Prepare yourself for a serious dose of girl power: Janelle Monáe and Kimbra have announced they're joining forces for an Australasian tour, on sale this Thursday. The two pop heavyweights, who bonded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland last July, are coming to Australia for The Golden Electric Tour at the end of May. Scheduled for four shows throughout Australia, the dynamic duo is also making a stop in Kimbra's native New Zealand before closing out the tour in Melbourne. The award-winning pop powerhouses will co-headline the tour, combining forces for a portion of the show while also playing individual sets. Kimbra and Monáe first made sweet music together at an impromptu bar gig when they met last year. Their taste for eccentric pop music coupled with fierce vocals proved a heavenly match, thus the idea for a joint tour was born. To (successfully) hype us all up for the endeavour, the pair released an unfathomably adorable video singing a mash-up of Aretha Franklin's 'Rock Steady' and Michael Jackson's 'Wanna Be Startin' Something', both of which are sure to be on the set list. https://youtube.com/watch?v=SyqltX5lRhQ Monáe will feature tracks from her 2013 release The Electric Lady, as well as her celebrated 2010 debut album The ArchAndroid. Kimbra is expected to release the follow-up to her 2011 album Vows later this year, so fans should expect some new gems amongst the singalongs. Tour Dates: Friday, May 16 - Challenge Stadium, Perth Monday, May 19 - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Wednesday, May 21 - Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane Saturday, May 24 - Vector Arena, Auckland Monday, May 26 - The Plenary, Melbourne Tickets go on sale 10am on Thursday, April 17 via Live Nation. Pre-sale is available for My Live Nation members at 10am on Monday, April 14.
We’re only six weeks into a season far too cold for denim cut-offs and more suited to umbrellas than feather headdresses, but if you’re under the age of 50 and you like music then chances are you’re already saving coin for one of our many summer music festivals. Preliminary lineups for Harvest, Stereosonic and Falls Festival and Big Day Out have all recently been announced, with others set to reveal juicy details shortly. But while even the most civilised festival has its fair share of regrettable decisions, warm beers being chugged in the parking lot and liquid deposits being made in plastic water bottles, the truth of the matter is that at most of our own large-scale gatherings it’s easier to mislay a sense of refinement than it is to lose both your friends and your sunglasses. Ergo, Concrete Playground has handpicked a few overseas festivals that manage to combine brazen antics, booze and grannies in souped-up shopping carts with more cultivated offerings. 1. GOOGAMOOGA WHERE: BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, USAWHEN: MAY The inaugural GoogaMooga in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park offered festivalgoers not just sonic goodness from 20 performers ranging from Holy Ghost! to Preservation Hall Jazz Band, but also a little Extra Mooga alongside. With Anthony Bourdain leaving the stage just in time for James Murphy’s DJ set, and grain going head to head with grape at the Beer vs Wine smackdown, Googa Mooga is just a celebration of all things great in life. 2. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES (UK) WHERE: EAST SUSSEX, ENGLANDWHEN: DECEMBER No one can create an arts and music festival better than an artist or a musician, so this English festival gets a different musical or visual creative to invite their favourite performers to play each year. Past curators have included Portishead, The National and Matt Groening, with B-side festival I’ll Be Your Mirror offering music, film and arts events outside of the holiday resorts. 3. BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL WHERE: MANCHESTER, TENNESSEEWHEN: JUNE Nashville is great for wearing rhinestone cowboy hats and dancing to Johnny Cash cover songs, but Manchester is where country and bluegrass music meets indie rock, world music, folk, gospel, reggae and electronica. The 100-acre entertainment village also features a classic arcade, on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club and theatre performers, but it’s also the peaceful vibes that had Rolling Stone name Bonnaroo one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock and roll. 4. BUMBERSHOOT WHERE: SEATTLE, WASHINGTONWHEN: SEPTEMBER The name of this music and arts festival comes from “bumbershoot”, a colloquial term for umbrella, which is a far cooler tag than its original 'Mayor’s Arts Festival'. Now in its 42nd year, music, film, comedy, spoken word, dance, theatre and performance are just some of the genres falling under its canopy. 5. STOCKHOLM MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL WHERE: STOCKHOLM, SWEDENWHEN: AUGUST Here are two things you probably already know about Stockholm: it’s beautiful, and it breeds creativity like Lara Bingle breeds LOLs. The island of Skeppsholmen is where these two things culminate each year, with acts including Patti Smith, Bjork and Antony and the Johnsons playing against a backdrop of intelligent art and glittering water landscapes. 6. OUTSIDE LANDS WHERE: SAN FRANCISCO, USAWHEN: AUGUST San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park holds many rich nuggets of culture, from fascinating buildings and major museums to scenic picnic spots and lakes. In August it also plays host to Outside Lands, a festival geared towards the green movement that celebrates the neutral terrain that became San Francisco’s common ground during the tumult of the 1960s. Food, wine and immersive art are dotted around the park, while the musical lineup — ranging from Metallica to Tame Impala to Norah Jones — really does offer something for everyone. 7. ICELAND AIRWAVES WHERE: REYKJAVIK, ICELANDWHEN: OCTOBER What started as a one-off event in an airplane hangar is now one of the premier annual showcases for new music in the world. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Bravery and The Rapture all played Airwaves in the infancy of their musical careers, and Rolling Stone dubbed it “The hippest long weekend on the annual music festival calendar”. But Airwaves and the exquisite city of Reykjavík don't offer just music — hose the stale beer out of your hair, hop on a bus and alleviate your hangover via geysers, waterfalls, lava fields and the world-famous Blue Lagoon. 8. CACTUS FESTIVAL WHERE: BRUGES, BELGIUMWHEN: JULY Because the only thing better than great music and great beer is Granny Turismo.
Whatever you've been dreaming about getting for Christmas, here's one thing that you don't have to write a letter to Santa for: a festive action-comedy about a Christmas Eve heist where a certain red suit- and white beard-wearing fellow kicks ass and tries to save the day. Making Violent Night an extra present of a film when it hits cinemas in December (when else?) is the man getting jolly, too: Stranger Things favourite David Harbour. The actor behind Hopper will get ho-ho-hoing in the seasonal flick — and dispensing with mercenaries like he's a Father Christmas version of John Wick. Hawaiian shirts are out, clearly, replaced by the expected Santa getup. The same no-nonsense attitude remains, though, as seen in the movie's just-dropped first trailer. Harbour as the merriest figure there is rescuing Christmas when a kid calls for his help? That's the basic plot, but there is slightly more to it. Those aforementioned mercenaries break into a wealth family compound on the night before the big festive day, taking everyone hostage. But Santa also happens to be there — and uttering lines like "time for season's beatings" as he gets to work. Those John Wick comparisons are by design, with 87North, the producers of franchise plus Nobody, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, behind the film. And yes, there's more than a little bit of Die Hard thrown in as well — just in a home rather than Nakatomi Plaza. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Jake Peralta would approve. On-screen, Harbour is joined by John Wick's John Leguizamo, plus Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Terminal List), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D'Angelo (Shooter). And behind the lens, Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the Dead Snow franchise) is in the director's chair — and the script is penned by by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, after writing the terrible Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Check out the trailer below: Violent Night opens in cinemas Down Under on December 1.
When you travel the world, you take your tastebuds on a journey with you, with trying local delicacies all part of the experience. If you find yourself at Sweden's new museum, however, you might not want to get adventurous with your eating — it's completely dedicated to disgusting foods. Of course, what one person considers gross, another entire country might slather on toast for breakfast. Yes, the Malmö-based Disgusting Food Museum will feature Vegemite when it opens on October 29. Other items don't include much-loved but highly polarising Australian spreads, but everything within the site's walls is considered food somewhere. Think Sweden's own surstömming, aka fermented herring; cuy, the Peruvian roasted guinea pigs; casu marzu, a maggot-infested cheese from Sardinia; hákarl, the Icelandic dish comprised of well-aged shark; and Thailand's notoriously pungent durian. In total, 80 foods from around the world will be on display until January 27, with liquorice, jell-o salad, fruit bat and bull's penis among the other exhibits. For an entry fee of 185 Swedish krona (approximately AU$29), visitors will have the opportunity to smell and taste selected items. The museum will also hold 'taste one for the team' sessions for groups of six or more, where you can challenge your friends to the kinds of tastings that you don't get every day. If you're currently asking yourself the obvious question — not 'what's wrong with Vegemite?', but rather 'what would inspire someone to open this kind of place?' — the Disgusting Food Museum is all about challenging accepted ideas of what's edible and tasty. It recognises that what one person finds delicious, another might find revolting and vice-versa. Speaking to Vox, curator and 'chief disgustologist' Samuel West uses Vegemite as an example, explaining that it initially tastes awful, but you can learn to like it. Find the Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö, Sweden from October 29. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the museum's website or Facebook page.
One of the UK's most versatile and interesting directors, Michael Winterbottom, is a hard man to pigeonhole. Teaming again with Steve Coogan, whom he collaborated with on 24 Hour Party People and the wonderful The Trip, his latest is a biopic of Paul Raymond, the controversial figure who became the 'King of Soho', pulling crowds with risque theatre at his nightclub and successfully branching out into the world of magazines with his bestselling lad's mag, Men Only. The action opens with a shaken Raymond (Coogan) pondering tragic events involving his daughter and driving around the district of London he rules with a small child, pointing out the business he owns, markers not just of his great wealth but also his striving for respectability. His rise was marked by his audacity and knack for turning setbacks to his advantage — when a newspaper condemns one of his theatrical productions for including "arbitrary displays of naked flesh", he slaps the quote on the promotional poster as a selling point. After leaving his family for his mistress, Richmond finds himself on the wrong end of an expensive divorce settlement ("I think you'll find it's the most expensive divorce settlement in UK history" he corrects reporters), but remains focused on empire building. Along the way he reconnects with his daughter Debbie (an excellent Imogen Poots), whose ambitions of stardom are not accommodated by the public and whose frail confidence is boosted by lashings of champagne and cocaine. Moving from the swinging sixties to the darker onset of disco, Raymond continues to show an unerring sense for what the public want and gleefully pushes the boundaries with his magazines and live shows. He intuited what the public wanted was a taste of his hedonistic, womanising lifestyle. Yet behind the glamorous facade, there was a melancholy underside to his life, with Raymond's inability to let go of his humble beginnings and his unusual relationship with his daughter forming the wounded heart of this impressive biopic. Impeccable in its period detail and scored by the sweeping melodrama of Burt Bacharach songs, The Look of Love gives the always watchable Coogan meaty, complex material to wrestle with. Some will be disappointed at the way it brushes over the darker corners of his porn empire; Raymond had a way of deflecting difficult questions that the film also uses. Whether Raymond deserves such a sympathetic biography is debatable, but there is no questioning the aplomb with which Coogan and Winterbottom have brought this contradictory and ultimately quite sad figure to life. https://youtube.com/watch?v=t3OxrgrD0VI
Summer is here, which means that it's time to leave the den that we've crafted for ourselves for our winter hibernation. We need to go outside, and there's no better way to get into the 'outside' than by roughing it under a canvas sheet with fire and nature. But camping doesn't have to be all about being at one with nature; it can be about surviving in the coolest way possible. With this level of bad-assery in mind, here are the top ten gadgets you need to make camping an excellent trip to the great outdoors instead of a terrible trip to the hospital with hypothermia. TENTSILE STINGRAY TREEHOUSE TENT First on your pyramid of camping needs is shelter, and this is the coolest shelter around. The Stingray hangs from the trees, keeping you safe from bugs, animals and all those things that go bump in the night. Going for about AU$850, this genius tent is 4.6 metres square and can hold a whopping 400kg. Now all you have to worry about are the Drop Bears. US$749 from tentsile.com MUSUCBAG LITE Despite having a potential gross-out for a name, this is the 'handiest' sleeping bag you'll ever see. Because it has hands. And feet. Ever get sick of having to get up out of your sleeping bag to get some water or a snack? Fear not, the MusucBag has you covered. Now you can sit around drinking with friends without having to leave the comfort of your bedding. It's like the Snuggie of the camping world. The 'classic' is 119 euros from musucbag.com. TRANSPARENT CANOE For the more sporty of us, summer camping trips are all about getting in or on the water, whether it's the beach or a not-at-all scary lake. For these grand occasions, there's Hammacher's Transparent Canoe. Can't decide between snorkelling or kayaking? Fine, because now you can row your heart out and check out the depths beneath you, all at the same time. US$1900 from the Hammacher online store. BIOLITE CAMPSTOVE Possibly the coolest innovation in heat since the discovery of fire, the BioLite CampStove takes the heat from an internal fire to create electricity that charges phones, tablets, lights and anything else with a power cord. One chamber holds a fire made from twigs that's suitable for cooking, which fuels a generator in another chamber. It's about the size of a drink bottle, affordable and eliminates the need for lighting a giant fire every time you want a cup of tea. The BioLite CampStove is simply one of the coolest inventions in town. US$129.95 from the BioLite online store. KANZ FIELD KITCHEN Camping can seem somewhat less appealing when you think about the fact that it means eating a whole load of tinned spaghetti — it's hard to lug around the gear necessary to cook a decent meal. Instead, why not pack up the portable and awesomely nifty Field Kitchen? It houses a two-burner stove top, cabinets and a prep area, all in less than a metre cubed. Get the fully pimped propane version for US$1640 from the Kanz online store. LIFESTRAW Not only is it important to be comfortable and have your phone charged whilst camping, it's also important to have clean water, which is where the life straw comes in. The straw looks like a little water bottle, and can filter 1000L of filthy, stagnant water into the purest elixir you've ever had. Handy for when you just can't boil up some river water and wait for it to cool. US$19.95 from the Lifestraw store. Plus, for every straw you buy, part of the funds go towards distributing LifeStraw Community institutional water purifiers to schools in Africa. BEAR GRYLLS SCOUT ESSENTIALS KIT Whether or not Bear Grylls really does do all the wicked stuff he appears to on television, there's no doubt that he's the ultimate survival guy, and this kit is all the basics he deems necessary to live outside. There's a scout knife, a first aid kit, a compass and an LED light, just for starters, and it's all packaged up polypropylene case. £35.99 at the Bear Grylls website. VICTORINOX TINKER DELUXE SWISS ARMY KNIFE This isn't just a camping essential; this is a life essential. Everyone needs a Swiss Army Knife because they can do just about anything. Victorinox are always coming up with innovations that already improve on the perfect design, and the Tinker Deluxe is one of the best examples. With a knife, a can opener, scissors, pliers, screwdriver and the always handy bottle opener, this camping/life essential is well worth the $80 it costs to have one. YETI TUNDRA 65 WHITE COOLER The Tundra 65 isn't the cheapest cooler in town, but it sure is the best. It holds 60L, which is about 39 cans of beer. Which is a lot. Plus, the walls are super thick, so it keeps these cans of beer cooler for much longer than your regular old cooler. It may cost a pretty penny, but what a price to pay for beer that's still cold until you've finished the case, which is what camping is all about, isn't it? US$399.99 from Yeti, FESTIVE BRAZIL HAMMOCK Finally, it's essential to touch on the more comfortable side of sleeping outdoors — glamping, if you will. For those of us who really don't like getting dirty or sleeping on a thin mat, glamping is an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful views outdoors in comfort. And for that, there's the Festive Brazil Artisan Crafted Hammock. Not only is it big enough for two, it's all done up in pretty rainbow colours, and is finished with crocheted draping, hand crafted by Brazilian artisans. At $160, it's the perfect excuse to skip the hike. US$159.99 from Novica.
