that they put on those cars. So getting our recorders on the real cars was a huge aspect of getting it right. And then the other type of sound, the score, we've got Hans Zimmer creating another epic theme and score, and he's got a lot to compete with sound-wise in this movie. So he really brought it. The score for this film is something I'm really excited for people to hear. It's Hans. What Hans does, what few composers can do, is he can write a real theme, a real melody that you just can't get out of your head. And he's written another one here that I can't wait for people to hear." F1 releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
Sometimes, the best gifts are the ones that are practical, keep you busy or get you feeling crafty. We're talking gardening, tools, all things arts and crafts and the latest gadgets. Finding things to keep you occupied and using your hands is super important, especially over the holiday season, when most people have more time on their hands than they know what to do with. Luckily, Amazon has heaps of cool stuff to support your DIY era over the summer break. Here are some of our top choices. 1. Self Watering Pots Gardening can be harder than you think, so starting off with these SpringUp Self-Watering Pots is a good way to beat the summer heat. These pots come with a detachable saucer and a water storage system that automatically keeps your plants hydrated. Plus, drainage holes prevent plants from being overwatered. Made from sleek white, durable, recyclable plastic, they can be used indoors or outdoors — the perfect gardening gift for your green-thumbed friends and family. [caption id="attachment_840175" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Markus Spiske (Unsplash)[/caption] 2. Sewing Starter Pack If you can't afford expensive new clothes as a gift, sewing clothes yourself is a great backup. Gifting the Sew It Yourself with DIY Daisy kit will not only give your friends some cool new threads (eventually), but it'll also provide them with endless hours of fun DIY-ing. This colourful, size-inclusive book is perfect for sewers of all stages and abilities, from beginner to master, with guides on everything you need to get started, including equipment, materials, basic techniques and step-by-step projects. 3. Beer Cooler There is nothing worse than warm beer, and if you've noticed your dad's still using the scruffy stubby he has had since the 80s, maybe it's time for an upgrade. Enter the Huski Beer Cooler. Made from marine grade 316 stainless steel and triple insulated, this little thing means business. Our favourite thing about this beer cooler, however, is that it adjusts to fit differently sized cans or bottles – so no matter what you're drinking, it will fit. 4. Gardening Gloves These PHIRAH Gardening Gloves are everything we've ever dreamed of. Cute, practical and comfortable, we'd wager anyone with these will be inspired to spend much more time out in the garden. Offering full protection from dirt and bugs (no dirty fingernails with these gloves,) they're made from breathable and sweat-absorbent canvas material, which means they actually feel good to wear. Our favourite thing about them has to be the ergonomically designed thumbs, which make it easy to grip those pesky garden tools. Say no more. 5. Storage Rack Organizer Don't quote us, but organising the home and pantry has to be one of the most common things to do over the Christmas and New Year's break. After a year of putting it off and with no more excuses, the time always comes. Here, to make it all a bit easier is the HuggieGems 4 Pack Magnetic Spice Storage Rack Organizer. For the fridge, it's got a strong magnet attachment that allows you to store extra items on the outside, which is especially useful for those who live in small spaces. It is also super easy to adjust when needed. 6. Candle Making Kit Why buy candles when you can make them yourself? This candle-making kit has everything you need. Follow the step-by-step instructions to make your very own soy candle using natural soy wax, pure spices and easy-to-use tools. Not only do you get to make a candle, but you can also have fun doing it. It also comes in a cute gift box, so you don't even have to wrap it. 7. Origami Kit A cute gift for kids or origami beginners, the Complete Origami Kit is bound to provide hours of fun. The kit includes clear and easy-to-follow instructions for creating 30 projects, including step-by-step diagrams, as well as 96 sheets of origami folding paper and two sheets of gold metallic paper. [caption id="attachment_978071" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Kicia Papuga via iStock[/caption] 8. Jewellery Pliers Apparently, making jewellery isn't actually that hard, you just need the right pliers for the job. Enter the Shynek Jewellery Pliers. Coming in a set of three including needle-nose pliers, round-nose pliers and wire cutters, the kit is not only great for jewellery making but is also handy for jewellery repair, wire wrapping and other DIY crafts. 9. Gardening Tools Another idea for the green thumbs, this Grenebo Gardening Tools set has it all. Made from stainless steel, the set includes eight tools, including pruning shears, a weedier, a transplanter, a cultivator and more, all in a cute little bag so you can carry your tools wherever you go. The bag also doubles as storage, so it's a win-win. 10. Cross Stitching Kit Embroidery is well and truly trendy again. So the AUTOWT Beginner Cross Stitching Kit may be the ideal gift for anyone looking for a new hobby. The kit includes all the gear you need, as well as needle art illustrations for instructions. Once finished, the embroidery can be hung on the wall for decoration, or can also be embroidered on pillowcases, towels and backpacks. Images: Supplied by Amazon. Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, Concrete Playground may earn a commission when you make a purchase through links on our site.
New Zealand's South Island is home to some of the most beautiful sights one could ever imagine. There are some spectacular wineries, plus it's home to a burgeoning network of craft breweries and distilleries that are making beers and spirits to a remarkably high standard. So, where exactly are these innovators of imbibing located? Well, you can find them scattered all over the island — if you're planning a big trip around the whole South, we've found a spot for you. To help you on your drinking journey, we've crafted the ultimate brewpub itinerary. Let's start at the top and work our way south. BREW MOON BREWING COMPANY, AMBERLEY Established in 2002, the Brew Moon Brewing Company is a family-owned brewery and taproom in Amberley, North Canterbury. Brew Moon tinnies are available all over New Zealand, but visiting the Brew Moon site gives you the opportunity to try taproom-only seasonals and exclusives. The taproom holds 16 taps and pours beer straight from the brewery to your glass — doesn't get much fresher than that. The menu at Brew Moon only serves woodfired pizza to go with its craft beers, but really, it's a winning combination so there's no complaint here. THE FERMENIST, CHRISTCHURCH The Fermentist microbrewery in Christchurch is the newest craft kid on the block and aims to create great beer in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion. The brewery has implemented solar panels, composting, rainwater gathering, waste minimisation recycling and even tree-free toilet paper. The kitchen sources South Island hops and malt for brewing and local ingredients for the taproom kitchen. The Fermentist also has a female head brewer — which is not all that common in the craft beer community. The taproom is open daily and boasts an extensive menu of food and beer, as well as a fill-your-own station if you want to take home a growler of fermented delights. CARDRONA DISTILLERY, OTAGO A little further south in Otago, you'll find the Cardrona Distillery — a family-owned boutique distillery creating premium artisanal spirits. Situated within the remote Cardrona Valley, the distillery produces whisky, gin, vodka and liqueurs — all of which are handcrafted onsite. A tour of the facility costs $25 and takes 75 minutes, during which you'll learn about all aspects of spirit making — from grain to glass — and be treated to a guided tasting of each of the Cardrona spirits at the end. RHYME AND REASON, WANAKA While it's only been open for just over a year, Wanaka brewpub Rhyme and Reason is already a firm favourite in the region. Open daily from midday, it serves tasting paddles and pints from the ten taps, as well as 'hoppy' hour specials and cheese plates. The venue even allows BYO food if you're hankering for something specific to match with your beer. The team at Rhyme and Reason is all about creating a beer-loving community, best illustrated in the epic beer garden, which boasts everything from giant Jenga and foosball to the occasional food truck festival and even free community yoga on Sunday mornings. Tours are available but no set times exist, so just contact the brewery to book. WANAKA BEERWORKS, WANAKA Celebrating its 20th year brewing, Wanaka Beerworks knows how to please the people. Using the freshest ingredients and pure alpine water to create extremely tasty beer, this microbrewery produces small-batch brews under the brands Wanaka Beerworks and Jabberwocky with the flagship beers always available, alongside the occasional seasonal. Tours run Monday to Saturday, and take you through the entire beer-making process with, of course, the option to sample one or two at the end at the tasting room and bar. EMERSON'S BREWERY, DUNEDIN If there's a godfather of New Zealand craft beer it's Richard Emerson, who went from brewing beer in his parents' garage in Dunedin to owning his first brewery in 1993 and onto building Emerson's Brewery and Taproom in 2016. Emerson's boasts a restaurant, a bar with more than 20 beers (each matched to a menu item), and a 12-tap cellar door for your fill-your-own requirements. Tours of this state-of-the-art brewery run multiple times daily and include the opportunity to get your hands dirty in the workshop, a unique sensory experience and a guided tasting of six famous beers. Bookings are recommended. SPEIGHT'S, DUNEDIN So, it's not exactly a craft brewery, but no beer lover's trip to the South Island would be complete without visiting Speight's in Dunedin. Speight's is the epitome of the kiwi beer scene and has been brewing beer in the south since 1876 — this long and remarkable history is outlined during the tour which takes place at various times daily. The tour ends with not just beer tasting, but the opportunity to pour your own beer in the new tasting room and some great pub grub from the Speight's Ale House. The facility has just undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation to improve the visitor experience, so this South Island veteran is looking better than ever, even after 141 years. INVERCARGILL BREWERY As far south as possible lies the Invercargill Brewery, a place that's been applying new-world flavours to old-world beer styles since 1999. This brewery and taproom is dedicated to all things local, being sustainable and, most importantly, making amazing craft beers and ciders, both stalwarts and seasonals. The venue also has a newly opened events space called Asylum which hosts bands, comedy evenings and art exhibitions. Brewery tours are available on request. DANCING SANDS DISTILLERY, TAKAKA Run by husband and wife team Ben and Sarah Bonoma, Dancing Sands Distillery is situated in Takaka at the top of the South Island. The couple small-batch distil using a 150-litre copper still imported from Germany and age the spirits in a combination of French and American oak barrels. Dancing Sands' focus is on purity and sources its water from one of the clearest sources in the world, Pupu Springs. Ben and Sarah make vodka, gin and rum under the brands Dancing Sands, Sacred Spring and Murders Bay. And, the team is does some pretty innovative things, particularly under the Dancing Sands brand — wasabi gin, anyone? MCCASHIN'S BREWERY, NELSON Just down the road in Nelson, McCashin's Brewery has been brewing craft beer since the 1980s — long before it was trendy. McCashin's makes both beer and cider under brands Stoke and Rochdale, the latter of which is New Zealand's oldest cider. The onsite kitchen and bar serves food, coffee and, of course, beer and cider that can be enjoyed inside the brewery or sitting in the beer garden with that famous Nelson sunshine. Tours run daily, Monday to Friday, and cost $25 — that includes the guided tour, a post-tour beer and cider tasting and a souvenir glass which is yours to keep. Tour bookings are recommended. Start planning your trip to New Zealand's south with our guide to the South Island journeys to take here.
