You'll be walking in an artistic wonderland at Brisbane Powerhouse this November, when the venue's Wonderland festival returns for its fifth run. A bit of an end-of-year frenzy, the annual fest is all about stepping into a carnival. Think circus, cabaret and comedy, plus music and magic. Need more? Try burlesque, dance, theatre, art and a bunch of general parties as well. Running from Thursday, November 22 through until Sunday, December 2, the 2018 program serves up 25 shows across 11 nights, all with a fringe-type vibe. Some take acrobatic feats to new extremes, and others sing odes to Brissie suburbs. They're all best described with three simple words: weird and wonderful.
If we had kept going with the stone age, bronze age, iron age system, we would be probably be somewhere in the plastic one, so it is little wonder that so many artists are passing over paintbrushes and kilns to experiment with the possibilities of inflation. In a case of perfect irony, plastic might just be the most digestible of contemporary art ingredients. At home and abroad artists are taking full advantage of your inner child that knows all good parties need a jumping castle and dreams of seeing Woody Woodpecker at the Thanksgiving Parade in NYC (remember Mr Pitt?). Or, if you were a serious eight-year-old, the arguments for making art with a human-made material that is choking the planet practically write themselves. Inspired by the current Mobile M+: Inflation! exhibition in Hong Kong, here is a mini-retrospective of our favourite inflatables. Inflatable Guantanamo Bay prison cell, 2008 Starting at the serious end of the scale, let's go back to 2008 when Bush and Cheney were still kicking around the White House and Phillip Toledano released his online installation, America the Giftstop. "We buy souvenirs at the end of a trip, to remind ourselves of the experience. What do we have to remind ourselves of the events of the last eight years?" Toledano said. An artist and photographer, Toledano's satirical selection of souvenirs from the War on Terror included this life-sized inflatable Guantanamo bay bouncy prison cell. You can imagine his satisfaction in creating a hard-hitting piece of art that is ostensibly a bouncing castle, but then again, that is probably the point. Complex Pile, 2007 Statement on art? A screw-you to exhibition organisers? Paul McCarthy's idea of a gag? Or, a case of beauty where you least expect it? The house-sized inflatable dog turd that caught everyone's attention in Hong Kong is testament to the permission new materials give the artist. This work is currently showing as 'Complex Pile', but certain corners of the internet remember when it had a four letter name. This is not a one-off for McCarthy, whose other inflatable works include a disembodied head of George W. Bush and pigs mid-coitus. Jumping Castle War Memorial, 2010 Aussie artists have also been dragging out the old air-pump. Remember Brook Andrews' Biennale offering a few years ago? Paying tribute to the humble jumping castle, this highly politicised artwork broke the hearts of Sydney’s children by reversing the age restriction to 16+ and popping in a sneaky nod to the old habits of the British Museum — Aboriginal heads — in the turrets. Jumping Castle War Memorial poses some harrowing questions: who would jump on a war memorial? Who can resist a jumping castle? And, where should the memorial end? Baby Ruth, 1966 Forget your definition of art, or decent human beings; Andy Warhol had a knack for picking trends. So, here is our nod to the father of Pop Art and his inflatable Baby Ruth bars. These bad boys also served as his wedding present to the bride and groom of Mod Wedding, part of his 1966 multimedia event Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Subway Sea Monster (The Lochness), 2008 Gorilla art and inflatables seem like a natural match, but the logistics must be alluding some of the smaller-scale art makers out there. NYC street artist Joshua Allen Harris has come up with his own solution: building sculptures with everyday plastics, like garbage bags, and then taping them to subway vents. Like Marilyn before them, Harris's pieces blow up as trains pass below them. Cool, huh? In an added bonus Harris also has a conscience and has used the attention payed to his Polar Bear piece to raise support for the fight against global warming. Rubber Duck, 2007 This international bath time adventurer had its first outing in 2007 and shows no signs of stopping, unless you count this pancake performance in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. Artist Florentijn Hofman describes his Rubber Duck as an exercise in ice breaking, a destroyer of barriers that knows no discrimination. He could be right: it is extremely accessible, and how much hate mongering could you do with a six-storey, bright yellow duck bobbing behind you? Hofman's Rubber Duck in happier times.
On January 20, wake from your sleep and wander down to The Triffid. There, you'll hail to one of the most influential English bands of the last three decades. Stop daydreaming — there's no surprises who we're talking about. Karma Police: A Tribute to Radiohead will run through Thom Yorke and company's greatest and latest, and won't leave you high and dry as it touches on everything in between. For the paranoid androids worried about just how it'll work, here goes: Tyrone Noonan from George, Inigo, Speedstar, Danny Ross (featuring Ryan and Will from The Cat Empire) and Hannah Rosa will take to the stage, and each belt out for of their favourite Radiohead tracks. Because you're lucky, they won't just be doing that, with two original songs also part of each set. So, where do we go from here? Just hanging around a bar, knowing that something great is going to happen. The band of the evening are so very special, after all. And if you've attended one The Triff's tribute gigs before — honouring Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, The Cure, Pink Floyd, The Clash, Metallica, Iggy Pop and The Go-Betweens — then you know the kind of night you're in for.
Round up the Avengers, call all your SHIELD buddies and pick up your mighty mjolnir. It's time to hulk out at Brisbane's latest Marvel Trivia night — and The Flying Cock's last trivia night, actually. So rove your hawk-like eye over plenty of questions about the huge film franchise, snap out answers faster than Thanos can snap his fingers and prepare to say farewell to the venue. If you've caught all 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to-date, watched every TV show, basically dedicated the past 11 years to this superhero-filled realm and already signed up for Disney's streaming service, then it's an evening that you've been training for. And if you're down with flerkens, wish you'd visited Wakanda, and know the difference between Peter Parker and Peter Porker, then you'll be in your happy place. Taking place from 6.30pm on Thursday, December 12, the MCU trivia onslaught comes hot on the heels of Phase Three's final flick, Spider-Man: Far From Home — and will help keep you occupied before Phase Four starts with Black Widow next year. The Flying Cock's Marvel Trivia: Endgame is free to play; however registrations are required. And yes, there'll be prizes — for first, second and third place, and last place too. Also, you can nab a special prize for best dressed if you don a costume, so you'd better break out your finest cape and spandex outfit.
Everyone knows that distance makes the heart grows fonder - and this notion now applies to the eye as well. The contours, shapes and colours that the topography the Earth's surface forms are breathtaking marvels not rivalled by any manmade images. Yet they are only truly visible from well above the Earth. Seeing the world from this mesmerizing angle puts the insignificance of humans, when compared to Earth's enormous size, into perspective. Here are some of the most magnificent aerial images of our planet. Guy Laliberté's Space Travels The mastermind behind Cirque Du Soleil, Guy Laliberté travelled on board a Russian Soyez Rocket through space in 2009. While the billionaire was on this trip, he did a bit of sightseeing and documented some of the stunning scenery of the Earth that he was privy to. David Maisel's Vertiginous Vistas David Maisel certainly knows how to poignantly capture the most fascinating and mystifying regions of the world from the vantage point of his four-seater plane. Sometimes the photographer even removes an entire window from his plane - which gets to altitudes between 5,000 and 12,000 feet - to secure that perfect shot. But looking at these two examples we can safely say the effort is well worth it. Landsat 7 Satellite Images These two stunning images depict the Bolivian deforestation and the Bogda Mountains in China. The former shows the destructive impact that deforestation can have on native forests by severely fragmenting the ecosystem, while the latter illustrates the mesmerizing mix of sand dunes and salt lakes of the Turpan Depression laying at the foot of China's mountain range. River Deltas Around the World Water not only serves as the major life source for all living things on Earth, but the patterns it creates when travelling in estuaries throughout the world also create enchanting images. These two photographs depict such beauty from the Betsiboka Estuary in Madagascar and the Ganges in Bangladesh. Satellite Photos of the Earth These enthralling images were also taken from a satellite from outer space. The vibrant colours of these terrains almost appear to be oil pastels, yet they have emerged from genuine landscapes of the Earth. The first shows the icy blue transposed against the blood red in the Malaspina Glacier of Alaska and the second shows the twists and turns of the water and land in our very own Carnegie, Australia. Earth from Above These photos appeared on the Flickr page of a photographer by the name of curiouser*curiouser. Both images were taken over the Zion National Park in Utah from the seat of an aeroplane traversing the region. The parks appear so much more unique and beautiful from this high vantage point, featuring ripples and explosions within the Earth's surface.
Warwick Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: name a better Australian quintet. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country, the two-time Oscar-winner and recent Tár tour de force, the local screen mainstay, and the Bad Seeds bandmates and seasoned film composers all combine not for the ultimate Aussie dinner party, but for The New Boy. None are debuting in their jobs. All are exceptional. They're each made better, however, by the luminous and entrancing Aswan Reid. As well as playing the titular part, the 11-year-old first-time actor lives it among such a wealth of acclaimed and experienced talent — and he's such a find in such excellent company, while saying little in words but everything in every other way, that Thornton's third fictional feature owes him as much of a debt as its applauded and awarded household names. There's a spark to Reid from the moment that he's first spied grappling with outback law enforcement under blazing rays as Cave and Ellis' (This Much I Know to Be True) latest rousing score plays. His sun-bleached hair couldn't be more fitting, or symbolic, but it's the confident way in which he holds himself as New Boy, plus the determined look on his face, that sears. Wily and wiry, the feature's eponymous figure is toppled by a boomerang, then bagged up and transported to the remote Catholic orphanage doted on by Sister Eileen (Blanchett, Nightmare Alley) in the 1940s. The cop doing the escorting notes that the kid is a bolter, but the nun is just as fast in her kindness. She sees what Thornton wants his audience to see: a boy that beams with his presence and through his sense of self, even though he's been snatched up, taken from his Country and forced into a Christian institution against his will. Sister Eileen is as drawn to him as the movie, but — and not just due to the red wine she likes sipping and the subterfuge she's keeping up about the resident father's absence — she isn't as certain about what to do. The path that any new arrival at the monastery is supposed to follow is preordained: uniforms, a dorm bed, porridge, helping in the fields, obedience and church. New Boy barely subscribes, donning only shorts, sleeping on the floor and cutting in front in the food line, which Sister Eileen permits. The abbey's two other adults, the nurturing Sister Mum (Mailman, Total Control) and farmhand George (Wayne Blair, Seriously Red), are welcoming yet know the reality that's facing all of the boys in their care, particularly the First Nations kids. In the priest's name, Sister Eileen might write letters to the government urging them not to send her charges away when they're considered old enough to work — the endgame to the state, especially with the Second World War impacting labour — but Sister Mum and George are lived proof that acquiescing and assimilating is the only outcome that will be accepted. There's a spark to the new boy, too, and literally. He's meant to pray away his Indigenous spirituality in the name of dutiful conformity, and in favour of Christianity, but the faith and culture that's as old as Australia's Traditional Owners glows. He's curious, though, including about the ornate, life-sized wooden cross that's sent from France for safekeeping during the war. He wants to undo its nails, free Jesus from crucifixion and give it the property's snakes as gifts. As Thornton peppers in religious imagery, New Boy displays more in common with its carved figurine than Sister Eileen knows how to handle. This is a tale of survival and, while always its namesake's story first and foremost, it also sees two sides to it: the First Nations lad ripped away from all he knows, as well as the nun that's gone renegade within a system that sees her as lesser because she's a woman. Writing and directing — as he did with Samson & Delilah, but not Sweet Country — Kaytetye man Thornton takes inspiration from his own experience as a child sent to a missionary boarding school ran by Spanish monks. In the process, he makes a moving and needfully blunt statement about the clash that's too often been enforced upon the country's First Peoples since colonisation. Indeed, simmering with anger but also hope, The New Boy is a clear, unshakeable rebuttal of the perennially ridiculous idea that only one faith, culture or way of life can exist. And, crucially, it feels as personal as Thornton's work gets; he isn't in front of the lens as he was with the also-remarkable The Beach, where he charted his own escape away from the incessant hustle and bustle of modern life, but the sensation that emanates from the screen is overwhelmingly the same. Thornton works as his own cinematographer on The New Boy, another trademark touch — see also: anthology film The Darkside, documentary We Don't Need a Map, plus the episodic Mystery Road and Firebite — which allows him to load every inch of every immaculate frame with deep and blistering emotion. There's no such thing as a passive image anywhere in any film by any director, but Thornton's beautifully shot movies ensure that his viewers can't evade the landscape that's been forever changed by white settlement. Here, he roves over the plains outside of South Australia's Burra, where every structure for the feature was erected from scratch, and where shimmering yellow fields of wheat grow atop the ochre earth that's been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years. He sees how the terrain has been reshaped, but never forgets who was there first. With his oh-so-perceptive eye, Thornton's visuals stunningly do what New Boy does: expresses everything with little speaking necessary. In her first on-screen role in a solely Australian film since 2013's The Turning, Blanchett talks, of course. Where much of the picture around her bubbles with loaded patience, and Reid's innate naturalism, The New Boy's biggest star is the storm amid the deceiving calm. Consumed by her struggles with her own faith while tasked with instilling it into her charges, and also now challenged by the new boy that defies her sense of logic, Sister Eileen rarely stops moving, fretting, surveying, asserting, preaching and confessing — and Blanchett is magnetic to behold. That said, it's a performance with a needed counterbalance. Without Reid's serenity, Blanchett might've come on too strong. Without Reid, too, the fact that the eponymous character's quest to endure is tinged with hard-won optimism amid its palpable fury mightn't have shone through. No matter what happens, or how rarely he's accepted for who he is, New Boy always persists.
When a beloved TV show ends, it doesn't always say goodbye forever. We live in a golden age of revivals, spinoffs, sequels and remakes on both the big and small screens, after all — and when a television series is a big hit, it rarely goes away quietly. Take Game of Thrones, for instance. Before it even came to an end back in 2019, HBO was looking at spending more time in Westeros. According to George RR Martin, however, the US cable network might be scaling down the future of the GoT franchise. In an end-of-year update posted to his blog to farewell 2022, the author who gave the world Game of Thrones to begin with — and who has been working on the sixth novel in the A Song of Fire and Ice series for more than a decade — announced that HBO has currently scrapped some of the floated GoT spinoffs. Mentioning "several of the other successor shows that we're developing with HBO" as part of a list of things he's working on in 2023, Martin said that "some of those are moving faster than others, as is always the case with development. None have been greenlit yet, though we are hoping… maybe soon". He continued: "a couple have been shelved, but I would not agree that they are dead. You can take something off the shelf as easily as you can put it on the shelf. All the changes at HBO Max have impacted us, certainly." That's all very vague, but plenty has been happening at HBO and its US streaming platform HBO Max since parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery in 2022. Previously renewed shows have been cancelled, such as Minx. Films already shot and nearing release have been axed, like Batgirl. And, HBO Max's online catalogue has also been getting smaller, even removing HBO series. Martin didn't reveal which potential Game of Thrones spinoffs aren't presently going ahead, although one is clearly safe: House of the Dragon. One of 2022's must-see and most-talked-about shows, it's been renewed for a second season, and that episode order looks likely to stick. Given that chatter about expanding Game of Thrones' on-screen world has been going for more than half a decade, and how many different new shows have been put forward over that time, needing a refresher on what could be in the works anyway with is understandable. That list includes a Jon Snow-focused spinoff with Kit Harington (Eternals) reprising his famous role, novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg and an animated GoT show. Beyond that, it's also been reported that another three prequels have been under consideration. Whichever of the above don't end up coming to fruition, our days of watching fiery fights between famous Westerosi names — and games over who gets tot sit on the Iron Throne — are still far from over. Game of Thrones was that much of a hit, and House of the Dragon has proven the same so far. Until House of the Dragon season two hits, or any other on-screen dances with dragons are confirmed, check out the season one trailer below: House of the Dragon streams Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia, and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
Goodbye golden arches, hello golden fries: that's McDonald's new makeover at its world-first fry-thru pop-up. And if you're wondering what a fry-thru is, that's the term that Macca's has coined to describe it's new fries-focused restaurant, which will make Tumbalong Park in Sydney's Darling Harbour its home for the duration of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This fries-adoring McDonald's outlet won't just be serving up hot and crispy slivers of potato heaven in medium servings. It'll definitely be doing that, of course, but the space that it's selling them from is just as noteworthy. Head to the FIFA Women's World Cup Fan Festival to get some chips and you'll be ordering them from an eatery that's shaped like a giant packet of fries. If you've ever needed to see what a five-metre-tall version of Macca's potato slices looked like — and then get some fries from it — this is your chance. It's the dream that no chips lover ever realised they had, and it's coming true from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, August 20. Here, the question isn't "would you like fries from that?", because you're definitely getting fries. Instead, it's "would you like fries from that?". The giant packet of chips is pairing its medium fries with a couple of Macca's sauces of the world condiments, with outback barbecue sauce and wasabi-flavoured mayonnaise on offer to tie in with the Women's World Cup's participating countries. Not getting in on the fan fest fun but just want to drop by the restaurant? The fry-thru is open to both football fans hitting up the Fan Festival and the general public. Outside stadiums hosting Women's World Cup matches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, Macca's is also setting up an interactive photobooth that'll gives you a personalised collectable card, plus Macca's swings. [caption id="attachment_907652" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Johannes Simon - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images[/caption] Find the McDonald's fry-thru in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, Sydney, as part of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Fan Festival from Thursday, July 20–Sunday, August 20.
