After beginning the year with a devastating bushfire season, then following it up with a global pandemic that rid the area of tourism, the Blue Mountains, it's fair to say, has has a tough 12 months. In response, Mount Tomah's Blue Mountains Botanic Garden has turned to an unlikely partner on its road towards bushfire recovery: gin. In collaboration with Sydney-based gin brand Grown Spirits, the Botanic Garden has released the Blue Mountains Grown Gin in a limited run of just 1000 bottles. All profits from the gin go to supporting the garden's horticultural and scientific staff in their efforts to restore hundreds of specimens and areas of the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden destroyed in the bushfires earlier this year. The Blue Mountains Grown Gin was created by Grown Spirits and Master Distiller Philip Moore at Distillery Botanica in Erina. It combines local eucalypt plant the silver-leaved mountain gum with juniper, valencia orange and liquorice root for a textural gin with a hint of spice. "In creating a gin homage to the Blue Mountains and the Garden, there was one botanical I was immediately drawn to, eucalyptus pulverulenta, or "Baby Blue" as some people call it," Moore said in a statement. "It brings fresh, cooling qualities to the gin much like the mountains themselves." The team recommends serving it in a G&T or a martini with a lime zest. You can also try it at Dead Ringer in Surry Hills, shaken into a cocktail called Evergreen. If you're looking for ethical holiday gifts this time of year, the Blue Mountains Grown Gin fits snuggly into a Christmas stocking. Not a gin enthusiast, but still keen to support the area? You can take a trip to the Blue Mountains — and the Garden — and spend liberally on local businesses. To start planning your adventure, check out our guide to the upper Blue Mountains and these enchanting local stays. The Blue Mountains Grown Gin is now available now for $129 at the Garden Grown Gin website or at select bottle shops across Australia.
On a standard visit to Sydney's Central Station, you're likely too busy dodging fellow commuters or rushing for your train to really give much thought to its past. But, in fact, the bustling CBD hub boasts quite the dark and eerie history: it once home to the city's first major colonial-era cemetery. And now you can dig even deeper into the unsavoury stories of that era, thanks to gripping new local podcast The Burial Files. True crime buffs, grab your headphones — this'll be right up your alley. The State Library of NSW curator Elise Edmonds has been busy diving into the colourful history of the Devonshire Street Cemetery, chatting to leading historians, archaeologists, forensic experts and railway enthusiasts to create her six-part audio series. You'll hear tales of mischief, madness and questionable activities, grim accidents and scandalous crimes, glimpsing into the lives of some of the 30,000 residents that were buried here between 1820 and 1900. The one-time burial ground was deemed overcrowded by 1860 and finally abandoned in 1867, with (most of) the remains exhumed in 1901 to make way for the site's next use. In The Burial Files, you'll discover the history behind the exhumations, as well as the building of Central Station, from humble tin shed to the grand stone structure it is today. Along with the podcast, the sketchy stories of the Devonshire Street Cemetery and the surrounding parts of old Sydney have also spawned a new exhibition at the State Library of NSW. Dubbed Dead Central, it's brought to life through a 35-minute audio recording and curation of historic photographs. The first two episodes of The Burial Files are available now to download and stream from your favourite podcast platform. Further episodes will be released in the coming weeks. Dead Central is showing at the State Library of NSW until November 17.
After premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and doing the circuit of North America's best film festivals, The Whistleblower is finally hitting Sydney screens next week. The Whistleblower is a political thriller based on the real-life experiences of Kathryn Blokovac, a Nebraska Cop who, while working as a paid UN peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia in 1999, uncovered a underground sex-trafficking industry. The film follows Blokovac as she risks her job and personal safety to investigate into the human trafficking she witnesses, discovering some very ugly truths about the people around her in the process. Ultimately, The Whistleblower is about the very worst of humanity - corruption, expolitation and the abuse of power - yet is also a story of an average person who demonstrates extraordinary courage in order to do the right thing. Starring Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci, The Whistleblower brings together a stellar cast in what promises to be a confronting yet engaging cinematic experience that will stay with you for some time to come. To win one of ten single passes to see The Whistleblower, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name and postal address through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=r2EZe5KOrGs
Remember the feeling of being pushed on a playground swing and getting so much air you thought you could do a 360 over the top? We indulged in that feeling when we rounded up the best swings ever, but now China have taken things to a whole new level. Not only are they building the "longest and highest" glass bridge in the world, but they're also tacking on three (three!) swings for the ultimate rush of adrenaline and sense of mortality. Game on. The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge is located above the — you guessed it — Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in middle China's Hunan province. Designed by Haim Dotan Architects, the bridge was set to open this month, but has been delayed to include a few cheeky extras. Joe Chen, vice general manager at the Zhangjiajie Canyon Tourism Management Co., told Inhabitat that the bridge will include not one, but three swings. Because one swing is never enough. Obviously. "It's true that we will have a swing on the bridge and it's not a swing but three swings, including one giant swing which has a total length of about 150 meters to 170 meters," Chen told Inhabitat. According to this very dramatic video, the new structure will be the largest glass bridge in the world (note emphasis on 'glass'), standing at 430 metres long and 300 metres off the canyon floor. The video also says the bridge holds ten world records, although it's not actually clear what those records are (especially as it hasn't even been finished yet). The bridge doesn't have a firm opening date, but it could be as early as June or July. Until then, we suggest you start building your swinging technique and nerves of steel. Via Inhabitat. Image: Haim Dotan Architects.
If you’ve never heard the name Kaitlyn Plyley, then you’ve probably at least heard her voice. Or seen her face. Or read her words. She’s a master story teller, broadcaster, poet and writer on the Brisbane arts scene, and best of all, has the real gift of the gab. And her latest project Not Much To Tell You exercises this talent liberally – Kaitlyn’s got words to say, and she gets them out in a unique fusion of poetry and story telling. Not Much to Tell You explores how Kaitlyn, a nerdy, foreign-sounding Aussie, found her voice. She paves a journey out of her own stories and experiences, all to a backdrop of Australian culture. She finds common space in footy fields, dance floors, restaurants and bedrooms, and presents a picture of what it’s like to be silenced when the whole world has something to say. Tickets for this equal part comedy, personal revelation and cultural critique start at $16, and the show will grace Metro Arts from August 27. Do yourself a favour, and open your ears and eyes to a story that examines the quiet prejudices, small cultural discrepancies and the unspoken power plays that occur daily in Australia. Check out the trailer for Not Much to Tell You here.
What has happened to that once glorious Hollywood staple, the romantic comedy? Even at its most saccharine, it was a dependable genre, the type that left you in a kind of terrible movie heaven of enjoyably unlikely plot premises, clueslessly fated lovers, and fairytale endings. Trashy, sure, but reliably trashy — carefree and frothy and silly. Beautiful people, overcoming mindlessly familiar cinematic hurdles and falling in love — it's comforting stuff for hopeless romantics like myself who get most of their life philosophies from Michel Gondry films. But a genre that focuses more on seduction and courtship and the happily-ever-after, bridal magazine moments eventually leaves viewers craving something a little more substantial. After all, anyone who lives in the real world knows that the real work in relationships begins at the point where rom coms usually end: the kiss, the wedding, the honeymoon period, the beginning. The reality and ridiculousness and complexity of relationships and sex and romance — surely this is the kind of thing that mainstream film should finally start getting right. That's why I Give It a Year should work. British director Dan Mazer has styled it as a renovated, thinking-person's rom com, one that starts at the wedding and explores the difficulty of staying in love. It's a worthwhile project, and one that The Simpsons creative director James L. Brooks has made into a career. Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment, and even the cruelly critically maligned How Do You Know? all subtly inverted the rom com rules by showing more realistic characters with more realistic relationships. And they were funnier for their closer collision with real life. Mazer has his work cut out for him by Brooks. Rose Byrnes' highly strung Nat and Rafe Spall's man-boy Josh are not meant to be — they marry too quickly and are obviously more suited to the two supporting characters, played by Simon Baker (on charismatic autopilot) and Anna Faris (on tedious autopilot. Why is she a thing?). But ultimately the film refuses to bust out of the conventional rom com template. Its plot remains face-punchingly implausible, its characters straitjacketed by stereotype, and its humour terminally planted in Mazer's familiar ground of extreme awkwardness and feeble frat-boy crassness. This is, after all, the man who produced Borat and Sacha Baron Cohen's other cinematic mis/adventures. Oddly enough for a love story, I Give It a Year fails to get to any kind of genuine emotional core for the characters or their relationships. Perhaps the highlight of the film is Rose Byrnes' wardrobe, a procession of pastel cashmere sweaters and tailored designer clothing this reviewer will never, ever be able to afford. Yes, Byrnes and Baker are lovely to watch, but it is frankly demoralising to see them wasting their presence on such an eye-rollingly unfunny project. The Office's Stephen Merchant is particularly misused given his considerable comedic talents. Despite its admirable aims, I Give It A Year is a 102-minute exercise in endurance. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3UgPWKPDlvA
Birria Boy has landed in Brisbane, bringing bold flavours, refreshing beverages and laidback, playful energy to Woolloongabba's Clarence Corner. However, to ensure you get a taste of the signature birria tacos, don't wait around, as this pop-up is only sticking around through the spring and summer months. The pop-up is housed in a heritage building that has been designed in collaboration with JDA Architects, Sophie Hart Design and ICU Design. An original woodfired oven has been given an upgrade and now proudly sits as a centrepiece in the kitchen. This new Mexican venture is the latest project from the AW Hospitality Team (from C'Est Bon and Le Bon Bar), led by Chef Andy Ashby. Andy's menu is influenced by the street-style energy of Jalisco and built on the smoky flavours of fire and spice. The hero dish, the birria taco, features slow-cooked goat or beef (or woodfired braised mushrooms) served in a crispy shell, primed for dunking in the aromatic and hearty consommé. If you prefer, there are also fresh masa tacos filled with the likes of confit duck, frijoles, burnt orange and radish, or tempura prawns with tomatillo, cactus and crema verde. Alongside tacos, snack on corn ribs with chipotle crema, woodfired jalapeños stuffed with chorizo, tuna belly tostadas, or lamb skewers with charred pineapple. For something larger, opt for pork neck, chicken asado, or cod cooked over woodfire, all served with flour tortillas and sauces. "Birria Boy is all about creating a fun, casual space that serves great food and drinks with energy," says Ashby. "We wanted somewhere for people to drop in before a show at The Princess Theatre or stay late for tacos and margaritas. It's approachable, it's full of flavour and a place to get your hands messy." To drink, as expected, there is a healthy selection of tequilas, mezcals and agave spirits, sourced mostly from small-batch growers in Mexico and even a locally made spirit from Far North Queensland, Beudi Agave. Cool down with ice-cold Mexican lagers on tap, slushie cocktails or frozen margs. Images: Supplied.
Some events feel like they've always been part of Brisbane's cultural scene, and Stones Corner Festival is one of them — even though it'll only host its seventh fest when it returns in 2022. That's the sign of something special, with this street party swiftly becoming one of the city's must-attend festivals. It's been sorely missed during the pandemic, too. Come Sunday, May 1, Stones Corner Festival will once again unleash a day of food and music on the inner east when it finally makes a comeback after a two-year hiatus. And when that happens, the event is going big. On the lineup: Sneaky Sound System, The Porkers and Quentin & The Tarantino's, as well as Good Will Remedy, Jollee, Full Power Happy Hour, Sofia Isella & Cheap Date. That's who you'll be listening to — or dancing in the street to, to be more accurate — however, the music bill is only part of the Stones Corner Festival fun. You can also expect more than 20 craft breweries pouring beers, including Little Creatures, 4 Pines, Slipstream, Balter, Eumundi, Brookvale Union, Mountain Goat and Green Beacon. Four Pillars Gin, Your Mates Brewing Co, Heads of Noosa and Better Beer will be on hand as well, so you'll have sipping options. Eating-wise, a heap of food trucks will pop up to keep your stomach lined — including with burgers, paella, tacos and pizza. And as for what else awaits on the corner of Logan and Old Cleveland roads — and during the Labour Day long weekend, handily — there'll also be market stalls via The Market Folks. If you're planning a big one, that public holiday the next day is oh so convenient. Also, entry remains free, but giving a gold coin donation to the MND and Me Foundation is recommended. STONES CORNER FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP: Sneaky Sound System The Porkers Quentin & The Tarantino's Good Will Remedy Jollee Full Power Happy Hour Sofia Isella Cheap Date Stones Corner Festival takes place from 12–10pm on Sunday, May 1 on Logan Road, Stones Corner.
The Powerhouse has established itself as one of the premier locations for just about anything stage-oriented. Music and theatre have become their specialty of late, and now they are combining the two for the World Theatre Festival, taking place this month. Contemporary reimaginings and new, creative titles are on display — hoping to change perceptions of modern theatre and how it is considered by critics and audiences alike. With performances sure to encourage discussion and debate, make sure you are a part of the fun or miss out on some enlightening entertainment. The program includes Ireland's playful Pan Pan Theatre doing a contemporary spin on The Doll's House as well as the first play written in response to Norway's Utoya Island massacre, The Economist. Keep an eye on our pages for more select recommendations, but we encourage you to check out the itinerary on The Powerhouse website and decide for yourself. Prices vary, but ticket packages are on offer.
It's time to get festive beneath one of Newstead's most striking features: the Gasometer. For one night in December, The Market Folk is taking over the eye-catching Gasworks space, bring a heap of stalls with it and helping you finish your Christmas shopping — because, let's face it, no one ever gets 100-percent of their gift buying done too far in advance. From 4–8pm on Saturday, December 10, the Gasworks Plaza precinct will be home to plenty of market stalls as the sun goes down, all brimming with items that'd make perfect presents (for your loved ones, and for yourself). [caption id="attachment_758933" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The Market Folk[/caption] If you're wondering just what kinds of things you can expect to pick up, think fashion, art, homewares, ceramics and vintage goods — and plants as well — from 40-plus businesses. There'll be a particular focus on Brisbane creatives, too. So, you'll also be gifting them some Christmas cheer by supporting their hard work. These markets include live music on the lawn, plus bites and drinks from surrounding eateries and bars. And, they're also doggo-friendly. [caption id="attachment_814294" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Top image: Andrew S via Flickr.
Dust off your best bling bling and scour your wardrobe for something Anna Wintour would approve of, because James Street's RESORT kicks of this week. Rivalling last year's program — headlined by Man Repeller aka Leandra Medine — this year brings some of the worlds biggest designers, fashion gurus and trendsetters to Brisbane, including the queen of them all, Margaret Zhang. For three days, James Street will transformed into a desert oasis and shopping mirage, with exclusive collections and presentations by the local boutiques on the strip. In the lineup of talks, workshops, drinking and eating that form the street-wide celebration, Zhang will be joined by fellow guests Lisa Gorman and Holly Ryan on the panel RESORT Trailblazers: Australia is the Future of Fashion. In addition, expect early exercise meets with Lorna Jane, morning raves with Blonde Venus, mojitos at Scrumptious Reads and the highlight of the three-day party, RESORT After Dark, as part of the bustling program. Regardless of how many Hadids you follow on Instagram or how big your wardrobe is, this is the event of events for anyone interested in the contemporary and future states of Australian fashion. Splash out on an outfit you can't afford and enjoy!
After months of speculation, it seems Amazon's much-hyped Australian launch finally has a start date. And that date is tomorrow. As business information researchers IBISWorld confirmed, emails were sent out to a bunch of Amazon Marketplace sellers on Tuesday, suggesting that the online retail giant would be kicking off an 'internal testing phase' here in Australia at 2pm Thursday, November 23 — just in time for that hectic, pre-Christmas retail rush. There's not a whole lot of info to go on, though sellers are being told to ensure their pricing and stock is up-to-date, and that their accounts are ready for purchases from the start of this soft launch. They're also being given the opportunity to opt out of the testing phase, by temporarily deactivating their account. It looks like the rest of us will have to wait until tomorrow to see which, and how many products are available during the launch period — though if we know anything about Amazon, it's that they don't do things by halves. According to Senior Industry Analyst for IBISWorld Kim Do, Amazon's arrival in Australia is set to give the local retail industry a solid shake-up. "The company intends to challenge domestic retail prices by offering items for 30 percent less than domestic retailers," she explained, adding that technology products are expected to be Amazon's highest selling category. Let the retail therapy begin!