Consider this a case of better late than never: if you've been hanging out to discover if there's more Yellowjackets in your viewing future, that question has now been revealed. After the show's third season wrapped up in mid-April 2025, it has taken over a month to confirm that a fourth is in the works. The survival thriller's characters know more than a thing or two about waiting in both of its timelines — so consider this a case of standing in their shoes for a short stint, too. There's no word yet as to when Yellowjackets will be back, or even when production on season four will start. Season one debuted in 2021 and became one of the best new shows of that year, then season two arrived in 2023 and season three this February. Whether there's a two-year wait as in the past between seasons, or either less or more, getting to find out what happens after season three's cliffhanger is obviously an excellent development. The renewal comes after Yellowjackets' third season became its most-watched ever — and after season three's finale proved the most-streamed Yellowjackets episode in the show's history. As created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Dispatches From Elsewhere), the series serves up the answer to a compelling question: if a plane transporting a New Jersey high school's girls' soccer team across America was to crash en route, how would its surviving passengers cope both at the time while lost in the wilderness and also a quarter of a century later back in their everyday lives? Accordingly, in its 90s-set scenes, Yellowjackets' teenagers do whatever it takes to endure. Hop to the 2020s era and the women that made it home aren't done with their trauma yet. Battling the elements, cannibalism, haunting secrets, shifting power dynamics, embracing the otherworldly, romantic tangles, fighting over whether being saved is even the best outcome: they're just some of the places that Yellowjackets has gone across its three seasons to date. Bringing that journey to life so far, the show's cast has spanned Melanie Lynskey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), Christina Ricci (Wednesday), Tawny Cypress (Law & Order), Juliette Lewis (Opus), Simone Kessell (Critical Incident), Lauren Ambrose (Caddo Lake), Hilary Swank (Ordinary Angels), Sophie Nélisse ( L'Indétectable), Sophie Thatcher (Companion), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Dreams in Nightmares), Samantha Hanratty (Brilliant Minds), Courtney Eaton (Parachute), Liv Hewson (For Worse), Ella Purnell (Sweetpea), Sarah Desjardins (Dead Boy Detectives), Warren Kole (A Wonderful Way with Dragons), Kevin Alves (No Good Deed), Steven Krueger (Roswell, New Mexico), Joel McHale (Animal Control), Elijah Wood (The Monkey) and more. After it debuted, Yellowjackets was swiftly picked up for a second season because its first was that ace, then renewed for a third season before that second group of episodes even aired. In Australia, viewers can watch via Paramount+. In New Zealand, the series streams via Neon. There's obviously no sneak peek yet at season four, but check out the trailer for Yellowjackets season three below: Yellowjackets streams via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand — we'll update you with a release date for season four when one is announced. Read our review of season one and review of season two, plus our interviews with Melanie Lynskey and Simone Kessell. Images: Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
After opening its first-ever Down Under venue in Brisbane back in 2019, which also doubles as its Australian base, Scottish craft beer behemoth BrewDog has now gone one better. The booze-loving company has also launched its second Aussie spot in the Sunshine State capital — courtesy of a three-level beer bar in Fortitude Valley. Brisbanites keen on a BrewDog beer in a BrewDog bar can now 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 is keeping 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.
Celebrating ten years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes in 2005, Laneway Festival returns with one of its biggest lineups yet. After Burger Records' Lee Rickard took a BIGSOUND opportunity to confirm the Laneway attendance of Mac DeMarco and his mum Agnes, the entire 2015 lineup has finally been dropped this morning. Returning to the Australian touring circuit is UK on-repeat outfit Jungle, festival jaw-droppers Future Islands and Melbourne's lives-up-to-the-hype queen Courtney Barnett. Two of the biggest hypecards of the bunch, FKA Twigs and BANKS, will fight for the midnight hushed vocal crown. Then there's the ever-epic St. Vincent, punk-as-fuck UK band Eagulls, smooooooth king Flying Lotus, Harlem's top-of-the-game hip hop outfit Ratking and the triumphant returns of Lykke Li, Rustie, Jon Hopkins, POND and crisp-as-blazes Caribou. But enough talk, here's that lineup you're after. Laneway Festival 2015 Lineup: Agnes DeMarco* Andy Bull Angel Olsen BANKS Benjamin Booker Caribou Connan Mockasin Courtney Barnett Dune Rats Eagulls Eves*** FKA Twigs Flight Facilities Flying Lotus (Layer 3) Future Islands* Highasakite Jesse Davidson** Jon Hopkins* Jungle Little Dragon Lykke Li Mac DeMarco Mansionair Perfect Pussy Peter Bibby POND Ratking Raury Royal Blood* Rustie Seekae SOHN St Vincent* Vic Mensa *Exclusive to Laneway: no sideshows **Laneway Adelaide only ***Exclusive to East Coast shows only Kicking off in Singapore on Saturday, January 24 in The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay, Laneway will run through seven dates finishing up at its new home in Fremantle's Esplanade Reserve and West End on Sunday, February 8. St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2015 dates and venues: Saturday 24 January — SINGAPORE - THE MEADOW, GARDENS BY THE BAY Monday 26 January — AUCKLAND - SILO PARK Saturday 31 January — BRISBANE - BRISBANE SHOWGROUNDS, BOWEN HILLS (16+) Sunday 1 February — SYDNEY - SYDNEY COLLEGE OF THE ARTS (SCA), ROZELLE Friday 6 February — ADELAIDE - HARTS MILL, PORT ADELAIDE (16+) Saturday 7 February — MELBOURNE - FOOTSCRAY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE (FCAC) + THE RIVER’S EDGE Sunday 8 February — FREMANTLE - ESPLANADE RESERVE AND WEST END Image: Aaron Webber.
There's no need to shake off that Swiftmania, Australia. The world's biggest pop star right now has hit the country, unleashed the first three nights of the Aussie leg of her Eras tour, broken records and given everyone an enchanted time. There's no way that you could not know that Taylor Swift has arrived Down Under, with Melbourne her first stop. That trio of initial gigs even means that she makes more appearances at the MCG in 2024 than most AFL teams, in fact. So, you went along and it was gorgeous, and you're still keen to get your Swiftie on. Or, you're hitting the Sydney concerts at Accor Stadium from Friday, February 23–Monday, February 26 and want to get the full lowdown. Missed out completely? Eager to figure out how to cope? We can help you with that as well. We were lucky enough to hit up an Eras show in Melbourne, so we have the details. We've outlined logistical tips if you're watching Swift's three-hour spectacular in Sydney, too — plus Swift-related events across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. And yes, the Eras concert film will help fill that blank space in your calendar. Here's our Australian Eras tour 101: [caption id="attachment_941681" align="alignnone" width="1920"] TAS Rights Management[/caption] The Show (and Yes, It's as Sensational as You've Heard) Before even getting to the show, most fans have memorised the setlist, seen most of the performances on social media and created perfect recreations of Swift's Eras tour costumes. They know what's to come. But are they ready for it? Absolutely not. From the moment that Swift enters the stage — emerging from the giant flower petals that everyone has seen in countless videos of already — the MCG loses its shit. It's the feeling of being a part of the international tour that's been obsessed over for so many months that draws up the excitement. We don't need to be surprised. We just want to be a part of these legendary moments. Swift doesn't disappoint, on any level, for none of the three-hour show packed with hits. She runs through each of her albums, spanning 18 years of music, ticking off the bangers as the crowd screams the lyrics along with her — no matter what era they come from. She doesn't lose breath or miss a beat for a moment. She's done this show god knows how many times now and knows exactly what she's doing. She's a total pro. [caption id="attachment_941679" align="alignnone" width="1920"] TAS Rights Management[/caption] But while Swift soars in her most upbeat hits, the more-emotional ballads show her real vulnerability. The walls seem to really come down for a few moments. This is best seen in her ten-minute version of 'All Too Well', captivating the audience for the entire song while it's just her on stage with a guitar in a stunning red-and-black sequinned coat. She gets visibly angry, is particularly pointed with some harsh lyrics and takes the audience with her on the journey of hating the celeb we all know this song is about. From start to finish, Swift repeatedly reminds you why she is an icon — and that she's got plenty of more eras to come. Let's just hope that she brings them back Down Under to smash some more records and give us another (or first) chance to see her IRL. [caption id="attachment_941680" align="alignnone" width="1920"] TAS Rights Management[/caption] Tips to Help Make Hitting the Gigs as Gorgeous as Possible When it comes to the kit you'll be wearing, most Swifties go down one of two routes. You can sequin the house down and be inspired by her tour looks, or try to recreate one of her iconic music-video ensembles. Glitter is almost a must, even if it covers your bathroom at home for months afterwards. And friendship bracelets. You've got to invest in some if you want to participate in those sweet community feels at the concert, when everyone is swapping bracelets with one another, sharing their excitement for what's to come. It couldn't be more wholesome. While heels might go with your outfit, flats are probably the smartest choice. Everyone gets a seat, but you'll be standing and dancing for over three hours. Everyone in the crowd tries to sit down in between eras when the stage gets changed over and Swift quickly swaps into a new outfit, but it's not enough to save your poor feet (especially as there isn't that much time between albums). Beyond that, be sure to bring a portable battery for your phone. Even if you say you won't take videos, you likely will. And there are plenty of times during the night when fans turn on their camera lights and sway along to the slow jams. For most of us, this will kill our batteries in an hour. [caption id="attachment_940691" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] If you're heading to one of the four Sydney shows, it's time to start planning your journey. Gates open at 4.30pm, and everyone has assigned seating, so there's no need to camp out overnight to secure the best spot. The show will kick off around 6.20pm, with Sabrina Carpenter handling opening duties. Get down early to see what she rhymes with Sydney during her