Calendars out, Marvel fans: if you've been looking forward to adding more superheroes to your small-screen viewing in 2023, Disney+ has just the solution. First, Secret Invasion is on its way this winter, focusing on Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury. Then, come spring, both the second season of Loki and the debut of newcomer Echo will follow. 2023 marks two years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe's God of Mischief first hit streaming queues, doing so with a final promise: "Loki will return in season two". When it premiered, it was just the third MCU series to hit Disney+ after WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it's been followed by Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But a couple of years has felt like a hefty wait for more of Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent) getting his superpowered trickster on. The date to lock into your diary now: Friday, October 6, with the new batch of episodes set to pick up where season one left off. So, expect more chaos from the MCU favourite, more of Owen Wilson (Marry Me) as Mobius M Mobius, more banter (naturally) and more clone trickery. "Loki is back at the TVA, he's had a very difficult confrontation with Sylvie, and Mobius and Hunter B-15 don't know who he is," Hiddleston advised back in 2022, before season two also scored a brief sneak peek as part of Disney+'s streaming highlights trailer for 2023. [caption id="attachment_862338" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] As for Hawkeye spinoff Echo, it's locked in for Wednesday, November 29 — and it'll enjoy a first for the MCU on streaming. Disney+ usually drops a few episodes at once for each show, then unfurls the rest weekly afterwards. But this one will arrive all at once on the same day. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) is the Echo's focus — and, as first seen in Hawkeye, she's the gang leader who is deaf that had Clint Barton in her sights for a stint of revenge. In a series also starring Chaske Spencer (The English), Tantoo Cardinal (Three Pines), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Run Woman Run), Graham Greene (The Last of Us) and Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), the character now gets an origin story. There's no trailer yet for either Loki season two or Echo, but you can check out Disney+'s 2023 trailer below: Loki season two will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, October 6, while Echo will arrive on Wednesday, November 29. Top image: ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
In the world of astronomy, 2018 is ending as it began. After kicking into gear with an extremely rare supermoon, the year is coming to a close with another impressive sky show: the comet 46P/Wirtanen. Given the festive time of year and the hurtling celestial object's green colour, 46P/Wirtanen has been dubbed the 'Christmas comet'. It's expected to be the brightest comet of 2018 and, while it's already a presence in the night sky, it'll be at its most vivid and glowing between December 14 and December 18. If you want to spy it at its absolute brightest — and on its closest approach to earth — NASA recommends looking up on Sunday, December 16 (in the evening down under, continuing through until the morning of Monday, December 17). If you're wondering how close it'll be, 46P/Wirtanen will be 11.7 million kilometres away, which equates to 30 times the distance to the moon. As for how vibrant it'll be, the comet should range between 3 and 7.5 on the naked-eye magnitude. At the upper end, that's dimmer than the brightest stars but still visible without binoculars or a telescope. At the lower end, you'll need one of the aforementioned pieces of equipment to help you see it. However you're choosing to take a gander, you'll be peering at a comet that was first discovered in 1948 by American astronomer Carl A. Wirtanen. It measures approximately 1.2 kilometres in diameter, and completes its orbit every 5.4 years, but it's not expected to venture this close to earth again for another 20 years. For the best view, the ABC advises looking north-east, and using either binoculars or a DSLR camera. You might also want help from an online chart to get you looking in the right spot, with The Comet Wirtanen Observing Campaign offering a guide. Heading as far away from city lights is also recommended, as it always is when the sky is putting on a spectacle. If you're thinking of camping out, you might want to consider making a weekend of it. 46P/Wirtanen's brightest spell comes two days after the impressive Geminids meteor shower, which is expected to be visible from late evening on Friday, December 14 through to the early morning on Saturday, December 15. The Virtual Telescope Project will also be streaming live images of 46P/Wirtanen between December 12 and 17. 46P/Wirtanen will be at its brightest during the night of on Sunday, December 16. Image: Stephen Rahn.
If you're a fan of mellow reggae, you'll love Kingfisha. Jamaican rhythms, silky smooth vocals, a dub vibe and masterful melodies combine to make a genuine and fresh sound. Their music is reminiscent of sweltering hot summer days relaxing by the beach – bliss. The six piece won Triple J's Unearthed Fuse Festival Roots competition in 2010 and have been working on their album ever since. After years of hard work, the sextuple are excited to launch their debut self-titled album this Friday at the Hi-Fi. Joining them on stage are Brisbane based group, Kooii. Like Kingfisha, Kooii has a sound of their own, blurring the lines between genres such as reggae, jazz, folk and African music. Make sure you head to the Hi-Fi early to catch their set. Kingfisha have put their heart and soul into their debut album, so why not enjoy the fruits of their labour this Friday. It'll be one to remember.
The Hold Artspace has a brand new exhibition in the works and it promises to be bursting with creativity. Curated by Luke Kidd, Regenerate features works by artists Benjamin Crowley, Katelyn-Jane Dunne, Kristian Fracchia, Dominic Reidy, Emma Rochester and Angela Rossitto. The theme of Regenerate is the human body. Within the exhibition, this group of emerging artists have explored physical forms to create new understandings of our bodies. The tangling of identity, sexuality and mortality is of interest to these artists, as is teasing apart these ideas to uncover the point at which they collide. Our place in the natural world and the superimposed digital world will also play a part in this exhibition. The exhibition will run from 12th - 21st June. Opening night is on Friday 13th June 6-9pm. To find out more contact info@theholdartspace.com.
At Concrete Playground, we love The Brisbane Festival. With endless things to see and do, September really is the most exciting month for our town. The Courier Mail Spiegeltent is one of the hotspots of the festival and hosts a wide variety of performances, including indie rock band, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks. These guys have been playing for over a decade and have perfected their unique sound that drips with catchy melodies and bursts with intricate guitar riffs. With five successful albums up their sleeves, it's safe to say that they are onto a good thing. The band formed in the hiatus of indie rock royalty, Pavement and is fronted by Stephen Malkmus, who was the main singer and songwriter of the successful 90's band. NME has called Malkmus a “blessing from the indie gods”, so you know you'll be in for a treat on Tuesday and Wednesday nights as they grace the Spiegeltent for a 70 minute set.
Thankfully, the weekend tends to swing around pretty quickly. But, with the pleasure brought by two glorious days to fill with whatever you want comes the great responsibility of choosing what exactly will occupy your free time. Luckily, Black Bear has got this Saturday night sorted. As part of their Primary Feels EP tour, Gold Coast pop-psychedelia group Salvadarlings are playing a free set. If Salvadarlings don't ring a bell, have a listen to their track, 'Positive Energy'. The rolling riffs and sweet vocals make easy listening, the perfect backing tune for a chilled Saturday evening. Prior to Salvadarlings, locals The Furrs and Cassette Cathedral will be getting the positive vibes flowing. What's more, Strange Yonder DJs will satisfy your ears between sets and long into the night... Go on, treat yourself to a night of quality music, you deserve it.
Big Strong Brute has returned home to play a live set at The Scratch. Brisbane musician, Paul Donoghue, is the man behind this solo project and has had a pretty exciting past 18 months. His most recent blog post describes his time living and playing in a rock band named Late Drive in Berlin, touring Belgium in a weekend and playing a few shows in his hometown. The Brisbane artist had played across the world and shared the stage with Jens Lekman, Mount Eerie and I Heart Hiroshima amongst others. This is your last chance to catch the folk singer before he heads south with Todd Dixon to record a new album on a gorgeous cattle farm in NSW. Why wait until the weekend for live music and great beer? Head along to The Scratch to hear some of Big Strong Brute's well known tracks from his 2012 album, Avalanche of Truth, as well as new tracks yet to be heard by an audience. Oh, and another thing, it's free!
Hailing from Sydney, roots band The Beautiful Girls are in town for one show only at Fortitude Valley's beloved Tivoli. After 10 years, countless soulful tunes and touring the world 12 times over, the band have decided to call it quits. Embarking on a giant 26 stop tour across the nation, the boys are saying goodbye in style as they celebrate the successes of the past decade. The Beautiful Girls' final show is split into two parts. The first half consisting of heart warming acoustic songs, but don't forget to bring your dancing shoes as the second half is jam-packed with bluesy electric goodness. After playing gigs dotted across the world in countries such as Brazil, Canada and Japan, The Beautiful Girls have returned to Australian soil for one last hurrah. Make sure you catch their special show this Saturday as it will be one to remember.
Since Euphoria last hit screens in 2022, 2023 added Saltburn to Jacob Elordi's resume, then 2024 Down Under brought Priscilla. In 2025, viewers will be watching the Australian star in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. The Australian-made five-part miniseries was initially announced a couple of years back, then unveiled a few sneak-peak images last year. Now, Prime Video has locked in the show's streaming debut for April. Put Friday, April 18, 2025 in your diary, and consider your Easter long-weekend viewing sorted. The Narrow Road to the Deep North will premiere at this year's Berlinale first, getting a rare cinema showing, before bringing its page-to-screen tale to streaming. Before all of the above projects, and also before the three Kissing Booth films helped boost his career first, Elordi scored his initial on-screen acting credit beyond short films in Aussie movie Swinging Safari. Since then, however, the Brisbane-born talent has largely focused on working overseas. So The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a rarity of late on his filmography, with the actor returning home to make the drama. The series adapts Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. Also featuring among the show's starry lineup of talent: Olivia DeJonge (Elvis), her The Staircase co-star Odessa Young (My First Film), Limbo and Boy Swallows Universe's Simon Baker; Heartbreak High's Thomas Weatherall, Love Me's Heather Mitchell and Belfast's Ciarán Hinds — as well as Show Kasamatsu (Tokyo Vice), Charles An (Last King of the Cross), Essie Davis (One Day), William Lodder (Love Me), Eduard Geyl (Born to Spy) and Christian Byers (Bump) The project's impressive talent extend behind the camera, with The Narrow Road to the Deep North hailing from Snowtown, True History of the Kelly Gang and Nitram collaborators Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant. Kurzel directs, while Grant is on adaptation duties — and both are also executive producing. [caption id="attachment_927127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic for HBO via Getty Images, supplied by Prime Video.[/caption] Elordi shares the role of Dorrigo Evans with Hinds, playing the younger version of the character in a tale that jumps between different time periods. The Narrow Road to the Deep North's protagonist is a Lieutenant who becomes a prisoner of war on the Thailand-Burma Railway. His story encompasses becoming a surgeon and war hero, and a life-changing stint of falling in love with Amy Mulvaney (Young). DeJonge and Baker feature with Elordi and Young in the show's 40s-set segments, where World War II obviously casts a shadow. Hinds hops in when the series gets to the 80s, which is where Mitchell, Weatherall, Kasamatsu and An will pop up as well. [caption id="attachment_947836" align="alignnone" width="1920"] HBO[/caption] [caption id="attachment_919075" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saltburn[/caption] The Narrow Road to the Deep North will stream via Prime Video from Friday, April 18, 2025. Images: Prime Video.
Late in 2018, Felons Brewing Co. gave Brisbane a gift we didn't know we needed: the city's first CBD riverside brewery. And while it has been welcoming in beer lovers for more than a year now, the boozy Howard Smith Wharves spot is hosting an open day on Sunday, January 26. It did the same last year, so this looks like an annual tradition now. Running from 11am, the event will take beer-loving patrons on a tour of the facilities courtesy of free walkthroughs until 5pm. Attendees can also expect demonstrations, live tunes, DJs and giveaways, plus a day of hanging out on the brewery lawn. When you're not peeking behind the scenes, you can nab yourself a pint of one of Felons' popular limited-edition brews: its Charcoal Pineapple Sour. Consider yourself warned though — there's one keg available. Prefer a Natural Ale? All profits from that specific tipple in January and February are being donated to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and WIRES.
First, murder-mysteries kept filling streaming queues. Now, while that's still happening, everyone second whodunnit is a comedy as well. It worked for Only Murders in the Building, which will drop its third season this year. It's a treat in new Australian series Deadloch. And it also went down smoothly in the first season of Apple TV+'s The Afterparty, which is also about to release new episodes. Back when The Afterparty was picked up for another run in 2022, it was announced that season two would focus on Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish, The Card Counter), given that the first season already wrapped up its self-contained stint of sleuthing. But she isn't the only character making a comeback with Aniq (Sam Richardson, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) and Zoe (Zoe Chao, Party Down) also returning. As the just-dropped trailer shows, the couple attend a wedding, the groom Edgar (Zach Woods, Avenue 5) ends up dead, and questions start being asked — including of the bride Grace (Poppy Liu, Dead Ringers), who is Zoe's sister. While season one also featured Ben Schwartz (Space Force), Zoe Chao (Love Life), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), Dave Franco (If Beale Street Could Talk), Jamie Demetriou (The Great) and John Early (Search Party), this new case will bring in Elizabeth Perkins (Barry), Paul Walter Hauser (Bupkis), Anna Konkle (PEN15), Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise), Vivian Wu (Irma Vep), John Cho (Cowboy Bebop) and Ken Jeong (Community) when it starts streaming from Wednesday, July 12. To get to the bottom of the case, Danner and Aniq team up to interrogate all the guests, which sees the show cycle through a range of film genres as it tells each person's tale. "Hit me with that Aniq rom-com sequel," demands Danner — and, with season two spanning ten episodes, that'll only be the beginning. Wes Anderson flicks, period romances and black-and-white gumshoe noirs all get a look-in in the sneak peek. Of course, while the settings change, and the motley crew of figures involved as well, plenty of whodunnits share the same premise. Take a ragtag group of folks, pop them all in the same spot, kill one off and then start asking questions — that's it, that's the formula. It works for board game Cluedo, it worked for Agatha Christie and her lengthy list of Hercule Poirot novels and stories, and it's also been behind everything from the Knives Out movies and The Translators to See How They Run and more in the past few years. So, letting The Afterparty have another run at it should be easy for creators Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie). Indeed, if season two lives up to the first season, viewers can look forward to another batch of episodes that twist in its their own directions, tell their tale with flair and approach the show's overall idea with a savvy sense of humour. Check out the trailer for season two of The Afterparty below: Season two of The Afterparty will stream via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, July 12. Read our full review of season one.
