Talk about stating the obvious: "this is a multi-year journey you're about to embark on," Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo, Dark Waters) tells Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black) in the new She-Hulk: Attorney at Law trailer. He's teaching her the ways of being green and huge, and possessing super strength — and, in the kind of winking, nudging tone that the new Disney+ series looks set to revel in, he's clearly not only talking about the on-screen journey, but the experience of keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe for those watching along. This far in — 14 years since the first Iron Man reached screens, with 28 other movies releasing since, and the slate of streaming series only growing — being a fan of the MCU is a big commitment. After a few gaps during the first year of the pandemic, there's always something new Marvel-related to watch on screens big and small, or so it seems. In 2022 so far, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Ms Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder have all already arrived, for instance. Hitting Disney+ from Wednesday, August 17, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the next title on the way — and, yes, the idea is all there in its name. Walters is a lawyer newly specialising in superhuman law. After an experiment by Banner, she's soon turning green when she's scared and angry. And as both the initial and the new trailers for the about-to-release MCU show point out, with the latest dropping during this year's San Diego Comic-Con, things get chaotic from there. If your memory of TV extends back to the late 90s and early 00s, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law should give you big Ally McBeal vibes — but with superheroes instead of Calista Flockhart and dancing babies. Walters' work life, her efforts to balance being an attorney and being She-Hulk, her dating experiences: they're all covered, as is sitting around chatting about everything with her best pal (Ginger Gonzaga, Kidding) over drinks. The latest trailer also takes a few cues from The Boys, diving headfirst into the fallout when "more and more eccentric superhumans are coming out of the woodwork", as Walters is told. That's why she's enlisted to head up the legal division — her boss wants the She-Hulk to be the face of it, he explains. As it explores what it's like to be a single thirtysomething attorney who is also a green six-foot-seven-inch hulk — you know, that old chestnut — the show's nine-episode first season will also feature familiar MCU faces in the form of Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) as Wong and Tim Roth (Sundown) as Emil Blonsky/the Abomination. Rounding out the cast is a heap of recent sitcom standouts: Josh Segarra (The Other Two), Jameela Jamil (The Good Place), Jon Bass (Miracle Workers) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Girls5eva). And, behind the lens, Kat Coiro (Marry Me) and Anu Valia (And Just Like That...) share directing duties across the season, with Jessica Gao (Rick and Morty) as head writer. Check out the latest She-Hulk: Attorney at Law trailer below: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will start streaming via Disney+ from Wednesday, August 17. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Come Monday, February 25, Australian and New Zealand time, Hollywood will crown this year's Academy Award winners; however they're not the only gongs being handed out at this time of year. On the weekend before the Oscars, it's always time for cinema's worst and dullest to earn some recognition, all thanks to the Golden Raspberry Awards. Now in their 39th year, the Razzies have unveiled their latest slate of recipients — aka the films from 2018 that you've hopefully avoided. On the list: a comic take on a couple of literary greats, an actor who's also in contention for the best actress Oscar and the current US President. Taking out worst picture is Holmes & Watson, the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly-starring supposed comedy based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuthing pair. Reilly also nabbed the awards' worst supporting actor prize for his troubles, while the movie earned Etan Cohen the worst director trophy, too. And, it was further recognised as the worst remake, rip-off or sequel of 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLuFxzUC5UI In the worst actor field, Ferrell lost out to Donald Trump, who was recognised for his work, as himself, in documentaries Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9. The American leader also took out the worst screen combo category for the same two flicks, with the award noting his pairing with "his self-perpetuating pettiness". While Melissa McCarthy won worst actress for her two low points of 2018, aka The Happytime Murders and Life of the Party, she also received the Razzies' redeemer award for going "from a multi-Razzie darling to a critically acclaimed Oscar Nominee for her out-of-caricature role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?". And, bringing the franchise's Razzie total to eight trophies across three movies, Fifty Shades Freed was anointed the worst screenplay of the last 12 months. GOLDEN RASPBERRY NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2019 WORST PICTURE Holmes & Watson Gotti The Happytime Murders Robin Hood Winchester WORST ACTOR Donald J. Trump (as himself) in Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9 Johnny Depp (voice only) in Sherlock Gnomes Will Ferrell in Holmes & Watson John Travolta in Gotti Bruce Willis in Death Wish WORST ACTRESS Melissa McCarthy in The Happytime Murders and Life of the Party Jennifer Garner in Peppermint Amber Heard in London Fields Helen Mirren in Winchester Amanda Seyfried in The Clapper WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR John C. Reilly in Holmes & Watson Jamie Foxx in Robin Hood Ludacris (voice only) in Show Dogs Joel McHale in The Happytime Murders Justice Smith in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Kellyanne Conway (as herself) in Fahrenheit 11/9 Marcia Gay Harden in Fifty Shades Freed Kelly Preston in Gotti Jaz Sinclair in Slender Man Melania Trump (as herself) in Fahrenheit 11/9 WORST SCREEN COMBO Donald J. Trump and his self-perpetuating pettiness in Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9 Any two actors or puppets (especially in those creepy sex scenes) in The Happytime Murders Johnny Depp and his fast-fading film career (he's doing voices for cartoons, fer kripesakes!) in Sherlock Gnomes Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (trashing two of literature's most beloved characters) in Holmes & Watson Kelly Preston and John Travolta (getting Battlefield Earth-type reviews) in Gotti WORST DIRECTOR Etan Cohen for Holmes & Watson Kevin Connolly for Gotti James Foley for Fifty Shades Freed Brian Henson for The Happytime Murders The Spierig Brothers (Michael and Peter) for Winchester WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL Holmes & Watson Death of a Nation (remake of Hillary's America...) Death Wish The Meg (rip-off of Jaws) Robin Hood WORST SCREENPLAY Fifty Shades Freed, screenplay by Niall Leonard, from the novel by E.L. James Death of a Nation, written by Dinesh D'Souza and Bruce Schooley Gotti, screenplay by Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs The Happytime Murders, screenplay by Todd Berger, story by Berger and Dee Austin Robinson Winchester, written by Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD Actress: Melissa McCarthy, who went from a multi-Razzie darling to a critically acclaimed Oscar Nominee for her out-of-caricature role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?. Actor: Tyler Perry, from a multi-Razzie nominee and winner for his self-imposed Madea trap to his role as Colin Powell in the Oscar and Golden Globe favourite Vice. Director: Peter Farrelly from Razzie Winner for Movie 43 and more shallow choices like Dumb and Dumber 2 etc… to director/co-writer of the deeply heartfelt Green Book. Franchise: From the Razzie-targeted heap of metal Transformers to the more innocent and endearing three-dimensional approach taken with Bumblebee. Sony Animation Studio from crass multi-Razzie winner Emoji Movie to the highly acclaimed Spider Man Into The Spider-Verse, which was loved by critics and audiences alike.
Before Snow Machine became everyone's excuse to hit up Queenstown for a stint of music and skiing, the festival launched its mix of tunes in wintry climes in Japan. That was back in 2020 and it hasn't been back there since — until 2024 rolls around. Although Snow Machine Queenstown is still to come for 2023, Snow Machine Japan has locked in its return for Monday, February 26–Saturday, March 2 in Hakuba. On the just-dropped bill: everyone from Diplo and Marc Rebillet to Bob Moses and Todd Terje, plus Japanese talents Risa Taniguchi, Satoshi Tomiie and Shinichi Osawa. Snow Machine Japan might return when summer will be shifting into autumn Down Under, but it's one helluva excuse for a frosty holiday during the northern hemisphere's winter — and Japan's snow season. No matter where it's taking place, this is the hottest festival for the colder months, packed with a snow-filled week of music and adventure. Attendees will be treated to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events, and a hefty roster of international acts against an idyllic backdrop. And, because this is Japan, onsen trips, sake aplenty and yakitori bites are also on offer. Other than the wintry setting, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span five or seven nights of accommodation, and include a festival ticket across the entire event, plus a four-day lift pass for Goryu & Hakuba 47, Tsugaike, Iwatake and Happo One. A word of warning: unsurprisingly, the packages are popular. Although the Snow Machine Japan 2024 lineup has only just been announced, packages are already 85-percent sold out. If you're keen to take care of your own place to slumber and just nab a festival ticket, that's an option as well. Lift passes, rentals, lessons and activities can be then booked on top at additional cost, and you can opt for VIP access including heating and seating while you party if you're feeling particularly cashed up. SNOW MACHINE JAPAN 2024 LINEUP: Bob Moses (club set) Busy P Claptone Denis Sulta Diplo Ewan McVica George Fitzgerald (DJ set) GG Magree Marc Rebillet Nina Kraviz Risa Taniguchi Satoshi Tomiie Shinichi Osawa Todd Terje (DJ set) Reuben Styles and Danny Clayton present First Base Snow Machine Japan 2024 will be held from Monday, February 26–Saturday, March 2 in Hakuba. Presale tickets go on sale from 12pm AEST on Thursday, August 3, with general tickets available from 12pm AEST on Friday, August 4. For more information, visit the festival's website. Images: Pat Stevenson. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Gone are the days when every image that flickered across the screen did so within an almost square-shaped frame. That time has long passed, in fact, with widescreen formats replacing the 1.375:1 Academy aspect ratio that once was standard in cinemas, and its 4:3 television counterpart. So, when a director today fits their visuals into a much tighter space than the now-expansive norm, it's an intentional choice. They're not just nodding to the past, even if their film takes place in times gone by. With First Cow, for instance, Kelly Reichardt unfurls a story set in 19th-century America, but she's also honing her audience's focus. The Meek's Cutoff, Night Moves and Certain Women filmmaker wants those guiding their eyeballs towards this exquisite movie to truly survey everything that it peers at. She wants them to see its central characters — chef Otis 'Cookie' Figowitz (John Magaro, Overlord) and Chinese entrepreneur King-Lu (Orion Lee, Zack Snyder's Justice League) — and to realise that neither are ever afforded such attention by the others in their fictional midst. Thoughtfully exploring the existence of figures on the margins has long been Reichardt's remit, as River of Grass, Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy have shown as well, but she forces First Cow's viewers to be more than just passive observers in this process. There's much to take in throughout this magnificently told tale, which heads to Oregon as most of Reichardt's movies have. There's plenty to glean from its patient static shots of the river and scrubby landscape circa 1820, and from the way that the director's three-time cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt shoots its leafy setting as a place of light and shadow. Most telling, though, is how First Cow constantly views Cookie and King-Lu within their surroundings. Sometimes, the outcast pair actively tries to blend in, but the film makes it clear that they're already consistently overlooked in the local fur-trapper community. Equally pivotal is the frequent use of frames within the feature's already-restricted imagery — sometimes via windows and doorways, as Certain Women did as well, or by peeking through the gaps in slats in the makeshift shack the pair decide to call home. Again and again, First Cow stresses that genuinely seeing these men, their lives, and their hopes, desires and attempts to chase the American dream, is an act of bearing witness to the smallest of details, delights, exchanges, glances and moments. Initially, after watching an industrial barge power down a river, First Cow follows a woman (Alia Shawkat, Search Party) and her dog as they discover a couple of skeletons nearby. Then, jumping back two centuries and seeing another boat on the same waterway, it meets Cookie as he's searching for food. Whatever he finds, or doesn't, the fur-trapper team he works with never has a kind word to spare. But then Cookie stumbles across King-Lu one night, helps him evade the Russians on his tail, and the seeds of friendship are sown. When the duo next crosses paths, they spend an alcohol-addled night sharing their respective ideas for the future. Those ambitious visions get a helping hand after the Chief Factor (Toby Jones, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom) ships in the region's highly coveted first cow, with Cookie and King-Lu secretly milking the animal in the dark of night, then using the stolen liquid to make highly sought-after — and highly profitable — oily cakes. In its own quiet, closely observed, deeply affectionate and warm-hearted fashion, First Cow is a heist film. Reichardt's gentle and insightful spin on the usually slick and twist-filled genre bucks every convention there is, however. Tension is a regular part of Cookie and King-Lu's lives; they're introduced being denigrated and chased, after all. So, while the pair tests their luck during their surreptitious moonlight rendezvous with the titular bovine, the film's sense of strain only increases slightly. Here, the act of pilfering isn't the main attraction. Those midnight scenes are gorgeous — Cookie chats tenderly to the cow as he squeezes her udders, offering his condolences about the mate and calf that didn't survive the journey — but they're also brief. Reichardt is far more interested in the change that Cookie and King-Lu bring out in each other, their connection as kindred spirits in an inhospitable locale and their small-scale quest to subvert the status quo. With sensitivity and compassion, but also with an unflinching awareness of how the world regards those on its fringes, First Cow examines the home and hope that one person can find in another, too, and interrogates the ways in which America's embrace of capitalism can inspire, lift and crush as well. Bold plans, delicate subterfuge, big successes, fraught chases and sublime snatches of tranquility — all five play out in Reichardt's richly detailed and hauntingly soulful movie. Indeed, only she could've made this film sing as stirringly and bittersweetly as it does, and feel as transporting and resonant as it proves at every turn. Reichardt adapts Jonathan Raymond's novel The Half Life, co-scripting with the writer himself in their fifth collaboration. She's gifted with mesmerisingly soulful performances from Magaro and Lee, who play their parts so vividly and intricately that ten pictures about Cookie and King-Lu wouldn't be enough. But the empathy that seeps into each second is firmly one of the filmmakers's enduring and welcome hallmarks, as is the unwavering commitment to trading in the everyday and the intimate while excavating the perennial myth about the US being the land of opportunity. Reichardt's approach isn't unparalleled, though. Fellow directors Chloé Zhao and Debra Granik have splashed many of the same traits throughout their work, and have also helmed masterpieces as a result; see: Nomadland and The Rider in the former's case, and Leave No Trace and Winter's Bone in the latter's. The three share not just a willingness but an eagerness to chronicle narratives that would otherwise be overlooked, traverse more than the usual patches of land, champion oft-ignored perspectives, and challenge America's values and self-image — and they each make their films feel like their own. With First Cow, Reichardt is leisurely and loving, and also candid and devastating. She ensures that everyone watching her boxed-in frames rides those ebbs and flows, and that they're moved by every moment. Whenever she steps behind the camera, something astonishing always happens, as her filmography just keeps demonstrating — but First Cow is pure cinematic perfection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWZ6P1rWy4
Brisbane has already welcomed in 2025, but that's not the only new year that demands celebrating. Before January is out, Lunar New Year will hit, kicking off the Year of the Snake. Fancy marking the occasion with street food in South Brisbane's Fish Lane, a rooftop party in Sunnybank, watching the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens light up, listening to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, dancing to K-pop, giggling to stand-up comedy or enjoying a DJ-spun soundtrack? At BrisAsia Festival, you can. For 13 years now, the River City has commemorated Lunar New Year with a citywide fest, and that isn't changing in 2025. This year's lineup includes 25 events around town, all designed to get you in celebration mode. The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art forms part of 2025's program, if you need another excuse to head to Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art to check it out between now and April, but the bulk of the BrisAsia fun takes place across ten days from Friday, January 31–Sunday, February 9. After debuting in 2024, Asian street festival Lush is back again this year, with Southside Restaurant, Hello Please, Chu the Phat and Bird's Nest set to serve up bites to eat. That's just one of BrisAsia 2025's fests within the broader fest. While the Hội chợ Tết (TET Festival) is taking place in advance, on Friday, January 24, the Vietnamese festivities in Richlands are still included on the lineup. And, Southside by Night is back, once more combining street food with a car meet in Willawong. The Sunnybank Lunar New Year Rooftop Party is always a highlight, showcasing Sunnybank Plaza's eateries, busting out lion and dragon dance performances, and capping the night off with fireworks. Consider it the perfect way to help close out BrisAsia 2025, with the shindig happening on Saturday, February 8. New in 2025 is Lunar New Year in the Gardens at Mt Coot-tha, complete with sitar tunes, martial-arts displays, street food and K-pop. For more of the latter, the Thomas Dixon Centre is hosting a showcase. Other events for your calendar include BrisAsia Stands Up, enlisting Brisbane's Asian Australian comedians; a special presentation at Brisbane Planetarium; Longwang featuring Korean dishes across a Seoul-themed weekend; and Warehouse 25's BEAT STREET party in Milton. Or, albeit just after the fest's official dates — on Sunday, February 16 — you can catch the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at QPAC. Whichever part of the festival piques your interest, expect plenty of company, with more than 25,000 people attending BrisAsia in 2024. "It's such a privilege to curate one of the most innovative and diverse festivals in Australia with an exciting program of events combining elements of traditional and contemporary Asian culture," said BrisAsia Festival Executive Producer Anthony Garcia. "The festival is brought to life by more than 200 artists, producers and creatives whose work allows us to celebrate life and art in a way that brings together people from all walks of life, offering artists opportunities to experiment, collaborate and evolve their practice whilst giving audiences the chance to experience world-class entertainment." BrisAsia 2025 runs from Friday, January 31–Sunday, February 9. For further details, head to the Brisbane City Council website.