Palm tree-lined beaches and World Heritage-listed rainforests aren't all that Tropical North Queensland has in abundance — there's an array of tasty treats to experience, too. From tropical twists on classics to award-winning cuisine, there is truly something for every culinary craving in this picturesque holiday destination. To help you curate your must-do dining destinations, we've uncovered ten places in the far north that the locals love. So whether you want a First Nations-led cultural experience, to peel piles of prawns on the back of a docked boat or to discover the delicious tropical fruits, bookmark this for all your food and drink needs in Tropical North Queensland. [caption id="attachment_829657" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] LEARN ABOUT NATIVE INGREDIENTS WITH FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES Walkabout Cultural Adventures is a 100-percent First Nations-owned and operated cultural tour company based on Kuku Yalanji Country, also known as Port Douglas and the Daintree. Owner Juan Walker has been working in the region for nearly two decades and prides himself on offering informative and personalised tours to all guests. Under Juan's expert guidance, you'll discover the wonders of Kuku Yalanji Country, including where two World Heritage-listed sites — the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef — meet. The half- or full-day tours will give you the opportunity to learn about food and medicines grown in the region and how Kuku Yalanji people have managed the land and its natural resources for millennia. You'll also get to sample bush foods, collect shellfish and try your luck at catching delicious mud crab. [caption id="attachment_829896" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tropical North Queensland[/caption] TAKE YOUR PALATE TO PALM COVE FOR LUXE BEACHFRONT DINING If you're looking for beachfront dining while in Tropical North Queensland (and why wouldn't you be?), Palm Cove's Nu Nu Restaurant is a must. With stunning views of the Coral Sea and picture-perfect palm trees framing your vista, this beachfront restaurant will satisfy both your visual senses and your tastebuds. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the menu boasts a great selection of dishes that embrace locally grown produce. For brekkie, try the crab omelette with a zingy ginger caramel and white pepper broth or Nu Nu's take on bircher featuring pineapple and coconut cream-soaked muesli topped with mango, tropical fruit and toasted coconut. If you stop by for lunch or dinner we recommend starting with a tropical cocktail like the vanilla ginger mojito with Daintree vanilla sugar and a starter of Pacific oysters with finger lime. Then, follow it up with sake-poached octopus with pickled shiitake and spring onion oil or sugarcane-smoked duck with barbecued cabbage and rhubarb. [caption id="attachment_829658" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tropical North Queensland / Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] LOAD UP ON FRESH PRODUCE AT THE LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS A trip to the tropics isn't complete without a wander through Rusty's Markets in Cairns. Open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at Rusty's you'll find everything from exotic fruits, tropical tasting plates, freshly baked bread and more. With over 45 years of trade under its belt and more than 180 stalls to visit, there are plenty of reasons locals love to load up on fresh food at this bustling marketplace. The top-tier produce found at Rusty's also attracts many of Tropical North Queensland's finest chefs who can often be spotted roaming the stalls as they source the best locally grown ingredients for their restaurants. Make sure you stock up on fresh fruit for your day exploring the local waterfalls — there's nothing quite like devouring your favourite fruit on a boulder before cooling off at a freshwater swimming hole. [caption id="attachment_829660" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] TASTE TROPICAL TWISTS ON AUSTRALIAN CLASSICS AT OCHRE Native ingredients take centre stage at Ochre, a Cairns institution that has been impressing diners with its creative cuisine for almost 30 years. It's a feast for the eyes, too, as its waterfront location on the Harbour Lights boardwalk offers picturesque views of the adjacent inlet and lush mountains beyond, serving as a reminder of the region's rich and abundant food sources. Take it all in as you tuck into signature dishes like salt and native pepper leaf prawn and crocodile with Vietnamese pickle and lemon aspen sambal; char-grilled kangaroo sirloin with sweet potato fritter, bok choy and a quandong and chilli sauce; and wattleseed pavlova with davidson plum sorbet and macadamia biscotti. The dedication to local is also showcased via the drinks offering, which includes an exclusively Australian wine list with over 30 available by the glass, as well as an impressive selection of Australian spirits. [caption id="attachment_829662" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] PIG OUT ON PRAWNS ON BOARD A PARKED FISHING TRAWLER If a tropical holiday gets you prawny for seafood, then push Prawn Star to the top of your culinary list when visiting Tropical North Queensland this summer. Serving fresh, locally sourced seafood right off the back of a repurposed fishing trawler, this fleet of four floating restaurants is an experience that reflects Cairns' laidback lifestyle. The succinct menu showcases the best seafood that Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef has to offer, and includes platters of prawns, bugs, crayfish and oysters that are best enjoyed with simple condiments or juicy chunks of fresh lime. Head to Prawn Star for lunch or dinner from 11am any day of the week and pair your seafood feast with its very own tap Prawn Beer or Prawn Cider available for $7 all day long. [caption id="attachment_829894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tropical North Queensland[/caption] DIG INTO DAIRY IN THE ATHERTON TABLELANDS The Mungalli Creek Dairy farm in the Atherton Tablelands is much more than cows and pasture — it's one big living organism. With over 30 years of organic biodynamic farming practices under its belt, this family-run farm has mastered the art of cultivating delicious dairy products for decades. At the heart of the property, you'll find The Farmhouse Cafe, which was once the house that owners and brothers Rob and Danny Watson grew up in. Take a seat on the cafe's verandah overlooking the Johnston River Gorge, World Heritage-listed rainforest and Bartle Frere — Queensland's highest mountain — and enjoy a meal loaded with the farm's biodynamic dairy products and locally sourced organic produce. The cafe is also BYO, so take a bottle of tropical wine to pair with one of its cheese platters. Hot tip: make sure you leave room for the crepes — they're a family recipe and are served with Mungalli's luxurious lactose- and gluten-free Broken Nose vanilla ice cream. TRY TROPICAL TREATS AT CHARLEY'S CHOCOLATE FACTORY Charley's name may invoke a well-known chocolatey tale, but the Mt Edna property is as unique as they come — it's home to Australia's only cocoa tree to chocolate bar experience. The concept of showcasing the full chocolate journey at Charley's is the brainchild of Chris and Lynn Jahnke, the husband and wife team who, a decade after uprooting themselves from Melbourne to farm cattle near Mission Beach, planted their first cocoa seeds in 2012. Since then, the pair have crafted a tour at Charley's that is hands-on, hugely informative and most importantly, includes tasting the delicious chocolatey treats. Charley's core products are single-origin 70 percent dark chocolates and milk chocolates with rare Tropical North Queensland flavour combinations like the davidson plum dark chocolate, lemon myrtle milk chocolate, tropical pineapple milk chocolate and beach coconut dark chocolate. [caption id="attachment_829659" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] SIP COCKTAILS BY THE SEA AT SALT HOUSE Salt House is a popular waterfront watering hole for locals seeking delicious cocktails by the sea. Marrying inspiration from a custom-built Argentinian wood-fired grill with fresh seafood and local fare, Salt House's menu aims to champion local produce and the exciting flavours of Tropical North Queensland. Sip on a refreshing rainforest sour packed with davidson plum jam before ordering a dozen fresh oysters, followed by mains like gnocchi with woodfired vegetables, ratatouille sauce, blistered tomatoes, coconut feta and pine nuts. If a seaside seafood feast is what you're craving, try the generous seafood sharing platter or the yellow curry loaded with mussels, local tiger prawns and wild barramundi. DINE IN DECADENCE AT TAMARIND If you're craving decadence after a day on the water, Tamarind Restaurant will put a fresh wind in your sails. The multi-award-winning restaurant combines Australian cuisine, local produce and exceptional service for dinner between Tuesday–Saturday. Start with the market fish ceviche and follow it up with the slow-braised duck curry loaded with lychee, caramel pumpkin and spiced peanuts or the abalone ravioli with roasted scallop, lemongrass and ginger. If making decisions is something you like to leave behind while on holiday, opt for the five-course tasting menu to take the work out of it. Want to extend your summer with a trip to the tropics? Time to book a holiday to Tropical North Queensland. For more information and to book your autumn getaway, visit the website. Top images: Tourism Tropical North Queensland
Feeling like Kylo Ren but wish you could be as blissed out as Yoda? May the force — and may Headspace's new Star Wars collaboration — be with you. Yes, May the fourth is here for another year, which means celebrating like you're in a galaxy far, far away. Or, thanks to this new range of mindfulness tools, meditating like you're a jedi and falling to sleep to the sound of porgs. Already a go-to for mindfulness and meditation, Headspace has teamed up with the Star Wars franchise to mark the most important date there is for the space-opera saga's fans — and make sure that everyone's cool, calm and collected while doing so. If you're eager to de-stress, these are indeed the breathing exercises and sleepcasts you're looking for. On offer from Wednesday, May 4 — when else? — the one-to-five-minute breathing exercises all feature cute animated clips with either Yoda, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and BB-8. In the Yoda-led exercise, you'll find your focus while watching an X-Wing levitate. In the Chewie version, you'll be transported to his home planet Kashyyyk, and then use your breath to make the forest come to life. The R2-D2 exercise gets the cute little robot flashing as you inhale, recharge and reset — and the BB-8 one gets it rolling in much the same way. (Notice that C-3PO isn't included, because that droid can't help anyone relax.) Prefer banishing the dark side via sleepcasts? You have three options there, all of which use famous sounds that you'll recognise from the Star Wars movies. X-Wing Voyage is rather self-explanatory, taking you on a tour of the Star Wars galaxy in one of the eponymous vessels — and going to a different planet in each chapter. With Tatooine Sunset, you'll hone in on that particular planet instead, exploring everything from its endless sea of dunes to its moisture farms. And via Islands of Ahch-To, you'll fall asleep while visiting the very first jedi temple. If you've seen Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, you'll remember that that's where Luke Skywalker ventured off to when he was in seclusion. And yes, you'll hear porgs. Of course you will. To access all of the above, you'll need to sign up for Headspace — but it's doing a limited-time 30-day free trial offer from Wednesday, May 4. And yes, this is answer to the plea you've never uttered: "help me Star Wars-themed Headspace content, you're my only hope for finding some bliss." To access Headspace's new Star Wars content from Wednesday, May 4, head to the service's website or app. Top image: Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker. (c) 2019 and TM Lucasfilm Ltd.
The much anticipated Graphic Festival at the Sydney Opera House is nearly upon us. A whole weekend dedicated to anime and animation, live performances, innovative visuals, inspiring talks and, no doubt a substantial dose of fun. And Silent Comics, a mini festival within the festival, is set to be one of its highlights. Silent Comics aims to celebrate the illustrated works in their purest form, where the narrative of the comic is entirely visually driven — no captions, no text, no words. And to add to your sensory pleasure, they have asked some seriously talented local and international musicians to come to the party too. Comics by artists such as Robert Crumb (Fritz the Cat), Jim Woodring (Frank), Peter Kuper (Spy vs Spy) and Nathan Jurevisius (Scarygirl), will be accompanied by ten minute sets of brand new music by Gotye, Plaid, Seekae, FourPlay, Captain Matchbox and Darth Vegas, in what is sure to be Sunday afternoon of visual and auditory goodness. For a chance to win one of five double passes to Silent Comic, just make sure you're subscribed to Concrete Playground then email us at hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Mark your calendar: if you like free ice cream, as everyone should, then you have a date with a Ben & Jerry's store in April. Each year, the dessert brand chooses one day per year to give everyone a treat without paying a cent. In 2024, that day is Tuesday, April 16. If there's one thing this chain loves above all else, it's the obvious: ice cream in a huge array of ridiculously named flavours. It's the brand behind Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and The Tonight Dough — and has been responsible for Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yoghurt, Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream and Schweddy Balls, too. But, to the delight of your sweet treat-loving tastebuds, on Free Cone Day it loves giving away free scoops just as much. The occasion is exactly what it sounds like: a day where your ice cream is on the house. It ran annually since 1979 until the pandemic, then took a break for obvious reasons — returning in 2023 for the first time since 2019, and now backing it up in 2024. Here's how it works: if you adore ice cream as much as Ben & Jerry's adores ice cream, then you just need to hit up your local participating store (which is most stores) between 12–8pm. You can choose whichever flavour you like, and you can also line up for a free cone as many times as you like within that eight-hour period. Free Cone Day is happening in both Australia and New Zealand — worldwide, too, in more than 35 countries — at Ben & Jerry's Scoop Stores. Last year, the brand gave away 970,000 scoops around the world, with 180,000 of those Down Under. This year, it wants to top one million free scoops globally, and also beat its Aussie and Aotearoa figure. In Sydney, you'll be hitting up Manly, Bondi Beach and Parramatta, for starters. Melburnians have St Kilda, Flinders Lane and Burwood East stores to choose from, while Brisbanites can head to South Brisbane. In Western Australia, Fremantle, Hillarys and Northbridge Scoop Shops are taking part. Ben & Jerry's also has stores in some Hoyts cinemas — so you might be able to join in when you're seeing a movie, such as at Hoyts Norwood in South Australia. Across Australia, these four spots aren't on the list, sadly: Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Zoo and Healesville Zoo. Over in Aotearoa, options for a free ice cream include Commercial Bay and Ponsonby in Auckland, plus Cuba Street and the airport in Wellington. Free Cone Day runs from 12–8pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at Ben & Jerry's Australian and New Zealand stores. Head to the brand's website for further details.
That beloved, giant yellow legend of a floating rubber duck is missing. The 59-foot, one-tonne inflatable sculpture by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman was apparently swept away by furious floodwaters in China's south-west Guizhou Province on Wednesday. The duck's exhibition team saw our giant inflatable hero unleashed from its ten-tonne metal platform on Guiyang's Nanming River, The Wall Street Journal's China Real Time blog has reported. "The duck flopped over and was flushed away really quickly by the torrential flood," said exhibition co-ordinator Yan Jianxin. "It disappeared right in front of me." Touring hasn't been kind to the giant inflatable hero. Popping up everywhere from Sydney to Sao Paulo since 2007, the team of giant ducks have quite the rambunctious tour diary. Just months earlier, one duck exploded in the middle of a port in Taiwan. Collapsing only 11 days after installation at Keelung, the mystery behind the duck's demise was never solved. "Organisers are unsure as to the cause of its demise, but one theory is that it was attacked by eagles," reported the BBC. Another duck then went on to casually deflate in Hong Kong. But now our noble, buoyant adventurer is nowhere to be found. Local radio stations are rallying local citizens to the hunt — "If you live along the river and see an 18-metre tall big yellow duck, please call 5961027." Like looking for a giant yellow duck in a watery haystack, the search could be a tough one. If only the duck was brightly coloured, able to float and unbelievably oversized. Wait. Via BBC, Gawker and WSJ. Images by Trey Ratcliff, Zuma Press, AP Photo, Kin Cheung, Reuters.
