Fans of outdoor art, scenic walks and excuses to mosey around Sydney have spent the past few weeks rejoicing about the upcoming return of Bondi's Sculpture by the Sea. But it's not the only event set to give locals and tourists alike an excuse to soak in the Harbour City's waterside splendour, and soon — and see a heap of impressive creative pieces in the process. Slated to run between Thursday, August 11–Saturday, September 24, Waterfront Whale Tales is a new addition to the New South Wales capital's arts calendar. Yes, that name is a big clue. The free outdoor exhibition will feature 30 two-metre-tall whale tail sculptures, as created by 30 Australian artists, with each piece inspired by its location and the land. Creatives set to do the honours include 2022 Archibald prize winner Blak Douglas, illustrator and animator Chris Yee, and artist, author and illustrator Sha'an d'Anthes, aka Furry Little Peach. Curated by prolific curatorial group Art Pharmacy, the full range of sculptures will span a six-kilometre trail along Sydney's Western Harbour waterfront, reaching from Barangaroo to Sydney Fish Market. That means that it'll stretch past Crown Sydney, King Street Wharf, Darling Quarter, ICC Sydney, the Powerhouse Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum and The Star. While visitors will be able to walk the full trail in a single stroll, there'll also be mini trails for shorter walks. And, there'll be an app that'll provide details of each, plus stories about the waterfront's past, present and future. Also available via your phone: freebies, discounts and prizes from local businesses along the trail, as well as a major prize for checking out all 30 tails. As well as aiming to get folks checking out the waterfront — attempting to attract up to 500,000 visitors, in fact — the trail has enlisted Indigenous Curatorial Advisors Uncle Graham Toomey and Aunty Joanne Selfe to help connect the artists to the Whale Story, as well as to the Gadigal and Saltwater Country that the exhibition will grace. "Traditionally, the whale holds within it intricate Aboriginal knowledge systems, a complex tapestry of science, of knowledge that interweaves with cultural and social practice," said Aunty Joanne. "The sculptures will feature the ancient tracks that connect the clans to each other and the sharing of stories and culture," said Uncle Graham. [caption id="attachment_804445" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Horan; Destination NSW[/caption] After the event's six-week run, the sculptures will be auctioned, with net proceeds given to The Kids Cancer Project. If you're keen on one while you're taking the walk, you can also put in an expression of interest during the trail's dates. Sydney's Waterfront Whale Tales will run between Thursday, August 11–Saturday, September 24 along the city's Western Harbour waterfront from Barangaroo to Sydney Fish Market. For more information, head to the exhibition's website.
Winter may still have a couple of weeks left for 2023, but summer is well and truly on the Australian festival scene's minds already. In the space of mere days, Beyond The Valley, Field Day, Good Things and Meredith have each dropped lineups, while Heaps Good has announced expansion plans. Now, Wildlands has confirmed its return with 2023–24 dates and venues. It's been four years since Brisbane welcomed Wildlands to the city, with the teams behind Victoria's Beyond The Valley and Perth's Origin Fields fests giving the Sunshine State a big new summer party. Fast-forward to 2023, and the event will return again to see out another hectic 12-month period and welcome in a new one. And, after expanding to Perth and Adelaide over the summer of 2022–23 as well, it's heading back to Western Australia and South Australia, too. This year's party will get started on the biggest night there is for celebrations: New Year's Eve. That's when Wildlands will kick off its latest run at Brisbane Showgrounds, before embracing 2024 on Saturday, January 6 at Claremont Showgrounds and Sunday, January 7 at Ellis Park. Wildlands boasts a focus on dance music, electronic beats and hip hop, but it hasn't announced its new lineup as yet. That said, it has been teasing his year's fests with a video set to RÜFÜS DU SOL — and RÜFÜS DU SOL are also playing Beyond The Valley and Field Day around the same time. Wildlands' last tour featured Diplo, Denzel Curry and Dom Dolla, plus Yeat, Aitch, Kaytranada, Tkay Maidza, Honey Dijon and BENE — and Yung Lean, Shygirl, Remi Wolf, Kanine and SG Lewis, too — which should give you an idea of the kind of bill that's in store. The fest does like going big — its first-ever event back in 2019 featured Tyler, The Creator, after all, as well as RÜFÜS DU SOL. In 2021, The Veronicas, Spacey Jane, Cosmo's Midnight and more did the honours. WILDLANDS 2023–24 DATES AND VENUES: Sunday, December 31, 2023 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane Saturday, January 6, 2024 — Claremont Showgrounds, Perth Sunday, January 7, 2024 — Ellis Park, Adelaide Wildlands will hit Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide across December 2023–January 2024. We'll update you with lineup details when they're announced — and you can register for ticket pre sales via the festival website in the interim. Images: Jordan Munn / Mitch Lowe.
Sitting in the Andaman Sea between the west coast of mainland Thailand and the island tourist mecca of Phuket, Ko Phi Phi Don is an idyllic island measuring little more than 8km in length. Ever since Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony) turned Alex Garland's famous 1996 novel, The Beach, into an even more famous film of the same name, this palm-fringed paradise has been on the to-do list of twenty-somethings around the world, with the neighbouring isle of Ko Phi Phi Leh providing the setting for much of the film's action. Hundreds of limestone karsts jut out from the turquoise waters as you near Phi Phi, with the islands' respective silhouettes providing a stunning vista. As the ferry drops anchor, those travellers seeking out the island's famous whiskey bucket-fuelled beach parties hop off at Ton Sai Bay, destined to dance the coming days and nights away in any number of open-air bars full of Scandinavian, European and Antipodean backpackers. This time though, we're heading for a calmer locale, another 45 minutes by longtail boat around the coast to the island's northernmost point. As the longtail pulls up to Laem Tong beach, Zeavola's exact location is not immediately evident. Set back in lush green vegetation that fringes a perfect white sand beach, this boutique eco-resort's scattering of hand-hewn teakwood huts have been cleverly disguised by an extensive network of palm-laden gardens, linked by meandering sand paths. The hotel's staff greets you on the sand to take your bags, insisting you carry your luggage no further. As you make your way up the beach, the rustic but luxurious architecture of Zeavola becomes apparent. Guests are encouraged to ‘step back to simplicity’ here. Zeavola is one half design hotel, one half beach shack. Each of the resort's 52 freestanding villas is carefully disguised by the surrounding gardens, so you feel like you have your own private beach house but can still enjoy the comforts that come with being part of a bigger, managed property. Open air showers give you access to the outdoors when you want it, and remote controlled shutters around the bungalows do the opposite when you need to sleep off your lunchtime Singhas. Zeavola's menus offer contemporary interpretations of traditional Thai cuisine alongside smatterings of western options at Baxil, the resort's main restaurant (where breakfast is served each day), and Tacada, a breezy restaurant and bar right on the sand. Closer to the water sits a line of bright yellow beach umbrellas with oversized pillows and triangle cushions, the perfect place to spend extended periods of time reading, sleeping, drinking and just being. Further down the beach at Jasmine, a simple restaurant owned by a charming young family from Phuket, you'll be served authentic Thai food for a smaller price in a jovial atmosphere created by some of the island's sea gypsies next door. Phi Phi's beaches, reefs and surrounding islands are the most popular attractions to see, and the best way to see them is to head down to the nearest cluster of longtails and bargain for the best hourly, half day or full day rental rates. The service is as basic as it gets, but the local boatmen will happily take you anywhere on the island at anytime of the day and night, including around to Ton Sai Bay and back in the wee hours if you want to join the heaving masses. If a trip to The Beach (Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh) or Monkey Bay is on your list, head there early before the tour boats arrive. But for something a little slower, hightail your longtail to Mosquito Island or Bamboo Island. If you're lucky, you'll even find your own private slice of paradise for a few hours. Double rooms from 8000 baht (AUD$240), +66 7562 7000, www.zeavola.com. The writer stayed courtesy of Zeavola.
For the past five years, Little Beirut has served up Lebanese dishes in Indooroopilly, and built up quite a culinary following in the process. Now, the team behind the popular westside spot has branched out by opening a second venue: Tarbouche Mezza Bar, which has set up shop in Fish Lane in West End. Once again, Lebanese cuisine is the focus. Here, you'll tuck into baba ghanouj and labneh, and also falafels and halloumi salad — or, if you'd prefer something warm, there's pumpkin kibbeh, moussaka or sujuk. The venue boasts a traditional saj grill for charring its flatbreads, too, while the mains selection soans kafta platters, shish tawook (aka chicken skewers), lamb cutlets and vegetarian plates. The big drawcard: shawarma. Both beef and chicken are available — and both come in towers. Wondering what a shawarma towers entails? A sizeable amount of meat, in a serving designed to share, as paired with either fattoush salad, pickled turnip, sumac onion and parsley salad, tahini and chips (with the beef) or coleslaw, garlic sauce, pickled cucumber and turnip, and chips (with the chicken). Dessert-wise, baklawa, namoura (a syrup-soaked semolina cake) and rize bil halib (rice pudding) will help you cap off your meal — or you can wash it all down with an Arabic coffee espresso martini.
Can't make it to Venice any time soon? Don't worry — a taste of the Italian city is coming to Australia. At the beginning of every year, the canal-heavy locale erupts into a colourful festival complete with elaborate costumes and masks. It's a tradition dating back to the 12th century, and it's making its first trip to our shores. The Carnevale Australia Masquerade Ball will brighten up The Peninsula at Docklands on February 11, 2017, asking attendees to don their fanciest threads and best facial covering in the name of the most appropriate theme imaginable in mid February: amore, or love. Indeed, the event certainly plans to share plenty of affection, and not just through its elaborate theming and food. The ball will also include a live silent auction, with proceeds going towards earthquake victims in the Italian village of Amatrice. If that sounds like your kind of shindig (and who doesn't want to dress up, party and pretend they're in Venice?), be prepared: masks are mandatory, and with tickets starting at $450, your masquerade fun doesn't come cheap. In good news for anyone that doesn't have that kind of spare cash, it's also a taster for things to come, with the ball acting as a launch event for Carnevale Australia's full two-week celebration, slated to be held in late October / early November 2017. The Carnevale Australia Masquerade Ball takes place on February 11, 2017 at The Peninsula, Docklands. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the event website and Facebook page. Image: L G.
This Christmas, Disney+ is giving us all a shiny new present, with the streaming platform adding another Home Alone movie to everyone's festive viewing rotation. Right now, it's also kickstarting the merriment early — by dropping the first trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone, the fifth flick in the holiday-themed franchise. Pick a number between five and 100, and that's the average number of times you've probably watched the first Home Alone. You'll note that we haven't dared to suggest you've only seen it once, or twice, or even just three or four times, because we know how unlikely that is. We're guessing you've viewed the first sequel to the 1990 favourite quite a bit, too, because we all have. If you haven't given Home Alone 3 and Home Alone 4 as much love, though, that's understandable. Here's an important question for you moving forward, however: how many times do you think you'll give Home Sweet Home Alone a whirl? Available to stream from Friday, November 12, Home Sweet Home Alone jumps back into the franchise that's all about being left behind by your family at Christmas. On paper, the overall concept doesn't sound all that jolly — but as we all know, these flicks have been an end-of-year staple for three decades. And the Mouse House is messing with its winning formula here, either. This time around, a kid called Max Mercer is the focus — as played by Jojo Rabbit's Archie Yates. Obviously, he's left at home while his family goes away. They head to Japan for the holidays, he gets forgotten, and soon he's fending off a couple that's trying to break into his house. We all know how the story is going to go from there, with this remake even giving a screenplay credit to the original's writer/director John Hughes. Filmmaker Dan Mazer is in the director's chair on Home Sweet Home Alone, after previously helming I Give It a Year and Dirty Grandpa, and writing Bridget Jones's Baby, Office Christmas Party and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. On-screen, Yates is joined by Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Rob Delaney (Wrath of Man) as the crooks trying to bust into Max's home, while Aisling Bea (This Way Up) plays his mother — and Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live), Tim Simons (Veep) and Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty) also feature. There have been rumours that Macaulay Culkin will make an appearance, too, but you'll obviously need to watch the full movie to see if that pans out. Check out the Home Sweet Home Alone trailer below: Home Sweet Home Alone will be available to stream via Disney+ from Friday, November 12. Images: courtesy of Disney+. © 2021 20th Century Studios.
Heavy stuff coming to you today from the Concrete Playground lab: A debate sparked in the Iron Age and making waves in the Renaissance before uncontrollably escalating in the Breville Age. A competition that’s torn apart families and separated breakfast tables at once. Who reigns supreme in the sweet dough-off between pancakes and waffles? While both hold steady benchmark in the world of breakfast foods, the evidence is strong, the palates have been tested and the rivers will run thick with the loser’s sweet, sweet syrup. ON THE PLATE The aesthetic aspect of this debate intersects many dimensions, focusing primarily on simplicity versus the abstract. Compare pancakes to The Great Wall of China – architecturally, it’s a classic go to, of stock standard template, with few frills. Then compare waffles to The Pyramids – just as much work, but a bit more zest. Waffles have the capacity to capture toppings, in their valley of dints and rises, and are crispy enough to perform as plate, sandwich holder, or even carry around snack. Plus with waffles, you can make little houses, a syrup jakoozie and Drew Barrymore fall in love with you. First point to waffles. Waffles 1, Pancakes 0 IN YOUR MOUTH The question of which tastes better out of pancakes and waffles is totally subjective, however there can be no real competition with subjectivity at play, and with no competition comes no winner, and winning is everything. Therefore, objectively, the tastiest of the two would be the fattier, sweetest and saltiest product. On average waffles are 14% fat, versus pancakes, which are 10%. Waffles contain less sugar at 2%, while pancakes pack it up with 15%. Waffles take reign again with higher calorie, cholesterol, and salt figures, over pancakes. Buckwheat, buttermilk, and the stock standard substitutes are bound to alter these figures, but say what you will, waffles are more likely to kill you – and that gives them an extra point. Waffles 2, Pancakes 0 IN THE KITCHEN Finally, pancakes nab one in the bag. Just about any Joe Blow with a frypan, couple of eggs, and well-stocked pantry can pull together a pretty delicious pancake. Crack, pour, mix, fry, and boom, pancakes on the table, on your fork, in your mouth. On the other hand, traditional waffles take a good few steps, multiple bowls, and a handful of extra ingredients to perfect. Whites must be separated from yolks, and then beaten to stiff peaks, folded into the batter, and all the time remain lump free. And while it’s not as hard as it sounds, it sure makes for a heap of washing, and a sooky cooky when creations don’t work out Waffles 2, Pancakes 1 IN THE MIX For the sake of argument, fritters and crepes are rather mere derivatives of the pancake, deserving of spotlight, but not in this debate. Taste.com will try and mask a corn and zucchini fritter as a savoury pancake, but don’t play their fool. Pancakes are base best suited sweet. Blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chip and banana are just a few simple ingredients that can decode the simple taste of a pancake, and reform it as something totally new. As far as waffles go, sweet potato is a mix in that might make you squirm, but is truly a force of a feature - try Kettle and Tin's take on it. Potatoes aside, we have to admit, nothing really beats blueberry pancakes, so there’s another point to our flat friends. Waffles 2, Pancakes 2 ON TOP Both waffles and pancakes take ice-cream, syrup and/or other sweet toppings as well as each other in a flavour sense. From a savoury aspect, however, the fight gets full frontal and nasty. If you haven’t heard of Roscoe’s, google image, right now. Now! Back? Now google image Edward Lee Waffles. Chicken and waffles may be one of the strangest, American-reeking fusions on the market, but jeepers it’s a match made in heart-disease heaven. The Canadian breakfast plays worthy rival – bacon laced in syrup, topped with more bacon, covered in a dash more syrup, garnished with bacon, and finished with syrup, and is a staple on any successful breakfast menu. Therefore, both succeed in sweetness, pancakes take pork, and waffles woo chicken – that’s a worthy point each. Waffles 3, Pancakes 3 ON THE BIG SCREEN Reputation in any spectrum relies strongly on it’s perception and portrayal on the big screen. Therefore, the more referenced a food product is in a movie or TV Show, the more influence and appreciation is has on a public sphere. Waffles have strongly cemented themselves into quotes from comedies such as The Simpsons, Parks and Recreation, and Little Miss Sunshine, and mostly everything with Mike Myers or Rob Schneider in it – check out the Huffington Post’s ode to waffles on the big screen. Of course, waffles are also the soppy Hollywood glue between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in rom-com, 50 First Dates. Pancakes have just as much dramatic flavour, lingering in more vintage, cult films – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Public Enemy and Pulp Fiction holding home to the sweet treat. Both frequent the big screen as much as Nicholas Cage, but in deciding who takes the pick in this section, we have to go with the one loved by donkeys, feared by ogres, and quoted around breakfast tables since 2001. One more point to waffles, 100 points to Shrek. Waffles 4, Pancakes 3 As we tally the score, I defer to Mitch Hedberg, who described pancakes as, “all exciting at first, but then by the end you’re f***ing sick of them.” Sure, they have their moments, and wonderful moments at that, but when push comes to shove, they lack the fine, crisp crafted velour of their dented nemesis. The waffle is art – sweet, buttery art that can play both treat and staple. Do yourself a favour, buy a waffle iron, or better yet, sell up, and use all your money to open a Roscoes franchise in Queen Street Mall. Please. If it all seems too hard to DIY, we've provided a quick guide to pancake and waffle eats Brisbane-wide. Pawpaw’s chocolate pancake stack with honey and honeycomb is sickly fantastic, and should come with a shot of insulin on service. Kettle and Tin’s dark chocolate waffles are a just as dangerous, and create a chocolate waffle benchmark that begs to be rivalled. Post Cockadoodle Cafe's facelift, the waffles are still flying out with full flavour, berry abundant, and maple dowsed. The waffles at Comfort at My Table are some of the ritziest, yet most reasonably priced in this city – if the banoffee waffles ever feature on the specials board, nab them without batting a lash. And of course, Pancake Manor in the City is the 24 hour hot cake hotspot, that provides quality at any time of the day – crepes, waffles, pancakes and steaks, they cover it all, will combine on polite demand, and can play any drunken-night meal, or early-start breakfast. Bless them all.