Get ready to embark on a tantalising culinary journey that will transport you straight to the sun-kissed shores of the Amalfi Coast — all without leaving Aussie soil. Together with Aperol, we've scoured every corner of this vast land to curate a guide to the bars and restaurants that capture the essence of coastal Italy's gastronomic wonders. From echoing laidback osterias to swanky harbourside bars exuding Riviera-style opulence, our roundup is a tribute to the vibrancy of Italian culture infused with an Australian twist. So, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for an unforgettable expedition. Your table overlooking the azure seas awaits — no boarding pass required.
Nothing gets you out of a winter funk like a weekend away, and the crisp mountain air of Leura is particularly up to the task. This picturesque town, just two hours west of Sydney on the train, puts you at the doorstep of all the outdoor adventures of the Blue Mountains while nailing the kind of cosy indoor culture that wraps you in a big warm hug at the end of the day. Set up home base at the very scenic Fairmont Resort and Spa Blue Mountains, and spend your days trekking along ancient trails and your nights indulging in hearty meals, local wines and fireside chat. Here's our guide to a winter short stay in the area. EAT AND DRINK After the journey in, your first stop in Leura should be for a little sustenance. Fortunately, the cafe culture here is another part of what makes this town a winter dream. Among the best cafes in the region, the hidden Lily's Pad Cafe has just-baked breads and cakes — including gluten-free options aplenty — along with homemade toppings like chutneys, jams and curds. The courtyard is covered, heated and, best of all, dog-friendly. On Leura's main street, the leafy Red Door Cafe is a standout for healthy eating, with organic coffees and freshly squeezed juices. For eats, we're all about the zucchini and feta fritters, served with cumin yoghurt and mesclun salad, as well as the smoked rainbow trout with rocket and lentil salad, all topped with a poached egg. View-seekers should head to Solitary, set in a 100-year-old cottage overlooking the valley. Its fireplace makes this an ideal sanctuary after a winter's hike through the nearby Leura Cascades. For fireside dining in the evening, look no further than the appropriately named Embers restaurant at the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Enjoy views over the Jamison Valley along with the soundtrack of crackling flames and the flavours of a classic beef brisket given a contemporary twist. Back in town, unassuming North Indian restaurant Tamarin offers some serious eats in the most unlikely of places, just across from the station. The samosas trump most in Australia, as does its samosa chaat — a smashed and dressed version. For a dinner to remember, book yourself a table at the award-winning Leura Garage. Set in a repurposed mechanic's workshop (hence the name), the environmentally conscious restaurant focuses on locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. We suggest going with the surprisingly affordable tasting menu, which includes plenty of winter warmers, like 12-hour braised lamb shoulder and truffle mashed potatoes. Accompanying drops come from NSW wine regions like Orange and Mudgee. Your wine journey doesn't have to stop at dinner. Meander down the street to bar and bistro Bon Ton for after-dinner drinks. For winter, sip a martini in the protected comfort of the enclosed terrace. For a nightcap, stop in at the Sublime Lounge, another fire-warmed space within the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Their signature cocktail is the Berry Sublime, designed to evoke the nearby orchards with its mix of strawberry, tequila, lime, mint and an unexpected dash of white balsamic. DO If this isn't your first rodeo in the Blue Mountains, chances are you've already frequented the landmarks of Three Sisters and Wentworth Falls. And that's fine, because the region has much more to offer, with a seemingly endless number of bushwalks, lookouts, caves and valleys to explore. For a different mountain view, check out Evans Lookout, 20 minutes' drive away in Blackheath, then continue on the steep clifftop walk to Govetts Leap. If you'd rather a more leisurely stroll (and one walking distance from town), Leura Cascades is a serene canopy walk through tall eucalyptus trees. Take a short trek along the rapids on Leura Falls Creek down to Bridal Veil Falls and Leura Falls. Several walks can be accessed from here, including the Fern Bower Circuit, Echo Point and Leura Forest. Feeling like a serious adventure? Then book yourself into an abseiling and canyoning day trip. A few businesses in nearby Katoomba run tours, including the Australian School of Mountaineering and the Blue Mountains Adventure Company. They'll have you abseiling waterfalls and trekking through ancient crevices and canyons. For a more leisurely level of activity, stroll the boutiques along Leura Mall and do a spot of shopping at the likes of Quidditas General Store. If you visit during the first Sunday of the month, you can also hit Leura's flea market for everything from jewellery, clothes and homewares to local eats. For a full dose of the quirky and quaint history Leura is known for, drop by the Leuralla Toy & Railway Museum, Bygone Beautys' Teapot Museum or the National Trust property Everglades Gardens. In what might be the high tea capital of Australia, the latter two are good spots to partake. Once night falls, take a short drive over to Blackheath to catch an indie film at Mount Vic Flicks. The renovated 1930s movie theatre makes for a relaxing night out and offers house-baked treats. STAY While Leura offers an array of accommodation options, the Fairmont Resort and Spa Blue Mountains is an enduring classic. The hotel's boutique rooms and suites are individually decorated for that personalised touch, while its public spaces offer sweeping views across the Jamison Valley. It's close to the Leura Cascades, Inspiration and Sublime Points, and Empress, Gordon and Wentworth Falls, so you're well situated for many of the region's best hikes and treks. Taking time to relax within the vast gardens and grounds should also be on the itinerary. The resort houses a golf club, four luxury restaurants and a lounge. The new Ubika Day Spa opens on August 13, so now's your chance to be one of the first to lie across their massage tables and be pampered with local organic iKOU products. Don't miss the resort's signature high tea, where your miniature cakes and sandos come with a pretty spectacular view. A perfect preformed weekender comes in the shape of the MGallery Memorable Moment package, which includes one night accommodation, a full buffet breakfast and a wilderness experience for two. At the heart of the getaway is a four-hour bushwalk led by a tour guide dedicated to reconnecting you with nature — an experience exclusive to the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Go to the AccorHotels website to book your stay in Leura, and to discover more of regional NSW, check out Visit NSW.
How do you jump back into a superhero saga — a caped-crusader franchise within a sprawling, seemingly never-ending franchise, too — without your star? When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in cinemas in November, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will find out. With Chadwick Boseman sadly passing away in 2020, the sequel to 2018's excellent Black Panther obviously isn't the film that returning writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed) originally intended. Based on the just-dropped first teaser trailer, it's going to be unsurprisingly emotional, however. Marvel released the initial sneak peek at the eagerly awaited movie during this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and it's big on swirling, swelling feelings. "I am queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone," exclaims Ramonda (Angela Bassett, Gunpowder Milkshake), T'Challa and Shuri's (Letitia Wright, Death on the Nile) mother, in a particularly climactic moment. While the teaser isn't overly concerned with Wakanda Forever's plot, it's firmly sets the mood. And yes, there's a tribute to King T'Challa among its frames. Story-wise, Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku (Winston Duke, Nine Days), Okoye (Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba, Deutschland89) are charged with protecting their nation from world powers after T'Challa's death — and they'll need help from War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o, The 355) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, Breeders). Among the cast, joining the film are Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) and Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) — as well as Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) as Riri Williams, ahead of the character's solo Disney+ series Ironheart. Accordingly, the first glimpse at Wakanda Forever shows faces old and new, the same dazzling look and feel that was so essential to Coogler's initial film, and the Kingdom of Wakanda in a state of change. Dropping the trailer during a wide-ranging panel session that also included the latest look at Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Marvel revealed that Wakanda Forever will wrap up the MCU's phase four — because this ever-growing on-screen superhero world is broken up into different chapters. Obviously, more caped-crusader stories are still in the works, though, with the Disney-owned entertainment behemoth also plotting out its plans across phase five and phase six, taking it up to 2025. One thing that wasn't mentioned: the previously revealed Black Panther Disney+ series set in Wakanda that was announced in early 2021. Check out the first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer below: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in cinemas Down Under on November 10.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to appreciate the little things in life — for example, what feels like to watch an acrobatic fly twizzle a matchstick with perplexing grace and accuracy. In 'normal times' we might have missed this moment of joy, but now, thanks to the Art Gallery of New South Wales' digital portal the three-minute archival film has lifted our spirits giving us an intriguing escape from 2020. "Optimism through art" is the aim of the new Together in Art digital space on the AGNSW website, says Art Gallery of NSW director Dr Michael Brand. It contains bite-sized art experiences that you didn't know you needed, but will capture your attention and give you something beautiful, inspiring, unsettling or unusual to hook onto — even for a short while. You can watch painter Ben Quilty and his daughter Livvy show you how to draw a face, artist Nell has an amusing and hopeful three-minute video on how to solve a problem (below), and there are clips of singers Sarah Belkner and Ngaiire performing in empty exhibition spaces. It's a digital gallery where you can actively learn, or simply tune into something more transportive than the latest Tik Tok track doing the rounds. The Art Gallery itself is closed to the public in line with the government's social distancing advice, and this means even the most regular visitors may have missed current exhibitions such as Shadow catchers or Under the stars, which opened just prior to the lockdown. You can explore the themes of these exhibitions in video interviews and tours. And, especially for Together in Art, there are Pocket Exhibitions put together by the Gallery's curators — such as Working from home: a Dog's perspective, a micro series of dog portraits and photographs compiled in a brief slideshow. Those looking for projects should make a beeline for the series of art-making classes from various artists in their studios. Though some of the videos are geared towards kids, there's a lot of accessible art tips that are just as appealing to adults. Our pick for a weekend project is learning how to turn your old magazine pile into a Dada poem with contemporary artist Tony Albert and his niece. The Gallery plans to add to its Together In Art series every day, and you can follow its program across social media pages, Youtube and on the Gallery's website. Images: 1. Musician Joji Malani performs in the Grand Courts at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 2–3. Singer Sarah Belkner performs a vocal improvisation with herself in the exhibition 'Shadow catchers'. 4. Ngaiire performs in the Australian Galleries. All photography: Matt McGuigan, Hospital Hill.
This could be love: a classic 80s film that's been adored for decades, a new date with the big screen, and a live band and singers bringing its soundtrack to life as you watch. Dirty Dancing in Concert isn't new to Australia, but it keeps returning to tour the country because the movie at its centre is one that audiences can't get enough of. If you're a fan, you'll know which phrase fits: ideally, you'll have the time of your film-watching life. In September and October 2025, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey will dance up a storm in the 1987 romantic drama. While the tour is clearly hoping that you've never felt like this before, that'll only apply if you didn't go to 2022's or 2023's shows. Whether you're a Dirty Dancing in Concert first-timer or returning after seeing it before, you'll not only see the movie — you'll also hit up the party afterwards. Accordingly, as you celebrate one of Swayze's biggest and most-charming film roles, you'll be immersed in the world of the picture from the moment that you take your seat. Although no one will be carrying watermelons or checking into Kellerman's Mountain House in the Catskills, the digitally remastered feature will grace the big screen, its iconic songs will get a workout live, then the musicians will stick around afterwards to headline a party that'll naturally have you singing and dancing. If you're feeling adventurous and inspired by the movie, you might even want to try to recreate the famous lift. Here, nobody will put you or Francis 'Baby' Houseman in a corner — and you'd be just a fool to believe otherwise. Your hungry eyes will soak in Baby's first taste of dirty dancing, her eager rehearsals and her growing infatuation with Johnny Castle, as well as her parents' bitter unhappiness about the entire situation. This blast-from-the-past affair has dates locked in for Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne — on Saturday, September 6 at the Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney; Saturday, September 20 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena; Sunday, September 21 at Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre; Saturday, October 4 at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre; and Thursday, October 9 at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne. Around the world, Dirty Dancing in Concert has staged more than 200 sessions so far. Dirty Dancing in Concert 2025 Australian Tour Saturday, September 6 — Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney Saturday, September 20 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, Adelaide Sunday, September 21 — Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, Perth Saturday, October 4 — Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Thursday, October 9 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Dirty Dancing in Concert will tour Australia in September and October 2025 — head to Ticketek for tickets and further details. Dirty Dancing in Concert images: Zdenko Hanout.
Vivid Sydney is always a calendar highlight and, after two consecutive cancellations, we need it more than ever. The 2022 iteration is the first festival helmed by director Gill Minervini and it promises to be bigger, better and brighter. The famous Light Walk now stretches an impressive eight kilometres from the Sydney Opera House to Central Station, new venues have been added to the program and there are city-wide events that celebrate all that makes Sydney great through a lens of creativity. It's practically impossible to narrow down the recommendations to just a handful of events but here are seven highlights that represent the best of Vivid Sydney 2022 and deserve a place on your hit list.