Remember the good old days when you'd meet up with your mate for a beer at the pub, grab a late-night feed and dance till dawn all in one night? Yeah, us too. But just because we can't go out right now and enjoy our city's best restaurants and bars doesn't mean you have to live life in the slow lane. You can still bring the good times to your living room. Want to take your cooking game to the next level? Now's the time to get creative in the kitchen — with some expert guidance, of course. Or you could order a DIY meal kit from your favourite dining spot so you can just worry about all the fun times to be had. Because, when you're at home, you make the rules. If you don't know where to start when it comes to customising your best night in, we've got you covered. We've partnered with Miller Design Lab to celebrate creativity and self-expression when it comes to dining (and drinking) at home. Miller Design Lab is a space built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology, fashion and, of course, culinary geniuses. Together, we're celebrating our nightlife and its impact on culture by bringing exceptional experiences to you — like turning your crib into a fine dining restaurant. So, pop on your apron, grab a cold one from the fridge and look no further. [caption id="attachment_505797" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Dinosaur Designs[/caption] START WITH THE ESSENTIALS First up, having the right tools is non-negotiable. Sure, you may have the skills, but you can't create the Sistine Chapel without any paint — and same goes in the kitchen. If you're looking to become a whiz with a wok or perfect the art of baking, you best invest in some good cooking utensils. That said, we're assuming you can cook an egg and peel a potato, so we'll rush through a list of staples: pots, pans, spatula, chopping board, a strainer, vegetable peeler, can opener, cutlery and a wooden spoon. You get the idea. And, unless you plan on turning everything into soup, you'll need a good set of knives. According to Momofuku master David Chang, you only really need three knives: a paring knife, a serrated bread knife and a chef's knife. The first two can be bought pretty cheaply, but you'll want to fork out a bit more on the chef's knife. And as tempting as it may be after MasterChef, don't even think about buying an ice cream machine until you have the basics. Now, the fun stuff. You'll need some nice-looking plates and glassware to take your feast to the next level. There are a bunch of local ceramicists and designers making stunning tableware, including Mud, Studio Enti, Dinosaur Designs and Maison Balzac's colourful goblets and fun champagne flutes, plus independent potters such as Milly Dent, Sarah Schembri and Hayden Youlley. [caption id="attachment_724464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dan Hong by Nikki To[/caption] SHARPEN UP YOUR SKILLS WITH A TOP CHEF No matter if you're a kitchen novice or know your way around a Le Creuset, we can all learn some tips and tricks from some of the world's most creative chefs. Massimo Bottura is currently hosting nightly cooking tutorials. While the Michelin-starred chef behind Italy's famed Osteria Francescana is in lockdown, he's teaching you the joys of Italian cooking for free with his Kitchen Quarantine lessons. Designed to help spread feelings of connectivity, curb boredom and teach a few new tricks at a time when an increasing chunk of the world's population is in lockdown, self-isolation or self-distancing, these cooking tutorials go beyond textbook cooking. And of course, with Bottura's famously cheery personality, the guy's just a total joy to watch. Because Italian cuisine is the ultimate at-home comfort food, you should learn how to make pasta from a well-seasoned cook: nonna. Actually two nonnas, Nonna Nerina and Nonna Giuseppa. For a lesson on Australian home cooking, turn to Aussie legend and culinary icon Maggie Beer, who is also live streaming every day. Dubbed Cooking with Maggie, the free series of videos show you how to make an easy rustic-style dish in under 20 minutes — from eggplant and eggs to a caramelised onion and persian feta side dish. Another Aussie chef dishing up the goods is Dan Hong (Mr Wong, Ms G's, Queen Chow) via his Instagram. Tune in and you'll learn how to make his famed cheeseburger spring rolls, salt and pepper squid and slow-roasted short rib. For any other kitchen-related (and entertaining) content, check out these eight tasty food podcasts. [caption id="attachment_718506" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Southside Charmers by Kitti Gould[/caption] TRACK DOWN THE BEST (FREE) RECIPES Now that you've learnt from some of the best, you'll want to pick a recipe to tackle on your own. After all, it's time for you to add your own flavour. But before you attempt the best gnocchi ever made or bake even more sourdough, you'll want to do your research. Luckily, you don't have to look too far to find recipes. But, not all are created equal — so, it's about where to look. US-based Bon Appétit — as the name suggests — is a go-to for any culinary query, including a bunch of lip-smacking recipes. Feel like a lobster roll for dinner? No problem, it's got it here. Craving a mean steak? It's got a whole dedicated section. New York Times Cooking also has thousands of the best recipes from the global newspaper. You'll find food editor Sam Sifton's suggestions — from earl grey madeleines to a weeknight fried rice and trini chana and aloo (chickpea and potato curry) — plus a heap of pantry, slow cooker, easy-to-bake and essential Indian recipes. Basically, whatever you've got a hankering for, chances are it's got it. For something more local, podcast Highly Enthused often has a round-up of good recipes. You can listen to it here. [caption id="attachment_751198" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quattro Deli by Trent van der Jagt[/caption] GET THOSE HARD-TO-FIND INGREDIENTS You're spicing things up, which means you'll probably have some things on your grocery list that you won't find at Woolies or Coles. From artisanal cheeses to Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce and rare spices, such ingredients require you to know where to track them down. At the moment, Sydneysiders can head to Two Providores's Marrickville warehouse every Saturday to pick up everything from top-notch oils to bacon jam, New York-style rare roast beef and hard-to-find flours. For fresh seasonal produce, it's hard to go past Glebe mainstay Galluzzo Fruiterers, which is currently delivering to locals every Monday–Friday. Quattro Deli in Chatswood is dedicated to sourcing the best local and imported specialty items — think Italian gorgonzola, buffalo mozzarella, mortadella, olives, spreads and even vino — and is delivering deli-to-door at the moment. And for all things cheese, Penny's Cheese Shop and Paesanella Food Emporium are great go-tos. For Asian groceries, your best bets are Boon Cafe at Jarern Chai Grocer and Thai Kee IGA Supermarket. For those in Melbourne, a good one-stop-spot is South Melbourne Market, which has launched a drive-thru pick up point. Vegans will find pretty much everything imaginable in Shannon Martinez's and Mo Wyse's spin-off vegan New York-style delicatessen, Smith & Deli. You can place orders for pick up or delivery via Mr Yum. For charcuterie, Obelix & Co has got you pretty well covered and is offering local delivery and if you're after some fancy fromage to go with it, hit up Milk the Cow, which is delivering also. Asian grocers such as TANG, Hometown Asian Supermarket and Minh Phat are all open and well-stocked, too. In Brisbane, Hong Lan Asian Food & Seafoods is one of the best Asian grocers in town. Rosalie Gourmet Market is an institution for a reason — it's packed with everything from oils to pastries, chocolates and fresh flowers. Black Pearl Epicure has your cheese needs sorted with over 300 types and for Italian goods, head to Amici Deli in Chermside. Plus, a bunch of restaurants in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne have turned into mini grocers, many supplying the goods usually saved for industrial kitchens. If you can't leave the house right now, Simon Johnson is delivering across Sydney and Melbourne, too. ORDER IN — AND SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE GOOD TIMES In Sydney, you're spoiled for choice when it comes to DIY meal packs. Ragazzi — the CBD's new pasta bar by the Love, Tilly Devine crew — has ready-to-cook pasta and wine packs (serves two), which are available for pick or delivery within five kilometres of the restaurant. Chippendale's fine diner Ester has weekly takeaway packs, offering a range of ready-to-eat and almost ready meals — with the likes of steamed blood sausage buns, shallot and sichuan pepper tart tartin and leftover sourdough ice cream on the menu. You can pick it up from the restaurant every Saturday between 3–5pm. Mr Wong's, Bert's and Fred's also have packs available for delivery across Sydney metro. Melburnians can order restaurant-quality oysters straight to their door thanks to supplier Mimosa Rock Oysters. They come live though, so you'll have to know (or learn) how to shuck. If you can venture out of the house, you'll find a raft of 'heat and eat' food packages available at Neptune Food & Wine. And while not exactly DIY, Attica — one of the top restaurants in the country — is now offering takeaway and has opened a pop-up bakeshop. If you're in the mood for a big warming bowl of noodles and live in Brisbane, Taro's has DIY ramen packs to go. It even has a how-to video if you need. King Street's French fine diner, Montrachet, is offering a selection of semi-prepared dishes in takeaway packs that can be collected from its Bowen Hills digs (orders must be made before 7pm for collection the next day). Plus, The Balfour Kitchen has a stack of ready-made meals like a Burmese pork curry, spaghetti with Korean bolognese, prawn and ginger wontons and thrice-cooked duck fat potatoes. For dessert, a bunch of spots across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are slinging some top-notch cookie dough for those of us who aren't the next Betty Crocker. To see where you can pick some up, head here. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
Comedian Kyle Ayers was enjoying the view from the rooftop of his New York City apartment one day with some neighbours when a couple in the midst of a heated squabble suddenly appeared. So what did Ayers do? Politely look the other way and mind his own business? Of course not. Like any good social (media) Samaritan, he whipped out his smartphone and started tweeting about the whole ordeal. His series of live-tweets of the couple's retorts caused quite a buzz in the Twittersphere and was traceable by the fitting tag, #roofbreakup. He started the sequence on Saturday evening, saying "A couple is breaking up on my roof right now. I was just trying to enjoy the view. Now I will live tweet the breakup." Rapidly reporting the exchange between 'guy' and 'girl' (who we later learnt was named Rachel), Ayers captured their dislikes of friends, questions of moving in together and accusations of infidelity. Highlights include: "Say something else about my fucking wardrobe" -guy #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "I'm not looking for marriage, just what's right below marriage" -girl #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "Your roommates are fucking assholes" -guy #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "You think I'm immature? Calling people immature is immature!" -guy #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "Do you love me?" -girl (OH BOY HERE WE GO, PEOPLE) #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "My roommates are always like 'wheres your boyfriend?' And I'm like 'hmm' and stuff." -girl #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 This guy is four cigs deep right now. #roofbreakup #teamrachel — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "I don't think we need to talk about this up here with some random guy over there." -guy (uh oh, I'm that guy over here) #roofbreak — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 "He's just sitting on his fucking phone he doesn't care (talking about me). Answer my question." -girl (hahahahahahaha) #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 and the royal cherry on top: "Are we getting pizza or what? I don't mean to change the subject but are we?" -guy #roofbreakup — Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013 The guy, who was furiously chain-smoking the entire time, finally declared "I'm not talking about love on a roof in Brooklyn." Clearly, this is the 21st century's adaptation of Clark Gable's famous retort, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." How debonair. Read the full #roofbreakup tweets on Storify. Via Huffington Post.
If sitting in darkened rooms watching movies on the big screen is your favourite way to fill your spare time, the past couple of years have been trickier than usual, with cinemas closing temporarily and film festivals moving online due to the pandemic. But here's one wonderful silver lining to emerge from the recent chaos: not one but two Sydney Film Festivals in a mere eight months. 2021's fest went ahead in November, after being postponed from June and August. Now, 2022's event is fast approaching, with the event slotting back into its usual midyear timeslot. Following the bumps of the last couple of years, this upcoming festival — SFF's whopping 69th iteration — is set to return to business as usual. That means catching 200-plus movies on silver screens all around Sydney between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 (including at the glorious State Theatre, of course). Overseen by Festival Director Nashen Moodley for the 11th time, this year's SFF unveiled its first 22 movies back in April, and has announced a few other details since — such as a retrospective focusing on the documentaries of American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, plus Pacific First Nations anthology We Are Still Here in the coveted opening night slot. But that was only a taste of the just-dropped entire lineup, which is hefty and impressive as always, and spans 101 features, 53 documentaries and a whole heap of short films from 64-plus countries. (And 27 world premieres as well.) Highlights include the entire Official Competition lineup, aka the movies vying for SFF's big cash prize for films that are "audacious, cutting-edge and courageous". That's where you'll find this year's Berlinale Golden Bear-winner Alcarràs, a family drama from Spain; Blaze, a blend of live-action, puppetry and animation directed by acclaimed Aussie artist Del Kathryn Barton; and supernatural witch flick You Won't Be Alone, which stars Noomi Rapace (Lamb). And, it's home to a number of titles arriving straight from playing Cannes, too — such as Godland from Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day); Close, a teen-focused drama by Girl filmaker Lukas Dhont; and All the People I'll Never Be, about a French woman's quest to discover her Korean roots. Other big-name inclusions across the rest of the program span New Zealand comedy Nude Tuesday, which'll enjoy its world premiere at SFF; Australia's own Seriously Red, a SXSW hit about a Dolly Parton impersonator; One Fine Morning, from acclaimed French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island); the Dakota Johnson (The Lost Daughter)-starring rom-com Cha Cha Real Smooth, which earned plenty of fans at Sundance; and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, where Emma Thompson (Cruella) plays an older women who hires a sex worker — with 52 Tuesdays and Animals filmmaker Sophie Hyde behind the lens. Or, there's queer comedy Fire Island, about a group of friends on a wild summer holiday; Aubrey Plaza (Best Sellers)-led heist film Emily the Criminal; Cannes 2021 Jury Prize-winner Ahed's Knee, the latest from Synonyms' director Nadav Lapid; time-travel romp Incredible But True, as directed by Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux; and One Year, One Night, which features Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Noémie Merlant. Also on the must-watch list: Norwegian action movie The Burning Sea; Finnish thriller The Man Who Didn't Want to See Titanic (which, yes, focuses on a film buff); Hommage, a South Korean mystery starring Parasite's Lee Jeong-eun; Japanese folklore-glam-rock-musical-anime epic Inuh-Oh; and Millie Lies Low, a NZ caper about impostor syndrome. Plus, from the documentary slate, there's Sundance Audience Award-winner Navalny, about the Russian opposition leader poisoned with a nerve agent; Lynch/Oz, which takes a yellow brick road through David Lynch's filmography; Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, a step inside New York's iconic Chelsea Hotel; and stranger-than-fiction effort My Old School, where Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) lip-synchs to audio recordings of Scottish con-artist Brandon Lee. SFF's full lineup also covers the usual returning favourites among its strands — so its ten-film focus on female directors from Europe is back, as is its selection of movies about music, its weird and wonderful horror and genre flicks, a range of family-friendly fare, a celebration of filmmaking talent with disability, and twelve titles from First Nations creatives. The latter includes all six episodes of Mystery Road: Origins, the new prequel series that focuses on Indigenous police officer Jay Swan, which is one of the fest's massive local highlights. Another: a big-screen showing of the newly restored 4K version of Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, arriving just before his new movie Elvis reaches cinemas. The program still goes on, so if you're keen on seeing Park Chan-wook's Oldboy on the big screen again, or the nine Aussie docos competing for the annual Documentary Australia Award, you're in luck. Whatever's now on your must-see roster, you'd best soak in all the sunshine you can during May — because you'll be spending most of June in a cinema. The 2022 Sydney Film Festival will run between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Newtown, Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Art Gallery of NSW. To check out the event's full program, or to buy tickets (from 9am on Wednesday, May 11 for flexipass holders and 12pm for single tickets), head to the festival's website.
She takes publicity stills from noir films and gives them her own spin. He is inspired by natural surroundings. Together, they are Jane Ianniello and Sergio Ianniello — and Noirscapes & Naturescapes is their shared art exhibition. Yes, Hollywood glamour, bizarre backdrops and beautiful scenery combine in a show befitting its rather excellent name. If it sounds like it's full of contrasts, that's because it is. The images themselves, the styles and techniques the artists favour, and even the materials and types of paint they each use, couldn't be more different. And yet, the Brisbane-based artists have stumbled upon a combination as daring and dramatic as the '40s and '50s movie thrillers Jane takes inspiration from, and as rich and textured as Sergio's nature scenes as well. It's simultaneously bold, bright, surreal and scenic. Think of it as a walk through film history and a walk in the park all in one.
Woodford Folk Festival is a veritable smorgasbord of all things music, performance, creativity and so much more, with this year's lineup boasting over 400 events and 2000 performers over six days that straddle this year and the next. With artists making the trek to the small town of Woodford from all over the world, the festival presents the best that Australia and the world have to offer in the broad category of folk. The town of Woodford, about 70km north of Brisbane, boasts a population of just over two and a half thousand people, so rather than blow that number out of the water for a few days every year, the festival is held about five minutes out of Woodford, on the 500-acre headquarters of Woodfordia, a not-for-profit organisation that produces the festival. The region is a quiet, rural area, nestled in some truly beautiful surroundings and not too far from the beaches at Moreton Bay. With that in mind, why not take a detour from your routine, and build an itinerary that includes the festival, as well as a few other side quests that you wouldn't normally set out on. We've teamed up with our pals at Mazda3 to get your ideas going for where to stay, what to eat and what to do while you're in town. [caption id="attachment_642063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image credit: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.[/caption] EAT AND DRINK While at the festival, you'd be mad to not gorge yourself on the slew of food on offer within the festival itself. Far from your classic dagwood dog and can of Fanta combo, the streets of the festival village are filled with the scents of cuisine from all over the world. From Mexican to Indian, German to Vietnamese, you can get your fix for any hankering in the festival's boundaries. There are cafes for the mornings and bars for the evening, so whatever your poison, the Festival of Food's got you covered. For the remainder of your stay, however, it's worth taking a few trips off the beaten track to find somewhere more unique to eat and, with rugged mountains providing the stunning backdrop to the areas surrounding Woodford, there's no harm in chasing a good view to wash it down with. Perched atop Mount Mee and enjoying views that range from farms to beaches, Birches Restaurant serves classic bistro food with an emphasis on seafood, a trait not uncommon throughout the region. A little further south, in Ocean View, you'll also find Ocean View Estates, a local winery with a cellar door and restaurant thrown in for good measure. As well as a menu drawing influence from Japan and French cuisines, the winery also added craft beer to their acumen only last year, so it's a just chance to check out the local brews, too. Given that Woodford and its neighbours ride the boundary line between inland rural and coastal beaches, it's not surprising that the region is home to some excellent country pubs. Not that inner-city-bar-pretending-to-be-a-country-pub sort of pub, but an actual pub in the country where the aesthetic is legitimate. So, if the winery hasn't slaked your thirst, sit yourself down at the nearest local and blow the froth off a couple. The Village Garden Bar & Grill in Woodford Village Hotel, for example, provides exactly what it says on the label, dishing out pub grub and beverages in a lovely beer garden. DO The Woodford Folk Festival is more than just a few bands performing over a few days. It's more like a Mary Poppins bag bursting with workshops, comedy, cabaret, talks and debates, a film festival, art, meditation, dance, circus and a whole manner of sins. As well as live musical acts like Sampa the Great, Husky, Montaigne, Kate Miller-Heidke, John Butler and Rising Appalachia, the full program offers a million ways to explore the festival. Brisbane-based slam poet Anisa Nandaula will be in attendance, discussing her own brand of political lyricism, and executive director of the Climate Foundation Dr Brian von Herzen will be discussing a range of issues — and potential solutions to them — facing marine life. From the Circadia circus workshops to 80s dance workshops, Chenda Melam's traditional music from southern India to Kim Kirman and Brian Martin with the Seraphim Baroque ensemble, there's never a dull moment, drinking in traditional folk culture from around the world. And, if you feel like getting out of the throng and into the calm embrace of Mother Nature, there's even the option of an organised walk to check out the local mushrooms. [caption id="attachment_642064" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] D'aguilar National Park, Troy Bell via Flickr.[/caption] Beyond the festival, it would be a sin to pass up the abundant bushlands and national parks that run through Woodford and the surrounding towns. It's a quick drive from town into the D'Aguilar National Park that runs almost all the way south to Brisbane. In addition to a spot of bushwalking, the park also allows four-wheel driving, trail bike riding, and horse riding. The Somerset Trail, which crawls up Mount Mee, is perfect for pretty much everyone who might be down to see the diverse ecology of the area and is pretty close to Woodford. It's an easy track that takes about three to four hours, so if you've brought kids along for the trip, they'll be able to handle it, no worries. The trail takes you through scribbly gum groves, rainforests and ultimately to a lookout that gives an incredible view over the whole Moreton Bay region. STAY With such a huge swathe of land available for the festival, camping is, of course, the traditional method of experiencing the festival. If you're the kind of person who already owns camping stuff, you can bring that along, and the General Store in town will have most things you might not have. Alternatively, there's the option of the Tent Motel, where you can just rent out a pre-erected tent for the duration of your stay. Shower facilities are available for all campers because even though we're sleeping outside, we don't have to be animals. If, however, you're the kind of person who prefers to sleep in a bed, in a room, in a building, there are still places to rest your weary head around the area. The nearby town of D'Aguilar is home to the freshly renovated Dag Pub and Motel, for example, with reasonably priced rooms and a bar and bistro with solid eats and a penchant for memorabilia. If you're making the road trip, it's always good for a city kid to dive into some greener scenery, and a trip to the Moreton Bay area is the perfect opportunity to do just that. With so many national parks such a short drive away, perhaps an unwinding couple of nights at Conondale's Eco Retreat might get you a little bit more in touch with nature. But, if you're looking to get even closer to the trees and the mountains, a stay at Glass on Glasshouse might be the ticket, where your accommodation is a cabin made of floor-to-ceiling windows, snug among the rainforest itself. Woodford Folk Festival takes place at Woodfordia from December 27 to January 1. Top image: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr. Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.
