Bright lights, performances around the city and interesting chats aren't the only things on Vivid Sydney's lineup when it pops up in the middle of each year. Since 2023, Vivid Food has also been its own festival within the broader festival, putting all things culinary in the spotlight. It's heaven for your tastebuds, and it's coming back for the second time in 2024 — and, based on the just-dropped program, you'll have plenty of must-attend events to choose from. At the top of the list: visits from acclaimed international chefs, all showing the Harbour City their gastronomical prowess. Manoella Buffara of Brazil's Manu Restaurant will get cooking in Sydney from Friday, May 24–Sunday, June 2 for Vivid's annual residency, with Ploós on the Vivid Sydney Light Walk set to showcase her focus on local produce and sustainability. This'll be the first time that 2022's Best Female Chef in Latin America hops into the kitchen Down Under, working with the Ploós team to put on two fine-dining menus: a nine-course tasting dinner which'll cost $420 and a seven-course lunch option that'll set you back $320. "I'm incredibly excited to be part of Vivid Food in Sydney, an event that highlights the importance of cuisine in our culture. As the culinary capital of Australia, Sydney becomes a hub for vibrant flavour exchanges, bringing together top chefs and local producers to create memorable food experiences," said Buffara about her impending visit. "In the heart of this bustling city, I will launch a pop-up that showcases my love for high-quality ingredients and authentic flavours. Sharing my cooking and stories with Sydney is a true honour, and I look forward to being part of this amazing food event that Vivid Food offers." Michelin-starred chefs Sally Abé, Ivan Brehm and Max Coen are on their way to Sydney as well, thanks to the Vivid Chef Series. Abé from The Pem in London is teaming up with Billy Hannigan at The Charles Brasserie & Bar, serving up three lunches and dinners that mix British cuisine with European influences. From Nour in Singapore, Ivan Brehm has a date with AALIA for two dinners that'll pair Middle Eastern cuisine with global flavours, working alongside the Sydney spot's Paul Farag. And Coen from London's Dorian is joining forces with Ben Greeno from Fred's to hero wood-fired grilling, farm-to-table ingredients and being hyper-seasonal. When the bulk of the 2024 Vivid lineup dropped in March, unveiling its theme of "humanity" and outlining most of what's occurring in Harbour City for 23 nights between Friday, May 24–Saturday, June 15, the fest detailed a few Vivid Food elements. So, the fact that Vivid Fire Kitchen will go big on barbecue in its new location at The Goods Line isn't new news; however, it is exciting, and the event has also dropped its own roster of talent. Fire sculptures and flame shooters will help set the mood, as will fire drums — and Firedoor's Lennox Hastie will be among the folks putting on demonstrations. He'll be joined by chef and author Christine Manfield, the World Food Championships' Seafood Champion John McFadden, Karkalla owner Mindy Woods, the Texas-based Jess Pryles, Niklas Ekstedt from Sweden's Ekstedt at The Yard and Shalamar Lane from My Father's Barbeque in Los Angeles, for starters. Also a Vivid Food standout: the nostalgic Messina Milk Bar, where the beloved gelato chain will be giving classic desserts and chocolates its own twist. A warm Milo fudge sundae is just one of the dishes to look forward to. As announced previously, Vivid's 2024 program also spans Kyiv Social's Plates with Purpose: A Taste of Ukraine, a ten-course degustation that will make you feel like you're sat at a Ukrainian family's table; the VividPlace Food Trail, which'll turn Sydney Place and Bulletin Place's laneways into a night food market each night of Vivid; and Our Shared Humanity at Refettorio OzHarvest, with Manfield, Darren Robertson, Mitch Orr and more whipping up three-course vegetarian menus using rescued produce And, there's also Aurorae at Bennelong Bar, Bennelong's pop-up snack and cocktail bar — and A Culinary Canvas by Danielle Alvarez celebrates women in the Australian food and wine scenes in Sydney Opera House's Yallamundi Rooms. [caption id="attachment_898138" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] [caption id="attachment_898139" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] Vivid Sydney runs from Friday, May 24–Saturday, June 15 at various locations around Sydney. Head to the festival website for further details and tickets. Top image: Destination NSW.
Thanks to its prime location on Melbourne Street in South Brisbane, as well as its multiple levels of bars, the Fox Hotel was once one of the River City's must-hit pubs — and recently. Soon, it's aiming to be exactly that again. Ghanem Group has announced that it is taking over the well-known and heritage-listed spot, and will reopening the site before 2025 is out. Expect stacked levels of eating and drinking, turning the venue into a new dining, events and entertainment precinct. "This is our largest and one of our most-exciting projects to date," said Ghanem Group Director Adonis Ghanem, announcing the company's next venture, which follows the launch of Lúc Lắc at Queen's Wharf late in 2024. "The growing community of this area has long awaited the return of this legendary venue, and to have the opportunity to bring the next era of dining and entertainment to this iconic site is a true honour. This is a project that we are very much excited about." There's no exact reopening date as yet, but it will be before 2026 arrives. Overall, the aim is get Brisbanites flocking back to the landmark venue, and to make the most of its position as part of Fish Lane. Expect the revitalisation to pay tribute to one helluva building, too, and to both nod to the past and cement the site's future across its various floors. Yes, making a date here will feel like hitting up different venues in one, with each level adding to a diverse setup. You'll head in via a new entry on Fish Lane, then either hang out in the public bar on the ground floor — where you can grab a bite at the bistro as well — or venture upstairs. Function spaces, a bottle shop and a late-night cocktail lounge will all be included in the Fox's latest guise, as will the rooftop terrace. Space Cubed Design Studio is leading the charge on the interior redesign and fitout, but heritage features will remain, as will the building's art deco touches. Initially it opened in 1927 as the Hotel Terminus, replacing a prior hotel on the site. As for what you'll be eating, an array of different cuisines will be on the menu across the Fox's levels. The pub joins not only Lúc Lắc, but also Donna Chang, Boom Boom Room, Bisou Bisou, Iris Rooftop, Byblós Bar & Restaurant and Blackbird Bar, Dining & Events among Ghanem Group's Brisbane ventures. Adonis and his brother Nehme started the company in 2006, which is when Byblós Brisbane launched, but their family history dates back further, to Lebanese restaurants owned by their parents from the late 70s. [caption id="attachment_760445" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Fox Hotel[/caption] The Fox Hotel will reopen at 71/73 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane sometime in late 2025 — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Keep an eye on the Ghanem Group's website for further information in the interim.
Put those glittery gumboots away: you won't be dancing to 'Padam Padam' in North Byron Bay Parklands this winter. Splendour in the Grass has become the latest Australian music festival to scrap its plans, with organisers announcing that 2024's event has now been cancelled, continuing a heartbreaking trend for the local industry. The news comes just weeks after the winter fest unveiled its Kylie Minogue-, Future- and Arcade Fire-led lineup in mid-March, and follows on from a heap of other cancellations across the Aussie festival scene of late. In February, Groovin the Moo also ditched its 2024 events just a fortnight after revealing its lineup. Also, Falls Festival took summer 2023–24 off, Summergrounds Music Festival at Sydney Festival was cancelled and This That hasn't gone ahead for a couple of years now. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Splendour in the Grass (@splendourinthegrass) "With a heavy heart, we're announcing the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass 2024," said the Splendour team in a statement. "We know there were many fans excited for this year's lineup and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events we'll be taking the year off. Ticketholders will be refunded automatically by Moshtix. We thank you for your understanding and will be working hard to be back in future years." "We're heartbroken to be missing a year, especially after more than two decades in operation. This festival has always been a huge community effort, and we'd like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith. We hope to be back in the future," added Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco, co-CEOs of Secret Sounds. Splendour was set to feature Kylie and Future doing exclusive shows, plus a lineup that also spanned Turnstile, The Presets doing a DJ set, Yeat, Hayden James, Girl in Red, Baby Gravy, Tash Sultana, DJ Seinfeld, Fontaines DC, Royel Otis, Tones and I and more. Omar Apollo, The Last Dinner Party, Lizzy McAlpine, The Kills, Thelma Plum, Partiboi69, Angie McMahon, Viagra Boys: they were all also on the bill, which was due to take to the stage from Friday, July 19–Sunday, July 21. 2024's event would've marked the festival's 22nd birthday — and its third COVID-19-era fest, following the supremely muddy 2022 iteration (which was delayed for the two years due to the pandemic's early days) and 2023's go-around. Triple J, one of Splendour's long-running partners, first broke the cancellation news. Splendour in the Grass will no longer take place from Friday, July 19–Sunday, July 21, 2024 at North Byron Bay Parklands, Byron Bay. For more information, head to the festival website. Images: Charlie Hardy, Bianca Holderness and Claudia Ciapocha.
When Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' enjoyed its initial sublime movie moment in Trainspotting, it soundtracked a descent into heroin's depths, including literally via the film's visual choices. For three decades since, that's been the tune's definitive on-screen use. Now drifts in Perfect Days, the Oscar-nominated Japan-set drama from German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Submergence). This slice-of-life movie takes its name from the song. It also places the iconic David Bowie-produced classic among the tracks listened to by toilet cleaner Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho, Vivant) as he goes about his daily routine. Fond of 60s- and 70s-era music, the Tokyo native's picks say everything about his mindset, both day by day and in his zen approach to his modest existence. 'Perfect Day' and Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' each also sum up the feeling of watching this gorgeous ode to making the most of what you have, seeing beauty in the everyday and being in the moment. Not every tune that Hirayama pops into his van's tape deck — cassettes are still his format of choice — has the same type of title. Patti Smith's 'Redondo Beach', The Animals' 'The House of the Rising Sun', Otis Redding's '(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay' and The Rolling Stones' '(Walkin' Thru the) Sleepy City' also rank among his go-tos, all reflecting his mood in their own ways. If there's a wistfulness to Hirayama's music selections, it's in the manner that comes over all of us when we hark back to something that we first loved when we were younger. Perfect Days' protagonist is at peace with his life, however. Subtly layered into the film is the idea that things were once far different and more-conventionally successful, but Hirayama wasn't as content as he now is doing the rounds of the Japanese capital's public bathrooms, blasting his favourite songs between stops, eating lunch in a leafy park and photographing trees with an analogue camera. As proves accurate for most folks, the cycle that Wenders and co-screenwriter Takuma Takasaki (an advertising creative director and an author) have scripted for Perfect Days doesn't vary wildly as time elapses. While the sky is still dark, Hirayama awakens in his minimalist flat, slips into his work overalls and gets a canned caffeine fix from the vending machine outside. From there, he drives from toilet to toilet, putting out his sign to notify those passing that the commodes are getting a wash, meticulously scrubbing porcelain and wiping basins, and barely being paid any attention. His midday break brings greenery, that snap and maybe rescuing a sapling to take home to nurture. By evening, he reads William Faulkner, Patricia Highsmith and Aya Kōda. Unless it's his day off, when he turns his cleaning skills to his apartment — and does laundry, gets his photos developed, purchases new books and has dinner out — the pattern repeats. Wenders, making his best fictional feature in years and a movie every bit as magnificent as his Berlin-set 1987 masterpiece Wings of Desire, goes zen himself with his handling of Perfect Days. He's happy with cinematographer Franz Lustig (who also lensed his most-recent documentary Anselm) largely peering on documentary-style patiently and gracefully, taking in the ins and outs of Hirayama's days as serenely as Hirayama navigates them. Perfect Days spies the revealing minutiae, though, including a gesture that's extraordinary in its simplicity, ease and impact. Each morning, as black starts to turn grey in the heavens above as he departs for work, Hirayama stands on his doorstep, peeks at the weather in store, then smiles. A face merely tilting upwards has rarely felt so profoundly tender, touching and essential — and like it says everything about the most blissful way to cope with living. Yakusho won the 2023 Cannes Best Actor prize, alongside gongs from the Japanese Academy and Asian Film Awards, for his rich and majestic performance as Hirayama. The Tampopo, Shall We Dance?, Memoirs of a Geisha and Babel star isn't required to utter much, but this could easily be a dialogue-free movie — except the lyrics of all-important tunes, of course — thanks to his deeply internalised portrayal. To witness his efforts as Hirayama is to understand all that's within the character, usually behind an expression of pure dedication, tranquility or both — and regardless of whether he has assistant Takashi (Tokio Emoto, House of Ninjas) along for the ride, or the latter's girlfriend Aya (Aoi Yamada, First Love); is playing noughts and crosses with a stranger in an endearing fashion; suddenly has his niece Niko (Arisa Nakano, Anata no shiranai kowai hanashi gekijouban) for company; or is lending an ear to someone else's troubles over the quiet drinks he's sipping by the water. With such a diligently naturalistic performance at its centre, Perfect Days tells you how to view it: by soaking up every minuscule piece of this entrancing film. Wenders wants his audience taking it in as Hirayama does all that surrounds him, valuing the small details as much as the bigger picture. The next step: holding onto that feeling and perspective after the projector stops rolling. Can a drama embody mindfulness so completely that watching it leaves its viewers embracing the ups and downs of their own standard existence afterwards, reassessing what they truly want, and rethinking how they approach the full spectrum of emotions from disappointment and monotony to joy and satisfaction? In answering that, there's before Perfect Days and after Perfect Days, because this transcendent picture gives the heartiest yes possible to that question. To grasp fulfilment in your work, to treat your ears to great music and your mind to excellent reading, to clutch as much time as you can in nature, to appreciate everything around you: that's Perfect Days' prescription for perfect days. It's a recipe for an ideal movie experience, too — and how committed the feature is to mirroring what it depicts doesn't go unnoticed. Take its toilets, which are all architectural wonders around the Shibuya neighbourhood. As everyone should, and as they're crafted to inspire, Perfect Days rejoices in their design, as well as in the fact that such striking creations cater for humanity's most-basic bodily functions. They're real. Tours now take visitors between them. There's no playing tourist with what that they, Hirayama and Perfect Days represent, though — finding value, meaning and perfection in life's ebbs and flows can only be a genuine pursuit.
For the past decade, fans of Asian fusion cuisine have had a delicious reason to hit up Treasury Brisbane. Since 2012, Fat Noodle has been serving up Executive Chef Luke Nguyen's dishes, with his menu heroing authentic southeast Asian family recipes made with fresh Australian produce — and treating Brisbanites' tastebuds to everything from peking duck wraps and caramelised pork belly through to seafood laksa and Luke's famed pho. How do you celebrate ten years of such mouthwatering cuisine? By whipping up more of it, of course. From Friday, December 9–Saturday, December 24, open for lunch and dinner Tuesday–Sunday, Fat Noodle has a limited-edition favourite's menu stacked with past dishes that've tempted in diners — and including new and future hits as well. Expect all of the aforementioned bites, as well as seafood stir-fried udon; grilled pork skewers; chargrilled scallops with burnt butter, fish sauce and green mango; and chargrilled beef with Asian chimichurri and bok choy. The cha ca tacos feature banh xeo 'taco shells' filled with turmeric-marinated coral trout, and salmon sashimi and pepper beef also sit among the savoury options. For something sweet, get ready for a Vietnamese–style mille feuille, banana fritters and pandan brulee. Bookings are recommended — and if you're keen to celebrate ten years of Fat Noodle on the venue's exact birthday itself, head along on Monday, December 12. There'll be entertainment, too, and meet-and-greets with Nguyen.