Most superheroes don't boast the same skills; however, in making the leap from comics to the screen and beyond, they can follow similar paths. Yes, the fact that great power means great responsibility should apply to all caped crusaders. Yes, many often segue from ordinary folks to suddenly super-powered saviours. And yes, in Black Panther and now the Spider-Man franchise's cases, one of their best are returning to cinemas a couple of years later as a spectacular movie-and-music event. Film fans can see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in cinemas right now, and should. It's exceptional, and already one of the best flicks of 2023. Keen to revisit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the title that started everyone's favourite friendly neighbourhood webslinger's current animated movie series? That's coming to Australia via Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert. Five years after Into the Spider-Verse debuted on the silver screen, it's swinging back onto one, this time at The Plenary at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday, October 21. Making its Australian premiere as a concert, the animated masterpiece will be accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra, plus DJ Total Eclipse from The X-Ecutioners on the turntables. Everything from The Lion King to Star Wars and Harry Potter, plus The Princess Bride, Home Alone and Toy Story as well, have scored or are about to score the orchestral treatment — but that approach alone wouldn't suit Into the Spider-Verse and its Brooklyn-based Spidey Miles Morales (Shameik Moore, Wu-Tang: An American Saga). Hence the fusion with DJ-spun tracks, to truly do not only Daniel Pemberton's (an Oscar-nominee for The Trial of the Chicago 7) score justice, but also the soundtrack featuring Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Jaden Smith and Nicki Minaj, too. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of my favourite scores I've ever written. Utilising a full orchestra, crazy electronics and unbelievable turntable scratching techniques amongst a million other things, it is so technically complex I never thought we'd ever be able to actually reproduce it in a live concert, but somehow, we have," said Pemberton about the project. The concert version heads Down Under after premiering in New York in March 2023, and with fellow stops around the US currently taking place, as well as shows in the UK planned after its Australian run. Fingers crossed that this dazzling mix of sound and vision will do whatever the Spider-Verse can in other Australian cities, although only a Melbourne date has been announced so far. Check out the trailers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in Concert and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse itself below: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert is playing The Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne on Saturday, October 21, with tickets on sale via Ticketmaster from Friday, July 28. Images: Adela Loconte.
Winter is all about staying indoors — and you want those interiors to look as great as possible. Art and design lovers, that's where the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art's annual Winter Design Market Weekend comes in. Browse, buy and then prepare to get cosy. Find jewellery, ceramics, textiles, homewares and clothing and more at this popular market, which will feature almost 50 stalls when it takes over the GOMA forecourt from 9am–4pm on Saturday, July 2–Sunday, July 3. Don't go giving the venue's official store a miss either. Take the time to peruse the GOMA collection of books and art, and thank us for the tip later. As well as shopping for cute design wares — and meeting the makers behind them — while you're in the vicinity, you'll be able to wander through wool thanks to the gallery's winter Chiharu Shiota exhibition, too. And although GOMA will host another design market once the silly season rolls around, getting your gift shopping out of the way now will make you feel like Christmas has come early. Or, just treat yo'self — no excuse necessary.
Legendary vocal-happy label 4AD (Bon Iver, Grimes, The National) has picked up its fourth ever Australian artist. Castlemaine's D.D Dumbo has just signed a big ol' deal to become one of the 4AD family. Celebrated for his minimalist style, mesmerising vocals and ridiculous ability with a 12-string guitar, D.D Dumbo has pricked the ears of the likes of Warpaint, St Vincent and Iron & Wine — picking up invitations for support slots along the way. The Victorian native has landed more support gigs for Daughter and Tame Impala in the UK, along with a debut headline show in London and a highly coveted slot at Latitude Festival. The Castlemaine local will return home in July to support the ever eclectic and straight-up magical Tune-Yards for her Splendour sideshows, working his way from Melbourne's Howler to North Byron Parklands and back to Oxford Art Factory. Jump wholeheartedly on the bandwagon this time around, this kid's going to get expensive. D.D DUMBO AUSTRALIAN DATES: 24 July - Howler, Melbourne (supporting Tune-Yards) SOLD OUT 25 July - Howler, Melbourne (supporting Tune-Yards) 27 July - Splendour in The Grass SOLD OUT 28 July - Oxford Art Factory (supporting Tune-Yards) https://youtube.com/watch?v=qG4DLc9Kotg
Once, heading to Nambour was all about gawking at over-sized tropical fruit. Actually, that's still the case. Back in 2013, however, the giant pineapple-owning powers that be added another reason to head to the Sunshine Coast's biggest tourist attraction: an annual music festival with an ace lineup. Well, it's usually annual. The 2020 event has understandably changed its dates a few time in this COVID-19-afflicted year, and now it's moving the whole shebang to 2021. So, you can once again expect some top-notch entertainment across four stages, plus a ferris wheel, food stalls aplenty, arts, crafts and other activities, and camping, all when The Big Pineapple Music Festival returns on Saturday, May 22, 2021. It's enough to make you block out a weekend and start planning a few days spent in the shadow of one of the country's favourite big things. The 2021 lineup hasn't been announced yet, because it isn't as logistically simple as just sticking with 2020's bill — so watch this space regarding who you'll be dancing to. And, ticket-wise, all 2020 purchases are still valid. If you can't attend the new date, you can request a refund between September 9–October 12. If you don't have a ticket yet, fingers crossed that you'll be able to pick one up once the event has processed any returned tickets. [caption id="attachment_760926" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Charlie Hardy[/caption] The Big Pineapple Music Festival will take place on Saturday, May 22, 2021. For further details about the date change, ticketing and refunds, visit the event's website. Images: Charlie Hardie / Claudia Ciapocaa.
The Good Place wrapped up its existential laughs in 2020. The Office and Parks and Recreation have both been off screen for a few years now, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will soon be coming to an end, too. So, you might be wondering where you're going to get your 20-minute servings of warmhearted comedy from in the future (other than from rewatching all of the above shows again and again, of course). Enter: Rutherford Falls. Each of these sitcoms, including the newcomer that you've never heard of until now, have one thing in common: they involve writer and producer Michael Schur. He held both roles on The Office, co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and created The Good Place. Yes, he has a distinctive brand of humour — and it's a delight. With Rutherford Falls, the man behind a hefty amount of the past two decades' best comedies is reteaming with one of his past stars — and co-stars. Schur also actually appeared in The Office, playing Mose Schrute, cousin to Dwight. Here, he's working with Ed Helms again, who leads the new series as a descendant of the man his town was named after. Helms' Nathan Rutherford runs tours informing the public of his family's history, and his ancestor's founding of Rutherford Falls 400 years ago. He's also proud of the statue, nicknamed 'Big Larry', that sits in a prominent place. But when it is suggested that the sculpture should be moved, he isn't happy — all in a town that borders a Native American reservation and has hardly been respectful of that aspect of its heritage. As well as Helms, in his first ongoing TV part since The Office, the new comedy stars Jana Schmieding (Blast), Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True), Jesse Leigh (Heathers) and Dustin Milligan (Schitt's Creek). And, you'll be able to see if it lives up to its Schur-penned predecessors when it hits Stan on Friday, April 23, with its entire first season available to binge that day. Check out the trailer for Rutherford Falls below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmSK3XliTk4 Rutherford Falls will be available to watch via Stan from Friday, April 23.
Captaining an eco-friendly boat, sipping biodynamic wines and feasting on farm fresh produce — this is just the very beginning of what a sustainable weekend in Canberra could include. The nation's capital is an ideal location for travellers who want to reduce their environmental footprint while uncovering new sights, tastes and adventures. We've rounded up a list of some of the top eco-friendly eateries and drink purveyors, sustainably powered activities and luxe experiences, plus accommodation options focused on preserving the natural beauty of the territory. Use this as your guide to exploring Canberra's renowned city sights and discovering the region's hidden gems — while staying green. Please stay up to date with the latest ACT Government health advice regarding COVID-19. [caption id="attachment_810977" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Capital Brewing, Kara Rosenlund, VisitCanberra[/caption] EAT AND DRINK Canberra's top farm-to-tote-bag source for fridge and pantry staples — plus, early morning sustenance — is the Capital Region Farmers Market. More than 100 local stalls pop up every Saturday from 7–11.30am at Exhibition Park, offering everything from fresh fruit and veg to flowers, honey, bread, smoked meats, eggs and pastries. Explore it all with a coffee in hand, and get to know the local producers' tips for planet-friendly cooking and growing. For a second breakfast, head to vegan cafe and bakery Sweet Bones to enjoy another caffeine fix and sugar rush. Order a plant-based big brekkie or stock up on sweet wonders from the treats cabinet. Next, make a quick trip southeast to Pialligo Estate. It wears many hats, including cafe, restaurant, grocer, vineyard, smokehouse, small farm plot and children's playground. Enjoy the fruits of the estate over an al fresco lunch, before touring the grounds for a real paddock-to-plate experience. [caption id="attachment_810980" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery, VisitCanberra[/caption] Ready for a tipple? Start with sustainable malted magic at Capital Brewing Co. This Canberra craft beer baron is well on its way to becoming a zero-waste brewery, sending spent beer-making ingredients to farmers for cattle feed, composting leftovers, minimising water and energy consumption, eliminating unnecessary packaging, and more. Chip in on the environmental effort and order a banana-forward Belgian blonde ale or exquisitely tart pear and elderflower sour from the warehouse taproom. If you prefer vinous varieties on a drinks list, check out Lark Hill Biodynamic Winery. The drops here get gold stars in the organic and biodynamic wine categories, while also hitting the mark on the delicious scale. Regular sippers of riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir will be well served at this lofty location in the hills above Canberra where shale and clay soils let these hardy grapes thrive. Book a $10-per-person tasting by the open fire at the intimate cellar door and work your way through some zesty whites and dark cherry reds. [caption id="attachment_810979" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jindii Eco Spa, VisitCanberra[/caption] DO Reconnect with nature while you enjoy a little self-care luxury at Jindii Eco Spa. This dreamy retreat is hidden within the vibrant Australian National Botanic Gardens, offering spa treatments that utilise wild harvested native ingredients and Indigenous knowledge. Unwind with a massage and mineral bath, allowing botanicals like lemon myrtle, white flannel flower and banksia seed to hydrate your skin while the expert therapists pummel all the stress out of your weary muscles. Add a little retail therapy to the rejuvenation mix and stock up on a few goodies from the spa's signature skincare range after a wander through the gardens. One fun way to explore Canberra is zipping around on an e-scooter. You might have a few childhood memories of tragic scooter tumbles, but these electric beauties are far easier and safer to handle. You can tour Lake Burley Griffin and track down famously transient The Pop Inn, which moves its wine and pizza bar to new locations around the capital most weekends. Hire e-scooters from the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre for an hour at $15 or for two hours for $25, or book the Beam and Neuron scooters via their own apps. [caption id="attachment_810978" align="alignnone" width="1920"] GoBoat, VisitCanberra[/caption] Keen to get out on the lake? GoBoat provides eco-friendly electric vessels that can ferry up to eight inland pirates (and seafaring dogs) around Lake Burley Griffin. You'll be captaining the boat yourself. It's super simple to steer and doesn't require experience or even a driver's license — however, skippers will need to be over 18 years old. Pre-packaged boat picnics and a sensible amount of BYO alcohol for passengers are encouraged, but GoBoat can also supply snacks from local eatery, Bean & Table. If you've got enough steam left for one more activity, make it an epic hike up Mount Gingera, which sits atop the western NSW/ACT border in Namadgi National Park. If you want to conquer the full 15-kilometre return journey from the carpark, expect an intermittently steep but stunning trek with endless mountain views at the summit. There are shorter trails to follow in the area and plenty of opportunities to spot native birds and frogs throughout the carefully preserved park. Keep in mind this peak can be covered by snow in the depths of winter. [caption id="attachment_810983" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nil Desperandum, Australian Capital Tourism[/caption] STAY You can get well and truly off-grid staying in Canberra while maintaining accommodation elegance. The bell tents at Naked Cubby Co provide luxe mattresses and linens you can get lost in, as well as breakfast in bed and easy access to the cellar door at Mount Majura Vineyard, all just a 20-minute drive from Canberra's CBD. Choose between the solar-powered glamping tents perched among the vines and the tiny house on wheels near the pine forest. The facilities are similarly minimal but the nature is top-notch at Nil Desperandum, a heritage cottage in the foothills of the Tidbinbilla Range. You'll need a 4WD to make the last leg of the 45-minute journey here from the centre of Canberra, but intrepid explorers with smaller city wheels can hike the last six kilometres along the dirt roads. The charming two-bedroom cottage has solar lighting, a kitchen with a wood stove, a long drop toilet, and a veranda and fenced yard where you can spend the night cooking on the gas barbecue and reclining by the fire pit. Just remember to bring in your own firewood. Also be aware that there's limited phone reception and no power outlets, so you'll need to be pretty self-sufficient to enjoy a night or two in the reserve. [caption id="attachment_810984" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ovolo Nishi, VisitCanberra[/caption] Alternatively, you can stay within the city limits for access to all the mod-cons you've come to love at Ovolo Nishi. While this CBD hotel is 'plugged in', it does have a clear commitment to sustainability and nature. The retro furnishings and artworks in each room are made from materials like clay, cork, refurbished eucalyptus timber and natural fibres, and the lofty atrium rooms gaze into an internal courtyard of salvaged Tasmanian tree ferns. The in-house dining at Monster Kitchen and Bar also has a sustainable focus, including a 100-percent vegetarian menu for the next year led by local seasonal produce. Discover more experiences to have in Canberra at VisitCanberra and start planning your next city break. Top Image: Mount Majura Vineyard, VisitCanberra
No one should need to cleanse their palates between Mad Max movies — well, maybe after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, depending on your mileage with it — but if anyone does, George Miller shouldn't be one of them. The Australian auteur gifted the world the hit dystopian franchise, has helmed and penned each and every chapter, and made Mad Max: Fury Road an astonishing piece of cinema that's one of the very best in every filmic category that applies. Still, between that kinetic, frenetic, rightly Oscar-winning movie and upcoming prequel Furiosa, Miller has opted to swish around romantic fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing. He does love heightened drama and also myths, including in the series he's synonymous with. He adores chronicling yearnings and hearts' desires, too, whether surveying vengeance and survival, the motivations behind farm animals gone a-wandering in Babe: Pig in the City, the dreams of dancing penguins in Happy Feet, or love, happiness and connection here. In other words, although adapted from AS Byatt's short story The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Three Thousand Years of Longing is unshakeably and inescapably a Miller movie — and it's as alive with his flair for the fantastical as most of his resume. It's a wonder for a range of reasons, one of which is simple: the last time that the writer/director made a movie that didn't connect to the Mad Max, Babe or Happy Feet franchises was three decades back. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that this tale about a narratologist (Tilda Swinton, Memoria) and the Djinn (Idris Elba, Beast) she uncorks from a bottle, and the chats they have about their histories as the latter tries to ensure the former makes her three wishes to truly set him free, is told with playfulness, inventiveness, flamboyance and a deep heart. Much of Miller's filmography is, but there's a sense with Three Thousand Years of Longing that he's been released, too — even if he loves his usual confines, as audiences do as well. "My story is true," Swinton's Alithea Binnie announces at the get-go. "You're more likely to believe me, however, if I tell it as a fairy tale." Cue another Miller trademark, unpacking real emotions and woes within scenarios that are anything but standard — two people talking about their lives in a hotel is hardly fanciful, though. The tales that the Djinn relays, with debts clearly owed to One Thousand and One Nights, also dwell in the everyday; some just happened millennia ago. The Djinn loved the Queen of Sheba (model Aamito Lagum), but lost her to the envious King Solomon (Nicolas Mouawad, Mako). He then languished in the the Ottoman court, after young concubine Gulten (Ece Yüksel, Family Secrets) wished for the heart of Suleiman the Magnificent's (Lachy Hulme, Preacher) son Mustafa (singer Matteo Bocelli). And, in the 19th century, the Djinn fell for Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar, Between Two Dawns), the brilliantly smart but stifled wife of a Turkish merchant. What spirits the Djinn's time-hopping memories beyond the ordinary and into the metaphysical, and Alithea's narrative as well, is the figure first seen billowing out of blue-and-white glass, then filling an entire suite, then slipping into white towelling. Something magical happens when you pop on a hotel bathrobe — that space and that cosy clothing are instantly transporting — and while Alithea resists the very idea of making wishes, she gets swept along by her new companion anyway. As a scholar of stories and the meanings they hold, she knows the warnings surrounding uttering hopes and having them granted. She also says she's content with her intellectual, independent and isolated-by-choice life, travelling the world to conferences like the one that's brought her to Turkey and then to the Istanbul bazaar where she spies the Djinn's misshapen home, even if her own backstory speaks of pain and self-protective mechanisms. And yet, "I want our solitudes to be together", she eventually declares, and with exactly the titular emotion. Adapting this swoony affair for the screen with co-screenwriter Augusta Gore, his daughter, Miller knows that Three Thousand Years of Longing is indeed a cautionary tale, too. As Alithea is well aware, simply wishing can't genuinely make dreams come true; life is much too thorny and slippery for that. And, even when she allows herself to forget it despite her early protests, and the film lets her — Elba can fight lions on-screen in one flick, then capture hearts and dissolve defences in the next — Miller never does. It doesn't go unnoticed that every narrative within Three Thousand Years of Longing is one of captivity and power imbalances, with imagery to reinforce it. Containers and chains, physical and otherwise, envelop characters in all layers of the story. Love at times is one such prison, including when Alithea asks for it. This is a romance, but perhaps the most affecting notion it ponders is how love isn't really love if it isn't freely given. Three Thousand Years of Longing is also still a fairy tale as Alithea promises, with enchantment breezing in, lives forever changed and lessons imparted. Being so passionate and fantastical while never losing sight of life's essential truths is a complicated mix, and it often makes for a beautiful one under Miller's guidance. The intimacy and feeling when Three Thousand Years of Longing remains a superb two-hander isn't just charming — it's potent and moving. With her sharp red bob, circular glasses and thick but melodious accent, and with his calming eyes and perfect mix of charisma and sorrow, Swinton and Elba could've spent the entire movie talking and it would've been a pleasure to watch. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande has already shown how enticing a hotel room, a couple of chattering souls and laying oneself emotionally bare can be, especially with magnetic performances, and this would make a wonderful double feature with it. Human existence isn't just quiet, transformative, deep-and-meaningful one-on-one moments in plush surrounds and outfits, though, just as love isn't always bliss. Three Thousand Years of Longing is a work of two distinct approaches, recognising that, and also letting Miller bust out every stylistic yearning he has whenever his film ventures past Alithea and the Djinn conversing to its blasts from the past. The visuals swoop and slide, with Mad Max: Fury Road cinematographer John Seale again conveying his director's energy with verve and panache. The swift editing by Fury Road's Margaret Sixel, and the feature's creative transitions, do the same. Colour blazes bright, as does detail — gleaming from every surface, in fact — and spinning stories and escaping into fables becomes the most vibrant and urgent thing in the world. While watching and getting lost in Three Thousand Years of Longing, it frequently feels that way.
