For the past 14 years, the seedy side of Albuquerque, New Mexico has never been far from screens, first courtesy of Breaking Bad and then via its prequel spinoff series Better Call Saul. A Breaking Bad Netflix movie, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, also popped up in 2019, because viewers just haven't been able to get enough of Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor), Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld), Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody), Mike Ehrmantrout (Jonathan Banks, The Commuter) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys). Soon, however, this almost decade-and-a-half run of all things Breaking Bad-related will hit an end, with Better Call Saul about to air its last episodes. Perhaps more spinoffs will come. Fingers crossed that's the case. American network AMC, which airs both shows, has said it is open to it. But unlike when the OG series ended, viewers don't have a confirmed new date with the Breaking Bad universe in their future. That means that a big goodbye is coming audiences' way, and soon — and the trailer for the second half of Better Call Saul's sixth and last season knows it. The just-dropped 52-second clip is filled with familiar places from Saul Goodman's life (and from his time as Jimmy McGill, when he was using his birth name, too), all given the black-and-white treatment that the series has reserved for its flashes forwards and backwards over the years. Check out the trailer below: The locations featured have all played a big part in the story so far — and the melancholy mood certainly sets the tone for the episodes to come. After the first seven instalments in season six started airing back in April, the final six will begin showing weekly from Tuesday, July 12 in Australia and New Zealand. No one should've been expecting a happy ending anyway. We already know where Saul's story takes him next, because we've seen Breaking Bad. Indeed, Better Call Saul remains television's greatest tragedy, because it makes its viewers desperately hope that things turn out better for its eponymous figure than we know they will — so we watch his dreams crumble, his ethics slide, and his full transformation from earnest and legitimate lawyer to happily getting shady. The new trailer doesn't tease much in the way of narrative, but it does also feature Saul saying "let justice be done till the heavens fall". One time only. #BetterCallSaul pic.twitter.com/QmBFBbUENS — Better Call Saul (@BetterCallSaul) June 28, 2022 If you're keen on a few more sneak peeks at the end of season six — which'll see the return of Walt and Jesse in some capacity — Better Call Saul has also been dropping teasers via social media. There's a lot to wrap up, given that former cop-turned-private investigator, fixer, cleaner and hitman Ehrmantrout, Los Pollos Hermanos owner Fring and drug kingpin Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2) are also key parts of Better Call Saul's story — and Saul's partner and fellow lawyer Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn, Veep), too. Exactly how the latter's tale will end is the biggest source of tension, given that Kim wasn't ever in Breaking Bad. And after the way Better Call Saul's first seven season-six episodes played out, that stress definitely hasn't subsided. Take the oath. #BetterCallSaul pic.twitter.com/Cs2y0BLkFi — Better Call Saul (@BetterCallSaul) June 14, 2022 The second half of Better Call Saul season six starts streaming in Australia via Stan and New Zealand via Neon from Tuesday, July 12. Images: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.
Those hobbits will go on. In JRR Tolkien's pages, they went on perilous Middle-earth adventures. On screens big and small for decades so far (and into the future, with more TV episodes and movies on the way), they've trekked, ate second breakfasts and attempted to project precious jewellery. Onstage in Australia in 2025, they'll also be marking an eleventy-first birthday, receiving a gold ring, taking a quest to Mordor and attempting to fight evil, all in The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale. Dating back to 2006, just after the original live-action movie trilogy, this stage musical was revived in the UK in 2023, opened in the US in July 2024 and will hit New Zealand this November. After that, it'll then take the hobbits to Australia from January 2025. First stop: Sydney's State Theatre. The Market Street venue will host the only Aussie season announced so far, kicking off on Tuesday, January 7, with how long it'll be playing yet to be revealed. Lord of the Rings fans elsewhere across the country, take note, too: you might need to go there and back again to discover what happens when Middle-earth gets melodic. Your guides for the show are the hobbits, of course, as Frodo and company celebrate Bilbo Baggins, then depart The Shire upon a life-changing journey. Thanks to Tolkien, what occurs from there has enthralled audiences for 70 years now, with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers initially hitting bookshelves in 1954. There's been no shortage of ways to indulge your Lord of the Rings love since Peter Jackson's features — including his Hobbit trilogy — helped fan the flames of pop culture's affection for Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Merry and the franchise's many non-underground-dwelling characters. Cinema marathons, visiting the Hobbiton movie set, staying there overnight, hitting up pop-up hobbit houses, sipping hobbit-themed beer: they've all been on the agenda. Only The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale is combining all things LoTR with tunes and dancing, however, in a show that sports a book and lyrics by from Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day the Musical), plus original music by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar-winner AR Rahman, folk band Värttinä from Finland and Matilda the Musical alum Christopher Nightingale. The Lord of the Rings — A Musical Tale will make its Australian premiere at the State Theatre, 49 Market Street, Sydney, from Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Head to the production's website for further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Liz Lauren.
Gender bias is, unfortunately, a thing that people identifying as women (i.e. 50 percent of the population) deal with on a regular basis. A lot of the time it's so culturally ingrained, it goes mostly unnoticed — so one of the ways gender equality activists and groups often raise awareness about the issue is by pointing out the small, every day inequalities and making the population think about them. Like when you're standing at the traffic lights waiting for the little man to turn green. But if you're in Melbourne today — look up. For International Women's Day, ten of the CBD's pedestrian crossing traffic lights will not depict the standard male sign, but a female one. The project — which will see ten pedestrian crossing lights around the Swanston and Flinders intersection change from male to female representation — has been led (and funded) by local business and community non-profit organisation the Committee for Melbourne. "The idea is to install traffic lights with female representation, as well as male representation, to help reduce unconscious bias," committee chief executive Martine Letts told ABC News. Though a small change — and one that is largely symbolic, particularly on International Women's Day — the symbols are supposed to be a meaningful way to give women more ownership over public space. The aim of the committee, says Letts, is to get one-to-one male and female representation. Of course, not all female-identifying people wear skirts or necessarily feel represented by what is a traditional sign used to symbolise the split between male and female. Nonetheless, seeing a little green woman as you cross Flinders Street is a bit of a novelty — and one that could stick around for a while. The project is apparently supported by the Victorian Government and will remain in place for a 12-month trial. Via ABC News. Image: Committee for Melbourne/Twitter.
For much of the past six months, audiences worldwide have spent their movie dates watching Sydney on-screen. When two big Hollywood productions transform the Harbour City into their production playground and setting, as both Anyone But You and The Fall Guy did, cinema's spotlight shines bright and wide. Now, for 12 winter days between Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16, Sydney Film Festival patrons can turn the tables, watching the world via almost 200 flicks gracing local silver screens and fluttering before their eyes. Again curated by Festival Director Nashen Moodley as every fest since 2012 has been — which gives him that honour on 13 of the event's 71 festivals across its entire run so far, too — SFF's 2024 lineup also guides its gaze towards Sydney. Opening with a tribute to the power and the passion of Midnight Oil, with the band formed in the New South Wales capital more than half a century ago, is only one example. So, to be more accurate, this year's Sydney Film Festival continues a trend that started on Boxing Day 2023 as well as its usual annual tradition: surveying everywhere from Sydney itself to the edges of the earth, space and time. Maybe you're keen to keep a homegrown flavour to your SFF schedule this year. Perhaps you're eager to roam anywhere that you can from your cinema seat. Whether a dose of weirdness is your ideal film fest flavour, or you're buzzing to catch the latest titles that've been getting the international festival scene talking, they're all on the program. And, you'll also find all of the above among our 12 suggestions below to help you narrow down your choices. Kinds of Kindness Since winning the 2012 Sydney Film Festival prize with Alps, Yorgos Lanthimos has technically bid the Greek Weird Wave goodbye by making his movies in English. That's one clear trend among his five features after nabbing SFF's prestigious award in Moodley's first year at the helm. Another pattern applies to his last three flicks, and it's a killer move: teaming up with Emma Stone, a collaboration that scored her her second Best Actress Oscar earlier in 2024 for the Frankenstein-esque delight that is Poor Things. Kinds of Kindness isn't a Poor Things repeat, just as that wasn't a do-over of The Favourite. This time, Lanthimos and Stone have teamed up on a triptych fable that tells the tales of a man without choice, a policeman with a wife who returns after going missing and a woman on the hunt for a spiritual leader. In a feature that also stars Poor Things' Willem Dafoe (Asteroid City) and Margaret Qualley (Drive-Away Dolls), plus Hong Chau (The Menu), Joe Alwyn (Stars at Noon), Mamoudou Athie (The Burial) and Hunter Schafer (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), the picture's three-time creative partners are still making accolade-garnering magic, however, with Jesse Plemons (Killers of the Flower Moon) picking up 2024's Cannes Best Actor award. The Seed of the Sacred Fig The Seed of the Sacred Fig isn't merely another must-see SFF 2024 title, but also another new work by a Sydney Film Festival prizewinner. Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No Evil took home the Berlinale's Golden Bear in 2020 before winning the Harbour City's ultimate movie gong in 2021 — and, as it told four stories connected to the use of the death penalty in Iran, it haunted and broke the hearts of everyone who saw it. Watching the Iranian writer/director's work has always been essential (including 2011's Goodbye, 2013's Manuscripts Don't Burn and 2017's A Man of Integrity), but more so since then. Even before playing to audiences in Sydney, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is impossible to forget due to the situation surrounding the picture off-screen. When the movie was selected by Cannes this year — where it won the Jury Special Award — Rasoulof was sentenced to a flogging and eight years in prison, sparking him to flee. On-screen, the film doesn't shy away from Iran's legal system or political unrest, following a Revolutionary Court investigator and his family amid protests sweeping the nation, and as fighting back against oppression isn't only on display on the country's streets. The Pool It's far too cold in Sydney in June for dive-in movies, but playing The Pool in its namesake location would've been a dream pairing of a film and its setting if the season had been right. SFF cinemagoers will instead get cosy indoors rather than splash around in their bathing costumes at Bondi Icebergs, but stepping through the swimming spot's history, allure and place in the Harbour City is on the itinerary regardless. Here's one guarantee: given how photogenic that the famous venue is anyway even just in everyday snaps, as everyone in Australian can instantly recognise, this documentary about it isn't going to be hard on the eyes. Filmmaker Ian Darling has a thing for chronicling Sydney icons in his two recent docos to wash across Sydney Film Festival's screens. The other: The Final Quarter, about Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes and his treatment by the press and fans towards the end of his career, which earned a standing ovation at its State Theatre SFF world premiere in 2019. With The Pool, Darling switches from unfurling details through media clips to enlisting Icebergs regulars to share their recollections — and likely another warm hometown response beckons. Copa '71 SFF 2024 kicks off just two days after the Matildas took to the turf in Sydney to play their 14th soldout game in a row in Australia, notching up a 2–0 win over China in a friendly. It runs at the same time as Vivid is welcoming Mackenzie Arnold and Tony Gustavsson as speakers. And, it arrives almost a year after the Harbour City was one of the host spots for the 2023 Women's World Cup. So, the timing couldn't be better for Copa '71 to sit in the festival's program. This documentary jumps five decades back and heads to Mexico, to the 1971 Women's World Cup. If you think that you should know more about this event than you currently do, that's one of the movie's points as well. Filmmakers Rachel Ramsay (a producer earning her first directing credit) and James Erskine (Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard) share the competition's story. They unpack how 100,000 fans can fill a stadium to support women's football but the tournament can fade into history, too. Also, the vast disparity between how men's soccer is managed, marketed, treated and regarded compared to women's is also on the doco's agenda. The Substance It was true of 2017's Revenge, her exceptional debut feature, and the word out of Cannes is that it's also true of her seven-years-later sophomore effort: French talent Coralie Fargeat is a helluva filmmaker. Matching style with substance and a feminist statement worked strikingly in her blood-soaked vengeance movie. Now, she's in sci-fi body-horror territory as a celebrity attempts to address the warring forces of time's inevitable passing and Hollywood's obsession with youth by opting for an experimental medical treatment. (Fargeat also just received the Cannes Best Screenplay award for her efforts.) Whether or not you've ever thought that Margaret Qualley, an actor with multiple appearances on SFF 2024's lineup, resembles not only her mother Andie MacDowell (her Maid co-star) but also Demi Moore (Feud), Fargeat draws the latter connection. Qualley is Sue, Moore is Elisabeth Sparkle, with one the younger version of the other. In a film that also enlists Dennis Quaid (Lawman: Bass Reeves) as a television executive — with the actor stepping in after Ray Liotta (Cocaine Bear), who was originally cast, passed away — messing with the natural order of things via a temporary clone has consequences. The Moogai Indigenous horror film The Moogai is making its Australian premiere at 2024's Sydney Film Festival, but the pair are no strangers to each other. Before writer/director Jon Bell, a creator of Cleverman and a scribe on the Mystery Road TV series, helmed his first feature with this name, he made a 2020 short of the same moniker that played SFF (and SXSW, and was nominated for an AACTA Award). It too starred Shari Sebbens (Her Dark Reflection) and Meyne Wyatt (Strife). Expanding that short film to full length, Bell's second take on The Moogai did the rounds of both Sundance and SXSW — the Austin version — earlier this year before heading home. In the two flicks, a malevolent spirit awaits and the trauma of the Stolen Generations fuels an eerie flick. Sebbens plays Sarah, a young mother who has just had her second child with Watt's Fergus when the movie's titular figure makes its presence known. The Moogai is also a contender for Sydney Film Festival's brand-new First Nations Award, which is offering a prize of $35,000 for the winning First Nations filmmaker, with ten flicks competing for that honour. The Outrun Since the 2020s arrived and her third decade as a actor began, Saoirse Ronan has played a young wife who falls in love with fossil collector Mary Anning in Ammonite, a showgirl in The French Dispatch, a police constable in See How They Run and a woman trying to find a path through a dystopian future in Foe. Variety has always been the spice of the Irish actor's on-screen life. In The Outrun, the four-time Oscar-nominee (for Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women) is Rona, who is trying to move past a history of addiction. Ronan's involvement in any film is enough to put it high on the must-watch list, but she isn't the only drawcard here. The Outrun adapts Amy Liptrot's 2017 memoir of the same name, about the Scottish author and journalist's experiences returning to the Orkney Islands. Liptrot also co-wrote the screenplay. Hitting the keyboard with her is director Nora Fingscheidt — who might've first followed up her excellent 2019 feature System Crasher with the mixed Sandra Bullock (Bullet Train) vehicle The Unforgivable, but is a helmer to watch nonetheless. The Contestant Films about people trapped in a sole space aren't rare. But no matter what Cube or Buried or Devil conjured up, or everything from Oldboy to Bodies Bodies Bodies as well, the scenario at the heart of The Contestant stands out because it actually happened. In 1998, Tomoaki Hamatsu aka Nasubi became a TV star by doing nothing more than existing in a single room alone and sans clothing on reality series Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. To survive, he had to win competitions to obtain the necessary supplies. Also, he had no idea that audiences were watching. Of course a documentary was eventually going to to chronicle this months-long ordeal, how it happened and the repercussions, with Clair Titley (One Born Every Minute) examining the