Before lockdowns became a regular part of our lives, you probably hadn't been giving your library membership much of a workout. Obviously, over the past 18 months, there's been a few compelling reasons to start using it again. Not only do the City of Sydney libraries, City of Melbourne libraries and Brisbane City Council libraries have thousands of ebooks available to download and read for free, but some libraries around Australia also provide access to free online streaming service Kanopy. Specialising in indie and arthouse films and documentaries, the service launched in Australia back in 2018, offering more than 30,000 films and documentaries — which are all available to watch without paying a cent. Aussie public libraries have been jumping on board since, including the aforementioned City of Sydney and City of Melbourne libraries, plus Randwick City Library and Sutherland Shire Council's eight libraries in Sydney, as well as the five located in the Yarra City Council and in the Maribyrnong City Council area in Melbourne, and the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane. If you're a student, it's worth checking if you can access the service through your uni's library. The service was launched in Perth in 2008, before moving to San Francisco and providing its online archive to students at hundreds of universities. Lucky for us, it decided to expand — giving access to public library members across the United States and Australia. Like the plethora of other streaming platforms vying for your eyeballs — such as of Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and DocPlay, just to name a few — Kanopy's movie selection is updated regularly; however you'll always find something to watch. Titles can vary per library, too, but you just might find recent standouts Shirley and Proxima, the Daniel Radcliffe-starring Guns Akimbo, documentaries The Leadership and Memory: The Origins of Alien, Bong Joon-ho's fantastic Memories of Murder, and classics such as Talking Heads concert flick Stop Making Sense and basketball doco Hoop Dreams on offer. Other standouts that might be gracing your catalogue include the Joaquin Phoenix-starring You Were Never Really Here, recent Japanese creature feature Shin Godzilla, and international cinema highlights such as Foxtrot, BPM (Beats Per Minute), The Square, High Life and Mustang. The Studio Ghibli co-directed The Red Turtle is also in Kanopy's range, as is the Florence Pugh-starring Lady Macbeth, cult comedy Heathers, vampire drama Only Lovers Left Alive and Aussie romance Ali's Wedding. Nicolas Cage growling his way through Mandy, the time travel trickery of Donnie Darko, the inimitable A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Colossal's take on monsters, and Taika Waititi's Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Boy are all included too, and yes, the list still goes on. If you're not already a member of your local library, now might be a good time to sign up. For more information about Kanopy, or to check if your local library is a member, visit the streaming platform's website. This article was originally published in 2018. It has been updated to reflect new information.
Whether focused on steak joints, restaurants in general, bars, hotels, beaches or places to travel to, there's no shortage of rankings proclaiming the standout spots to spend your time, or just to live overall. Another one seems to pop up almost daily. In fact, one more has just joined the ever-growing array, and it's a hefty addition, with the first-ever Oxford Economics Global Cities Index naming the top 1000 cities worldwide. Use it as a must-visit list, a guide if you're thinking about a big move or to add fuel to one of Australia's enduring pastimes: arguing over which Aussie city tops the rest. According to the index, Melbourne earns the honours this time, coming in ninth globally. But just as the Melbourne-versus-Sydney debate starts firing up again, the latter didn't do badly at all, sitting in 16th. Australia has six cities in the top 51, with Perth ranking 23rd, Brisbane in 27th place, Canberra taking out 44th and Adelaide just missing the top 50. The nation scored seven cities in the top 100 and also in the full 1000, thanks to the Gold Coast placing 81st. To make its selections among the planet's largest 1000 largest cities — which you'll find in 163 different countries — Oxford Economics looked at five broad factors: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. It also outlined a top ten for each category, with Down Under spots earning some more love there. While no Aussie cities placed in the top ten for economics, environment or governance, Sydney came eighth in human capital, which considers educational attainment, universities, population growth, age profiles, the diversity of the population and corporate headquarters among its indicators. The second-best place in the world for quality of life, which takes into consideration life expectancy, income per person, income equality, housing expenditure, recreation and cultural sites, and internet speed? Canberra, the only Australian city in the top ten there. The Gold Coast placed 95th, Perth 135th, Brisbane 146th, Adelaide 152nd, Melbourne 185th and Sydney 230th. Over in New Zealand, Auckland placed highest at 59th on the complete list of 1000, followed by Wellington at 69th and Christchurch at 87th. All three ranked NZ cities also earned a position in the environment top ten (which covers air quality, emissions intensity, natural disasters, and temperature and rainfall anomalies) and took out the three top spots in the governance top ten (where institutions, political stability, business environment and civil liberties are assessed). Back to the overall rundown, New York emerged victorious over the other 999 cities in the index, followed by London in second. Returning to the US, San Jose came in third. After Tokyo in fourth and Paris in fifth, the next three places were again American cities, with Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco receiving the nod. And rounding out the top ten after Melbourne is Zurich. For more information about the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index for 2024, head to the organisation's website.
Two years after The Mandalorian gave the Star Wars franchise its first live-action TV spinoff — and a year after the show's second season hit streaming — The Book of Boba Fett is about to deliver a new dose of bounty hunter thrills. This time, Disney+'s latest addition to a galaxy far, far away will focus on the famed eponymous character that dates back to the 70s, with New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison (Occupation: Rainfall) donning Boba's helmet and armour in the new streaming series. Morrison played the role in The Mandalorian, too, after initially joining the franchise back in 2002, in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, as Jango Fett — the OG bounty hunter who provided the genetic template for Boba. So, this is a series with a history in multiple ways. Set to start streaming on Wednesday, December 29, The Book of Boba Fett will follow its namesake and mercenary Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen, Mulan) as they head to Tatooine. There, they're trying to control the territory once overseen by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate. Unsurprisingly, that requires navigating the galaxy's chaotic underworld — and, as the just-dropped trailer for the series shows, that whole process isn't going to go smoothly. If you watched The Mandalorian, you should already be primed to spend more time with Boba. If you're just a dedicated Star Wars fan in general, clearly that's long been the case. And while this will only mark Disney+'s second jump into the Star Wars realm, plenty more is in the works. So, in the next few years, you can look forward to another season of The Mandalorian, a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story focusing on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, If Beale Street Could Talk), a series about Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor (of course), and other shows about fellow Star Wars characters Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson, Zombieland: Double Tap) and Lando Calrissian (as initially played Billy Dee Williams, and also by Donald Glover in Solo: A Star Wars Story). There's also a new mystery-thriller from Russian Doll's Leslye Headland on the slate, too, called The Acolyte. Check out the trailer for The Book of Boba Fett below: The Book of Boba Fett will start streaming via Disney+ on Wednesday, December 29. Top image: © 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd.
Wondering what to say when you step inside Brisbane's new mini-golf bar? At Holey Moley Gold Club, it really is all there in the name. And, as awesome as the concept of having some drinks, donning a visor, hitting the indoor greens and taking a few swings on pop culture-themed holes sounds, the reality is even better (and weirder). Entering Holey Moley is like entering an alcohol-fuelled indoor amusement park for adults, even if the building it's in — a former church — makes that quite the surreal experience. So does the angel statue decked out with golf clubs, the pink-lit neon sign declaring "I like big putts and I cannot lie", and the twirling giant disco ball hanging in the centre of the venue, which visitors familiar to the site's many previous watering holes and live music spaces will recognise. Of course, with the right wall taken up by a stocked bar, it's obvious that this is a drink-focused spot with two nine-hole mini-golf courses inside, rather than a putting facility that happens to serve booze. Each hole has a six stroke maximum, however whether you decide to keep score is completely up to you — it's fun, rather than sports, that the venue wants to promote. Even taking a quick glance at the eighteen different holes on offer demonstrates that having a good time is the main aim here, unless you're scared of clowns and puppets, that is. Suspended from a frame and lurking on the ground, these vaudevillian creeps adorn the seventh stop on the ground level, which means anyone suffering from coulrophobia has plenty of time to work up the courage to play there. Beforehand, you'll hit your way through a beachy (fri)endless summer, enter a glow-in-the-dark space for three holes of luminous action, and play pinball and pool with a golf ball and club. Yes, really. Keeping with the arcade theme, a putting version of skeeball marks the end of the lower course — but don't worry, more holes await upstairs. That's where you'll show off your short game on a turntable, in a bathroom and a gym, and on a Twister board, to highlight just a selection of the standouts on the upper level. You'll also tap, tap, tap the ball into a Nintendo-focused hole that pays tribute to Super Mario and Donkey Kong, brave the Mad Putter's Tee Party, prove that you're obviously not a golfer at a bowling alley, and marvel at the glory of the nine-iron throne. You just know the latter is going to be mighty popular, particularly for selfies that'll clog up your Instagram feed. For something different between rounds, ping pong tables provide a break from the main action, as do a selection of old-school video games. Or, chew a couple of gum balls, grab a drink, and sit down and watch everyone else. In fact, the cocktail list is worth the trip alone, thanks to beverages like the Tee-quila Mocking Birdie (with Don Julio Blanco Tequila, Blue Curacao, sour mix and sugar syrup), Teeyonce Knowles (Pampero white rum, soda, fresh mint, limes and syrup) and Happy Gilmoreo (Chambord raspberry liqueur, Smirnoff Red vodka, Baileys, milk, chocolate sauce, crushed Oreos and whipped cream). Yep, we're calling it: Holey Moley is about to become everyone's favourite new hangout.
Now here's some casually beautiful design for your day. Japanese design house Nendo have created a box of chocolates that wouldn't be out of place in a contemporary art museum. Having already made you insatiably hungry with chocolate pencils and ice cream cakes far too beautiful to eat, Nendo decided to celebrate their new title as Maison&Objet's Designer of the Year by creating some of the most stunning truffles you're likely to come across. Geometric little bite-sized pieces they are, Nendo's truffles were created for M&O's upcoming design show in Paris; an event for which they're also creating the visitor lounges where visitors can soothe their weary tootsies. There are nine chocolates in total, all of which will be handed out to these weary visitors — a stunning little treat we'd be likely to attempt a furious commute home to the fridge with. According to Co.DESIGN, the cubic chocolates represent different geometric forms; everything from a representation of a soundwave to a wireframe cube. Nendo's chocolate boxes will only be available to buy at the Maison&Objet design show in Paris from January 23 - 27. All we're saying, if you're desperately trying to impress someone with a romantic gesture, bringing a box of chocolates that look like modern art back from a Parisian design show is a decent idea. Via Dezeen and Co.DESIGN.
You've seen the animated movie, watched the photorealistic (and CGI-heavy) remake and hummed along to the stage show. You know all the words to 'Hakuna Matata', and you instantly get nostalgic whenever the phrase "circle of life" comes up in conversation. The next item to tick off on your list, Lion King fans? Sipping your hot beverage of choice out of Frank Green's Lion King-themed keep cups (and saying "no worries" to doing the environment a solid in the process). Teaming up with Disney, the sustainability-focused Australian brand is launching a limited-edition range of cups and reusable bottles inspired by the 90s flick and its beloved characters. Design-wise, you can choose between Rafiki's cave painting of baby Simba, the future king's face, adult Simba or, back in his cub days, the young lion with Timon and Pumbaa. There's also an animal-print option, if you can't quite bring yourself to choose between the other styles. The cups and bottles come in different hues depending on the design, so you could be drinking coffee from a coral-coloured bottle or a khaki-toned cup. You also have choices regarding size, with each design available in small (295 millilitres) medium (595 millilitres) and large (one litre). Priced between $46.95–64.95, The Lion King range joins Frank Green's other Disney-themed wares, which also includes Winnie the Pooh, Frozen and Wall-E — and both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The new designs hit the brand's online shelves from Tuesday, May 18, but you can pre-order now until stocks run out. Once you have one in your hands, it's up to you whether you want to hold your coffee over your head like you're standing atop Pride Rock. Frank Green's Lion King range is available to preorder now, before going on sale from Tuesday, May 18.
Has that hectic peak hour traffic got you dreaming about a more carefree commute? Well, if Uber's ambitions are realised, flying vehicles could be cruising the skies of Sydney and Melbourne as early as 2023. In October last year, the ridesharing company unveiled plans for its Elevate project, which would see it develop a network of on-demand, electric aircraft that could take off and land vertically, ideal for congested city zones. And while there are plenty of others pushing the concept of flying vehicles internationally, (like Kitty Hawk's futuristic vehicle prototype and Airbus' driverless flying taxis) it looks like Uber's plans might involve Australia in a significant way. Talking to the Australian Financial Review, Uber's chief product officer Jeff Holden has revealed that, after launching the Elevate cars in Dallas and Dubai in 2020, the company's sights are set further afield — and our two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, could be enjoying a slice of the action in a secondary 2023 roll-out. According to Holden, Sydney's nightmarish congestion issues mean the city is prime turf for the company's urban air transport trials. Anything to avoid getting stuck in the Harbour Tunnel at 5.45pm. Word is, Uber's multi-passenger flying cars will look and act a bit like helicopters, but use multiple propellers and rechargeable batteries. The company would also develop a series of rooftop 'vertiports' across each city, where aircraft will take off, land, and recharge. Apparently a daily flight to the office won't even send you broke, with Elevate fares expected to hover around the same price as your average UberX trip, once the project's fully established. Looks like we might be using The Fifth Element-style taxis way before 2263. Via Australian Financial Review and news.com.au.
Not everyone is a sports fan, but if you like live tunes, the Australian Open should still be on your radar even if you care little about on-the-court action. Only one music event in the world takes place as part of a Grand Slam, and that's AO Live. On the lineup for 2025's iteration: none other than Kesha, Armand Van Helden, Kaytranada and Benson Boone. Game, set, match, music: that's what's on offer when the Australian Open returns in January 2025 with two jam-packed weeks of tennis, plus a few aces for music lovers in the form of its three-day festival. It was back in 2023 that the annual Melbourne sports event launched the AO Finals Festival, getting a heap of talents taking to the stage. Unsurprisingly proving a hit, the fest returned in 2024, and will now be back again in 2025 under a new name. The venue: John Cain Arena, where AO Live will run from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25. 2025's version features the event's biggest lineup so far — complete with Bag Raiders, Bella Amor, Channel Tres, Dijok, Kah-Lo and Jade Zoe. The fest kicks off with Boone on the Thursday, followed by Kaytranada on the Friday. Both days will span 5–9pm. Come Saturday, coinciding with the women's finals, Kesha will make her first visit to Australia in seven years, joined by Van Helden. Wrapping up AO Live, the day will kick off at 2pm and finish at 7pm. Expect plenty of company, with the 2023 fest selling out, then 2024's moving venues to John Cain Arena to take advantage of its 10,000-person capacity. AO Live ticketholders will also get a ground pass to the Australian Open, so you can watch the tennis as well as catching live tunes. As always, there'll be scores of food and drink pop-ups scattered throughout Melbourne Park, as well as big screens showing all the on-court action. [caption id="attachment_975223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendan Walter[/caption] AO Live 2024 Lineup Thursday, January 23: Benson Boone Bella Amor Friday, January 24: Kaytranada Channel Tres Dijok Saturday, January 25: Kesha Armand Van Helden Bag Raiders Kah-Lo Jade Zoe AO Finals Festival images: Ashlea Caygill.
Trying to dance like Christopher Walken, pretending you're in Cruel Intentions, being transported back to the late 90s and early 00s: that's all on the agenda when Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, returns Down Under in 2023. Touring New Zealand in January and February, then hitting Australia in April and May, the British dance music legend will take to the decks to bust out a hefty range of dance floor fillers. His 1998 album You've Come a Long Way, Baby was the club soundtrack to end the 20th century — a staple of every 90s teen's CD collection, too — and responsible for hits like 'Right Here, Right Now', 'The Rockafeller Skank' and 'Praise You'. As for 2000's Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, it gave the world 'Weapon of Choice' and its iconic Walken-starring (and Spike Jonze-directed) video. You might not be able to dance along the walls when Cook plays Christchurch, Napier, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Taupo in Aotearoa — and then hops over the ditch a couple of months later to do the same in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth — but you'll want to thanks to his big beat sound. Indeed, alongside the Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, The Propellerheads and Crystal Method, he helped bring the style to mainstream fame. Cook has been making music since the 80s, but took on the name Fatboy Slim in the mid-90s, starting with 1996 record Better Living Through Chemistry. His discography also spans 2004 album Palookaville and 2013 single 'Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat'. [caption id="attachment_878697" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] If you've seen Cook live before, you'll know that this is news to get excited about right about now. His Australian tour marks Cook's return after his 2020 headline shows — pre-pandemic — with his Melbourne gig at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl recorded for an epic live video that's notched up more than 2.4-million views. FATBOY SLIM 2023 AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR Friday, January 27 — QE2 Park, Christchurch Saturday, January 28 — Tremain Field, Napier Sunday, January 29 — Gardens Music Festival, Victoria Park, Auckland Friday, February 3 — Anderson Park, Wellington Saturday, February 4 — Gibbston Valley, Queenstown Sunday, February 5 — Riverside Park, Taupo Friday, April 28 — Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Wednesday, May 3 — Riverstage, Brisbane Friday, May 5 — The Entertainment Quarter, Sydney Sunday, May 7 — Burswood Park, Perth Fatboy Slim will tour New Zealand in January and February 2023, and Australia in March and April 2023. Tickets for NZ are on sale now. Pre-sale tickets for Australia start at 2pm local time on Wednesday, November 23, with general sales from the same time on Friday, November 25. Top image: Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México via Wikimedia Commons.