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwk9DsB2JAM IRRESISTIBLE Late in Irresistible, a penny drops — figuratively, of course. Much that has seemed overtly clumsy and broad prior to this moment is given some bite and sting thanks to a crucial plot development, and the political comedy finally seems like something that its writer/director Jon Stewart would conjure up. It's a great moment, but it's sadly also a case of too little, too late. Equally skewering and unpacking the polarised state of America today, especially where politics, elections, campaign finance and escalating culture wars are concerned, Irresistible is far too happy to coast on stereotypes of supposed Democratic and Republican party supporter traits, and for far too long. As he did for on The Daily Show, Stewart has set himself the important task of pointing out just how broken US politics is at present (or, realistically, just how broken it continues to be), but this is one of the great comedian and commentator's lesser efforts. It's also inescapably, unshakeably obvious, even as a moral comedy that endeavours to pair its laughs and observations with a few lessons. After being humiliated by Hillary Clinton's defeat in the 2016 election, Democratic strategist Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell) is re-energised about his job when he's shown a YouTube video from the small town of Deerlaken, Wisconsin. In it, Marine Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) makes an impassioned speech supporting undocumented immigrants, and Gary instantly sees a potential Democratic mayoral candidate who'll actually appeal to voters in the Republican heartland. On the ground, little goes smoothly. When Gary's long-time rival, his Republican counterpart Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), arrives to support the incumbent mayor, Deerlaken suddenly becomes the centre of national attention — and a drawcard for hefty political donations. While Byrne is a fantastic comedic actress in general, it's telling that her presence, expressions and line readings ensure that she steals absolutely every scene she's in, including opposite Carell. Everyone from Russian Doll's Natasha Lyonne to That '70s Show's Topher Grace also pops up, but Irresistible's other standout performance comes from an underused Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) as the Colonel's resourceful daughter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwk10YGPFiM I AM GRETA If a single image can sum up the current crucial battle against climate change, it's a picture — any picture — of Greta Thunberg. Since deciding to skip school to protest outside Sweden's parliament back in August 2018, the braid-wearing teen has become the face of a movement. She isn't the first person to sound an alarm about the dire state of the planet, to vehemently speak truth to power or to gain widespread attention, but her determined, no-nonsense approach really isn't easily forgotten. Sometimes, it's directed at ordinary Stockholm residents going about their days while she strikes. As she has garnered increasing attention, Thunberg has trained her stare on crowded United Nations' conferences, too, and at attendees with the power but not necessarily the inclination to make a difference. She has also met face to face with world leaders, but she knows that politicians usually only share her gaze for a photo opportunity. Demonstrating patiently, speaking passionately, shaking hands for the cameras: all of these moments are captured by documentary I Am Greta, which surveys Thunberg's ascension from everyday Swedish 15-year-old to one of the best-known figures fighting to save the earth. The film acts as a chronicle, starting with her activism on her home soil, following her efforts as she's thrust to fame, and culminating in her trip across the Atlantic Ocean via yacht to present at 2019's UN Climate Action Summit, where she gave her iconic "how dare you" speech. But as the title indicates, this doco is just as concerned with Thunberg's home life as her public impact. Accordingly, while filmmaker Nathan Grossman has an array of recognisable footage at his disposal in this slickly packaged affair, he interweaves it with quieter, intimate and unguarded moments. These snippets help paint a picture of the teenager behind the activism, and much of it is highly relatable. Also cutting through astutely is Thunberg's continued recognition of how, as her fame increases, the global response by naysayers encapsulates so much about the status quo and the lack of government action. And, similarly leaving a mark is the documentary's dedication to show Thunberg's work to effect change in action, and to let that speak volumes. Indeed, what echoes here is that simply doing the right thing is essential regardless of any obstacles and opposition, whether urged by Al Gore, David Attenborough, Aussie doco 2040, your best mate, your neighbour, a stranger or Thunberg. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFVhB54UqvQ REBECCA In the pages of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel, and on the big and small screens several times since, Rebecca tells the tale of a young woman caught in the shadow of her wealthy new husband's late previous wife. So it's noticeable and perhaps fitting that the new 2020 movie adaptation mimics that sensation, with Ben Wheatley's film forever destined to be compared to Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar Best Picture-winning 1940 adaptation of the beloved book. Wheatley is a stellar filmmaker, and has a resume filled with everything from Down Terrace, Kill List and Sightseers to High-Rise, Free Fire and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead to prove it. Here, in his most mainstream, least boundary-pushing effort to date — and his most visually lavish, too — he has crafted a moody and brooding, elegant and often overtly gorgeous film that doesn't do its source material or the gothic genre a disservice. But it still always feels as if it is following in Hitch's footsteps, even when it deviates from that version's famed changes under Hollywood's strict production code at the time. As the book does, this iteration of Rebecca starts an evocative line: "last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". It's uttered in voiceover by a young woman who is never known as anything but Mrs de Winter (Lily James), and who viewers first meet as a paid companion to an acid-tongued socialite (The Handmaids' Tale's Ann Dowd) during a trip to the French Riviera. During the picturesque getaway, the unnamed heroine crosses paths with widower Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer). Romance quickly blooms, setting them en route to his sprawling family estate. Back at Manderley, however, the new bride can't escape the lingering presence of the movie's titular figure, the menace directed her way by housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas) and the sensation that much is awry about her current situation. Those unacquainted with Rebecca's twists should keep it that way going in, with Wheatley patiently teasing out its ample psychological thrills. Still, as luxe as it looks, as capably as it handles the iconic narrative and as memorable as Scott Thomas is — with James and Hammer always hitting their marks, but doing little more — this is a movie that exists, engages enough, but rarely has a strong lasting impact. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTxobgjD3hE CITY OF LIES It has been almost a quarter-century since Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka the Notorious BIG/Biggie Smalls) were gunned down in separate incidents within six months of each other — and, over that time, fewer films about either or both have reached screens than one might expect. Known not only for their music but for being the focal points of the supposed East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, the pair's plights have inspired exactly zero worthwhile movies, though, and that includes the long-delayed City of Lies. Based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan, this conspiracy thriller views the deaths of two of the 90s' biggest stars through the efforts of LAPD detective Russell Poole. There is real-life grounds for that angle, and the on-screen Poole (Johnny Depp) is constantly noting and fighting against the racial prejudice that existed in the Los Angeles police department at a time just after the Rodney King assault, trial and riots, as well as the OJ Simpson case. But there's no escaping the fact that the film approaches some of the most momentous events in rap history through a white cop. In 1997, Poole is assigned to another shooting — of a black officer by a white officer — just days after Notorious BIG's death. Soon, however, his investigation of the former leads him to the latter, and to the conclusion that the LA police were involved in killing Biggie, all as his superiors demand he ignore the evidence. Decades later, long after he has resigned from being a cop, a journalist (Forest Whitaker) wanders into Poole's apartment for a 20-year piece on the rapper's murder — and the writer might've been accused of dredging up the past if Poole's walls weren't covered in case details and materials. Where director Brad Furman turned legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer into a slick and entertaining affair, almost everything about City of Lies is misjudged, and it drags on rather than drawing viewers into its theories or even the cases it covers. Depp plays crusading but hard done by with little discernible effort, and the decision to film the movie's 90s scenes with the same type of hues and lighting usually reserved for 70s-set features smacks of the same. And while Whitaker is the best thing about City of Lies, his determined performance isn't enough to salvage the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Vm7cpQX80 HOPE GAP If you're going to watch a couple navigate the waning days of their decades-long marriage, and watch as their adult son tries to cope with the fallout, too, then you might as well be directing your eyeballs at Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, and God's Own Country and The Crown star Josh O'Connor. They play Grace, Edward and Jamie, respectively, with their family rocked by the revelation that mild-mannered, history-obsessed teacher Edward is leaving after 29 years because he's fallen in love with another woman. Usually the shining light and driving force in their modest house in a seaside town, Grace doesn't take the news well. Jamie, who lives in the city and doesn't generally come home as often as anyone would like, swiftly becomes his mother's main source of a support and a go-between with his father. As written and directed by second-time filmmaker William Nicholson (1997 feature Firelight) based on his 1999 play The Retreat from Moscow, little in Hope Gap's narrative offers surprises — especially if you've seen other movies about marital breakdowns, such as 2019's far meatier Marriage Story — but the British drama benefits considerably from its central trio of talent and their performances. While the plot plays out as anticipated, one aspect of Hope Gap does veer from the expected formula — and that'd be O'Connor. That he's an exceptional actor isn't new news, but he's firmly the heart of this wordy drama about the yearning and breaking hearts of his character's parents. He's also the most soulful part of the film; however, that isn't a criticism of Bening and Nighy. In spiky but still vulnerable mode, Bening may struggle with an unconvincing English accent, but she cuts to the core of Grace's bravado and pain. Nighy plays his part in a far softer, gentler, more nervous register, and helps make it plain just how Grace and Edward's marriage has gotten to this fracturing point. In a handsomely shot movie that intertwines picturesque glimpses of the coast with tense domestic scenes — and uses poetry verses to help convey emotion as well — they all demand the viewers' attention. But without the especially tender and thoughtful O'Connor, Hope Gap would've felt like just another average portrait of a longstanding relationship imploding, even with Bening and Nigh's impressive work. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; and October 1 and October 8. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island, Babyteeth, Deerskin, Peninsula, Tenet, Les Misérables, The New Mutants, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Translators, An American Pickle. The High Note, On the Rocks, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Antebellum, Miss Juneteenth and Savage. Top image: Rebecca, Kerry Brown / Netflix.
Shane Delia hasn't farewelled Melbourne, where his flagship restaurant Maha has been one of the Victorian capital's go-tos for Middle Eastern flavours for almost two decades, and where his fellow eateries Maha North, Maha East and Jayda also reside. That said, the acclaimed chef and restaurateur has still made a leap familiar to Queenslanders: heading from the southern city to the Sunshine State. Brisbane is now home to a first on his resume, with Layla Delia's debut restaurant in this part of the country. 2025 has been waiting for this, after news arrived in 2024 that Delia was set to launch his first Brissie venue — and first in Queensland as well — in the Thomas Dixon Centre, Queensland Ballet's base, in West End. Open since Friday, March 28 in the heritage-listed section of the building, Layla continues its guiding force's Middle Eastern focus, but pairing the rich, bold, spice-fuelled dishes on the eatery's evolving menu with local Queensland produce. "I'm honoured to open Layla as my first venture in Brisbane, a city that is continually showing ambition as a vibrant new culinary destination in Australia," said Delia about the launch. "There's so much incredible produce in Queensland that you can't get anywhere else in the world. It's been a lot of fun experimenting with ingredients that I'm not typically known for — kaffir lime, ginger, lemongrass. I'm excited to test something new at Layla," he continued. "We'll be exploring spice in an inventive way, but we're not here to educate people. At the end of the day, Layla is about bringing people together around the table, sharing really tasty food and memorable experiences," Delia also noted. "It has been amazing working alongside Shane, learning from him and his unique approach to spice, and coming up with what we believe is a new offering to Brisbane's dining scene," added Simon Palmer (ex-Black Hide by Gambaro, -Urbane, -Gerard's Bistro, -E'cco Bistro), Layla's Head Chef, who worked with Delia on the restaurant's menu. Whether you're visiting before a show, for a date or to celebrate an occasion — and whether you opt to sit in the main dining room or make the most of the outdoor courtyard — diners can look forward to both a la carte and banquet options, the latter with drink pairings on top if that also tempts your tastebuds. King crab with coriander, lime, charred pineapple and smoked pepper is one of the starter highlights, as is Hervey Bay half-shell scallop with carrot hummus. Or, there's pistachio-crusted Brisbane Valley quail and arak-cured kingfish among the small plates. Getting the whipped smoked hummus or fragrant sweet eggplants if you're going with Layla's signature flatbread brushed in toum and fennel seed za'atar is recommended. There's few strangers left to butter chicken, but habibbi butter chicken gives the dish Layla's own twist courtesy of Moroccan spices, and is part of the mains menu. Prefer an eight-hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder with smoked eggplant, roast lemon and za'atar sauce instead? That's another choice among the large dishes designed to share, as is the coal-grilled swordfish T-bone with burnt orange and saffron. And for dessert, if you're not tucking into the whipped kanfeh with lemon verbena syrup and pine nut ice cream, you can give the watermelon and rosewater granita a try — it also comes with chocolate mousse, Turkish delight jam and peppermint crisp ice cream. Sommelier Darcy Curnow (Rockpool Bar & Grill, Delia Group) has put together a 150-bottle wine list, opting for tipples that suit the Brisbane climate. Think: "crisp whites, vibrant rosés, and elegant, lighter-bodied reds", he advises. The cocktail range heroes native Queensland ingredients, with both boozy and non-alcoholic sips on offer — and if your chosen concoction isn't on the menu, the bar staff will make it happen. A small selection of beer and cider helps round out the beverages, as do a few arak and raki choices if you're keen on anise-flavoured spirits. In a structure with more than a century of history, dating back to 1908, a moody vibe permeates inside, complete with dim lighting, exposed brick walls, walnut timber, touches of brass, blue velvet upholstery and blue terrazzo floors. Outdoors, Melbourne-based architecture outfit Studio Y — which also worked its magic on Delia's Jayda, plus Stomping Ground Brewery, Nick & Nora's, Brick Lane Market and Starward Distillery & Bar — has gone with softer hues, greenery aplenty, beige umbrellas and stone-topped tables in the sunlight. Delia joins the list of well-known hospitality folks setting up shop in Queensland in the past year or so, after Adrian Richardson launched BŌS, and Andrew McConnell opened both Supernormal and Bar Miette. Layla is a partnership with Queensland Ballet, with Delia Group teaming up with the former's hospitality partner VenuesLive. The restaurant anchors the Thomas Dixon Centre's dining options, not only adding to the performing arts precinct but helping it become a new arts and hospitality hub. Equally new to this patch of West End: cafe Tom's Kitchen, which started welcoming in patrons in mid-March. Find Layla at the Thomas Dixon Centre, corner of Montague Road and Raven Street, West End — open from 5.30–10.30pm Tuesday–Wednesday and from 12–10.30pm Thursday–Sunday. Head to the venue's website for more details and reservations. Images: Jason Loucas.
Whether they attend Truham Grammar School or the neighbouring Higgs Girls School, most of Heartstopper's teenagers have much to say, often via text through their phones. But perhaps the most apt line of the entire Netflix series so far is uttered by Isaac Henderson (first-timer Tobie Donovan), the quiet bibliophile among the show's main friendship group, who almost always has a printed tome in his hands. "I read all these books where people fall in love and I still have absolutely no idea," Isaac advises in the web-to-page-to-screen hit's second season, which streams from Thursday, August 3. As a webcomic, a graphic novel and also a TV series that proved an instant smash when it debuted in 2022, Alice Oseman's creation couldn't better embody this reflection. Heartstopper is Isaac's yearning and confusion turned into art, even as the series remains sweet and joyous in every episode. Isaac gets his own storyline in season two, exploring what that lament means to him and why as he unpacks his own identity, and it's among the show's weighty narrative threads. But everyone in Heartstopper, from central couple Charlie Spring (fellow debutant Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor, Little Joe) to their maybe-more-than-friends pals Tao Xu (newcomer William Gao) and Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney), plus the latter's classmates Tara Jones (Corinna Brown, Daphne) and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell), live and breathe his telling statement in their own ways. Tales about getting swept away by first love adore conveying the rush, buzz and head-over-heels effervescence evoked by the pivotal experience. Awkwardness often factors in, but rarely the reality that no one ever truly knows what they're doing when it comes to romance. A chronicle of coming of age and also coming out, Heartstopper not only centres the truth that every teen is just doing their best and following their heart — it makes it one of the show's core guiding concepts. And mostly, usually with each other's help as they traverse the full onslaught of adolescent emotions, this supremely likeable, relatable crew of high schoolers knows that they don't, can't and won't ever have all the answers. Brought to the screen by Oseman as the series' creator and writer, plus director Euros Lyn (Dream Horse) behind the lens — together, they've respectively penned and helmed all 16 episodes, eight in season one and that amount again in season two — Heartstopper spent its debut offering watching Charlie and Nick gravitate into each other's orbits. When the pair were sat next to each other in form class at the beginning of a new term, a friendship and then more swelled. Season two finds them officially and happily boyfriends, with Nick's mother Sarah (Olivia Colman, Secret Invasion) supportive about Nick's bisexuality after he came out to her in the last batch of instalments. Telling the rest of the world when he chooses to is part of his latest journey, always with the protective Charlie by his side. There's an idealism to Heartstopper — fantasy, too — and Oseman knows, welcomes and cultivates it. When an adult mentions missing out on "those beautiful gay teenage experiences" partway through its new run, the series recognises that its vision of being young and queer typically paints with rosy colours. But a story about being an LGBTQIA+ high schooler can be optimistic and earnest, as well as endlessly swoonworthy, while also seeing the full spectrum of complexities that surround its characters. Heartstopper isn't just keenly aware that no one understands what comes next when their heart starts a-fluttering; it's equally as cognisant that big, small, cute and complicated moments will each pop up. Insightfully, it revels in them all. It lingers in the fireworks of gloriously requited crushes, the comfort of hanging out with the one you love, the endearing delights of everyday gestures and the intricacies of sharing who you are — and thoughtfully. If and how Nick will come out to his other friends, his domineering older brother David (Jack Barton, War of the Worlds) and his absent father Stephane (Thibault de Montalembert, All Quiet on the Western Front) gets Heartstopper contemplating conformity, societal pressure, homophobia and specifically biphobia. Nick simply wants to be himself and not to have to hide his relationship with Charlie, with the show digging into the many layers that come with something that should be effortless in a perfect world. Oseman also spends season two slowly unfurling the consequences of Charlie's own traumatic coming-out experience, which linger even as he's over the moon about being with Nick. And, as Tara and Darcy get to the stage of saying "I love you" within their confident romance, Heartstopper season two plunges into how being out and proud at school doesn't mean that someone has zero troubles. Like Isaac, Tara and Darcy receive a bigger arc this time around. Nuanced and mature, their plot thread also muses on internalised expectations, carefully composed appearances and feeling like there's only one way to express your sense of self. Heartstopper's second season isn't merely giving Nick and Charlie's friends more substantial tales now that its key duo is comfortably a couple, however — and transferring the will-they-won't-they tension to movie buff Tao and aspiring artist Elle, who wants to move to a dedicated art school, in the process — but continuing to dive deeper into its young hearts running free. As its key aesthetic flourish, season two still draws its feelings on literally and sincerely, via animated hearts, leaves, sparks, rainbows and other gorgeous visual representations, showing what's bubbling inside Charlie, Nick and company even when they're not saying it. It still uses the rest of its imagery, whether glowing or shadowy, to do the same. It astutely grounds its romances and self-discovery quests in daily high-school life again, including sleepovers, sibling spats, parental rules, schoolyard disputes, end-of-year exams, parties, prom and a Paris trip. And, it remains home to some of the most open performances in the teen genre, especially from the exceptionally well-cast Locke and Connor. Yes, Heartstopper's second spin is just as delightful and heartfelt as its first. Its only room for improvement: needing more of Tori (Jenny Walser, Call the Midwife), Charlie's watchful and intensely caring Wednesday Addams-esque elder sister, whether in the already-greenlit season three or an adaptation of Oseman's debut novel Solitaire. Check out the trailer for Heartstopper season two below: Heartstopper season two streams via Netflix from Thursday, August 3. Read our review of season one. Images: Netflix.
