Remember when eating healthily and indulging your sweet tooth were mutually exclusive activities? Thankfully, that doesn't always have to be the case — or ever again, if this Brisbane vegan bakehouse has anything to do with it. Now open in Everton Park, Veganyumm is the answer to every nutrition-focused foodie's prayers (because even the most disciplined crave a delicious treat every now and then). And, as the moniker suggests, those who don't consume meat or animal products should be particularly excited. The eatery isn't just dedicated to whipping up cakes, pastries and other tasty bites — it's also be Brisbane's first 100 percent vegan establishment of its type. If the name sounds somewhat familiar, that's probably because you've come across Cinnayumm at Charlie's Fruit Market. After making a big impression with her egg- and dairy-free artisan cinnamon buns, owner, recipe creator and head chef Shairie Bhim has decided to keep the collaboration going. The cafe whips up all things vegan — as well as free from sugar and gluten — with everything from decadent red velvet cupcakes to cookies in their repertoire. Waffles, pancakes and more also feature, with doughnuts on the list as well — because no Brisbane-based food business can overlook the city's doughy obsession. Drinks-wise, expect organic roasted coffees and mylkshakes (that's the vegan spelling of milk) too. If you're not vegan already, Veganyumm's menu just might change that.
If you like your art digital, interactive and immersive, you should make tracks to the Heide Museum of Modern Art, where Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward is now on display. Open till March 1, 2020, the virtual reality exhibition is a collaboration between New York-based visual artist Jess Johnson and Wellington animator Simon Ward. Johnson's hypnotic drawings have been transformed into five interactive virtual reality works, which make up five distinct realms filled with "alien architecture, humanoid clones and cryptic symbols". Visitors are invited to explore the artworks through a 30-minute 'quest', venturing between the realms. The choose-your-own adventure exhibition includes journeys into the Fleshold Crossing, Known Unknown and Scumm Engine. Plus, there's a towering piece titled Gog & Magog and the psychedelic Tumblewych. Johnson's drawings and textile works will also be on display alongside Terminus — including quilts made with her mother and garments from her 2016 collaboration with Australian fashion brand Romance Was Born. A public program of artist talks and workshops will accompany the exhibition as well. Events include a virtual reality cinema workshop on February 1 — during which participants will create a VR short — a virtual reality symposium on February 8 and a free screening of the cult 1986 film Labyrinth on February 15. Terminus will go on to tour nationally, too. So, if you're not based in Melbourne, keep an eye out for when it'll head to your city. Image: Installation view, Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. Photograph: Christian Capurro
The National Cabinet was set to meet and decide on how to relax some of Australia's social distancing and public gatherings restrictions on Monday, May 11 — inline with the end of Victoria's second four-week state of emergency — but Prime Minister Scott Morrison decided today, Friday, May 1, to bring this date forward to next week. "Decisions on relaxing restrictions will be made next Friday [May 8]", the Prime Minister said. "Australians have earned an early mark for the work they have done." Some states have started to ease minor restrictions — such as allowing two-person house visits in NSW and more outdoor recreational activities in Queensland — but next Friday's announcement could see some larger decisions made on the federally mandated public-gathering and social-distancing rules. The Northern Territory, which has had a total of 28 cases, has already outlined its own roadmap to the "new normal", with the reopening of restaurants, bars and cafes set to take place on Friday, May 15. The Prime Minister would not comment on exactly what restrictions could be wound back, but that "room density measures" — such as the previous one person per four-square-metre rule for indoor venues — and requirements to remain 1.5 metres apart will not be lifted. This could impact if it's financially viable for restaurants, bars and cafes to reopen, even if they are allowed to. Before any restrictions are lifted, though, the Prime Minister said that more people need to download the government's contact-tracing app COVIDSafe. He said that while 11 of the 15 previously outlined conditions under which restrictions could be eased had been met, the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle of contact tracing was not in place. "There are currently over 3.5 million downloads and registrations of the COVIDSafe app, but there needs to be millions more," the Prime Minister said. He reiterated that if Australians want to go to the pub, they have to download the app. For now, the current COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks. And fines are still in place for disobeying these in NSW, Vic and Queensland. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Kimberley Low
If you're a Brisbanite missing your regular pub meal, weekly date night out with your partner, or just having a bite to eat or a few drinks somewhere other than home, then good news might be on the horizon — with Queensland restaurants, cafes and bars possibly reopening in June. Speaking to media today, Monday, May 4, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed that the Queensland Government is currently considering allowing the hospitality industry to start welcoming customers again as early as next month. "I think June is a good ambitious target... I can't say whether it's early June or late June, but I'm going to have those discussions," the Premier commented. Other details haven't been announced at this early point, with the Premier set to speak with industry bodies and figures before anything is finalised. Currently, restaurants, cafes and bars are only allowed to provide takeaway and delivery options — so scaling that back, and allowing people to sit down to have a meal or a beverage, is the obvious next step. That said, with social distancing measures unlikely to be phased out any time soon, Queenslanders shouldn't expect an immediate return to pre-coronavirus business as usual. At the very least, it's likely that sitting 1.5 metres apart from your fellow diners will be required. [caption id="attachment_681498" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Grace Smith[/caption] Reopening restaurants, cafes and bars would form the next step of state's gradual move out of its current COVID-19 lockdowns. The first set of stay-at-home restrictions were eased late on Friday, May 1, allowing Queenslanders to leave home for more than just essential activities — and to travel within 50 kilometres of their residences. Today, the Premier revealed the next stage, which involves the return of students to schools over the course of this month. At the time of writing, Queensland has 52 active cases of COVID-19, from a total of 1038 cases to date. Since mid-April, new daily diagnoses have been falling, with fewer than eight new cases confirmed daily since April 15 — and the state experiencing five single days with zero new cases. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Grace Smith
Twelve years after RuPaul's Drag Race first sashayed its way onto US television, viewers Down Under have finally been gifted a local version. Currently streaming via Stan, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is exactly what it sounds like — the hit series, still hosted by RuPaul, but featuring Australian and New Zealand drag queens. And, if you'd like to see more of this year's competitors, you'll be able to head along to the program's new live stage show. All ten of this year's drag queens will be hitting up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, Melbourne's Palais Theatre, Perth's Crown Theatre, Brisbane's QPAC and Canberra's Canberra Theatre as part of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage. It too is rather self-explanatory, and it'll obviously have quite the cast when it hits the road this September. If you've been watching the TV series, you'll already know which contenders have been strutting their stuff for drag supremacy. The lineup spans seven Australians and three New Zealanders, including Art Simone from Geelong, Melbourne's Karen from Finance, and Sydney's Coco Jumbo, Etecetera Etcetera and Maxi Shield. Newcastle's Jojo Zaho and Perth's Scarlet Adams round out the Aussie queens, while Auckland's Kita Mean, Anita Wigl'it and Elektra Shock comprise the NZ contingent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdcgf5I6Qb8&feature=youtu.be RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE DOWN UNDER LIVE ON STAGE TOUR DATES: Saturday, September 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Tuesday, September 21 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Thursday, September 23 — Crown Theatre, Perth Saturday, September 25 — The Palais, Melbourne Tuesday, September 28 — Canberra Theatre, Canberra RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage will tour Australia from September 18–28. For further details — and to buy pre-sale tickets from 12pm on Friday, May 21 and general tickets from 12pm on Monday, May 24 — head to the Live Nation website.
It swept cities across the nation into a sugar-dusted frenzy when its pop-up 'dessert museum' travelled the country. Now, the team behind the nostalgic Sugar Republic and festive Christmasland is taking its sweet-toothed fantasies to a whole new level, announcing plans to open Australia's first-ever sweets-inspired accommodation. Not a whole lot of info has dropped just yet, but we do know the Sugar Republic Sweet Retreat will be opening its doors in Daylesford, Victoria, this autumn. And it's set to be a true candy-coated affair, complete with sugar-themed suites you can stay in, play in and take some rather dashing snaps in. https://www.facebook.com/SugarRepublic.au/posts/456179658379936 Expect a B&B-style getaway, decked out with sweet additions like private ball pits, free candy and even cherry-scented wallpaper. If the original Sugar Republic pop-ups are anything to go by, you can bank on some pretty wild, OTT styling, with a healthy dose of pink, lots of textures and primo selfie opportunities aplenty. While only one has been announced for now, we're hoping more will open across the country in due time, too. Sugar Republic Sweet Retreat is set to open in Daylesford this autumn. We'll keep you posted with more info as it drops. Top images: Sugar Republic's Christmasland by Kate Shanasy.
