If you're looking for a place to drink a few beers, have a few chats with your mates and tuck into a bite or two, Stone & Wood has been giving Brisbanites just that for a couple of years now — all thanks to its Brissie brewery in Fortitude Valley, which set up shop in 2019. From Sunday, July 11, you can add something else to your to-do list while you're sipping, talking and eating here, too. That's when the Bridge Street spot will be breaking out its new Sunday Sessions. Obviously, the beer side of things is easy. That's what happens in an eight-hectolitre brewhouse and tasting room, after all. Also on the bill at this regular event: live tunes, with the lineup changing each week. Jack Bratt, Chris Palmer, Kristie Lea Roberts — they're some of the names that'll be keeping you entertained from 2.30pm every Sunday. The bill will keep evolving from there, which means you've got an excuse to head along more than once (well, an excuse other than brews, that is.)
Whitehaven's seven-kilometre-long perfect arc of white sand is The Whitsundays' poster girl. And, thanks to her handy campground, you can join her for a sleepover. Protected by shady coastal eucalypts and beyond the clutches of mobile coverage, let your days pass by in a hammock haze — when you're not swimming in Blue Lagoon-esque waters or walking to Hilltop Inlet, that is. To get here, catch a boat from Airlie Beach. Facilities are limited to hybrid toilets and picnic tables. There's a cap of 36 campers across seven pitches, so bookings are essential. Images: Tourism and Events Queensland
Before 2022, no one knew that they needed to hear David Attenborough talk about dinosaurs while watching spectacular photo-realistic recreations of the planet's ancient creatures. Then Prehistoric Planet arrived, giving Apple TV+ viewers a five-episode documentary series all about the extinct beasts paired with the perfect narration. It was pitched to audiences as a one-off, and instantly and unsurprisingly proved one of 2022's best new shows. Indeed, it was such a success that it's now returning for season two in May — and that new five-instalment run now has its first trailer. Get ready for a brand-new run filled with dino love, plus Attenborough's trusty voice talking us through it. The streaming service announced the roaringly great news about the show's return back in March; however, the trailer provides a debut glimpse at what's in store. In the words of the one and only Attenborough himself, expect "more adventure, more danger and more dinosaurs". Prehistoric Planet's second season is a five-part nightly event again. Across Monday, May 22–Friday, May 26, one instalment will arrive each day, serving up more informative insights and more of Hans Zimmer's soundtrack as well. This time around, the team at BBC Studios Natural History will be using photorealistic visual effects by MPC — the kind that series executive producer Jon Favreau deployed in his versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King — to focus on new dinosaurs, habitats and scientific discoveries. So, you'll spend time with the long-necked, plant-eating Isisaurus, which inhabited an extreme volcanic region; the feathered bird-like dino Pectinodon; and prehistoric flying reptiles Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, which were the biggest creatures ever to soar the skies. That said, the Tyrannosaurus rex will be back among other prehistoric favourites. Of course it will. What's better than one of the Attenborough siblings marvelling over our planet's ancient creatures? None other than David following in his brother Richard's footsteps, of course, just as it was in 2022. While the latter showed dinos some love back in Jurassic Park — with the now-late actor and filmmaker even uttering the iconic words "welcome to Jurassic Park" — his broadcaster, biologist and natural historian sibling largely surveyed the rest of the earth's living creatures in his iconic documentaries before Prehistoric Planet. With its first season, the show instantly earned its place among David Attenborough other doco highlights — a list that spans The Living Planet, State of the Planet, The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet II, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet and Green Planet, as well as Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, plus documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet), just to name a few. Check out the first teaser trailer for Prehistoric Planet's second season below: Prehistoric Planet season two will hit Apple TV+ across Monday, May 22–Friday, May 26, with a new episode available to stream each day. Read our full review of Prehistoric Planet season one.
UPDATE, March 15, 2021: Skate Kitchen is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. Skate Kitchen begins with a board, a banged-up pelvis and blood gushing down a leg. But stacking it once isn't going to keep Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) from shredding, grinding and nosesliding. Nor are stitches in her nether regions, or her mother's (Elizabeth Rodriguez) insistence that she give up her hobby. Instead, the film takes Camille gliding from the parks and pavements of Long Island to the streets of Manhattan, where a gang of girls skate like the city is their playground. They're the Skate Kitchen of Skate Kitchen. An all-female collective, they air, ollie and amble around town. They hang out, smoke joints, and shoot the breeze about anything and everything. They snap and record their tricks and kickflips, immortalising their antics on Instagram. And when they welcome Camille into the fold, it changes everything for the reserved, quiet 18-year-old. Early in what proves a laidback but layered movie, filmmaker Crystal Moselle captures Skate Kitchen's leisurely vibe and the effect it has on her picture's teenage protagonist. The irrepressibly catchy beats of Junior Senior's 'Move Your Feet' take over the soundtrack as the girls walk, dance and skate their way through New York City, and Camille couldn't look happier. As well as sending the film's frames freewheeling along with the group, cinematographer Shabier Kirchner cloaks his images in a warm glow — the kind that exists in your mind when you're simply content, regardless of what your eyes actually see. It's an ethereal sequence, and yet it's also grounded in naturalism. Sunny, carefree, comforting, vibrant: that's just how being part of Skate Kitchen feels. That's how watching Skate Kitchen feels as well, although Moselle's isn't a rosy coming-of-age portrait devoid of drama. Narrative-wise, the movie charts the push-and-pull that characterises Camille's life — first between the freedom of skating and the scolding of her overprotective mum, then between friends and family, and later between her new buddies and the wannabe photographer Devon (a flame-haired Jaden Smith) who they try to warn her away from. And, while the film marks Moselle's first fictional movie, Skate Kitchen itself is real. The endlessly fascinating Vinberg is one of its crew members. So is the scene-stealing Nina Moran, who plays the joker of the gang, as well as the affectionate Ardelia Lovelace, who becomes Camille's closest friend. Here, art both imitates life and does its utmost best to represent it accurately — even when sometimes packaged with a visual sheen that'd do Sofia Coppola proud. It's unmistakably rare to see a film featuring such authentic and candid conversations between teen girls. Such a diverse yet nuanced female group, spanning different races, sexualities and personalities, is hardly regular screen fodder either. And that's before noting the obvious: that depicting young women as skateboarders, letting them carve out a place in a male-dominated domain, and spending time with them just kicking around is so uncommon that it's almost revolutionary. Indeed, that's exactly why the movie's dreamy aesthetic is such a fitting choice. Until now, a film set in this world — that's intent on fighting back against gendered expectations, and that seems so achingly real — was basically a dream. Moselle knows a thing or two about stepping into an overlooked or undiscovered realm and revealing it to the masses. In 2015, her documentary The Wolfpack was a festival circuit hit, centring on seven home-schooled New York siblings — six boys and their sister — who were virtually forbidden to leave the house by their strict father. To experience the outside world, the factual flick's subjects escaped into movies, which they not only devoured on DVD but re-enacted and re-staged in an elaborate fashion. Skate Kitchen is The Wolfpack's fictionalised female-focused counterpart in many ways, and it also sees Moselle take her doco's core idea to the next level. There, cinema helped a sheltered family feel like they existed. Here, skateboarding does just that for a lonely soul, while the overall film will provide the same sensation for anyone who has ever been a teenage girl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VTFLvLtdYw
With a title that speaks of next generations, The Son is a film about second efforts, including off-screen. For writer/director Florian Zeller, it marks the French novelist and playwright's sophomore stint behind the camera, and notches the list of movies he's helmed based on his own stage works up to two as well. After dual Oscar-winner The Father, which earned Zeller and co-scribe Christopher Hampton the Best Adapted Screenplay award and Anthony Hopkins the much-deserved Best Actor prize, it's also his second feature with a family member in its title. And, it's his second largely confined to interior settings, focusing on mental illness, exploring complicated father-child relationships within that intimate domestic space and driven by intense dialogue spouted by a committed cast. Hopkins pops up once more in another psychodrama, too, as a dad again. Within its frames, The Son follows New York lawyer Peter Miller (Hugh Jackman, Reminiscence) as he's happily starting over with his second wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman) and their newborn Theo, his second son. Here's the thing about second chances, though: sometimes your first shots can't simply be forgotten, no matter how eager you are to move on. Peter confronts this truth when his ex-spouse Kate (Laura Dern, Jurassic World Dominion) unexpectedly knocks at his door one day, distraught about learning that their 17-year-old Nicholas (Zen McGrath, Red Dog: True Blue) has been ditching school long-term. The teen hasn't been a contented presence around her home since his dad left, either, with depression setting in after such a big upheaval to his status quo. So, Peter and Kate agree to a parental rekindling, with Peter giving being an active dad to Nicholas — having him come to live with him, Beth and Theo, in fact — a second go. Can lightning strike twice, for Zeller and for Peter? Once again co-writing with Hampton (who nabbed his first Oscar for adapting 1988's Dangerous Liaisons, and another nomination for his work on Atonement), The Son's creative force wants that to be a complicated question — and it is. In his layered narrative, Zeller keeps playing up doubles and playing with duality, including the varying ways that Peter treats his two boys, the push and pull of work and home as a new career opportunity arises, Nicholas' mood and attitude with two differing maternal figures, and the impact of Peter's own fraught relationship with his hard-nosed father (Hopkins, Armageddon Time). The latter is a dynamic that Peter doesn't have fond feelings about and is desperate not to reprise, but we all know what they say about history repeating. Accordingly, for The Son's increasingly exasperated patriarch, lightning striking twice is a double-edged sword. In all of the above, from the moment that it begins with Peter, Beth and Theo at home, then talks about Nicholas, his troubles and mental state before introducing him, The Son is firmly aligned with Peter. Consequently, it's also stressed by a big struggle: truly comprehending Nicholas. The Father, whose shadow the often-clinical The Son will always be under — yes, the connection between Zeller's first two movies mimics the connection between the characters in his second flick — was the masterpiece it was by bringing its namesake's mindset to the screen. Zeller surrounded Hopkins' brilliant performance with immersive cinematography that plunged his audience into the confusion, disruption and distress of experiencing dementia. With The Son, teen anxiety, truancy and the scarred arms that indicate suicidal ideation are things to talk about, brood over and saddle with Chekhovian logic rather than attempt to deeply understand. Set to a solemn score by Hans Zimmer (Prehistoric Planet), Zeller's latest film is filled with pain, hurt and devastation, clearly, but also distance from the person who's meant to be so pivotal that the picture is literally named after him. That said, the movie's moniker is revealing — because it's barely interested in fleshing out Nicholas as a person beyond being a son that Peter has to deal with due to the bonds of blood and the weight of regret. One of the feature's big emotional arcs charts Peter's growing realisation that being a parent is about genuinely seeing and accepting your child for who they are, and working to help them be the best version of themselves that they want to be instead of who you envision. It culminates in a stunning payoff sequence, but if only The Son paid more attention more often to who Nicholas is beyond his cutting anger, physical cuts, and Peter, Beth and Kate's reactions to him. If only The Son also spent more time showing rather than telling — indeed, with its talk-heavy screenplay always betraying the story's stage origins, it devotes almost all of its efforts to telling. Again, even with cinematographer Ben Smithard lensing both here and for The Father, his current work for Zeller peers on rather than dives in. It's a testament to Jackman and McGrath's performances that The Son is as engaging as it is, however, and as dripping with raw emotion. Both Australian talents, one famous for decades at home and abroad, the other an impressive up-and-comer to watch, their duel of words, heartache, expectations and internalised dismay is finely tuned and gripping. Alongside Jackman's one-scene face-off with Hopkins, their still-stagey but compelling one-on-ones are the film's showpieces. On the stage, The Father and The Son are the two parts of a thematic trilogy, completed by Zeller's The Mother — which, in its off-Broadway run in 2019, starred incomparable French icon Isabelle Huppert (an Oscar-nominee herself for 2016's Elle). Whether it too will make it to the movies is yet to be seen, but the two mums of The Son are sadly pushed aside. The always-great Dern and Kirby make the most they can of thin parts, though always deserving better, the two actors conveying a mother's and a stepmother's fears, anguish and hopes, respectively. They also share one of the film's key tussles: appreciating and unpacking its characters, Peter, Beth and Kate alike, and Nicholas especially, as more than their familial labels.