reality of a situation that could've come straight from a horror movie in The Contestant. Nasubi became immensely famous in Japan for his role in the show — footage from which is included in the doco — but as a result of a Faustian bargain with a television producer that he didn't really know that he was making. If you're not already a fan of the format at its far less extreme, this film definitely won't change that. I Saw the TV Glow In Jane Schoenbrun's We're All Going to the World's Fair, a screen became a portal to another world when its teenage protagonist embraced an online trend by playing a virtual horror game. I Saw the TV Glow, the filmmaker's next feature, also gets young eyes trained at a small screen and plunging into what they find awaiting. If you've ever loved a television show so much that you felt like it completed you, saw you and understood you far more than anything flesh and blood around you ever could — and you also couldn't stomach that series coming to an end — then you'll understand Owen (Justice Smith, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine, Atypical) in one of the most-talked-about flicks out of 2024's Sundance and Berlinale film festivals. That pop culture, including the screen dreams that we eagerly insert ourselves into in our minds while watching, is an escape isn't a new revelation. But after exploring the digital allure in We're All Going to the World's Fair, Schoenbrun now brings their perspective to a tale of connection through the broadcast stories we take into our heads and hearts. The writer/director makes deeply layered films about the loneliness and isolation of growing up, and working out who you want to be, the relationships with screens that we all have, and gender dysphoria — and their latest has Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst (Y2K) among the cast, plus Emma Stone (The Curse) and her husband Dave McCary (Brigsby Bear) as producers. Dahomey 2024's Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear-winner shares a name with a West African kingdom that existed for three centuries, on land now situated within the Republic of Benin — a place that earned the great Werner Herzog's attention in 1987's Cobra Verde and also provided the setting for 2022's The Woman King. The focus of Dahomey for Both Sides of the Blade actor and Atlantics filmmaker Mati Diop in her latest directorial effort: 26 royal treasures taken from the country in the 1800s by French colonial troops, plus their journey home now. How do these statues and objects feel about their their path? One of Diop's creative touches is to give the artifacts a voice and turn them into characters, rather than keep them as mere items discussed by everyone else. It's a telling choice in a documentary that traces the treasures' repatriation and unpacks the bigger picture not just surrounding the contents of museums around the world, but the impact of colonialism, especially in North Africa — all within 67 minutes. All We Imagine as Light Love and hope flow within All We Imagine as Light, and also in nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti, Poacher) and her roommate Anu (Divya Prabha, Family), who are each grappling with affairs of the heart in their own ways. So unfurls this sensual film that bases its characters in Mumbai, then takes them on the road to an otherworldly beach town. The romantic drama has earned love itself off-screen and proven a beacon of hope IRL as well, as writer/director Payal Kapadia makes her first fiction feature. Kapadia's full-length debut came via 2021 documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing, which premiered at that year's Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight and picked up the Golden Eye for Best Documentary. Before that, her short Afternoon Clouds also played the fest. Kapadia's ties to the French event continue with All We Imagine as Light, which made history just by being selected in competition — a feat an Indian film hasn't achieved in three decades prior. And while it didn't take out the Palme d'Or, it came as close as anything could, earning the Grand Prix, the festival's next gong, which Oscar-winner The Zone of Interest received in 2023. Problemista It's currently a great time to be a Julio Torres fan. That's been true for almost a decade thanks to his work as a writer on Saturday Night Live — 2017's famous 'Papyrus' sketch with Ryan Gosling, which earned a sequel also starring the Barbie and The Fall Guy talent in 2024, was penned by him — and then due to two seasons of glorious HBO comedy Los Espookys in 2019 and 2022. 2024 brings two treats, however, and both at the same time if you're heading to Sydney Film Festival. On the big screen, Problemista sees Torres write, direct and star, making his feature debut as a helmer and acting opposite none other than Tilda Swinton (The Killer). On the small screen, his comedy series Fantasmas will debut on Binge on Saturday, June 8. Accordingly, after you watch Problemista you can start Fantasmas, or vice versa. With Torres' new movie, he plays a man who wants to design toys in New York, then loses his job and looks set to be deported, with a job working for Swinton's demanding art collector Elizabeth his possible lifeline. Wu-Tang Clan's RZA (Minions: Rise of Gru) also pops up. So does Past Lives star Greta Lee. And narrating the whole thing? The iconic Isabella Rossellini, who also appeared in Los Espookys, and hasn't been far from screens of late courtesy of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Cat Person, Julia, La Chimera and now this. Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information — and for tickets — head to the festival's website.
Legendary 1960s pop group, The Hollies, sport a very different look these days. Gone are the charming matching suits, black ties and suave hair dos - now it's all about black on black, with a flare of white to tease the eye. But if one thing hasn't changed about one of the most commercially successful acts to emerge from the British Invasion, it's their music. Best known for classics such as, 'He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother', 'The Air that I Breathe' and 'Long Cool Woman', The Hollies are a band that through hook-happy material and infectious melodic cheer, have produced 19 studio albums, 30 charting singles and a committed fan-base to match. To this day, five decades after their first live gig, these life-filled musicians are continuing to record and perform. The Hollies will be playing for one night only at QPAC, so be sure to check out these legendary rockers while they are still going strong. The Hollies' Classic 'Long Cool Woman'
Sydney-born artist, Angelica Mesiti's, short film, Rapture, encapsulates the emotional thrill of music festivals and compares it to something not often associated with such events – religious worship. Bringing together the fresh, bright eyed faces of music festival goers, Mesiti's 10-minute film delves into the complex states of longing, belonging and personal spirituality. Shot in slow motion, the scenes of sweat drenched faces, showers of water and sunlight gliding over young limbs, powerfully compare to a collection of youths immersed in religious fervour and spiritual transport. Kids lost in worship to the just out of reach rock 'gods' on stage expose a highly emotional fever building and releasing through the crowd, creating a collective state of ecstasy. Having taken out the $20,000 Blake Price for Religious Art in 2009, Rapture is a complex cinematic experience that reveals a rare emotional state captured elegantly by film.
Hairy Maclary, that adorable rascal of a dog most of us grew up with, is back, in the stage adaptation of Lynley Dodd's classic book series. Having just wrapped up seasons in Melbourne and Perth, the Hairy Maclary and Friends stage show is now featuring here in Brisbane where it will run from the 9th to the 19th of January. Joined by his pesky friends, Hercules Morse, as big as a horse, Bottomley Potts covered in spots, Schnitzel von Krumm with the very low tum and Scarface Claw, the toughest tomcat in town, Hairy Maclary will be bringing to the stage some of his most adventurous tales. Through music, sing-a-longs and some very convincing costumes, this fun-filled show brings to life some of our oldest and dearest canine friends. Whether you're a parent, fan of the story book, or simply looking for a fun activity to fill in the school holidays, Hairy Maclary and Friends is a must see spectacle for children and families.
Since their establishment in 1999, Holgate Brewhouse have pumped out an incredible range of internationally recognised, delicious beers – 999 to be exact. From German to Vienna lagers, chocolate porter to American Indian ales, they've seen, tasted and brewed it all. Now, to celebrate the milestone of their 1000th beer, Holgate Brewhouse have cooked up something extra special - The Millennium Falcon Emperial IPA. Brewed with all pale malt to allow the hops to drive the ship, this beer contains an unprecedented quantity of Millennium, Falconers Flight and Galaxy hops. Furthermore, the bitterness of the Millenium Falcun Emperial IPA is pushed to a big chewy 100 IBUs – in lay-man's terms, it's more bitter than Luke was when he found out this. Archive Beer Boutique will be hosting a night of celebration, entertainment and most importantly drinking to celebrate the launch of this much anticipated beer. Don't forget to come in your favourite Star Wars Costume to really get into spirit – you're never to old to sport a Jedi robe.
We named Bleeding Heart City Markets one of the top ten markets Brisbane has to offer and now it's your chance to check it out. Situated smack bang in the middle of our city in a beautiful heritage listed building, the markets offer a treasure trove of delightful treats and are held on the first Friday of every month. Be sure to get down to the markets on Friday between 10 – 4pm to snag a bargain and avoid the disappointment of missing out. The markets offer arts, crafts, one-off prints, clothing, home wares and jewellery amongst other goodies so you're sure to find something special. After perusing the shops and meeting the clever creators of the hand made goodies, you can grab a bite to eat at the Bleeding Heart cafe or wander through the art gallery. The gallery displays thought provoking pieces from artists across Australia. The Wise Foundation created Bleeding Heart which has undertaken numerous endeavours to support disadvantaged groups and individuals. They have helped countless charity foundations both nationally and internationally and aim to be the social heart of Brisbane. So why not head down to the markets, grab a coffee and support this wonderful business.
Asylum seeking Tibetans face one of the most dangerous journeys for freedom in the world. Some lose limbs to frostbite, perish in blizzards and are arrested. Others are shot. Olo was six years old when he was forced to flee his home in Tibet. Leaving behind his mother, Olo's story was discovered and documented by Japanese film maker Kuku Minami who was touched by the gruelling journey faced by such a young and innocent child. Olo: The Boy from Tibet, explores the deeply troubling friction between Chinese authorities and the millions of Tibetan's who live within the borders of China, and the potentially genocidal situation that is brewing. Providing a personal, and much needed update you on how Tibetans are surviving and maintaining their religion and culture against the odds, this 2 hour film will appropriately be shown to open Brisbane's Festival of Tibet. Living in Dharamsala, northern India, Olo asks ''Why did my mother urge me to leave my homeland?'' The camera films him as he looks for answers.
To all those who thought that the days of Gary Numan inspired synth were dead, think again. Brisbane boys, Box Knife, in their short six-month existence, have quickly proved themselves as gifted crafters of dreamy synth sounds and ambient pop tunes. Having already played locally with a range of bands, and scoring a place on the 2High Festival line-up, these two young artists, Dom and Sam, are only going from strength to strength. With their simple yet compelling tunes, ability to pump out a new and innovative track every week or two, and the likelihood of an EP in the very near future, Box Knife are so much more than just a couple of guys having fun with garage-band. Don't miss Box Knife as they roll out their sound at Black Bear Lodge this Wednesday – they'll be sure to synth your socks off.
The Good Ship could easily be one of the greatest pride and joys of the Brisbane music scene. In their three years together, this eight-piece have toured Australia, gigged at some of our largest music festivals, and produced a big bundle of much loved jaunty blues ballads. Having released two highly successful albums and a number of singles, The Good Ship have decided to change course and move their work from the studio to the stage. Expanded from the band’s song of the same name, their latest work, The Seven Seas, tells of a boy looking to exact revenge upon the sea for the deaths of his father and brother by conquering her in all her might through musical performance. Typical of the band's musical approach, this 60 minute stage show encompasses an upbeat and jaunty feel, hiding a dark and morbid sentiment. Jump on board and discover this ship's salty, sweaty and shamelessly strange crew and their unique genre of musical performance. Check out The Good Ship's 'The Seven Seas'
What's better than one major Australian structure proudly displaying the Aboriginal flag, hoisting it high for everyone to see on a permanent basis? Two, of course. And what would top that? Three, obviously. Actually, watching that list keep on growing would be even better still — but for now, a new petition is calling for Brisbane's Story Bridge to join the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Melbourne's West Gate Bridge in making the Aboriginal flag an enduring fixture. The e-petition was launched on Wednesday, September 7 by Brisbane City Councillor Kara Cook, who represents the Morningside Ward — and at the time of writing on Thursday, September 8, it has passed 800 signatures. It doesn't only request that the Aboriginal flag take a berth atop the CBD structure spanning from Kangaroo Point over the Fortitude Valley, but also the Torres Strait Islander flag as well. In the online document, Cook notes that "only the Australian flag and Queensland flag currently fly on the Story Bridge", with her petition calling "for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to be proudly displayed on the bridge" permanently. Cook raised a motion with Council this week, asking Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner to make the move; however, he declined, saying that the idea was simply stolen from New South Wales — and that the millions it would cost should be used elsewhere. [caption id="attachment_840573" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oliver Lupton via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] The request to add both flags to the top of the Story Bridge comes mere months after the NSW Government installed the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge — following a five-year-long campaign by Kamilaroi woman Cheree Toka to get that outcome — and after the Victorian Government quickly did the same with the West Gate Bridge. Also in Aboriginal flag news this year, the Australian Government unveiled a copyright deal at the end of January with Luritja artist Harold Thomas, who designed the symbol, to make it freely available for public use. For more information about the Brisbane petition to fly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags atop the Story Bridge, head to the Brisbane City Council website. Top image: Colin Campbell via Flickr.
Every generation has at least one definitive teen movie. You've seen them. You grew up rewatching them. You may have them committed to memory. The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Clueless, Mean Girls, Easy A: these are the films weaved through many an adolescent experience. The list goes on — and there's always a new contender lurking around the corner. Circa 2015, that'd be The DUFF. For those unfamiliar with the term, it stands for designated ugly fat friend — or the pal in each clique that makes the rest look better, and that interested parties can approach for all the goss. Everyone has one, the movie tells us. If you don't know who fits the mould in your group, it might just be you. That's what overalls-wearing, horror flick-loving Bianca (Mae Whitman) discovers when her football jock neighbour, Wesley (Robbie Amell), explains why everyone in the school always asks her about her life-long best friends (Skyler Samuels and Bianca A. Santos). This isn't welcome news, unsurprisingly. To shake the label — and to try to win the heart of the guy (Nick Eversman) she likes — Bianca enlists Wesley's help on a mission of reinvention. Yep, that's deja vu you're feeling, courtesy of a storyline so well worn it should be threadbare by now. Over the course of decades of delving into high school angst and antics, the teen movie genre has assembled a long lineup of cliches, with that wealth of history clearly on display here. Add equal parts makeover fantasy and trawling through social hierarchies, plus the usual schoolyard cruelty led by a mean queen bee (Bella Thorne), and garnish with an ample helping of current lingo and issues (here, text speak and social media horrors such as viral videos). It's a popular recipe, making The DUFF just like all other teen fare — even if it is actually based on a novel of the same name. And yet, within a film that sets its protagonist up to shatter stereotypes but does so little of that kind of subversion itself, there's fun to be had — and not just in the fond memories it conjures for even average movies gone by, like the very similar She's All That. Much of it comes from Whitman, a likeable lead rising above the sometimes-silly flow of the story, and willing to go along with the ample physical comedy required. For fans of Arrested Development, her casting may seem like an extension of the series' long-running joke about her character's blandness, but in The DUFF she's anything but. Indeed, she doesn't really fit the film's title, either; unattractive, she's not. Of course, nestled in first-time filmmaker Ari Sandel's upbeat effort are those other components as commonplace as a prom showdown (also present): the message of acceptance, and the reminder that, deep down, nobody's perfect. That's just the standard topping sprinkled over this by-the-book story, but it's also a fitting reminder for avid teen movie aficionados. In a genre often as formulaic as its typical narratives, they can't all stand out, but they might each have their modest merits.