Despite having a smorgasbord of activities and events at your fingertips, it's surprisingly easy to find yourself stuck in an after-hours rut with you and your mates kicking back at the same old after-work haunts, week in and week out. Enjoyable, though it won't exactly win you huge points for a sense of adventure. Luckily, if you are looking to shake up your after-work routine, you don't have to hunt very hard at all. To get you off to a cracking start, we've teamed up with Hahn to scout out a bunch of non-boring, new ideas for your next group activities. [caption id="attachment_631811" align="alignnone" width="1620"] Katje Ford.[/caption] SELF-GUIDED STREET ART TOUR No matter how long you've called yourself a local, we bet there's a truckload of corners and laneways you're yet to discover. So, round up the squad for some intrepid exploration, and gain a fresh perspective on that concrete jungle as you set off on a self-guided street art tour. The internet's chock full of printable tour maps curated by urban experts and art-lovers alike, directing you towards all the best art-focused walks in your area. Shake off the work day as you cruise the city at your own pace, unearthing public art gems left, right and centre. And once you've had your fill of art, head to the pub for a beer and a chat about the best, worst and most unusual sights you've seen. Where? Search 'street art' on Concrete Playground and find some of the works you should be seeing in your city, and if you're in Sydney, you can book into one of Culture Scouts tours if you need a bit more guidance. PASTA-MAKING WORKSHOP This gloomy stretch of winter will feel like way more of success if you come out at the end of it with something useful — you know, some visible gym results, a decent love life or, the most impressive of all, the knowledge of how to make a killer bowl of handmade pasta. Luckily from Brisbane to Sydney to Melbourne, we've been gifted with a delicious array of classes on making the best comfort food out there. So, if you really want to set yourself up for culinary success and a whole lot of praise, book the crew in for a post-work pasta-making class where you'll learn to create pure magic with just three simple ingredients: flour, eggs and water. And once you've learned how to make pasta, you can then study up on how to pair some beers with your creations. Just think of all those future dinner parties. Where? Learn to craft some epic noodles at Pasta Emilia in Sydney, The Craft & Co. in Melbourne and at The Pasta Company in Brisbane. LAWN BOWLS For the ultimate group bonding exercise, you can't go past the joy of kicking another team's butt in some form of organised sport. But who really wants to run the risk of a bung ankle, wrist or hammy going into summer? This year, hone your teamwork skills and sharpen that competitive edge while keeping the big hits to a minimum — join the lawn bowls revolution. Outside of the summer season, a session at most bowling clubs will cost you mere pocket change, including access to all the proper gear, a guide to get you started off on the right foot and maybe a couple post-work pitchers. What's more, after a few weeks of practice, just imagine how you and your mates will dominate against all those less practiced suckers during summer's social barefoot bowls sessions. Where? Practice your bowl at one of these greens in Sydney, at the City of Melbourne Bowls Club and one of these lawns in Brisbane. YOGA WITH A TWIST A regular ol' vinyasa may not be everyone's cup of tea. So if you want to up the ante, throw in a twist to make things a bit more intriguing. Studios across the country are taking the concept of yoga to some rather wild territory, with classes that offer the ultimate mash-up of exercise and fun. Prefer your workout tunes to have some oomph? Head along to a hip hop yoga class and get bendy to a soundtrack of fresh beats. Or, if you fancy making some new feline friends, team that stretch session with a few kitty cuddles at cat yoga. There's even a variety of aerial yoga styles which'll find you nailing those poses while suspended gracefully in mid-air. Where? Stretch it out with some kitties at Catmosphere's cat yoga in Sydney, groove into your downward dog at hip hop yoga in Melbourne and defy gravity at Brissie's aerial yoga. THEMED TRIVIA Got a swag of random knowledge just waiting to be put to good use? Round up your post-work posse for some fun of the cerebral variety: showing off your pop cultural prowess with a rousing session of themed trivia. A more focused version of the classic pub quiz, these events provide the perfect opportunity to unleash your random stash of Harry Potter facts and, if we're honest, a brilliant excuse to go back and 'revise' your favourite TV shows, cult movies and long-forgotten pop music. What's more, on any given week, there's usually a plethora of themed trivia sessions to choose from. Gather your crew and bond over not-so useless facts, a few beers and a good ol' pub parma. Where? Test your music knowledge at The Toxteth's Tuesday Night Music Trivia in Glebe, dig up some old memories at Throwback Thursdays trivia at Island Somewhere in Melbourne and dive head first into Simpsons, Seinfeld or Harry Potter trivia at Man vs Bear's trivia nights held at various bars around Brisbane. Round up the troops and head out for a new after-work activity this week, topped off with a cheeky Hahn or two.
Some dishes are as straightforward as they sound, and omurice — aka omelette rice — is one of them. It's an omelette made with fried rice, then typically topped with sauce. Yes, it's an easy concept to get around; however, not all versions of this western-influenced Japanese eggs-plus-rice staple are made equal. Indeed, trying Kichi Kichi Omurice's in Kyoto might be on your travel bucket list. Chef Motokichi Yukimura's viral-famous take on the dish has made him an internet star — the term "Japan's most-famous omurice chef" has been used — and seen his eatery become a tourist destination. As of January 2024, it's no longer doing bookings in advance, in fact. Now, diners are only able to make reservations on the same day they're eating, and need a password that's placed on the restaurant's door each morning to lock in their seating. But if you'd like the Kichi Kichi Omurice experience without the airfares, that's about to become a reality in Australia for four nights only — two apiece in Sydney and Brisbane. And yes, if this sounds familiar, that's because it's the second time that Yukimura is hitting both cities this year after an earlier trip in February and March. Yukimura will again be visiting Harajuku Gyoza to show why the dish he's been making for over 45 years is such a smash. The chef is doing 'meet and eat' events in both cities, cooking everyone who attends his specialty — and putting on a show, complete with his Kichi Kichi Omurice song and dance. Folks in Sydney are headed to Harajuku Gyoza Darling Harbour across Wednesday, July 17–Thursday, July 18. For Brisbanites, your destination is Harajuku Gyoza South Brisbane from Sunday, July 21–Monday, July 22. In Sydney, tickets cost $160 per person and are sold in pairs, with sittings at 12pm, 5pm, 6.30pm and 8pm on both days. Brisbane's tickets are $140 each, again sold in pairs, with the same sitting times. That price covers tucking into Yukimura's omurice, plus Harajuku Gyoza's signature long fries, three types of gyoza, air cheesecake and a welcome drink — and meeting the chef. Motokichi Yukimura will be at Harajuku Gyoza Darling Harbour in Sydney on Wednesday, July 17–Thursday, July 18, then at Harajuku Gyoza South Brisbane in Brisbane from Sunday, July 21–Monday, July 22. Head to the eatery's website for further details and bookings.
If you're anything like us, you have an endless list of places you want to visit and things you want to do when you're there: have a whiskey in the Park Hyatt Tokyo, float along Venice's canals, get into Berghain in Berlin, eat fresh seafood on the beach in Sri Lanka (just to name a few). But, sometimes, your bank balance won't allow it. We understand, and we've teamed up with Intrepid Travel so you can tick one off your list — for free. The long-time purveyor of taking you off the beaten track, putting you outside of your comfort zone and providing A-plus travel stories, Intrepid Travel is giving you a chance to win an (almost) all-expenses-paid trip to Sri Lanka. As well as return airfares for two, you and your chosen loved one will also get to join a 15-day extensive tour of the country. Get ready to tell some cracking travel yarns in the future. The Circle Sri Lanka trip will take you from Negombo, in the east and will travel clockwise all the way round to the island nation's capital, Colombo. Throughout the two weeks, you'll have the chance to explore ruins, climb Sigiriya Lion Rock, learn to cook traditional Sri Lankan fare, explore bustling bazaars and trek through tea plantations. And all accommodation, ten brekkies (and some lunches and dinners) are included, as well as more activities than you can count on your two hands. The island is full of vibrant culture, incredible food, ancient citadels and idyllic beaches on all sides. Regardless of whether you're the lucky winner, it should be high up on your travel bucket list anyway. To enter, see details below. [competition]669353[/competition] Top image: Sigiriya Lion Rock
It's the season of must-see TV we've known was coming since way back in 2020, and it finally has a release date. That'd be The Handmaid's Tale's fifth batch of episodes, which'll return this spring. The words you're looking for: praise be. With this hit series, blessed be the dystopian dramas, which is exactly what The Handmaid's Tale has been serving up since 2017 now. Of course, on the page, this bleak look at a potential oppressive existence has been drawing in fans since the 1985, when Margaret Atwood's book first hit shelves. A film followed in 1990, and opera in 2000 — plus a sequel novel in 2019, too. Yes, there have been many ways to dive into The Handmaid's Tale over the years, but only one keeps winning small-screen awards and stars a phenomenal Elisabeth Moss (Shining Girls). Thankfully, the wait between the show's fourth and fifth seasons is shorter than the gap between its third and fourth — a year rather than two. The date to mark in your diary: September 15, given that the show will return in the US on September 14. Down Under, episodes usually air weekly on SBS in Australia, and stream via SBS On Demand — and hit Neon in New Zealand — at the same time as in America. There's no trailer just yet, but The Handmaid's Tale's fifth season will arrive with two episodes to start with, then drop new instalments weekly afterwards. And, story-wise, it'll step back into June's (Moss) life after season four's climactic events. Accordingly, that also means watching Serena (Yvonne Strahovski, Stateless) try to raise her profile in Toronto, with season five seeing Gilead's influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford, Tick, Tick... Boom!) and Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd, Rebecca) endeavour to reform Gilead, too. And June, Luke (O-T Fagbenle, Black Widow) and Moira (Samira Wiley, Breaking News in Yuba County) will keep fighting the totalitarian regime. Also returning among the cast: Max Minghella (Spiral: From the Book of Saw), Madeline Brewer (Hustlers), Amanda Brugel (Snowpiercer) and Sam Jaeger (The Eyes of Tammy Faye). The fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale will hit start airing in Australia and New Zealand in September — on SBS TV, and to stream via SBS On Demand and Neon, with new episodes arriving weekly.
Whether you're a wizard or a muggle, the moment most people discover that something is forbidden, they feel a need to check it out. Harry Potter certainly did when it came to the forest surrounding Hogwarts, and now enchanted fans can follow in his footsteps as part of Warner Bros' London studio tour. From March 31, the film studio will unveil a new recreation of the area deemed off limits by Professor Dumbledore, complete with the greenery and creatures that helped it gets its name. As you walk through the Forbidden Forest with lantern in hand, you'll tread beneath 19 trees that each boast a diameter of almost four metres, see one of Hagrid's costumes — and even control the forest's weather. With the attraction designed and built by many of the crew members who worked on the films, the wonder doesn't stop there. Visitors will also spy a full-sized model of Buckbeak the hippogriff, and cross paths with the giant spider that is Aragog in all his glory (his leg span ranges beyond five metres, so don't venture near if you're arachnophobic). You'll feel as though Harry, Ron and Hermione are right there beside you, really. The Forbidden Forest is just the latest way the Warner Bros' London tour is going potty for all things Potter as part of its Making of Harry Potter section. A selection of outfits from the movies are on display until September, while current attendees can also find out how Dobby came to life until the end of March. In the lead up to Valentine's Day, eager diners can enjoy a love potion and a meal in the great hall, while a showcase of the dark arts — including a walk down Diagon Alley — is coming in October, followed by the return of the festive favourite Hogwarts in the Snow in November. Yes, it's totally okay if you're now looking up flights to London. For more information about the Warner Bros London studio tour and the Making of Harry Potter, visit the studio tour website.
2017 has proven a big year for art thus far. Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has just cut the ribbon on an extensive exhibition of Van Gogh's work, Sydney has launched The National, a new biannual multi-gallery exhibition of new Australian art, and Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has Dark Mofo coming up in June. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). They've already started the celebrations with a birthday exhibition (which featured a furry wall and Carsten Höller slippery slide), and, at the end of the year, GOMA will also be getting a new permanent work: a brand new light installation by artist James Turrell. You might be familiar with the Arizona-based artist's work if you've been to Mona or the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). He's the one behind the sky-centred installations at both galleries — at Mona, the gazebo-like Armana lights up at sunrise and sunset each day, and at the NGA in Canberra, Within without acts as an outdoor viewing chamber to enhance your view of the sky. All up, Turrell has created 80 'skyspaces' like these around the world. Brisbane's Turrell piece won't be a standalone structure like these other two Australian works; instead, the work will light up GOMA's eastern and southern white façades from within the building with a pattern developed by Turrell especially for the location. The plan is to light up the gallery at dusk each evening — when lit, it will make the gallery visible from across the river and around South Bank's cultural precinct. The work has been commissioned by GOMA with contributions from the Queensland Government, leading benefactors and the 2017 QAGOMA Foundation Appeal. It's set to be installed in early December 2017.
Sydney has Vivid. Melbourne boasts Rising. In Adelaide, it's all about Illuminate. And most years in Tasmania — although not in 2024 — Dark Mofo arrives. We're talking about winter festivals that are all about dazzling sights, often twinkling lights, plus culture, music and design, that is. The Gold Coast added to the list in 2022 with Big City Lights*, too, and that southeast Queensland event has now locked in its return. When Big City Lights* debuted two years back, it ran as a four-day pilot program. Now, after proving a success, it's making a comeback from Friday, June 21–Sunday, July 7, 2024, running Friday–Sunday each week. The location is still Southport. The focus remains experience stunning art via a self-guided program that gets you walking around the Goldie. You'll just have longer to enjoy it. And, Big City Lights*will still be free — making the price right to head along, including to scoot down the highway from Brisbane. Attendees will get immersed in audio-visual experiences, such as projections popping up in unexpected locations, towering large-scale digital works and 3D mapping. You'll also see the Southport CBD's facades and laneways in a whole new light quite literally. Who'll be providing the art is yet to be revealed, but Big City Lights*will call upon a roster of talents in light, installation and architecture, as well as digital design, as hailing both locally and nationally. Who'll be taking to the stage to provide the family-friendly fest's live performances also hasn't been announced yet. The full program is set to drop on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. "We're thrilled to be bringing Big City Lights back to Southport in winter next year. The 2024 festival will illuminate more buildings and streets with video projections, lighting installations and world class art," said Rosie Dennis, Executive Director of both Bleach* and Big City Lights*. "It's a fantastic festival which boosts the night-time economy in Southport. It will once again deliver a direct and positive impact to businesses in the CBD. The inaugural festival attracted more than 13,000 people and we hope the 2024 festival will attract tens of thousands of visitors during the winter school holidays." 2022's event took over rooftops, building facades, alleyways, car parks and shopfronts, splitting Southport into five separate art zones: in Nerang Street, Scarborough Street, Young Street, Regent Lane and Davison Lane. Artists involved the first time around included Michaela Gleave, Buchan Group, Jacob Leary, IKONIX, Claudio Kirac, Kirsten Baade and Peter Thiedeke all set to feature. Big City Lights* will run from Friday, June 21–Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Southport on the Gold Coast. For more information, head to the festival's website. Images: Claudio Kirac, Art Work Agency.