This isn't new news to anyone, but 2020 has been a big year for television. With everyone spending more time indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TV has been a trusty go-to to help while away the hours, days and months — whether it's beamed into your home the old-fashioned way or streamed to your chosen device. If you've spent the past few months bingeing your way through a dark superhero tale, stepping back to 50s and 60s-era New York and watching a media mogul's personal and professional dramas, it seems that this year's Emmy Awards are on the same wavelength. Announcing the nominees for the 2020 ceremony, the Television Academy showered plenty of love on Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Succession, which notched up 26, 20 and 18 nods respectively. Also doing well was Ozark, which scored 18 nominations — while The Mandalorian, Saturday Night Live and Schitt's Creek all earned 15 nods apiece. From there, everything from The Crown, Westworld and The Handmaid's Tale to Unorthodox, What We Do in the Shadows and even Tiger King earned a mention. It's worth noting that the Emmys hand out a hefty number of awards, with its full nominee list spanning 61 pages — and Netflix picking up a huge 160 nominations across the entire spectrum — so odds are that your favourite show popped up somewhere. Notably for talent from Down Under, Hugh Jackman was recognised for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie, for Bad Education; Cate Blanchett received a nomination for Outstanding Actress in the same category for Mrs America; and Toni Collette nabbed a Outstanding Supporting Actress nod, also in the same field, for Unbelievable. Plus, Succession's Sarah Snook earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Hannah Gadsby's Douglas picked up noms for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, and Taika Waititi scored an Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance nod for The Mandalorian. Both on the local front and in general, there were snubs, too. It wouldn't be a list of newly revealed award nominees without them. Russell Crowe's performance in last year's The Loudest Voice went unrewarded — and the fact that Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn and Jonathan Banks were ignored for their exceptional work isn't just surprising, but astonishing. This year's nominations did recognise The Good Place's Ted Danson and William Jackson Harper, though, as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andre Braugher. So, like all awards nominations from all awards bodies every single time they're announced, it's a mixed bag. [caption id="attachment_756726" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Succession[/caption] The 72nd Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 20, Australian time. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full 61-page list of nominees on the Emmys' website: EMMY NOMINEES 2020 OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Better Call Saul The Crown The Handmaid's Tale Killing Eve The Mandalorian Ozark Stranger Things Succession OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES Curb Your Enthusiasm Dead to Me The Good Place Insecure The Kominsky Method The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Schitt's Creek What We Do in the Shadows OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES Little Fires Everywhere Mrs America Unbelievable Unorthodox Watchmen OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE American Son Bad Education Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Jason Bateman, Ozark Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us Steve Carell, The Morning Show Brian Cox, Succession Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Olivia Colman, The Crown Jodie Comer, Killing Eve Laura Linney, Ozark Sandra Oh, Killing Eve Zendaya, Euphoria OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Don Cheadle, Black Monday Ted Danson, The Good Place Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek Ramy Youssef, Ramy OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Christina Applegate, Dead to Me Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Jeremy Irons, Watchmen Hugh Jackman, Bad Education Paul Mescal, Normal People Jeremy Pope, Hollywood Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Cate Blanchett, Mrs America Shira Haas, Unorthodox Regina King, Watchmen Octavia Spencer, Self Made Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Nicholas Braun, Succession Kieran Culkin, Succession Matthew Macfadyen, Succession Jeffrey Wright, Westworld OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Laura Dern, Big Little Lies Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve Julia Garner, Ozark Sarah Snook, Succession Thandie Newton, Westworld OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine William Jackson Harper, The Good Place Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Mahershala Ali, Ramy Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Betty Gilpin, GLOW D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place Yvonne Orji, Insecure Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Dylan McDermott, Hollywood Jim Parsons, Hollywood Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen Jovan Adepo, Watchmen Louis Gossett Jr, Watchmen OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE Holland Taylor, Hollywood Uzo Aduba, Mrs America Margo Martindale, Mrs America Tracey Ullman, Mrs America Toni Collette, Unbelievable Jean Smart, Watchmen Top image: Watchmen, Mark Hill/HBO
Australia's first Angelika Film Centre. Italian bar and eatery Sasso, Chinese Peruvian joint Casa Chow, Palm Springs-inspired gin-pouring garden bar Purple Palm, and European-influenced wine bar and wine shop South City Wine. Two holes in the wall, one a La Macelleria gelateria and the other taqueria Los Felix. They're just some of the reasons to drop by South City Square in Woolloongabba — and, if you have a hankering for Japanese rice bowls, so is Uncle Don. The chain already boasts eateries in Paddington and West End slinging donburi and, with its newest location, it has brought 20-plus variations of the dish to its biggest venue yet. You'll find Uncle Don catering to up to 100 guests in the Logan Road precinct, complete with both indoor and outdoor seating — to begin with, for lunch Wednesday–Friday and also on Sundays, and for dinner Wednesday–Sunday, but seven-day trading is on the way. On the menu, Uncle Don splits its donburi offering into seven sections: seafood, chicken, beef, pork, vegetable, curry and keto. Within each, a heap of choices await. So if you're having a hard time picking between salmon sashimi and baked salmon, grilled eel, chicken katsu, karaage and egg, grilled duck, wagyu steak, crispy pork, shiitake mushroom and scrambled egg curry varieties, for instance, that's understandable. Among the starters, lotus root chips with miso pumpkin dip, a tower of eggplant chips, pork gyoza, parmesan chicken karaage and pork katsu sandos are all options. And for dessert, there's also a don — a matcha tiramisu don, which is made with mascarpone ice cream, honeycomb, biscuits and matcha syrup.
A lot can happen in 18 days. Relationships can crumble, local football teams can try to break the mould and huge celebratory balls can be held. If you're an avid cinephile, you've probably spotted the connection — they're what this year's Melbourne International Film Festival opening, centrepiece and closing flicks were all about. With the city's annual celebration of cinema taking over the town between August 2 and 19, film buffs also witnessed everything from zombie invasions and giant rock-climbing feats to unlikely heists and high-stakes rap battles. And Italian crime waves, pioneering female rockers and tense murder cases, too. Plus, they did so from the comfort of their cinema seats (although seasoned MIFF-goers will tell you that some chairs are more comfortable than others). From all of that and more, Concrete Playground film critics Sarah Ward and Tom Clift went, watched and came up with a wealth of highlights — movies that, if you didn't see them yourself, you should definitely pop on your must-see list. Many are downright wonderful. Others are weird in a heap of ways. Some couldn't be more surprising. And a few particularly ace flicks hit all three categories. BEST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCF5Y8dQpR4 FIRST REFORMED Ethan Hawke featured in four films in the 2018 MIFF program, and directed one of them. That's an impressive haul; however, only one of the above movies ranks among the highlights not only of his year, but his career. In First Reformed, the actor is at his devastating best as a lonely pastor grappling with the complexities of faith as one of his parishioners (Amanda Seyfried) asks for his help — and as his health woes and his general malaise escalate. With the intensity that's made him such a compelling screen presence for decades now, Hawke wears his character's growing uncertainty and unhappiness like a weathered second skin, one that hasn't felt a warm embrace for some time. He also hits every nuanced, delicate note in Paul Schrader's screenplay, which might just mark the writer/director's weightiest, most sombre and still most daring effort on a resume that includes scripting Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ. — Sarah Ward https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRF290gedLs SORRY ANGEL At last year's MIFF, BPM (Beats Per Minute) broke hearts and burrowed into souls with its depiction of 1990s Paris — a time when queer men loved passionately and fought proudly for their place in the world, but always found their existence lingering under a cloud. Consider Christophe Honoré's Sorry Angel not quite its successor, but its dance partner, with the two films sashaying through similar space while unleashing their own moves. Here, writer Jacques (Pierre Deladonchamps) meets student Arthur (Vincent Lacoste), and as a bond grows between them, the former's illness and the latter's idealism shape their relationship. Sublimely blue in its bittersweet mood and its exacting colour scheme, the end result is a layered, almost novel-like, always tender and touching study of life and love. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efz1ESCpcLo TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID An enchanting and empathetic debut from writer/director Issa López, Tigers Are Not Afraid tackles a familiar topic in an imaginative manner, seeing the Mexican drug war through the eyes of the children it leaves orphaned. Ten-year-old Estrella (Paola Lara) is one of them, proving at a loss when her mother disappears at the hands of the local cartel, and banding up with a group of similarly abandoned boys in an effort to survive. More than that, however, she's driven to track down the men responsible for their misery — driven by ghostly whisperings from her mum. Spanish-language cinema is thrillingly filled with dark fairytales that unpack the ills of childhood, as Guillermo del Toro has demonstrated more than once, but López's effort is a worthy, moving and mesmerising addition to the fold; one that's as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgE8e6QBtt0 BIRDS OF PASSAGE Drug warfare films sometimes feel like a dime a dozen, but this multigenerational crime saga couldn't be more distinctive. The latest feature from Embrace of the Serpent's Ciro Guerra — directing with producer, editor and first-time filmmaker Cristina Gallego — chronicles the choices and consequences when one of Colombia's indigenous Wayúu families wades into the illegal trafficking trade. And, it does so with the same ethnographic approach that shaped the helmers' previous effort; think strikingly vivid images that highlight traditional locations and costumes, plus a genuine desire to immerse viewers in a specific way of life that's rarely seen on screen. Following a cyclical battle for power and wealth that descends into death and bloodshed, it's a gorgeous gut-punch of a movie, almost like Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude tinted with bleakness and set in a unique gangster world. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCHx2m_hQc4 ACUTE MISFORTUNE On paper, it hardly sounds riveting: a young journalist profiles an acclaimed but controversial Australian artist. When Erik Jensen met Adam Cullen, it gave rise to a Sydney Morning Herald article, and then an offer to write a book — and now this astonishing, extraordinarily accomplished filmmaking debut from Thomas M. Wright. Even if you're familiar with both figures (the former is now the editor of The Saturday Paper; the latter won the Archibald prize and courted much attention before his death in 2012), nothing about Acute Misfortune sticks to the expected path. As excellent an Australian film as the country can claim in recent years, this is a fearless dissection of two men, their unconventional relationship, and the stories they both spun and starred in. It also features a powerhouse performance from Daniel Henshall as Cullen, who is as unnervingly, menacingly exceptional here as he was in Snowtown. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TcFMkShpI APOSTASY In this intimate British drama, the titular term looms large over its three protagonists — a devoutly religious mother and the now-grown daughters she has brought up as Jehovah's Witnesses. There seems little chance that Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran) would ever abandon her faith, although two incidents test her devotion, and her family's: 18-year-old Alex's (Molly Wright) need for a blood transfusion, a procedure that's forbidden by their beliefs; and 21-year-old Luisa's (Sacha Parkinson) embrace of the secular world. Debut writer/director Daniel Kokotajlo was brought up in the church himself, and treads through this fraught territory with both authenticity and a no-holds-barred understanding of the complexities of the situation. Shot with clear-eyed naturalism befitting its premise, the film is also a showcase for its trio of actors, who each seethe with internalised conflict. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lqgxmq24qE SHOPLIFTERS Hirokazu Kore-eda has long been fascinated by questions of family. From Our Little Sister to Like Father, Like Son, the Japanese writer-director has probed and prodded at the indelible connection between siblings, spouses, parents and grandparents, crafting exquisite, often heart-wrenching dramas in the process. His latest film, Shoplifters, concerns an unconventional Tokyo family who must resort of petty theft in order to survive. We won't reveal where the story goes from there, but suffice it to say there's a good reason this funny, moving, quietly provocative film won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. — Tom Clift WEIRDEST https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKsZlwq19mE MANDY Two words: cheddar goblin. That'll make more sense once you've seen Mandy, and if it doesn't make you want to watch this out-there genre effort, then the movie mightn't be for you. Starring Nicolas Cage at his most Nicolas Cage-like, the film sees the inimitable star play a lumberjack happily in love with his titular partner (Andrea Riseborough) until a cult and their demonic demon bikers decide to snatch her up. Needless to say, things get strange, bloody and unhinged, with director Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) making an 80s-set mind-bender that would've even seemed excessive if it came out three decades ago. We mean that in the best possible manner, with everything from the feature's colour-saturated visuals, to its ferocious score, to Cage's glorious performance all hitting the mark — and, perhaps surprisingly, the movie's melancholy tone as well. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLZQfnFyelTBOQ15kmHSgEbdjzLMWzZpL7&v=DTvdgwQfewM KNIFE + HEART It's 1979. Someone is savagely murdering gay porn stars, all of whom work for successful, ruthless producer Anne (Vanessa Paradis). And, as she tries to keep making movies while her actors keep dropping like flies, she's coping with the end of her relationship with her editor. Kudos to writer/director Yann Gonzalez for Knife + Heart's exceptional premise, which also features films within films, creepy legends, spooky woods and rather inventive weapons. Still, it's his lurid execution that makes this a weird and wonderful delight. In his hands, nothing is too much — and we mean nothing. The end result is an assault on the senses that's as brutal as its slasher set-up and as theatrical as its campy tone. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNp0jlfbgqM CLIMAX How do you follow a divisive relationship drama full of gratuitous 3D sex scenes? If you're writer-director Gaspar Noe, with a mesmerising cocktail of carnage, music and sangria. A late addition to this year's Sydney Film Festival line-up, Climax takes place at a dance rehearsal after-party, where petty squabbles and personal baggage spin violently out of control when somebody spikes the punch. Those who are familiar with Noe's previous films such as Irreversible, Enter the Void and Love will recognise all of his trademarks: a pulsating soundtrack, floating camerawork and sequences of exhilarating beauty that make subsequent moments that much more disturbing. Love it or hate it, you certainly won't forget it in a hurry. — TC MOST UNEXPECTED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfCqeoIP0bY THE DESERTED Forget everything you think you know about virtual reality. With The Deserted, the medium reaches its most immersive, all thanks to Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang. If you've seen the director's previous features, such as Journey to the West and Stray Dogs, then you'll know that he's known for his slow cinematic approach and penchant for patient long takes — touches that couldn't be better suited for his first VR effort. Across 55 minutes, you'll inhabit the same space as a lonely man and the spirits of his mother and neighbour. You'll peer around crumbling buildings and earthy gardens, and you'll even sit in the bathtub with the film's protagonist, too. Thanks to all of the above, you'll float along with this ethereal, intricate treatise on isolation, and you'll devour every stunning sight and sound. More than that, you won't want it to end. — SW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CDKr6n0KDE THE WORLD IS YOURS There are heist films, and there are heist films. The World Is Yours has earned comparisons to Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino's work; however it's no mere derivative take on a well-worn genre. Instead, it's a splashy, stylish, skilfully executed and supremely entertaining effort in its own right, and a mighty fun time at the cinema. Perhaps best known for making music videos for M.I.A., Simian Mobile Disco, Kanye West and Jay-Z, and Jamie xx, French filmmaker Romain Gavras turns this account of small-time gangsters dreaming big into a cool, comic and confidently engaging caper that drips with energy and charm from start to finish. Veterans Isabelle Adjani and Vincent Cassel take to their roles with glee, but it's A Prophet's Karim Leklou who stands out among the movie's stars — playing the son of a seasoned grifter who just wants to pull one last job so he can sell icy poles in North Africa. — SW A final note: if you're wondering why some of this year's other excellent MIFF efforts aren't on our list, that's because we've already showered them with love. We were keen on The Green Fog, Profile, An Elephant Sitting Still, Transit, Museum and Aga at Berlinale, plus Leave No Trace, The Rider, Burning, Searching, Cold War, The Guilty and Tyrel at Sydney Film Festival. Then, we fell head-over-heels for Let the Corpses Tan, You Were Never Really Here, Caniba and Zama at Queensland Film Festival, and adored Angels Wear White, Skate Kitchen, Lean on Pete and Strange Colours before MIFF even started.
Venturing out of inner-city Brisbane is often fraught with danger for foodies and caffeine junkies alike. For a long time the inner-city has laid claim to the best food and coffee venues with little challenge from the surrounding 'burbs. Wilston's Willow and Spoon (former residents of Alderley — the cafe relocated in 2014) is leading the suburban invasion of venues offering quality caffeine and inventive and delicious dishes. On a busy Sunday morning guests are escorted from the overflowing front area, through the kitchen and out into the back dining area, which carries a homely backyard feel. The menu greets with some interesting dish titles, complete with a smattering of odd pop culture quotes, but further inspection reveals an imaginative collection of breakfast options. Opting for The Stranger ($18) — poached eggs, brioche, halloumi, pumpkin, vierge, spinach and green olive cheeks — is a wise decision. The eggs are poached well, the brioche is the right balance of sweet and savoury and the pan-fried halloumi, roast pumpkin, wilted spinach and olive cheeks meld perfectly together in a mediterranean feast. The drizzle of vierge offers a detailed finish both on the plate and on the palate. For a twist on a breakfast classic, The Willow (bacon, eggs, wholemeal grain sourdough and Woodside cultured butter; $17) is a well-executed staple for the less adventurous. A small selection of kid's menu options is evidence of the family vibe of the back dining area especially. Most weekends will find parents enjoying breakfast or a coffee while children roam the garden area. Willow and Spoon's blend of Blue Sky Coffee offers a substantial kick while maintaining a smooth finish and like the food, even on a busy Sunday morning, the coffee feels well crafted. The mid-morning weekend rush doesn't seem to affect the pleasant service either, a huge plus for those perhaps inclined to opt for a sleep in and a leisurely brunch over an early breakfast. Reservations are recommended for the weekend and on weeknights, but even without one you would be unlucky to be turned away. Willow and Spoon offers a friendly environment that's not only a great place for a caffeine fix but also a dining option truly up there with anything the inner-city has to offer. Updated: April 26, 2016.