Stephen Hawking is an extraordinary individual. The problem with that — with all extraordinary individuals — is that over time they come to be viewed not as people but as the sum of their accomplishments. The greater the endeavour, the less we tend to know about the beating heart and restless mind behind it. Often it's not until they're visited by tragedy or professional disgrace that we're reminded of their humanity, and yet, in Hawking's case, not even the onset of motor neurone disease or an extramarital affair could detract from his almost super-human status. The Theory of Everything, then, serves as a fitting reminder that beyond the maths lies a man, brilliant — yes — but still just a man: mortal, flawed and confounded by love. Adapted from the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen, The Theory of Everything offers us a portrait of Hawking from the perspective of his first wife, Jane (Felicity Jones), and it is, in effect, a love story. Two love stories, rather: the conventional tale between a pair of enamoured Cambridge students, and the stranger yet better known one of Stephen’s infatuation with the universe. Both are heartwarming, exhilarating and profoundly complicated. In the role of Hawking’s wife, Jones is sublime. Her performance is an accomplished blend of fierce determination to see her husband survive, and private frustration at the professional sacrifices that selflessness wrought. As for Redmayne, perhaps the most fitting compliment is that it is now impossible to look at him and not see the professor. It is an extraordinary example of transformation, both physical and performative. Redmayne, like the man he portrays, is robbed of that which most actors find essential: movement, first, then sound. Yes, there is the iconic digital voice to accompany the performance, but voiceover is no more useful to an actor at the time of recording than a ping pong ball affixed to a green screen to denote what will eventually come to be. With the disarming smile of Redford and the ‘everyman-ness’ of Hanks, Redmayne is the acting equivalent of an unputdownable book, almost daring you to try to look away. For a film entitled The Theory of Everything, the story is, in the end, almost infinitesimal. Ours is a galaxy of some 400 billion stars in a universe roughly 13.8 billion years old. On such a scale, humanity is scarcely perceptible, an insignificant evanescent blip of history in which a single, unsettled romance between two people is as close to nothing as science will permit. And yet it is also everything, because it contains within it some of the finest qualities that define the human existence — that showcase the unconquerable spirit and boundless possibilities of the mind. Hawking’s accomplishments almost defy belief, even if they’d been achieved without disability, and while they’re acknowledged in this film, the focus is not on the ‘what’, but the ‘who’ and the ‘how’. Moving, astounding and, perhaps most of all, enlightening, The Theory of Everything is a sensitive yet unsentimental engagement with genius and the actualities of love.
It's possible to like whisky, to boast more than a few bottles of it in your liquor cabinet, and to generally opt for it whenever you're kicking back with a drink in your hand — and to also have a few gaps in your spirit-loving knowledge. Maybe you've just always stuck to a couple of favourite brands. Perhaps you've been limited by budget. Or, you might've just been so overwhelmed by all the different varieties out there that you simply didn't know where to start. Whichever category fits, The Gresham's Whisky Appreciation Month is here to help. Even if you just want an excuse to drink more top-notch whisky, it'll do that, too. Running as part of this year's Brisbane Good Food Month, this event is serving up different whisky and smallgoods menus between 5-7pm each Saturday between July 10–31. A global lineup starts things off on July 10, which is when you can sip five different drops for $80. After that, the July 17 session will tour Scotland for $90 per person — and every whisky will be at least 14 years old. On July 24, your $140 ticket gets you a range of rare and aged American whiskies, while the $150-a-head July 31 session is all about independently bottled Scotch. Images: Millie Tang.
There are many, many great things about Nicolas Cage. But if you could only pick one, the sheer erratic nature of his almost four-decade-long filmography has to top the list. He has an Oscar to his name, for 1995's Leaving Las Vegas, but he can also be seen getting goofy in madcap comedies, crooning tunes in David Lynch movies and swapping faces with John Travolta — and playing a deluded literary agent who thinks he's a vampire, yearning over Cher, trying to keep a plane full of criminals in check and grappling with escaped wild animals on a boat. For his latest role, Cage is battling space ninjas. That isn't the type of sentence that you get to write or read every day but, to be honest, it's also a surprise that it hasn't come up multiple times in the actor's career. The reason for the martial arts face-off with aliens: new action flick Jiu Jitsu, which has just dropped its suitably over-the-top first trailer. If you're a Cage fan, you're probably already sold. Watching Cage at his most Cage-esque really shouldn't need much convincing. But if you need more details, the actor also wears a headband, sports flowing locks, dispenses words of wisdom, talks about alien politics, proclaims that he's crazy and claims that he can fly. Of course he does. Story-wise, Jiu Jitsu follows an ancient order of experts in the eponymous martial arts style, who are forced to fight alien invaders for control of earth every six years. Humanity has always won, but when that changes, Wylie (Nicolas Cage) has to help fallen hero Jake Barnes (Alain Moussi) prepare for one last showdown with these violent visitors from a distant gallery. As well as Cage and Kickboxer: Retaliation's Moussi, the film stars The 100's Marie Avgeropoulos, Avengers: Endgame's Frank Grillo, Alita: Battle Angel's Rick Yune, Wu Assassins' JuJu Chan, and Ong Bak and xXx: Return of Xander Cage's Tony Jaa. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywhTeWg8970 Jiu Jitsu releases in the US via video-on-demand on November 20 — we'll update you with release details Down Under when they come to hand.
Brisbane gastronomes, get ready: celebrated South Australian winery Maxwell Wines is making the trip north for an exclusive one-night-only experience at C'est Bon Restaurant & Le Bon Bar. Presented on Thursday, July 10, guests have a rare opportunity to indulge in a gourmet menu shaped by the esteemed duo of Maxwell Wines' Executive Chef Fabian Lehmann and C'est Bon Owner-Chef Andy Ashby. The menu, carefully conceived to pair with Maxwell's award-winning drops, will showcase the renowned winery's terroir-driven vino and innovative cuisine. Hailing from South Australia's picturesque McLaren Vale wine region, Maxwell Wines has established a stellar reputation for culinary excellence over the last 45 years, with Lehmann bringing his Michelin-trained experience to the restaurant's helm in 2016. "Bringing Maxwell Wines' unique flavours and dishes to Brisbane alongside Andy at C'est Bon is a wonderful opportunity to share the essence of McLaren Vale," says Lehmann. "Our philosophy is all about respecting the land and our ingredients — creating dishes that complement the depth and character of our wines." In partnership with Ashby, praised for his modern takes on classic French cuisine that play with Queensland-grown ingredients, the pair will combine their signature styles to present four snacks and four courses. Elegant but relaxed, guests can expect each dish to honour its seasonal produce, offer a sense of old-world charm and match perfectly with Maxwell's wares, resulting in a seamless culinary journey. Highlights include Maxwell's signature edible oyster, featuring oyster mousse finished with a champagne gel and edible silver powder, served in an edible oyster shell. Also on the menu, guests will relish a French onion meringue with foie gras and duck heart; tete de porc with Scenic Rim barley and winter truffle; and wagyu beef, smoked eel and mushroom with Queensland pumpkin sea buckthorn pate de fruit. "Collaborating with Fabian and showcasing Maxwell is a real highlight," says Ashby. "We've designed a menu that honours both of our kitchens' strengths, focusing on balance, texture and flavour — all enhanced by Maxwell's outstanding wines. It's going to be a special evening where Brisbane diners can taste something truly exceptional." The Maxwell Wines x C'est Bon dinner is happening from 6pm on Thursday, July 10, at C'est Bon Restaurant, 609/611 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba. Head to the website for more information and to book your place. Images: Mitch Lowe / Duy Dash.
So, you're the type of Brisbanite that buys their homewares from Nook, their pickles from Picklehead and their books from Scrumptious Reads. You think Bee One Third neighbourhood honey is the bees knees, and you like to snack on 31 Degrees Custom Chocolates anytime you can. Sound familiar? Either all of the above, or just parts of it? If it doesn't, would you like it to? If you're a small-batch lover and a local-maker aficionado, you'll want to flock to Wandering Cooks' Yuletide gathering of Brissie's best — including everything that we've mentioned, and more. Across the three days of Monday, December 10 (from 5pm), Tuesday, December 11 (from 9am) and Wednesday, December 12 (also from 9am), you'll be spoiled for choice at the Small Batch Christmas Market. And, spoiled for gift options as well. Entry is free, and remember the golden rule of seasonal shopping: buying yourself a gift, or several, is a very important part of the festive process. Image: Wandering Cooks.
For anyone that grew up in a Nintendo household where the company's consoles reigned supreme, getting your Super Mario fix beyond mashing buttons has long been easy. You've been able hit up Google Maps and mobile phones, if you really can't tear yourself away from the games. Mario Kart made the leap to reality, too. There's also the Super Nintendo theme park in Japan, as well as the upcoming second site in Hollywood — and, since 1993, the live-action Super Mario Bros film. Come March 2023, watching the new animated The Super Mario Bros Movie will join that list, and it'll reach the screen bearing a hefty weight of expectations that don't actually cover whether it's any good or not. Yes, hopefully it's entertaining. But, does it look like a Mario game? Does it sound like one? Does it include tunnels and coin blocks, floating bricks and superpowered stars? Does it do the Mushroom Kingdom justice? These are the questions that every Mario fan has. For a couple of months now, The Super Mario Bros Movie has been dropping teasers and trailers giving viewers a glimpse at what's to come, and all of the above essentials look to be taken care of. Still, if you still have any doubts, the just-dropped latest sneak peek — a scene from the movie, with Mario getting a tour of the Mushroom Kingdom — ticks all of the above boxes and then some. The most recent trailer included a rainbow road, and racing along it Mario Kart-style, too — so the film is nodding to plenty of Mario games. Indeed, haunted houses have also featured in snippets so far; fingers crossed they also come with the appropriate music. The new The Super Mario Bros Movie has enlisted Chris Pratt (The Terminal List) to voice the Italian plumber, sees Bowser (Jack Black, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood) proclaim his desire to rule the world and casts Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as the Mushroom Kingdom's comedic sidekick. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu) is determined to take on the challenge, and dispense words of advice in general, while battling Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy) also features. The Super Mario Bros Movie's voice cast also includes Keegan- Michael Key (Wendell & Wild) as Toad, plus Fred Armisen (Wednesday) as Cranky Kong. And, it hails from directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), is penned by Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru) and is produced by Illumination Entertainment (aka the studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions flicks, and the Sing films). Check out the latest sneak peek below: The Super Mario Bros Movie releases in cinemas Down Under on March 30, 2023.