Everyone has one: a hangover story that's burned into your brain so strongly, it has become your own personal legend. Simply thinking about it brings back all the vivid memories — including the sights, smells, sounds and tastes; just how rotten you were feeling; and the shenanigans that ensured this wasn't just a normal morning after. Hangovers are humbling experiences, but celebrating them — or willingly reliving your hangover stories — isn't done all that often. Until now, that is, with Croatia's new Museum of Hangovers showing the love for the bleary, blurry, head-pounding results of a big, boozy night out. Now open seven days a week, the site is designed to recreate a drunken stumble home after a bender. You'll walk through different rooms just as if you were walking back from a bar or pub. Along the way, you'll peruse a collection of objects from real hangover tales, all on display alongside the stories behind them. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5lFw56nt96/ Created by Rino Dubokovic and co-founder Roberta Mikelic — based on real-life experience, naturally — the Zagreb museum features everything from a big board where visitors can detail their own tales while they're there to a mini-exhibition that shows what different forms of alcohol look like under a microscope. Portraits of seedy looking folks line the walls, and bottles of 'hangover wine' are also on sale. Plus, you can win free admission if you don some 'beer goggles', play darts at score a bullseye. And, because chronicling actual hangover experiences is what the museum is all about, it wants everyone to contribute — whether you're visiting Croatia anytime soon or not. Just head to the venue's website, type out your tale (anonymously, of course) and it could end up in the museum's collection. Find The Museum of Hangovers at Preradovićeva 8, Zagreb, Croatia, or visit its website for further details.
When a solar flare hits Europe, life changes instantly. Power grids go down, much of Britain is left without electricity, supply routes are threatened, vigilantes come out in force and chaos unsurprisingly ensues. That's the setup in COBRA, the high-stakes drama series that combines a disaster scenario with political intrigue, and tasks Prime Minister Robert Sutherland (Robert Carlyle) with deciding how to cope under such intense circumstances. If you're wondering about the show's name, no, snakes aren't involved. But meeting to discuss important matters is a firm part of COBRA, which takes its moniker from the nickname for the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) in London — and, as you might know from news during the past year, from the group of top-ranking British Government leaders who come together in times of crisis to respond to national emergencies.
Directed by Joe Carnahan (The A Team) and produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, The Grey tells the story of a group of oil-rig workers who find themselves stranded on the freezing Alaskan tundra after their plane home crashes. John Ottoway (Liam Neeson) is forced to lead a group of roughneck men in their fight for survival when the men come under attack by a pack of vicious, aggressive wolves. The wolves are on the hunt for these stranded humans as they see them as intruders in their territory who must be killed. The Grey is a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat in the fight between man versus nature. The film is based on the short story Ghost Walker by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers. To win one of five double passes to see The Grey, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au
No one went to Splendour in the Grass in 2024, after the Australian music festival announced its dates and lineup, then ditched its plans. No one attended Groovin the Moo this year, either, after it went through the same cycle of reveals and cancellations. Harvest Rock hadn't gotten to the stage of unveiling its bill, but it is now the latest Aussie fest to pull the plug on its event for this year, also joining Spilt Milk, Summergrounds Music Festival and Dark Mofo. "After two years of eating, drinking and dancing in Adelaide, we've made the difficult decision to postpone Harvest Rock 2024," announced the festival team in a statement on both the event's website and its social media channels. "This decision was made to ensure that Harvest Rock continues to deliver the experience that our local, national and international fans have come to know and love into the future," the message continued. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harvest Rock (@harvestrockfest) If you're wondering when Harvest Rock will be back, there's no confirmation of that as yet. "We look forward to delivering another amazing Harvest Rock in the future," the statement also advises. It was back in 2022 that Secret Sounds, the crew behind Splendour in the Grass, gave Australia another massive multi-day music festival. The big aim: to get everyone dancing in a park in Adelaide each spring, including interstaters heading to South Australia to enjoy the fest's travelworthy lineups. The first year welcomed Jack White, Groove Armada, The Avalanches, Crowded House and Courtney Barnett, for starters. 2023's second spin featured Jamiroquai and Beck doing Australian-exclusive shows, plus everyone from Sparks and Nile Rogers & Chic to Bright Eyes and Paul Kelly. [caption id="attachment_969733" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] A two-day blend of music, food and wine — well, it is in SA — Harvest Rock has also spanned Adelaide's top restaurants and eateries serving up dishes, a culinary-focused stage and wine tastings in the two years that it has taken place. Upon debut, it instantly proved a success, attracting 15,000 attendees per day; however, that hasn't made it immune to Australia's spate of recent music festival cancellations. While Harvest Rock hadn't revealed its 2024 lineup, it did make tickets available for this year in 2023. If you snapped some up, you'll receive an automatic refund via however you purchased them within 14 days. Harvest Rock 2024, which was set to take place at Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina, Adelaide, is no longer going ahead. Head to the festival's website for further details.
The gin-making superstars at Four Pillars are at it again, this month unveiling their first new creation to hit shelves since 2016. The latest addition to the Yarra Valley distillery's much-lauded barrel-aged program is the Sherry Cask Gin, which has just spent over a year in former sherry barrels, to lend a rich, intense character to the final drop. It's rounded out with notes of crushed coriander, pine needles and star anise, and infused with a small amount of Amontillado sherry to give some length and sweetness. According to the experts who made it, this one works well neat, or with sherry and orange bitters in a classic Tuxedo cocktail. Also launching this month is the 2018 edition of Four Pillars' Chardonnay Barrel Gin, which used to go by the name of Barrel-Aged Gin. This time around, the spirit's enjoyed a full 12 months in chardonnay barrels, giving characters of ginger and spice, and an oak-driven sweetness. The Four Pillars team is recommending this one over ice, or with a sprig of rosemary and a drop of honey. Both gins are available online or at selected independent retailers.
2023 ain't nuthing ta f' wit: it's the year that Wu-Tang Clan are returning Down Under, after all. After the hip hop legends kicked off their NY State of Mind tour with Nas in 2022, they're bringing the 2023 leg to Australia and New Zealand — and it's still a joint affair. Two of the biggest names in the business since the 90s — with Wu-Tang Clan first making a splash with their 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and Nas doing the same with 1994's Illmatic — will play four shows in total on their Aussie and Aotearoa visit. They're the first gigs in the 2023 tour, too, and all in May, kicking off in Auckland before hopping across the ditch for stops in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The 2022 leg hit up more than 25 cities, and 2023's is just as epic — after its stint Down Under, it heads through Europe and then back to the US. Along the way, fans can enjoy Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna taking to the stage three decades after they first came to fame — and Nas sharing the mic as well. Over that time, Wu-Tang Clan have dropped seven further albums from a fill discography that, including solo records by its members, notches up more than 85 full-length releases. Their tours pull from the whole lot, as set against that ever-present Wu-Tang 'W' — and honours the deceased Ol' Dirty Bastard as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wu Tang Clan (@wutangclan) WU-TANG CLAN AND NAS 'NY STATE OF MIND' TOUR 2023: Tuesday, May 9 — Spark Arena, Auckland Friday, May 12 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Saturday, May 13 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Sunday, May 14 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Wu-Tang Clan and Nas tour Australia and New Zealand in May 2023, with pre-sales from 11am local time on Friday, March 3, and general sales from 12pm local time on Monday, March 6. Head to the Live Nation website for tickets and further details.
Chocolates are often a last-minute gift option. You've forgotten a big occasion, your choices are limited and you know that the recipient of your present has a sweet tooth. Gelato Messina's Mother's Day chocolates don't fall into that category, however — and not just because you need to order them in advance. There's boxes of chocolates and then there's this annual box of chocolates, which puts the gelato chain's winning way with desserts into action without ice cream. In 2024, Mother's Day is happening on Sunday, May 12, in case it temporarily slipped your mind. And if you pick up this showstopper, you'll be vying for favourite-child status. An important note: back when Messina first started doing Mother's Day choccies, they came filled with gelato. That hasn't always been the case, though, and isn't this year. 2024's chance to win brownie points is a box of eight chocolate bars, each made in-house by the dessert brand's chocolatiers — and each sporting a brand-new flavour. Is your mum a salted caramel fan? Raspberry caramel? Passionfruit yuzu caramel? There's three bars covered. Other varieties include cannoli and hazelnut, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate brownie and cafe latte. And if your mother has always wondered what tea and biscuits would taste like in chocolate form, they can now found out. It's not just the filling that's different on each bar. So is the outer shell, ranging from 65-percent dark chocolate, light milk chocolate, raspberry chocolate and coffee white chocolate to passionfruit chocolate, strawberry chocolate, earl grey tea chocolate and milk chocolate with brownie crumbs. So, your mum will have quite the variety to feast on. And hey, if she doesn't like one of the flavours, maybe she'll share it with you. Each box costs $55 a pop, and will be available to order from 12pm AEST on Monday, April 29 for delivery, or for pick up at the brand's Marrickville store in Sydney. Gelato Messina's 2024 Mother's Day chocolate bars are available to order from 12pm AEST on Monday, April 29 for delivery, or for pick up at the brand's Marrickville store in Sydney.
If you live in Australia and you love French cinema, then you already have a hefty chunk of autumn blocked out in your 2023 diary. To help cap off 2022, the annual Alliance Française French Film Festival locked in its dates for the year ahead, when it'll take its movie-adoring show on the road throughout March and April. What's even better? Unveiling the initial 15 titles that'll be gracing its big screens in Aussie capitals, and also a heap of regional locations. Among the first titles revealed, both variety and high-profile names feature heavily. Among the latter, there's a big focus on France's leading ladies, such as Juliette Binoche (The Staircase), Marion Cotillard (Annette), Virginie Efira (Benedetta), Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future), Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!), Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Isabelle Adjani (The World Is Yours). And, AFFFF already boasts its usual smattering of homegrown box-office sensations and up-and-comers, aka already-proven hits and the talents who'll be making them in years to come. Get ready for zombies, comedies, Cannes titles, acclaimed filmmakers, Oscar contenders and more. One big highlight: Final Cut, a French remake of Japanese cult hit One Cut of the Dead from The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius, starring Bejo and Romain Duris (Eiffel), and a movie that is playful with that whole setup. If you missed the original, it follows a film crew making a zombie special that's being broadcast live — but then things get real. Selected as France's submission to this year's Oscars, in the Best International Feature category — and already named on the Academy's shortlist — Alice Diop's Saint Omer is another absolute must-see. The documentarian draws from true events to craft a drama about a young Parisian journalist and novelist attending murder trial, then wading through the complexities it surfaces within her own family history. Acting icon Adjani is part of the cast for Masquerade, which has the honour of opening this year's AFFFF. Directed by La Belle Époque's Nicolas Bedos, and playing at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it tells of glitz, glamour and a far-less-glossy underbelly in the Côte d'Azur, as led by Pierre Niney (Yves Saint Laurent). Or, film fans can also look forward to One Fine Morning, the latest film by Bergman Island's Mia Hansen-Løve, this time a family drama starring Seydoux; The Innocent, as written and directed by, and starring, Louis Garrel (A Faithful Man), based on his own experiences and featuring Merlant; and Other People's Children, an Efira-led effort about being a stepmother that's also inspired by director Rebecca Zlotowski's (Planetarium) own life. And, Efira pops up again in Paris Memories, which is set in the aftermath of Paris' November 2015 terrorist attacks, and is helmed by Proxima director and Mustang screenwriter Alice Winocour. Binoche features in Winter Boy, the new film from Sorry Angel's Christophe Honoré, an autobiographical drama focusing on 17-year-old Lucas (newcomer Paul Kircher). As for Cotillard, she's part of the cast of Brother and Sister, playing a stage actor and sibling to Melvil Poupaud (Summer of 85). And, after proving so astounding in 2022's Full Time, Calamy appears in two of AFFFF's 2023 titles: Two Tickets to Greece, a comedy about estranged childhood friends heading off the eponymous country, as hailing from fellow Call My Agent! alum Marc Fitoussi and also starring Kristin Scott Thomas (Slow Horses); and the 1974-set Annie's Fire, which follows a working-class mother of two who unexpectedly falls pregnant at a time when abortion isn't legally accessible. Rounding out this first drop of titles: November, one of the biggest French box-office hits of 2022, with Jean Dujardin (Deerskin) playing the lead anti-terrorist squad investigator into the Paris 2015 attacks; Notre-Dame on Fire, about the 2019 blaze; Everybody Loves Jeanne, a comedy about self-doubt; and Lie with Me, as based on Philippe Besson's award-winning autobiographical novel. Notching up its whopping 34th year, AFFFF will play Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart — plus Byron Bay, Parramatta, Victor Harbour, Bendigo, the Gold Coast and Margaret River. ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: March 7–April 5: Sydney, NSW March 8–April 5: Melbourne, VIC March 8–April 5: Perth, WA March 9–19: Hobart, TAS March 9–April 5: Canberra, ACT March 15–April 12: Brisbane, QLD March 16–April 5: Byron Bay, NSW March 23–April 19: Adelaide, SA March 29–April 2: Parramatta, NSW March 29–April 16: Gold Coast, QLD March 31–April 2: Margaret River, WA April 3 and 10: Victor Harbour, SA April 21–23: Bendigo, VIC + encore dates in some cities The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia from Tuesday, March 7–Tuesday, April 25, 2023. For more information, visit the AFFFF website. Check back here on Wednesday, February 1 for the full program.
Well, it's happening. After months of hostility from taxi drivers and general confusion about what the future of the taxi industry should look like, the NSW government looks set to announce some pretty big state reforms — which, according to reports, will legalise the much loved and lauded ride sharing, ice cream delivery, kitten appreciation service, Uber. The Daily Telegraph last night reported that, in reforms to be announced today, Uber drivers would be required to pay a licence fee for the first time, and would be subject to criminal record checks and vehicle inspections. Basically, they'd be forced to operate under same regulations as regular taxi drivers. In an attempt to compensate regular cab drivers for suddenly losing their monopoly over the market, the cost of taxi plates would become significantly cheaper. They'd also retain the sole right to use taxi ranks and be hailed on the street. How exactly existing drivers will be compensated for the drop in value of their plates is not yet known, and would be decided by Cabinet next month. The decision to legalise Uber seems like it was inevitable, if not a little surprising — especially considering the New South Wales Road and Maritime Services effectively put the company on notice in September. It comes two months after the ACT made the move to legalise and regulate Uber and its drivers, and if the same does indeed happen in Sydney and NSW, it will surely see the rest of the country look towards integrating the ride sharing service into their taxi system. Via The Daily Telegraph.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next escape. In this instalment, we go to The Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, Tasmania, where you'll encounter hundreds of artworks adorning the walls, views of the harbour and boutique interiors with exposed timber beams and walls of hand-cut stone that nod to the building's former life as a waterfront jam factory. Stay here as part of one of our curated itineraries on Concrete Playground Trips that includes a four-nights stay with daily breakfast included, scenic flights for two over Wineglass Bay, and Posh Pit tickets to MONA. Book it now. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? Located in the Hunter Street precinct, this building is one of the oldest waterfront warehouses in Hobart named for the one-time building owner who started working in the former jam factory as a 12-year-old kid, working his way up the ranks until he eventually took over the business and ultimately made the jam trade his bitch. While art hotels are no longer new-news, the Henry Jones does has the claim to fame as Australia's first dedicated art hotel and the extensive collection of works and ongoing artist in residence program upholds its place as a leader within the onslaught of art-devoted stays that has followed. There are some 400 artworks throughout the property with a strong representation of emerging Tasmanian artists. Stroll the hallways, guest rooms, drinking and dinings options and public spaces, including The Packing Room Gallery, which hosts a roster of themed exhibitions. THE ROOMS At the Henry Jones Art Hotel no two rooms are the same. Organic materials, tones and polished timber meets rich accents of primary colours and thoughtfully curated decor in each of the hotel's lodgings. In many rooms, large harbour-facing windows let in natural light to show off sleek contemporary design elements amid the building's original features. Like much of Hobart, it's a collision of old and new influences. As for the details: luxurious bedding, original artworks and beautifully-appointed modern bathrooms complete with ample fluffy white towels. There's also the requisite free wifi and in-room coffee machine, and in some rooms you'll find an ultra-deep Kohler bath tub for soaking between strolls and sampling the sensational local dining scene. FOOD AND DRINK Speaking of dining, the in-house offering is a step above your usual hotel lobby bar. There's the IXL Long Bar, for innovative cocktails and snacks. At the front of the hotel is the Landscape Restaurant and Grill with a menu by Head Chef Nathaniel Embrey designed around the Asado grill and inspired by the region's exceptional local produce and artworks of legendary landscape artist John Glover that surrounds diners. Then there's the hero of the lineup: Peacock & Jones. Culinary Curator Ben Milbourne (chef and former Masterchef Australia contestant) and Head Chef Julian Volkmer (MONA) have crafted a menu that celebrates the very best of seasonal Tasmanian produce from sea urchin to truffles. And, of course, the drinks program showcases a carefully considered selection of Tasmanian wines, whiskies and spirits. [caption id="attachment_869996" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maria Island[/caption] THE LOCAL AREA It's no secret that we are serious devotees to all that Tasmania's got on offer. Here's a quick guide to some of our Hobart favourites, and a more comprehensive exploration of all the flavours of Tassie can be found here. Head to The Henry Jones Art Hotel website to book a stay or, if you'd rather we sort your itinerary for you, book our curated Bucket-List Hobart Getaway here.