Brisbane's BlackMilk Clothing is well known for its pop culture-themed attire, releasing everything from Star Wars outfits to Harry Potter activewear in the past. Unsurprisingly, anything designed around the Boy Who Lived always proves popular — so much so that the company is launching another collection, this time specifically inspired by Hogwarts' houses. Whether you're keen to deck yourself out in red Gryffindor tartan pants, don a Slytherin letterman jacket with a snake embroidered on the back or pop on some blue Ravenclaw leggings, you'll be able to do just that. You'll be able to opt for some gold-hued Hufflepuff pieces, too, of course. Spanning trousers, dresses, leggings, crop tops and coats — including pants for both men and women, sports jersey-style shirts and hoodies as well, and overalls adorned with Harry Potter-themed patterns — it's a fresh treasure trove of items for wizarding fans to spend their galleons on. It's the real, official deal, with the School's Out range also featuring other pieces that won't make you feel like you're in training for the Triwizard Tournament, such as sheer and skater tunics in appropriately enchanting prints. A full preview of the collection is available on the BlackMilk website, with the magical selection going on sale at 7am on Tuesday, August 20. Items are available until sold out — and, yes, that often happens quickly. For more information about BlackMilk Clothing's Harry Potter School's Out range, head to their website.
Whip out the suspenders and grab the beer stein from the pool room, Oktoberfest is here! It's the time of year again where we can shamelessly wear long socks, slap our knees and drink to our heart's content, Oktoberfest. Like previous years, the RNA will be hosting this three day long festival of beer guzzling, pretzel eating and dancing. Opening at 4pm Friday, and 11am Saturday and Sunday, this will sure to be days and nights of German appreciation. The RNA will be constructing a traditional Bavarian village atmosphere, with Heidi the yodeller, a petting zoo for the kids and a Schunkel dance floor - just follow the others. The Germans bought many wonderful things into our world. Pretzels, Volkswagens and coffee filters, all of which have made life just that little bit easier for us. But in this time of exam stress, work pressure and hot weather lets all give a big 'danke' for whomever came up with the idea of Oktoberfest.
Chances are, if you were born before the dawning of Bratz, your first BFF was a blonde-haired, busty chick with pin legs and a (quite literally) killer waist. And she probably went by Barbie. Now she's back with a little more height on her side in Little Black Dress Creatives' latest production, Doll by Babushka. The Babushka girls are reinventing your childhood bestie in a musical dream house for a very grown-up play date. Forget the old Barbie and her childish catchphrases; these dolls have an endless drawstring and will be belting out tunes all night long. It'll be a little creepy, occasionally cute and darkly comedic as they tackle opera, '80s pop, nursery rhymes and rock 'n' roll. Expect some Guns 'n' Roses and Offenbach in the mix. Whether you grew up with an Action Man, Cabbage Patch Doll or a bald Barbie because you were sure her hair would grow back, Babushka dolls will have you seduced, comforted and in touch with the sinister side of memory lane.
This year's Brisbane Film Festival provides a showcase of some of the world's finest, funniest and frightening films. From thrilling psychological thrillers to dark black comedies, there's sure to be a flick for even the pickiest of movie goers. And to help you narrow things down, we've handpicked ten of the best films showing at this year's festival. Sightseers The premise and execution of Sightseers is what might have happened if Edgar Wright had been given the film rights to Bonny and Clyde. This Brit-com contains everything great and loved about British humour. The story is centered around a rather odd couple. Chris (Steve Oram) takes his girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) around the British towns of rural England for inspiration for a book he's writing. However their circumstances take unusual turns until things go horribly wrong. This film is charming and hilarious with its quick-wit humour and original concept. It truly cements Ben Whately as a director to keep our eyes on. Compliance This tightly scripted psychological thriller was described by the Huffington Post as possibly “the most disturbing movie ever made." Set in a simple fast food restaurant, a prank caller convinces the restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, leaving no-one unharmed. This sickening narrative quickly transcends from its fast-food setting into something much darker, and far more haunting. Given this story is based on true events, it is sure to be one of the most unsettling and provocative films at this year's festival. The Man with the Iron Fists Decapitations, Quentin Tarantino, Russel Crowe, and a healthy dose of kung fu – what more could anyone really want from a movie? This great action movie's abundance of fight scenes, complex characters and violence and gore are second only after the film's overall construction and cinematography. From start to finish, the film's breathtaking shots and astounding art style will have you blown away. Berberian Sound Studio It seems that this year's festival is providing a showcase largely dominated by dark, psychological thrillers – and Berberian Sound Studio is no exception. This masterpiece of claustrophobic, psychological horror unfolds entirely within a British sound engineer's studio. Hired to soundtrack a grisly '70s D-grade Italian horror film, the sound engineer finds his life beginning to interfere with the film, and vice versa. While the performances by Cosimo Fusco and Toby Jones are spectacular, it's really the direction and the sound that are the film's main attractions. God Bless America On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, a terminally ill man makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy. This dark black comedy, made on a small budget, will probably make you side with Frank (Joel Murray), gawking at the awkward stupidity of the Americans portrayed in this movie. The script and Murray's brilliant portrayal as a principled, moral character who has his suicide interrupted by one terrible reality TV show too many make for a unique, absurd but nonetheless engaging and funny film. Along the way he teams up with a psychotic schoolgirl - he's rebelling violently about what society has become, she's rebelling against what society is. Robot & Frank This heartwarming sci-fi comedy follows an elderly ex-jewel thief, Frank, and his butler robot as they grow to be companions and accomplices. The film was a crowd favourite at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it nabbed the Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The script and plot have been criticised, purely for being a little too 'sappy', but combined with the film's fantastic performances, beautiful cinematography and heartwarming portrayal, this film is something quite more than a hit-and-miss heartwarming comedy. Maniac It's a little unsettling to see Frodo yielding a knife and violently scalping young girls as Elijah Wood truly puts his heart into this role as a disturbed killer. A remake of the the 1980s classic horror film, Maniac follows Elijah Wood's character, Frank, who was tormented by his mother when he was very young. As a result of this, he grew up to be a shy, sick man who murders women, scalps them, and displays their hair on mannequins around his apartment. He ends up falling in love with a woman named Anna (Nora Arnezeder), who at a glance, seems to tame Frank's murderous ambitions, leading to a very interesting climax. This movie isn't simply a horror film, nor a slasher, rather a well crafted, disturbing combination of the two. Inbred From the Walking Dead to the the chain of Resident Evil movies, it seems that Hollywood just won't stop pushing the zombie craze. Rest assure however, as there are some directors out there who are going out on a limb to create something so much more than the typical apocalyptic, blood and gore film. Inbred is one such movie that has manipulated the overused zombie plot to create a far more interesting cinematic experience to feast on. Of course there are the unsuspected victims and an innocent looking small country town, however the cinematic role of zombies has been replaced by something far more scary and real – inbred people. This movie is hard to label as horror given its absurdity, however it makes for a entertaining and engaging piece of cinema. Death Rides a Horse This 1967 Italian western is a real treat for movie goers at this year's festival. This oft-overlooked classic from the Spaghetti Western era follows Bill as he embarks on an adventure to avenge the death of this family by four bandits. Along the way he meets Ryan, an ex-con who wants the money the robbers owe him. Together they form an unholy alliance - a dynamic duo combining raw, untamed youth and the experience only a master gun-fighter can offer in the Wild West. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly If you have never seen this timeless classic, then now is your chance to experience what Quentin Tarantino described as “the greatest achievement in the history of cinema.” Rated an almost unheard of 9.0 on IMDB, and listed number five on their Top 250 films of all time, this sprawling western epic lives up to all of its hype and credit. The film follows professional gunslinger Blondie - The Good - hit man Angel eyes - The Bad - and wanted outlaw Tuco - The Ugly - as they search for $200,000 in stolen gold. This is one of those films that only gets better after every viewing. There isn't a wasted scene in this bold, engaging classic and is easily one of the best western films of all time.
We've all heard the jokes about how many folks it takes to change a lightbulb, but here's a new situation to ponder: how many people are needed to turn your overhead light fixtures into a gorgeous mini hanging garden? The answer involves designer Richard Clarkson, possibly someone to help you install a new light (depending on how handy you are), and your plant-loving self. Clarkson has come up with the ultimate way to add a dash of greenery to any room courtesy of Globe, the terrarium lamp. It's as simple as it sounds, involving a suspended handblown glass ball with an intergraded LED light source. And, it's as visually spectacular too, coming complete with a thin power cord that makes the orb look like it's floating, as well as a dimmer letting you control the level of brightness surrounding your new ball of nature. The Globe comes in two sizes — diameters of 12" and 8" — and Clarkson's website also includes instructions about the best types of plants, how to layer everything in the best way, and watering recommendations. While they were designed as a hanging terrarium, with the shape of the glass magnifying the greenery inside to provide a new viewing perspective, they can also be filled with water. Prices range from US$210 - $460, and they ship internationally. Via: inhabitat. Images: Richard Clarkson Studio.
Hollywood loves an awards ceremony, and boasts a regular lineup of statuette-bestowing occasions to prove it. Stellar television shows and the folks who make them can win everything from an Emmy and a Golden Globe to a Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA — and more — because cinema isn't the only screen format that likes rewarding its best and brightest at glitzy occasions with lengthy speeches and shiny trophies. Awards ceremonies are also a handy source of information for TV fans. They're fun to watch, but they can also help you work out what else you should be watching. So many television shows vie for everyone's eyeballs each year, so knowing that something has scored a few gongs (or even more than a few) might help rocket it to the top of your must-see list. Streaming platform Binge features quite a number of award-winners in its catalogue, for example, if you're not quite sure what you should marathon your way through next. In collaboration with the service, we've taken a look and picked five of our accolade-receiving favourites that you can check out now — including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
If you're an ice cream fiend and you live in Brisbane, a category that likely covers almost every resident of the Queensland capital, you will have noticed the River City's Ben & Jerry's-shaped hole — until now. While the dessert chain has its own Scoop Shops on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, Brisbanites have only been able to head to Hoyts Sunnybank or whichever supermarkets and convenience stores stock the American brand to get their fix. But to the delight of your tastebuds, that's finally changing. The place to hit up: 153 Stanley Street Plaza, South Bank. Brisbane doesn't have a real beach to plonk a Scoop Shop beside like our neighbours up and down the coast, but we do have this watery precinct and its man-made versions. The new store will officially launch across the weekend of Saturday, December 17–Sunday, December 18, complete with an extra incentive: free ice cream. That giveaway involves handing out vouchers from 10am–10pm on Sunday, December 18 — and you'll have to spot a few folks roaming around in cow suits on the day to nab one. After that, you can exchange it for a free kids' scoop in a cone. And, you'll have a year to redeem your freebie if you can somehow hold off your ice cream cravings for that long. There's also an Instagram competition happening on the same day, giving away a full year's worth of free ice cream. To be in the running for that, you need to follow and comment on @BenandJerrySouthBrisbane's latest Instagram post, and tag three friends. While it has clearly taken a while for Ben & Jerry's to open its own standalone outpost in Brisbane, the chain is now thrilled to be here — as thrilled as your tastebuds, in fact. "We are situated in the perfect location, just around the corner from Brisbane's city oasis Streets Beach, and are so excited to bring some joy to local residents and visitors seeking their ice cream fix and refreshment after a hot day," said Sam Mackaness, the manager of Ben & Jerry's South Brisbane Scoop Shop. "At Ben & Jerry's, we are committed to giving back to the communities we serve around the world, and these free scoops are just the beginning for Brisbane. Find Ben & Jerry's South Brisbane Scoop Shop at 153 Stanley Street Plaza, South Bank — and head by from 10am–10pm on Sunday, December 18 to score a voucher for a free scoop.
Writing a prescient tale is the science-fiction holy grail, and a feat that Philip K Dick firmly achieved. Making a movie that becomes the prevailing vision of what the future might look like in the entire world's minds? That's a stunning filmmaking feat, and one that Ridley Scott notched up as well. The reason for both? On the page, 1968's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. In cinemas, 1982's Blade Runner. And if you need reminding of how stunning a story that the iconic sci-fi author penned, or how spectacular a film that the legendary director then turned it into, look no further than Blade Runner's return to the big screen — with a live score. When Dick pondered the difference between humans and artificial intelligence more than half a century back, he peered forward with revelatory foresight. When Scott followed fresh from Alien, he did the same. Now, with the clash between the organic and the digital a daily part of our lives in this ChatGPT-heavy reality, of course it's time for Blade Runner to flicker again. Film lovers, get ready for another dream movie-and-music pairing. Get ready for synths, too. Vangelis' stunning score will echo as Scott's feature screens in at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday, February 10, 2024 for Blade Runner Live — an event that premiered in London in 2019, made its way around the UK, then hit Japan earlier in 2023. This session will screen the Final Cut version of the movie. Wondering how it differs from the OG release, and also the House of Gucci, The Last Duel and Napoleon filmmaker's Director's Cut? First unveiled in 2007 for the feature's 25th anniversary, it's the only version that Scott truly had full artistic control over. Blade Runner's narrative, if you're new to the franchise — which also includes exceptional 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049 and recent animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, with a new Blade Runner TV series also on the way — focuses on the one and only Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) as cop Rick Deckard. His task: finding replicants, aka androids, which turns into quite the existential journey. It's almost impossible to name a movie or TV series in sci-fi that's popped up over the four decades since Blade Runner first arrived that hasn't owed Scott's film a massive debt — and any synthesiser-fuelled score that hasn't done the same with Vangelis.
When the end of the year hits, do you get 'Christmas is All Around', as sung by Bill Nighy, stuck in your head? Have you ever held up a piece of cardboard to tell the object of your affection that, to you, they're perfect? Does your idea of getting festive involve watching Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and Martin Freeman, all in the same movie? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you clearly adore everyone's favourite Christmas-themed British rom-com, its high-profile cast and its seasonal humour. And, you've probably watched the beloved flick every December since it was first released in cinemas back in 2003. That's a perfectly acceptable routine, and one that's shared by many. But this year, you can do one better. A huge success during its 2017 and 2018 tours of the UK (to the surprise of absolutely no one), 'Love Actually' in Concert is finally making its way to Australia — and, to the festive delight of Brisbanites, to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at 7.30pm on Thursday, December 12. Revisit the Richard Curtis-written and -directed film you already know and treasure, step through its interweaved Yuletide stories of romance, and hear a live orchestra play the movie's soundtrack. Tickets aren't on sale as yet, but you can sign up for the wait list — and, yes, Christmas (and love) will be all around you.