If a sunny north Queensland holiday sounds like your kind of bliss at the moment, you're not alone. Spring is here, a toasty summer beckons and Australia's tropical region is mighty enticing all year round anyway. So, whether you're a Brisbanite eager to relax at the other end of the state, or you live elsewhere around the country, Tourism Tropical North Queensland has launched a new tour voucher giveaway that'll give you an extra reason to head to the area. Under the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Travel Bonus scheme, 8000 vouchers worth $250 each are up for grabs for folks spending their holidays in Queensland's tropical north. You will need to fork out at least $1000 on your trip anyway. But, if you do, you can nab a voucher to use on tours while you're there. The scheme is open all through the warmest parts of the year, too, ending on April 20, 2022. And, unlike previous Queensland travel incentives that've been run at the state government level, these vouchers are open to all Aussies. That said, obviously folks in locked-down parts of New South Wales and Victoria won't be able to head north until the rules in their respective areas allow it, and Queensland's border restrictions as well. To take advantage of the deal, you'll need to book through one of Tourism Tropical North Queensland's travel partners, which includes Viva Holidays, My Queensland and Flight Centre. And yes, you can add the scheme to the list of incentives enticing Aussies to make the most of everything the nation has to offer — when and where they're allowed to, of course — with the Northern Territory doing a tourism giveaway this summer as well. Tourism Tropical North Queensland's Cairns & Great Barrier Reef Travel Bonus scheme runs until April 20, 2022. For more information, head to the $250 Tropical Travel Bonus website.
When it comes to the craft beer scene, Adelaide is often mistreated as the infant sister to Melbourne and Sydney. In truth, South Australia is making some of the best craft in the nation at the moment and is giving its 'older sisters' a serious run for their money. Adelaide even has one of the best craft beer festivals in the country — a barbecue and brew combo that has all of the makings to swiftly become one of the best worldwide. From the overnight mega-success story that is Pirate Life to bacon flavoured beers, Negroni IPAs and even a beetroot saison brewed by uni students, Adelaide is on the watch list in the craft beer world right now. Taking a trip down south? Here's what beers to drink and where to find them. If you aren't planning a trip anytime soon, we suggest you get those tickets booked anyway — for beer's sake, that is. [caption id="attachment_600792" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Nola.[/caption] WHERE TO DRINK Adelaide's small bar scene is booming in step with its craft beer scene and the two fit hand in glove. Even simple cafes like Cafe Troppo are housing two taps of craft alongside their eco-friendly fare and ethically-sourced coffee and teas. Craft beer and whisky lovers can't miss Nola, known explicitly for both. The New Orleans-style bar houses 16 taps that are constantly rotating and feature independent SA brewers, as well as Australia-wide and international guest stars. If 16 taps somehow isn't enough for you, they're also boasting an extensive list of one-off and rare release bottles. Now that's commitment to the craft. For an underground feel, the Bank Street Social (top image) is the speakeasy in these parts and reminiscent of Sydney's Baxter Inn. They're committed to showcasing SA craft beer and ciders in equal measure to their ridiculously large whisky wall. The Bank is the spot to search out the latest releases in the region while you get your boogie on or relax on one of their luxe, golden booths. If you're more into a classic pub style, The Wheatsheaf Hotel cannot be beat in these parts. Each of their 13 rotating taps are strictly craft only, with bottled beers from around the world as well. They also boast a beer garden, regular live music, board games and art exhibitions, so it's an all-round good time to be had. Benjamin on Franklin toes the line between small bar feel and classic hotel setup — this joint is less pub, more 1920s-style, bohemian beer purveyor. The three dining booths in their beer garden are the perfect escape for a intimate date over craft beer (what else?). [caption id="attachment_600794" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Pirate Life.[/caption] WHAT TO DRINK When in Adelaide, keep your eyes peeled for these big names in the small batch brewing game. A few you may recognise from your local bottle shop, namely Pirate Life, which has only been operating since 2014 and has done major things to catapult Adelaide, and Australia, onto the world craft beer stage. Big Shed Brewing Concern is another you may have heard of, considering the Facebook fame which their "Fresh as Fuck" campaign fostered — the crew hand-delivered beer from their Adelaide brewery to Sydney's Bitter Phew in less than 24 hours after kegging, all in the name of fresh beer. Sadly, many of these aren't yet shipping up north, but it's only a matter of time before you'll be sipping these across the country and hopefully around the world. [caption id="attachment_600795" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Barossa Valley Brewing Co.[/caption] EXTRA SPECIAL BREWS Pirate Life Brewing What to try: Cerveza Negra collab with Tomfoolery Wines Barossa Valley Brewery What to try: I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon Mismatch Brewing Co. What to try: Negroni IPA Smiling Samoyed Brewery What to try: Multi award-winning Dark Ale Campus Brewing What to try: Beetroot Saison [caption id="attachment_600796" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Little Bang.[/caption] OTHER AWESOME BREWERIES TO SCOUT OUT Little Bang Big Shed Brewing Concern Clare Valley Brewing Co. Fair Weather Malt Fiction Prancing Pony Pikes Beer Company Wheaty Brewing Corps. Marissa travelled as a guest of the Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival. Top image: Bank Street Social.
Here's something that 2023 has that 2022 didn't: a Golden Globes ceremony. In his opening monologue, this year's host Jerrod Carmichael addressed the reasons why, including the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's historical lack of diversity. He also unpacked why he was asked to take to the microphone: "because I'm Black". Sparkling dresses, gleaming tuxedos, almost every famous face ever, plenty of shiny trophies going to worthy talents: that was all a part of the 2023 Golden Globes, which handed out its gongs on Wednesday, January 11 Australian and New Zealand time. So were frank speeches about the state of the industry, and the paths that many of this year's award-winners took to getting the accolades they deserve. When Ke Huy Quan said that "for so many years, I was afraid I had nothing more to offer" — chatting about the gap between starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a kid to making Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022 — there really shouldn't have been a dry eye in the house. When his co-star Michelle Yeoh spoke about the surprise she garnered when people in the US discovered that she could speak English, the anger was palpable. Yeoh and Quan are just two of this year's Golden Globe winners, emerging victorious from a hefty list of nominees. Covering big- and small-screen contenders, they had ample company. And, among award recipients and presenters alike, the important and entertaining moments kept coming, such as Colin Farrell thanking Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis' Austin Butler asking to be played off to 'Suspicious Minds', Wednesday's Jenna Ortega telling everyone to watch 1962 French New Wave classic Jules and Jim, and Carmichael apologising "as a gay man" to Jennifer Coolidge in response to The White Lotus' second season. Also among the highlights: Carol Burnett Award-recipient Ryan Murphy giving 2022 Globe-winner MJ Rodriguez, the first trans woman to score a Golden Globe, a moment of recognition to make up for last year's lack of a ceremony; Volodymyr Zelenskyy's beamed-in speech; Steven Spielberg talking about finally being ready to dive into his own past directly after flirting with it across his filmography; Coolidge's mile-a-minute run-through of her rollercoaster career, and saying she'd come back for more American Pie; and Quinta Brunson's shoutout to Bob Odenkirk. Next stop for winners of the Golden Globe's film categories: the Academy Awards. Is Australia's own Cate Blanchett set to win her third Oscar, after picking up a Globe for Tár? Can Bollywood gem RRR keep winning fans everywhere it goes? Will 2023 keep being Yeoh and Quan's year, as 2022 was? These are your new questions. Amid all of the above, if you're wondering who and what else nabbed Golden Globes this year, the full rundown is below — and you can also check out our picks for the 15 winners you can watch right now: GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES AND WINNERS: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Avatar: The Way of Water Elvis The Fabelmans — WINNER Tár Top Gun: Maverick BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Cate Blanchett, Tár — WINNER Olivia Colman, Empire of Light Viola Davis, The Woman King Ana de Armas, Blonde Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Austin Butler, Elvis — WINNER Brendan Fraser, The Whale — WINNER Hugh Jackman, The Son Bill Nighy, Living Jeremy Pope, The Inspection BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Babylon The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Everything Everywhere All at Once Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Triangle of Sadness BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Lesley Manville, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris Margot Robbie, Babylon Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu Emma Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Diego Calva, Babylon Daniel Craig, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Adam Driver, White Noise Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Ralph Fiennes, The Menu BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio — WINNER Inu-Oh Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Turning Red BEST MOTION PICTURE — NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE All Quiet on the Western Front Argentina, 1985 — WINNER Close Decision to Leave RRR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — WINNER Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness Carey Mulligan, She Said BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin Brad Pitt, Babylon Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once — WINNER Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans — WINNER BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Todd Field, Tár Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER Sarah Polley, Women Talking Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Hildur Guðnadóttir, Women Talking Justin Hurwitz, Babylon — WINNER John Williams, The Fabelmans BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Carolina' by Taylor Swift, Where the Crawdads Sing 'Ciao Papa' by Alexandre Desplat, Guillermo del Toro, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 'Hold My Hand' by Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice, Top Gun: Maverick 'Lift Me Up' by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 'Naatu Naatu' by Kala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj, RRR — WINNER BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Better Call Saul The Crown House of the Dragon — WINNER Ozark Severance BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Emma D'Arcy, House of the Dragon Laura Linney, Ozark Imelda Staunton, The Crown Hilary Swank, Alaska Daily Zendaya, Euphoria — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Jeff Bridges, The Old Man Kevin Costner, Yellowstone — WINNER Diego Luna, Andor Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul Adam Scott, Severance BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Abbott Elementary — WINNER The Bear Hacks Only Murders in the Building Wednesday BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary — WINNER Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building Jenna Ortega, Wednesday Jean Smart, Hacks BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Donald Glover, Atlanta Bill Hader, Barry Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jeremy Allen White, The Bear — WINNER BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Black Bird DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story The Dropout Pam & Tommy The White Lotus — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, George and Tammy Julia Garner, Inventing Anna Lily James, Pam & Tommy Julia Roberts, Gaslit Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Taron Egerton, Black Bird Colin Firth, The Staircase Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven Evan Peters, Dahmer — MONSTER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — WINNER Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus — WINNER Claire Danes, Fleishman Is in Trouble Daisy Edgar-Jones, Under the Banner of Heaven Niecy Nash, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION F. Murray Abraham, The White Lotus Domhnall Gleeson, The Patient Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird — WINNER Richard Jenkins, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL-COMEDY OR DRAMA TELEVISION SERIES Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Julia Garner, Ozark — WINNER Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL-COMEDY OR DRAMA TELEVISION SERIES John Lithgow, The Old Man Jonathan Pryce, The Crown John Turturro, Severance Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary — WINNER Henry Winkler, Barry For further details about the 2023 Golden Globes, head to the awards' website.
If you're lucky enough to score tickets to Meredith Music Festival in any year via the event's ballot, one of Australia's best fests awaits no matter the lineup. 2025's roster of acts is characteristically impressive, however. On the just-dropped bill: TV on the Radio, Atarashii Gakko! and Perfume Genius, for starters, as well as Thee Sacred Souls, Pa Salieu, HAAi, Bar Italia, Colin Hay and Mildlife. And, there's still more where the came from. Folk Bitch Trio, Saya Gray, RONA. and Omar Souleyman are on the lineup, too. So are Dames Brown, Radio Free Alice, Sam Austins RP Boo, Wax'o Paradiso, Florist and Jack J. Add in Drifting Clouds, Dr Sure's Unusual Practice, Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir, Mouseatouille, Brown Spirits and Lazy Susan on MC duties, and expect a jam-packed three days across Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. [caption id="attachment_1017126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sumner Dilworth[/caption] How is the fest crew describing this year's event? "One of the best places on earth to spend a weekend, the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre has been natured and nurtured and then natured again, for the singular purpose of hosting the time of your life," organisers advise. So, expect "a permanent and purpose-built underground wunderland that provides optimal conditions for rarefied reverie", as well as to get "lost in music, lost in one another, for three days and two nights of Sup'ed up saucery". 2025 marks the beloved festival's 33rd year, with this three-decade-plus tradition taking over its namesake Victorian locale to kick off summer. The first round of the ticket ballot for the three-day BYO camping festival opened in July and ended on Monday, August 11, 2025, but you still have a chance to enter. The second round is now open, and you've got until 10.33pm AEST on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 to put your name in. So, book that long weekend, go in the running for tickets, then cross your fingers that you'll be spending a trio of days at The Sup with Tunde Adebimpe and company. [caption id="attachment_1017128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cody Critcheloe[/caption] Meredith Music Festival 2025 Lineup TV on the Radio Atarashii Gakko! Perfume Genius Thee Sacred Souls Pa Salieu HAAi Bar Italia Colin Hay Mildlife Folk Bitch Trio Saya Gray RONA. Omar Souleyman Dames Brown Radio Free Alice Sam Austins RP Boo Wax'o Paradiso Florist Jack J Drifting Clouds Dr Sure's Unusual Practice Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir Mouseatouille Brown Spirits Lazy Susan Meredith Music Festival returns to Meredith from Friday, December 5–Sunday, December 7, 2025. To put your name in the second round of the ballot to get your hands on tickets, head to the festival's website before 10.33pm AEST on Tuesday, August 19. Meredith Music Festival images: Chip Mooney, Leah Hulst, Ben Fletcher, Chelsea King and Steve Benn.