If you're a Brisbanite who hasn't ever visited Annerley Road's heritage-listed The Princess Theatre, you're definitely not alone. That'll change come August 2021, however, when the 133-year-old spot just past the Mater Hospital will reopen after a hefty makeover The Woolloongabba venue is actually Queensland's oldest-standing theatre — and it'll soon be giving fans of live tunes and performances plenty of reasons to stop by. The Tivoli owners Steve Sleswick and Dave Sleswick have joined forces with local businessman Steve Wilson to snap up the building, and now they're revitalising it as part of their big future plans. As they did with The Tiv back in 2016, the Sleswick brothers will help preserve and revamp The Princess, with an aim of turning it into Woolloongabba's new music and arts hub. So, you'll soon have a new must-visit spot just a stone's throw away from the CBD, South Bank and the Gabba — and Brisbane will gain a new live music venue in a part of town that's sparse on gigs otherwise. As part of the makeover, the eye-catching building will become home to a state-of-the-art auditorium that'll be able to welcome in 900 standing patrons, or sit a 500-person crowd — so expect concerts and shows aplenty to grace its lineup. Also in the works: four different bars, a public cafe and private event spaces, giving Brissie residents several reasons to drop in. Princess Theatre's renovation will fit it out with a rehearsal room, co-working creative office and workshop space, too, plus an outdoor courtyard. And, it'll see visual theatre company Dead Puppet Society call it home, using it as its base and a workshop and gallery space. As for what you can expect to check out come August, the venue's relaunch program will be announced in mid-May, spanning music, contemporary performance, programming for families and younger audiences. In a statement, Dave Sleswick revealed that The Princess Theatre will share "the same independent spirit as The Tivoli and will have live music at its heart, providing a home for Brisbane and Queensland artists, musicians and entertainers, as well as those from throughout Australia and across the world." "The Princess was created as a theatre in 1888, originally known as the South Brisbane Public Hall. We feel it's vital for us to reclaim the building for Brisbane's vibrant world-class arts sector and return it to the community to be used as it was originally intended," he continued. Works are currently underway, courtesy of architecture firm JDA — who also helped revitalise the Elizabeth Picture Theatre — plus interior designer Sophie Hart and builder Herron Coorey. Find The Princess Theatre at 8 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba — with the venue's renovations presently in progress ahead of a slated August 2021 reopening.
Whatever she's in, and whether she's the star of the show or a supporting player, Chloë Sevigny's face always tells a tale of its own. That's been true in everything from Kids and Boys Don't Cry through to Big Love and We Are Who We Are, and it remains that way in The Girl From Plainville — the new eight-part true-crime miniseries led by The Great's Elle Fanning that's based on the death of Massachusetts teenager Conrad Roy III in 2014. Here, Fanning plays Conrad's long-distance girlfriend Michelle Carter. It's due to the her actions that the situation has been known as "the texting suicide case" for almost a decade — garnering not just local but international attention, and earning a HBO documentary, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth Vs Michelle Carter, back in 2019. Fanning is fantastic in what proves an eerie character study, but the looks that Sevigny, as Conrad's mother Lynn, shoots her way scream rather than simply speak volumes. If you've ever wondered what facial expression could sum up grief, horror, sorrow, anger, disbelief, hurt, despair and utter bewilderment all at once, the always-excellent Sevigny frequently has the answer. Inspired by Jesse Barron's Esquire article of the same name, The Girl From Plainville tells a tough tale. Streaming in Australia via Stan, with three episodes available now and the rest following weekly, it starts with Conrad's (Colton Ryan, Dear Evan Hansen) suicide in his truck in a Kmart parking lot. It was his second attempt to take his life, although he'd promised Lynn that he wouldn't do it again — and when his death was investigated, police discovered text messages sent to him by Michelle, including a plethora of words encouraging him to take his own life. In 2015, she was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter for "wantonly and recklessly" assisting the suicide. In 2017, her trial took place. The outcome is now a matter a history, which The Girl From Plainville builds up to while also unpacking Michelle and Conrad's relationship. Accordingly, in two intertwined narrative threads, Michelle is a bereaved girlfriend who inserts herself into the Roy family's mourning wherever she can, even though Lynn and her ex-husband Co (Norbert Leo Butz, another Bloodline alum) didn't know she existed until after their son's death — and she's also a lonely high-schooler who meets a boy from a neighbouring town while vacationing in Florida, then keeps up a romance afterwards via text. In both, she's clearly a troubled young woman with body-image issues, struggles making and keeping friends, and a yearning for attention, which The Girl From Plainville unpacks without excusing her actions. Indeed, Sevigny's piercing gaze aside, this is a show about questions rather than answers, because some things can't ever truly be resolved. It's a series about feelings, too, including the many faces we wear to weather them. Michelle sports plenty: devoted, manipulative, heartbroken, rebellious, insecure, domineering and needy being a mere few. The Girl From Plainville's first episodes are full of jaw-on-the-floor moments, all stemming from Michelle's behaviour. The way that she ingratiates herself into the Roys' lives is disturbing and infuriating in equal measure — and a scene where the Glee-obsessive mimics one of the show's big emotional numbers is nothing short of chilling. The more details that are revealed, the more perturbing her conduct proves, including the fact that she was playing the victim and claiming that Conrad had been missing for days to her friends while she was actually texting him encouragement to go through with his suicide. That's what sparks local detective Scott Gordon (Kelly AuCoin, Billions) and then assistant district attorney Katie Rayburn (Aya Cash, The Boys) to dig deeper, even though they're in unprecedented territory legally. When the show turns into a courtroom drama, it still weaves through blasts from Michelle and Conrad's relationship past. In the former, the tone is understandably stark and grim; in latter, which includes reimagining the onslaught of text messages the pair shared as face-to-face conversations, it's almost dreamy. Creators Liz Hannah and Patrick MacManus know that they're making another entry in the ever-growing scandal-to-screen canon — Hannah also executive produced The Dropout, and MacManus did the same on Dr Death — but their focus on inner turmoil is both compassionate and haunting. And, it does what a straightforward retelling might've missed, giving Conrad a space to be himself and to be a main character, rather than just a casualty in someone else's story. Ryan might be playing his second suicidal adolescent in as many projects, but he's heartbreaking here as Conrad navigates unshakeable social anxiety and the traditional expectations placed upon masculinity. There's nuance in Ryan's every scene, and layers to each aspect of his sensitive performance — traits that Sevigny and Fanning also display, all to The Girl From Plainville's benefit. In fact, it's that texture, subtlety and complexity that makes Fanning's portrayal something exceptional, especially when tasked with inhabiting such a difficult character. Whether she's playing Michelle as seemingly sweet but desperate to be liked and loved, overbearing and demanding in her determination to be the centre of Conrad's death, or solemn and shaken during her trial, she's always a whirlwind of competing — and compelling-to-watch — aims and emotions. Giving room to all these shades, and to the unanswerable queries they inspire, is what gives this ripped-from-the-headlines series weight and depth beyond its attention-grabbing premise. True-crime dramas are firmly having their moment right now — see also: Pam & Tommy, Inventing Anna, The Dropout and WeCrashed in the first quarter of 2022 alone — but The Girl From Plainville is complicated, captivating and gripping. Check out the trailer for The Girl From Plainville below: The first three episodes of The Girl From Plainville are available to stream via Stan, with new instalments dropping weekly. Images: Steve Dietl/Hulu.
Words like 'hidden kingdom' and 'radio broadcast' don't often find themselves hanging out too often. But one of Nepal's most remote spots is now on air, broadcasting from one of the world's most stunningly designed stations to date. Nestled in one of Nepal’s most remote regions lies the 'hidden kingdom' of Mustang. Accessed on horseback via the old Salt Route of the Kali Gandaki River valley, Mustang sits on the border of Tibet and was one of the last parts of the country to encounter Westerners. Dubbed the best example of traditional Tibetan life in the world, Mustang’s surrounding Himalayan mountain range and isolation from major metropolises has kept things pretty traditional, centered around the kingdom’s Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. The old king’s palace hasn’t been used in years and is falling into disrepair. But this tiny Tibetan kingdom, who hasn't changed much since the 15th century, is about to leap into the 21st century with an unexpected new development: a radio station. Being cheap as chips to set up, broadcast and listen to, radio is a super democratic medium. Isolated regions can stay on top of things, access crop and weather details and get news bulletins much quicker than the ol' hand delivery. But if you’re 8,400 feet above sea level and surrounded by the Himalayas, radio frequencies might give your town a miss. You'll also be at a bit of an environmental and sociopolitical disadvantage without radio so, according to Gizmodo, nonprofits like the Center For Rural Technology are helping to establish radio stations all through the region, with 144 existing to date in Tibet and Nepal. Now, the Mustang town of Jomson has landed its very first radio station, a stunning, gneiss-walled establishment that looks straight from Grand Designs. Although radio is celebrated as a cheap medium to set up, South Korean communications heavyweight MBC fronted up a whopping $930,000 to build the station. Why would a South Korean bigwig blink an eyelid at a tiny Tibetan community? MBC stated that "the radio station has been established to enhance the awareness of Nepalis in the rural area and assist them to live a quality life". Then the company claimed the station would be the world’s most beautiful broadcasting center. Well, they kind of nailed it. Architect Kim In-cheurl and his firm Archium took on the project, working with extremely temperamental weather, steep hillsides and Mustang’s isolated location. The resulting station is an elegant, modern space that seamlessly corresponds with Jomson’s existing architecture. Gneiss stone walls, sunken courtyards and sleek wooden pegs seats. The studio and event spaces live downstairs, protected by stone walls from Mustang’s extreme weather. The antenna, the heart of the station, has been adorned with prayer flags. So what will Mustang be crankin' up? Broadcasts, which will be sent to about 2,000 people in 98.9 MHz frequency, will cover news, weather, health, culture and the odd trekking tip for the Annapurna circuit. We’ll just have to wait to see if it makes it online, so we can brag to our friends about our love for sweet hidden kingdom radio. Via Gizmodo and Karobar Daily. Images by Taylor Weidman/The Vanishing Cultures Project and Jun Myung-jin/ArchDaily.
There's never been a shortage of reasons to adore Better Call Saul. It's one of the best shows of the past decade, it's a rare spinoff that's as exceptional as the series it hails from — and, frequently it's even better — and its lets Breaking Bad fans spend even more time with Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk, Nobody) and Mike Ehrmantrout (Jonathan Banks, The Commuter), for starters. It also boasts the phenomenal Rhea Seehorn (Veep) as Saul/Jimmy McGill's girlfriend, never makes an obvious move even though we all know what's coming for its titular character, and continually proves television's greatest tragedy for the same reason. After a two-year break, Better Call Saul will finally return this month to start its sixth and final season — and, from the trailer, it's set to keep ticking all of the above boxes. That said, it is about to do something viewers knew would have to happen one day: bringing Walter White (Bryan Cranston, Your Honor) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, Westworld) into the story. Better Call Saul showrunner and executive producer Peter Gould confirmed the news at a panel session held at PaleyFest LA, saying "I don't want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, 'are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?' Instead of evading, I'll just say yeah." He continued: "how or the circumstances or anything, you'll just have to discover that for yourself, but I have to say that's one of many things that I think you'll discover this season." Of course, it's worth remembering Mike's words in the season six trailer right now: "whatever happens next, it's not gonna go down the way you think it is," he utters in his inimitable gravelly voice towards the end of this first sneak peek at the new season. So, while we all know now that the thing the show was always heading towards will occur, trust in this outstanding series — and in creator Vince Gilligan — to still deliver oh-so-many surprises. The same is bound to prove true of Jimmy-slash-Saul breaking bad and embracing his "s'all good, man" new persona as a criminal lawyer (and not just because he represents criminals) in Better Call Saul's final season. Again, that doesn't mean that we know exactly how the season will play out. The sixth season will arrive in two parts — with the first seven episodes airing from Tuesday, April 19 in Australia, and the final six arriving from Tuesday, July 12. We'll also see more of post-Breaking Bad Saul's story, where he's known as Gene. Best break out the cinnamon scrolls, obviously, amid all that Pinkman-inspired cheering about science and magnets. Check out the Better Call Saul season six trailer below: Better Call Saul's sixth season starts streaming in Australia via Stan and New Zealand via Neon from Tuesday, April 19. Images: Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television.
Usually, when a new Pixar film hits screens — typically cinemas, but occasionally being fast-tracked to streaming as well — it unleashes a whole heap of emotions. Getting viewers to ponder their feelings is a big part of the animation company's formula, after all, and it's been working well for them for a quarter-century. See: everything from Wall-E and Ratatouille to Inside Out and Soul. When the next Pixar flick arrives in June, it'll tap into a very specific sensation that's been bubbling up since early 2020. And, it's one that we're all familiar with. Are you craving a vacation? Do you feel a strong yearning to travel the globe and see somewhere other than your own backyard, city, state or country? Have you been dreaming of beaches far, far away every night for 12 months? Then the fact that Luca is set in the Italian Riviera and follows two teenagers over summer is certain to stoke your wanderlust. If the just-dropped first trailer for the film is anything to go by, first-time feature director Enrico Casarosa (Pixar short La Luna) and his team seem to have crafted a gorgeous-looking movie that'll have you wishing you're on the other side of the globe. Against those striking animated backdrops, two teens eat gelato, devour pasta, ride scooters, explore caves and splash around in the gleaming blue ocean. Oh, and they try to hide the fact that they're actually sea monsters — which becomes obvious whenever they get wet — too. As this tale unfurls, viewers will hear Jacob Tremblay (Room, Good Boys) as the eponymous 13-year-old Luca Paguro, while Jack Dylan Grazer (Shazam!, We Are Who We Are) voices his pal Alberto Scorfano. Also among the cast: debutant Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph (The Good Place), Marco Barricelli (The Book of Daniel) and Jim Gaffigan (Tesla). Check out the trailer for Luca below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i1fgoMyoG8&feature=youtu.be Luca is set to release in Australian cinemas on June 17. Images: © 2020 Disney/Pixar.
Since 2019, Netflix's Dead to Me has contemplated endings — starting with a just-widowed woman trying to cope with losing her husband in a hit-and-run incident. Taking a few cues from 2018 film A Simple Favour, the grief-fuelled dark comedy has twisted its way through plenty of chaos from there, including via the unlikely friendship at its centre; however, the fact that everything comes to a conclusion sooner or later has always hung over the show. When it returns for season three on Thursday, November 17, that notion will remain — and Dead to Me itself will wrap up. Back in 2020, after the second season aired, it was revealed that the show would finish after a third and final run. So, get ready for your last swim through its murders, mysteries and cover-ups. The premise, if you missed Dead to Me when it premiered back in 2019: two women meet, become friends despite seemingly having very little in common, and help each other with their daily existence. From there, however, they find themselves immersed in more than a little murky business. Christina Applegate (Bad Moms 2) plays Jen Harding, whose husband has just died, while Linda Cardellini's (Hawkeye) Judy Hale is the positive-thinking free spirit that breezes into her life. They initially cross paths at a grief counselling session, sparking a definite odd-couple situation — which has evolved to feature secrets, lies, complications and cliffhangers galore across the show's two seasons to-date. Season two ended with a big car crash, in fact — and as well as announcing when Dead to Me would return to close out its story, Netflix has just dropped a teaser trailer for season three. Get ready for a glimpse of Jen and Judy in hospital and unhappy about it, as well as a recap of exactly what's brought them to this point. As for where the story will head afterwards, that'll only be revealed when Netflix drops the third season itself. If it's as easy to binge as the first two seasons, you'll know how the show ends quickly. Created by 2 Broke Girls writer Liz Feldman, Dead to Me marked Applegate's first lead TV role since 2011-12 sitcom Up All Night when it debuted. For Cardellini, it saw a return to Netflix after starring on the streaming platform's drama Bloodline — and she also featured in A Simple Favour, too. Check out the first teaser trailer for Dead to Me's third season below: Dead to Me's third season will hit Netflix on Thursday, November 17. Images: Saeed Adyani / Netflix.