Paying tribute to great authors and writers is easy. Libraries beckon, as do whatever happens to be on your own bookshelf or Kindle. Getting the chance to celebrate the talents behind some of the greatest works of literature ever committed to paper in a stunning exhibition is far more rare, however. Indeed, Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London is a world-first. Clearly, it's a special treat for word nerds — especially if you're a fan of Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Bram Stoker, the Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and more. What goes on display at a showcase dedicated to wordsmiths? When it arrives at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast from Saturday, April 12–Sunday, August 3, 2025, Writers Revealed will span author portraits, plus rare handwritten manuscripts and first editions. Over 70 pieces of art will feature the likenesses of the writers responsible for Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, The Lord of the Rings, Dracula, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes and other masterpieces. More than 100 texts will be included, too, with six centuries of literature covered. [caption id="attachment_987067" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Shakespeare, associated with John Taylor, oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1610. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] As the exhibition's full name states, this is a collaboration between the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London. If you're wondering why the two institutions are pairing portraits with texts, one of the showcase's aims to explore how literature and visual expression are linked. Also in the spotlight: the legacy of influential writers, plus digging into their creative processes. Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter, William Blake, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron, TS Eliot, Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, John Keats, William Wordsworth and Rudyard Kipling are some of the other greats earning Writers Revealed's attention, as are AA Milne, Beatrix Potter, Dylan Thomas, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and Zadie Smith. Among the highlights that'll fill 1000 square metres in HOTA's Gallery 1 for 16 weeks: Austen's writing desk, what's thought to be the only Shakespeare portrait to be painted while he was alive, illustrated letters from Tolkien to his grandson, Lewis Carroll's diary entry about Alice in Wonderland and Virginia Woolf's handwritten Mrs Dalloway manuscript. [caption id="attachment_987064" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harold Pinter by Justin Mortimer, oil on canvas, 1992. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] "We are thrilled to collaborate with the National Portrait Gallery on Writers Revealed, a truly unique exhibition that brings together some of the most exceptional objects from our collections. Visitors will experience rare first editions and exquisite manuscripts alongside celebrated portraits of the writers who created them," said Alexandra Ault, Lead Curator of Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, announcing the exhibition. "Featuring treasures that rarely leave our gallery in London, this major new exhibition will bring HOTA's visitors closer to some of the most-important figures in English literary history," added Catharine MacLeod, Senior Curator of 17th Century Collections at the National Portrait Gallery. "Encountering these displays, visitors will discover what is revealed and what is hidden when life, writing and portraiture intersect." [caption id="attachment_987063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Charles Dickens by Daniel Maclise, oil on canvas, 1839. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987062" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Beatrix Potter by Delmar Harmood Banner, oil on canvas, 1938. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987066" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lord Byron, replica by Thomas Phillips, oil on canvas, circa 1835, based on a work of 1813. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_804623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Scott Chrisman, Pixeltape Media[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987061" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A vista through the Romantics display through to Queen Victoria by Sir George Hayter (1863) at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Photo by Oliver Hess.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987060" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Antoniou[/caption] Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London displays at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, from Saturday, April 12–Sunday, August 3, 2025. Head to the gallery's website for further details and tickets. Top image: Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen, pencil and watercolour, circa 1810. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
Whether you're a first-time visitor or a local playing tourist, Sydney's energy is magnetic. It's not the kind of city you can tick off in one weekend — just when you think you've done it all, there's a surprise new basement bar to check out, a pop-up art show in a back alley gallery, or an up-and-coming chef serving a dish that'll knock your socks off. Sydney always delivers — and then some. If you're planning a weekend in the Harbour City, Marriott Bonvoy is offering 10% off your stay across six hotels — all you need to do is sign up to become a member (for free). It's also the perfect excuse to extend your stay. Haven't explored Sydney in a while? We've pulled together a hit list of new buzzy restaurants and bars, bathhouses, cultural experiences, and citywide sights to make your next visit one to remember. Sweat, Soak and Reset 1Remedy, Potts Point Following in the footsteps of European bathhouses, this sleek new sauna house in Potts Point is all about the ancient trifecta: sweat, plunge, reset. Founded by Dave Darvill, Dave Veksler and Tina Cha, 1Remedy is built for physical recovery and mental clarity. Think hot rock saunas, multiple temperature-controlled ice baths, ambient beats, an electrolyte bar, and even sauna hats to dial up the comfort. It's guided, stylish and social — designed for those who like their wellness with a bit of vibe. Soak, Alexandria Spanning 700 square metres, Soak isn't your average day spa. This chic communal bathhouse invites conversation and connection, not whispers and robe-shuffling. You'll find warm magnesium pools, infrared and dry cedarwood saunas, cold plunges and aromatic steam rooms. The best part? It's designed to be social — come with friends, soak as a crew, and leave feeling restored and recharged. AWAY Spa, Sydney CBD Tucked away inside one of Sydney's most dazzling hotels, the AWAY Spa at W Sydney is as luxe as you'd expect. Found in the heart of the CBD, this five-room sanctuary offers everything from facials and body scrubs to couples massages and mani-pedis. Designed for solo escapes or social sessions, it's the perfect prelude to checking in upstairs and making a full night of it — because nothing says self-care like a treatment followed by room service and a robe. Shop Shiny, New Designer Stores Monclear, Sydney CBD Modern French outerwear label Moncler has expanded its Sydney presence with a new flagship boutique at Westfield Sydney, flaunting a luxurious monochromatic fit-out. Designed by renowned Parisian studio Gilles & Boissier, the 313-square-metre space is awash with dramatic marble finishes and punctuated by striking sculptural accents. Equal parts fashion destination and architectural marvel, it's a must-visit for the style-savvy and design-curious alike. LOEWE, Sydney CBD Part art gallery, part fashion boutique, LOEWE's second Sydney store in the CBD is a visual and tactile experience. Designed by Jonathan Anderson and LOEWE's in-house team in Madrid, the space evokes the feel of an art collector's Mediterranean home, complete with glistening emerald and cobalt tiles, textured tapestries, and sculptural ceramics. It's an idyllic setting to shop for one of fashion's most coveted labels. Hot tip: Sydney's best designer shopping is just a short stroll from Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park. [caption id="attachment_906009" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter[/caption] Explore Inspiring Exhibitions and Performances Sydney Modern, The Domain One of Sydney's most significant recent cultural openings, the Art Gallery of NSW's Sydney Modern, is a must for any Sydney itinerary. While it opened just over a year ago, its ever-evolving program of globally renowned contemporary art means there's always a reason to return. Designed for art and architecture aficionados alike, it's also Australia's first-ever public art museum to earn a six-star green rating. Don't miss The Tank — a repurposed World War II naval bunker reimagined into a 2,200 sqm subterranean gallery space dedicated to large-scale immersive installations. Keen to stay locally? Check into the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel Circular Quay — just a short stroll from The Domain. 'Circle Mirror Transformation', Sydney Theatre Company Catch Circle Mirror Transformation, Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Baker's acclaimed play at Sydney Theatre Company. Starring Aussie legends Rebecca Gibney and Cameron Daddo, the play tells the story of five strangers who sign up for an amateur acting class. What starts with awkward theatre games quickly unravels into something deeper — funny, raw, and painfully real. Directed by Dean Bryant (Dear Evan Hansen), this one-act gem playfully turns the ordinary into something quietly profound. Make a night of it with a stay at Pier One Sydney Harbour, only moments from the theatre. Phoenix, Chippendale Conceived by philanthropist and White Rabbit Gallery founder Judith Neilson, Phoenix Central Park is an architecturally striking, state-of-the-art performance space unlike anything else in Sydney. With a capacity of just 150, it delivers an intimate and immersive experience that breaks away from traditional theatre seating. Audiences spiral around the space, peering down on an eclectic lineup of performances spanning music, contemporary dance, spoken word and experimental sound. Tickets are free but allocated via an online ballot, adding a sense of exclusivity to this already elusive and enchanting venue. Head Outdoors And Soak Up The Sun Shark Beach, Neilson Park Sydney is brimming with glistening harbour beaches, but Shark Beach at Neilson Park might just take the cake as one of the city's most idyllic oases. Reopened in late 2024 after a three-year hiatus of seawall upgrades, this eastern suburbs gem boasts pristine parklands and a protected swimming area with calm water perfect for every level of swimmer. Nab a box of hot chips dusted with chicken salt from the newly revamped Kiosk, roll out a rug under the towering fig trees or hit the scenic Hermitage Walk that winds along the coastline back to the city. URBNSURF, Homebush Sure, Sydney has surf, but scoring a solid set, or even a spot on the sand, isn't always guaranteed. You might be circling for a park and bobbing around in your wetty for a while before the ultimate wave rolls in. URBNSURF, on the other hand, delivers perfect waves on demand. Set out west in Olympic Park, this high-tech surf park is a playground for surfers of all levels, offering consistent waves every single time. It's open seven days a week with eight types of surf lessons on offer, and is also home to RAFI — a coastal-inspired all-day restaurant with sweeping views of rolling, man-made swell. Dine and Dance 'Til Late Bar Freda's at The Abercrombie While Sydney's nightlife might have taken an unexpected hit a few years back (cheers to lockout laws and pandemics), it's bounced back bolder and better, thanks to a wave of hospitality heroes and community legends. Freda's at The Abercrombie is a shining example. Filling a gap in Sydney's late-night scene, Freda's serves a rotating menu of gourmet sandwiches, share plates, and pasta, all washed down with "fun drinks" like a fishbowl G&T, natty wines, and cold tinnies. And if you're partial to a dance floor? Freda's comes alive every Friday and Saturday night with DJs spinning tunes from 8pm 'til late. Ready to dance until dawn? Four Points by Sheraton Sydney at Central Park makes for a stylish base just around the corner. Book your Sydney escape before September 30 to access 10% off your stay and dining with Marriott Bonvoy. All you have to do is sign up as a member — and it's completely free. With access to exclusive member rates, your stay will also earn points towards free nights at over 30 hotel brands around the world. Find out more here. T&C's apply and vary by participating hotels including blackout dates, cancellation restrictions and more. Offer may not apply in properties not participating in the award and redemption of Marriott Bonvoy. By Elise Cullen
It was true in the first season of Nine Perfect Strangers, and it appears accurate in season two as well: for the guests invited to stay with wellness guru Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman, Holland) at her choice of luxe retreat, little is what it seems. This time, the Austrian Alps is the group's destination. The setting has changed, and the nine perfect strangers are also all different; however, as the just-dropped trailer shows, this series is still plunging its characters and viewers into a mystery. While the initial season of Nine Perfect Strangers was shot in Byron Bay, the second definitely wasn't, given that the Australian spot can't double for frosty European climes. The cast around Kidman in season two starts with Henry Golding (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare), Lena Olin (The Darkness), Annie Murphy (Fingernails), Christine Baranski (The Gilded Age), Dolly de Leon (Jackpot!) and Mark Strong (Dune: Prophecy). Murray Bartlett (The Last of Us) also features, after starring so memorably in The White Lotus' first season. Also joining him and the above actors: Lucas Englander (The Day of the Jackal), King Princess, Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Wolf Hall) and Aras Aydin (To Betray). The storyline again charts the titular cohort as they're summoned by Masha to a transformational wellness retreat —" because sometimes, you shouldn't deal with pain gently", she tells them. Healing her guests, and helping them recharge and "rediscover inspiration", isn't the only thing on the agenda. The group unsurprisingly have their questions and suspicions. As proved the case in season one, too, their host is also on her own quest. Call Nine Perfect Strangers season two's arrival — from Thursday, May 22, 2025 Down Under via Prime Video, dropping weekly episodes — a case of great timing if you love watching things going awry at lavish resorts on super-scenic getaways, plus digging into star-studded small-screen mysteries. Call it a trend repeating as well. In 2021, within the space of mere months in the middle of the year, the debut season of The White Lotus hit, followed by the first season of Nine Perfect Strangers. Four years later, The White Lotus is a season ahead of Nine Perfect Strangers, but they're both back. David E Kelley (Presumed Innocent) remains one of the driving forces behind Nine Perfect Strangers — and author Liane Moriarty (The Last Anniversary), who wrote the novel that the first season was based on, is one of its executive producers again. As a result, Kidman continues her link with both. Kelley was also behind Big Little Lies, which, like Nine Perfect Strangers, also adapted a book by Moriarty. While The Undoing didn't initially stem from the Australian writer's pen, it did connect Kidman and Kelley. Nine Perfect Strangers' new on-screen lineup follows in the footsteps of an equally starry group: Melissa McCarthy (Only Murders in the Building), Michael Shannon (The Bikeriders), Luke Evans (Weekend in Taipei) and Asher Keddie (Fake), plus Bobby Cannavale (Unstoppable), Regina Hall (O'Dessa), Samara Weaving (Azrael), Melvin Gregg (Fight Night), Grace Van Patten (Tell Me Lies), Tiffany Boone (Mufasa: The Lion King), Manny Jacinto (The Acolyte) and Zoe Terakes (The Office), who all starred in the first season. Check out the trailer for season two of Nine Perfect Strangers below: Nine Perfect Strangers season two streams from Thursday, May 22, 2025 in Australia and New Zealand via Prime Video. Images: Prime Video / Reiner Bajo.
Spoiler warning: this interview incudes specifics about The Survivors if you haven't watched the full series before reading. "Being new," Thom Green offers. "If it's fresh. If you haven't tackled it before. That's always a good drawcard, right?". "I really love a strong perspective in storytelling," adds Shannon Berry. "Good team, good filmmaker," pipes back in Green. "If it's someone you've always wanted to work with, whether that be a director or producer, a writer, an actor or an actress, that's always another good keyword or a key factor when picking a job," he furthers. And for Berry, too, " I think well-written". She continues: "I love reading scripts. Scripts are the baseline for everything, and I think when you get a script and it's just really good and you can really imagine everything, that's what's super exciting. It's reading a script and you go 'I cannot wait to see how this turns out' — or 'I cannot wait to be a part of it'." These are some of the pivotal elements that Green and Berry, co-stars in The Survivors, look for in a new project. With the six-part Netflix adaptation of Jane Harper's 2020 novel of the same name, they've ticked those boxes. Green comes to the series with a packed resume that already spans Beneath Hill 60, Dance Academy, Halo, Downriver, Eden, Of an Age, Ladies in Black, Exposure and Apple Cider Vinegar, to name just a few of his previous credits. Berry is an alum of Offspring, Romper Stomper, The Wilds, Foe, Winner, High Country, Fake, Watson and more. The pair have encountered all of these crucial aspects before, then, but bringing an adaptation of such an acclaimed author's work to the screen — a writer whose Aaron Falk books have proven huge hits on the big screen as The Dry and Force of Nature — was always going to stand out. In The Survivors, Green plays Sean Gilroy, one of two of characters who lost their older brothers to a tragedy 15 years prior. When Toby Gilroy and Finn Elliott attempted to rescue the latter's sibling Kieran (Charlie Vickers, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) from flooding coastal caves during a storm and didn't make it home, the scenic Tasmanian town of Evelyn Bay was forever changed. Kieran left quickly. Sean remained. Their respective parents — Damien Garvey (Nugget Is Dead?: A Christmas Story) and Robyn Malcolm (After the Party) portray Brian and Verity Elliott, Martin Sacks (Darby and Joan) is Julian Gilroy — are understandably still haunted by their grief a decade and a half later. As the anniversary of the incident approaches, Kieran comes home, his partner Mia Chang (Bridgerton season four's Yerin Ha), another ex-local, plus their new baby with him. The pain of a loss like this won't ever subside. The town's close-knit community hasn't been telling itself the full story, though. Everyone knows that someone else went missing on the same day that Toby and Finn drowned, but 14-year-old Gabby Birch's (Eloise Rothfield, How to Make Gravy) disappearance isn't treated in the same way. Berry plays recent arrival Bronte, who is staying with Gabby's sister Olivia (Jessica De Gouw, The Union), has become close with her fraying mother Trish (Catherine McClements, Apple Cider Vinegar) and is so furious that the teen's absence keeps being overlooked that she begins investigating it herself. With Kieran's return at its core, The Survivors charts the past lingering over and colliding with the present in multiple ways, then, including when there's another tragedy and the police start searching for a killer. [caption id="attachment_1008349" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Graham Denholm/Getty Images for Organic PR.[/caption] With George Mason (Black Snow), Miriama Smith (End of the Valley), Johnny Carr (Strange Creatures), Julian Weeks (Prosper) and Don Hany (Neighbours) also among the cast, Australia's newest Harper adaptation is filled with folks grappling with trauma, no matter where their tale starts or ends. Some have lived it for much of their lives. Others are determined to interrogate it. In their roles, Green and Berry are tasked with tackling the reality in different ways. Sean might appear externally laidback, but he's clearly deeply impacted by the events of 15 years ago. Bronte views Evelyn Bay, plus Gabby's disappearance and Finn and Toby's deaths, with outsider eyes — and, while making friends and settling in, even if only briefly, is driven to do what she can to redress a wrong. Being cast in The Survivors was an exciting prospect for both Green and Berry for an array of reasons — those key factors listed above and more. Green was already a fan of the book, while Berry revelled in the experience of reading it knowing that she'd be stepping into its tale. What does being part of a series like this mean to the two Australian talents? What did they initially see that they could bring to Sean and Bronte? When an intimate dynamic among a tightly bound community teeming with secrets and complicated family dynamics is so pivotal, how do you cultivate that with your co-stars? They're some of the other topics that we dug into with Green and Berry, alongside leaving an imprint in a limited time, the sense of responsibility that accompanies translating Harper's novel to the screen, the long-running appeal of murder-mysteries in Australia and more. On Being a Part of a Tasmania-Set Mystery Series About Tragedies Past and Present Colliding — and One That Adapts a Jane Harper Novel Shannon: "Well, this was my first time going to Tassie. I've never been to Tassie before. So it was amazing to come with the show. And I was just so excited to work with so many Aussie legends. And I've worked before with both Cherie Nowlan [The Irrational] and Ben Lucas [Nautilus], the directors, so it was really exciting to come back together with them again. And I think just it's really amazing to tell Australian stories and to film them here, and to show how beautiful our country is. Tasmania is just such a beautiful place, it kind of became a character within itself. And that's what I really loved about it." Thom: "I think for me, I loved the book. I absolutely adore the book. So that was a huge reason why I wanted to do it. Tasmania as well. I love Tasmania. And then it was the cast. It was the cast, and Cherie and I had worked together on Dance Academy so many years ago, and so that was also — there were so many factors on why I wanted to come do this. But I think that it was the book, mainly, because I was such a big fan. I was like 'I've got to be a part of this'." On Green and Berry's Starting Points with The Survivors on the Page — and Their Approaches to Helping Bring the Book to the Screen Thom: "I read it the year it came out — and then when I was cast in this, I didn't actually go back to the book. I knew the story, but I think I was actually drawing more from stuff I'd seen, to give it my own flavour. So that was building the wardrobe, and the hair and makeup, and you're building all that. So I didn't go back to the book. I didn't try to draw anything from that. I decided to take a step back and do my own thing, so hopefully it did it justice." Shannon: "I read the book. I had read The Dry previously, so I was familiar with her work. Love The Dry. But I had not read The Survivors until I found out that I was cast on the show. So that was super exciting. I think it's such a rare experience to read a book for the first time and see your character's name and go 'that's me' — which was just a really cool, really cute experience. And I'm a huge reader. I love to read. So it was just really special to read it and imagine myself in that world and imagine all the potential. And I think it's been absolutely amazing to watch it. It makes me giddy to think about." Thom: "Yeah, it's one of those things as well, like you can do jobs and sometimes the experiences can be less than glamorous — and this was actually so much fun. We all just got along so well as well, so it just makes it, you go into work each day enjoying it, and then you're wrapping for the day and everyone's hanging out with each other. And it reads on the screen." Shannon: "100 percent." Thom: "It always reads on screen." On Building the Show's Close-Knit Character Dynamic with the Rest of the Cast Shannon: "I feel they made it so easy. It got to the point where I knew I wasn't going to be working on it for a whole lot of time, and meeting you all, I then got very jealous that I wasn't going to be able to spend as much time with you guys [to Thom] as the rest of them — because everyone was just so lovely and so welcoming, and it very quickly really did feel like a family vibe. I always feel that when I step into Aussie spaces with Aussie cast and crew. Everyone's just absolutely the best. So I did feel quite jealous when all of my stuff was done and I had to leave you guys to your own devices." Thom: "I think a good indicator is that, what, it's been 14 months since we wrapped, and George Mason was Facetiming me yesterday from Perth, from his next job, to have a yarn. So that's just a good indicator of how well we all got along." [caption id="attachment_1008351" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Graham Denholm/Getty Images for Organic PR.