Not all travel has to include wild adventuring. Sometimes, we want to go an easy holiday that doesn't include hours behind the wheel of a car or pushing our bodies to their limits. Instead, we can explore a new city (or our own) at whatever speed we like — staying in a luxurious hotel, taking things at a stroll and taking in the best of local culture. This is what a city break is all about. To help you find the perfect one, our team of editors has curated these travel packages. Whether you're on the lookout for a city staycation or vacation, find your favourite option and book it through Concrete Playground Trips now. [caption id="attachment_683983" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] STAYCATION IN PERTH AND ITS SURROUNDS Perth, glorious Perth. It's hard not to fall in love with this city when visiting. In fact, the whole state is a treasure trove of bewitching riches. Head to Western Australia's capital to find a thriving city full of great food and culture, surrounded by gorgeous natural landscapes that every Australian must see. And our Perth travel deal will take you to the best bits. We'll put you up in the Adina Apartment Hotel at Perth Barrack Plaza — in the heart of the city — and let you explore the local area at your own pace. We've also organised a day trip to Rottnest Island (friendly quokkas, pristine white sand beaches and clear blue water await) and a tour around The Pinnacles. BOOK IT NOW. [caption id="attachment_890077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Devang Sahani (Unsplash)[/caption] A LUXE BEACHSIDE BREAK IN ADELAIDE Adelaide's beachside burb of Glenelg is seriously underrated. Found just a 20-minute drive from the city centre, this area is home to long beaches lined with great restaurants and boutique stores. It's so close to the city but boasts the laid-back culture and energy of the best Aussie coastal towns. Our Adelaide city break takes you to this part of South Australia, with the Stamford Grand Adelaide hosting you for three nights. During this time, guests can explore Glenelg at their own leisure — potentially catching a tram into the CBD, too. The highlight of this trip that takes it from great getaway to something seriously special is the four-hour wild dolphin swimming tour run by a team of marine biologists. Jump in the waters — they'll have wetsuits for you — and get right up and close with these ultra-curious ocean mammals. It's an unforgettable experience. BOOK IT NOW. THE ULTIMATE HOBART FOOD, WINE AND ADVENTURE HOLIDAY There is so much to see and do when visiting Hobart, but we have somehow managed to pack a heap of its top experiences into one exclusive five-day holiday. Our trip will have you gliding over Wineglass Bay in a scenic flight that drops you off on Maria Island where you'll go on a guided wildlife tour, then feast on a gourmet lunch. On another day, you'll visit the one and only MONA. Slowly explore the museum, get a private tour (with tastings) at the onsite winery and have a lazy long lunch with even more vino included. It's a truly epic way to see the iconic museum and its grounds. You'll also get a couple days to wander around Hobart, checking out galleries, boutique stores and a heap of the city's brilliant restaurants and bars. BOOK IT NOW. A LUXURIOUS SYDNEY STAY You can easily do Sydney on a budget and have a wicked time. But sometimes you really want to treat yourself. That's when you book our opulent Sydney getaway. For two nights, two guests will stay at the five-star Crown Towers Sydney. Enjoy unbeatable views across the bay, taking in all the sites from day to night — either from your room, the rooftop pool or one of the seriously impressive on-site restaurants. With this deal, you'll also get $100 credit to spend however you like within the Crown Towers Sydney. Did someone say, 'massage time'? BOOK IT NOW. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top image: Steven Groeneveld (Unsplash)
In US, the middle of 2024 has been dubbed the "summer of Shyamalan". The seasons don't fit Down Under for such a catchy alliterative term to apply, but it's still a big time for the Shyamalan family on the big screen. In August, M Night Shyamalan's Trap, his 16th feature, has a date with cinemas. One of its stars: Saleka, aka M Night's eldest daughter, with the IRL R&B singer playing a musician in the serial-killer thriller. Cinephiles needn't wait until then for a Shyamalan-driven horror movie, though, with the Ireland-set and Dakota Fanning (Ripley)-led The Watchers marking the film directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan. Ishana isn't new to the genre that's clearly in her genes — she says that working in it "felt very inevitable", she tells Concrete Playground — after initially making an imprint as a director and writer on TV's Servant, which M Night was the showrunner on. But this is her first feature, and it both continues the family tradition and champions her own interpretation of eerie screen stories. Based on the novel by AM Shine, The Watchers embraces the gothic side of horror as it unfurls its story in an expansive forest that's a beacon for stray souls. Fanning's American-abroad Mina finds much among its trees, including Madeline (Olwen Fouéré, The Tourist), Ciara (Georgina Campbell, Barbarian) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan, We Are Lady Parts); a bunker called The Coop that's their only form of shelter; and the titular creatures who observe their every movement each night. When the woodland won't let you leave, no one can escape it by daylight and danger lurks at night, however, Mina and her new roommates risk being consigned to remaining lost. If Mina's moniker seems like a clue that there's a twist coming — another Shyamalan trait — it springs from Shine's pages. The character has a sister called Lucy, though, a change that Ishana did make in adapting the book for the screen. Yes, there is indeed a surprise at the film's core as it charts its characters attempting to work out why they're stranded, what's watching them and how to leave the remote thicket peppered with warning signs about points of no return, and also darkened burrows in the ground, but nods Bram Stoker's way are an illustration of how Ishana has taken her influences from far beyond her dad's filmography. "It was actually a very unintentional thing," she explains of the names. "I didn't think about Dracula until much later, and I think it's one of those things where you're subliminally inspired by various things. I realised I had named the sister Lucy later, and I was like 'oh my god, those are the two names'," she notes. "But gothic literature and just gothic art in general was a big, big influence and driving factor of this particular movie. It's a style that I love, and I think it's just so, so wonderful and fun. So I very much structured the story to feel like a gothic piece — so I think it's all just intertwined in that way." [caption id="attachment_961260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marion Curtis / Starpix for Warner Bros.[/caption] Still, viewers can be forgiven for spying what Ishana has inherited from M Night on The Watchers, and where a lifetime of having a father making horror movies has shaped her as a filmmaker. The writer/director behind The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, The Visit, Split and Glass is also one of the picture's producers. Supernatural horror movie? Tick. An inescapable sense of tension as suspense drips? Tick again. Audiences waiting for the pieces of the film's puzzle to fall into place? Tick once more. Narrative-changing revelations? A haunted feel to the feature's lead performance? A strong visual command? Just keep ticking. One thing that Ishana, who was a second-unit director on her dad's Old and Knock at the Cabin, definitely hasn't continued is M Night's fondness for popping up on-screen in his own movies. "Absolutely not. I'm very afraid being in front of the camera. There was one thing I was thinking I could do as a joke, but then I was like 'that's not me — I can't, I can't cameo'," she says. She was keen to give her father a part, but it didn't pan out. "I wanted to put him in the movie actually, but I didn't get to do it." What did Ishana learn from being surrounded by filmmaking from birth? From working on Servant, too? Was getting behind the lens always her path? Why did Shine's book strike a chord? Also, how was Studio Ghibli great Hayao Miyazaki an influence? With The Watchers opening in Australian cinemas on Thursday, June 6 and in New Zealand on Thursday, June 13, we spoke with Ishana about all of the above and more, including about this Shyamalan-heavy period at the flicks, telling original tales and the expectations that come with her surname. On How Writing and Directing Episodes of Servant Prepared Ishana for Making Her First Feature "It was such a wonderful, wonderful experience for me. I think coming right out of film school and going to Servant, I was very much able to treat that as a second film school. And I think just the style of the show, being so restrained and limited, gave all the filmmakers on that project the ability to play with form and technique as your main languages there. So I really felt throughout each episode that I was able to think very specifically about those base elements of filmmaking, like shot-making and what specifically I wanted to get out of these performances. That was very much, I think, an archetypal film experience for me." On Ishana's Initial Response to AM Shine's Book "The book was brought to us by a producer to read it for consideration. I had no context to know what it was about, just had the cover and the synopsis on the back, and just started reading it — and it was just something that I felt incredibly locked in on. I thought it was just such masterful storytelling within the book, and had all of these tonal elements that I was interested in playing with in my exploration of the genre space as well. And then by the end of the book, it becomes this really masterful depth-specific world. And I just fell in love with it, so it felt inevitable in that way." On the Shared Feeling of Claustrophobia That Simmers in Both The Watchers and Servant "I think the process has been very much about leaning into my own fears — which, yeah, I'm afraid of finding myself in situations like that. As a human being, your mind just goes to those places of 'what if I was trapped somewhere? What if I couldn't get out?'. So those ideas I think all felt very, very, quite real and and relatable to me. I haven't thought too much about if that's something that's specific to me or just what I feel. Overall, I think I often have anxiety of being stuck in various forms of my life. One of my main fears as I navigate the world is being trapped in some feeling or with people that I'm scared of. So that is definitely something that I feel quite personally in my life — always the feeling of needing to get out of a place and the ability to move." On Ishana's Approach to Cultivating a Mood and Vibe in Horror "To me, I think the guiding principle was always to just lean into the visuals and energies that I felt love for, that I felt seduced by. A lot of times, horror or survivalist pieces like this have a very similar aesthetic, which is bleak and stripped down. So I was really interested in exploring that same feeling, but in much more maximalist, grandiose visual language. So that was one of the most-interesting things about it to me — how do you create a tone that feels completely fresh in this experience that we've seen a lot in film?" On Playing with Shadows and Light Visually in The Watchers — and Using Imagery to Reflect the Film's Themes "It became very clear to me early on that the movie hinges on daylight and darkness, and that contrast between between light and dark, which is obviously a very classical painterly technique to use — that chiaroscuro approach to the work. But it very much was embedded into the concept of the movie. Even on the book, on the novel itself, the tagline is 'stay in the light' there. So I was really interested in playing with that element of it. I had talked a lot with my DP [Eli Arenson, Lamb] and my production designer [Ferdia Murphy, The Last Girl] about creating this very classic, literal. stage-like approach to our hero space in the movie, which is The Coop, which you see as where they've been trapped. So that was very much something that we went in and wanted to do, where it was distinctive pools of light that our characters are moving in and out of, and it feels like they have that feeling when you don't really control the space that you're in." On Considering Hayao Miyazaki a Source of Inspiration for The Watchers "I grew up watching the Miyazaki films and they, throughout my life, have been a very spiritual thing for me. So I'm always aspiring to mimic that feeling that I feel when I watch them, which is one of wonder and innocence. I felt when I read the book that it had exactly that thing, which is this sense of a character going on an adventure and experiencing a new world. That was very, very exciting for me and gave me a lot of peace to know that I could enter the filmmaking space with something that felt really wondrous to me — so more in the vibe of what I'm trying to achieve with the movie, which I think just carries you into other worlds and hopefully, hopefully has that same feeling." On Deciding to Go Into the Family Business of Filmmaking "It was something that came to me much later in life as I was about to go to school and deciding what I wanted to do as my future. I'd always move through different art forms and known that I had wanted to be an artist in some way — and then it was only later in my life when I was able to even visualise the possibility of myself being a filmmaker. It came very much as a product of all the various things that I love doing going up. And so it felt very much like a surprise to me that this was the thing I was interested in." On What You Learn When Making Movies Is All Around You From Birth "My whole life has been a process of watching and listening to my dad as he's moved through his creative journey, and that's been just so wonderful, I think, to see the morals that he's built and the preciousness with which he regards the art form. So I really think I could've come into filmmaking already with that emphasis on technique and approach to the art-making process. So it was really wonderful, I think. I tried to honour his approach to filmmaking, which is respecting it as much as possible, and that it takes an incredible amount of emotional stability and persistence and work. I really am lucky that I have that visual to touch base with when I'm struggling with the experience myself." [caption id="attachment_961268" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marion Curtis / Starpix for Warner Bros.[/caption] On The Watchers and Trap Forming a Season of Shyamalan It's very interesting. He and I talk about it all the time because it is so anomalous, I think, that there's these two movies are coming out so close to each other. They're very, very different movies. They exist in completely different spaces, which I think is quite cool that they're not of the same world. All things happen for a reason, so my hope is that they can both artistically speak to each other and can communicate. But overall it's just a wonderful thing that we have this space within a giant summer to put out two original movies — I think that's just a wonderful, wonderful thing." On the Shyamalans Making Original Movies at a Time When Existing Intellectual Property and Long-Running Franchises Dominate "It's a different world for sure, and I'm definitely pondering it all the time. I think both he and I value that classical experience of going into theatre with a bunch of people who are different than you and watching something very specific that you didn't know anything about, and feeling the same way about it. I think we both believe that there is this power of a collective original experience where you're seeing some fresh cutting-edge stuff. It's definitely something that I will try to preserve that space as well. And I see a lot of other young filmmakers doing the same, so it makes me quite hopeful for the future of movies, that we can have all different flavours of things." On the Expectations That Come with Ishana Following in M Night's Footsteps — Especially in Horror "The genre for me felt very inevitable. It's just always the art that I've been drawn to and that I've made has played in this slightly darker space. So that felt there was no other option for me than to enter a similar space to him. There's definitely opinions and expectations — and I think I love that feeling. There's something to prove, and having to cut my own space into the creative spirit is a really intriguing challenge for me. So I'm just trying to do the best I can and be as creatively honest as possible, and then I hope things things will go as they should." The Watchers released in Australian cinemas on Thursday, June 6 and hits New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, June 13. Read our review.