Social media can get you anywhere, or so the story behind Marvel's latest movie and the actor playing its eponymous character demonstrates. Back in 2014, Simu Liu tweeted at the comic book company-turned-filmmaking powerhouse, asking "how about an Asian American hero?". In 2018, after Black Panther's success, he tweeted again — querying "are we gonna talk or what?" with the #ShangChi hashtag. Now, the Kim's Convenience star leads the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 25th feature, and the first to focus on a hero of Asian descent in its 13-year run to-date. He's the face of the franchise's latest step forward, both in terms of inclusion and representation, and in keeping the MCU's ongoing narrative forever hurtling onwards. Liu anchors a film about history and destiny, too — one that's about breaking free from the past and committing to the future — and he heartily embraces the occasion. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings itself flits between offering up a lively picture that strives to carve out its own space in the series, and simply serving up more of the usual Marvel template but in enticing packaging, however. Liu first graces the screen as Shaun, a San Francisco valet who's happy parking cars with his best pal Katy (Awkwafina, Breaking News in Yuba County), even though they both know they could follow other paths. While the film shows Katy's family decrying her lack of ambition, Shaun has a keener awareness of what he isn't doing — because he's really Shang-Chi, the son of centuries-old warlord Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung, The Grandmaster), who leads the shadowy Ten Rings criminal organisation and wears the mystical bracelets it's named after. Shang-Chi also has the otherworldly Jiang Li (Fala Chen, The Undoing), the former guardian of an enchanted village filled with dutiful warriors and mythical creatures, for a mother. But when she died when he was a child, his life changed. After the grief-stricken Wenwu obsessively trained him to become an assassin and see vengeance, Shang-Chi fled for the US, where he's lived since. Then, initially via a postcard from his Macau-based, underground fight club-running sister Xu Xialing (debutant Meng'er Zhang), and then thanks a violent visit from his dad's henchmen, he's forced into a family reunion that puts the fate of the universe at stake. It's telling that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actually begins by honing in on Wenwu, laying out his backstory and pushing glorious Hong Kong cinema legend Leung — a star with seven Wong Kar-wai films, such as In the Mood for Love and 2046, to his name — firmly to the fore. Marvel has loved daddy issues since Iron Man launched the MCU in 2008. It also adores complicated histories, and stressing the idea that heroes are forged from such complexity. And, it likes anchoring its sprawling on-screen world in as much lore and as many links to the past as it can. That's all accounted for in Shang-Chi's opening move, but so is pure movie-star physics. Leung is never less than magnetic in every feature he's in, including here. He's an actor with breathtaking presence, which has seen him prove one of cinema's most commanding figures for four-plus decades. The power and texture he brings to conflicted characters improves any film and, even with Liu handling his leading role with all the charisma and energy demanded, Leung is always the biggest highlight of every scene he's in. In other words, writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy, Short Term 12) has cast two essential roles devastatingly well — and maybe better than he intended in one case. Liu remains the star of the show, and the movie sets him up for more MCU appearances, of course. He crosses paths with other faces from the franchise, there's zero doubt that he'll be a key part of the saga moving forward and, based on this likeable-enough debut outing, audiences will want to spend more time in his company. But watching Leung constantly leads to yearning for more of Leung. The same applies when the great Michelle Yeoh (Gunpowder Milkshake) also pops up after Shang-Chi openly nods towards Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Marvel's decision to add a martial arts movie to its roster, and to populate it with Asian cinema superstars, can just remind viewers of all the exceptional works that the genre and those talents already made long before Hollywood blockbusters paid them notice, in fact. Shang-Chi brings other films to mind repeatedly, including via valet hijinks that ride in Ferris Bueller's Day Off's tyre treads, and a phenomenal bus scene — the movie's standout, and the beneficiary of dazzling fight choreography — that's more than a little like Speed-meets-Nobody. When a franchise spans 25 instalments and shows no signs of stopping, seeing echoes of past flicks comes with the territory as well, with Shang-Chi boasting the focus on character that makes the better MCU entries stand out, but also remaining happy to descend into the overblown CGI that's always been one of the series' worst impulses. It doesn't quite possess Black Panther's world-building flair, but it wants to. It can't exactly make its genre fit as well as Black Widow did with the spy realm, either. And, sometimes it feels like it's doing the bare minimum that Marvel thinks is necessary with this titular figure, and with committing to an Asian hero, as Captain Marvel illustrated before it with the saga's first solo female lead. When Shang-Chi soars — when Liu and especially Leung shine, the wuxia-inspired action choreography does the same and building engaging characters is the film's main motivation — it makes for vivid viewing. When it finds genuine emotion in Shang-Chi and Wenwu's thorny relationship, and celebrates the MCU's latest otherwise-overlooked sister (with Xialing joining Black Panther's Shuri and Black Widow's Yelena), it beats with heart, too. When it breaks out a sense of humour, which happens often in Cretton, Dave Callaham (Mortal Kombat) and Andrew Lanham's (Just Mercy) screenplay, it mostly mines an entertainingly goofy vibe (although it does lean a little too heavily on Awkwafina doing her Crazy Rich Asians sidekick schtick). That's the film's first two-thirds. When Shang-Chi regurgitates the standard formula, complete with a special-effects onslaught of a finale that favours pixels more than the fantasy flicks it's trying to ape, it surrenders a better movie to an average one. Here's hoping that Liu's tweets ultimately give rise to something more as the MCU keeps on keeping on.
The entrance to Brew is anything but conspicuous. In fact it is downright unassuming. Chances are you've walked past it one hundred times and never even noticed it was there. Located at the end of Lower Burnett Lane (the alleyway between Rocking Horse Records and Pie Face), it finds itself well hidden from the passing foot traffic through Queen Street Mall. But don't let this innocuous position fool you. Brew is well known and for good reason. When something is quality, word spreads, and for this reason on any given day you'll find an eclectic mix of office workers, shoppers and youngsters drinking and dining at one of the cities' more intriguing establishments. Brew was one of the first on the scene when former premier Anna Bligh announced that council wanted to 'Melbournise' Brisbane's unused laneways. Unlike many of its peers, Brew has weathered a fickle marketplace and now finds itself thriving due largely to its unique character. Situated in what appears to have been an old storage warehouse, a coffee bar and café greets those who enter. A quick walk past this is where the magic happens. Once inside the main building a large yet intimate space appears, docked with rustic furniture, leather couches, a fully equipped cocktail bar, baristas and a kitchen creating some wonderful culinary delights. The menu is seasonal and serves dishes appropriate to the climate and time of day. Separate menus exist for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whilst the menus are compact (due in part to the focus primarily being more on coffee and alcoholic beverages), there will no doubt be something in them to tickle the tastebuds. The pick of the breakfast menu would have to be the truffled mushrooms with herb gremolata, mozzarella di buffalo on organic ciabatta. For the lunchtime crowd check out the Spanish meatballs in housemade tomato sauce with sour cream and lemon accompanied by a toasted tortilla, and finally, for dinner goers, try the chorizo and chickpea stew. If Brew has a flaw, and it is hard to find one, it would be that during peak periods service can be a little bit slow. Having said that, at any other time of day you'll find yourself with a coffee and food almost instantly, and be served by very welcoming and friendly staff. So next time you find yourself in the mall, go on a mission, venture down the once foreboding alleyway and step into what it has now become – a gem amongst the strip of fast food franchises and American coffee shops.
Since Australia started easing out of COVID-19 lockdown, the country's internal border restrictions have earned plenty of attention. With tactics to stop the spread of the coronavirus implemented at a state-by-state level, each Aussie state has navigated the situation in its own way when it comes to letting non-residents visit. In Tasmania, that has meant some strict quarantine requirements — which, for non-Tassie residents who weren't classified as essential travellers, entailed spending 14 days in government-designated accommodation. But, for most of the country, quarantine is no more. From Monday, October 26, travellers from Queensland, the ACT, SA, WA, the NT and New Zealand, which are deemed low-risk areas, are allowed to hop on a plane and head across the Strait. After you've filled out a Tas e-Travel form, of course. [caption id="attachment_784489" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Flaming Lips, Mona, Hobart, Mona Foma 2016. Photo Credit: MONA/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] Some good new for Sydneysiders: this will be an option for you, too, come Friday, November 6. On this date, Tasmania is set open its borders and airports to NSW travellers, pending further public health advice. In other words, if there's an outbreak before then, it might reverse the decision — but if NSW continues its stretch of relatively low levels of community transmission (there have been just three new cases in the past four days) we'll be good to go. "What we want to see in a jurisdiction that we open up to is less than five cases of unknown transmission in the last 28 days," Premier Peter Gutwein said in a press conference. "New South Wales over the last 28 days has had six only in a population of nearly eight million people, so they are on top of this." If you're in Melbourne, sadly the changes won't apply to you just yet. Premier Gutwein noted that the state still hopes to open up to Victorians from December 1, but that they're pleased to "see them driving their numbers so low" and will "be responsive to the evolving situation there". Kiwis legally must complete at least 14 days of managed isolation or quarantine when returning to New Zealand. Travellers will also be tested for COVID-19 during the two-week stay. The New Zealand Government has raised its travel advice to "do not travel" — the highest level — regardless of destination. Keen to start planning an adventure south? Mona Foma has announced it'll return to Launceston and Hobart in January — and we've pulled together this list of exciting food and drink spots in the state's northeast. Visitors from low-risk areas (currently Queensland, the ACT, SA, WA, the NT and NZ) are allowed to visit Tasmania without quarantining. You must fill out a Tas e-Travel form a maximum of three days before you arrive. The state is set to open to NSW from Friday, November 6. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Tasmania and the state's corresponding restrictions, visit its online COVID-19 hub. Top image: Bay of Fires via Lia Kuilenburg for Tourism Tasmania.
New music festivals aren't the first thing that springs to mind when anyone thinks about the pandemic, but Brisbane did indeed score one back in 2021. To encourage River City residents to get out and support the city's live music scene, which needed the love during a tough period, Brisbane Winter Sessions was born — and it's now back for 2023. During its first run, the fest ran for six days, held 30-plus gigs and took over 16 venues. The numbers are a bit different in 2023; however, the same aim and spirit remains. So, Brisbanites will have ten days between Friday, July 28–Sunday, August 6 to hit the dance floor around Fortitude Valley, Newstead and Woolloongabba, including at both free and ticketed events. The highlights start with two days of blues, roots and soul tunes at The Triffid, where the Newstead Roots Weekender will take over with two stages, more than 25 musicians getting behind the microphone, DJs spinning tunes till late and the venue's kitchen pumping out snacks. Or, over at The Princess Theatre, a pair of big ticketed events will make the most of the revamped 130-plus-year-old space: Ngaiire teaming up with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, which also falls under this year's Open Season program; and Set Roulette, another Open Season inclusion, this time featuring Kwame, Hatchie, Jesswar, RVG, BIG WETT, Andy Golledge, Party Dozen and Safety Club. At the latter, a giant wheel will be spun onstage to decide who plays when. Brisbane Winter Sessions will also include a street party-inspired DJ night at Hey Chica!, Dizzy Days at Finn McCool's and Fluffy All Stars at Cloudland. The Tyrone Noonan Trio is headed to Black Bear Lodge, as is Some Folk Event feauturing Alivan Blu, Myki Jay and Milk Buttons. [caption id="attachment_870966" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] Top image: katexjean.
If there's one thing that the current trend towards immersive art installations is particularly great for — other than all those snaps in your Instagram feed — it's helping us all pretend we're somewhere out of the ordinary. Feel like stepping into a famous artwork or strolling past life-sized desserts? There's a pop-up for both. Fancy getting wintry, even though Brisbane in summer is obviously anything but? Glacial Glow has you covered. Given that it's currently on display at Westfield Carindale, it'll also make you forget you're just in a suburban shopping centre. The eye-catching walk-through installation creates an arctic world using visuals, sounds and light. While that might all sound standard, scenic artist Christopher Williams — who has worked on blockbuster films such as Aquaman, Thor: Ragnarok and Godzilla vs Kong — is behind it. He's used his cinema-tested techniques to create glowing glaciers and art caves, so you won't just be enjoying the frosty look; you'll also be benefiting from movie magic IRL. Glacial Glow is set up across a 500-metre space on level one of Westfield Carindale, and the winter wonderland is currently selling tickets through until Monday, February 28. It's an all-ages-friendly pop-up, so expect plenty of company. Also, because it uses ultra-violet lighting, you're encouraged to wear brightly coloured or white clothing when you make the trip — and then you'll glow, too.
They're taking the hobbits to Amazon — and, in just over a year, fans of Lord of the Rings will be able to see the end result. Mark Friday, September 2, 2022 in your diary, as that's when you'll be trekking back to Middle-earth via Amazon Prime Video's new LOTR show. It's called The Lord of the Rings, too, but it isn't just serving up a rehash. The series' existence shouldn't be new news, given that the streaming platform first announced it back in 2017, and then gave it the official go-ahead in mid-2018. Since then, the LOTR show has sat at the top of fans' most-anticipated list, obviously. Over the years, we've also heard that it wouldn't just remake Peter Jackson's movies, and learned a few concrete details regarding what it's about as well. Now, however, there's a specific date to look forward to — albeit a year later than when it was originally expected to drop, with sometime in 2021 initially floated. That was before the pandemic, though, and we all now know how much havoc COVID-19 has played on, well, everything, Amazon Prime Video announced the 2022 premiere date to mark the end of filming the show's initial batch of episodes. If you're wondering how it'll look — and how New Zealand's scenic landscape will be used this time around — the streaming service also dropped a first image from the series. Greenery abounds, naturally, as does a towering city surrounded by mountains, as well as a glowing sky. Also wondering what the series will cover if it's not retelling the events of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books? The show will spend time in Middle-earth's Second Age — and bring that era from the LOTR realm to the screen for the very first time. According to the official synopsis, it'll follow "the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," with the action set thousands of years before the novels and movies we've all read and watched. The series will also "take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness." https://twitter.com/LOTRonPrime/status/1349519737655611392 If you're a little rusty on your LOTR lore, the Second Age lasted for 3441 years, and saw the initial rise and fall of Sauron, as well as a spate of wars over the coveted rings. Elves feature prominently, and there's plenty to cover, even if Tolkien's works didn't spend that much time on the period — largely outlining the main events in an appendix to the popular trilogy. Naturally, you can expect Sauron to feature in the new show, and to give its main figures some trouble. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," the official synopsis continues. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," it also advises. In terms of stars, LOTR will feature an unsurprisingly large cast — and some impressive talent behind the scenes. Among the actors traversing Middle-earth are Tom Budge (Judy & Punch), Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud), Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Benjamin Walker (The Underground Railroad) and comedian Lenny Henry. And, the series is being overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, while filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directs the first two episodes. Amazon's new Lord of the Rings series will premiere on Friday, September 2, 2022.