iconic 'Nonsense' outros. While there is car parking available, it's almost fully booked up already, so public transport is the optimal option for heading in. Travel on PT is included in your ticket, and both express trains and major event buses are running each night to deal with the masses of Swifties making the pilgrimage to Sydney Olympic Park. If you're attending on the Friday or Saturday, leave yourself some extra time — Blink-182 is performing at Qudos Bank Arena on both these days, so there will be two lots of music lovers travelling to the same spot. Everyone's journey in will be a little different, of course, but if you head to Central, Redfern or Strathfield Station, you'll be able to get a direct train. While there are a couple of spots to eat near Accor Stadium, it's not exactly a cornucopia of food and drinks. Consider hitting up a venue near one of these key stations for an early dinner or a couple of celebratory cocktails. City Oltra is a perfect pitstop for a few slices of some of the city's best pizza and a glass of orange wine just metres from Central Station. If mimosas on a rooftop are more of the vibe, consider stopping over at The Old Clare Hotel. As for Redfern, The Sunshine Inn, RaRa Ramen, Redbird and BrewDog are all stellar options for a pre-gig feed. Or, if you're just after a few top-notch drinks, Arcadia Liquors always does the trick. Plus, Strathfield is filled with plenty of standout dining options. Our picks for a cheap and cheerful meal: Korean fried chicken and a bottle of soju from the no-frills CC Train, or a big brothy bowl from Hansang. Not Going? How to Play Along Elsewhere Look what you made Australia do, Swifties: put on Taylor Swift-themed festivities everywhere and anywhere, to prolong the lavender haze swirling not just around Melbourne and Sydney, but Brisbane as well. From candlelight tributes and colourful cocktails to painting pottery and showing off your knowledge of Swift trivia, you have options. Sydney: Sydney well and truly has Swift fever, so if you're a Lover lover but you're not heading to Accor Stadium, there are plenty of Taylor-themed events happening all across the Harbour City. There's Taylor Swift bottomless brunch at both Harry's by Giuls and Above 319, Eras-themed doughnuts at Miss Sina, and limited-edition cocktails at Moxy Sydney and Alibi Bar and Dining. Crown Sydney is hosting a Swiftie High Tea at Teahouse until Sunday, February 25. The extravagant afternoon activity features a lineup of sweet treats representing some of Swift's most beloved albums — like the 1989, a lavender ganache with yuzu and almond streusel — as well as some savoury mouthfuls like whisky teriyaki wagyu and Sichuan miso-baked toothfish. If you want to flex your knowledge, Taylor Swift Trivia is popping up across Western Sydney, including Guildford on Sunday, February 25 and Penrith on Wednesday, February 28. The Argyle is getting in on the action with a Taylor Rave on Thursday, February 22 and, if you think you'll be full of energy after the show and you're looking to kick on with some more big TS sing-alongs, Oxford Art Factory is hosting a series of unofficial afterparties on the nights of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows. [caption id="attachment_940473" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paolo Villanueva via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] Melbourne: While most of the Taylor Swift-themed parties and events in Melbourne took place just before or during her time in the city, there is one way to still join in the fun in the week following: Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift. The hour-long concert features Swift's music played by a string quartet. It's running at Collingwood Town Hall on Saturday, February 24 at 6.30pm and 8.30pm. The moody candlelit performance is a brilliant chaser for any Swiftie who went to the shows, or even those who couldn't nab the hotly fought-over tickets. Brisbane: Every Brisbane Swiftie, and most Brisbanites in general, is well aware that T-Swift isn't bringing Eras to the Queensland capital. To commiserate, you can calm down in a number of ways — including at Fritzenberger South Bank's Swift-themed trivia night on Wednesday, February 21, then at a tribute party on Saturday, February 24 at Fortitude Valley's The Sound Garden, where a DJ will be spinning all the requisite tunes. Also on Saturday, February 24, head to Clontarf's The Craft Haven to make and paint Taylor Swift-inspired pottery. Then, on Sunday, February 25, Fluffy is taking its cues from the singer back in Fortitude Valley. And, come March and April, Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift will help you embrace your Swift love story at Grand on Ann, too. [caption id="attachment_922251" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trafalgar Releasing[/caption] How to Enjoy Eras Whenever You Want Back in October 2023, singing and dancing along to the Eras tour without actually attending the Eras tour became possible. That's when Swift released concert film Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour, which took in over $260 million at the worldwide box office when it hit the big screen. It also got everyone excited when it arrived on digital. Its next stop, if you're ready for it: Disney+ from Friday, March 15, complete with five extra tunes — 'cardigan' and four acoustic tracks — that haven't featured in other versions of the movie. You don't need to be a Swiftie to enjoy the film. In fact, watching it might turn you into one no matter how you feel about the pop superstar going in. There's no denying that the singer knows how to put on a helluva show — and the cinematography on display, plus the energetic direction by Sam Wrench (Billie Eilish Live at the O2), gives viewers an intimate experience across 169 minutes while also stressing how massive the Eras tour gigs are. The feature was shot over three concerts at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium in August 2023 — so, not at Swift's largest-ever gigs of her entire career at the MCG across Friday, February 16–Sunday, February 18, 2024 — and everything about it is dazzling. That includes the costume changes, choreography and setlist, and the fact that the tour and the film both exist as an ode to Swift's knack for reinvention. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour plays Australia until Monday, February 26. Head to the tour website for further details. Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour will stream via Disney+ from Friday, March 15, 2024. Read our review. Taylor Swift Australian Eras tour images: TAS Rights Management.
Fifty years, oh-so-many epic campaigns, and everything from movies to video games, too: that's the Dungeons & Dragons story. 2024 marks half a century since the tabletop roleplaying game first had its players rolling the dice and spinning fantasy tales, a milestone that's being celebrated Down Under with the Australasian premiere of Dungeons & Dragons' leap to the stage. Get ready for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern. Normally a trip to the theatre means engaging via watching, not by playing a part; however, that fittingly isn't the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern experience. Audience members don't simply view this version of the game, which is also currently running off-Broadway — they also play along, choosing the characters and helping shape the story. Here's how it works, as Australians will discover when DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern hits the Sydney Opera House Studio from Sunday, December 15, 2024: when you take your seat, you're a key aspect of the show. Entering the Forgotten Realms, you also pick the experiences and other elements of the performance using Gamiotics software, with more than 30 playable characters, 34 backgrounds and 28 combat effects involved. Still on numbers, the production also features 40-plus custom character illustrations, 40 item cards and over 300 individual pieces of content. Five actors take to the stage to bring all of the above to life, including via games, combat, puzzles and riddles — and, because of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern's interactive nature, they're not just performing the same roles each time. Shaking things up for the audience and the cast alike, this experience is never the same twice. "As passionate gamers and D&D players, the creators of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern set off on a quest to explore what a live interactive experience of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS could look like. What started as a D&D-style RPG onstage with folding tables and a box of props has grown beyond our wildest imagination — it's now an experience that has allowed us to forge a deep connection with gamers and non-gamers alike, with each night seeing the story play out in a way unique to that audience," explains co-creator and producer David Carpenter. "Dungeons & Dragons has an enduring and near-mythic appeal across generations, with so many adaptations and features in pop-culture moments over the past 50 years. But it's safe to say, no one has done anything like DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern before – and we're thrilled to be giving audiences the first chance to see it outside the US," adds Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance Ebony Bott. "This theatrical production captures the imagination, inviting everyone to join the adventure and interact with a new world from the moment they walk in the door." DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern will play the Sydney Opera House Studio from Sunday, December 15, 2024. Head to the venue's website for more details — and for pre-sale tickets from 9am on Tuesday, September 10 and general sales from 9am on Thursday, September 12. Images: Bronwen Sharp.
Google autocomplete results are often unintentionally hilarious and weirdly sad at the same time. But have you ever thought of them as an art form? Google Poetics is a Tumblr blog where users are invited to submit screenshots of their own 'Google poems'. After his generic Google search resulted in the strangely poetic "am I an alcoholic / am I fit to drive/ am I allergic to dogs / tell me, Andriy, am I", Finnish comedy writer Sampsa Nuotio experimented with a few more 'poems' and posted them on Facebook, where they were spotted by Raisa Omaheimo, who convinced him to set up the original Finnish-language version of the blog. Since then, Google Poetics has been expanded into 11 different languages and been featured in the Huffington Post, the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the New Yorker, and it's also inspired a 'googlepoems' page on Reddit. Co-founder Omaheimo says that she saw the poems as a kind of surreal art form, similar to The Situationists or the Fluxus movement. "I'm constantly touched and amused by the vision of a modern human being that these poems paint us," she said in a Huffington Post interview. "Many of us have these moments where we ponder questions like 'why am I single' or 'how big is the universe'. It is in a way extremely comforting to know this to be so. And also deeply amusing." See more of their sublime examples at Google Poetics.