"Don't you dare ruin my childhood!" Such is the inevitable complaint from nostalgic movie fans whenever a beloved film from yesteryear is tapped by studios for a remake. Setting aside what kind of fragile childhood you must have had for a movie to be capable of destroying it, the sentiment is at least a sincere one: please be respectful. Like a thoughtless cover song robbing an original of all its heart and meaning (here's looking at you, Madonna's 'American Pie'), the arbitrary remaking, rebooting and reimagining of successful pop-culture properties threatens to expend a great deal of fan goodwill. Paul Feig's Ghostbusters was the last film to attract this level of ire, though that was as much to do with sexism as anything else (and proved doubly misguided since the female cast ended up being the best thing about it). Then came the Jumanji announcement and, again, childhoods were imperilled the world over. The beloved Robin Williams vehicle from 1995 (itself an adaptation from a book) was a critical meh at the time, but made bucketloads of cash. More importantly, however, its status as a cult classic grew with each passing day – so much so that the remake's star, Dwayne Johnson, recognised the risk early on and did his best to allay people's fears. "We wanted to do something that was respectful of the work of Robin Williams as well as creating something fresh," he insisted. So was he true to his word? Well, yes and no. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle certainly isn't fresh, in that it's largely just an appropriation of Tron coupled up with body-swap stories like Freaky Friday and 3rd Rock from the Sun. Nor does it really address the legacy of Robin Williams, since his character scarcely rates a mention, and the story itself in no way resembles the original. But is it a good film? Absolutely. Updating itself, quite literally, for more modern times, the film sees the original Jumanji board game transform into a mid-90s video game cartridge and promptly suck a hapless teenager into its hidden universe. Fast-forward 20 years and, in a clear nod to The Breakfast Club, the game is discovered in a storeroom by four motley teens during high-school detention. Sure enough they too – the nerd, the jock, the princess and the loner girl – find themselves pulled into Jumanji's perilous jungle. But there's a twist: they're now in the bodies of the game character they chose. So it is that the nerd becomes the muscle-bound Dr Smolder Bravestone (Johnson), the jock becomes pint-sized zoologist Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart), the loner becomes uber-babe and biologist Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) and – most amusingly – the princess becomes the portly, middle-aged cartographer Shelly Oberon (Jack Black). From there the film becomes a non-stop action-adventure romp, one in which its stars engage in a retro video game quest to return a glowing green jewel to its rightful home. The laughs are frequent, coming mostly from the body-swap setup, but also from the tongue-in-cheek references to 90s point and click games – like having non-playable characters only speak a limited number of lines that repeat themselves if you fail to progress in time. Each of the main cast members plays impressively against type, with Black in particular soaring in his part as the vacuous it-girl. Together they make an entirely likeable crew, lending the narrative a nice emotional undercurrent even as a "be true to yourself" message is jammed clumsily down our throats. Funny, breezy and full of memorable performances, nervous film buffs can rest easy. Your childhood is going to be just fine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKg5SZ_35I
Calendars out, Marvel fans: if you've been looking forward to adding more superheroes to your small-screen viewing in 2023, Disney+ has just the solution. First, Secret Invasion is on its way this winter, focusing on Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury. Then, come spring, both the second season of Loki and the debut of newcomer Echo will follow. 2023 marks two years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe's God of Mischief first hit streaming queues, doing so with a final promise: "Loki will return in season two". When it premiered, it was just the third MCU series to hit Disney+ after WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it's been followed by Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But a couple of years has felt like a hefty wait for more of Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent) getting his superpowered trickster on. The date to lock into your diary now: Friday, October 6, with the new batch of episodes set to pick up where season one left off. So, expect more chaos from the MCU favourite, more of Owen Wilson (Marry Me) as Mobius M Mobius, more banter (naturally) and more clone trickery. "Loki is back at the TVA, he's had a very difficult confrontation with Sylvie, and Mobius and Hunter B-15 don't know who he is," Hiddleston advised back in 2022, before season two also scored a brief sneak peek as part of Disney+'s streaming highlights trailer for 2023. [caption id="attachment_862338" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.[/caption] As for Hawkeye spinoff Echo, it's locked in for Wednesday, November 29 — and it'll enjoy a first for the MCU on streaming. Disney+ usually drops a few episodes at once for each show, then unfurls the rest weekly afterwards. But this one will arrive all at once on the same day. Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) is the Echo's focus — and, as first seen in Hawkeye, she's the gang leader who is deaf that had Clint Barton in her sights for a stint of revenge. In a series also starring Chaske Spencer (The English), Tantoo Cardinal (Three Pines), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Run Woman Run), Graham Greene (The Last of Us) and Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), the character now gets an origin story. There's no trailer yet for either Loki season two or Echo, but you can check out Disney+'s 2023 trailer below: Loki season two will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, October 6, while Echo will arrive on Wednesday, November 29. Top image: ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Sipping drinks at soaring heights: if that's your preferred way to while away your days in Brisbane, there's no shortage of spots to head to. But the latest sky-high venue to open in our fair city doesn't just want you to eat and drink while soaking in the view. That's all part of Catalina, of course — but, in a 1500-square-metre bar that's taken its cues from the Mediterranean, this beach club-inspired spot wants you to get swimming as well. Head up to the top level at 74–80 Tribune Street, South Brisbane and you'll be enjoying a splash in two ways: in your glass and in the 30-metre rooftop infinity pool. Hang out in daybeds, sunken lounges and booths by the water, stare out over the Brissie skyline, and enjoy an atmosphere that's designed to make you feel like you're on holidays without leaving town. Open since mid-February — but bound to make the most of Brisbane's year-round balmy weather — Catalina is the latest venture from Icatha Hospitality's Ross Ledingham and Salt Meat Cheese Group's Stefano De Blasi. Blue, white and neutral tones help set the vacation mood, both indoors and out. The prevailing vibe: lounge all day, party through the night, with the venue open from brunch till midnight from Wednesday–Friday, and kicking things off at 7am on weekends. Relaxing by the pool is hungry work, so the food menu spans restaurant fare, waterside options, bar snacks and sharing spreads. Accordingly, you can grab seafood from the raw bar — oysters, scampi caviar, salmon gravlax and tuna tartar all included — then tuck into a 1.1-kilogram flank steak, lobster thermidor, pork belly or duck breast (with a side of truffle mac 'n' cheese if that also tempts your tastebuds). Or, snack on charcuterie, lobster rolls, octopus roulade and karaage chicken — no matter where you sit. Plus, the sharing menu spans both three- and four-course options, and desserts include deconstructed mango cheesecake and strawberries and cream panna cotta. For those Saturday and Sunday early starts, the brekkie range features house-baked corn bread, hotcakes, eggs benedict, zucchini flowers, and herb and potato rosti. And, drinks-wise, 14 different signature cocktails — think: Catalina bellinis with boysenberry tea-infused vermouth and edible stamps, sours made with jalapeno and pineapple syrup, and a fruity fizz featuring honey and apricot jam — sit alongside four low- and no-alcohol concoctions. Or, there are beers by the schooner and bottle, a sizeable spirits range (especially agave), and coffees, teas and hot chocolates. Catalina also hosts Sunday sessions, complete with DJ-spun house and disco tunes — if you need another excuse to turn lazing, paddling and sipping on a South Brisbane rooftop into a party. Find Catalina at 74–80 Tribune Street, South Brisbane — open 11am–12am Wednesday–Friday and 7am–12am Saturday–Sunday.
In need of some new procrastination material? Well, you're in luck. Google image search 'Banff' and spend a few minutes (or half an hour) taking in the gorgeous pictures of snow-capped mountains, aqua water and towering pines. It's impossible to not daydream about holidaying somewhere far-flung and exciting while ogling these picture-perfect views, as we're sure you'll agree. Thankfully, from April 11 to 15, you'll have the opportunity to slip into this magical world without ever leaving Brisbane. Brisbane Powerhouse is once again hosting Banff Mountain Film Festival's 2016 tour — the event's latest stopover, after beginning back in 1976. Its stunning cinematography attracts film buffs and adventurers alike making the festival popular across the world today. Every November, hundreds of films enter the competition with the cream of the crop chosen to entertain and amaze festival goers. Some of the featured flicks battled it out in categories including Best Film on Mountain Sport, Best Film on Mountain Environment, Best Film on Mountain Culture, Best Film on Exploration and Adventure, People's Choice Award and more.
“My father passed away when I was three. It was only this year that I realised that he was just thirty when he died. So, if I make it through this year alive, I’ll outlive my own father, which is crazy. And that’s why my album is called Thirty One. Apparently he was a really amazing musician, so I think that’s where I got my music from.” Brisbane singer-songwriter Jarryd James has had one heck of a year. The 31-year-old former teaching student's debut LP Thirty One drops September 11, but he's already blitzed the Australian charts and festival circuit. Since his single, ‘Do You Remember?’ hit number two on the ARIA charts in February, James has been living in a dream-like state, selling out huge national venues like Sydney's Metro Theatre and playing to one of Splendour's biggest crowds. “There was no way I was expecting that,” he said. “It’s been incredible. I don’t think I’ve really had a chance to process it properly.” ‘Do You Remember?’ has now racked up more than 2 million Youtube views, and he's just released a single co-written with Julia Stone. And that's all in one year. We caught the Brisbane singer on the day of his debut album launch, to head back to the beginning, to chat about singing up a storm in his bedroom, the tapes his mum used to play and how the heck he worked with Frank Ocean and Lorde's producers. ON TRAINING HIS VOICE USING HIS MUM’S TAPES Despite a furiously busy year of fast fame, James's deceptively simple track has years of work – and listening – behind it. James started singing when he was just a kid. “I never had any training or anything like that. I’d put tapes on and just sing along. I listened to a lot of Stevie Wonder, Harry Nilsson, The Beatles and Bob Dylan — all the staples, I guess. And the stuff my mum had in her tape and record collection. Singing is all about listening, really, more than it is about making noise. You need to listen to what’s happening and adjust your voice accordingly. I spent a lot of time listening to other singers and figuring out how they did it.” ON BEING A SHY BEDROOM SINGER Even though singing came naturally to James, performing was a different matter. “As a teenager, I never sang in front of anyone else. I was ridiculously shy and the thought of it made me feel sick.” It wasn’t until James was 19 that he worked up the courage to sing in public, which launched a decade of music-making — from touring independently to playing bass with good mate Matt Corby. And now the tables have turned — performing is now James's "favourite part". "It’s one thing to record a song and go back and change things. But when you’re performing in a room, it’s in real time. It’s happening there and then, and it has its own energy, which I find a bit addictive. There’s no other thing in the world that makes you feel like that. It’s amazing. The bigger the crowd, the easier it is … The only time I get nervous is when it’s some awkward thing, like a label showcase, where there are twenty people staring at you in a silent room.” ON WORKING WITH LORDE AND FRANK OCEAN'S PRODUCERS Jarryd recorded Thirty One in Auckland, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Sydney, with the input of three seriously Big Time producers — Joel Little (Lorde, Broods), Malay (Frank Ocean) and Pip Norman (Urthboy, Dan Sultan). As a result, listeners can expect twelve melodic, laidback tracks, including ‘Do You Remember?’, as well as the also already-released ‘Give Me Something’ and ‘Regardless’ (featuring Julia Stone). So what kind of sound does a Brisbane boy and Frank Ocean's producer come up with? “Nothing was forced. We were all on the same page musically and we decided that we should see what happens. We weren’t trying to force out any hits or any of that shit. We enjoyed each other’s company first and foremost, and we made music according to that. I don’t care at all about what anyone’s done previously or what their status is or what their name is. I care about what their agenda is with music and what they value when they’re writing and producing.” ON SIMPLICITY AND HONESTY Jarryd describes his most important musical values as “simplicity and honesty. A lot of [the music on Thirty One] is quite emotional. It is stuff that’s flowed out of me … I try to let my subconscious lead the writing process and switch my brain off as much as I can. I’ve learnt to trust that. When I over-think and second-guess, that’s when I get myself in a bit of a rut, creatively. I think the main thing I focus on is not focusing. It sounds weird but it does work for me. "I don’t even let myself think about fears that I have because I’m the kind of person, if I get down that path, it’ll kind of maybe mess me up a bit. But my hopes are that I can keep on doing this for a long as I can – that being decades and decades. I want to be able to make enough money to live off and support other musicians and help as many people as I can. I have a very blessed life now so I want to be able to pass that on." Jarryd James' debut album Thirty One is out September 11 via Universal Music. Images: Universal, Ian Laidlaw (Splendour)
If pastel wasn't already part of your gig-going wardrobe, it will be at Australia's newest music festival, with Client Liaison's Expo Liaison touring the country in August. Announced back in May, the seven-hour event will hit Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane across August 18–26, and the headlining duo will have quite the company. Alongside a roster of eight other acts, the duo's own set will also feature John Farnham. Alice Ivy, Ken Davis, Kon, Luke Million featuring KLP, No Zu, Rainbow Chan and Total Giovanni are all on the bill, plus John Howard doing a DJ set. Whether that's John Howard the former prime minister, John Howard the Aussie actor or just some other guy called John Howard, well, your guess is as good as ours — but Triple j are reporting that it's the former. As for the kind of vibe that's in store, the curated event has fest badged "a multimedia, multi-city, multiversal experience" in its promotional material, as well as a "once-in-a-lifetime event". They're the kind of descriptions that plenty of gigs and fests throw around, but Client Liaison have a track record of delivering more than just the usual shows — or fashion lines or music videos, for that matter. Tickets are currently on sale across all four cities, and if you're keen to hear the duo's own thoughts on the festival, check out the Expo Liaison trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgSsrdVHnh0&feature=youtu.be Expo Liaison heads to Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on August 18, Sydney's Parramatta Park on August 25 and Brisbane's Victoria Park on August 26. Head to Client Liaison's website for further details and to buy tickets.