Pick up a new pair of kicks, show your favourite band some love and help Aussie communities recovering from devastating floods: yes, just by adding some shoes to your wardrobe, you can do all of the above. If you're a Dune Rats fan, you'll already be mighty excited about the Brisbane band's just-launched Volley collection — but the fact that both Volley and Dune Rats are donating funds from each pair of sneakers to flood relief helps make a great thing even better. First, the shoes. Two different styles are available: a black pair of hightops decked out with the Dunies' logo, which'll set you back $99.99; and a white pair of heritage-style sneakers with red and yellow touches, which cost $74.99. Whichever you choose, $10 will be donated to folks in need after the catastrophic weather across Queensland and New South Wales, via both the Red Cross Flood Appeal and GIVIT. "We would normally be so stoked to announce a partnership with such an iconic brand as Volley (we are very proud of this collab), but what is happening right now in our home city of Brisbane and neighbouring towns down in the northern rivers has been devastating," said the band on Facebook. "To do help do our part, Volley is donating $5 from each pair of shoes sold to the Red Cross Flood Appeal and we will match that dollar for dollar ($10 a pair). We ask everyone to do what you can to help these communities. The music industry over the last two years has been decimated, but pales in comparison to loss these great communities are going through. Our hearts are with you," the statement continued. If you're keen to green light some new Dunies shoes for your cupboard right now, and do a great deed in the process, the limited-edition Dune Rats x Volley range also spans three different types of socks ($19.99 each) — including a black pair with lightning strikes — and a Dunies backpack ($69.99). And, this is just the first drop, with the band and brand launching an ongoing partnership. For more information about Dune Rats' Volley range, or to buy a pair of shoes, socks or a backpack online, head to the Volley website.
Within its first 15 seconds, the trailer for Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain states the obvious: "there's no happy ending". June 2021 marks three years since the American chef, author, host and documentarian passed away, and this doco can't explore his work and legacy without also touching upon on his unexpected death. To the surprise of no one, the film's sneak peek quickly gets emotional. The latest project from Oscar-winning 20 Feet From Stardom director Morgan Neville — who also directed affecting Mister Rodgers doco Won't You Be My Neighbour? — Roadrunner steps through Bourdain's ups and downs, successes and struggles, and passion for both food and travel. It showcases his frank, no-nonsense approach and his sense off humour, too. In one clip, just before he jumps into the ocean, he pre-empts an obvious question. "Some of you might ask: how is this food related?" he notes. Then, he replies to himself: "fucked if I know." Indeed, thanks to his long stints in front of the camera in everything from A Cook's Tour and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations to The Layover and Anthony Bourdain: Parks Unknown, Roadrunner won't lack archival footage. The just-dropped trailer certainly doesn't. Bourdain's face and voice feature in the two-and-a-half-minute clip far more often than its talking-head interviewees, in fact, not that there's any shortage of those. Neville's aim: to peer behind the scenes at the man behind the world-famous personality, and to understand his life and impact — including via using his own words. The end result is set to hit US cinemas in July, with release details Down Under yet to be confirmed. Fingers crossed that the documentary turns up locally sooner rather than later. Check out the Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain trailer below: Roadrunner will release in US cinemas on July 16. Release details Down Under are yet to be confirmed — we'll update you when more details come to hand. Top image: Focus Features.
If you're starting to feel like a new season hasn't truly started until Finders Keepers has come to town, you're not alone. The ever-expanding art and design market has been bringing us face-to-face with some of the country's most quirky and creative designers for over a decade now — and it's set to do it all over again when it returns from Friday, October 15–Sunday, October 17. The focus remains, as ever, on helping you discover and connect with the next wave of independent and emerging artisans. Expect to find everything from jewellery, fashion and ceramics to leather goods, body products and items for your pets. Many of the market's seasoned vendors will also return — so, if you've been kicking yourself since last round that you didn't pick something up, you're in luck. And, you're covered when the inevitable shopping-induced hunger strikes, with food trucks and coffee spots on offer. Tickets are $5, which you'll need to buy online this year in advance — whether you're planning to head along on Friday from 5–9.30pm, or on Saturday or Sunday from 10am–5pm. Keen to start creating your shopping list now? You can head to the Finders Keepers market lineup to see the full scope of vendors.
If you missed last year's Yoko Ono/Opening Ceremony collaboration entitled Yoko Ono Fashions for Men 1969-2012, let me give you a minute to follow the link and get back to me. Wow. Right? LED nipples on a bandeau bra, thigh-high boots and some arseless chaps topped off with some good ol' fashioned ball grabbing! Who knew men's fashion had changed so little in the past 40 years. Half absurdist, half straight-shooting statement on fashion and all Ono, the line was based on sketches made during her relationship with John Lennon. The 80-year-old revealed the songwriter served as her muse, inspired by "love for his hot bod". I bet Sean loved hearing those Lennon family classic stories. Just under six months later and she has jumped back into bed with Opening Ceremony to bring us the next instalment, Yoko Ono Make-Up Tips for Men. It's 1 min 30 of tips on how boys can make themselves pretty, with a noticeable lack of eyeliner and set to a remix of Ono's own 'The Sun Is Down'. The video moves through three sections/moods: day make-up, evening make-up and dawn make-up — or, rainbow time, sparkling time and erasing time. In many ways this video looks like a Family Guy parody of itself, and a stupefied Peter Griffin at the 1 min 27 second mark is an easy edit we can all look forward to seeing on YouTube. But, sarcasm aside, this video is definitely worth some of your conversation time — proof that Yoko still has a lot to say about the Y chromosome, sexuality, self and that she still knows how to say it Ono style. War Is Over (If you want it), an exhibition of Yoko's work across multiple disciplines, will be on at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in November 2013. Cross fingers, the artist herself will also be present. Via HuffPo Culture.
Thirsty? If you're not now, you will be once you've read this. That's the only appropriate reaction to a festival of beer, after all. Just think of all the amber liquids and foamy goodness. Okay, enough drooling; here are the important details that every ale-lover needs. When Beer Fest On the Grass returns from 11am on Saturday, March 6, 2021, more than 130 beers and ciders will be on offer from over 50 different brewers. To line your stomach, there'll also be a range of international food trucks. Basically, if there's a beer heaven, this is it. It's the eighth year that Eatons Hill Hotel has hosted the tipple-fuelled shindig, once again celebrating drinking, eating and enjoying a day in Brisbane's glorious outdoors. If you're serious about your beverages, you'll want to taste, sip, sample and chat to folks from a huge selection of breweries. And if you're serious about fun, you'll want to gather some mates and take part in the event's other fun activities — in previous years, there's been an inflatable beer obstacle course, a keg-stacking comp and a life-sized game of foosball. Tickets are on sale now, with entry costing $10. Top image: Brisbane Beer Fest.
Can you feel a tingling in your toes as your feet start to defrost? That's the feeling of winter slipping away (or maybe you've been sitting cross-legged for too long) and with its demise comes the return of Australia's beloved Moonlight Cinema. Ahhh balmy nights on the grass, we have missed you. Heralding the coming of the warmer months, Moonlight Cinema is a summertime tradition that is thankfully making a comeback despite everything that 2020 has thrown our way — hitting up screens in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Nosh-wise, Moonlight Cinema will again let you BYO movie snacks and drinks (no alcohol in Brisbane, though), but the unorganised can also enjoy a plethora of snacks from food trucks — perfect, messy treats made for reclining on bean beds. The overall season runs from November through to April, although it varies city by city. After announcing vague dates last month, Moonlight has now revealed exactly when it's hitting each part of Australia — and expect to hear about what it'll be showing on Thursday, November 12. And, unsurprisingly, this year's Moonlight will be a socially distanced affair. That includes seating and queuing, plus there'll be hand-sanitiser stations, increased cleaning measures and contactless payment — with online bookings recommended. MOONLIGHT CINEMA 2020–21 DATES Sydney: Thursday, November 26–Sunday, April 4 (Centennial Park) Brisbane: Friday, November 27–Sunday, February 21 (Roma Street Parkland) Adelaide: Friday, December 11–Sunday, February 14 (Botanic Park) Perth: Thursday, December 3–Sunday, April 4 (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Melbourne: Thursday, January 7–Sunday, April 25 (Royal Botanic Gardens) Moonlight Cinema kicks off in November 2020, running through until April 2021. For more information, visit the cinema's website — and we'll update you with program details when they're announced later this month.
Some innovative internetters have thrown their support behind tougher laws on firearms in America by photoshopping classic movie moments so that our favourite gun-toting characters serve their enemies a friendly thumbs up instead of a barrage of bullets. The light-hearted approach by photoblog Thumbs & Ammo comes at a time when America is heatedly debating gun control, and its amusing advocacy of stringent gun control provides a refreshing and entertaining new angle as to why Americans do not need guns. "Real tough guys don't need guns, they just need a positive, can-do attitude," the crowdsourced blog's tagline declares. Let us hope that art can imitate life. In the meantime, take a look at some of our favourites below.