It is always exciting when you hear of a new magazine being launched, particularly one that identifies itself as an ‘inclusive feminist zine that bridges the gap between academic journal and mainstream magazine’. It is definitely refreshing considering the newsstand guff that features Kim Kardashian on the cover month after month! eFEMeral is a Brisbane creation, and intends to offer a broad platform for female and feminist voices. The magazine shares the stories of significant women, and explores issues that affect women, delving deep into the issues that impact on the lives of women, and sharing stories that speak to this audience. The magazine does this through the written word, but it also features visual artworks, sharing stories and perspectives through a visual medium, and offering a forum for artists to have their work published in a different context, opening up new audiences and opportunities. The first issue was a great success, selling for $10 a copy (to cover costs) - it developed an instant following and almost sold out. The second issue of eFEMeral is about to be launched this Sunday at Rabbit Hole Ideation Café in West End, and again issues are limited so it is essential to get along and get purchasing this weekend!
That glass of wine or icy cold beer you've been sipping solo and feeling guilty about it — it's about to become a thing of the past if you're a pet owner. Our furry companions share life's ups and downs, and now critters of both the feline and canine variety can share a beverage too thanks to the invention that is animal-friendly wine. It's the tipple that'll make humans feel better without even drinking it, and one that cats and dogs will enjoy... we think. Actually, it might just be something two-legged folks like the idea of more than their four-legged friends — but who doesn't want to pour their kitty or pooch a hard-earned drink? Currently available in the US, pet wine doesn't actually involve alcohol. Don't give your mouser or pup real booze, folks. Instead, it's made from beets, herbs and catnip, and comes in cutely named varieties such as The Doggy Mary, The Meowmosa, Catbernet, Chardognay and Pinot Meow. They're just some of the products startup Apollo Peak has been selling for the last two years, alongside special cat wine glasses — and they now have competition thanks to Pet Winery and their Catinis and Dog Perignon. Like all great ideas, someone else got their first, with a Japanese company releasing Nyan Nyan (or meow meow) Nouveau for cats back in 2013. Still, your purrfect pal surely won't mind, even if felines are known for their discerning tastes. Plus, your barking buddy now gets to join in the fun too. Via Good Food.
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=HdF25b1tv1g THE NEST Before watching The Nest, you mightn't have imagined Jude Law playing Mad Men's Don Draper. He didn't, of course. But this new 80s-set psychological thriller about a corroding marriage brings that idea to mind, because it too follows a man who spends his days selling a dream, thinks he can talk and charm his way into anything, and may have unleashed his biggest spin upon himself. More often than not, Law's character here has used his charisma to get whatever he wants, and to evade whichever sticky personal and professional situations he's plunged himself into. Indeed, stock trader Rory O'Hara slides easily into Law's list of suave on-screen roles, alongside the likes of The Talented Mr Ripley and Alfie. But there's also a tinge of desperation to his arrogance, as the actor showcased well in miniseries The Third Day. A Brit who relocated to New York and married horse trainer Allison (Carrie Coon, Widows), Rory looks the picture of Reagan-era affluence but, when he suddenly wants to return to London to chase new work opportunities, the cracks in his facade start widening. As directed with a heightened sense of dread by Martha Marcy May Marlene filmmaker Sean Durkin, The Nest busts open those fractures, with Allison, her teenage daughter Sam (Oona Roche, Morning Wars) and her son Ben (Charlie Shotwell, The Nightingale) all weathering the repercussions. While it's obvious from the outset that trouble is afoot, Durkin isn't in any rush to unleash The Nest's full nightmare. He wants his viewers to linger in it, because his characters must. Allison is forced to live with the knowledge that little is right, but the way she chain-smokes hurriedly illustrates that she also knows how far her fortunes could fall. Every move Rory makes is driven by his need to paint a gleaming portrait of himself, and he knows that it's a reverse Dorian Gray situation: the shinier and flashier he makes everything seem to anyone who'll listen, the more he rots inside. Durkin doesn't just rely upon an exacting pace and a festering mood of gloom, though. Reuniting with cinematographer Mátyás Erdély (Son of Saul) after 2013 miniseries Southcliffe, he gives every second of The Nest an eerie look — whether staying a few beats longer than normal on its opening shot, lensing vast rooms to emphasise their emptiness, repeatedly peering at the film's characters through glass or breaking out the most gradual of zooms. All that tension and unease conveys not only Rory and Allison's domestic discontent, but also the false promises of chasing capitalism-driven fantasies. And, with Coon as essential as Law and Durkin, it drives an excellent thriller that knows how how gut-wrenching it feels to realise that the life you don't even love is a sham. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZg2iEf-fTA EARWIG AND THE WITCH If you wanted to use Studio Ghibli's name as an adjective, it could mean many things, including beautiful, playful, moving, heartwarming, thoughtful and bittersweet. Thanks to the delightful combination of these traits in the company's work to-date, everyone knows a Ghibli film when they see it, as has proven the case for almost four decades. But, seven years after When Marnie Was There — and five years since French co-production The Red Turtle — the Japanese animation house has released a movie that doesn't slide instantly into its gorgeous and affecting catalogue. The studio's first film made solely using computer-generated 3D animation, Earwig and the Witch immediately stands out thanks to its plastic-looking visuals. That smooth, glossy imagery is impossible not to notice. It feels generic, and that sensation lingers. Indeed, almost everything in this slight, bright, likeable but rarely memorable addition to Studio Ghibli's filmography also earns the same description. And, despite focusing on a determined young girl, featuring a witch, and even including a talking cat and other helpful tiny critters, Earwig and the Witch rarely works Ghibli's usual magic. A by-the-numbers movie from the company is still better than many other family-friendly features — and this is average rather than awful, too — but the animated effort makes its audience work to uncover its modest charms. In a thinly plotted picture that tries to tick off as many of the studio's known traits as possible — and also endeavours to squeeze Ghibli's sensibilities into the broader anime mould, all while appealing more firmly to children than adults — viewers first meet Earwig (Kokoro Hirasawa) as a baby. After trying to shake off the dozen other witches chasing them along a highway during the opening scene of this Gorō Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill)-directed film, her mother (Sherina Munaf) leaves her on an orphanage's doorstep, promising to return after her never-explained troubles subside. Ten years later, Earwig still roams the facility's halls. She brags to her offsider Custard (Yusei Saito) that she knows how to get its staff and its residents to bend to her will, and to whip up shepherd's pie on demand. And, she actively doesn't want to be adopted by the couples who stop by looking to expand their families. But when Earwig is chosen by witch Bella Yaga (Shinobu Terajima) and sorcerer The Mandrake (Etsushi Toyokawa), she has no option but to relocate to their enchanted cottage. Bella Yaga doesn't want a daughter, however. Instead, as based on the novel by Howl's Moving Castle author Diana Wynne Jones, the witch is in need of an assistant to cook, clean and crush rat bones for her spells. Seeing a chance to learn magic herself, though, Earwig isn't willing to acquiesce easily. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8t4VuMb__E WILD MOUNTAIN THYME It doesn't happen every week, thankfully, but every now and then a movie proves so ridiculous that it's impossible to forget. Some films overtly strive for silliness from the start, while others become ludicrous slowly and/or unintentionally — and Wild Mountain Thyme falls into the latter category. For most of its duration, this rom-com is somehow both bland and over the top. It sticks to a formulaic setup that takes a few cues from Romeo and Juliet, brings in neighbouring Irish farmers instead, and demonstrates zero reason for its central couple to remain apart. It does all of the above while throwing in so many shots of green Irish fields, you'd be forgiven for expecting to spy a sea of four-leaf clovers. And, it tasks Christopher Walken with narrating the feature with a terrible accent, and uses his first line to tell us that his character is telling this tale from beyond the grave. Again and again, Wild Mountain Thyme makes you question why its cast are involved, and wonder what Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan and Jon Hamm could've been doing instead. All those observations keep applying as its minutes drag by, too. But then comes a reveal that's as absurd as everything that Cats managed to serve up, and as unnecessary as well. Writer/director John Patrick Shanley won an Oscar for penning the script for Nicolas Cage and Cher-starring romantic comedy Moonstruck, which wasn't afraid to march to its own beat; however, there's no precedent for his latest movie's big leap. Worlds away from A Quiet Place's horrors — but perhaps not far enough from the Fifty Shades franchise's messiness — Blunt and Dornan play Rosemary Muldoon and Anthony Reilly. The pair have lived side by side all of their lives, and she has always had a crush on him, but nothing more than awkward friendship has ever arisen. Soon, though, something else upsets their patch of turf. As made clear in the opening narration, Anthony's father Tony (Walken, still having a bad run after The War with Grandpa) might not be long for this world. In his waning days, he's not convinced that his son has what it takes to keep working the land, so he's contemplating giving everything to his American nephew (Hamm, Richard Jewell) instead. Cast Blunt, Dornan and Hamm in the same rom-com, and there's obviously going to be a love triangle. At least Hamm doesn't have to put on a bad accent. There's a lyrical feel to the way Wild Mountain Thyme regards life, love and the land, but that's one of the very rare bright spots in a movie that only seems capable of operating in the lowest or highest of gears. It also features perhaps the least believable day-trip from Ireland to New York and back, but, if nothing else, it showcases Shanley's versatility — because last time he wrote and directed a movie based on his own play, as he does here, it was vastly dissimilar, four-time Oscar-nominated drama Doubt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZqVPMNgwP8 WILD THINGS There's much that's confronting in Sally Ingleton's Wild Things, including everything that the activists in its frames are fighting for. As long as the response to global warming remains woefully inadequate, it should feel distressing whenever you're reminded how the planet is changing, how quickly, what's at stake and what could be in store — even in a documentary that champions everyone who is doing everything they can to try to bring about much-needed action. But it's the torrent of anger directed at protestors at Queensland's Adani mine site that makes an immediate impact from Wild Things' array of footage. While the expletives shouted barely register, the tone behind them certainly does. So too does the sight of the same screaming semi-trailer driver inching his bulky truck closer and closer towards the standing activists, and yelling that he's doing it because he's got a job to do. Comparing his ire and threats with the signs held peacefully by the crowd, and the calm explanations from attendees about why they've taken up the cause, certainly sends a message. The earth is burning, and many who work in industries that exacerbate the planet's precarious state are simply burning with rage at anyone attempting to make a difference, rather than doing something to help face the situation themselves. Joining TV docos Australia's Great Flood and Acid Ocean among the environmentally focused works on her resume, Ingleton's film also joins a growing list of features about climate change. And, specifically, it sits among a subset of the eco-conscious genre that's only going to keep adding to its numbers: movies about activists. Where 2020's I Am Greta showed the battle from Greta Thunberg's perspective, including the toll it can take, Wild Things splits its focus