Get ready to immerse yourself in a slew of new VR content thanks to a brand new initiative from Screen NSW. The screen body has just launched 360 Vision, a new virtual reality app developed by Triggar VR in partnership with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Available now on Apple and Android devices, the free app will host original VR material from leading local producers, including The Pulse and Jumpgate VR. The app will also be compatible with Oculus in the coming weeks, with new content being added regularly. "VR offers incredible opportunities for our industry and we're only just beginning to understand the possibilities that can evolve from merging VR technology with narrative storytelling," said AFTRS CEO Neil Peplow. "AFTRS is very pleased to be joining with the 360 Vision partners on this important development initiative." In addition to the app, AFTRS and Screen NSW will collaborate with a number of partners, including Screen Australia, Event Cinemas and the ABC, on the 360 Vision development initiative that will create opportunities for Australian filmmakers in the emerging field. The program is set to launch on June 7 with a day-long lab at Carriageworks in Sydney. "We need our most creative and forward-thinking film and television producers, writers and directors to be involved in this space and we need audiences to start seeking our local VR content," said Screen NSW CEO Courtney Gibson. "360 Vision is about bringing both of these ideas together." 360 Vision can be downloaded now via the Apple and Android app stores. For more information visit Screen NSW on Facebook.
Whether you're a particularly nervous flyer or usually keep it calm and cruisy, no one like turbulence when they're high in the sky. Tell-tale beeps telling you to buckle up your seatbelt and a few bumps and jumps are one thing; feeling like you're on a particularly adventurous rollercoaster is another. Thankfully, Boeing is hoping to solve the latter. The aircraft company can't control the weather, but they can create and implement a laser system that detects oncoming rough patches at a greater range. Called Light Detection and Ranging or LIDAR, the system is expected to "to spot clear-air turbulence more than 60 seconds ahead of the aircraft, or about 17.5 kilometres," Boeing's Stefan Bieniawski, the program's lead investigator, told WIRED. Specifically, it focuses on clear-air turbulence, which is the type that doesn't usually come with any warning signs — that is, it happens in clear not cloudy skies, as its name indicates. For those eager to know just how it works, LIDAR emits pulses of laser light from the nose of the plane, not that anyone watching will be able to see it. The beams then scatter off of small dust and other particulates, reflecting into segments and measuring wind speed along the entire direction of the laser. Software collates the results, with pilots given more time to steer around hazards. Boeing has been working on the system with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency since 2010, and plan to test the remote-sensing technology in 2018. If it works, knocked elbows and spilled in-flight drinks could become a thing of the past — and, if you're one of the lucky folks who can fall sleep during flights, rude awakenings to your slumber as well. Via Boeing / WIRED.
Perhaps this is the legacy of being brought up an only child, but half the time I'm walking down the street I'm involved in elaborate daydreams soundtracked by my iPod. This is why audio guides have always held a certain attraction for me, because they have the potential to give you the daydream pre-packaged. Now the French Institute Alliance Française's annual New York-based festival piece Crossing the Line has taken the idea to a completely different level, transforming your run of the mill walking tour into an intrepid adventure merging fact and fiction, with the help of conceptual sound collective, Soundwalk. Crossing the Line leads listeners on an hour and a half's merry journey down New York's Museum Mile. Five writers devised narratives for the new and improved audio guides, inspired by landmarks, objects or the neighbourhood around 5th Avenue, combining authentic and imaginary stories which all aim to answer the question "what do we rely on to determine the truth from fiction?" The tour begins at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, winds its way through the Neue Gallerie and the Guggenheim, and finishes up in Central Park. The narratives are combined with experimental sounds to frame the stories, making the distinction between fiction and reality even more blurry. Available in both French and English, the audio guides can be downloaded individually or as a set from the Soundwalk website. The festival runs through until October 16, but for those of us who have neither the time nor the cash to go for a casual meander through the streets of Manhattan, you can download the audio guides or listen online at the Soundwalk website for a vicarious walking tour aided by the magic of Google Maps. [Via Cool Hunting]
Your next Australian streaming obsession is on its way — and it's set to tell a story so wild that it can only be true. The tale of Australian cult The Family always falls into that category, as seen in the excellent and supremely creepy 2016 documentary that shares the cult's name, plus the 2019 series The Cult of the Family, both by filmmaker Rosie Jones. Now, the sinister Aussie sect is also providing inspiration for Disney+'s new eight-part series The Clearing, which will hit the service globally in May. First announced in 2022, this new show is a drama and based on a novel — but The Family is clearly an influence. If you're new to these details, then strap yourself in for quite the story. The Family was very real, forming in the 1960s around Melbourne, with charismatic yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne at its head. A cult run by a woman is already extremely rare, but this tale also includes adopting kids who looked identical, dressing them in matching clothing, claiming that Hamilton-Byrne was a living god and, because that's not enough, a lot of LSD. Police raided the sect's Lake Eildon compound back in 1987, all those children were removed from the property, and Hamilton-Byrne and her husband fled Australia, but were arrested in the US in 1993. There's more to this story, which inspired JP Pomare's book In the Clearing alongside other cults around the world — and that's what The Clearing adapts. The show steps into the fictionalised but still chaotic details by following a woman who starts to confront her nightmarish past to stop a secret cult that's gathering up children to serve its master plan. Unsurprisingly, the mood is tense in the psychological thriller's just-dropped first teaser trailer, which arrives ahead of the series premiering its first two episodes on Wednesday, May 24. Cast-wise, almost every famous Aussie acting name possible is involved, or so it seems, including Teresa Palmer (Ride Like a Girl), Miranda Otto (Wellmania) and Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown), as well as Claudia Karvan (Bump) and Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road: Origin). Also set to appear on-screen: Hazem Shammas (The Twelve), Kate Mulvany (Hunters), Xavier Samuel (Elvis), Anna Lise Phillips (Fires), Harry Greenwood (Wakefield) Erroll Shand (The Justice of Bunny King), Doris Younane (Five Bedrooms), Miah Madden (Dive Club), Julia Savage (Blaze), Gary Sweet (Wentworth), Alicia Gardiner (Offspring), Matt Okine (The Other Guy) and Jeremy Blewitt (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), plus Lily La Torre (Run Rabbit Run) and Ras-Samuel Welda'abzgi (Neighbours). We told you it was a hefty list. Behind the lens, Jeffrey Walker (Lambs of God) and Gracie Otto (Seriously Red) are on directing duties, with Elise McCredie (Stateless) and Matt Cameron (Jack Irish) creating and writing The Clearing — with help from co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali's Wedding). And if all of the above information doesn't have you ready to watch ASAP, the trailer will — complete with blonde-haired kids everywhere, Otto at her most unnerving, Palmer looking frantic and a police investigation heating up. Check out the first teaser trailer for The Clearing below: The Clearing will stream via Disney+ from Wednesday, May 24.
By now, the fact that any new season will likely be hotter than average in Australia should hardly come as a surprise. It's a recurrent trend, especially in autumn and winter, when things are supposed to cool down. And, now that summer is behind us for 2021, this year is staying true to form. According to the Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook for the March to May period, much of the country is in for both warm weather and wet conditions over the coming months. If you live in Australia's north, Tasmania, southern Victoria or along the west coast of Western Australia, expect toastier autumn days this year, with a more than 60-percent chance that'll be the case. Nights are also expected to be warmer over the same period, hitting an 80-percent likelihood in the northern tropics, eastern Queensland, southern Victoria and Tasmania. For folks in New South Wales, you could buck the trend. BOM is currently forecasting cooler than average autumn days for parts of the state, with a 60-percent probability. But, overall, even when Australia gets down to its minimum temperatures between March and May, they're expected to be higher than average across most of the country (other that parts of southern WA and western and central South Australia). To give an idea of exactly what that all means, the average daily maximum temperature for March sits at around 23.9 degrees in Melbourne, 24.8 in Sydney and 28 in Brisbane. In May, it's around 16.7 degrees for Melbourne, with 19.5 for Sydney and 23.2 for Brisbane. BOM is forecasting that in all three cities we'll see warmer temperatures than that across the three months — and in Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin as well — although some rises might be minimal. In good news for farmers, much of the nation's east looks set for more rain, too. That's predicted to be the case in most of NSW, southern and eastern Queensland, Arnhem Land in the NT, eastern SA and eastern Tasmania — although, the higher probability of that happening (over 70 percent) is largely concentrated to small parts of southern Queensland and northeast NSW). In WA, the rest of the NT, Victoria, and the western parts of Queensland, SA and Tasmania, there's no indication that it'll be much wetter or drier than normal. Autumn's predicted wetter and warmer conditions across parts of the country follow Australia's rainiest summer for four years, BOM announced, topping figures since 2016–17 everywhere except greater southeastern Queensland (from the NSW border up to the Capricornia region). To finish off 2020, the country actually experienced its third wettest December since national records began in 1900; however, the nation's summer temperatures also look set to be our lowest since 2011–2012, only reaching above average in parts of Queensland and WA's west coast. If you're wondering why rain has been such a feature lately, BOM attributes it to La Niña, but notes that it is starting to subside. Bureau climatologist Dr Naomi Benger says that "the tropical Pacific Ocean is forecast to return to neutral conditions (neither El Niño nor La Niña) during autumn, consistent with the typical lifecycle of La Niña events. However, it is not uncommon for the effects of La Niña to still be felt as the event declines. That means an increased chance of above average rainfall, particularly for eastern regions". For more information about forecast weather conditions between March–May 2021, head to the Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook.
Get Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand and more exceptional women in a room, point a camera their way, let the talk flow: Sarah Polley's Women Talking does just that, and the Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar-nominee is phenomenal. The actor-turned-filmmaker's fourth effort behind the lens after 2006's Away From Her, 2011's Take This Waltz and 2012's Stories We Tell does plenty more, but its basic setup is as straightforward as its title states. Adapted from Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, this isn't a simple or easy film, however. That book and this feature draw on events in a Bolivian Mennonite colony from 2005–9, where a spate of mass druggings and rapes of women and girls were reported at the hands of some of the group's men. In a patriarchal faith and society, women talking about their experiences is a rebellious, revolutionary act anyway — and talking about what comes next is just as charged. "The elders told us that it was the work of ghosts, or Satan, or that we were lying to get attention, or that it was an act of wild female imagination." That's teenage narrator Autje's (debutant Kate Hallett) explanation for how such assaults could occur and continue, as offered in Women Talking's sombre opening voiceover. Writing and helming, Polley declares her feature "an act of female imagination" as well, as Toews did on the page, but the truth in the movie's words is both lingering and haunting. While the film anchors its dramas in a specific year, 2010, it's purposefully vague on any details that could ground it in one place. Set within a community where modern technology is banned and horse-drawn buggies are the only form of transport, it's a work of fiction inspired by reality, rather than a recreation. Whether you're aware of the true tale behind the book going in or not, this deeply powerful and affecting picture speaks to how women have long been treated in a male-dominated world at large — and what's so often left unsaid, too. Stay and do nothing. Stay and fight. Leave the only home they've ever had behind, be excommunicated from their faith and forgo their spot in heaven. When the Mennonite women catch one of their attackers, he names more, arrests follow and the men are sent to the city — the culprits imprisoned, the rest there to bail them out — those three choices face the ladies of Women Talking. To decide which path to take, they hold a secret vote while the colony's males are away. When the results are tied, a cohort within the cohort chat it out in the barn. From elders to mothers and teens, everyone has a different perspective across three generations, or a different reason for their perspective, but the hurt, pain, dismay and distress simmering among the stern gazes, carefully braided hair and surrounding hay is shared. The women's religious beliefs dictate one solution only: absolution. That's the outcome demanded by the scarred Janz (The Tragedy of Macbeth's McDormand, also a co-producer here), so much so that she won't entertain alternatives. But her peers Agata (Judith Ivey, The Accidental Wolf) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy, The Broken Hearts Gallery) see shades of grey in their predicament — shades that Polley and her returning Away From Her and Take This Waltz cinematographer Luc Montpellier highlight in Women Talking's colour palette, even though their viewers will scream internally for the women to immediately leave. While dialogue-driven by necessity, the film also spies the country idyll that sits outside the barn doors, where the kids play contentedly in the crops. This isn't an aesthetically sunny movie — its tones are muted, as its women have long been required to be — but it still sees what departing means on multiple levels with clear eyes. As the debate rages against Hildur Guðnadóttir's (Tár) score of yearning — The Monkees' 'Daydream Believer' also gets a spin, surreally so — Agata's daughter Salome (Foy, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) furiously advocates for battling. Her toddler daughter was among those attacked, which is understandably something she can't forgive, forget and keep living submissively beside the perpetrators, in a culture that allowed it to happen, afterwards. For Greta's just-as-irate daughter Mariche (Buckley, Men), who is abused by her husband openly aside from the widespread attacks, nothing good can come from running — including with their god. And for Salome's sister Ona (Mara, Nightmare Alley), who is pregnant from being raped, her ideals keep her going. As pros and cons about fighting or fleeing are thrown around, she speaks calmly but passionately about wanting a better community where the Mennonite women have agency and educations, as well as being safe and free. Indeed, because the group cannot read or write, formerly ex-communicated teacher August (Ben Whishaw, No Time to Die) is the lone male permitted to their meeting, taking minutes. More than a decade has passed between Polley's third film and Women Talking, and cinema has been all the poorer for it. How rich and resonant — how raw, sensitive and potent at the same time — her latest directorial effort proves. Compassionate and thoughtful in every frame, it scorches as a based-on-a-true-tale drama and as a state-of-the-world allegory, and says just as much beneath all the feverish utterances. Even with the Mennonite order's rules and conformity, costuming and hairstyles convey plenty about varying personalities. Letting colour seep into the movie's characters as the sun sets parallels the vibrant personalities these ladies are not expected to possess. And when Women Talking peers at the boys of the collective, it does so softly, asking what it takes to turn those innocent faces into men who'd subdue Salome, Mariche, Ona and company with cow tranquillisers to violate them. Such a complex and empathetic feature that's also intense, gripping and wide-ranging — pondering gender inequality, what community truly means and should stand for, religious devotion and the sins permitted in its name, unthinking compliance to any societal order and more — is unsurprisingly packed with performances to match. Women Talking's cast are deservedly up for the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards ensemble prize, while Buckley and Whishaw earned Gotham Awards nominations as well; there's no weak link in this troupe, including with all the rhythmic chatter. Each in their own way, Foy, Mara, McDormand and their co-stars radiate heartbreak, determination, vulnerability and anger. Whishaw is similarly excellent, but also never the film's focus. These portrayals are talking, too, in a movie that wouldn't fantasise about offering easy answers — but dreams of the possibilities spirited conversations and no longer staying silent can and do bring.
Easter is creeping closer and the creative treats are flowing in hard and fast. This year, we've already seen the release of a hot cross bun-inspired rum, decadent gelato-filled eggs and Lune's beloved hot cross cruffins. And next up is one for your booze cabinet — limited-edition drop, The Dispensary Cacao Husk Liqueur. A grown-up Easter offering with a sustainable edge, it's a joint effort from a couple of Melbourne-based favourites — Brunswick distillery The Gospel and artisan chocolate label Mork, the same crew behind that cult campfire hot chocolate. The innovative liqueur is crafted using Mork's leftover single-origin cacao husks, which would normally be thrown out. Here, instead, they're macerated in a blend of the distillery's Straight Rye and Solera Rye Whiskeys to create a complex sip filled with an array of rich fruit notes. This forward-thinking duo has effectively turned trash into treasure. Despite the cacao element, the drink isn't overly sweet; rather, the husks carry a savoury profile that complements the whisky's aromatics, leaving a blend of flavours that includes roast hazelnut, dried orange and cranberry. Mork roasts its cacao in small batches before the nib is separated and used to make products from its legendary chocolate range. Now, those discarded husks are getting their chance to shine, too. The Cacao Husk Liqueur marks the latest addition to The Gospel's Dispensary series. The crew recommends sipping it on the rocks, or stirred down with dry vermouth, Luxardo Maraschino and The Gospel's Solera Rye in a cocktail. There'll only be a limited number of bottles of the liqueur on offer — you can grab yours from The Gospel's website from 8.30am AEST on Wednesday, March 29. The Dispensary Cacao Husk Liqueur will be available to buy online from March 29.