For the uninitiated, a meeple is a human-shaped player token commonly used in board games, derived from the term 'my people'. If you already knew this, chances are you'll find your people at West End cafe Meeple and Mug. Although the cafe feels like a library with its mismatched lounging and modern white-and-dark-green walls, it would be hard to get any work done in such a temptingly fun atmosphere. Nothing says 'hang here all day' quite like a near-encyclopedic collection of nearly 300 board games — and the staff never kick anyone out until the games are over. The collection features all your classic family game night picks, new game releases, and staff picks from independent Australian board game makers. The entertainment at this unabashedly geeky cafe starts at the door — customers can roll a dice to determine their price. Get lucky and roll a two for $2 board games all day – just beware the dreaded 12. No game sesh is complete without something to munch on. Fuel up with a cuppa and plenty of comfort snacks (think chicken nuggets, loaded fries, saucy meatballs and even a veggie curry), plus an array of sweet treats such as doughnuts and ice cream. If you're feeling sharp enough to keep your head in the game, get boozy with a list of playful board game-themed cocktails and a solid beer and spirit selection. Beyond fun and bar bites, Meeple and Mug is all about community. From table markers that help players connect to regular LGBTQIA+ events and how-to-play evenings, it's a space where anyone ready to roll the dice can feel right at home. Images by Katie Ann Morfoot and supplied
If Harry Potter and Singing in the Rain were mashed up, this gadget would be the key prop. It might look like a magic wand, but it acts like an umbrella. By sucking in air at one end and pushing it out at the other, the motorised head creates a jet airflow, pushing raindrops away from you. Hence, you’re kept dry, without the inconvenience of carrying around a soggy piece of fabric that will invariably whack your fellow pedestrians in the face. Created by Nanjing-based inventor Chuan Wang, the air umbrella is currently funding on Kickstarter. It began life as a prototype back in November 2012. Wang then spent time working with PhD graduates from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to reduce the size, while maintaining an effective level of airflow. A controller at the base of the handle enables the user to manipulate the umbrella’s force, to meet the rain’s intensity. With ten days to go, the Kickstarter campaign has exceeded its target goal, thanks to 97 backers pledging to the tune of $10,283. Three sizes are available, the ‘A’, which is selling for $88; the ‘B’, priced at $98; and the ‘C’ at $108. The smallest measures 30 centimetres and weighs in at 500 grams, while the largest is extendable, to a length of 80 centimetres, and weighs 850 grams. The invention has some weaknesses. For one, it looks dodgy as. Dyson should really put this sleeker concept into production. Two, it eats battery life faster than Facebook for iPhone. Despite the significant size of the rechargeable lithium pack, umbrella ‘A’ offers only 15 minutes of protection at a time, while ‘C’ provides 30 minutes. Via PSFK.
Since 1987, if you've wanted to hit up South by Southwest, then you've needed to visit Austin in Texas. In October 2023, however, that'll no longer be the case. In what was perhaps Australia's biggest cultural news of 2022, the acclaimed tech, innovation, music, gaming, screen and culture festival and conference announced that it'll stage its first-ever non-US event in Sydney this year — and now it's starting to drop impressive lineup details. SXSW Sydney will run for a week from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 around the Harbour City, hosting 1000-plus sessions — and it also has its first-ever keynote speaker, too. American futurist, The Genesis Machine author, and Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb will do the honours. A favourite on lists of powerful and influential women — she was named "one of the five women changing the world" by Forbes in 2022, and one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2020 — Webb is renowned for her focus on data-driven, technology-led foresight methodology to ponder how the future might eventuate. And, ticking plenty of SXSW boxes, she's also a frequent collaborator with film and TV producers about science, tech and what's to come. [caption id="attachment_888438" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amy Webb[/caption] More keynote speakers are set to be unveiled in the coming months, but SXSW has also revealed an initial list of featured speakers. Among those getting chatting are Ben Lamm and Andrew Pask, who'll discuss their work on the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger; Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva and former Apple Chief Evangelist, who'll talk evolving tech; lawyer, writer and filmmaker Larissa Behrendt, fresh from helming Richard Bell-focused documentary You Can Go Now; and Saudi women's rights activist Manal al-Sharif. The roster of talent goes on, also featuring Jack Reis of First Nations cyber-security business Baidam Solutions; Per Sundin, the Swedish CEO of Pophouse Entertainment who has worked with Avicii, ABBA, Tove Lo and Swedish House Mafia, and had a part in the rise of Spotify; and BAFTA Games Award-winning game designer Sam Barlow. Plus, Twitch's Chief Product Officer Tom Verrilli, 88rising's Sean Miyashiro and Yoomin Yang, a producer on the Korean adaptation of Netflix's Money Heist, are all also on the bill. [caption id="attachment_888439" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Manal al-Sharif[/caption] If you're more interested in who'll be playing tunes during the SXSW Sydney Music Festival, a few names are starting to trickle in there as well. Nigerian British indie-pop songwriter Connie Constance will head Down Under for the first time, as will Canada's Ekkstacy, London-based quartet Los Bitchos, Japanese punk rockers Otoboke Beaver and teenage American rapper Redveil. Obviously, all of the above names — plus others listed below — are just the beginning of what's promising to be SXSW's massive Sydney debut. The fest has dropped a few more details about how it'll work, too, including the fact that it'll all take place within a walkable precinct within the Sydney CBD, Haymarket, Darling Harbour, Ultimo, Chippendale and more. Think of the fest's footprint as a huge hub, with festivals within the bigger fest, exhibitions, talks, networking opportunities and streetside activations popping up everywhere. So far, venues named include Powerhouse Museum, ICC Sydney, UTS, Central Park Mall, the Goods Line Walk, The Abercrombie and Lansdowne Hotel. [caption id="attachment_888440" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Otoboke Beaver by Mayumi Hirata[/caption] So, attendees can hit up the SXSW Sydney Conference, which is where those keynotes, presentations, panels, workshops and mentor sessions come in — more than 400 of them. And, there's the SXSW Sydney Technology & Innovation Exhibitions, which is all about innovative and emerging tech and entertainment companies from across the Asia-Pacific region. Plus, at the Startup Village, up-and-comers from all industries and sectors will have space to meet, present and chat. SXSW's arts fests will span the SXSW Sydney 2023 Music Festival, which will be focused on live music venues in central Sydney — and the SXSW Sydney Gaming Festival, complete with more than 100 local and international independent games to play at venues (alongside demonstrations, launches performances, exhibitions and social gatherings). Movie and TV lovers, get excited — because the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival isn't just a film fest. There'll be flicks to see, including at red-carpet premieres; episodic content; and digital, XR and social content. Expect Q&As and panel discussions with the folks behind them as well. Can't wait, whether you're a Sydney local or planning to head along from elsewhere in Australia — or New Zealand? Platinum and industry badges are already available at early-bird prices, with more ticketing to come. [caption id="attachment_888443" align="alignnone" width="1920"] EKKSTACY by Gilbert Trejo[/caption] SXSW SYDNEY 2023 — FIRST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT: KEYNOTES: Amy Webb FEATURED SPEAKERS: Andrew Pask Ben Lamm Guy Kawasaki Jack Reis Kyas Hepworth Larissa Behrendt Manal Al-Sharif Michael J Biercuk Per Sundin Que Minh Luu Robyn Denholm Rohit Bhargava Sam Barlow Sean Miyashiro Sheila Nguyen Sung-Eun Youn Tom Verrilli Yiying Lu Yoomin Yang SXSW SYDNEY MUSIC FESTIVAL: Connie Constance Ekkstacy Los Bitchos Otoboke Beaver Redveil SXSW Sydney will run from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22 at various Sydney venues — head to the festival's website for further details. If you're keen to make the most of Australia's first SXSW, take advantage of our special reader offer. Purchase your SXSW Sydney 2023 Official Badge via Concrete Playground Trips and you'll score a $150 credit to use on your choice of Sydney accommodation. Book now via the website.
Every year, the World's 50 Best Bars ranking outlines the innovative drinking spots and watering holes that should be on everyone's must-visit list, with three Sydney bars — Maybe Sammy, Cantina OK! and Bulletin Place — making the cut in 2020. That's one way of scoping out the top establishments and folks currently doing their thing in the hospitality industry; however, the organisation behind that rundown has just come up with another: the 50 Next, which picks the standout next-generation leaders currently shining bright in the food and drink world. The inaugural list has just dropped, and Australia is represented here, too — with four Aussies named as part of the class of 2021. Fish Butchery's Josh Niland, ex-Oakridge Wines pair Jo Barrett and Matt Stone, and agriculturalist and farmer Josh Gilbert have all been highlighted as part of a selection that includes people from 34 countries. The 50 folks were chosen from a pool of 700 candidates, as sourced via applications, nominations and by scouting done by the Basque Culinary Centre. Sydney's Niland — who is fresh off of winning the James Beard Book of the Year Award in 2020 for The Whole Fish Cookbook — has been showcasing his seafood prowess to Sydneysiders for more than half a decade. The chef first opened restaurant Saint Peter in 2016, then launched fishmonger Fish Butchery in 2018. Nose-to-tail seafood is his focus — so using not only the usual parts that end up in dishes, but the rest that's often disregarded as waste. Niland was named in the 50 Next's 'gamechanging producers' category. [caption id="attachment_771911" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Rob Palmer[/caption] Jo Barrett and Matt Stone scored nods in the 'hospitality pioneers' field, with the acclaimed chefs considered among the forefront of change in the industry. In their current project, Future Food System, they're working with artist, activist and zero-waste restaurant pioneer Joost Bakker to reconceptualise the way food is grown, all in an attempt to move away from the reliance upon large-scale agriculture. That's meant living together in a house in Melbourne's Federation Square, and serving a daily dish from ingredients grown on the property. Hailing from Gloucester in New South Wales, Worimi man Gilbert has been dubbed one of 50 Next's 'empowering educators' thanks to his focus on interweaving Indigenous knowledge and generational learning into farming practices. His work spans his senior consultant role with Pricewaterhouse Cooper's Indigenous Consulting program, and his efforts as an advocate for agricultural, environmental and Indigenous change — including busting stereotypes and demonstrating how the food industry can help battle climate change. 50 Next lists its fifty impressive next-gen leaders, but doesn't rank them, and aims to promote "positive, sustainable and visionary thinking". As well as the aforementioned categories, it recognises hospitality figures it deems 'tech disruptors', 'entrepreneurial creatives', 'science innovators' and 'trailblazing activists'. This year's selection features 24 women, 19 men and seven groups, with everyone included aged between 20–35. Check out the full 50 Next lineup via The World's 50 Best website.