[/caption] On What Green and Berry Were Excited to Bring to Sean and Bronte Thom: "I think that I felt very comfortable talking to Tony [Nowhere Boys, Glitch, Stateless, Clickbait and Fires' Ayres, who is behind The Survivors' streaming adaptation] and to Ben and to Cherie about the complexity of Sean. So that I felt I was able to bring — from my first take, I remember thinking 'I think I know how to do this'. And you kind of do your take and you sort of go 'well, this is what I think'. And Tony came back and said 'that's what we think as well'. So talking to Ben, there's so many layers. Everyone, every single character in this story, has layers. But I think that was what I felt — that's the part I'm quite happy with what I did, was that vulnerability and intelligence." Shannon: "I think with me, I really enjoyed relating to Bronte. We both moved out really young, moved across the country to a different place, and had to make our own friends and find our own way. So that was really exciting, reading the book, to relate to her in that way. And also talking with Cherie a lot about her art project, and she's so passionate about what she does, and I really relate to her in that sense as well. So it was really exciting to talk about her shared passions and how that drives her in this universe. And I just really related to that a lot. So that was super exciting, to remind me of my young days." Thom: "I'm going to say as well, but for Shannon, Shannon wasn't with us the entire time. So when an actor has to come on, and only come in to do a day or two, and then knock it out of the park and get on the plane and leave — that's a testament to Shannon." On the Task of Conveying the Impact of Trauma in Layered Performances Thom: "It takes a lot. You've got to really sit with the script for a while, I think. It sounds really morbid to think, but if you've dealt with it, you can draw from that — if you dealt with it your personal life. Some people don't like to do that. Some people do. I like to — I do sometimes. I feel like it helps. But I think it just takes a lot of time of sitting with the director and really fleshing out each layer, as I was previously mentioning — fleshing out each single layer and just building on top of it. So when you get on the set and you're setting up for the take and you look at the director, you go 'okay, now what do we need to remember? This, on top of this, on top of this, on top of this'. And then as long as you're thinking, it usually shows in your eyes and your body. That's how I approach it." Shannon: "Yeah, taking it with the instinct on the day. You've done all your research." Thom: "Yeah. Yeah. Exactly right. You're letting it go. How about you?" Shannon: "Yeah, I agree. I agree with everything that you said. Because a lot of Bronte exploring Evelyn Bay and this, she has this whole relationship with Trish that we never get to see in the show but is so prevalent and so alive throughout conversations — I think a lot of it was, yeah, sitting with the script and thinking a lot about 'what would those conversations have been like?' What would their relationship have been like?'. And having that in the back of my brain. So then, when I went in on the day thinking about where I had met these people before, even where I'd met Sean, when we meet each other, and thinking about how I met Ash [Mason's character] — I think it was just doing a lot of prep, and I write a lot of diaries for characters that I do sometimes. So I wrote a lot in Bronte's POV about where I met those people and what we had done together, and then coming in with that. And then just going on the day with instinct." Thom: "Then, I think on top of that as well, so if you've seen very strong series that deal with it and seeing what works — like what affects you when you watch it? What part of the show do you like? You know, in shows you might watch. So that's another visual to draw from, going 'okay, well that works on camera for that type of genre' — especially for this, the mystery, the murder-mystery genre in particular. You watch some of your favourites, there's too many titles to name right now, but watching what you enjoyed the most of that and going 'okay, can I use that? Can I take a little bit from that and a little bit from that, and put it all together in my little tool chest?'." On Leaving an Imprint and Making the Most of Your Character's Scenes When They're So Pivotal to the Narrative Shannon: "I think before doing the show, it reminded me a lot of Twin Peaks — it reminded me a lot of Laura Palmer. So I was privately calling myself the Laura Palmer of the show. But I think it was definitely a challenge to make sure that — I think the most important thing, for me rocking up, was making sure that I had a strong sense of self within her. And that I had a strong sense of who she was, what her dreams were and why she was there. And yeah, I think it was just made really easy by the fact meeting everyone and getting to work with you [to Thom] and getting to work with everyone, it was easy for her to feel fleshed out and like I belonged — which I think made it a whole lot easier." [caption id="attachment_1008350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Graham Denholm/Getty Images for Organic PR.[/caption] On Expressing a Laidback Air, Alongside Pain and Vulnerability, in a Storyline That's Keeping Audiences Guessing Thom: "It's so difficult trying to, that balancing act. I still remember days on set with Cherie — and particularly with Cherie with her episodes, and going 'we need to do this again because of A, B and C', and then having to say 'well, we don't, we can't show our hand too early. We can't show this. We can't show that'. So trying to mask certain things. We're trying to throw a curveball. I kept saying to Cherie my biggest thing was trying to mask one aspect with another, and that was trying to help throw people off for the whole thing. But you're 100-percent right, just trying to convey that, it's really tricky. You really need to go through each episode and see where your character's come from, where they're going, and make sure you're following that line, that throughline, the entire way through. Otherwise, people who watch it will go 'that doesn't make sense. Why was this person doing this after doing this?'. I think in the end, I think we did pretty good. I think we did pretty good with keeping that balance. But it's hard to say, right? You watch something and you're like 'could have done this, could have done this'. It's very, very hard — I think, probably the hardest I've had to do that." On Whether Any Pressure Comes with Starring in an Adaptation of a Well-Loved Novel From an Author Whose Other Books Have Already Sparked Hit Films Thom: "I think so. Definitely. The Dry was so successful. And you've got Eric Bana — then you've got Force of Nature with Anna Torv. And then it's like, then you're like 'alright, now it's Shannon and Tom and The Survivors'." Shannon: "I think at the end of the day, you just want to make sure you're walking away, when you're doing the job and then also when you finally get to see it, that you have that feeling of doing it justice." Thom: "Yeah, you're right." Shannon: "And that you feel like you've done the best that you can." Thom: "Yeah, 100 percent." Shannon: "I think I'm really happy. Are you happy? [to Thom]" Thom: "I'm happy. But we had a good team. Like Tony, and Andy Walker [The Survivors' producer, Deadloch], were ... " Shannon: "Amazing." Thom: "I think at times, I don't know about you but for me, it only really dawns on me, I think, when someone like yourself [to Concrete Playground] raises that or brings that up. On set, it didn't feel like that. On set, it just felt like we were making a cool project with our friends and a cool crew. And then afterwards, you go 'oh yeah, shit, that's right. This is — yeah, we're in good company here'." On Why Murder-Mysteries Seem to Strike Such a Chord in Australia — Whether We're Making Them, Watching Them or Both Thom: "It's like when that time — was it like 2010? — when Nordic noir really blew up with Trapped. And I inhaled Trapped and Fortitude, all on SBS On Demand, and it was like then it exploded. And then The Bridge was also happening at the same time, and the American adaptation. And there was Broadchurch. So it was all happening elsewhere, and I think Aussies just flocked to it. As to say why, are we just perverse? Do we just want to watch it?" Shannon: "I think maybe also, I think Australia as an environment is so vast, and I think it's just such an excellent backdrop, too, to a lot of murder-mystery." Thom: "Yeah." Shannon: "Like you think of really good shows like Mystery Road, and there's all of that desert. We always just have such beautiful landscapes for such devastatingly twisted stories, which I think there's something to be said in that contrast." Thom: "I can't understand like the psyche, why we all love it — but I mean, I inhale them. I absolutely inhale them from everywhere, from each country. So I think now, it's like we've got some cracker series that are murder-mysteries, and I'm sure there's more to come. But as to saying why, like why we and devour them so much, I don't know. But hopefully people ... " Shannon: "Devour this one." Thom: " … devour this one the same." On What Green and Berry Make of Their Respective Paths to The Survivors Thom: "My foundation is coming from — I mean, my first job was a murder-mystery, actually, now that I'm remembering. It was actually a murder-mystery for Channel Ten back in the day. But for stuff like Dance Academy, I started with young-adult television, and then I think mine was quite diverse. I went from that to the Halo series for Microsoft in Canada. And it was like guns and aliens. And then it's Of an Age, this romantic, queer love story set in Melbourne. And now it's this murder mystery, which is so, at times, can be quite confronting. Diverse, I think, is the keyword there." Shannon: "I think I agree. It's been — I love working in Australia, and I'm so lucky to have done so many Australian things in my time. And yeah, I think I'm just really lucky to be able to sit here and say 'yeah, I'm an actor. I did it'. I'm from Perth originally, so it was always that feeling of isolation being in Perth and wanting to do acting. But I've just been really lucky. And I've been really lucky to do a lot of incredible things, meet so many incredible people. And then, yeah, getting to work with Cherie and Ben both on The Wilds, separate seasons, and coming back to work with them again, was just such a treat. I've just been really lucky. I think that's the main word, lucky. I'm so honoured to be able to do a lot of things in Australia and beyond." The Survivors streams via Netflix from Friday, June 6, 2025. Images: courtesy of Netflix © 2025.
Lazing on the couch. Wearing your comfiest clothes. Feeling very, very cosy. For folks trying to find something — anything — to be positive about from the past year or so, these benefits of spending so much time at home should rank highly. And, whatever the weather, they're also a recipe for blissful lounge sessions. Fancy feeling extra warm and fuzzy? Keen on some agreeable viewing options that'll not just make you feel cosy, but nostalgic too? Need a feel-good fix that only a nice animated blast from your past can rustle up? Jump into that groove you've got going on the sofa, put on your snuggest outfit and settle in to relive brighter, sunnier times — we've rounded up a whole heap of retro animated flicks that you can stream or watch on VOD right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92a7Hj0ijLs ALMOST EVERY STUDIO GHIBLI FILM Getting spirited away, spending time with Totoro and chasing a moving castle are now as easy as clicking a few buttons whenever you feel like it. So is revelling in the heartwarming delights of one of the best animation studios there is, too. Over the past four decades, Studio Ghibli's reputation and popularity have only grown with each new film, with the Japanese outfit beloved the world over — for a very good reason. Whether you're fond of the talents of the great Hayao Miyazaki, or you've fallen hard for gorgeous animation by fellow Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, Miyazaki's son Gorō Miyazaki, and other directors Yoshifumi Kondō, Hiroyuki Morita and Hiromasa Yonebayashi, you'll find them all available to stream on Netflix. In fact, from Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbour Totoro to Spirited Away and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, every solely Studio Ghibli-produced animated feature except Grave of the Fireflies and the recent Earwig and the Witch is on offer, as well as made-for-TV movie Ocean Waves. Twenty-one Studio Ghibli films are available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgW6hUO2oyg FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST Mention the words Robin Williams and animation in the same sentence, and one film springs to mind. Aladdin deserves the instant recognition; however the 1992 hit was actually the second movie released that year to feature Williams' vocal stylings, after FernGully: The Last Rainforest. In the latter, he voices Batty Koda, an unstable bat who says he's been experimented on by people. He's fantastic, obviously — and he raps. But that's just one of the highlights of this environmental musical fantasy, which follows a logger, Zak (voiced by Jonathan Ward), who is shrunk down to fairy size by the winged, magical Crysta (Samantha Mathis). Christian Slater, Tim Curry, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong and Tone Loc also provide voices, and the movie's message against pollution and deforestation is a worthy one. Oh, and any Aussie 90s kid knows, the entire film is set in Australia. FernGully: The Last Rainforest is available to stream via Fetch TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZisWjdjs-gM PIXAR'S ENTIRE CATALOGUE Disney+, Disney's very own streaming platform, was always going to become the one-stop-shop for all of the entertainment behemoth's many famous brands, franchises and studios. That includes Pixar — and with the company spending the past quarter-century making lively, thoughtful, soul-lifting animated features, there are plenty of movies for fans to stream, re-stream and then stream yet again. In fact, all 25 Pixar features to-date are available on the platform, including last year's Onward and Soul, and this year's Luca as well. That means you can now spend, hours, days and weeks reliving the ups and downs of the Toy Story saga, enjoying the antics of Ratatouille's wannabe chef, being overwhelmed with emotion thanks to Inside Out and pondering the life of a dutiful robot left all alone in WALL-E. Pixar's entire feature catalogue is available to stream via Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-rpEUuxgmY THE LAND BEFORE TIME If The Land Before Time taught us anything, it's this: even in prehistoric times, when you're a cute baby dinosaur and your species rules the earth, life isn't just about roaring, eating and playing. For "longneck" Littlefoot (voiced by Gabriel Damon), his trek to find the Great Valley is filled with peril — but it also fuels one of the most beloved non-Disney, Pixar and Studio Ghibli animated films there is. Of course, Littlefoot's journey also involves life lessons, endearing adventures and plenty of other cute, tiny dinosaurs, all in a movie that sparked a whopping 13 direct-to-video sequels between 1994 and 2016 (as well as a TV series). It seems that a pre-Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg knew what he was talking about when he decided he wanted to produce a movie like Bambi, but with dinosaurs. Also a producer on this heartfelt flick: George Lucas. The Land Before Time is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies and Amazon Prime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1huZhKwhIQc A HEAP OF DREAMWORKS FLICKS When DreamWorks jumped into the animation game back in the 90s, it did so with a splash. In one year, 1998, it released both the computer-animated Antz and the traditionally animated The Prince of Egypt. Then, in 2001, it had audiences everywhere falling for a cranky, green, Mike Myers-voiced ogre in Shrek. Not every DreamWorks film has hit the mark, of course. For every franchise-starter such as Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, there's been the less-successful likes of Shark Tale and Over the Hedge — and, more than many other animation studios, its flicks entertain actual kids far more than kidults. But if you're still keen for a DreamWorks-shaped trip down memory lane, both Netflix and Stan boast a sizeable array of the company's aforementioned movies, including everything from Bee Movie, Megamind and Monsters vs Aliens to How to Train Your Dragon and more. A variety of DreamWorks films are available to stream via Netflix and Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq2FZdvQXXg THE IRON GIANT What it means to be alive is one of humanity's oldest questions, and one of our most frequent literary and cinematic narratives as well. In The Iron Giant, a 100-foot-tall metal-eating alien robot voiced by Vin Diesel is doing the pondering, after the eponymous figure plummets from the sky and lands outside the town of Rockwell, Maine circa 1957. There, in a tale based on Ted Hughes' 1968 novel The Iron Man, he befriends a curious nine-year-old called Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal), as they both try to hide from the Soviet-fearing Cold War-era US government. Marking the debut feature by director Brad Bird (The Incredibles and its sequel, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and Tomorrowland), the result is one of the smartest, sweetest, most ambitious and astute all-ages animated films there is — which you'd expect from a movie that uses a towering space robot to contemplate not just human nature, but our ability to defy expectation and choose who we wish to be. The Iron Giant is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMlIpQ5pbCk DISNEY'S CLASSICS For decades now, no childhood has been complete without a whole bunch of animated Disney movies. The Mouse House has been in the business of making feature-length animated flicks for 83 years — since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs first released in 1937 — and it's still going strong. Obviously, everything from Pinocchio, Bambi and Cinderella to The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood and The Rescuers are all on Disney+. More recent films, such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, are too. And so is the movie that combined a cartoon mouse, eight pieces of classical music and over two hours of gorgeous animation into a masterpiece: the pioneering, imaginative and highly experimental hit Fantasia. Disney's animated films are available to stream via Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v6-T52zLO0 FANTASTIC MR FOX Roald Dahl, Wes Anderson and stop-motion animation: that's a match made in cinematic heaven. Dahl wrote the acclaimed 1970 children's novel about the canny and cunning titular fox, of course, while Anderson brings it to life with a voice cast that includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson. While Fantastic Mr Fox is his first animated feature, the director behind Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a natural when it comes to witty comedy paired with playfulness, ample sight gags and a whole lot of visual symmetry. As for the story, it follows Mr Fox's (Clooney) efforts to outsmart a trio of mean farmers — and it's told here with energy, personality and Anderson's usual charm. Fantastic Mr Fox is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1-0Fst-J08 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT It's the part live-action, part animated film that's really not for kids, and it's still a delight more than three decades later. Who Framed Roger Rabbit steps back to 1947, plays with both neo-noir and comedy, and creates a world where humans and cartoons — or Toons as they're called — co-exist. A who's who of Hollywood's late-80s best and brightest were all considered for the part of private detective Eddie Valiant (Harrison Ford, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy among them), but Bob Hoskins is pitch-perfect in the role. Also working a charm is the film's dark but funny tone, its exceptional special effects, and the reteaming of Robert Zemeckis and Christopher Lloyd after Back to the Future. Oh, and the fact that this always-entertaining PI tale is basically an oddball take on all-time classic Chinatown. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is available to stream via Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmhXPNg3DZ8 THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS More than a quarter-century ago, Tim Burton and Henry Selick served up one of the most enchanting holiday films to hit the big screen — and one that doubles as both Halloween and Christmas viewing. It's Burton's name that everyone remembers; however a pre-Coraline Selick is actually in the director's chair on The Nightmare Before Christmas, which charms with both its offbeat story and its gorgeous stop-motion animation. Burton came up with the narrative though, because Jack Skellington only could've originated from the Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands filmmaker's brain. Imaginative, original and engaging (even as it nods to Dr Seuss a few times), it still remains a treat for all ages no matter the time of year. The Nightmare Before Christmas is available to stream on Disney+.
No matter where they pop up around the world, Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms instantly attract hordes of eager visitors, as anyone who has lined up to peek inside can attest. At present, with galleries and public spaces closed across the globe, no one can explore the Japanese artist's dazzling mirrored spaces in person — but one American venue is providing virtual access. That'd be The Broad in Los Angeles, which is currently home to Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away. With the whole site closed due to COVID-19, the gallery has started an online video series called Infinite Drone that steps through the glittering, LED light-filled attraction. And, it's pairing each clip with a drone, electronic, ambient and pop music-filled soundscape. Attempting to mimic the sensation of standing inside one of Kusama's infinity rooms in person — and, as the artist intends, soaking in her dazzling contemplation of eternity as it gleams all around you — the idea is to give art fans as an immersive experience as possible. Of course, when you're viewing the installation via virtual means, you don't have to queue — or worry about a time limit. So far, one video has been released, with Los Angeles-based artist and composer Geneva Skeen on scoring duties. Available to watch via Facebook and Instagram, the first 14-and-a-half minute clip watches on as the infinity room's lights glow and fade over and over again — and as well as offering an escape from being glued to the news, it serves up quite the meditative experience. https://www.facebook.com/thebroadmuseum/videos/2906806926047006/?__xts__[0]=68.ARBOxGpmFiisf4BHLIydeMauefG6Y0zMqYRM-_OEsoFmmwxv1XErWIVbc9OrYayVAN4R2pMW4F0LUdPiihR9Zwgv6eh-Hlwgd0DTcZXT5qKh780Ngti2z4G1jYkk_FGa4-u70sYu4n2RM3u8wLuDHncUysxot5mMb5qjoRMP46B4BEaHJNdzT_HMubTLIcu32LXtUEi57v0FlZ6H_WVtCaizQZwoT677vUqlthU8vUsd2-NVXIZFLqwQVZhUudCPCmN_W13ZzMXe-bTRcdQRUjvh_jn02gqPan5HZyXkQfq1G4IsLJh6dJHXxW0X69Z4h_5GodXgnb7N-DGc89xUwb98yrekEHJO01AKWQ&__tn__=-R To check out The Broad's virtual Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away tours, head to the gallery's Facebook and Instagram. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Consider yourself a budding sleuth? Here are three questions for you to solve. What's the world's longest-running play? Who wrote it? Where's it heading this year? The answers: The Mousetrap, the one and only Agatha Christie, and Australia — Sydney to be exact. Initially premiering in London's West End in 1952, it's been treading the boards in the UK ever since, only pausing during to pandemic venue closures. When theatres reopened in Britain, so did the show. Indeed, when it makes its way to Sydney's Theatre Royal from October, with the exact premiere date yet to be revealed, The Mousetrap will do so 70 years to the month that it first debuted. Unsurprisingly, that hefty run means that the show has enjoyed the longest stint for any West End production, and for any play anywhere in the world. So far, there's been more than 28,500 London performances. To answer the obvious question, yes, it's a whodunnit. The murder-mystery starts with news of a killing in London — and with seven people snowed in at a guest house in the country. They're strangers, which is classic Christie. When a police sergeant arrives on skis, they're told that the murderer is among them (which, again, is vintage Christie). They all have wild pasts, too, and all those details are spilled as they're interrogated, and also try to work out who among them is the killer. Those guests at Monkswell Manor include a pair of newlyweds who run the house, a spinster, an architect who is handy in the kitchen, a retired Army major, a man who says his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist. Naturally, there's another death as they'e all puzzling it over — and a twist conclusion, which audiences have been requested not to reveal after leaving the theatre for seven decades now. Again, it's all Christie all over, which'll be evident if you've seen the recent film versions of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile — or the original cinema adaptations, or read the books, or devoured anything else that Christie ever wrote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Mousetrap Australia (@themousetrapau) The Mousetrap originated as a short radio play, which was written as a birthday present for Queen Mary. It aired in 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice, after which Christie rewrote it as a short story, then adapted it again for the stage as The Mousetrap. And no, there isn't a movie of it — because Christie stipulated that it can't leap to the screen until at least six months after the West End production closes. Clearly, that hasn't happened yet. In Australia, the play will hit the stage with Robyn Nevin directing and John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia producing. Whether it'll head to other cities as well hasn't yet been revealed — but cross your fingers. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap will play Sydney's Theatre Royal from October, with tickets on-sale from Monday, June 27. For further details or to sign up for the wait list, head to the play's website. Top image: Matt Crockett.