Here's what just might be the tastiest food challenge there is: hunting down Frankenstein's monster-style dessert mashups and tasting them all. Gelato Messina's various ice cream flavours and special treats often fall into this category, frequently turning another beloved dish into gelato. So do plenty of Lune Croissanterie's pastries. Often Krispy Kreme's doughnuts make the cut as well. Actually, right now you can grab a Krispy Kreme doughnut that owed a huge debt to another dessert: the Maxibon doughnut. After proving a hit in 2018, this collaboration with Peters Ice Cream is back for a limited — and tasty — time. And yes, it's a Maxibon in doughnut form. Back when Krispy Kreme joined forces with Reese's for a peanut butter-heavy doughnut earlier in 2023, there were multiple versions available. With the Maxibon doughnut, there's just one. You will still need to be able to eat nuts, though, because this one comes with a hazelnut and vanilla biscuit crumb. So, what makes up a Maxibon doughnut? A Krispy Kreme doughnut filled with Maxibon vanilla kreme, then covered in that crumb over chocolate, plus a chocolate Maxibon bikkie on top. You'll find the Maxibon doughnut on offer from Tuesday, August 1 at Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time. Trying to pick between ice cream and fried pastries just got a bit easier. We're betting that when Maxibons were first whipped up as a blend between a biscuit and everyone's favourite cold and creamy dessert, no one anticipated this happening as well. Krispy Kreme's Maxibon doughnut is available from Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and selected Woolworths stores for a limited time.
La Boite's newest performance, A Tribute of Sorts, delves into the magical world of creative minds and their ability to blur one's image of reality. Centred around the awkward interactions of teenagers Ivan and Juniper, this highly visual and compelling theatre piece follows the duo's recollections of past dark and unfortunate events. Described as a “story about storytelling” A Tribute of Sorts combines old world stage magic, illusion and technical trickery to create an open-ended show with a meaning uniquely pieced together by each audience member. With dark pasts combined with the youthful charms of the characters, the ludicriousy of the show only becomes more outrageous as the night progresses. Like most La Boite performances, this show is a must see theatre piece. It is showing for less than a month with tickets starting from $20. Come lose yourself in the peculiar and often comical recollections of Ivan and Juniper.
If you weren't able to see Bleeding Knees Club earlier this year at their free gig at Ric's then you truly missed out. Despair not, now is your chance to see these young princes of indie punk in the flesh. Bleeding Knees Club will be returning to Brisbane for one show only at The Zoo this Saturday. If you have not been following the Bleeding Knees Club then here is your chance to jump on the bandwagon. Hailing from the Gold Coast, friends Alex Wall and Jordan Malane formed their band as “a joke”, but quickly gained a hectic and rampant reputation. Having already signed record deals in the UK, US and here in Australia, they've gained fanatic fans world-wide and a name for themselves as true teenage brat punkers. In a world where punk is too often associated with London Tower's Donny Tourette, let's be thankful that bands such as Bleeding Knees Club are emerging and dominating the Australian and international music scene. Check out Bleeding Knees Club's 'Teenage Girls'
West End has long been a buzzing cultural and artistic hub in Brisbane. From the ever pumping Hi-fi, to the regular cultural festivals and markets, this small, life-filled suburb has provided a grounds for many of Brisbane's finest artists to sprout. Now, community minded DIY arts and music space, The Waiting Room, celebrates one year of providing a place for such budding Brisbane artists to host their musical, art and performance pieces. The Waiting Room will be kicking up their heels with three nights of local music performances from an array of artists including four-piece girl band Go Violets, self proclaimed 'Space Garage Pilots' Tiny Migrants, and drone-folk locals Rational Academy. It's been a rampant ride for The Waiting Room, but in one year they've well and truly cemented themselves into the Brisbane music and arts scene - that's more than enough reason for a three day long, musical celebration.
Queensland might be home to a gorgeous holiday spot called Rainbow Beach, but patches of sand all along New South Wales are taking on bright hues on Sunday, February 27. Expect to see rainbow-hued clothing and flags, plus fluoro zinc aplenty, all thanks to a one-day Rainbow Beaches celebration. The event comes courtesy of Lifesavers with Pride, who are getting a heap of surf clubs in Sydney and further north — up to Byron Bay, Brunswick and Yamba — decked out to showcase pride and diversity during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. So, if you can't make it to Mardi Gras itself, or you're keen on a dip as well, you can still get into the spirit of the occasion with your next stint of sun, surf and sand. The festivities at each surf club vary — but expect rainbow attire among beach patrollers, nippers and swimming clubs, and on their equipment and sun protection. The 2022 event follows a successful first run in 2021, and will hit up Bronte, Tamarama, Bondi, Cronulla, Maroubra, Dee Why, Bigola, Avalon and Queenscliff in Sydney — as well as Coogee, which is already home to its own rainbow walkway. And, Rainbow Beaches will also take over those aforementioned regional locations if you're either heading north from the NSW capital or south from Brisbane. [caption id="attachment_800676" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Coogee Rainbow Walkway[/caption] "Surf life-saving has evolved to become far more diverse and inclusive since it was formed over 100 years ago to make our beaches safer. The more diverse, inclusive and welcoming we are as a community, the stronger and more effective our movement can be," said LWP's Ivan Power, who developed the Rainbow Beaches initiative with LWP Chair Gary Driscoll. "Surf life-saving clubs are part of communities right around our country whose culture has changed substantially in recent years, reflecting the communities and members they serve. We are so pleased to be working with Mardi Gras to empower our members and clubs to show the progressive and inclusive nature of our communities and our movement," Power continued. Now you know the brightest spots to have a splash on Sunday — and you can take a few cues from the theme yourself by busting out your most colourful rainbow-toned swimmers for the occasion. Rainbow Beaches takes place on Sunday, February 27 from 8am at Bronte, Tamarama, Coogee, Bondi, Cronulla, Maroubra, Dee Why, Bigola, Avalon and Queenscliff in Sydney, as well as in Byron Bay, Brunswick and Yamba. For more information, head to the Lifesavers with Pride website.
This true story of an Icelandic grandmother who, with the help of a Casio keyboard and cassette recorder, became an underground music sensation, is one of the must see films at this year's Brisbane International Film Festival. Aged 70, Sigridur Níelsdóttir revolutionised her life, and in turn the face of Icleandic underground music and senior citizens, when she decided she wanted to make music. With home-made sounds such as pet noises, kitchen percussion and her own keyboard, Níelsdóttir ended up creating catchy and wholly original tunes. The result – 59 albums and over 700 tunes that were actually distributed and sold far beyond that of her friends and family. Having spent 8 years with Níelsdóttir to create this documentary, the film makers do an extremely sensitive and thorough job of creating a heartwarming expedition into this grandmother's life. This story, which is just as peculiar and life filled as Níelsdóttir's music, is unveiled in animations, old photographs and her own words. Having passed away in 2011, this is documentary is a moving tribute to one woman's imaginative spirit - don't miss it. Grandma Lo-Fi
In the last few years, Ball Park Music have been rocking the national band circuit with rave reviews showing that this band is truly a force to be reckoned with. From their debut hit 'Ifly' to their recent number 'Surrender', Ball Park have pumped out some steller dance tunes as well as some more deeper, mellow tracks. Having performed at The Hifi, Big Day Out and Splendour in the Grass, Ball Park Music are a much loved credit to the Brisbane music scene. Starting as just a few students and a uni based band, they have grown to become one of the biggest names on Triple J and Australian music today; the evidence is in the massive crowds that they attract to every one of their performances. Ball Park Music will be playing at the Tivoli for one night and will be supported by Loon Lake, the band that gave us Triple J favourite 'Cherry Lips.' Be sure to catch Ball Park Music while they're home, because it won't be too long before they make us proud and hit the big time. Ball Park Music's 'Surrender'
Having taken Broadway by storm, and selling out shows across Australia, A Chorus Line is this year's must see musical. Described by the New York Observer as a show that provides “thrills from the opening number to the glittering finale,” this dazzling performance combines captivating song, stunning dance and riveting drama to tell a story of hope and struggle in the world of Broadway entertainment. This classic, nine-time Tony award winning Broadway musical has been brought to life for a 'new generation' by director Michael Bennett. Starring international choreographer and Dancing with the Stars judge, Josh Horner, as well as an array of talented Australian and international performers, A Chorus Line is a flawless, life-filled musical with a delicious combination of great characters and musical numbers. A Chorus Line truly is the hottest ticket in town, so grab seats while they are still available.
A brand new restaurant has cropped up in inner west Sydney that looks poised to take the Australian food scene by storm. Nestled in the heart of Camperdown, the menu at The Corner is jam packed with fashionable dining options, from lentil and eggplant salad to roast Moroccan chicken breast, tomato and bocconcini Caprese salad to...Wait a minute, are those McNuggets? Yes, Sydney's hottest new eatery turned out to be a Maccas in disguise. Described by the fast food giant as a 'learning lab', the site will be used to trial a bunch of new menu options, presumably in a bid to combat their flagging sales. Which is all very well and good, but come on. Brioche McMuffins? Pulled pork Quarter Pounders? What kind of twisted bait and switch is the Hamburglar trying to pull? Of course, the reality is that a bit of sneaky rebranding is de rigueur for companies like these. McDonald's isn't the first chain to try and capture a trendier market share, and it certainly won't be the last. Here are four other examples of mass producing omnicorps attempting to cash in on foodie culture. YOUR FAVOURITE CORNER COFFEE JOINT TURNED OUT TO BE A STARBUCKS No self-respecting coffee lover would ever be caught dead in Starbucks. That is, unless they didn’t know it was a Starbucks. In an attempt to raise sales in the wake of the global recession, the massive coffee chain started to revamp a number of its US and European locations in 2010, removing all traces of the company name save for a nauseating caveat that the 'new' stores were 'inspired by Starbucks'. The good news is that Australia's coffee snobbery has already killed close to three quarters of the Starbucks locations down under, so our chances of being hoodwinked are fairly slim. That is, unless they just said they were closing all those stores. Maybe it was just a trick. Maybe they never left at all. BURGER KING TRIED OUT 'SODA PAIRINGS' It's common knowledge that certain wines go better with certain foods. All Burger King tried to do was apply that same basic principal to soft drink in 2014. Taped half-heartedly to the side of a soda fountain, their pairings seem somewhat arbitrary to me, but then again I'm no sommelier. After a hearty Angus Burger and onion rings, who's to say that a 'crisp, clear bodied' Sprite doesn’t sit better on the palate than a Diet Coke? Honestly, this feeble attempt at classing up the joint isn't so much insidious as it is really, really lame. That being said, nothing goes well with Dr. Pepper. YOUR AVERAGE BP SERVO SANDWICH WENT ALL 'ARTISAN' When they're not too busy pumping oil into the ocean, it turns out BP make freshly baked artisan bread. And brew 100 percent organic coffee. And build rescue shelters for injured puppies. Okay fine, so I made up that last one. But the other two are apparently staples of Jack & Co., self-described as "the freshest convenience stores in the world". The original store was fused to a BP service station in 2012, but recent openings in Taree, NSW have evolved into their own faux-gourmet, corporate guilt-alleviating entities. YOUR KFC ZINGER COMBO WILL HAVE CRAFT BEER FOR THE DRINK Face it: if Mickey D is targeting hipsters, this lot were never far behind. Kudos to the Colonel for at least having the giblets to keep the initials — not that KFC actually stands for anything anymore. In any case, Parramattans will soon be able to get beer and cider with their original recipe, when 'KFC Urban' is granted a liquor licence later in 2015. Like McDonald's, KFC has been falling behind in the fast food arms race, losing younger customers to chains like Nandos and Grill’d. Rather than serving up a kale burger, their solution is apparently to just get everybody sloshed. Frankly, I have absolutely no problem with that. Images: The Corner, Fast Company, Imgur, Jack & Co., KFC.
2022 hasn't been kind to anyone's bank balances, with inflation having a hefty impact on the cost of living all around the world, including in Australia. We know you know this, and so does your wallet. In Sydney in fact, the year's financial struggles have seen the Harbour City reclaim global recognition for being a mighty expensive place to call home, taking tenth place on The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey. While Melbourne was dubbed Australia's most liveable city in the EIU's Global 2022 Liveability Index earlier in 2022, Sydney has nabbed a less sought-after mantle, after sitting in the same spot back in 2018. Again, it's an exxy time all-round in general, with the survey noting that prices worldwide, in the 172 major cities surveyed, have shot up 8.1 percent year on year on average (in local currencies). That's the biggest jump in the 20 years that the EIU has digital data for. The place on the planet that'll trouble your pennies the most? This year, there's two: New York and Singapore. The pair of cities tied for the top spot, with New York earning the unwanted honours for the first time ever, but Singapore taking the crown for the eighth time in a decade. The two places bump down 2021 leader Tel Aviv to third, with Hong Kong and Los Angeles then sharing fourth spot. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva came in at six and seven respectively, while San Francisco sits at eighth, Paris at ninth and Copenhagen shares tenth place with Sydney. Yes, this means that Sydney is more expensive to live in at the moment than London and Tokyo — two cities that aren't considered cheap at all. In fact, Tokyo dropped down 24 spots to sit in 37th place. As per The Guardian, Sydney's rise from 14th in 2021 to tenth this year isn't the only upward movement among Australia's cities. Melbourne leapt from 16th to 15th, and Brisbane from 36th to 32nd. For further details about the 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living survey, head to The Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
After the year that's been, we've all got our sights set on making this summer one to remember. So, no doubt, you'll want to shake things up a little — and, if you're hosting the crew around for some backyard drinks, you'll want to make sure those sips are darn memorable, too. Because balmy days call for cocktails, we've teamed up with tequila distiller 1800 Tequila to help you unleash your inner bartender. Recently, the brand launched a limited-edition merch range in collaboration with Aussie accessories queen Poppy Lissiman and Sydney-based artist Manu Crooks. So, if you were looking for some bold new accessories for summer, it's got you sorted in that department — but you better get in quickly, before they sell out. Now, the two aforementioned creative legends, plus 1800's Hayley Dixon (Proximo Spirits Tequila Specialist), have come up with three tequila cocktail recipes that are guaranteed to spice up your next at-home session. POPPY LISSIMAN'S TASTE OF TULUM Serves one Sleek, chic and a little bit fun, this little libation created by Poppy Lissiman is the perfect drink for summer nights spent on the dance floor. The concoction uses 1800 coconut-infused tequila, which lends a taste of the tropics, while prosecco keeps things sophisticated. So, break out the champagne flutes and get shaking. Ingredients 30ml 1800 Coconut 15ml peach syrup 10ml Fino sherry 20ml fresh lemon juice 5ml simple syrup 90ml prosecco Method Minus the prosecco, shake all ingredients together, then double strain into a champagne flute. Top the glass with prosecco and garnish with lemon zest. MANU CROOK'S CHERRY CHILL Serves one The classic cherry-cola combo gets served a grown-up twist in this moody drink designed by hip hop artist Manu Crooks. Expect smoke and spice from the 1800's barrel-aged Reposado, which is perfectly balanced with a fun, fruity hit from the rest of the ingredients. It's safe to say that this is one smooth sip that'll see you from day to night. Ingredients 30ml 1800 Reposado 15ml cherry liqueur 2ml vanilla extract 15ml simple syrup 25ml fresh lemon juice Dash Angostura orange bitters 60ml cola Method Minus the cola, shake all ingredients together, then double strain the mix into a double rocks glass over ice. Top with the cola and garnish with a lemon twist. 1800 TEQUILA'S SUMMER STAPLE Serves one When sunny skies and post-swim sessions call for a tipple that's fresh and fruity, keep your cool with this fizzy, pink-hued number. Made with the extra-smooth, double-distilled 1800 Silver, it's a crafty riff on the classic G&T that's sure to become your new summer go-to. Ingredients 40ml 1800 Silver 15ml watermelon syrup 15ml honey syrup (three parts honey, one part warm water) 20ml fresh lemon juice 15ml fresh grapefruit juice 60ml dry tonic Method Minus the tonic, shake all ingredients together, then double strain the mix into a highball glass over ice. Top up with tonic and garnish with a watermelon wedge. Spice up your summer with these three easy-to-make 1800 Tequila cocktails, then get yourself some fresh new accessories from the 1800 Essential Artists merch range. 1800 Tequila promotes responsible drinking practices, for 18 years and over only.