The former PM most closely associated with the love of a cold one has today launched his own brewery, Hawke's Brewing. Yes, Bob Hawke has taken the only logical step post-the SCG skulling session of 2012, launching his maiden beverage this afternoon in Sydney. Hawke's Brewing has been established in conjunction with Hawke and David Gibson and Nathan Lennon. As well as producing a brew or two, the brand is also committed to furthering free market solutions to environmental issues, with a cut of all the profits going towards Landcare, a non-profit organisation that Hawke helped establish during his time as Prime Minister. "Mr. Hawke played an important role in the establishment of Landcare nationally almost 30 years ago," Tessa Jakszewicz, Landcare Australia's CEO said. "And it's really great to see his continued support of the movement today." The first drop out of the brewery, Hawke's Lager, is also crafted from 100 percent Australian ingredients, and Mr. Hawke won't take a penny from the profits — every cent of his share is going straight to Landcare. It will be available at 11 select venues, including Surry Hills' The Clock, Petersham Public House, Manly's New Brighton Hotel and The Courthouse in Newtown, across Sydney as of April 20. Cans of the lager will be available to buy from Camperdown Cellars from April 25, before rolling out across other bottle shops, restaurants and bars across the country. Gibson and Lennon came up with the idea for the brew during a frosty Australia Day in New York. They floated the proposal to Mr. Hawke, who took to it like a polly to a yard glass. Just over two and a half years later, the brew is set to hit our shelves. When asked how it felt to have his own beer, he said it felt "bloody good".
There's a time for coffee and there's a time for cocktails — and, sometimes, there's a time in the day when you want both. Australia's caffeinated booze expert Mr Black ticks both boxes with the release of its new bottled beverage: a pre-batched coffee negroni. The company's first bottled cocktail, the coffee negroni is made with Mr Black coffee liqueur, Campari, sweet vermouth and Moore's dry gin, which is produced at the same distillery as Mr Black, Distillery Botanica. Each bottle is going for $49 and can be used to make five cocktails (yes, that's a very reasonably $9.80 a drink). To make said cocktail, you just need to pour 100 millilitres of the sweet stuff into a glass over ice and garnish with a citrus twist — if you want to get a little fancy. No stirring (or shaking) required. It's the second new product the Mr Black team has released during lockdown, with the company launching a hand sanitiser in late March. As well as selling thousands (and thousands) of bottles to the public, the team donated hundreds to front-line medical workers, not-for-profits, testing clinics and medical centres. It's not the only distillery to launch its own hand sanitiser during COVID-19, either, with Queensland icon Bundaberg and Sydney rum distillery Brix, among others, also jumping on the trend. To get your hands on a bottle of coffee negroni, which, knowing Mr Black's track record, will sell out fast, head over to the Mr Black website. It's currently offering free shopping on all orders over $80. Mr Black's coffee negroni is on sale now for $49.
Julian Assange. You might have heard of him? That Lucius Malfoy-haired, Peter Garrett-choreographed, Ecuadorian Embassy-ensconced hacker who almost certainly kisses and tells. Yeah, you know him? Of course you do, because thanks to years of media coverage, Robert Connolly's impressive biopic Underground (2012), Alex Gibney's excellent documentary We Steal Secrets (2013) and, of course, Mr Assange himself, the Wikileaks/Assange saga (now largely synonymous) is one of the most well-known, well-told stories of the decade. Accordingly, if you're going to make a new movie about that story, it had better offer up something new. Unfortunately, The Fifth Estate does not. Directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn), The Fifth Estate sources much of its material from the two books Assange is least likely to ever recommend during cake corner, namely: Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011), and WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy (2011). Both were written by men who were about as close to Assange as one could get in the lead up to, and during, his infamous publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US military and government documents, and both detail how their initial infatuation with this quasi-messianic figure for openness and transparency gave way to horror at his apparent total disregard for consequence. In short, powerful stuff but nothing even remotely revelatory this far into the Wikileaks narrative. If there is a reason to see The Fifth Estate, then, it is unquestionably Benedict Cumberbatch. Few who are not Australian have ever mastered the accent, yet Cumberbatch wields both it and Assange's specific cadence and timbre with aplomb. So impressive is the feat, in fact, that it actually works against the movie. Assange's slow, measured and largely monotone articulation robs even the most dramatic moments of energy, both in real life and in this film, so much so that were it not for the consistently explosive content of his conversations, one suspects he'd be an unbearably boring man to meet in person. Stylistically, The Fifth Estate does what it can to make coding, reading and emailing something of a spectator sport; however, the only real drama occurs when the key figures engage in actual person-to-person (cf peer-to-peer) exchanges — most notably, the debates between Assange and his right-hand man, Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), who wrote Inside Wikileaks, over what to release, and when. Everything else feels largely pedestrian, and — remarkably — the contentious allegations of sexual misconduct for which Assange has been indicted by Sweden appear only as a footnote in the credits. Ultimately, The Fifth Estate is an example of the whole being somehow lesser than its parts; a film easily outperformed by its performers and the real life players who inspired it. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YQOiS_l_0Jk
If you've ever landed overseas only to be slapped with eye-watering roaming charges, Holafly wants to make your next trip a whole lot easier. The global travel tech company has just launched its unlimited data eSIMs for Australian travellers, offering affordable access across more than 200 destinations. According to Holafly, many Australians still pay up to $10 a day for international roaming. Well, Holafly has done the maths, and that means $70 for a week in Bali or $300 for a month in Europe. Not to mention, this often comes with frustrating data caps and speed restrictions, too. Holafly's digital eSIM helps cut that cost by as much as 60 percent. Travellers can activate a local plan before flying out, connect instantly upon landing and avoid bill shock altogether. No SIM swaps, no surprise charges and unlimited data wherever you go. Founded in 2018, Holafly has already connected more than ten million travellers worldwide. Its eSIMs are delivered instantly by email, with activation taking just a couple of minutes. From there, you've got unlimited data at maximum speeds, plus round-the-clock customer support. Coverage spans more than 200 destinations, including Japan, the United States, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and much of Europe, with 5G available in select countries. Plans run up to 90 days, making them ideal for long-haul escapes and extended stays. You can grab a plan directly through Holafly's website or mobile app before you fly.
It's been 11 years since Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio decided to fill a Melbourne alleyway with tunes in 2005. Heading back to their collection of unconventional venues for another year, Laneway Festival has announced its 2016 lineup. Returning to Singapore, Auckland and the five established Australian Laneway go-to cities, Laneway will raise a plastic cup to the middle of summer with one heck of a killer lineup. Following the previously leaked Hudson Mohawke and Purity Ring headliner announces, Laneway will see one heck of a crew on their unconventional stages. Odd Future's super outfit The Internet will be here, alongside Ninja Tune's bass monarch Thundercat and the return of Grimes (start losing your collective shit). Epic Scottish electronic crew CHVRCHES are headed back to Australia, with a few fellow return trippers — Baltimore dreamboats Beach House, American math rockers Battles are back with their new album, as well as Brooklyn's atmospheric foursome DIIV. Plenty of love for the onstage return of Big Scary after Tom Isanek finished up with #1 Dads, and there's sure to be a big ol' ruckus for Sydney wonderkid Flume back on stage. You'll be hard pressed to find a spot at Las Vegas hypecard Shamir's set, watching young Washington rapper GoldLink or the pretty, pretty Beatles-y Tobias Jesso Jr. Odd Future's Vince Staples is headed here too, following his OFWGKTA bud Tyler the Creator's ban from Australia. With beloved local artists like Hermitude, Violent Soho, The Smith Street Band and DMA's, this year's lineup is more eclectic than a Jenny Kee jumper. Enough talk, here 'tis. LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2016 LINEUP: Ali Barter* Banoffee Battles Beach House Big Scary Blank Realm** Chvrhces DIIV DMA’s East India Youth FIDLAR Flume GoldLink Grimes Health Hermitude High Tension Hudson Mohawke Japanese Wallpaper Majical Cloudz Methyl Ethel METZ Purity Ring QT Shamir Silicon Slum Sociable** Sophie The Goon Sax*** The Internet The Smith Street Band Thundercat Tobias Jesso Jr. Vince Staples Violent Soho * Exclusive to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne only ** not playing Fremantle *** Exclusive to Brisbane only ST JEROME'S LANEWAY FESTIVAL DATES AND VENUES FOR 2016: Saturday, January 30 — SINGAPORE (THE MEADOW, GARDENS BY THE BAY) Monday, February 1 — AUCKLAND (SILO PARK) Friday, February 5 — ADELAIDE (HARTS MILL, PORT ADELAIDE, 16+) Saturday, February 6 — BRISBANE (BRISBANE SHOWGROUNDS, BOWEN HILLS, 16+) Sunday, February 7 — SYDNEY (SYDNEY COLLEGE OF THE ARTS, ROZELLE) Saturday, February 13 — MELBOURNE (FOOTSCRAY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE (FCAC) + THE RIVER’S EDGE) Sunday, February 14 — FREMANTLE (ESPLANADE RESERVE AND WEST END) Tickets on sale from Laneway Festival. Image: Andy Fraser. Here's one for getting psyched up.
'Tis the season, Brisbanites. And if you're feeling mighty festive, The World Food Markets has the answer. Across three weekends from the end of November through to mid-December, it's hosting The Christmas Festival at Brisbane Powerhouse, so prepare to get jolly, merry and everything in-between. Taking place each Friday to Sunday between November 30 and December 16, this seasonal happening will feature markets and food stalls, picnics and live music. There'll also be carol singing, demonstrations that'll help you DIY your Xmas decorations, and a bar serving up cocktails, spritzers, wine and beer. If that doesn't get you into the spirit of the occasion, perhaps real Christmas trees and wreaths, personalised ornaments, festive cakes and puddings, and a heap of handmade goods ready for gifting will. Where the latter is concerned, the focus is on sustainable, personal, one-of-a-kind items that'd make perfect and unique presents. You know, the kind that you can't just pick up by ducking into a shopping centre. Open to all ages — and to four-legged friends as well — attending is free, although you'll wallet to make the most of the food, beverage and shopping spread. The fest will run from 5–9pm each day, with a mix of the same core stalls each night and a rotating array of others.
Earlier this year, the Newtown legends at Young Henrys took the sustainable brewing game to the next level. The beer brand added a glowing bioreactor among its tanks, with the plan to drastically reduce the brewery's carbon emissions. The 400-litre bioreactor is filled with microalgae, which consumes carbon dioxide (one of the main byproducts of the brewing process) and produces as much oxygen as one hectare of Australian forest. Now, as part of National Science Week, Young Henrys has teamed up with the UTS Deep Green Biotech Hub to host Beer & Algae: Brewing a Greener Future. The free online event will take place on Thursday, August 20 from 5.30–7pm. It'll begin with a virtual tour of the brewery, hosted by YH Co-Founder and Director Oscar McMahon and UTS Research Associate Dr Janice McCauley. Then an interactive panel discussion will take over and explore practical steps toward sustainability in various industries — including urban farming, fashion and, of course, brewing. Moderated by Triple J's Lucy Smith, the panel will include Professor Peter Ralph (Executive Director of the Climate Change Cluster (C3) and Founder of the Deep Green Biotech Hub) alongside YH Head Brewer Jesse Seals, Pocket City Farms Founder Emma Bowen and Fashion Designer Dr Mark Liu. While the live streamed event is free, registration is a must.
Three days. One pub. Plenty of German-themed food, beverages and entertainment. That's what's on the agenda at the Regatta's German Festival, which comes to the Toowong hangout between Friday, October 12 and Sunday, October 14. As you've no doubt noticed, the shindig takes place during the month that's all about brews, pretzels and pretending you're in Europe — so you may as well grab a stein and say "prost!" to the occasion. To help, expect German musicians to play a spritely tune, while a selection of draught and bottled beers, and German liqueurs and wines will also assist. Upping the ante even further, there'll be a jägermeister ice luge, too. The food menu has yet to be revealed, but you can safely start salivating over pork and baked treats, two staples of every German-themed menu. It all takes place in the Regatta's laneway, and entry is free. You'll still have to pay for whatever you'd like to eat and drink, but it's cheaper than a plane ticket.
'Wonderwall' and 'Gold Lion' sing-alongs are coming to North Byron Bay Parklands next winter, when Splendour in the Grass finally — yes, finally — hosts its 20th-anniversary festival. Delayed for the past two years due to the pandemic, the event's milestone celebration had already locked in its July 2022 dates and its headliners — that'd be Gorillaz, The Strokes and Tyler, The Creator — and has now unveiled its full and characteristically jam-packed lineup. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liam Gallagher help lead the complete roster of acts for 2022, alongside Glass Animals, Kacey Musgraves, Violent Soho, DMA's, Tim Minchin and The Jungle Giants. As usual, it's a stacked and eclectic list. And yes, with international tours starting to ramp up again since Australia's border rules changed, the bill features plenty of overseas names. If you're looking for your gumboots already, your next stint of muddy dancing in a field will take place from Friday, July 22–Sunday, July 24 — and can include soaking in lightscapes and psychedelic art at the fest's Tipi Forest, listening to talks and debates at The Forum, witnessing experiments and taking part in workshops at The Science Tent, and giggling your way through Splendour Comedy Club sets. You can also hit up the Global Village, which'll host the The World Stage, Village Green, bohemian Lounge, Healing Sanctuary and a silent disco, as well as craft markets and culinary options. Plus, the North Byron Parklands setup will welcome a few new bars — including the Rainbow Bar, which'll be big on glitter and host programming by LGBTQI community party markers, and the booze-free Temperance Bar. If you have already purchased a ticket for SITG 2020 or 2021, you'll be happy to know that they're still valid for the 2022 edition. So, that's you sorted. If you don't have a ticket yet, there'll be limited pre-loved tickets on sale from 9am on Monday, December 6. Enough chatter — here's that full lineup you've been literally waiting years for: SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2022 LINEUP: Gorillaz The Strokes Tyler, The Creator Yeah Yeah Yeahs Glass Animals Liam Gallagher Kacey Musgraves Duke Dumont Live Violent Soho DMA's Yungblud Jack Harlow Dillon Francis Tim Minchin The Jungle Giants Mura Masa Amyl & The Sniffers Aitch G Flip Ruel Oliver Tree Jungle Tom Misch Grinspoon Orville Peck Parquet Courts Tierra Whack Cub Sport Jpegmafia Ruby Fields Sofi Tukker Methyl Ethel Julia Stone Baker Boy Stella Donnelly Genesis Owusu Surfaces Hooligan Hefs The Chats Confidence Man Biig Piig Holly Humberstone Chillinit Alex The Astronaut Maxo Kream Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Triple One Still Woozy Bad//Dreems Myd Northeast Party House Joy Crookes Wet Leg Mo'ju Pup Miiesha Mildlife Jarreau Vandal Brame & Hamo Shannon & The Clams Babe Rainbow Tai Verdes The Snuts Sycco Tom Cardy Sly Withers Hinds Dayglow Starcrawler Alice Ivy Budjerah JK-47 Jeff The Brotherhood Fazerdaze King Stingray Mako Road Renforshort May-A The Lazy Eyes Adrian Eagle Banoffee Flowerkid The Buoys Moktar Stevan The Soul Movers George Alice 1300 Mickey Kojak Dro Carey & DJ Scorpion Pricie Mylee Grace Andy Golledge Charlie Collins Pink Matter Memphis Lk (DJ) Triple J Unearthed winners Mix-Up DJ's Dena Amy Jordan Brando Shantan Wantan Ichiban Luen Honey Point AK Sports Aywy Carolina Gasolina Munasib Splendour in the Grass will take over North Byron Bay Parklands from Friday, July 22–Sunday, July 24, 2022. All 2020 and 2021 tickets are valid for the new dates, with limited pre-loved tickets on sale from 9am on Monday, December 6. Images: Charlie Hardy.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 3, 2020 — Due to worldwide cinema closures and other concerns around COVID-19, No Time to Die will no longer release on Thursday, November 12. Instead, it will now release on Thursday, April 1, 2021. This article has been updated to reflect that change. 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. Shaken (not stirred) martinis are back on the menu, and so are suave secret agents, sinister plots to destroy the world and big-screen espionage thrills. Yes, it's James Bond time again, with No Time to Die finally set to reach cinemas in 2021 — and dropping a brand new trailer to tease the British spy's 25th official cinematic outing. On offer, as fans initially glimpsed in the first sneak peek in 2019, are all the franchise staples. World-in-peril action, savvy ladies, plenty of gadgets, eye-popping stunts and spectacles, an Aston Martin — they're all accounted for. And, because no Bond movie would be complete without a formidable villain, No Time to Die serves up two: an unhinged, mask-wearing new adversary called Safin (Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar-winner Rami Malek), plus imprisoned ex-opponent Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Daniel Craig returns as 007, marking not only his fifth stint as the spy since 2006's Casino Royale, but his last — and he has company in the 00 stakes. Following the events of 2015's Spectre, Bond has left active service and started a new life in Jamaica, causing MI6 to recruit someone else to cover his turf. That'd be new agent Nomi (Captain Marvel's Lashana Lynch), and you can obviously expect the pair to cross paths. Bond being Bond, he was never going to be able to escape his line of work easily, after all. Here, he's brought back in by CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to help with a mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) and penned by a team that includes Fukunaga, The Report director Scott Z Burns and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this Bond instalment also brings back all the usual Bond offsiders. Ralph Fiennes returns as M, alongside Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Rory Kinnear as MI6 head Bill Tanner. Lea Seydoux is back as psychiatrist Dr Madeleine Swan, too — and, reuniting with Craig after co-starring in the fabulously entertaining Knives Out last year, Ana de Armas also joins the cast. Of course, as Bond aficionados won't have forgotten, No Time to Die has had to overcome a few setbacks off-screen on its path to cinemas. Originally it was due to release in April this year, but became one of the first films to delay its opening date due to COVID-19. It was then slated to hit the big screen in November, but has now been postponed until April 2021. Watch the new No Time to Die trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2FOYjCz38 No Time to Die will no longer hit Australian cinemas on November 12, 2020, with its release date postponed until April 1, 2021. Top image: James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Paloma (Ana de Armas) in No Time to Die, an EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios film. Credit: Nicola Dove. © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Charley's name may invoke a well-known chocolatey tale, but the Mt Edna property is as unique as they come — it's home to Australia's only cocoa tree to chocolate bar experience. The concept of showcasing the full chocolate journey at Charley's is the brainchild of Chris and Lynn Jahnke, the husband and wife team who, a decade after uprooting themselves from Melbourne to farm cattle near Mission Beach, planted their first cocoa seeds in 2012. Since then, the pair have crafted a tour at Charley's that is hands-on, hugely informative and most importantly, includes tasting the delicious chocolatey treats. Charley's core products are single-origin 70 percent dark chocolates and milk chocolates with rare Tropical North Queensland flavour combinations like the davidson plum dark chocolate, lemon myrtle milk chocolate, tropical pineapple milk chocolate and beach coconut dark chocolate.