between several groups on our own home soil. School kids who help plan giant marches and demand meetings with politicians, doctors willing to camp in trees to try to stop logging, grandmothers hoping to leave the world intact for their families, communities who've sprung up around their shared cause — they all earn Ingleton's attention. Along the way, the documentary also weaves in a history of Australia's environmental protests, calls upon ample footage of both past and present activities in action, and pays careful attention to the country's scenic landscape. Indeed, in terms of style, Wild Things sticks to a familiar template, as its heavy use of talking-head interviews demonstrates. But the power of the stories it's telling and the movement they belong to don't need slick packaging; these tales, this topic and the passion of those striving to bring about real efforts to combat the planet's warming resonate more than enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx8l_Hhm2Oo WRONG TURN Horror films may routinely tally up a hefty body count, but franchises in the genre rarely stay dead for long. The latest to return after a hiatus: Wrong Turn. Like the most recent Halloween movie, it keeps things simple by taking the same name as the original film in its series. Unlike that excellent addition to an entertaining saga, however, Wrong Turn circa 2021 is a reboot. The same broad concept carries over, but it's given new faces and a slight twist. So, once again, a group that doesn't usually hail from rural Virginia heads that way, only for its members to find themselves at the mercy of the locals. This time, it's Jen Shaw (Charlotte Vega, Warrior Nun), her boyfriend Darius Clemens (Adain Bradley, Riverdale), and their pals Milla (Emma Dumont, The Gifted), Adam (Dylan McTee, Roswell, New Mexico), Gary (Vardaan Arora, Blindspot) and Luis (Adrian Favela, Booksmart) who've made the trip, with plans to spend a couple of days hiking the Appalachian Trail. They're warned to stick to the official track by everyone in town, but shrug off those cautions when Darius suggests a scenic detour. And, they're soon doing more than just walking, with a community of mountain-dwellers who call themselves The Foundation crossing their paths — and showing their displeasure about the outsiders encroaching on their home. It's a credit to screenwriter Alan McElroy, who also penned the original 2003 Wrong Turn, that the series' seventh instalment doesn't stick as faithfully to its predecessor as it could've. That said, his script can't manage to successfully balance its nods to the franchise's slasher formula and its eagerness to cut into creepy cult territory — supplementing one set of horror tropes with another, basically — or to supply its cast with anything other than boilerplate dialogue. The film also stays in obvious terrain by painting its enthusiastic young hikers as a snapshot of liberal America, exposing their prejudices against small-town folks, then pitting them against the skull-wearing, vengeance-happy Appalachian inhabitants. The situation is never as simplistic as hipsters versus hicks, thankfully, but the movie isn't interested in diving particularly deep either. Director Mike P Nelson (The Domestics) and his crew do relish each and every savage trap set in the woods, as well as the minutiae of The Foundation's insular base, though. Indeed, while the feature's physical horrors prove engaging-enough at best, it frequently seems as if the filmmaker — and the film overall, in fact — would much rather focus on bloody kills and creepy decor, instead of paying lip service to bigger ideas. Nonetheless, although seven years elapsed between 2014's Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort and this average-at-best flick, don't be surprised if more now follow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdppl5Fnmys THE FOOD CLUB Since 2011, whenever a film follows a mature-aged group of travellers while they go on vacation to forget their daily woes, it earns comparisons to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its 2015 sequel. But another movie also casts a shadow over The Food Club, with its tale of three women holidaying in Italy and endeavouring to confront their romantic struggles in the process often reminiscent of the cringe-worthy trip to Abu Dhabi in the awful Sex and the City 2. That resemblance doesn't do this new Danish comedy any favours. Thankfully, The Food Club also bears a likeness to every other movie that's charted the new lease on life gained during a getaway, because most features in this category routinely prove that generic. The long list spans everything from How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Under the Tuscan Sun to Eat, Pray, Love and Made in Italy, and the feeling that if you've seen one then you've seen them all doesn't subside here. In the hands of director Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg (One-Two-Three Now!) and screenwriter Anne-Marie Olesen (Scandinavian TV series Black Widows), the combination of amorous entanglements, existential malaise and a scenic setting plays out as it usually does. It's Christmas Eve when Marie (Kirsten Olesen, Wild Witch) learns that her life is about to fall apart, after her husband Henrik (Peter Hesse Overgaard, The Legacy) tells her that he's seeing another woman. Their children and grandchildren have just gifted them a week in Italy to learn to cook the country's delicious dishes, however, and she's not willing to see that go to waste even in her anger and pain. So, when she passes on the present to her lifelong best friends Berling (Stina Ekblad, Thicker Than Water) and Vanja (Kirsten Lehfeldt, Equinox), they're thrilled — but they insist that Marie still goes with them. At first, she's barely interested in her surroundings or the food, preferring to compose text messages to Henrik instead, but the change of scenery and facing a few hard truths alters her outlook, and Berling and Vanja's as well. The Food Club is as predictable as it sounds, and it's scripted with zero surprises and plenty of time for the genre's cliches, but the film's three leading ladies do everything they can with their stock-standard parts. It's always obvious that Olesen's Marie will reassess her willingness to be at Henrik's beck and call, that Ekblad's no-nonsense Berling is hiding her self-doubts behind her overly libidinous facade, and that Lehfeldt's bereaved Vanja will learn how to move on from her loss, of course, but the three actors bring texture to their roles that isn't abundant in the straightforward script. 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 July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30; August 6, August 13, August 20 and August 27; September 3, September 10, September 17 and September 24; October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29; and 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. 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 and High Ground.
Everyone should make the trip to Victoria's Grampians at least once, and here's as ace an excuse to do so as any: the return of much-loved camping festival Pitch Music & Arts. In 2024, it'll host its seventh edition, taking over Moyston again — and the fest's just-dropped lineup is worth getting excited about. The long-running celebration unleashes its fun across the Grampian Plains, with next years' festivities happening from Friday, March 8–Tuesday, March 12. Not only will its three stages play host to a sparkling lineup of local and international musical talent, but the tunes will be backed by a hefty program of interactive art and installations. Basically, you're in for a very big, very busy four days. On the lineup: Janson, Patrick Mason, I Hate Models, 999999999, Job Jobse, Marcel Dettmann and VTSS, for starters. X CLUB., CC:DISCO!, DJ BORING, Kia and Jennifer Loveless are also on the bill, plus everyone from Chaos in the CBD, Sally C, Gabrielle Kwarteng and SALOME to jamesjamesjames playing back to back with Willaris. K, Glass Beams, Sophie McAlister and Tangela. The tunes will be paired with a yet-to-be-announced arts program, but past years have seen street artist Adnate, installation king Clayton Blake (winner of Best Art at Burning Man 2018) and Gumbaynggirr woman Aretha Brown from KISS MY ART do the honours. In between all the dance-floor sessions and arty things, festivalgoers can again make themselves at home in the Pitch Pavilion, which is where yoga classes, meditation and sound baths usually help patrons unwind. If that all sounds like your true calling, you'll have to enter the Pitch Music & Arts 2024 ballot where, just like in 2023, entrants will be required to make a 'Pitch Pledge' — a written commitment to positively contributing to the Pitch community, leaving no trace and behaving respectfully while onsite. PITCH MUSIC & ARTS 2024 LINEUP: 999999999 Ahadadream Akua Anz Aroha Aurora Halal Bailey Ibbs Bambounou Bertie Bitter Babe Cakes Da Killa CC:DISCO! Chaos in the CBD Chippy Nonstop Chlär Clara Cuvé Cromby dameeeela b2b DJ PGZ Dan Shake Daniel Avery DJ BORING DJ Gigola Gabrielle Kwarteng Gerd Janson Glass Beams Hasvat Informant Horse Meat Disco I Hate Models jamesjamesjames b2b Willaris. K Jennifer Loveless JNETT Job Jobse Kessler Kia KiNK KSMBA LB aka LABAT Mac Declos Mama Snake Marcel Dettmann Mark Blair Matisa MC Yallah & Debmaster MCR-T Memphis LK Moopie Narciss Nene H Nite Fleit ØTTA Patrick Mason priya RONA. Sally C SALOME Sedef AdasÏ Shampain SHERELLE Sophie McAlister Special Request Spray Surusinghe Tangela THC TYGAPAW VTSS X-Coast X CLUB. Yikes Pitch Music & Arts will return to Moyston from Friday, March 8–Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Head to the festival's website for further details, or to enter the ballot before 12pm AEDT on Wednesday, November 8. General tickets will go on sale from 6pm AEDT on Monday, November 13. Top Images: Duncographic, William Hamilton Coates and Ash Caygill.
Sometimes, Zac Efron earns headlines because he's spending the pandemic in Australia. Sometimes, it's thanks to whichever film he has in cinemas. And, sometimes it's because he's been in the gym preparing for a movie, as has Jeremy Allen White. That flick getting the Gold and The Bear stars bulked up and bringing them together? The Iron Claw. In this wrestling drama, the Von Erich family is rumbling onto the big screen, with help from not just Efron and White but also Harris Dickinson (Scrapper), Maura Tierney (Your Honor), Holt McCallany (Mindhunter) and Lily James (What's Love Got to Do with It?). The IRL brood get the biopic treatment in this 80s-set effort from Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Nest director Sean Durkin — and if you're wondering why, then you've clearly never heard of the "Von Erich curse". As the just-dropped trailer for the A24 film shows, the Von Erich brothers are all keen wrestlers under the guidance of patriarch Fritz (McCallany), who is pushing his inseparable offspring to be the best. The line between encouraging and domineering is thin, however, in a tale that piles on more than its fair share of tragedies along with championships. "Ever since I was a child, people said my family was cursed," says Kevin (Efron) in the first sneak peek at The Iron Claw, which is named after a wrestling move associated with Fritz and the family. "Mom tried to protect us with god, pop tried to protect us with wrestling," he continues. "He said if we were the toughest, the strongest, nothing would ever hurt us. I believed him. We all did." What happens from there will hit picture palaces in the US on Friday, December 22, and then on Thursday, January 18 Down Under. From the first footage from the film — which comes set to Blue Öyster Cult's '(Don't Fear) the Reaper', cowbell and all — viewers can expect training scenes, pressure, plenty of skin, Fritz issuing his sons rankings regarding his favourites, complicated family bonds, trauma, in-the-ring action and James as Kevin's wife Pam. Check out the trailer for The Iron Claw below: The Iron Claw hits cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 18. Images: Brian Roede / Eric Chakeen.
Puppies underwater. That's all you really need to know. But if you're looking for some more context, photographer Seth Casteel is actually one of the world's biggest catches — the man teaches puppies to swim. Teaches. Puppies. To swim. According to Mashable, Casteel has taught over 1500 dogs to paddle their way to glorious swimming success, building up their doggy confidence so they can impress the canine babes in their teen years. Shooting the lessons for his just-released and made-for-everyone-ever's coffee table book Underwater Puppies. Casteel has been doing this for a while; his first book Underwater Dogs followed the same vein. Not since these outrageously excellent photographs of dogs captured mid-shakedown have we squealed with such unfettered delight. Just look at this dude: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4ZZNVrU9w34 So here you go, the ultimate scrollworthy medicine for an average Thursday. ACK. Ruger Corey Rolley Pringles and Pick Me Reason Popsicle Monty Ava Ginger Iggy Via Mashable. Images: Seth Casteel.