In the 1970s, recently de-closeted lawyer Paul (Garret Dillahunt) meets drag club singer Rudy (Alan Cumming), and the two hit it off immediately. Their relationship is both complicated and strengthened when Rudy discovers his drug-addict neighbour has a neglected son with Down's syndrome, and takes it upon himself to care for the kid. Before any of them know what's happened, a family unit has instantly formed, and the three must fight prejudices to stay together. Any Day Now has the vague whiff of being based on a true story, and does purport to have been inspired by true events, but press notes refuse to go into any detail about what this true story might have been. It's a important to note this, because tales that claim to be "inspired by true events" receive a cache of good will, as outrageous plot contrivances are forgiven under the assumption that it must have really happened. Without a grasp of what the original true life tale might have been, the series of coincidences in this film are a little harder to swallow. We can accept that life is stranger than fiction, but only when the fiction draws us in with the sort of verisimilitude that shocks us with its authenticity. Some films feel like real life; others simply feel like films. Any Day Now, for all its excellent intentions, feels like a film. Cumming chews up the scenery as the improbably accented Rudy, whose Joan Rivers-esque comebacks to every single utterance thrust in his direction makes him feel like a nightclub routine, as opposed to someone who occasionally performs a nightclub routine. It's a shame, because these unlikely quips undo the solid emotional work Cumming puts in as the prospective adopted father. Rudy's instant connection to Marco would feel too rushed if it wasn't for the frankly superb work by Isaac Leyva, the teenager with Down's syndrome. Marco is quiet and nonresponsive for a long period of the film, suggesting that the drama will come from the more experienced actors having emotions at him. But Leyva is called upon to do some pretty heavy work, selling us on tears of joy in one scene and tears of sadness in another. It's hard to watch him and not feel the overwhelming compulsion to adopt him yourself. Ultimately, Any Day Now suffers from its artifice. Too many things happen too easily, and for us to be convinced by the situation, the film would have been served by reducing the manipulation. As a weepy and capitalised Important Tale, the film is very good and some moments stir up emotion, but it isn't the film it should be, failing to hit the heights it is so earnestly aiming for. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7ghwGOuuNy0
Okay, so it's actually a statue of King Joffrey. But still! Think of the satisfaction! Everyone wants to see that smarmy little ferret face smashed into the ground and now you finally have the means with which to make it happen. Do it for Ned Stark! Do it for Sansa! Do it for that little kid in Batman Begins who had no idea of his evil destiny. The marketing geniuses over at Sky (New Zealand's equivalent of Foxtel) have set up a statue of King Joffrey in the middle of Auckland's CBD and, using the power of social media (for realsies) you can help topple the unlawful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Each tweet including the hashtag #bringdowntheking will contribute to a rope around the statue's neck tightening — a slow but inevitable means with which to bring the statue down. The public execution, which is estimated to take around five days, is available to watch via livestream here. Although, it may be a little dull until the final moments. The more entertaining things to keep an eye on at the moment are people's emotive tweets. The North remembers. Filthy Joffrey. #bringdowntheking #GOT — a little bit of ???? (@_magiciscoming) April 3, 2014 You bastard Joffrey!!! #bringdowntheking — Sam Pascoe (@PascoeSam) April 3, 2014 Something tells me these kind of fans really didn't need a marketing stunt to remind them to tune in to the season premiere on April 6.
When Sex and the City scored a sequel series back in 2021, it let fans of the HBO hit reunite with its beloved New York-based characters; however, not everyone was present and accounted for. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all returned, as did many of the men in their lives. But Kim Cattrall has been sitting out And Just Like That... — until season two arrives this winter. Variety reports that Samantha Jones is a part of the show's new batch of episodes, albeit just in a cameo. Cattrall (How I Met Your Father) will only be in one scene, chatting with Carrie (Parker, Hocus Pocus 2). And, it's believed that she shot her contribution solo, without interacting with her longterm co-stars. [caption id="attachment_791681" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sex and the City[/caption] As well as dropping that news, And Just Like That... has just released its full trailer for season two. Unsurprisingly, there's no sign of Cattrall. But the sneak peek does explain why John Corbett (To All the Boys: Always and Forever) is reprising his role as Aidan Shaw, adding to the series' parade of Sex and the City faces. Cosmos at the ready, obviously. Your next excuse to sip vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice will arrive from Thursday, June 22 on Binge in Australia and Friday, June 23 on Neon in New Zealand. If you've spent any part of the past two-and-a-half decades dreaming about being a fabulously dressed Big Apple writer who seems to do very little work but can still afford a fantasy wardrobe — or if you've just filled it drinking a lot of pink-coloured cocktails — then you'll already be excited. And, you'll know that when the first season of And Just Like That... arrived, it did so 17 years after Sex and the City wrapped up its HBO run. Two years later, the show will explore more of Carrie, Miranda (Nixon, The Gilded Age) and Charlotte's (Davis, Deadly Illusions) lives and friendships in their 50s, when things are even more complicated than they were two decades ago. Season two will also feature Sara Ramírez (Madam Secretary), Sarita Choudhury (Ramy), Nicole Ari Parker (Chicago PD), Karen Pittman (The Morning Show), Mario Cantone (Better Things), David Eigenberg (Chicago Fire), Evan Handler (Power), Christopher Jackson (Space Oddity), Niall Cunningham (Poker Face), Cathy Ang (My Best Friend's Exorcism) and Alexa Swinton (Old), all similarly returning from season one. A reminder: due to Kim Cattrall's absence so far, And Just Like That... has been badged as a "new chapter' in the Sex and the City story, rather than an additional season of the existing 1998–2004 program. Parker, Davis and Nixon are also executive producers on And Just Like That..., alongside Michael Patrick King, who worked as a writer, director and executive producer on the original (and on the two terrible 2008 and 2010 Sex and the City movies). Check out the full trailer for And Just Like That..., season two below: And Just Like That... season two will start streaming via Binge in Australia from Thursday, June 22 — and from Friday, June 23 on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
If you've been craving that unmissable sense of adventure, you don't have to plan months in advance to make it happen. Just take a look through Adrenaline's wealth of awesome activities. You'll quickly discover you can simply make a booking, load up the car and hit the road with only a few hours' notice. From Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast and across to the flourishing hinterland, there are striking experiences ranging from fighter jet flights to skydiving and even the chance to take a dip with migrating whales. Treat yourself to a heart-pumping extreme adventure and make next weekend a memorable one. [caption id="attachment_777586" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Adrenaline[/caption] TAKE A HELICOPTER FLIGHT TO SIRROMET WINERY If you've been suffering from the wintertime blues, a glamorous private helicopter flight is bound to make you feel like a million bucks. Experience the high life for a day as you take flight over Brisbane CBD en route to the renowned Sirromet Winery, one of the leading estates in the Granite Belt winemaking region. You'll have two hours to roam the charming property, sample several of its acclaimed wines and enjoy lunch on the sprawling 75-metre deck of the on-site Italian restaurant, The Tuscan Terrace. Once you've seen enough, make the ultimate power move by letting your pilot know your entourage is ready to fire up the chopper and cruise back to Brisbane. RACE THROUGH A CANYON ON A ZIPLINE Tamborine Mountain is one of Queensland's top hiking destinations for a reason. Located just an hour from Brisbane, it's an outdoorsy wonderland with lush rainforests, scenic waterfalls and panoramic countryside views in every direction. It's also home to some of the country's most action-packed ziplines, with seven high-speed cables to ride. They stretch across the stunning Cedar Creek Gorge at a dizzying 60 metres above the forest floor. You'll hurtle through the treetops forwards, backwards and upside down at up to 70 kilometres per hour. Within touching distance of Brisbane, this three-hour zipline tour is a surefire way to liven up your weekend. [caption id="attachment_777571" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Adrenaline[/caption] ABSEIL DOWN WATERFALLS IN THE HINTERLAND Sandy beaches might be the Gold Coast's main draw, but if you head a little inland, a sprawling hinterland offers a completely different experience. This adventurous day-long canyoning tour carries you deep into the subtropical rainforest where you're encouraged to take a dip in countless freshwater pools, leap down waterfalls and abseil along the towering rockfaces. Don't stress if this is your first time on the ropes — you'll be joined by an expert instructor who will safely guide you through the rugged landscape. Plus, you won't have to worry about bringing food as this tour comes complete with a tasty lunch. ZOOM OVER BRISBANE IN A FIGHTER JET If being strapped into a genuine fighter jet doesn't get your blood pumping, we're not sure what will. This thrill-seeker's dream adventure welcomes you into the fighter pilot base at Archerfield Airport where you'll get ready for take-off. And you'll look the part dressed in a military-style flight suit and helmet. Following an operational briefing on the aircraft, you'll be ready to get buckled into the cockpit of the L-39 jet. Featuring high-energy aerobatic capabilities and a breakneck top speed of 800 kilometres per hour, this turbojet-powered plane gives you a front-row seat of Flinders Peak or Lake Wyaralong as you pierce through the clouds. JUMP OUT OF A PLANE OVER THE SUNSHINE COAST Skydiving is one of those extreme activities everyone has to try at least once in their lifetime. Tick it off your bucket list in style by tandem leaping out of a plane above the Sunshine Coast town of Caloundra. Following a 20-minute flight that carries you to jumping altitude of 14,000 feet, you'll free-fall for up to 70 seconds strapped to the chest of your expert partner. Then, you can take charge of the parachute as you admire the stunning coastal views on the way back down to earth — keep an eye out for sea life, too. RACE OFF-ROAD V8 BUGGIES OVER A DIRT TRACK When you combine a powerful V8 engine with a purpose-built dirt circuit, things are no doubt going to get a little bit sideways. This white knuckle-inducing driving experience places you inside a powerful off-road vehicle that normally competes in some of Australia's toughest desert races. You'll be joined by a professional motor racing coach and provided handy live tips on car control and drifting, ensuring you improve upon every lap time. After you've crossed the chequered flag for the last time, you'll also be provided with morning or afternoon tea. SWIM WITH WHALES OFF THE SUNSHINE COAST Drinks with friends certainly aren't bad weekend plans, but it doesn't quite have the same ring to it as swimming with whales, right? This is how you could be spending four hours of your time in Mooloolaba. You'll start by sailing out into the ocean searching for some of nature's most incredible creatures. Once the boat is about 100 metres away from a whale, it's time to don your provided wetsuit and snorkelling equipment as you swim out and gain a better look at these remarkably graceful animals. Give yourself a much-needed rush this weekend. Head to the Adrenaline website to book a life-changing adventure experience. Top image: Adrenaline
Last month the National Gallery of Victoria launched the first ever major survey of Australian fashion. Featuring over 120 works from more than 90 designers, 200 Years of Australian Fashion not only had us wowed with the scale, diversity and sheer beauty of the threads on display, but also contemplating the thread that runs through each product born of the Australian fashion industry. It's quite a unique industry to be in — isolated, out of season and catering to a completely different market to the global fashion players. But out of this, a new innovative and creative approach to fashion has been born. It's certainly seen successes, from Collette Dinnigan being the first Australian invited to show at Paris Fashion Week in 1995 to Dion Lee, who last year showed his fifth season at New York Fashion Week. Is it our position in the global market that defines our aesthetic? We asked local designers Perks and Mini and Pageant as well as the NGV's Curator of Fashion and Textiles Paola De Trocchio to define how they see Australian fashion. [caption id="attachment_566323" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Tom Ross[/caption] AMANDA CUMMING AND KATE REYNOLDS, PAGEANT Do you think there is an Australian aesthetic in fashion? There is a casualness and subtle eclecticism about the way Australian's dress. It's offbeat and relaxed! Do you think Australia's distance from the rest of the world has influenced our fashion? As designers, this distance can be challenging but it also gives us the freedom to create our own rules. The fashion industry in Australia is still young and not set in tradition, which we feel creates more flexibility and creativity through design. Is there a designer or particular time period that defines Australian fashion for you? We really admire Dion Lee and feel that he has helped to shape the global image of Australian fashion. His designs always push the boundaries and his textile development is impressive! What would you like to see local designers doing? As designers we feel it's important to be aware of your surroundings and reflect on current culture. It's really important to be authentic, as originality is key to a strong vision. [caption id="attachment_566350" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Perks and Mini[/caption] SHAUNA TOOHEY, PERKS AND MINI Do you think there is an Australian aesthetic in fashion? No. But I do think there is a uniquely Australian attitude to fashion. I think it tends to be more relaxed, it doesn't follow rules and is more forgiving. Do you think Australia's distance from the rest of the world has influenced our fashion? Yes, distance and also seasonal difference has had a big effect on Australian fashion. However, as the world be comes more global, seasons drop earlier and climate change affects weather, I think this will have less influence. Is there a designer or particular time period that defines Australian fashion for you? Growing up with rave and street culture, the stand outs for me are Galaxy Abyss and Funk Essentials both by Sara Thorn and Bruce Slorach. What would you like to see local designers doing? My favourite designers are ones where you can see their unique signature in there clothes. Too often you see garments where the neck label could be lots of different brands/designers and it would be believable. I would love to see designers finding their own unique vision and expressing that in their clothing so well that each piece is recognisably theirs. [caption id="attachment_566322" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Wayne Taylor[/caption] PAOLA DI TROCCHIO, CURATOR, FASHION AND TEXTILES AT THE NGV Do you think there is an Australian aesthetic in fashion? What Australian designers have in common is a sense of adventure, resilience, and courage. This can translate to bold, sophisticated and innovative design with a streak of rebellion. Do you think Australia's distance from the rest of the world has influenced our fashion? I think it has caused our designers to be incredibly innovative with their business systems and structures. For example, recognising that they could not compete with and did not even desire to fit into established fashion conventions from the context of Australia, DI$COUNT UNIVER$E launched their brand online through their blog, redefining the rules of what a fashion label could be. MaterialByProduct's engagement with the concept of luxury and artisanal hand production can be seen as suited to systems of production in Australia, where the majority of the businesses are small-scale enterprises with low-production capacity. Is there a designer or particular time period that defines Australian fashion for you? Australian fashion is evolving as we are as a nation. The earliest dress in the exhibition is from c.1805. Its raised waist and slim skirt are known as the empire line. Its Indian muslin fabric acknowledges the immediate network of trade between India, Australia and Britain. It situates the origins of Australian fashion within the broad context of Britain's aspirations towards the Empire and within a network of international trade. Since then Australian designers have continued a dialogue with the wider world that has echoed politics, trends, social movements, trade and identity. I think what is fascinating about Australian fashion is how Australian designers look inwards to find within them their unique voice, whilst looking out and engaging with the wider world. What would you like to see local designers doing? Thriving. I think they are doing incredibly well and I look forward to seeing them reach greater heights. 200 Years of Australian Fashion is now showing at NGV Australia until July 31. For more information, visit ngv.vic.gov.au. Top image: Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee wearing Linda Jackson's Tutti Frutti dress, 1975. Photograph by Ann Noon.