If you could only choose one word to sum up Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, 'intense' would fit. It's also a term that describes Mike Ehrmantraut, the ex-Philadelphia cop who became a fixer for Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys) and Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Lucky Hank) in their criminal endeavours. As played by Jonathon Banks for over a decade between the two shows, the private investigator, hitman and security head was one of the Breaking Bad realm's formidable forces. In a franchise where no one characterisation ever fit anyone — it all started with a high-school chemistry teacher who became a methamphetamine cook, after all — Mike could also be one of the deservedly acclaimed saga's most vulnerable figures. Ask Banks what it's been like to move on from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul after such a lengthy stint — and after featuring so prominently in two of the best shows of the 21st century — and he first brings up another stretch that's worlds away from award-winning crime dramas. "It wasn't quite a decade that I spent in Melbourne and Sydney, and in Auckland in New Zealand at one time, with Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar — and a failed production that I directed of Grease, way before you were born," he tells Concrete Playground as we start to discuss his latest project, darkly thrilling new Apple TV+ sci-fi series Constellation. Banks is best-known of late for his time as Ehrmantraut; with five Emmy nominations and a 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award nod for his efforts, rightly so. But as bringing up his theatre background makes plain, there's so much more to Banks than his now-iconic recent part. Emmy love came his way back in the 80s, too, for his breakthrough role in crime procedural series Wiseguy. Before that, he has everything from spoof movie Airplane! and Gremlins to the Eddie Murphy (Candy Cane Lane)-starring 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop on his resume. Since then, there's barely a TV show that hasn't benefited from his presence, including beloved comedies Community and Parks and Recreation, while his movie appearances are as varied as Horrible Bosses 2, Mudbound and The Commuter. Constellation sees Banks star alongside Noomi Rapace, who is no stranger to famous characters herself thanks to Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films. Here, the show's two biggest names trade illicit dealings for astronauts, plus the fact that venturing into the heavens, then trying to come back, might have consequences. Rapace plays Jo Ericsson, who is at the International Space Station when the series begins, returning to earth after a tragedy. As Henry Caldera, Banks is a former space traveller who has been there, done that, also weathered a disaster above our pale blue dot and now has ISS residents oversee his quantum physics experiments. Doing double duty as Bud Caldera as well, Banks similarly steps into Henry's fellow ex-astronaut twin's shoes. At the heart of Constellation is the search for truth, with the series joining Apple TV+'s many mysteries, a genre that the streaming platform keeps gravitating towards (Criminal Record, The Changeling, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are just some of its efforts of late that also fit the bill). As its narrative twists, turns and plunges into conspiracies, it's also a series about grappling with the full reality of being alive, facing mortality and confronting the enormity of the universe. And, as well as being stellar all-round, it's home to Banks' latest great performance — or, to be accurate, performances. Constellation premieres on Wednesday, February 21 — and in the leadup, we explored the series with Banks, including its place in his filmography and, to get here, the process of farewelling Mike Ehrmantraut. "Mike was a great character, but you've got to leave Mike behind. Mike's got to go away," he notes, as Breaking Bad viewers knew going into prequel series Better Call Saul. What that means for Banks, what appeals to him after playing Mike and his take on Constellation also featured in our chat. [caption id="attachment_757254" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Better Call Saul[/caption] On What Banks Was Looking for After Over a Decade in the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul World "I'm pretty open. You know, I wouldn't mind playing a fop in a restoration comedy, as far as that goes. But I think with Constellation, Michelle MacLaren [who was one of Breaking Bad's executive producers and directors, and also a director on Better Call Saul] sent me the script, which I totally was bewildered by when I read it the first time. Then, because I wanted to work with Michelle and definitely Noomi — I very much respect Noomi's work — so then I'm all in. And then I get to meet Peter Harness [Constellation's creator] and I get to meet the other actors, and it's been a joy. It's been really good." On Taking on Dual Roles in Constellation — and Preparing to Step Into an Astronaut's Shoes "Well, one's bad and the other one's worse. Henry is driven by the power, and the need and the ego to succeed. The other one wallows in self-pity, and is arguably more talented and more intelligent than his brother, who has been successful. It's fun. I approach it with the respect. When I was very young, I thought these people, their intelligence — which is indeed, they are so intelligent. They're also motor geniuses physically, in what they go through and what they're faced with. So, my first take on it is, I try to do it with respect, and respect to who they are — and I hope I pull that off in some small way." [caption id="attachment_941930" align="alignnone" width="1920"] El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Ben Rothstein/Netflix[/caption] On Banks' Knack for Playing Both Formidable and Vulnerable "It's in all of us. It's in you. It's in me. But if I can call on those emotions and bring them forth a little bit easier than some people, how lucky I am to be able to do that? And how lucky I am to have the chance to be able to do that? I love being an actor. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do — ever, ever — as long as I can remember." On What Banks Makes of His Five-Decade Career "Pretty nice, huh? Pretty lucky. Beyond lucky. I'll tell you what happens: I am 77 years old, and it becomes a huge reflection on a lifetime. I can out-poor most people when I was very young, raised by a single mum back when there wasn't that a lot of that around — or at least to my knowledge. And I am stunned at my good fortune in my life, about how well I'm treated. And I try, and I do remind myself, that all of us have moments when we feel down or whatever. I think Noomi — who fights about where and what, and where she comes and where she ends up — is trying to be a good person, which makes it such a pleasure to be around her. And you watch Michelle, with her daughter. Michelle is a force of nature that's coming at you. She is so involved in trying to do a good job. And what's fun is with her young daughter, when her young daughter goes 'mummy can giraffes dance?' and it just stops her, and there she is dealing with the child, and all that energy goes, turns and becomes the loving and the nurturing of a child. Now I'm telling you that because that's what I'm surrounded by all through this project. How many people get to experience such a thing in their life? You've got to pay attention to it. Because most of us would recall bad things that have happened, times we've been hurt, times our heart was broken, times we were broke, times we were hungry. But for me, the reality is — god, I sound like a maudlin asshole — I've been gifted. What can I tell you?" [caption id="attachment_941937" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Breaking Bad, Ursula Coyote/AMC[/caption] On Revisiting Mike Ehrmantraut Again If the Possibility Came Up — and Making More Constellation "I love Mike. But you know what, we were left with the mystery of Mike. We have been left with that taste. For me, it's like reading that good book that you never want to end. I remember reading Les Miserables and getting about 40 pages from the end, and going 'no, no, I can't, this can't end' and starting it all over again. And now I'm going 'no, you can't do that'. I think it's time to let Mike go. As far as Constellation, I'm all in. Let's do it. Let's just keep doing it." Constellation streams via Apple TV+ from Wednesday, February 21. Read our review.
For more than a century, screens have transported viewers to places far and wide, first via cinemas and then via television, phones and any other device that can get streaming. In the art world, screens and projections have been playing a similar function of late, but in a different way. They've let us wander through immersive van Gogh pop-ups that surround you with the artist's famed works, for instance — and they're about to unleash something similar via Australian Geographic with Aussie flora and fauna. Nature lovers, listen up. Australian Geographic has put together an exploration of the plants and animals that help make this country of ours what it is, with Our Country going big on the multi-sensory experience. When it hits Brisbane from Saturday, March 11–Sunday, April 16, the exhibition will let visitors wander through 40-plus screens that reach up to six metres tall, with its super-sized projections spanning across 1200 square metres and featuring works by 25 accomplished cinematographers. Here, attendees will encounter mist, starry night skies, all creatures big and small, and a 360-degree soundtrack. You'll feel like you're stepping across the nation's stunning landscape, rather than simply through the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Yes, that's a big part of the point. Each screen will be present previously unseen footage collected from over 100,000 hours in the field from the lineup of cinematographers, which includes Peter Nearhos, a frequent collaborator of David Attenborough. Nearhos has worked on documentaries such as One Life and David Attenborough's Tasmania, and it's exactly this type of close-up look at Australia's wildlife that you can expect to revel in. Emmy Award-winner Karina Holden (Love on the Spectrum) was tasked with the challenge of whittling down this footage, curating an intimate look at ecosystems across the country. Bustling bushland, expansive desserts and vibrant rainforests all make an appearance. Also featuring contributions by Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, sound designers and performers, this is Australian Geographic's first-ever multi-sensory experience, and comes to Brisbane after debuting in Sydney over summer. Australian Geographic: Our Country displays at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Glenelg Street, South Brisbane, from Saturday, March 11–Sunday, April 16. Head to the exhibition website for further details, and to Ticketek for tickets. Images: Ben Broady.
Staying on a private island seems like something reserved for Beyonce, Jay Z and Blue somewhere in the Caribbean (and most definitely with some kind of a yacht). Because where do mere mortals even access entire islands, anyway? And do you have to be a millionaire to access one? These are all questions people who haven't had the pleasure of erasing all unwanted human contact from their lives for a period of time ask. All we know is that, in the words of Liz Lemon, we want to go to there. Enter Satellite Island. Just off the coast of Tasmania, the small 30-hectare piece of land in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel is every bit the idyllic alpine Tasmanian dream getaway you could hope for. And when you visit, it's totally, 100% only inhabited by you. The island has been owned by the Alstergren family for a few generations, but when Will and Kate inherited it six years ago, they decided to open it to the public for the first time. Which is great news for everyone else, because it's crazy beautiful. Sea cliffs drop down into that clear, fresh Tassie water, blue gums cover the landscape and you can see across to Bruny Island. Just take a look at where you could be sleeping. The island is yours to explore, with walking tracks, kayaks and fishing rods available for use. You can walk around the island in an hour and a half, so do that. Plus, Bruny Island is only a five minute boat ride away, so duck over there for all your cheese, wine and oyster supplies and come back and eat them on the deck as the sun goes down. Oof. Satellite Island is accessible from the Satellite Island private jetty at Middleton, about a 40 minute drive from Hobart. The manager will meet you to take you to the island. For more information, visit their website. Image: Tess Newman-Morris via Instagram
The wait to Easter (and a well-deserved break) has felt like it's taken a lifetime this year — but the countdown is well and truly on. Right now, you're probably just hankering for a sleep-in and permission to eat chocolate for breakfast. Soon enough though, you'll be looking for some ways to fill your four delicious days off. And Topgolf may just have the answer. Located on the Gold Coast, this slick new modernised driving range uses microchipped golf balls, so you can track and gain points for accuracy and distance. Each climate-controlled hitting bay can hold up to six players and you can enjoy food and drinks while you play. And this month, you won't need to be a burgeoning Tiger Woods to be a winner. Getting right into the Easter spirit, Topgolf is running a special 'golden ball' competition with hundreds of prizes up for grabs. From Saturday, April 6, Topgolf will be distributing special golden balls through its ball dispensers and players who stumble across one of these lucky balls will receive an instant prize — from Drummond Golf gift cards to Topgolf merchandise and drink vouchers. The competition will be running right up to and across the Easter long weekend so, if you're prone to losing out on the family chocolate egg hunt, hop along here and you might have a bit more luck. For more information on games and pricing, visit the website.
Reading that daily horoscope might be enough of a foray into astrology for some, but what about a whole hotel dedicated to the celestial study? If the moon positions itself correctly, true buffs might be compelled to start planning that weekend away now — because Sydney is set to get the world's first ever astrology hotel. The Ultimo officially launches next month with a collection of newly refurbished rooms, which include single, studio, trio, family and pet-friendly courtyard rooms. But keen astrologers will have to wait a bit longer to get the low-down, as the hotel has given next-to-no hints as to what's involved with this, er, innovative hotel concept. That said, if it's anything like Switzerland's Park Hotel Weggis, which has offered a 'Park and Stars' package in the past, guests can probably expect individual astrological readings and consultations, and perhaps even a dinner created with their astrological sign in mind. Located at 37 Ultimo Road in Sydney's CBD, The Ultimo is set to open next month — and their full set of offerings will be unveiled on Wednesday, February 8. We'll update this story once we know the details.
Turning the State Library of Queensland into a reading, writing and chatting haven, this year's Brisbane Writers' Festival has pulled out all of the stops when it comes to its chosen art form. Expect everything from enlightening discussions about world views other than your own, to accounts of reporting from the thick of conflict, to an ode to gossip — as well as our five must-see sessions.
At some point in the near future, when television production returns to normal, Taika Waititi will be writing, directing and executive producing two new animated Netflix series based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Yep, if you were wondering what the Jojo Rabbit Oscar-winner is up to next, they're a couple of things on his slate. Right now, though, he's turning his attention to another Dahl favourite — and enlisting plenty of pals. Across ten episodes, James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends sees Waititi team up with a whole heap of famous talent to narrate the beloved book. If you've ever wanted to hear the Boy, What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople read to you, then here's your chance. If you've always wondered what would happen if his Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Cate Blanchett voiced James and the Giant Peach characters too, well, that's on the agenda as well. Also lending their voices: Liam Hemsworth, Jojo Rabbit's Roman Griffin Davis and Archie Yates, plus other big names such as Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cara Delevingne, Mindy Kaling, Lupita Nyong'o, Billy Porter, Gordon Ramsay, Eddie Redmayne, Ryan Reynolds and Olivia Wilde. Four episodes are currently available via YouTube, with new instalments added each three times a week — at 3am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in Australia, and at 5am in New Zealand. And if you're wondering why, the aim is raise funds for COVID-19 impacted charities, especially those helping seriously ill children and medical workers in vulnerable areas of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJNSg_oMrOQ
If Brisbane sounds a little quieter than normal between Sunday, May 1–Sunday, May 29, you can thank (or blame) Dine BNE City. The noise you won't be hearing? The roar and grumble of hungry stomachs, with this food program serving up everything from cheap lunches and seasonal multi-course menus to wine walks and oyster trails. The idea behind the new event: to get everyone out and about — and eating and drinking — in this fair city of ours. And, it's a choose-your-own-adventure kind of lineup. You can treat yo'self to a special midday meal (and more than once), or decide that you'd rather hop between bars. It's all up to you, and there are plenty of options to choose from. From the lunch program within the broader program, you'll only be spending $25–35 for 12-hour pork belly and wine at Patina at Customs House, beer and wings at Winghaus, pasta and vino at Isles Lane, and tapas and a tipple at Rico Bar and Dining — among other specials. Or, the the after-work selection spans charcuterie and martinis at The Inchcolm, frites and fizz at Walter's Steakhouse and Wine Bar, oysters and champagne at Rothwell's Bar and Grill, and lobster tacos with sparkling at W Brisbane. Also on the menu: plenty of degustations and banquets, with 13 courses on offer at Harajuku Gyoza, 18 courses at Navala Churrascaria, seven at Sake, five at Jumbo Thai and ten at Olive & Angelo. And, events-wise, you can also take a cocktail-fuelled walk, hit up a pasta club and go all out at a gin-fuelled dinner. Top image: Naga Thai, Darcy Starr.