Sometimes, Christopher Nolan likes playing with time, memory and space — or a combination of all three — as films such as Memento, Interstellar and Tenet can attest. Across his Dark Knight trilogy, he also went and completely reshaped superhero cinema. There's another part of the acclaimed British filmmaker's resume, though: jumping back into the past. With The Prestige, he kept things largely fictional. With Dunkirk, he made a helluva World War II epic. Next on the list: the upcoming Oppenheimer, about the "father of the atomic bomb". Unsurprisingly, it looks explosive. Swirls of fire are definitely a part of the movie's just-dropped first trailer, which is only brief, but firmly sets the mood. Nolan regular Cillian Murphy (see also: The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Dunkirk) plays the titular American physicist, aka the man who helped develop the first nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project. And as for that tone, the initial sneak peek teases the day "the world forever changes", for starters. Yes, Nolan is going back to the Second World War again. The trailer also features a woman's voice telling J Robert Oppenheimer that "the world is changing, reforming, this is your moment" — with Emily Blunt co-starring the physicist's wife, biologist and botanist Kitty (and reteaming with Murphy after A Quiet Place Part II). Charting Oppenheimer's life, his part in birthing the atomic bomb and how it did indeed change the world — and the fallout — should make for gripping viewing, although viewers will need to wait almost a year to find out. The clock is ticking in the sneak peek, in fact, with the movie set to hit cinemas on July 20, 2023 Down Under. Oppenheimer's story also includes heading up Los Alamos Laboratory — and observing the Trinity Test, the first successful atomic bomb detonation in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Helping tell that tale is a characteristically stacked Nolan cast, including Matt Damon (The Last Duel), Robert Downey Jr (Dolittle), Florence Pugh (Black Widow), Josh Hartnett (Wrath of Man), Michael Angarano (Minx), Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza), Jack Quaid (The Boys), Rami Malek (No Time to Die) and Kenneth Branagh (Death on the Nile). Oh, and there's Dane DeHaan (The Staircase), Jason Clarke (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Olivia Thirlby (Y: The Last Man), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Matthew Modine (Stranger Things) as well. Check out the first teaser for Oppenheimer below: Oppenheimer will release in cinemas Down Under on July 20, 2023. Images: © 2022 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
You can now bring a bit of the beach into your home while passing the time in lockdown, with a new set of jigsaw puzzles featuring some of the city's most picturesque coastal spots. Similar to the immensely popular Australian Unseen puzzles, local photographer Dharma Bendersky and his gallery Salty Gallery have turned his stunning shots of Sydney beaches into 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles. There are currently six idyllic puzzles on offer from Salty Gallery, featuring Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Little Bay and Sydney Harbour. "I started selling puzzles last year as a way to share my photography in a new way and at a lower cost point," Bedersky says. "Last summer on a 40 degree-plus day I did a photoshoot from a helicopter, and ended up with some fantastic aerial shots of the eastern suburb beaches; so for this most recent puzzle collection I used a selection of these images." Each puzzle is $59, includes free shipping Australia-wide, can be delivered internationally, and are shipped in eco-friendly compostable bags. If you've worked your way through all six puzzles or you're a fan of concrete-covered bays, Bedersky plans to unveil more designs featuring Maroubra, Clovelly and other eastern suburb beaches later this year. You can also browse Salty Gallery photography collection online where you can purchase framed and unframed prints as well as beach towels. Salty Gallery jigsaw puzzles are available through the gallery's website.
Early in The Super Mario Bros Movie, pop culture's go-to red-capped plumber (Chris Pratt, Thor: Love and Thunder) sits down to dinner with his brother Luigi (Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and the rest of their family. Pasta is on offer for the Italian American brood, but it comes with something that the Nintendo favourite and gaming mainstay since 1981's first-ever Donkey Kong title quickly advises that he hates: mushrooms. Fans know that more fungi are in his future. In this animated take on the beloved character, his sibling, and their pals and adversaries, a trip to the Mushroom Kingdom is inevitable. And, while there, Mario will meet Toad — a pint-sized humanoid with a toadstool for a head, who is part of a whole race of such folks also called Toads. From the titular brothers through to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu), the fire-breathing Bowser (Jack Black, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood) and even big gorilla Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen, The Fabelmans), The Super Mario Bros Movie stacks together the bulk of the gaming franchise's best-known figures — and Toad is one of them. It also assembles an impressive voice cast to help bring its players to life, including Keegan-Michael Key as its main mushroom man. Here, the actor and sketch-comedy great's tones prove as elastic as his face and limbs long have, especially in iconic skit series Key & Peele. How do you voice a diminutive critter who is as perky as he is tiny? Someone who Key likens to a golden retriever? With ample energy, as The Super Mario Bros Movie's viewers hear. While fellow Key & Peele namesake Jordan Peele followed up that five-season 2012–15 show with a jump behind the lens, helming Get Out, Us and Nope — and earning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the former — Key has remained a constant on-screen. The pair also share Fargo, Keanu, Toy Story 4 and Wendell & Wild on their resumes, teaming up in front of the lens or through voice work on all four; however, Key's list of credits spans everything from Parks and Recreation and Schmigadoon! to The Predator and Dolemite Is My Name. He's broken out his vocal talents in Archer and Bob's Burgers, too, and in the photorealistic version of The Lion King as well. But signing on for The Super Mario Bros Movie couldn't have been an easier choice for the OG Donkey Kong aficionado. That instant enthusiasm comes through in a perky, peppy performance — a voice that's squeakier than viewers are used to from Key, but slides easily into a career that keeps bounding in every on-screen direction possible. During his Key & Peele days, he brought audiences President Obama's anger translator Luther, substitute teacher Mr Garvey and his creative pronunciations, a "Liam Neesons"-loving valet, one of the brilliant 'Aerobics Meltdown' sketch's fierce lycra-clad competitors and more. Of course he's been bouncing here, there and everywhere since. With The Super Mario Bros Movie now in cinemas, Concrete Playground chatted with Key about jumping at the part, finding his Toad voice, preparing for the part, drawing upon his improv background and what he looks for in a role. ON TURNING DONKEY KONG FANDOM INTO A SUPER MARIO BROS ROLE Do you need to be a Super Mario Bros fan to press start on being in one of the game's leaps to the screen? Bob Hoskins, who played the titular character in 1993's live-action movie, famously wasn't. But Key was — and instantly said yes to being involved in the second film bringing Mario and the game's characters to cinemas. "I was a fan of Super Mario, or Mario Bros in the beginning, from Donkey Kong. I was a big Donkey Kong fan way back in the day," Key advises. "So when they approached me and asked me to do Toad, I was like 'I'd be more than happy. I don't even need to see the script! I'm happy. I'm in. I'm your guy. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I'm your guy'." ON FINDING THE RIGHT VOICE FOR TOAD While Key sits among The Super Mario Bros Movie's well-known names, his vocal work stands out from Pratt, Day, Taylor-Joy, Black, Rogan and company. Listen to Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser and DK, viewers immediately recognise the actor behind them. That isn't the case with Toad and Key. "What I did is, I was impersonating a friend of mine and trying to get his vocal patterns and vocal rhythms. And I brought that to the table, and then the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic] and I both worked on the pitch, and trying to find where the right pitch would be — and if I could get the voice higher and higher, then higher and higher," Key notes. "And I finally got him some place up here [Key's voice gets higher], until we then got him even higher than that [Key's voice returns to its usual pitch]. Then, mostly the biggest trick was trying to figure out how to maintain that voice while I was in the booth — because sometimes you'd be in the booth for three-to-six hours, and you're trying to figure out how do you maintain that." "So I would just pretend I was — you know, I'm like: 'what would it be like if I was sucking on a helium balloon? How do I make my voice sound like that?'. And then I'm like: 'what else can I do? I don't know — wear tight pants? I'll wear tight pants!'. Anything to keep that voice at that high register." ON PREPARING FOR PLAYING A HUMANOID WITH A MUSHROOM FOR A HEAD The Super Mario Bros Movie starts in reality — animated reality, but in Brooklyn. Here, there aren't mushrooms as far as the eye can see, or coin blocks, or rainbow roads to race on Mario Kart-style. And there definitely aren't mushroom men like Toad. All it takes is a warp pipe to transport Mario and Luigi into the realm seen in Nintendo games for four decades now. That's where Toad comes in. Asked how you prepare for such a part — playing a toadstool-topped humanoid, specifically — Key is all about creativity and being upbeat (and one of humanity's favourite pets). "I think it's just making sure that you're sparking your imagination on any given day. Because what I did — I knew what Toad looked like, but I would just sometimes look at pictures of him and just go 'what am I getting from this picture? What am I getting about how I can portray this?'," he says. "There's something about him that's snappy and positive. He's also like a mushroom-man version of a golden retriever. I wanted him to have that kind of sensibility when I portrayed him." ON DRAWING UPON HIS SKETCH-COMEDY BACKGROUND In the sketch-comedy game, Key is a legend. Before Key & Peele, he spent six seasons on Mad TV, too, also often opposite Peele. And, prior to that, he's among the long list of comedy names to have come through improv troupe The Second City — as Peele also did, and Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Catherine O'Hara, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as well. That background came in handy with The Super Mario Bros Movie, including getting into character. "I did get to improvise. I got to improvise quite a bit. A lot of it ended up on the cutting-room floor, but I like to use the improvisation to get into the spirit of it more than anything else," Key explains. "Sometimes I would just improvise right before the line and then jump into the line, and that would give the line the feeling I wanted it to have, the sense and the spirit that I wanted it to have." "Sometimes, you can just use improvisation in that way and it still helps." [caption id="attachment_896345" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] ON WHAT HE LOOKS FOR IN A PART Key's time on-screen dates back a couple of decades, including a one-episode stint in ER in 2001, plus 00s roles in Role Models and Due Date. What appeals to him now, after Pitch Perfect 2, Tomorrowland, Win It All and The Disaster Artist as well, and also Friends From College, Veep, No Activity and Reboot? Movies and TV shows that stand out. "I look for something in the project that's a little different. Something that catches my eye is always going to be something that I've never seen before. So, if you take a project like Schmigadoon!, I go 'oh god, I've never seen anything like that — if they're interested in me doing that, I want to do that'," Key says. "And the same thing with Super Mario Bros. I figured it would make a lot of sense — I understand what the movie looked like in 1993, when they made the live-action one, but I'm like 'what would it look like if it were this animated movie with the technology that we have today to make animation?'. I thought 'this thing's going to look amazing'." "So I try to jump onboard things that have a little twist to them — some kind of fun, clever twist that makes them different than whatever your run-of-the-mill project might be." The Super Mario Bros Movie released in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, April 5. Read our full review.
To say that 2023 has been a chaotic year is a massive understatement. If you're hoping that 2024 will be calmer, cosier and more comforting, you're not alone. In fact, you've even got the Pantone Colour Institute for company. Before every new year hits, its colour experts pick a tone for the 12 months ahead. The latest selection: Peach Fuzz. Otherwise known as Pantone 13-1023, this hue between pink and orange is "compassionate and nurturing" according to the institute — and boasts "an all-embracing spirit [that] enriches mind, body and soul" as well. So, that's what's now meant to both set the trend for and sum up the year ahead, marking Pantone's 25th annual pick. The organisation is never short on words for its colours of the year, and has also dubbed 2024's tone as "a warm and cosy shade highlighting our desire for togetherness with others and the feeling of sanctuary this creates", "a fresh approach to a new softness" and "subtly sensual". Another way of putting it, as Pantone has: "a heartfelt peach hue bringing a feeling of tenderness, and communicating a message of caring and sharing, community and collaboration". "PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz brings belonging, inspires recalibration, and an opportunity for nurturing, conjuring up an air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel, and heal and to flourish from whether spending time with others or taking the time to enjoy a moment by ourselves," explains Pantone Colour Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman. "Drawing comfort from PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, we can find peace from within, impacting our wellbeing. An idea as much as a feeling, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz awakens our senses to the comforting presence of tactility and cocooned warmth." Expect to see all things Peach Fuzz popping up around the place throughout 2024 — in fashion and accessories, home decor, design and beauty, and more. The new shade takes over from 2023's Viva Magenta, 2022's Very Peri, and 2021's Ultimate Gray and vibrant yellow Illuminating before that. In 2020, Pantone went with Classic Blue, while 2019's colour was Living Coral, 2018's was Ultra Violet and 2017's was Greenery. To find out more about Peach Fuzz — and to check out all the previous Colours of the Year — head to the Pantone website.
Trade your cramped office cubical for the great outdoors at Australia's new summer camp designed specifically for grownups. Located in Aireys Inlet an hour and a half outside of Melbourne, Camp Kidinyou will give adult professionals the chance to get in touch with their inner child, with a weekend's worth of activities, games and more. Set to take place over the first weekend in December, the getaway is the brainchild of Florida-born life coach Dara Simkin, who was inspired by her own summer camp experiences as a child, as well as the recent popularity of adult camps in the US. "I feel like Australians understand the concept of what summer camp is from television shows and movies, but there was never that real experience as a kid," she says. "So I'm wanting to fill that gap." At $478 per head, the camp is pitched at professionals "looking to unplug from their business and go and do something different," explains Simkin. "You can always go to a bar, you can always go out to dinner with friends. I'm trying to create something that's really different and exciting. You're outside, you're meeting new people, and creating relationships over a weekend." Campers will take part in a wide range of activities, including arts and crafts, meditation, contemporary dance and '80s aerobics, as well as team sports including kickball, volleyball and relay races. "I think that a lot of us have missed out on playing fun, competitive sports in our adult life," says Simkin. "When's the last time you did an egg and spoon race?" "There's so much research now around play," Simkin continues. "It increases brain function, it increases creativity and focus. We're built to play. We're built to connect, and we're built to have those kinds of deeper relationships... it's just that something happens when we get older where we feel like play is a waste of time, or play is immature. But I think even as a business owner or as an employee, incorporating play into your work life or your social life adds so much more peace and balance and fun." Meals will also be included in the entry price — and before you start flashing back to the terrible food you ate on school camp, rest assured that the offerings at Camp Kidinyou will be of a much higher standard. Think all-you-can-eat wood-fired pizza, bakery breakfasts, coffee by Bonappuccino, and dinner catered by Melbourne BBQ joint Fancy Hank's. "When you arrive there's nothing to worry about," says Simkin. "You pay for your registration, and everything is included. You don't have to pull out your wallet once the whole weekend." Campers will even get to hunker down bunk beds, guaranteeing that quintessential camp experience. Just please… make sure you're on your best behaviour when the lights go out for the night. "I want to build a community around the camp," says Simkin, adding that she hopes to host "camp reunions" back in Melbourne. "Just because camp is over, that doesn't mean we can't go bowling together, or play kickball games in a park. Once you're a camper, you're a camper for life." Camp Kidinyou runs from December 2-4 at Angahook Camp in Aireys Inlet. For more information and to book your place visit www.campkidinyou.com.