In a year when so many opportunities to experience new things have been taken away, we've got fresh appetite for getting out and about in Queensland. And that zest for adventure likely extends to those on your Christmas shopping list, too — especially for those who stocked up on nice things during the long days in lockdown, bored of what surrounds them at home. To help you forgo run-of-the-mill gifts this year, we've partnered with Square, to bring you six next-level experiences from independent Queensland-based companies. There are day trips, sailing lessons, private skateboarding tutorials and the chance to hug an alpaca. All considerably more exciting than another box of chocolates. If you are a small business owner, Square has the tools you need to take payments and maximise your sales, including an ebook with tips to help you get started this holiday season. [caption id="attachment_793330" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] ALPACA EXPERIENCE, MOUNTVIEW FARM ($38) If you've got an animal lover on your list, this alpaca farm is located on a vineyard could tick multiple boxes. For the same cost as an upmarket cocktail, you can walk around the vines with your cute new mate on a lead, giving them a squeeze and feeding them from a bag of alpaca treats along the way. You can choose from the 15-minute Meet an Alpaca experience for $23, or drop $38 to spend twice as long with your fluffy new friend. You can also bolt on extras, like picnic hampers, pizzas and plush toys to take home. Or, opt for a gift card (starting from $25), to spend at a later date. [caption id="attachment_793329" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] COTTAGE FARMSTAY, TOMMERUP'S DAIRY FARM ($350) Buying for someone special? Book in for a farmstead stay in the Scenic Rim region and forget all about the challenges 2020 has thrown our way. Tommerup's Dairy Farm is a sixth-generation working farm located in the Lost World Valley with two picturesque properties available to hire on weekends (as it's a working farm during the week). The Cottage starts from $350 per night for two adults and two kids and it includes an 1880s four-poster bed, a barbecue and deck overlooking the farm as well as modern conveniences like a TV and dishwasher. You can also take up the opportunity to feed cows, collect eggs and go fishing on the property, all included in the cost. [caption id="attachment_793334" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] TWO-HOUR SAILING EXPERIENCE, LEARN 2 SAIL ($195) It's been the year of new hobbies, but most have been keeping us indoors and isolated. If you have an adventurer on your gift list, consider buying them an experience that'll give them new skills and get them out on the open water. Operating from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Learn 2 Sail offers two-hour sailing experiences from $195 per person, which gives each wannabe sailor the opportunity to trim the sails, helm the keelboat and (hopefully) spot a dolphin or two as they cruise around. You can book for solo experiences, for two ($390) or for four people ($780). GREAT KEPPEL ISLAND DAY TOUR, KEPPEL EXPLORER ($150) Now, with Great Keppel Island being at least a day's drive from Brisbane, we know this experience isn't going to cost just $150; there's accommodation, the drive up and more to consider. However, if you're already planning a trip north and looking for experiences to surprise a loved one with, this day trip with Keppel Explorers could be the solution. In a five-hour, scenic boat tour, you can explore Great Keppel Island and all its wonders, including stops for snorkelling, picnics, visiting sea caves and volcanic rock formations, as well as seeing 20 beaches across five islands. And, if that sounds like something you'd love to do but can't commit to right now, you can also buy a gift card which is valid for 12 months from purchase. JET BOAT THRILL RIDE, GC JET BOATING ($65) When you're stuck for ideas for a gift, look for something that screams 'fun'. This one-hour V8 Jet Boat Thrill Ride hits speeds of 75 kilometres per hour, spinning at high speed and soaking everyone onboard. Each ride around Gold Coast's Broadwater costs $65 per adult and it includes brief stops around South Stradbroke Island, Wave Break Island, Southport Seaway and the Sovereign Islands, so you can take a stickybeak at the multimillion-dollar mansions. You can either book in for a future trip, or buy a gift voucher that's valid for 12 months from purchase. SKATEBOARDING LESSONS, CHIGGY'S SKATEBOARDING ($75) Named for the founder who has been perfecting kickflips since 1999, Chiggy's Skateboarding has been a magnet for grinders in the Coolum Beach area for years. Chiggy's team runs sessions for skaters of all ages and abilities, and you can book into its Indoor Skate Park classes online. When buying a gift, the one-hour private skating lessons are good value. For $75, you can pick your coach and lessons are tailored to the skater's abilities. Find out how Square is supporting small businesses with the tools they need to grow, here. If you are a small business owner, Square has guidance on how best to maximise sales in the run up to the Christmas holiday period in its ebook, found here. Top image: Keppel Explorer.
There's rarely a still moment in BlackBerry. Someone is almost always moving, usually in a hurry and while trying to make their dreams come true everywhere and anywhere. Those folks: Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel, FUBAR) and Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson, Anne at 13,000 Ft), who created the game-changing smartphone that shares this movie's name; also Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), the executive they pitch to, get knocked back by, then hire as co-CEO. That near non-stop go-go-go look and feel — cinematography that's constantly roving and zooming to match, too — isn't just a stylistic, screenwriting or performance choice. It's a case of art imitating the impact that the BlackBerry handsets and their tiny QWERTY keyboards had on late-90s and early-00s life. Before the iPhone and its fellow touchscreen competitors took over, it was the key device for anyone with a work mobile. The big selling point? Letting people do their jobs — well, receive and send emails — on the move, and everywhere and anywhere. Should you blame Research in Motion, the Canadian technology company that Lazaridis and Fregin founded, for shattering work-life balance? Dubbed "crackberries", their phones played a significant part in extending the office's reach. Is anyone being inundated with after-hours emails on a BlackBerry today? Unless they have an old handset in their button-pressing hands, it isn't likely — and BlackBerry the film explains why. Spinning on-screen product origin stories is one of 2023's favourites trend, as Tetris, Air and Flamin' Hot have demonstrated; however, history already dictates that the latest addition to that group doesn't have a happy ending. Instead, this immersive and gripping picture tells of two friends with big plans who achieved everything they ever wanted, but at a cost that saw the BlackBerry become everything, then nothing. Like its fellow object-to-screen flicks, it follows a big leap that went soaring; this one just crashed spectacularly afterwards. "A pager, a cell phone and an e-mail machine all in one": that's how Mike and Doug explain the PocketLink, the idea that'll turn into the BlackBerry, when they're trying to drum up investors. It's a winning concept, including in 1996 when the film kicks off, but these two pals know computers, coding and tech better than getting their creation out into the world. Balsillie, after rejecting them in a job he's feeling undervalued in, approaches the pair with an offer to assist. Give him a title, authority and a stake in the company, and he'll put in his own cash, become their business saviour and get their phone out into the world. And he does. BlackBerry devices were everywhere in the 2000s. Then Steve Jobs launched the handset that's become ubiquitous since, RIM responded, and the aftermath is well-known in everyone's pockets. There's a cautionary-tale air to this quickly compelling third feature from Johnson, who doesn't just slip into Doug's shoes while rocking an ever-present red headband — he directs and writes, as he did with The Dirties and Operation Avalanche, co-scripting here with Matthew Miller (Nirvanna the Band the Show, another Johnson-starring and -helmed project). BlackBerry isn't content to merely chart an upswing and downfall, plus a trouncing by a corporate adversary, digging into the perils of at-any-cost perspectives in every frame. Always as glaringly evident as a BlackBerry's buttons: if RIM hadn't made short-sighted choices and shady deals, cut corners, and played everything fast and loose while splashing around cash, the film mightn't wrap up as it does irrespective of the iPhone's success. Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs inspired dramas (see: The Social Network, Jobs and Steve Jobs), but Lazaridis, Fregin and Balsillie have sparked a tragedy meets farce. Stepping through IRL events that concluded badly, famously so, doesn't stop Johnson from staying playful as a filmmaker. Indeed, BlackBerry is firmly a satire. Non-fiction book Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry by journalists Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff provides the movie's starting-off point, the overall rise-and-fall arc sticks to the facts, and the era-appropriate aesthetic and pop-culture references — including The Strokes, Moby and The White Stripes needle drops; The Breakfast Club quotes; and Point Break posters — are spot on, but this flick would also go well with The Office or Office Space. The core character dynamic demands a sense of humour, pairing a smart but socially awkward couple of mates with big hopes with a ruthless and shark-like salesman. Reality demands it, too, with the film taking a "what else can you do but laugh?" approach to capitalism in action at its worst. That restless, shaky, zipping-around cinematography by Jared Raab (also The Dirties, Operation Avalanche and Nirvanna the Band the Show, plus We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel)) captures plenty that's ridiculous and yet also never surprising. BlackBerry is an eager parody — it purposefully isn't 100-percent accurate in every single detail, and it's as offbeat in vibe as Johnson's past work — but the peppily paced picture remains affectionate about an undersung chapter of Canadian history. So, it chuckles, boggles and chronicles. It perfects the gist of RIM's journey to great heights and back to earth again so savvily that everything feels authentic (emotionally at least) and winking at once. BlackBerry makes cheeky jokes about the device's name, shows LANs and movie nights that couldn't be further away from the corporate normality, giggles when eye-watering figures are thrown at other company's employees and lets Howerton lean into the cut-throat exec type with visible relish — and always keeps clicking as a portrait of faking it till you make it, chasing a quick win over a long-term plan, tech-industry greed and hubris, and selling out over going with your gut. The cast, especially Howerton, buzz on the film's wavelength on the strongest setting possible. While he'll forever be Dennis Reynolds, as he has on the small screen across 16 seasons so far since 2005, he's also a powerhouse as the relentlessly calculating, hockey-loving, take-no-prisoners figure who knows that he's a predator — and he's equally and astutely hilarious. Sporting a shock of greying hair even while playing a thirtysomething, Baruchel is similarly excellent, and subtler. BlackBerry isn't chortling at Balsillie, or at Lazaridis and Fregin, though. Rather, it's amused by the fact that each does exactly what they were always bound to based on their personalities, taking RIM's tale down the only path they probably could with this trio thrust together at the helm. Blackberry phones were once a character-defining status symbol; this can't-look-away movie is three fascinating character studies inside a comedic corporate horror show.
Hearing about a new bridge in Brisbane is like seeing the sun shining above the River City: it happens all the time. We've been scoring additional river crossings for years now, and there's more on the way. But when Kangaroo Point's next green bridge opens in 2024, it'll also come with an overwater restaurant and bar, plus a cafe on its city landing. Accordingly, don't just get excited about a different way to stroll from the CBD to Kangaroo Point — a car-free route at that, given that the bridge will only be open to pedestrians and bicycles. Indeed, while this town of ours has more than a few eateries and watering holes either perched over the river or next to it (including plenty adjacent to river crossings), the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will mark a first for the city, because no other bridges have built-in bars and restaurants. It was back in 2021 that Brisbane learned of the in-development structure's plan to become a destination for eating and drinking as well, complete with an overwater venue and a cafe in its plaza area. Now, the Brisbane City Council has revealed a heap more details, including that two dining spots will open in 2024 — and that Tassis Group of Restaurants, the hospitality crew behind Opa Bar + Mezze, Yamas Greek + Drink and Massimo Restaurant and Bar, will be behind them. Tassis won the tender, and will open restaurant and bar Bombora for bites and drinks ten metres above the Brisbane River, plus the Mulga Bill's cafe to take care of bridge visitors' caffeine fix. "On the upper level, Bombora will be an elegant, modern celebration of Australia's land and sea, while Mulga Bill's (named after Banjo Patterson's poem) on the bridge level will offer casual all-day dining," explains Tassis Group Restaurateur and director Michael Tassis. Bombora takes its name from an Indigenous term for large sea waves that break over a submerged reef or sand bar, and will be an upscale dining and drinking experience to match its stunning location. Views are clearly a big highlight, which will span over the Brisbane River, CBD, Story Bridge and Kangaroo Point cliffs. Nothing has been revealed about the menu yet, but the venue's design will take its perch to heart, evoking moving water in a homage to its above-the-river spot. As for Mulga Bill's, it'll sit by the river in the new urban plaza that's being created on the corner of Edward and Alice streets. The cafe is pitched as a stopover spot for frequent bridge users, which it'll reflect in its bicycle-themed decor. And, food-wise, it'll serve up wood-fired pizzas, steak and seafood to eat in, plus pastries and picnic boxes to grab and go. Both venues are expected to score ample foot traffic. Indeed, more than 6000 pedestrians, cyclists and e-mobility riders are forecast to be using the bridge every day by 2036. "This is much more than just a bridge project — the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will become a must-visit dining destination for residents and visitors to Brisbane," said Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, announcing the new eateries. "Being able to stop for a meal or drink and sit more than ten metres above the Brisbane River is something that is sure to excite residents of all ages and draw tourists in droves." "The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will also provide the perfect way for people to explore our river city during the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come." Now under construction, the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will stretch between the corner of Alice and Edward streets in the CBD over to Scott Street at Kangaroo Point. Dedicated cycle and pedestrian paths are a big feature, with the bridge spanning a minimum width of 6.8 metres — and the design features a single-mast cable stayed structure, if you're wondering what it'll look like. The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge is one of two that the Brisbane City Council currently has in the works, including one from Albion to Newstead at Breakfast Creek. A couple of others are mooted; however, the structures from Toowong to West End and St Lucia to West End have been paused while the city recovers from 2022's floods. And yes, Brisbane is a city of bridges. Our governments can't get enough of them, it seems. In the CBD alone, we already have the Go Between Bridge, which caters for vehicles, cyclists and walkers between West End and Milton; the William Jolly Bridge that links Grey Street with North Quay; the foot traffic-only Kurilpa Bridge that runs from the Gallery of Modern Art over to Tank Street; the Victoria Bridge from QPAC to George Street; and the pedestrian-only Goodwill Bridge that spans from the southern end of South Bank over to the Queensland University of Technology. And, the Neville Bonner Bridge from the new Queen's Wharf precinct to the Cultural Centre Forecourt is currently under construction as well. Bombora and Mulga Bill's are slated to open on the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge in 2024. We'll update you with exact launch dates when they're announced. Images: Brisbane City Council.