Cool. Cool cool cool. If you were to ask Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi, Mythic Quest) his thoughts on the latest Community news, that might be his response. It should certainly be yours — because the six-seasons-and-a-movie prophecy is officially coming true, with American streaming service Peacock just announcing that a Community film is in the works. Abed shouted that "six seasons and a movie" line in the community college-set comedy, in fact, and the character will indeed return for the new flick. Variety reports that Joel McHale (The Bear), Alison Brie (Happiest Season), Gillian Jacobs (Minx), Jim Rash (Home Sweet Home Alone) and Ken Jeong (The Pentaverate) will also star, meaning that Jeff Winger, Annie Edison, Britta Perry, Dean Pelton and Ben Chang will all grace your screen again. There's no word yet on whether Donald Glover (Atlanta) will be singing "Troy and Abed in the morning once more, though — or if Yvette Nicole Brown (Big Shot) will also make a comeback. Ordered 🤝 #sixseasonsandamovieOnPeacock pic.twitter.com/IrxVYSHT9n — Peacock (@peacock) September 30, 2022 this hits a little different today...doesn't it? https://t.co/QUbbDXX3oS — IT'S HAPPENING! SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE! (@CommunityTV) September 30, 2022 Exactly when the Community movie will drop — and where it'll be able to be seen Down Under — hasn't yet been revealed either, but perhaps this isn't the darkest timeline after all. When the series wrapped up after 110 episodes in 2015, it only achieved the first part of its six-seasons-and-a-movie goal; however, fans have held out hope of seeing the Greendale gang again ever since. In 2020, that did happen in another way — during an early-pandemic virtual table read of season-five episode 'Cooperative Polygraphy'. .@alisonbrie @kenjeong @dannypudi @YNB @donaldglover @GillianA @peacock @SonyTV @CommunityTV pic.twitter.com/ynVqgaPuQD — Joel McHale (@joelmchale) September 30, 2022 Community creator (and Rick and Morty co-creator) Dan Harmon will be back for the movie, too, as a writer and executive producer, but exactly what it'll cover hasn't yet been announced. If you're now in the mood to binge your way through the beloved show's past antics in excitement (and anticipation), all six seasons of the series are available to stream via Netflix Down Under — and on Stan in Australia. Check out the Community season one trailer below: Exactly when the Community movie will arrive, and how it'll be available Down Under, are yet to be reavaled — we'll update you when further details are announced. Via Variety. Image: Netflix.
For artist Sarah McCloskey, there was never really a question whether or not she would pursue a career in art. "There's never been another thing that I've been interested in," she says. Growing up in Perth, McCloskey explains that she "always, always had a pencil in [her] hand". After graduating from high school, she completely immersed herself in that world. She worked part-time in an art gallery and started a university degree in fine art, all while steadily honing her craft. In February 2019, she moved to Sydney to pursue being an artist full-time. It was one of several choices that McCloskey has made over the last decade in a bid to shape her career and find her unique creative voice. This year, McCloskey joins a slew of visionary creatives collaborating with Miller Design Lab — the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion. The platform is a celebration of our nightlife and its impact on culture to deliver exceptional moments to you and your home. Here, we speak to McCloskey about seeking new challenges that shape her creative voice and finding inspiration. There's something that's really clear when talking to McCloskey: she isn't afraid of facing a challenge. In fact, she welcomes it. "I think the things I feel most proud of come from throwing myself into something new and giving it my best shot," she says. Although the bulk of her current work is painting murals, it's a relatively new medium for her after concentrating on graphite illustrations for the first part of her career. Explaining how she fell into the medium, she says, "I just was lucky enough to be working in a space and surrounded by some people who had been painting walls for decades." Since then, McCloskey's painted murals for several arts festivals, including Wonderwalls Festival in Port Kembla. But there are plenty of tricky aspects of it. "They were some of my largest walls and had tight timeframes. I learned a lot and was super proud. I do love painting murals, but I definitely feel it afterwards. Especially if I'm painting something really big in a short amount of time in the sun or the rain.....It is pretty physically taxing." Acknowledging that she can't continue with murals long-term, she started "dipping her toe" into yet another new challenge last year: oil painting. And she began with what she describes as "a pretty vulnerable choice to paint a sad selfie". Now, rather than seeing the cancellation of much of her upcoming mural work at festival and events (due to COVID-19) as a setback, McCloskey's taking it as an opportunity to keep forging ahead in her career path. "I'm in the studio constantly and actually putting time into some oil paintings that I've had sitting here waiting for me to finish. I want to build up a body of work with a view to have an exhibition." One of the most recent oil paintings that McCloskey has produced was for Miller Design Lab, which she describes as "pretty true to my style... which is very much portrait-based. I do have an interest in strong colour palettes, so I chose neon to be my light source, which is something I hadn't done before." Delving further, McCloskey explains how customisation plays a role in her process. "Through the years, I would take a photo reference [from Pinterest or Instagram] and tweak it to make it my own... I like to keep the realistic aspects and the things that make it recognisable, especially if it's a face, but turn it into something that doesn't really exist in this world. Through painting, especially murals, that's something I do using colour and other botanical elements." It's no surprise then that McCloskey considers nature a huge source of inspiration. She mentions the Royal Botanic Garden and Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden as two of her favourite places in Sydney to visit. And, when the sun goes down, the inspiration keeps flowing. "The nightlife of the city is that perfect time at the end of the day when everybody gets to go out and connect with people. Whole creative industries exist in the night for our pleasure and entertainment, and being able to get out amongst that is an amazing way to recharge." For Sarah, that means tracking down live music. "I'm always that person who is trying to drag all my friends to some gig. That's the perfect place to see a bunch of other creative people in their element on a stage. I always feel pretty motivated by that — seeing people smash it in their own creative field. I'm not a musician at all but seeing one is like 'Fuck yeah, I'm going to go and be good at my thing now'." For more, check out Sarah McCloskey's collaboration with Miller Genuine Draft here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way. Images: Reuben Gibbes
Solar power. Who needs it? Well, we do — and pretty desperately. To generate it though, we need those pesky black solar panels to be fitted to people's roofs and properties and anywhere we can find a space for them. This can be a little hard without overtaking natural environments and farmland. But France have found thousands of kilometres of space perfect for solar panels: their roads. After researching and testing the idea in carparks over the past year, the country has unveiled its first solar-powered road — and the world's. Stretching over a one kilometre expanse in Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, the trial site features 2,880 panels and will be used by 2,000 motorists a day, generating 280 megawatts of energy per year. Ideally, that'll be enough to keep the town's street lights glowing during the two-year test run. The road is made from a silicon-coated surface called the Wattway system, which is comprised of 7mm photovoltaic panels stuck on top of existing road surfaces. Both its thinness and ease of application to existing roads make it the best option of its type, with the idea of paving roads with solar panels first floated by Scott and Julie Brusaw via a crowdfunding campaign to pave American parking lots with the things in 2014. The French project is a collaboration between transport infrastructure company Colas and France's National Institute for Solar Energy, as sanctioned by France's Agency of Environment and Energy Management. If the Normandy installation goes to plan, they're hoping to bring solar power to 1000-kilometres of roads in the country over the next five years. They're also promising to try out the idea around the world, with other trials planned inNorth America, Europe, Africa, and Japan. Here's hoping they're all successful, and that the project makes its way over here. As anyone who's stood barefoot on asphalt on a hot day knows, that stuff stores a lethal amount of heat. Via: Mental Floss. Image: COLAS – Joachim Bertrand. By Lauren Vadnjal and Sarah Ward.
John Sugar adores cinema. It makes sense, then, that the Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)-led Apple TV+ series about the Los Angeles-based detective loves movies just as devotedly. Sugar is styled like a classic film noir. It splices in clips from the genre's pictures, other Hollywood-set fare and fellow retro titles, swinging from The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly, Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity to Sherlock Jr and The Thing. It watches Sugar watch flicks. It listens to him drop references to and wax lyrical about them in his evocative narration. It pays tribute to its influences eagerly — and it gives its audience a helluva post-viewing watchlist. Sugar is also set in Tinseltown, going all in on LA noir like many of the movies that it references — and also The Big Sleep, Chinatown, LA Confidential and Under the Silver Lake as well — with its tale of a PI looking for a missing woman. The show's namesake might be introduced in Tokyo, where he has the case of a yakuza gangster's kidnapped grandson to solve, but he spends the bulk of the series in the City of Angels on a gig that his handler Ruby (Kirby, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) advises against. He can't say no for the ultimate cinephile reason: one of his film idols is doing the hiring. But from the moment that iconic movie producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell, Succession) puts him on the books and in search of his granddaughter Olivia (Sydney Chandler, Don't Worry Darling), Sugar may as well be in a twisty flick himself. A cinema-heavy pedigree behind the lens brings Sugar to streaming queues, too. Creator Mark Protosevich made his debut with the script for sci-fi thriller The Cell back in 2000. Director Fernando Meirelles came to prominence, complete with an Oscar nomination, for co-helming City of God. Executive producer Simon Kinberg wrote Mr & Mrs Smith back when it was a Brad Pitt (Babylon)- and Angelina Jolie (Eternals)-starring movie, not a 2024 TV show, and has a wealth of X-Men titles on his resume. A mystery fan himself, he also produced recent Agatha Christie adaptations Murder on the Orient Express and A Haunting in Venice, executive producing Death on the Nile in-between. Speaking with Concrete Playground, Kinberg notes that this detective series that's also a genre-bender and a love letter to LA noir equally has character study in its list, crucially. "I'm hoping that the audiences fall in love with John Sugar. Definitely feel intrigued, and tense in all the right ways about the suspense and the mystery and the danger of the show — the things that we love about detective stories — but I think ultimately, I hope that they fall in love with how complicated and nuanced and ultimately surprising John Sugar is as a character," he says. "When I think about my favourite television shows — and often my favourite movies, but definitely my favourite shows — it always comes back to character. And I believe that the construction of John Sugar with the portrayal by Colin is something that will grip audiences and make them love the show." Sugar might be at the heart of the series, naturally, but there'd be no Sugar without Ruby. In the show's second-billed part, Kirby adds to a killer resume that's also no stranger to detective tales thanks to 2019's fourth season of Veronica Mars. The Good Place, Why Women Kill, Love, Killing Eve, Hacks and Barry all sit among her past credits — but none had her basically playing a take on a legendary page and screen character. "I was really excited by Ruby. I was excited for Ruby before I even read about Ruby. Ruby was pitched to me as 'Ruby is to Sugar what M is to James Bond', and I felt like I loved that description of that relationship, because I knew that it would be a relationship that was layered and that had shifting power dynamics, but also was strong," she tells us. We chatted with Kirby and Kinberg about the eight-part first season of Sugar, which is available to stream in full now. On the agenda: their initial responses to its premise, which isn't afraid of twists, surprises and veering into science fiction — and also Farrell leading the show, what keeps drawing people to mysteries, the research that goes into playing the righthand woman to a PI, what gets them each excited about a new project and more. On Kinberg and Kirby's First Response to Sugar's Genre-Bending Angle on Detective Stories Simon: "Mark Protosevich, the creator of the show, had written the first script. And so I read that first script and was just so drawn to a lot of things, but primarily Sugar himself as a character. I loved the combination of this chivalrous, strong, capable leading man side with this vulnerable, human, innocent, kind side, too. I just thought that mashup between different elements was really interesting. Then I liked a similar mashup within the tone between classic Hollywood storytelling, like very film noir, obviously detective storytelling, with something fresh and new and different and bold. So I fell in love with the pilot script, and we got involved at that point, and then brought in Colin and then brought in Fernando, and then built the whole show. But yeah, it was just reading a script where I felt like 'this is a voice and tone and character I haven't seen before'." Kirby: "I actually read the script after I had been cast in the role, so I came into this project with blind faith, which is daunting. But I think that knowing the creatives involved, it felt like a calculated risk. I knew that Colin was attached to it. He was attached to it as an EP and as an actor before I before I became part of the process. And knowing his body of work — I've watched Colin for a very long time, and I think that he is an actor that does incredible work. There's incredible quality and passion there. But at the same time, there is such diversity in the roles he's taken. So I knew that this would be a project that, if he put his name on it, it would be something that would be really exciting and really new. And then knowing that this would be a neo-noir, that piques your interest, because it's not every day that you tackle that, that there are people that can tackle such a huge concept. It's very high-concept to be able to do a noir, but then to make it feel contemporary, to make it contemporary, to have it tackle contemporary issues and have a contemporary cast. And then on top of that you layer in a brilliant director like Fernando Meirelles, and I think that you have a winning formula. So whether or not you've read the script, I think that it's a project that you can get behind very early on." On Casting Colin Farrell as Sugar — and Finding a Rhythm with Him On-Screen Simon: "He was one of the first people we thought of for it because he does have that duality in in himself as a man and in his work as an actor — which is, he is very leading man and gorgeous and charismatic and witty and strong, and yet he's also vulnerable and human and flawed and fragile and sweet and innocent. That is who Colin is as a person, and it is what he brings to the character of Sugar. And he read the script and and flipped out for it as well. We met with him and immediately could see that he not only could do it as an actor, but had a natural affinity for it as a person." Kirby: "Colin is very personable, he's amiable, he's incredibly generous as a human and that really translates when you start working with someone — because the easier your chemistry is off screen, the better it will be on screen, I have found. And so for me, I think just having a really good rapport with him —we spent a lot of time there, and the majority of my scenes are either alone or with Colin — just spending long days together, in your down time you're chatting and things like that, and I think that lends itself to what you see on screen." On Working Through the Layers to Ruby's Relationship with Sugar Kirby: "I think that they have a really beautiful relationship. They have a deep connection. They've known each other for a very long time. There is a lot of trust and care and love there. But at the same time, it's a relationship that is complicated, which it is always is complicated when you are in a relationship that is both professional and personal. You find that that adds an additional layer to a friendship that not everyone has experienced, and doesn't always understand how complex that can make certain decisions." On Kinberg Being a Detective and Mystery Fan, and What Appeals to Him About the Genre Simon: "I grew up reading detective fiction. Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christies were huge for me when I was a kid. And then ultimately more hard-boiled writing like Jim Thompson, James Ellroy, that whole generation of crime writers. I think there's a few things. One is I am someone who genuinely struggles with OCD, and there is an OCD element to detectives where they are really good at, and sometimes overwhelmed by, seeing clues in everything. So they're very attuned to the details of our world, which is something I live through. So there's that element. But the other part of it is, even when I was a kid, I looked at the world — and the world was even more this now — but I looked at a world that was chaotic, that had a lot of disorder in it. And I loved the idea that there was this sort of angel of restoring order. That detectives were there — and where, out of the chaos and muddle and mystery of life, they found order and they found truth. So that for me was always part of what was compelling about detective stories: that at the very end, there was going to be an answer, and it was going to be objective. And if you were clever and you paid attention, you could arrive there with the detective." On Thinking About Why People Are So Drawn to Mysteries While You're Making a Mystery Kirby: "I am guilty of it myself. I am very drawn to a mystery and to a documentary and a thriller, and things like that. But I think part of that is because there is so much that is unknown in our world, both on a huge, cosmic level, but also on a personal level. And I think that uncovering a mystery and figuring things out gives you a sense of control in a world that I think can feel often quite chaotic and quite out of your control. So I think that why people gravitate towards these stories is it feels very satisfying to ask a question and get a definitive answer. And these shows present something, there's a question, there is a mystery afoot, and when you figure that out you find the answer — and there is absolutely something that is completely gratifying for audiences in that." On the Affection for LA Noir and Classic Cinema That Sugar Splashes Through Its Frames Simon: "It's a huge part of the DNA of the show, this love letter to classic American cinema, specifically film noir stories. It was in the script — not the clips, the clips in the show were something that Fernando Meirelles and his editor Fernando Stutz [The Sympathizer, which Meirelles also directed episodes of] discovered in post. In the edit, they actually just started inserting these clips into it and it brought even more life into the show and made what was implicit in its homage very explicit. So yeah, it's a huge part of the show. It's a show that's for cinema lovers, but it's also for people that maybe don't know this genre of film and can discover it and learn about it by watching the show, and maybe it'll have them delve back into those classic movies. It was something that excited all of us because you were cutting to these old clips from old movies while juxtaposing them with something really modern and really new. And that juxtaposition, that dance between the old and the new, is very much at the core of the show." On the Research That Goes Into Playing the Righthand Person to a Private Detective Kirby: "For me, a lot of the research was researching the genre, because I am familiar with film noir but I don't have this film school encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre. So it was really helpful for me to take suggestions from Mark, and go in and watch Chinatown — and I had a book that was given to me at the beginning about the history of noirs and some of the biggest touchstones within that genre. That was really helpful, because I think once you start to know the tropes and the archetypes in that world, you can also start to subvert those characters and make them contemporary." On What Gets Kinberg and Kirby Excited About a New Project Simon: "A great character. It's always a great character. Sometimes people ask me this and I'll be like 'what would get you excited if you were at a party and you met somebody, a new friend, a new partner, whatever it is? You met somebody that you wanted to see again, they got you excited, and you went told your friends the next day — I just met this great woman/man/person last night'. It's the same thing for me when I read something or I hear about something, I'm like 'oh, that's an exciting person I just met and I want to spend more time with that person'. Because it's a lot of time that you're investing. Whether it's a feature or or a show, it's years of your life. So it always starts from character for me." Kirby: "Good storytelling gets me excited about a role. Creative people, creative collaborators get me really excited. So coming into a project where I know the way people work and I've seen their work, like this — I don't have to have seen this type of thing from the creators, I just have to have seen something that gets me excited. In this, knowing Fernando was attached, and being such a huge fan of City of God and his previous work, got me so excited. I think that sometimes we are in dire need of just good simple stories that that show genuine human connection — and then you can add all the other layers on top of it and that just serves to heighten the experience." Sugar streams via Apple TV+. Read our review.