Something delightful is happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are starting to reopen — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney and Brisbane (and, until the newly reinstated stay-at-home orders, Melbourne as well). During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made over the past three months, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr4PW3coyhM&feature=emb_logo BLACK WATER: ABYSS It's a small detail, but a noticeable one: when Black Water: Abyss starts with a prelude that leaves two tourists (Louis Toshio Okada and Rumi Kikuchi) to the mercy of a snapping source of horror, it tells the audience that it's set in 'northern Australia'. That kind of description may be broadly accurate, and also intended with international audiences in mind (aka folks who mightn't have heard of Queensland or the Northern Territory), but it's also oh-so generic. Unsurprisingly, that's not the only by-the-numbers element of this 13-years-later sequel to Andrew Traucki's 2007 killer croc flick Black Water — even with the established creature feature director (see also: The Reef and The Jungle) returning for another bite of both the franchise and the subgenre. Alas, that screenwriters John Ridley and Sarah Smith have a hefty list of episodic TV credits to their names (including Stingers, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Sea Patrol, McLeod's Daughters, Rescue Special Ops, Wanted, Neighbours and Wentworth) definitely shows. After that scene-setting opening, another five people venture into the path of the film's ravenous reptile. This time around, the sharp-toothed critter dwells in a cave system rather than an outback swamp, hence the Abyss part of the movie's moniker. Teaming up with local Cash (Anthony J Sharpe), the adventurous Eric (Luke Mitchell) and Yolanda (Amali Golden) are eager to descend into the underground depths; however their respective partners Jennifer (Jessica McNamee) and Viktor (Benjamin Hoetjes) aren't as excited. Naturally, even before this immensely disposable and predictable flick unleashes its splashing beastie, the audience knows that the former should've listened to the latter. While one-note backstories involving cancer, pregnancy and infidelity are introduced to try to ramp up the non-croc drama, Black Water: Abyss really only cares about letting a crocodile in a cave do exactly what a crocodile in a cave is going to do. Traucki is a fine director of horror-themed, animal-based action and suspense, and the movie's effectively tense creature scenes are by far its best — crocs are innately terrifying, after all — but this film still remains content to tread water in an already busy genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_u4YDiGH3k DEERSKIN How far would you go for the perfect piece of clothing? And can one ideal fashion item completely change your life? They're two completely relatable questions that Oscar-winning The Artist star Jean Dujardin faces in Deerskin, after his character Georges — an aspiring filmmaker — takes a strong liking to a fringed deerskin jacket that he just can't live without. And, we mean strong. Obsessed, fanatical and passionate, even. In the way that anyone can, but that vain, middle-aged, just-divorced men are stereotypically known to, Georges is certain that this one luxurious object is perfect for him. It doesn't matter that said coat costs nearly €8000, a price tag that most would stumble over. Similarly irrelevant: that the jacket looks just a tad too small while he's wearing it. Instead, how it makes Georges feel is far more important than any logical drawbacks — to him, at least. Also pivotal is the fact that it catches the attention of a small-town barmaid (Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Àdele Haenel). The latest film by the inimitable Quentin Dupieux (also known, in his electronic music guise, as Mr Oizo), Deerskin is the writer/director's latest movie to fixate on an inanimate object. If you saw the French filmmaker's 2010 cult hit Rubber, then you'll know just what kind of weirdness, ridiculousness and just all-round offbeat antics you're in for. That said, a few things particularly stand out in this, which might be his most accessible film. The deadpan performances, including from a fantastic Dujardin, are a delight. The commentary about consumerism and male egos proves as funny as it is astute — and even though it's also rather obvious, it's always entertaining. Indeed, the fact that the movie well and truly knows that it's stretching a thin basic idea to an absurdist extent means that everything is a joke, and the film is all the better for it. And then there's the visual symbolism and the editing, which both follow their own rhythm as much as anything Dupieux has ever made. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EWLgk9kyg&feature=emb_logo WE'LL END UP TOGETHER In We'll End Up Together's best section, a group of mostly forty-something French friends go dancing at a nightclub in Cap Ferret on the Atlantic coast. They drink, naturally. They let loose verbally and physically. Worries are shed, if only for one night; strained friendships are repaired, even if cracks will resurface the next day; and long-held and -denied feelings bob up again and again. With neon lights flashing, a retro pop soundtrack thumping, and stars Marion Cotillard and Pascal Arbillot both proving lively and dynamic, the scenes provide a loose, energetic yet still emotion-riddled and thoughtful portrait of this posse of pals. Watching it, it's easy to see why actor-turned-filmmaker Guillaume Canet wanted to return to the group — the same characters and actors, with an addition here and an absence there, who also sat at the centre of his The Big Chill-style hit 2010 drama Little White Lies. Time has passed on-screen as well as off-, of course, with this glossily shot sequel exploring how the years have taken their toll on the gang and their relationships with each other. Restaurateur Max (François Cluzet) hasn't really heard from everyone else after both a falling out and the end of his marriage, so he's surprised when they all turn up as his sprawling holiday home for his 60th birthday — and his shock sets an awkward tone that takes time to overcome. In a screenplay that is rather fond of both mid-life cliches and tension-sparking theatrics, narrative developments keep piling up as the group (which also includes folks played by Gilles Lellouche, Laurent Lafitte, Benoit Magimel and Clementine Beart) while away sunny but not summery days drinking wine, interrogating their bonds, sifting through their troubles and reminiscing by the sea. Indeed, Canet and his co-screenwriter Rodolphe Lauga go too heavy on plot twists, especially in the movie's second half. They also lean firmly into its characters' visibly privileged lives, which, while filled with problems, still scream of a certain level of comfort. But when We'll End Up Together lets its cast bounce off each other and flesh out its characters in the process, it's a far more palatable affair. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas, check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23 and July 30 — and our full reviews of The Personal History of David Copperfield, Waves, The King of Staten Island and Babyteeth.
An insidious approach to work/life balance. The making of a villain. Hollywood satirising Hollywood. Vacation chaos. Traumatic teens. In the past year, all of the above has graced the small screen in stunning fashion. Each of these series — Severance, The Penguin, The Studio, The White Lotus and Adolescence, that is — is excellent, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences agrees. Among 2025's just-dropped Emmy nominations, they've all picked up a swag of nods, making them top contenders. Rebellion in a galaxy far, far away. Trying to survive in dystopian times. Chasing comedy dreams. Kitchen stress. Hospital heartbreak. True crime. Tech nightmares. The Emmys has also shown the love for Andor, The Last of Us, Hacks, The Bear, The Pitt, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Black Mirror, too. Which of the above multi-nominees will collect shiny trophies will be revealed on Monday, September 15, Australian and New Zealand time. Severance season two leads the pack with a huge 27 nods, followed by The Penguin with 24. With its 23 mentions, The Studio matched The Bear's record from 2024 for the most amount of nominations by a comedy in a single year. That's the same number of nods that the third season of The White Lotus picked up, while season two of The Last of Us nabbed 16. Andor and Hacks both scored 14. Adolescence, The Bear and The Pitt each collected 13. Rounding out the shows with double-digit hauls, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was nominated 11 times and Black Mirror ten. That's 2025's Emmy contenders by the numbers. Dying for Sex's nine nominations, plus Only Murders in the Building and Shrinking's seven apiece, are also hefty achievements. Even just from the shows notching up sizeable nods, it's clear that this year's batch is fond of both returning favourites and newcomers. Also getting some love in the first category: The Diplomat, Slow Horses, Abbott Elementary, What We Do in the Shadows, Bad Sisters and Somebody Somewhere. And in the second, Paradise, Nobody Wants This, Presumed Innocent, Dope Thief, Disclaimer, Sirens, The Four Seasons and The Residence are all represented. Although plenty of shows earned the Emmys' attention across the board, the same series pop up again and again in the acting fields. It seems like almost every The White Lotus cast member grabbed a nod, for instance, and the same for everyone who starred or even just popped up on The Studio. Filmmakers Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) are now Emmy-nominated actors for the latter, for instance. Cate Blanchett is flying the flag for Down Under talent in the acting categories thanks to Disclaimer, with Australian Babyteeth director Shannon Murphy also recognised for helming episodes of Dying for Sex. And if you're after a few records, Matlock's Kathy Bates is the oldest Best Actress in a Drama nominee ever, Harrison Ford has finally collected his first Emmy nod at the age of 83 for Shrinking, The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey is the only non-binary talent to be nominated twice, Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang has become the most-nominated Asian male performer and Adolescence's Owen Cooper is the youngest-ever contender in his Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie field. Here's a rundown of the nominations in the major categories: Emmy Nominees 2025 Outstanding Drama Series Andor The Diplomat The Last of Us Paradise The Pitt Severance Slow Horses The White Lotus Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott Elementary The Bear Hacks Nobody Wants This Only Murders in the Building Shrinking The Studio What We Do in the Shadows Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Adolescence Black Mirror Dying for Sex Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story The Penguin Outstanding Television Movie Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy The Gorge Mountainhead Nonnas Rebel Ridge Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K Brown, Paradise Gary Oldman, Slow Horses Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us Adam Scott, Severance Noah Wyle, The Pitt Lead Actress in a Drama Series Kathy Bates, Matlock Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters Britt Lower, Severance Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us Keri Russell, The Diplomat Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This Seth Rogen, The Studio Jason Segel, Shrinking Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building Jeremy Allen White, The Bear Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Uzo Aduba, The Residence Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary Ayo Edebiri, The Bear Jean Smart, Hacks Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Colin Farrell, The Penguin Stephen Graham, Adolescence Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer Meghann Fahy, Sirens Rashida Jones, Black Mirror Cristin Milioti, The Penguin Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Zach Cherry, Severance Walton Goggins, The White Lotus Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus James Marsden, Paradise Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus Tramell Tillman, Severance John Turturro, Severance Supporting Actress in a Actor in a Drama Series Patricia Arquette, Severance Carrie Coon, The White Lotus Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt Julianne Nicholson, Paradise Parker Posey, The White Lotus Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Ike Barinholtz, The Studio Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons Harrison Ford, Shrinking Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear Michael Urie, Shrinking Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live Supporting Actress in a Actor in a Comedy Series Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear Hannah Einbinder, Hacks Kathryn Hahn, The Studio Janelle James, Abbott Elementary Catherine O'Hara, The Studio Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary Jessica Williams, Shrinking Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Bill Camp, Presumed Innocent Owen Cooper, Adolescence Rob Delaney, Dying for Sex Peter Sarsgaard, Presumed Innocent Ashley Walters, Adolescence Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Erin Doherty, Adolescence Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent Deirdre O'Connell, The Penguin Chloë Sevigny, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex Christine Tremarco, Adolescence Guest Actor in a Drama Series Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys Scott Glenn, The White Lotus Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt Joe Pantoliano, The Last of Us Forest Whitaker, Andor Jeffrey Wright, The Last of Us Guest Actress in a Drama Series Jane Alexander, Severance Gwendoline Christie, Severance Kaitlyn Dever, The Last of Us Cherry Jones, The Handmaid's Tale Catherine O'Hara, The Last of Us Merritt Wever, Severance Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Jon Bernthal, The Bear Bryan Cranston, The Studio Dave Franco, The Studio Ron Howard, The Studio Anthony Mackie, The Studio Martin Scorsese, The Studio Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Olivia Colman, The Bear Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear Cynthia Erivo, Poker Face Robby Hoffman, Hacks Zoë Kravitz, The Studio Julianne Nicholson, Hacks Writing for a Drama Series Dan Gilroy, Andor Joe Sachs, The Pitt R Scott Gemmill, The Pitt Dan Erickson, Severance Will Smith, Slow Horses Mike White, The White Lotus Writing for a Comedy Series Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky, Hacks Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola, The Rehearsal Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez, The Studio Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms, What We Do in the Shadows Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence Charlie Brooker and Bisha K Ali, Black Mirror Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether, Dying for Sex Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin Joshua Zetumer, Say Nothing Directing for a Drama Series Janus Metz, Andor Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt John Wells, The Pitt Jessica Lee Gagné, Severance Ben Stiller, Severance Adam Randall, Slow Horses Mike White, The White Lotus Directing for a Comedy Series Ayo Edebiri, The Bear Lucia Aniello, Hacks James Burrows, Mid-Century Modern Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal Seth Rogen, The Studio Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Philip Barantini, Adolescence Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex Helen Shaver, The Penguin Jennifer Getzinger, The Penguin Nicole Kassell, Sirens Lesli Linka Glatter, Zero Day The 2025 Emmy Awards take place on Monday, September 15, Australian time. For further details, head to the Emmys' website.
If it's a feast of weird, wild and wonderful movies that you're after, then one Australian film festival has been delivering for 16 years now: the Sydney Underground Film Festival. Dedicated to strange and surreal cinema, it screens the kinds of flicks that don't usually turn up at your local multiplex — although, this year, the event itself is making the move to one such venue. 2022 marks a huge milestone for SUFF in two ways. Firstly, it's the fest's return to a physical event for the first time since 2019, thanks to a couple of pandemic-affected years. Secondly, SUFF is shifting to a new location. Accordingly, come Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 11, Sydneysiders will want to flock to Event Cinemas George Street to watch everything from hilarious Pete Davidson-featuring horror satires through to the latest and greatest genre shorts. And if you're not in Sydney, the fest's online program will return from Monday, September 12–Sunday, September 25 as well. For those keen on an in-person experience, I Love My Dad will open the fest, telling a tale about an estranged father (played by Patton Oswalt, Gaslit) who catfishes his own son in an effort to reconnect. From there, highlights include new releases by a few mighty impressive filmmakers: closing night's Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, the latest from A Girl Walks Home at Night's Ana Lily Amirpour, and Something in the Dirt, by The Endless and Synchronic's Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. And, of course, there's the aforementioned Bodies Bodies Bodies — which not only features The King of Staten Island's Davidson, but also Dear Evan Hansen's Amandla Stenberg and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Oscar-nominee Maria Bakalova. They star in a film that turns a party game into a slasher onslaught, and tears into not only its characters, but Gen Z and today's always-online world. Also on the in-cinema bill: Dual, the Aaron Paul (Westworld) and Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame)-starring new deadpan comedy by The Art of Self-Defense's Riley Stearns; On the Count of Three, Jerrod Carmichael's (Rothaniel) feature film debut as a director; and documentary I Get Knocked Down, about Chumbawamba singer Dunstan Bruce. Or, you can see the world premiere of horror flick Pig Killer, which is inspired by a true story; catch Norway's Sick of Myself, which also screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival; and check out a charity screening of Rhino by Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov. For those watching at home around the country, SUFF's online program includes queer Canadian drama Compulsus, horror/sci-fi film LandLocked, and an impressive range of documentaries — such as F@k This Job, about Russian TV channel Dozhd and its founder Natasha Sindeeva; Girl Gang, which follows a 14-year-old London influencer; the self-explanatory Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC; Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters, about the Hellboy creator; and Circus of the Scars, about sideshow performers. Plus, SUFF's dedication to the most out-there shorts the fest can compile will also hit screens in-person at Event Cinemas George Street and via the virtual lineup. Sydney Underground Film Festival will screen at Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney, from Thursday, September 8–Sunday, September 11, then head online from Monday, September 12–Sunday, September 25. For further information, or to buy tickets, head to SUFF's website.
Christmas lunch is arguably the most important meal of the year. Get it right, with a beautiful ham as the centrepiece, and it is almost guaranteed that the day will run smoothly, ending with everyone in food comas whilst watching Miracle on 34th Street. Get it wrong, though, and it is likely that you will have a host of cranky family members ready to divulge some vindictive secrets and burn down the Christmas tree. Ensure that this year's festivities populate the family albums for all the right reasons by purchasing a Christmas ham of the highest quality from Victor Churchill and marinading it in the ham glaze you'll get as a gift when paying with your MasterCard® card. Victor Churchill's Christmas ham legs range from $95 for a half leg to $185 for a full leg. The delicious deal with complimentary glaze is all thanks to MasterCard's Priceless Sydney program and should be taken advantage of given the cut the butcher is using this season. Their Kurobuta Christmas hams are some of the most delicious and succulent cuts ever tasted, combining the very best European haute cuisine and Aussie character. So if you want to be the toast of the family and make this Christmas one to remember, head down to 132 Queen Street, Woollahra and order your Victor Churchill ham as soon as possible. This offer is strictly subject to availability while stocks last, so pay now and save Christmas Eve for that last-minute gift shopping instead. Visit the Priceless Sydney website to see more locally famous offers.