Tame Impala had a busy 2019, headlining Coachella festival (alongside Childish Gambino) and Byron Bay's Splendour in the Grass. And it looks like 2020 is going to be equally jam-packed for Perth's favourite psychedelic outfit, with the band announcing their biggest ever Australian and NZ tour. Kicking things off in Auckland in April, the band will then hit up some of Australia's big stadium arenas — performing at Brisbane's Entertainment Centre, Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena, before heading to Adelaide and back to their Perth hometown. Led by Tame brain and frontman Kevin Parker, the band will perform songs off their highly anticipated fourth album The Slow Rush, which is set to drop on February 14, as well as their Aria chart-topping 2015 album Currents. In light of Australia's catastrophic bushfires, Parker has also announced that the band will donate $300,000 from the tour to bushfire relief charities. Such big shows deserve one heck of a support, too, and you'll get it in Texan instrumental three-piece Khruangbin. The trio's music is described as a mix of Thai-surf punk, Persian rock and 80s Algerian symphonia, and if you'd like to know just what that sounds like you can listen to their 2019 album Hasta El Cielo. [caption id="attachment_758160" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Khruangbin[/caption] TAME IMPALA 2020 AUSTRALIA AND NZ TOUR DATES Auckland — April 16, Spark Arena Brisbane — April 18, Brisbane Entertainment Centre Sydney — April 20, Qudos Bank Arena Melbourne — April 23, Rod Laver Arena Adelaide — April 25, Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena Perth — April 28, RAC Arena Tame Impala Fan Club, Laneway Presents, Chugg members and Frontier members pre-sales kick off at midday on Thursday, January 23. General tickets go on sale on Tuesday, January 28 10am local time for Australia and midday local time for NZ. Top image: Neil Krug
I think we can all admit it starts to get annoying when you see the same old artists at every festival, as if it's a clause in some Australian music law book to let them play every year (The Living End/Hilltop Hoods, I'm looking at you). One such band who could never fall into the annoying category are The Cat Empire, pioneers at the festival and gig game and who will never become just another band you roll your eyes at when the Next Generic Music Festival line-up is announced. In case you weren't aware of the big band experience that is The Cat Empire, they have been around for ten years now and are celebrating it in quite an original manner - they know you've probably seen them heaps of times in the last decade, but they want you to go back to the time you first saw them. Were you at The Zoo, crammed up with your face against the speaker? Or was it in a classier setting, such as The Tivoli? Well, to reignite your memory and your love for their jazzy upbeat sing-a-longs, The Cat Empire have given you the option of seeing them at either or both of these venues! Three of the four dates have sold out, so get your two shoes on and get in quick.
How do you make a huge Charli XCX-headlined festival lineup even bigger? If you're Laneway Festival 2025, you add a piece of Stranger Things to the bill. Before general tickets for next year's events go on sale, organisers have added Joe Keery to the lineup as Djo, who'll be performing live in Australia and New Zealand for the first time ever. When the roster of acts initially dropped, it sparked a question: how much green will be seen at 2025's Laneway Festival given that it's bringing Brat summer Down Under? Now, here's another: how glorious will Keery's hair be when the 'End of the Beginning' talent takes to the stage? [caption id="attachment_728611" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] Laneway has also announced another change, with the Sydney event moving locations. Instead of taking place at Sydney Showground, the fest's Harbour City stop is settling in at Centennial Park. For company when the event kicks off in Auckland on Thursday, February 6, the hits Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, Charlie XCX and Djo will be joined by Beabadoobee, Clairo, Barry Can't Swim and Remi Wolf. Also on the list: BICEP doing their CHROMA AV DJ set, Olivia Dean, Eyedress and Skegss — and STÜM, RONA, Hamdi, Joey Valence & Brae, 2hollis, Fcukers, Ninajirachi, Julie, Girl and Girl, and more. [caption id="attachment_975321" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harley Weir[/caption] The event started by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio in the mid-00s is playing Western Springs in Auckland, then hopping over the ditch to Brisbane Showgrounds, the aforementioned Centennial Park in Sydney, Melbourne's Flemington Park, Bonython Park in Adelaide and Wellington Square in Perth. Laneway joins the list of festivals locking in their comebacks after a tough year of cancellations across the live music scene, alongside Golden Plains, Bluesfest (for the last time), Wildlands, Good Things, Lost Paradise, Beyond The Valley and Meredith. Laneway Festival 2025 Lineup Charli XCX Beabadoobee Clairo Barry Can't Swim BICEP present CHROMA (AV DJ set) Djo Remi Wolf Olivia Dean Eyedress Skegss STÜM RONA Hamdi Joey Valence & Brae 2hollis Fcukers Ninajirachi Julie Girl and Girl + Triple J unearthed winners Laneway Festival 2025 Dates and Venues Thursday, February 6 – Western Springs, Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau Saturday, February 8 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane / Turrbal Targun Sunday, February 9 — Centennial Park, Sydney / Burramattagal Land & Wangal Land Friday, February 14 — Flemington Park, Melbourne / Wurundjeri Biik Saturday, February 15 — Bonython Park, Adelaide / Kaurna Yerta Sunday, February 16 — Wellington Square, Perth / Whadjuk Boodjar St Jerome's Laneway Festival is touring Australia and New Zealand in February 2025. Head to the festival's website for further details, and to get tickets in general sales from 10am local time on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Top Djo image: Guido Gazzilli. Laneway images: Charlie Hardy / Daniel Boud / Maclay Heriot / Cedric Tang.
For much of the DC Extended Universe, aka the film franchise based on DC Comics' stable of caped crusaders that started in 2013, it has often felt like the movie saga has been trying to play catchup with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That won't change when The Flash lands in theatres in mid-June, as the flick's just-dropped first trailer shows — because after the MCU went all in on multiple versions of Spider-Man in the same feature, the DCEU is doing the same with two takes on Batman. Yes, this is meant to be Barry Allen's (Ezra Miller, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) time to shine, with multiple iterations of the character also known as The Flash in the movie that bears his name. But bringing in the DCEU's existing Batman Ben Affleck (The Tender Bar) and Tim Burton-era Batman Michael Keaton (Morbius) was always going to monopolise attention. Everything is a multiverse these days, clearly, as viewers can see in The Flash's debut sneak peek. Here, Barry's actions cause worlds to collide, after he uses his speedy powers to travel back in time to change the past. You don't need to be a regular viewer of comic book-based films to know that that's never a good idea. In Barry's new reality, General Zod (Michael Shannon, Amsterdam) is back and keen to destroy everything, and superheroes are also nowhere to be seen. That said, if The Flash can convince a different Batman to pop on the cape and cowl, and team up with a Kryptonian — with Sasha Calle (The Young and the Restless) playing Supergirl — the universe might be able to be saved. Also featuring among the cast: Ron Livingston (The Estate), Maribel Verdú (Raymond & Ray), Kiersey Clemons (Somebody I Used to Know) and Antje Traue (Dark). Filmmaker Andy Muschietti directs, in his first flick after creeping cinemas out with IT and IT: Chapter Two. And yes, the DCEU is about to look a whole lot different, given that The Suicide Squad filmmaker James Gunn and film producer Peter Safran are now overseeing DC's movie output — in what's being badged as a reboot, apparently starting with The Flash. Check out the first trailer for The Flash below: The Flash releases in cinemas Down Under on June 15, 2023.
Brunch isn't just something you eat after you've enjoyed a weekend sleep in. And it's not just an excuse to gorge on breakfast, lunch and a few cheeky mid-morning beverages all at once. It's both, as well as an occasion that's always worth celebrating. That's why, after introducing their series of brunch-themed shindigs in 2016, Cloudland is doing it all over again. It's a concept that has been happening in New York and London for a while now, and now it's Brisbane's turn. The Brunch Club really does combining everyone's favourite meal with a party vibe; think live entertainment, garden games and a 3.5 hour food and beverage package. That's what you'll find from 11.30am Sunday — and yes, if it kicks off before midday, it still counts as brunch. Tickets cost $75 per person for the most indulgent before-noon boozy spread you're likely to ever enjoy. And it's certain to be popular, so we'd recommend booking in advance.
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.
No one makes neon-lit, red-hued, emotion-dripping tales of yearning and loneliness like Wong Kar-Wai, as everyone who has seen 2000's In the Mood for Love knows. It isn't the Chungking Express, Happy Together, 2046, Ashes of Time: Redux and The Grandmaster filmmaker's only masterpiece, but the 1960s Hong Kong-set romantic drama is utterly unforgettable as it unfolds its love story against a backdrop of festering societal tension. Viewers have fallen for the film for almost a quarter of a century now. Sydney Opera House clearly feels the same way. Back in 2020, it hosted and livestreamed dreamy song cycle In the Mood — A Love Letter to Wong Kar-Wai & Hong Kong, which delivered exactly what its title promised. Come 2025, the venue will also welcome in the Australian premiere of In the Mood for Love in Concert. As everything from Batman, Back to the Future, Home Alone and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to The Lion King, The Princess Bride, Black Panther and Star Wars films has in the past — and plenty more — the iconic movie will return to the big screen while an orchestra brings its score to life. In this case, the film will flicker across Sydney Opera House's HD silver screen as conductor Guy Rundle leads a 39-piece group of musicians playing live. Ready to get audiences swooning, In the Mood for Love in Concert has locked in two shows on the one date, at 2pm and 7pm on Saturday, March 22. The BAFTA-nominated and César-winning film — which also picked up two awards at Cannes, including Best Actor — stars the great Tony Leung (Hidden Blade) and Maggie Chen (Better Life) as Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen. In a complicated time and place, the two neighbours are drawn together when they begin to suspect that their partners are not only being unfaithful, but that they're having an affair with each other. While In the Mood for Love is rightly acclaimed for its affecting performances and evocative direction, as well as its gorgeously lush cinematography, its score is just as exceptional. Indeed, the filmmaker has called it "a poem itself". This is a stellar opportunity to find out why — and to discover why this movie, and Wong Kar-Wai, keep proving so influential. Check out the trailer for In the Mood for Love below: In the Mood for Love in Concert plays Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall at 2pm and 7pm on Saturday, March 22, 2025, with ticket presales from Tuesday, November 5, 2024 and general sales from Thursday, November 7, 2024 — head to the Sydney Opera House website for more details.
When Australia's international borders reopen to the world in November — and when Aussies are permitted to fly overseas for holidays again from Monday, November 1 — that'll only fix one problem when it comes to travelling the globe. Obviously, being allowed to leave the country for a getaway is a big step, especially after more than 18 months of doing exactly that being banned. But being permitted to enter whichever destination you're heading to is obviously just as important. Different countries have different rules about who can visit — and, crucially, the requirements also vary regarding vaccination status. Also, once you've made it into your destination, the conditions might also vary regarding showing you're vaxxed to step inside venues and attend events. Accordingly, proving that you've been double-jabbed isn't something you'll only need to do at home — in New South Wales and Victoria under their reopening roadmaps, for example. So, the Australian Government is launching an international travel certificate that shows if you've been double-vaccinated. It'll become available for use from Tuesday, October 19. As announced on Sunday, October 17, the 'International COVID-19 proof of vaccination' certificate will be provided to Aussies and Aussie visa holders — as long as you have a valid passport, and also your COVID-19 vaccination has been recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). You will still need to request one, though, which you can do either by accessing your Medicare account through My Gov or using the Medicare Express app. If you're wondering how it'll work when you're travelling, the new certificate includes a secure QR code that border authorities around the world can access, letting them confirm your COVID-19 vax status. It'll also be marked with a visible digital seal for security purposes, and has been designed to meet the new global standard for these types of passes — as specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization and conforms with World Health Organization guidance. For more information about showing your vaccination status for international travel, visit the Services Australia website.