What will open with a Melbourne-set drama that won an Audience Award at Sundance for telling a Tehran-born, Australian-raised writer/director's autobiographical tale? What'll then pay tribute to Australian record executive and promoter Michael Gudinski in its centrepiece slot? And, what will feature everyone from Hugo Weaving to Michael Cera, a satire about a smartphone, and documentaries about vinyl cover art and the Australian Open, too? That'd be the 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival, with MIFF adding 20 more movies to its 2023 lineup. Cinephiles, get excited. MIFF announced opening night's Shayda as well as the world premiere of Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story back in May, but its program was only getting started. Given that the Victorian capital's annual cinema showcase spans almost a month including both its in-person and online runs — this year playing in cinemas in Melbourne from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20; at regional Victorian locations from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20; and also bringing back online platform MIFF Play from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27 — the number of flicks on its yearly bill runs into the hundreds. So, even the just-revealed new 20 movies on its list is still only the beginning. Weaving (Love Me) will pop up in The Rooster, a thriller about a hermit and a cop who form a bond during a crisis, starring opposite Phoenix Raei (The Night Agent). Shot in regional Victoria, it's the feature directing debut of actor-turned-writer/director Mark Leonard Winter (Elvis), and it's also one of the MIFF Premiere Fund titles on the festival's 2023 program — aka homegrown movies that the fest has financially supported. Also in that camp this year: the aforementioned Shayda; The Slam, a standout for tennis aficionados from director Ili Baré (The Leadership); cine-poem Memory Film: A Filmmaker's Diary; and This Is Going to Be Big, about Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School in Bullengarook staging a John Farnham-themed musical. After appearing in Barbie in July, Cera will grace MIFF's screens in August in The Adults. Yes, he'll be awkward — of course he will be — this time as a thirtysomething heading home. That film sits within the festival's international contingent, which is overflowing with impressive names and titles. Indeed, MIFF will also screen the latest feature by acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who won a Venice Special Jury Prize for No Bears. The Iranian great directs and stars, playing a fictionalised version of himself as he's fond of doing (see also: Tehran Taxi), and blending truth and fiction to examine how artists can too easily become scapegoats. After wowing audiences in Park City earlier this year, there's also Celine Song's debut feature Past Lives, telling a bittersweet romance about two childhood friends (Russian Doll's Greta Lee and Decision to Leave's Teo Yoo) who briefly reunite after decades apart. And, the lineup also includes Bad Behaviour, the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-filmmaker Alice Englert (You Won't Be Alone) starring Jennifer Connelly (Top Gun: Maverick); BlackBerry, which delves into the smartphone's rise and fall — and satirises it — with Jay Baruchel (FUBAR) and Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) among the cast; Passages, from Love Is Strange's Ira Sachs; environmentalist tale How to Blow Up a Pipeline; and the competitive hairdressing-focused Medusa Deluxe. Plus, fans of settling in for the long haul can also see four-and-a-half hour disappearance mind-bender Trenque Lauquen. MIFF will screen The Kingdom Exodus, Lars von Trier's latest followup to 1994's miniseries The Kingdom and its 1997 second season, too. Béla Tarr's 2000 drama Werckmeister Harmonies, a slow-cinema great, will also play the fest thanks to a new 4K restoration. Lovers of movies about music can add Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis), which hails from Control's Anton Corbijn and hones in on the titular photo-design company and its contribution to record cover art, to their MIFF schedule. Louder Than You Think is similarly part of the same program strand, with Gary Young from Pavement at its centre. Throw in documentaries The Disappearance of Shere Hite (about the 70s sexologist), The Echo (about rural Mexican life) and A Storm Foretold (about Roger Stone, adviser to Donald Trump), and MIFF 2023 is already off to a massive start for its 71st edition. As for what else is in store — including which movies will compete in the festival's Bright Horizons Competition, which launched in 2022 — that'll be unveiled on Tuesday, July 11. For now, MIFF Artistic Director Al Cossar is teasing "essential, incredible, unexpected cinema from the whole world before us, far beyond the streamers, far beyond the multiplex – hotly anticipated works by iconic filmmakers, alongside new and breakthrough voices waiting to be discovered". [caption id="attachment_904296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zan Wimberley[/caption] The 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 3–Sunday, August 20 at a variety of venues around Melbourne; from Friday, August 11–Sunday, August 13 and Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 20 in regional Victoria; and online nationwide with MIFF Play from Friday, August 18–Sunday, August 27. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 11, visit the MIFF website.
It's the huge exhibition that took the world by storm, sending David Bowie's lightning bolt-adorned face everywhere from London and Berlin to Tokyo and Melbourne. His Ziggy Stardust costumes, various handwritten lyrics, an assortment of album artwork, rare photographs and even the magic orb he fondled as Jareth in Labyrinth, too. Organised by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, David Bowie is showcased hundreds objects from the David Bowie Archive, visiting 12 cities over six years and attracting more than two million visitors — and while it finished its final run in Brooklyn earlier in 2018, it's coming back in a new format. From Tuesday, January 8 — aka what would've been the music icon's 72nd birthday — David Bowie is will exist as a digital recreation that you can access on your phone. As first announced back in July, fans can expect to tour the Bowie bonanza as an augmented reality (AR) experience, which will feature a sequence of audio-visual spaces highlighting artifacts from Bowie's life. In total, there'll be more than 500 high-resolution images of Bowie-related items, including 60 new objects that weren't included in the touring exhibition. Available on iOs and Android platforms, David Bowie is' AR version won't just involve looking at 2D representations, either, with 3D scans used to preserve and present the artist's costumes and objects in detail. And, there's more to come, with a virtual reality version still in the works. Here's hoping that Bowie obsessives will be able to virtually step into one of his out-of-sight outfits and see themselves in one — yes, this might be your chance to turn and face the strange or experience some ch-ch-changes. A collaboration between Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc, the David Bowie Archive and the V&A, "the augmented reality adaptation of David Bowie is enables you to explore the entire exhibition in the intimacy of your own environment, without glass barriers, vitrines or throngs of visitors," according to the exhibition website. How much it will cost is yet to be announced, but a portion of the profits will be donated the V&A and Brooklyn Museum. David Bowie is will become available on iOs and Android platforms on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. For further information and to sign up for updates, head to davidbowieisreal.com.
Were you planning on spending the long weekend wrapped in a blanket cocoon with a season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and a packet of Malteser mini eggs? Well, even if you weren't, here's a good enough reason to do just that: an all-reality TV streaming service is launching in Australia on Tuesday, March 22. hayu is the latest subscription video on-demand service to launch in Australia, and it's essentially Netflix but purely for reality TV. The service is part of NBCUniversal International, and will pull from their massive back catalogue of content to offer full 'box sets' of over 3000 episodes of shows like the Kardashians, Real Housewives and Made in Chelsea. Most new episodes will be available on the same day as their US release, and the platform will allow you to share snippets (i.e. Kardashian quotes) directly to your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. It's either your worst nightmare or a vision of heaven you never thought would be socially realised. "We're excited to be unveiling March 22 as the launch date for hayu in Australia," said NBCUniversal's Jay McNamara, EVP Strategy Development and Analysis. "Curated by reality experts for reality fans, hayu is fully integrated with news feeds and social media and, uniquely, its next-generation functionality will enable Australian fans to share some of the content they love." Binge watchers of reality TV will be ecstatic (if not just secretly) over this news. As for all the haters.. hayu will launch on Tuesday, March 22. You'll be able to get a 30-day free trial, with the subscription costing $5.99 per month thereafter. For more info, visit hayu.com.
Back in 1976, author Anne Rice asked a simple question: if a vampire agreed to an interview about their bloodsucking life, what would they share? The answer to that query sparked a bestselling novel — the late writer's debut tome, in fact — and helped thrust her to fame. It also started a literary franchise, The Vampire Chronicles; was turned into a comic; hit the big screen in the 90s; and, soon, will play out as a streaming series as well. That book/comic/film/upcoming show: Interview with the Vampire. And yes, in its current leap from cinemas to the small screen, it follows in the footsteps of fellow undead fare Buffy the Vampire Slayer and What We Do in the Shadows. It also hops on a second trend that shows no signs of dying: reviving 90s movies as a series, as the new TV version of A League of Their Own also has recently (without the vampires, of course). Even if you haven't enjoyed Interview with the Vampire on the page or seen the 1994 flick, the concept is right there in the name — as both the initial teaser trailer back in July and the just-dropped full sneak peek make plain. "So, how long have you been dead?" probing interviewer Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian, Succession) asks Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson, aka Game of Thrones' Grey Worm), the New Orleans resident who can't resist the offer to live forever. Then, quite the tale unfurls. Naturally, if you're a vampire being interviewed, that's the kind of opening enquiry that's bound to come your way. More follow, but it's a helluva ice-breaker. Louis' story includes fellow vamp Lestat de Lioncourt (Australian actor Sam Reid, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson), who he describes as "my murderer, my mentor, my lover and my maker" — and child vamp Claudia (Bailey Bass, Psycho Sweet 16), who joins their bloodthirsty family. How this new take on Interview with the Vampire will turn out will be revealed in October — in Australia via AMC+ from Sunday, October 2, with New Zealand details still to be announced. If you remember the movie — the film that helped push Dunst to fame as a child, well before she was an Oscar-nominee for The Power of the Dog — you'll know that it steps through its key undead trio's not-quite-lives (being eternally undead might be the better way to describe it), with tension oozing after Louis decides he doesn't want to kill. Check out the full Interview with the Vampire trailer below: Interview with the Vampire will start streaming in Australia via AMC+ from Sunday, October 2. We'll update you with New Zealand details when they become available. Images: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC.
Ever since El Camino Cantina arrived in town, the eatery's little patch of Bowen Hills has basically become a constant party. When a place boasts eight slushie machines pumping out frozen margaritas, that's completely understandable. When it serves up cheap tacos every week, well, who doesn't want to keep on celebrating? On Sunday, February 3, the Tex-Mex joint is upping the ante — this time, it's slinging free snacks and pumping a retro soundtrack. Drop by by from 4pm to enjoy a spread of chicken wings, tacos, jalapeno poppers and other bites, all without spending a cent. Then, hit the dance floor to make some shapes to 90s and 00s tunes. To head along to this afternoon party, you will need to join El Camino Cantina's Amigos club; however that's free as well. There'll also be a giant piñata waiting for you to take a swing, plus cocktails to wet your whistle.
Where would we be without movies during the pandemic? Even when cinemas were closed during lockdowns, we all still sought out the joy and escapism of watching a flick — and truly appreciated how cathartic it is. Still keen to queue up a big heap of movies, and a hefty dose of couch time, even though heading to the big screen is well and truly back on the agenda? Enter Movie Frenzy, the returning week-long online film rental sale. From Friday, February 10–Thursday, February 16, it's serving up a sizeable lineup of popular flicks from the past year, all from $3 per movie onwards. On the lineup: Jordan Peele's latest standout horror effort Nope, Tom Cruise indulging a new (and better) need for speed in Top Gun: Maverick, Baz Luhrmann's hip-shaking bio Elvis and star-studded rom-com Ticket to Paradise. Or, if you like scares, you'll find plenty in Smile, Bodies Bodies Bodies and Orphan: First Kill. The action-packed Bullet Train, adventure-romance The Lost City and game-to-screen sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are also on the list — and while some of these flicks are more worth your attention than others, we'll let you do the choosing. You can nab the cheap movies via your digital rental platform of choice, including Apple TV, iTunes, Fetch, Google Play, the Microsoft Store, Prime Video, Fetch and YouTube Movies — although just what's available, and the price, will vary depending on the service. And you won't need a subscription, unless you decide to join in the fun via the Foxtel Store.
In July, four years after Beijing authorities confiscated his passport and banned him from leaving China, Ai Weiwei got back his right to travel. And this week he'll be using it, as he travels to Melbourne to speak at the opening of the National Gallery of Victoria's Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition. Yes, that’s right — Ai Weiwei will be appearing in the flesh. In Australia. You'll find him at the NGV on Monday, December 7 at 6.30pm, where he'll be having a mighty chat with the ABC's Virginia Trioli. Needless to say, Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei is the NGV's summer blockbuster. The gallery developed the exhibition in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh and, of course, Ai Weiwei himself. The show aims to explore the concepts that inspired both artists. Gear up for more than 300 works, including never-before-seen pieces by Warhol, brand new commissions from Ai Weiwei and installations that’ll devour you. Pretty much every medium you can think of comes into play – from painting and sculpture to film and photography to music and social media. Tickets for Ai Weiwei's talk will go on sale to the public at 10am on Wednesday, December 2. And we reckon they'll sell out at Tay Swift speed — so you're going to have to be quick on the uptake. If you're a lucky, lucky member of the NGV, you can get in early in their members pre-sale, from 10am the day before. Ai Weiwei in Conversation at The National Gallery of Victoria will take place on Monday, December 7 at 6.30pm at NGV International. You can buy tickets here.
If you like beer and you live in Brisbane, then you've probably noticed a trend in recent years. In fact, you've probably been making the most of it. That's to be expected when a certain patch of turf starts welcoming new drinking spots with frequency. Thanks to Ballistic Beer Co and Hiker Brewing Co in Salisbury, as well as Helios Brewing Company and Slipstream Brewing Company in Yeerongpilly, there's no shortage of breweries to have a beer at on the southside. And, while you've likely been hopping between them all anyway, Beermuda gives the area's boozy crawl an official spin. Head to any of the quartet from 1pm on Saturday, March 29, 2025, get sipping, then catch a courtesy bus to the other three — and drink more frothy ales at each, obviously. Entry is free, and there'll also be food and live music at each brewery. Plus, you'll be able to just generally soak in the boozy Salisbury and Yeerongpilly vibes. If you remember the event from previous years, you'll know that it was originally called Beermuda Triangle — taking inspiration from the Bermuda Triangle, of course — but when Hiker Brewing joined in 2023, there was no longer just three venues on the route. Buses run from 1–7pm, starting at Helios, then hitting Slipstream, Hiker and Ballistic, then repeating. Beer-wise, there'll be more than 60 brews on offer — and each venue is doing its own thing with food and entertainment.