American artist Nina Katchadourian has what could aptly be described as a bit of a book fetish. Having spent the last 20 years trawling through libraries and personal collections across the globe in search of books that she can organise into meaningful stacks of "spine poetry", it seems fair to describe the artist as a fully fledged bibliophile. The Sorted Books project has been a labour of love for Katchadourian, who has now amassed over 130 stacks of books, displaying them as either the physical cluster or as photographs. The resulting poetry is at times quirky, sometimes thought-provoking, often laugh-out-loud funny and even touchingly poignant. For the artist the hope was that each stack would represent the unique character of the collections they were drawn from. Katchadourian writes that "the clusters from each sorting aim to examine that particular library's focus, idiosyncrasies, and inconsistencies — a cross-section of that library's holdings." Beyond this, it is the inspiration Katachadourian gains from the books she finds that has meant this project remains ongoing and unfinished, whether this be the aesthetic beauty of the covers, the highly tactile nature of well-loved literature or simply an enduring passion for the written word. Have a look at some of our favourite clusters below or head to Amazon to get your hands on your own photograph.
From moving road trip dramas and joyous concert documentaries to passionate anthologies and wondrous animation, plenty of excellent films reached screens large and small throughout 2020. Indeed, the past 12 months were filled with cinematic delights — even when we've been watching them at home while movie theatres were closed — but, sadly, they can't all be great. Each year delivers its fair share of exceptional and awful movies, of course. And, both the best and the worst of the bunch can all score awards. The Oscars and the Golden Globes rank among the accolades that recognise the former, while the Golden Raspberries devotes its attention to the other end of the spectrum. After announcing its nominees from the past year's films last month, the Razzies has just revealed its latest batch of winners. Leading the pack from the 41st Razzie Award recipients is the terrible Sia-directed Music, which picked up three of the four categories it was nominated for: Worst Director (for Sia), Worst Actress (for Kate Hudson) and Worst Supporting Actress (for Maddie Ziegler). It didn't take out the Worst Picture field, though, with that gong going to Absolute Proof. Peddling conspiracy theories about the 2020 US election, it also picked up the Worst Actor award for Mike Lindell as himself. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm similarly picked up two awards. Also linked to the election, it deserves its nods in a different way. The film is smart, funny and savage, and definitely not awful, but scored dual wins for Rudy Giuliani (for Worst Supporting Actor, and for Worst Screen Combo with his pants zipper). Although Polish erotic drama 365 Days nabbed six nods and became the awards' first-ever contender in a language other than English, it only won one, for Worst Screenplay. Dolittle, the Robert Downey Jr-starring remake that hit cinemas before the pandemic, also only received one award from its six nominations, emerging victorious in the Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel category. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEf412bSPLs Reflecting the past year's general chaos, the Razzies also handed out a special trophy to the 2020 overall, naming it 'the worst calendar year ever'. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below: GOLDEN RASPBERRY NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2020: WORST PICTURE 365 Days Absolute Proof Dolittle Fantasy Island Music WORST ACTOR Robert Downey Jr, Dolittle Mike Lindell, Absolute Proof Michele Morrone, 365 Days Adam Sandler, Hubie Halloween David Spade, The Wrong Missy WORST ACTRESS Anne Hathaway, The Last Thing He Wanted and The Witches Katie Holmes, Brahms: The Boy II and The Secret: Dare to Dream Kate Hudson, Music Lauren Lapkus, The Wrong Missy Anna-Maria Sieklucka, 365 Days WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR Chevy Chase, The Very Excellent Mr Dundee Rudy Giuliani, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Shia LeBeouf, The Tax Collector Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iron Mask Bruce Willis, Breach, Hard Kill and Survive the Night WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy Lucy Hale, Fantasy Island Maggie Q, Fantasy Island Kristen Wiig, Wonder Woman 1984 Maddie Ziegler, Music WORST SCREEN COMBO Robert Downey Jr and his utterly unconvincing Welsh accent, Dolittle Harrison Ford and that totally fake-looking CGI dog, Call of the Wild Rudy Giuliani and his pants zipper, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Lauren Lapkus and David Spade, The Wrong Missy Adam Sandler and his grating simpleton voice, Hubie Halloween WORST DIRECTOR Charles Band, All three Barbie and Kendra movies Barbara Bialowas and Tomasz Mandes, 365 Days Stephen Gaghan, Dolittle Ron Howard, Hillbilly Elegy Sia, Music WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL 365 Days Dolittle Fantasy Island Hubie Halloween Wonder Woman 1984 WORST SCREENPLAY 365 Days All three Barbie and Kendra movies Dolittle Fantasy Island Hillbilly Elegy
Extended non-stop flights that almost take an entire day. Airlines specifically for arts, snow sports and craft beer. One brand that specifically focuses on millennial passengers. Planes free of single-use plastic. Air travel is an ever-changing realm, but the industry's latest development might just be its most curious — although it relates to a matter that everyone has an opinion on. The subject of countless stand-up routines, a topic of conversation any time flights come up and a part of the journey plenty of folks dread, airline food is hardly anyone's favourite meal. But United Airlines is testing that idea by releasing its own cookbook inspired by the dishes that it serves up in the air. With coconut soup with sambal oelek chicken just one of the 40 meals featured, the carrier hasn't published a collection of recipes dedicated to economy fare. Rather, the United Polaris Cookbook is based on its business and first-class offerings. The cookbook has been created in collaboration with the airline's executive chefs, as well as those from the Trotter Project — a non-profit organisation started by chef Charlie Trotter to provide opportunities to wannabe culinary stars who mightn't have the means to pursue cooking as a career otherwise. For those eager to fly high in the kitchen, the cookbook is on sale now for US$29.99. Whether the end results really do taste like airline food or something much more gourmet, whipping a few dishes up yourself is certainly cheaper than a business-class ticket.
Love pastries? Work, live or otherwise spend your daylight hours in the Brisbane CBD? As obsessed with Lune Croissanterie as every other croissant fiend is? Then, much to the delight of your tastebuds, the day you've been waiting for has arrived. Mid-morning baked-goods cravings will no longer require a trip across the river, with Lune opening its second Brissie location in Burnett Lane. Back in June, it was revealed that the bakery was planning to double its Brisbane footprint this winter — and today, Friday, August 12, that dream has become a reality. The new store comes a year after the brand launch its first Brissie store in South Brisbane back in August 2021, which marked its first-ever outpost beyond its Melbourne base. The Burnett Lane spot is Lune's second location beyond Melbourne, too, with Brisbane scoring two shops before Sydney even gets one. On the menu from 7.30am on weekdays and 8am on weekends: all those baked goods that Lune fans know and love — traditional French croissants which take three days to prepare, of course, as well as everything from lemon curd cruffins and morning buns to its rotating range of monthly specials. The laneway shop is a satellite store, mirroring the brand's two-location setup down south. Indeed, if you've been to Lune's Melbourne CBD venue, you'll know how the Brisbane setup will run. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lune Croissanterie (@lunecroissant) Pastry production isn't part of the Burnett Lane outpost, with Lune's wares made raw back over on Manning Street, then brought over to the city via refrigerated van. Then, they're proven overnight onsite in the CBD, and baked fresh throughout the day. If you're yet to experience the chain's wares and you're still wondering why everyone is always talking about them, Lune's croissants have been described as "the finest you will find anywhere in the world" by The New York Times. Plus, founder Kate Reid is an ex-Formula 1 aerodynamicist, and brings scientific precision to her craft. That includes the climate-controlled glass cube that Lune croissants are made and baked in, and the time-consuming process used to perfect each flaky pastry. Accordingly, expect Burnett Lane to be filled with pastry lovers from now on. Wherever it sets up shop, lining up for baked goods is always a regular part of the Lune experience. [caption id="attachment_697085" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marcie Raw[/caption] It has been a big decade for the brand, which Reid co-owns Lune with her brother Cameron and restaurateur Nathan Toleman (Dessous, Hazel, Common Ground Project). The company's journey started back in 2012 with a tiny store in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood. Since then, Lune has grown into a converted warehouse space in Fitzroy (with those perpetual lines out the front), opened a second store in the Melbourne CBD, earned praise aplenty — including that aforementioned rave from The New York Times — and now branched out to Brissie. And, the Lune crew opened its first wine bar in July, too — also in Brisbane, over in Manning Street in South Brisbane next to its OG Brissie croissanterie. Find Lune Croissanterie CBD in Burnett Lane, Brisbane, from 7.30am on Friday, August 12 — open from 7.30am–3pm or until sold out Monday–Friday, and 8am–3pm or until sold out Saturday–Sunday. Images: Marcie Raw.
This is not your average boat cruise. Chefs on the Harbour: The Vivid Edition is altogether more unique and luxe than anything else out there. For this year's Vivid Sydney festival, a series of famous chefs will take turns running an opulent superyacht's kitchen, serving up unique culinary creations as they cruise around the iconic Sydney Harbour. Local food lovers are all invited to join the five-course degustation dinners aboard The Jackson. The events are each on a Saturday night. Take to the waters on May 27, June 3, June 10 or June 17 to try one of these totally unique dining experiences. Each evening sees a different chef run the pass, with Nelly Robinson, Khanh Ong and Mark Olive already locked in. The final chef to round out this star-studded lineup will be announced soon, too. Keep an eye on The Jackson website for announcements. Nelly Robinson is known for his avant-garde and often kooky degustation menus — prepare for unbridled creativity on his night. Khanh Ong is loved for his infectiously upbeat personality and contemporary Asian cooking. Ong's menu will celebrate family feels and vibrant Vietnamese flavours. And Mark Olive — also known as the Black Olive — is a famous Aboriginal Australian chef who champions native ingredients. Olive will excite tastebuds and educate diners with his own five-course degustation, explaining the nutritional and medicinal properties found in many of these culturally significant native Australian ingredients. Tickets cost $399 per person and include a 3.5-hour beverage package featuring a Belvedere cocktail upon arrival, Tyrell's wines, Young Henrys beer and a heap of non-alcoholic options. But Chefs on the Harbour: The Vivid Edition isn't only about spectacular food, drinks and views. As it is a part of Vivid Sydney, The Jackson crew has joint forces with Fernando Barraza, the Creative Director of Cirkus Bizurkus, to take it all to the next level. Prepare for light shows, art installations, roaming entertainers, red carpet violinists and so much more. If you love fine food, experiential art experiences and fabulous views, you best consider adding Chefs on the Harbour: The Vivid Edition to your list of must-book Vivid Sydney events. Head to The Jackson's website to purchase tickets to Chefs on the Harbour: The Vivid Edition before they sell out.
Smartwatch manufacturers Pebble have busted Kickstarter’s crowdfunding records, raising more than US$2 million in less than an hour. How did they raise so much so quickly? Ten thousands of 'early bird' donors each contributed US$159 in return for first dibs on the new Pebble Time watch, helping the company reach their target of US$500 000 in just 17 minutes. The figure currently sits at over US$7 million, which sort of begs the question: just how good can this thing possibly be? What's making so many buyers jump on board? First of all, it's not the first release. Pebble Time is the third generation Pebble watch. Upgrades from the second gen Pebble Steel include a colour screen and an inbuilt microphone, as well as perhaps most enticingly, a seven day battery life, significantly longer than competing Android Ware devices or the upcoming Apple Watch. Unlike those devices, however, the Pebble Time doesn’t have a touch screen, and is instead operated by three buttons on the right hand side of its display. On the flipside, it’s one of only a handful of smartwatches that is compatible with both iPhones and Androids — so Pebble doubles the buyer market. The Pebble store also currently boasts more than 6500 third-party apps, from timers and alarms to a Domino’s takeaway pizza tracker (although tragically, that one’s only available in the US). The success of the Kickstarter campaign can also be attributed to the discount offered to donors. Although the early bird option has already expired, a US$179 pledge now is still US$20 less than the recommended retail price of US$199, which you can expect to pay in stores when the watch becomes available in May. Lastly, Pebble have been here before. The company experienced similar crowdfunding success in 2012, when it burst onto the scene with a Kickstarter campaign that made a whopping US$10.3 million. At the end of the day, they're no spring chickens to a splash like this. Via The Guardian.
Already one of the most scenic areas in Australia, the Whitsundays are about to give visitors something else to look at — an installation of underwater and inter-tidal art. As part of the Whitsundays Reef Recovery and Public Art Project, six artists will create six artworks that'll sit beneath the sea, with tourists and locals able to snorkel and dive around them from the end of 2019. Selected from 73 expressions of interest, Brian Robinson, Adriaan Vanderlugt and Col Henry will create their pieces individually, while Caitlin Reilly, Jessa Lloyd and Kate Ford, from the Arts Based Collective, will work together. And although everyone will have to wait a year to enjoy the underwater creations at Langford Reef, some of the artworks will be designed with a dual purpose. As Lloyd explains, Arts Based Collective's contribution — called Anthozoa — "not only performs aesthetically in its sculptural form, but importantly doubles as a site for reef restoration. As the underwater form matures, visitors snorkelling and diving the site will see a sculpture festooned with a myriad of coral species, tentacles encrusted with soft and hard corals, marine animals sheltering in and peeking from small holes." Other pieces include a turtle, manta rays, Maori wrasse, coral polyp and an indigenous sculpture, 'Bwya', that contains 12 local species of fish and sharks. Made out of concrete, stainless steel and aluminium, they'll be placed in spots accessible to snorkelers and scuba divers. Although they'll vary in size, the largest sculpture will span six metres in length. The announcement follows a trial that began at the beginning of August, marking the first sculptures to ever be placed in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Local artist Vanderlugt earned those honours, with four of his sculptures placed near Langford Reef — including a fish, a nudibranch (aka a type of mollusc) and a crab that ranged up to 1.8 metres long, and weighed around 300 kilograms. Other than celebrating creativity, the Whitsundays Reef Recovery and Public Art Project aims give the region a new attraction, unsurprisingly. "This artwork will provide a new experience for people travelling to the Whitsundays and will help the marine tourism industry recover after Cyclone Debbie," said Queensland Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones in a statement earlier this year. "Around the world — from the Caribbean, to the Maldives, Spain, Bali and Australia's west coast — underwater art has been used to lure visitors." Images: Tourism Whitsundays / Lauren Vadnjal.
Grab your bowling ball and swap your bathrobe for your best purple outfit — The Jesus Rolls, the two-decades-later sequel to the Coen Brothers' 1998 cult comedy The Big Lebowski, is due to hit the big screen in 2020. Instead of abiding by The Dude (Jeff Bridges), this follow-up spends time with John Turturro's Jesus Quintana, whose love of flinging gleaming balls down lanes means that he obviously isn't a golfer. Of course, if you still want to pour a white russian to celebrate this return excursion to the Lebowski universe, that's both understandable and warranted. Turturro not only stars, but writes and directs The Jesus Rolls, which was actually filmed back in 2016. Cast-wise, he's joined by a heap of familiar faces, including Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson. The movie will be released in the US early next year just in time for The Big Lebowski's 22nd anniversary — and while plans Down Under haven't yet been revealed, start crossing your fingers. As well as following Quintana's exploits post-Big Lebowski, The Jesus Rolls will also act as a remake of 1974 French film Going Places. As per the official synopsis reported by IndieWire, the picture will chart: "a trio of misfits [Turturro, Cannavale and Tautou] whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story as their spontaneous and flippant attitude towards the past or future backfires time and again, even as they inadvertently perform good deeds. When they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser, their journey becomes one of constant escape from the law, from society and from the hairdresser, all while the bonds of their outsider family strengthen." The Jesus Rolls doesn't have a teaser just yet, but there's never a bad time to revisit its predecessor's trailer, should you need a reminder of Quintana's initial big-screen antics. If you're keen to watch the The Big Lebowski in its entirety, it's currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd-go0oBF4Y The Jesus Rolls hits US cinemas at a yet-to-be-revealed date in early 2020. We'll update you with local release details when they come to hand. Via Deadline / IndieWire.