If sitting in darkened rooms watching movies on the big screen is your favourite way to fill your spare time, the past couple of years have been trickier than usual, with cinemas closing temporarily and film festivals moving online due to the pandemic. But here's one wonderful silver lining to emerge from the recent chaos: not one but two Sydney Film Festivals in a mere eight months. 2021's fest went ahead in November, after being postponed from June and August. Now, 2022's event is fast approaching, with the event slotting back into its usual midyear timeslot. Following the bumps of the last couple of years, this upcoming festival — SFF's whopping 69th iteration — is set to return to business as usual. That means catching 200-plus movies on silver screens all around Sydney between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 (including at the glorious State Theatre, of course). Overseen by Festival Director Nashen Moodley for the 11th time, this year's SFF unveiled its first 22 movies back in April, and has announced a few other details since — such as a retrospective focusing on the documentaries of American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, plus Pacific First Nations anthology We Are Still Here in the coveted opening night slot. But that was only a taste of the just-dropped entire lineup, which is hefty and impressive as always, and spans 101 features, 53 documentaries and a whole heap of short films from 64-plus countries. (And 27 world premieres as well.) Highlights include the entire Official Competition lineup, aka the movies vying for SFF's big cash prize for films that are "audacious, cutting-edge and courageous". That's where you'll find this year's Berlinale Golden Bear-winner Alcarràs, a family drama from Spain; Blaze, a blend of live-action, puppetry and animation directed by acclaimed Aussie artist Del Kathryn Barton; and supernatural witch flick You Won't Be Alone, which stars Noomi Rapace (Lamb). And, it's home to a number of titles arriving straight from playing Cannes, too — such as Godland from Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason (A White, White Day); Close, a teen-focused drama by Girl filmaker Lukas Dhont; and All the People I'll Never Be, about a French woman's quest to discover her Korean roots. Other big-name inclusions across the rest of the program span New Zealand comedy Nude Tuesday, which'll enjoy its world premiere at SFF; Australia's own Seriously Red, a SXSW hit about a Dolly Parton impersonator; One Fine Morning, from acclaimed French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve (Bergman Island); the Dakota Johnson (The Lost Daughter)-starring rom-com Cha Cha Real Smooth, which earned plenty of fans at Sundance; and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, where Emma Thompson (Cruella) plays an older women who hires a sex worker — with 52 Tuesdays and Animals filmmaker Sophie Hyde behind the lens. Or, there's queer comedy Fire Island, about a group of friends on a wild summer holiday; Aubrey Plaza (Best Sellers)-led heist film Emily the Criminal; Cannes 2021 Jury Prize-winner Ahed's Knee, the latest from Synonyms' director Nadav Lapid; time-travel romp Incredible But True, as directed by Rubber and Deerskin's Quentin Dupieux; and One Year, One Night, which features Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Noémie Merlant. Also on the must-watch list: Norwegian action movie The Burning Sea; Finnish thriller The Man Who Didn't Want to See Titanic (which, yes, focuses on a film buff); Hommage, a South Korean mystery starring Parasite's Lee Jeong-eun; Japanese folklore-glam-rock-musical-anime epic Inuh-Oh; and Millie Lies Low, a NZ caper about impostor syndrome. Plus, from the documentary slate, there's Sundance Audience Award-winner Navalny, about the Russian opposition leader poisoned with a nerve agent; Lynch/Oz, which takes a yellow brick road through David Lynch's filmography; Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, a step inside New York's iconic Chelsea Hotel; and stranger-than-fiction effort My Old School, where Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) lip-synchs to audio recordings of Scottish con-artist Brandon Lee. SFF's full lineup also covers the usual returning favourites among its strands — so its ten-film focus on female directors from Europe is back, as is its selection of movies about music, its weird and wonderful horror and genre flicks, a range of family-friendly fare, a celebration of filmmaking talent with disability, and twelve titles from First Nations creatives. The latter includes all six episodes of Mystery Road: Origins, the new prequel series that focuses on Indigenous police officer Jay Swan, which is one of the fest's massive local highlights. Another: a big-screen showing of the newly restored 4K version of Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, arriving just before his new movie Elvis reaches cinemas. The program still goes on, so if you're keen on seeing Park Chan-wook's Oldboy on the big screen again, or the nine Aussie docos competing for the annual Documentary Australia Award, you're in luck. Whatever's now on your must-see roster, you'd best soak in all the sunshine you can during May — because you'll be spending most of June in a cinema. The 2022 Sydney Film Festival will run between Wednesday, June 8–Sunday, June 19 at the State Theatre, Event Cinemas George Street, Dendy Newtown, Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne, Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Art Gallery of NSW. To check out the event's full program, or to buy tickets (from 9am on Wednesday, May 11 for flexipass holders and 12pm for single tickets), head to the festival's website.
From Godzilla to Studio Ghibli, Mario Kart racing to robot restaurants and inventive karaoke spots to capsule hotels, Japan is known for many things. But — in the end — it's really all about the food. You could spend weeks in the country and plan your itinerary solely around its restaurants, street eateries, izakayas and other watering holes, and have the trip of a lifetime. Been lucky enough to do just that? Can't get the ace memories out of your head — or stop your stomach from grumbling — especially while you're now spending more time at home? Even with current COVID-19-related restrictions in place, Brisbane has plenty of top Japanese joints serving up takeaway and delivery meals that'll trick your tastebuds into thinking they're on holidays. If you are going out to pick up takeaway, have a look at the latest COVID-19 advice and social-distancing guidelines from the Department of Health
For firm believers that all good things come to those who wait, or even casual ones, that patience is set to be rewarded at Portside Wharf's soon-to-open new seafood restaurant. Fosh was first announced in 2022, and originally targeted a March 2023 launch date. Now, the waterside spot will start welcoming in patrons from August, and boast plenty of reasons for Brisbanites to stop by. Fosh hails from Michael Tassis, the restaurateur behind Opa Bar + Mezze, Massimo Restaurant, Yamas Greek + Drink and George's Paragon — as well as Eagle Street's now-closed Fatcow Steak & Lobster and Rico Bar + Dining — and has an enticing concept. Fancy staring at the river while tucking into fish, oysters, prawns, scallops and bugs? Peering at the water while enjoying lobster with bottomless fries for lunch and doing caviar bumps with your fellow diners? That's what's on the menu at this Portside seafood venue. The full culinary lineup hasn't yet been revealed, but there'll be a focus on sustainable, high-quality local line-caught catches that are served to guests within 24 hours. In the kitchen, a team boasting an impressive restaurant pedigree will be doing the cooking. Head Chef Vikash Gurung comes to Fosh from Greca, as well as Fatcow Steak & Lobster, Rico Bar and Dining, and Jellyfish — and sous chef Daniel Hernandez boasts Agnes, Restaurant Dan Arnold and La Cache à Vin on his resume. Rounding out the restaurant's core crew are Daniel Burton and Erik Di Luca, Manager and Operations Director, respectively, with the former spending five years at Matt Moran's Aria and the latter working for Tassis Group since 2012. Fosh will operate both as a dine-in eatery and an upscale takeaway fish 'n' chippery. "This will be next-level takeout," advises Tassis. The restaurant won't be small, either, settling into a 700-square-metre space at Portside as part of the precinct's current revamp, which is set to be complete this December. The makeover has already seen the Gold Coast's Rosé Gelateria launch its debut Brisbane ice creamery in Hamilton. Rise Bakery, which also originated on the coast, is slated to set up shop as well. Whether you're eating in or dropping by to grab some takeaways, you'll notice the luxe yet naturalistic and relaxed decor, which is inspired by The Hamptons. As part of a $3-million fitout, Fosh will boast both indoor and outdoor dining areas, too — with boosting the latter year-round one of the big aims of Portside's facelift. "Our indoor space includes a glamorous island bar which will flow to the al fresco area, where guests can enjoy uninterrupted river views," says Tassis. Launching a dedicated seafood restaurant at Portside, and one run by Tassis, seems like an obvious step for a number of reasons. The location screams for it, and Tassis' father George founded George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant in Sanctuary Cove more than three decades ago. "It's very much in my roots," Tassis notes. Tassis Group also has two other high-profile dining spots on the way, also heroing their water-adjacent locations, but over in Kangaroo Point: overwater restaurant and bar Bombora, plus landing cafe Mulga Bill's, which are set to open in the new green bridge in 2024. Find Fosh at Portside Wharf, 39 Hercules Street, Hamilton, from August 2023 — we'll update you with an exact opening date when one is announced. Images: Markus Ravik.
Fear, dread, tension, apprehension, just being creeped out — they're all strong emotions. They're also exactly the types of reactions that Darkfield and Realscape Productions trade in. The two companies have been teaming up for a couple of years now, with UK creators Darkfield first collaborating with the Melbourne-based Realscape Productions on Seance, Coma and Flight, those eerie shipping container installations that have popped up around the country. Then, when the pandemic hit, the pair pivoted to at-home audio experiences. If you've listed along to Double, Visitors and Eternal as part of the Darkfield Radio series, you'll know that putting people on edge is firmly on the agenda here. With their latest Darkfield Radio project, Darkfield and Realscape aren't messing with their successful formula. So, audiences can expect another unsettling experience designed to be listened to at home. But this duo never serve up the same thing twice, even if their current works all spin nerve-jangling tales and unfurl creepy audio experiences. With Knot, which is currently running each Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Sunday, September 30, you don't just sit in one place, don your headphones and listen attentively, for instance. Initially you need to head to a park bench to listen in — still wearing those headphones, of course — and you'll want to sit in a car after that. For the last section of this three-part experience, you'll then get comfy in a room in your house. To get the full experience, you need to work through all three of Knot's sections in one evening — untangling them in your head, naturally. Darkfield and Realscape always keep the minutiae of their shows close to their chests, so that audiences experience them for themselves while listening, but they have released one clue for Knot: "Here I am, I have come from nothing, created in this moment, as your brain improvises me into existence, improvised into existence... but with no hidden depths." "Season one exposed audiences to the mysterious and supernatural inside their homes, magnified by Darkfield's signature 360 degree binaural sound,", said Realscape Productions Amy Johnson. "We're looking forward to getting audiences outside of their homes for Season two — in COVID-safe settings of course — and pushing them out of their comfort zones even more." Images: Empty Bottles Media.