When it opens in May 2023, SEA SEA looks set to be much more than your usual coastal hotel in New South Wales. Co-owners George Gorrow (co-founder of Ksubi fashion label and creator of The Slow hotel in Bali) and Cisco Tschurtschenthaler (a model, keen surfer, raw food chef, yoga teacher and founder of Cisco & The Sun Home) will use this new Crescent Head site to host art exhibitions, a fashion line and a homewares collection. And yeah, you can spend a few nights there as well. In terms of design and functionality, the 25-room hotel will take inspiration from Australia's 70s surf culture. Each room will be filled with bespoke, artisan-produced furniture and crafts paired with bold pieces of artwork. If it's anything like The Slow in Bali, it will be a visually stunning space where patrons can really relax. The food and drinks offerings will be a big part of the experience, too. The venue is teaming up with Sydney's much-loved P&V Wine & Liquor Merchants and mixologist Antonello Arzedi (who has previously worked at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar) to level up the drinks menu. Food will be looked after by Daniel Medcalf of Cabarita's No 35 Kitchen and Bar and, previously, The Dolphin Hotel and The Slow Kitchen and Bar in Bali. Guests and visitors can also make their way over to Room 13, where Gorrow's passion for art and design will keep taking centre stage. This 90-square-metre project space will house a rolling series of art exhibitions, changing every six weeks, and also play host to musical performances curated by Wesley Heron, the hotel's Music Director. You can even tune into the venue's in-house radio station from your room — curated by Reverberation. [caption id="attachment_878246" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wesley Heron, SEA SEA's Music Director.[/caption] Also a feature: Gorrow's new fashion label Non-Type, which will be sold at the hotel. That venture sees him team up with another Ksubi co-founder, Gareth Moody — keep an eye out for the label's tailored pants, board shorts, wetsuits and leather blazers. Cisco Tschurtschenthaler's aforementioned homewares range Cisco & The Sun Home will be sold at the hotel as well, with the owners clearly putting a lot of themselves into this venture. And, of course, the new boutique hotel will be right by the beach. In fact, SEA SEA will be just 400 metres away from a must-surf Crescent Head point break. So, grab your surfboard (or boogie board) and prepare for an epic seaside vacay down in this laidback town. SEA SEA will open in Crescent Head, New South Wales on May 1, 2023, and will start taking bookings from the beginning of December. Head to the hotel's website for further information. Now you can book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips, and discover inspiring deals on flights, stays and experiences.
An escape to Aotearoa New Zealand can cater to all your holiday desires, whatever they may be. Whether your idea of a perfect getaway is to be gazing out at incredible scenery, absorbing it all on a hike, bike, paddle, swim or walk, or being pampered into a state of utter relaxation, New Zealand will take your breath away. Make where you stay part of your holiday too, rather than simply a place to rest your head after an experience-packed day. From camping out under the stars beneath one of the darkest skies on Earth to retreating into luxury residences next to vineyards and cellar doors, or even going completely off-grid, the getaways you'll find in New Zealand are uniquely extraordinary. Although New Zealand beckons for a holiday year-round, the seasons will shape your sojourn too. Revel in the charm of changing landscapes in autumn, catch your breath on alpine walks and in hot springs in winter, or experience the energy of spring as native wildlife and vegetation start afresh. No matter when you visit, you'll be welcomed with manaakitanga, a Maōri value encompassing a deep sense of connection and welcome, for a holiday you'll wish never had to end. We've partnered with 100% Pure New Zealand to curate some of our favourite stays in New Zealand, including which season they're best experienced in, to help you plan an unforgettable trip. Flick the switch for incredible getaway venues in autumn, winter and spring. Jump to switcher
Being abducted by a giant psychedelic bird and falling through a tripped-out realm of giant saxophones is all in a day's work for Wagons. To celebrate the announcement of a pair of Victorian shows following Wagons' recent Acid Rain and Sugar Cane album tour, the Melbourne outfit's latest single 'Chase the Eclipse' comes with a trippy new video. Featuring the super '70s claymation work of Wagons band member Si the Philanthropist, the clip is just the ticket for a boring ol' weekday afternoon. "Inspired by Gumby and the movie Jason and the Argonauts, the story is like Greek mythology meets acid trip wonderland," says Si the Philanthropist "A strange creature kidnaps Henry, then the band are transformed by its powers while trying to rescue him, until the eclipse destroys the magic and releases them. I wanted to make a strange, and colourful video to match the technicolour nature of the song. "One month, 6500 shots, all made in a home studio with a skateboard for a dolly, ten packets of modelling clay, one jumbo packet of smarties, 180 coloured paper circles, some fern trees, two guitars, a keyboard, a saxophone and Henry." Here's the clip, see you on the other side of the rabbit hole: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hlqf43YSP1g WAGONS EXTRA AUS TOUR DATES: Fri Aug 8 at Caravan Music Club. tickets here. Sat Aug 9 at The Substation, Newport, tickets here.
"Alright, when's the murder-mystery start?" That's a line in the first teaser trailer for Knives Out sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and it sums up what we're all thinking. If you loved the 2019 OG movie, then you've been hanging out to spend more time with Daniel Craig as Blanc, Benoit Blanc. Get ready to do that a little earlier, and on the big screen. The first of two Netflix followups to that hit flick arrives this year — to stream on Friday, December 23, in fact — but it's also going to score a cinema run. The streaming platform tends to take that approach in the latter half of the year, when its slate is filled with movies that've premiered on the international film festival circuit, feature a heap of big-name talent, hail from impressive boxes or all three. Glass Onion ticks all of those boxes. In this case, however, you'll be able to get sleuthing in a cinema between Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29 — a month before the movie heads to streaming. And, you'll want to get in quick, as it's only showing for that one week. After that, you're back to waiting for an early Christmas gift. This time around, Edward Norton (The French Dispatch), Janelle Monáe (Antebellum), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Leslie Odom Jr (The Many Saints of Newark), Jessica Henwick (The Gray Man), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Kate Hudson (Music) and Dave Bautista (Thor: Love and Thunder) all join Craig, and the action moves to Europe. If you saw the original — or any murder-mystery involving a motley crew of characters brought together in one location when someone turns up dead — then you'll know how it works from there. There's a lavish setting, that aforementioned big group of chalk-and-cheese folks, threats aplenty and just as much suspicion. Glass Onion takes place on a Greek island, but also sends its various players on a cruise — and yes, thinking about Agatha Christie, including this year's Death on the Nile, is a natural reaction. "Lock the doors. Stay in your rooms. Everyone is in danger," Blanc advises in the sneak peek, because all of that goes with the territory as well. Is the culprit Bautista's Duke Cody on the yacht? Hudson's Birdie Jay in the games room? Hahn's Claire Debella by the pool? You'll have to watch to find out. Just like its predecessor, Glass Onion is both written and directed by Rian Johnson, with the filmmaker moving onto the franchise after 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi — and still indulging his love of on-screen puzzles, as shone through in Brick and Looper as well. Check out the first trailer for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery below: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will hit Australian and New Zealand cinemas from Wednesday, November 23–Tuesday, November 29, then become available to stream via Netflix from Friday, December 23. Images: John Wilson/Netflix © 2022.
Let the games begin: Squid Game: The Challenge, that is, and IRL rather than in a fictionalised thriller. When Squid Game became one of Netflix's biggest successes, a reality show that riffed on the concept was always going to happen. There's no death here, but there's still 456 players competing for a huge cash prize while wearing green tracksuits, being overseen by red-clad figures, and playing hopscotch, marbles, sugar honeycombs and tug of war. The reality competition TV show received the green light back in 2022, after the streaming platform had also confirmed that a second season of Squid Game itself was on its way. In June 2023, Netflix also announced that Squid Game: The Challenge would arrive in November. Then, it locked in Wednesday, November 22 as the spinoff's launch date, and dropped a teaser trailer. Now, a full sneak peek is here — and, sans murder, it looks exactly like its inspiration. If you're one of the hordes of viewers who watched Squid Game when it instantly became one of the best new TV programs of 2021, as we all are, then you'll understand the concept at the heart of Squid Game: The Challenge. As seen in the two glimpses at the show ahead of its arrival, the whole pesky compete-to-the-death angle is missing, obviously, but everything about the series is as everyone expects. The outfits, the games, the decor, the music and, yes, the notorious Red Light, Green Light doll: they're all accounted for. And the prize? $4.56 million, aka the biggest cash prize in reality-show history. How does it work? Again, you already know the details. Those 456 folks — all ordinary people, and not actors — will try to score the $4.56 million by playing a series of games inspired by the extremely fictional South Korean thriller, as well as a few new additions. Also, competitors will be eliminated as the games go on, and forming strategies and alliances will play a huge part. So, Squid Game: The Challenge is clearly designed to get as close to the OG Squid Game as possible, just without the body count. It's all being overseen by a Front Man, too, because of course it is. The results will unfurl over ten episodes, in what Netflix has dubbed "the biggest reality competition series ever". Well, it certainly has the biggest cast. Making a gripping and brutal TV show that satirises capitalism, then bringing its games into real life does sound like something that might happen in Squid Game itself if the show was getting meta. "This is a savage game," one of the contestants in the new trailer offers — but, again, viewers already know that. Check out the trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge: Squid Game: The Challenge will stream via Netflix in on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix . Images: Netflix.