When it comes to international rivalries, it doesn't get much bigger than Australia and England. But before the Rugby League World cup kicks off next month and the first ball is pitched in the 2023 Ashes series, sport fans can satisfy their search for entertaining, adrenaline-pumping clashes by grabbing tickets to see the the Origin Australian Diamonds in the upcoming test series against the England Vitality Roses. So, whether you're a netball novice or you're happiest watching a zippy wing attack passing expertly to a flash of a centre, being courtside at a Diamonds game will get you right up close to this energy, with the crowd's cheers feeding the drilled-down plays being executed with quick feet, intense stares and powerful throws. The upcoming England Series is kicking off at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, October 26. The one-off competition will be the first time Aussie netball stars have the home-ground advantage over the Brits — and the last chance to catch the Diamonds live this year. After match one, the athletes will make their way to Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, October 30 and then head north to Brisbane Entertainment Centre for what could be a nail-biter of a decider on Thursday, November 3. Following their Quad Series win in January and a gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games — which, excitingly, was the 1000th Australian gold medal in Commonwealth history — the Origin Australian Diamonds are sure to come out confidently. However, the exceptional talents that make up the Roses will be keen to prove they're no dainty English flowers (and will be looking for redemption after the Aussies knocked them out of gold-medal contention in the aforementioned Commonwealth Games). Our hot tip? Bookend your wing-attack-watching experience with an extended stay at your destination city. Transforming your sporty spectating into a sneaky little vacay (where you can hit the best of Brissie, Newy or the Harbour City) is sure to leave you feeling like a winner, too — whichever team you support. The Origin Australian Diamonds take on the Vitality Roses on Wednesday, October 26; Sunday, October 30; and Thursday, November 3. Be quick to nab your tickets, the series is set to sell out.
For the five years leading up to 2018, festival-loving Brisbanites have descended upon a secret Sunshine Coast location for the Jungle Love Music & Arts Festival, which combined a laidback atmosphere, a campground surrounded by luscious greenery, plenty of stellar tunes and performances, and the chance to go for a swim in the creek while you watch a gig. Alas, that specific event is no longer happening; however, Yonder Festival sprung up in its place in 2019 and 2020 — and the latter is back in 2021. A three-day celebration of creativity, Yonder takes Jungle Love's vibe, runs with it and shapes it into something new. Running between Thursday, November 25–Saturday, November 27 in a yet-to-be-revealed spot in the Mary Valley, the fest boasts everything from a stacked music lineup across four stages to a feast of roving, theatrical and visual artists, plus a heap of workshops and panels on wellbeing. It also places a significant focus on Indigenous producers, artists and communities, as well as local creatives. It's the kind of event where you can check out King Stingray, Alter Boy, WAAX, Sahara Beck, WIIGZ and more — then listen to Ruckus Slam's poetry, wander through the visual arts displays, take part in a laughter yoga session, walk across a slackline, do water aerobics, and browse the boutique food and market stalls. Everything will operate under a COVID-19-safe plan, of course. Camping is also part of the fun (and the price), so bring your own tent or campervan — and tickets are on sale now. Also, you can BYO alcohol — but it needs to be in plastic containers, and you can also show up with a reasonable amount of booze. YONDER FESTIVAL 2021 LINEUP: Agrammeofsoma Alter Boy ARIFUG Bcharre بشري Boom Boom Bean Selecta Cheek 2 Cheek Chesmond Deese cyberBanshee DancingWater DeepBlue Dream Coast George Hickman George x FreeJ Golden Age of Ballooning Great Sage Greshka Half World Takeover Hazards of Swimming Naked Holiday Party Jazz House Kairos Kin Kallidad King Stingray Kitch Linsey Pollak Luke Jaaniste Molecules to Minds Monet's Pond MYSTERYFACE Natural Steps Takeover Nice Biscuit NO.ONE NETWORK Oscill Ether Passion Cactus Pipin Pocketmoth Takeover Quivr Takeover Respect Guy Ruby Gilbert Sahara Beck Seasoning Shandy Takeover Spirit Lights Sunderhaus Taylah J and Stone Moth Tess King The Abstract Human Radio The Dharma Chain THE RIOT Tokyo Twilight Unregistered Master Builder UQ Taiko WAAX WIIGZ Yonder Festival runs from Thursday, November 25–Saturday, November 27 in the Mary Valley in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the festival website.
If there's one word that can sum up much of 2022's television landscape so far, it's this: finally. After longer-than-anticipated delays due to the pandemic, plenty of excellent shows made their way back to our streaming queues. That includes sublime crime-thriller spinoffs, time-travelling comedies and 80s-worshipping sci-fi hits — and glitter eyeshadow-strewn teen chaos, everyone's favourite hitman-turned-actor and savage explorations of America today, too. They're the shows that we all missed for years, and eagerly welcomed back like old friends. Spanning mind-bending animation and explosive takes on superheroes as well, all these long-awaited returnees arrived with two pieces of good news. Firstly, they made a comeback. Secondly, they proved worth the wait. So did a heap of series that arrived for their latest runs exactly when they were supposed to — following up last year's ace seasons with this year's. Basically, when it comes to already-great shows dropping more episodes, the first six months of 2022 have well and truly delivered. More will follow before the year is out — but now that we're at the halfway point, here are the best 15 returning TV shows that reunited with our grateful eyeballs between January and June. BETTER CALL SAUL Saul Goodman's name has always been ironic. As played so devastatingly well by the one and only Bob Odenkirk, the slick lawyer sells the "s'all good, man" vibe with well-oiled charm, but little is ever truly good — for his clients, as his Breaking Bad experiences with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman demonstrated, or for the ever-enterprising law-skirting attorney himself. That truth has always sat at the heart of Better Call Saul's magnificent tragedy, too, and has made the prequel series one of the best shows of this century. Viewers know the fate that awaits, and yet we desperately yearn for the opposite to magically happen. But now that the series' final season is in full swing, we're pushed well past the point of hoping. Professionally, the earnest, striving, well-meaning Jimmy McGill is gone, ditching his real name and his quest for a legitimate career, and instead embracing his slide into shadiness. It isn't over yet, but Better Call Saul's new season has explored the fallout from this concerted life change — and from all that's brought Jimmy to this point. It hammers home what's to come as well, given that it opens on Saul Goodman's Breaking Bad-era home being seized by the feds; however, the show still has much to cover in the lawyer's past. With his significant other Kim Wexler (the simply phenomenal Rhea Seehorn, Veep), he's seeking revenge on their former boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian, Black Monday). Meanwhile, his ties to the Salamanca family and their drug empire — to the psychotic Lalo (Tony Dalton, Hawkeye) and ambitious-but-trapped Nacho (Michael Mando, Spider-Man: Homecoming), and to ex-cop Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks, The Comey Rule) and Los Pollos Hermanos owner Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys) — are drawing attention. Tense, intelligent, heartbreaking and just exceptional: that's the result so far, as it always has been with this astounding series. Better Call Saul is available to stream via Stan. BARRY Three seasons into the sitcom that bears his name, all that Barry Berkman (Bill Hader, Noelle) wants is to be an actor — and to also no longer kill people for a living. That's what he's yearned for across the bulk of this HBO gem, which has given Saturday Night Live alum Hader his best-ever role; however, segueing from being an assassin to treading the boards or standing in front of the camera is unsurprisingly complicated. One of the smartest elements of the always-fantastic Barry is how determined it is to weather all the chaos, darkness, rough edges and heart-wrenching consequences of its central figure's choices, though. That's true of his actions not only in the past, but in the show's present. Hader and series co-creator Alec Berg (Silicon Valley) know that viewers like Barry. You're meant to. But that doesn't mean ignoring that he's a hitman, or that his time murdering people — and his military career before that — has repercussions, including for those around him. One of the most layered and complex comedies currently airing, Barry's third season is as intricate, thorny, textured and hilarious as the first two. Indeed, it's ridiculously easy to see how cartoonish its premise would be in lesser hands, or how it might've leaned on a simple odd-couple setup given that Anthony Carrigan (Bill & Ted Face the Music) plays Chechen gangster Noho Hank with such delightful flair. But Barry keeps digging into what makes its namesake tick, why, and the ripples he causes. It does the same with his beloved acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, The French Dispatch) as well. With visual precision on par with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, it's also as phenomenal at staging action scenes as it is at diving deep into its characters — and, as every smartly penned episode just keeps proving, it's downright stellar at that. Barry is available to stream via Binge. Read our full review. GIRLS5EVA When it first hit streaming in 2021 with an avalanche of quickfire jokes — as all Tina Fey-executive produced sitcoms do, such as 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Great News and Mr Mayor — Girls5eva introduced viewers to its eponymous band. One-hit wonders in the late 90s and early 00s, their fame had fizzled. Indeed, reclaiming their stardom wasn't even a blip on their radars — until, unexpectedly, it was. Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles, Broadway's Waitress), Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton), Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps, I Feel Pretty) and Gloria McManus (Paula Pell, AP Bio) had left their days as America's answer to the Spice Girls behind, barely staying in contact since the group split and their fifth member, Ashley Gold (Ashley Park, Emily in Paris), later died in an infinity pool accident. But then rapper Lil Stinker (Jeremiah Craft, Bill & Ted Face the Music) sampled their single 'Famous 5eva', and they were asked to perform backing vocals during his Tonight Show gig. Jumping back into the spotlight reignited dreams that the surviving Girls5eva members thought they'd extinguished long ago — well, other than walking attention-magnet Wickie, who crashed and burned in her attempts to go solo, and was happy to fake it till she made it again. That's the tale the show charts once more in its second season, which is filled with more rapid-fire pop-culture references and digs; the same knowing, light but still sincere tone; and a new parade of delightful tunes composed by Jeff Richmond, Fey's husband and source of music across every sitcom she's produced. One of the joys of Girls5eva — one of many — is how gleefully absurd it skews, all while fleshing out its central quartet, their hopes and desires, and their experiences navigating an industry that treats them as commodities at best. The show's sophomore run finds much to satirise, of course, but also dives deeper and pushing Wickie, Dawn, Summer and Gloria to grow. Obviously, it's another gem. Girls5eva is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. STARSTRUCK It's official: after a dream of a first season, Rose Matafeo's rom-com sitcom Starstruck worked its magic a second time. In season two, it makes viewers fall head over heels for its 21st-century take on dating a famous actor all over again. It's also official for Matafeo's (Baby Done) Jessie, who is now dating Tom (Nikesh Patel, Four Weddings and a Funeral), the celebrity she had a one-night stand with on New Year's Eve, then navigated an awkward will-they-won't-they dance around every time they ran into each other in London. But this next batch of six episodes poses a key question: once you've enjoyed the wild meet-cute, ridden the courtship rollercoaster and been bowled over by a grand romantic gesture (see: Starstruck's The Graduate-style season-one finale), what comes next? It's the stuff that rom-com movie sequels might cover, except that for all of Hollywood's eagerness to rinse and repeat its most popular fare, this genre is sparse in the follow-up department. Season two picks up exactly where its predecessor left off, with Jessie and Tom's bus ride segueing into a WTF realisation — as in "WTF do we do now?". That's a query that Jessie isn't ready to answer, even though she's made the big leap and missed her flight home. So, she avoids even tackling the situation at first, and then eschews fully committing even when she's meant to be in the throes of romantic bliss. Basically, it's messy, and the kind of chaos that rom-coms don't show when they end with a happily-ever-after moment. Like everyone, Jessie and Tom endure plenty. In the process, this gem of a show's second season is light but also deep, a screwball delight while also sharp and relatable, and still filled with fellow romantic-comedy references. And, as well as continuing to showcase Matafeo at her best, it remains a rom-com that's as aware of what relationships in 2022 are really like as it is about how romance is typically portrayed in its genre. Starstruck is available to stream via ABC iView. Read our full review. ATLANTA Atlanta's third season hit with two pieces of fantastic news, and one inevitable but not-so-welcome reality. Dropping four years after season two, it's one of two seasons that'll air this year — and it's as extraordinary as the Donald Glover-created and -starring (and often -written and -directed) show has ever been — but when season four arrives later in 2022, that'll be the end of this deserved award-winner. The latter makes revelling in what Atlanta has for viewers now all the more special, although this series always earns that description anyway. Just as Jordan Peele has done on the big screen with Get Out and Us after building upon his excellent sketch comedy series Key & Peele, Glover lays bare what it's like to be Black in America today with brutally smart and honest precision, and also makes it blisteringly apparent that both horror and so-wild-and-terrifying-that-you-can-only-laugh comedy remains the default. Actually, in the season-three episodes that focus on Glover's Earnest 'Earn' Marks, his cousin and rapper Alfred 'Paper Boi' Miles (Brian Tyree Henry, Eternals), their Nigerian American pal Darius (Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah) and Earn's ex Vanessa (Zazie Beetz, The Harder They Fall), the lived experience of being a Black American anywhere is thrust into the spotlight. Paper Boi is on tour in Europe, which results in an on-the-road onslaught of antics that repeatedly put the quartet at the mercy of white bullshit — racist traditions, money-hungry rich folks looking to cash in on someone else's culture, scheming hangers-on, brands using Black artists for politically correct PR stunts and culinary gentrification all included. And then there's the standalone stories, all of which'd make excellent movies. Proving astute, incisive, sometimes-absurd, always-stellar and relentlessly surprising, here Atlanta examines the welfare system and in its inequalities, reparations for slavery, and the emotional and physical labour outsourced to Black workers. Atlanta is available to stream via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. UNDONE Returning for its second season three years after its first — which was one of the best shows of 2019 — the gorgeously and thoughtfully trippy multiverse series Undone is fixated on one idea: that life's flaws can be fixed. It always has been from the moment its eight-episode initial season appeared with its vivid rotoscoped animation and entrancing leaps into surreal territory; however, in season two it doubles down. Hailing from BoJack Horseman duo Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, it also remains unsurprisingly concerned with mental illness, and still sees its protagonist caught in an existential crisis. (The pair have a type, but Undone isn't BoJack Horseman 2.0). And, it deeply understands that it's spinning a "what if?" story, and also one about deep-seated unhappiness. Indeed, learning to cope with being stuck in an imperfect life, being unable to wish it away and accepting that fate beams brightly away at the heart of the show. During its debut outing, Undone introduced viewers to 28-year-old Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel), who found everything she thought she knew pushed askew after a near-fatal car accident. Suddenly, she started experiencing time and her memories differently — including those of her father, Jacob Winograd (Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul), who died over 20 years earlier. In a vision, he tasked her with investigating his death, which became a quest to patch up the past to stop tragedy from striking. Undone didn't necessarily need a second season, but this repeat dive into Alma's story ponders what happens in a timeline where everything seems to glimmer with all that its protagonist has ever wanted, and yet sorrow still lingers. Once again, the end result is deeply rich and resonant, as intelligent and affecting as sci-fi and animation alike get, and dedicated to thinking and feeling big while confronting everyday truths. Undone is available to stream via Prime Video. Read our full review. HACKS In 2021, Hacks' first season quickly cemented itself as one of 2021's best new TV shows — one of two knockout newbies starring Jean Smart last year, thanks to Mare of Easttown as well — and it's just as ace the second time around. It's still searingly funny, nailing that often-elusive blend of insight, intelligence and hilarity. It retains its observational, wry tone, and remains devastatingly relatable even if you've never been a woman trying to make it in comedy. And it's happy to linger where it needs to to truly understand its characters, but never simply dwells in the same place as its last batch of episodes. Season two is literally about hitting the road, so covering fresh territory is baked into the story; however, Hacks' trio of key behind-the-scenes creatives — writer Jen Statsky (The Good Place), writer/director Lucia Aniello (Rough Night) and writer/director/co-star Paul W Downs (The Other Two) — aren't content to merely repeat themselves with a different backdrop. Those guiding hands started Hacks after helping to make Broad City a hit. Clearly, they all know a thing or two about moving on from the past. That's the decision both veteran comedian Deborah Vance (Smart) and her twentysomething writer-turned-assistant Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, North Hollywood) had to make themselves in season one, with the show's second season now charting the fallout. So, Deborah has farewelled her residency and the dependable gags that kept pulling in crowds, opting to test out new and far-more-personal material on a cross-country tour instead. Ava has accepted her role by Deborah's side, and is willing to see it as a valid career move rather than an embarrassing stopgap. But that journey comes a few narrative bumps. Of course, Hacks has always been willing to see that actions have consequences, not only for an industry that repeatedly marginalises women, but for its imperfect leading ladies. Hacks is available to stream via Stan. Read our full review. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING Born out of the world's recent true-crime and podcasting obsessions — and the intersection of the two in the likes of Serial — Only Murders in the Building boasts its own version of Sarah Koenig. In this marvellous murder-mystery comedy, she's called Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva). As viewers of the show's impressive and entertaining first season know, though, she's not the main focus. Instead, Only Murders in the Building hones in on three New Yorkers residing in the Arconia apartment complex — where, as the program's name makes plain, there's a murder. There's several, but it only takes one to initially bring actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die) together. The trio then turn amateur detectives, and turn that sleuthing into their own podcast, which also shares the show's title. In season two, the series returns to the same scene. Yes, there's another killing. No time has passed for Only Murders in the Building's characters — and, while plenty has changed since the series' debut episode last year, plenty remains the same. Viewers now know Charles, Oliver and Mabel better, and they all know each other better, but that only makes things more complicated. Indeed, there's a lived-in vibe to the program and its main figures this time around, rather than every episode feeling like a new discovery. Among the many things that Only Murders in the Building does exceptionally well, finding multiple ways to parallel on- and off-screen experiences ranks right up there. That applies to true-crime and podcast fixations, naturally, and also to getting to know someone, learning their ins and outs, and finding your comfort zone even when life's curveballs keep coming. Only Murders in the Building is available to stream via Disney+. Read our full review. EUPHORIA From the very first frames of its debut episode back in June 2019, when just-out-of-rehab 17-year-old Rue Bennett (Zendaya, Spider-Man: No Way Home) gave viewers the lowdown on her life, mindset, baggage, friends, family and everyday chaos, Euphoria has courted attention — or, mirroring the tumultuous teens at the centre of its dramas, the Emmy-winning HBO series just knew that eyeballs would come its way no matter what it did. The brainchild of filmmaker Sam Levinson (Malcolm & Marie), adapted from an Israeli series by the same name, and featuring phenomenal work by its entire cast, it's flashy, gritty, tense, raw, stark and wild, and manages to be both hyper-stylised to visually striking degree and deeply empathetic. In other words, if teen dramas reflect the times they're made — and from Degrassi, Press Gang and Beverly Hills 90210 through to The OC, Friday Night Lights and Skins, they repeatedly have — Euphoria has always been a glittery eyeshadow-strewn sign of today's times. That hasn't changed in the show's second season. Almost two and a half years might've elapsed between Euphoria's first and second batch of episodes — a pair of out-of-season instalments in late 2020 and early 2021 aside — but it's still as potent, intense and addictive as ever. And, as dark, as Rue's life and those of her pals (with the cast including Hunter Schafer, The King of Staten Island's Maude Apatow, The Kissing Booth franchise's Jacob Elordi, The White Lotus' Sydney Sweeney, The Afterparty's Barbie Ferreira, North Hollywood's Angus Cloud and Waves' Alexa Demie) bobs and weaves through everything from suicidal despair, Russian Roulette, bloody genitals, unforgettable school plays, raucous parties and just garden-variety 2022-era teen angst. The list always goes on; in fact, as once again relayed in Levinson's non-stop, hyper-pop style, the relentlessness that is being a teenager today, trying to work out who you are and navigating all that the world throws at you is Euphoria's point. Euphoria is available to stream via Binge. RUSSIAN DOLL Getting philosophical about existence can mean flitting between two extremes. At one end, life means everything, so we need to make the absolute most of it. At the other, nothing at all matters. When genre-bending and mind-melting time-loop comedy-drama Russian Doll first hit Netflix in 2019, it served up a party full of mysteries — a repeating shindig overflowing with chaos and questions, to be precise — but it also delivered a few absolute truths, too. Fact one: it's possible to posit that life means everything and nothing at once, all by watching Natasha Lyonne relive the same day (and same 36th-birthday celebrations) over and over. Fact two: a show led by the Orange Is the New Black, Irresistible and The United States vs Billie Holiday star, and co-created by the actor with Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler, plus Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People filmmaker Leslye Headland, was always going be a must-see. Here's a third fact as well: after cementing itself as one of the best TV shows of 2019, and one of the smartest, savviest and funniest in the process, Russian Doll's long-awaited second season is equally wonderful. In glorious news for sweet birthday babies, it's also smarter and weirder across its seven episodes, this time following Lyonne's self-destructive video-game designer Nadia and mild-mannered fellow NYC-dweller Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett, You) as they tackle another trippy problem. After being caught in a Groundhog Day-style situation last season, now death isn't their problem. Instead, time is. It was an issue before, given the duo couldn't move with it, only back through the same events — but here, via the New York subway's No 6 train, Nadia and Alan speed into the past to explore cause and effect, inherited struggles and intergenerational trauma. Russian Doll is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. PHYSICAL Lycra-clad ladies of the 80s and 90s making their mark in a ruthless, consumer-driven and male-dominated world, all by getting active: as far as on-screen niches go, that's particularly niche. It's also growing. Back in 80s itself, Flashdance did it. Starring a fantastic Kirsten Dunst, the sadly cancelled-too-soon 2019 series On Becoming a God in Central Florida did as well. For three seasons from 2017–19, GLOW similarly stepped into the ring. And since 2021, Apple TV+'s Physical has, too. What a feeling indeed. Now back for season two, the latter sports a staggering lead performance, a superb supporting cast and a complex premise unpacked with precision, as well as a pitch-perfect vibe and a killer 80s soundtrack. Season one of Physical didn't quite see Sheila Rubin (Rose Byrne, Irresistible) get everything she'd ever fantasised about. Rather, it followed the San Diego housewife as she pursued something she didn't even know she wanted until her endorphins kicked in at an aerobics class. Now, she's the star of her own fitness tape — and spruiking it, be it in supermarkets or by hosting public aerobics sessions, has become her life. But while she's in control of every exercise move she makes, earning the same power in her relationships, and in business, isn't as straightforward. She's still stuck in a rut with her husband Danny (Rory Scovel, I Feel Pretty), to put it mildly. She's still caught in a torrid affair with grim Mormon business developer John Breem (Paul Sparks, Castle Rock), too. And while she starts leaning on her wealthy and supportive best friend Greta (Dierdre Friel, Second Act) more, she's also unable to shake the engrained notion that needing anyone's help is a sign of weakness. And then there's the help she hopes to get from fellow aerobics instructor Vinnie Green (The White Lotus scene-stealer Murray Bartlett). Physical is available to stream via Apple TV+. Read our full review. STRANGER THINGS Finally back for its fourth season after a three-year wait (yes, finally), Stranger Things ventures beyond its trusty small-town setting of Hawkins, Indiana, and in several directions. It keeps its nods and winks to flicks and shows gone by streaming steadily of course — but expanding is firmly on its mind. Once again overseen by series creators The Duffer Brothers, its latest batch of episodes is bigger and longer, with no instalment clocking in at less than an hour, and several at flat-out movie length. Its teenage stars are bigger and taller as well, ageing further and faster than their characters. The show has matured past riffing on early-80s action-adventure flicks, too, such as The Goonies; now, it's onto slashers and other horror films, complete with new characters called Fred and Jason. And with that, Stranger Things also gets bloodier and eerier. That said, it's still the show that viewers have loved since 2016, when not even Netflix likely realised what it had unleashed — and no, that doesn't just include the demogorgon escaping from the Upside Down. But everything is growing, as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong), her boyfriend Mike (Finn Wolfhard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), and their pals Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Max (Sadie Sink, Fear Street) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy) all visibly have. Eleven, Will, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The Souvenir Part II) and Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America) have branched out to California, and Mike comes to visit. Back in Hawkins, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Steve (Joe Keery, Free Guy), Robin (Maya Hawke, Fear Street) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer, Things Seen & Heard) have a new evil to face. And, as for Hopper (David Harbour, Black Widow), he's stuck in a Russian gulag. Yes, things get chaotic from there, Kate Bush and Metallica needle-drops included. Stranger Things season four is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review. THE BOYS In savage and savvy caped-crusader satire The Boys, it has been evident since episode one that Homelander (Antony Starr, Banshee) is a fraud. He's America's favourite superhero, as well as the leader of top-tier supe crew The Seven — and he uses his public persona as a shield for his twisted ego, soul-devouring insecurities, arrogance and selfishness. As instalment after instalment of the show passes, his sinister true nature keeps burning. In The Boys' third season, Homelander may as well be America's most recent ex-President, complete with unhinged rants and an at-any-cost desperation to retain control. The comics that this series is based on were actually published from 2006–12, but the show they've spawned is firmly steeped in the polarised US of the past six or so years. Subtlety hardly comes with the territory here, and yet it doesn't make The Boys any less potent. The in-show alternative to Homelander's psychopathic, egotistical, world-threatening existence: the ragtag gang of vigilantes that shares the series' name. Led by cynical-as-fuck Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok), they remain intent on bringing down The Seven and Vought, the all-encompassing company behind it, as always. About year has passed since season two, however, and Hughie (Jack Quaid, Scream) now works with congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) at the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, countering misbehaving superheroes the legal way. That involves overseeing Butcher and fellow pals Frenchie (Tomer Capone, One on One) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara, Suicide Squad), but this wouldn't be The Boys if their battle was that straightforward. It also wouldn't be The Boys if everything that followed wasn't wild and OTT to a jaw-dropping degree, oh-so-astute about popular culture and consumerism today, brimming in blood and Billy Joel songs, and always biting deeper — and sharper. The Boys is available to stream via Prime Video. Read our full review. SERVANT Ted Lasso is the Apple TV+ series that's been scoring all the praise and love for the past few years, and rightfully so — but the platform's M Night Shyamalan-produced Servant is also one of its winners. Perched at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the warm-hearted soccer comedy, this eerie horror effort spends the bulk of its time in a well-appointed Philadelphia brownstone where TV news reporter Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose, The X-Files) and her chef husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Bloodshot) appear the picture of wealthy happiness, complete with a newborn son, Jericho, to fulfil their perfect family portrait. But as 18-year-old nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free, Too Old to Die Young) quickly learned in Servant's first season, there's nothing normal about their baby — which, after the tot's death, has been replaced by a lookalike doll to calm the otherwise-catatonic Dorothy's grief. That's how the series began back in 2019, with its second season deepening its mysteries — and Leanne's place with the Turners, even as her own unconventional background with cult ties keeps bringing up questions. In Servant's third season, the household is once again attempting to pretend that everything is normal and to also keep Dorothy unaware of the real Jericho's fate, even with a flesh-and-blood infant now back in her arms. But in a slowly paced series that's perfected its unsettling and insidious tone from episode one, serves up a clever blend of atmospheric and claustrophobic thrills mixed with gripping performances, makes exceptional use of its setting and also features Rupert Grint in his best post-Harry Potter role yet, there's always more engrossing twists to rock the status quo. Servant is available to stream via Apple TV+. RUTHERFORD FALLS Mike Schur sure does have a type. If you're a fan of Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Office, though, that won't be new news. And if you watched the television producer and writer's great first season of Rutherford Falls as well, you will have spotted all his usual touches at work — which doesn't change in season two. By no means is this a criticism. His various different series feel like siblings, not clones; they share similar traits, but there's so much about their individual personalities that remains distinctive. Here, the fact that Rutherford Falls is a show deeply steeped in a Native American community gives it a wealth of avenues to go down, as well as plenty that's purely the sitcom's alone. Also crucial: the influence of co-creator and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas (Superstore), and the strong commitment to exploring the treatment of First Nations peoples in America today. Rutherford Falls' latest batch of episodes follows one of its characters running for local office, for instance, which is a scenario that Parks devotees will instantly recognise. And yet, what that means in a small town that's struggling to address the colonial impact upon its original inhabitants, the Minishonka Nation, is always its real focus. What everything means here is filtered through that lens — including teenage aspiring mayor Bobbie Yang (Jesse Leigh, Heathers), enterprising CEO of the Minishonka Nation casino Terry Thomas (Michael Greyeyes, Firestarter), cultural centre head Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding, Reservation Dogs) and her best friend Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms, Ron's Gone Wrong). It's noticeable that Helms is no longer the show's anchor, too. Indeed, the already smart, funny and warm series spends its excellent second season showing how Nathan wants to de-centre himself from hogging the town's limelight, and puts that idea in motion itself. Rutherford Falls is available to stream via Stan. Looking for more viewing highlights? We picked the 15 best new TV shows of 2022, too. We also keep a running list of must-stream TV from across the year so far, complete with full reviews. And, you can check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly.
If there's ever a range of films that proves that every movie deserves to be seen in a cinema, it's Studio Ghibli's output. If you had your first experience with Spirited Away or My Neighbour Totoro at home, then felt compelled to catch a retrospective showing at your local picture palace, you'll understand. Indeed, Australian theatres get it, too, given how often the Japanese animation house's movies return to the silver screen. The Imaginary isn't a Studio Ghibli release, but it has a Ghibli pedigree. The second feature from Studio Ponoc after 2017's Mary and the Witch's Flower, it's both directed and penned by Ghibli alumni — the latter of which founded Ponoc. It made its Aussie debut on streaming this year, but is now getting a well-deserved big-screen outing at the 2024 Japanese Film Festival as one of its must-see titles. The just-dropped lineup for this year's JFF will give audiences the chance to see this enchanting tale about imaginary friends — 2024's third such film after Blumhouse horror movie Imaginary and the John Krasinski (A Quiet Place Part II)-directed IF, and the best of them — as well as nine other new Japanese features. The latest flicks out of its country of choice are just one part of the JFF setup, however. In four of its five cities, audiences will also enjoy a retrospective season that focuses on classics by Shohei Imamura, a two-time Palme d'Or winner courtesy of The Ballad of Narayama and The Eel. Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney will receive the full festival treatment, while just the new releases will play Perth. The festival kicks off with its retro sessions in the nation's capital in late September, before making its way around the country throughout October and into November. [caption id="attachment_971203" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Let's Go Karaoke! Film Partners[/caption] Opening the fest: Mom, Is That You?! , a mix of heartwarming comedy and workplace commentary from prolific director Yoji Yamada (Kinema no Kamisama). Other highlights include chaotic karaoke antics in Let's Go Karaoke!, with a choir boy and a yakuza striking up a friendship over singing lessons; fellow manga adaptation Sand Land; World War II-set historical drama Shadow of Fire; and rom-com Our Secret Diary. Or, there's more laughs via A Samurai in Time and The Dancing Okami, with the first paying tribute to samurai stuntman Seizo Fukumoto and the second inspired by an IRL tourism campaign — and also thrills via Matched and Out, following a wedding planner who connects with a suspected serial killer without knowing via online dating, plus a former juvenile gang leader's quest for redemption. [caption id="attachment_971204" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MIRAIEIGASHA[/caption] 2024 marks the Japanese Film Festival's 28th year in Australia — and the event's in-person lineup comes after its online program screened in the middle of the year. "Australia has always been a second home to Japanese film, with an exponentially growing audience captivated by Japanese cinema every year," said Manisay Oudomvilay from The Japan Foundation, Sydney, announcing the 2024 JFF bill. "Each of the featured films this year dissects the common human experience from a uniquely Japanese perspective, which will resonate with everyone regardless of their familiarity with Japanese culture." [caption id="attachment_971205" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sand Land Film Partners[/caption] Japanese Film Festival 2024 Dates: Canberra: Latest releases: Wednesday, October 9–Tuesday, October 15 at Palace Electric Special series: Tuesday, September 24–Wednesday, September 25 and Saturday, September 28–Sunday, September 29 at NFSA Perth: Latest releases: Monday, October 14–Tuesday, October 22 at Palace Raine Square Brisbane: Latest releases: Thursday, October 17–Tuesday, October 22 at Palace Barracks Special series: Monday, October 7–Wednesday, October 16 at QAGOMA Melbourne: Latest releases: Monday, October 21–Tuesday, October 29 at The Kino Special series: Thursday, October 31–Sunday, November 3 at ACMI Sydney: Latest releases: Thursday, October 24–Monday, October 28 at Palace Norton Street and Palace Moore Park Special series: Wednesday, October 9–Sunday, November 10 at AGNSW [caption id="attachment_971206" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Dancing Okami Film Partners[/caption] The 2024 Japanese Film Festival tours Australia from September–November. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the festival website. Top image: Studio Ponoc.