Pixels is a movie that demonstrates how two rights can make a significant wrong. The first ‘right' is a brilliant Futurama vignette named ‘Raiders of the Lost Arcade’ that featured in the 2002 episode ‘Anthology of Interest II’. In it, the protagonist, Fry, queries what life would be like as a video game, whereupon characters based on ‘80s arcade staples like Space Invaders and Donkey Kong invade earth, and Fry proves to be the only one capable of stopping them thanks to his misspent youth as a gamer. The second ‘right' is a 2010 short film by Patrick Jean named ‘Pixles', in which pixelated arcade characters invade earth and reduce everything to, well, pixels. Together, these two sources constitute almost the entirety of the plot, title and visuals of Adam Sandler’s latest outing, where, unfortunately, the whole is very much poorer than its parts. Much of this is because of the missteps made in the means by which those parts were combined. Pixels, to put it simply, is an excellent idea turned into a children’s film where almost every joke is aimed at people over 30. In other words, it seems to have no idea who it’s actually catering to. Consider the final scene: just moments after the adorable merchandise children’s toy character ‘Q-Bert’ says something cute to make kids laugh, there’s an extended threesome joke involving Serena Williams and Martha Stewart. And it’s not the first in the film. Not by a long shot. The action scenes are solid and fast-paced, yet the first one doesn’t arrive for almost an hour, with the preceding 50-odd minutes spent on a semi-romantic subplot that lacks both romance and plot. It all feels very much a victim of studio influence — a failed attempt to hedge box office bets by playing to both children and adults without giving either enough of what they want. On paper, the cast of Pixels is pretty decent. Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad and Kevin James play the adult versions of Sander’s childhood arcade gaming buddies, now a convict, conspiracy theorist and President of the United States respectively (no, seriously, James is President). Michelle Monaghan plays the ‘love interest’/senior DARPA scientist (in that order), representing the only real female role of any substance, albeit with most of her character development involving wildly different hairstyles in every scene without any mention made of it. Ashley Benson also makes an appearance as ‘the hot girl’ who literally doesn’t say a single word in the entire film. She just switches back and forth between pouting, kissing and ‘being hot’. Ultimately, director Chris Columbus has actually crafted a half-watchable film here, which — given the script — is something of an achievement. The Harry Potter director brings an energy and light-heartedness to the action sequences, complete with a handful of those trademark uplifting, fist-pumping moments of exuberance that defined his exhilarating Quidditch matches. There are also a couple of solid laugh-out-loud jokes and nifty ‘80s nostalgia references that frustrate more than entertain because of their infrequency. Had Pixels been predominantly an action movie, the plot vacuum might have mattered less, but with so little action to enjoy, at least until the final 15 minutes or so, we’re left with a film that feels like a giant missed opportunity, and that will likely fade fast from the memories of all who see it.
Some stories are so ubiquitous in popular culture that we all know what they're about, even if we haven't read them, seen the movie or experienced every adaptation that's ever been made. Herman Melville's Moby Dick is one such tale, but that doesn't mean that it can't be given a new twist. Indeed, seeing what talented folks do with them next is part of the fun of these enduring narratives. Dead Puppet Society have big plans for Melville's whale tale. Don't expect the usual story to play out in Ishmael, however. Instead, this Brisbane Festival show reimagines its inspiration as a space saga, subbing in earth's oceans for everything that sprawls on forever above our heads — with puppets, naturally. Taking over QPAC's Cremorne Theatre from Friday, September 3–Saturday, September 18, the result combines onstage puppetry and miniature sets with live filmmaking, plus music by Bec Sandridge, Xavier Dunn and Dave Jenkins Jnr. And, if you love it, we have the perfect quote for you: "ye've shipped, have ye?" Giulia McGauran Top image: Dean Hanson.
Read more: Vivid Sydney 2015 overview The ten best gigs to see at Vivid Sydney 2015 The ten best events to go to at Vivid Ideas 2015
As part of the Belfast Festival, Northern Ireland’s capital city is currently playing host to WISH, a public art project by Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada. Already nicknamed by local residents as 'The Face from Space', the portrait of an anonymous Belfast girl is so enormous at its 11-acres that it can only be viewed from an aeroplane (or from a mountaintop). It was first plotted on a grid using some very swish technology and 30,000 manually placed wooden stakes. After that volunteers spent a month helping to 'draw' the portrait using nearly 8 million pounds of soil, sand and rock. Now that's patience. Rodríguez-Gerada is known for his giant-scaled portraits in public spaces. In a statement, he says of WISH, "Working at very large scales becomes a personal challenge but it also allows me to bring attention to important social issues; the size of the piece is intrinsic to the value of its message. Creativity is always applied in order to define an intervention made only with local materials, with no environmental impact, that works in harmony with the location." Via Colossal.
A couple of years ago, Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel posited that every object could be turned into a solar cell. No more dirty coal burning, no more tangled cables, no more electricity bills. Sure, it might sound utopian, but if that sun up there’s been keeping more than 400,000 plant species going for millions of years, then there’s surely no reason it can’t handle whatever the Apple factory can throw at it. Van Aubel started her mission with the creation of a drinking glass that could power a mobile phone. Now, she’s come up with The Current Table — a solar desk that functions as both workspace and electronic gadget charger. The top is made of glass, which has been dyed orange and embedded with tiny particles of titanium dioxide. When sunlight hits, the titanium dioxide releases electrons, creating an electrical current. The process is similar to photosynthesis (plants’ transformation of chlorophyll into energy). What’s particularly impressive about it is that, unlike regular external solar panels, which only respond to direct sun rays, the desk works indoors, because it responds to diffused light. The current is accessible via two built-in USB chargers and any unused electricity is stored in a battery. A light display keeps track of how much power is available. "One cell needs about eight hours to fully charge a battery, and there are four cells for each USB port," Van Aubel explains. "The amount of sunlight the earth receives in one day could power all our electrical appliances for an entire year. The question is how to capture and store it, and how to transport it to where and where it is needed." The Current Table will go on display in Milan in April, as part of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Via PSFK.
Do you ever bemoan the lack of serious theatre tackling hard-hitting topics of geopolitical import? This is not the play you're looking for. Psycho Beach Party is a tongue-in-cheek homage that lovingly mashes up surf and horror films and was originally called Gidget Goes Psychotic. The 1987 off-Broadway play starred playwright Charles Busch as the 16-year-old female lead, though the role was recast for the 2000 film. This version, playing at the Brisbane Festival, is directed by Stephen Nicolazzo (sex.violence.blood.gore) and stars Ash Flanders (who is half of Melburnian queer theatre heroes Sisters Grimm) in the role of Chicklet. Uproarious fun. Psycho Beach Party is on 17-28 September at the Loft, QUT Theatre Republic, and thanks to the Brisbane Festival, we have a double pass to giveaway to the performance on Thursday, 26 September. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
You might not know that noted film banger of the 00s Bring It On has been made into a stage musical — and, having already done the rounds on Broadway in 2012, it's going to cartwheel into Melbourne in June this year. Responsible for the phrase "cheerocracy" and your unrealistic expectations of high school, it seems the original movie still has some decent cultural capital to give. If you've been wondering, in the last 18 years, what exactly the world of competitive cheerleading might have going on with it these days, this musical is for you. If you had a Kirsten Dunst poster on the back of your childhood bedroom door, this musical is for you. To be honest, if you've watched the film even just a few times, it's probably for you too. With music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) and the stage adaptation by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), the musical is only loosely based on the original film of 2000, which starred your girls Kirsten and Eliza Dushku. Unlike the five sequels that followed the movie — all of which went directly to VHS — the musical looks like it has a refreshing amount of sass, cutthroat rivalry and aerial stunts. Bust out your best spirit fingers and get them tapping on your keyboard if you want tickets — Bring It On: The Musical is making its way to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre in June, but it's only going to be step-pivot-split jumping around town for a strictly limited run of ten shows. And keep them fingers crossed the show decides to make its way around the country. Bring It On: The Musical will run from June 7–16, 2018 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketek.