2022 has been a massive year for one of Fortitude Valley's favourite music venues — a place that, for most of its three-decade lifespan since 1992 so far, hardly seemed like it changed at all. Firstly, The Zoo added an in-house pizzeria, aka Zoopreme Pizzeria. Then, the team branched out with cocktail spot Stranded in Winn Lane. Up next: Booze, which will indeed sling exactly what its name promises. Booze won't just be a bottle shop — although it definitely will sell high-end wines, artisan spirits, both craft and mainstream beers, and sake. The vino lineup will focus on natural wines from Australian producers, stocking a rotating range, with Jauma, Sven Joschke, Dormilona, Koerner Brothers and Dr Edge among the showcased labels. In addition, the space on Winn Street will double as a takeaway pizza joint, a coffee spot and a providore. Head by to stock up your liquor cabinet, grab a slice, nab some speciality caffeine, and support local producers and artisans making chocolate, relish, pickles, hot sauce and charcuterie. In the lead up to Christmas, there'll also be gift hampers up for sale. That isn't the end of the list, either, with Booze badging itself as Brisbane's new home for "cool shit". That includes vinyl and band merchandise, covering a wide array of genres from punk to country, and spanning international and local acts. It is setting up shop in the perfect spot for it, taking over the space previously home to the beloved Tym Guitars. Yes, consider this an icon taking over an icon, with Brisbanites able to drop by from Friday, September 30. The coffees will be on offer from 12pm — and if you're after a pizza, there'll be six on offer from Zoopreme Pizzeria from 5pm Wednesday–Sunday. "We wanted to take your traditional bottle-o offering and elevate it above what's currently available in the area. It's a bit of this and a bit of that, loaded with products that we love, and most importantly infused with good vibes only," says Booze co-owner Luke Johnston. "We look forward to locals dropping in for a chat and a coffee — like The Zoo, all are welcome." Find Booze at upstairs at 5E Winn Street, Fortitude Valley from Friday, September 30 — open 12pm–late, with pizzas from 5pm–late Wednesday–Sunday. Images: Luke Henery.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 25: Four Pillars Christmas (Gin) Revue will no longer be heading to Brisbane in 2019. As gin lovers may (or maybe don't) know, Four Pillars has been hosting a Christmas (Gin) Revue for the last couple of years. For one giddy night in 2017 and 2018, Four Pillars aficionados — and newbies — drank in the festive season with an extravaganza of gin-inspired madness, from comedy, dancing and sing-alongs to gin tastings, cocktails and canapés. Well, folks, it's back in 2019 — and this time, for the first time, it's coming to Brisbane. Taking over Brooklyn Standard from 6.30pm on Thursday, November 28, the Four Pillars Christmas (Gin) Revue 2019 will feature Maeve Marsden and Liz Wood, the duo behind gin cabaret Mother's Ruin. Four Pillars' own Stu and Cam will also hit the stage, with their shenanigans spanning slapstick, power ballads and gin nerd-ism. In between soaking up the action, you'll be sipping on Four Pillars' finest gins of 2019, transformed into cocktails by master mixologist Jimmy Irvine, and feasting on canapés. Your $250 ticket also includes a doggy bag, packed with a 700mL bottle of the 2019 Australian Christmas Gin, a jar of marmalade, a set of cocktail books, Four Pillars' new gin relish and more.
Topping off a year that saw his super-hit Somebody That I Used To Know end up on seemingly permanent repeat on the waves of more or less every radio station in the world, Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, Gotye, will bring his sell-out smash world tour to an end this December, with a series of homecoming shows. Multi-platinum selling single 'Somebody I Used To Know', followed by the newer singles 'I Feel Better', 'Easy Way Out' and 'Save Me', saw the Belgian-Australian singer songwriter take over the world, moving on from the domestic success of his 2006 release Like Drawing Blood, to take his third album Making Mirrors to phenomenal success worldwide. His series of homecoming concerts will see Gotye and his ten piece band play to local audiences for the first time since he first topped the major charts last year.
With over 8 million people living in its five boroughs, New York is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. So, some of the city's wealthier residents have come up with an inventive way to squeeze into The Big Apple: by building buildings on top of other buildings. Think dens perched on top of apartment blocks, pods stored next to air-conditioning vents and rooftop 'cubes' overlooking the Hudson. These creative structures are not only fantastic to marvel at with their contrasting designs and modern styles, but are also a great solution to housing shortages in large cities. Here are ten of the most creative examples in NYC. Rooftop A-Frame Rooftop House and Terrace Three Story Rooftop House Icosa Village Pod in Williamsburg Loftcube by Werner Aisslinger Midtown Rooftop Garden House on Top of an Apartment Central Park West Rooftop Garden Rooftop House and Garden East Village Cape Cod House Soho House Rooftop
Dust off your best bling bling and scour your wardrobe for something Anna Wintour would approve of, because James Street's Resort is back for its sixth year. It's all about eating, drinking and shopping like you're on holidays, with emphasis on the last part when the annual extravaganza brings yet another fashion frenzy to New Farm. Between Thursday, October 10 and Saturday, October 12, James Street will transform into a shopping mirage; however this event is about more than just restocking your wardrobe. Global inclusivity activist, disability advocate, educator and academic Sinéad Burke is Resort's special guest this year, with inclusivity, acceptance and empowerment on the agenda at a round table discussion, a luncheon and a forum. Resort After Dark also makes its return, with late-night shopping, music, art installations and more taking over James Street until 8pm on Friday, October 11. Sounds oh-so-chic, doesn't it? And, it sounds like fun. 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 fashion. Splash out on an outfit you can't afford — and enjoy.
Do call it a comeback: in 2023, beloved TV shows dropped new seasons everywhere. Whether you're a fan of thoughtful dramedies about Indigenous American teenagers, savage family feuds or culinary chaos, this year delivered another serving — and of vampire sharehouse antics, British spies, and angels and demons palling around as well. Some of the above series not only waved hello again, but also goodbye forever after releasing their latest episodes. Others among the year's absolute best returning series have at least one more round in their future. Either way, 2023 hasn't been short of tried-and-tested gems that've kept proving why that's the case again. When the year reached its halfway point, we named and celebrated the top already-obsessed-over TV shows of the year so far. Now that 2023 is saying farewell itself, we've surveyed the entire past 12 months of small-screen efforts. Here's the results: the best 15 returning television shows of the year, and one helluva list of recommendations for finally seeing what everyone's been talking about or spending time with an old favourite. RESERVATION DOGS There's only one thing wrong with the third season of Reservation Dogs: now that it's over, the show has come to an end. There's a skill in knowing when something's time has come, but this teen-centric comedy about restless Indigenous North American adolescents is so rich in stories, perspectives and minutiae — and so resonant as well — that it feels like more and more could (and should) just keep following. Ending Reservation Dogs with this ten-episode run is also an example of the series taking its own message to heart, however. As co-created, executive produced and written by Sterlin Harjo (Mekko) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Love and Thunder) — the former as its guiding force — Reservation Dogs knows that little lasts. It hangs out with its characters as they learn about life's transience at every moment, whether they're chasing their dreams of leaving the reservation that they've always called home or they're grappling with loss. So, of course the series is moving on. In the process, its farewell season proved even more moving and thoughtful than ever, even after its debut year delivered one of the best new TV shows of 2021 and its second spin served up one of the best returning shows of 2022. The last time that viewers saw the Rez Dogs — the OG quartet of Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Beans), Elora (Devery Jacobs, Rutherford Falls), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Cheese (Lane Factor, The Fabelmans), plus Jackie (Elva Guerra, Dark Winds), the somewhat-reluctant newcomer to the group — they had finally made the trip to California that they'd been working towards their entire lives. Season three picks up with the crew still far away from home, and still journeying even when they do return. Elora considers both her past and her future. Bear goes wandering on his own, including through several revelatory encounters. Harjo still isn't afraid to veer away from his leads along the way, whether sliding into history to explore myths, traditions or horrors inflicted upon Indigenous children. Reservation Dogs finds a story, be it big or small, for everyone within its frames. Bear, Elora, Willie Jack and Cheese especially will be deeply missed, but Woon-A-Tai, Jacobs, Alexis and Factor shouldn't ever be far from screens after this exceptional breakthrough. Reservation Dogs streams via Binge. Read our full review. SUCCESSION Endings have always been a part of Succession. Since it premiered in 2018, the bulk of the HBO drama's feuding figures have been waiting for a big farewell. The reason is right there in the title, because for any of the Roy clan's adult children to scale the family company's greatest heights and remain there — be it initial heir apparent Kendall (Jeremy Strong, Armageddon Time), his inappropriate photo-sending brother Roman (Kieran Culkin, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), their political-fixer sister Siobhan (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman), or eldest sibling and presidential candidate Connor (Alan Ruck, The Dropout) — their father Logan's (Brian Cox, Remember Me) tenure needed to wrap up. The latter was always stubborn. Proud, too, of what he'd achieved and the power it's brought. And whenever Logan seemed nearly ready to leave the business behind, he held on. If he's challenged or threatened, as happened again and again in the Emmy-winning series, he fixed his grasp even tighter. Succession was always been waiting for Logan's last stint at global media outfit Waystar RoyCo, but it had never been about finales quite the way it was in its stunning fourth season. This time, there was ticking clock not just for the show's characters, but for the stellar series itself, given that this is its last go-around — and didn't it make the most of it. Nothing can last forever, not even widely acclaimed hit shows that are a rarity in today's TV climate: genuine appointment-viewing. So, this went out at the height of its greatness, complete with unhappy birthday parties, big business deals, plenty of scheming and backstabbing, and both Shiv's husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen, Operation Mincemeat) and family cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun, Cat Person) in vintage form — plus an early shock, at least two of the best episodes of any show that've ever aired on television, one of the worst drinks, a phenomenal acting masterclass, a The Sopranos-level final shot and the reality that money really can't buy happiness. Succession streams via Binge. Read our full review. BARRY Since HBO first introduced the world to Barry Berkman, the contract killer played and co-created by Saturday Night Live great Bill Hader wanted to be something other than a gun for hire. An ex-military sniper, he was always skilled at his highly illicit post-service line of work; however, moving on from that past was a bubbling dream even before he found his way to a Los Angeles acting class while on a job. Barry laid bare its namesake's biggest wish in its 2018 premiere episode. Then, it kept unpacking his pursuit of a life less lethal across the show's Emmy-winning first and second seasons, plus its even-more-astounding third season in 2022. Season four, the series' final outing, was no anomaly, but it also realised that wanting to be someone different and genuinely overcoming your worst impulses aren't the same. Barry grappled with this fact since the beginning, of course, with the grim truth beating at the show's heart whether it's at its most darkly comedic, action-packed or dramatic — and, given that its namesake was surrounded by people who similarly yearn for an alternative to their current lot in life, yet also can't shake their most damaging behaviour, it did so beyond its antihero protagonist. Are Barry, his girlfriend Sally Reid (Sarah Goldberg, The Night House), acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, Black Adam), handler Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root, Succession) and Chechen gangster NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan, Bill & Ted Face the Music) all that different from who they were when Barry started? Have they processed their troubles? Have they stopped taking out their struggles not just on themselves, but on those around them? Hader and his fellow Barry co-creator Alec Berg (Silicon Valley, Curb Your Enthusiasm) kept asking those questions in season four to marvellous results, including after making a massive jump, and right up to the jaw-dropping yet pitch-perfect finale. Barry being Barry, posing such queries and seeing its central figures for who they are was an ambitious, thrilling and risk-taking ride. When season three ended, it was with Barry behind bars, which is where he was when the show's new go-around kicked off. He wasn't coping, unsurprisingly, hallucinating Sally running lines in the prison yard and rejecting a guard's attempt to tell him that he's not a bad person. With the latter, there's a moment of clarity about what he's done and who he is, but Barry's key players have rarely been that honest with themselves for long. Barry streams via Binge. Read our full review. THE BEAR The more time that anyone spends in the kitchen, the easier that whipping up their chosen dish gets. The Bear season two is that concept in TV form, even if the team at The Original Beef of Chicagoland don't always live it as they leap from running a beloved neighbourhood sandwich joint to opening a fine-diner, and fast. The hospitality crew that was first introduced in the best new show of 2022 isn't lacking in culinary skills or passion. But when bedlam surrounds you constantly, as bubbled and boiled through The Bear's Golden Globe-winning, Emmy-nominated season-one frames, not everything always goes to plan. That was only accurate on-screen for Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, Fingernails) and his colleagues — aka sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, Bottoms), baker-turned-pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce, Hap and Leonard), veteran line cooks Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas, In Treatment) and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson, Fargo), resident Mr Fixit Neil Fak (IRL chef Matty Matheson), and family pal Richie aka Cousin (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, No Hard Feelings). For viewers, the series' debut run was as perfect a piece of television as anyone can hope for. Excellent news: season two is better. The Bear serves up another sublime course of comedy, drama and "yes chef!"