"Justin Bieber is the future of rock music." Iggy Pop It may sound like the start of a Tui billboard is actually part of a new Amnesty International Belgium anti-torturing campaign featuring Karl Lagerfield, the Dalai Lama and Iggy Pop. Stop Torture quotes these celebrities saying the unlikeliest statements of their careers while looking like they've just been 240/242d pretty badly. Amnesty International Belgium director Philippe Hensmans explains, "For us it was a quirky but not sloppy way to attract public attention to [the] tragic reality [of torture], which often happens in the greatest secrecy." In addition to being inhumane, torture is also ineffective. "The history has shown that tortured people are often willing to say anything for the pain to stop – the whole truth, only a part or its opposite... Torture a man and you can get him to say anything." The UN adopted the Convention Against Torture in 1984, but many governments like the US, Mexico, North Korea, Philippines and Nigeria are still torturing today. "Governments around the world are two-faced on torture - prohibiting it in law, but facilitating it in practice" says Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's Secretary General. Check out the campaign posters below. "The summit of elegance is a hawaiian shirt with jandals." Karl Lagerfield "The future of rock and roll is Justin Bieber." Iggy Pop "A man who doesn't own a Rolex watch by the time he's 50 has failed in life." Dalai Lama Article via The Independent
Some people collect stamps; others are passionate about coins; but we think if you're going to spend so much time thinking about one thing, it should be extraordinary. It should be something prolific and inspired — something that has the capacity to change the course of people's lives. For Ryan Beitz this something is VHS copies of the timeless 1994 Keanu Reeves classic, Speed. That may not be his exact reasoning, but regardless of motivation this guy now has upwards of 500 copies in his collection. What started out as a bizarre bulk buy from the op shop has now led to Beitz founding The World Speed Project, a group whose end goal is to collect every copy in existence. "The World Speed Project is satisfied by a compulsion to repeat [things]," said Beitz in an interview with VICE. "When you get one, you want to get another! And another! And another! Like the bus in Speed, we collectively cannot — and will not — stop." The group don't stop there, either. The WSP also want to take their message to the streets. Launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund it, they hope to convert an existing van into a small sized replica of the bus from their favourite film, and travel around the country while building their collection. Asking for a mere $2,500, WSP want to not only change their vehicle cosmetically, they also crucially need to fix the speedometer. Because how else will they avoid the 50mph marker, duh? Faced with increasing media scrutiny, Beitz is increasingly optimistic about his mission. "I think the World Speed Project is awesome in the truest sense of the word," he said. "It's larger than life. Imagine all of [the tapes] in one place! It’s uncompromising." If you share his unbridled joy, or maybe just have a morbid curiosity, you can donate to the bus fund here or send your VHS tapes to the address below (assuming you're willing to part with your most cherished possession). Chairman Ryan Beitz, The World Speed Project, 20204 SR 195 Pullman, WA 99163 USA Via Vice.
It's been five years since Taylor Square's rainbow crossing was removed in the middle of the night, without a word of warning. But the future's looking a whole lot brighter, with the City of Sydney announcing the installation's return, just days out from the 40th anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. With the support of NSW Roads and the RMS, the colourful crossing is set to grace the corner of Bourke and Campbell streets, with construction due to kick off in October. Lord Mayor Clover Moore has applauded the move, calling it "a powerful acknowledgement of the importance of our LGBTQI community and history". The original rainbow crossing was installed in February 2013, but was removed two months later by the NSW Roads Minister amidst safety concerns. Residents have since spent years petitioning for it to be reinstated — this Change.org petition got over 16,000 signatures — so this is undoubtedly welcome news to the LGBTIQ+ community and commuters that pass through Taylor Square each day. The new installation, which will also incorporate a local street upgrade and coincide with "a trial to prioritise pedestrian movements ahead of vehicular movements", will be in place for six months, before a safety review is undertaken by the RMS. If it ticks all the boxes, this rainbow icon will be sticking around permanently.
The return of Spilt Milk for 2025 was already massive news, after the Australian music festival sat out 2024. This year's events in Ballarat, Perth, Canberra and on the Gold Coast just got even bigger, thanks to a huge lineup headlined by Kendrick Lamar. DAMN. LOVE. Quoting those album and song titles fits right now, with the Pulitzer Music Prize-winning musician heading Down Under in this same year that he put on a helluva Super Bowl halftime show. Just as he did in 2022, Lamar has a December date with Australia, playing 2025's run of Spilt Milk fests across two weekends — hitting two locations on each. It all starts on Saturday, December 6 at Victoria Park in Ballarat, before venturing across the country to Claremont Showground in Perth on Sunday, December 7. Then, it's Canberra's turn at Exhibition Park on Saturday, December 13, followed by a trip to the Gold Coast Sports Precinct on Sunday, December 14. That's a headliner worth waiting a year for — and Lamar has company from Doechii, Sara Landry, Dominic Fike and ScHoolboy Q for starters. Also on the bill: d4vd, Nessa Barrett, Sofia Isella, Skin On Skin, sombr, Club Angel, The Dreggs and The Rions, plus more. The lineup comes just a day after Spilt Milk confirmed its 2025 comeback — after skipping 2024 because, as organisers said at the time, it "couldn't get you the Spilt Milk you deserve this year". Instead, it still popped up in a few cities to throw events it dubbed house parties, with Troye Sivan, Glass Animals and G Flip leading the lineup while the full Spilt Milk experience was on hold. In 2025, festivalgoers can also look forward to the return of sing-alongs at Guilty Pleasures, plus country bar Howdy Howdy and the Bus Da Move party bus. The art component will feature artists from Studio A. Originally only popping up in Canberra, then expanding to Ballarat, then the Gold Coast and finally also to Perth, multi-city one-dayer Spilt Milk had cemented its spot as a must-attend event on the annual Aussie calendar before it took a year off, including for its lineups — and for its food offering as well. Its 2025 return is immense, not just due to its now-dropped lineup, but because not every fest that sat 2024 out has made a comeback. Sadly, both Groovin the Moo and Splendour in the Grass have scrapped their events in both years. Spilt Milk 2025 Lineup Kendrick Lamar Doechii Sara Landry Dominic Fike ScHoolboy Q d4vd Nessa Barrett Skin on Skin sombr Baby J Chance Peña Club Angel Don West Ennaria Esha Tewari Lyric Mia Wray Ninajirachi Rebecca Black Rum Jungle Sofia Isella South Summit The Dreggs The Rions Spilt Milk 2025 Dates and Venues Saturday, December 6 — Victoria Park, Ballarat Sunday, December 7 — Claremont Showground, Perth Saturday, December 13 — Exhibition Park, Canberra Sunday, December 14 — Gold Coast Sports Precinct, Gold Coast Spilt Milk is returning in December 2025, heading to Ballarat, Perth, Canberra and the Gold Coast — with ticket requests open from Friday, May 2, the presales from Thursday, May 8 and general ticket sales from Friday, May 9 (at 8am AEST for Canberra, 9am AEST for Ballarat, 10am AEST for Perth and 11am AEST for the Gold Coast). Head to the festival website for more information Spilt Milk: Jordan K Munns, Mackenzie Sweetnam, Jess Gleeson and Billy Zammit.
Each of Australia's capital cities has a different shtick. Melbourne's just happens to be a 24-hour culture — or, at least, the closest Australia has to it. It's got all-night public transport on weekends, late-night opening hours for the National Gallery of Victoria's new Triennial and the city's White Night festival will return for its annual all-nighter in 2018. If you haven't been down to White Night before, here's how it works. From 7pm, much of Melbourne's CBD is closed to cars. From then on, the streets give way to pedestrians, who are free to wander between temporary installations, live music and on-street projections — as well as in and out of galleries and cultural institutions — up until the sun comes up at 7am the next day. It's the Australian version of Nuit Blanche, which was founded in France in the 80s. Next year's festival — which will shut down the city for 12 hours on the evening of Saturday, February 17 — features work from a tonne of both local and international artists. Expect to see neon pups, two Burning Man installations and one laneway covered in snow. There are far too many works to list, but here are a few highlights you'll want to look out for. A giant shimming silver net that will hover above Federation Square for White Night (and two weeks afterwards). Drag queens singing from balconies above Collins Street. A laneway filled with virtual neon 'dogs' and another filled with falling 'snow'. A tree that lets you write temporary messages on it with the light from your phone Two installations straight from Burning Man: a fire-breathing serpent outside Melbourne Museum and a giant mechanical insect that doubles at a DJ booth. Mini gigs performed from multiple balconies above Swanston Street. A 360-degree dome in Alexandra Gardens that will feature mesmerising projections. Stories from Australian detention centres projected onto the NGV's façade. White Night will also head out to Victoria's regional centres. It will return to Ballarat on March 17 for a second year, and will take to the streets of Bendigo and Geelong for the first time later in 2018. White Night 2018 will take over Melbourne from 7pm on Saturday, February 17 until 7am on the morning on Sunday, February 18. For more information, visit whitenight.com.au/melbourne.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — at present, spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Brisbane. 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, 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. JUNGLE CRUISE Take two charming actors, then couple them up for a feature-length volley of fast-paced banter: that's the screwball rom-com formula. Place this pleasing pair in a scenic but challenging setting — one that'll highlight their individual strengths, see them turn seeming weaknesses into new skills, and will obviously bring them closer together — and that's exactly how plenty of action-adventure movies have unfurled. Sending the always personable and likeable Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt to the Amazon, Jungle Cruise stitches together these two well-established formulas. It traverses its cinematic rapids in the slipstream of 80s fare like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone (and their respective sequels), and even rollicks along in the footsteps of The Mummy franchise of the late 90s and early 00s (a series which actually gave Johnson his first big-screen roles). But, as anyone with even a passing knowledge of Disney's theme parks knows, Jungle Cruise also falls from the attraction-to-film mould that the Mouse House clearly loves. Pirates of the Caribbean is an overt influence, right down to the way that some of this new flick's villains look, and thrusting all these blatant templates to the fore — and together — doesn't quite result in movie magic. Indeed, despite Johnson and Blunt's charismatic and capable pairing, as well as the movie's visually boisterous imagery, the film's modest pleasures all fade oh-so-quickly, as happens with every amusement ride. Directed by Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night and The Commuter's Jaume Collet-Serra, who makes a workmanlike but hardly memorable jump from unleashing Liam Neeson's special set of skills, Jungle Cruise wants to whisk viewers off on a spirited ride. That's the experiential aim of most theme park-based films: these flicks want audiences to feel like they've stepped inside the attraction from their cinema seat. So, before the movie's title card graces the screen, two sequences endeavour to set this tone. It's 1916, and Dr Lily Houghton (Blunt, A Quiet Place Part II) sneaks into an all-male science society to look for a treasured arrowhead from the Amazon. She's tasked her fussy brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall, Good Omens) with deflecting the organisation's members by telling them her theories about a fabled South American tree, called the Tears of the Moon, that can cure any illness or break any curse. The men are dismissive, but she knows they will be. She's there to steal the trinket so it can lead her to the mythical plant, all while Prince Joachim of Germany (Jesse Plemons, Judas and the Black Messiah) tries to get his hands on it as well. When Lily comes out on top, the Houghtons are off to Brazil to hit the river, but they'll need a captain to guide their watery jaunt. In his introductory scene, the roguish Frank Wolff (Johnson, Jumanji: The Next Level) is spied conducting tourist trips down the Amazon, every step choreographed like an amusement park ride, and with his own pun-heavy showman patter narrating the journey. He's corny, and he has a jaguar in on the act, too. Accordingly, there are zero surprises when Lily enlists his services reluctantly and after some subterfuge on his side, or when he keeps trying to trick her into giving up her quest. Read our full review. SHIVA BABY "What are you up to?". It's a familiar question and, when asked by a friend, it's a considerate and good-natured query that shows their genuine interest. But when it's posed by the wrong person, it comes loaded with expectations and inherent judgement — like the type you might find at a gathering of family members and life-long family pals who've turned their gaze in your direction because you're at the age where interrogating every inch of your existence has become their preferred form of sport. In Shiva Baby, this question comes in multiple ways and is asked multiple times. Attending a shiva, the wake-like mourning ritual observed in the Jewish faith, college senior Danielle (Rachel Sennott, Call Your Mother) is on the receiving end of this barrage. Stuck in a house full of enquiring minds, she feels every needling probe thrust her way by relatives and friends of relatives, all asking about her life, future, job, studies and romantic status, and even her weight. She's trapped in an everyday, immensely relatable situation, of course, but one that's never anything other than awkward — and first-time filmmaker Emma Seligman ensures that her audience feels every second of Danielle's discomfort. (Roving and floating camerawork that gets viewers seeing the chaos from Danielle's perspective, and a score that ramps up the unease — its strings rattling nerves just as effectively as every incident and altercation at the shiva — are some of the director's immersive and well-executed flourishes.) Danielle doesn't quite know how to answer the onslaught, partly because she doesn't want to and feels as if she shouldn't have to. She's right, obviously. Hours earlier — with the film's blackly comic dramas occurring over a single day — she was happily astride the older, richer Max (Danny Deferrari, Private Life) in a lavish Manhattan apartment. That's how Shiva Baby opens, and he gifts her an expensive bangle afterwards, as well as cash as payment. To her parents and relatives, she refers to her job as "babysitting". The