Marvel's first Muslim superhero is coming to your streaming queue, but she'll have to conquer high school along the way. Come Wednesday, June 8, the ever-sprawling and always-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe will add its seventh new TV series in 18 months to streaming platform Disney+, and it's all about Pakistani American teenager Kamala Khan — better known to comic-book readers since 2013 as Ms Marvel. Arriving three years after Captain Marvel, the series that shares Ms Marvel's name focuses on a Carol Danvers superfan — who happens to discover that she has superpowers, too. Kamala (debutant Iman Vellani) doesn't feel like she fits in her hometown of Jersey City, and often escapes into gaming, writing fan fiction and her extremely active imagination; however, everything changes when she learns that she has more in common with her idol than she ever realised. As Ms Marvel's just-dropped first trailer shows, viewers can expect teen dreams and high-school hijinks aplenty — but with a superhero twist. How Kamala will handle living out her fantasy life will fuel the show's six-episode first season, in the leadup to 2023 big-screen release The Marvels, which'll feature Brie Larson as Carol, Vellani as Kamala, and also WandaVision's Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. Yes, while the MCU's slate of Disney+ series is taking a different approach in 2022 — focusing on bringing characters previously unseen on-screen into the fold, rather than giving existing franchise players their own shows (see: WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye) — it's still linking in with the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe picture. Ms Marvel also gives the MCU a first — that aforementioned first Muslim superhero — after a decade and a half of hardly presenting diversity on-screen. Across the 28 films that will have hit cinemas before Ms Marvel drops, it took the MCU 18 movies to solely focus on a Black superhero, and 21 features across 11 years to do the same with a female superhero. It also didn't hand the directorial reins to a solo female filmmaker until its 24th movie, either —and, when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals both released in 2021, they visibly and welcomely stood out from the bulk of the franchise in terms of representation. As well as newcomer Vellani, Ms Marvel's cast includes Aramis Knight (Into the Badlands), Saagar Shaikh (Unfair & Ugly), Rish Shah (India Sweets and Spices), Zenobia Shroff (The Affair), Mohan Kapur (Bullets), Matt Lintz (The Walking Dead), Yasmeen Fletcher (Let Us In) and Laith Nakli (Ramy). And, it'll hit your streaming queue following the MCU's other announced show for 2022 so far — the Oscar Isaac-starring Moon Knight, which arrives on Wednesday, March 30. Check out the trailer for Ms Marvel below: Ms Marvel will start streaming via Disney+ on Wednesday, June 8. Images: ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Just a couple of months ago, spending a few hours in a cinema soaking in a dose of movie magic — and eating plenty of popcorn and choc tops — was a normal everyday activity. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, mass gatherings were banned and picture palaces closed, however, seeing a film on the big screen in a darkened room filled with other people has become a relic of the past. But with Australia slowly starting to relax coronavirus restrictions, that might only remain the case until mid-July. The National Association of Cinema Operators-Australasia — a nationwide organisation comprised of Australia's major national cinemas, as well as independent movie theatres — has announced that the country's big screens are aiming to open in time for the planned release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which is currently slated for Thursday, July 16. As reported by Variety, the NACO board said it "is enthusiastic about the prospect of reopening and is hopeful of conditions enabling it to do so in July". Some Australian states, such as Queensland and New South Wales, have already eased some stay-at-home requirements. More developments in this space are expected in the coming days and weeks — with some social distancing and public gathering rules likely to be limited this coming Friday, May 8, when the national cabinet next meets; Australia-wide principles regarding sport and outdoor recreation already proposed; and Queensland working towards a June reopening date for bars, cafes and restaurants. So, with that timeline in mind, letting folks back into cinemas by mid-July seems perfectly reasonable. There are two major caveats, though. The federal and state governments obviously need to allow cinemas to reopen, after requiring them to close back in March. And, cinemas need access to new movies to screen for audiences — which doesn't just depend on the coronavirus situation in Australia. Over the past few months, a huge number of big-name flicks have postponed their releases, setting new dates for later this year and even next year. This started happening even before COVID-19 cases ramped up outside of China and Italy, because when a new movie hits the silver screen, it's usually a global event. So, the likes of A Quiet Place Part II, No Time to Die, Fast and Furious 9, Wonder Woman 1984, In the Heights, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Candyman and more all pushed back their release dates. Tenet wasn't one of them — in fact, it's one of the only movies that didn't move its original release date — but that could still happen, especially if American cinemas aren't ready to open by mid-July. Without a big movie like Tenet to screen — or Mulan, which moved its release date to Thursday, July 23, so the following week — it's possible that Aussie picture palaces will delay their plans, even if they've been given the go-ahead by the government to start their projectors again. And opening a huge blockbuster like the aforementioned movies in Australia weeks before they open in America just isn't going to happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdOM0x0XDMo Either way, when Aussie cinemas do reopen, going to the movies won't be quite the same as everyone remembers. "The Board is very mindful of social distancing restrictions needing to be put in place and acknowledges that the impact this will have on trading due to these reduced capacities," NACO said in its statement. That also likely means bigger gaps between session times to avoid crowds milling about in the foyer, only partly filling theatres to ensure social distancing requirements can be met, making hand sanitiser available everywhere, cleaning cinemas more regularly, and preferring contactless and cashless transactions. For Queenslanders, these are some of the new strategies already being put in place at Yatala Drive-In — which first reopened over the weekend of May 2–4, playing movies that were screening in cinemas when they closed. The move was a success, so it'll be doing so again between May 7–10 and May 14–17. Via Variety.
There's a particular texture to Los Angeles after dark that suits stories of crime and self-interest to a tee. A desolate urban badland of freeways and fast food joints, there's this eeriness; this unnaturalness; this inescapable sense of menace; that seems to creep out of the concrete and set your nerves on edge. You can feel it in Michael Mann's Heat, or in Collateral a decade later. You can feel it in sections of Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive. And you can feel it in Nightcrawler, from writer-director Dan Gilroy, as it glides out of the darkness and seizes you by the throat. Always at his best when playing characters gripped by obsession — Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, Robert Graysmith in Zodiac, or Detective David Loki in last year's masterful Prisoners — Jake Gyllenhaal is in career-best form as Lou Bloom, Gilroy's unsettled protagonist, and our tour guide through the sordid LA underbelly. Inspired after witnessing a car accident, Lou decides to carve out a career as a 'nightcrawler', videotaping crime scenes and selling them to a local TV station for broadcast on the 6am news. Read our full review here. Nightcrawler is in cinemas November 27. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, we have ten double passes to give away in each city. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
A near-silent depiction of a nightmare boarding school for girls, a stage adaptation of a 1950s pornographic novel, a drag odyssey through Australian history — this is hardly the usual fare for the MTC crowd. Yet it's all on the program at NEON, the Melbourne Theatre Company's festival of independent theatre. It's packed with the kind of edgy theatre-making you'd more expect to find in shoebox venues around Fringe season, rather than in a mainstream house like Southbank Theatre. It is, says artistic director Brett Sheehy, one of the company's most significant initiatives to date. "With NEON, we celebrate Melbourne's unique and thriving independent theatre landscape and its astonishing artists," Sheehy says. "Part of our mission is to literally throw open our doors to all of Melbourne and to make Southbank Theatre a place of connection, accessibility and welcome, no matter what form of theatre Melbourne desires." For the festival, which runs from May to July, 2013, Sheehy approached five of Melbourne's most innovative little theatre companies — The Hayloft Project, THE RABBLE, Daniel Schlusser Ensemble, Fraught Outfit and Sisters Grimm — and offered them free access to MTC's stage and technical resources, as well as free creative rein. Benedict Hardie of The Hayloft Project, whose By Their Own Hands looks to be a confronting and stripped-back take on Greek tragedy, says that while creative freedom comes with the territory of independent theatre, practitioners need to work hard for that freedom and it is rare to get the kind of support MTC has offered. Having that support, Hardie says, has enabled the artists involved to push themselves further creatively. "It's an opportunity to dream a bit bigger," he says. The shows on the lineup promise to be confronting, intense, bizarre or even — as with THE RABBLE's adaptation of Story of O, a French novel that was the 50 Shades of Grey of its day — erotic. THE RABBLE's co-artistic director Emma Valente sees the festival as a turning point for the companies involved, not just because of the resources and the greater audience potential provided by MTC but because of what the very existence of the festival says about changing attitudes toward the independent theatre scene. "What it means for independent theatre at large is exciting," says Valente. "In fifteen years doing independent theatre, playing in a mainstream house is something I never would have thought possible." The festival opened on May 16 with Menagerie, Daniel Schlusser's homage to Tennessee Williams and will also feature a program of forums and free workshops featuring a topnotch lineup of playwrights, producers, performers and critics. So whether you are an audience member avid for the avant garde or an underrated artist working on a society-shaking script of your own, Southbank Theatre is, perhaps surprisingly, about to become the place to be. To see the full program of events, head to the MTC website. Tickets to each show are $25, or you can see all five for $100. Top image: The Hayloft Project by Patrick Boland. Second image: Daniel Schlusser Ensemble by Sarah Walker.
There is nothing quite like an international design competition to put the world's leading architecture firms into a bit of spin. And that is exactly what has happened since the Busan Metropolitian City Government in Korea sponsored a competition to find a design for Busan's new Opera House, set to begin construction in 2014. The brief was fairly straightforward - the winning design needed to completely reenvisage the Busan Opera House on the harbour of South Korea's second largest city, Busan, and create a new cultural landmark which would resonate with the residents of Busan and the surronding marine culture, yet would also put Busan firmly on the international stage. In practical terms, the brief also stipulated that the design had to include an Opera Theatre, a multi-purpose theatre, and provide areas for people to congregate and enjoy views of the city skyine and the ocean. The competition certainly has fired up the imaginations of architects worldwide The Swiss-based architecturel firm Kubota and Bachmann have put forward a design based on Korean traditions, featuring an impressive artificial body of water, while a German firm, Peter Ruge Architekten, have gained significant attention with their sustainable design. Sydney-based architects Lascoste and Stevenson have also weighed in with their pod-shaped design. The final decision on the design of the Opera House will not be known until the second stage of the competition. But whatever the result, it looks like post 2014 Sydney may not be the only harbour city with an enviable Opera House.