-exclaiming antics across its sizzling second season. Actually make that ten more courses, one per episode, with each new instalment its own more-ish meal. A menu, a loan, desperately needed additional help, oh-so-much restaurant mayhem: that's how this second visit begins, as Carmy and Sydney endeavour to make their dreams for their own patch of Chicago's food scene come true. So far, so familiar, but The Bear isn't just plating up the same dishes this time around. At every moment, this new feast feels richer, deeper and more seasoned, including when it's as intense as ever, when it's filling the screen with tastebud-tempting food shots that relish culinary artistry, and also when it gets meditative. Episodes that send Marcus to a Noma-esque venue in Copenhagen under the tutelage of Luca (Will Poulter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), get Richie spending a week learning the upscale ropes at one of Chicago's best restaurants and jump back to the past, demonstrating how chaos would've been in Carmy's blood regardless of if he became a chef, are particularly stunning. The Bear season two streams via Disney+. Read our full review. THE OTHER TWO Swapping Saturday Night Live for an entertainment-parodying sitcom worked swimmingly for Tina Fey. Since 2019, it also went hilariously for Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Not just former SNL writers but the veteran sketch comedy's ex-head writers, Kelly and Schneider gave the world their own 30 Rock with the sharp, smart and sidesplitting The Other Two. Their angle: focusing on the adult siblings of a Justin Bieber-style teen popstar who've always had their own showbiz aspirations — he's an actor, she was a ballerina — who then find themselves the overlooked children of a momager-turned-daytime television host as well. Cary (Drew Tarver, History of the World: Part II) and Brooke (Heléne York, Katy Keene) Dubek were happy for Chase (Case Walker, Monster High: The Movie). And when their mother Pat (Molly Shannon, I Love That for You) gets her own time in the spotlight, becoming Oprah-level famous, they were equally thrilled for her. But ChaseDreams, their little brother's stage name, was always a constant reminder that their own ambitions keep being outshone. In a first season that proved one of the best new shows of 2019, a second season in 2021 that was just as much of a delight and now a stellar third go-around, Cary and Brooke were never above getting petty and messy about being the titular pair. In season three, however, they didn't just hang around with stars in their eyes and resentment in their hearts. How did they cope? They spent the past few years constantly comparing themselves to Chase, then to Pat, but then they were successful on their own — and still in a shambles, and completely unable to change their engrained thinking. Forget the whole "the grass is always greener" adage. No matter if they were faking it or making it, nothing was ever perfectly verdant for this pair or anyone in their orbit. Still, as Brooke wondered whether her dream manager gig is trivial after living through a pandemic, she started contemplating if she should be doing more meaningful work like her fashion designer-turned-nurse boyfriend Lance (Josh Segarra, The Big Door Prize). And with Cary's big breaks never quite panning out as planned, he got envious of his fellow-actor BFF Curtis (Brandon Scott Jones, Ghosts). The Other Two streams via Binge. Read our full review. PARTY DOWN Sometimes, dreams do come true. More often than not, they don't. The bulk of life is what dwells in-between, as we all cope with the inescapable truth that we won't get everything that we've ever fantasised about, and we mightn't even score more than just a few things we want. This is the space that Party Down has always made its own, asking "are we having fun yet?" about life's disappointments while focusing on Los Angeles-based hopefuls played by Adam Scott (Severance), Ken Marino (The Other Two), Ryan Hansen (A Million Little Things), Martin Starr (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) and more. They'd all rather be doing something other than being cater waiters at an array of California functions, and most have stars in their eyes. In the cult comedy's first two seasons back in 2009–10, the majority of its characters had their sights set on show business, slinging hors d'oeuvres while trying to make acting, screenwriting or comedy happen. Bringing most of the original gang back together — including Jane Lynch (Only Murders in the Building) and Megan Mullally (Dicks: The Musical) — Party Down keeps its shindig-by-shindig setup in its 13-years-later third season. Across its first 20 instalments as well as its new six, each episode sends the titular crew to a different soirée. This time, setting the scene for what's still one of the all-time comedy greats in its latest go-around, the opening get-together is thrown by one of their own. Kyle Bradway (Hansen) has just scored the lead part in a massive superhero franchise, and he's celebrating. Ex-actor Henry Pollard (Scott) is among the attendees, as are now-heiress Constance Carmell (Lynch) and perennial stage mum Lydia Dunfree (Mullally). Hard sci-fi obsessive Roman DeBeers (Starr) and the eager-to-please Ron Donald (Marino) are present as well, in a catering capacity. By the time episode two hits, then the rest of the season, more of the above will be donning pastel pink bow ties, the series keeps unpacking what it means to dream but never succeed, and the cast — especially Scott and the ever-committed Marino — are in their element. Party Down streams via Stan. Read our full review of season three. YELLOWJACKETS For Shauna (Melanie Lynskey, The Last of Us), Natalie (Juliette Lewis, Welcome to Chippendales), Taissa (Tawny Cypress, Billions), Misty (Christina Ricci, Wednesday), Lottie (Simone Kessell, Muru) and Van (Lauren Ambrose, Servant), 1996 will always be the year that their plane plunged into the Canadian wilderness, stranding them for 19 tough months — as season one of 2021–2022 standout Yellowjackets grippingly established. As teenagers (as played by The Kid Detective's Sophie Nélisse, The Boogeyman's Sophie Thatcher, Scream VI's Jasmin Savoy, Shameless' Samantha Hanratty, Mad Max: Fury Road's Courtney Eaton and Santa Clarita Diet's Liv Hewson), they were members of the show's titular high-school soccer squad, travelling from their New Jersey home town to Seattle for a national tournament, when the worst eventuated. Cue Lost-meets-Lord of the Flies with an Alive twist, as that first season was understandably pegged. All isn't always what it seems as Shauna and company endeavour to endure in the elements. Also, tearing into each other occurs more than just metaphorically. Plus, literally sinking one's teeth in was teased and flirted with since episode one, too. But Yellowjackets will always be about what it means to face something so difficult that it forever colours and changes who you are — and constantly leaves a reminder of who you might've been. So, when Yellowjackets ended its first season, it was with as many questions as answers. Naturally, it tore into season two in the same way. In the present, mere days have elapsed — and Shauna and her husband Jeff (Warren Kole, Shades of Blue) are trying to avoid drawing any attention over the disappearance of Shauna's artist lover Adam (Peter Gadiot, Queen of the South). Tai has been elected as a state senator, but her nocturnal activities have seen her wife Simone (Rukiya Bernard, Van Helsing) move out with their son Sammy (Aiden Stoxx, Supergirl). Thanks to purple-wearing kidnappers, Nat has been spirited off, leaving Misty desperate to find her — even enlisting fellow citizen detective Walter (Elijah Wood, Come to Daddy) to help. And, in the past, winter is setting in, making searching for food and staying warm an immense feat. Yellowjackets streams via Paramount+. Read our full review, and our interview with Melanie Lynskey. I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON Eat-the-rich stories are delicious, and also everywhere; however, Succession, Triangle of Sadness and the like aren't the only on-screen sources of terrible but terribly entertaining people. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson has been filling streaming queues with assholes since 2019, as usually played by the eponymous Detroiters star, and long may it continue. In season three, the show takes its premise literally in the most ridiculous and unexpected way, so much so that no one could ever dream of predicting what happens. That's still the sketch comedy's not-so-secret power. Each of its skits is about someone being the worst in some manner, doubling down on being the worst and refusing to admit that they're the worst (or that they're wrong) — and while everyone around them might wish that they'd leave, they're never going to, and nothing ever ends smoothly. In a show that's previously worked in hot dog costumes and reality TV series about bodies dropping out of coffins to hilarious effect, anything can genuinely happen to its gallery of the insufferable. In fact, the more absurd and anarchic that I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson gets, the better. No description can do I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson's sketches justice, and almost every one is a comedic marvel, as again delivered in six 15-minute episodes in the series' third run. The usual complaint applies: for a show about people overstaying their welcome, the program itself flies by too quickly, always leaving viewers wanting more. Everything from dog doors and designated drivers to HR training and street parking is in Robinson's sights this time, and people who won't stop talking about their kids, wedding photos and group-think party behaviour as well. Game shows get parodied again and again, an I Think You Should Leave staple, and gloriously. More often than in past seasons, Robinson lets his guest stars play the asshole, too, including the returning Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), regular Sam Richardson (The Afterparty), and perennial pop-ups Fred Armisen (Barry) and Tim Meadows (Poker Face). And when Jason Schwartzman (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) drop in, they're also on the pitch-perfect wavelength. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson streams via Netflix. Read our full review. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Following in Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's footsteps isn't easy, but someone had to do it when What We Do in the Shadows made the leap from the big screen to the small. New format, new location, new vampires, same setup: that's the formula behind this film-to-TV series, which has notched up five seasons so far. Thankfully for audiences, Matt Berry (Toast of London and Toast of Tinseltown), Natasia Demetriou (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) and Kayvan Novak (Cruella) were enlisted as the show's three key bloodsuckers in this US spinoff from the New Zealand mockumentary, all in roles that they each seem born for. The trio play three-century-old British aristocrat Laszlo, his 500-year-old creator and partner Nadja and early Ottoman Empire warrior Nandor, respectively, who share an abode and the afterlife in Staten Island. In cinemas, the film already proved that the concept works to sidesplitting effect. Vampire housemates, they're just like us — except when they're busting out their fangs, flying, avoiding daylight, sleeping in coffins, feuding with other supernatural creatures and leaving a body count, that is. On TV, What We Do in the Shadows illustrates that there's not only ample life left in palling around with the undead, but that there's no limit to the gloriously ridiculous hijinks that these no-longer-living creatures can get up to. It was true as a movie and it's still true as a television show: What We Do in the Shadows sparkles not just due to its premise, but when its characters and cast are both as right as a luminous full moon on a cloudless night. This lineup of actors couldn't be more perfect or comedically gifted, as season five constantly demonstrates via everything from mall trips, political campaigns, pride parades and speed dating to trying to discover why Nandor's long-suffering and ever-dutiful familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén, Werewolves Within) hasn't quite started chomping on necks despite being bitten himself. Berry's over-enunciation alone is the best in the business, as is his ability to play confident and cocky. His line readings are exquisite, and also piercingly funny. While that was all a given thanks to his Toast franchise, Year of the Rabbit, The IT Crowd, Snuff Box, The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace history, What We Do in the Shadows is a group effort. Demetriou and Novak keep finding new ways to twist Nadja and Nandor's eccentricities in fresh directions; their characters have felt lived-in since season one, but they're still capable of growth and change. What We Do in the Shadows streams via Binge. Read our full review. SLOW HORSES In gleaming news for streaming viewers, Mick Herron's Slough House novel series boasts 12 entries so far. In an also ace development, several more of the British author's books have links to the world of veteran espionage agent Jackson Lamb. That thankfully means that Slow Horses, the small-screen spy thriller based on Herron's work, has plenty more stories to draw upon in its future. It's now up to its third season as a TV series, and long may its forward path continue. Apple TV+ has clearly felt the same way since the program debuted in April 2022. In June the same year, the platform renewed Slow Horses for a third and fourth season before its second had even aired. That next chapter arrived that December and didn't disappoint. Neither does the latest batch of six episodes, this time taking its cues from Herron's Real Tigers — after season one used the novel Slow Horses as its basis, and season two did the same with Dead Lions — in charting the ins and outs of MI5's least-favourite department. Slough House is where the service rejects who can't be fired but aren't trusted to be proper operatives are sent, with Lamb (Gary Oldman, Oppenheimer) its happily cantankerous, slovenly, seedy and shambolic head honcho. Each season, Lamb and his team of losers, misfits and boozers — Mick Jagger's slinky ear worm of a theme tune's words — find themselves immersed in another messy case that everyone above them wishes they weren't. That said, Slow Horses isn't a formulaic procedural. Sharply written, directed and acted, and also immensely wryly funny, it's instead one of the best spy series to grace television, including in a new go-around that starts with two intelligence officers (Babylon's Katherine Waterston and Gangs of London's Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) in Istanbul. When the fallout from this season's opening events touches Lamb and his spooks, they're soon thrust into a game of cat-and-mouse that revolves around secret documents and sees one of their own, the forever-loyal Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves, Creation Stories), get abducted. The talented River Cartwright (Jack Lowden, The Gold) again endeavours to show why being banished to Slough House for a training mistake was MI5's error, while his boss' boss Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas, Rebecca) reliably has her own agenda. Slow Horses streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. I HATE SUZIE TOO Watching I Hate Suzie Too isn't easy. Watching I Hate Suzie, the show's first season, wasn't either back in 2020. A warts-and-all dance through the chaotic life, emotions and mind of a celebrity, both instalments of this compelling British series have spun as far away from the glitz and glamour of being famous as possible. Capturing carefully constructed social-media content to sell the fiction of stardom's perfection is part of the story, as it has to be three decades into the 21st century; however, consider this show from Succession writer Lucy Prebble and actor/singer/co-creator Billie Piper, and its blood pressure-raising tension and stress, the anti-Instagram. The unfiltered focus: teen pop sensation-turned-actor Suzie Pickles, as played with a canny sense of knowing by Piper given that the 'Honey to the Bee' and Penny Dreadful talent has charted the same course. That said, the show's IRL star hasn't been the subject of a traumatic phone hack that exposed sensitive photos from an extramarital affair to the public, turning her existence and career upside down, as Suzie was in season one. Forget The Idol — this is the best show about being a famous singer that you can watch right now. In I Hate Suzie Too, plenty has changed for the series' namesake over a six-month period. She's no longer with her professor husband Cob (Daniel Ings, Sex Education), and is battling for custody of their young son Frank (debutant Matthew Jordan-Caws), who is deaf — and her manager and lifelong friend Naomi (Leila Farzad, Avenue 5) is off the books, replaced by the no-nonsense Sian (Anastasia Hille, A Spy Among Friends). Also, in a new chance to win back fans, Suzie has returned to reality TV after it helped thrust her into the spotlight as a child star to begin with. Dance Crazee Xmas is exactly what it sounds like, and sees her compete against soccer heroes (Blake Harrison, The Inbetweeners), musicians (Douglas Hodge, The Great) and more. But when I Hate Suzie Too kicks off with a ferocious, clearly cathartic solo dance in sad-clown getup, the viewers aren't charmed. Well, Dance Crazee Xmas' audience, that is — because anyone watching I Hate Suzie Too is in for another stunner that's fearless, audacious, honest, dripping with anxiety, staggering in its intensity, absolutely heart-wrenching and always unflinching. I Hate Suzie Too streams via Stan. Read our full review. JUSTIFIED: CITY PRIMEVAL The man knows how to rock a hat: Timothy Olyphant (Full Circle), that is. He knows how to play a determined lawman with a piercing stare and an unassailable sense of honour, too, and television has been all the better for it for nearing two decades. Pop culture's revival culture has benefited as well — first with HBO's 2004–06 western masterpiece Deadwood returning as 2019's Deadwood: The Movie, and now with 2010–15's US Marshal drama Justified making a comeback as miniseries Justified: City Primeval. Olyphant was perfect in both the first time around, and proves the same the second. Indeed, Deadwood: The Movie's only problem was that it was just a made-for-TV film, not a another season; Justified: City Primeval's sole issue is that it spans only eight episodes, and that a next date with the Stetson-wearing Raylan Givens hasn't yet been locked in. This continuation of Justified's initial six seasons arrives eight years after the show ended for viewers, but also finds Raylan with a 15-year-old daughter. And it's with Willa (Vivian Olyphant, Timothy Olyphant's real-life offspring) that he's hitting the road when a couple of criminals reroute their plans. Now based in Miami, Florida rather than Justified's Harlan, Kentucky, Raylan is meant to be taking Willa to camp, only to be forced to detour to Detroit, Michigan to testify. It isn't a brief stop, after the Deputy US Marshal makes the wrong impression on Judge Alvin Guy (Keith David, Nope), then is personally requested to investigate an assassination attempt against the same jurist — teaming up with local detectives who are adamant about Detroit's particular ways, including Maureen Downey (Marin Ireland, The Boogeyman), Norbert Beryl (Norbert Leo Butz, The Girl From Plainville) and Wendell Robinson (Victor Williams, The Righteous Gemstones). You can take Raylan out of rural America and into the Motor City, as Justified: City Primeval does, but even with silver hair atop his calm glare he's still Raylan. So, he'll always stride around like a lone gunslinger who has seen it all, will confront anything, and is perennially valiant and resolute — and silently exasperated about humanity's worst impulses, too — as Justified: City Primeval welcomes. New location, passing years, the responsibilities of fatherhood, more and more lowlife crooks (including Boyd Holbrook, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny): they haven't changed this character, and audiences wouldn't have wanted that to happen. Justified: City Primeval streams via Disney+. Read our full review. GOOD OMENS Since 2019, witnessing David Tennant utter the word "angel" has been one of the small screen's great delights. Playing the roguish demon Crowley in Good Omens, the Scottish Doctor Who and Broadchurch star sometimes says it as an insult, occasionally with weary apathy and even with exasperation. Usually simmering no matter his mood, however, is affection for the person that he's always talking about: book-loving and bookshop-owning heavenly messenger Aziraphale (Michael Sheen, Quiz). With just one term and two syllables, Tennant tells a story about the show's central odd-couple duo, who've each been assigned to oversee earth by their bosses — Crowley's from below, Aziraphale's from above — and also conveys their complicated camaraderie. So, also since 2019, watching Tennant and Sheen pair up on-screen has been supremely divine. Good Omens, which hails from Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's award- and fan-winning 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, was