If you make your way to Crystal Cascades, it's worth checking out its little sister swimming spot located close by, too. Tucked away in the dense rainforest next door to the cascades, you'll soon realise what's so magical about Fairy Falls. Take the track to the left of the carpark at Crystal Cascades to make your way to the mystical falls a 15-minute walk away. The narrow waterfall shoots into a clear blue swimming hole and the log wedged in the centre of its stream makes it easy to imagine fairies frolicking in this picture-perfect rainforest pool. Just make sure you follow the path along the creek when you're trying to find this veiled treasure — the alternative track at the fork won't lead you to the magical place you're seeking.
When the theatre powers that be wondered if Moulin Rouge! could leap to the stage from the screen, the answer was simple: yes it can can can. And when the hit Broadway version notched up 14 Tony nominations, another question arose. Could Moulin Rouge! The Musical become the first Australian-produced show to win the coveted Best Musical Tony Award? Again, yes it can can can. After being delayed due to the pandemic, the 74th Annual Tony Awards were held on Monday, September 27 Australian time, recognising the best that theatre had to offer in the 2019–20 season. And, Moulin Rouge! The Musical did indeed emerge victorious. Including Best Musical, it took out ten gongs in total. Produced by the Sydney-based Global Creatures — and marking the first Australian-produced show to originate on Broadway — Moulin Rouge! also nabbed prizes for Best Direction of a Musical (f0r Alex Timbers), Best Choreography (Sonya Tayeh), Best Orchestrations (Justin Levine with Matt Stine, Katie Kresek and Charlie Rosen), Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Aaron Tveit) and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Danny Burstein). And, it won Best Scenic Design in a Musical (Derek McLane), Best Costume Design in a Musical (Catherine Zuber), Best Lighting Design in a Musical (Justin Townsend) and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Peter Hylenski) as well. The Tonys sweep comes as Australians will finally get to see the stage production later this year, after its long-awaited local premiere season in Melbourne was delayed due to lockdown. It was set to open in mid-August, but is now selling tickets for shows from early November in line with Victoria's roadmap out of stay-at-home conditions. When it was announced back in 2016 that Moulin Rouge! was being turned into a stage musical, fans around the world thought the same thing in unison: the show must go on. Since then, the lavish production hit Broadway in 2019, and now has a date with Melbourne's revamped Regent Theatre. Based on Baz Luhrmann's award-winning, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor-starring movie — which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year — the stage musical brings to life the famed Belle Époque tale of young composer Christian and his heady romance with Satine, actress and star of the legendary Moulin Rouge cabaret. Set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, the film is known for its soundtrack, celebrating iconic tunes from across the past five decades. The stage version carries on the legacy, backing those favourites with even more hit songs that have been released in the two decades since the movie premiered. Moulin Rouge! The Musical wasn't the only production soon headed to Australia to nab a Tony, with Jagged Little Pill the Musical also collecting two ahead of its Sydney premiere in December. Elsewhere at the high-profile awards, A Christmas Carol nabbed five gongs in the play categories, while The Inheritance picked up four. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is due to make its Australian debut at The Regent Theatre, at 191 Collins Street, Melbourne from November — depending upon Victoria's COVID-19 restrictions at the time. To buy tickets, and for further details, head to the production's website. Images: Matthew Murphy.
Things have come a long way since your ma or pa tied a threadbare rope to a used tyre, slung it over a branch and hoped for the best. These days, swings are manifesting as art, cutting-edge design concepts and even political statements. Not that any of this takes away from their primary purpose: fun. Jumping on a swing, kicking back in the air and letting the world go by can be a tiny reminder that we don't have to be all serious all of the time. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." Whether you're a stuntman who doesn't even acknowledge a swing unless it's at least 20 metres above the ground, a socialite who wouldn't mind hosting a swinging dinner party, or a more peaceful type who's keen on some quiet time and a good view, you're bound to find a swing here that'll bring out the little kid in you. The World's Largest Rope Swing Just watching this in action will get your stomach churning. Thrill seeker (and maniac?) Devin Graham made the world's largest rope swing famous last year when his YouTube clip went viral, receiving over 20 million hits. Harnessed to a 45-metre long rope, he freefalls for over 35 metres before swinging back and forth in an enormous arc, coming dangerously close to the rock face. The swing is located at Corona Arch in the desert country of Moab, Utah. Double Happiness French-Portugese architect Didier Fiuza Faustino transformed this billboard into a swing set for two. He describes his "nomad piece of urban furniture" as a response to "the society of materialism where individual desires seem to be prevailing over all". It was erected in 2009 for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism and Architecture. Waterfall Swing Dash 7 Design presented this marvel at the 2011 World Maker Faire, New York City, and it also features in a Honda Civic ad. Swingers get their thrills by narrowly escaping a cascading wall of water each time they pass under the steel beam. Two hundred and seventy-three independently functioning solenoid valves control the liquid movement. What's more, the swing has the capacity to print water letters of up to 270 pixels in width. Memorial Swing Polish artist Kamila Szejnoch came up with this concept for a 2008 public space project in Warsaw titled Carousel Slide Swing. The swing is slung over the hand of a statue that represents a memorial to the soldiers of Berling's Army, who fought under the auspices of the Soviet Union's Red Army in the Second World War. According to Szejnoch, the swing is all about opening up a dialogue between the present and the past. Swinging Dining Table For $11,000, you can have the whole dinner party swinging. This one is the brainchild of Christopher Duffy of Duffy London design studio. Each of the eight chairs moves independently, and a lampshade is suspended above the centre of the table. It is definitely a good way to guarantee conversation, plus it makes life much easier for whoever's doing the vacuuming. Musical Swings Designers Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat of Daily Tous Les Jours design studio came up with this for Montreal's Quartier Des Spectacles. The piece consists of 21 different swings, each of which 'plays' a different note once it starts to move. Only by working together can the swingers create a coherent song. The project seeks to highlight the importance of cooperation and the joy of collective experience. 'Mua' Swing This one is so cute that it was kind of difficult to leave it off the list. Designer Victor Aleman describes the 'mua' swing as "furniture where love happens". It's made of steel wrapped in wicker, and the interior features cosy red cushions. An Enclosure for a Swing Winner of the 4th CDL Sculpture Award (2009), this is located in Bishan Park, Singapore. It aims to make visible the usually private space that surrounds an individual when he/she is swinging in isolation. The wavy shapes of the steel appear to contract and expand as the swing moves back and forth. Swinging Sculptures Swinging inside your own sculpture is definitely taking the experience to a new level. Myburgh creates swings in organic shapes — leaves, lilies, bubbles and pumpkins, to name a few — that blend in easily with gardens. The World's Biggest Swing Operated by A J Hackett Bungy, New Zealand's Nevis Swing is, indeed, the most momentous swing you'll find anywhere on Earth. Participants are propelled 160 kilometres above a yawning canyon mouth at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour. You can opt for the standard forward-facing ride or choose to take this one on upside-down or backwards.
New year, new chance for Hollywood to pat itself on the back. That's how every January starts, even if things are a little different in 2022. After multiple controversies surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind Golden Globes, the first batch of film and TV awards for the new year weren't given out at a star-studded event — but a long list of worthy movies and shows still won glittering trophies. When the Globes announced its nominees back in December 2021, it went big on plenty of the year's best. The Power of the Dog, Succession, West Side Story, Ted Lasso, Hacks, Squid Game — they all earned nods, and deservedly so. Today, Monday, January 10, they all just scored a spot on the winners' list as well. In fact, most of them nabbed more than one accolade. Highlights include The Power of the Dog's three wins, and particularly Jane Campion taking out the Best Director field. Her directing gong really can't be underestimated — it's just the third time that a female filmmaker has won the award, and the second in a row after Chloé Zhao won last year for Nomadland. Also for The Power of the Dog, Aussie actor Kodi Smit-McPhee nabbed the Best Supporting Actor award, while the exceptional film itself won Best Drama. And, still skewing local, Succession's Sarah Snook scored a Best Supporting Actress award in the TV categories — and Nicole Kidman is a Best Actress winner, in the Motion Picture — Drama camp, for playing Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. Obviously, the list goes on, spanning more big-screen and small-screen highlights. If you're wondering what else emerged victorious, the full rundown is below — and you can also check out our picks for the 12 winners you can watch right now. GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES AND WINNERS: BEST MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Belfast CODA Dune King Richard The Power of the Dog — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos — WINNER Lady Gaga, House of Gucci Kristen Stewart, Spencer BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — DRAMA Mahershala Ali, Swan Song Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog Will Smith, King Richard — WINNER Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth BEST MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Cyrano Don't Look Up Licorice Pizza Tick, Tick … Boom! West Side Story — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Marion Cotillard, Annette Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza Jennifer Lawrence, Don't Look Up Emma Stone, Cruella Rachel Zegler, West Side Story — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Leonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look Up Peter Dinklage, Cyrano Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick … Boom! — WINNER Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza Anthony Ramos, In the Heights BEST MOTION PICTURE — ANIMATED Encanto — WINNER Flee Luca My Sunny Maad Raya and the Last Dragon BEST MOTION PICTURE — FOREIGN LANGUAGE Compartment No. 6 Drive My Car — WINNER The Hand of God A Hero Parallel Mothers BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Caitríona Balfe, Belfast Ariana DeBose, West Side Story — WINNER Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard Ruth Negga, Passing BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar Jamie Dornan, Belfast Ciarán Hinds, Belfast Troy Kotsur, CODA Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog — WINNER BEST DIRECTOR — MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog — WINNER Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter Steven Spielberg, West Side Story Denis Villeneuve, Dune BEST SCREENPLAY — MOTION PICTURE Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza Kenneth Branagh, Belfast — WINNER Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Adam McKay, Don't Look Up Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — MOTION PICTURE Dune — WINNER Encanto The French Dispatch Parallel Mothers The Power of the Dog BEST ORIGINAL SONG — MOTION PICTURE 'Be Alive', King Richard 'Dos Orugitas', Encanto 'Down to Joy', Belfast 'Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)', Respect 'No Time to Die', No Time to Die — WINNER BEST TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Lupin The Morning Show Pose Squid Game Succession — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Uzo Aduba, In Treatment Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show Christine Baranski, The Good Fight Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale MJ Rodriguez, Pose — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — DRAMA Brian Cox, Succession Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession — WINNER Omar Sy, Lupin BEST TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY The Great Hacks — WINNER Ted Lasso Reservation Dogs Only Murders in the Building BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Elle Fanning, The Great Issa Rae, Insecure Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Jean Smart, Hacks — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES — MUSICAL OR COMEDY Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Nicholas Hoult, The Great Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso — WINNER BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Dopesick Impeachment: American Crime Story Maid Mare of Easttown The Underground Railroad — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jessica Chastain, Scenes From a Marriage Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision Margaret Qualley, Maid Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown — WINNER BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Paul Bettany, WandaVision Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage Michael Keaton, Dopesick — WINNER Ewan McGregor, Halston Tahar Rahim, The Serpent BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick Andie MacDowell, Maid Sarah Snook, Succession — WINNER Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TV Billy Crudup, The Morning Show Kieran Culkin, Succession Mark Duplass, The Morning Show Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game — WINNER For further details, head to the awards' website. Top image: The Crown, Des Willie/Netflix.
They say sex sells, but according to Sony Pictures, death is where the real money's at. Sony has just forked out a hefty sum rumoured in the multimillions for the feature rights to the unpublished biography, Steve Jobs. The release date of the biography, penned by Time Magazine editor Walter Isaacson, has been bumped forward following Job's death, and is now set to hit stands on October 24. The biography's flirtation with Amazon's bestseller list before Isaacson had even finished writing offers an unwarranted indication of the hype that is guaranteed to surround the film adaptation. Steve Job's story is about as inspirational as it gets; the quest of one man with a dream, who transformed his garage start-up into a billion dollar company that revolutionised modern life, all the while battling his own personal demons. And as if the story wasn't sufficiently romantic, then comes Job's tragic untimely death. Sony's expenditure in acquiring the rights will easily be accounted for in the money it saves on marketing. With the hugely successful The Social Network under its belt, another business book-turned-feature by Sony Pictures, Steve Job's story is in good hands. Isaacson wrote the bestselling biographies of Albert Einstein, Henry Kissinger and Benjamin Franklin, and was given complete access to Jobs. Mark Gordon, the man behind Saving Private Ryan and Source Code, will produce the film version for Sony. Let's just hope they stick with the book's revised title; the original 'iSteve' sounds more like a cheesy comedy than an epic tale of a modern day visionary. https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM
In the words of Tyrion Lannister, it's not easy being drunk all the time. Everyone would do it if it were easy. That may be true, but you can certainly give it a go, when Game of Rhones returns for another year. An epic wine tasting event inspired by the grapes of France's Rhone Valley and the works of George R. R. Martin, this year's Game of Rhones will visit Fortitude Valley's Lightspace on Sunday, June 11. The event will welcome more than 100 wines from winemakers such as Shaw + Smith, Yarra Yering, Ministry of Clouds, Henschke, Yalumba (and many more). There'll also be food from Gerard's Bistro as well as cheese from Yarra Valley Dairy to ensure you don't go hungry. In between goblets, ticketholders will get the chance to chat with sommeliers at the Rhone Bar, where you can purchase full glasses of wine. If you're really keen, you can purchase a Royal Pass, which will get you access to the event an hour earlier, a food voucher and some one-on-one time with a sommelier to help you work out which wines you like best. It should also go without saying that dressing up as your favourite GoT character is highly encouraged. Zombie John Snow, anyone?