Earlier this year, when events worldwide started cancelling, postponing and rescheduling due to COVID-19, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)'s Dark Mofo was sadly one of many that had to pull the plug. It's also just one of the annual festivals that the venue holds and, thankfully, MONA's summer event will be forging ahead — with the venue announcing dates and locations for Mona Foma 2021. Come January, arts and music fans will be able to soak in the fest's eclectic sights and sounds across two weekends — and in two locations. Although Mona Foma was originally held in Hobart, where MONA is located, the event made the move to Launceston in 2019. In 2021, however, it'll split its program between both Tasmanian cities. Launceston will be up first, from January 15–17, with Hobart getting the nod the next week from January 22–24. Just what'll be on the bill hasn't been announced as yet, and won't be until later this year, but the fact that the festival is happening at all is the kind of great news that 2020 has been lacking. As Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie explained, "Mona Foma thrives on reinvention and we are compelled to do that big time in January 2021. One weekend in Launceston, and one weekend in Hobart, to spread the love. Great Tasmanian artists, unusual venues, and an irrepressible creativity". Focusing on Tassie artists isn't new for the fest, with 61 percent of creatives involved in the 2020 event hailing from the state. [caption id="attachment_784488" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Robin Fox laser installation at the Albert Hall, Launceston, Mona Foma 2019. Photo Credit: MONA/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] Of course, before you go making big plans for a weekend getaway down south, you'll want to keep an eye on Tasmania's current border restrictions — which, at the time of writing, requires 14 days in quarantine in government-designated accommodation for non-Tasmanian residents who aren't classified as essential travellers, and additionally requires pre-approval from the Deputy State Controller if you're entering from a location considered high-risk, such as Victoria. Mona Foma will take place from January 15–17, 2021 in Launceston, and from January 22–24, 2021 in Hobart. We'll update you when the full program is announced later this year — but head to the festival website in the interim for further details. Top image: The Flaming Lips, Mona, Hobart, Mona Foma 2016. Photo Credit: MONA/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
In between running one of Brisbane's favourite vintage cafe bars and teaching us where the best bits of Brisbane are, longtime Aussie music go-to The Grates are back for their first national headline tour since 2011. Brisbanites Patience Hodgson, John Patterson and Ritchie Daniell will be taking their Team Work Makes The Dream Work tour down Australia's east coast with Sydney punk garage band Straight Arrows and Brisbane punk/synth duo Pleasure Symbols. Described as "fun and thrashy pop punk at its best" by triple j, these three have a reputation for giving an incredible live show that'll have you on your feet. The Grates have been seriously productive over the last few months; after releasing their fourth celebrated studio album, Dream Team last year, they went on to absolutely crush it at Splendour In The Grass. The Grates' long-awaited return to the stage is sure to be one of those dance-till-you-drop affairs — here's hoping for a furious '19-20-20' throwback singalong to obliterate our vocal chords once and for all. THE GRATES 'TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK' 2015 TOUR: Saturday, August 8 – The Triffid, Brisbane Friday, August 14 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Saturday, August 15 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne The Grates are touring Australia's east coast this August, and thanks to Secret Service, we have three double passes to give away to their Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne shows. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Over the last few days, Queensland's COVID-19 situation has started to change rapidly, resulting in the reintroduction of social gathering limits for the Greater Brisbane area. While the Sunshine State hasn't reinstated any other restrictions at the time of writing, the Queensland Government is now recommending that Brisbanites begin wearing a face mask in certain situations. On Monday, August 24, Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young advised that Queenslanders living in the Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay and Redlands local government areas should think about covering their faces "if you can't maintain social distancing". Dr Young's specific advice: "if you're in a crowded situation that you can't get out of, put a mask on". Her recommendation comes as the state identified one new COVID-19 patient linked to the growing number of cases it is calling the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre cluster, and as authorities keep warning that more positive cases are likely. Situations where Brisbanites might want to think about donning facial coverings include visiting crowded areas such as shopping centres or markets, catching public transport, or anywhere where it is not possible to maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from other people. Dr Young included a strong caveat with her recommendation, however, advising that folks shouldn't stop social distancing because they're wearing a mask. "Social distancing, that 1.5 metres, is far more effective than a mask," she noted. "Masks are not totally foolproof, they will not protect you totally, whereas maintaining social distancing and washing your hands will protect the vast majority of people in the vast majority of situations." https://www.facebook.com/annastaciamp/photos/a.523591701005345/3447603491937470/?type=3&theater Also pivotal, as Dr Young also stressed: getting tested at the first sign of even the slightest of COVID-19 symptoms. They include coughs, fevers, a sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, and the loss of smell or taste. The advice regarding masks isn't compulsory and won't be enforced, so you won't be fined if you don't comply. At the moment, it's just a suggestion for residents of Greater Brisbane — although, as a precaution, hospital patients, visitors and staff in the metro north, metro south and West Moreton regions have been specifically asked to consider wearing masks throughout medical facilities. Down south, masks have been compulsory in Melbourne since mid-July — so if you're now wondering which type of face mask is best, where to get them or how to make your own, the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website has put together a guide, including step-by-step instructions for putting together your own three-layer face mask at home. You'll also find information about how to wear a mask correctly, how to take it off, and when to wash and replace it. Of course, you could always order a custom mask with your pet's face on it, too. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.
Calling all history buffs: now is an excellent time to plan a long weekend in Canberra, with an incredible exhibition celebrating the might of the Roman Empire arriving at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) on Friday, September 21. Rome: City and Empire is a collaborative exhibition with the British Museum and makes the NMA only the second institution to host it worldwide — and the only museum that will do so in Australia. The exhibition showcases over 200 jaw-dropping objects, including marble sculptures, illustrations, geometric jewellery, gold medallions and burial chests — many of which have never toured internationally, let alone reached the Southern Hemisphere. This is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Whether you're a history aficionado who smashes all the ancient Rome questions at trivia or a total novice, the exhibition offers an opportunity to step back in time to experience what daily life was like in one of the most sophisticated, culturally diverse and creative civilisations the world has ever known. You'll leave with an insight into just how Rome became such a mighty empire — one whose aesthetics, ingenuity and approach to design continue to influence us today. Rome: City and Empire will run from Friday, September 21, 2018 to Sunday, February 3, 2019. Tickets can be purchased via the NMA's website. Images: Fragment of a diadem, Naukratis, Egypt, 67–98 CE, gold; Roman Republican coin for Julius Caesar minted in Rome, Italy, 44 BCE, silver; Mosaic panel, Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum), Turkey, 4th century CE ©Trustees of the British Museum
Biannual art and design markets The Finders Keepers returns for an autumn iteration, bringing shoppers face-to-face with some of the country's most creative designers. This time, it's happening over three bumper days from Friday, May 20 to Sunday, May 22 at Brisbane Showgrounds' Exhibition Building, with general admission tickets starting at just $5. The focus remains, as ever, on helping you discover and connect with the next wave of independent and emerging artisans, with a focus on local designers. Expect to find everything from jewellery, fashion and ceramics to leather goods and body products. Be sure to stop by K-Rae Designs, this edition's recipient of the Brisbane Indigenous Program, to browse a range of lettered stationery, tees, prints and more. When the inevitable shopping-induced hunger strikes, there'll be food trucks and coffee spots on offer. One thing you do need to remember, though, is that the markets are completely cashless, so be sure to bring along your digital (or plastic) payment device to take home a new design or two. The Finders Keepers Autumn/Winter Markets take place on Friday, May 20 (4–9pm), Saturday, May 21 (9am–4pm) and Sunday, May 22 (9am–4pm) at the Exhibition Building, Brisbane Showgrounds. For more info and to check out the full vendor lineup, head to the website.
Isabella Rossellini is coming to Australia, dressed as a praying mantis and talking about sex. Set to perform her critically acclaimed, one-woman comedy show Green Porno, Rossellini will tour Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and the Adelaide Festival, with her hilarious take on the fascinating sexual habits of land and marine animals. The playful stage show, based upon Rossellini's short film series and subsequent book of the same name kookily exploring mating in the natural world, will first premier in Los Angeles this November. The screen icon — who is currently studying animal behaviour at Hunter College in New York — says that she's always been interested in animal behaviour: "...and I certainly know a lot of people that are interested I sex. So here you have the three elements that make the core concept of Green Porn." Provocative, unusual and hilarious, the show first originated in 2008, when Robert Redford asked the Italian actress to create short, environmental films for his Sundance TV Channel. Rossellini then wrote the stage production, alongside Jean-Claude Carrier —well-known author, actor, opera librettist and director. Expect a mix of live performance along with some of Rossellini's short films. The actress dresses up in a variety of ridiculous insect and sea-creature costumes, while providing a storyline that is completely scientifically accurate. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BckqviVaWl0
In his amazing text exploring the essence of photography, cultural theorist Roland Barthes talks about ‘the image that pricks’. This refers to the moment when the photographer is moved by the scene in front of them, and clicks the button to capture this vision at just the right moment. Now in its eleventh year, the Nikon-Walkley Photographic Exhibition includes over a hundred images that prick - these are the finalist photographs from the Nikon-Walkley 2011 Press Photography awards. With the tumultuous year that was 2011, the collection on display includes some incredibly moving images with many photographs of the Queensland floods, Cyclone Yasi and the Christmas Island boat tragedy on display. Though with the records of disaster there are also moments of great triumph and excitement to view as well – the tenacity of Australians in the aftermath of the many natural disasters, many of the great moments in art and sport, visits from royalty – that is, Her Majesty the Queen and the honourable Lady Gaga. The exhibition opens this week and will be on display until late February, taking up three levels of wall space at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Get down to New Farm today and see what ol’ Barthes was talking about. Image credit: Stuart McEvoy, 'Cyclone Yasi – Maria Domandi'
If mythical creatures, unsolved murders and unease in the Victorian era all sound like your idea of great television, then Amazon Prime Video's new fantasy series might be just up your alley — or row. Starring Cara Delevingne as a faerie and Orlando Bloom has a brooding detective, Carnival Row boasts all of the above, as well as a heavy gothic-meets-steampunk vibe. Story-wise, the drama unpacks the fallout of a turf war, after humanity encroaches upon the homelands of mythological beings. In the aftermath, the latter — including Delevingne's Vignette Stonemoss — attempt to co-exist with non-magical folk. It doesn't go smoothly, with a series of killings under investigation by Bloom's Rycroft Philostrate understandably making matters worse. Releasing on Friday, August 30, Carnival Row appears to follow in the footsteps of plenty of previous tales that've used fantasy, sci-fi and superheroes to explore intolerance, immigration, discrimination and refugees. The twist comes from the period setting and neo-noir atmosphere — so think X-Men meets Penny Dreadful. Created by René Echevarria (The 4400, Teen Wolf) and Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim), Carnival Row is based on the latter's script. Amazon is already confident about the show, renewing it for a second season before the first has even released according to Variety. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369LHB9N-Ro Carnival Row hits Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 30.