In 2019's Skint Estate, Cash Carraway told all; A memoir of poverty, motherhood and survival completes the book's full title. Penned about working-class Britain from within working-class Britain, Carraway's written jaunt through her own life steps through the reality of being a single mum without a permanent place to live, of struggling to get by at every second, and of being around the system since she was a teenager. It examines alcoholism, loneliness, mental illness and domestic violence, too, plus refuges, working at peep shows, getting groceries from food banks and hopping between whatever temporary accommodation is available. It's unfettered and unflinching, especially about how difficult it is to merely exist in London if you're not wealthy — and it's in that same spirit that Rain Dogs follows. An eight-part dramedy hailing from HBO and the BBC, and streaming via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand, Rain Dogs isn't a direct adaptation of Carraway's text. It doesn't purport to bring her experiences to the screen exactly as they happened, or with slavish fidelity to the specific details. "It isn't autobiographical, but it definitely has firm roots in the chip on my shoulder!", the author advises about the series that she also created and wrote. This addition to 2023's new HBO highlights alongside The Last of Us remains not only raw, rich, honest and authentic but lived in as it tells the same basic story charted in Skint Estate's pages with candour, humour, warmth and poignancy. Slipping into Carraway's fictionalised shoes is Daisy May Cooper — and she's outstanding. Her on-screen resume includes Avenue 5 and Am I Being Unreasonable?, as well as being a team captain on the latest iteration of Britain's Spicks and Specks-inspiring Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but she's a force to be reckoned with as aspiring writer, recovering alcoholic, child-abuse survivor and mum (to Iris, played by debutant Fleur Tashjian) Costello Jones. When Rain Dogs begins, it's with an eviction. Cooper lives and breathes determination as Costello then scrambles to find somewhere for her and Iris to stay next. That's a constant battle, in fact, with the pair laying down their heads everywhere from cars and closets to palatial country houses and women's refuges in the search for somewhere to feel safe, settle in and truly belong. Costello knows that her heart resides in London; keeping it there is another matter. Working full-time isn't enough, and neither is taking odd jobs whenever she can — such as cleaning the apartment of artist Lenny (The Young Ones legend Adrian Edmondson) while he watches on and pleasures himself — to supplement her income. But she's adamant about attempting to do her utmost for Iris as she tries to pen her own memoir ("basically Oliver Twist but with big tits"). Among Rain Dogs' many unblinking truths, how tricky it is to make it in creative fields when you don't have the fiscal luxury of interning, working for exposure and accepting wages impossible to survive on even without a cost-of-living crisis — and if you also lack a well-to-do network of contacts to help get your foot in the door — echoes strongly. This isn't just Costello and Iris' tale, as devastatingly well-written and -performed as both characters are. This isn't just a story of a mother and daughter doing it tough, either, and facing more tragedies and heartbreaks than hard-earned joys. Rain Dogs is those things, but it's also an exploration of the complicated and imperfect support systems that spring beyond the bonds of blood. Enter Florian Selby (Jack Farthing, Spencer), alongside the aforementioned Lenny and Costello's best friend Gloria (Ronke Adekoluejo, Alex Rider). Each is as flawed and chaotic as Costello — Gloria is first met waking up in a phone booth with last night's party outfit on and no memory of how she got there, for instance — because Rain Dogs directs the clearest of eyes towards everyone. In episode one, when Costello's phone rings, "SELBY — DON'T ANSWER" gleams across her screen. They'll be chatting before episode two arrives, with Selby an inescapable part of Costello and Iris' existence, but the reason for her caution makes itself known quickly. A companion since Costello's university days and the closest thing to a father that Iris has, he completes their unconventional and dysfunctional family. That said, the self-described "classical homosexual" is as privileged as he is self-destructive, tussles with his mental health, and re-enters Costello and Iris' life after a year in prison for assault. He's devoted to them, relishing helping financially when he can — and he usually can — but, while he's Costello's platonic other half, toxic doesn't even begin to describe their relationship at its worst. Carraway has dubbed Rain Dogs as "an off-beat rom-com between Costello and Selby" and "a love story told from the gutter". On-screen, she poses the pair as soulmates caught in a storm of striving (to be better, and to give Iris they best they can), self-sabotaging and stark realities. One particularly excellent episode sees the trio live out a moneyed fantasy, yet it's tainted from the outset. They're not leaving London voluntarily. Rather, they're decamping because Selby's mother (Anna Chancellor, Pennyworth) has cut him off and banished him to their holiday home. Iris has never enjoyed such luxury, and Costello can't remember such stability — but, as months pass, Selby and Costello also can't stop their usual dynamic from flaring up. HBO isn't shy about confronting the vast economic inequality that's an infuriating fact of life today, usually in satirical portraits of the one-percent such as Succession and The White Lotus. Indeed, the US network is exceptional at making such shows smart and savvy must-see viewing. In Rain Dogs, it spends more time among the have nots than the haves — and it spies how everyday human nature is considered damning when you're poor but eccentric when you're rich. With a firm sense of humour, it pokes fun at the journalist that says she wants to unearth a new voice but twists Costello's words into poverty porn, the school mums claiming to sport liberal attitudes but quick to shame, and the photographer so turned on by playing poverty tourist that he climaxes early. With a steely gaze, it spots how easily Selby keeps coming back from his many missteps, and how widely and repeatedly Costello is punished for hers. Watching along with Rain Dogs is a revelatory rollercoaster, and it's stunning. Check out the trailer for Rain Dogs below: Rain Dogs streams via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Images: Simon Ridgway, James Pardon and Gary Moyes/HBO.
Next time you do your grocery shopping, you could cut do your bit for the environment, treat your four-legged friend and pick up some mochi ice cream — all at Coles. The supermarket chain has just launched a revamped store on Racecourse Road in Ascot, and it comes with quite a few upgrades. Also included: self-serve barista coffee, an orange juice-squeezing station and cakes from Jocelyn's Provisions. It certainly hasn't been a normal year or so months for supermarkets, with toilet paper battles and limits on everyday items hitting the front page more than once. But now the pandemic palaver has settled down somewhat, Coles hopes to make your everyday grocery shop (dare we say) exciting with the launch of its fancy new Brisbane store — which is part of the company's mission to both level-up the supermarket experience and reduce waste. The supermarket — which is part of the Coles Local brand — joins Chatswood in Sydney and Moonee Ponds in Melbourne in boasting a range of forward-thinking elements. An eco-friendly product section takes pride of place, you can pack your groceries into free cardboard boxes at the checkout, and the trolley baskets made from recycled materials — all as part of the first Coles Local store in Queensland. In addition to ticking a heap of environmentally conscious boxes, Coles Ascot features quite the range. As well as the aforementioned pastries from Jocelyn's Provisions, you can pick up sausages, patties and pre-marinated meats from Meat at Billy's, and baked goods like brioche burger buns from King Street Bakery. The store also stocks St Food Co's ready-made meals, so you can tuck into Brooklyn-style barbecue brisket, a Malaysian satay chicken or a Penang chicken curry even if you don't feel like cooking. Having friends over? A dedicated entertaining section will stock you up with everything you need. Have a sweet tooth? Stop by the pick-and-mix candy bar. Love macarons? Then you'll want to hit up the mini-macaron bar, too. Plus, Coles hasn't forgotten about the most important member of your family: your pets. You can pick them up a few goodies thanks to the new in-store pet treat pick-and-mix bar — so your pooch can have an after-dinner snack while you enjoy your Tim Tams. Frozen pet food ice cream is also in stock, because your four-legged friends deserve multiple types of treats. Coles' fancier Ascot store follows two other big additions to Brisbane's supermarket options over the past six months. Late in 2020, Sydney's Harris Farm Markets launched its first Queensland venue in Clayfield, and then opened its flagship shop in West End earlier this month. Coles Ascot is located on the corner of Racecourse Road and Dobson Street, Ascot — operating from 7am–9pm Monday–Saturday and 9am–6pm Sunday. Images: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.
Waiting in line at the game for a measly beer has driven many a tormented, forward-shuffling queuer to madness. Sweating brows, heavy tsking and dancing tip toes are the marks of those desperate to balance missing chunks of team victory and avoiding sobriety. But those purveyors of everything fast and novelty, the US, have solved that pesky problem of waiting in line for your frosty beverage. Concessionaire Delaware North and Anheuser-Busch have created Draftserv, a self-serve beer vending machine because BASEBALL. Although regular beer vending machines have been a Thing for some time now, this one's a draft pourer. The slightly gaudy machines appeared at a Minnesota Twins baseball game on the weekend and caused spontaneous jigs and raised eyebrows across the joint. You pay by the ounce (per 28 grams) and the machine cuts you off if it knows you've chugged too much. Bonafide genius. Thirsty beer lovers flash their ID and buy a preloaded $10, $20 or $50 card, then head on over to the Draftserv and scan it for frothy goodness via touchscreen. The machines serve Bud and Bud Light for 38 cents an ounce (about US$4.50), which is almost, almost, almost considered beer but quintessential for sportswatching. Fancy beer drinkers can up it to 40 cents an ounce for Shock Top Lemon Shandy and Goose Island 312 Pale Ale (just under US$5). You can even order half beers. But if you try to pass that 48-ounces-every-15-minutes limit you'll be cut off, because The Machine Knows. "It's a way to engage with the customer and allows the fan to have greater control of what they're drinking," said Jerry Jacobs Jr., principal of Delaware North. "There's obviously some novelty value to this, but it also allows people to pour what they want. If they want half of a cup, that's all they will pay for." Whether or not the machines will make it to Australia remains to be seen, we'll just have to chug a few self-serve beer slushies while we're waiting in line. Via ESPN and Gizmodo.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Brisbane at present. 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, 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. PIG Nicolas Cage plays a truffle hunter. That's it, that's the pitch. When securing funding, those six words should've been enough to ensure that Pig made it to cinemas. Or, perhaps another high-concept summary helped. Maybe debut feature writer/director Michael Sarnoski went with these seven words: Nicolas Cage tracks down his stolen pet. Here's a final possibility that could've done the trick, too: Nicolas Cage does a moodier John Wick with a pig. Whichever logline hit the spot, or even if none did, Pig isn't merely the movie these descriptions intimate. It's better. It's weightier. It's exceptional. It always snuffles out its own trail, it takes joy in subverting almost every expectation and savouring the moment, and it constantly unearths surprises. Cage has spent much of his recent on-screen time fighting things — ninja aliens in the terrible Jiu Jitsu and possessed animatronics in the average Willy's Wonderland, for example — in movies that were clearly only made because that was the case. But, when he's at his absolute best, he plays characters whose biggest demons are internal. Here, he broods and soul-searches as a man willing to do whatever it takes to find his beloved porcine pal, punish everyone involved in her kidnapping and come to terms with his longstanding, spirit-crushing woes. Cage's over-the-top turns are entertaining to watch, but this is a measured gem of a portrayal, and a versatile, touching, deeply empathetic and haunting one that's up there with his finest ever. Sarnoski keeps things sparse when Pig begins; for the poetically shot film and its determined protagonist, less is always more. Rob Feld (Cage) lives a stripped-back existence in a cabin in the woods, with just his cherished truffle pig for company — plus occasional visits from Amir (Alex Wolff, Hereditary), the restaurant supplier who buys the highly sought-after wares Rob and his swine forage for on their walks through the trees. He's taken this life by choice, after the kind of heartbreak that stops him from listening to tapes of the woman he loved. He's found the solace he can in the quiet, the isolation and the unconditional bond with the animal he dotes on. (He's tampered down the full strength of his pain in the process, obviously.) But then, because bad things can happen in cabins in the woods even beyond horror flicks, Rob's pig is abducted in the dark of the night. Now, he's a man on a mission. He has a glare and a stare, too. As the swine's distressed squeals echo in his head, Rob stalks towards Portland to get her back. He has an idea of where to look and who to chase, but he needs Amir to chauffeur him around the city — and Pig is at its finest when its two main characters are together, unpacking what it means to navigate tragedy, fear, loss, regret, uncertainty, an uncaring world and a complicated industry, all in Rob and Amir's own ways. Read our full review. BIG DEAL Recognisable faces spilling essential facts about important topics: it worked for Damon Gameau's documentaries That Sugar Film and 2040, and it works for the Christiaan Van Vuuren-fronted Big Deal. With the same emphasis on being accessible, engaging, clear, sometimes light-hearted and even hopeful, the tactic has also done what it's meant to in Craig Reucassel's various small-screen doco series — see: War on Waste and Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Change — so it should come as little surprise that he directs this big-screen takedown of money in Australian politics. Accordingly, one of the Bondi Hipsters joins forces with a member of The Chaser to lay bare the murky minutiae behind buying sway in our democracy. The subject couldn't be worthier of attention, especially in the lead up to the next federal election, which needs to be held by May 2022. The approach taken in Big Deal couldn't be more familiar, but it proves effective for the same reason it did when sugar and the environment were in the spotlight. These films take something that's crucial, rustle up all the convincing detail, expose tidbits the average viewer mightn't know, compile the appropriate talking heads (which here includes experts, journalists, lobbyists, and current and former politicians such as ex-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, former senator Sam Dastyari and current senator Jacqui Lambie) and make it personal. And, if it matters to the person on-screen as they explore a pivotal topic through the lens of their own life, then it's easy for audiences to take their lead. Van Vuuren couches his deep dive into cash for political access, the inequity it represents and the lack of transparency behind it, in two factors: his six-month experience quarantining in hospital with a rare form of tuberculosis, and his awareness of the kind of world he wants his kids to live in. In one of the few gimmicks alongside oversized novelty cheques and Van Vuuren singing, those children build towers of blocks that signify the significant fossil fuel donations to Australia's Labor and Liberal political parties, putting a few additional relatable faces on the subject — because the matters here really do impact everyone. That extended stretch under medical care underscores the documentary's entire perspective, though. Van Vuuren worries that Australian politics is taking more cues from the US than the nation's population realises, or can easily discern given that donations to political parties only need to be disclosed once a year, and nothing underscores one of the big chasms between the two countries like healthcare. It's a blunt card to play, especially during a global pandemic, but it makes the point savvily and well. No Aussie should want to follow America's lead if it could potentially weaken our universal healthcare scheme and the free or affordable treatment available under it, obviously. And, as the film plots out, everyone should want to stop that — and stop corporate interests splashing cash to influence the direction of the nation, especially when everyday Aussies can barely get access to their elected representatives. Read our full review. THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS If you stare at something long enough, you don't just see the obvious. You notice everything, from the details that fail to immediately catch your attention to the way things can change instantly right in front of your eyes. The Killing of Two Lovers is all about this idea, and on two fronts. It puts a fractured marriage before its lens, ensuring its struggles and troubles can't be ignored. It also takes its time to peer at its protagonist, the separated-and-unhappy-about-it David (Clayne Crawford, Rectify), and at all that his new life now entails. In a sparse small town — with the film shot in Kanosh, Utah — its central figure attempts to adjust to living with his ailing widower father (Bruce Graham, Forty Years From Yesterday). His wife Niki (Sepideh Moafi, The L Word: Generation Q) remains in their home with their four children, as they've agreed while they take a break to work through their problems. David isn't coping, though, a fact that's apparent long before his teenage daughter Jess (Avery Pizzuto, We Fall Down) gets angry because she thinks he isn't fighting hard enough to save their family. He's trying, but as Crawford conveys in a brooding but nervy performance — and as writer/director/editor Robert Machoian (When She Runs) and cinematographer Oscar Ignacio Jiménez (Immanence) can't stop looking at in lengthy and patient takes — he can't quite adapt to the idea of losing everything he knows. There's an element of Scenes From a Marriage at play here, although The Killing of Two Lovers pre-dates the new remake — and so much of the feeling in this gorgeously shot movie comes from its imagery. When it's hard to look away from such rich and enticing visuals, it's impossible not to spot and soak in everything they depict. Each frame is postcard-perfect, not that those pieces of cardboard ever capture such everyday sights, but wide vistas and the snowy mountains hovering in the background are just the beginning. With its long