The Irishman screens in cinemas from Thursday, November 7, and will also stream via Netflix from Wednesday, November 27. Is Martin Scorsese cinema's foremost purveyor of pissing contests? In the posturing men that fill the filmmaker's frames, penis-measuring and ego battles keep bubbling up. The urge to assert one's superiority and claim one's domain pulsates through gangster classics such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and The Departed. It's also evident in The Wolf of Wall Street, which takes aim at the need to one-up everyone and everything. But, spread across six decades and told with a deeply melancholy sense of contemplation, this notion seeps through The Irishman with particular weight and purpose. It's impossible not to notice it when, surrounded by mob heavies on one side and a corrupt labor union leader on the other, the film's central hitman observes these two opposing forces agitating for supremacy — by any means possible, and frequently to their own detriment. That hitman is Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), after the World War II veteran-turned-truck driver crosses paths with Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Taken under the crime boss's wing, he rises through the ranks as far as any non-Sicilian can — becoming, at his mentor's behest, the mob's conduit to outspoken Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Adapted by Steven Zaillian (The Night Of) from Charles Brandt's 2004 non-fiction text I Heard You Paint Houses, Scorsese's film is told from the octogenarian Sheeran's perspective, as he reflects on his life's volatile ups and downs while remembering a pivotal road trip, and the events that led to it. It's no spoiler to say that, in bookending scenes, he's whiling away his remaining days in a nursing home. And even if you don't know your 20th century American history, it's no spoiler to say that Sheeran's cronies don't all enjoy the same fate. Sometimes, Scorsese introduces bit-players via text outlining their name, date of death and its cause, stressing the cutthroat nature of the gangster world. In the process, he illustrates the cost of behaviour that's as common as breathing in The Irishman, and that his protagonist becomes accustomed to. As Sheeran progresses from stealing steaks to grease mob wheels, to "painting houses" (read: killing), to taking on a union role to help control the headstrong Hoffa, he's thrust into the thick of ego-driven conflict. He not only adapts, but prospers at the expense of many a life, with this violent true tale doubling as an indictment of the destructive deeds and mindsets that remain baked into society. It's telling that, when a remorseful Sheeran finally confronts the fallout from these constant power struggles, he's no longer cool, calm and collected. It's just as potent when, after seeing her dad at his worst, his daughter Peggy (played by Lucy Gallina as a child and Anna Paquin as an adult) makes the movie's biggest statement by shunning this dog-eat-dog regime, and refusing to even really speak. Scorsese ruminates on the consequences of acquiescing, and the strength required to avoid being complicit — ideas that reach far wider than Sheeran's story. The director has probed the murky basis of American life in complex gangster flicks for half a century, with The Irishman proving a meaty musing on the subject as filtered through one mobster's recollection. And, what a gangster flick this is. Nearing 80 himself, Scorsese is as stunning a filmmaker as ever. The Irishman swaps the endless energy of his earlier output for a more patient but still lively unravelling across three-and-a-half hours — and revelling in the minutiae, hearing conversations that seem to go nowhere, and spying the cycles and repetition is all by design. Stylistically, the film is classic Scorsese from the opening tracking shot that recalls Goodfellas through to the devastating final image, all thanks to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Silence). As she's done since Who's That Knocking at My Door and Raging Bull, editor Thelma Schoonmaker not only gives the movie its pace, but moves seamlessly between time periods as Sheeran's story jumps back and forth between decades. What would a Scorsese film be without his on-screen muses, though? De Niro is a powerhouse, taking the ebbs and flows of Sheeran's life in his stride, and acting his way past the barely noticeable de-aging special effects that help wind back the clock. Somehow, this is Scorsese and Pacino's first pairing, but the director and actor are on the same wavelength, especially when they're at their most boisterous. Harvey Keitel steps in front of the filmmaker's lens for the sixth time, and Vinyl's Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano make an imprint as fellow mobsters, too. If one star acts as weathervane for The Irishman, though, it's the inimitable Pesci in his welcome return. He has barely acted since Casino, and he's in quietly menacing rather than frenetically ferocious mode, which sums up this compelling epic perfectly. Gangster chest-beating resonates through every second of the phenomenal crime drama, which earns its lengthy running time — but the toll that's left unsaid echoes far louder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHXxVmeGQUc
Do you like horror films? Australian director Mark Hartley obviously does. His infectious, gleeful enthusiasm for his popular if sometimes critically reviled genre of horror makes this a blood-soaked treat for like-minded fans. Having previously explored the rich if somewhat forgotten back catalogues of Australian exploitation cinema horror in his excellent doco Not Quite Hollywood, he takes the next logical step here, remaking Richard Franklin's 1978 cult favourite B-movie. The tagline of the original also serves as a neat plot summary: 'He's in a coma…yet, he can kill!' He is Patrick, a patient who somehow maintains his excellent condition while those around him waste away in a vegetative state in a creepy, isolated hospital. When a young nurse makes a ghoulish discovery that leads to her grisly end, the bright young Kathy 'Jac' Jacquard (Sharni Vinson) is recruited to the facility, which is overseen by Dr. Roget (Charles Dance) and his dead-eyed daughter, Matron Cassidy (Rachel Griffiths). Patrick rattles through genre tropes (creaky elevator shafts, dirty-looking syringes, zombie-like patients wandering blackened corridors, moments of silence shattered by a pounding at the door) with an expert's assurance and a fan's relish. This is a film that knows exactly what it is, and that recognises that some things are cliches for a reason. Patrick is in cinemas on October 17. Thanks to Umbrella Entertainment, we have one Patrick prize pack to give away, including a double in-season pass to see the film and a DVD set containing the original 1978 version of Patrick (Richard Franklin), Child's Play (Tom Holland) and Stake Land (Jim Mickle). Ten runners up will receive double in-season passes. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au Read our full review here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=0N5iCcPGqoY
Tasmania's longstanding farming traditions and wealth of inventive small-batch producers have turned the state into a must-visit culinary destination for food lovers. With the island's cool climate and diverse landscape providing incredible conditions, Tasmania is blessed with some of Australia's top seafood, fresh produce and wineries. If you're looking to fill your next Tassie trip with a plethora of palate pleasers, you've come to the right place. We've teamed up with Tourism Tasmania to help you navigate your way to the finest food festivals and farmers markets. From the rugged northwest coast to the bustling streets of Hobart, here's all you need to discover incredible food and drink on your travels. [caption id="attachment_866907" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania and Adam Gibson[/caption] GREAT EASTERN WINE WEEK Sample some of the best cool-climate wines in Australia at the lavish 10-day Great Eastern Wine Week festival. Held in September across venues from Bream Creek to St Helens, the festival brings together the coastline's top winemakers, growers and producers to celebrate everything special about the region's viticulture and cuisine. Whether you're a lover of good food or a staunch oenophile, the festival's gourmet events and experiences will accompany your journey with exceptional flavours in tow. Discover what makes this wine region so celebrated as you enjoy coastal oysters and high tea among the vines, sipping on a high-end pinot noir or chardonnay. [caption id="attachment_865311" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania and Tony Crehan[/caption] WYNYARD TULIP FESTIVAL Tasmania's northwest coast is admired for its craggy landmarks like Cradle Mountain and Gunns Plains Caves. However, you can take the relax-factor up a notch with a visit to Wynyard Tulip Festival. Set in a charming regional hub, the one-day event is held at Gutteridge Gardens, along the banks of the Inglis River, in the picturesque town of Wynyard. The floral festival will take place on Saturday, October 8, with live music, children's entertainment and market stalls spotlighting the craft goods from local makers and producers. While you're in the area, head to nearby Table Cape Tulip Farm to walk through hectares of colourful flower fields while they're in full bloom for the month of October. [caption id="attachment_866908" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania and Jason Charles[/caption] STANLEY & TARKINE FORAGE FESTIVAL Set on the dramatic tip of Tasmania's northwest coast, Stanley is an ideal base to explore the remarkable takayna/Tarkine — the second-largest cool-temperate rainforest in the world. But this spectacular part of the world isn't just home to jagged clifftops and sprawling nature walks. Soon, the inaugural Stanley & Tarkine Forage Festival, showcasing the region's delicious produce, will also be attracting visitors. The 10-day festival will run from Friday, November 11 till Sunday, November 20, at multiple locations throughout the surrounding Circular Head region. Expect a program filled with events aplenty: tastings, live performances, markets and exhibitions that capture the heart and soul of the region. From grass-fed beef to fresh seafood plucked from the nearby coastal waters, the festival will acquaint you with this remote area's burgeoning food scene in no time. [caption id="attachment_866909" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Liza Jane Sowden[/caption] EFFERVESCENCE TASMANIA Courtesy of a cool climate delivering the high acidity and purity needed to produce a superior product, Tasmanian sparkling wine has quickly achieved a world-class reputation. Now in its ninth year, Effervescence Tasmania invites the island state's top sparkling wine makers to showcase their drops to local and visiting epicurists. From Friday, November 11 till Sunday, November 13, the region's most beloved chefs and food producers will present a refined Tasmanian feast — paired with stand-out bubbles, no less. Through dinners and masterclasses hosted by industry experts, this event will provide all the answers you need as to why Tassie's reputation for sparkling wine is exploding internationally. [caption id="attachment_865149" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania[/caption] FARM GATE MARKET A visit to Farm Gate Market is essential for any weekend spent in Hobart. Every Sunday on Bathurst Street, you can purchase locally grown goods and have a chat with the people who grow and make them. With the market held year round, there's likely to be something new to try each time you visit. Alongside farm-fresh fruit and veggies, you'll also find everything from artisanal raw honey to homemade sourdough and more. Plus, there's street performers and live musicians in attendance too — creating a bright, buzzy atmosphere at this quintessential Hobart festivity. Ready to plan a trip for your tastebuds around Tasmania? To discover more, visit the website. Top images: Tourism Tasmania
With sea levels expected to rise at least 80 centimetres by the end of the century, scientists, architects and designers have been looking at ways to adapt. The nation of Kiribati, which lies just two metres above the ocean, has confirmed plans to buy land from Fiji and is even considering the purchase of a man-made island. In the Netherlands, architectural firm Waterstudio, founded by Koen Olthuis, is committed to "developing solutions to the problems posed by urbanisation and climate change". They've been coming up with large-scale floating projects, including a Sea Tree, an Ocean Flower in The Maldives and a Floating Boulevard in Antwerp. Now, construction is set to start on the world's first floating apartment block, known as The Citadel. Sixty luxury units, covering two acres of water and built on a concrete caisson, will comprise the project. They'll be constructed on a polder — a low-lying section of land that usually floods during heavy rain — of which there are 3500 in Holland. The usual Dutch practice is to drain them, in order to protect nearby buildings. However, The Citadel will take rising and falling water in its stride, floating accordingly. Each apartment will have its own garden terrace and lake views. Boat docks, a car park and a floating road (providing connectivity to dry land) are also part of the plan. Energy efficiency will be achieved via greenhouses and by taking advantage of the cooling potential of water. It's expected that, eventually, the construction of more floating buildings will see The Citadel become part of a buoyant town. https://youtube.com/watch?v=4nQ2ENphg00 Via Gizmag.