UPDATE: JULY 17, 2020 — All of the Hella Mega Tour dates for Australia and New Zealand have been cancelled due to COVID set backs. Tickets will be refunded but no new dates will be released. For more information, head to the event Instagram. We hope you'll have the time of your life with the latest retro tour announcement. We hope it makes you feel just like Buddy Holly, too. Bands who were big a couple of decades back just keep teaming up and heading to our shores for nostalgia-dripping gigs — and, in music to our greedy ears, Green Day, Weezer and and Fall Out Boy have revealed that they're all doing just that come November 2020. Hot on the heels of a similar announcement by The Offspring and Sum 41 just last week, the bands who gave us 'American Idiot', 'Undone — The Sweater Song' and 'This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race' will be hitting up Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, before heading over to NZ for shows in Auckland and Dunedin. It's the latest leg of the trio's Hella Mega Tour, which they first announced in September last year, and which sees them play across Europe, North America, and now Australia and New Zealand. Green Day, Weezer and and Fall Out Boy have all actually released new music lately, with Green Day's 13th album dropping today, February 7, and Weezer's 14th album expected in May. That means they'll all have new tunes to bust out as well. But, admit it — if you're excited about seeing this trio of American rock bands share a stage, then you're excited about hearing their respective back catalogues live. Given they've been doing their punk-styled thing since the late 80s, Green Day certainly have plenty of iconic tracks — whether you prefer early 90s hits 'Welcome to Paradise' and 'When I Come Around', the late 90s-era likes of 'Good Riddance' and 'Nice Guys Finish Last', or mid-00s songs like 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'. Weezer's discography is just as hefty — and if they don't play 'Island in the Sun' while they're touring these islands in the sun, you're allowed to be upset. As for Fall Out Boy, the tour comes just after they dropped their second best-of album last November, so you know they'll treating audiences to everything from 'Dance, Dance' to 'Uma Thurman'. Local support for all shows comes from New Zealand power-rock four-piece The Beths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erG5rgNYSdk THE HELLA MEGA 2020 AUSTRALIAN and NZ TOUR DATES Perth — Sunday, November 8, HBF Park Melbourne — Wednesday, November 11, Marvel Stadium Sydney — Saturday, November 14, Bankwest Stadium Brisbane — Tuesday, November 17, Suncorp Stadium Dunedin — Friday, November 20, Forsyth Barr Stadium Auckland — Sunday, November 22, Mt Smart Stadium Fan pre-sale tickets for The Hella Mega Tour go on sale at 10am local time on Monday, February 10. Then, there will be a Live Nation pre-sale — that starts at 10am local time on Tuesday, February 11 in Australia, and 10am local time on Thursday, February 13 in New Zealand. Finally, general tickets on sale at 11am local time on Friday, February 14. Visit the tour website to sign up for pre-sale and for further details.
Ever since the ABC's War on Waste aired in May this year, we've seen a significant shift in the way people think about waste — from the bananas amount of bananas that are thrown away each day to the single-use coffee cups and plastic items we thoughtlessly use whenever we like. But it's that last item — plastic — that's seen some big companies spring to action. Last month grocery chains Coles, Woolworths, and NSW-based Harris Farm announced that they would ban single-use plastic bags by from 2018 — a huge (and influential) example of big business leading change. Now Hobart City Council is planning to take city-wide action by phasing out single-use plastic takeaway containers and cutlery completely. According to the ABC, the council voted 10-1 to amend draft environmental health bylaws which will see the items banned by 2020. They'll be replaced by compostable alternatives, which will be processed at a proposed new facility. If the changes are implemented, Hobart will be the first Australian city to completely ban single-use plastic containers — and it's quite possible others will follow suit. Last year France last year committed to phasing out single-use plastic plates, cups and cutlery across the entire country by 2020. Slowly, it seems the tide is finally changing — and hopefully we'll see a lot less plastic in it. Via ABC.
For all the logicality of urban planners and architects, we often end up with some pretty weird conglomerations of concrete and steel around town. Once in a while, we all end up staring at a nonsensical urban nook while waiting at the traffic lights and thinking, 'why?'. Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner and his company take that reverie one step further with Bodies in Urban Spaces. They see an odd little city space and think: human Tetris. So how does it work? Dorner enlists a group of movement artists (whose skills are not solely focused on dance — he also hires climbers, martial artists and circus performers) and choreographs a performance that sees these 20 human bodies, clad in bright colour-blocked clothes, gracefully shove themselves into any sort of architectural gap they can find, hold their positions for several minutes and then effortlessly wriggle out of the tight spot and move on to the next. What it means for the passer-by is that your eyes fall on brightly colour-blocked human staying perfectly, magically still in an otherwise dead space. "Bodies in Urban Spaces is an invitation to let go, to take the time for a new look at the city, an opportunity to think so that we can form opinions about what makes a city a liveable space, and eventually make changes to achieve that goal," says Dorner. Bodies in Urban Spaces premiered in 2007 and has been co-produced by festivals and venues across Europe and the US ever since. It will be appearing in Sydney for Art & About on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, from 12.30-2pm. Check out more of their cheeky and surreal appearances around the world in the images below.
It’s a daunting task deciding what to do for New Year's Eve. It is doubly worse if you are unorganised (like me) and have not planned anything for the big night; you might find yourself missing out on something fun. The Fox Hotel has taken up the party mantle and have planned a massive New Year's Eve bash with a trendy theme that will satisfy both cool-cats and party-dogs. Step inside the South Bank hotspot and be transported straight to Manhattan Island, with the Fox Hotel being transformed into several unique districts of the Big Apple such as Hells Kitchen, Meatpacking district, West Village and the Lower East Side. As for entertainment, there will be burlesque performances by Vanguard, live sets from The Belligerents (pictured) and The Kramers, art installations and live art installations. Tickets are $99 and include a huge food and beverage package. I think my New Year's Eve is sorted. How about yours?
It's happening again: for the third time in a mere 12 months, the Brisbane Lions are into a grand final. The AFL club's women's team made the last dance in their 2022 season, then the men's did the same in their 2023 season — and now the women's squad is back on the big stage, qualifying for their season decider again this year. The success of Brisbane's AFLW team over the women's competition's eight-season run to date is phenomenal. When captain Bre Koenen and her fellow footballers run out at Ikon Park in Melbourne on Sunday, December 3, they'll be into their fifth grand final since the AFLW started in 2017. That's a record, and has seen the Lions' women's squad contest the first two grand finals, then win a premiership in 2021, and now make back-to-back deciders in 2022 and 2023. Last year, they didn't emerge victorious — but here's hoping that'll change this year. [caption id="attachment_928654" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Russell Freeman/AFL Photos[/caption] Keen to watch along in a crowd right here in Brisbane? South Bank is bringing back a sporting favourite from across the last 12 months, because the River City loves coming out in force to see pivotal games — be it the 2022 Men's World Cup, multiple times during the Women's World Cup, for the Lions' men's team and now for the Lions' women's squad. Yes, it's hosting a live viewing site. Expect to see plenty of maroon, blue and gold again. Watch Koenen, Ally Anderson, Cathy Svarc, Sophie Conway, Nat Grider, Belle Dawes, Courtney Hodder and more take on North Melbourne from 1.30pm AEST at South Bank's Rainforest Green, with the big-screen coverage running from 12–4pm. As well as the game, there'll be face painting for kids, a photo wall, merchandise stalls — slinging Lions gear, of course — and giveaways. If you're an AFL fan, there's no better way to spend the first Sunday in December. [caption id="attachment_928655" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Josh Ryan via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Top image: Chris Hyde/Getty Images via AFL Photos.
Over the past few years, Gelatissimo has whipped up a number of creative flavours, including frosé sorbet, gelato for dogs, and ginger beer, Weet-Bix, fairy bread, hot cross bun, cinnamon scroll, chocolate fudge and bubble tea gelato. Most recently, it made Biscoff, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's Kisses varieties, too. For its latest offering, the Australian dessert chain is taking inspiration from another beloved foodstuff — in case you can't choose between tracking down and devouring some Caramilk chocolate or licking your way through a few scoops of ice cream. Yes, that very combination is now on the menu, with Caramilk Hokey Pokey-inspired gelato earning the honours as Gelatissimo's January flavour of the month. Now on sale, it starts with caramelised white chocolate gelato — which is then topped with hazelnut and peanut toffee pieces. If you're only just learning about Caramilk Hokey Pokey bars, that's because they haven't been easy to come by in Australia — but now you can try the next best thing in ice cream form. At Gelatissimo, the new gelato flavour will only be available for the month of January at all stores Australia-wide, and only while stocks last. That includes via delivered take-home packs via services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and DoorDash. Gelatissimo's Caramilk Hokey Pokey gelato is available from all stores nationwide for the month of January.
You could say that humans and space got fairly chummy in 2012 as they reconnected in many new and exciting ways. It was a fantastic year for NASA. As many new discoveries and advancements were made with the planet Mars, we have extended our view of space and said goodbye to a space legend. Through highs and lows, Earth has become but a dot in our ever-increasing knowledge of the universe, and these moments have significantly increased potential for space exploration in the future. Perhaps the worlds of Futurama, Star Trek, or Total Recall are really not that far away after all. Here are 10 of the most remarkable space moments from BBC News that occurred in 2012. 10. The Supermoon Once a year, a cosmic event occurs in which the full moon appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than in other months. 2012's 'Supermoon' occurred in May and produced some truly spectacular photographs. 9. First Triathlon in Space NASA astronaut Sunita Williams became the first person to run, bike, and swim her way through a triathlon - in space. The US commander of the Expedition 33 crew on the space station 386km from Earth completed the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in California along with her fellow athletes. She completed the course using exercise equipment: a stationary bike, a treadmill, and a strength-training machine specially formulated for weightlessness. 8. 26 New Alien Planets in 11 Solar Systems In January 2012, NASA announced that its Kepler telescope discovered 11 previously unknown solar systems, within which there were 26 alien planets, known as exoplanets. The size of these planets ranges from 1.5 times larger than Earth to even bigger than Jupiter, with their orbital periods ranging from 6 to 143 days and all of them located closer to their stars than Venus. This find almost doubled the quantity of planets discovered by Kepler in its two-year history and reinforces the exponential number of planets, particularly exoplanets, that exist in our universe. 7. The Earth Sings The Earth really gained a voice as NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission managed to capture radio waves emitted by energetic particles of the Van Allen belts in the magnetosphere and rendered them into an audio recording. This 'chorus' apparently sounds similar to a whale's song. 6. Space Shuttle Endeavour's LA Trek Endeavor was the fifth and final spaceworthy shuttle to be used in NASA's space shuttle program. The retired orbiter conducted 25 space missions during its 19-year career from 1992 to 2011. In October, the 155,000 pound Endeavor made its final mission, trekking the 12-mile journey from the Los Angeles International Airport to the Californian Science Centre, avoiding trees, utility poles, and the mass of stunned onlookers. 5. SpaceX Dragon attaches to the ISS The Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, a private American space transportation company, that in May became the first commercial spacecraft to be successfully attached to the International Space Station. The Dragon delivered a series of cargo shipments, which brought 20 metric tons of supplies into space. This advancement brings the possibility of private space flight significantly closer to reality. 4. Space Jump Breaking the world record for not only the highest jump from a platform (128,100 feet), the longest distance freefall (119,846 feet), and the maximum vertical velocity (833.9 mph), stuntman Felix Baumgartner also broke the YouTube record for the most concurrent views ever on livestream (8 million viewers). This Austrian daredevil really took record-breaking to new heights. 3. Farthest Ever View into the Universe This view captured by the Hubble Space Telescope depicts thousands of galaxies within the constellation Formax, billion of light years away. The composite image from 10 years of telescopic views shows planets so far away that they don't even exist anymore. The title eXtreme Deep Field feels highly appropriate here. 2. Goodbye to a Space Pioneer and Legend The end of an era arrived when the world bid farewell to Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon in 1969. The world renowned astronaut passed away at 82 after complications from a heart bypass surgery but will forever be remembered for his incredible feat. 1. Curiosity Rover Makes History on Mars The most impressive advancement to occur in the space arena in 2012 was the Curiosity Rover's incredible experiences on the red planet. Since making her landing on August 5 — an event so tense it was deemed 'the seven minutes of terror' — the rover has discovered an ancient streambed where water once flowed, analysed soil, rock and atmospheric samples on the planet, been the first machine to 'check in' on Mars, and snapped an incredible self-portrait that would leave even MySpace users flabbergasted. And her trip has only just begun, with 20 more months to go before her return.
Sick of traditional Christmas shopping? Had enough of crowded retail nightmares? Confused by crowds crazy for bargains? I for one, am throwing in the towel and not venturing anywhere near a shopping centre for the next couple of weeks purely to escape the madness. Instead, I will be observing potential presents with champagne and canapes in hand amongst a sophisticated crowd. Too good to be true? Not even close. Stone And Metal will be hosting the 2012 Summer launch for Red Phoenix Emporium this Thursday evening at their James Street store. The soiree involves a catwalk collaboration, showcasing Suzanne Brookes clothing and Red Phoenix Emporium jewellery. Of course ladies who lunch need nourishment, so champagne and tasty treats will be available on the night to help put everyone in a good mood. Finally, all purchases receive free gift wrapping, making the evening a one stop Christmas shopping bonanza for the women in your life. RSVPs are essential though, contact info@stoneandmetal.com.au for more information.