takes, The Killing of Two Lovers forces its audience to glean the naturalistic lighting that never casts David and Niki's hometown in either a warm glow or grim glower. Repeated images of David alone, especially in his car, also leave a firm impression of a man moving and solo. And, presenting most of its frames in the 4:3 aspect ratio, the film also possesses an astonishing and telling sense of space. Nothing is bluntly boxed in here, but everyone is trying to roam within the claustrophobic patch of turf they've scratched out. And, within the feature's square-shaped visuals springs an added fountain of intimacy that cuts to the heart of such close relationships, such as when David and the kids all pile into his truck, or during one of David and Niki's car-bound dates. Read our full review. PALAZZO DI COZZO If Franco Cozzo was to spruik Palazzo Di Cozzo the same way he's promoted his baroque furniture business over the decades, he'd likely repeat one phrase: "grand documentary, grand documentary, grand documentary." He'd do so because that's what he's known for, and because his ads peppered with "grand sale, grand sale, grand sale" are a part of Melbourne's history, even inspiring a single that hit the charts. On the city's TV screens, Cozzo has been the face of his eponymous homewares store, so much so that he's a local celebrity. His lively exclamations fill much of this doco, too, through archival clips, observational footage of him at work and a to-camera interview. In the latter, he sits on one of the ornate chairs he's made a fortune selling, and answers interview questions like he's holding court — and for Melburnians familiar with his name and citywide fame, and for the uninitiated elsewhere, Palazzo Di Cozzo explains both the reason he's regarded as such a prominent personality. Written and directed by feature-length first-timer Madeleine Martiniello (The Unmissables), the result is a film about the hardworking jump its subject took from arriving in Australia from Sicily in 1956 to becoming part of the cultural fabric of his new home. Speaking about the mural painted of Cozzo in Footscray, graffiti artist Heesco notes that his tale is "the migrant dream"; however, while this affectionate film happily stresses that point, it also blissfully takes the easiest route. As a straightforward chronicle that covers the basics — who Cozzo is, what he's done, and also where, when, why and how — Palazzo Di Cozzo ticks the expected boxes in an informative and engaging-enough fashion. It tracks his story from making the move to Melbourne by boat and starting out as a door-to-door salesman, through to his 70s and 80s heyday, his frequent media presence, and his standing today. It lets his personality lead the way, too. And, the film also spends some of its early moments chatting to people who've decked out their houses with his wares, or watched their parents to do the same, to underscore what the rococo aesthetic has meant to Italian expats as an opulent slice of home. But even when one interviewee is in tears recounting how hard her mum and dad must've worked to spend $17,000 on Cozzo furniture in the 70s, there's always a sense that Palazzo Di Cozzo isn't scratching as deep as it should. The documentary doesn't avoid moments that Cozzo would rather forget, and even shows him getting irate when questioning heads in a direction he doesn't like; however, it also indulges rather than interrogates the persona that's leapt up around him over the years. Cue too many instances of people parroting his style of English back to him, and indulging a cartoonish stereotype — and very little effort to understand why that's the image Cozzo chose, what his popularity for playing that part says about Australia and its attitudes towards migrants, and also what the nostalgia afforded his way now says as well. DIE IN A GUNFIGHT How does a filmmaker tell viewers that he's seen Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet without telling them that he's seen Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet? If he's Collin Schiffli (All Creatures Here Below), he makes Die in a Gunfight. Anyone else who has watched Romeo + Juliet even once will spot its influence over this pale and obnoxiously grating imitation, not just because it focuses on star-crossed lovers who happen to be the children of generations-old bitter rivals — that'd be Ben Gibbon (Diego Boneta, Love, Weddings and Other Disasters), son of one media baron, and Mary Rathcart (Alexandra Daddario, The White Lotus), daughter of another — but because more than a few of its frames could sit side by side with R+J's and look like mirror images. The vibe takes inspiration from Luhrmann's classic as well, but amped up several notches as if exaggerated copying is the sincerest form of flattery. The over-edited, overly slick overall aesthetic does, too, and ends up looking and feeling as if a film student has just discovered every button on the camera and in the edit suite. And, it might be purely a coincidence that the movie nods to Luhrmann's Australian nationality by casting Travis Fimmel (Dreamland) as an Aussie assassin. You could be generous and think that. But even if it is serendipitous, the fact that Fimmel's character plays like the worst Down Under caricature there is — and that the clearly white figure is called a didgeridoo at one point — couldn't sum up this misfire any better. The narrative tracks most of the usual Shakespearean beats, with Ben and Mary's parents trying to keep them apart — and, in Mary's case, another suitor stalking around with the exact same aim. In not-so-fair Manhattan where Schiffli and screenwriters Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man and the Wasp) lay their scene, the pair's two households, both alike in dignity, do indeed turn their ancient grudge into new mutiny. And, misadventure and piteousness definitely ensue, as does heartbreak and bloodshed. When Die in a Gunfight sticks to its obvious source materials, it's a slog and nothing more than an inept duplicate twice over. When it attempts to mix things up, it still just grasps onto well-worn action and romance cliches, and also proves equally unoriginal. It doesn't help that Boneta plays Ben like a brat, that chemistry between him and Daddario is patently absent, or that Justin Chatwin (CHiPs), as the third part of the movie's love triangle, gives big — and bad — pantomime energy. The animated sequences filling in backstory, Billy Crudup's (Where'd You Go, Bernadette) knowing narration and an annoying penchant for splashing character names on-screen in giant lettering all does nothing to improve the feature, either. The Bard's most famous love story has spawned many adaptations, and Luhrmann's take on it has sparked plenty of imitators, but this is the very worst of both worlds. 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 May 6, May 13, May 20 and May 27; June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24; July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29; August 5, August 12, August 19 and August 26; and September 2 and September 9. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Locked Down, The Perfect Candidate, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Ema, A Quiet Place Part II, Cruella, My Name Is Gulpilil, Lapsis, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Fast and Furious 9, Valerie Taylor: Playing with Sharks, In the Heights, Herself, Little Joe, Black Widow, The Sparks Brothers, Nine Days, Gunpowder Milkshake, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Old, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, Respect, The Night House, Candyman, Annette, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Streamline and Coming Home in the Dark.
The National Gallery of Victoria has hosted some of Australia's biggest contemporary art exhibitions in recent memory. There was the Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei blockbuster that paired the works of two of the most significant artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, the huge debut of the NGV Triennial late last year and, next week, the Melbourne gallery will unveil a collection of works from New York City's MoMA. But, in the coming years, all these exhibitions could be moved to a new location, as the Victorian Government has today announced plans for a brand new contemporary art gallery to be built nearby. This is a pretty big deal. The new gallery — dubbed NGV Contemporary (NGVC) — will be part of a major redevelopment of the Southbank arts precinct and, according to the Victorian Government, will be the biggest contemporary art gallery in the country. While it will be part of the NGV, it'll be a standalone gallery, and will be built around the corner on the site of the old Carlton & United Breweries building on Southbank Boulevard. It sounds like the NGV's permanent collection will stay at NGV International, while NGVC will focus purely on contemporary art and design. As well as the gallery itself, the redevelopment will also add 18,000 square metres of public space to the area, theatre upgrades and new facilities in an attempt to turn 1 City Road into Melbourne's arts hub. The State Government will invest $208 million for the first two years of the project — this will allow the NGV to start planning and raise philanthropic funds. Premier Daniel Andrews is calling the redevelopment a "once-in-a-generation" project, and thinks it will be a "game-changer" for the city. Once completed, we think it's safe to assume that the NGV will be able to pull even more big names for its blockbuster exhibitions.
Our Melbourne comrades are doing it especially tough right now, currently pushing through the fourth long week of their current stage four lockdown. But if you know a southerner who could use a distraction from their 8pm curfew and five-kilometre travel restrictions, you can now send them a little sweet relief courtesy of Uber Eats. This week, the delivery service is allowing interstate mates to send Victorian friends free dessert or ice cream, via its new #lockdownlove offer. From today, Monday, August 31, to Friday, September 4, you can surprise your Melbourne mate with a free Uber Eats dessert delivery, up to the value of $20 (including delivery fee). There are 1000 of the freebies available each night, starting from 8pm. To share the love, simply plug your friend's address into the app, order from one of their local dessert venues and enter that day's promo code (it's 'mondaylove' for Monday, 'tuesdaylove' for Tuesday and so on). Once you've ordered, you can click 'Share This Delivery' at the top of the app and your pal will be able to track their sweet treat on the move. Brighten their day with some Pidapipo gelato, send some Greek doughnuts from Lukumades, or maybe treat them to a wedge of cheesecake courtesy of the iconic Brunetti. If you're a sweet-toothed Melburnian who could do with some free dessert, we just send this article to an interstate friend — as a very unsubtle hint. [caption id="attachment_687498" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Doughnuts by Shortstop[/caption] Top image: Lukumades
Let's face it: plastic is a major problem. A petroleum-based, entirely man-made substance, plastic is the super-villain extraordinaire in the fight against pollution. Despite our recycling efforts, a lot of plastic tends to end up in the ocean, causing enormous wastelands such as the Great Garbage Patch in the Pacific where plastic to marine life ratios have reached 6:1. You'd think by now we'd have come up with an alternative. In 2009, Coca Cola released a sustainable plastic bottle of which a ground-breaking 30% was made with raw bio materials. Not good enough for PepsiCo, who announced yesterday the successful development of a 100% plant-based bottle. The prototype is made of switch grass, pine bark and corn husks, and the company plans to use orange peel, oat hulls and potato in future versions. The bottle retains a similar molecular structure to plastic, meaning it looks and feels the same – minus the environmental impact. It's a major step forward in the future of sustainable packaging. Pepsi plans to test the logistics of mass-producing the bottle in 2012, and if all goes well they'll make the switch. Let's hope they share the idea so the phase-out of plastic production can begin. [Via Fast Company]
No two neighbourhoods are the same in Singapore. From swanky Marina Bay to lively Little India, buzzing Orchard Road and idyllic Sentosa, each area of the Lion City has its own distinct character and offers unparalleled adventures. Katong-Joo Chiat is no exception. The vibrant region has roots tracing back to the early 19th century, gradually evolving from coconut and cotton plantations to an affluent coastal retreat in the 1920s, which drew a strong community of Straits–born Chinese and Malay descendants — otherwise known as the Peranakan community. Now, the neighbourhood is a colourful cultural hub that still upholds remnants of Singapore's Peranakan culture. With the help of Singapore Tourism, we're showcasing some of the top experiences around Katong-Joo Chiat, so you can dive into the area's rich and diverse history. What to See Wandering through Katong-Joo Chiat will take you on a journey through time. Here, you'll find heritage landmarks interspersed with contemporary boutiques and eateries that pay homage to the area's Peranakan history and culture. Discover Peranakan architecture at the pastel-hued shophouses on Koon Seng Road. Built in the 1920s, these restored dwellings interweave traditional Peranakan design with European and Chinese influences, such as floral tiles, ornate frames and intricate motifs. You're welcome to take photos, but keep in mind that these are occupied residences. Want to see it all but don't know where to start? Hop on a Vespa sidecar to see the area from a different vantage point. Singapore Sidecars runs tours throughout the city on vintage Vespas, while you take it in from the comfort of a sidecar. The Katong-Joo Chiat tour takes you along hidden laneways to see Koon Seng Road, Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple, street murals and local coffee houses. If you're still keen for more, add on an extra hour and you'll get to explore a pre-war school and an old residential area, and enjoy a meal at a hawker centre or shophouse eatery. [caption id="attachment_980366" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Santos[/caption] What to Do Continue your exploration of Peranakan culture at Rumah Kim Choo and Rumah Bebe, where you'll be able to venture inside old shophouses. Rumah Kim Choo is a two-storey shophouse with a gallery and Kim Choo Kueh Chang eatery. Head upstairs to join a beading workshop or private tour, before sampling traditional Peranakan snacks downstairs, including savoury rice dumplings and sweet Nyonya kueh, which the family-owned business has been making since 1945. [caption id="attachment_980370" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yik Keat[/caption] Similarly, Rumah Bebe sells Peranakan collectibles and clothing in a vivid blue shophouse, with classes and tours upstairs. After you've learnt about beading techniques and tried on some Nyonya garments like sarongs and kebayas, round out the experience with some Peranakan cuisine at the restaurant downstairs. The menu includes small bites, curries, a traditional ayam buah keluak (chicken or pork ribs cooked in tamarind gravy) and a selection of sweet kuehs. [caption id="attachment_982044" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Santos[/caption] For shopping and souvenirs — that will bring you back to the present era — make a beeline for Cat Socrates and The WYLD Shop. Cat Socrates has a selection of homewares, books, decor, lifestyle goods and gifts by Singaporean designers. You'll even find knickknacks inspired by the neighbourhood, including a linen wall calendar of Joo Chiat Road, glass mugs with Peranakan tiles, sandals with shophouses and Southeast Asian fruits, and art prints of local scenes. The WYLD Shop also carries a range of local brands across clothing, accessories, beauty, homewares, lifestyle goods and gifts. Get some mementos of your trip to bring home, such as a tea towel with the shophouses of Koon Seng Road, a candle inspired by the tropical scent of Singapore, facial oils by a locally made brand, and brightly printed kimono jackets. What to Eat Your Katong-Joo Chiat visit wouldn't be complete without some treats to reward your day of exploration. Established in 1925, Chin Mee Chin Confectionery is a neighbourhood institution that has withstood the test of time. First opened as a coffee shop, the bakery and eatery evolved with the times and is still managed by some of the original family to this day. Be sure to have a taste of the signature kaya toast, sugee cake and kaya swiss roll when you're there. [caption id="attachment_983639" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Birds of Paradise Facebook[/caption] Get some respite from the humidity at Birds of Paradise. The store serves heaping scoops of creamy gelato, but you won't get any traditional flavours here. Instead, expect flavours derived from natural botanicals (without any artificial additives) and inspired by Southeast Asian tastes and aromas. Options range from the delicate white chrysanthemum and fruity lychee raspberry to the rich pandan coconut caramel and nuanced macadamia butterfly pea. Book your Singapore holiday now with Flight Centre. All images courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. From the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue for September. NEW STUFF TO WATCH NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw I MAY DESTROY YOU Newly returned from a working trip to Italy, struggling to write her second novel after her first struck a sizeable chord and pushing up against a draft deadline just hours away, Arabella (Michaela Coel) takes some time out from an all-nighter to procrastinate with friends over a few drinks in a couple of London bars. The next morning, the Twitter-famous scribe is shaky, hazy and feels far from her normal self — and across the next 11 episodes of this instantly blistering 12-part series, I May Destroy You delves into the aftermath, as Arabella realises that she was raped that evening. Not only created and written by the unflinching and captivating Coel, but inspired by her own real-life experience with sexual assault, the result is as bold, raw and frank as it is sensitive and affecting. It also feels personal at every single moment. An immensely powerful series that intimately interrogates power on multiple levels and features an unsurprisingly potent performance by Coel, I May Destroy You is easily this year's number-one must-see show — and its absolute best. I May Destroy You's first season is available to stream via Binge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDTg62vsV4U I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS For much of I'm Thinking of Ending Things two-hour-plus running time, the film's characters sit and talk as discomfort fills the space around them. The movie's protagonist (Wild Rose's Jessie Buckley) and her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) awkwardly chat as they drive through the snow to the Oklahoma farm where the latter grew up. They both endure several seesawing conversations with Jake's erratic and eccentric mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis) once they arrive. And, steam-of-consciousness narration also provides a soundtrack. But given this feature is written and directed by Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, it was never going to be a straightforward flick about