While introducing The Rover at the Sydney Film Festival, just a few days ahead of its wider theatrical release, writer-director David Michôd said he finally understood the concept of "second album syndrome". Born in Sydney, Michôd shot to international prominence in 2010 with the release of his debut feature Animal Kingdom — the gripping, nihilistic crime drama that scored Jackie Weaver an Oscar nomination and left critics wondering what this striking new Australian talent would tackle next. "The first that became apparent to me after Animal Kingdom played at Sundance in 2010 was that I had about a million more opportunities available to me than I'd had before," Michôd tells Concrete Playground the day after the festival screening. "I spent a couple of years doing a lot of meetings, reading a lot of scripts and looking at a number of different ways of putting movies together. And then I ended coming back to The Rover." AN ELEMENTAL FABLE "There was a very early skeleton that Joel Edgerton and I worked on in about 2007," Michôd explains. "At the time, we thought it would be a movie for Joel's brother Nash to direct. It was an action movie in the desert. But I was also very aware as I was writing it that it was full of stuff that was more me than Nash." "When I revisited the screenplay after Animal Kingdom, I went in and stripped out a lot of the action, and made solid that dark, elemental fable that I had always wanted the movie to be," Michôd remembers. "I really loved the idea of making a movie that was working in a tonal world that was similar to the menace and the brood of Animal Kingdom, and yet would be very different on a formal level." The result is a bleak, minimally plotted thriller set in a barren future Australia, a decade after Western society's collapse. "I hadn't ever really been out to the desert in Australia before," says Michôd of the film's setting. "I loved being out there. I loved the strange stillness of it. I loved the feeling of being in a place that, if left to my own devices, would swallow me whole." VOICES IN YOUR HEAD At the centre of The Rover are actors Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, playing unlikely allies in Michôd's grim, lawless world. After working together on Animal Kingdom, Michôd wrote Pearce's role specifically for him. "I like to write with actors voices in my head, and I certainly wrote The Rover with Guy's voice in my head," the writer-director says. Pattinson's character, on the other hand, he describes more as "a blank canvas". "For one reason or another, I didn't have a particular actor in my head as I was writing it, and so then I got to go through that exhilarating process of seeing people bring it to life [in auditions]… Rob was the person who came in with a version of the character that was beautifully in tune with what I had always imagined. It was instantly clear to me that he was a really good actor, but it was also clear that he had a really beautiful understanding of the character's vulnerabilities and aspirations." "It's always nerve-wracking when you're casting," Michôd continues, "because this is where the movie lives and dies. It's kind of a cliché to say that 80 percent of a director's work is in casting, but it's kind of true. If you cast the movie wrong, it can be very difficult to salvage." A BRUTAL SORT OF LOVE When asked what it is that draws him to such bleak and brutal stories, Michôd takes a moment to pause. "For some reason," he says, "I really enjoy the feeling of creating moments that feel menacing and beautiful and sad. There's something about that on a basic human emotional level that is very powerful for me. "Having said that", he continues, "I think that Animal Kingdom is a way bleaker movie than this one. Because Animal Kingdom is about, at its core, a young man discovering that there is nothing other than self-interest. That sort of weird little world you're left with at the very end of Animal Kingdom is a completely loveless world. And it's one that I would never particularly want to revisit. I wouldn't even necessarily want to know what happens to those characters, because they'll probably just continue to eat themselves alive." "Whereas to me, The Rover starts in a really brutal and inhospitable place, but at its core is about how even in those circumstances, people still have a basic need to form intimate human connections with other people. To the extent that, as weird as it sounds, The Rover, to me, is a movie about love." The Rover is in cinemas now. Read our review here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChM2icbWo9w
In the late 70s, when Texas housewife, mother of two and popular church choir singer Candy Montgomery had an affair with fellow congregation member Allan Gore, commenting about her being a scarlet woman only had one meaning. If anyone other than Elizabeth Olsen was stepping into her shoes in HBO miniseries Love & Death — which streams via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 27 and Neon in New Zealand from Friday, April 28 — it would've remained that way, too; indeed, Jessica Biel just gave the IRL figure an on-screen portrayal in 2022 series Candy. Of course, Olsen is widely known for playing the Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as seen in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness most recently. So, mention 'scarlet' in a line of dialogue around her, and it calls attention to how far she is away from casting spells and breaking out superhero skills. And she is, although she's also again playing a woman succumbing to her darkest impulses. There's a reason that Montgomery keeps fascinating Hollywood, dating back to 1990 TV movie A Killing in a Small Town (a film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, dad to Ambulance's Jake and The Deuce's Maggie). There's also a reason that she's been the subject of plenty of true-crime podcast episodes since — and had journalists John Bloom and Jim Atkinson writing the 1983 non-fiction book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs before that, plus Texas Monthly articles 'Love & Death on Silicon Prairie, Part I & II'. On June 13, 1980, Allan's wife Betty was murdered with an axe. She wasn't just killed; she was bludgeoned 41 times. Within days, Candy was a suspect. From there, she was accused, arrested and put on trial. And, she ultimately admitted swinging the blade, albeit with a caveat: that after her friend discovered her relationship with Allan, Candy was defending herself. It's with pluck and perkiness that Olsen brings Candy to the screen again, initially painting the picture of a perfect suburban wife and mum. She keeps exuding those traits when Candy decides that she'd quite fancy an extra-marital liaison with Allan (Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog) — slowly winning him over, but setting ground rules in the hope that her husband Pat (Patrick Fugit, Babylon) won't get hurt, nor Betty (Lily Rabe, Shrinking) as well. The quartet have known each other for years when Love & Death starts, through their faith and due to their pre-teen daughters Jenny (TV debutant Amelie Dallimore) and Alisa (Harper Heath, Forever and a Day). Then Allan bumps into Candy during a volleyball game, which gets her thinking about them slipping between the sheets. "He smelled like sex," she tells her pal Sherry Cleckler (Krysten Ritter, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie), convincing herself about getting adulterous with every word. Candy is straightforward when she propositions Allan, as they both are when they meet for strategy sessions to work through the pros, cons and parameters of cheating on their partners together. A sense of foreboding hangs in the air, though; for viewers that don't know the outcome when first sitting down to the seven-episode series, Betty's bloody end is referenced in the first instalment. Much that eventuates between Candy and Allan until things get violent is a tale as old as time, with what was meant to be a purely carnal liaison becoming far more complex as affection blossoms. She feels stuck in a rut with the mild-mannered Pat, seeing her time with Allan as an adventure. He's so accustomed to a reserved form of romance with Betty that he doesn't even know how to French kiss. And when Allan and Betty choose to work on their marriage at a counselling weekend, Candy can't hide her jealously while she minds the pair's children. As it leads up to Betty's death, Love & Death also surveys the local scandal when beloved pastor Jackie Ponder (Elizabeth Marvel, Mrs Davis) leaves for another town, with the younger Ron Adams (Keir Gilchrist, Atypical) her replacement. Jackie's move robs Candy of one of her closest confidants, while Ron's arrival, his visible youth and the changes he's intent on making upsets Betty. Series creator David E Kelley could've told this tale without dipping into church business, but this subplot is pivotal to his take on the story. He isn't just retelling the murder, as so many other projects have explored before. Rather, he's drawn in by who these women were in their everyday lives, and by the fact that they're ordinary folks with routine dramas before the worst occurs. Of late, prolific TV producer and writer Kelley has carved himself a niche with twisty tales about existences upended, beginning with Big Little Lies, then following with The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers (Nicole Kidman, the star of all three, is also an executive producer on Love & Death). With directors Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland) and Clark Johnson (Mayor of Kingstown), he isn't interested in sensationalising his latest narrative, instead crafting a series about a gruesome crime with restraint and sensitivity. That's one of the factors making yet another version of Candy and Betty's encounter so gripping — that, and the show's outstanding performances. Indeed, no past iteration has boasted Kelley behind the scenes, or the stellar Olsen in career-best form at its centre. When Love & Death turns its attention to the inevitable law-and-order proceedings, Kelley also slides easily into one of his preferred modes: legal dramas. He's been bringing such shows to TV since late-80s/early-90s hit LA Law, with his resume also featuring everything from The Practice, Ally McBeal and Boston Legal to Goliath and The Lincoln Lawyer — and an episodic version of Presumed Innocent in the works as well. It's no wonder, then, that She Said's Tom Pelphrey is so magnetic as Candy's lawyer Don Crowder, who jumps into criminal defence for the first time with an immensely difficult case. Although Love & Death is never merely a courtroom series, it's canny about deepening its character study of Candy while she's protesting her innocence by self-defence, and in putting the attitudes and figures around her under a magnifying glass as her life becomes news fodder. Even if there wasn't a 'scarlet woman' reference to remind audiences that Olsen isn't in the MCU here, her complicated lead portrayal makes that plain. Whether she's being bubbly, dutiful, calculating or unsettling, she's terrific, especially in the mid-series episode that depicts Candy's last meeting with Betty, then shows her returning to her errands afterwards. Olsen is particularly masterful at grappling internally with Candy's choices and emotions right in front of viewers' eyes — see also: the spark that clicks when she chooses to pursue Allan, and her reactions under interrogation — and with an also- (and always-) excellent Plemons, is similarly exceptional at selling the love part of series' title. Love & Death never forgets that it's about murder, or who is the victim, but it's always about people rather than headlines. Check out the trailer for Love & Death below: Love & Death streams via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 27 and Neon in New Zealand from Friday, April 28. Images: Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max.
It might be a movie about a faux romance, but Anyone But You hasn't faked its setting. In the upcoming rom-com, which has a date with cinemas on Boxing Day, Sydney Sweeney (Reality) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) play a couple pretending that they're in love — but as most of the just-dropped full trailer shows, there's no shams about the Sydney location. When Sweeney was in Sydney at a Sydney Swans game earlier in 2023, it wasn't just because she was playing the Sydney version of Pokémon and catching them all. Rather, the Euphoria and The White Lotus star was filming this movie. And, from both the first teaser and the latest sneak peek, this film clearly falls into a specific category of Aussie-made flicks: pictures shot Down Under that can't stop reminding viewers that they were made Down Under (see also: fellow future release The Fall Guy, which will arrive in 2024). [caption id="attachment_926799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney star in ANYONE BUT YOU.[/caption] Multiple shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House feature heavily amid the banter-heavy glimpses at Anyone But You's stars. In fact, the Opera House even shows up in the background as Bea and Ben are having a Titanic moment on a boat. Anyone But You's setup: Sweeney's Bea had a great first date with Powell's Ben; however, then everything turned sour. Now they're at the same destination wedding and pretence becomes their solution. Anyone But You is directed and co-written by Will Gluck, who has both Easy A and Friends with Benefits on his resume, then the vastly dissimilar Annie and the two Peter Rabbit movies. On-screen, as well as Sweeney, Powell and a whole lot of Sydney — the city — Alexandra Shipp (Barbie), GaTa (Dave), Dermot Mulroney (Secret Invasion), Bryan Brown (C*A*U*G*H*T) and Rachel Griffiths (Total Control) also feature. Check out the full trailer for Anyone But You below: Anyone But You opens in cinemas Down Under on December 26, 2023.
If you were to round up three friends, hit up a chain of bars that are also mini-golf joints, play a couple of games and earn a $20,000 cash prize for your efforts, how would you react? Exclaiming "holy moly" might be the tamest response. You'll probably say those words — well, Holey Moley, to be specific — at least once just by signing up for this putting contest, however. Meet the Holey Moley Open, as hosted by the venues that first launched in Brisbane in 2016. At seven Queensland locations, nine spots in New South Wales, seven more in Victoria, four in Western Australia, and one apiece in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, Holey Moley welcomes in mini-golf lovers to get tap, tap, tapping their way through pop culture-themed courses — including over cocktails if that's what takes your fancy. That's been the setup for almost a decade now. With the Holey Moley Open, the same is still on the agenda, but in a tournament that'll whittle down the contenders to 25 teams in each state, and then send one from each to hit the national finals. Here's how it works: first, you need a team of four, and also you all need to be over the age of 18. Then, you're required to register online between Saturday, February 1–Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The Holey Moley crew will select the best entries for the state finals, which'll take place at the OG Holey Moley in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Alexandria in Sydney, Crown Casino in Melbourne, Northbridge in Perth, and at the Adelaide and Canberra venues on Tuesday, February 25. If you win on home soil by achieving the lowest combined score, you're then off to Darlinghurst, Sydney on Tuesday, March 11 to vie for the $20,000. And yes, your flights and accommodation there from outside of the Harbour City will be covered by Holey Moley. Seasoned Holey Moley patrons knows that hitting the greens here means playing your way around everything from windmills and clowns to whatever other theming that the venues have dreamed up — usually inspired by movies and TV shows. At the grand final, there'll also be a string quartet providing tunes, champagne to drink, caddies helping the players, live commentary, and a food spread featuring mud cake, sausage rolls and party pies. If you want in on the fun without entering the contest, that's also on option across February — including a nine-hole round for $10 all month with the code TEEOFF. To enter the Holey Moley Open, register a team of four between Saturday, February 1–Wednesday, February 12, 2025 — with state finals set to be held on Tuesday, February 25 and the grand final taking place in Darlinghurst, Sydney on Tuesday, March 11. Head to the event's website for more details.
It hasn't been the greatest couple of years for dining out at fancy restaurants. But, when it comes to the World's 50 Best restaurant awards, the show must go on. After a COVID-driven break last year, the prestigious awards have named their 2021 picks for the greatest restaurants in the world. Taking out this year's top spot was the newest incarnation of Denmark's Noma, led by renowned chef René Redzepi. While no Aussie venues claimed a position among 2021's 50 Best list, two Victorian restaurants secured spots in the 51–100 lineup. Dan Hunter's Brae placed 57th — up from its 2019 ranking of 101 — and Ben Shewry's Ripponlea fine diner Attica came in at number 97, shuffling slightly from its previous position at 84. Both have been regular contenders in the awards for the past few years. [caption id="attachment_616539" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dan Hunter and Ben Shewry[/caption] The 2021 World's 50 Best awards were unveiled at a glitzy ceremony held overnight in Antwerp, with the 51–100 lineup announced a couple of weeks earlier, on September 23. Coming in second place was another famed Danish diner, Geranium, while Spain's Asador Etxebarri retained its 2019 title of third best restaurant in the world. If you're planning any future overseas adventures based entirely around food, you'll be interested to know that both the USA and Spain cleaned up in this year's rankings, each with six restaurants earning spots among the top 50. Running annually since 2002, the World's 50 Best awards are chosen by a panel of over 1000 culinary experts, guided by a strict voting procedure. They're now hosted by a different country each year, with Melbourne playing host city back in 2017. Check out the full list of The World's 50 Best award-winners for 2021 over here. Top Images: Colin Page, from the cookbook 'Brae: Recipes and stories from the restaurant'.