Highgate Hill’s Laura Street Festival is really and truly one of a kind. Not only does it pride itself on not one but two pot luck meals, but it’s also a community event hosted by its friendly residents all in hope of showing off their wonderful, caring and super-festive neighbourhood. In its fifth year, Laura Street Festival is amping up the music, workshops, art, poetry, food and performance, with an afternoon-long showcase of the lot. Groove along to some Kpop, watch some spoken word and standup comedy, and eat to your heart's content at the various food stalls. Feel free to bring your own dish to share, and prepare to tuck into everyone else's; there will be plenty. For festival-bound fashionistas, there will be a free clothes swap — trade in something old and adopt something new — and for all those who need something a little more eccentric to get them in the mood, there will be an electronic music stage all day. Check out all the exciting things Laura Street Festival has on show at its website. The day kicks off at 1pm and rounds up at 10pm. Take your dog, take some cash, take your best attempt at a meal to share and have a wild time in a wilder neighbourhood.
What's better than a brand-new live music venue that gifts Brisbanites another place to head to gigs? A space that also gives a heritage-listed site a hefty refresh and opens it up to the city. That's the kind of alchemy that's just taken place on Annerley Road, with The Princess Theatre — which happens to be Queensland's oldest-standing theatre — officially reopening on Thursday, October 28 after quite the makeover. For years, The Princess Theatre has been the kind of place that Brisbanites took notice of whenever they drove past, but probably hadn't ever been inside. Sat just around the corner from the Mater Hospital, the 133-year-old spot stands out; however, for the past couple of decades, it's been owned and run by a church. That changed early in 2021, when The Tivoli owners Steve Sleswick and Dave Sleswick joined forces with local businessman Steve Wilson to snap up the building — and quickly announced their new places for the venue. After a few pandemic delays, it's now time for Brisbane to see the results of that revamp — and to start heading by for gigs. As they did with The Tiv back in 2016, the Sleswick brothers have helped preserve and revamp The Princess, aiming to turn it into Woolloongabba's new music and arts hub. The results are luxe, inviting and eye-catching, all while adding a new must-visit spot to the inner east just a stone's throw away from the CBD, South Bank and the Gabba. Outside, the white facade remains. Inside, the building now boasts a state-of-the-art auditorium that can cater to a 920-person standing crowd, or seat 520 — enabling it to host concerts, shows and everything in-between. Plus, there's also four different bars, a public cafe and private event spaces, giving Brissie residents several reasons to drop in. Fables Bar and Cafe already opened at the beginning of October, serving up coffee by day and cocktails at night, as well as breakfast and brunch options (think: avo on toast, and ham and cheese croissants), sandwiches, and cheese and charcuterie plates. The venue's outdoor space, Clarence Courtyard, has also been welcoming in punters already. Revamped courtesy of architecture firm JDA — who also helped revitalise the Elizabeth Picture Theatre — alongside interior designer Sophie Hart and builder Herron Coorey, Princess Theatre's renovation includes a rehearsal room, co-working creative office and workshop space, too. And, visual theatre company Dead Puppet Society will now call it home, using it as its base and a workshop and gallery space. As for what you can expect to check out at the venue over the coming months, the lineup includes everything from gigs by Regurgitator, The Murlocs, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Custard Tropical Fuck Storm to Dead Puppet Society production The Wider Earth. Find The Princess Theatre at 8 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba. For further details about upcoming shows, head to the venue's website.
With apologies to the many worthy winners at the 2024 Oscars, this year's ceremony will always be known for one thing. When the lights went pink, Ryan Gosling started singing from his seat in the crowd (with Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish giggling around him) and the words "doesn't seem to matter what I do…" rang out, the world began to witness Academy Awards history. His rendition of 'I'm Just Ken' from Barbie was a musical number for the ages. When he made it up to the stage to keep crooning about Kenergy, the man behind the tan and blonde fragility, it wasn't the only time that Gosling stepped up onto the platform that night. He also delivered a tribute to stunts with Oppenheimer's Emily Blunt — and the two couldn't have been better candidates to make the presentation, which doubled as a reminder that their new film was on the way. In The Fall Guy, Gosling blends his action and comedy modes to play a seasoned stunt performer. Blunt co-stars as the director of the latest flick he's working on, and also his ex-girlfriend. The picture is helmed by David Leitch, who famously was in the stunt game himself, including doubling for Brad Pitt on movies such as Fight Club and Ocean's Eleven, and also for Matt Damon, then jumping behind the camera on John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, Bullet Train and now this. Gosling and Blunt's shared portion of the Oscars ceremony was also a call to arms: stunts, despite being so crucial to the film industry, are not currently recognised by the Academy Awards. They absolutely should be. Ask Leitch if he sees The Fall Guy as helping to advance the case to recognise the field at Hollywood's night of nights and he tells Concrete Playground "that's the hope". He continues: "I think it is definitely a celebration of the stunt industry, and hopefully it continues to shine a light on how much these unsung heroes contribute to the films you guys love and we all love. You just can't separate the history of action from the history of cinema, and stunt performers have been there since the beginning." Loosely based on the 80s TV series of the same name, The Fall Guy tasks Gosling with playing Colt Seavers, who has spent much of his career making actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, reteaming with Leitch after Bullet Train) look good. He's been out of the business after a workplace accident when he's enlisted to help out on a big-budget sci-fi blockbuster — not just to double for Tom, but to work out why the flick's star has gone missing in Sydney. Making the gig even more chaotic: plenty of nefarious folks on his tail, complete with a chase across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Plus, there's the fact that his ex Jody Moreno (Blunt) is directing, and it's her first stint in the role. Cue an action-comedy from Leitch, plus Kelly McCormick as his regular producer, that doesn't just showcase stunts but is firmly about stunts as well. [caption id="attachment_952101" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Caroline McCredie[/caption] When The Fall Guy's shoot shut down one of Sydney's most-famous landmarks, everyone in Australia knew. It isn't every day that Gosling brings the Harbour City to a halt, after all. The bridge isn't the only part of the New South Wales capital that can be spotted in the movie, however, because this is a film that takes place in Sydney and makes the most of it. The Fall Guy is a love letter to stunts, of course, but McCormick — who also co-founded production and action design company 87North with Leitch — also considers it a love letter to its setting. Using the Sydney Opera House as the backdrop for a sci-fi shoot also isn't forgotten quickly. ("It's still so sci-fi. It's still beyond its time. It's an amazing, amazing building," says McCormick.) Leitch and McCormick returned to Sydney in early April to give The Fall Guy a big local premiere at the State Theatre. While they were in Australia, the pair also chatted with us. Leitch living the dream as a former stunt performer-turned-filmmaker now making a movie about stunts, the challenges on such a stunt-heavy film, ensuring that the movie is a mix not just of action and comedy but also mystery and romance, casting Gosling and Blunt, shooting in Sydney: we asked the duo about all of the above and more. On Living the Dream by Being a Former Stunt Performer Now Directing a Movie About Stunt Performers David: "Absolutely — I mean, the 80s TV show was one of those shows that lit the fuse of me wanting to be a stunt performer. There's a lot of wish-fulfilment in that show as a teenage kid. So it was exciting that this property would come [my way] — and obviously having 20-plus years as a stunt performer and the anecdotes and the real life experiences to go with it, I had a lot to be able to put into it. And I felt I could really talk with the authentic voice and actually give Ryan some notes from a real place." On Whether Making a Movie Like The Fall Guy Was the Plan when Leitch Was Still Doubling David: "I don't know if that was the actual aim, although I did early on get the film bug and really want to tell stories beyond the stories I was telling in the action. So, I really did lean into spending my time on set observing and learning everything I could about filmmaking process so I could move to the director chair. I was excited about directing." On the Challenges of Making a Movie That Isn't Just Stunt-Heavy, But Is Constantly Calling Attention to Stunts Because It's About Stunts Kelly: "I think every movie has its own challenges, action or otherwise. I think safety is obviously something that comes to mind that we are particularly sensitive to. When we're doing an action sequence, bringing a team together that is top of class is essential to make sure that it's as safe as possible and as creative as possible at the same time. That's always the goal. I think that's maybe a bit of extra pressure, but it's exciting in the sense that stunt performers get into the business to do stunts — so the last thing we want to do is not do stuff. It's making their dreams come true and making them viable in the film business. So it's this tricky balance of just trying to make sure that you know you're as safe as possible and you've got excellence around them, and in them, to make sure that you can give them the opportunities." David: "I think it was fun to be on the other side of it. I was a stunt coordinator for so many years that it was fun to challenge the team to do these things. I knew what they were going to have to go through to achieve them. But to be like 'good luck, guys' and just run in there and throw down the gauntlet — 'I need you to recreate some of these classic stunts from history, but just make them bigger' — that was fun for me. So I didn't feel the pressure. I made the stunt team feel the pressure and, again, I felt that for many years as a coordinator, when I've been asked to deliver things. And I certainly didn't have to feel the producorial pressures like Kelly had to feel as well. So I was just telling people what to do." On Making It an Aim to Create a Fun Vibe on Leitch and McCormick's Sets Kelly: "I have this theory that the set atmosphere flows through the film to the audience. And we actively try to keep a happy, congenial family environment on our sets, as big as they are. That's what we're always striving for and hopefully achieving. We work with a lot of our heads of departments again and again and again, and part of that is because we like their energy, we like their creativity and we like to have a family kind of atmosphere around our films." On Balancing the Mix of Action, Comedy, Romance and Mystery in The Fall Guy Kelly: It was like problem-opportunity in a sense. I consider David an atonal director — and that used to be such a dirty word, but I actually think it's such a positive thing because you never know what energy you're feeling or you're going to be having in a David Leitch film. You may be crying one moment and laughing the next, and feeling the stakes in one moment and thinking it's ridiculous another moment later. When you have three movies in the one movie, that is the bigger challenge — to strike that tone and to get all of that right. And so it was a way to challenge David in his filmmaking." David: "I loved it. I loved taking the audience on a ride. I liked what Kelly just said, laughing at one moment, being awed by spectacle the next, then pulling at the heartstrings few minutes later. And to have an a property, an IP, where we could do that and have two actors that can pull it off with you is was really, really fun to do." On Casting Ryan Gosling — and Only Approaching Ryan Gosling for the Part David: "Ryan is obviously an incredible actor. He's great at comedy. He's great at romance. And our early conversations — he was the only person we went to, and we were crossing our fingers and toes that we would get him. It was even before we had a script. But I think he saw the potential in the property and the potential in this underdog hero, and that we could create an action, hopefully, franchise where he could use all those skill sets. I think that's what he was excited about — where he could use romance and comedy, and his new action chops that he had on The Gray Man. So a lot of the DNA of the tone stems from also what Ryan was excited about doing and we all leaned in as well, and it was fun." On Casting Emily Blunt — and Shaping the Role to Suit Her Kelly: "To be honest, we just feel so lucky that we got her. Right before we went to her, we switched the role from a makeup artist to a first-time director, thinking that it raised the stakes for that character and allowed for her to be in a place where she was dealing with some really serious stuff, like the weight of her dream on her shoulders and getting that to take over directing for the first time — and then this person who basically broke her heart and she thought she was over coming in, and the last thing she ever wanted to see, and the one thing that could probably disrupt this big opportunity for her. We went to Emily right after we had come up with that idea with a very, very rough draft and felt so lucky that she saw her way into it, so that she could add so many layers. And so, in a sense, it was really tailored to her as well to like Colt was to Ryan." On Shooting in Sydney, Including on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and at Sydney Opera House Kelly: "It was really exciting, actually, to get the access to both of those two super-iconic locations. I was amazed at how much time we got at the Opera House. And we chose a scene that we could really exhibit the Opera House as something other than the Opera House — Jody Moreno is using it as the sci-fi backdrop of her epic sci-fi love story. That they allowed for us to put a bunch of sand on the beautiful stairs, and bring in waterworks so that we could make it rain, even though the sun was shining that day — and let us yank and pull and show the beauty of what a ratchet looks like in an action sequence — that stuff you don't get to see when you're normally looking at just the film, instead of the movie being made. It was really, really exciting and we just kept pinching ourselves. 'Can you believe we're just at the stairs with the Opera House here and they're letting us do this? This is a thing.' It was amazing. The whole city just really opened their arms, and wanted to solve the problems and give us access and show the town. And we just hope that everyone's really as happy with it as we are in showcasing Sydney. We really consider it a love letter to to this town." The Fall Guy releases in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Read our review.