Hanging out by the river in Brisbane isn't the same as hitting up Italy's coastline, but it'll still give you a tase of la dolce vita at Howard Smith Wharves' Festa Italiana. The waterfront CBD precinct debuted its first-ever Italian food market in 2023, and now it's bringing it back in 2024 for two big four-day weekends celebrating cuisine and beverages from the other side of the world. When it pops up from Thursday, May 23–Sunday, May 26 and Thursday, May 30–Sunday, June 2, the event will again boast a guest of honour: Naples-born and -raised, Sydney-based D'Elia chef Orazio D'Elia of Bondi Beach's Da Orazio. He isn't just making a second trip to Brisbane. The culinary figure with experience as Head Chef at Sydney's iconic Icebergs Dining Room and Bar alongside Maurice Terzini, who has then been keeping that collaboration going by opening Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, is once more behind Festa Italiana alongside HSW. "The energy, people and sunshine in Brisbane reminded me of my hometown, evoking a sense of nostalgia. Brisbane's love for food only deepens the connection, adding to the familiar warmth I feel when I'm there," said Orazio about last year's fest and market, and 2024's return. This year, he'll be bringing back two dishes he's known for — vodka rigatoni (made with tomato and vodka sauce) and focaccia con porchetta (with the meat fresh from the rotisserie, and paired with chilli-marinated grilled eggplant, cos lettuce and mayonnaise on schiacciatina bread) — alongside a few new menu additions, some of which he's keeping a surprise until the event. "The other dishes I'll be cooking are inspired by my latest trip to Napoli," he advised. "Napoli is a city with a lot of energy and every Neapolitan loves food. The food in Napoli is tasty and has punchy flavours. Once you've tried them, you'll never forget." "At this year's Festa Italiana, expect to see dishes like caserecce alla genovese (Neapolitan-style veal ragù) and fusilli alla luciana (tomato-braised baby octopus, black olives and capers). I think the hero dish will be the caserecce alla genovese, famous for its simplicity — it's a 'must-try'." Timed to wrap up autumn and say hello to winter over its two weekends, as it was last year, Festa Italiana will take over HSW's main lawn with its Italian bites and sips — which will also span a live pasta station making fresh pasta onsite, a pop-up spritz bar, buffalo mozzarella, woodfired bread and fritto misto, all to live tunes providing a soundtrack. Entry is free, with everything you're keen to eat and drink purchased as you go. The event will run from 4pm–late Thursday–Friday and from 12pm–late Saturday–Sunday. Festa Italiana takes place at Howard Smith Wharves in the Brisbane CBD from Thursday, May 23–Sunday, May 26 and Thursday, May 30–Sunday, June 2. Head to the precinct's website for further details.
Struggling to pay the electricity bill this month? What would you say to jumping rope instead? Innovative technology-with-a-conscience company Uncharted Play has come up with PULSE, a skipping rope that harvests energy with every single jump. That’s energy that can later be used to power electronic devices — including smartphones — and lights. Made of strong, resilient plastic, the device features 3D-printed handles which store the kinetic energy created by each spin. It’s converted to electricity via an adaptor. One hundred PULSEs, priced at US$129 each, comprise the first run. But Uncharted Play’s higher goal is to make the invention accessible to individuals and communities in the developing world, where electricity can be insanely expensive and resorting to high-risk alternatives such as kerosene is often the only option. If the initial distribution takes off, the company will start looking at ways to bring the price down. Previous Uncharted Play successes include the SOCCKET — an energy-harvesting soccer ball connected to an LED lamp — and a foldable, sustainable, recyclable, eco-friendly water bottle. All sales proceeds go towards providing SOCCKETs to disadvantaged children and lifting educational standards in remote areas. Via Springwise.
Picnic season is upon us, so it's time to amp up your gear-game for the inevitable days spent feasting on foil-wrapped sandwiches and plastic cups of chilled wine. When shopping for picnic gear, you need to consider all the practical stuff like transportability, usefulness (don't forget a bin bag!) and practicality (can it get wet?). But it's also nice if it looks great. We've combined all those things into the following list for our picks of picnic must-haves. And every inclusion on this list is Australian-designed or made because we love to keep it local. SPEAKERS THAT DOUBLE AS ESKYS One of the only downsides to spending a day in the sun picnicking is the mandatory lugging of cooler boxes, picnic baskets, speakers and food from the car to the designated picnic spot. So, whenever possible, try find picnic gear that can do two things at once. Like this pretty and pink two-in-one cooler and speaker from Sunnylife for $199. It has a 15 litre capacity so it fits 16 cans with ice. It also has bluetooth, radio, connects to AUX and USB. If you're after something a little larger and don't require the most aesthetically pleasing cooler-box-speaker-hybrid at the beach, here's another one from Super Cheap Auto that holds 55 litres and will only set you back $60. [caption id="attachment_827827" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Annika Kafacaloudis for Hattie Molloy X Curio Practice [/caption] WARM BLANKETS FOR SUNSET PICNICS Need something to wrap yourself in when the sun goes down and the spritzes aren't warming you up enough? Curio Practice is a female-owned small business making checkered and patterned blankets from the finest Australian Merino wool and made locally in Victoria. Curio Practice's blankets are of impeccable quality and beautifully made, plus, when winter rolls around the picnic baskets go into storage, they look pretty draped over lounge chairs or folded on the end of your bed. Win-win. MINI CUT-OUT TABLES FOR NO-SPILLS If you're on the clumsy side or have a penchant for sinking one too many rosés on the grass with your pals, Etsy store Noosh and Noo sells picnic tables with clever cut-out glass holders so your drink won't get knocked over and your cheese stays free of ants. The tables are handmade out of bamboo so they're light and durable, and you can have your name, initials or a symbol engraved. They're $100 and are made to order in Australia. Or, if you picnic in larger groups, Indi Tribe Collective has portable picnic tables with up to eight wine glass holes and two wine bottle holders for $259.95. PATTERNED RUGS FOR A VINTAGE VIBE Arguably the most important piece of picnic equipment is a durable but fun waterproof rug you can plonk yourself and your food on. Etsy store BreezeBoutique has loads of different colours and checks to chose from, with two size options ranging from around $89-$99. These blankets are made from acrylic and have little PU leather handles for easy travelling. If you want traditional tartan made with natural materials, Waverley Mills is Australia's oldest working textile mill and makes some of the finest Australian Merino wool picnic blankets around. They're crafted in Tassie, made to last and range from $229-$299. BEACH CHAIRS FOR THE PICNIC ELITE If you really want to take your picnic to the next level, purchasing portable fold-out chairs might be on your agenda. If you're after a stylish but comfy chair, Sunday Supply Co have designed luxe beach seats with fast-drying padded foam and fade resistant fabric. They have some very funky covers, including a sunny yellow and white striped number and a beachy black and white polka dot. If you're more low-key but still love a retro look, these striped plastic camp chairs are a throwback we can get around — especially for only $24.99. [caption id="attachment_827899" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Greta Mitchell for Porter Green[/caption] ECO-FRIENDLY REUSABLE CUPS Glassware and expensive ceramic tableware have no place at a picnic, but the over-manufacturing of single use plastics are wreaking havoc on the environment. Instead of plastic supermarket cups, go for reusable options like these stainless steal party cups with splash-less lids or this double wall insulated wine traveller set. The ones featured in the image above are unbreakable, foldable silicone tumblers from sustainable interiors brand Porter Green and are $27.25 for a pack of two. If you're partial to something sparkling, these reusable pink champagne flutes are only $24.99 for two. COCKTAIL SHAKERS FOR ON-THE-GO MARGS The number one way to impress dinner guests is casually shaking and pouring cocktails like you were born to do it while effortlessly maintaining vibrant conversation. Same goes for picnics. Picnic Folk are an Australian brand selling brightly patterned stainless steal picnic equipment like lunchboxes, tumblers and cocktail shakers that are hand painted by an older generation of artisans in Kashmir. If you're more of a minimalist, this cocktail set from Grand Cru Wine Fridges comes in black matte finish and has everything you need to make a basic cocktail for $59.95. PICNIC BASKETS THAT DOUBLE AS CHEESE BOARDS Picnic basket, cheeseboard, card table — we love a picnic basket that can do it all. The Beach People have designed specialised, handmade picnic baskets that have a wooden food grade removable cheeseboard lid and an insulated interior with a zip close for $199. They also have a 'seconds' section, where they sell the cheeseboard picnic baskets that have minor imperfections for $179. If you want something a little larger, Paragon Emporium has a fold out picnic basket that doubles as a table with optional legs that are tucked away when the basket is in its basket form, plus swing out wine glass holders. GAMES TO PLAY WHEN THE CONVO ISN'T CUTTING IT Sometimes a picnic needs an element of organised fun, and, if our national sports are any indication, there's nothing Australian's love more than a bit of competition on the grass. Check out this enormous wooden Jenga from Yellow Octopus or this two-in-one lawn games bundle from Living by Design. If you're vibing the things-that-double-as-other-things picnic tip, perhaps this games-board-slash-towel from Sunnylife is a win for your next beach picnic. [caption id="attachment_828069" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: KoolShooters via Pexels[/caption] VINTAGE FINDS FOR ONE-OF-A-KIND GEAR With so many new gadgets constantly being manufactured, it may also be on your mind to start a collection of vintage picnic gear for a more sustainable approach. South Australian based Etsy shop, Beach Kiosk Vintage, has vintage collectables that are perfect for outdoor use and your next picnic. It might take a bit of hunting, but from 80s ice coolers to enamel fondue pots, there's something for everyone. The Vintage Retro Guy is another Etsy shop, this time based out of Geelong Victoria. It usually has a great selection of original, colourful plastic cups, saucers, plates and containers for all your portable picnic needs. Happy hunting. Image: Annika Kafacaloudis for Hattie Molloy X Curio Practice
After shooting Elvis on the Gold Coast, Baz Luhrmann dubbed the Queensland city "Goldiewood". For four days in February 2024, the coastal spot will certainly become the centre of the Aussie film and television industry when the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts sweeps into town. As well as hosting its annual awards, AACTA will put on a festival around the accolades — and after announcing its first program details in 2023, that lineup has just expanded. A series of free outdoor film screenings, a Yellowjackets Q&A, and chats with the teams behind Colin From Accounts and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart lead the new additions for AACTA Festival, which takes place from Thursday, February 8–Sunday, February 11 at HOTA, Home of the Arts. For those keen to see a flick under the stars, you have three options, all with Aussie ties. Of course Barbie tops the list, as part of a barbecue bash where dressing up is highly encouraged — cinephile Barbie, anyone? — and there will indeed be the appropriate food spread. Also hitting the screen: a 25th-anniversary screening of 10 Things I Hate About You, celebrating the Heath Ledger-starring film, this time with a 90s shindig. And, rounding out the movies is The Greatest Showman, complete with Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey on hand to introduce the Hugh Jackman (Faraway Downs)-led flick. Yellowjackets fans, get excited about Aussie actors Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Liv Hewson (Party Down), aka teen Lottie and teen Van, talking about the series — including its cliffhangers and supernatural elements. Leah Purcell (Shayda) will discuss The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, while the Colin From Accounts chat will feature producers Ian Collie and Rob Gibson (who both also worked on Scrublands) ahead of season two's arrival. [caption id="attachment_894476" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.[/caption] Now that the AACTA nominations have been announced — which hadn't happened before AACTA Festival's first lineup drop — sessions where you can meet both the film and TV contenders have been added as well. Exactly who'll be attending hasn't been revealed as yet, however. Also joining the bill is music by Sunny Luwe, Kent Dustin and Alisha Todd; panels about streaming's future and screen trends in general; and a speed-networking session for women in the industry. AACTA Festival already boasts a heap of other highlights, all surrounding AACTA's Industry Awards on Thursday, February 8 and then its main glittering ceremony on Saturday, February 10. If Talk to Me creeped its way onto your list of favourite Australian horror movies, directors Michael and Danny Philippou will dive into it. Warwick Thornton is also on the lineup to discuss The New Boy as part of the fest's 'meet the creators' events, as are the teams behind Limbo, Sweet As and The Newsreader. Trent Dalton will talk about the Boy Swallows Universe TV series — and, giving the event one of its international standouts, Lessons in Chemistry's Bonnie Garmus is on the bill as well. There's also behind-the-scenes explorations of The Matrix, the stunts of Mad Max: Fury Road and, for some more overseas flavour, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's animation. Or, enjoy a chat with Wellmania and The Way We Wore's Celeste Barber about her career, then find out more about Aussie-made Robbie Williams biopic Better Man and the sequel to Mortal Kombat. AACTA Festival will run from Thursday, February 8–Sunday, February 11 at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise Gold Coast. For further details, head to the fest's website.
A relative newcomer to the Port Douglas restaurant scene, Melaleuca is the culmination of award-winning chef Adam Ion's nine years spent cooking in the area. The eatery is open from 3pm every day with a snack menu on offer — think oysters, ploughman's boards and fresh prawns — which you can enjoy al fresco in the courtyard under a canopy of mango trees. After dark, the focus shifts to the a la carte menu. The venue pegs itself as modern Australian but there are clear nods to Asian cuisines — Ion's wife is from Korea — in the spices and sauces that air paired with local ingredients.
Sometimes, a katsu curry hits the spot. Sometimes, nothing other than bulgogi beef will do. At Seoul Bistro, you'll find both. Why go to two separate eateries to indulge your hankering for Japanese and Korean cuisines, when the Sunnybank spot does it all? That means kimchi fries, work-fried pork or chicken in smokey soy sauce, gyozas and soju all on the same menu, plus five flavours of Japa-burgers too. No, you won't struggle to find something to order here. And, that's not even the main attraction. Every place in Brisbane seems to whip up their own chicken wings these days; however Seoul Bistro has been frying pieces of poultry with the best of them since opening back in 2013. Seven varieties of chook are available, including crispy fried, honey wasabi, peri peri, buffalo and yang nyum (aka sweet and spicy) — either as an unlimited buffet with chips, garlic bread, lemon iced tea and chocolate mousse, or small, medium or large a la carte servings. That's all the encouragement you need to drop by, but the likes of blue lemonade, peanut butter and strawberry milkshakes, and both Japanese and Korean beers on the drinks list should also help.
Whether you're working in the CBD or hanging out at South Bank, crossing from one side of the Brisbane River to the other is a straightforward prospect, especially if you're making the trip on foot. No fewer than five bridges for pedestrians are located between Hale Street and Gardens Point; however, that's clearly not enough, with the busy stretch of the river about to gain another crossover. Proposed as part of the Queen's Wharf development, the Neville Bonner Bridge will reach from the new precinct over to the Cultural Centre Forecourt. Earmarked solely for foot traffic and named after the country's first Indigenous Australian parliamentarian, it'll link Queen's Wharf's restaurants, bars and retail hub with South Bank's venues, plus the surrounding parklands. Construction and opening dates haven't been revealed, but the Queensland Government has just announced that the tender for the project will soon be unveiled, meaning that work could be underway sooner rather than later. An exact cost for the bridge hasn't been revealed either, but, speaking to The Courier-Mail, Tourism Minister Kate Jones noted that it's expected to range around the $100 million mark. She also advised that it would be paid for by the consortium behind Queen's Wharf — Destination Brisbane Consortium — rather than taxpayers. Of course, if you're thinking the obvious — that is, do we really need another piece of cement crossing the river in a part of city that already has plenty of them? — you're not alone. The Neville Bonner Bridge will sit between the Victoria Bridge and the Goodwill Bridge, after all. The former runs from QPAC to the Treasury Casino, is open to cars, buses, bikes and folks just using their legs, and is located incredibly close to the new bridge (particularly its southern section). The latter is already purely for pedestrians, spanning from the other end of South Bank over to the Queensland University of Technology. As for Brisbane's other three bridges with pedestrian access in the area, they're all nearby too — the foot traffic-only Kurilpa Bridge runs from the Gallery of Modern Art over to Tank Street, the mixed-use William Jolly Bridge links Grey Street with North Quay, and the Go Between Bridge, which caters for vehicles, cyclists and walkers, runs from Merivale and Cordelia Streets in West End to Hale Street in Milton. Perhaps the idea is for Brisbanites to spend more time walking across bridges, and less time walking to get to one? For further details about the Neville Bonner Bridge, visit the Queen's Wharf development website. We'll keep you updated with an opening date when we have one.