There's little that's normal about 2020 so far, and that includes film festivals. Many of the biggest cinema showcases on the annual international calendar have been forced to cancel, postpone or rethink their plans for this year — spanning heavy hitters such as Tribeca Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, and even Australia's very own Sydney Film Festival. At present, we can't all gather in a darkened room and watch movie magic light up the silver screen. That doesn't mean that there isn't anything to watch, though. In fact, thanks to We Are One: A Global Film Festival, you can still enjoy a festival experience — one curated by some of the best big-screen events in the world, too — all while sitting on your couch. For ten days between Thursday, May 29–Sunday, June 7, 20 of the globe's standout film fests are joining forces to program a free online festival, which'll show features, shorts, documentaries and more via YouTube. More than 100 films will screen at set times, including 13 world premieres. That means that you can look forward to films such as Ricky Powell: The Individualist, about the eponymous street photographer; Eeb Allay Ooo!, a satire about monkey repellers in India; and Crazy World, an OTT action flick out of Uganda's Wakaliwood. There's also Australia's own Mystery Road and Mabo, Japanese rom-com Tremble All You Want and documentary The Iron Hammer, the latter of which follows Chinese volleyball star "Jenny" Lang Ping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stttLXh7yu4 If you're after something more than just watching a movie, a range of archived talks will also screen, alongside new, festival-exclusive content. Listen to chats by Jackie Chan, The Shape of Water filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Rogue One: A Star War Story's Diego Luna, or watch Tessa Thompson talk with director Jane Campion, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Soderbergh discuss Apocalypse Now, Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg explore Crash, and Ang Lee and Kore-eda Hirokazu delve into their thoughts on filmmaking today. Selecting the program is a who's who of the film festival game, with Tribeca, Cannes and Sydney joined by the Berlinale, Sundance, Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, New York Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Annecy International Animation Film Festival — and fests in Guadalajara, Macao, Jerusalem, Mumbai, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Marrakech, San Sebastian, Sarajevo and Tokyo, too. [caption id="attachment_768770" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Berlinale, Jan Windszus[/caption] While cinephiles don't have to spend a cent to watch along, We Are One: A Global Film Festival is encouraging donations to the World Health Organisation, as well its partners in each region. Top image: Sydney Film Festival, Luke Latty. Updated May 27.
Eleven years ago, the biggest small-screen fantasy series of the 21st century so far told us that winter is coming. It repeated it over and over again across its eight-season run, in fact. Now, in a different fantasy franchise's longest trailer yet, darkness is coming. And yes, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power does look like it's taking a few cues from Game of Thrones. On the page, JRR Tolkien's saga obviously got there first — but in your streaming queues, it's following George RR Martin's equally beloved series. Actually, that's the case in two ways, given that Prime Video's new Lord of the Rings show will arrive a couple of weeks after Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. There's plenty of room in everyone's lives for both — and now viewers as keen as a hobbit for second breakfast can enjoy their lengthiest look yet at Prime Video's small-screen jaunt through Middle-earth. That not only includes the faces that anchor the series, which covers elves, dwarves and harfoots, aka hobbit ancestors, but also the places. This time, New Zealand's natural splendours stand in for the Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, the Dwarven realm Khazad-dûm, the Southlands, the Northernmost Wastes, the Sundering Seas and the island kingdom of Númenór. It's now been 21 years since the first of The Lord of the Rings movies had everyone rushing to cinemas, obsessing over hobbits and elves, and saying "precious" too many times. Come September, this time at home, get ready for much of the above to happen all over again. After five years of talking about it, Prime Video's new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is mere months away from reaching eyeballs — and the new sneak peek has an epic feel about it. If you're not up to date on The Rings of Power, it features a young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark, Saint Maud) and a young Elrond (Robert Aramayo, The King's Man). As seen in the show's first and second trailers, as well as this new one, it's also set to include elves catching arrows, humans stuck on rafts on stormy seas, cave trolls, raging fires and orc battles. Amazon first announced the show back in 2017, gave it the official go-ahead in mid-2018 and set a premiere date of Friday, September 2, 2022 back in 2021. In-between, it confirmed that it wouldn't just remake Peter Jackson's movies. Rather, the series spends time in Middle-earth's Second Age, bringing that era from the LOTR realm to the screen for the very first time. According to show's official synopsis, The Rings of Power will follow "the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," with the action set thousands of years before the novels and movies we've all read and watched. The series will also "take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness." If you're a little rusty on your LOTR lore, the Second Age lasted for 3441 years, and saw the initial rise and fall of Sauron, as well as a spate of wars over the coveted rings. Elves feature prominently, and there's plenty to cover, even if Tolkien's works didn't spend that much time on the period — largely outlining the main events in an appendix to the popular trilogy. Naturally, you can expect Sauron to feature in the new show, and to give its main figures some trouble. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," the official synopsis continues. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," it also advises. In terms of stars, The Rings of Power features an unsurprisingly large cast — and some impressive talent behind the scenes. Among the other actors traversing Middle-earth are Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing) as Arondir, Nazanin Boniadi (Bombshell) as Bronwyn, Owain Arthur (A Confession) as Prince Durin IV, Charlie Vickers (Palm Beach) as Halbrand and Sophia Nomvete (The Tempest) as Princess Disa. There's also Tom Budge (Judy & Punch), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Benjamin Walker (The Underground Railroad) and comedian Lenny Henry. And, the series is being overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, while filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directs the first two episodes. Check out the latest The Rings of Power trailer below: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be available to stream via Prime Video from Friday, September 2, 2022. Images: Matt Grace / Ben Rothstein.
It has been 11 art-filled years since Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art first opened its doors, and the creative riverside hub just keeps going from strength to strength. Fresh from hosting a huge Yayoi Kusama exhibition, GOMA is preparing to unveil its illuminating new permanent work: a brand new light installation by artist James Turrell. You might be familiar with the Arizona-based artist's work if you've been to Mona or the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). He's the one behind the sky-centred installations at both galleries — at Mona, the gazebo-like Armana lights up at sunrise and sunset each day, and at the NGA in Canberra, Within without acts as an outdoor viewing chamber to enhance your view of the sky. All up, Turrell has created 80 'skyspaces' like these around the world. Brisbane's Turrell piece isn't a standalone structure like these other two Australian works. Instead, the work will light up GOMA's eastern and southern white façades from within the building with a pattern developed by Turrell especially for the location. It's been described as "an ever-evolving pattern of intensifying and diffusing coloured light" by GOMA director Chris Saines, and when lit, it will make the gallery visible from across the river and around South Bank's cultural precinct. The plan is to light up the gallery from dusk until midnight each evening — and while the tunnel was originally set to be installed by late last year, it'll officially start glowing from 7pm on April 20, with Turrell in attendance. And while it's a new addition to GOMA, it's also a feature that ties into the gallery's history. As Saines explains, "during the development of GOMA, lead architects Kerry Clare, Lindsay Clare and James Jones envisaged an artist-illuminated 'white box' on the gallery's main pedestrian approaches. More than a decade on, Turrell's architectural light installation realises the potential of GOMA's white box façade, and completes a major aspect of the architects' original design intention." By Lauren Vadnjal and Sarah Ward.
"Is this really happening again?" asks Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) in the just-dropped first teaser trailer for Only Murders in the Building season three. "Well, you know, who are we without a homicide?" replies his neighbour, fellow murder-mystery buff and co-podcaster Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die). Clearly, this hit sleuthing comedy is returning as it's always gone on — since season one made it one of the best new shows of 2021 and season two put it in the best returning category in 2022. Also starring Steve Martin (It's Complicated), the hit Disney+ series will drop its third season sometime in 2023 — and while there's no official release date as yet, the first sneak peek sets the tone for what's to come. Mabel, Oliver and Charles-Haden Savage's (Martin) dynamic is filled with as much banter as ever, and there's another murder to solve. The latter won't come as a surprise, of course, because season two ended with another big death. So, that's what the new batch of episodes will look into, complete with Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) and the one and only Meryl Streep (Don't Look Up) joining the Only Murders in the Building cast. The newly released trailer serves up a glimpse at both, too — one for the first time, one after making quite the series debut last time around. From the looks of it, season three will spend a fair amount of time working through the events leading up to that last murder at the end of season two. So far, though, few other details have been revealed. Indeed, the new trailer focuses on "a surprise you never saw coming" — which is Streep, although her casting was announced earlier in 2023. The series does love adding names to its on-screen roster. Over both season one and two, Tina Fey (Girls5eva) has been a significant presence, Sting and Amy Schumer have played themselves, and Cara Delevingne (Carnival Row) has also popped up. If you're still yet to experience the series' charms, it follows the odd trio of Charles-Haden, Oliver and the much-younger Mabel after they bond over two things: listening to a Serial-style podcast hosted by the show's own version of Sarah Koenig, aka Cinda Canning (Fey); and a death in their luxe abode. Of course, they did what everyone that's jumped on the true-crime bandwagon knows they would if they were ever in the same situation, starting their own audio series that's also called Only Murders in the Building. That's how season one kicked off — and continued, proving a warm, funny, smart and savvy series at every step along the way. In the show's second go-around, another death needed investigating. That time, it was someone the main trio were all known not to be that fond of, so suspicions kept pointing in their direction. Check out the first trailer for Only Murders in the Building season three below: Only Murders in the Building's third season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Season one and two are currently streaming Down Under via Star on Disney+. Read our full review of season two — and of the show's first season, too.
It's the 32nd year for Australia's largest folk art and music festival. And like a vintage wine, the artistic line up gets more and more complex and impressive as the years go by. This year there'll be over 2000 artists in 400 acts across visual, performance and spoken word formats. Catch folk, rock and pop musicians including John Butler, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beautiful Girls, Husky, Holy Holy, Canadian band The East Pointers, Timberwolf and Montaigne. Personalities such as Dr Karl, Tracey Spicer and Noel Pearson are among an exhaustive selection of speakers, presenters and comedians doing what they do best and you'll be mesmerised by at least 20 dance and performance acts. You can also try your hand at artisan crafts from pottery to tattoo art to Maori basket weaving — or even just go on a bush walk with a professional nature enthusiast through Woodford's beautiful surrounds. And as usual, you'll welcome in the new year alongside thousands of others with an epic fire display. The crowd is expected to reach over 132,000 this edition, so get your name on a ticket before they become scarce.
Barbecue shapes. Fried chicken. Together in a crunchy combo at last. In terrible news for aspiring dieters everyone, Arnott's has teamed up with some of the best chicken joints in the country to create a taste combination of a very different feather. For the next three weeks, hungry residents of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane can order fried foul coated in crushed Arnott's Barbecue Shapes. And before you ask, yes, they're using the original flavouring. Sydney's Juicy Lucy, Melbourne's Phat Chicks and Brisbane's Seoul Bistro have all gotten on board, with each restaurant offering their own unique take on the brief for $8–15. The whole thing is part of a promotion by Deliveroo, so you'll only be able to get the creations delivered. They'll be available via Deliveroo until Sunday October 7. No word on whether they're planning on doing a pizza shapes variant, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.
First Melbourne hosted Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, then Sydney got the upper hand by coaxing Rene Redzepi to bring his world-renowned restaurant Noma to Barangaroo for a few months. But then, in a serious move of one-upmanship, Melbourne took back the culinary crown (for now, anyway), nabbing the rights to host next year's World's 50 Best Restaurants awards earlier this year. Further to the announcement — which was made back in June ahead the 2016 awards in New York — the World's 50 Best Restaurants have just released the finer details of the huge event. The ceremony that, well, ranks the world's best restaurants from 1-50 will take place on Wednesday, April 5 and the Carlton's Royal Exhibition Building. It's a pretty big deal for little ol' Melbourne (and Tourism Australia) as it's only the second time the awards will be held outside of London. But that's just the start of it. The ceremony will be just one part of a seven-day program of events, which will bring some of the world's best chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and other people of food influence to Melbourne. Running from April 1-7, the program will coincide with 2017's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and include a series of masterclasses, the Chef's Feast (just for chefs though, sorry) and a smattering of satellite events. The chefs — which might well include the likes of Modena's Massimo Bottura, D.O.M.'s Alex Atala and the brothers from El Celler de can Roca — will be treated to a week of Australia's best food too. "After 14 years hosting the awards event in London, we decided to take The World's 50 Best Restaurants on a global tour, kicking off in New York in June 2016," said World's 50 Best Restaurants group editor William Drew. "Now we could not be more thrilled to be moving to Melbourne, one of the great food cities of the world, in 2017. Come April next year, Australia will undoubtedly be the place to be for those passionate about great food and inspired restaurants." Well, shucks. If you're not familiar with the awards, they're the ranking that everyone uses when talking about the best restaurants in the world. This year Italy's Modena was awarded the number one spot, while Noma has been a former list-topper multiple times. 2016 gave special mention to Melbourne's Attica and Brae (number 33 and 65, respectively), as well as Sydney's Quay (number 98), which probably has a lot to do with why they've decided to come Down Under in 2017.
An idea as great as Night Feast was never meant to be a one-off. Indeed, when word arrived that Brisbane Powerhouse was starting a neon-lit night market, it was instantly announced as a twice-yearly event, popping up for a month at a time with food, booze and art installations. So, while New Farm has said farewell to the riverside hangout after its debut March 2023 stint, Brisbane is now counting down the days until it returns again this year. Mark your diary now, because Night Feast will be back from Wednesday, October 4–Sunday, October 29. The event's maiden run certainly proved popular. If you went along, you experienced that fact in person, but organisers have now released stats to back it up. More than 125,000 people hit up the night market first-ever season, with 67,258 wontons, 28,352 skewers and 6306 oysters devoured in the process. There were 101,000 total food and beverage orders, too, 24,000 glasses washed and reused, and 6600 kilograms of waste diverted from landfill. [caption id="attachment_893196" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Markus Ravik[/caption] It's too early to announce what'll be in store in October, other than the same general blend of food, booze and art — although don't expect this event to merely repeat itself. There will be one big difference, of course. Instead of celebrating autumn, Night Feast's second go-around will be all about spring. Yes, your tastebuds should already be excited about what that might inspire menu-wise. Still, if you'd like to use March's lineup as a guide, the culinary bill included Longrain's Martin Boetz, e'cco Bistro's Philip Johnson, Lyndon Tyers at Donna Chang and Tuan Nguyen at Ngon, plus Lek Senee from Lek's Thai and Patricio Sarno from Mary Mae's Kitchen & Bar — and City Winery's vino thanks to winemaker Dave Cush. And, dishes from Taro's Ramen and Ham on Rye were also on the menu, as well as from Saison Salumi and Wine & Dine Em. Chef Anchalee Kasurin whipped up poffertjes pancakes as part of an international array, too, which surveyed Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Italian, Greek, modern Australian cuisine and more at 20-plus gourmet food stalls. Communal feasting was one of the first Night Feast's big focuses also, plus having the restaurants taking part in Night Feast to dish up the absolute top thing on their menus is another. That meant tucking into their signature dishes, but by the river in New Farm. Night Feast also featured an open fire pit for roasting and a dedicated dessert bar, plus cocktails and a top-notch wine list to wash it all down with. And, the food side of the program was just one of the highlights. The arts and music program was just as impressive, giant illuminated humanoids via Amanda Parer's Fantastic Planet and laser beams that look like intergalactic events included. Night Feast will return for spring in 2023 from Wednesday, October 4–Sunday, October 29. For more information, head to the event's website. Images: Pixel Frame / Markus Ravik / Lachlan Douglas.