film never intimates that Danielle is ashamed of doing sex work, and refreshingly so, but it gives the impression that she'd prefer not to have a conversation about it with all the busybodies already poking their noses in her direction. Accordingly, she doesn't explain that she missed the funeral because she was having sex. When she arrives at the shiva with her parents Debbie (Polly Draper, Billions) and Joel (Fred Melamed, WandaVision), she has to ask which distant relative died more than once. A recent NYU graduate in her mid-20s, Seligman writes and stages this whole scenario with the specificity of someone who knows the claustrophobia, tension, horrors and social distress these gatherings can inspire, and the cringing that happens deep inside every time. She also knows that there's never just one complication, or even just a couple, as occurs here when Max, his wife Kim (Dianna Agron, Glee) and their baby daughter show up at the shiva, as well does Maya (Molly Gordon, The Broken Hearts Gallery), Danielle's ex-girlfriend from high-school. Read our full review. FANNY LYE DELIVER'D Even on a blissfully sunny day, a devastating storm can darken a dazzling blue sky, cracking through that gorgeous facade with the weather's version of stress and woe. That's the sensation that emanates from Fanny Lye Deliver'd's early shots, which show a quaint, picturesque Shropshire farm shrouded in mist so scenic that the entire image looks like it could've been rendered in watercolours — and painted back in 1657, when the movie is set. But little is perfect behind this bucolic beauty. And, that's the case even before two strangers encroach upon the household, throwing the Lye family into tumult. As they get ready to attend church on what's otherwise an ordinary Sunday, Fanny (Maxine Peake, Peterloo) is under no misgivings about her place in the farm's hierarchy. She's treated with scowling disdain by her Puritan husband John Lye (Charles Dance, Game of Thrones), who sees saving the family's souls as his domain and doing what she's told the sole duty of his other half. Fanny also comes second to the couple's only son Arthur (Zak Adams, Alice Through the Looking Glass) and, like him, she's often beaten with a stick by John to apparently keep her on the right path. When young lovers Thomas Ashbury (Freddie Fox, The Pursuit of Love) and Rebecca Henshaw (Tanya Reynolds, Emma) sneak their way into the Lye home that church-going morning, they come looking for food, shelter, sustenance, and protection from the sheriffs and constables (The Dig's Peter McDonald, Downton Abbey's Perry Fitzpatrick and Cuckoo's Kenneth Collard) on their trail; however, they also expose the tension, turmoil, and patriarchal- and religious-inspired oppression festering under the rural abode's thatched roof. Fanny Lye Deliver'd isn't writer/director Thomas Clay's first feature or even his second, with those honours going to 2005's The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael and 2008's Soi Cowboy. More than a decade later, his third film is a work made with a distinctive vision, though. Every visible detail, meticulous performance, powerful and probing line, and weighty rumination upon the subjugation of women and the ills enforced in faith's name — here, during Oliver Cromwell's reign over Britain following the English Civil War — is that fastidious, that intoxicating even when used to depict suffering and brutality, and also that effective. Clay's picture could easily sit in the mud, folklore and farmland anxiety with The Witch, a film that similarly steps into a god-fearing community where the hatred of women ascending beyond the meagre station allotted them has infected every thought and action. It plays like a cousin to that similarly entrancing and potent movie, however, rather than a sibling. It shares similar horrors, but casts them into cinemas like it's doing so anew, and sometimes peppers its efforts with inescapable lashings of dark humour. Fanny Lye Deliver'd also benefits from Peake's ferocious and arresting work in the eponymous role, in what proves a survivalist film in the same fashion as all other features about women attempting to persist amidst violence and persecution (see also: the vastly dissimilar Herself). It's no wonder that the camera loves peering her way, even as it lenses everything around her like it's painting with celluloid. THE TOLL For almost three decades, cash fees at the most isolated toll booth in Wales have been collected by one man. Known to his fellow small-town dwellers just as Toll Booth (Michael Smiley, Gunpowder Milkshake), the Irish import reads books all day, occasionally sticks his hand out of the window to take coins from passers-by, and is also immersed in the quiet locale's shady underworld. And, he's actually a big-city ex-crim who has been hiding out in the sleepy spot. Alas, that status that comes to an end when he's spotted by an old colleague (Gary Beadle, Small Axe) from all of those years ago. Also, this unwelcome reunion occurs on the same day that the booth is held up by gun-toting triplets (all played by Gwyneth Keyworth, The Trouble with Maggie Cole), which is what gets diligent local police officer Catrin (Annes Elwy, Apostle) sleuthing around, and sees Toll Booth's underlings Cliff (Paul Kaye, Creation Stories) and Dom (Iwan Rheon, Game of Thrones) become involved. Ever since Guy Ritchie first gave the world his Quentin Tarantino-inspired take on the heist and crime genres, but British — as seen in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch — fast-paced, blackly comic crime capers have rarely been too far from the UK's cinematic output. The Toll is the latest, and it knows its genre. Debut director Ryan Andrew Hooper also owes a debt to the movies of Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) and his brother John Michael McDonagh (The Guard, War on Everyone), as well as to plenty of westerns, and even to both the film and TV versions of Fargo. Always eager to sprinkle in its own personality — a must in avoiding becoming just another formulaic entry in a busy part of the cinematic spectrum — The Toll benefits from perfecting its tone and its central casting. The same proved true of Irish caper comedy Pixie earlier in the year, but there's a greater sense of cohesion and balance here. The Toll doesn't merely coast by on Smiley's always-welcome presence (see also: Kill List, Free Fire and Come to Daddy) and its energy, but builds upon those key facets via its enthusiastic eccentricity, its affable gags about small-town Wales and a great co-lead performance by Elwy. Jokes about Elvis impersonators, mistaking eye pads for iPads, and a stick-up that only pulls in a sandwich, some change and an average watch don't feel tired here, or stretched. Neither do the title's multiple meanings, with the film also contemplating the price paid by Toll Booth to escape his prior life, as well as the cost of Catrin's ongoing quest to ascertain who killed her father in a hit-and-run accident a year prior. First-timer Matt Redd pens a snappy script and cinematographer Adrian Peckitt (In Me) capably lenses quaint details of the characters' rural existence and the sprawling countryside setting alike. Hooper uses a heavy hand with his soundtrack, and makes certain that viewers see this as a modern Welsh western as a result, but he also crafts a likeable movie from start to finish. THE MISFITS Imagine Robin Hood meets Ocean's Eleven meets the Fast and Furious franchise, but helmed by the filmmaker behind Deep Blue Sea, and somehow starring the unlikely combination of Pierce Brosnan (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), Tim Roth (Luce) and rapper/comedian/TV presenter Nick Cannon (Chi-Raq). Then, picture a film set in the fictional Jeziristan, because appropriating a particular culture and applying it to a made-up place is apparently okay by this flick's powers-that-be — and also envision a movie so blatant with its Islamophobia at every turn that Cannon's character is almost constantly making fun of Middle Eastern accents and Arabic names, citizens of this part of the globe are largely depicted as terrorists or psychopaths, a group of villains is called the Muslim Brotherhood, but all the gloss and glitz of Abu Dhabi, where the movie is shot, is leered at (as are the scantily clad women seen in its hotels, too). No one wants to visualise this flick, but unfortunately it exists. And yes, The Misfits is as atrocious as it sounds. Director Renny Harlin (who also has Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight to his name) seems like he's simply trying to recreate shots, looks and scenes he likes from far better films, but badly. And, the fact that co-screenwriter Kurt Wimmer also has the atrocious 2015 remake of Point Break on his resume makes a huge amount of sense, because this bag of tripe just stitches together plot points from almost every other heist feature there is (as exacerbated by dialogue as bland and cliched as every aspect of the narrative). A big contender for the worst movie to reach Australian cinemas this year, and a film that surely wouldn't have ever gotten the chance if the pandemic hadn't upended the theatrical release slate, The Misfits brings together a ragtag gang of well-meaning criminals. They anoint themselves with the movie's moniker after ruling out 'motley crew' for obvious reasons, if you're wondering how stupid and inane this feature gets — and quickly. Bank robber Ringo (Cannon) usually flexes his light-fingered skills to rip off the wealthy and give back to the poor, so obviously he's keen to form a makeshift family with martial arts expert Violet (Jamie Chung, Lovecraft Country), who likes punishing terrible men; explosives-obsessed Wick (Thai popstar Mike Angelo), who blows up nasty businesses; and 'the Prince' (Rami Jaber, Tough Love), who may or may not be royalty in another made-up country. Their next target: a vault of gold hidden inside a maximum-security Jeziristan jail overseen by nefarious businessman Warner Schultz (Roth). Their latest recruits: UN-employed humanitarian Hope (Hermione Corfield, Sea Fever) and, if she can convince him, her conman dad Richard Pace (Brosnan), who of course has a history with their mark. Much that happens is nonsensical, which also applies to the messily staged and shot action scenes. The movie's sexism goes hand in hand with its blatant racism, too. Daddy issues, second chances, car chases, slow-motion explosions, pointless visual tricks — that's all part of this hideous package as well, alongside absolutely zero subtlety or enjoyment. 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 March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25; and April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22 and April 29; May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27; June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24; and July 1, July 8, July 15 and July 22. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Chaos Walking, Raya and the Last Dragon, Max Richter's Sleep, Judas and the Black Messiah, Girls Can't Surf, French Exit, Saint Maud, Godzilla vs Kong, The Painter and the Thief, Nobody, The Father, Willy's Wonderland, Collective, Voyagers, Gunda, Supernova, The Dissident, The United States vs Billie Holiday, First Cow, Wrath of Man, Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Ema, A Quiet Place Part II, Cruella, My Name Is Gulpilil, Lapsis, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Fast and Furious 9, Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, In the Heights, Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Old.
What makes for a great speaker at a music conference? Experience and insight, obviously, and also plenty of stories from their time in one of the most exciting creative industries there is. Unveiling the first folks that'll grace its stage in 2023, BIGSOUND knows this. When you enlist ROC Nation's Omar Grant, who was once the road manager for Destiny's Child and now shares the President role at Jay-Z's entertainment agency — and also helped Rihanna's album ANTI become the smash it is — you're after a whole heap of wisdom and tales. Brisbanites and music obsessives hitting the Sunshine State capital between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8 can look forward to Grant's chat, which means listening to one of the top names in the American music industry. And if you're keen to show off your own musical talents, he will indeed be looking for new discoveries. "Australia is at an exciting place right now musically and I can't wait to head down under to discover some great new artists," said Grant. "Some of the most innovative artistry in the world comes from Australia — and in an industry that's often so caught up online these days, getting in a room with passionate music people and discovering real talent performing live is a true privilege." While the full speaker roster hasn't yet been revealed, let alone the music bill, Grant has company in this debut drop. Also coming to Brisbane: Michele Ronzon from Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records, Hazel Savage from Soundcloud, Flighthouse's Ash Stahl and JKBX's Scott Cohen. Ronzon has overseen talent including Machine Gun Kelly, YUNGBLUD and Alesso; the Australian-born Savage was behind music AI company Musiio; Stahl is CEO of quite the hefty TikTok agency; and with Cohen, BIGSOUND is bringing in a royalties technology expert. In what'll be its 22nd year, the event has also started revealing some of the decision makers visiting the River City in search of deals. On the list: Netflix's Manager for Soundtracks, Strategy and Operations Andy Kalyvas, who heads to the fest fresh from working on Oscar-winner All Quiet on the Western Front; Paramount Television Studios' Vice President of Music Vanessa Palmer; and Downtown Music Publishing's Director of Sync and A&R Cabrea Casey. [caption id="attachment_851422" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] In total, BIGSOUND 2023 expects to welcome in over 100 international and national buyers, agents, music supervisors, bookers and other industry decision makers, all taking over Fortitude Valley as the event always does. And yes, deals are firmly in the fest's spotlight. "We approached this year's BIGSOUND with a singular vision: deals mean meals," advises programmer Tom Larkin. "Every person we are bringing to Australia can further an artist's career immeasurably. Whether that's formalising a global partnership or simply giving them a piece of advice that could transform their ability to create a sustainable career, BIGSOUND 's focus is to provide real results for Australian artists." Elsewhere, the huge music-fuelled celebration will keep doing what it always does: showcasing impressive acts, artists and bands, which usually sees more than 150 talents hit its stages at 20-plus Brisbane venues. If you're a BIGSOUND regular, you'll know that this entails filling as many spaces as possible with musos, industry folks and music-loving punters, all enjoying the latest and greatest tunes and talent the country has to offer. Past events have showcased everyone from Gang of Youths, Flume, Thelma Plum, Tash Sultana, Sampa the Great, Courtney Barnett and Cub Sport to San Cisco, Violent Soho, Baker Boy, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Methyl Ethel, Tones and I, Spacey Jane and The Jungle Giants, so BIGSOUND's program is usually a very reliable bellwether. If your spring routine usually involves bar-hopping around Brisbane while listening to bands — whether you're a local or you head north for the event — mark your calendars accordingly. And if you're an artist looking to take part in the event in general, applications are now open until Tuesday, May 2. BIGSOUND 2023 will take place between Tuesday, September 5–Friday, September 8 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information — or to apply to take part if you're an artist — visit bigsound.org.au. Images: Lachlan Douglas / Bianca Holderness.