It’s date night. You’re probably planning to head to that little Italian joint you always go to, or if you’re too tired it’ll be Thai food again from down the road. Ah, routine. It’s a great thing sometimes: It makes us more efficient at our jobs and means we brush our teeth every day. But does routine ever spell romance? The answer is no. Love is meant to be exciting and fun, give you butterflies and make you do silly things you wouldn’t do otherwise. And while relationships are a marathon, it pays to tread the path less travelled once in a while. Go a different route, pass a different tree, climb a hill and be more spontaneous. It doesn’t mean never visit your favourite Italian again, but life is about adventure. Do something different for date night. Drinks at Watt Bar and free comedy at the Powerhouse The Brisbane Powerhouse is one of those places that no matter how many times you go back you can be struck in awe by the venue itself. If you (like everyone else) should be spending more time both in and around this urban beauty then head along for their Sundae Session at Watt Restaurant + Bar. DJs spin tunes from 3pm, so there is plenty of time to sit back and watch the sunset – drink in one hand, lady/man in the other – before catching Brisbane’s funniest up-and-coming talent alongside some notable names from 6.30pm. Dinner at Gerard’s and arthouse flick at Palace Every watched a film in another language? It’s some of the most exotic fun you have in this country. Foreign cinema gives you a good glimpse of a world you may not be a part of. Remember that time in Paris when the shop attendant came off as rude to you? Yeah, turns out the French are hilarious on the big screen. Stop by Gerard’s Bistro for a Middle Eastern-influenced feed beforehand and you’ve got yourself a round-the-world trip. On your bike – city loop via South Bank We were originally going to suggest a lazy Sunday cycle, stopping by Popolo for lunch and Riverbar for a drink, but as summer has hit early perhaps you’d best be hitting the road early too. For those who enjoy to sleep in, this is your wake up call and breakfast is down the road. Start at the Cliffs Cafe with a coffee at 7am – you’ll need it. Follow this map that does a short 8km loop across the Story Bridge, along the river in the CBD before heading over to South Bank. For breakfast try Merriweather Cafe’s green juice teamed with a bagel. Or try Hoo Ha Bar, open from 7am they serve up fine fair, ace coffee and salted caramel milkshakes. If you stay long enough they may even serve you a beer. Picnic at Mt Coot-tha lookout Views. They’re great to look at, but don’t do much otherwise – good thing you have your date with you. Mt Coot-tha is a great place for a picnic, and a picnic is a simple way to put in effort. And effort shows you care, and caring is romantic, and picnics are delicious. Need I say more? Probably. Grab a basket/green bag/cardboard box and throw in a bread board, knife, cheese, crackers, olives, prosciutto, two glasses and bubbly. Worst case, pick up a hamper from Picnic Cafe. Don’t forget a rug. Latin dancing at Cloudland Sometimes it takes another person’s encouragement to get yourself out of your comfort zone, and who better to make a fool of yourself with than your significant other. That’s right, let’s go dancing – and no, we don’t mean the two-step shuffle – time to find those Latin roots. There are plenty of options around, this blog post details where to dance seven nights of the week, but our recommendation lies with Thursday nights at Cloudland. If you’ve got two left feet at least you can purchase liquid confidence. Takeout, beers and boardgames at The Scratch If it’s time to switch away from your screens and go back to some old fashioned fun take your date, get takeout of your choice and take it along to The Scratch in Milton for a night of boardgames. This place is like hanging out in your lounge, expect the boys have better taste and knowledge in beer than you will ever have and it’s not your lounge room – an essential factor for ‘date night’. Go forth, let your true competitive side shine. On a side note, they serve cider spiders. Yes, you heard right – alcohol plus ice-cream. As you were... Visit farmers’ markets and cook up a storm at home Every weekend Jan Power is somewhere, and it’s worth following this lady and her travelling troupe of farmers’ markets for fresh local produce, good vibes and a breakfast treat. Take along a green bag and have a recipe or two in mind, or alternatively see what’s in season and plan as you go – the possibilities are endless. If you need further inspiration, find a recipe by local food bloggers such as Claire K Creations or Everyday Cook. A little further afield, Sydney’s Cook Republic is a favourite. Once your meal is ready, finishing hi-fiving in celebration, crack open some wine and light a candle. Watch the city light up from Kangaroo Point, walk to dinner South Bank If you haven’t taken yourself to the top of Kangaroo Point then get moving. I’d argue the view here is the best in Brisbane, and far more convenient than Mt Coot-tha. With a view looking directly across the river to the city, and further in the distance South Bank, standing at the top in the park is the perfect spot to watch the sun set and see the city light up before a) settling down for a picnic (we’ve already covered this – view + picnic = romance) or b) taking the 20 minute stroll into South Bank for dinner at number of establishments and a walk by the river. Grab a milkshake before a night at the pictures Couples have the chance to get intimate sharing a milkshake at new kid on the block, South Side Diner. With good ol’ fashioned service, here is the place to spin a tune on the (yet to arrive) jukebox and use some good ol’ fashioned charm on your date. Leave your feminist hat at the door, gents – it’s your shout today. With milkshake flavours such as Reese’s peanut butter, coconut, salted caramel and root beer float there’ll be something to tempt everyone’s sweet tooth, and remember two straws are better than one. Keeping with the era, head to the South Bank pictures to catch a flick at near 1950s prices. Okay, not quite that cheap, but you still you get change for a tenner – a miracle these days. Greek food, gig and a cosy chai bowl Attending a gig is often a very pre-planned event, especially if it’s at The Hi-Fi. Surely such a significant date deserves a worthy plan of attack to match? Being West End Greek is the go-to cuisine. Book a table at Little Greek Taverna for a cheap pre-gig feed to ensure you have the energy to mosh it out later. Post-gig you’ll surely need refueling or refreshing and, if you’re not too sweaty, Three Monkeys Cafe is the perfect late-night wind-down to get cosy with some chai.
In 2025, World Margarita Day has been and gone. February 22 might be the official date to say cheers to 'ritas each year, but it isn't the only time to celebrate the beloved drink in Brisbane. Fish Lane decided the extend the fun in 2024, starting its March Into Margarita festivities to dedicate an entire month to margs — on menus in general, as well as at events focusing on the cocktail. This year, from Saturday, March 1–Monday, March 31, the 'rita-fuelled fun is returning. Venues taking part include Bar Brutus, Chu the Phat, Julius, Kiki's, Midtown, Next Episode and Southside, all with special margs available across the month — and some with pop-ups as well. If you're most excited about trying different takes on a classic, your options include a fruit tingle variety at Midtown, a Tommy's yuzu margarita at Chu the Phat, a spicy mango tipple at Julius, and both watermelon and passionfruit at Next Episode. And yes, the OG marg is on offer at a heap of joints. If you're looking for a specific day to head along rather than simply dropping in whenever suits your diary, take inspiration from shindigs such as the Fish Lane March into Margarita Trail on Saturday, March 1. You'll stroll, you'll try different margs — classic and Tommy's — at different bars, and you'll take in the precinct's public artwork and greenery, too. Or, hit up the Margs-a-Million festival. Taking place on Sunday, March 16 across two sessions, it'll again see Southside serve up margaritas — ten types this year — and host a mezcal and tequila tasting station. Also, the folks from Baja are joining in to take care of the snacks, and mariachi music will set the mood. Southside and Baja are teaming twice, actually, the second time on Sunday, March 23 for three-course set-menu lunch that'll pair Mexican and Asian-fusion flavours, and also feature a range of agave-based drinks. A few days earlier, on Thursday, March 20, Chu the Phat is hosting The Phat Fiesta, complete with margs given Asian-inspired twists. The Margarita Edit is back at Midtown on Wednesday, March 26, with margs instead of its usual martini spread in the spotlight, plus small plates to line the stomach. Or, each Friday and Saturday in March from 3–5pm, you can head to Hello Please for margs, tacos and ceviche. It was true in 2024 and it remains the same in 2025: with all of this marg-centric fun, if you claim that you don't know what to drink to kick off autumn in Fish Lane, no one will believe you. March Into Margarita 2025 runs from Saturday, March 1–Monday, March 31, 2025. For more information, head to the Fish Lane Arts Precinct website. Images: Pixel Punk.
Perfect for a nature-filled long weekend, Grampians National Park boasts some of Victoria's best mountain views, waterfalls, and wildlife. For those looking to temporarily ditch the hustle and bustle of city life, or are after a secluded getaway surrounded by lush greenery, visitors to Halls Gap and surrounding areas can hike to famous mountain lookouts including the Pinnacle, explore the town's food and drink options, or just stay in, light a fire and take in the scenery. That sounds relaxing. In order to keep it relaxing, we did the research and found some of the best stays in the area to rest, relax and enjoy great views. These are some of the region's best Airbnbs for your next kangaroo-and-cockatoo-filled weekend getaway. Recommended reads: The Best Hotels in Melbourne The Best Places to Go Glamping in Victoria The Best Dog-Friendly Stays in Victoria The Best Places to Stay on the Great Ocean Road Blue Ridge Retreat, Halls Gap After a day of exploring Grampians National Park's bushland, pour yourself a glass of wine and settle into this property's spa bath with leafy outlooks from all angles. From $370 a night, sleeps five. Hemley House, Halls Gap Take in the picturesque view of the Grampians' notable wildlife against the backdrop of the mountains from your seat in this property's heated jacuzzi. From $368 a night, sleeps eight. Wine Down, Halls Gap Within walking distance to Halls Gap town centre, this cosy spot offers plenty of activity options. Explore the town's food and drink options, walk any of the several nearby nature trails, or light a fire and unwind in the outdoor kitchen area. From $210 a night, sleeps four. School House Villa, Halls Gap Nestled amongst the trees not far from Halls Gap town centre, visitors of this cottage can enjoy the best of both worlds: the creature comforts of town and the rugged charm of the bushland. From $190 a night, sleeps two. Aztec Escape, Halls Gap Light a fire and ease into a bottle of wine in property's picturesque living area, or step outside and relax on either of its patio areas. From $240 a night, sleeps four. Awonga Cabins, Halls Gap Rent out one of these six cabins for their proximity to an easy 1.3 km walking path to Main Street or to enjoy an evening BBQ on the deck. From $180 a night, sleeps two. The Escarpment, Halls Gap What better way to end a day than by relaxing in the outdoor hanging chair of this treetop-level home with sandstone cliff views — plus, this particular stay is kid-friendly with highchairs and cots provided. From $180 a night, sleeps six. Mountain Hideaway, Halls Gap Enjoy views of the Pinnacle from this property's front verandah or take the 20 minute stroll along the path into Halls Gap for an evening in town. From $205 a night, sleeps six. Heath House, Halls Gap You'd be hard-pressed to find better panoramic mountain views than from the floor-to-ceiling windows of Heath House. From $514 a night, sleeps eight. Redgum Log Cottage, Halls Gap Trade out your usual address for this rustic log cabin with epic mountain views and you might be personally greeted by the local emus, kangaroos, birdlife, and the property's free-ranging chooks. From $289 a night, sleeps six. Halls Gap Cottages Couples Retreat, Halls Gap Under the famous Pinnacle, lay out on this property's outdoor sectional and enjoy the fresh mountain air, views and nearby wildlife. From $317 a night, sleeps two. Hillrise Cottage, Moyston If you're willing to venture a little further, this remote cottage is the perfect base for the explorer. And, if you happen to overheat during your adventures, you can cool off in the nearby dam. From $250 a night, sleeps five. Ironstone, Hills Gap If you want to splurge, check out Ironstone. Designed to be the ultimate couples' retreat, this home's best asset is its spectacular mountain views from the living area, bathroom and bedroom. From $524 a night, sleeps two. Views at Pomonal, Pomonal Settle onto this home's front porch that is the epitome of rural single-level Australiana living with a drink in hand and watch as sunsets colour the skies. From $175 a night, sleeps five. Bush Lodge Retreat, Halls Gap Centrally located in Halls Gap, this cosy holiday home has all you need to relax indoors or out. From $317 a night, sleeps four. Romantic Tiny Home, Halls Gap If you're looking to see if the tiny house craze is for you, this tiny home is compact without sacrificing comfort. However, it also has easy access to trails into the mountains and to town just in case you decide you need to temporarily escape the close quarters. From $177 a night, sleeps three. Dacelo, Halls Gap If you're seeking out an eco-friendly option, there are many places to take in the mountain views in this two-storey home, although the soaker tub might be hard to beat. From $310 a night, sleeps eight. Mount Ida View, Halls Gap Hang out with the visiting cockatoos and kangaroos and take in the scenery on this home's shaded back deck. Or, enjoy a short stroll to the town of Halls Gap and explore the area. From $220 a night, sleeps six. Top image: Redgum Log Cottage courtesy of Airbnb. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
It's about time for her arrival: Christina Aguilera's, that is, with the 'Dirrty', 'Genie in a Bottle', 'What a Girl Wants', 'Lady Marmalade' and 'Beautiful' singer heading Down Under this November for a one-night-only gig. Hitting Australia for the first time since 2007, the singer headlines Victoria's statewide music celebration Always Live, which is returning in 2023 for its second year after a successful debut run in 2022. Aguilera will play Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, November 25, in a show that'll also mark 20 years since her album Stripped. One of pop music's former Mouseketeers, the six-time Grammy-winner leads a bill that spans more than 165 artists at 60-plus events — all in Victoria. In other words, she spearheads a lineup that's designed to get the state's residents hitting up live gigs, and to entice tourists from the rest of the country to make music-filled holiday plans. 2023's leg of Always Live runs for 17 days, from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with a feast of shows — also including Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz bringing his HOLO set our way in an Australia–New Zealand exclusive; songwriter and producer Jai Paul also playing his only shows in this neck of the woods; and Jessie Ware putting on two intimate evenings outside her Summer Camp headlining stint. Already on the Meredith bill, Caroline Polachek has added a solo gig at Melbourne's Forum Theatre. Also a huge highlight: BLAKTIVISM at Hamer Hall, with King Stingray, Tasman Keith, Emma Donovan, Uncle Bart Willoughby, Deline Briscoe, Sorong Samarai and Suga Cane Mamas. For Swifties, tribute gig Taylor Made will see Alex The Astronaut, Charley, Clare Bowditch, Emily Wurramurra, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lisa Mitchell and Sophia J Smith shaking off their best Taylor Swift covers. [caption id="attachment_899478" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] Returning from last year, Emma Donovan and Friends will again hero acoustic tunes from First Nations artists, while purpose-built pop-up studio SOUNDBOX will be back at the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt. The jam-packed program also boasts the Tones and I-curated Music In the Park in Mornington, featuring The Cat Empire, The Veronicas, Budjerah, KAIIT and The Pierce Brothers; the Gonna Be Good series, with everyone from Holy Holy, Aleksiah, ILLY and The Temper Trap to Northeast Party House, Casey Barnes and Ruby Fields; Summer Camp, as already announced; and SOULTRAINS, which is getting Lee Fields & The Expressions, plus Surprise Chef, playing four venues along four Metro train lines. Still on a railway theme, there's End of the Line, a festival popping ip at the end of the train lines in Sandringham and Williamstown. Clare Bowditch headlines the former, and Alex Lahey the latter. And, music lovers can look forward to the Jamaican Food and Music Festival at Seaworks, the Ballroom Mix Tapes series at Brunswick Ballroom — which will launch brand-new releases — and a regional tour by Amyl and the Sniffers. Throw in Peter Garrett and The Alter Egos hitting Wangarratta Arts Centre, Cosmic Psychos marking their 40th anniversary and A.B. Original headlining a free show at Victoria Park Lake, and clearly the list well and truly goes on. In fact, there's so much to fit in that an event called Garage Band will pop up on Saturday, October 14, before the Always Live dates, featuring 25 emerging bands playing an original song each on four stages in Federation Square. Always Live 2023 runs from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with one pre-festival gig on Saturday, October 14. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Christina Aguilera will play Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, November 25, with pre sales from 12pm AEST on Tuesday, August 29 and general sales from 12pm AEST on Wednesday, August 20.