If your dream European holiday includes vineyard picnics, forest hideouts and mountainside stargazing, Tiny Away have got you sorted. The eco-friendly Australian accommodation brand, known for its off-grid stays locally and in Southeast Asia, has unveiled a cluster of tiny houses in France, Spain and Italy — and just in time for Euro summer. Designed for nature lovers, slow travellers and anyone looking for a different kind of escape, these compact retreats are at the meeting point of sustainability and comfort. The new European houses, like their Australian stablemates, are located in picturesque off-grid locations that give you direct access to seriously stunning natural surrounds, perfect if you're looking to switch off. In France, you can check into Loire River Tranquility, a peaceful riverside outpost near the historic city of Orléans, where you can spend your days exploring vineyards, castles and art galleries in the city of Joan of Arc. If enchanted forests are more your thing, La Tiny Alchimiste awaits in the verdant village of Cressanges in central France, where you can soak up views of rolling meadows from your terrace or explore charming nearby towns like Bresnay and Tréban. Spain's tiny homes bring a mix of mountain solitude and Mediterranean sunshine. De la Luz Ecolodge sits 400 metres above sea level in Andalusia, offering solar-powered serenity, pine-covered mountain trails and night skies made for stargazing — and that's in addition to the sweeping views across the region and out to the ocean beyond. Meanwhile, in Girona's Llémena Valley in northern Spain, Caseta Wald offers a minimalist woodland haven just a short drive from Costa Brava's beaches, the volcanic landscapes of La Garrotxa and Girona's famous Arab Baths, built in the year 1194. Over in Italy, Casa della Montagna Sila is providing alpine vibes all year round. Located in Calabria's Sila National Park, near Lake Arvo in the mountain village of Lorica, this cabin offers a year-round base for mountain hikes, lake swims and access to nearby landmarks, like I Giganti della Sila, Monte Botte Donato and the 11th-century Castello di Santa Severina. Plus, the rugged beaches and coastline of Isola Capo Rizzuto are just a short drive away. "With Europe summer getaways on the travel radar for Australians, Tiny Away's five new properties arrive at the perfect time," says Jeff Yeo, co-founder of Tiny Away. "Australian holidaymakers are increasingly seeking eco-friendly stays that allow them to connect with nature and local culture. By expanding our offering in Europe, we're bringing unique and sustainable accommodation options that align with the values of modern travellers — combining comfort, minimal impact, and a deep connection with place." Tiny Away's new European properties are available for booking now. For more information, head to the brand's website. Images: Tiny Away
For the first time in the award's 98-year history, a portrait of an Asian Australian has taken out the coveted Archibald Prize. The winner of the 2019 prize, announced today, is a painting of contemporary artist Lindy Lee by Sydney painter Tony Costa. Costa's oil painting, titled Lindy Lee, was chosen from 51 finalists, which include Tessa MacKay's Packing Room Prize-winning hyperreal portrait of actor David Wenham. In the portrait, Costa attempts to capture the energy of Lee — a practising Zen Buddhist and Taoist, who explores her Chinese ancestry and spirituality through her paintings and sculptures — through his use of minimal colour. "I have kept the colour minimal to avoid any visual noise," said Costa in a statement. "The challenge for me was to capture the energy of Lindy — the emotional over and above the physical. Costa said it was this energy — as well as her "wisdom, humility, courage, humour" — which attracted him to Lee, who was herself a Archibald finalist in 2002, and sat for portraits in 06 and 12. Costa's works are known for their distortion of form and colour, which he employs in this most-recent work. [caption id="attachment_721079" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lindy Lee by Tony Costa.[/caption] In more good news, the winners of the Wynne and Sir John Sulman prizes were also revealed today. Sylvia Ken took out the former — which awards the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figure sculpture — for her depiction of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands (Ken's homeland) and skies where the Seven Sisters story takes place. This is the fourth year in a row that an Indigenous Australian artist has been awarded the prize. [caption id="attachment_721082" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Seven Sisters by Sylvia a Ken. Photo by Jenni Carter.[/caption] The Sir John Sulman Prize goes to the best mural, subject or genre painting, and was this year awarded to McLean Edwards' work entitled The first girl that knocked on his door, depicting a young man looking for love. [caption id="attachment_721081" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The first girl that knocked on his door by McLean Edwards. Photo by Mim Stirling.[/caption] The winning portraits and finalists will be on display at Sydney's Art Gallery of NSW from tomorrow — Saturday, May 11 — up until September 9. If you do't agree with the judges, you can cast your own vote for People's Choice. ARCHIBALD PRIZE 2019 DATES Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney — May 11–September 9 TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria — September 14–November 5 Gosford Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, NSW — November 15–January 12, 2020 Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, NSW — January 24, 2020–March 8 Bank Art Museum Moree, NSW — March 20, 2020–May 3 Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, NSW — May 15, 2020–June 28 Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, NSW — July 3, 2020–August 16 If you can't make it to any of the above dates, you can check out the award winners and finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes on the Art Gallery of NSW website.
Sometimes, you're just so desperate for more of your favourite TV show that you're willing to go to extraordinary lengths. Some might think that recreating the seven kingdoms on stage is pushing it a little too far — but they haven't met Graeme of Thrones yet. We're not saying that the hit UK parody has iron thrones, fire-breathing dragons, giant fortresses, white walkers and everything that George RR Martin has conjured up on the page and HBO has subsequently brought to the screen. We're not saying it doesn't, though. As it tells the tale of a guy with a dream (but without a budget), Graeme of Thrones definitely does boast the titular Game of Thrones super fan, and his amusing attempt to pay tribute to the program that he loves. This event is part of Wonderland 2016.
BTS ARMY unite: you've got a new must-visit getaway spot, and Airbnb wants to make your dreams a reality. Fancy getting a dream glow because you're holidaying in the dynamite South Korean estate where BTS filmed season two of their reality show In the Soop? Of course you do — and, if you nab the overnight stay, you obviously have permission to dance. The series' second season dropped back in 2021, so if you always have 'Butter', 'Heartbeat' or 'Fake Love' on rotation in your head, you've probably been eyeing off a stay in PyeongChang for a while. Your chance now comes via Airbnb, with the accommodation service adding to its lengthy list of pop culture-themed one-off experiences — which also includes the Bluey house, the Moulin Rouge!, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine and The Godfather mansion in the past few months. The idea with this listing: letting two BTS fans relax in the South Korean countryside like their idols did. Even if you're not a diehard devotee, it looks like a mighty luxe place to stay. Clearly, you'll get more out of it if you live, breathe and worship the band, given that it's largely decked out as it was during their time there. That includes some of the furniture seen on the show, so you can kick back with a book like RM, float on a unicorn in the pool like Jin and hit the trampoline like Jung Kook. Also included: a karaoke machine, sound system and all of BTS' songs and albums, right up to their latest record Proof; and a specially catered menu, including charcoal grilled Korean beef and tteokbokki. And, because there's seven BTS members, the one-night stay costs just US$7 — which is just over AU$10 / around NZ$11. Sadly, if you score the booking, you'll just miss out on the best spring day ever, with the trip taking place on August 29. If you're keen to make it right all night and stay gold in the scenic estate, you'll need to try to nab the reservation at 12pm AEST on Tuesday, August 2. As with all Airbnb special listings like this, you need to take care of your own travel costs there and back, including airfares — although this one does cover the round trip by car from KTX PyeongChang station to the BTS In the Soop property. For more information about the BTS In the Soop estate listing on Airbnb, or to apply to book at 12pm AEST on Tuesday, August 2, head to the Airbnb website. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy. Images: Time of Blue.
Named after the soldier and astronomer who gave our fair city its name, the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium has been a favourite school tour spot since 1978. You've been — we all have — and it's definitely worth another visit, even if you're well out of class. But unlike school, here, staring into space is not only acceptable, it's mandatory. The 12.5-metre-diameter Cosmic Skydome is the main attraction, of course, under which you'll lean back and send your eyes skywards as informative films tell of black holes, the dark universe, moons and cosmic collisions. Once you've toured the stars, return to earth with a walk through the surrounding Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Among the gardens, you'll find another dome (this time dedicated to tropical plants) holding its own must-see wonders of the universe — cacti, succulents and bonsais. Image: Anwyn Howarth.
It's no doubt that Brisbane's breakfast/brunch scene is fast becoming more than just a craze. Sleep in too much on a Saturday morning and you are sentenced to a 20 minute minimum wait in line for a table at the latest fashionable pre-lunch hangout. For those who want a good wholesome local breakfast complete with a satisfying caffeine fix Tutto Caffé is a must visit. Just down the road from the crowds of Paddington, Tutto is located on Stewart Rd in Ashgrove. Although the decor may be simple, the atmosphere and staff are warm and inviting. The Italian family-owned locale's baked eggs with mushrooms and pesto come highly recommended and upon devouring will leave you wondering why you haven't visited earlier. After two cups of coffee, a bite (or four) of the dining companion's delicious corn cakes with bacon and avocado salsa,è the happy ending on this Saturday morning was without a doubt the affordable bill.
World, say hello to the ultimate marriage of fashion and fine dining: a Gucci restaurant helmed by none other than Massimo Bottura, chef and owner of three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana. That's right, the internationally renowned high fashion label has forayed into the world of food, yesterday opening Gucci Osteria in the heart of Florence, Italy. Just as you'd expect, the 50 seater is a study in luxury, housed in the centuries-old Palazzo della Mercanzia building and with views across Piazza della Signoria. It forms part of the just-revealed lavish Gucci Garden, which also features a cinema room, a bazaar-style fashion boutique and exhibition spaces curated by fashion critic Maria Luisa Frisa. Diners at the all-day restaurant can expect to sit down to globally-inspired dishes like pork belly buns, Peruvian-style tostadas and Parmigiano Reggiano tortellini, dropping about €20–30 ($30–46 AUD) per plate. While it's hard to say how much he will be on the pans at this new location, Bottura says he drew inspiration from his travels when developing the lineup, mixing classic Italian flavours with clever, new-school twists. "Travelling the world, our kitchen interacts with everything we see, hear and taste," the chef explained. Gucci Osteria is the latest in a string of luxury fashion house food ventures, following the opening of Tiffany & Co's Blue Box Cafe in New York, and the announcement of parent company LMVH's plans for a second outpost of its gourmet Parisian grocery store La Grande Epicerie.
Excellent news for your bank balance: catching Translink public transport across Queensland will soon only cost you 50 cents per journey no matter how far you're going. Sunshine State Premier Steven Miles has announced the price-slashing move, which will kick in on Monday, August 5, 2024 and run for six months, as a cost-of-living relief measure and an effort to reduce traffic congestion. Translink, which falls within Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads, runs a hefty range of services — starting with trains, buses, ferries and trams in southeast Queensland. So for Brisbanites, whether you ride the rails as part of your daily commute, hit the road or hop on a CityCat, you'll be scoring a hefty discount, getting there and home for just $1 a day. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Steven Miles (@stevenmilesmp) "We're reducing the cost of all Translink public transport services for six months. This massive cost-of-living relief measure will help bust congestion on our roads," said the Premier on social media, where he announced the 50-cent fares on Sunday, May 26. "I expect this will save Queenslanders thousands of dollars over six months, and encourage more people to catch our fast, frequent and 50-cent public transport," Miles continued in a statement. [caption id="attachment_958245" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Translink also runs buses in Bowen, Bundaberg, Cairns, the Fraser Coast, Gladstone and Gympie — and in Innisfail, Kilcoy, Mackay, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Toowoomba, Townsville, Warwick and The Whitsundays. So, this is a statewide measure. The 50-cent price will apply to everyone, including concession cardholders, but is only available on Translink services. Accordingly, privately operated transport services won't be doing the cheap fares. [caption id="attachment_630654" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Thomas via Flickr[/caption] Running for six months, the fare drop isn't a permanent change — but it will help you stop spending more than a fiver to get to and from your job if you work a five-day grind. The Sunday Mail reports that the Queensland Government will reassess the move in early 2025 if Labour is re-elected in October's state election. [caption id="attachment_958247" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Robert McPherson via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] [caption id="attachment_857365" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] [caption id="attachment_754201" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] [caption id="attachment_749921" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] John via Flickr[/caption] Fifty-cent fares will start across Translink's Queensland public transport services on Monday, August 5, 2024, running for six months. To find out more information about Translink's services, head to the company's website. Top image: Tourism and Events Queensland.