It's time to get schwifty, Rick and Morty fans — again. Last year, everyone's favourite interdimensional adventurers finally returned for their fourth season, with a certain eccentric scientist and his anxious grandson causing plenty of chaos throughout the multiverse across five characteristically anarchic episodes. To the delight of R&M fans everywhere, however, there's more where that came from. In fact, 2019's batch of episodes only covered half of the animated sitcom's fourth season — and the second set of five episodes is heading to the small screen this year. It'll start dropping week-to-week on Netflix Down Under from Wednesday, May 6, running through until Wednesday, June 3. That means that Australian and New Zealand viewers have to wait a couple of extra days compared to audiences in the US, where episodes will air on Sundays — but that's a much, much shorter delay than the gap between the show's third season in 2017 and its fourth in 2019. In the trailer for the new episodes, Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith (both voiced by show co-creator Justin Roiland) are still doing what they do best: not just aping a concept straight out of Back to the Future (aka a lab coat-wearing old man, his teenage sidekick, and their time- and space-jumping antics), but wreaking havoc in as many universes as they can stumble across. Also back are Morty's mother Beth (Sarah Chalke), father Jerry (Chris Parnell) and sister Summer (Spencer Grammer). Watch the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPDqQDTnJKE As always, the new episodes will rejoin the smartest Rick and Morty-est Morty in the universe — and, behind the scenes, feature the smart comic writing of Roiland and Community's Dan Harmon. And, while five new episodes mightn't seem like much, there's still even more to come, with the show renewed for a huge 70 episodes by US network Adult Swim in 2018 (which is more than double the 31 that the comedy aired before season four started). If you're more excited about new R&M than Mr Meeseeks and Mr Poopybutthole are about just being themselves, then there's more good news, with Adult Swim also dropping a five-minute-long online mini-episode to tide fans over until the next full episodes hit. Prepare to meet Rick WTM-72 and Shogun Morty in Samurai & Shogun. Wubba lubba dub dub indeed. Check out Samurai & Shogun below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=BSF5yoD-vC4&feature=emb_logo The final five episodes of Rick and Morty's fourth season will hit Netflix Down Under weekly from Wednesday, May 6.
The roof at New York's world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art is playing host to a most unusual dinner party. Created by prolific Argentinean artist Adrián Villar Rojas, The Theater of Disappearance consists of more than 100 characters and objects from the Met's incredible collection that have been digitally scanned and cast as sculptures, before being spread around the Iris and B Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Made with 3D printers or through a computer-controlled milling process, the outdoor display mixes and matches artwork from all around the globe. Some figures sit around long white banquet tables, while others look out across the Manhattan skyline. Egypt's King Horemheb gives a piggyback ride to a woman in sneakers, who in turn holds Tutankhamun's head in her left hand. Plates and coins and goblets and even medieval armour lay strewn across the table. "I wanted to play with the doodles of culture," Rojas told The New York Times. Unhappy with what he sees as the sterile, constructed world of contemporary museums, he decided to imagine his own museum "without divisions, without geopolitics, totally horizontal." The Theater of Disappearance will be on display at The Met until October 29, weather permitting. Images via The Met on Twitter.
If you've ever had a hunch about a company that's gone on to make it big, or you think you can predict the future, you might have considered investing in the stock market. One way you can do this — without dropping a heap of cash — is by trying out Superhero, a new Robinhood-style trading platform, which has super-low fees and an easy-to-understand dashboard that lets you monitor the progress of all your stocks. Backed by the founders of Afterpay and Zip Co, Superhero offers Australia's cheapest brokerage fee of just $5 per trade. Plus, it lets you invest in ETFs (Electronic Traded Funds) and pay no brokerage fees at all, and has a $100 minimum investment — so you don't have to be moneybags to get started. While the website won't turn you into Eddie Morra (aka Bradley Cooper) from Limitless, it will let you pretend you're that good, with tips on how to spot the next big thing. At the moment, three of the most-traded shares on its platform include Zip Co, an Australian buy-now-pay-later company (think Afterpay); Brainchip, an artificial intelligence company; and Emerge Gaming, an e-sport platform. All three have seen their share prices grow between 43 and 620 percent in the last 12 months. Superhero itself has been super popular, too, with the Australian Financial Review reporting that a whopping 10,000 Aussies signed up in its first three weeks. If you want to try it out for yourself, you can sign up to Superhero for free over here. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Did you know there are more pets in Australia than there are people? And yet, when you think of road trips, you might not immediately think of dogs — that's not very fair. How would you feel if you always got left behind while all your bipedal mates grabbed their cars and drove away to have the time of their lives without you? It's time to change that, it's time to start bringing more dogs on road trips. So grab your car and your furry pal, and strap in for one of this country's most popular road trips: Sydney to Brisbane. And no stress if you don't have a car, because SIXT offers stress-free pet-friendly car rentals from a bunch of locations across Sydney and Brisbane — so you can worry less about logistics and focus on making memories. NEW MATES AT NEWCASTLE The journey begins in Newcastle, where the golden sands and rolling waves of Horseshoe Beach make the perfect first pit stop for some off-leash fun. The beach is a mecca for local dogs and dogs passing through alike — it's the only dog beach in central Newcastle, so your little pal can expect to make a lot of mates during this visit. You'll find it tucked beneath Nobby's Breakwall. Other off-leash areas worth exploring are Carrington Foreshore along Throsby Creek, and King Edward Park, which offers stunning views of Newcastle. Islington Dog Park is also worth a visit while you're near Throsby Creek, but it's not the only dog park in town — Acacia Avenue Reserve offers a massive 1.5-hectares of grassy paradise for dogs to run around in. It is also the first enclosed dog park in the Hunter to offer separate areas for big and small dogs, which is pretty neat if your little pal feels anxious around bigger ones. Once you and your pup are sufficiently adventured out, head to Cafe Inu — 'Inu' means dog in Japanese, so to say this cafe is dog-friendly would be an understatement. Fill up on craft coffee and Japanese fast food fare while your furry pal has their choice of puppychinos, puppy ice cream or puppy treats (or all three), which are all on the menu. Yep, there's a dedicated dog section — how cute. [caption id="attachment_913208" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Samantha Zoratto[/caption] FIND PEACE AT CROWDY HEAD As you continue north towards Port Macquarie, make a quick (or not so quick) stop at Crowdy Head. This quiet coastal spot is anything but crowded. In fact, it's kind of a hidden gem — so keep this between us, capisce? While you're around, check out the cute lighthouse that overlooks Harrington Beach. Your dog will love it — dogs love lighthouses, didn't you know? You'll also get a kick out of it too, given it's been fully operational since 1878. If waves aren't your little mate's thing, Harrington Lagoon offers all the fun of water and sand, sans the surf — for this reason, it's a popular spot for families with kids and little furry pals alike. [caption id="attachment_831355" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lindsay Moller Productions[/caption] DON'T WORRY AT PORT MACQUARIE Port Macquarie offers an array of dog-friendly activities. Explore the natural wonders of Kooloonbung Creek Nature Park or enjoy a splash at the dog-friendly Nobbys Beach. Other dog-friendly beaches include Rocky Beach and Oxley Beach — though keep in mind dogs need to be on leash at Oxley. Feeling hungry? Little Fish Cafe and Cassegrain Wines are both dog-friendly, with the latter welcoming dogs on the deck of the restaurant. Little Shack is also a great dog-friendly option for all times of day, from morning coffee to lunch by the water to a cheeky evening cocktail. Once you're ready to retire, check out NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park, a dog-friendly holiday park with powered and unpowered sites. [caption id="attachment_913209" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Samantha Zoratto[/caption] CATCH WORLD-CLASS WAVES AT CRESCENT HEAD Known for its consistent waves and stunning coastline, Crescent Head is a paradise for surfers and their furry mates as the beach is dog friendly. It even has a dog swimming area if your dog wants to brush up on its dog paddle while you perfect your… human paddle? [caption id="attachment_913218" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Bailey Rytenskild via Unsplash[/caption] ENDLESS ADVENTURE AT EVANS HEAD Nestled between river and sea, Evans Head offers a mix of river adventures and oceanic exploration. Enjoy the calm waters of the Evans River with your dog or take a beach walk — or run if you really wanna stretch those legs. Or why not take advantage of the off-leash area and play some fetch, or have a beach 4WD adventure detour? FIND YOURSELVES IN BYRON BAY Ahh, Byron Bay — the ultimate destination for every dog that aspires to be spiritually awakened. Embark on the iconic lighthouse walk, where you and your furry mate can both ponder the meaning of life while marvelling at the vast expanse of stunning ocean, tourist selfies, and crystals as far as the eye can see. Belongil Beach, Tallow Beach, Seven Mile Beach, and Brunswick Heads Beach are all dog-friendly, so you'll have plenty to do in the surf and sun while you're in town. Byron also offers a plethora of dog parks to explore if you prefer more inland adventure. After all that frolicking, treat yourself at Stone & Wood, Pickled Pig, or Byron Bay breweries, all of which welcome dogs with open arms. GOLD COAST (GO ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO) Forget surfers, the Goldy (we're sorry) truly is a pet's paradise. Enjoy a leisurely stroll along the esplanade, visit the absolutely stunning and vast off-leash area at The Spit, or explore the dog-friendly parks the city has to offer — Tallebudgera Offleash Dog Beach, Cabana Offleash Dog Area, and Pizzey Offleash Dog Area are particularly nice. If you happen to be around on a Sunday, head to one of the many dog-friendly markets which pop up every weekend all around the Gold Coast, with Broadbeach, Coolangatta, Burleigh Heads, and Paradise Point markets being particularly pet-friendly. If you're after a caffeine hit, Elk Espresso, Daymaker Espresso, BSKT Cafe, and Daark Espresso are all dog lovers. Or, you could also head to Wild Flower Gin in Varsity Lakes for dog-friendly dining and relaxation, and if you're lucky you might even meet Ghost, the resident Great Dane cross Bull Arab. Once it's time to rest, check out the lovely NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort, which has a number of pet-friendly options including powered and unpowered camp and caravan sites, as well as dog-friendly cabins. BEAUTIFUL BRISSIE Congrats, you made it. Take the opportunity to stretch your legs at the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens, where you'll find the Kangaroo Point Cliffs Loop — a fun inner-city adventure for humans and canines alike. Or if you're up for more of a challenge, head to the Kokoda Track Loop for a ten-kilometre heart-pumper, located just 20 kilometres out of Brisbane. Once you're ready to relax, check out the various dog-friendly cafes, bars, and restaurants. Also, it's been a long journey, so you've earned a treat. Stay at The Ovolo in Fortitude Valley, which is more than happy to welcome your pooch in its pet-friendly rooms. Lastly, if you're wanting to do this road trip in reverse, there are some excellent dog-friendly bars, restaurants and cafes just waiting for your tired legs to perch up. And when it's time to pack up for the night, you'll be spoilt for choice as Sydney is arguably Australia's best spot for dog-friendly hotels. Looking for a pet-friendly rental to take you and your best furry mate on the road trip of a lifetime (or looking for a bigger car to fit your furry mate)? Check out SIXT, which welcomes customers to bring their family and furmily along for the ride, so no one gets left behind. Auto club members including NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RACT, RAC and AANT will receive 15% off SIXT's daily rates. Click here to book now
Last time I went down to Wollongong the driver announced that the last carriage of the train would be a quiet zone. No loud conversations, no chatting on the phone, no music without headphones. This was followed by a loud, automated announcement saying the same thing again, but louder. While a quiet carriage would have to be pretty appealing for the weary reader struggling to beat Game of Thrones to the end of voluminous original A Storm of Swords, you also have to wonder what else you could mandate the end of a train carriage be used for, if only the power was at your command. In places like India and Japan, there are women-only carriages (and there were some calls for that here not long ago) and in Sydney, a group is already taking this idea into its own hands with on-train, flash mob-style music sessions. In the Czech Republic, though, they’re putting space aside for flirting. According to the ABC, commuters in Prague will soon have the option of riding in a dedicated singles carriage. Flirting on the subway in Prague is nothing new — the Prague Frommers guide even has a dedicated guide to the best lines for kissing on — but a dedicated hooking-up space still makes for a first. The planned carriage is part of a drive to convince more locals to abandon their cars for public transport. People whose hooking up is already done won't be asked to leave, nor forced do sit-ups, but it does raise the prospect of Ashley Madison-ing some already committed commuters. Or maybe making for some really awkward rides with home with colleagues during those crowded peak hours. Via ABC / Reuters. Image by Brad Hammonds.