It was true when Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope hit cinema screens more than four decades ago, and it's still true now. If there's one thing everyone knows about the sci-fi world created by George Lucas, it's that it doesn't reveal its secrets quickly. All these years later, viewers are still watching the space opera saga's twists and turns in episodic big-screen instalments (and will soon be doing so on the small screen, too). If you've been keeping an eye out for news about Disney's new dedicated Star Wars theme park zones, it's been a somewhat similar process. Of course, the force is strong with this overall idea. Yes, we've definitely got a good feeling about it as well. From 2019, Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida will both boast dedicated Star Wars-themed zones, called Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. With the two set to open between the middle and the end of 2019, Disney has started sharing a few details about what fans can expect — including what its main attractions will be. Earlier this year, Oga's Cantina was announced. It's a boozy watering hole that'll be part of both spaces, bringing alcohol to the California park for the first time. Now, Star Wars aficionados can also look forward to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The former will put you in the driver's seat of Han Solo's beloved ship, while the latter will see you caught in the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the First Order. Disney has also unveiled a sneak peek of both, with the video for Rise of the Resistance shot in the attraction itself according to the Disney Theme Parks Blog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssgGCjpFP4Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSxE-b2YDAQ Yep, prepare to say "punch it" a whole heap — and hopefully become best buddies with a loveable wookiee. You'll also be able wander around the outpost of Batuu, which is a hive for smugglers and rogues (naturally); drink blue milk at the cantina; and hop onto a star destroyer. And, while you're enjoying your time in this galaxy far, far away, you'll be listening to new Star Wars music by the man behind its iconic tracks, aka Oscar-winning composer John Williams. Galaxy's Edge was first made public back in 2015, will span 14 acres at each site and will prove the biggest single-themed expansion the respective parks have ever seen. The guiding concept behind both spots is to "transport guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life." More details are certain to come to light before Galaxy's Edge opens, but expect both zones to tie into all ten Star Wars movies to date and to feature an array of beloved characters roaming around. Expect to be able to buy plenty of merchandise at the gift shop as well. Eventually, visitors to Disney World will also be able to spend a night or several in an immersive Star Wars-themed hotel too, although construction hasn't started yet and an opening date hasn't been announced either. That said, Disney has just revealed that a visit to the hotel will involve boarding a launch pod and taking part in "a fully-immersive, multi-day Star Wars adventure aboard a luxury starship", with high-end dining and cabins that apparently have a space view all part of your stay. Via Disney Theme Parks Blog.
Traditionally, Albury hasn't made many a traveller's bucket list. Drivers tend to whizz past on their way to quainter spots, like the gold rush town of Beechworth or the alpine village of Bright. But, over the past couple of years, this 45,000-person city on the northern banks of the Murray River has transformed itself into a destination. There's a blockbuster-capacity gallery, a sculpture trail, a designer hotel, and a slew of new restaurants, bars and cafes. In between art-ing and eating, you'll find mountain biking and paddling adventures a-plenty. So, next time you're racing along the Hume, stop over for a night — or three. Albury lies 462 kilometres southwest of Sydney and 326 kilometres northwest of Melbourne. Let's get into all things Albury. STAY Stretch your legs after the easy drive and check in to one of Albury's best modern stays. With its oversized industrial light fittings, Scandi-inspired high stools, vintage-style bicycles and open plan, the Atura Hotel's foyer feels more like an inner-city warehouse than a hotel lobby you'd stumble across in Albury. And this is just what Atura, a brand belonging to the AHL Group (which also owns QT, Rydges and Art Series) is going for — more art and better design in regional places. The reception 'pod' flows into the bar, where guests crowd around a retro-inspired pool table. The bar morphs into the Roadhouse Grill, dishing up popcorn prawns, braised lamb shanks and local Gundowring ice cream sundaes by night, and buffet breakfasts from 6.30am. Through the glass back wall, black and white NEMO face chairs look over an arc-shaped pool. Keep an eye out for inflatable pink flamingos around the place and Friesian cattle, who drop by occasionally. [caption id="attachment_563142" align="alignnone" width="1279"] Supplied by Atura[/caption] For excellent views of Albury's motley skyline, ask for an east-facing room on the seventh floor. That said, each of the 140 rooms is decorated with the fun yet sophisticated aesthetic informing the entrance. You'll be napping in a king-sized bed, swinging a cat around in loads of space, cleaning up with Malin + Goetz toiletries in a mural-covered ensuite, sipping free coffee from your own machine and tapping into free wifi. To save some dosh, jump on one of Atura's packages, which top up your stay with gallery tickets, cocktails, movies and more. EAT AND DRINK Make your first stop the River Deck Cafe, open daily for breakfast and lunch, and Thursday to Saturday for dinner. You'll find it right on the Murray, among the leafy plane trees of idyllic Noreuil Park. For years, there was only a kiosk here, but in May 2015, Alex Smit, who's been proprietor since 2011, transformed it into a 120-seater restaurant, bringing in Mauritian-born Ludo Baulacky as head chef. Goat's cheese is turned into dollops of pannacotta, carefully arranged among pickled mushroom, baby beetroot, stonefruit and dukkah. For a light lunch, it's a good match with the herby quinoa salad, which comes with candied walnuts, honey dressing, tomatoes and olives. Among the share plates, there's a Milawa cheese platter and a salmon brushcetta with smoked salmon, crème fraiche and caperberries. If you're looking for a hearty main, try the seared barramundi with cauliflower and dill puree, pickle, clams, soy bean and chicken jus. A map in the menu shows you what produce comes from where — one of the River Deck's local mainstays is Rad Growers, a small farm in Bungowannah, twenty kilometres west of Albury. On the main drag, Green Zebra has been making housemade Italian food for 15 years. You can design your own dish by choosing from the pasta, sauce and ingredients menus. Do not stop yourself from ordering the lemon tart for dessert. On Townsend Street is The Proprietor, a friendly, pendant-lit, checkered-floored cafe, serving Padre coffee from Brunswick, and an all-day menu driven by local suppliers. Go for grilled haloumi and dukkah eggs with hummus, salty lemon, watercress and sourdough, or the mushroom toastie, with cheese spread, haloumi, garlic and green sauce. Another of Albury's outstanding new additions is Boom Boom. Tucked away in AMP Lane, this wine bar and eatery feels like a transplant directly from Melbourne. Owner Matthew Carrington has made sure that every element is on point — from the beautifully-curated, globe-spanning wine list to the impeccably-balanced cocktails to the in-house charcuterie and laidback soundtrack. The star share plate arrives crowded with wagyu bresaola, finocchiona-wrapped caperberries, pancetta, pickled grapes and oyster mushrooms. Unwilling to share? Go for a 'Big Thing', like the ling en papiotte with chilli, lemon, coriander and kipfler medallions, or the scotch fillet with potato rosti and tomato bourbon relish. You can relax in the laneway at a table for two, perch at the bar or take over a communal bench. Another dinner option is the long-standing Border Wine Room. If wine bottles could speak, this place could tell a tale or two — the walls are dotted with empty Grange vessels. The a la carte menu changes monthly, while the six-course tasting menu is revamped fortnightly. Keep an eye out for special events — from French wine tastings to chocolate degustations. DO In late 2015, after a $10.5 million makeover, the Albury Regional Gallery reopened as MAMA (Murray Art Museum Albury), with a 14-metre-high curved wall and a visionary director named Jacqui Hemsley, who's passionate about getting people excited and engaged. To that end, MAMA is currently hosting its first blockbuster: Marilyn: Celebrating an American Icon, showing till May 8. Live circus is coming up on April 22 and 23, and, on May 21, the MAMA Art Foundation National Photography Prize, worth $50,000, will move in. The gallery also now has its own modern, casual eatery: Canvas. It's hidden away from the main street, overlooking a quiet, grassy square. Concertina windows allow natural light to stream into the high-ceilinged space, and the menu features luxurious twists on classics. Think coddled egg with truffled mushroom duxelle and brioche soldiers, and duck benedict with house-smoked duck ham, brioche, poached eggs, beurre noisette hollandaise and spinach. Canvas is open daily for brunch and lunch, and Wednesday-Saturday for dinner. Back alongside the Murray, you'll find the five-kilometreYindyamarra Sculpture Walk, stretching between Kremur Street and Wonga Wetlands. It's part of the Wagirra Trail, a work-in-progress that will ultimately consist of 70 kilometres of riverside shared paths. Every sculpture — from the giant-sized Maya Fish Trap by Uncle Tunny, Darren Wighton and Andom Rendell, to Reconciliation Shield by Tamara Murray — was created by local indigenous artists and is a response to the river. Whether you walk or cycle, take your mobile, to access augmented reality at each stop. Despite Albury's sizeable population, wild places are easy to access. To get on the river, hire a canoe from Murray River Canoe Hire, who'll drop you eight or 12 kilometres upstream for an easy one-two hour paddle back to town. Prepare to meet cheeky flocks of white cockatoos, cormorants and white ibises — 350 bird species live along the Murray, which, at 2,700 kilometres, is the third longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. There's also some cracking mountain biking terrain. And, four years ago, elite biker Indi Boer, who's won 19 international and national titles, set up a coaching school named The Fastline Bikademy. If you're a beginner, sign up for a basic skills lesson and by the end of it, you'll be conquering scary dips and powering around corners. Experienced? She'll spend hours helping you to refine your skills, so you can take on tougher rides with more skill and strength. If you're looking for an excuse to head to Albury sooner rather than later, the annual Gold Cup is coming up on March 17 and 18. With more than 15,000 people expected to attend, it's the most popular country race in NSW — and an official public holiday for Albury residents. There'll be live music, craft beers and pop-up stalls peddling local produce. LET'S DO THIS; GIVE ME THE DETAILS By car: Albury is about six hours drive southwest of Sydney, and about three-and-a-half hours' drive northwest of Melbourne. By train: The XPT takes seven-and-a-half hours to reach Albury from Sydney, and three hours and twenty minutes from Melbourne. By plane: QANTAS, Virgin Australia and REX all fly the 80-minute route between Albury and Sydney. REX flies between Melbourne and Albury, taking about an hour. Jasmine Crittenden travelled as a guest of Destination NSW. Images: Peter Saw (unless otherwise specified).
Taylor Swift's Eras tour is the gift that keeps on giving, whether or not you're actually heading along in person when it finally hits Australia in February. Since October 2023, concert film Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour has let Swifties enjoy the show on the screen, first in cinemas and then via digital. Its next stop, if you're ready for it: Disney+ from mid-March. When the blockbuster movie hits the Mouse House's streaming platform on Friday, March 15, it will feature five extra tunes, including 'cardigan' and four acoustic tracks. So, Disney is calling it "the concert film in its entirety for the first time". You might be dubbing it reason enough to don your friendship bracelets in your lounge room. If your wildest dreams have been about getting in on Taylor Swift's Eras tour since it was first announced, then this is gorgeous and enchanted news, clearly. And if you missed out on tickets to the live shows, consider this the next best thing. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current massive tour into a movie that's also proven a smash, taking in over $260 million at the worldwide box office. The film offers a money-can't-buy view of the 'Shake It Off', 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig, working through her entire career so far by playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, ten-act spectacular. The IRL Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023 in the US, then headed to Mexico and Brazil. Japan — around the Super Bowl — then Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Canada, a return to the US and, of course, Australia, are all on the itinerary in 2024. "The Eras Tour has been a true phenomenon that has and continues to thrill fans around the world, and we are very excited to bring this electrifying concert to audiences wherever they are, exclusively through Disney+," said Disney CEO Bob Iger, announcing the film's impending arrival on the service. If you fancy picking yourself up some Eras tour merchandise to wear at home while you dance along, and you'll be in Sydney or Melbourne in February, that's on the agenda as well — via merch presales and a one-day-only Melbourne pop-up. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour will stream via Disney+ from Friday, March 15, 2024. Read our review. Top image: Ronald Woan via Wikimedia Commons.
If you want to emerge from your winter hibernation with a bang, Brisbane Festival has you covered. From Friday, September 2–Saturday, September 24, the city will be reignited with colour, light, art and music in a three-week celebration of arts and culture. This year, the festival kicks off with the annual Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust firework display, a distinct shift away from its usual position at the festival's end. Then, boundary-pushing new art will converge on Brisbane, turning The River City itself into a giant gallery and theatre at once. Expect international and homegrown curations, installations and performances, and art that challenges and enlightens. Highlights include a trilingual reworking of Shakespeare's Othello, a human-sized kaleidoscope that you can walk through, a giant floating moon, the return of Brisbane's Art Boat for cruises down the river surrounded by Lindy Lee's artwork, and six parties on six rooftops on one night. The jam-packed full program also spans the stage adaptation of Shannon Molloy's coming-of-age memoir Fourteen, huge bubbles popping up in South Bank, evening strolls with teenagers, a queer dance party at The Tivoli, and a showcase of First Nations artists and performers — and that's just a taste of the complete lineup. Brisbane Festival will run from Friday, September 2—Saturday, September 24. For further details and to book, head to the festival's website. Updated July 21.
Before Dolly Parton's own musical about her life makes its theatre debut, premiering on Broadway in 2026, always loving the music icon on stage is easy thanks to Here You Come Again. Telling the story of a massive fan of the legend and their imagined version of a star like no other, this fellow song-fuelled production is filled with Parton's tunes. It has her stamp of approval, too, and it's coming to Australia in 2025. Here You Come Again has locked in stops in six cities, starting with Melbourne, playing at the Comedy Theatre from July. From there, it'll enjoy a stint at Theatre Royal Sydney from September, before touring to Perth, Newcastle, Canberra and Adelaide at yet-to-be-announced dates. There's no Queensland season so far, but cross your fingers that one gets added. At each of its Aussie destinations, get ready to hear 'Jolene', '9 to 5', 'Islands in the Stream' and 'I Will Always Love You', among other tracks, as the show's protagonist navigates the ups and downs of life with his own fantasy of Dolly by his side. Playing that pivotal part, so slipping into the rhinestones and blonde hair, is Here You Come Again co-creator Tricia Paoluccio — and yes, she's also a Dolly fan. "I've loved Dolly my whole life and have been singing her songs since I was a little girl. It's been my dream to create a musical comedy that celebrates her music while imagining how she might help someone in a real-life way," said Paoluccio, who conjured up the show with Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and songwriter Bruce Vilanch, plus director Gabriel Barre. "Having Dolly's personal stamp of approval on this piece makes it even more special, and I can't wait to bring this production to Australia!" In the US and UK, Here You Come Again has played soldout seasons — and expect it to prove popular Down Under, too. Alongside Paoluccio, Australian Dash Kruck (Little Shop of Horrors, Jesus Christ Superstar) stars, with the local run also set to feature an all-Australian ensemble, plus a live band helping to bring Parton's music to life. Here You Come Again Australian Tour From Thursday, July 10, 2025 — Comedy Theatre, Melbourne From Friday, September 12, 2025 — Theatre Royal Sydney, Sydney Dates TBC — Perth Dates TBC — Newcastle Dates TBC — Canberra Dates TBC — Adelaide Here You Come Again starts touring Australia from July 2025, with ticket presales for Melbourne and Sydney from 9am on Wednesday, March 12 and general sales from Friday, March 14 — head to the production's website for more details, and for waitlists for other cities. Images: UK production, Hugo Glendinning.
Two new platforms are about to join Australia and New Zealand's ever-growing streaming landscape: dedicated horror service Shudder and prestige film and TV outlet Sundance Now. Both are run by AMC Networks, the American company that's also responsible for producing and airing shows such as Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. While Shudder focuses on all things suspenseful and spooky, Sundance Now — which, as you would've spotted, shares its name with a certain high-profile US film festival — focuses on award-winning movies, including documentaries and foreign-language flicks, plus drama, comedy and true crime television series. Exactly when they'll launch is yet to be announced, although both will be up and running in Australia and New Zealand by the end of this year. If you like paying for things upfront rather than monthly, you'll be happy to know that they're available in other countries, such as the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria, for an annual fee. Local pricing is yet to be revealed, but Shudder costs US$4.99 per month and $49.99 per year elsewhere, and Sundance Now costs US$6.99 per month and $59.99 per year. If you already have a Netflix or Stan subscription and you're wondering whether you really need to add another, perhaps the platforms' specific programming will tempt you — including new additions such as 80s-set horror Summer of 84, gory French effort Revenge and Indonesian supernatural thriller Satan's Slaves on Shudder, plus true crime docuseries Cold Blooded and Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle on Sundance Now. Shudder's classic horror game is also strong, should you like watching old scary movies, while Sundance Now boasts plenty of top international TV series. Given that some of the respective platforms' content already makes its way to our shores anyway — a selection of shows on Sundance Now air in Australia on SBS, for example — how existing rights deals might affect their Aussie and New Zealand lineup hasn't been revealed. For more information about the two platforms, and to keep an eye out for local launch dates, head to the Facebook pages for Shudder and Sundance Now. We'll keep you updated with news as it comes to hand.