Ideas and inventions are usually intimately linked to the place they originate, displaying a wonderfully intricate relationship between form, function, culture and the environment. Think of the Hills Hoist in Australia, where people have the space and sunshine to use them, or the guillotine in France, where there was a severe excess of knives and nobility. If ever an idea sprang from completely the wrong place, surely it's the amphibious ice-cream truck floating around the UK. Thanks to ice-cream company Fredericks, the waterways of the British Isles are being bombarded with Rod Stewart's We Are Sailing whenever the HMS Flake 99 hoves into view to sell some ice-cream. The boat-truck is touring the UK to highlight the decline in ice-cream trucks due to rising costs, noise complaints, and childhood obesity fears. I'm sure buying a boat, blasting Rod Stewart and getting kids to eat more ice-cream will help... Jokes aside, an ice-cream boat is a great idea — it just should have been an Australian one. Wouldn't that boat look more tempting if it were cruising down our local waterways instead of under that leaden British sky! Sure, it's winter here now, but that just means you've got six months to source a boat and a freezer to make it happen. And when it comes to the music, why not announce your presence with The Lonely Island's I'm On A Boat? [via designboom]
If you've been spending every weekend hitting up Australia's reawakened music festival lately, then you might have noticed two clear trends. Firstly, live music is well and truly back. Secondly, blasts from the pasts are back, too — and the just-dropped Beyond The Valley lineup has Nelly Furtado on the bill to prove it. At other events this year, you can catch everyone from TISM and Groove Armada through to Sophie Ellis-Bextor and TLC — and now, at the three-day end-of-year fest that is Beyond The Valley, the Canadian singer behind 'I'm Like a Bird', 'Turn Off the Light', 'Maneater' and 'Promiscuous' is taking to the stage. She's doing a one-off Australian-exclusive performance at fest, as well as her first show in over five years. The Beyond The Valley bill isn't all about getting retro, of course. Also on the eclectic lineup: Denzel Curry, Dom Dolla, Kaytranada, BENEE, Yeat, Flight Facilities, Honey Dijon, Lime Cordiale, Patrick Topping, Charlotte De Witte, Diplo and more. That includes Bicep, which'll come as no surprise if you saw the video earlier in the year announcing the fest's return, which was set to the sounds of 'Glue'. This year's Beyond The Valley will take place from December 28, 2022–January 1, 2023, marking a nice dose of normality given that the beloved camping music festival has been on hiatus during the pandemic. It hosted a city-based spinoff in to see out 2021, aka Beyond The City, but is now back in its original guise to take care of New Year's Eve plans. There is one big change on the agenda: a move of venues. In past years, Beyond The Valley has typically taken place in the regional Victorian town of Lardner, but for 2022 it'll sprawl across at site at Barunah Plains. So, music festival fans will be headed 90 minutes outside of Melbourne, to a spot on Wentworths Road in Hesse that comes compete with a 100,000-square metre-natural amphitheatre. [caption id="attachment_866661" align="alignnone" width="1920"] @ladydrewniak[/caption] That's where Beyond The Valley will set up its three usual stages, the main stage, dance tent and multilevel dance spot Dr Dan's, as well as a new podcast stage featuring live and interactive recordings. The 2022 fest will also include a beach club for swims; a small space that's only accessible via secret entrance called Schmall Klüb; the Poof Doof 'pride patrol'; and speed dating, yoga, pilates, meditation, open mic sessions and a fortune teller. And, if you only want to head along for a single day — or you aren't keen on camping — Beyond The Valley is introducing a daily entry ticket. BEYOND THE VALLEY 2022 LINEUP: BENEE Bicep (live) Charlotte De Witte Denzel Curry Diplo Dom Dolla Flight Facilities Honey Dijon Kaytranada Lime Cordiale Nelly Furtado Patrick Topping Yeat Aitch Budjerah Cloonee Confidence Man DJ Boring Folamour HAAi Heidi Jay1 Jnr Choi Job Jobse Or:la Palms Trax Partiboi69 Remi Wolf Sally C San Cisco SG Lewis Shygirl Tkay Maidza Vera Blue X Club. Yung Lean Aroha Benson Caitlin Medcalf Cassettes For Kids Denim Foura Hatchie Jesswar JK-47 Jordan Brando Joy. Juice Romance Kee'ahn Laura King Memphis LK Merci, Mercy Mia Rodriguez Ninajirachi Rest For The Wicked Sam Alfred Sofia Kourtesis STÜM SWIM Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers The Illustrious Blacks Willo Yarra Beyond The Valley will run from December 28, 2022–January 1, 2023. Ticket presale registrations are open now, closing at 3pm AEST on Wednesday, August 31 — with presales starting that same day at 6pm AEST. General sales kick off at 12pm AEST on Thursday, September 1. For more information, head to the fest's website. Top image: Mackenzie Sweetnam.
Already in 2021, fans of the DC Extended Universe — the interconnected franchise that started with Man of Steel, and also includes Wonder Woman and its sequel, Aquaman and Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) — have sat down to watch an extended new version of Justice League like it's still 2017. Next on the series' viewing list: The Suicide Squad, the confusingly named sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad (because no one has challenged themselves thinking of the upcoming flick's title). Margot Robbie (Dreamland) returns as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman (The Secrets We Keep) does the same as Rick Flag and Australian actor Jai Courtney (Honest Thief) also makes a comeback as Captain Boomerang. As the government agent overseeing this band of world-saving supervillains, recent Oscar-nominee Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) is back as well. But don't expect to see the rest of their original costars this time around. As seen in the film's initial trailer, and now expanded upon in its just-dropped new sneak peek, The Suicide Squad sees a new group of nefarious folks joins Harley and the gang — including Idris Elba (Cats) as Bloodsport, John Cena (Playing with Fire) as Peacemaker, Peter Capaldi (The Personal History of David Copperfield) as Thinker, Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island) as Blackguard and Sylvester Stallone (Rambo: Last Blood) as the voice of King Shark. Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) has a yet-to-be revealed role, and Guardians of the Galaxy alums Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn show up, too — which makes complete sense given that GotG filmmaker James Gunn is behind the lens and has also penned the screenplay. By hiring Gunn, DC is clearly looking for his sense of humour, as well as his lively and OTT style. In both clips so far, all of the above is on display. So yes, if The Suicide Squad feels more in line with goofier Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks than most of DC Comics' big-screen output, there's an obvious reason for that. When the film hits cinemas Down Under on August 5, it'll initially head to Belle Reve prison, where supervillains are kept. Asked by Task Force X to participate in a secret mission in exchange for time out of incarceration, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, King Shark, Blackguard and their pals are more than willing to help. Their job: travelling to the island of Corto Maltese on a deadly quest. It's dubbed a suicide mission in the trailer, because of course it is. Check out latest The Suicide Squad trailer below: The Suicide Squad releases in cinemas Down Under on August 5.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn't the movie it was initially going to be, the sequel to 2018's electrifying and dynamic Black Panther that anyone behind it originally wanted it to be, or the chapter in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe that it first aimed to be — this, the world already knows. The reason why is equally familiar, after Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer in 2020 aged 43. At its best, this direct followup to the MCU's debut trip to its powerful African nation doesn't just know this, too, but scorches that awareness deep into its frames. King T'Challa's death starts the feature, a loss that filmmaking trickery doesn't reverse, no matter how meaningless mortality frequently proves when on-screen resurrections are usually a matter of mere plot twists. Wakanda Forever begins with heartbreak and pain, in fact, and with facing the hard truth that life ends and, in ways both big and small, that nothing is ever the same. Your typical franchise entry about quick-quipping costumed crusaders courageously protecting the planet, this clearly isn't. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Creed) like its predecessor — co-scripting again with Joe Robert Cole (All Day and a Night) — Wakanda Forever is about grief, expected futures that can no longer be and having to move forward anyway. That applies in front of and behind the lens; as ruminating so heavily on loss underscores, the movie has a built-in justification for not matching the initial flick. The Boseman-sized hole at Wakanda Forever's centre is gaping, unsurprisingly, even in a feature that's a loving homage to him, and his charm and gravitas-filled take on the titular character. Also, that vast void isn't one this film can fill. Amid overtly reckoning with absence, Coogler still has a top-notch cast — returnees Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke, plus new addition Tenoch Huerta, most notably — drawing eyeballs towards his vibrant imagery, but his picture is also burdened with MCU bloat and mechanics, and infuriating bet-hedging. The emotional tributes to T'Challa and Boseman hit swiftly, after the former's tech-wiz sister Shuri (Wright, Death on the Nile) agonises over not being able to save him. In a swirl of song, dance, colour, movement, rhythm and feeling on par with the first instalment, but also solemn, Wakanda erupts in mourning, and the film makes plain that the Black Panther audiences knew is gone forever. A year later, sorrow lingers, but global courtesy wanes — now that the world knows about the previously secret country and its metal vibranium, everyone wants a piece. Such searching incites a new threat to the planet, courtesy of Mesoamerican underwater kingdom Talokan and its leader-slash-deity Namor (Huerta, Narcos: Mexico). The Atlantis-esque ocean realm has vibranium as well, and it's not keen on anywhere else but Wakanda doing the same. If Queen Ramonda (Bassett, Gunpowder Milkshake), Shuri and their compatriots don't join Namor to fight back, Namor will wage war against them instead. Given Coogler and Cole's basic premise, bringing back Okoye (Gurira, The Walking Dead), head of the Wakanda's formidable Dora Milaje warriors, is obviously easy. The same applies to fellow soldier Ayo (Florence Kasumba, Tatort), and to introducing Aneka (Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You). Straight-talking tribal leader M'Baku (Duke, Nine Days) makes a seamless comeback and, although she's working in a school in Haiti, former spy Nakia (Nyong'o, The 355) does the same. Even excusing seeing CIA operative Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, Breeders) again is straightforward enough, but keeping overarching Marvel saga cogs turning means a pointless reappearance for another character familiar from the broader series but new to Black Panther movies. And, it results in the clunkiest of kickoffs for "young, gifted and Black" college student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne, Judas and the Black Messiah), the star of upcoming MCU Disney+ TV show Ironheart, who is needlessly shoehorned in on the big-screen. Read our full review. THE VELVET QUEEN "If nothing came, we just hadn't looked properly." Partway through The Velvet Queen, writer Sylvain Tesson utters these lyrical words about a specific and patient quest; however, they echo far further than the task at hand. This absorbing documentary tracks his efforts with wildlife photographer Vincent Munier to see a snow leopard — one of the most rare and elusive big cats there is — but much in the entrancing film relates to life in general. Indeed, while the animals that roam the Tibetan plateau earns this flick's focus, as does the sweeping landscape itself, Munier and his fellow co-director and feature first-timer Marie Amiguet have made a movie about existence first and foremost. When you peer at nature, you should see the world, as well as humanity's place in it. You should feel the planet's history, and the impact that's being made on its future, too. Sensing exactly that with this engrossing picture comes easily — and so does playing a ravishing big-screen game of Where's Wally?. No one wears red-and-white striped jumpers within The Velvet Queen's frames, of course. The Consolations of the Forest author Tesson and world-renowned shutterbug Munier dress to blend in, trying to camouflage into their sometimes-dusty, sometimes-snowy, always-rocky surroundings, but they aren't the ones that the film endeavours to spy. The creatures that inhabit Tibet's craggy peaks have evolved to blend in, so attempting to see many of them is an act of persistence and deep observation — and locking eyes on the snow leopard takes that experience to another level. Sometimes, pure movement gives away a critter's presence. On one occasion, looking back through images of a perched falcon offers unexpected rewards. As lensed by Amiguet (La vallée des loups), Munier and assistant director Léo-Pol Jacquot, The Velvet Queen draws upon hidden cameras, too, but so much of Tesson and Munier's mission is about sitting, watching and accepting that everything happens in its own time. Letting what comes come — and acknowledging that some things simply won't ever occur at all — isn't an easy truth to grapple with. Nonetheless, it's also one of this contemplative feature's achievements, even though it's a type of detective story through and through. Tesson and Munier follow clues to search for the snow leopard, moving positions and setting up blinds wherever they think will score them their sought-after footage. In the process, they learn a lesson as all sleuths do. As they face the possibility that they might not be successful, which Tesson's perceptively navel-gazing narration explains, The Velvet Queen becomes a mindfulness course in filmic form. It has something astonishing that all the Calm, Headspace and similar apps in the world don't, though: the film's on-the-ground recordings (well, 5000-metres-up recordings), which show why finding peace with life's ebbs and flows is all that we can really hope for. Accompanied by a stirring score from Australian icons and lifelong bandmates Warren Ellis and Nick Cave — their latest contribution to cinema on a resume that includes The Proposition, The Road, Hell or High Water and Wind River before it — it's no wonder that The Velvet Queen's philosophising voiceover also notes that "waiting was a prayer". It's similarly unsurprising that Tesson penned a book, The Art of Patience: Seeking the Snow Leopard in Tibet, based on the trip captured in the documentary. In fact, if you're the kind of person who keeps their peepers peeled for feline life in any new neighbourhood you visit, or even if you're just strolling around your own, this feature firmly understands. More than that, it one-ups you, while also connecting with the act of scouring and seeking as much as the potential joys of getting what you wish for. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on August 4, August 11, August 18 and August 25; September 1, September 8, September 15, September 22 and September 29; October 6, October 13, October 20 and October 27; and November 3. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Bullet Train, Nope, The Princess, 6 Festivals, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Crimes of the Future, Bosch & Rockit, Fire of Love, Beast, Blaze, Hit the Road, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Orphan: First Kill, The Quiet Girl, Flux Gourmet, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Moonage Daydream, Ticket to Paradise, Clean, You Won't Be Alone, See How They Run, Smile, On the Count of Three, The Humans, Don't Worry Darling, Amsterdam, The Stranger, Halloween Ends, The Night of the 12th, Muru, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, Black Adam, Barbarian, Decision to Leave, The Good Nurse, Bros, The Woman King, Sissy, Armageddon Time and The Wonder.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from May's haul. BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL NOW THE GREAT Television perfection is watching Elle Fanning (The Girl From Plainville) and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) trying to run 18th-century Russia while scheming, fighting and heatedly reuniting in ahistorical period comedy The Great. Since 2020, they've each been in career-best form — her as the series' ambitious namesake, him as the emperor who loses his throne to his wife — while turning in two of the best performances on streaming in one of the medium's most hilarious shows. Both former child actors now enjoying excellent careers as adults, they make such a marvellous pair that it's easy to imagine this series being built around them. It wasn't and, now three seasons, The Great has never thrived on their casting alone. Still, shouting "huzzah!" at the duo's bickering, burning passion and bloodshed-sparking feuding flows as freely as all the vodka downed in the Emmy-winner's frames under Australian creator Tony McNamara's watch (and after he initially unleashed its winning havoc upon Sydney Theatre Company in 2008, then adapted it for television following a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for co-penning The Favourite). In this latest batch of instalments, all either written or co-written by McNamara, Catherine (Fanning) and Peter (Hoult) begin the third season sure about their love for each other, but just as flummoxed as ever about making their nuptials work. She's attempting to reform the nation, he's the primary caregiver to their infant son Paul, her efforts are meeting resistance, he's doting but also bored playing stay-out-of-politics dad, and couples counselling is called for. There's also the matter of the royal court's most prominent members, many of whom were rounded up and arrested under Catherine's orders at the end of season two. From Sweden, exiled King Hugo (Freddie Fox, House of the Dragon) and Queen Agnes (Grace Molony, Mary, Queen of Scots) are hanging around after being run out of their own country due to democracy's arrival. And, Peter's lookalike Pugachev (also Hoult) is agitating for a serf-powered revolution. The Great streams via Stan. Read our full review. PREHISTORIC PLANET When it initially arrived in 2022, becoming one of the year's best new shows and giving nature doco fans the five-episode series they didn't know they'd always wanted — and simultaneously couldn't believe hadn't been made until now — Prehistoric Planet followed the David Attenborough nature documentary formula perfectly. And it is a formula. In a genre that's frequently spying the wealth of patterns at the heart of the animal realm, docos such as The Living Planet, State of the Planet, Frozen Planet, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet, Green Planet and the like all build from the same basic elements. Jumping back 66 million years, capitalising upon advancements in special effects but committing to making a program just like anything that peers at the earth today was never going to feel like the easy product of a template, though. Indeed, Prehistoric Planet's first season was stunning, and its second is just as staggering. The catch, in both season one and this return trip backwards: while breathtaking landscape footage brings the planet's terrain to the Prehistoric Planet series, the critters stalking, swimming, flying and tumbling across it are purely pixels. Filmmaker Jon Favreau remains among the show's executive producers, and the technology that brought his photorealistic versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King to cinemas couldn't be more pivotal. Seeing needs to be believing while watching, because the big-screen gloss of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sagas, the puppets of 90s sitcom Dinosaurs, and the animatronics of Walking with Dinosaurs — or anything in-between — were never going to suit a program with Attenborough as a guide. Accordingly, to sit down to Prehistoric Planet is to experience cognitive dissonance: viewers are well-aware that what they're spying isn't real because the animals seen no longer exist, but it truly looks that authentic. Prehistoric Planet season streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON Eat-the-rich stories are delicious, and also everywhere; however, Succession, Triangle of Sadness and the like aren't the only on-screen sources of terrible but terribly entertaining people. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson has been filling streaming queues with assholes since 2019, as usually played by the eponymous Detroiters star, and long may it continue. In season three, the show takes its premise literally in the most ridiculous and unexpected way, so much so that no one could ever dream of predicting what happens. That's still the sketch comedy's not-so-secret power. Each of its skits is about someone being the worst in some way, doubling down on being the worst and refusing to admit that they're the worst (or that they're wrong) — and while everyone around them might wish they'd leave, they're never going to, and nothing ever ends smoothly. In a show that's previously worked in hot dog costumes and reality TV series about bodies dropping out of coffins to hilarious effect, anything can genuinely happen to its gallery of the insufferable. In fact, the more absurd and chaotic I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson gets, the better. No description can do I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson's sketches justice, and almost every one is a comedic marvel, as again delivered in six 15-minute episodes in the series' third run. The usual complaint applies: for a show about people overstaying their welcome, the program itself flies by too quickly, always leaving viewers wanting more. Everything from dog doors and designated drivers to HR training and street parking is in Robinson's sights this time, and people who won't stop talking about their kids, wedding photos and group-think party behaviour as well. Game shows get parodied again and again, an I Think You Should Leave staple, and gloriously. More often than in past seasons, Robinson lets his guest stars play the asshole, too, including the returning Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), regular Sam Richardson (The Afterparty), and perennial pop-ups Fred Armisen (Barry) and Tim Meadows (Poker Face). And when Jason Schwartzman (I Love That for You) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) drop in, they're also on the pitch-perfect wavelength. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson streams via Netflix. Read our full review. IN LIMBO Not to be confused with the just-released Australian film Limbo, new six-part Aussie dramedy In Limbo not only takes its title to heart, but also uses the idea as fuel for a supernatural buddy comedy. Indeed, before the first episode is out, Nate (Bob Morley, Love Me) is palling around with his lifelong best friend Charlie (Ryan Corr, House of the Dragon) from the afterlife. The former doesn't know why he's still a presence. The latter is understandably reeling from the tragedy, and initially thinks that spying Nate is just a drunken hallucination. No one else, not Nate's wife Freya (Emma Harvie, Colin From Accounts), eight-year-old daughter Annabel (Kamillia Rihani, The Twelve), supremely very Catholic mother Maria (Lena Cruz, Wellmania) and affable father Frank (Russell Dykstra, Irreverent), can see their dearly-departed loved one as a ghost. It's Christmas, too, in this Brisbane-shot and -set series, and facing the festivities after such a shock is far from easy. While heartily deploying Brisbane Powerhouse and New Farm Park as settings, that's a lot for one show to delve into — and delve it thoughtfully does. Tackling grief, mental health and suicide is never simple, even in a show about someone haunting their best mate, and including when such topics have been increasingly popping up in Australian fare of late (see also: Totally Completely Fine). In Limbo is clearly made with care, empathy and understanding — and, crucially, doesn't attempt to offer any firm answers, instead acting as a conversation starter. At its core, the always-excellent Corr plays a complicated role with charm. That's no surprise given his resume, and he couldn't be better cast. Corr's likeable performance always dives deep into the about-to-get-divorced Charlie's struggle without Nate physically by his side, with Nate now his ghostly offsider and with his own problems, and never brushes past the character's flaws. And, just as importantly as the show's focus on 21st-century masculinity and friendship, Corr makes such a great double act with Morley that filmmakers should be clamouring to pair them up again ASAP. In Limbo streams via ABC iView. CONFESS, FLETCH Since Mad Men had Don Draper want to buy the world a Coke to end its seven-season run back in 2015, comedy has been Jon Hamm's friend. He's the ultimate TV guest star, building upon stints in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation while Mad Men was still airing with Toast of London, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Curb Your Enthusiasm, on a resume that also includes The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Childrens Hospital, Medical Police, Angie Tribeca, The Last Man on Earth and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp as well. So, casting him as the new Irwin Maurice 'Fletch' Fletcher couldn't be an easier move. Having fellow Mad Men standout John Slattery (The Good Fight) also appear in the latest flick about the investigative reporter, and the first since the Chevy Chase-led movies in the 80s, is another winning touch. Even if that reunion wasn't part of the film, Hamm is so entertaining that he makes a killer case for a whole new Fletch franchise — on whatever screen the powers-that-be like — with him at its centre. Hamm clearly understands how well he suits this type of character, and the genre; he's a comic delight, and he's also one of Confess, Fletch's producers. Superbad and Adventureland's Greg Mottola directs and co-writes, scripting with Outer Range's Zev Borow — and ensuring that Hamm and Slattery aren't the only acting highlights. Working through a plot that sees Fletch chasing a stolen artwork, discovering a dead body, and both looking into the crime and considered a suspect himself, the film also features engaging turns by always-welcome Twin Peaks great Kyle MacLachlan and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar gem Annie Mumolo. There have been several attempts to revive Fletch over the past three decades, including separate projects with Ted Lasso duo Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis — on the page, the character spans nine novels — but viewers should be thankful that this is the action-comedy that came to fruition, even if it skipped cinemas everywhere but the US. Confess, Fletch streams via Paramount+ and Binge. BUPKIS In its opening moments, Bupkis unloads — twice, in completely different ways, while ensuring there's zero doubt that this is a series about Pete Davidson starring Pete Davidson as Pete Davidson. First, the former Saturday Night Live comedian gets Googling while alone in the basement of the Staten Island home he shares with his mother Amy (Edie Falco, Avatar: The Way of Water). The results about Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale and Kim Kardashian's ex aren't positive; so, to shake off the unpleasantness of reading '12 Things Horribly Wrong with Pete Davidson', he switches from "scumbro" with "butthole eyes" comments to porn. He's wearing a VR headset, and he's soon deep in self-love. Then his mum walks in. Bupkis clearly isn't wary about getting crude. It isn't concerned about satirising its central figure, either. Instead, this semi-autobiographical dramedy relishes the parody. At the age of 29, Davidson has reached the "you may as well laugh" point in his career, which is hardly surprising given he's spent the past decade swinging his big chaotic energy around. Partway through the eight-episode series, while keen to claim some perks for being Davidson's mother — other than doting on her son, that is — Amy shouts at wait staff that "Marisa Tomei played me!". Add that to Bupkis' gleeful, playful nods to reality. An opening statement before each instalment stresses the difference between fact and fiction, and why the show has the moniker it has, but art keeps imitating life everywhere. There's no switching names, however. Davidson is indeed Davidson, his IRL mum is called Amy and his sister is Casey (Oona Roche, The Morning Show). As in The King of Staten Island, they've been a trio since 9/11, and dealing with losing his New York City firefighter dad still isn't easy. Off-screen, however, Davidson must be a fan of My Cousin Vinny, plus the gangster genre. Hailing from the former as Tomei does, and famed for his performances in the latter like The Sopranos star Falco, Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman alum Joe Pesci is a pivotal part of Bupkis as Davidson's grandfather Joe — a hilarious and delightful part, unsurprisingly. Bupkis streams via Binge. Read our full review. VENGEANCE When Vengeance begins with a New Yorker journalist who's desperate to start his own podcast, Soho House hangouts and relationship advice from John Mayer as himself, it begins with rich and savvy character details. Writing, starring and making his feature directorial debut after helming episodes of The Office and The Mindy Project, BJ Novak instantly establishes the kind of person that Ben Manalowitz is. He shows the East Coast world that his protagonist inhabits, too — and, by focusing on the only guy in NYC without their own audio outlet, or so it seems, plus that romantic guidance, it splashes around its sense of humour. This is a sharply amusing mystery-comedy, and a highlight on Novak's resume in all three of his guises. It's also about subverting expectations, and lampooning the first impressions and broad stereotypes that are too often — and too easily — clung to. Indeed, Vengeance bakes in that idea as many ways as it can as Ben (Novak) does the most obvious thing he can to convince his producer (Issa Rae, Insecure) that his voice is worth hearing: bursts his Big Apple bubble. The Mayer bit isn't just a gag; it helps set up Ben as the kind of person who is dating so many women that he doesn't know which one has died after he gets a bereaved phone call from Texas in the middle of the night. On the other end is Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook, The Sandman), brother to Abilene (Lio Tipton, Why Women Kill), who insists that Ben head southwest immediately to attend her funeral — she claimed that they were serious enough that she's his girlfriend, after all. Upon arrival, the out-of-towner initially regards his hosts as jokes, and their lives and Abilene's death as content. Ty thinks she was murdered, and Ben couldn't be giddier about getting it all on tape and calling the series Dead White Girl. The journo's self-interest is up there with his obliviousness about anything that doesn't fit into his NYC orbit; however, this isn't a culture-clash comedy — thankfully — but a clever, self-aware and ambitious satire. It's also strikingly shot and features a standout performance by Ashton Kutcher (That '90s Show) as a suave record producer. Vengeance streams via Netflix and Binge. NEW AND RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK SILO Rebecca Ferguson will never be mistaken for Daveed Diggs, but the Dune, Mission: Impossible franchise and Doctor Sleep star now follows in the Hamilton Tony-winner's footsteps. While he has spent multiple seasons navigating dystopian class clashes on a globe-circling train in the TV version of Snowpiercer, battling his way up and down the titular locomotive, she just started ascending and descending the stairs in the underground chamber that gives Silo its moniker. Ferguson's character is also among humanity's last remnants. Attempting to endure in post-apocalyptic times, she hails from her abode's lowliest depths as well. And, when there's a murder in this instantly engrossing new ten-part series — which leaps to the screen from Hugh Howey's novels, and shares a few basic parts with Metropolis, Blade Runner and The Platform, as well as corrupt world orders at the core of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner flicks — she's soon playing detective. Silo captivates from the outset, when its focus is the structure's sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo, See How They Run) and his wife Allison (Rashida Jones, On the Rocks). Both know the cardinal rule of the buried tower, as does deputy Marnes (Will Patton, Outer Range), mayor Ruth (Geraldine James, Benediction), security head Sims (Common, The Hate U Give), IT top brass Bernard (Tim Robbins, Dark Waters) and the other 10,000 souls they live with: if you make the request to go outside, it's irrevocable and you'll be sent there as punishment. No matter who you are, and from which level, anyone posing such a plea becomes a public spectacle. Their ask is framed as "cleaning", referring to wiping down the camera that beams the desolate planet around them onto window-sized screens in their cafeterias. No one has ever come back, or survived for more than minutes. Why? Add that to the questions piling up not just for Silo's viewers, but for the silo's residents. For more than 140 years, the latter have dwelled across their 144 floors in safety from the bleak wasteland that earth has become — but what caused that destruction and who built their cavernous home are among the other queries. Silo streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. THE OTHER TWO Swapping Saturday Night Live for an entertainment-parodying sitcom worked swimmingly for Tina Fey. Since 2019, it's also been going hilariously for Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. Not just former SNL writers but the veteran sketch comedy's ex-head writers, Kelly and Schneider have been giving the world their own 30 Rock with the sharp, smart and sidesplitting The Other Two. Their angle: focusing on the adult siblings of a Justin Bieber-style teen popstar who've always had their own showbiz aspirations — he's an actor, she was a ballerina — who then find themselves the overlooked children of a momager-turned-daytime television host as well. Cary (Drew Tarver, History of the World: Part II) and Brooke (Heléne York, Katy Keene) Dubek are happy for Chase (Case Walker, Monster High: The Movie). And when their mother Pat (Molly Shannon, I Love That for You) gets her own time in the spotlight, becoming Oprah-level famous, they're equally thrilled for her. But ChaseDreams, their little brother's stage name, has always been a constant reminder that their own ambitions keep being outshone. In a first season that proved one of the best new shows of 2019, a second season in 2021 that was just as much of a delight and now a stellar third go-around, Cary and Brooke have never been above getting petty and messy about being the titular pair. In season three, however, they aren't just hanging around with stars in their eyes and resentment in their hearts. How do they cope? They've spent the past few years constantly comparing themselves to Chase, then to Pat, but now they're successful on their own — and still chaotic, and completely unable to change their engrained thinking. Forget the whole "the grass is always greener" adage. No matter if they're faking it or making it, nothing is ever perfectly verdant for this pair or anyone in their orbit. Still, as Brooke wonders whether her dream manager gig is trivial after living through a pandemic, she starts contemplating if she should be doing more meaningful work like her fashion designer-turned-nurse boyfriend Lance (Josh Segarra, The Big Door Prize). And with Cary's big breaks never quite panning out as planned, he gets envious of his fellow-actor BFF Curtis (Brandon Scott Jones, Ghosts). The Other Two streams via Binge. Read our full review. PLATONIC Sometime in the near future, Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen and filmmaker Nicholas Stoller could easily join forces on a new rom-com. In fact, they should. Until then, buddy comedy Platonic makes a hilarious, engagingly written and directed, and perfectly cast addition to each's respective resumes. Reuniting the trio after 2014's Bad Neighbours and its 2016 sequel Bad Neighbours 2, this new series pairs Australia's comedy queen and America's go-to stoner as longterm pals who are never anything but mates — and haven't been in touch at all for years — but navigate a friendship that's as chaotic and complicated as any movie romance. That's an easy setup; however, watching the show's stars bicker, banter and face the fact that life doesn't always turn out as planned together proves as charming as it was always going to. Also, Platonic smartly doesn't try to be a romantic comedy, or to follow in When Harry Met Sally's footsteps. Instead, Platonic explores what happens when two former besties have gone their own ways, then come back together. The show knows that reconnecting with old pals is always tinged with nostalgia for the person you were when they were initially in your life. And, it's well-aware that reckoning with where you've ended up since is an immediate side effect. Enter Sylvia (Byrne, Seriously Red), who reaches out to Will (Rogen, The Super Mario Bros Movie) after hearing that he's no longer with the wife (Alisha Wainwright, Raising Dion) she didn't like. She's also a suburban-dwelling former lawyer who put work on hold to become a mother of three, and can't help feeling envious of her husband Charlie's (Luke Macfarlane, Bros) flourishing legal career. Her old BFF co-owns and runs an LA brewpub, is obsessive about his beer and hipster/slacker image, and hasn't been taking his breakup well. They couldn't be in more different places in their lives. When they meet up again, they couldn't appear more dissimilar, too. "You look like you live at Ann Taylor Loft," is Will's assessment. Sylvia calls him "a '90s grunge clown." Neither is wrong. Platonic streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. THE CLEARING They're called The Kindred, not The Family. Adrienne Beaufort is their leader, not Anne Hamilton-Byrne. But there's no mistaking the inspiration for JP Pomare's book In the Clearing and its new eight-part adaptation The Clearing. Exploring the inner workings of an Australian cult based in rural Victoria, spouting New Age sentiments mixed with doomsday thinking, fixated upon blonde-haired children and led by a charismatic woman — a rare female cult leader — this tale fictionalises the real-life details documented in countless newspaper headlines since the 80s, and also in Rosie Jones' 2016 documentary The Family and 2019 series The Cult of the Family. Amid their so-wild-they-can-only-be-true stories, both of those projects showed viewers the eerie image of children with platinum locks in severe bobs and dressed in matching blue attire. That distinctive look is similarly at the heart of Disney+'s first original scripted Aussie drama. In the earlier of its two timelines, Amy (Julia Savage, Blaze) dons the tresses and uniform as one of the older children at Adrienne's (Miranda Otto, Wellmania) Blackmarsh bush compound — one being prepared to be her heir, and made an accomplice in the group's quest to add more kids to its ranks. Initially dutiful, the teenager is soon questioning the only existence she's ever known, with its harsh rules, strict aunties keeping everyone in line between Adrienne's sporadic visits, weekend services attended by well-to-do acolytes and, sharing the show's title, its LSD-fuelled confessional sessions. When The Clearing dwells in the now, still in Victoria at its leafiest, the smear of heartbreak and damage is ever-present. Indeed, when single mother Freya Heywood (Teresa Palmer, Ride Like a Girl) hears about a girl being abducted, she can't shake the feeling that history is repeating. She dotes over her primary school-aged son Billy (debutant Flynn Wandin), but she's also visibly nervous and anxious. When she keeps spotting a white van, she's a portrait of panic. The Clearing streams via Disney+. Read our full review. HIGH DESERT In High Desert, the always-excellent Patricia Arquette (Severance) leads a private investigator comedy that dapples its jam-packed chaos under California's golden sun, against the parched Yucca Valley landscape and with an anything-goes philosophy — not to mention a more-mayhem-the-merrier tone. She plays Peggy Newman, who isn't letting her age get in the way of perennially struggling to pull her life together. That said, when the eight-part series begins, it's Thanksgiving 2013 and she's living an upscale existence in Palm Springs, with gleaming surfaces abounding in her expansive (and visibly expensive) home. Then, as her husband Denny (Matt Dillon, Proxima) jokes around with her mother Roslyn (Bernadette Peters, Mozart in the Jungle), and her younger siblings Dianne (Christine Taylor, Search Party) and Stewart (Keir O'Donnell, The Dry) lap up the lavish festivities, DEA agents swarm outside. Cue weed, hash and cash stashes being flushed and trashed, but not quickly enough to avoid splashing around serious repercussions. A decade later, High Desert's protagonist has been sharing Roslyn's house and trying to kick her addictions while working at Pioneertown, a historical attraction that gives tourists a dusty, gun-toting taste of frontier life. Peggy would love to step back in time herself when she's not pretending to be a saloon barmaid — to when her recently deceased mother was still alive, however, rather than to her glitzy post-arrest shindigs. Still angry about being caught up in a drug bust, Dianne and Stewart have zero time for her nostalgia and a lack of patience left for her troubles. Their plan: to sell Roslyn's abode with no worries about where Peggy might end up. Her counter: doing everything she can to stop that from happening. High Desert doesn't just embrace the fact that living and breathing is merely weathering whatever weird, wild and sometimes-wonderful shambles fate throws your way; in a show created and written by Nurse Jackie and Damages alumni Jennifer Hoppe and Nancy Fichman, plus Miss Congeniality and Desperate Housewives' Katie Ford, that idea dictates the busy plot, too. High Desert streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March and April this year. You can also check out our list of standout must-stream 2022 shows as well — and our best 15 new shows of last year, top 15 returning shows over the same period, 15 shows you might've missed and best 15 straight-to-streaming movies of 2022.