always going to be about Aziraphale and Crowley. And yet, including in its second season, it's always been a better series because it's specifically about Sheen as the former and Tennant as the latter. In this long-awaited return, neither Aziraphale nor Crowley are beloved by their higher-ups or lower-downs thanks to their thwarting-the-apocalypse actions. Season one saw them face their biggest test yet after they started observing humans since biblical times — the always-foretold birth of the antichrist and, 11 years later, cosmic forces rolling towards snuffing out the planet's people to start again — and saving the world wasn't what their leaders wanted. One fussing over his store and remaining reluctant to sell any of its tomes, the other continuing to swagger around like Bill Nighy as a rule-breaking rockstar, Aziraphale nor Crowley have each carved out a comfortable new status quo, though, until a naked man walking through London with nothing but a cardboard box comes trundling along. He can't recall it, but that birthday suit-wearing interloper is the archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm, Fargo). He knows he's there for a reason and that it isn't good, but possesses zero memory otherwise. And, in the worst news for Aziraphale and Crowley, he has both heaven and hell desperate to find him — which is just the beginning of season two's delightful journey. Good Omens streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING Corpses and killings don't normally herald joy on-screen, even in pop culture's current murder-mystery comedy wave, but Only Murders in the Building isn't just another amusing whodunnit. There's a particular warmth to this series. In each of its three seasons to-date, the New York-set show has unleashed amateur gumshoes upon a shock death, with its key trio sifting through clues and podcasting the details. Along the way, it has also kept telling a winning story about second chances and finding the folks who understand you. Only Murders in the Building's ten-episode third season relays that tale again, expanding its portraits of artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die), theatre director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and veteran actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated) — and of their friendship. Once more, it embraces the power of chemistry, both within its narrative and for audiences. That isn't new; when the show debuted in 2021, it felt like the murder-mystery comedy genre's version of a cosy embrace because its three leads were so perfectly cast and their odd-throuple characters so full of sparks. While Mabel, Oliver and Charles wouldn't be a trio if it wasn't for a building evacuation, a murder and a love of true-crime podcasts, their connection isn't merely fuelled by chatting about the murders in their building, with crossing each other's paths changing their respective lives. There's a death in season three's initial episode — it first occurred in season two's dying moments, to be precise — and, of course, ample sleuthing and talking about it follows. The victim: Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), a silver-screen star best-known for playing a zoologist who fights crime by turning into a snake in the blockbuster CoBro franchise. (Yes, if those movies weren't just Only Murders in the Building's Ant-Man gag, existed IRL and starred Rudd, they'd be a hit.) But Only Murders in the Building's latest run also opens with Mabel, Oliver and Charles in places that they wouldn't be if they were solo. Largely, that applies emotionally: Mabel is more grounded and open, and now thinking about the future more than the past; Oliver has faced his career fears, resurrecting his showbiz bug with a new show; and Charles is less misanthropic and more willing to take new chances. They're also frequently in a different location physically thanks to Oliver's comeback production Death Rattle (which is where Meryl Streep fits in). No, the series isn't now called Only Murders in the Building and on Broadway. Only Murders in the Building streams via Star on Disney+. Read our full review. FARGO This is a true story: in 2014, Hollywood decided to take on a task that was destined to either go as smoothly as sliding on ice or prove as misguided as having a woodchipper sitting around. Revisiting Fargo was a bold move even in pop culture's remake-, reboot- and reimagining-worshipping times, because why say "you betcha" to trying to make crime-comedy perfection twice? The Coen brothers' 1996 film isn't just any movie. It's a two-time Oscar-winner, BAFTA and Cannes' Best Director pick of its year, and one of the most beloved and original examples of its genre in the last three decades. But in-between credits on Bones, The Unusuals and My Generation, then creating the comic book-inspired Legion, writer, director and producer Noah Hawley started a project he's now synonymous with, and that's still going strong five seasons in. What keeps springing is always a twisty tale set in America's midwest, as filled with everyday folks in knotty binds, complicated family ties, crooks both bumbling and determined trying to cash in, and intrepid cops investigating leads that others wouldn't. Hawley's stroke of genius: driving back into Fargo terrain by making an anthology series built upon similar pieces, but always finding new tales about greed, power, murder and snowy landscapes to tell. Hawley's Fargo adores the Coenverse overall, enthusiastically scouring it for riches like it's the TV-making embodiment of Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter's namesake. That film hailed from Damsel's David Zellner instead, and took cues from the urban legend surrounding the purported Fargo ties to the IRL death of Japanese office worker Takako Konishi; however, wanting the contents of the Coen brothers' brains to become your reality is clearly a common thread. Of course, for most of the fictional figures who've walked through the small-screen Fargo's frames, they'd like anything but caper chaos. Scandia, Minnesota housewife Dot Lyon (Juno Temple, Ted Lasso) is one of them in season five. North Dakota sheriff, preacher and rancher Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm, Good Omens) isn't as averse to a commotion if he's the one causing it. Minnesota deputy Indira Olmstead (Richa Moorjani, Never Have I Ever) and North Dakota state trooper Witt Farr (Lamorne Morris, Woke) just want to get to the bottom of the series' new stint of sometimes-madcap and sometimes-violent mayhem. Fargo streams via SBS On Demand. Read our full review. Looking for more viewing highlights? We also rounded up the 15 best new TV series of 2023, as well as 15 excellent new TV shows of 2023 that you might've missed — plus the 15 top films, another 15 exceptional flicks that hardly anyone saw in cinemas this year and the 15 best straight-to-streaming movies of the year as well. And, we've kept a running list of must-stream TV from across the year, complete with full reviews. Also, you can check out our regular rundown of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly.
Last year's The Old Man and the Gun and Clint Eastwood's new film The Mule share three things in common. First, they both star Hollywood octogenarian greats Robert Redford (82) and Eastwood (88). Second, they're both based on real life stories of unlikely elderly criminals and the men who pursued them. Thirdly, they share a pronounced nostalgia for civility; a yearning for a bygone era where nothing, not even law-breaking, should come at the cost of common decency. But where Redford's film maintained a light and tender tone throughout, Eastwood's latest lacks consistency, veering from awkward cynicism to thin familial sentimentality. As a vehicle for Eastwood's first on-screen role in six years, The Mule seems perfect. Written by Nick Schenk, who previously worked alongside Eastwood on Gran Torino, the film tells the fascinating true tale of Leo Sharp (named Earl Stone here), a 90 year-old WWII veteran and award-winning horticulturalist who became a big-time drug runner for a Mexican cartel after his own business ran into financial trouble. Stone is grizzled, bitter, grumpy and a little bit racist. In short, Eastwood embodies the look and feel of the man immediately. When Stone agrees to run a package across the country, no questions asked, he reveals himself to be the perfect mule for Andy Garcia's cartel, and as his illicit load increases with each new run, so too does his reward. Accompanied throughout by cartel minders, the setup is perfect for a black comedy. But whilst there are a few terrific moments (a carpool karaoke version of 'Ain't That A Kick In The Head' being the best), too much of the film falls flat, lacking the full lighthearted touch but at the same time failing to follow the darker path it also could have taken. In supporting roles, Eastwood brings back some of his recent regulars, including Bradley Cooper and Michael Pêna as the DEA agents charged with tracking Stone down and bringing him to justice. As with The Old Man and the Gun, it takes some time to dawn on the authorities that they're pursuing a man in his 80s – which of course was precisely why the Cartel went that direction in the beginning. Eastwood has always been impressive in his embracing of ageing, even tabling Unforgiven for over a decade until he felt he was old enough to do the role justice. Here in The Mule, though, the age card offers so many tantalising possibilities for the story, yet is used far too sparingly and too easily, resorting to mostly tired tropes like technological dyslexia (wait, how do you text again?). Moreover, while Stone is a remorseful man insofar as his troubled family history goes, he shows none for his part in supporting a violent and brutal cartel (at least not until the film's final stages). The end result is a film that looks great (it's Eastwood in the chair, after all), but feels like a middle child of genre; funny but not a comedy, dark but not a thriller, on the road but not a road movie and moving but not fully a drama. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QksSzK7sI
Earlier this year, Australia's caffeinated booze expert Mr Black gave fans of alcohol and coffee the premixed beverage they definitely wanted, with the company's bottled coffee negroni marking its first-ever pre-batched cocktail. Now, it's adding another tipple to the range, and it's another big hitter: the cold brew old fashioned, or cold fashioned. Yes, there's a time for coffee and there's a time for cocktails — but, sometimes, there's a time in the day when you want both and you don't want to do any of the mixing yourself. The cold fashioned is made with Mr Black coffee liqueur, rye whiskey and bitters, and you can expect both coffee and chocolate flavours to come through, as well as a bit of spice. Each bottle is going for $49 and can be used to make five cocktails (yes, that's a very reasonably $9.80 a drink). To make said cocktail, you just need to pour 100 millilitres of the sweet stuff into a glass over ice and garnish with a citrus twist — if you want to get a little fancy. It's the third new product that the Mr Black team has released during lockdown, with the company also launching a hand sanitiser in late March. As well as selling thousands (and thousands) of bottles to the public, the team donated hundreds to front-line medical workers, not-for-profits, testing clinics and medical centres. To get your hands on a bottle of cold fashioned, which, knowing Mr Black's track record, will sell out fast, head over to the Mr Black website. It's currently offering free shopping on all orders over $80. Mr Black's cold fashioned is on sale now for $49. Top image: Guy Davies.
Finding a new bar in Brisbane isn't a difficult task, but finding one particular new bar certainly is. The city has a new speakeasy, and it's not the kind of place anyone can just mosey on into. First, you'll need to decipher co-ordinates to find their CBD location — then you'll need a password to get through the door. Inspired by 1920s prohibition-era clandestine watering holes and boasting a steampunk vibe, Legends Speakeasy Bar knows we all want to hide away from the usual scene (and maybe that we really enjoy secrets). Think of it as a drinking adventure that starts before you even walk in the door. Of course, as Brissie's first password-protected bar, it won't stay a secret for very long. Those sought-after entry codes change weekly, and will be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram at 3.30pm each Thursday. It's quite nifty timing, with the bar then opening from 4pm to late from Thursday to Saturday — and they really are strict about their no password, no entry stance. Once inside, you'll find old-world charm that matches its theme, complete with retro furniture and fixtures, plus a drinks selection spanning beers, wines and spirits, and both classic and exclusive cocktails. As for food, an array of tapas will provide sustenance for further secret-keeping, including fried brie, nacho cups and barbecue pork sliders. Find Legends Speakeasy Bar at -27.469738, 153.021169, Brisbane City. Head to their website for more information, and keep an eye on their Facebook page and Instagram feed for their weekly passwords.
When your nine-to-five plays out like a well-oiled machine, it can sometimes feel like each week is a little same-same. But Brisbane is brimming with a fine bounty of things to experience and explore each and every day. So aside from casual laziness and a little lack of inspiration, there's really nothing stopping you from squeezing some adventure and spontaneity into your schedule. We've teamed up with Mazda3 to help you celebrate the little things that bring a sense of adventure to life. Shake things up, as we give you seven different detours to take each week in Brisbane. From Monday to Sunday, enrich your everyday with one completely achievable activity that inspires you to take the scenic route as you go about your daily routine. This week, go swimming on your lunch break, find a bar doing $1 oysters and settle in for a Sunday session of live jazz and cheese. Plus, we've got your future detours sorted for the new few weeks here. All require no more effort than a tiny break from the norm — what's your excuse for not trying them all?
First it was Korean food, then it was ramen and sake, and now the folks at Nom Nom have turned their attention to bao. Quietly launching back in August, but celebrating its official opening on Friday, September 7, Nom Nom Bao will join Nom Nom Korean Eatery and Nom Nom Ramen & Sake in Bakery Lane. Thanks to its name, you know what's on the menu: fluffy, stuffed bite-sized buns. Patrons can not only feast on savoury varieties — including pork belly with hoisin sauce, galbi beef with kimchi slaw, fried chicken teriyaki and miso cured cod — but also on a dessert bao made with ice cream and seasonal fruit. To wash it all down, there's Green Beacon beer on tap, plus cocktails, wine and bubble tea. And, as the Nom Nom crew did when they added ramen to the mix, Nom Nom Bao's opening festivities will also include a free feed. Just head by at 6pm on Friday, September 7, with the first 100 people nabbing a free chicken, pork or vegetarian bao. Getting in early is recommended, as there's a limit of one per person. Find Nom Nom Bao in Bakery Lane, 680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley. Visit the eatery's website and Facebook page for further details.
A masquerade-ball rock show celebrating the stellar soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Blind cinema screenings, where a child describes what you can't see on screen. A 40-foot-tall outdoor light installation inspired by a Czech/French animated science fiction flick. On-stage dating, with a volunteer plucked from the audience each night. A participatory trance-noise music/dance ritual. Next, throw in the world premiere of pop-up technicolour world FUN HOUSE, that is, the house party-like, jumping castle-filled latest effort from Blanc de Blanc and LIMBO's Strut & Fret. Oh, and LIMBO UNHINGED, a sequel to their 2014 hit, too. While you're at it, add a month-long season of unnerving and alluring Italian giallo cinema. Mix it all together, and get excited, arts, culture, performance, music and cinema lovers of Brisbane — they're all coming to this year's Brisbane Festival. In his third year as artistic director, David Berthold has put together a lineup of more than 60 events — five world premiere commissions, 11 Australian premieres and 25 Queensland premieres among them — for the 22-day fest, which takes over the city from September 9 to 30. As its just-announced 2017 program reveals, the annual onslaught of all things creative is committed to that age-old fest adage: yep, there's something for everyone here. That includes the return of Brisbane Festival's hub, Arcadia, on the South Bank Cultural Centre Forecourt. When you're rushing between shows, you need a wine bar, craft beer bar and six food stalls to sustain you, after all. So that's what you'll be doing when you're not in the thick of the action. As for what else you'll be doing when you're not eating and drinking, just choose your favourite art form and dive deep. Treading the boards offers everything from circus and physical theatre piece Per Te to culinary chaos in Chef: Come Dine With Us! — and The Tivoli turned into a Parisian music hall for a reimagining of Orpheus, plus famous Chinese dance and choreographer Yang Liping joining forces with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Oscar-winner Tim Yip for the battle-focused dance piece Under Siege. Over at the indie showcase Theatre Republic, audiences will also find music, comic performances and all things weird and wonderful, such as the world premiere Laser Beak Man puppet show. Music-wise, this year's Brisbane Festival boasts a London Grammar-headlined mini-fest within the fest, taking the party over to Riverstage for a day. They'll be joined by international and local support acts, while the rest of the festival's music lineup spans Megan Washington teaming up with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Regurgitator performing The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Aints playing The Saints, a Bowie cabaret tribute and more. Of course, it all comes to an end with the explosive finale that is Riverfire. Of course it does. How else would we know that we've just had a mighty fun month if we didn't bring it to a close by packing out South Bank en masse, staring at the sky and watching pretty fiery lights? It's a Brisbane tradition. Brisbane Festival runs from September 9–30 across Brisbane. For the full 2017 program, or to book tickets, visit the festival website.