For many folks, renting is one of life's unpleasant necessities, and it comes with plenty of grief. If you've ever been forced to beg your landlord to fix faulty lighting (you know, so you can see at night and just generally live in a safe environment), then you'll understand. But in good news, the Queensland Government looks set to shake up the state's tenancy laws. After a nine-week tenancy legislation review — the first step in the first major examination of existing laws since the 70s — the government has announced the key findings from more than 130,000 responses. Given that 34 percent of Queensland households are rentals, the main points shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Pets and making minor changes were hot topics, as everyone who has ever rented would expect. From those surveyed, many tenants reported that it was difficult to find a property that accepted four-legged creatures. Many also said that they'd like to be able to hang pictures or affix their furniture to the wall without it being a huge hassle. From the landlords' perspective, they'd like to approve changes to their properties, make sure any modifications were safe, and have their houses returned to their original condition when a tenant leaves. Another frequent issue of contention, rental bonds, inspired a range of answers. Tenants would like to transfer bonds from one place to the next if they move, while owners flagged that bonds weren't always sufficient to cover rental arrears, or if a tenant damages a property but won't pay for it. On the issue of wear and tear, folks living in rentals asked for expectations to be clarified around what's fair, and also around the standard of cleaning required when they vacate the premises. The situation where a tenant receives clear quarterly inspections, only to be penalised — and lose their bond — for wear and tear when they move out, was also raised. Regarding applications, renters requested standardised and simplified forms, and suggested that supplying bank statements as part of the process was an invasion of privacy. Payment processing fees, ranging between 60 cents and $5 whenever someone pays their rent, were also mentioned. Overall, half of respondents stated that existing rules seemed weighted in landlords' favour, compared to just under a quarter who thought the opposite. And nearly 87.6 percent of participants thought that the quality of their rental property was good or excellent. Other than continuing to analyse the feedback, the exact next steps haven't been revealed, and nor has a timeline for implementing changes. That said, reviewing the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 and looking at legislative amendments is the overall aim. Earlier this year, the Victorian Government passed its own rental changes, which the Queensland Government notes in its statement. Many of the same matters are set to be enshrined into law down south, including no less than 100 reforms aiming to increase Victorian renters' rights and protect tenants in vulnerable positions. Image kgbo via Wikicommons.
Fatima Fazal, founder of iHeart, has created the Heart Part, a clever contraption which can be used as a knife, fork and scoop. Heart Parts are 100% biodegradable and are made of 88% less plastic than regular utensils. Furthermore, when they're joined together they form a lovely heart shape that will bring a little happiness into your day. Sitting at $8.95 for a box of ten, these are conveniently small, environmentally friendly and easy on the wallet too. I doubt these will get you through a 500 gram rump steak, but they'll be a handy addition for light snacks and party foods. Grab one of these at the iHeart store and do your part to save the world. Watch the video below for a comprehensive rundown on how these work. https://youtube.com/watch?v=jAIVjmQKn0g [via PSFK]
Enter the words 'true crime' or 'serial killer' into Netflix and something thoroughly unsurprising results: a hefty list of shows and movies to watch, dramas and documentaries alike, because the streaming platform sure does love this niche. In the future, those searches will throw up two more results, with 2022 newcomer Monster set to return for another couple of seasons. Monster's debut run came with the unwieldy full title DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. While exactly what season two and three will be called hasn't yet been revealed, they will need to switch that moniker up. For the show's return, it'll turn into an anthology series, creating "two more instalments that will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society", the service announced on social media. Following the record-breaking success of DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan will create two more installments that will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society. A second season of The Watcher has also been greenlit! pic.twitter.com/NmFdj6soJj — Netflix (@netflix) November 7, 2022 Who'll those monstrous figures will be also hasn't yet been unveiled, but Netflix is expanding its true-crime remit either way — and creator and prolific TV producer Ryan Murphy is adding another anthology series to his resume after American Horror Story and American Crime Story. In its ten-part first season, which dropped in September, Monster starred WandaVision, Mare of Easttown and American Horror Story actor Evan Peters as the titular IRL murderer. Dahmer's story is particularly gruesome, as the series conveyed; between 1978–1991, he murdered and dismembered 17 boys and men — and there's more to his crimes, including cannibalism. Yes, getting well-known faces to play horrific killers is also part of Netflix's true-crime trend so far — which, if you watched Zac Efron play Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile a few years back, you'll already know. Netflix might've stopped adding new Mindhunter episodes to our streaming queues, sadly, but the platform has served up everything from The Serpent and the Conversations with a Killer series to The Stranger and The Good Nurse since. Also included: fellow recent series The Watcher, also produced by Murphy, which is now getting a second season as well. Check out the trailer for DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story below: DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream via Netflix. We'll update you with release date's for Monster's second and third seasons when they're announced.
New Year's Eve isn't just a time for looking forward — it's also a time for looking back. Take Brooklyn Standard's "Made in America NYE16" Laneway Party, for example. When you're taking stock of the years that have passed by, you might remember that these kind of shindigs didn't always happen in Brisbane, let alone in the CBD. If that doesn't make the Eagle Lane gathering even more special, then we don't know what does. Actually, we do. Try parties both outside and in, music from Pocketlove, DJ Thomas Prime, Colt Seavers and the Rockabilly, and Road Band and Demon Drink, plus a 4.5 hour package that includes beer, cocktails, basic spirits and sparkling, as well as American street food.
The Melbourne International Film Festival has been showcasing the best that cinema has to offer for seven decades now, but it has never hosted a fest like its upcoming 2021 event. Given that every year's festival heralds a fresh lineup filled with new big-screen gems, that's always true in a fashion; however, this is the first time that MIFF is going both physical and digital in a significant way. MIFF's just-announced full 2021 program boasts plenty of must-see movies, including opening night's previously revealed Australian standout The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson; Adam Driver-starring musical Annette, which screens straight from opening this year's Cannes Film Festival; and a festival-record 40 world premieres in total. It also offers multiple ways for audiences to watch its selection, including folks who aren't or can't make the trip to Melbourne. Accordingly, between Thursday, August 5–Sunday, August 22, Melburnians can head to a range of local cinemas — and from Saturday, August 14–Sunday, August 22, cinephiles all around the country can watch from home, too. Neither group will be short on options, although the in-person lineup is considerably bigger than the program of flicks that'll be available to watch on the festival's new online viewing platform, MIFF Play. In total, this year's fest spans 283 titles, including 199 features, 84 shorts and 10 virtual reality experiences, with 62 of those also available to watch digitally. MIFF's 2021 closing night pick is one of the films that movie buffs can choose to view in either setting. Directed by and starring Natalie Morales (The Little Things), and completely filmed via Zoom in 2020, Language Lessons is a platonic rom-com about a Spanish teacher (Morales) and her new student (Mark Duplass, Bombshell). It's also one of the big-name titles on the full lineup this year, alongside Memoria, which features Tilda Swinton in Cemetery of Splendour filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's English-language debut; Bergman Island, the Tim Roth and Mia Wasikowska-starring latest title from Mia Hansen-Løve (Things to Come); No Sudden Move, Steven Soderbergh's crime flick with Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and Jon Hamm; and Pig, which sees Nicolas Cage play a truffle hunter (yes, really). Also on the newly revealed complete bill: centrepiece gala selection Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), which is directed Questlove and looks back on the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969; Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, a documentary charting the late presenter and chef's life; and River, the latest musing on the planet we all call home by Sherpa director Jennifer Peedom. There's also Cow, which sees American Honey director Andrea Arnold explore the existence of a dairy cow; Street Gang: How We Hot to Sesame Street, about the beloved children's television staple; and Year of the Everlasting Storm, in which the aforementioned Weerasethakul is joined by six other filmmakers on an anthology about life under lockdown and the power of cinema. Festival attendees can similarly check out There Is No Evil, the searing 2020 Berlinale Golden Bear-winner which screens as part of a showcase of new Iranian cinemas; collaborative doco Those Left Waiting, which has been filmed by refugees around the world; music mockumentary The Nowhere Inn, starring Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) and Annie Clark (St Vincent); In the Earth, the new film from Free Fire and High-Rise's Ben Wheatley, which steps into a world ravaged by a virus; and blistering thriller New Order, which delves into power and oppression in Mexico City. From the Australian contingent, Fist of Fury Noongar Daa dubs the Bruce Lee-starring Fist of Fury in an Aboriginal Australian language, and becomes the first feature to ever do so — while The Kids looks back on the seminal 90s film Kids, competitive swimming drama Streamline is based on Ian Thorpe's experiences, and Friends & Strangers is an Aussie slacker satire. On the must-see list, these newly revealed titles join the likes of Australian drama Nitram, about the lead up to the events in Port Arthur a quarter-century ago; Petit Mamam, the new film from Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Céline Sciamma; and tweet-to-screen comedy Zola — all of which were announced last month in the fest's first batch of titles. MIFF's physical venues for 2021 include Comedy Theatre, the Forum, RMIT Capitol Theatre, ACMI, Kino Cinemas, Hoyts Melbourne Central, Coburg Drive-In, The Astor, Palace Cinemas Pentridge, The Sun Theatre and Lido Cinemas — and, if you're wondering about the big move into digital as well, that follows 2020's online-only fest, which became MIFF's largest festival ever, audience-wise. The 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 5–Sunday, August 22 at a variety of venues around Melbourne. For further details, visit the MIFF website.