Another of your childhood favourites is making the leap from movie to stage musical — this time, the Robin Williams-starring Mrs Doubtfire. The theatre production will once again follow the plight of a divorced dad and struggling actor who's desperate to see his kids, and so dresses up as a kindly English nanny in order to spend time with them. Originally based on Anne Fine's bestselling novel Alias Madame Doubtfire, the 1993 film won two Golden Globes — for best musical or comedy, and for best actor in a musical or comedy for Williams — as well as an Oscar for best makeup. If the stage musical version sounds familiar, that's because it was originally mooted back in 2015. Then, last year, a different team hopped onboard, revived the project and announced that it was actually going to happen — unlike the film sequel that was planned in the early 00s, but didn't ever come to fruition. (And no, Arrested Development's homage, aka Tobias Funke's Mrs Featherbottom, doesn't really count.) Set to premiere at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre this year, the Mrs Doubtfire musical will then give Broadway hot flashes from March 9, 2020, ahead of its proper New York launch on April 5. Both productions will star Rob McClure, who nabbed a Tony nomination in 2013 for Chaplin, and is currently treading Broadway's boards in another movie-to-theatre adaptation: Beetlejuice. If you need a refresher on just what McClure will get up to when Mrs Doubtfire hits the stage, check out the original film trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqxpC_jYncE Behind the scenes, the musical's creative team includes director Jerry Zaks, and writers John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick (book) plus Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick (music and lyrics) – all taking on the task of bringing the beloved flick to the stage. Between them all, they boast an impressive history. Zaks has won four Tonys, including for the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, and also has Little Shop of Horrors, Le Cage aux Folles, A Bronx Tale, Sister Act and Hello, Dolly! on his resume. As for the writing team, they're behind nine-time Tony nominee Something Rotten!. Planning to visit New York next year? Pre-sale tickets are currently available for the Broadway season, with regular sales starting on November 1. If it wasn't evident before this news, then it is now — the combination of nostalgically remembering enjoyable flicks from years gone by and adding songs to the mix seems to be a licence to print money. In recent years, everything from Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bring It On and Mean Girls has made the leap to the stage, plus The Bodyguard, Amelie, Waitress, Muriel's Wedding and Moulin Rouge!. A stage version of The Devil Wears Prada is also in the works, as are theatre adaptations of Empire Records, The Notebook, The Princess Bride, Magic Mike and Aussie classic Starstruck. Via Playbill.
Forget been-there-done-that road trips — this is the year you start taking the road less travelled. You need something new. Something special. Something delicious worth making the turnoff and tracking down. With a little inspiration from Empty Esky and Canadian Club, we've got your next off-the-beaten-track road trip all planned — right down to the coffee stops, long lunches and one-of-a-kind gourmet country pies. Starting in Canberra, your foodie stops will take you to Braidwood, Batemans Bay and Ulladulla before finishing up in Milton. Along the way, you'll eat local, drink well and get cosy in some hidden country gems. Best of all, you'll help independent venues in communities still recovering from the bushfires — and, you know, everything else that happened in 2020. These pretty little places haven't had the easiest time lately, but still have so much good country hospitality to offer. [caption id="attachment_750222" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Canberra[/caption] BARRIO COLLECTIVE COFFEE, BRADDON We're kicking things off in Canberra, and you can't leave the capital without visiting Barrio Collective Coffee in Braddon. Industrial chic meets Japanese modernism in this friendly neighbourhood coffee shop, with an eclectic and ever-changing brunch menu. Regular additions include fancy tacos and tostadas, chazuke, gooey Spanish tortilla, big toasties and baguettes stuffed with the best seasonal produce. And there are always freshly baked sweet treats, like cardamom buns and jammy donuts, which make for excellent car snacks. There's in-house roasted coffee all day, plus fine wines in the afternoon (for your passengers). Love Barrio's brew? Grab an Aeropress and a bag of freshly roasted beans to keep you going all journey long. [caption id="attachment_802004" align="alignnone" width="1920"] crissouli, Flickr[/caption] THE ALBION CAFE, BRAIDWOOD Forget the drive-thru, go locavore. In the charming country town of Braidwood, The Albion Cafe offers healthy, seasonal specials based on the best local produce. A stylish but cosy set-up in the historic Albion Hotel building, this family business welcomes everyone with good old-fashioned country hospitality. It's wholesome through and through, and it caters for all dietary needs. That means you can expect nourishing soups and slow-cooked stews in cold weather, an abundance of salads in summer and toasties all year round. Grab some gourmet tidbits or fresh meals to-go from the little shop for a picnic later — artisanal sourdough and homemade hummus will hit the spot better than a packet of chips. CLUB CATALINA, BATEMANS BAY Congrats, you've made it to the Bay. Now, it's time to think outside the seagull-swooping chip shop. Catalina Country Club has a hundred-year history serving the folks of Batemans Bay. Don't worry, you can still hit that craving for a pub-style feed, but with a bit more refinement. Enjoy panko-crumbed chicken schnitzel and parmas, juicy wagyu burgers and artisanal pizza, served fresh from a woodfired oven, with a refreshing Canadian Club and Dry. Or, live the seaside high life and opt for the signature seafood platter and fresh oysters. [caption id="attachment_802671" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Emma Joyce[/caption] HAYDEN'S PIES, ULLADULLA What's better than a fast food cheeseburger? A gourmet cheeseburger pie. Turn off the Princes Highway for a pastry pit-stop at Hayden's Pies, which has been perfecting the pie since 2003. Choose from solid classics like chunky steak or hefty vego options like mushroom, spinach and goat's cheese — or take a chance on one of its intriguing specials. Give alpaca chilli con carne a go. Or, what about camel, chickpea and coriander? Even kangaroo, wallaby and the occasional croc make it into the oven. Stop by on Sunday for the roast-inspired pie, featuring pork or lamb with peas, potatoes and gravy. It even has dessert covered, with specials like vanilla slices and portuguese tarts. You owe it to yourself to make this epic pie pilgrimage. [caption id="attachment_801304" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Something's Wild Photography[/caption] SMALL TOWN, MILTON Celebrate the journey's end with a bit of Small Town charm. From the owners of former Milton fine diner St Isidore, this sleek bistro offers a prix fixe and a la carte menu, both designed to pair elegant snacks and share-style plates with (mainly) small-batch Aussie wines. Small Town spins clever twists on comforting classics, like yorkshire pudding with sea urchin and egg yolk sauce; delicate prawn, scallop and chicken skin dumplings; and sourdough pici pasta with corn, kale, manchego and sorrel. And, as always, it's hard to pass up a fresh lobster roll. After your meal, pop next door to Small Town Provisions, the restaurant's new deli and shop, which sells cheese, cured meat and fresh bread — basically, all the trappings for a next-level picnic. For more road trip inspiration, check out these guides from Canadian Club and Empty Esky. Top image: Barrio Collective Coffee, Visit Canberra
Excellent casting doesn't guarantee an excellent movie, but it can get you booking tickets ASAP. And All of Us Strangers might just have the best lead duo there is right now, pairing the internet's boyfriends Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Andrew Scott (Fleabag). Just as exceptional: the film marks the latest from Weekend's Andrew Haigh, who both writes and directs. Any of those three talents alone is cause for excitement. Mescal has had the world swooning since Normal People, scored an Oscar nomination this year for Aftersun, then danced spectacularly in the desert in Carmen. Scott has proven a must-watch in everything from Jimmy's Hall and Pride to Sherlock and Black Mirror. And, as well as one of the best queer romances ever made in Weekend, Haigh also worked on TV series Looking, and has 45 Years, Lean on Pete and The North Water on his resume. With All of Us Strangers, the trio tell the story of Adam (Scott) and his neighbour Harry (Mescal), who fall in love as the film's just-dropped trailer shows. Their relationship sparks as Adam is peering back to his past, to when his parents passed away when he was 12. Then comes ghosts, perhaps — because, heading back to the town he grew up, Adam's mum and dad seem to still be alive. In a feature that adapts Taichi Yamada's 1987 novel Strangers — and a movie with a stacked roster of talent all round — Claire Foy (Women Talking) and Jamie Bell (Shining Girls) join Scott and Mescal on-screen are as Adam's mother and father. And the mood around them, based on the sneak peek, which is soundtracked by the Pet Shop Boys' version of 'Always on My Mind'? Mysterious and yearning. After premiering at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival, All of Us Strangers is set to hit cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 18, 2024 — so there's one of your first must-see movies for next year. If you're in Brisbane, you can catch it in October and November first thanks to the 2023 Brisbane International Film Festival. Check out the trailer for All of Us Strangers below: All of Us Strangers will release in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 18, 2024. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