Based in West End, Junky Comics is the passion project of Vlada Edirippulige, also known as illustrator Junky. It's the kind of place where browsing — and taking a seat on the couch while you peruse the shop's stock — is welcome. "I really hate that feeling of getting in, grabbing something and getting out," Edirippulige advises. "With comics, you need to look through them too see if you dig them. The unique combination of written word with illustration is a big part of what draws Edirippulige to comics as well. "Comic books and graphic novels cover such widespread content — it's not just about superheroes anymore! — and I wanted to have a place that showcased that diversity." Indeed, rifling through the wares adorning the store's custom-made shelves proves just that, with Junky Comics stocking everything from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis to vintage Wonder Woman. There's also a selection of local zines and cards. Take your time, cosy in and browse the comics and art found in this treasure trove of illustration.
One of Australia's most beautiful strips of surf and sand, Rainbow Beach is as pristine a place as any to saddle up and go for a ride. Andrew and Kirsty McCarthy run Rainbow Beach Horse Rides, one of those picturesque little ventures that seems like never-ending fun and the dream of small businesses. With a team of certified trail guides and some of the prettiest and quietest horses this side of the equator, Rainbow Beach Horse Rides is the perfect little adventure for a warm spring Saturday.
St Lucia's KaiKai Chicken is helping locals sate their hunger for fried chicken — with an all-you-can-eat Korean option available six days a week. The store serves up an endless array of crispy chicken in 12 different flavours, all available for just $24.95 per person. Each visit does, of course, have a time limit: a generous 90 minutes. That should be long enough to get your fill. You can keep everything balanced with bottomless homemade lemon iced tea for an extra $1.50. Image: Atlanta Bell.
Sky-high dining could be on the menu in George Street, with a new rooftop restaurant planned in the Brisbane CBD. Sitting atop a five-storey podium, the proposed eatery forms part of a development application lodged for The Great Southern Hotel, located down near the Treasury Casino. You'd best start planning a staycation, however, as the lofty dining establishment will be open to hotel guests only. As well as featuring exactly what everyone wants from a rooftop space — that is, a large alfresco area filled with seats and sunshine — the layout includes plenty of greenery, all thanks to an atrium. Designed by Brisbane architecture firm Argo, the entire structure has been mooted as part of an extension to the hotel, with the atrium providing natural light and air (and plant-filled views) to an additional 77 hotel rooms that'll sit within the podium. A ground-floor cafe on George Street, which'll be open to the public, has also been proposed — and, in addition to boasting five green walls, the towering podium is set to be covered in street art. The street-level additions will link in with a potential two-level retail strip connecting Mary and Charlotte streets that has been proposed by the owners of the adjacent buildings. Image: Jorge Láscar via Flickr.
When most folks scream, they're not powering up their life force, or ki, in battle. Most folks aren't Dragon Ball Z's Goku, however. If you're a fan of the anime, you've probably wished you were at least once or twice, and bunch of gatherings at Australian public spaces will let you scream out your non earth-saving frustrations. Yes, 'Scream like Goku' sessions are a real thing, and they're exactly what they sound like — which, we're certain will be loud. Starting in New York last week, Dragon Ball Z aficionados have been amassing around famous landmarks and letting their voices be heard. We'll let you decide whether they're endeavouring to fend off Frieza, trying to become a Super Saiyan, or just yelling their love (or all of the above). A host of other US sites are slated to follow, as well as Singapore — and Australian Dragon Ball Z fans have been quick to jump into the mix. The first local session is scheduled at 4pm tomorrow, Saturday, September 9, at none other than the Sydney Opera House — because if you're doing to scream in public, you'd better make it count. Over 3000 people have said they're attending in the Facebook event, with another 10,000 'interested'. More gatherings are planned for Sydney's Hyde Park on September 23, and Newcastle's Nobbys Beach on September 24, while Melbourne's Federation Square joins the fun on September 10 — almost 5000 people are planning to rock up to that one. Someone has started a campaign to get screamers to the Wheel of Brisbane on October 7, but so far there's not many potential attendees. Dressing up is encouraged, even if you just throw on something orange. If you're not sure how you should be screaming, let this build up some inspiration. Even if you're not a Dragon Ball Z fan, screaming at the top of your lungs with hundreds of other people is bound to be cathartic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsjCWNXtRE Image: Leticia Almeida.
Not all gin and tonics are created equal, and at Paddington's new spirit-swilling hangout, that couldn't be more accurate. The boozy offshoot of Chinese eatery Sichuan Bang Bang, Bang Bang Bar lets thirsty patrons build their own G&Ts. Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, you can create whatever blend of juniper booze, bitter bubbles and garnish you like in this one. Choosing from breakfast, pink and shiraz gins, flavoured and standard tonics, and colourful embellishments like rose and peppercorns is only part of Bang Bang Bar's selection, however. In addition, the revamped space on Given Terrace serves up eight different cocktails, many referencing its moniker — like the Bang Fashioned (with rosemary-infused bourbon, grapefruit, bitters and sugar) and the Bangbang Bubble Club (with Calvados, Grand Marnier, Benedectine Dom, Campari and French Champagne). Food-wise, one-handed Sichuan bites stem from its food-focused neighbour, alongside ten types of pizza — a nod to the previous inhabitants of the already-open bar's spot. When Sichuan Bang Bang first came to Paddo, it was with Pizzeria Violetta. The latter's five bianche-based, five rosse-based slices are now available for BBB's customers. And, despite sharing its name with the Roadhouse from Twin Peaks, Bang Bang's connection with David Lynch's ace television series is merely coincidental. Rather, Sichuan Bang Bang owner Renata Roberts wanted a space to showcase Australian gin distilleries she discovered on travels through Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania — though the venue's darkly painted ceiling and use of red velvet still sound suitably Lynchian. Find Bang Bang Bar at 167 Given Terrace, Paddington from 5pm daily. For more information, head to the Sichuan Bang Bang website or Facebook page.
September in Brisbane means three things: ace weather, ample things to do and a sky full of fireworks. And, while Brisbane Festival can't claim credit for the climate, it gets all of the love for the latter two. Taking over every space it can – including the heavens – the annual celebration of arts, culture, music, performance, film and more turns the ninth month of a year into a party. Traipsing around the central hub that is Arcadia, getting immersed in an indie theatre wonderland, and looking up at Riverfire are just the beginning. From September 9 to 30, this year's fest promises all of that and a whole lot more. If your calendar isn't full, you're not trying hard enough. But if you do need some help, let us pencil in these ten must-sees from the stacked Brisbane Festival 2017 lineup.
Why have a drink at ground level when you can sip cocktails with a sky-high view? Why indeed. Thanks to Brisbane's love of rooftop bars, grabbing a beverage at great heights has become one of the city's favourite pastimes — and there's always room for one more lofty watering hole, isn't there? In news so fresh, the bar in question doesn't even have a name yet, 200 Adelaide Street is the latest address to flirt with turning its roof over to tipples. Developers have lodged an application to transform the heritage-listed building's top floor. Sure, it's only seven storeys up, but, given that the site sits on the corner of Adelaide and Edward Streets next door to Anzac Square, it'll boast quite the scenic vantage point. As well as the obvious boozy offerings, the proposed 323-square-metre venue will also a kitchen, plus a variety of eating and drinking spaces spanning high bar tables, lounge seating and casual dining. Landscaping-wise, a hanging garden is planned to give the place a suitably sub-tropical atmosphere, as well as plenty of other greenery around the site's edge and on trellises. Yep, when Brissie embraces a trend, we sure do go all in, with the Adelaide Street bar slated to join other recent high-rise additions such Sixteen Antlers, Sazerac, Eleven and Eagles Nest. We can only assume that someone's cooking up a rooftop burger and doughnut bar somewhere around town. Now that'd be the ultimate combination of everything that this city loves. Via BrisbaneDevelopment.com.
It's the ice cream mix-in you'd more than happily eat by itself, even if your mum would never let you whenever she was baking. And, it's now the main thing on the menu at Fortitude Valley's new hole-in-the-wall, which is dedicated to the gooey goodness that is cookie dough. At DoughLord, patrons won't have to enjoy their uncooked bikkies in scoops of creamy, frosty dessert, although you can if you'd like. If you're just eager to gorge on a cup full of the tasty stuff by itself, that's the number one attraction. And, unlike the mixture you make at home — or that comes in store-bought cookie packages — there's no eggs included among the ingredients, which means its safe to devour. As well as serving up a storm of different flavours from Brunswick Street since December 18, DoughLord's deliciousness is also available via UberEATS, in case you're keen for the sweet treat but can't be bothered leaving the house. Varieties and specials change regularly, but expect chocolate chip, salted caramel and peanut butter brownie, among others — all with optional toppings, and with milkshakes also on offer to wash it all down. Find DoughLord at 364 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley. Head to their website and Facebook page for further details.
Ever had a hankering for a midnight ice cream, a 1am wander through a department store or a 3am trip to an art gallery? If so, come April 2018, you'll be in luck. That's when the Commonwealth Games come to southeast Queensland, and 24-hour trading along with them — for a limited time only, including in Brisbane's 4000 postcode. Sports fans just can't fit their browsing and buying into normal operating hours, or so it seems, during the Games' 15-day run. Or, maybe they'll just be too busy filling every other waking moment with the state's accompanying cultural festival. Either way, with the city hosting a number of events between April 3 and 17, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission has included the Brissie CBD in their ruling allowing non-stop shopping during the period, as well as the Gold Coast City Council area. Supermarkets, department stores and shopping centres are among the businesses included, with independent stores, restaurants, bakeries, butchers, chemists and service stations all already allowed to operate 24/7. The decision doesn't change the state's liquor licensing laws or lockouts, so the same drinking rules apply even when you're shopping into the early hours of the morning. Via Brisbane Times. Image: Brisbane City Council.
The long weekend is here and we're fully embracing all the Easter treats, but if you're looking to fill yourself up with something other than sweets, here's an extensive list of all the bars, cafes and restaurant that'll be open this long weekend. There is something for everybody on this list, too — hunt down the all-day vegetarian menu at Grown, sip gin cocktails at Covent Garden or head for a standout coffee at Miss Jones. RESTAURANTS Stokehouse Q Fri, Sun: 11am–10pm, Mon: 12pm-10pm Kai Kai Chicken Fri, Sat: 6pm–9:30pm. 1889 Enoteca Sat: 6pm–12am, Sun: 12pm–2:30pm Riverland Sat: 11am-3am, Sun: 11am–1am, Mon: 11am–12am At Sixes and Sevens Sat, Sun, Mon: 11am-12am Ambrosia & Co Fri, Sat, Sun: 7am-9pm BARS Little Big House Fri: 12pm-10pm, Sat: 11am-2am, Sun: 11am–12am, Mon: 11am–12am Covent Garden West End Sat, Sun, Mon: 11am–10pm Sasquatch Bar Sat: 11:30am-10pm, Sun: 3pm-10pm The Junk Bar Sat, Sun: 2pm-12am Prohibition Brisbane Fri: 12am-3am, Sat: 8pm–3am, Sun: 9pm-3am Eleven Rooftop Bar Sat, Sun: 12pm-10pm Beyond the Pale Sat: 6:30am-midnight, Sun: 6:30am-10:30pm Sixteen Antlers Sat: 2pm-12am Ric's Bar Sat: 5pm-10pm, Sun: 5pm–10pm CAFES Grown Fri: 8am-12pm, Sat: 7:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-9pm, Sun: 7:30am-2:30pm Miss Jones Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon: 7am-2:30pm The Smug Fig Fri: 7am-12pm Piggy Back Cafe Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon: 7am-2pm Paw Paw Cafe Fri: 8am-3pm, Sat, Sun: 8am-3pm, 5:30pm-10pm, Mon: 8am-3pm Foxy Bean Fri, Sun, Mon: 7am-2pm, Sat: 7am-10pm Station 82 Fri, Sat, Mon: 6am-3pm
Biting into a katsu sandwich and devouring a few pieces if nigiri is what going to the Night Noodle Markets is all about — but usually when you sink your teeth into either of the above, you're not chomping on something made of gelato. While plenty of hot fresh-cooked Asian street food bites will be on this year's menu as usual, Gelato Messina is setting up its regular stall and serving up dessert versions of two Japanese favourites. The Kamikaze Katsu Sandwich is made with sudachi lime gelato, which is then coated in red velvet cake and panko crumbs, deep-fried and finally sandwiched in fluffy white bread along with some yuzu sauce. And as for the O-No-Giri, it features green tea gelato and pistachio mousse that's dipped in rice bubbles and coated with white chocolate. That's just half of this year's custom-made Messina offerings at the Night Noodle Markets, with two sundae-style dishes also available. Opt for Aunty Tomsu's Cheesecake and you'll get Japanese cheesecake, strawberry and cherry blossom cream, and strawberry meringue, all with strawberries and strawberry gelato. For I Think I'm Turning Sesame, there's black sesame gelato (what else?) with condensed milk coffee jelly, miso crunch and banana miso bread, then topped with vanilla cream and coffee powder. While the gelato haven's sole Brisbane store is located just down the road, you'll only be able to pick up these four specials at its Japanese game show-style booth at South Bank's cultural forecourt between July 25 and August 25. While you're there, you'll also be able to give what they're calling the 'useless wheel of spinning happiness' a whirl — and win prizes that are also pretty useless, apparently. Still, it'll be fun, and one of them is a Hello Kitty tattoo. The Night Noodle Markets run from July 25 to August 5 at the South Bank Cultural Forecourt as part of Good Food Month.