There's one thing that all wine festivals have in common: vino, and plenty of it. But the first rosé fest hosted by Brisbane's inner-city winery is adding something extra to the mix — because, when it takes over The Tivoli on Sunday, March 7, you'll be able to help make rosé between glasses. At Rosé Festival by City Winery, stomping and pressing grapes is one of the big attractions. And, the results of all that jumping up and down will be bottled for the company's 2021 rosé release. So, down the track, you'll be able to grab one, add it to your wine rack and know that you had a hand — or two feet — in making it. If you'd rather just sip the rosés already on offer, that's obviously also part of the festival. Bands and DJs will provide a soundtrack while you're tasting your way through different drops, and there'll be masterclasses and workshops to help up your knowledge on the topic as well. The fest kicks off at midday, with tickets costing $49.
It has been eight years now since Nodo Donuts first gave Brisbanites the gluten-free doughnuts they were craving. That's eight years of baked-not-fried pastries served at a growing range of stores — including, from Friday, September 16, at West End's West Village. Obviously, this is an occasion worth celebrating, so Nodo is doing just that in the tastiest possible way: with free doughnuts. Head to the Mollison Street shop throughout the day — the earlier the better — and you'll score a free doughnut as long as you buy a coffee. That's probably the combo you were going to buy anyway, but now you'll just be paying for the caffeine hit, not the pastry. The deal is only available at West Village, for this one day from 7am, and only while stocks last — and it's a one-per-person special. Need some more motivation? Nodo's range including raspberry white chocolate, blueberry lemon cheesecake, pumpkin maple, strawberry Oreo and banana cake doughnuts. If you make a breakfast date of it, you're hankering for a bite to eat beyond the doughnut and you're willing to pay, the brand's ninth Brissie location will also serve up brekkie dishes such as egg toast, pumpkin loaf and bowls, plus cold-pressed juices and shakes. Images: Kate House.
On April 8, if you happen to walk into Bistrotheque and exclaim "is this it?", it won't be taken in a bad way. In fact, the room will be on fire with folks asking the same question while they drink juiceboxes, chat about last night and wait for 12:51 to roll around. Spending an entire evening listening to The Strokes will do that — and no, it isn't hard to explain why. The New York five-piece that became everyone's favourite band in the '00s are in the spotlight at You Only Live Once: A Strokes Appreciation Night, and that means back to back tunes from their five records will be getting a spin. If you dreamed that this would happen someday, you were right. Just head to the Valley under cover of darkness, and prepare to spend all of your time getting your Strokes fix. Expect live versions cranked out by Brisbane Supergroups, the Bistro DJs rocking the rest in between, plus giveaways too. Sure, everyone in sight will be channelling their inner Julian Casablancas impressions — but, admit it, you will be too.
Icons, pioneers, the cutting-edge and the boundary-pushing: when ΩHM (pronounced "ohm") Festival of Other Music debuted at Brisbane Powerhouse in 2023, that's what it was all about. Thankfully, the new addition to the New Farm venue's lineup wasn't just a once-off, with the fest locking in its 2024 return — and dropping another impressive program for its next stint. When it again takes over Lamington Street, this time from Wednesday, February 28–Saturday, April 20, 2024, ΩHM will split its must-sees into three categories: music, movement and visual art. All tie in with tunes in one way or another, whether via folks taking to the stage, soundtracks to performances or, in the case of the fest's exhibitions, by presenting works by a talent best known as a musician. Leading the bill: Yothu Yindi, a band unparalleled in Australia's music history. More than three decades since first hitting the airwaves, and getting songs such as 'Treaty' and 'Djäpana' rocket up the charts — and almost four decades since they first formed — the Yolngu group from far North East Arnhem Land will headline ΩHM with an exclusive performance. Also high among the fest's big names is Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, who has the visual art component taken care of thanks to two exhibitions, both of which will be free to enjoy. The first, Objective Projection, will feature both 2D works called Picture-Window and video installations of the bassist and guitarist's Los-Angeles-June-6-2019 — the latter heroing Gordon with a guitar in hand. The second, video work Proposal for a Dance, will take place over two nights, where attendees can expect to see women wearing Rodarte dresses playing electric guitars and satirising traditional male rockers. From there, ΩHM's lineup also includes Drab Majesty returning Down Under after 2023's Dark Mofo, this time to gift Brisbane a new experience — and an Australia exclusive — that'll accompany 80s sci-fi film The Arrival. Or, festivalgoers can look forward to an opening concert by Michael Rother and friends (aka Hans Lampe, Franz Bargmann and Vittoria Maccabruni) to celebrate 50 years of German band NEU!, Japan's Boris marking three decades of tracks, and The Necks showcasing their own highlights from the 80s onwards. The list goes on, with Franck Vigroux and Antoine Schmitt's latest audio-visual piece ATOTAL — CHRONOSTASTIS-TEMPEST, Canada's Tim Hecker, The Veils and Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra also on the bill, among others. [caption id="attachment_925409" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quentin Chevrier[/caption] In ΩHM's movement strand, Colossus by choreographer Stephanie Lake will feature 50 dancers and a Robin Fox soundtrack, Chunky Move will get two performers becoming live sculptures to comment on consumerism in Universal Estate, and Australasian Dance Collective's THREE will return with a trio of pieces — including by Alisdair Macindoe, Jenni Large and Amber McCartney. At Brisbane Powerhouse, ΩHM sits on an annual calendar that also includes the Brisbane Comedy Festival, as well as queer cultural festival MELT — and, just like in 2023, ΩHM's 2024 fest will kickstart the venue's events for the year. [caption id="attachment_925412" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mark Gambino[/caption] ΩHM FESTIVAL OF OTHER MUSIC 2024 LINEUP: Music: Yothu Yindi Drab Majesty Boris Michael Rother and friends The Necks The Veils Lydia Lunch and Joseph Keckler Erin Fitzsimon and Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra Tim Hecker Franck Vigroux and Antoine Schmitt CORIN Arka Kinari The Wild WITCH Dots+Loops Movement: Colossus by Stephanie Lake Company THREE by Australasian Dance Collective Universal Estate by Chunky Move Visual art exhibitions: Kim Gordon's Objective Projection Kim Gordon's Proposal for a Dance ΩHM will run from Wednesday, February 28–Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Brisbane Powerhouse, 119 Lamington Street, New Farm. For more information and to buy tickets — with presales from 10am AEST on Thursday, November 9 and general sales from 10am AEST on Friday, November 10 — head to the Powerhouse website. Top image: Lachlan Douglas.
Forget worms — the early bird gets gourmet bites to eat, farm-fresh produce to line the cupboards, and an enjoyable morning of browsing and shopping at Milton Markets. Every Sunday morning from 6am — and 7am in winter — more than 80 stalls descend upon the corner of Cribb and Little Cribb streets in the inner western suburb to sell tasty wares. From whenever you feel like waking up until midday, you can wander through massive fig trees to join them. With a new seating area part of the fun in 2018, the Milton Markets know that you probably have a hankering for a few things, and they're set to deliver. If duck egg pasta, Dutch syrup waffles, artisan honey and handmade goats cheese gets your stomach grumbling, you can stock up here. Don't worry if all of the above sounds familiar, too — and not just because you've been to a market around town before. In fact, if you went to the Red Hill Farmers Markets when they were up and running, you know what you're in for. Milton became the new site (and provided the new name) for the local favourites in early 2016.
Waiheke is an island of rolling hills, gorgeous vineyards and white sandy beaches — a glittering jewel in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf. As it's only a short hop from Auckland's CBD on a ferry and easy to get around, it should definitely be on your list of places to visit when planning that next short break over the pond. Once there, it's not hard to see why Waiheke regularly appears in travel polls as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. It has a great reputation for relaxation and, most importantly, good food and wine. With over 20 vineyards to choose from, in the place locals affectionately call the Island of Wine, we've narrowed down some of the finest. Flights to Auckland from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are super short — around three-and-a-half hours on average — and Air New Zealand offers great everyday fares from all three. That means you could be nestled up by the fire at one of these top spots in no time at all. MAN O' WAR VINEYARDS Located on the far east of the island, Man O' War vineyard definitely delivers the wow factor both for its location and its wine. The vineyards are set on slopes that surround the tasting room and restaurant, which sits at the edge of the water. It's the only beachfront cellar door on Waiheke and has amazing views over to the Coromandel Peninsula. The tasting room is a lovely place to sip and hear about the flagship and single-vineyard drops. Plus, there are platters and sharing plates available to make the most of the experience. From the big robust winter warming Dreadnaught syrah to the softer summer styles of the Pinque rosé and the Exiled pinot gris, there is something for all palates on offer at Man O' War. OBSIDIAN VINEYARD Located in Onetangi and hidden away in an amphitheatre amongst the vines, Obsidian's cellar door is a simple but beautifully relaxed setting. The 30-minute tastings are led by passionate, knowledgeable staff, and the wine is sublime. Obsidian is known for its deep and delicious Bordeaux-style reds, though it also makes a delightful rosé and chardonnay, too. Yields are deliberately kept low to maximise quality and, as a result, only a limited number of cases are produced each year. The vineyard runs a wine club membership and, as an 'Obsidianado', you'll get access to three tasting packages during the year, with each containing at least one bottle of exclusive vintage and variety. BATCH WINERY The Thomas family's vineyard restaurant and cellar door has one of the best views on the island, with stunning views across to the Coromandel and Auckland's Sky Tower. Let the crew know you're coming over and they'll pick you up from Matiatia Ferry to transport you to the beautifully designed Batch Winery. It was built with reverence — both of the relaxed Kiwi way of life and the traditional winemaking process. The restaurant offers a relaxed ambience to dine with friends and family. The menu takes its inspiration from Waiheke favourites, offering fish 'n' chips, locally sourced oysters and a take on the classic Kiwi onion dip served with potato sourdough. It's a wonderful place to while away an afternoon, drinking a glass or two of Fizz rosé and gazing out over Waiheke island. PASSAGE ROCK WINERY Passage Rock is Waiheke's most awarded winery, with over 60 gold medals earned since 2001, including 18 gold for its reserve syrah. As well as producing magnificent wine, it's also in the most picturesque setting, with Orapiu Bay in the background. After your wine tasting, make sure you spend an hour or two in the bistro, which serves delicious platters and woodfired pizzas. PODERI CRISCI Poderi Crisci offers a little slice of Italy on Waiheke with its old world-style restaurant full of Tuscan charm. A great believer in the Italian tradition of eating and drinking, Poderi Crisci has a four-hour Sunday long lunch that's well worth making the time for. But if you only have a few hours to spare, then the degustation or 'trust the chef' menu will suit you well. The wines are definitely European-influenced — highlights include the cheeky white Arneis and the red blended Viburno. These are produced in a beautiful cellar room that also hosts an annual opera night, which alone is well worth making the trip for. CASITA MIRO Situated above Onetangi beach, Casita Miro is a relaxed, vibrant place where you can take your time to enjoy some seriously delicious food and wine. The restaurant specialises in Spanish and Mediterranean sharing plates, with fine Iberian cured meat, cheeses, local oysters and melt-in-your-mouth pork belly. The outdoor area also runs with the Spanish theme, featuring an evolving mosaic inspired by Gaudi's famous Parc Guell, not to mention views out across the Hauraki Gulf. The tasting room sits outside the restaurant in a colourful garden space, and here you can try a flight of five for $15, including the delightful fortified blend, the Madame Rouge. Book your flights to Auckland with Air New Zealand and start planning your next long weekend away. Plus, Vinomofo has released a case of wine featuring six delicious wines representing the diverse and unique sub-regions of Waiheke, Kumeu and Matakana. Every case has a one in 50 chance of winning return flights to Auckland (from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane). T&Cs apply.