The 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the only one arriving in 2024, is giving the sprawling pop-culture franchise something that fans have been waiting for for years. Deadpool will officially enter the MCU. So will X-Men hero Wolverine. The movie? Announced in 2022, Deadpool & Wolverine has a date with cinemas this July. In the just-dropped first trailer for the flick, which arrived during the 2024 Super Bowl, the Merc with a Mouth obviously knows exactly what to say. "Your little cinematic universe is about to change forever" advises Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, Ghosted) when he's brought into the Marvel fold by the Time Variance Authority. His way of describing himself now that he's in the MCU? "Marvel Jesus", of course. One won't stop cracking wise. The other prefers to say as little as possible. Naturally, they're about to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe's favourite big-screen odd couple. Reynolds has been playing Deadpool since 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so this isn't the first time that him and Hugh Jackman (Faraway Downs) are teaming up as their famous characters — but, again, it is the first time in the MCU. Before now, Jackman has already busted out the adamantium claws in nine movies, starting with 2000's X-Men and running through to 2017's Logan, which was poised as his swansong in the role. But when you've been playing a part for that long, in that many flicks, what's one more go-around? After a non-Wolverine gap spent starring in The Greatest Showman, The Front Runner, Bad Education, Reminiscence and The Son, Jackman is clearly ready to get hairy again. That Deadpool & Wolverine is part of the MCU, the comic-to-screen realm that's been going since the first Iron Man flick and will likely never ever end, isn't a minor detail. The two characters have always been Marvel characters, but because of rights issues behind the scenes, they've stayed in their own on-screen sagas. But when Disney (which owns Marvel) bought 20th Century Fox (which brought the X-Men and Deadpool movies to cinemas so far), those business issues disappeared. Deadpool & Wolverine arrives six years after 2018's Deadpool 2. It also marks a reunion in another way. Behind the lens: director Shawn Levy, reteaming with Reynolds after Free Guy and The Adam Project. Check out the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer below: Deadpool & Wolverine will release in cinemas Down Under on July 25, 2024. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
Since the 19th century, writers, filmmakers and musicians have fantasised about moving to Mars. And now, space agencies all over the world are working furiously to make it happen, though none has a 100% firm plan of action yet. After all, Mars isn't the friendliest place: the air is almost oxygen-free, temperatures swing from -150 to 20 degrees celsius and the winds are fierce. Despite that — and the prospect of never returning home — thousands of people applied to join Mars One, a Dutch non-profit hoping to send four travellers on a one-way mission to Mars in 2031. Meanwhile, NASA has its sights set on putting humans into orbit by the 2030s and on the surface by the 2040s. With Sydney Science Festival kicking off on August 8, we thought it the perfect time to dive into the possibility of one day colonising the Red Planet. So, we put our lab coats on and tracked down some of the people working to make this interplanetary dream a reality. Here, we chat with Josh Richards, one of 100 short-listed candidates for Mars One, and Dr Mitch Schulte, a scientist working on NASA's 2020 rover mission, about what living on Mars might involve. GETTING THERE Before stepping foot on the Red Planet, before testing the environment, before figuring out how to make Mars home, the first obstacle for the next giant leap for mankind is getting there. So far, two-thirds of all spacecrafts to have tried have failed. Mars's atmosphere is 100 times thinner than Earth's, which means that when a rocket enters, it takes much longer to slow down, making a crash landing a major risk. In addition, monstrous dust storms howl across the planet's surface, which is covered in hazardous rocks. That said, seven spacecrafts have made it successfully — all free of people, however — and right now, two rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity, are up there roaming around. "The rovers travel by direct trajectory. We send them directly from Earth to arrive at a particular spot," says Dr Schulte. "That requires going from 35,000 miles an hour when the rover hits the atmosphere to 0 miles at the surface. We slow them down with hypersonic parachutes, which open at incredibly fast speeds... When you send humans into orbit, you have to use rockets to slow them down, so that gravity captures the spacecraft." So, the trick now is figuring out how to slow humans down safely. "After we've successfully accomplished that and brought people back, we can think about putting them on the ground, as happened with the moon missions." [caption id="attachment_631550" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NASA.[/caption] BREATHING When or if anyone does manage to land on Mars in one piece, the next challenge will be breathing. The air is made up of 96% carbon dioxide and 0.2% oxygen, as opposed to ours which contains 21% oxygen. To live on the Red Planet permanently, we'd need to develop the technology to do some serious harvesting and storing. "One of the goals of the 2020 mission is to demonstrate an instrument that could extract oxygen from the atmosphere, but it would be used primarily for propellant grade oxygen for rocket fuel," says Dr Schulte. "At this stage, any human travelling to Mars would have to take all the air they need with them." Should things go as planned for Mars One, there'll be rovers capable of extracting oxygen from Mars's rocks and atmosphere by the 2020s. With this technology in place, the rovers will head up in advance of the crew, ensuring hundreds of litres of breathable air are ready to go. [caption id="attachment_631541" align="alignnone" width="1922"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] SETTING UP DIGS The first humans on Mars won't be spending much time outside. Mars One's idea is to have them living in inflatable pods similar to the BEAM module currently attached to the International Space Station but much bigger. Two of these pods are currently in orbit, having their resilience tested. "Each is fifty metres long; they look like big, white caterpillars," Richards says. "The first crew [on Mars] will be four people... [though] for the first two years, they won't be going out very much, unless it's critical." Richards explains how the team will operate similarly to winter crews in Antarctica. And as with the oxygen extraction technology, rovers will travel in advance to also bring and set up modules that'll provide spare parts and life support systems, like the SpaceX Dragon Capsule, explains Richards. Meanwhile, one of NASA 2020's goals is to deepen our meteorological understanding. "We'll be flying a weather package," says Dr Schulte. "It's a set of instruments to measure temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speeds and ultra violet radiation levels." Knowing more about these conditions will help set up a proper living environment for the future. [caption id="attachment_631544" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] EATING OFF THE LAND (EVENTUALLY) Some will rejoice, some will mourn, but it looks like life on Mars will be more than just vegan-friendly; once a food system has been set up, life will be vegan only. "We'll land with six years' worth of food," says Richards. "Then, we'll start growing food as quickly as we can, which means setting up greenhouses and, essentially, going vegan, which for me is a terrifying thought... It's the worst thing about going to Mars." Mars will understandably be a pretty sustainable place as well, where even human waste will be reprocessed and used as a resource. "There's an old saying on the International Space Station," Richards tells, "'Yesterday's coffee is today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee'. What you pee out gets cleaned, filtered and put back into the water supply." LIVING WITH LOW GRAVITY "The gravity on Mars is about 35% what it is on Earth," says Dr Schulte. If you've ever watched the moon landing, you'll know reduced gravity can make for some bouncy fun — though the Moon is a bit bouncier than Mars, with gravity about 15% what it is on Earth — but no one's sure of the long-term effects on the body. Astronauts living on the International Space Station, which is gravity-free, have noticed their spines lengthening and, if they don't exercise regularly, muscular atrophy. Richards says that a big part of each day will be spent testing and measuring bone density and muscle strength, to find out how he and the crew are faring. (He's also planning to pack a Kindle loaded with novels and his ukulele.) Plus, if all goes well, the team will be prepping for the arrival of the second crew, who'll set off two years after the first Mars One mission. [caption id="attachment_631548" align="alignnone" width="1921"] Twentieth Century Fox/The Martian.[/caption] MEETING THE NEIGHBOURS Finally, of course, there's the question of whether or not Mars is already taken. "The bottom line is, we don't know if life exists — or did exist — on Mars, but we do know it's geologically and geochemically similar to Earth," says Dr Schulte. "There are environments that indicate there was liquid water near the surface and that [there are] the kinds of rocks from which organisms could extract chemical energy. "The problem now, though, is that the surface is very dry and liquid water is not stable there, so it exists as ice or gas. If life were to exist now, it would have to be underground, where pressures and temperatures would be high enough — at least as far as we understand how life exists here on Earth." Could we see the colonisation of Mars in our lifetime? Time will only tell, but with the ferocity in approach and devotion to the cause by the likes of Mars One, NASA and others, it looks like a strong potential to us. If you're in Sydney for the next two weeks, you can hear more about what life on Mars could be like from Dr Mitch Schulte at Life on Mars: The 2020 Rover Mission and from Josh Richards at Becoming Martian, both at Sydney Science Festival this month.
Whilst Twitter likes to keep things short and sweet, Facebook has rocketed in the other direction - and users can now post status updates, messages and wall posts to over 60,000 characters long. Importantly, Facebook also highlight that this is roughly one ninth of a novel. I guess this may become useful if authors begin transcribing their works to their fans over Facebook in nine segments. In September 2011, Facebook upped it's character limit from 500 to 5,000. These numbers seem miniscule and rather pathetic with today's gargantuan 60,000 character limit. The possibilities are almost endless. So if you ever break up with your girlfriend, Facebook now allows you to spill all of your emotions in one long, complex status update. Hopefully 60,000 characters will be enough for you to say how you feel. [via Mashable]
You're immersed in a virtual environment — and sporting the appropriate headgear, of course — when someone tries to get in touch with you back in the real world. What do you do? It's a #firstworldproblem hardly anyone has actually experienced yet, despite affordable VR headsets starting to hit the market; however Facebook has a solution. The social media giant does own Oculus, after all, so it was only a matter of time before they found a way to integrate one with the other. At the Oculus Connect 3 conference this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donned a pair of tech-savvy goggles, entered an augmented reality realm and took a Facebook Messenger video call from his wife, Priscilla Chan. The chat popped up on a device worn on his avatar's wrist, then opened in a window in his field of vision, meaning that he could both talk and keep going about his virtual business. Zuckerberg also unveiled a few more VR bits and pieces, including the ability to take a virtual selfie and share it on Facebook (hey, we already said this kind of thing was only a matter of time). Then there's what's being called "VR emoji", which are exactly what they sound like — if you gesture in an angry or happy way, your avatar's face will change to display your emotional state. Plus, you can also take 360-degree photos of actual, real-world scenes and overlay them with VR avatars of friends who are elsewhere so that you can all hang out, play cards or board games, have a sword fight or watch TV. We mightn't all be donning headsets right this moment, but developments like this show that virtual reality isn't going anywhere. In fact, with Sony's Playstation VR released this month, the field is really just beginning to roll out, so expect plenty more news where this came from. Via Tech Crunch. Image: Oculus.
By this stage, most of us have come to terms with the fact that jetting off to USA or Europe is a seriously long slog, made worse by unavoidable (sometimes long, always painful) stopovers. But that European or American trip could soon become a whole lot more bearable, with Qantas announcing plans to launch direct flights between the east coast and both London and New York, by 2022. While the airline's already revealed it'll run nonstop flights from Perth to London starting March 24, 2018, the extra distance involved with trips from the east coast capitals is something that none of today's planes can handle. Right now, the world's longest direct flight clocks in at just over 17 hours and 14,529 kilometres, running between Doha and Auckland on a Boeing 777-200LR. So, to realise its grand plans for east coast Aussies, Qantas has put the call out to Airbus and Boeing, the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers, to make a plane that can go the distance. In numbers, that's a 20-hour and 20-minute stint between Sydney and London (16,983 kilometres), and an 18-hour and seven-minute journey from Sydney to New York. The airline's done its homework, analysing a decade's worth of wind and weather data to confirm the routes are actually possible. Now, all it needs are the planes to fly it. Via the Australian Financial Review.
In news that will enrage haters of performance art, legendary provocateur Marina Abramovic just announced her next artwork: "nothing". Yup. The woman who once cut a star into her stomach then lay naked on a block of ice and invited audience members to point a loaded gun at her head — this artist is going to be doing absolutely nothing for eight hours a day, six days a week, for 65 days. No tricks. For those more familiar with Abramovic's work, this new project at London's Serpentine Gallery sounds eerily similar to her most famous piece, The Artist Is Present. This 2010 performance work — which inspired its own documentary — involved Abramovic sitting in silence at the Museum of Modern Art staring at whoever sat opposite her. Dealing with intimacy and catharsis, the artwork became famous for its effect on audience members and spawned the fan blog Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry. From the pictures we can conclude that James Franco and Alan Rickman didn't shed a tear, but Jessa from Girls was bawling. So, if your last work consisted of silently sitting in a chair and staring at people for 736 hours, how can your next piece be "nothing"? It's like when you tell a smartarse friend you're doing 'nothing' and they point out you're breathing, standing or looking. What will she be doing? The real game changer here will be the audience. Stripped of all bags, jackets, watches, phones and cameras, each participant will enter the space where Abramovic has been completely disconnected from the outside world. The piece will be "unscripted and improvised", entirely dependent on audience behaviour and action. "There is not any work. It's just me," said the artist on BBC Radio. "The public is my live material. It is the most radical, the most pure I can do." Take a good look, people. At this point Marina Abramovic basically is art. Via Huffpost Arts & Culture.
Forget subway tunnels and highway billboards. The latest canvas for the modern artist is that big blue expanse above us. Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang has made like God and conjured his very own rainbow out of colourful smoke bombs in a daytime fireworks display. The stunt required 8000 shells and 2 months of planning, only to be detonated within minutes. With an impressive resume including the fireworks show that opened the Beijing Olympics, Cai's "daytime fireworks" marked the opening of his exhibition at the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar. Spattering the sky with clouds of dreamy pastels as well as inky flock-like forms, the unsuspecting passer-by would be forgiven for running for cover with arms flailing beneath an apparent actualization of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. It's easy to see why Cai had lovers of design raving about his ingenuity. And the show's set-up created a spectacle in its own right, providing viewers with a greater appreciation of the intricate timing and elaborate engineering required to paint the sky. Still, the magic of night time fireworks that seemingly materialise out of thin air is lost in the harsh sunlight that exposes the mechanics behind the colourful explosions. So here's hoping this wizard of pyrotechnics doesn't give up his night job.
One of today's most exciting directors adapts one of the great novels of the past two centuries, all with a lineup of stars that should make all other movies envious. That's the new version of Little Women in a nutshell. Greta Gerwig writes, directs and takes inspiration from Louisa May Alcott's classic of the same name, while Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet and Bob Odenkirk all feature among the cast. After nabbing Oscar nominations and widespread acclaim for Lady Bird, her solo filmmaking debut, Gerwig once again turns her attention to the trials and tribulations of young women. It's clearly a topic of great interest to the actor-turned-writer/director. She co-wrote Frances Ha and Mistress America with Noah Baumbach (as well as starring in them both), and did the same with her first joint stint behind the camera, Nights and Weekends, which she co-directed with Joe Swanberg. If you haven't read the book, or perhaps you just need a refresher, Little Women steps into the lives of the March family in 1860s New England in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It's a time when gender roles are clearly demarcated, but that isn't going to stop the spirited Jo (Ronan) from chasing her dreams — while her sisters Meg (Watson), Amy (Pugh, worlds away from Midsommar) and Beth (Australian actress Eliza Scanlen, who started her career on Home and Away) all have their own plans for their futures. Dern plays their mother, Streep pops up as the girls' aunt, and Chalamet once again has his sights set on Ronan, as he did in Lady Bird. This marks the eighth big-screen adaptation of Little Women, with Gillian Armstrong's 1994 film — starring Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon and Christian Bale — the most recent version of note. Watch the first trailer for Gerwig's take on the tale below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AST2-4db4ic Little Women releases in Australian cinemas on January 1, 2020.
Bluesfest experts already know that Iron & Wine will be folkify-ing Byron Bay come Easter 2014. But what they don't know (or haven't, until today, at least) is that the Texan singer-songwriter formally known as Sam Beam will be making headline appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. Since his last Australia tour, Iron & Wine has released two albums: the slick and poppy Kiss Each Other Clean (2011), which entered the US Billboard Chart at Number 2, and now, Ghost on Ghost. Representing yet another extension of Beam's creative repertoire, it combines '60s soul influences with dashes of '70s rock. Beam's idiosyncratic voice meets a punchy horn section, string flourishes and retro-style female harmonies. "As an artist, I think you should be exploring all the time," he told American Songwriter recently. "It's a transition in the way you think about your work. If your work is more about the process of working, then you are still in pursuit of good results, but the result is not where you get your satisfaction. It's the process — the process of exploring and doing." Iron & Wine will play the Sydney Opera House on April 22 and Melbourne's Forum Theatre on April 23. Tickets are available via Handsome Tours' website. Photo by Craig Kief.
For viewers, much that occurs in Such Brave Girls inspires two words: "here's hoping". Here's hoping that no one IRL has ever been contractually obliged to slip their hand down the pants of the boyfriend that they despise twice a week and on special occasions, for instance. Here's hoping that no one has ever sat in a doctor's office caked in green wicked witch makeup waiting for an appointment about deeply intimate matters, either. The emotions that both situations capture in this brilliant new three-time BAFTA-nominated British sitcom— one digging into the feeling of being stuck on a path that's anything but your dream and dispiritedly going with it, the other surveying life's uncanny ability to put everyone in circumstances so absurd that they seem surreal — are that raw and resonant, however, that watching resembles looking in a mirror no matter your own experiences. If Such Brave Girls seems close to reality, that's because it is. In the A24 co-produced series — which joins the cult-favourite entertainment company's TV slate alongside other standouts such as Beef, Irma Vep, Mo and The Curse over the past two years, and streams via Stan in Australia — sisters Kat Sadler and Lizzie Davidson star as well as take cues from their lives and personalities. This isn't a play-by-play retelling, though. It doesn't claim to bring anyone faithfully and exactly to the screen. But it understands the truth of dealing with trauma, and its fallout and damage, making that plain vividly and with unflinching commitment. "Death, silence, hate" is this duo's personal spin on "live, laugh, love", they jest in a joking-but-not-joking way in-character; Such Brave Girls gets everyone giggling at the idea, but also backs it up. Making their TV acting debuts together — Sadler has previously written for Frankie Boyle's New World Order, Joe Lycett's Got Your Back and more — Sadler and Davidson also play siblings. Josie and Billie, their respective on-screen surrogates, are navigating life's lows not only when the show's six-episode first season begins, but as it goes on. The entire setup was sparked by a phone conversation between the duo IRL, when one had attempted to take her life twice and the other was £20,000 in debt. While for most, a sitcom wouldn't come next, laughing at and lampooning themselves, plus seeing the absurdity, is part of Such Brave Girls' cathartic purpose for its driving forces. If you've ever thought "what else can you do?" when finding yourself inexplicably chuckling at your own misfortune, that's this series — this sharp, unsparing, candid, complex and darkly comedic series — from start to finish. As well as creating the show and penning it, Sadler leads it as Josie, a bundle of nerves and uncertainty that's always earning Billie and their mother Deb's (Louise Brealey, Lockwood & Co) brutal honesty rather than sympathetic support. She's in her twenties, struggling with her mental health and aspiring to be an artist — but, above any firm sense of a career or a dream, she's largely working through a never-ending gap year as she tries to get through day after day. She receives a paycheque from a bookstore job that she abhors, usually while catching her colleagues off guard with her anecdotes. After hours, Josie's doting boyfriend Seb (Freddie Meredith, A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou) awaits — hovers at her side, pleads for sex and moves in without anyone telling her, to be precise — but she's certain that she's queer and only passionate about bartender Sid (Jude Mack, I Hate Suzie). Davidson's Billie is the eternally optimistic opposite of her sister — albeit really only about the fact that Nicky (Sam Buchanan, Back to Black), the guy that she's hooking up with, will stop cheating on her, fall in love and whisk her away to Manchester to open a vodka bar bearing her name. There's nothing that she won't do to make that happen, whether it means bleaching her hair to look identical to her competition (Carla Woodcock, Tell Me Everything) or agreeing to be Nicky's cover when he's busted at a nightclub for drugs. The other thing that Billie has an unwavering belief in, to a delusional degree: that their dad, who went out for teabags a decade ago and never came home, has just gotten lost at the shops because it rearranges its aisles all the time. Both girls live with the exasperated Deb, who also sees a relationship as the solution to her problems, setting her sights on the iPad-addicted Dev (Paul Bazely, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves). She's saddled with debt thanks to Josie and Billie's father going AWOL, and has picked her latest paramour as a path to financial stability thanks to his sprawling house alone. So, when she's not sternly advising her daughters to settle for what's easiest — "I know it's hard, but as you get older, you learn to love with less of your heart — less and less until eventually there's nothing left anymore" is one such piece of guidance; "work isn't about fulfilment, it's just so you can buy stuff to make you feel fulfilled" is another — she's telling them not to do anything to jeopardise what she considers the best chance they've all got as a family for a solvent future. With actor-slash-director Simon Bird behind the lens — alongside first-timer Marco Alessi on one episode — if Such Brave Girls seems like it belongs in the same acerbically comedic realm as The Inbetweeners and Everyone Else Burns, there's clearly a reason for that, too. That said, in its mix of humour and bleakness, alongside its dedication to diving headfirst into the messy existences of its three key female characters, it's also in Fleabag's wheelhouse. Nothing is too grim to find guffaws in, though, whether it's depression, existential malaise, suicide, termination, abandonment, daddy issues, death, grief, narcissism, infidelity or realising how much about life is simply learning to stomach disappointment. Call it searing, call it ruthless, call it insightful, call it hilarious: each one applies. Here's another "here's hoping" for Such Brave Girls' audience to put out into the world: here's hoping that there's more to come. Actually, here's yet one more: here's hoping that this is the start of big on-screen comedy careers for the show's sisters, who bring such a layered rapport to Josie and Billie that viewers who don't know that they're genuinely related will guess quickly, and who deliver masterclasses in comic timing again and again in the process. Brealey, who has Sherlock, A Discovery of Witches and Back also to her name, might appear to have a hard task, then, playing a convincing mum to real-life siblings. But Such Brave Girls doesn't just feel blisteringly authentic, even at its most ridiculous, whenever Sadler and Davidson are in the spotlight; it's that unvarnished with everyone. Check out the trailer for Such Brave Girls below: Such Brave Girls streams via Stan.
This year's Melbourne Cup is fast approaching, so it's time to start thinking about which glitzy locale has your name on it. To help you make your choice, here's a cheat sheet for four parties happening at four stand-out venues: the Regatta Hotel, the Boundary Hotel, Fridays Riverside and Riverland Brisbane. At the top of the list is the Regatta, which is hosting the annual Level 1 Cup Gala plus the new Level 2 Extravaganza, the most exclusive event in Regatta history. The latter is hosted in the brand new Glenolive function space and verandah (pictured below), with luxury food and drinks plus access to the rest of the hotel. To wrap up the day, head underground to the Walrus Club for the best afterparty north of the river. [caption id="attachment_870401" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] Those with a taste for history should consider the 158-year-old Boundary Hotel, which is hosting its annual Cup Day celebration. There's two available packages, each including a variety of food and drink options. The luxe $169pp gala is inclusive of live music and a good view of all the fashionable fascinators, while the $200pp luncheon adds a 3-course meal to the mix. If Fridays Riverside is your go-to, put together a group for the epic two-course share meal and three-hour beverage package. It'll be a great way to enjoy the day as you take in the live music and entertainment throughout the venue. Need we say dress your best? The freshest fit can win some sweet prizes. Riverland will be giving its street kitchen vibes a premium cup day makeover to bring you a prime posi for the arvo. Make the most of the event with canapés, music and the coveted Fashion on the Field prizes. This Melbourne Cup, the Regatta Hotel, Boundary Hotel, Fridays Riverside and Riverland are playing host to a range of festivities. For more information, head to the websites.