Dig out those once-a-year novelty gumboots, Groovin the Moo has unveiled its 2019 lineup. Taking the large-scale music festival out of the city and into regional centres for another year, GTM will kick things off on Friday, April 26 in South Australia and travel through Maitland, Canberra, Bendigo and Townsville before finishing up in Bunbury on Saturday, May 11. This year sees local talent new and established taking the stage, with the lineup spanning up-and-comers like Jack River, G Flip and Haiku Hands right through to recent Hottest 100 top tenner Billie Eilish, Aussie favourites Nick Murphy and Thelma Plum, Australian hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods and rockers Regurgitator. International talent like Coolio — who'll you'll most likely recognise from his hit track 'Gangsta's Paradise' — Danish pop singer MØ and American rapper A$AP Twelvyy will make their way to the Moo, too. After hosting Australia's first ever pill testing trial in Canberra last year, Groovin the Moo is moving its ACT festival to Exhibition Park for the first time. Pill testing is still a much-debated topic around the country with five people recently dying from suspected overdoses in as many months. Here's the full lineup. GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 LINEUP A$AP Twelvyy (USA) Angie McMahon Aurora (Nor) Billie Eilish Carmouflage Rose Coolio (USA) Crooked Colours DMA's Duckwrth Fisher Flosstradamus (USA) G Flip Haiku Hands Hermitude Hilltop Hoods Holy Holy Jack River Just a Gent MØ (Dnk) Nick Murphy Nicole Millar Regurgitator Rejjie Snow (Irl) Sofi Tukker Spinderella Thelma Plum TOKiMONSTA (USA) Trophy Eyes GROOVIN THE MOO 2019 DATES & VENUES Friday, April 26 — Wayville (SA) Saturday, April 27 – Maitland (NSW) Sunday, April 28 — Canberra (ACT) Saturday, May 4 — Bendigo (VIC) Sunday, May 5 – Townsville (QLD) Saturday, May 11 — Bunbury (WA) Tickets for GTM in Wayville, Maitland and Canberra will go on sale at 8am on Thursday, January 31, and Bendigo, Bunbury and Townsville will be released the day after at 8am on Friday, February 1. For more info, go to gtm.net.au. Images: Jack Toohey.
The 'art world' is a concept just as tricky to define as 'art' itself. Opinions on what distinguishes 'good' from 'poor', 'high-brow' from 'low-brow', 'contemporary' from plain bizarre are essentially endless. No one seems quite sure what qualifies an 'artist' to be labeled as such. And what is this 'world', this community, they belong in? One thing all artists and art enthusiasts cannot dispute, however, is a cold, hard fact. The Art Newspaper serves up an annual batch of exhibit attendance figures to reveal which exhibitions were best attended. No matter what your taste or opinions, 2011 brought an eclectic jumble to the forefront; here are 10 of the most attended exhibits. 1. The Magical World of Escher Where: The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Visitors per day: 9,677 This exhibition brought together the best-known trippy drawings and prints by the Dutch artist. 2. Kukai’s World: the Arts of Esoteric Buddhism Where: The Tokyo National Museum Visitors per day: 9,108 Featuring 99 items - some certified national treasures - related to Kukai, the famous Japanese Buddhist priest, this exhibit celebrates 'Esoteric Buddhism'. Kukai brought the practice with him from China during the early 9th century. 3. Landscape Reunited Where: The National Palace Museum Visitors per day: 8,828 Reuniting the two halves of Huang Gongwang's Chinese scroll painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, this exhibit pieced together the 660-year-old work from the sections formerly split between China and Taiwan. The piece, considered one of the most important in Chinese painting, has not been exhibited in its entirety since 1940. 4. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art Visitors per day: 8,025 The Costume Institute's posthumous tribute to Alexander McQueen featured his groundbreaking works of fashion. 5. Claude Monet (1840-1926) Where: The Grand Palais Visitors per day: 7,609 The likes of this exhibit had been MIA in Paris for years, making this collection of over 200 impressionist Monet works even more of a must-see. 6. Photoquai Where: Musée Quai Branly Visitors per day: 7,304 A free, outdoor celebration of non-Western photography, Photoquai held its third edition in 2011. 7. Mariko Mori: Oneness Where: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Visitors per day: 6,991 Toyko-born, New York-raised Mariko Mori designed this contemporary exhibit to be interactive, with some pieces visually interpreting attendees brainwaves, and others lighting up when touched. 8. Monumenta: Anish Kapoor Where: The Grand Palais Visitors per day: 6,967 Kapoor's temporary, site-specific installation challenged the confines of the Grand Palais belle epoque exhibition hall. 9. Laurie Anderson Where: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Visitors per day: 6,934 For her first solo show in Brazil, Anderson chose to feature 31 works that "told stories". 10. The Prado Museum Where: The Hermitage Visitors per day: 6,649 Madrid's Prado Museum created its own little 66-piece museum inside of St. Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum as the first of a two-part exhibition exchange. The Hermitage Museum will be featured at the Prado through March 2012. [via Flavorwire]
Queenslanders, it's holiday time. After a year largely spent staring at your own four walls, you probably don't need much motivation to head out of town, but the State Government is giving you some anyway. In an effort to encourage everyone to take a getaway up north within the state, it's handing out $200 vouchers for travel to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. The idea has two obvious aims: enticing Queensland residents to go venturing throughout the state, and helping support tourism businesses in the highlighted area. The move was announced today, Sunday, March 7, by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, including the details of what you can spend the money on, when you can spend it and exactly how you can get your hands on the vouchers. From Monday, March 8–Thursday, March 11, 15,000 vouchers will be available — and you'll need to head to queensland.com to nab one. You'll register for a voucher code, as part of a scheme that's been dubbed 'Cairns Holiday Dollars'. Obviously, it's likely that there'll be more people keen on scoring the $200 discount than there will be vouchers, so they'll be handed out as part of a draw. Those who successfully receive a voucher will then be able to use it between March 15–June 25 on tourism experiences in the tropical north area, which also includes Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands. The vouchers can only be spent on tourism experiences and attractions, and will enable you to get up to 50 percent off your booking, maxing out at $200. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1368288000619114497 While Victoria's similar scheme, which was announced in 2020, also covered accommodation, that isn't the case in Queensland. It's clearly hoped that most folks taking up the vouchers will need to pay for somewhere to stay anyway — and to eat and drink at cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars while they're there — which'll also inject more money into the region. If the vouchers are successful, Premier Palaszczuk said that they could be rolled out across the rest of the state. For now, though, the Premier advised that the government wants "to make sure that people across Queensland get to enjoy tropical far north Queensland". You can apply for one of the 15,000 $200 'Cairns Holiday Dollars' travel vouchers from Monday, March 8 at queensland.com.
Some travellers can't help but plan every aspect of their trip down to the minute. But if you're keen to skip the calendar reminders and document organisers on your next holiday, Intrepid Travel has the ideal itinerary to help you step into the unknown. Just released, the 14-day 'Uncharted Expedition' departs from Harare, Zimbabwe and ends at the Island of Mozambique, but the 2400 kilometres in between remain a complete mystery to travellers. Hosted by one of Intrepid's most experienced leaders, the Uncharted Expedition is designed to help travellers embrace the unknown and feel more immersed in unexpected experiences instead of an overly curated minute-to-minute journey. On this adventure, guests can expect to travel mostly by overland truck, staying overnight in tents and locally owned hotels. By day, you'll swim in waterfalls, hike to mountaintops and forge connections with locals through varied cultural encounters. "We run trips in over 120 countries and know our travellers always look to us to uncover new and exciting places to travel. This itinerary is intrepid in every sense of the word and I am confident that this will be our best mystery trip yet," says Erica Kritikides, General Manager of Experiences at Intrepid Travel. While the itinerary might be mostly a secret to travellers, the crew behind the trip has got you covered. This being the second Uncharted Expedition, the original adventure saw 34 travellers from around the globe navigate from Kazakhstan to Mongolia through Russia's Altai region, home to soaring mountain ranges and scenic river valleys. The concept harkens back to Intrepid's origins, when the company's co-founders placed ads in newspapers searching for adventurous people to join them on trips to less-visited destinations. Ready to let curiosity guide you? The Uncharted Expedition has just opened for bookings, with 2026 departure dates scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, and Wednesday, August 12. Just note that due to the popularity of this adventure, intrigued travellers must first register their interest, with 21 people randomly selected for each trip. The expedition costs $7250, with travellers requiring a solid fitness level. "This mystery trip taps into the nostalgia of our earliest Intrepid trips, where every journey held an element of surprise and the unknown. It appeals to the most intrepid travellers — those with a sense of adventure who are prepared to take a leap of faith and go well beyond the beaten path," says Kritikides. Intrepid's Uncharted Expedition is now open for expressions of interest, with 21 travellers selected at random for each 2026 departure date. Head to the website for more information.
Worlds have collided and a few of your favourite chocolate and booze brands have come together in snack-friendly harmony. Renowned chocolate maker Haigh's has rallied three top Aussie gin distilleries to create one of the year's dream collaborations — a series of boozy chocolates. Fusing smooth Haigh's chocolate with artisanal spirits and boasting a careful marriage of botanicals, the limited-edition trio is known simply as The Collaboration. Not just a celebration of local produce and Aussie craftsmanship, it also makes for one pretty swanky gift, packaged in a handmade navy and copper embossed box, and complete with tasting notes. On the lineup, you'll find a dark chocolate creation crafted with Archie Rose's Signature Dry Gin, studded with pieces of macadamia and sandalwood nut, and infused with peppermint gum and mountain pepper leaf. Then, there's a milk chocolate number enveloping a white chocolate ganache centre, which pairs the bitter orange aperitif and 78° classic gin from Adelaide Hills Distillery with real honey and peach. And flying the flag for Victoria is a milk chocolate fudge treat made on Melbourne Gin Company's Melbourne dry gin and finished with an extra sprinkle of juniper. The gift box comes packed with four of each chocolate variety (so 12 in total) and tasting notes for $49.90, or you can buy them by the individual piece. Stay tuned also for details of an exclusive virtual chocolate and gin tasting flight, presented by Haigh's Chocolates Product Manager Ben Kolly, along with guests from each gin distillery. We'll let you know more about that closer to the date. The Collaboration chocolates are available now to buy individually, or as part of a $49.90 gift box. Find them online and in Haigh's stores.
A new series of advertisements by Education First, a language-school network based in over fifty countries, makes the case for learning another language in a wonderfully unique light. Not a single word is spoken in the ads, nor do they pitch the school. Instead, you follow the adventures of four students touching down in Paris, Barcelona, London and Beijing respectively. Without speech, they manage to express perfectly how learning a new language helps you experience it. Specially-designed typography accompanies the film, accompanied by phonetic pronunciation underneath, and while there is no translation, they work perfectly. Niklas Johansson's cinematography envelops you in the adventures of the protagonists as they wander through the cities, while Albin Holmqvist's deftly designed original typography and typefaces beautifully reflect the languages of Paris, Barcelona, Beijing and London, and tell you more about the words than dull verb charts ever could. The films don't belabour the process of learning a language, but the benefits of being able to lose yourself in a different culture - the things you discover, the different things to see and do, and the attractive strangers that may or may not come your way. If these films don't make you want to jump on a plane straight away, I don't know what will. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1_QO8LoGNpc https://youtube.com/watch?v=p9isboDgxMM https://youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3gdVkkWzc https://youtube.com/watch?v=QLluxHOOXSw [Via ModCloth]
Motoi Yamamoto’s sculpture is bringing a new meaning to ‘living in the moment’. The supremely disciplined artist from Hiroshima creates installations out of grains of salt. Using intricate techniques that involve layering, shaking, sweeping and infinite amounts of patience, he has made a labyrinth, a set of steps, a ‘corridor to remembrance’ and a series of complex patterns that imitate biological systems. When the works have run their course, he sends them back to the sea. Yamamoto’s engagement with salt as a form started eighteen years ago, when he lost his sister to brain cancer. She was just 24, and struggling to cope with the loss, Yamamoto sought a way to recall his memories through his art. His very first piece was a bed comprised of bricks and the second, a three-dimensional representation of the human brain. In Japan, salt symbolises the processes of cleansing and mourning. Its use forms an important part of funeral rituals. Restaurateurs and small business owners often place salt at their doors, in the belief that it deters evil spirits and magnetises forces for good. “I can’t tell if my feelings of death have been changed by the passage of time or by the process of creating my work,” Yamamoto told the Daily Serving in June last year. “I don’t have any way to compare to the two alternatives because I’ve only experienced this through my work, not through a more conventional mourning process. I would like to think that it altered my thoughts on loss gradually, but I don’t know.” Yamamoto’s salt installations have been exhibited in galleries all over the world, from the Ierimonti Gallery in Milan to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, USA. Last month, they were on show at the Mint Museum in Charlotte.
2021 marks 23 years since '...Baby One More Time' rocketed up Australia's charts, and made sure that everyone in the country knew who Britney Spears was. In the decades since, the singer has enjoyed a slew of other hits, thanks to everything from 'Sometimes', '(You Drive Me) Crazy' and 'Oops!... I Did It Again' to 'Toxic', 'Everytime' and 'If U Seek Amy'. Yes, you now have at least one of these songs stuck in your head (or, let's be honest, a medley of all them). This year also marks the arrival of a must-see documentary about the pop star, which Aussies have heard plenty about but have been unable to watch for the past month. Part of The New York Times Presents series that streams in the US via Hulu, Framing Britney Spears examines not only the singer's life since she was a child — going back to before her first hit single, and before her time on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in the early 90s, too — but also the way she has been treated in the press, the fact that she has been under a conservatorship since 2008 and the #FreeBritney movement that's sprung up in response to the latter. Not by her own choice, Spears has been an almost-constant presence in the tabloid media for nearly quarter-century. The paparazzi has covered her every move and career with disturbing intensity, in fact. Everyone knows the details, because they've been plastered all over magazine front pages and internet headlines for years and years, to the point that they've been impossible to avoid. And, as this doco ponders, it's easy to join the dots between the relentless hounding by photographers, the endless mentions in gossip columns, the ridiculous way Americans reacted when she didn't meet their idea of what a 'girl next door'-style pop star should be, how she has been regarded by pop culture in general and how the US legal system has stripped away her right to control her own life for more than a decade. The film makes for important and grim viewing — and, although it premiered in the US in early February, Channel 9 just aired the Hulu doco this past week, and has also made it available on its online service, 9 Now. So, you can now spend 71 minutes stepping through a story that hasn't ended yet and doesn't wrap up happily in the movie, but is rightly sparking a reassessment of how female celebrities — and young women in the spotlight in particular — are treated, Spears included. Check out the Framing Britney Spears trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GEa844LCoI Framing Britney Spears is now available to stream on 9 Now.