Summer is a mere few weeks away and there's no better seasonal combo than a weekend barbecue and icy cold craft beer. We’re on mission to inspire and enhance your barbecue experience this silly season by bringing to you recipes that go beyond the simple sausage sizzle. We've searched Sydney's most talked-about restaurants from the buzzing inner west to the slick CBD, the stylish eastern suburbs and all the way to the chilled-out northern beaches for recipes that will earn you a pat on the back and cheers from your soon-to-be-impressed guests. Ten top-notch chefs from across town with a talent for wielding a set of barbecue tongs have matched one of their favourite grill-friendly recipes with a brew from James Squire's solid craft beer range. Crisp pilsners with zesty Hartsyard octopus for the sun lovers. Strong Porters to wash down Neil Perry ribeyes. Golden ales with Pinbone's barbecued duck hearts for the adventurous. Thank us later; your summer barbecues will be talked about for many moons. BARBECUED DUCK HEARTS WITH CUMQUAT AND MUSTARD — PINBONE INGREDIENTS: Duck hearts Handful of cumquats (or oranges and mandarin) Creme fraiche Hot English mustard Bitter leaves METHOD: Brine duck hearts in a 5 percent salt/water solution for 30 minutes. Remove and dry with paper towel. Grill on the barbecue for 2 minutes on each side and rest. Cut cumquats in half and grill on barbecue until nicely charred (orange and mandarin also work nicely if you can’t find cumquats). Mix equal parts creme fraiche and hot English mustard together and lay the mustard base on one half of the plate. To serve: Season generously and garnish with bitter leaves. Pair with James Squire Stow Away IPA. BBQ FREMANTLE OCTOPUS — GREGORY LLEWELLYN FROM HARTSYARD Serves 4 INGREDIENTS: 1kg Fremantle Octopus separate into individual tentacles only 4L Water 300g salt 100g paprika smoked peel of one lemon 4 cloves of crushed garlic tbsp peppercorn tbsp fennel seed tbsp coriander seed METHOD: Heat half the water with the salt until dissolved. When dissolved pour warm solution into remaining cold water. Toast all spices (minus the paprika) together over a medium/high heat until fragrant. Add to liquid mixture. Add garlic, paprika and lemon peel. When mixture is cool add octopus tentacles and brine for 12 hours. Remove from brine, rinse and dry. Place into a heavy bottomed saucepot and cover with extra virgin olive oil. Cook on stove top at about 75-80°C ensuring the oil does not boil for 2-2.5 hours. Remove the octopus from pot. It should be fork tender with a tiny bit of chew. Refrigerate until cold (this should probably be done the day before). Prepare BBQ to about 200°C. BBQ octopus until suction pads are crispy and the tentacles are evenly cooked but not black. When cooked toss into a bowl with the following dressing: DRESSING: 100ml olive oil 2 tbsp sliced garlic 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves picked 1 tbsp fresh parsley leaves picked 1 tsp crushed red chilli flakes Cook olive oil and garlic until slightly brown. Add the rest of the ingredients until crispy. Remove from heat. Let cool. Season with the juice of two lemons. Pair with James Squire Four 'Wives' Pilsener. STICKY LAMB RIBS WITH POMEGRANATE AND SOY GLAZE — DANIEL SAN INGREDIENTS: 30gm peeled eschallots 0.1gm pomegranate 60gm cos lettuce 5gm flat leaf parsley 5gm mint 2gm extra virgin olive oil 300gm Junee lamb American ribs GLAZE: 50gm peeled garlic 4gm lemons 80gm frozen wasabi tube 150gm castor sugar 15gm sea salt flakes 60gm sesame oil 400gm pomegranate molasses BRAISING STOCK: 2L water 10ml Kikkoman soy 10ml mirin 10ml sake 5gm radish daikon 20gm young ginger METHOD: Place ribs in braising stock and place in oven on 160°C for two hours. Take ribs out and leave to cool in the stock for one hour. Cook ribs on the bbq and glaze with the above. Serve on cos lettuce with pomegranate drizzled on top. Pair with James Squire's The Constable Copper Ale. SMOKED BARBECUE WINGS w/ BULLEIT BOURBON BARBECUE SAUCE — HENRIETTA SUPPER CLUB INGREDIENTS: 2.5L pork (or beef stock in a pinch) stock FOR BARBECUE SAUCE: 250ml Bulleit bourbon 2 cinnamon sticks 3 star anise 2 cloves 1 lime (juice and zest) 2 lemon (juice and zest) 100ml good sherry vinegar 1 x can of coca cola 1 x can ginger ale 25g whole black pepper corn 100ml real Canadian maple syrup 500ml of store bought barbecue sauce METHOD: Place in a large pot on a medium heat-high heat. Reduce until sticky. pass through a chinois or large sieve. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate once cooled. To prepare the wings, poach desired quality of wings in a good-quality wings chicken stock for 25min. Coat with a seasoned flour (we use 'Cajun flour' — corn flour, plain flour, Cajun spices and seasoning). Deep fry for five minutes on 180 degrees or brown on the barbecue hot plate in good quality cooking oil. Place cooked wings in a steel bowl and coat generously with the barbecue sauce. Garnish with chives and serve with chipotle mayo (real mayonnaise with a slug of chipotle hot sauce like El Yucateco or Tabasco). Pair with James Squire Nine Tales Amber Ale. SMOKED PORK RIBS — PATRICK FRIESEN AND CHRISTOPHER HOGARTH FROM PAPI CHULO INGREDIENTS: 4 USA-style cut pork ribs BBQ rub BBQ sauce Apple wood and oak chips METHOD: Try to find pork ribs with the most amount of meat you can. Clean the silver skin off the back of the ribs using a fork to pry it off and a tea towel to hold onto the silver skin when you pull it off. Season both sides lightly with BBQ rub and smoke straight away. Smoke at 120°C over oak and applewood for one hour. Wrap in foil and smoke at 120 degrees for another hour and a half. Brush with BBQ sauce and enjoy. BBQ SAUCE: 50gm Heinz ketchup 16gm Frank's RedHot sauce 20gm Yamasa soy 10gm water 30gm brown sugar 6gm black pepper 3gm smoked paprika 3gm sweet paprika 2.5gm onion powder 2.5gm garlic powder 5gm Korean chilli powder Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for an hour. BBQ RUB: 100gm salt 20gm cracked black pepper 4gm onion powder 2gm garlic powder 20gm paprika 5gm smoked paprika 5gm cayenne Mix in a bowl right before you want to use. Pair with James Squire Sundown Australian Lager. RIB EYE ON THE BONE — NEIL PERRY FROM THE BURGER PROJECT INGREDIENTS: 4 x 360g rib eye on the bone Sea salt Extra virgin olive oil for grilling 4 lemon wedges METHOD: Heat the barbecue or grill — whether using wood, charcoal or gas — until extremely hot. Salt and oil each side of the steaks and allow to come to room temperature. Place steaks on the grill, cook for approximately five minutes, rotate the steak 90 degrees to get the cross pattern on the meat halfway through the cooking. Turn the steak over and cook for another four minutes. Allow the meat to rest for a few minutes off the grill. Place on a cutting board and slice each of the steaks into five or six slices, form the meat back to its original shape and serve on a plate with a sprinkle of salt, drizzle of olive oil and a wedge of lemon. Pair with James Squire Jack of Spades Porter. LAMB BURGER WITH PICKLED EGGPLANT, WATERCRESS AND HARISSA — MICHAEL RANTISSI FROM KEPOS STREET KITCHEN Serves 4 INGREDIENTS: 750gm good-quality coarse lamb mince 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and crushed 1 bunch coriander, leaves picked and finely chopped 3 - 4 tbsp olive oil 4 tbsp harissa 1 tsp chilli flakes Salt and pepper to season 4 brioche burger buns, toasted ½ cup makdous (pickled eggplant stuffed with walnuts available from Middle Eastern grocers) 1 bunch watercress Harissa aioli METHOD: Combine the lamb mince, coriander seeds, fresh coriander, olive oil, harissa and chilli in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Once combined, divide the mixture into four and then gently shape the burger patties with your hand. Don't overwork the patties too much as it makes them tough. These burgers can be cooked in a frypan on the stove top or the grill on your barbeque. Cook to your taste, two to three minutes per side for medium rare or longer for your requirement. To assemble toast the brioche burger buns (inside of bun only). Take the base of the burger bun and add a dollop of the harissa aioli, a spoonful of the pickled eggplant with walnuts, watercress, then the patty, add another handful of watercress and another dollop of aioli and then top with the bun. Pair with James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale. BARBECUE CHICKEN WINGS — CHUR BURGER INGREDIENTS: 1kg mid cut chicken wings BARBECUE SAUCE: 1 onion, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 100ml olive oil 150g brown sugar 150ml Worcestershire sauce 500g ketchup Juice of 2 lemons 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme Place chicken wings in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to the boil, stir chicken wings gently and then turn heat off. Let wings sit in water for 12 minutes and then pour wings into a colander. Place on trays in a single layer and refrigerate overnight to dry out. Sweat off onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft but with no colour (about 2-3 minutes). Add everything else, bring to a simmer and cook out for about 10 minutes. Cool down and store in refrigerator. Toss in the barbecue sauce mix and then place on hot grill until smokey and charred. Remove from grill and place into a clean bowl and toss with some further barbecue sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Serve. CHIPOTLE MAYO: 1L plain mayonnaise 150ml Melbourne Hot Sauce Chipotle & Cayenne 10g rosemary, chopped 10g fresh oregano, chopped 10g parsley, chopped Mix all together. Pair with James Squire Hop Thief American Pale Ale.
After announcing its return back in June, the resurrected Brisbane International Film festival has revealed its 2017 program, the fest's first in four years. Filling the major film festival space left by the now-shuttered Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival — which initially replaced BIFF back in 2014 — the revived BIFF will bring 51 features, nine shorts and three other compilation screenings to Palace Cinemas' two Brisbane sites between August 17 and September 3. The returning 16-day event, funded by Screen Queensland and run by Palace, kicks off its new beginning with the biggest film on the international festival circuit so far this year: Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner The Square. And while the fest starts global, it ends local. Aussie documentary The Go-Betweens: Right Here closes out the program with a loving tribute to a Brissie band so iconic, the city named a bridge after them. In between, cinephiles can expect two world premieres, one international premiere, six Australian premieres and a range of noteworthy picks from other international and local festivals. Broken Ghost, the latest film by Aussie Summer Coda director Richard Gray, will make its worldwide debut, as will Australian-made, French and Cambodian-shot documentary Life Is a Very Strange Thing. In the Aussie premiere camp sits three titles from BIFF's four-feature Baltic spotlight, plus Kazakh film Returnee, Vietnam's The Way Station and doco The Last Dali Lama? Elsewhere, viewers can work through Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's body of work, including this year's Cannes jury prize winner Loveless. Also on the bill are showcase sessions of highly anticipated titles, such Berlinale and Sydney Film Festival winner On Body and Soul, the late Abbas Kiarostami's final effort 24 Frames and legendary director Agnès Varda's Faces Places. Helping round out the 2017 selection are the high-profile likes of Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender in the partly SXSW-set Song to Song, adorable claymation My Life as a Zucchini, rap drama Patti Cake$ starring Australian Danielle Macdonald, British farce The Party and Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck, to name a few. Throw in Aussie efforts Ali's Wedding, Australia Day and That's Not Me, gorgeous Studio Ghibli-like Japanese animation In This Corner of the World, Takashi Miike's 100th film Blade of the Immortal, and New Zealand documentary My Year With Helen — and yep, BIFF is back.
It's Groundhog Day The Musical — and it's finally making its way to the Australian stages ten years after it was first announced. Back in 2014, Australian comedian, musician, actor and writer Tim Minchin (Upright) revealed that he was making a song-filled onstage version of the Bill Murray-starring classic comedy. Then, the end result premiered in London in 2016. Next came Broadway in 2017, with 2024 marking Australia's turn. Prepare for plenty of déjà vu in Melbourne from January. Feeling like you've been there and seen this comes with the territory with this production, of course, given that that's what the story is all about. Obviously, you've probably seen the film. In fact, you've likely done so more than once. Still, when Groundhog Day The Musical hits Princess Theatre from Wednesday, January 24–Sunday, April 21, 2024, this'll be Aussie theatregoers' first chance to catch the stage show on home soil. The tale remains the same, with Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil Connors tasked with travelling to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day event — and none too happy about it, oozing cynicism as everyone else around him embraces the occasion. After a cantankerous day, he wakes up the next morning to find that everything is repeating again. And, that's how every day continues, no matter what he does or how he tries to tinker with the cycling routine. On the big screen (and on VHS and streaming queues since), the result proved hilarious, and also one of Murray's best-ever roles. For the stage iteration, Minchin teamed up with screenwriter Danny Rubin — who originally co-wrote Groundhog Day's movie script and won a BAFTA in the process — plus Minchin's Matilda The Musical director Matthew Warchus. Their theatre efforts earned Groundhog Day The Musical Tony Award nominations, as well Olivier Award wins for Best New Musical and Best Actor. Yes, Groundhog Day The Musical's Australian-premiere season runs across Groundhog Day itself, aka February 2. Yes, you can listen to Sonny and Cher's 'I Got You Babe' on repeat now to celebrate. And yes, like the musical version of Matilda, this'll likely return to the big screen at some point — but after the Melbourne season. Groundhog Day The Musical comes Down Under exclusive to the Victorian capital — and if you're wondering who'll step into Murray's (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) shoes, and Andie MacDowell's (Maid) as Phil's producer Rita Hanson, too, the cast for the show's Australian run hasn't yet been announced. "I have waited seven years for this moment! Groundhog Day The Musical, like Matilda The Musical, has a unique mixture of darkness and light, of head and heart, and of complexity and joy, and I've been convinced since its first iteration that Australians will love it!" said Minchin, announcing the Aussie premiere. "I'm so excited that the run is going to be in Melbourne, the city I lived in when I wrote my breakout comedy shows, and the place where — when things weren't going so well — I learned how important it is to find the beauty and hope in the day to day." "Following its celebrated run at London's Old Vic Theatre, where it broke all box office records, I couldn't be happier to be bringing Tim Minchin and Danny Rubin's musical masterpiece to the Princess Theatre in Melbourne (coincidentally, the very venue which was home to Matilda back in 2016)," added Warchus. "Groundhog Day The Musical, I know, will surprise many people. Perhaps the most joy-filled show I have ever directed, this magical tale of redemption somehow manages to be both a truly hilarious romantic comedy and a profoundly moving and inspiring message of hope. I love the original movie and I love this adaptation. It inspires us to be the best possible versions of ourselves, to break free of our repetitive gloom and to learn how to love life. All that plus a rodent who predicts the weather... what more could you ask for?" Check out the trailer for Groundhog Day The Musical below: Groundhog Day The Musical will premiere at Princess Theatre, 163 Spring Street, Melbourne from Wednesday, January 24–Sunday, April 21, 2024, with tickets on sale from 9am on Friday, October 6 — head to the production's website for further details and to join the ticket waitlist.
Thinking about UK cinema's biggest names brings a wealth of famous talents to mind. Odds are that they're on the 2023 British Film Festival program in one way or another. When the Australia-wide cinema celebration returns for its latest tour, it'll do so with Olivia Colman's latest movie, Ian McKellen's as well, what might be Michael Caine's final role and an Alfred Hitchcock documentary. Ken Loach, Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Richard E Grant, Timothy Spall, Helena Bonham Carter, Gemma Arterton, Maggie Smith: they're all covered, too. In total, 28 films are on the British Film Festival's 2023 lineup, including both brand-new flicks and retrospective screenings. Audiences can see the results throughout November, with the festival kicking off on Thursday, November 2 in Brisbane — Palace Barracks and Palace James Street — and keeping its projectors whirring for four weeks until Wednesday, November 29. Opening night's One Life will begin the 2023 fest, with the Hopkins (The Son)-starring biopic coming to Australia after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. It tells the tale of Sir Nicholas Winton, whose World War II story includes assisting in the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children, earning him the label of the 'British Schindler'. Johnny Flynn (Operation Mincemeat) plays the humanitarian in his younger years, with Bonham Carter (Nolly) also co-starring. Still on BFF's big festival slots, the Colman- (Heartstopper) and Jessie Buckley (Women Talking)-led Wicked Little Letters will close out the 2023 event. The two actors reunite after both featuring in The Lost Daughter, although this time they aren't playing the same character. Instead, they're in a mystery-comedy that's based on a real-life scandal dating back 100 years And, playing as BFF's centrepiece is The Critic, which is where McKellan (Cats) and Arterton (Funny Woman) come in, and Mark Strong (Tár), Lesley Manville (The Crown) and Nikesh Patel (Starstruck) as well. As the name makes plain, it does involve a critic — a theatre specialist, in a whodunnit that's based on the novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. Also a huge inclusion: My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock, the new documentary from The Story of Film's Mark Cousins. This time, the filmmaker turns his meticulous attention to a director like no other, and to plenty of suspense, including featuring footage from the bulk of Hitchcock's classic films. Among the other highlights, war veteran tale The Great Escaper could be Caine's (Best Sellers) last performance; The Old Oak marks the latest from iconic filmmaker Loach (I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You); The Lesson features Grant (Persuasion), Julie Delpy (On the Verge) and Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters) in a literary thriller; and musical Greatest Days features Take That's songs. Or, there's Sweet Sue from Leo Leigh, son of Peterloo and Mr Turner director Mike Leigh; the Irish village-set In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which features Neeson (Retribution), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones, and also Sex Education); Samuel Beckett biopic Dance First, with Gabriel Byrne (War of the Worlds) as the playwright; Golda, starring Mirren (Barbie) as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir; Mad About the Boy, a doco about Noël Coward; and Pretty Red Dress, which is set to the songs of Tina Turner. Plus, fans of movies about music can add Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis), which hails from Control's Anton Corbijn and hones in on the titular photo-design company and its contribution to record cover art, to their BFF schedule. And, among the retrospective titles, the Mirren-starring Caligula, rock opera Tommy and drama Howard's End are all playing in 4K restorations — with Smith's (The Miracle Club) Oscar-winning performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, plus The Remains of the Day, Women in Love and Morgan — A Suitable Case for Treatment also on the classics list.
By the time that Thursday night rolls around each, most of us are thinking about escaping the 9-to-5 grind. There's still one pesky weekday left to go until the weekend, of course, but sinking underground with a glass of whiskey in your hand — and with jazz tunes setting the upbeat but relaxing mood — sure does sound enticing. That's a regular Jazz Thursday at The Walrus Club, aka the Regatta spot you go to when you've got malt drinks and a cosy, dark space on your mind. The event is a regular fixture from 8–11pm, combining the watering hole's hefty array of 300-plus spirits and prohibition bar vibes with lively — and live — music. If we were lucky enough to be living in an episode of Parks and Recreation, you'd probably find Ron Swanson there. Because we're not, you can always don some snappy threads, order a Lagavulin neat and pretend.
Back when Ekka cancellations were a thing, no one got to throw a ball in a clown's mouth. Hopping on rides, seeing fireworks and browsing for showbags were all scrapped, too. That's obviously no fun at all; however, for the farmers who were due to exhibit at Brisbane's annual show, the impact cut far deeper. So, in response, an idea was born: the Scenic Rim Farm Gate Trail. Since 2021, it has been encouraging Brisbanites to head south, hop between properties and enjoy local wares. And, even though the Ekka returned in 2022 and 2023, the trail has become a regular occurrence. In 2025, it's taking place twice: on Sunday, March 30, and then again on Sunday, July 20. Fancy throwing a little love towards the Scenic Rim's primary producers? Keen on a day out of town? Farmers in the region will be rolling out the welcome mat from 9am–3pm. Follow the itineraries and you'll be hitting up at spots such as Towri Sheep Cheeses, complete with cuddles with lambs; Boxer Brewing Co, where there'll be tastings; and Elderflower Farm, possibly including picking flowers depending on the season. That's just a taste of the list of producers involved — and if you'd like to get up close to some camels and alpacas while you're in that part of southeast Queensland, that's on the cards, too. Most of the trail's stops are dog-friendly, and bringing your esky to fill with produce is highly recommended. Picnic image: Tourism and Events Queensland.
Yeerongpilly's Plant Empire sells greenery every day of the week, helping folks with green thumbs — and those who wish they had them, too — fill their homes with leafy babies. But on Sunday, September 6, it's doing something more than that. You can still browse the store's shelves for plants, of course; however you can also head round back to check out the pop-up spring market. As well as plants, you'll be able to peruse a range of pots. If you're going to buy some greenery, you'll want something to put it in, obviously. Also on offer: ceramics, jewellery and other handmade crafts. And if you happen to arrive hungry — Sunday mornings can do that to even the most satisfied stomach — there'll be food available as well. Just drop by the Station Road spot between 9am–1pm, when the morning-long market will be in full swing. The usual advice applies here, as it does to all plant markets: yes, more greenery is always a good thing. The Plant Empire Spring Market runs from 9am–1pm on Sunday, September 6. Images: Plant Empire.