Motherland is the tale of three women. Each of them are victims of exile yet each are intrinsically linked by common heritage, familiar struggles and determination. Encompassing historical eras including World War 2 and the Russian Revolution, Motherland explores the journey of these women on an international scale and on a local scale, with Brisbane itself also playing as a significant backdrop to the story. Written by Katherine Lyall-Watson and directed by Caroline Dunphy, Motherland has already been nominated for awards and has earned critical praise for its portrayal of its three main characters and their experiences with displacement and their subsequent identity. This production will run until November 16 at Metro Arts. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or by phone on (07) 3002 7100. Don’t miss this piece of historical fiction, a tale of exile, reunion and returning home.
As it speeds towards notching up two decades of superhero movies and TV shows, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced both ups and downs — but in 2025, it's finally getting fantastic. This is the year that the Fantastic Four joins the franchise, stepping back to Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing and The Human Torch's beginnings in the 1960s in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie hits cinemas in July; however, you can get your first sneak peek now courtesy of the just-dropped teaser trailer. Before there was a MCU, there were Fantastic Four movies. The initial two to earn a big-screen release arrived in 2005 and 2007, with the latter hitting the year before Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Deadpool and Wolverine did 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine, the Stan Lee- and Jack Kirby-created superhero quartet now join the list of characters who are being brought into the MCU fold, as has been on the cards ever since Disney bought 20th Century Fox. Stepping into Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm's shoes this time, as first revealed for Valentine's Day 2024 in the US: Pedro Pascal, who adds the MCU to his resume alongside the Star Wars realm (thanks to The Mandalorian) and game-to-TV smash The Last of Us, as stretchy group leader Richards; Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon), who is bending light as one of the Storm siblings; Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II) proving fiery as the other; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), who is no one's cousin here, instead getting huge, rocky and super strong. In The Fantastic Four: First Steps' debut sneak peek, the focus is on family: family dinners, as cooked by Grimm; family connections and quirks; and the strength of family helping the titular crew with existence's challenges. "Whatever life throws at us, we'll face it together — as a family," Sue notes in the trailer. Pascal and company are taking over from two batches of past movie takes on the superhero team. In the 2005 and 2007 movies, Ioan Gruffudd (Bad Boys: Ride or Die), Jessica Alba (Trigger Warning), a pre-Captain America Chris Evans (Red One) and Michael Chiklis (Accused) starred. Then, in 2015, Chronicle filmmaker Josh Trank gave the group a spin — still outside of the MCU — with Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick), Kate Mara (Friendship), a pre-Black Panther Michael B Jordan (Creed III) and Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers). Directed by WandaVision, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Succession's Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps pits Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach against Ralph Ineson (Nosferatu) as space god Galactus and Julia Garner (Wolf Man) as the Silver Surfer. Also co-starring: Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai), John Malkovich (Ripley), Natasha Lyonne (Fantasmas) and Sarah Niles (Fallen). Check out the first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps below: The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Images: courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and 2025 MARVEL.
Squid Game is a "remember when" show. We all remember when we first saw the South Korean Netflix series, became obsessed, couldn't binge it fast enough, and talked about it and nothing else for days, weeks and more. If you watched it when it initially debuted, that was back in 2021 — and we've been waiting for more ever since. 2024 is finally set to deliver, with Netflix advising shareholders as part of its fourth-quarter earnings review that Squid Game will be back this year. There's no other new details so far, but the series is set to return before 2025 rolls around, alongside season three of Bridgerton and season two of The Diplomat. One of the best new TV programs of 2021, Squid Game was such a huge smash that Netflix confirmed at the beginning of 2022 that a second season was on the way, and also dropped a teaser trailer for it the same year. And, it turned the show's whole premise into an IRL competition series as well, which debuted in 2023 — without any murders, of course. Squid Game: The Challenge has already been picked up for a second season. After getting the world seeing marbles, hopscotch and tug of war as far more than ordinary, innocent activities that everyone enjoyed when they were kids, the streaming platform also revealed in 2023 exactly who'll be playing Squid Game season two. Lee Jung-jae (Deliver Us From Evil) returns as the show's protagonist Seong Gi-hun, while Lee Byung-hun (The Magnificent Seven) will be back as the masked Front Man as well. They'll be joined by Wi Ha-joon (Little Women) as detective Hwang Jun-ho, plus Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) as the man in the suit who got Gi-hun into the game in the first place. A show about a deadly competition that has folks battling for ridiculous riches comes with a hefty bodycount, which means that new faces were always going to be essential in Squid Game season two. Yim Si-wan (Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha-neul (Insider), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations) will all join the series. If you somehow missed all things Squid Game when it premiered, even after it became bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning series serves up a puzzle-like storyline and unflinching savagery, which unsurprisingly makes quite the combination. It also steps into societal divides within South Korea, a topic that wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but has been given a boost after that stellar flick's success. Accordingly, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between Parasite and Squid Game, although Netflix's highly addictive series goes with a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup. Here, 456 competitors are selected to work their way through six seemingly easy children's games. They're all given numbers and green tracksuits, they're competing for 45.6 billion won, and it turns out that they've also all made their way to the contest after being singled out for having enormous debts. Check out Netflix's Squid Game season two cast announcement video below: Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix — we'll update you with an exact 2024 release date for season two when one is announced. Images: Netflix.
Angus Stone is embarking on a solo tour to promote his new album, Broken Brights. Known mostly for his work with sister Julia in the award winning folk-pop duo, Angus and Julia Stone, Angus is breaking away on his own with a mammoth tour that will see him performing not only in Australia, but also Europe and North America. Broken Brights has been earning favourable criticism all over the world, with Mojo Magazine giving it 4 stars and Triple J naming it ‘album of the week, this solo effort is doing well even before its release on November 6th. Stone describes the album and “a whole different trip” to his previous efforts, with reports saying that the album ‘deftly shifts between genres without compromising’ and is as ‘steady as a heartbeat’. If those quotes piqued your interest, check out the album and check out Angus when he performs at The HiFi.
They topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2002. They've featured Dave Grohl on drums. Their third studio album Songs for the Death is one of the all-time-great 00s records. They're Queens of the Stone Age, of course, and now they're bringing their latest tour Down Under in 2024, with the band heading our way for the first time in six years. The Josh Homme-fronted group's The End Is Nero tour will be their first trip to Australasia since 2018, and comes after their eighth album In Times New Roman... released in June this year. Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore are giving their latest shows an apocalyptic theme, which fans can look forward to seeing at 11 stops in February and March. [caption id="attachment_923130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andreas Neumann[/caption] On the itinerary: kicking off the tour in Perth, then heading to Adelaide, Hobart, Torquay, Melbourne, Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane — plus Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The Hobart gig will take place on the Mona Lawns, with the date coinciding with Mona Foma 2024 — and yes, they're the Tasmanian fest's first act, with the rest of the event's lineup yet to be revealed. Concertgoers can look forward to a setlist that steps through QOTSA's 27-year history, including their Hottest 100 winner 'No One Knows', plus everything from 'Go with the Flow' and 'Make It Wit Chu' to 'Emotion Sickness' and 'The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret'. In support: Pond and Gut Health on most Australia shows, with The Chats, Spiderbait and Lola Scott joining them in Torquay and on the Gold Coast. In NZ, Pond and Earth Tongue will do the honours. [caption id="attachment_923129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wünderbrot via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Queens of the Stone Age formed in Seattle in 1996 after Homme's prior band Kyuss split up, is linked to the Palm Desert music scene and have seven Grammy nominations to their name. Despite the long gap since their last trip Down Under, they're no strangers to playing Australia, including a joint tour with Nine Inch Nails back in 2014. See QOTSA in February after catching Foo Fighters on their November–December Australian and New Zealand tour and you'll have quite the 00s rock experience. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE 'THE END IS NERO' AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2024: Saturday, February 10 — Red Hill Auditorium, Perth Tuesday, February 13 — The Drive, Adelaide Friday, February 16 — Mona Lawns, Hobart Sunday, February 18 — Lookout, Torquay Common, Torquay Monday, February 19 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Wednesday, February 21 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Saturday, February 24 — Lookout, Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast Sunday, February 25–Monday, February 26 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Thursday, February 29 — Spark Arena, Auckland Friday, March 1 — TSB Arena, Wellington Sunday, March 3 — Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch Queens of the Stone Age are touring Australia and New Zealand in February and March 2024, with presales from 11am local time on Wednesday, October 25 and general ticket sales from 1pm local time on Monday, October 30 — head to the band's and ticketing websites for more information. Top image: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.
April 14, 2018, will forever go down in history as the day Beyoncé took to the Coachella stage and made it her own. If you were lucky enough to be there, you'll no doubt remember it forever. If you watched the live stream — and it became the most-watched live-streamed performance of all time, so you probably did — then you'll never forget it either. Whichever category you fell into, you likely wish you were closer to the action — to the stage for the 105-minute performance, to the 100-plus dancers, to its powerful homage to America's historically black colleges and universities, and to the backstage antics as well. Enter Netflix's Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé, the concert documentary you definitely knew you needed, but didn't know existed until now. On Wednesday, April 17, the streaming platform will release the in-depth look at Beyoncé's epic show, revealing "the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement" according to the official synopsis. The film reportedly clocks in at 137 minutes, so expect a lengthy and intimate tour through the festival set everyone has been talking about for a year, including behind-the-scenes footage and candid chats that delve into the preparation process and Beyoncé's stunning vision. Even if Beyoncé hadn't put on such a fierce 32-song performance complete with a marching band, Beychella still would've made history. Her performance was a year in the making, with the music superstar originally scheduled to play in 2017, but dropping out due to pregnancy (with twins Rumi and Sir). And when she finally appeared before the California crowd, she became the first black woman to headline the fest — and only the third woman to do so in 20 years. News of the film comes just as one of Beyoncé's 2018 co-stars, her sister Solange, announced that she was pulling out of this year's Coachella due to "major production delays". Check out the trailer for Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8qvx0HOlI Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé hits Netflix on Wednesday, April 17.
In Woody Allen's latest film, Cate Blanchett plays Jasmine, an unpleasant socialite who's fallen on hard times. Jasmine finds herself at odds with her adopted sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), whom she plans to stay with until she is back on her feet. Jasmine had little time for Ginger when she was living high on the hog in Manhattan and finds herself appalled at Ginger's working-class lifestyle and new boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Cannavale), a mechanic. The story flashes back and forth between Jasmine's glamorous New York life of polo matches and Hamptons holidays and her later comeuppance in California. Along the way, Ginger and ex-boyfriend Augie (Andrew Dice Clay) make a rare visit to New York, where Jasmine suggests husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) can invest money for Ginger and Augie. The flashbacks find Jasmine in wilfully ignorant bliss, raising the question of whether she should have taken more of an interest in his staggering accumulation of wealth. The prickly figure of Jasmine, a character who is by turns contemptible and pitiful, washing Xanax down with vodka as she endlessly recounts stories from better times, is perfectly realised, and Blanchett's compelling work lights up one of Woody Allen's darkest films. Blue Jasmine is in cinemas on September 12, and thanks to Hopscotch Films, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BXnktqEWvGM
At two of the world's most-prestigious film festivals, prizes are awarded to the best queer movies on the lineup. Not all cinephiles can attend Cannes and Berlinale, so Australia's Mardi Gras Film Festival is bringing LGBTQIA+ flicks from both 2024 fests Down Under in 2025. Romania's Three Kilometres to the End of the World won the Queer Palm. The Istanbul-set Crossing took home the Teddy Jury Prize in Berlin. They're both highlights of the just-announced MGFF program, which has a date with Sydney cinemas in February — and boasts a roster of almost 150 flicks. The movie-loving component of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, MGFF wants audiences to enjoy its feast of LGBTQIA+ films on the big screen if they can. The bulk of the lineup will hit picture palaces across Thursday, February 13–Thursday, February 27, at venues including Event Cinemas George Street and Hurstville, Dendy Newtown, Ritz Cinemas Randwick, the State Library of NSW and The Rocks Laneway Cinema. For those who can't make it in-person, there's also a small-screen component, streaming a selection of titles on-demand nationwide from Friday, February 28–Monday, March 10. If you're hitting up movie theatres, award-winners aren't Mardi Gras Film Festival's only drawcards. On opening night, coming-of-age tale Young Hearts will start the proceedings with a story of romance in rural Belgium, while French standout Somewhere in Love is doing the honours to close out the physical event. In-between, viewers have 72 sessions to choose from, complete with the world premiere of In Ashes from Denmark-based filmmaker Ludvig C Poulsen; South Korea's Love in the Big City; the Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!)-starring Drive Back Home; and Ponyboi, which features Australian actor and The White Lotus favourite Murray Bartlett (The Last of Us). Or, catch Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, which tells of its namesake's tale from her 50s Nashville success through to disappearing from the public for four decades; Aussie effort Heart of a Man, about a closeted Indigenous boxer; period drama Lilies Not for Me with Fionn O'Shea (Masters of the Air) and Robert Aramayo (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Duino, a semi-autobiographical effort about an Argentinian filmmaker working on a movie about his first love; and the Venus Xtravaganza-focused I'm Your Venus, which is a must for fans of Paris Is Burning. That's just a taste of the program, which spans Aussie festive slasher Carnage for Christmas, Nina Hoss (Tár) in Foreign Language, a documentary about Ani De Franco, Brazilian drama Streets of Gloria and more, too. Blasts from the past come courtesy of a free screening of The Birdcage, plus a 20th-anniversary session of Imagine Me & You (featuring Lena Headey long before Game of Thrones), with both showing under the stars. If you'd like to don a habit, croon tunes in a cinema or both, Sister Act is getting the sing-along treatment. And from the 70s, Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers — which is one of the first-ever trans-led feature films — is making its Sydney premiere. Cabaret is also on the bill, a fitting choice given that documentary Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is on the lineup as well — gifting Liza Minnelli obsessives a double feature. Movie buffs eager to check out the online program from their couch can look forward to the aforementioned Drive Back Home and Heart of the Man; a doco about activist Sally Gearhart; Unusually Normal's factual portrait of a family that includes two lesbian grandmothers, four lesbian mothers and one lesbian granddaughter; and a blend of fiction and reality with 2024 Sundance Special Jury Award-winner Desire Lines, among other titles. A number of shorts programs will be available to stream, too, with packages devoted to Asia Pacific, transgender and gender diverse, queer horror, queer documentaries, sapphic and more. Black Doves' Ben Whishaw pops up in one of the gay shorts, while Hacks' Megan Stalter appears in one of the films in the comedy lineup. 2025's MGFF marks Festival Director Lisa Rose's last at the helm. "The film industry has changed dramatically throughout my time with Queer Screen. The volume of LGBTQIA+ content we see, as well as how and where we see it, continues to evolve," she notes. "Yet the sense of belonging that comes when the lights dim and a room full of queer people experience a queer story together remains a constant. Even when a film has the audience divided, the feeling of community that envelops us is unifying." Queer Screen's 32nd Mardi Gras Film Festival 2025 runs from Thursday, February 13–Thursday, February 27 at venues around Sydney — and online nationally from Friday, February 28–Monday, March 10. For more information, visit the festival's website.