When you've already spent 2025 singing and dancing with Robyn at Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary concert, then releasing the Saoirse Ronan (Blitz)-starring first-ever music video for 'Psycho Killer' 48 years after the song's debut, what comes next? For David Byrne, the answer is a new album in September, plus a new world tour that kicks off the same month — and heads Down Under in January 2026. The iconic Talking Heads founder and frontman has dropped two huge pieces of news at once, revealing his impending latest record Who Is the Sky? and the live shows to support it. In Australia and New Zealand, he'll be playing his first gigs since 2018, when he brought his American Utopia tour — which none other than Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods) turned into a concert flick also called American Utopia, aka one of 2020's absolute best films — this way. [caption id="attachment_1008708" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shervin Lainez[/caption] If you're in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and you're thinking "this must be the place", then you're right: Byrne is venturing to each of these cities. First, he'll hit up Spark Arena on Wednesday, January 14 on his sole NZ stop, before kicking off his Aussie dates on Saturday, January 17 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. From there, he'll play ICC Sydney Theatre on Wednesday, January 21; Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Thursday, January 22; Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena on Saturday, January 24; and Perth's RAC Arena on Tuesday, January 27. If you caught his American Utopia gigs or watched the film, you'll recognise some other familiar faces on the Who Is the Sky? tour. Byrne is taking to the stage with 13 musicians, singers and dancers, some of whom were part of the American Utopia band. Just like in those famous shows, his fellow performers will all be mobile throughout Byrne's latest set. Like tour, like album: Who Is the Sky? isn't just Byrne's first set of live gigs since American Utopia, but also his first record since that Grammy-winning release came out in 2018. Launching on Friday, September 5, 2025 — with first single 'Everybody Laughs' out now — the new album features St Vincent, Paramore's Hayley Williams, The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and American Utopia percussionist Mauro Refosco among its guests. Byrne has long been a must-see live performer — and there's long been filmic proof of that fact. Forty-two years ago this December, he made concert film history with Talking Heads when he walked out onto a Hollywood stage with a tape deck, pressed play and, while standing there solo, began to sing 'Psycho Killer'. Then-future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme directed cameras his way, recording the results for Stop Making Sense. David Byrne Who Is the Sky? World Tour Australia and New Zealand 2026 Dates Wednesday, January 14 — Spark Arena, Auckland Saturday, January 17 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Wednesday, January 21 — ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney Thursday, January 22 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Saturday, January 24 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, Adelaide Tuesday, January 27 — RAC Arena, Perth David Byrne is touring Australia and New Zealand in January 2026, with ticket presales from 2pm local time on Thursday, June 12, 2025 and general sales from 1pm local time on Friday, June 13, 2025. Head to the tour website for further details. Live images: Raph_PH via Flickr.
Hip hop used to be associated with overt displays of machismo, but there has been a steady evolution since those days. Arguably, this advancement and modernisation is represented nowhere better than with the rise to prominence of Cakes Da Killa. Originating on New York's queer rap scene, Cakes Da Killa has earned plaudits for his fusion of hip hop, house and dance over the last decade, alongside acts such as Mykki Blanco and Le1f. With the beats from his latest album, Killa Essentials (2021), in tow, the game-changing creative's impending trip to Sydney is sure to bring an unforgettable evening to Oxford Art Factory. Images: Ebru Yildiz
With every endeavour, there comes a time when you're faced with difficult decisions. Whether it's scaling back, making a major change or trying something different, it's important to know when and how to make a tough call that just might benefit you in the long run. So how do you know when you're making the right choice? There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but we sought out some advice from two Sydney venues who have become beloved local fixtures in the industry, in partnership with Square. Good Ways Deli started slinging sandwiches in Redfern in 2021 and quickly developed so much of a following that they opened a second outpost in Alexandria the following year. The Barber Shop is a fair bit older, having opened in 2013. The city speakeasy is known for its extensive collection of 700-plus gins and has been voted Australia's Best Gin Bar by Australian Bartender Magazine four times. The Barber Shop's co-owner Mike Enright and Good Ways' co-founder Jordan McKenzie share their wisdom on making big changes, unexpected surprises and what they've learnt along the way. [caption id="attachment_960054" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Credit Cassandra Hannigan[/caption] The Barber Shop on Closing the Actual Barbershop The Barber Shop was, aptly, concealed behind a fully operational barbershop that served clients during the day. However, after consistent losses from that portion of the business, the team decided to shut down the front of the venue. "We closed our actual barbershop at the front of the bar. The barbers are a completely different business to hospitality. It was taking up too much time and we barely broke even post-covid," said co-owner Mike Enright. "It meant that we could focus on the bar and not have our bottom line suffering by the losses it was making." When asked whether it was a tough call, Enright answered: "We had to make a few redundancies, but it was a smooth transition." He elaborated, "We tried hard and long to keep that part of the business operating and I didn't want to let it go, but it was the best decision in the end." Did it work? "The space is now a prop for the bar. It still looks like a barbershop but with no cutting hair, which is a shame. It used to be a great business pre-covid." But, Enright added, "It turned out exactly as planned — the losses and the stress of trying to run two businesses disappeared." Another benefit of closing the barbershop was that Enright was able to devote more attention to producing events, which he says are "another source of additional income for us and great promotion for the brand." Thanks to Square, these events, whether on or off-site, can go off without a hitch. "The Tap-To-Pay on iPhone is super useful," Enright shared. "We always have a device to take payments on." Good Ways Deli on Choosing to Bake Their Own Bread Good Ways Deli had been making their own bread for about a year when they made the decision to commit to baking on a bigger scale. "We started to think about what made Good Ways what it is and how we could double down on that. Baking bread in house is a labour of love for a sandwich shop, and we needed a way to make it worthwhile and differentiate us from the market," shared co-founder Jordan McKenzie. McKenzie recalled when they shut down the store to renovate the space. "To make this change we had to close the shop for four days — we ripped apart the bar and benches, and rebuilt them in a way that left more space for a deck oven and a bigger mixer. Our trades came in and upgraded the services to account for the new equipment. It was an ambitious feat in the timeframe we gave ourselves and sleep wasn't really factored into the equation, but we got it done!" So how did they make this decision? "We looked at our business plan and what we'd done up until now, and what would take it to the next level. You can't do everything you want to do when you first open, so change is inevitable," said McKenzie. "We knew that quality, healthy and sustainably minded food were core values for us, and the health benefits of slowly fermented sourdough breads were a big draw in a growing sandwich scene." Once the decision has been made, it can be another challenge entirely to get the staff and customers on board. "We have regular staff meetings to communicate our values and why we have them, but people who come to work at Good Ways can see what we do and it really resonates. There is strong buy-in." As for the customers, "we have some messaging on the website and through social media, but for the most part, we try to let our actions speak. The fact that you can see the bread being made as soon as you walk in really helps," explained McKenzie. Was it a success? "I don't know if I'd pin it as the game-changer, but it's definitely been a step forward for us in this long walk." McKenzie added, "The fact that not only Tom and I, but all of the team are still excited to eat a sandwich for lunch every day after four years is testament to that." McKenzie's additional piece of advice was: "Cafes and restaurants are well-oiled machines that rely on repetition to hone efficiency, so whenever you make changes there will always be teething issues. You can't have business without problem-solving though, so get on with it!" He went on to say, "Ask people smarter than you for advice, plan well and crack on. When you find the problems, fix them." Find out how Square can kickstart your business at squareup.com.
Disney has its own. Apple has one too. And so does Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn. If you're fond of documentaries, you have not one but two local choices. The same applies if you're eager to get viewing for free, especially if you can handle retro flicks and titles that you've never heard of before. And if you're eager to support Australian content, there's one for that as well. We're talking about streaming platforms, of course. Throw in Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, SBS On Demand and ABC iView, and Aussies can't say there isn't anything to watch. That's not an exhaustive list either, because this space just keeps growing — with a new service dedicated to British television now joining the fold as well. Britbox was already operational in the USA, Canada and, of course, the United Kingdom, but it only launched in Australia on Monday, November 23 — after announcing it was coming to our shores earlier this year. It's a joint collaboration between two English TV networks: the BBC and ITV. They both have a hefty stable of programs up their sleeves, and you can expect retro and recent series. Think Doctor Who, Absolutely Fabulous, The Office, Blackadder, Pride and Prejudice, Prime Suspect, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr Bean, for instance. There's also Luther, A Confession, and David Attenborough's Blue Planet and Planet Earth. And yes, the list goes on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2DCExerOsA Britbox focuses on box sets of UK shows, which means full seasons all there at once ready for audiences to stream. You can do to do so via mobile devices, tablets, connected TVs and Chromecast — and via the online site. And price-wise, it's offering a seven-day trial, with subscriptions costing $8.99 per month or $89.99 for a year. Britbox is now available to stream in Australia via the service's website.
When you're a bar that nods to all things spooky in your name, and you boast more than a couple of monster-themed pinball and arcade machines, then you're going to like the end of October. Netherworld does, of course. Indeed, the Valley pub celebrates Halloween in the expected style each and every year. So, what's on the agenda, other than a few pumpkins around the place? The venue's themed beer fest is back, and so is its annual A Netherworld Halloween party. The latter hits on Thursday, October 31, getting into the spirit of the occasion on the appropriate date. Expect a ghoulish night of scary fun, complete with those horror-centric pinball tables. Yes, you can call it a monster mash if you like. You know that the track will get a spin, and you know that you're going to dance to it, creepy cocktail in hand. [caption id="attachment_605021" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Sarah Ward[/caption] The Hellmouth Diner is catering its menu to suit the theme, too. Plus, there'll be a karma keg for Bat Conservation and Rescue Qld Inc, so your drinks will help a good (and apt) cause. If you dress up for this evening of Halloween gaming goodness, you'll score five free tokens for your trouble. You might also win the costume contest. Entry is free, with the spooky fun going down between 6pm till late. [caption id="attachment_669756" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Cole Bennetts[/caption] Top image: Sarah Ward.
It's Brisbane's original CBD spot for drinks right by the river, and it's making the most of spring and summer's toasty weather in the best possible way. That'd be Eagle Street Pier, which is setting up a pop-up Aperol spritz bar between Wednesday, November 10–Saturday, December 18. Yes, waterside cocktails with that killer view now await. Whether you're keen on a few sips with lunch or after-work drinks, both will be on the menu between Wednesday–Saturday each week from 12–7pm. Coppa is doing the pouring, while a range of the precinct's eateries will be on snack duties. So, you can nab small plates and other bites from Fatcow Steak & Lobster, Rico Bar & Dining and City Winery . Food-wise, you can order those snacks — think: oysters, artichokes with herbed aioli, Moreton Bay bug arancini, and rosemary and parmesan fries — straight from the pop-up with your orange-hued cocktails, too. The whole event is meant to get you thinking of Capri — and hey, even though international travel is now back, it's clearly cheaper than a trip to Italy.
Whether you're heading south from Brisbane or north from Sydney, a small patch of northern New South Wales boasts your next boozy road-trip destination: Husk Farm Distillery. Located on the Tweed River at North Tumbulgum, less than half an hour's drive over the Queensland–NSW border and only 45 minutes from Byron Bay, this quiet estate whips up agricole rum at its onsite distillery — and features views across the Tweed Valley over to Mt Warning to soak in as well. Given the leafy surroundings, it won't come as a surprise to hear that Husk Farm is a paddock-to-bottle operation — Australia's first in the agricole rum realm, in fact. Focusing on sustainability, the 60-hectare site grows its own raw materials for its tipples, which includes Ink Gin as well. What isn't used in making booze is then fed to the farm's herd of cattle, and what they don't eat is used as compost on the 12-hectare rainforest. Freshly opened to the public, the distillery also features a cellar door, cocktail bar and cafe, plus an area for lawn games. That means that you can take a 45-minute tour from Wednesday–Sunday — which costs $35 and include a gin and tonic on arrival, as well a rum tasting flight at the end — then sip cocktails, nab a bottle to take home with you, tuck into a snack and relax. Beverage-wise, the cocktail list will change seasonally, not only heroing Husk's spirits but blending them with native bush food as well as locally growth produce. Think roasted wattle seed, flamed lemon myrtle and lilly pilly flavours, in concoctions such as the Husk, Finger Lime and Soda, Flamin' Myrtle, and cane honey and grapefruit-heavy winter Sun. As for the food, three types of grazing boards, marinated olives, dips and breads, a daily selection of baguettes, and a range of cakes and cookies are on offer.