Only idiots pre-judge films. Trailers are increasingly so misleading that the only true test of a movie is when the lights dim and the titles roll. And yes, idiots pre-judged this film. From the moment it was announced, so-called fanboys declared the female-led Ghostbusters a piece of feminist propaganda – helpfully allowing us to identify precisely who to unfollow on social media. The next level of premature opposition came from those who watched the trailers and deduced that this was to be the unfunniest film of all time. OF. ALL. TIME. If there was to be any merit given to the Ghostbusters pre-haters, it came in the form of the scepticism over reboots in general. The original Ghostbusters was made in 1984, yet there's little beyond the giant hair of Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver to make it feel dated – a factor that contributes heavily to its re-watchability. Again, though, the same could be said for Tim Burton's Batman (1989), which only sixteen years later would be spectacularly reimagined by Christopher Nolan in Batman Begins. The key word, of course, is 'reboot', which – unlike remakes – have licence to edit the story, characters and setting of the original for a whole new audience. Paul Feig's Ghostbusters is unreservedly a reboot. Indeed, it bears so little resemblance to the first film that comparisons are, by and large, pointless. Beyond the theme song, name and general busting of ghosts, this is a new film for a new generation, led by four comedic heavyweights in their absolute prime. Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones are a powerhouse ensemble, embodying four distinctly new and wonderfully defined characters. Wiig's uptight academic with a zero-point flirtation game bounces perfectly off McCarthy's acerbic renegade scientist, while McKinnon's genius inventor is so absurdly odd that only Jones's streetwise Patty could keep the balance in check. They're a courageous and capable collection of heroes supported by an amusing turn from Chris Hemsworth as the team's air-head secretary. The only time gender is ever even touched upon is in a nod to those internet fanboys, with Wiig reading aloud a YouTube comment that declares "ain't no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts". To suggest that this film's shortcomings have anything to do with its leads being women is so plainly dim as to not even warrant comment. After all, let's remember that just five years ago Feig, Wiig and McCarthy delivered the funniest film of the year in Bridesmaids. No, where Ghostbusters unfortunately falls short is in its story – and it's here that comparisons to the original are unavoidable. The original Ghostbusters was a deceptively complex story masquerading as a simple one, with multiple vignettes that not just cleverly, but critically, came together at the film's climactic crisis point. EPA intervention, an overloaded containment unit, bureaucratic interference and the seemingly-irrelevant lives of several apartment dwelling strangers all suddenly merged with both the Ghostbusters' own story and the ever-growing menace from the opening scene in a spectacular (and genuinely spooky) explosion of paranormal activity. By contrast, Feig's Ghostbusters is a disappointingly simple film striving ever so hard to seem more complex. Everything that happens on the supernatural front is the result of a single, poorly-defined human villain whose motivations for bringing about the apocalypse are nothing more than that he was bullied as a child. Compare that with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson in the original film as they considered, with genuine trepidation, the possibility that Judgment Day was truly upon them. Their fear became ours, and that combination of bona fide supernatural horror with outstanding humour was what made it one of the most successful and enduring comedies of all time. That's what's so noticeably absent in this reboot: the laughs aren't nearly as frequent as you'd expect, and the scary stuff simply isn't. Yes, there are some spectacularly funny moments, with Jones's debut outing as a Ghostbuster during a metal concert being the standout. Still, for a cast of this calibre, you're right to expect more. As for the ghosts, they scarcely feature until the effects-laden finale, one that's over as quickly as it begins. All in all, this is not a film that's going to destroy your childhood like so many clairvoyant haters suggested. Sadly, it's not quite a home-run either. The film's greatest strength, by far, is its cast. The four leads compliment each other magnificently and there's no scene-stealing; each has her moment in the spotlight, yet knows when to let the others shine. The post-credits scene, too, offers a tantalising hint at what the sequel might concern itself with. Here's hoping it happens sooner rather than later. Feig's Ghostbusters is not a particularly memorable film, but it's an excellent step in the right direction and an exciting glimpse of what might come next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ugHP-yZXw
Earlier this year, just in time for Mother's Day, Brisbane scored a new riverside market. That was handy then, but it wasn't a once-off. Yes, the Portside Local Markets are returning — because everyone likes shopping by the water, even when they don't have an excuse. And for the event's third outing, it's celebrating spring. If you really like browsing and buying, taking in the riverside air, and having a reason to stop for a bite and a drink, you'll want to head to Hamilton on Saturday, September 18. From 12–4pm, you can shop, stroll and sip, which sounds like a mighty fine weekend itinerary. A sizeable lineup of stalls will offer up plenty for you to browse and buy, including art, plants, ceramics, accessories and more. If you've been to markets at the Gasworks, or in Fish Lane, Coorparoo and Gabba South City, you'll have a firm idea of what you're in for — because The Market Folk is behind all of the above, and is running this returning Portside event as well. To give your shopping a soundtrack, live piano tunes will echo through the Hamilton precinct. And, if those hunger pangs strike — or you're just keen on having a drink — everywhere from Pineapple Express Cafe, Bamboo Basket, Burrito Bar and Ginga Sushi to Mr & Mrs Jones, Belvedere Bar 'n' Grill, Byblos Bar and Restaurant, Gusto da Gianni and Sono will be open. Images: Claudia Baxter.
If you've ever visited Japan, you've likely made your way to the top of one of Tokyo's tall towers — Tokyo Tower, even — and tried to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji. You might've even made the trip to the active volcano yourself, and you probably saw its shape splashed across plenty of souvenirs. And you likely spotted variations of Katsushika Hokusai's art work featuring it, too. His Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, which includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa, is one of the things he's best known for. Actually seeing Mount Fuji for yourself might be off the cards at the moment, but you can learn more about Hokusai and his work at Australia's annual Japanese Film Festival. It's back for its 25th year in 2021, screening in Brisbane at Palace Barracks and Palace James Street from Thursday, November 11–Sunday, November 21, with biopic Hokusai kicking off the festival on opening night. Also on the 21-movie program: Oscar submission True Mothers, which sees acclaimed filmmaker Naomi Kawase spin a story about adoption; Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, a Berlinale 2021 Silver Bear for director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi; and The Deer King, an animated film that steps into a world plagued by disease — and follows two survivors who might have the cure. Or, you can check out Under the Open Sky, about an ex-yakuza starting again after 13 years in prison; hostage thriller Masked Ward, which comes to the screen from the pages of a medical mystery novel; and comedy Not Quite Dead Yet, about a singer who wishes for her dad's demise. A number of movies by avant-garde directors Shūji Terayama also grace the lineup and, from Monday, November 15–Sunday, November 21, JFF is screening a range of titles free online — so you can keep watching even when you're not in a cinema. Want to transport yourself to Japan? Let the Japanese Film Festival whisk you away from Monday, November 15–Sunday, November 21 at Palace Barracks and Palace James Street. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the website. Images: © 2021 NEOPA / Fictive and Copyright © 2020 HOKUSAI MOVIE.
A terrifying advertisement for the Kimberly Peirce remake of Carrie has gone viral, garnering nearly 10 million views since Monday. The ad shows a young girl in a coffee shop telekinetically tearing the joint apart and scaring the living daylights out of customers. The video comes courtesy of Thinkmodo, an agency that has specialised in viral marketing and prankvertising. This developing form of marketing involves "upping the ante in almost every imaginable way", and this Candid Camera-esque advertisement does exactly that. Actors and stunt people fill a small, faux cafe rigged with all manner of pulleys, gears and ropes. Regular folk then wander in off the street for a coffee or sesame bagel and become unsuspecting extras in a horror film of their own. Like all good viral ads, the actual advertisement is hidden until the very end, and, like all good internet videos, there's a shameful dose of cathartic glee to be had. The Carrie film, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, is due in Australian cinemas on November 28. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlOxlSOr3_M
Darlings who attend any art exhibition during the day are just so passé, if you want to be seen, it’s all about staying up late now. As always, GoMA is ahead of the curve and has been running Up Late events in support of their special exhibitions for several years now. To coincide with the current exhibit Surrealism: The Poetry of Dreams, GoMA have been hosting Friday night events with classic, genre-appropriate movie screenings and even more appropriate DJs and producers creating the right atmosphere for the cultured attendees. This Friday, Sydney's Catcall will be doing her thing and making people dance to a sure-to-be catchy set. Last year her single Swimming Pool was named the best of 2010 by Mess + Noise, so you know she’s good. Also happening on the night will be screenings of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s movies ‘El Topo’ and ‘The Holy Mountain’. Curator’s talks with Nicholas Chambers and Nancy Underhill are also worth catching. On top of all of this, there will also be a bar and nibbles provided, plus...you know, the amazing art on display! No excuses people!
There are plenty of benefit shows and events on throughout the year and it is so hard to be able to go to all of them, especially when they're invite-only. That is what makes the Spare Parts – London Calling benefit show stand out – it's not only supporting a worthy cause, but it’s also ticketed, which means every lovely person out there wanting to lend a hand can. A bit of background on the intriguing name - Spare Parts was the name of a very different and awe-inspiring exhibition in Brisbane in 2010. It was a collaborative effort that saw a diverse blend of local artists to use prosthetic limbs as the canvas. If it all sounds a bit doom and gloom, it’s okay, because the curator, Priscilla Sutton is actually an amputee herself, who clearly has an excellent sense of humour and humility. Since then, Priscilla has been working incredibly hard to get her exhibit to London this year, and has managed to secure a residency in the city from 25 August to 9 September. She has bundled up an amazing bunch of artists from all over the world, as well as a new lot of prosthetics kindly donated by amputees and their families. She has all this but she still needs your help to see the exhibition come to life. The benefit show will be held at The Zoo and is a night that will bring old and new friends together to raise some much needed funds for this collection of work that is sure to start a positive and open conversation about the seemingly dark subject of amputation. Guests on the night will be The Good Ship, Danny Widdicombe, Tylea, and the very fun Patience Hodgson from The Grates as MC. There’ll also be the comedic stylings of Jenny Wynter as well. There’ll be a raffle drawn as well on the night and you can enter here. If there’s one charity event or worthy cause you donate to this year, make sure it’s this one.