Imaginary Landscapes, brought to you by the Brisbane City Council and Room40, is a transformation of Hutton Lane in the heart of Brisbane City. Step into an imaginative and evocative audiovisual journey that traces the edges of the Pacific Ocean, the great uniting body of water that traces the east coast of Australia. Using the Brisbane River as the linking point to the Pacific, as well as a platform for the works of audio and visual artists, Portland’s Grouper, Room40’s own Lawrence English, Makino Takashi (Japan), Paul Clipson (USA), Eugene Carchesio (Brisbane), Scott Morrison (Victoria) and more, plus performances. The exhibition seeks to project visions of ourselves and our place on the Pacific rim, refocussed through the lenses of the artists. It will include static installations, evolving video works and audiovisual interactions, sound and interactive installations. Don’t miss the chance to see Brisbane’s inner city transformed into an evolving mini-ecosystem.
Infamously the craziest time of the year when it comes to discounts, Black Friday sales can be hard to navigate at the best of times. To help you get prepped, we've narrowed down some of the best bargains from Amazon. You can expect to see some epic deals across homewares, beauty, shoes, electronics and fitness with brands like Samsung, Maybelline, Hugo Boss and Garmin. It's time to get shopping and make the most of the deals while they last. Homewares Stocking up on things for around the house and grabbing some homewares for a gift is never a bad idea. And with these discounts, you'll finally get your hands on those top-quality frying pans you've been putting off or actually replace that pillow you've had for an embarrassingly long time to admit publicly. Corelle Dinnerware Set for $51.99 – 60% off. Tontine Allergy Sensitive Pillow for $17.89 – 61% off. TEFAL Non-Stick Induction Wokpan for $61.19 – 49% off. PetSafe Staywell Aluminium Pet Door for $109.62 – 49% off. Tontine Single All Seasons Quilt for $31.96 – 70% off. Electronics Whether you're a Samsung or a Google person, these Black Friday discounts on all your electrical necessities are enough to make you drop everything. Google Nest Cam Wireless Camera for $166.00 – 50% off. Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Wireless Earbuds for $104.99 – 47 % off. Yamaha TW-E3C True Wireless Earbuds for $45.00 – 65% off. JBL FLIP 6 Portable Waterproof Speaker for $99.99 – 41% off. Rocketbook Core Reusable Smart Notebook for $29.90 – 46% off. Beauty For all the beauty queens out there, we know how expensive it can be to get your hands on the best makeup, moisturisers, perfumes and all the other essentials to keep you feeling at your best. Our recommendation? Stock up while you can. Vera Wang Princess Eau de Toilette for $28.13 – 68% off. Hugo Boss Boss Bottled Eau De Toilette for $84.93 – 59% off. Maybelline New York Matte Lipstick for $8.91 – 58% off. Garnier Brightening Serum for $16.63 – 55% off. Aveeno Daily Moisturising Body Wash for $11.10 – 57% off. Maybelline Superstay Vinyl Liquid Lipstick in Peachy for $11.47 – 58% off. Maybelline Multi-Use Concealer for $9.77 – 58% off. Shoes Finding durable, hardy shoes at a low price can feel almost impossible. However, you can get your hands on everyone's favourite brands including Dr. Martens, Keen, Salomon and Tevas for almost half-price with these spicy Black Friday deals. Dr. Martens Unisex Embury Leather Chelsea for $139.99 – 50% off. Skechers Women's Sneakers for $78.99 – 47% off. Salomon Men's XA PRO 3D Trail Running and Hiking Shoe for $120.00 – 48% off. Teva Men's M Forebay Sandal for $79.99 – 53% off. Nike Sneaker for $44.88 – 55% off. KEEN Women's Waterproof Hiking Boot for $153.06 – 49% off. Timberland Men's 6-Inch Waterproof Boot for $179.99 – 48% off. MERRELL Men's Moab 3 Hiking Shoe for $101.99 – 49% off. Fitness Get active, running, swimming or whatever kind of movement you prefer with these nifty fitness accessories. With these kinds of discounts, there's really no excuse not to. Speedo Men's Endurance + Aquashort for $31.99 – 42% off. Garmin GPS Fitness Smartwatch for $998.00 – 46% off. Buzio 1180ml Insulated Water Bottle for $29.58 – 44% off. Step One Men's Bamboo Trunks for $17.50 – 50% off. TriggerPoint GRID TRAVEL Foam Roller for $23.98 – 60% off. This article contains affiliate links, Concrete Playground may earn a commission when you make a purchase through links on our site. Images: supplied.
Brisbane's streets are about to look a whole lot brighter — and sport a lot more paint, feature giant murals aplenty and showcase a heap more art in general. The reason: the returning Brisbane Street Art Festival, which'll take over the city from Saturday, May 6–Sunday, May 21 in its eighth year. When it comes to splashing art across the streets, spraying some paint around and stencilling up a storm, this festival offers a firm reminder: no, Banksy isn't the only artist worth celebrating and never has been. Indeed, the street art scene has been thriving in Brisbane for years, which is why this fest even exists. (That said, this year's BSAF will arrive around the same time as a huge Banksy exhibition hits the River City, so it's basically street art Christmas.) [caption id="attachment_848397" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sheep Chen and Adnate by Joshua Taten.[/caption] Illma Gore also stands out among BSAF's 2023 roster of talent. The Australian artist lives in Los Angeles and has made a name for herself with a toilet made from $100,000 worth of Louis Vuitton bags, a mural made with the blood of 60 protestors and a nude Donald Trump. Also on the Aussie artist list: Fintan Magee, Gus Eagleton and Tori-Jay Mordey. Cat Eagan, Katherine Viney, Keys and Meimei will all be displaying pieces, as will Mulga, Jeswri, Phoebe Paradise, Pencil Head, Sevens and Vance. In total, the full lineup spans 43 artists and collectives. The festival's 16-day run will also be complemented by a range of art events, including a big party at Felons Brewing Co, workshops, and using Northshore as its headquarters. [caption id="attachment_848405" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cam Scale.[/caption] Top image: Drapl and Treazy by Aimee Catt. Updated March 23.
The Quench acai bowl has been around for a while and it's a classic. With a blend of acai and frozen banana you can also expect your (rather large) takeaway bowl to come adorned with Brookfarm toasted muesli and fresh seasonal fruit. Check to see what their seasonal fruit is first, because word to the wise? Watermelon and acai is not an awesome combination. Regardless, if it's pure acai you seek then Quench is sure to quench your cravings.
If there's an occasion worth celebrating, including Christmas, spring and winter, Woolloongabba's South City Square has marked it with markets in the past. The inner-east precinct also loves putting on monthly shindigs with food trucks and stalls — such as on Friday, February 21, 2025, when it's hosting the return of its Latino Fiesta. Running from 4–8.30pm, this after-work event goes heavy on bites that'll make your tastebuds believe that they're in Latin and South America. Last time the pop-up took place, empanadas, tacos and arepas were on the menu. Tunes are also on the agenda, getting Latin music echoing. Latin dancing is part of the fun as well — and, of course, there'll be market stalls aplenty. Entry is free, as is onsite parking for two hours. If you attended in 2024, or have been to other events inSouth City Square's monthly series — such as the Vegan Laneway Festival, Asian Hawker Market and European Food Safari — you'll know that you're in for a Friday-night treat.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T4GIqEYyNk&feature=youtu.be RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON Featuring a vibrant animated spectacle that heroes vivid green and blue hues, a rousing central figure who is never a stock-standard Disney princess and lively voice work from an all-star cast, Raya and the Last Dragon boasts plenty of highlights. Directed by Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting), co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa (both Disney art and animation department veterans), and penned by Qui Nguyen (Dispatches From Elsewhere) and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), the Mouse House's new all-ages-friendly release also embraces southeast Asian culture with the same warm hug that Moana gave Polynesia and Pixar's Coco sent Mexico's way — and it's always detailed, organic, inclusive and thoughtful, and never tokenistic. But perhaps its biggest strength, other than the pitch-perfect vocal stylings of Awkwafina as the playful, mystical half of the film's title, is its timing. Disney first announced the feature back in August 2019, so the company can't have known what the world would suffer through from early 2020 onwards, of course. But a hopeful movie about a planet ravaged by a destructive plague and blighted by tribalism — and a feature that champions the importance of banding together to make things right, too — really couldn't arrive at a more opportune moment. COVID-19 has no place in Raya and the Last Dragon; however, as the picture's introductory preamble explains, a virus-like wave of critters called the Druun has wreaked havoc. Five hundred years earlier, the world of Kumandra was filled with humans and dragons living together in harmony, until the sinister force hit. Now, only the realm's two-legged inhabitants remain — after their furry friends used their magic to create the dragon gem, which saved everyone except themselves. That's the only status quo that Raya (voiced by Star Wars' Kelly Marie Tran) has ever known. Her entire existence has also been lived out in a divided Kumandra, with different groups staking a claim to various areas. With her father Benja (Daniel Dae Kim, Always Be My Maybe), she hails from the most prosperous region, Heart, and the duo hold out hope that they can reunite the warring lands. Alas, when they bring together their fellow leaders for a peaceful summit, Raya's eagerness to trust Namaari (Gemma Chan, Captain Marvel), the daughter of a rival chief, ends with the Druun on the rampage once again. A movie about believing not just in yourself, but in others, Raya and the Last Dragon doesn't shy away from the reality that putting faith in anyone comes with the chance of peril and pain — especially in fraught times where the world has taken on an every-person-for-themselves mentality and folks are dying (or being turned to stone, which is the Druun's modus operandi). If the narrative hadn't been willing to make this plain again and again, including when it picks up six years later as Raya tries to reverse the devastation caused by Namaari's actions, Raya and the Last Dragon wouldn't feel as genuinely affecting. Raya and the Dragon is screening in Australian cinemas from Thursday, March 4, and will also be available to view via Disney+ with Premier Access (so you'll pay $34.99 extra for it, on top of your usual subscription fee) from Friday, March 5. It'll hit Disney+ without any extra fee on June 4. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFpK34lfv0 NOMADLAND Frances McDormand is a gift of an actor. Point a camera her way, and a performance so rich that it feels not just believable but tangible floats across the screen. That's true whether she's playing overt or understated characters, or balancing those two extremes. In Fargo, the first film that earned her an Oscar, McDormand is distinctive but grounded, spouting midwestern phrases like "you betcha" but inhabiting her part with texture and sincerity. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, her next Academy Award-winning role, she's an impassioned mother crusading for justice and vengeance, and she ripples with deep-seated sorrow mixed with anger so fiery that it may as well be burning away her insides. Now, in Nomadland, McDormand feels stripped bare and still a commanding force to be reckoned with. She's tasked with a plucky but struggling part — defiant and determined, too; knocked around by life's ups and downs, noticeably; and, crucially, cognisant that valuing the small pleasures is the hardest but most rewarding feat. It'll earn her another Oscar nomination. It could see her nab a third shiny statuette just three years after her last. Along with the attention the movie received at the Golden Globes, both are highly deserved outcomes because hers is an exceptional performance, and this was easily 2020's best film. Here, leading a cast that also includes real people experiencing the existence that's fictionalised within the narrative, she plays the widowed, van-dwelling Fern — a woman who takes to the road, and to the nomad life, after the small middle-America spot where she spent her married years turns into a ghost town when the local mine is shuttered due to the global financial crisis. A slab of on-screen text explains her predicament, with the film then jumping into the aftermath. Following her travels over the course of more than a year, this humanist drama serves up an observational portrait of those that society happily overlooks. It's both deeply intimate and almost disarmingly empathetic in the process, as every movie made by Chloe Zhao is. This is only the writer/director's third, slotting in after 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me and 2017's The Rider but before 2021's Marvel flick Eternals, but it's a feature of contemplative and authentic insights into the concepts of home, identity and community. Meticulously crafted, shot and performed, it truly sees everyone in its frames, be they fictional or real. Nomandland understands their plights, and ensures its audience understands them as well. It's exquisitely layered, because its protagonist, those around her and their lives earn the same term — and Zhao never forgets that, or lets her viewers either. Nomadland screened in Australian cinemas during a two-week preview season in 2020, starting Saturday, December 26. From Thursday, March 4, 2021, it's back on the big screen for its general release season. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ICPoXlmTO0 CHAOS WALKING Adapted from the book series of the same name, Chaos Walking has weathered a difficult path to cinemas. The tedious and generic space western releases ten years after the rights to turn Patrick Ness' novels into films were first acquired, four years since the movie was originally shot and two years after major reshoots following unfavourable test screenings. It went through a plethora of rewrites, too, with I'm Thinking of Ending Things' Charlie Kaufman on scripting duties at one point, and Ness (A Monster Calls) and Spider-Man: Homecoming's Christopher Ford getting the final credit. Navigating such a mess rarely bodes well for a movie, so the fact that Chaos Walking proves dull and derivative shouldn't come as a surprise. Even with its cast filled with impressive talent, and with Edge of Tomorrow filmmaker Doug Liman begin the lens, it's hard to see how it might've fared better, with its premise an instant struggle. Set in 2257, the film follows colonists from earth on a planet called New World, who are plagued by a strange phenomenon. A multi-coloured haze hovers around men's heads — and only men — showing their every thought. The sensation has been dubbed 'the noise', and experiencing it while watching sure is rackety. Indeed, 'noise' is the absolute right word for the entire movie. In his pioneer village, teenager Todd (Tom Holland, The Devil All the Time) can rarely control his noise. While the Mayor (Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round) is able to filter the words and images that project from his mind — and also rock a furry red coat and wide-brimmed hat far better than anyone should — few others have the same ability. Seeing what everyone is thinking is a tricky way to live at the best of times, and it applies to the entire population, because women have been wiped out in a war attributed to the planet's original inhabitants. But Todd's troubles multiply when he discovers a spaceship, as well as Viola (Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker), its sole surviving occupant. The mayor and his followers don't take kindly to the first female in their midst for years; however, supported by his adoptive fathers Ben (Demian Bichir, The Midnight Sky) and Cillian (Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter), Todd isn't willing to surrender the only girl he's ever seen to an angry mob. Cue a tale of toxic masculinity that dates back to 2008, when first instalment The Knife of Never Letting Go hit bookshelves, and feels timely in the current social, political and cultural climate. That said, this isn't a complex, layered or thoughtful film. Instead, it's content to stress its themes in such a broad and easy manner that getting Holland to hold up a sign saying "the patriarchy is bad" would've been more subtle. Indeed, Chaos Walking really just uses these notions as a backdrop for a predictable and formulaic dystopian story, and as a handy reason to motivate its conflicts, in a movie that plays like a hodgepodge of far better sci-fi and western fare. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCvQzzKdgV4 ABOUT ENDLESSNESS The latest feature from acclaimed and always distinctive Swedish auteur Roy Andersson (Songs From the Second Floor, You, the Living, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence), About Endlessness plays like the filmmaker's response to an oft-used — and overused — piece of worldly wisdom. Relishing the little things has become a greeting card-level piece of advice that's trotted out far too frequently and easily, but this vignette-fuelled drama contentedly peers at and contemplates everyday occurrences, flitting from one snippet of story to another across its brief 78-minute duration. It sees the happy moments, and the bleak ones. It has time for inconsequential instances, for clear flights of fancy and for real-life events that changed the shape of history. It spies the magical, the mundane, the merciful and the menacing, gives them all their time in the spotlight, and weaves them into a moving catalogue of the human condition. And, although the writer/director remains in his comfort zone, he crafts this latest treatise on merely existing into a movie that cuts deeply and feels bold rather than familiar. With Andersson's renowned eye for the sublime and the absurd, the film sees the juxtaposition at the heart of living. It knows that, in some shape or form, life is bound to continue on forever. It's also aware that individual lives are inescapably finite. When pondering mortality, these two truths can be hard to reconcile, especially given that the minutiae that makes up each and every day lulls us into a false sense of feeling as if it'll never end — and About Endlessness embraces all of this thorniness and complexity in its own way. Via poetic parcels of narration that declare "I saw a man begging to be spared", "I saw a woman who had a problem with her shoes" and "I saw a man who wanted to save the honour of his family, then regretted it" — plus other such short descriptions — About Endlessness works through instance after instance of people searching for meaning, happiness, and a reason to see their existence as anything more than a parade of breaths and heartbeats. The voice offering such narration is female, proves choosy about which scenes she decides to comment on, but is clearly affected by everything that plays about before her all-seeing vision. When it comes to anything approaching an explanation, though, Andersson remains sparse and careful. And yet, this is a detailed film that overflows with intricacy, intimacy and emotion, and with glorious artistry in every single frame. Every shot looks both naturalistic and staged, as is the filmmaker's custom, which evokes the feeling that you're stealing glimpses of life that are equally rich and routine in tandem. Whether a dictator, a man of faith or someone crying on public transport takes temporary pride of place (or, in the latter's case, if a fellow passenger is asking why he can't just be sad at home like everyone else), these short moments have a cumulative effect that's striking and profoundly insightful. Take, for example, an oh-so-short clip of young women spontaneously dancing outside a cafe, which is delightful, instantly touching and speaks firmly to the fact that life is as consistent in its joys as it is in its woes. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on November 5, November 12, November 19 and November 26; and December 3, December 10, December 17, December 26; and January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Craft: Legacy, Radioactive, Brazen Hussies, Freaky, Mank, Monsoon, Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt), American Utopia, Possessor, Misbehaviour, Happiest Season, The Prom, Sound of Metal, The Witches, The Midnight Sky, The Furnace, Wonder Woman 1984, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles, Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters and The Little Things.