Feeling a big dose of wanderlust and itching to get away? We don't blame you. But sometimes it can be hard to know where to go, and also what you should do when you get there — which is exactly where a trip on the high seas comes in handy. There are more than a few reasons that you should consider hitting the water for your next getaway. Think: taking the stress out of navigating, getting to explore multiple locations, having ample opportunities for 'me time' and finding yourself with an abundance of entertainment options. Need further details? We've partnered with P&O Cruises to run through a couple of things that make cruising a great holiday option. YOU ONLY NEED TO UNPACK YOUR BAGS ONCE One massive benefit of jumping onboard a cruise ship is only having to unpack and repack your bags once. Every seasoned jetsetter knows the pain of having to pack and repack over and over — but on an ocean vessel, you can organise your things in your room and make yourself at home. Your toothbrush can stay in the holder, your clothes can go in the drawers and your skincare will be ready for you in an easy-to-find (and use) arrangement. And you won't ever need to wake up early to try to jam your suitcase shut because you're carting all of your stuff around with you from destination to destination. THERE'S NO CHANCE OF GETTING LOST If you've never been lost while on an adventure, you deserve a round of applause. For most of us mere mortals, this is a problem we're well-acquainted with — along with arguing over directions and getting flustered when driving in new terrain. Cruise ships, however, take all of that stress away by sailing you to exactly where you need to go (no Google Maps required). Instead of getting Siri to help navigate or debating with your travel partner over which turn you were supposed to take, you can just put your feet up and enjoy the ride. YOU CAN EXPLORE MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS Not only do you get to hang out in the fresh ocean air, sip cocktails with a view and relax in the sun when you're on a cruise, but you also get ferried to some amazing locations, which you then get to explore. Think tropical beaches and oceanside towns, plus places where you can take a trip through limestone caves filled with glow worms, snorkel over coral hotspots and hang with wild dolphins. Plus, some cruises also provide shore tours, which take you to hand-picked sights with some stellar tour providers. You get to just hop onboard the ship and be taken straight to a heap of incredible spots. YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR 'ME TIME' There's nothing like a bit of time to rest, recoup and recharge — and the pampering on the side is a pretty great bonus, too. Accordingly, one huge positive of cruise getaways is the ample opportunities they provide for a more than a little stint of 'me time'. Enjoy some solo exercise with a bit of yoga or a run around the onboard jogging track. Ease into a deckchair and escape into a good book, or relax in a salon chair as a beautician pampers you or a hairdresser tends to your locks. As a bonus, there's always retail therapy to fill your solo time if that's more your cup of tea. THERE'S AN ABUNDANCE OF ENTERTAINMENT You'll never be bored on a cruise ship with all the entertainment options on offer. While riding the ocean waves, you'll find plenty of music in the evenings, ranging from acoustic to jazz and R&B. You can flit between heading to theme parties, watching movies and checking out screenings of major sporting events. Plus, hitting the pools and waterslides, feasting at a fancy dinner, and taking part in deck games, table tennis and golf putting. You can take special event cruises too, such as an Elvis-themed trip or an onboard comedy festival with The Big Laugh. With so much to watch, listen to, laugh at and participate in, the time onboard will surely fly. For more information about P&O Cruises, head to the company's website.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the QPAC darkness have it’s epic three book extravaganza story told by one man in an hour?! Come again? It may sound too good/absurd to be true, but fear not Middle Earth fans I do not lie. Charles Ross, of One Man Star Wars Trilogy fame, has been hard at work turning the (approximately) 1200 page trilogy into a one-hour spectacle for your viewing pleasure. Without missing any major plot points or characters, Mr Ross manages to recreate The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King from Bilbo’s birthday in The Shire through to Aragorn’s crowning at Gondor with ridiculous speed and ease. With his only prop a pair of elbow pads, his skill as an actor combined with his and the audience’s collective imagination are a thing to marvel at. Sir Ian Mckellen aka Gandalf has already given it his blessing and confirmed, “if you liked Lord of the Rings, you’ll love Charlie Ross’ version”. Tickets are selling like they’re precious so purchase now. You'd be a fool of a Took to miss it.
Backyard cricket, barbecues and water sports are all Aussie summer clichés for a reason: they're good, wholesome fun. Another one? Outdoor cinemas. And we're here to tell you the very good news that Brisbane's version of this al fresco activity is returning for another season. Sponsored by IMB Bank, Sunset Cinema will take over Mt Coot-tha Botanic Garden from February 28–April 13. Whether you're planning a cosy date night or easy family outing under the stars, this year's program has something for everyone. The nostalgic lineup ranges from 80s cult films like Back to the Future and Dirty Dancing to the latest Hollywood blockbusters including A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Aquaman. Family-friendly options include Mary Poppins Returns and Ralph Breaks The Internet. BYO picnics are encouraged, but if you want to enjoy a sparkling or brew throughout the film, the on-site bar will be serving a range of Grant Burge wine and Young Henrys craft beer and cider. Didn't pack enough snacks? There'll be plenty of the requisite movie treats like popcorn, chips, chocolates and lollies, plus an on-site dining menu of bigger bites. Tickets start at $20 for adults, with a premium $55 lawn lounge package on offer, too — it includes entry, a prime-viewing bean bag reserved on the lawn, dinner, a beverage and a box of popcorn. To see the full program and purchase tickets, visit the Sunset Cinema website.
He might hail from the UK, but internationally renowned artist Bruce Munro is leaving quite the impression Down Under. He's the creative mind behind Uluru's stunning Field of Light installation – which has pulled over 450,000 visitors and been extended three times since launching in mid-2016 – and, more recently, he illuminated Albany's tree-lined Avenue of Honour for ANZAC-inspired work Field of Light: Avenue of Honour. Now, the artist has taken on the Top End for Bruce Munro: Tropical Light, his third Australian installation and first-ever city-wide exhibition, which opened in Darwin last week. Free to visit and running until April 2020, the Northern Territory installation features eight large-scale illuminated sculptural works, inspired by Munro's own travels across the region. Peppered through the CBD and Darwin's waterfront precincts, they make up a self-guided 2.5-kilometre sculpture trail audiences can enjoy at their leisure. Bruce Munro, Pukul Lima Expect to find plenty of pieces referencing the Top End's vivid sunsets and native creatures, along with many an ode to Mother Nature, all showcasing Munro's strong affinity for light. There's Light Shower, Wave Lagoon Canopies, which features 3000 drops of light; the spherical Green Flash in the Old Town Hall Ruins; and Time and Again, Palm Tree Grove — a waterfront piece made up of 37 radiant, stainless steel lilies. Munro's sculpture trail is accompanied by works from five local artists, including acclaimed aerial photographer Paul Arnold and a series of solar jellyfish lights by Bev Garside. Bruce Munro: Tropical Light runs until April 30, 2020, across Darwin. It's illuminate from 7–10.30pm every night.
Nine days after Woolworths implemented its nationwide plastic bag ban, it has reneged on the ban — well, temporarily. After being inundated with complaints from customers in-store and on social media, the supermarket giant this morning posted to Facebook saying it will be giving out free reusable plastic bags until July 8. The reusable bags, which for the past nine days cost shoppers 15c, are thicker, more durable and are made from 80 percent recycled plastic — and were meant to encourage shoppers to bring them back, again and again, rather than buying a new one each time. The temporary, complimentary bag offer is only valid in certain states, NSW, Vic, WA and Qld, as the other states and territories have already had single-use plastic bag bans in place for several years (SA leading the pack, introducing it back in 2009). With Coles set to introduce its nationwide single-use plastic bag ban on Sunday, July 1, it will be interesting to see if the supermarket giant follows Woolworths' lead or, even, delays the start of the ban. Either way, the supermarkets will need to have their single-use bag bans running soon as Queensland will flat-out ban single-use plastic bags from July 1, and Victoria is set to do the same next year. NSW is yet to announce whether it will join suit.
Roll up, roll up! The circus is in town. With school (and uni) holidays fresh around the corner, Le Grand Cirque is returning to QPAC for another visual feast of dangerous, entertaining and comical performances with Adrenaline. Featuring a hand-picked cast of 35 extreme athletes from around the world, including Australia, Canada, China, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, UK and USA, Adrenaline will be a rush of some of the most spectacular circus acts from around the globe. There’s no mucking around, these characters know their stuff! Don't be expecting to go along for a night of light hearted, easy on the eyes entertainment. There are no baby animals in this show. We’re talkin’ crazy carnies here! With daredevil motorbike riders, identical flexi twins, giant swings, fireballs and cannons, expect a lot of ohhhh-ing and ahhhhh-ing. Apparently fireballs get blasted into the audience, so I might suggest back row seating to avoid singed hair. Take your friends, take your family or just take yourself for a night away from the TV. Plus, with your ticket to the show you get free travel to and from the venue. This one’s on the crazy clowns. Don't miss it!