If you're someone who loves indulging in a few G&Ts on a summer evening but doesn't love waking up to dehydrated, hungover skin, we've got you covered. Beloved Aussie brands Four Pillars Gin and Go-To Skincare are bringing back their extremely limited-edition Go-To Gin — a spirit that sent fans of Go-To founder ZFB (that's Zoë Foster-Blake for the uninitiated) into a frenzy on its release last spring. When we say frenzy we mean it — the inaugural batch of My New Go-To Gin sold out in just five hours. This year you've got some time to gather yourself — the second release drops on Thursday, November 17. Ready for cocktail mixing and shaking, flavours in this coveted drop include native Aussie peach, lemon myrtle, pink peppercorns and ruby grapefruit. The familiar peachy pink Go-To label means you could probably add it to your bathroom counter's line-up and nobody would notice anything out of the ordinary. And if you sip a few too many the night before another event (hello, festive season) you're in luck: Every bottle comes with a Go-To 'Transformazing' sheet mask to soak your skin in much-needed moisture. Four Pillars co-founder and distiller Cam Mckenzie said in a statement he was aware gin and skin are an "unlikely duo". "But after a G&T or two (or three) with the Go-To team we realised there was a lot we had in common. We're both champions of using best-in-class ingredients, we're both sticklers for quality and, speaking personally, we both have a thing for Sunday night face masking." To celebrate the launch, the skincare brand is taking over the gin garden at the recently revamped Four Pillars Distillery in Healesville for a series of cocktail workshops and skincare tutorials on November 18–20. Melbourne readers (or fans willing to travel) can find out more about that here. If last year is anything to go by, we imagine this gin is going to sell out pretty quickly, so sign up to the waitlist here — you'll also find a festive cocktail recipe. If you miss out, or peach isn't really your gin infusion of choice, you've got options however you choose to imbibe. Four Pillars has brought back its annual cult-favourites bloody shiraz gin and Christmas gin for your festive cocktail needs, or you can opt for a ready-to-pour bottled gin martini. The 2022 Four Pillars Go-To Gin will go on sale online on Thursday, November 17. Head to the Four Pillars website to sign up to the waitlist and to register for the launch weekend at Four Pillars' Victorian distillery.
After a $9-million revamp, The GPO is back and giving Brisbane a trio of gifts. If you're eager for a luxe sitdown meal, contemporary dining venue TAMA is your go-to. The sprawling 100-seat restaurant filled with natural light has taken over the site's ground level, offering diners a radiant experience thanks to the high ceilings and double-storey windows in the two-storey atrium that doubles as the main dining room. Visitors will find be stone and marble flooring, bursts of greenery, velvet-clad booths and soft furnishings, too, and both original beams and custom chandeliers. As for the vibe, it's thoroughly old-school. Here, the wine is a big drawcard, given that there's a cellar stocked with 1000 handpicked bottles of vino and champagne. In the kitchen, Executive Chef Richard Ousby is using his experience overseas and locally to shape the restaurant's menu. Standout dishes also include cold seafood platters among the starters, charcoal calamari and beef tartare, plus half and full lobsters, quail and mushroom tart. And, there's a selection of handmade pasta dishes that includes four-cheese tortellini and crab bisque linguini. Feeling particularly cashed up? Opt for the caviar service. Alan Hunter, the sommelier and ex-General Manager at OTTO Brisbane, oversees the wine list. He comes to the new GPO with plenty of accolades, including being named the Pol Roger 2013 Sommelier of the Year, and helping lead OTTO Brisbane to nabbing the Wine List of the Year award in the Good Food Guide in 2019. As for Brisbane local Ousby, he's drawing upon his time in England at Michelin three-star restaurant Waterside Inn, in Sydney at Sous Chef at Quay, and as Executive Chef of Stokehouse's restaurants in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Dinosaurs. Sir David Attenborough. This planet we call home, but 66 million years ago. That's the Prehistoric Planet template, and it's a winner. It proved a treat when Apple TV+'s impressive and immersive documentary series initially arrived in 2022, becoming one of the best new shows of the year. And, now that the program is back for a second five-episode run with more photorealistic ancient creatures and more Attenborough-narrated insights into their behaviour — streaming one chapter per night between Monday, May 22–Friday, May 26, then available to watch whenever viewers like afterwards — that formula works just as charmingly again. Prehistoric Planet achieves a magical feat, which both seasons have perfected: making viewers feel like they're travelling back in time, and spectacularly so. The concept for the program is over a decade old, coming to executive producer, veteran Attenborough colleague and BBC Natural History Unit Creative Director Mike Gunton (Planet Earth II) while filming with the iconic broadcaster in Africa, but the end result unsurprisingly took time to come to fruition. "We did a very early test — actually, in fact it became the heart of the T-rex on the beach sequence in the opening series. We did that as a sort of initial proof of concept and it was it was astonishing, actually, how good it was," Gunton tells Concrete Playground in a chat about the show with series producer Tim Walker. Being able to capitalise upon advancements in technology to make Prehistoric Planet look as stunningly lifelike as it does is a happy result of the years spent making the show happen; however, if was it's presenting wasn't scientifically sound, all that imagery would mean nothing. [caption id="attachment_779232" align="alignnone" width="1920"] David Attenborough, A Life on Our Planet, WWF[/caption] "We're very proud of the scientific rigour that underpins the series," adds Walker, who has also enjoyed a lengthy history delving into natural history on-screen, including on Attenborough projects such as David Attenborough's First Life. "Every sequence — when we talk about sequence, we're talking the short films within the film, so each episode has about five or six sequences in it — each of those sequences takes years to create, both in the research and then in the execution of it." That effort is evident, whether Prehistoric Planet is observing raptors display their cleverness, peering at mating rituals — oh-so-many mating rituals — or unpacking the often-perilous search for food and always-dangerous quest for survival. It shines through as the series surveys all the regular go-to dinosaurs, when it broadens its remit to lesser-known creatures and as it heroes non-dinosaur inhabitants of this pale blue dot during the Cretaceous age. How did it all come about? How does it look so astonishing? How important is the one and only Attenborough to making the series what it is? Gunton and Walker chatted with us about all those crucial Prehistoric Planet details and more — including the tense experience of watching Attenborough watch the show's first footage. ON HOW PREHISTORIC PLANET INITIALLY CAME OUT — AND WHY IT DIDN'T EARLIER Mike: "That's often the sign of a good idea, I think. Of course it should've have been done — it's blindingly obvious when you think about it. The idea came about actually with Sir David, doing some filming with him in Africa about 12 years ago now, maybe even more. He was doing the opening for a series I was working with him on about Africa, and his opening piece of camera was on top of this mountain on the equator in Africa. He was saying, the kind of thought was: 'nowhere on earth does nature put on the greatest show than here in Africa'. And I thought 'that's interesting — it is true, but I wonder if that's always been the case? I wonder when the greatest time of all time would have been?'. And I thought it was probably when the dinosaurs were running around here. So I thought 'could you do that?'. Could you take that crew that was standing on that mountainside, stick them in the time machine, fly them back 66 million years ago, and Sir David, and make a film, a series, as we were trying to do there, but instead of being lions and wildebeests and elephants, there'd be T-rex and triceratops. So that was the that was the germ of the idea, but it took a long time, many years, to get every all the stars to align — the planets to align, whichever the way you want to say it — and to get the team together, to get the resources and to find the right broadcaster before we finally made it. But actually, as David has said — he said 'I'm glad we waited ten years, because actually we've learned so much in those ten years'. And he's probably right. As Tim says, this is a golden age of dinosaur research now." ON MAKING THE SERIES LOOK SO STUNNINGLY PHOTOREALISTIC — AND THE HUGE TEAM EFFORT BEHIND IT Mike: "I think definitely the technology does improve all the time, but again another another sort of star alignment that I think was critical was that Jon — Jon Favreau — had in that time made The Jungle Book, then The Lion King. They basically did millions of dollars in R&D for us really, because to make those shows, Jon wanted to do that effectively — he said he wanted to try to take some of the grammar and approaches from wildlife documentary-making and apply those to those shows in terms of the look and some of the way the camera worked. And and that hyper-accelerated the sorts of CG that we needed to make to make this show. But it's accelerating — these these advances are going all the time." Tim: "[It takes] lots and lots and lots and lots of hard work. That's the basic answer. We are a multidisciplinary group of people. We've got, over the course of the the two series, we've approached almost 2000 people working on the project in various different disciplines. Marry them all together and you get a piece of work which is greater than the sum of its parts. We've got fabulous wildlife filmmakers based at the BBC's Natural History Unit, who've spent years in the field filming animals, making animal films. And then we've got wonderful CGI artists at MPC, who were the FX producers. And then we've got a wonderful relationship with the palaeontology world. So we have a lead scientific adviser who's embedded in the team. He's got his finger on the paleo pulse, and through that connection we talk to people all over the world. And of course, the internet has enabled that to happen really, really quickly — the exchange of data to happen really quickly. So marry all of those disciplines together, as in paleoclimatologists, paleobotanists, locomotion specialists, paleo artists, and you start to create this wonderful machine that starts thinking about what we're going to put in the series by looking at the fossil record so. That's our base entry level. We look to see what animals were around in the time period. Our time period that we feature is only the last five or six million years of the dinosaur evolution, called the Maastrichtian. And so we look to see what's in the Maastrichtian fossil layer. That gives us the animals — not just the dinosaurs, but the whole cast of characters. So the dinosaurs, the pterosaurs in the air, and the marine reptiles. And then the other animals that were around as well, because it was a very rich and vibrant time —so the mammals, the snakes, the amphibians, the other reptiles, the fish, the birds — to paint this very rich habitat of the of the planet. Then we start with that fossil record — that gives us the animals, it gives us the habitats — and then we start to think about the storylines based on what we know the behaviours would have been like. Animals face the same challenges to survive their daily rigours whether it's today or 66 million years ago. They've all got to find a mate. They've all got to procreate. They've all got to find food. They've all got to avoid being eaten in some cases. So that happens in Australia today, Africa today, America today. It happened in those places 66 million years ago. And so combining all of those different skills with the different personnel, that's how we start to get the series." Mike: "That's the that's the short answer, by the way." ON DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S IMPORTANCE TO THE SERIES Tim: "One of the things that we all are very proud of is the incredible execution, not just of the CGI imagery, but also the aesthetic of the whole series. It's beautifully filmed, beautifully put together. But we always maintain that it doesn't matter how good something looks, it's all about the storytelling. And if you don't have the storytelling, the images may wash over you a little bit. So then to add the gravitas of the storytelling, we have a wonderful opportunity to work with Sir David. And Mike has worked with David for what, 35 years, Mike is it?" Mike: "Nearly, yeah." Tim: "And if anyone can tell you a story about Sir David it's Mike." Mike: "One thing that was interesting about working with David on this was that he did — actually, with one of the questions you asked earlier about why hasn't it been done before, I think he was always quite anxious that he'd seen people making dinosaur shows, and he always thought were a bit fantastical and a bit lacking in rigour. And so one of the things that he was very, very keen to interrogate was the level of rigour and the authenticity that we were bringing to the show. Not just how good the dinosaurs look, but how much evidence we were using to come up with our deductions and the representations we made. In the end, I literally had to go there to his house with two sequences to show him in story form, in sort of a storyboard form, and to explain what we're doing and how the stories will play out. And I thought 'I'll take some of the data that we've got, that we've collected, to support these two stories'. And each of those was a carrier bag, a holdall full of papers. I had to hump two massive great holdalls of paperwork up to London to talk to him about it. And sure enough, he wanted to see them. We flipped through some. So it needed that kind conviction for him to want to do it, because if he's going to do it — this is the one time he's going to do it, probably — he wanted to make sure it's going to be to the best and the most authentic and most rigorous representation you could ever have." ON DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S REACTION TO SEEING THE FINISHED PRODUCT Mike: "When we finally showed him the first episode, we again went up there to show it. He had it on my computer, and he sat and he said 'let's watch it then'. And he sat down, he sat there — not a word, he watched it without a word, and his fingers were slightly drumming on his the arm of his chair as he was watching. He was very intensely watching it. He finished it — he's very theatrical in this way, he flipped the computer down, and then [he says] 'but I don't know how you could have done it any better'. And from that moment on he was utterly — every commentary recording, he'd say 'when's the next one? That was amazing. What's happening? I can't wait to see the next one. What are we doing next?'. Really, really, it was a great, great pleasure, wasn't it Tim?" Tim: "It really was." Mike: And those PPUs — those little behind-the-scenes ones at the end — that's David at his absolute most joyful, with an object in his hand that he could talk about and tell you about. 'This is what this tells you, and this, and this and that, and this asks this question and that question'. It's amazing. It's fantastic." Tim: "One of the things is, we've got so many people involved in this — and you know, we get notes from a lot of people. So, as we're making the film, lots of people check the films along the way and people give us notes and suggestions. When you get notes from Sir David Attenborough, that's when you listen, because you know he's seen it all and done it all. And if he points something out, 'oh yeah, good point'." Prehistoric Planet season two streams via Apple TV+ across Monday, May 22–Friday, May 26, with a new episode available each day. Read our full review of season two — and of Prehistoric Planet season one.