If you like your spirits dark and your booze collection could use a top-up, then we know an excellent Aussie choice to add to that shopping list. Melbourne distiller The Gospel just cleaned up in the 2023 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) earlier this week. The Brunswick-based producer took out a gold medal in the prestigious awards, earning a score of 96 points from the judges for its signature Straight Rye Whiskey. That impressive effort resulted in the sip being the highest-awarded Aussie whiskey in the entire competition. But wait, there's more. The Gospel's score also saw it become the equal second highest ranked rye whisky in the world. Not too shabby for a small distillery located in the backstreets of Melbourne's inner north. Judges described the drop as being "decadent and complex", noting: "the palate is harmonious and well-balanced, leading to a memorable finish." And it wasn't the only Gospel creation that impressed, with the team's Solera Rye Whiskey nabbing its own silver medal at the awards. This year's IWSC pulled more than 4100 entries from across the world, with more than 250 expert judges tasked with sipping, critiquing and awarding them. Thought to be Australia's only dedicated rye whiskey distillery, The Gospel crafts its booze using unmalted rye from just one farmer, who's located in South Australia's Murray Mallee region. It's helmed by Ian Thorn, the first maker in Australia to score Master Distiller accreditation. If you're keen to sample more of the distillery's work, The Gospel's also just dropped a new limited-edition cacao husk liqueur for Easter, made in collaboration with the chocolate masters at Mork. The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey is available to buy from the website, as well as at select bottle shops across Australia.
What's better than watching a heap of top Australian talent sit around and talk about music? Watching them do all of the above while answering questions, competing for points and just generally being funny, too. That's the concept behind ABC TV show Spicks and Specks, which took a few cues from the UK's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, pit Aussie musos and comedians against each other, and has proven a hit several times over. It was a weekly favourite when it first aired between 2005–2011 — and it will be again this year. As fans will already know, Spicks and Specks just keeps coming back; however, that has meant different things over the years. When the program was first revived back in 2014, it did so with a new host and team captains, for instance. And when it started to make a return with its original lineup of Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough, it first did so via a one-off reunion special. That 2018 comeback proved more than a little popular. It became the ABC's most-watched show of that year, in fact. So, the broadcaster then decided to drop four new Spicks and Specks specials across 2019–20 and, for 2021, to bring back Spicks and Specks in its regular format. As first announced last year, the show is returning for a full season — and, as the broadcaster has just revealed, it'll kick off on Sunday, April 18 at 7.40pm. You'll be able to watch it on TV when it airs, or stream it via iView afterwards. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ABC TV + iview (@abctv) Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough are all settling back into their old chairs, obviously; however, who'll be joining them as guests hasn't been revealed. Still, you can add playing along with the show from your couch to your end-of-weekend plans from next month. Spicks and Specks will return to ABC TV for a regular full season from 7.40pm on Sunday, April 18. You'll also be able to stream the series via ABC iView.
Do you remember how Nokia got us feeling all nostalgic by re-releasing its iconic 3310 handset earlier this year, only to crush our dreams by making it available only in 2G? Well now owner HMD is righting its wrongs, last night relaunching the much-loved phone in 3G, complete with the device's hit game, Snake. That's right, the best-selling handset is set to make a proper comeback, Snake and all. It will be released in Australia from mid-October. A new-school riff on a handset first released back in 2000, this little guy comes in two distinct matte colours (azure and charcoal), retails at just $89.95 and boasts a six-and-a-half-hour talk time. It also features a new-and-improved customisable user interface, with an online browser that has Facebook and Twitter capabilities. Best of all, it's got an extra long battery life — just like they used to make 'em back in the day. So you'll be able to text your mates and play Snake all night. The reborn Nokia 3310 3G will be available this October from JB-Hi Fi, Harvey Norman and on pre-paid through Vodafone and select Optus retailers. For more info visit nokia.com.
"So, how long have you been dead?" If you're a vampire being interviewed, that's the kind of opening question that's bound to come your way. More queries obviously have to follow, but it's a helluva ice-breaker — and, in the new Interview with a Vampire TV series, it's slung Louis de Pointe du Lac's way. Set to arrive in October — in Australia via AMC+ from Sunday, October 2, with New Zealand details still to be announced — this new small-screen adaptation of Anne Rice's 1976 gothic horror novel of the same name sparks plenty of questions itself, too. No, Brad Pitt doesn't play Louis, as he did almost 30 years ago in the 1994 movie. No, Tom Cruise doesn't play fellow vamp Lestat de Lioncourt again either. And you can guess the answers to your next two queries: no, Kirsten Dunst isn't back as Claudia, and neither is Christian Slater as the interviewer. All those characters feature here, though, with the Interview with a Vampire series retelling Louis, Lestat and Claudia's tale. If you remember the flick — the film that helped push Dunst to fame as a child, well before she was an Oscar-nominee for The Power of the Dog — you'll know that it steps through the undead trio's not-quite-lives (being eternally undead might be the better way to describe it). This time, Jacob Anderson — aka Game of Thrones' Grey Worm — is the New Orleans resident who can't resist the offer to live forever. Playing Lestat to his Louis is Australian actor Sam Reid (The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson). As for child vampire Claudia, Bailey Bass (Psycho Sweet 16) does the honours, with the always-welcome Eric Bogosian (Succession) as probing interviewer Daniel Molloy. Like plenty of other upcoming movies and TV shows did — such as The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Interview with the Vampire dropped its first sneak peek at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. With Louis' story starting in the 1900s, it's big on period details and costuming, plus a sweeping mood. And yes, reviving 90s movies as a series is a trend that shows no signs of dying — like interviewed vampires — given that Interview with the Vampire will hit streaming queues less than two months after the new TV version of A League of Their Own does the same. Also, Interview with the Vampire joins the film-to-TV vampire ranks, too, alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer and What We Do in the Shadows. Check out the Interview with the Vampire trailer below: Interview with the Vampire will start streaming in Australia viaAMC+ from Sunday, October 2. We'll update you with New Zealand details when they become available. Images: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC.
Two decades ago, a new Christmas tradition was born: watching a whole heap of stars revel in romance, comedy and the festive spirit in what's now the quintessential British seasonal rom-com. It was back in 2003 that Love Actually debuted on the big screen, bringing with it familiar faces, songs and eight intertwined tales. Everyone knows how that went, especially given that no one has stopped talking about it since. When the end of the year hits, if you get 'Christmas is All Around' sung by Bill Nighy (Living) stuck in your head, then you're definitely aware of Love Actually's popularity. If you've ever held up a piece of cardboard to tell the object of your affection that to you they're perfect, you do as well. Missed it on the big screen 20 years back, whether you gave it a pass or weren't old enough to be interested in English romantic comedies? It's now returning to cinemas in December to celebrate its anniversary. Getting festive watching Nighy, Hugh Grant (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), Liam Neeson (Retribution), Colin Firth (Empire of Light), Laura Linney (Ozark), Alan Rickman (Eye in the Sky), Emma Thompson (Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical), Keira Knightley (Boston Strangler), Martin Freeman (Secret Invasion), Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) in the same movie on the silver screen hasn't been absent from anyone's calendars of late. Outdoor cinemas give Love Actually a spin at this time of year, and an in-concert version does the rounds. But instead of getting one-off sessions here and there, the film is heading back to picture palaces in general release from Thursday, December 7. Accordingly, your December routine — one that's shared by many — can now include hitting up your local like it's 2003 again to revisit the Richard Curtis-written and -directed flick. Love Actually marked Curtis' first effort as a helmer after penning the screenplays for the Grant-starring Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary, and also writing for Blackadder and French and Saunders. On offer: interweaved Yuletide stories of romance, with Christmas and love all around everyone from rock 'n' roll singers, the Prime Minister of the UK and long-married couples to film stand-ins and school kids with crushes. Love Actually's anniversary season will screen the movie in a new 4K presentation, and feature ten minutes with the feature's cast and crew as they look back on their involvement in the film. Check out the trailer for Love Actually below: Love Actually will return to cinemas from Thursday, December 7, 2023.
Based on Leslye Headland's play, Bachelorette is a comedy that tells the story of three best friends from high school turn bridesmaids. Their less-attractive friend, Becky (Rebel Wilson), is getting married, and the competitive Regan (Kirsten Dunst) accepts her role as maid of honour. Gena (Lizzy Caplan) is on a mission to confront her high school ex after he left her bitter with a broken heart, whilst Katie (Isla Fisher), the last of the bridesmaids, adds some extra laughs with her sometimes ditzy personality and impulsive sass. Bachelorette combines humour, drunken romance and the dynamic of female relationships in a raunchy and intoxicated weekend that these women will certainly never forget. The film will be released in cinemas November 1. Thanks to Hopscotch, Concrete Playground has ten double passes to giveaway. To go in the running just subscribe to Concrete Playground (if you haven't already) then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au
Juniper has come a long way — from curing stomach pains and repelling snakes to burning sprigs to ward off the plague, and on to its most common use today in our beloved gin. To dig deep into the history of the botanical tipple, we spoke to master distiller Joanne Moore from Greenall's Gin (produced at England's oldest gin distillery — G&J Distillers) for advice on bluffing our way through junipers and genevers to get to the good stuff: gin. WHY DOES GIN HAVE AN EMOTIONAL REPUTATION? There are two sorts of people who drink gin: one, that after a touch grazing the lips, starts to bare their heart and soul and drags you into a D&M, and the latter, a shark-fresh-outta-water sort who can sink snooker balls like it ain't nobody's business. So what's the deal, Joanne? "I think this stems from the poor reputation of gin following the gin craze of the early 18th-century when there was no regulation around making it. The result was a lot of 'gins' of dubious quality being drunk, which was immortalised by William Hogarth's infamous painting of Gin Lane. There's nothing in gin that would make you cry any more than if you drank the same quantity of another product with the same alcohol level." [caption id="attachment_663983" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Letícia Almeida.[/caption] THE TASTE OF A GOOD GIN First up, genevers. We know this to be the drink that begat gin; the older Dutch spirit cousin you might say. But what else should bluffers know about gin to charm all their mates? "London dry gins, such as Greenall's original, are traditionally distilled white spirits, made from three building blocks: grain spirit (in Greenall's case, English wheat), botanicals and water. The only botanical we have to use to be legally defined as a gin is juniper berries, and for london dry, this should be the predominant aroma. "A good gin should have recognisable juniper notes — after all, that's what legally defines a gin — so, it should be dry, not overtly sweet, balanced and have a good soft mouthfeel. It shouldn't be too harsh or burning to the taste. "Much like wine tasting, gin tasting uses the same basic principles. Aerate your glass and nose the aromas, as your sense of smell signals to your brain what you are going to taste. There's no need to hold the spirit in your mouth like you do with wine though, just sip and enjoy," says Joanne. [caption id="attachment_638855" align="alignnone" width="1620"] Brook James.[/caption] A PERFECT TIME AND PLACE Like rosé to spring, red to winter and white to summer, is there a best time to drink gin? "That's a difficult one to answer as it all depends on the individual, how they feel and what sort of day they have had — do they want a long drink like a refreshing G&T, a cocktail or a short drink? For me, that's the real beauty behind gin. It's so versatile that you can drink it responsibly in lots of places," says Joanne. AN OPTIMAL VESSEL Now we know when we should be drinking gin, but what about how we should be drinking it? Are there certain vessels that are better than others? "It could be argued that for the optimum drinking experience, you need a glass with a narrow neck to allow the concentration of aromas to be appreciated. Plus, glass as a material is better suited than say, plastic, as it doesn't contain any elements that could potentially react with your spirit and leach into your drink." [caption id="attachment_663977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Letícia Almeida.[/caption] HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT G&T A classic gin and tonic can be traced back to when colonial Britain spread its tentacles across the world and the English encountered a whole range of new tropical diseases, including malaria. To try to combat the disease, troops in India were given rations of the very bitter cinchona bark, which contains quinine, a treatment for malaria. And from there, these wily soldiers mixed their rations with sugar, soda water and gin to make it more palatable. Now, when mates come over to celebrate being malaria free — or really for any occasion — we tend to go for a splash mighty enough to fill half a glass. What's the best way to mix up a good ol' G&T? "Gin is best served chilled with a good quality mixer and appropriate garnish to bring out the key flavours. For mixing a classic G&T with Greenall's gin, we recommend using some good quality tonic such as Fever Tree, lots of ice and a wedge of lime to bring out the rounded juniper notes, warm earthy spice and mature citrus notes of our Greenall's Original gin recipe. "It's also important to mix the gin and tonic to avoid layering flavours. Mixing allows the two to marry together and complement each other." WHAT'S TRENDING? Throughout gin's long life many trends have come and gone. There have been gins made with ants and seaweed, gins bottled with flecks of gold and turkey-flavoured gin (yes, really). Luckily, the latest trend is a bit more palatable (or, if we may, palette-able). While gin may traditionally be clear, that's no longer the hard-and-fast rule. And gin's colour of the moment is pink. Was it inspired by Regina George's midweek mantra? The millennial colour of the moment? A certain animated feline detective? We don't know. But we do know that it certainly adds an extra shade to your G&T. And, in the case of Greenall's Wild Berry gin, it tastes good too. This variation of the pink libation is made with natural blackberry and raspberry flavouring. As you'd expect, it has berry notes (on the nose and tongue) but the combination with juniper botanicals gives the drink a warming spice and slightly peppery after tones. [caption id="attachment_663980" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Letícia Almeida.[/caption] AND FINALLY, SHAKEN, STIRRED OR THROWN? The martini is the quintessential gin cocktail, a blend of gin and vermouth mixed to the drinker's exact specifications. But when you order a martini should you ask for it shaken, stirred or thrown? Many people will tell you there is a definitive answer, but the only difference is that the ice breaks into smaller chips and waters down the martini when you shake the cocktail. Joanne say, "too much ice doesn't dilute gin, but it does keep it chilled, dulling the effect of the alcohol in the mouth and making for a more pleasant drink." So tosh to them; drink it how you like, we say. Grab a bottle of Greenall's, throw that dry martini, aerate until it breaks into tiny droplets, serve in a chilled glass and don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong. Header image: Brook James.
Brisbane's new public transport lines are still five years away from being completely operational; however, that hasn't stopped the proposed system from getting bigger. Initially planned to span 21 kilometres and 18 stations across two routes, the Brisbane Metro plans have now been expanded to include Chermside, Carindale and Springwood. Brisbanes Times is reporting that the Brisbane City Council aims to extend its existing proposal, which had outlined two lines — one between Eight Mile Plains and Roma Street to take care of southern residents, and the second linking the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital to the University of Queensland. A Carindale route would tie in with the first line, while a Chermside track would connect to the second. Heading down to Springwood would involve lengthening the Eight Mile Plains line along the South East Busway. While construction isn't expected to start until 2018 for a 2022 completion, the idea of offering more frequent public transport services in more places throughout Brisbane can only be a good thing, as anyone who has suffered through the current mess of unreliable and infrequent services — aka everyone in the city — can no doubt agree. The project is currently in its feedback phase, with the Council hosting public sessions in the CBD, Holland Park, Woolloongabba and Upper Mount Gravatt until the end of April, before a preliminary business case is due to be delivered in May. For more information, head to the Brisbane Metro website. Via Brisbane Times.