The best documentaries have a way of transcending their subject matter, of using particular stories to explore significant human themes. Such is the case with All This Mayhem, the first theatrical effort from director Eddie Martin. Although ostensibly set in the world of professional skateboarding, the film is in fact a deeply personal portrait of brothers Tas and Ben Pappas — the Melbourne-born siblings who helped reinvigorate the sport, only to fall victims to the perils of their spectacular rise to fame. "This is the challenge, getting people [to] realise that it's not just a skate film," Martin told us. "For us, it's a story about brothers that just happens to be set in the world of skating. They're Greek boys, and it is like a Greek tragedy in a sense." The film begins with the siblings as teenagers, and chronicles their journey from a skate ramp in Prahran, Melbourne to becoming the two highest ranked skateboarders in the world. But with the success came money, and drugs, and soon the two brothers began throwing their good fortune away. Martin intercuts archival footage with a series of interviews with Tas, who speaks with devastating candour about the duo's fall from grace — one that culminated in his younger brother's tragic suicide in 2007 and his own incarceration for drug smuggling the following year. Now, after successful screenings at local film festivals, along with a recent UK premiere at the prestigious Sheffield Doc/Fest, All This Mayhem has hit Australian cinema screens. https://youtube.com/watch?v=8wDiszmA2o8 Just getting on camera was a huge act of trust "As a teenager I used to skate at Prahran Skate Park, and that's where I first met the boys," remembers Martin. "Then I stopped skating and we parted ways, but I still saw Ben around socially … then when he passed, that was obviously a huge shock for everyone. No one saw that coming." After Ben's death, the Pappas family was approached by a group of documentary filmmakers, but Tas wasn't happy with the direction they wanted to take the film. "They had approached Tas, who had said no, but they were still moving forward, and it just felt really exploitative," says Martin. "So we got ourselves motivated to go and talk to Tas, to try and do it properly." "Tas and Ben are incredible characters," Martin continues. "They've got a lot of heart and a lot of humour, and I knew Tas had the presence to carry the film. Obviously he had trust issues because of what had happened with that project … so it was just a process of making sure that everyone felt comfortable and that we were all on the same page and doing it for the right reasons." They don't shy away from rock bottom Since his release from prison, Pappas has slowly returned to skating, while steering clear of the temptations of his former life. As he tells it, part of his reason for wanting to do the documentary was as a way of reaching out to his estranged children in the United States. "I had to bear my soul, so my kids could see who I truly am … hopefully they'll see it one day and want to come find me," Pappas says. "Eddie's been a godsend. He's very understanding. He knows how sensitive the material is." Despite their friendship, Martin doesn't pull any punches when depicting the depths the brothers fell to. "We lived like pirates," says Pappas, looking back. "I didn't think about tomorrow. I didn't think about it [as a] career, or that my days were numbered … once I became number one, it was the best time in the world, but I remember thinking 'now what?' So then I really got right stuck into the drugs. I tried for years to get off them, but then I'd end up back on them even harder every time I relapsed." "It's like ripping open old wounds," he continues. "Sometimes I can watch the doco and it means nothing. And then other times I'll watch it and I'll find I'm depressed for days afterwards. Watching my little brother go all gaunt and then die … it wasn't really my brother, in the end." Mercy is the message "We've been blown away by people's response to the film," says Martin. "The response from the exhibitors has been so strong in the UK that they're going to bring it out on 30 screens, which is huge for an Australian film, let alone a doco." When asked about the positive response, Pappas says it feels "undeserved." At the same time, he's pleased by the prospect that his story might help others. "I've got a lot of regret, and I don't really esteem myself too highly with a lot of the stuff that I've done," he says. "But people seem to be forgiving. God is merciful, I've started learning that. If I've been shown this much mercy, I sort of have to try and help some kids who are going the wrong way." All This Mayhem opens on July 10 exclusive to Cinema Nova in Melbourne and Dendy Newtown in Sydney. Read our review here.
Pecans, pretzels, chocolate chip cookie crumbs, both chocolate and caramel syrups, whipped cream, cherries and rainbow sprinkles — and no less than 16 scoops of icecream. 'MUUUUURICA. Yours for a cheeky $100, the 'Kitchen Sink' sundae is the latest monstrosity from New York City joint Bubby's High Line. Apparently this mountainous beast's supposed to serve eight to ten hungry humans (but more likely to be ordered by groups of four max), this behemoth confection is next level indulgence and almost guaranteed cardiac arrest. But wait, no sparklers? If you're not feeling the whole 16-scooper, there's a $50 'Little Kitchen Sink' with half the scoops. That's still 50 nuggets for basically ice cream and a cute little flag. Seriously, if I'm going to throw down a pineapple for an out-of-the-punnet dessert, it'd better be scientifically-crafted into a freakin' Messina mushroom. Disney World's not going to be happy with Bubby's High Line, as the theme park's Beaches and Cream parlour has been churning out a colossal and literal 'Kitchen Sink' sundae since the '90s. These are the ingredients for Disney's WTF best-seller: ½ cup fudge topping, warmed ½ cup butterscotch topping, warmed ½ cup peanut butter topping, warmed 1 medium banana 1 cinnamon spice cupcake, quartered 1 angel food cupcake, quartered 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 2 scoops chocolate ice cream 2 scoops strawberry ice cream 1 scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream 1 scoop coffee ice cream 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup ¼ cup marshmallow crème ¼ cup strawberry topping ¼ cup pineapple topping 1 can dairy whipped topping 1 brownie, quartered 1 regular-sized chocolate bar, quartered 4 chocolate cookies with cream filling 1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds 1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings 1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed 1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slices (approximately 2 large slices) 1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels 1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles ½ cup drained maraschino cherries America aren't the only ones crafting gargantuan messes on the dessert menu. Max Brenner's recent menu change includes the 'Chocolate Mess to Share', a nostalgic party served in a nanna-like cake tin (that comes with a cooking spatula 'serving tool') in which devil's food cake, about five scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and that MB chocolate sauce hang out waiting for you to make poor (read: top notch) life choices. Or if you're into the oversized, Big Ol' Mess dessert industry, order anything from Paddington's beloved Micky's Cafe. Their 'sundae cake' can be made to order for bookings of over six (just six people needed) for just $5 pp. Devour layer upon layer of meringue, ice cream, rocky road, strawberries, housemade honeycomb, their infamous chocolate fudge. Eh. Screw it. Via Grub Street.
You've probably noticed times are tough for hospo venues, especially those of the live music variety. However, until the end of June, you can do them a small favour with the help of purpose-driven, non-alc beer brewing legends, Heaps Normal. When the time comes to replenish your non-alcoholic beer stocks at home, online customers have the option to send a free case of Heaps Normal to their favourite venue. No strings attached — your local watering hole just gets a free case of beer to sell at their pleasure. "Aussie hospo venues – particularly live music venues – have been doing it tough lately and we're keen to give back. We figured the best way to do that was to let our community decide where the good karma should flow," says Heaps Normal's Chief Brand Officer Tim Snape. This good deed might just be the right move for you as well. Rather than waking up with a splitting headache after a big night out, the brand's tasty brews won't leave you with a hangover that stretches long into next week. "All you need to do is purchase a case of Heaps Normal for yourself and let us know which local watering hole you want to shower with a little good Karma (Case). We'll even throw a handwritten love letter from you in there, too," says Snape. When you're ready to bank that karma, you're welcome to gift any case from Heaps Normal's core range, from the down-to-earth Another Lager to the newly released Third IPA. Then, it's just a matter of your choice arriving at your go-to venue's door, ready to satiate thirsty customers keen to sidestep tomorrow's agony. Heaps Normal's Karma Cases campaign runs until the end of June. Head to the website for more information.
Andy Warhol. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Keith Haring. From the past century, they're three of the art world's biggest names, and they've all been the subjects of many an exhibition. But only one showcase will pair the three for a world-first 15-week celebration of pop art masters premiering right here in Australia — and featuring 40-plus works never before seen Down Under. That event: Pop Masters: Art From the Mugrabi Collection, New York, which takes its name from the works it will survey and their origins. The exhibition is wholly drawn from the private collection of prominent art collector Jose Mugrabi, and is set to take over HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast from Saturday, February 18–Sunday, June 4, 2023. Unsurprisingly, Pop Masters' array of works by Warhol, Basquiat and Haring will form a survey of the 60s, 70s and 80s art scene, and of legends of the pop art and street art movements. There'll be more than ten pieces by Warhol, acting as the showcase's introduction, with 1964's Sixteen Jackies and 1982's Cross among them. As for Haring, one of his earliest-ever works from 1979 will feature alongside others such as Untitled (Dancing Dogs), while the range of Basquiat pieces includes 1981's New York, New York and — fittingly — a Warhol-Basquiat collaboration. [caption id="attachment_878235" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jean-Michel Basquiat 1985 © Lizzie Himmel. Artwork © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.[/caption] Although art by the three icons will provide Pop Masters with its huge drawcard, the exhibition also seeks to celebrate the ongoing legacy of pop art alongside its origins. That means including pieces by Katherine Bernhardt, Kwesi Botchway, George Condo, Damien Hirst, KAWS, Barbara Kruger, Joel Mesler, Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Julian Schnabel, Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann — such as KAWS' 2.8-metre-tall 2018 sculpture What Party, plus Barbara Kruger's If it sees, blind it, from a section of her 2009 installation Between being born and dying in New York's Lever House. "Pop Masters: Art From the Mugrabi Collection celebrates the history of pop art, whilst examining its influence on art and artists today. We wanted to explore the intersections in the lives, ideas and practices of this significant group of artists," explains Tracy Cooper-Lavery, HOTA's Director, Gallery and Visual Arts. "Many of them knew each other, collaborated or have been influenced by each other, and we have acknowledged this in the design of the exhibition, which will see these incredible artworks in dialogue with one another." [caption id="attachment_878234" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Keith Haring by Joe McNally, Getty Images[/caption] Pop Masters has been in the making for longer than HOTA's new six-level, $60.5-million gallery has been open — the site launched in 2021 — and marks the most prestigious exhibition the venue has hosted yet. "Pop Masters has been six years in the making and HOTA is delivering a world exclusive exhibition right here on the Gold Coast," said HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke. "Over the years it has evolved into a bespoke exhibition that offers a completely unique experience. Having access to the Mugrabi family personal collection is a real privilege and the artworks rarely leave New York. We are thrilled to be bringing these iconic artists and celebrated artworks to Australia for the first time." 2023 is clearly a great year to be a Warhol fan, and to see blockbuster exhibitions beyond Australia's usual east coast capitals, with the Art Gallery of South Australia displaying Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media from Friday, March 3–Sunday, May 14. [caption id="attachment_804623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] default[/caption] Pop Masters: Art From the Mugrabi Collection, New York will display at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast from Saturday, February 18–Sunday, June 4, 2023. Head to the gallery's website for further details, and tickets. Top image: Santi Visalli/Getty Images.
Kids have all the fun. Always covered in craft supplies, shimmering with the remains of runaway glitter, primary schoolers are treated to a pretty luxurious life. They spend all their day running around, making art and eating. It's the dream. Now, one element of your amazing childhood is becoming acceptable for adults — the colouring book. Inspired by the work of the art world greats, illustrator Marion Deuchars has created a colouring book for grown ups. Schooling you on the styles of Dada, pop art and surrealism to name a few, Draw Paint Print Like Great Artists runs through the life and work of artists such as Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Jasper Johns and Joan Miro. Full to the brim with beautiful illustrations, interesting facts and surprisingly fun activities, the book effortlessly combines your long lost primary school craft time with some of the art history you missed in high school. Alternatively, if you're up to date on your modern art theory, you could use the book as a little creative kickstart. "Every artist learns by looking at the work created by others, and then picks up bits of that and makes their own art in their own way," Deuchars said. "It may be something as simple as using scissors rather than a pencil, or being fascinated by a new shape or a playful exercise to take your imagination somewhere unfamiliar." Once regarded as child's play, creative exercises like this have been gaining prominence recently. In a simlar style, MOMA's Art Lab app offers its users an opportunity to unwind and experiment with digital technologies. Keri Smith's Finish This Book was packed full of outlandish tasks and artsy activities to complete, and it was a bestseller! This is definitely a trend we can get behind. Now we just need to get some quality crayons and convince our boss that nap times are a valid way to spend the afternoon. Draw Paint Print Like Great Artists is available via Laurence King. It's approximately $23 plus shipping. Via Huffington Post.
There's nothing that says 'Australian' quite like being the first ever company to crowdfund booze. But one company has found a way to combine Sydneysiders' two favourite beverages in one delicious, stylishly packaged drink. Sydney-based distillery MR BLACK recently launched a $10,000 Pozible campaign, harnessing the power of crowds and their love of coffee and alcohol to help launch their flagship product, MR BLACK Cold Drip Coffee Liqueur. The rewards for pledges range from invites to their launch party to actual bottles of MR BLACK, varying in size depending on the donation. According to head distiller Philip Moore, "MR BLACK is not for everyone. It’s not some cloying, sickly-sweet kiddie drink that makes your teeth hurt. Using the cold-drip method we’ve created a rich, intense coffee liqueur that actually tastes like coffee." MR BLACK is the brainchild of Moore and designer Tom Baker, and it's already getting quite a bit of attention from overseas, especially after winning the gold medal at the 2012 International Wine & Spirits Competition in London. Co-founder Baker says that not only are MR BLACK "at the intersection of Sydney coffee and bar culture" but they're also big supporters of the arts and creative scene — their bottle artwork is designed by local artist Dale Bigeni.