If Cottesloe starts to feel a little too sharky for your liking, take a break from the beach and head to AGWA for Heath Ledger: A Life in Pictures before it wraps up at the end of January. Celebrating the Perth-born actor's charisma, exemplary career and passionate creativity, it's a must-see for all Ledger fans. Put together by AGWA, the WA Museum and guest curator Allison Holland, the exhibition follows Ledger's career from his teenage years up to his final role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). You'll get to see costumes — including the Joker suit from The Dark Knight and the shirts he wore as Ennis del Mar in Brokeback Mountain — alongside research journals (on display for the first time) that grant an insight into how Ledger developed his roles. Also included in the show are photographic portraits by the likes of Karin Catt and Bruce Weber, Ledger's Best Supporting Actor Oscar and BAFTA, and a chronological narrative of his career — including his own experimentation with image making and creative projects as a director. Promises to be a bittersweet reminder of just how talented Ledger was, and what even greater heights he would have gone on to achieve. Image: Brokeback Mountain, 2005, © Kimberley French, photographer.
UPDATE, July 24, 2020: Vox Lux is available to stream via Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Fame's sharp edges have punctured the cinema screen several times of late. They cut deep in A Star Is Born's moving pop star epic, which tracked the ups and downs of celebrity with wrenching emotion and heightened drama. And they sliced superficially in Bohemian Rhapsody, as it neatly and cleanly explored Freddie Mercury's quest to remain true to himself as he stepped into the spotlight. In Vox Lux, the difficulties and complexities of success slash savagely and hack furiously, with Brady Corbet writing and directing a blunt yet brilliant onslaught of a movie. As he did in The Childhood of a Leader, the actor-turned-filmmaker relentlessly charts the ascension of an influential fictional figure who owes their rise to struggle and trauma. Perhaps unexpectedly, the difference between a troubled kid becoming a fascist ringleader in the former film and a shooting victim becoming a superstar singer in the latter is paper-thin. Celeste is that singer and, as Willem Dafoe's all-knowing, somewhat ominous narration explains, her story is significant. Initially just an ordinary American girl, she grows up to be a victim, then a symbol — and then a star and a pariah. As a teenager (Raffey Cassidy) in 1999, she escapes a Staten Island school shooting with a bullet lodged in her spine and disturbing memories embedded in her brain. Savvy even in her darkest hours, the 13-year-old parlays her distress into a heartfelt ballad with her sister Ellie (Stacy Martin), sparking global attention and a prosperous music career under the guidance of an opportunistic manager (Jude Law). As a long-established public figure (Natalie Portman) in 2017, Celeste has since endured the rollercoaster ride that is fame, and is worse for wear for the experience. She's now a largely absent mother to her own teen (also played by Cassidy), and a target for the tabloids, especially after a terrorist attack is carried out by perpetrators wearing costumes from one of her early music videos. Three acts of violence punctuate Vox Lux: the two mentioned above as well as 9/11. A classroom erupts with gunfire, ending Celeste's childhood. A plane hits the World Trade Centre, just as the rising star is farewelling her adolescence. A beach resort becomes the site of the world's latest massacre, all on the eve of Celeste's big comeback tour. Each incident proves the narrative equivalent to the sparing bursts of silence deployed by composer Scott Walker, punctuating his booming, needling orchestral score. They find further parallels in the soulful instances when cinematographer Lol Crawley peers closely at Celeste, lingers and truly sees her, rather than presenting the character as a product of her surroundings via mid and long shots. They're the moments when everything stops and changes, however Vox Lux is primarily concerned with the exact opposite. Tragedy strikes, and people are lost again and again, but life, pop music and celebrity worship all adapt, evolve and continue. A tale of multiple chapters, periods and sources of pain, all operatically building to a huge pop concert finale, Vox Lux knows that the show will go on. It also knows that everything comes at a cost, especially the type of whirlwind that transforms Celeste from a mousy slip of a girl to a strutting, spiky, leotard-clad adult with a chip on her shoulder as broad as her newly adopted accent. Penetrating insight is baked into the movie's frames, as its protagonist turns trauma into success, then sees her success defined by, reactive to and almost reliant upon the world's seemingly never-ending cycle of trauma. When tragedy and popular culture have become irreversibly intertwined, there's no alternative. There's no reprieve, either. As a result, when Portman's version of Celeste sings "I'm a private girl in a public world" during Vox Lux's third act (crooning bangers composed by Sia, who's responsible for all of the film's original pop tracks), it's the movie's most obvious observation. Still, it's also a powerful statement, recognising how hurt, despair, and humanity's darkest moments have become grist for the entertainment and escapism-driven mill that is our 21st-century existence. Corbet eschews subtlety for force, but he's smartly mirroring his subject matter. Everything that his film says about fame, celebrity, success, myth-making, trauma and public spectacle shouldn't come as a surprise. Yet there's knowing something, and then there's revelling in the crash, rush and mess that arises when a movie dissects its topic in such a provocative and piercing way. For a filmmaker whose visuals demonstrate a love of control — with every inch of Vox Lux proving as slick and stylish as a music clip, and as enamoured with its own style as well — Corbet also clearly loves chaos. He loves making a splash, engineering a reaction, then waiting for the fallout he knows will eventuate. When bullets intrude upon a classroom and later a beach resort, it's jarring. When the film flits from near-stilted scenes of violence to glossy concerts — and from staring up at New York City buildings to watching the younger Celeste grapple with her injury — it bathes in the evident contrasts. And when Cassidy's shy portrayal of Celeste gives way to Portman's larger-than-life vision, it's similarly grating by design. Indeed, the movie's two versions of its fractured protagonist, as played to perfection by its lead actors, couldn't better encapsulate Corbet's overall approach. For better and for worse, Celeste shines in the space where the fragile meets the gleefully in-your-face, and so does everything else about the exceptional, memorable Vox Lux. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMCYE9hKP68
The Baroque Room is one of the multiple venues located within The Carrington Hotel, the Blue Mountains institution on Katoomba Street. Soon, it will play host to Ngaiire. The singer is undoubtedly a creative force of nature, as well as the first Papua New Guinean to feature in Triple J's Hottest 100. Since her Australian Idol appearance back in 2004, Ngaiire has been working on her unique brand of R&B and neo soul, which has seen her tour alongside acts as diverse as Flume and Alicia Keys. Her live performances are renowned for their theatricality, attention-grabbing costumes and incredible vocals — it's no exaggeration to say the mountains won't know what's hit them this spring. If you're keen to head along, you best get in quick as her later performance has already sold out. For the latest info on NSW border restrictions, head here. If travelling from Queensland or Victoria, check out Queensland Health and DHHS websites, respectively.
Fond of Betty's Burgers and its Shake Shack-style burgs? Keen to share the love with someone you love? On Thursday, September 26, the chain of eateries wants Brisbanites to come in for a bite — and to bring their besties in as well. To mark the first ever Betty's Bestie Day, the brand's Brissie joints will be serving up two-for-one burgers. Pay $10 for a Betty's Classic — which stacks angus beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and Betty's special sauce on a soft bun — and you'll score a pair of them. The offer does only apply to this one type of burg, but it's a classic for a good reason. If you're already salivating, make plans to head to one of Betty's four Brisbane stores: at Chermside, Indooroopilly, Newstead and Howard Smith Wharves. The two-for-one deal is available all day, so if you and your favourite fellow burger fiend are especially eager, you could always hit up one for lunch and another for dinner.
As a nation girt by sea, as our anthem tells us, Australia boasts plenty of water. We're surrounded by it thanks to our scenic shorelines, picturesque harbours and cosy coastal inlets. And courtesy of the gobsmackingly gorgeous pools, curvy rivers and splash-tacular waterfalls found inland as well. Indeed, it's particularly easy to take a dip if you're in Brisbane, whether you're roaming around close to home or roving further afield when the weather's warm. Sea spray, refreshing swimming holes and even crystal-clear public pools are usually only a stone's throw away. Here's where you'll find them — and cool down.
Condensing the life story of Nelson Mandela into a single film is a daunting task. This is not just because the man went from being an agitator to a political prisoner to the first black president of South Africa (spoilers), but because the emotional connection the entire world has with one of the most significant anti-racism warriors is not a light one for a film to take on. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is not exactly up to the task. If this film is undone by anything, it's the biopic form itself. No film exists in a vacuum, and it's impossible to ignore that this biopic possesses basically the same narrative structure as most other activist/musician/politician/author biopics: begins, falls, rises. Which was the tagline to the Dark Knight trilogy, now that I think about it. The problem isn't that the film is reductive in its portrayal of Mandela's life — especially as it at least appears willing to show him at both his best and his worst — but that it is too reverential of its form. Director Justin Chadwick, best known for 2008's The Other Boleyn Girl, does not take any strong stylistic liberties with Mandela's story, but given the film feels frustratingly familiar, I rather wish he had. Idris Elba is very good in the role, and looks far more like Mandela than you might initially think. Oddly, he seems more comfortable playing the aged Mandela than the youthful one; the film itself echoes this feeling, significantly more at ease with Mandela the Forgiving Leader than Mandela the Righteous Terrorist. Winnie Mandela, who has, in many quarters, been retroactively painted as a villain in Nelson Mandela's life story, is given a much fairer shake here, in what is one of the film's better decisions. Although Winnie is depicted in the same generic strokes as everything else in the film, it at least acknowledges her best and her worst aspects, and that fairness is Mandela's saving grace. It doesn't hurt that Winnie is played by Naomie Harris, one of the UK's best actors, although her natural charisma is not given much room to shine through. The best thing that can be said of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is that it refuses to play in the same sandpit that the media did following the man's death last year, refusing to engage exclusively with the picture of Mandela as the genial statesman. The film is prepared to explore the elements of Mandela's past that would see him labelled a terrorist, and even if these are dealt with only perfunctorily, this sandpapering comes across as a result of the storytelling form rather than a politicised motivation. The worst thing that can be said of the film is that it is only superficially illuminating, briefly informative; the drama is only mildly engaging, the imprisonment distantly horrific. It insists upon keeping us at an arm's length for its not inconsiderable running time. Like a sign language-faking impostor at a funeral, the moves all look right to the untrained eye, but are, ultimately, devoid of all meaning. https://youtube.com/watch?v=hmm-aazQQKA
There's nothing quite like seeing a film on the big screen — especially when it's a movie you downright adore. And when it's accompanied by trivia dedicated to the flick in question, plus themed food and drinks, then you know you're in for an ace viewing experience. That's the idea behind the Blue Room Cinebar's new Roll Credits Film Club, which is showering love upon a new film every fortnight. Every second Wednesday, attendees can demonstrate their extensive movie knowledge from 7pm, then settle in for the feature from 8.30pm. Tickets cost $18.50, plus the cost of whatever food and drink you're keen. These kind of nights are only as good as the films on offer, of course, and RCFC certainly delivers when it comes to the main event. On March 21, dive back into the neon-hued, synth-scored world of the Ryan Gosling-starring Drive, then prepare for pastel-toned, symmetrically-framed hotel hijinks with Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel on April 4. Head to the Blue Room website for future sessions.
Beloved camping music festival Beyond the Valley returns to its regular programming this year, set to ring in the new year at Barunah Plains, west of Melbourne, from December 28, 2022–January 1, 2023. And it's got a stacked lineup to celebrate, too, headlined by none other than the legendary Nelly Furtado — the Canadian singer behind 'I'm Like a Bird', 'Turn Off the Light', here for a one-off Aussie-exclusive performance. Joining her on the eclectic bill: Denzel Curry, Dom Dolla, Kaytranada, BENEE, Yeat, Flight Facilities, Honey Dijon, Lime Cordiale, Patrick Topping, Charlotte De Witte, Diplo and more. That includes Bicep, which'll come as no surprise if you saw the video earlier in the year announcing the fest's return, which was set to the sounds of 'Glue'. The fest's sprawling new Barunah Plains home comes complete with a 100,000-square metre-natural amphitheatre, playing host to its three usual stages (main stage, dance tent and multi-level dance spot Dr Dan's), as well as a new podcast stage featuring live and interactive recordings. The 2022 instalment will also include a beach club for swims; a small space that's only accessible via secret entrance called Schmall Klüb; and the Poof Doof 'pride patrol'; plus speed-dating, yoga, pilates, meditation, open mic sessions and a fortune teller. Beyond the Valley has released a range of ticketing options, including single-day passes and multi-day entry — though you'll want to be quick as they're all expected to sell out. [caption id="attachment_866660" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mackenzie Sweetnam[/caption]