meeting the parents. Instead, it's a purposely ambiguous and complex exploration of identity, choice and the very nature of human existence — complete with sudden ballet dances, strange overnight stops at deserted dessert stands and flashes to an unhappy janitor (Guy Boyd) — and it's a fascinating, challenging, visually stunning trip the entire way. I'm Thinking of Ending Things is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN8fFM1ZdWo THE BOYS Suffers of superhero fatigue understandably rejoiced when The Boys first hit screens in 2019. Yes, it focuses on a group of caped crusaders just like seemingly every second blockbuster movie — but, in a world where viewers have been conditioned to lap up narratives about powerful folks who are supposedly better than most, this series both satirises and questions that very idea. Here, superheroes work for a corporation called Vought International. The top talent is known as The Seven; however when the public isn't looking, most — especially leader Homelander (Antony Starr) — are hardly role models. The show's second season picks up where its first left off, with determined, no-nonsense Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) intent on bringing Vought and The Seven down with his own ragtag team, aka The Boys of the title. As well as once again following the complicated bond between The Boys' newcomer Hugh (Jack Quaid) and The Seven's Starlight (Erin Moriarty), the new season also throws Better Call Saul's Giancarlo Esposito into the mix as Vought's CEO, plus Aya Cash as social media star and new The Seven member Liberty. The first five episodes of The Boys' second season are available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes added every Friday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFAHiU0g0xQ PEN15 When Maya Erskine (Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later) and Anna Konkle (Rosewood) decided that they were going to make a series about their 13-year-old selves — and, although they're now definitely and obviously adults, also play their younger selves — it was a decidedly risky move. It pays off, though. In fact, it's one of the savviest parts of PEN15, which is one of the most distinctive comedies on TV. There's nothing quite like reflecting upon that awkward adolescent phase by physically and literally revisiting it, as the two writers and actors do, all while their on-screen characters navigate the ups and downs of middle school at the turn of the 21st century. Returning for the first half of its second season, this comedy series steps back into the lives of Maya Ishii-Peters (Erskine) and Anna Kone (Konkle), deepens its exploration of being a teenage girl (and a teenager in general), and will have you cringing in recognition, laughing and recognising its insights simultaneously. The first seven episodes of PEN15's second season are available to stream via Stan, with another seven episodes set to drop at a yet-to-be revealed date. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJvKDp54YjM SPIRAL Not to be confused with the upcoming new Saw franchise film of the same name, Spiral gives a familiar premise a smart, topical and resonant twist. In the mid-90s, Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, UnREAL) and Aaron (Ari Cohen, IT: Chapter Two) move to a small town with the latter's teenage daughter Kayla (Jennifer Laporte, iZombie), seeking a quieter, happier life away from the city. They're initially greeted warmly by neighbours Marshall (Lochlyn Munro, Riverdale) and Tiffany (Chandra West, Played); however, in general territory traversed by many a horror film before this, things aren't quite what they seem. Indeed, when Malik comes home one day to find a homophobic slur graffitied on their living room wall, he starts to get suspicious about the cliquey community they're now calling home — fears that Aaron doesn't share. There is clearly much about Spiral that fits a template, but director Kurtis David Harder and writers Colin Minihan and John Poliquin do an astute job of moulding this unsettling movie into a timely statement. The result: an unnerving feature that's as much about spooky terrors as societal ones, and that possesses a considerable bite. Spiral is available to stream via Shudder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8CCg1tOqc #ALIVE Train to Busan and Peninsula aren't the only films to wonder how South Korea might cope with a sudden zombie outbreak. The unrelated #Alive also explores the concept, focusing on a video game streamer as an unexplained disease turns most of Seoul's residents into the guts-munching undead. Even holed up in the seeming safety of his family's apartment, Oh Jun-u (Burning's Yoo Ah-in) doesn't initially take the situation well. As shuffling hordes lurk outside, his dismal food supply rapidly declines and he worries about the safety of his parents and sister, he attempts to survive — and to fight off the gnawing feeling that perhaps his struggle is futile. A box office hit when it released in South Korean cinemas, #Alive never feels as formulaic as its premise might suggest. In fact, this horror-thriller proves constantly tense, and not just because pandemic films have that effect at the moment. Making his first feature, writer/director Il Cho handles the zombie scenes with urgency and makes ample room for quiet moments; however his best decision is casting the ever-watchable Yoo. #Alive is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31rSR0w0z30 THE VOW Another month, another compelling true-crime documentary series. When it comes to delving into the minutiae of tales so wild that they can only be true, HBO has long been known for leading the charge — and, after McMillions and I'll Be Gone in the Dark already this year, The Vow is its latest addition to the fold. Its focus: self-improvement group NXIVM. If that name sounds familiar, that's probably because you remember the 2018 news headlines, when its founder Keith Raniere and member and actor Allison Mack (Smallville) were arrested and charged with a range of crimes that included sex trafficking. Featuring former NXIVM members sharing stories about their time in the cult-like group, The Vow details a rollercoaster ride of a story, not only unpacking the sinister and sordid aspects of the tale, but attempting to understand what appealed to people about the organisation in the first place. Filmmakers Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer picked up an Oscar nomination for 2013's The Square, as well as Emmy awards and nods, and don't be surprised if they feature in the TV awards conversation in 2020. The first episode of The Vow is available to stream via Binge, with new episodes available every Sunday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSzZxsX0_yE AP BIO In It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Glenn Howerton excels at playing arrogant, narcissistic, abrasive, selfish and misanthropic. He's been doing just that since 2005, and long may that continue. But, while before 2018, no one would've ever wondered what might happen if Howerton demonstrated the same traits in a high-school set sitcom, AP Bio answers that question in a consistently amusing way. Here, Howerton plays an ex-Harvard philosophy professor forced to return to his home town of Toledo after losing his dream job and reacting badly. He takes a gig as a biology teacher even though he has absolutely no interest in it, and he enlists his motley crew of students to help him enact his elaborate revenge plan. Three seasons in, this comedy happily veers in its own direction and keeps serving up offbeat laughs — including from Patton Oswalt as the school principal and the great Paula Pell (a Saturday Night Live writer for almost two decades) as his secretary. Also, the latest season dedicates an episode to an occasion known as 'Katie Holmes Day', which is as silly and yet still inspired as it sounds. All of AP Bio's third season is available to stream via Stan (and its first and second seasons as well). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaaC57tcci0 THE SOCIAL DILEMMA The idea that social media isn't all that great for humanity isn't new news. More than a decade after services such as Facebook and Twitter started taking over our daily lives, inundating us with notifications, fighting for our time, collecting our data and trying to monetise our attention to sell to advertisers, that fact shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. But just because The Social Dilemma stresses something that everyone should already know, that doesn't mean that it doesn't still pack a punch. This Sundance-premiering documentary proves more than a little clunky when it features dramatised segments showing both how social media can affect us all and visualising how algorithms work (the latter featuring multiple versions of Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser). And, in its interview segments, it is hardly astonishing that an array of ex-tech company employees have unpleasant things to say about the industry. Still, this doco is both comprehensive and important — and, if you haven't spent much time thinking about the topic, accessible as well. The Social Dilemma is available to stream via Netflix. CULT CLASSICS TO REVISIT AND REDISCOVER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azjw0hTkOIs FARGO More than two decades since it first hit the big screen, Joel and Ethan Coen's Fargo still ranks among their best work. Given the other movies to the sibling filmmakers' names — Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men and Inside Llewyn Davis, to name just a few — that's quite the feat. So, when the Fargo TV series arrived in 2014, it followed in some considerable footsteps. Telling a different crime tale each season, with a different high-profile cast, it instantly became one of television's must-watch dramas. Featuring everyone from Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman (in season one), to Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons (season two) and Ewan McGregor playing brothers (in season three), every episode to-date has served up an entertaining treat — and those first three seasons have just hit SBS On Demand in the lead up to the Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman-starring fourth season, which starts dropping in October. The first three seasons of Fargo are available to stream via SBS On Demand. Top images: I May Destroy You, Natalie Seery/HBO; The Vow, HBO; I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Mary Cybulski/Neflix.
As the NSW bushfire tragedy continues, a number of articles have appeared discussing the various ways a home may be fireproofed. There are miraculous treatments such as this fire-retardant gel, but how do you build for the bush? It's certainly possible. Incredibly, in the 1970s Sydney architect Glenn Murcutt designed a house so safe that its owner moved many actual drums of petrol from the garage into it before a bushfire surrounded the property. In the States an extremely old, fire-safe construction method is currently trending: the rural Japanese tradition of shou-sugi-ban. Roughly translated as 'burnt cedar board', shou-sugi-ban supposedly dates back to the 1700s, when it was used primarily to safeguard against fire and to preserve the wood against rot. So how does shou-sugi-ban work? The reasoning goes, if wood has already been charcoaled, it's unlikely to catch fire a second time. Similar in principle to the weathering of steel, where oxidisation creates a protective barrier, wood is first scorched with a controlled method of burning then brushed with a stiff broom to remove excess soot. Next it's washed and dried, and finally treated with an oil like Penofin Verde. It just happens to look fantastic, with many shades and finishes achievable, depending on how long the wood is burned. Usually a paint or a stain is required to darken wood to an attractive chocolate hue with rustic texture, and both methods are subject to fading and degradation. But not shou-sugi-ban. Apart from providing resistance to flames, the charred wood also repels insects and rot. This makes it durable and long-lasting. A standard cedar might decay after five years, whereas the owner of a low-maintenance shou-sugi-ban wall or fence could expect 30 years without decay, which is a pretty dramatic difference. For this reason, as well as its visual attractiveness, lately it's appearing in many restaurants around the Bay Area in California. Companies like Shou-Sugi-Ban in the UK and Delta Millworks in Austin, Texas (a land where it is said that cowboys mingle with punks) have mastered how to artfully scorch reclaimed wood for beautiful and practical built spaces. We hope to see more of it popping up on our shores. Via PSFK
Some pieces of film news feel like they can't be believed until the end results are actually seen. For a decade, the prospect of Hayao Miyazaki making another movie has been one of them. This enchanting development has come to fruition in the form of The Boy and the Heron, which not only exists but has been playing at international film festivals, already released in cinemas in Japan and now boasts two English-language trailers to give audiences a sneak peek at it magic. After a mesmerising first look back in September, The Boy and the Heron has just dropped a full glimpse at the new gift from the Studio Ghibli great. In store is the story of Mahito, a boy pining for his mother and experiencing the realm where the living and the dead converge. Also present: stunningly gorgeous animation. Miyazaki is back to spirit audiences away again, ten years after releasing The Wind Rises, which was expected to be his last film at the time. The movie maestro even announced his retirement. Thankfully, he changed his mind quickly — and now, more than half a decade after that welcome revelation, his next film is here. The My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle icon's latest was confirmed back in late 2022 for a 2023 release, at least overseas. Back then, it was known as How Do You Live, but has changed its title since. The official synopsis describes it as "a semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation" — and yes, plenty of Miyazaki's trademarks already exist in that short blurb. While The Boy and the Heron hit the big screen in July in Miyazaki's homeland, it did so without the usual promotional campaign — which is why trailers have only arrived in the lead-up to the American release, which begins in November. At the time of writing, the feature doesn't have a date with cinemas Down Under as yet, but it'll obviously get one. Echoing through the latest sneak peek is the film's English-language voice cast, which boasts the starry likes of Christian Bale (Amsterdam), Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer) and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). You'll also hear Gemma Chan (The Creator), Willem Dafoe (Asteroid City), Mark Hamill (The Fall of the House of Usher) and Karen Fukuhara (The Boys). There's nothing quite like a Miyazaki movie. While Studio Ghibli isn't short on gorgeous on-screen wonders hailing from a range of filmmakers, the Japanese animation house's best-known co-founder truly does make films like no one else. The Boy and the Heron already looks spectacular — unsurprisingly — in its initial glimpses, complete with lush greenery, mysterious spaces and floating critters. And, of course, with Mahito and the picture's titular bird making appearances. The Boy and the Heron marks Ghibli's fifth film since Miyazaki's last movie, following Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, page-to-screen treat When Marnie Was There, gorgeous French co-production The Red Turtle and the CGI-animated Earwig and the Witch. Check out the full English-language trailer for The Boy and the Heron below: The Boy and the Heron is already open in Japan, and will release in the US on Friday, December 8, 2023. The film doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you when one is announced. Images: © 2023 Studio Ghibli.
Chinese Architecture is renowned for being highly avant-garde and unorthodox, but some designs can only be described as outright peculiar. From fish shapes, to huge bottle of alcohol, giant rings and God-sculpture-buildings, Chinese structures cover a lot of bases on the quirky scale. These odd designs attract a large amount of tourism to the various regions of China and are also an important aspect of the Chinese history and culture, while simultaneously demonstrating their radical modern shift in architectural design. Ranging from company headquarters to hotels, or watchtowers, here are ten of the quirkiest and most outrageous building designs throughout China. Fushun Shen Fu New Town 'Circle of Life' This 50 floor panoramic structure fitted out with 12,000 LED lights and with a diameter of 157m took a massive 3000 tons of steel and a casual billion dollars to make. Despite remarks that the dome is a ridiculous and unnecessary, the local government maintains that it is a unique and distinctive architectural design. Center of Bashu Culture Art Found in Chongqing at the Guotai Art Center, this quirky structure with needle-like protrusions is set to be finished later this year. Yichuan Northern Gate Another expensive and obscure construction, the Northern Gate currently under construction will provide a gate to the city of Yichuan in the Henan province. Although it has been likened to a belt, a trap and a bow, the gate is hoped to be a welcoming door to guests from afar with beautiful curves and rich ties to the region's history, spirituality and culture as well as being representative of Yichuan's economic development. Beijing Olympic Watchtower Consisting of five 'pins' of varying heights, this unorthodox tower is located in China's capital and is still yet to complete construction. With the highest point reaching 244.35 metres, this foreboding structure is not your average Olympic watchtower. Fangyen Mansion This building appears in the Shenyang Finance and Trade Development Zone, and attempts to resemble a coin, for fairly obvious reasons. Unfortunately the design didn't go down too well with the CNN, who in January of this year placed in the top ten ugliest buildings in the world because it apparently tries to unsuccessfully merge Western and Eastern style. Cuiping Wuliangye, Yibin city Believe it or not, this giant bottle is a Chinese liquor-producing company's factory located in Sichuan Province. Hotel of the Emperor At 41.6 metres high this hotel in Hebei, Yinjiao features in the World Guinness Book of Records as the 'largest pictographic building', aka the largest structure in the world which is both a building and a sculpture. The hotel showcases three Ancient Chinese Gods Fu, Lu, and Shou, who are known as the three wise men, symbolizing happiness, prosperity, and longevity. Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort This unique, idiosyncratic building will open its 321 rooms on the first day of the new year in 2013. Located on the edge of the stunning Lake Taihu in Zhejiang, this upmarket hotel will provide a relaxing yet unconventional stay for those bedding within its walls. Linda Hai Square The design of the Linda Hai Square on Dongsi Ring mirroring the shape of a fish was not all that well received by the Chinese people. Perhaps this one slightly overstepped the border from eccentric to just plain weird. Phoenix Island Real Estate Situated in the prime location of Sanya, Hainan Island, apartments on this corner of the world will set investors back almost $14,000 per square metre. You'd surely expect some spectacular waterfront views at a price like that.