Step aside wine. One of the most exciting movements in the Australian booze scene is the wealth of locally-produced spirits that combine world-class product and craft with indelible branding. Melbourne distillery The Gospel was recently anointed the second best rye whisky in the world, and the Yarra Valley's Four Pillars Gin has repeatedly been awarded in international competitions and rankings since its inception in 2013. Now there's a new Australian-made and -owned gin entrant in the mix that's quietly launching into the local market courtesy of a group of gin-loving founders. It's called Papa Salt Coastal Gin and the founders behind the drop are Tom Ackerley Charlie Maas, Josey McNamara, Regan Riskas and Margot Robbie. Yes, that Margot Robbie. We caught up with the group to discuss the origin story of Papa Salt, their collaboration with Lord Byron Distillery to create the product, and being a collective of gin lords. Firstly: tell us a bit about the relationship between the five of you and how you decided to start a business together? "Regan and Margot worked on a film together in 2015, and we all became friends as we bounced back and forth between LA and London in the years since. Sometime around 2018, Josey, Tom, and Margot started to consider creating a gin brand, and they knew that Charlie and his family were in the spirits industry. The five of us had a few very loose discussions about what it might look like to work together, and a lot of very detailed conversations about our favourite gins. It was clear very early on that we all had a passion for the category; that passion really defines our entire business strategy. We spent five years creating a gin that we wanted to drink; and only now are we trying to turn that into a business." Secondly: why gin? "The simple answer is that we all love to drink gin. Digging deeper, that's probably a credit to the category itself; there's so much variety in gin now that there's always something new to try, or an exciting new cocktail or taste profile for a specific use case. As a consumer, the versatility of gin is so exciting. As a brand producer, that means you can really experiment and try to create something unique to your taste. We love the idyllic notion of a perfect beach day, and when we conveyed that to our distiller he suggested that we try using oyster shell in the botanical mix. Not only did that provide a minerality that we really love in the taste, it's also something that's only possible in a gin." How did you end up working with Lord Byron Distillery to create the gin? "We reached out to just about every distillery you could imagine in Australia, and created a short list of options. Lord Byron Distillery stood out for their sustainability mission: they're a zero waste, entirely renewably powered facility." How involved were each of you with the development of the product and the brand? Is there one of you who is the true gin lord of the group? "Who is the true gin lord?! What an amazing question. We've been wondering what titles we should put on our business cards, and I think you just answered it. There is no one true gin lord in the group — we are all gin lords. We've gone through every single step in the development together. In fact, over five full years of development, we've only had two meetings that didn't include all five of the Founders (and one of those Tom attended via Zoom)." What's your preferred way to drink it? Individual answers please! Josey: "This may sound crazy, but Papa Salt makes a tremendous paloma." Margot: "Salt and soda with an orange rind and a crack of black pepper." Tom: "Dry martini straight up with an olive." Charlie: "Papa Salt and Fever Tree Sparkling Lime and Yuzu. Yuzu is the best citrus, it's not even close, and it pairs perfectly with Papa Salt." Regan: "Papa Salt & Soda with a juicy slice of blood orange and lots of ice." Explain the inspiration behind 'Papa Salt' as the name? I'm getting 'coastal daddy' vibes but I assume there's something more significant to it? "We wanted to name the product Salty Sea Dog Gin, but ran into some trademark issues there. But that was always the idea behind the brand – to celebrate those luxuriously aimless days in the sun. A few months later, on one of those exact sort of days, Tom, Margot, and Josey ended up at a beach bar in Sri Lanka with a salty sea dog who went by the name Papa Salt. He was originally from the Gold Coast, but after circumnavigating the globe a few times, he wound up on this particular beach on this particular day. It's our hope that Papa Salt Coastal Gin, born on the Eastern Australian coast, might travel just as far and create just as many memories." Current stockists for Papa Salt Coastal Gin are Rick Shores at Burleigh Beach, Raes on Wategos in Byron Bay, Icebergs Dining Room & Bar in Sydney and Stokehouse in Melbourne.
Charles Entertainment Cheese is heading Down Under, ready to delight kids, families and Australian adults who've always wanted the Chuck E Cheese experience. Adding to the growing list of US food chains that have already brought or are set to bring their wares to our shores — such as Taco Bell, Wahlburgers, Five Guys and Wendy's — the American restaurant-slash-entertainment centre brand has announced plans for Aussie eateries. Where and when is yet to be revealed, but the children's birthday-party go-to is indeed coming. Royale Hospitality Group has signed a master franchise partnership for Australia's Chuck E Cheese venture, adding to a stable that also includes Outback Jack's and Milky Lane. It'll help extend the brand as it closes in on five decades of existence — launching in 1977 — and as Asia and Europe also become a global focus. On offer: the place to eat slices, play games and watch animatronics that's been parodied in the likes of Five Nights at Freddy's and Willy's Wonderland, but obviously without the horror. And yes, that spans the company's characters. Yes, Charles Entertainment Cheese is Chuck E Cheese's mouse mascot's full name. "We are thrilled to bring the magic of Chuck E Cheese to Australia and to collaborate with the Royale Hospitality Group, a partner that shares our commitment to delivering exceptional family experiences," said Chuck E Cheese International Chief Operating Officer Mario Centola, announcing the Aussie expansion. "We look forward to crafting the Chuck E Cheese brand for the Australian market. This is a momentous step towards establishing Chuck E Cheese as the premier destination for families seeking an unparalleled kid-centric entertainment and dining experience," added Royale Hospitality Managing Director Ray Strauss. "I am thrilled, along with my dedicated team, to embark on this exciting journey, taking Chuck E Cheese to the next level throughout all of Australia." Your nieces and nephews, who we're betting you'll want to take to Chuck E Cheese when it opens locally, will also be thrilled. Chuck E Cheese is set to open in Australia, but exactly when and where hasn't yet been revealed — keep an eye on the chain's website, and we'll update you with more details when they're announced.
Some neighbours suck, like the Constant Complainers. The Constant Complainer is never short of an excuse to knock on the wall your terraces share. Worse still are the Loud Guys. Do they really need to barbecue that loudly? Some of us have jobs? Some of us contribute to society? Some of us, maybe, secretly, hopefully not, are Constant Complainers ourselves. But for all of their flaws, the Constant Complainers and Loud Guys are nothing, really. The worst of them are the Zac Efrons of this world, the fraternities of 50 brothers that move in shortly after the birth of your baby. These neighbours go above and beyond Loud Guys. And although they might have hilarious Robert De Niro-themed frat parties, for genius Kimye impersonator Seth Rogan and Aussie actor Rose Byrne, resigning themselves to the roles of Constant Complainers is not an option. Titled Bad Neighbours, this new comedy is directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and is destined to give you more than a few lols. Representing something of a turning point for Efron, the film is sitting at 100 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Bad Neighbours is in cinemas on Thursday, May 8, and thanks to Universal Pictures, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. 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 https://youtube.com/watch?v=F8FKvhZLw9o
Before the opening credits roll on the first of its eight season-one episodes, Binge's new Australian sitcom Colin From Accounts explores some of life's big questions. When two strangers cross paths and literally come to an impasse, who should proceed off into their regular lives to begin with — and who should hang back out of their way till they're gone? Also, what's the appropriate way to interact? Are smiles, nods, waves, and mouthing "you go" or "after you" acceptable? And, if you're the person who scores right of way, how do you show your gratitude as you're merrily venturing forward? These may seem like trivial matters, as everyday and relatable as they clearly are, but the right moves might just inspire a life-changing meeting. They could also have serious consequences, and bond you in a complicated situation for around 12 years with someone you wouldn't have otherwise met. Or, both could occur. That's how it pans out in Colin From Accounts, with the rom-com spying the familiarity, comedy and chaos in bumping into another person on the street. Medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and microbrewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) do just that one otherwise standard Sydney morning. He lets her go first, she flashes her nipple as thanks, then he's so distracted that he hits a stray dog with his car. A girl, a guy and a meet-cute over an adorable animal: that's this delightful and very funny series' straightforward underlying formula. But as the circumstances surrounding Ash and Gordon's initial run-in demonstrate, Colin From Accounts isn't afraid to get awkward, much to the benefit of audiences. There's a syrupy way to proceed from the show's debut moments, intertwining sparks flying with idyllic dates, plus zero doubts of a happy ending for humans and pooches alike. If this was a movie, that's how it'd happen. Then there's Dyer and Brammall's way, with the duo creating and writing the series as well as starring in it, and focusing as much on ordinary existential mayhem — working out who you want to be, navigating complex relationships and learning to appreciate the simple pleasure of someone else's company, for example — as pushing its leads together. Before Ashley becomes 'Flashley', she's a 29-year-old medical student reeling from an unexpected breakup with a colleague (Tai Hara, Underbelly: Vanishing Act). Before Gordon is forced to ask his ex Yvette (Annie Maynard, Playing for Keeps), a vet, to do him a favour, he's a fortysomething who has been single for a unicycle-buying amount of time. By the time the day of their first encounter is out, they'll be sharing a hefty debt and a Sydney home — the former for the dog's treatment and the latter because pets aren't allowed at Ash's sharehouse. She's in his phone as 'Ashley $12k', the amount they're on the hook for. He's in hers as 'Dog Car Guy'. They joke about being each other's weird mate, and openly wonder if two people can be friends once exposed mammary glands get involved. Just like in the Hollywood versions of this kind of tale, romance does blossom. That Dyer and Brammall are behind Colin From Accounts, their past chemistry on fellow Aussie comedy No Activity and the fact that they're married IRL means that pairing them up as more than new pals was always going to be on the show's agenda. It's how the series fleshes out each character and their baggage — including those who-am-I questions, Ash's difficult dynamic with her attention-seeking mother Lynelle (Helen Thomson, Elvis), and the responsibility that running your own business and committing to care for other people each bring — that helps give it depth. Colin From Accounts lets Ash and Gordon unfurl their woes and wishes, and also lets them grow. Sometimes, that happens by peeing and pooping in the wrong place, because that's also the type of comedy this is. Sometimes, it's because the show's central couple have taken a risk, or faced their struggles, or genuinely found solace in each other. There's more than a touch of Catastrophe to Colin From Accounts, in its thrusting of two strangers together by a twist of fate that sees them sharing caring duties — for a dog rather than children, however. In lesser hands, there'd be an initial dose of New Girl as well, but Ash is no manic pixie dream girl singing her way through Gordon's life or unleashing a big bag of quirkiness. Credited with penning four episodes apiece, Dyer and Brammall bring sharpness and authenticity to their scripts, especially when confronting the truth that neither Ash nor Gordon know what they truly want. There's a clear-eyed feel to Colin From Accounts' still-light embrace of one of life's immutable realities: that we're all just moseying forward, being spontaneous, coping with the fallout, colliding with other people — and critters — and hoping for a content-enough outcome. Watching Dyer and Brammall bounce off of each other, dog in tow, is easy. Even when things are at their most strained between Ash and Gordon, and even when Colin From Accounts is swinging for its broadest grabbag-style laughs, their rapport always feels grounded. The script layers in gags about the pair's age difference, and contrasts the distinctive brands of Millennial and Generation X chaos, but the series is never in laugh track-heavy sitcom territory. Neither actor's impressive work should come as a surprise, of course, and nor should their ability to find drama as well as comedy in the show's premise. See: their respective resumes, including Dyer's work in Killing Ground and Wakefield, and Brammall's on Offspring and Glitch. Colin From Accounts may focus on Ash and Gordon's ups and downs, and on Dyer and Brammall as its driving forces, but it also mines a wealth of other talent. Thomson is a scene-stealer, as part of a subplot that examines the lifelong hurt that can spring when no one actually says what they mean. As Gordon's brewery colleagues, Genevieve Hegney (Doctor Doctor) and Michael Logo (Why Are You Like This) each have their moments to shine, and the same applies to Emma Harvie (Frayed) as Ash's fellow med-student bestie. Behind the lens, directors Trent O'Donnell (another No Activity alum), Matt Moore (The Great) and Madeleine Dyer (Monster of Many Worlds) keep the series both breezy and weighty — and instantly bingeable. Check out the trailer for Colin From Accounts below: Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Images: Lisa Tomasetti / Tony Mott.
Nightlife just got brighter with Heineken's new glow-in-the-dark beer bottle. Combining the coolness of a can with the curves of a bottle, this stream-lined aluminium packaging lights up under a black light to reveal a shooting star design. It's all part of the company's packaging refreshment, which takes inspiration from the night-club scene and aims to heighten the beer drinking experience. Mark Van Iterson, Manager Global Heineken Design & Concept said "We have a history of progressive design that has had lasting influence and changed the way people enjoy beer – from being the first to introduce green beer bottles to bringing draught beer to the home through DraughtKeg. Design is at the core of the Heineken brand." Heineken has also launched an initiative, Open Design Explorations, to source other branding and experiential ideas around the theme 'light up the night' from young designers around the globe. https://youtube.com/watch?v=R5mT2mhaKY0 [Via Cool Hunting]
Every autumn, a the Eta Aquarid meteor shower sets the sky ablaze. It might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but the Eta Aquarids are actually a distant relation — the bits and pieces you see flying around were on Halley's path a really, really long time ago. And, rather than only being visible every 75 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), you can catch the Eta Aquarids annually. This year, the shower will be at its most spectacular this weekend — here's how to catch a glimpse. WHEN TO SEE IT The shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Saturday, May 6, but will still be able to be seen for the another day or two. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am. At that time, you'll be in the running to see as many as 30 meteors every 60 minutes. Each will be moving at about 225,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. WHERE TO SEE IT Being in the southern hemisphere, we get some of the best views in the world. So, if you're living in the city, it could be time for a last minute trip to a clear-skied camping spot. The trick is to get as far away from light pollution as possible. For Sydneysiders who don't mind a long drive, this could mean a trip to the Far South Coast. We reckon Picnic Point campsite in Mimosa Rocks National Park might be a winner. Or, if that sounds too far away, Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay is pretty light-free. Alternatively, head west — after all, you'd be hard pressed to find better views than at The Dish, just outside of Parkes. Melburnians might consider a journey to Wilsons Promontory or along the Great Ocean Road, as far as Killarney Beach. For somewhere closer, there's Heathcote, which is just an hour from the city, but is an excellent vantage point. For a real escape, head to Snake Valley in the Central West, where there's hardly a light in sight. For a quick trip out of Brisbane, try Lake Moogerah, Lake Wivenhoe or Lake Somerset, which are all rather dark, considering their proximity to the city. If you have a bit more time, head two-and-a-half hours west to Leyburn, which has come of the busiest skies in Queensland, or eight hours west to the tiny town of Charleville in the outback. HOW TO SEE IT The shower's name comes from the star from which they appear to come, Eta Aquarii, which is part of the Aquarius constellation. So that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Eta Aquarii, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also have a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Eta Aquarids. They've been updating this daily. Apart from that, wear warm clothes, take snacks and be patient. Happy stargazing.
What had Amy Schumer advising that her hosting plan was "to stay present until I black out" and Troy Kotsur promising not to sign any profanity? Where did Timothée Chalamet opt not to wear a shirt, Tiffany Haddish declare that she's a superhero just for being herself, and anniversary tributes to everything from The Godfather, Pulp Fiction and Bond toWhite Men Can't Jump and Juno take place like an entertainment website had somehow come to life? That'd be the 2022 Academy Awards. Back in a March time slot, Hollywood's night of nights just handed out its gongs for this year — recognising films from last year — and plenty happened. Where did the first-ever live performance of Encanto's 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' occur, too? At the Oscars today, obviously. (We won't talk about a certain outburst that also took place, because it doesn't deserve any further oxygen.) While the ceremony always sparks conversation — great, bad or fine, the latter of which fits here apart from its violent interlude — the Academy Awards are always about celebrating top-notch movies. The body behind them made some incredibly questionable choices with its live event this year, including taking eight categories it didn't deem sexy enough out of the televised broadcast (including the one that none other than Hans Zimmer won, and understandably decided not to attend to collect), but a heap of worthy flicks still just picked up shiny trophies. As a result, CODA is now the reigning Best Picture winner, Jane Campion became just the third woman ever to win Best Director and Dune nabbed almost every technical award it could — and they're just some of this year's crop of recipients. From Drive My Car earning some Best International Feature love to Cruella's costumes getting the nod, if you're wondering what else emerged victorious, the full rundown is below. You can also check out our picks for the 11 winners you should watch right now as well — and our full lists of where most of this year's contenders are screening or streaming in both Australia and New Zealand. OSCAR NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2022 BEST MOTION PICTURE The Power of the Dog West Side Story Belfast Dune Licorice Pizza King Richard CODA — WINNER Don't Look Up Drive My Car Nightmare Alley BEST DIRECTOR Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog — WINNER Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye — WINNER Kristen Stewart, Spencer Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Will Smith, King Richard — WINNER Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom! Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Ariana DeBose, West Side Story — WINNER Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Judi Dench, Belfast Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA — WINNER Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog JK Simmons, Being the Ricardos BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson Belfast, Kenneth Branagh — WINNER King Richard, Zach Baylin Don't Look Up, Adam McKay (story by McKay and David Sirota) The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal CODA, Sian Heder — WINNER Dune, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth Drive My Car, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Drive My Car (Japan) — WINNER The Worst Person in the World (Norway) Flee (Denmark) The Hand of God (Italy) Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan) BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Encanto — WINNER Luca The Mitchells vs the Machines Flee Raya and the Last Dragon BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) — WINNER Flee Ascension Attica Writing with Fire BEST ORIGINAL SCORE The Power of the Dog, Jonny Greenwood Dune, Hans Zimmer — WINNER Don't Look Up, Nicholas Britell Encanto, Germaine Franco Parallel Mothers, Alberto Iglesias BEST ORIGINAL SONG 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die (Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell) — WINNER 'Dos Oruguitas', Encanto (Lin-Manuel Miranda) 'Be Alive', King Richard (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Dixson) 'Down to Joy' Belfast (Van Morrison) 'Somehow You Do', Four Good Days (Diane Warren) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Dune, Greig Fraser — WINNER The Power of the Dog, Ari Wegner The Tragedy of Macbeth, Bruno Delbonnel Nightmare Alley, Dan Laustsen West Side Story, Janusz Kaminski BEST FILM EDITING Dune, Joe Walker — WINNER The Power of the Dog, Peter Sciberras Don't Look Up, Hank Corwin King Richard, Pamela Martin Tick, Tick... Boom!, Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Dune, Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos — WINNER Nightmare Alley, Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau West Side Story, Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo The Tragedy of Macbeth, Stefan Dechant and Nancy Haigh The Power of the Dog, Grant Major and Amber Richards BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Dune, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer — WINNER Free Guy, Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Dan Sudick Spider-Man: No Way Home, Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver No Time to Die, Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, Chris Corbould BEST COSTUME DESIGN Cruella, Jenny Beavan — WINNER Dune, Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan West Side Story, Paul Tazewell Nightmare Alley, Luis Sequeira Cyrano, Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh — WINNER Dune, Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr Cruella, Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon Coming 2 America, Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer House of Gucci, Goran Lundstrom, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras BEST SOUND Dune, Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett — WINNER West Side Story, Tod A Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy No Time to Die, Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor Belfast, Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri The Power of the Dog, Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT Audible Lead Me Home The Queen of Basketball — WINNER Three Songs for Benazir When We Were Bullies BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM Affairs of the Art Bestia Boxballet Robin Robin The Windshield Wiper — WINNER BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM Ala Kachuu — Take and Run The Dress The Long Goodbye — WINNER On My Mind Please Hold Top image: Netflix.