Relaxing usually means avoiding difficult decisions. Before you chase bliss at The Bathhouse Albion, however, you do need to make some choices. Will a soak help ease your stresses? Would a cold plunge revitalise your senses? Maybe you'd prefer to float away your troubles? Is getting steamy — in a steam room, that is — your path to unwinding? Would you prefer a sauna instead? These are the best types of verdicts to make, of course, because you're plotting out how to level up your self-care. Making them at the latest relaxation spot in Brisbane's inner north — its second in 2024 alone, after also scoring a new bathhouse in Lutwyche — means that you're on your way to forgetting your worries. A European-inspired wellness haven, The Bathhouse Albion has set up shop on Nariel Street as part the Albion Fine Trades precinct. First announced back in April, it started welcoming in patrons in late June. The vibe here is indulgent, opulent and luxurious — all in an architecturally designed space that boasts Hogg & Lamb's fingerprints, as Brisbane restaurants Babylon and Gemelli Italian already do. Travertine stone is a key element, giving the venue not just a Euro look and feel, but an old-school one as well. Moody lighting and high ceilings also feature. Vanderbilt Wellness is behind the wellness spot, which Managing Director James Walsh — an experienced long-distance and ultra-marathon runner — explains aims to "create a space where our guests can re-energise and restore, as part of a balanced lifestyle in an unmatched setting". He's dubbing it "one of the most luxurious bathhouses in the world", too. "I've had the opportunity to run ultra marathons all over the world and the privilege of experiencing some of the world's most well-regarded and award-winning wellness and recovery centres." "Our aim is to transcend the standard of service and experience available in the Australian market." Within the atmospheric bathhouse, patrons can take a dip in both hot and cold pools (the latter gets down to 12 degrees), then get sweaty in traditional and infrared saunas — and in a Finnish sauna with a fireplace. The six-degree ice bath will cool you down. The tiered steam room will heat you back up. If you just want to drift, there's the float room. And, in-between treatments, the relaxation lounge awaits. Turning chasing bliss into a multi-sensory experience, The Bathhouse Albion also features calming fragrances and sounds — and there's no phones allowed, and no alcohol as well. It also has a cap on guest numbers for each session, so you won't have too much company. And yes, there's tea — that bathhouse staple — for sipping, plus cotton towels aplenty. Casual sessions start from $59. At the other end of the pricing scale, those feeling flush, not to mention willing commit a hefty chunk of cash to their relaxation, can opt for the $833-a-month unlimited membership. It gets you unlimited access and priority bathhouse sessions, as well as two monthly guest passes and two float passes. Find The Bathhouse Albion at 64 Nariel Street, Albion — and head to the venue's website for more details.
Overnight tours don't come more scenic than an exploration of Far North Queensland's Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest — a part of the world estimated to be 135 million years old. On this two-day tour, you'll take in native wildlife including saltwater crocodiles, birds and goannas on an eco-friendly river cruise. You'll also hike through the lush rainforest in search of a cassowary in the wild, before staying the night in Cape Tribulation in either a beach house, rainforest lodge or beachside budget accommodation. The next day, it's a reef trip to the Great Barrier Reef, zip-lining and a trip to the swimming holes of Mossman Gorge. Paradise with a bow on it. [caption id="attachment_829633" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Images: Tourism and Events Queensland
The Institute of Modern Art has played host of numerous exhibitions over the years, ones that push the boundaries of art and startle and amaze with their commentary. From the 5 October to 30 November, IMA will once again be pushing the envelope of displaying art that is raw and affecting, but also unique and enthralling. Simon Starling's project, In Speculum, is a collection of heavily researched works that touch on key historical moments but viewed through a different lens. The exhibition examines particular objects and the histories surrounding them, to "explore the legacies of modernism and globalisation". Simon touches on nuclear evolution, astronomy and engineering, in a series of reflective pieces about our world, yet skewed by the artists on worldview. Touching Reality by Thomas Hirschhorn is probably one of the most viscerally affecting pieces ever showcased at IMA. This video piece looks at the impact of war and what isn't covered by the media when it comes to the effects of violence. Scenes of war and carnage are examined on a touch screen, zoomed in and magnified then scrolled past to another visual of the recently deceased. This piece is not the faint hearted or soft of stomach, yet it is one of the most compelling commentaries on violence across the globe and reveals the true horrors of war in a modern age.
On small screens all around the world, The Last of Us is currently showing everyone how video game-to-TV adaptations can and should be done. Can the new Dungeons & Dragons movie do the same for tabletop role-playing games? Cinemagoers are about to find out, when Honour Among Thieves rolls out its campaign on the silver screen with Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant among the cast. As seen in both Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves initial sneak peek back in 2022 and its new just-dropped full trailer, the film focuses on a motley crew of characters rolling the dice. "We're thieves," Pine (Don't Worry Darling) explains in both, if the title wasn't already obvious enough. This crew, which spans Page (The Gray Man), Rodriguez (Fast & Furious 9), Justice Smith (Jurassic World Dominion) and Sophie Lillis (IT and IT: Chapter Two), too, "helped the wrong person steal the wrong thing". Cue the greatest evil the world has ever known, unleashed unwittingly, which this band of pilferers now endeavours to stop. In the two sneak peeks so far, dragons pop up, of course. So do dungeons, to the astonishment of no one. Other fantastical animals, fights, flaming swords, fireballs, an army of the undead and quips: they're all included as well, as are Grant (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), fellow cast members Chloe Coleman (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Daisy Head (Wrong Turn), and Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'. Behind the camera, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Game Night) are in the directors' chairs, and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio. The mood they're going for: lighthearted, comic, but also an action-adventure epic. And, like all movies these days, they're seemingly trying to start a new franchise as well. Another Dungeons & Dragons movie has long sat on the list of things that were bound to happen after the success of Stranger Things. The role-playing game has already sparked three movies, with the first dating back to 2000 — but none of them starred this bunch (or were well-received, whether they hit theatres or went straight to home entertainment). Actually, another D&D film has been in the works in some shape or form since before the world saw a bunch of kids in Hawkins, Indiana play the game. Thanks to the success of Game of Thrones, fantasy epics have become a huge Hollywood cash cow (see also: the return of The Lord of the Rings as a streaming series). And yes, films based on Hasbro properties don't have the best record — the Transformers series, the GI Joe flicks, Battleship, Power Rangers — but if you're a D&D devotee, you'll be hoping this one changes that. Check out the new Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves trailer below: Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves opens in cinemas Down Under on March 30.
At Mac From Way Back, one thing monopolises the menu: creamy, gooey macaroni and cheese. And at Sabotage Social, it's taking over their kitchen as well, with the food truck and the Valley bar teaming up to create Brisbane's first dedicated mac 'n' cheese eatery. Throwing open its doors at the beginning of October, Mac From Way Back has made 143 Wickham Street its permanent base, serving up its 100 percent indulgent creations from within Sabotage Social. That means loaded bowls, fries and burgers are permanently on offer to complement the venue's whiskey, beer and cocktail range. Operating from Wednesday to Sunday, there's be meal deals too. For those who haven't experienced the food truck's existing mac dishes, think overflowing containers filled with the good stuff, such as the old favourite that is the five-cheese original — plus m'n'c drizzled over chips and smashed onto burgs. Their new digs offer all of the above, with more mouthwatering varieties, and in monster-sized servings that might just feed two. Truffle mushroom and parmesan and chilli chorizo bowls are just two of the fresh, special flavours that'll be popping up to tempt your tastebuds, with fried haloumi and mozzarella sticks as sides, as well as onion rings. Coming just over a year after first hitting the road, it's a big move for Mac From Way Back, as well as indication of just how popular they've proven. Getting a mac attack more often is the stuff mac-lovers' dreams are made of; like their Mac Daddy burger, it'll make you jump jump into the Valley for some cheesy goodness. Mac From Way Back will open at Sabotage Social, 143 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley from mid-to-late October. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for further details.
We can deny it no longer… Christmas is coming. Now, there are many things to love at this time of year: delicious food, champagne and eggnog, lovely carols and Christmas songs, new movies coming out in high numbers and presents, all those fabulous presents. One thing that stirs fear in the hearts of all, and a great hatred of life is – cue suspense sound effects - Christmas shopping. Finding the perfect gift that is: somewhat of interest to the recipient, not too expensive and a bit unique, while dealing with the stress of car parking and the elbowing in the aisles (maybe even capsicum spray these days) equals no fun at all! Fear not, there is another option. This Friday eve the 9th, or Sunday morn the 11th you can leisurely Citycat your way over to the Portside Wharf for a lovely spot of relaxing market shopping at the Boutique Markets final events for 2011. On Friday it’s a lovely evening of twilight shopping, or Sunday offers an early morning opportunity to get the Christmas gifts sorted in the summer sunshine (maybe – the rain doesn’t look like it’s letting up yet). The range of items on offer include beautiful soaps and body products, lovely scarves and textiles, baby clothes, pictures, prints, sweet treats, jewels and accessories galore. And with this I challenge you all to enjoy your Christmas shopping. Rather than dreading the last minute dash to a large conglomerate of a shopping centre, instead make it an evening of strolling and nice purchasing followed by a glass of wine, or a morning of hot coffee followed by a spot of quality shopping!
It takes just over 50 seconds for the Cat Person trailer to get Margot (Emilia Jones, CODA) uttering nine glaringly accurate words: "this is the worst life decision I've ever made". She's talking about dating Robert (Nicholas Braun, Succession), a regular at the cinema where the 20-year-old college student works — and she's speaking a line that everyone read in 2017, in the viral short story to end all viral short stories from the past decade. Six years back, when the December issue of The New Yorker arrived, Kristen Roupenian's tale of a nightmare relationship instantly went viral. That's where the world first met Margot and Robert, and stepped into this wild story. Cat Person was then printed as a book, and of course Hollywood came calling as well. The movie that's resulted debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2023, has locked in an October 26 release in Australia and also just dropped its trailer. There are bad dates, and then there's this bad date, as Jones and Braun bring to the screen in the film's first sneak peek. "Listen, concession stand girl, why don't you give me your number?" Robert asks while Margot is slinging popcorn. From there, a flurry of texts springs, then terrible kissing, then massive discrepancies that become evident the more time that the pair spend together IRL. And, when Margot decides to break things off, in comes a change in his behaviour. As Cat Person sinks its claws into modern dating, the role that technology now plays and the gender divide, Susanna Fogel (the director of The Spy Who Dumped Me and one of Booksmart's writers) helms, Michelle Ashford (Operation Mincemeat) and adapts Roupenian's text. Featuring on-screen alongside Jones and Braun: Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers), Isabella Rossellini (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), Hope Davis (Asteroid City), Fred Melamed (Barry), Liza Koshy (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Michael Gandolfini (Beau Is Afraid). "Like the short story that stirred so much controversy, Cat Person will call upon you to reflect on romantic encounters you've had in the past, and to question the role (or multiple roles) you may have played," said Fogel about the film. "We've all been the victim in some narratives and the villain in others, and I hope you'll walk out of this film with a strong opinion, ready to debate." Check out the trailer for Cat Person below: Cat Person will release on October 26, 2023 Down Under.
There are many ways to spend Halloween, from dressing up and eating too many lollies to partying and hitting up spooky events. But watching John Carpenter's Halloween on October 31 remains one of the greatest ways to spend the occasion for one simple reason: 43 years on, it's still an absolute masterpiece, as well as one of the best horror movies ever made. This year, you can also pair Jamie Lee Curtis-starring 70s classic with the latest entry in the franchise that it's spawned over the past four-plus decades. Obviously, you can match up the OG Halloween with any of the flicks in the saga each and every year — but in 2021, Halloween Kills is finally hitting cinemas. Since that first movie back in 1978, the Halloween series has been through quite a few ups and downs. Clocking up ten follow-ups and 11 movies in total until now, the slasher franchise has delivered excellent and terrible sequels, veered into remake territory, both killed off and brought back its heroine, and completely erased parts of its own past several times. And, like its mask-wearing villain Michael Myers, it always finds a way to go on. Since 2018's Halloween, that's been especially great news, with the Jason Blum-produced 11th flick in the franchise proving a smart, thrilling horror delight, and ranking second only to the movie that started it all. Indeed, the film was such a success that two more sequels are headed our way from the same team (aka Blum, writer/director David Gordon Green and co-scribe Danny McBride): Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. Originally, Halloween Kills was due to hit screens last year, in October — when else? — but, as announced in 2020 by franchise creator John Carpenter, it moved back its release to October this year. That's now fast approaching, with fans soon able to make a return trip to Haddonfield. Yes, that means that Curtis' spirited Laurie Strode will have another altercation with her lifelong nemesis, too — because, when it's at its best, that's what this franchise is all about. Picking up where its immediate predecessor left off, Halloween Kills will also take a few cues from another movie in the series, as its initial trailer and just-dropped latest sneak peek shows. Not one but two teasers last year set the scene for the saga's 12th entry, but the latest clips dive deep into the storyline. Following the events of the most recent film, Laurie ends up in hospital with life-threatening injuries just as Michael starts stalking through Haddonfield again — which is the same storyline that Halloween II followed exactly 40 years ago. Thankfully, if the last flick is any guide, Halloween Kills shouldn't prove a needless remake. Green and McBride did a stellar job of nodding to the past while finding a new way forward with 2018's Halloween, after all — and leaving horror fans definitely wanting more. This time, too, Laurie and her daughter Karen (Judy Greer, Valley Girl) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak, Son) team up with other survivors of Michael's rampages and decide to hunt down their attacker. Check out the latest Halloween Kills trailer below: Halloween Kills will release in Australian cinemas on October 28, 2021. Top image: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures.