If it's a feast of weird, wild and wonderful movies that you're after, then one Australian film festival has been delivering for 16 years now: the Sydney Underground Film Festival. Dedicated to strange and surreal cinema, it screens the kinds of flicks that don't usually turn up at your local multiplex — although, this year, the event itself is making the move to one such venue. 2022 marks a huge milestone for SUFF in two ways. Firstly, it's the fest's return to a physical event for the first time since 2019, thanks to a couple of pandemic-affected years. Secondly, SUFF is shifting to a new location. Accordingly, come Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 11, Sydneysiders will want to flock to Event Cinemas George Street to watch everything from hilarious Pete Davidson-featuring horror satires through to the latest and greatest genre shorts. And if you're not in Sydney, the fest's online program will return from Monday, September 12–Sunday, September 25 as well. For those keen on an in-person experience, I Love My Dad will open the fest, telling a tale about an estranged father (played by Patton Oswalt, Gaslit) who catfishes his own son in an effort to reconnect. From there, highlights include new releases by a few mighty impressive filmmakers: closing night's Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, the latest from A Girl Walks Home at Night's Ana Lily Amirpour, and Something in the Dirt, by The Endless and Synchronic's Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. And, of course, there's the aforementioned Bodies Bodies Bodies — which not only features The King of Staten Island's Davidson, but also Dear Evan Hansen's Amandla Stenberg and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Oscar-nominee Maria Bakalova. They star in a film that turns a party game into a slasher onslaught, and tears into not only its characters, but Gen Z and today's always-online world. Also on the in-cinema bill: Dual, the Aaron Paul (Westworld) and Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame)-starring new deadpan comedy by The Art of Self-Defense's Riley Stearns; On the Count of Three, Jerrod Carmichael's (Rothaniel) feature film debut as a director; and documentary I Get Knocked Down, about Chumbawamba singer Dunstan Bruce. Or, you can see the world premiere of horror flick Pig Killer, which is inspired by a true story; catch Norway's Sick of Myself, which also screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival; and check out a charity screening of Rhino by Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov. For those watching at home around the country, SUFF's online program includes queer Canadian drama Compulsus, horror/sci-fi film LandLocked, and an impressive range of documentaries — such as F@k This Job, about Russian TV channel Dozhd and its founder Natasha Sindeeva; Girl Gang, which follows a 14-year-old London influencer; the self-explanatory Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC; Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters, about the Hellboy creator; and Circus of the Scars, about sideshow performers. Plus, SUFF's dedication to the most out-there shorts the fest can compile will also hit screens in-person at Event Cinemas George Street and via the virtual lineup. Sydney Underground Film Festival will screen at Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney, from Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 11, then head online from Monday, September 12–Sunday, September 25. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to SUFF's website.
Saying goodbye to 2025 at Lost Paradise means farewelling the year with a jam-packed lineup of tunes. Ben Böhmer, Chris Stussy, Confidence Man, Duke Dumont, I Hate Models, KETTAMA, Marc Rebillet, Maribou State, Underworld, X CLUB: they're all headlining the annual end-of-year music festival in Glenworth Valley on the New South Wales Central Coast this year. You should already have the dates in your diary, given they were announced at the end of July — but if you don't, mark Sunday, December 28, 2025–Thursday, January 1, 2026 on your calendar and prepare for a huge few days. Other acts on the bill include Anna Lunoe, BIG WETT, Channel Tres, Fcukers, DJ Heartstring, Hot Dub Time Machine, Omar+, VTSS and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_1017760" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Gorrigan[/caption] Some people love last-minute New Year's Eve plans, going wherever the mood takes them. Others can't start planning early enough. If you fall into the latter category, this December is for you. For Lost Paradise newcomers, the multi-day event turns a slice of its setting — which is located an hour out of Sydney — into one helluva shindig, complete with live music and DJ sets spanning both international and Australian talents. This year, organisers are promising newly reimagined versions of the festival's Arcadia, Lost Disco and Paradise Club stages. Tunes are just one part of the Lost Paradise experience, though. Here, art, culture, wellness, and food and drink also get a look in. And, at Shambhala Fields, you can hear talks and take part in workshops — so that's where you'll find the likes of Dr Karl, Eric Avery, Deano Gladstone, Lara Zilibowitz, Kath Ebbs, Sez, Tom Carroll, Simon Borg-Olivier, Gwyn Williams and others. Since first unleashing its specific flavour of festival fun back in 2014, Lost Paradise has become a go-to way to wrap up one year and welcome in the next — including if you're keen to camp for its duration. Lost Paradise 2025 Lineup Ben Böhmer Chris Stussy Confidence Man Duke Dumont I Hate Models KETTAMA Marc Rebillet Maribou State Underworld X CLUB Anna Lunoe Baby J Bad Boombox & Mischluft Balu Brigada Bella Claxton BIG WETT Blusher Bullet Tooth Cassian Channel Tres Dameeeela DJ Heartstring Dombresky presents Disco Dom Dr Banana Fcukers Folamour Heidi Hot Dub Time Machine INJI Jazzy Josh Baker Juicy Romance Kilimanjaro Luke Alessi Merci, Mercy Narciss Notion Odd Mob Omar+ Pegassi Prospa Riria Ross From Friends presents Bubble Love Sex Mask Silva Bumpa Sim0ne Sumner Swim (live) Two Another VTSS Wolters Alex Dowsing Badassmutha Bella Backe Caleb Jackson Couch Mechanic Cricket Dayzzi B2B Daug Disco Dora Elijah Something GMOZ Grooveworks Kai Kawai Large Mirage LAYTX Lily FM Lost Soundsystem Madame Reve Maina Doe Mash Middle James Mina Tonic Oscill8 Pamela Penelope People's Party Roxy Lotz Salarymen Selve Siila Silly Lily Sim Select Tia Lacoste Tokyo Sexwale Tseba Waxlily Yasmina Sadiki Shambhala Fields: Benny Holloway Catriona Wallace Chanel Contos Deano Gladstone Dr Karl Eric Avery Gwyn Williams Kath Ebbs Lara Zilibowitz Plastic Free Mermaid Sez Simon Borg-Olivier Tom Carroll [caption id="attachment_965688" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Byravyna[/caption] Lost Paradise returns to Glenworth Valley, New South Wales from Sunday, December 28, 2025–Thursday, January 1, 2026. Sign up for presale tickets online, with general tickets available from 10am AEST on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Head to the festival website for more details. Underworld image: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns. Lost Paradise images: Jess Bowen, Jordan K Munns, Byravyna and Amar Gera.
Master sommelier Madeline Triffon describes pinot noir as 'sex in a glass'. Winemaker Randy Ullom calls it 'the ultimate nirvana'. Broadway wannabe Titus Andromedon loved it so much he compares it to 'caviar, Myanmar, mid-size car' (see below). No wonder the good folk at Revel — who bring Malbec Day and Mould our way, too — created Pinot Palooza, an epic travelling wine festival celebrating all things peeeno noir. The event usually hits up Aussie capitals each year and lets wine connoisseurs sample more than 200 drops, direct from Australia and New Zealand's best producers. But in 2020, like many things, it's going virtual. Whether you're a newbie who likes something light and inviting, or a pinot pro fond of the biggest, most complex drops there are, prepare to get sipping at Pinot Palooza Side B. From 4pm on Saturday, November 21, you'll simply be tuning in digitally. As part of the stream, there'll be winemakers talking about the business and guest DJs spinning tracks — turning the whole event into a party in your dining room. Drinks-wise, you have a couple of options. If you know exactly what type of pinot you like, you can nab a free event-only ticket, grab your own vino and get pouring. Or, you can order a '12-track pinot pack' for $85 — which includes a dozen 150-millilitre cans of wine from regions such as Gippsland, Northern Tasmania and Central Otago that you can taste while you're streaming the shindig. https://youtu.be/A6yttOfIvOw
The cast, the filmmaking, the directors, the complicated crime tales, the fact that it informed the world that time is a flat circle (and tasked Matthew McConaughey with delivering the news, naturally) — for all of these reasons and more, True Detective is something special. It's never better than in its first season, where McConaughey and Woody Harrelson partner up on a troubling serial killer case, try to one-up each other performance-wise, and knock it out of the park. But this neo-noir thriller created by writer, producer and director Nic Pizzolatto still consistently delivers in its second and third go-arounds. In season two, the action jumps from Louisiana to California, with Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, Kelly Reilly and Vince Vaughn doing some hefty on-screen heavy lifting. And in season three, two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali leads the charge, this time in the Ozarks.
Long before humans could soar into space, they could only dream about it. Queensland Museum's new NASA exhibition — an Australian premiere — celebrates both the experience and the idea of space travel. While much of NASA – A Human Adventure features suits, parachutes, equipment and even empty food containers that've actually left the earth, the stellar showcase also pays tribute to the imaginative minds that've inspired every rocket scientist, engineer and astronaut. Visitors not only enter the exhibition via a dome that honours Jules Verne, HG Wells and company, but can also spy their names in the biographies of important figures that are plastered across the South Bank building's walls. It's easy to understand how one influenced the other — how mere ideas motivated eager adventurers to push boundaries, achieve the seemingly impossible and fly beyond this planet we all call home. Indeed, NASA – A Human Adventure has the same effect. Feasting your eyes on this array of more than 250 historically significant items, getting up close to replicas of famous spacecraft, and hearing Neil Armstrong's iconic "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" speech while wandering through the exhibition, plenty of wannabe astronauts — and those who thought they'd stopped dreaming of such things years ago — will leave with visions of rocketing to the moon themselves. And with 2019 marking half a century since man first set foot on the moon, the timing of this exhibition couldn't be better. It will only be hitting Brisbane, so if you're not a local, you might want to schedule in a trip to the city before October. When you get there, these five standout pieces can't be missed — from space shuttles to space vodka (yes, really). A JUPITER NOSECONE One of NASA – A Human Adventure's first's first big pieces shows signs of wear and tear, and that's to be expected. You don't fly into space, crash into the sea and escape unscathed — even if you're part of a rocket. Visibly worn on the outside, filled with gadgetry inside, this hefty item draws a crowd; however, the story behind the Jupiter program's involvement in space flight is just as fascinating. While the PGM-19 Jupiter was originally designed as a nuclear-tipped missile, the nosecones were instrumental when it came to discovering how manned spaceflights might re-enter the earth's atmosphere. In 1958 and 1959, they were also used to test biological flights in low orbits, using both mice and monkeys. LUNAR ROVERS First, the bad news: two types of lunar rover drove across the moon's surface in the 60s and 70s, and they're all still there. Now, the good news: NASA – A Human Adventure has the next best thing: life-sized replicas. Visitors will first spot Lunokhod 1, the Soviets' first moon walker (that's the literal translation). It looks a little bit like a giant Wall-E, was launched in 1970 and stopped transmitting back to earth in 1971. Then you'll mosey on over to the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle, the moon buggies used by the Americans on the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. Yes, it's supposed to look like a dune buggy. Yes, the chairs look like deckchairs. No, you can't hop into it. SPACESUITS Reaching for the stars requires a wardrobe to match, although an astronaut's attire is functional rather than fashionable. Still, staring at real-life spacesuits never loses its intrigue — especially when some of them have actually been into space. NASA – A Human Adventure features six pieces, including a US Air Force high-altitude pressure suit, plus items from all of its missions from Mercury to Apollo. The highlight: a version of the suit, helmet and gloves that were used during the moon landing, including a cutaway piece that shows just how much protective material is needed (and hints at some of the practicalities of being suited up, as everyone has always wondered). MERCURY, GEMINI AND APOLLO CRAFTS NASA's jaunts into space all started with Project Mercury, which aimed to send a human into orbit and then return them safely. And while NASA – A Human Adventure doesn't feature a real Mercury spacecraft, taking a gander at a life-size replica does spark a definite realisation: for something that was sent into space, it's rather tiny. With Project Gemini, the second human spaceflight program, the capsule is noticeably bigger (although, as this replica makes plain, it still wouldn't suit anyone who isn't fond of small spaces). Finally, exhibition attendees can also peer at full-scale models of the Apollo Lunar Module Crew Cain and the Apollo Command Module — all while walking beneath the enormous (and space-flown) orange-and-white parachute that was used in 1972's Apollo 16 mission. THE SPACE SHUTTLE Ever wanted to climb aboard the space shuttle — that is, the world's first reusable spacecraft, which was used to transport cargo into space from the 1980 to 2011? Now that it has been retired after 135 missions, you can't; however you can ascend Queensland Museum's stairs to make a peek at this towering replica. Windows allow attendees to view the cockpit, its console its many, many buttons, although sadly you can't take a seat or press anything yourself. And in good news for anyone with accessibility requirements, there's also a lift that'll take you up to the top level (and folks on crutches or in a wheelchair will also nab a view that no one else gets to see). NASA – A Human Adventure is currently showing at Brisbane's Queensland Museum until October 8, 2019. Tickets cost $18–21 and can be booked online here.
Anything that Brisbane's northside can do, the city's south can as well — at least when it comes to kidulting hubs that let you putt your way around pop culture-adoring boozy mini golf, then puzzle through an OTT challenge room bar with an accommodation theme. In 2022 and 2023, Chermside welcomed Holey Moley and Hijnx Hotel to the Gympie Road shopping centre. Now, since July 2024, Mt Gravatt's Westfield shopping centre has also become home to both venues. If you're new to Hijinx Hotel, it isn't for vacationing and staycationing in. Instead, it mixes The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Shining's Overlook Hotel and Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, all with puzzles and games to play inside its doors. Throw in alcoholic beverages and it too is aiming to serve up an adult-focused spin on childhood activities, as Holey Moley does — but this time sleuthing your way through various spaces with a beverage or several in your hand. That's what you'll now find at a shared 350-person hub featuring ten challenge rooms on Hijinx Hotel's part (and 18 holes of putt at Holey Moley, plus karaoke in three function rooms across the site, and two bars slinging cocktails and food). Among the Hijinx Hotel highlights: a ball pit, UV basketball and a claw machine quiz, and plenty more, all in spaces with names such as Zig-a-Zag ah Ball Pool, Poke-The-Dot, The Lodge, Abandoned Arcade and Rubix Cube. Images: Markus Ravik.
If there weren't already enough reasons to visit France, the nation has just erected a ten-level superstructure dedicated entirely to life's magnum opus: wine. Located in the heart of Bordeaux wine country, La Cité du Vin (translating to The City of Wine) is more than just a museum about squashed grapes. From the outside the building is a masterpiece in its own right, the architecture charging its glass to the curvature of the infamous vineyard-bordered Garonne River, knotted vine stocks and the swirl of wine in a glass. Indoors, there are both temporary and permanent features, including a self-guided tour through 20 themed spaces showcasing wine from across the world, across the ages, across all cultures and all civilisations. The immersive experience kicks off in a wooden vault moonlighting as the hull of a wine-trading ship before taking visitors through several other multi-sensory areas. The final phase leads up to the top floor to take in 360 degree views of the city and for the most eagerly anticipated section of the tour: wine tasting. All that wine knowledge can be put to use in one of two restaurants, together sharing a wine cellar with upwards of 14,000 bottles from more than 80 wine producing countries. To top it all off the entrance hall doubles as the departure point for wine tasting excursions via boat along the Garonne or down the road to the plentiful Bordeaux vineyards.
In the late 70s, when Texas housewife, mother of two and popular church choir singer Candy Montgomery had an affair with fellow congregation member Allan Gore, commenting about her being a scarlet woman only had one meaning. If anyone other than Elizabeth Olsen was stepping into her shoes in HBO miniseries Love & Death — which streams via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 27 and Neon in New Zealand from Friday, April 28 — it would've remained that way, too; indeed, Jessica Biel just gave the IRL figure an on-screen portrayal in 2022 series Candy. Of course, Olsen is widely known for playing the Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as seen in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness most recently. So, mention 'scarlet' in a line of dialogue around her, and it calls attention to how far she is away from casting spells and breaking out superhero skills. And she is, although she's also again playing a woman succumbing to her darkest impulses. There's a reason that Montgomery keeps fascinating Hollywood, dating back to 1990 TV movie A Killing in a Small Town (a film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, dad to Ambulance's Jake and The Deuce's Maggie). There's also a reason that she's been the subject of plenty of true-crime podcast episodes since — and had journalists John Bloom and Jim Atkinson writing the 1983 non-fiction book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs before that, plus Texas Monthly articles 'Love & Death on Silicon Prairie, Part I & II'. On June 13, 1980, Allan's wife Betty was murdered with an axe. She wasn't just killed; she was bludgeoned 41 times. Within days, Candy was a suspect. From there, she was accused, arrested and put on trial. And, she ultimately admitted swinging the blade, albeit with a caveat: that after her friend discovered her relationship with Allan, Candy was defending herself. It's with pluck and perkiness that Olsen brings Candy to the screen again, initially painting the picture of a perfect suburban wife and mum. She keeps exuding those traits when Candy decides that she'd quite fancy an extra-marital liaison with Allan (Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog) — slowly winning him over, but setting ground rules in the hope that her husband Pat (Patrick Fugit, Babylon) won't get hurt, nor Betty (Lily Rabe, Shrinking) as well. The quartet have known each other for years when Love & Death starts, through their faith and due to their pre-teen daughters Jenny (TV debutant Amelie Dallimore) and Alisa (Harper Heath, Forever and a Day). Then Allan bumps into Candy during a volleyball game, which gets her thinking about them slipping between the sheets. "He smelled like sex," she tells her pal Sherry Cleckler (Krysten Ritter, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie), convincing herself about getting adulterous with every word. Candy is straightforward when she propositions Allan, as they both are when they meet for strategy sessions to work through the pros, cons and parameters of cheating on their partners together. A sense of foreboding hangs in the air, though; for viewers that don't know the outcome when first sitting down to the seven-episode series, Betty's bloody end is referenced in the first instalment. Much that eventuates between Candy and Allan until things get violent is a tale as old as time, with what was meant to be a purely carnal liaison becoming far more complex as affection blossoms. She feels stuck in a rut with the mild-mannered Pat, seeing her time with Allan as an adventure. He's so accustomed to a reserved form of romance with Betty that he doesn't even know how to French kiss. And when Allan and Betty choose to work on their marriage at a counselling weekend, Candy can't hide her jealously while she minds the pair's children. As it leads up to Betty's death, Love & Death also surveys the local scandal when beloved pastor Jackie Ponder (Elizabeth Marvel, Mrs Davis) leaves for another town, with the younger Ron Adams (Keir Gilchrist, Atypical) her replacement. Jackie's move robs Candy of one of her closest confidants, while Ron's arrival, his visible youth and the changes he's intent on making upsets Betty. Series creator David E Kelley could've told this tale without dipping into church business, but this subplot is pivotal to his take on the story. He isn't just retelling the murder, as so many other projects have explored before. Rather, he's drawn in by who these women were in their everyday lives, and by the fact that they're ordinary folks with routine dramas before the worst occurs. Of late, prolific TV producer and writer Kelley has carved himself a niche with twisty tales about existences upended, beginning with Big Little Lies, then following with The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers (Nicole Kidman, the star of all three, is also an executive producer on Love & Death). With directors Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland) and Clark Johnson (Mayor of Kingstown), he isn't interested in sensationalising his latest narrative, instead crafting a series about a gruesome crime with restraint and sensitivity. That's one of the factors making yet another version of Candy and Betty's encounter so gripping — that, and the show's outstanding performances. Indeed, no past iteration has boasted Kelley behind the scenes, or the stellar Olsen in career-best form at its centre. When Love & Death turns its attention to the inevitable law-and-order proceedings, Kelley also slides easily into one of his preferred modes: legal dramas. He's been bringing such shows to TV since late-80s/early-90s hit LA Law, with his resume also featuring everything from The Practice, Ally McBeal and Boston Legal to Goliath and The Lincoln Lawyer — and an episodic version of Presumed Innocent in the works as well. It's no wonder, then, that She Said's Tom Pelphrey is so magnetic as Candy's lawyer Don Crowder, who jumps into criminal defence for the first time with an immensely difficult case. Although Love & Death is never merely a courtroom series, it's canny about deepening its character study of Candy while she's protesting her innocence by self-defence, and in putting the attitudes and figures around her under a magnifying glass as her life becomes news fodder. Even if there wasn't a 'scarlet woman' reference to remind audiences that Olsen isn't in the MCU here, her complicated lead portrayal makes that plain. Whether she's being bubbly, dutiful, calculating or unsettling, she's terrific, especially in the mid-series episode that depicts Candy's last meeting with Betty, then shows her returning to her errands afterwards. Olsen is particularly masterful at grappling internally with Candy's choices and emotions right in front of viewers' eyes — see also: the spark that clicks when she chooses to pursue Allan, and her reactions under interrogation — and with an also- (and always-) excellent Plemons, is similarly exceptional at selling the love part of series' title. Love & Death never forgets that it's about murder, or who is the victim, but it's always about people rather than headlines. Check out the trailer for Love & Death below: Love & Death streams via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 27 and Neon in New Zealand from Friday, April 28. Images: Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max.