These days, you can get a monthly subscription of pretty much anything delivered to your door, from pies to cars to plants to hard-to-find cheeses sourced from across the country. But for gin lovers, they're all bound to pale in comparison to a nifty new delivery service Gin Society, which treats its subscribers to a full-sized bottle of a small-batch artisanal gin each month. The company has just launched deliveries across Australia, kick starting the service with Italian gin Rivo, a full-bodied sip produced in Lake Como in the north of Italy with foraged botanicals. Like this one, the ongoing lineup is set to showcase a whole range of local and international gins, with a focus on drops you won't find at your local bottle shop. Each time one of these hand-picked, premium gins lands at your doorstep, it'll be accompanied by that month's edition of Gin Journal magazine, featuring expert tasting notes, suggested cocktail recipes, bartender profiles, reviews and details about the gin's origins. Everything you need to ensure you enjoy that bottle of artisan booze to its fullest. With their first order, new members will score a special Gin Society gift set, complete with crystal mixing glass, copper bar spoon, copper Hawthorne strainer and copper bell jigger — tools guaranteed to take your cocktail game to the next level. The gin subscription will set you back $95 each month, which includes a full-sized bottle of gin, the specialty magazine and exclusive invitations to Gin Society events. Sign up for your monthly gin fix at the Gin Society website.
Venom was a mixed bag. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was only entertaining when Tom Hardy was arguing with himself. And Morbius made it clear that its titular vampire wasn't the only thing that sucked. But there's no stopping Sony's Spider-Man Universe, aka the studio's rival to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because the webslinger actually belongs to the MCU, this film franchise is all about Spidey's foes — and Kraven the Hunter is next, arriving in cinemas in October in the flick that shares his name. Expect another supervillain origin story, this time telling Marvel's nefarious big-game hunter's tale. Kraven the Hunter is set to step through the character's childhood, how he scored his skills and why he's so feared — and take place well before any beef with Spider-Man. "I stared death in the face, and for the first time I saw my true self," says the Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train) after being attacked by a lion as a teen in Kraven the Hunter's just-dropped first trailer. "They say he uses a connection with animals to track his prey," the debut sneak peek at the film, which hits cinemas in October, helpfully notes as well. Also on offer in this initial glimpse: Russell Crowe (The Pope's Exorcist) with a Russian accent as Kraven's father, who the feature's namesake keeps rebelling against; a hefty body count, and zero fear of getting bloody; and West Side Story Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose as voodoo priestess Calypso. Kraven the Hunter's cast features Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), Alessandro Nivola (Amsterdam) and Christopher Abbott (On the Count of Three), too, while JC Chandor (Triple Frontier, A Most Violent Year) directs. And if you're wondering what else is in store for the SSU, it's planning to keep hunting down box office glory, with Kraven the Hunter set to be followed by the Bad Bunny-starring El Muerto, then the Dakota Johnson (Cha Cha Real Smooth)- and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)-led Madame Web, plus a third Venom movie — all currently slated to arrive in 2024. Check out the trailer for Kraven the Hunter below: Kraven the Hunter releases in cinemas Down Under on October 5.
If the idea of sampling a range of gins from around the world appeals to you, you'd best be planning a trip to Covent Garden sharpish. Drawing on its London namesake for inspiration, the venue is nestled on Boundary Street in West End and is a stunning spot for a first date, a third date, a relaxed Sunday lunch, or late night supper and cocktails. The space positively blooms with beautiful artwork and furniture and there's a fairly stunning backbar just crying out to sit at. Grab a seat, order your first cocktail and then set about the serious business of choosing what you're going to eat. The menu really is best when it's shared, because you can try more of everything. A plate of zucchini fritters ($12) are dressed ever so simply with yoghurt and lemon, allowing the freshness of the zucchini to shine. There's a mezze plate with olives, smoky baba ghanoush, feta, pickles and breads ($17/$32) perfect to graze on pre-dinner, and why not grab a plate of fried squid ($14) for a bit of crispy deliciousness with your drinks? For more serious dinner fare there's seared wagyu ($38) or perhaps pork cheeks with sherry and nashi pear ($22). Helpful staff are only too happy to recommend a drink to suit your food, or some food to suit your drink, and if you simply can't decide on what to get just order the feasting table ($39 per person) which will satisfy everyone. The wine list is restrained but perfectly sufficient, while the cocktail list has to be experienced first hand. Plus, in a delightfully fun twist, you can get high tea ($45 pp) at Covent Garden until 6pm every day with a pitcher of Covent Garden G&Tea and an assortment of sweet and savoury delights. Sounds like Saturday afternoon drinks just got a whole lot fancier. Images: Anwyn Howarth
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was purely fictionalised and definitely not a documentary. Still, has Nicolas Cage ever been more relatable than when he was gushing over Paddington 2 in the 2022 action-comedy? No, probably not. Here's something else for fans of everyone's favourite bear to adore like a certain animal loves marmalade sandwiches: the first trailer for Paddington in Peru. The third film in the Ben Whishaw (Bad Behaviour)-voiced big-screen franchise that started with 2014's Paddington spells out its main point of difference from its predecessors in its title: instead of an entire picture filled with more of the coat- and hat-wearing talking bear's exploits in London, the flick is taking him and the Brown family to South America. In the sneak peek, the namesake country awaits, and the Amazon rainforest as well — after the chaos of getting a passport photo taken, of course — as Paddington decides to visit his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget) at the Home for Retired Bears. "I'm afraid she's set off on some sort of quest deep in the jungle, and we have no idea where she is," advises The Reverend Mother, the guitar-playing nun that adds Olivia Colman (Wicked Little Letters) to the Paddington realm, when Paddington arrives. Also joining the cast this time as the page-to-screen bear first created by Michael Bond goes off on his own search: Antonio Banderas (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) as an adventurer and Emily Mortimer (The New Look) as Mrs Brown. The latter replaces Sally Hawkins (Wonka), who played the part in the initial two features. Hugh Bonneville (The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) is back as Mr Brown, however, and so are Samuel Joslin (Houdini and Doyle) as Jonathan Brown and Madeleine Harris (Man Down) as Judy Brown. Behind the camera, feature first-timer Dougal Wilson is in the director's chair, following on from Paddington and Paddington 2's Paul King (Wonka). With fellow Paddington 2 alum Simon Farnaby (The Phantom of the Open) and Paddington in Peru co-screenwriter Mark Burton (Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon), King still has a story credit, though. Viewers Down Under will be starting off 2025 with the latest Paddington movie, which will hit local cinemas on Wednesday, January 1, after releasing in the UK in early November 2024. Check out the first trailer for Paddington in Peru below: Paddington in Peru releases in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
It has been a long, hard year and you may be looking at your screen right now daydreaming of a holiday on a secluded beach or exploring deep inside a rainforest. SurfStitch is looking to make that dream a reality by offering one of its customers a $5000 Luxury Escapes voucher to use towards a holiday. All you have to do is add a new addition to your wardrobe by making a purchase at SurfStitch. You can shop for a new swimsuit from brands like All About Eve, Calvin Klein and Peony. Maybe you've had your eyes on those low cut Doc Martins all the cool kids seem to be wearing these days or a Misfit button-up to complete your summer look. These are all available through SurfStitch — and if you pick one up you'll go into the draw. Treat yourself and you might be treated to a luxury holiday. Even better, pick up a new outfit for someone special this holiday season and then nab the holiday for yourself. Yes, Christmas is a time of selflessness ,but how good would $5000 be to make up for the lost time and cancelled holidays of 2020. The voucher can be spent on a range of accommodation options around Australia and overseas as well as some unforgettable travel packages and experiences. You could explore Australia's Top End on an eight-day tour from Darwin to Uluru, spend a week beachside at a luxury villa in the Maldives or take a ten-day tour of Japan including a stay at Mount Fuji. The gift card is valid for three years, so fingers firmly crossed international travel is back to normal by then. All you have to do is use Klarna when you check out. Klarna is an app that offers buy now, pay later and loyalty rewards programs. Find out how to sign up for Klara, browse SurfStitch's online store and learn more about the competition through SurfStitch's website. Go into the draw to win a $5000 Luxury Escapes gift card by making a purchase from SurfStitch and using Klarna at the checkout between Tuesday, December 1 and Thursday, December 31. The winner will be drawn on Tuesday, January 5. 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.
As most things did in 2020, Sydney Fringe Festival went digital last year, adapting to a period unlike any other in the event's history. In 2021, it's also following the prevailing trend — this time by returning with a physical month-long fest. That said, this festival isn't known for going with the flow. Its program always proves eclectic and varied and, when it drops in July, this year's is bound to be no different. For now, however, event organisers have detailed a few aspects of the fest that Sydneysiders can look forward to between Wednesday, September 1–Thursday, September 30. Performances, exhibitions, music, theatre, comedy, visual arts, film, dance, circus, literature and poetry — they'll all be covered when the complete lineup drops. If you're particularly interested in locally made theatre productions and cabaret, dance and musicals, though, you'll be heading to hubs dedicated to each. The Young Henry's Made in Sydney Hub will set up shop at PACT in Erskineville, and focus on works by independent Sydney theatre makers that are ready to tour. As for the City Tatts Musical Theatre and Cabaret Hub, it'll be based in the Segars Ballroom and Omega Lounge at City Tattersalls Club on Pitt Street, and also include a pop-up wine bar by Innocent Bystander. [caption id="attachment_812806" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Seiya Taguchi[/caption] A development program called Art in Isolation will be part of this year's Sydney Fringe Festival, too, featuring works that ruminate on life in the time of COVID-19. An ongoing initiative, it started commissioning and funding 20 artists back in September 2020, with the latest pieces set to premier at this year's fest — at another new hub that's all about experimental and cross artform programming, to be located at Mothership Studios in Sydenham. Other parts of the 2021 include weekly AUSLan-interpreted performances every Monday at Darlinghurst Theatre Company, plus a brand new program for kids — complete with a silent disco at Darling Quarter for young Fringe-goers. The Touring Hub will once again take over Fringe headquarters in Newtown to present must-see shows from international and interstate festivals, and the laughs will flow at Fringe Comedy at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville. Plus, the set-to-be-revamped Erskineville Town Hall will play host to the Emerging Artist Touring Hub. Sydney Fringe Festival 2021 will take place between Wednesday, September 1–Thursday, September 30, with the event's full program set to be announced in July. For further information in the interim, head to the fest's website.
While it's hard to put a number on the huge amount of Lego pieces in the world right now, one thing's for sure — all that plastic is the stuff of environmental nightmares. But we can all breathe a tiny bit easier, with the Lego Group announcing its latest good-guy move: it has started producing a range of sustainable pieces, made from plant-based plastic. The company will use a polyethylene sourced from sugarcane to create a new series of botanical Lego pieces, in the shapes of trees, leaves and bushes, to hit shelves as early as this year. They'll look and feel the same (sorry folks, stepping on these will hurt just as much as the regular Lego), but will have a much lighter environmental footprint. And it seems Lego's got plenty more eco-friendly initiatives up its sleeve, too. "At the Lego Group we want to make a positive impact on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials," said the group's Vice President for Environmental Responsibility Tim Brooks. "This is a great first step in our ambitious commitment of making all Lego bricks using sustainable materials." Lego Group has committed to using sustainable materials in all its core products and packaging by 2030.
Maybe you just like hanging out in Byron Bay. Perhaps you can't get enough of every music festival there is. Or, you could love seeing music legends take to the stage. The experience that is Bluesfest ticks all of the above boxes — and more — and will notch up its 35th anniversary with a couple of stone-cold icons behind the microphone: Tom Jones and Elvis Costello. Jones is no stranger to the event, last playing in 2016. What's new pussycat? Not the Welsh 'It's Not Unusual', 'Delilah' and 'Sex Bomb' singer spending Easter performing to a crowd of thousands in Australia. Costello and his band The Imposters were on the fest's 2023 bill, but had to drop out. So, they'll make the trip in 2024 instead. If you're now making long weekend plans, Bluesfest will take over Byron Events Farm in Tyagarah from Thursday, March 28–Monday, April 1. So far, the festival has named 23 acts and events on its lineup, ranging from Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos through to RocKwiz Live. Among the big names, Jack Johnson will play an Australian-exclusive set, in what's set to be his only Aussie show in 2024. Johnson has a history with the fest as well, first taking to its stages in 2001 when his career was just starting — long before he was a household name. [caption id="attachment_913223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kizzy O'Neal[/caption] Also heading to northern New South Wales as part of the five-day lineup: The Teskey Brothers, Matt Corby, L.A.B, Tommy Emmanuel, The Dead South and The Paper Kites. Although the list already goes on, this is just the first 2024 announcement. The last few years have been tumultuous for the Byron Bay mainstay. 2023's fest lost a number of acts, including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Sampa the Great, after Sticky Fingers were added to the bill. The fest ultimately dropped the controversial band. And while the fest went ahead in 2022 after two years of pandemic cancellations (and a thwarted temporary move to October for the same reason), it showcased a primarily Australian and New Zealand lineup. BLUESFEST 2024 LINEUP — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Jack Johnson Tom Jones The Teskey Brothers Matt Corby L.A.B Elvis Costello & The Imposters Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos Tommy Emmanuel The Dead South The Paper Kites Drive-by Truckers Newton Faulkner Steve Poltz 19-Twenty Taj Farrant Erja Lyytinen Harry Manx Here Come The Mummies Clayton Doley's Bayou Billabong Little Quirks Hussy Hicks Blues Arcadia RocKwiz Live Bluesfest 2024 will run from Thursday, March 28–Monday, April 1 at Byron Events Farm, Tyagarah. Season passes are on sale now — for further information, head to the Bluesfest website.
You've watched all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. You've read George RR Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, too, or at least bought it and have a shiny box set of novels sat on your bookshelf. You've sat on the Iron Throne, or made a date to. You've made plans to visit the Winterfell tour, drunk Game of Thrones beers and seen a Game of Thrones concert experience. Yes, the list goes on. You get the point — if you're reading this, you aren't just a casual fan of the hugely successful HBO franchise that's been spun from Martin's words. You're a devotee, and you've been waiting for years for what's certain to be a hefty lineip of Game of Thrones prequels, sequels and spinoffs to start. That time is now, with the arrival of House of the Dragon from Monday, August 22 Down Under. Obviously, you're celebrating with the best wine in your own personal version of King's Landing. Don't just sip your chalice or tankard of choice whenever you like while watching House of the Dragon, though. As you dive into this series about House Targaryen, which starts 172 years before the birth of Daenerys, we recommend turning the experience into a drinking game. There's plenty to say cheers to — and we've put together a part-rundown, part-silly speculation, part-wishlist of things to look out for (while consuming alcohol responsibly, of course). A SMALL SIP: DRINK LIKE SOMEONE SAID "WINTER IS COMING" FOR THE BILLIONTH TIME Someone points out that winter is coming, even if those words aren't specifically said. Someone says "dracarys". Someone says succession, successor or heir. A dragon is seen or spoken about. The Iron Throne is seen or spoken about. Someone gets a limb or appendage lopped off. Matt Smith looks shifty. A familiar piece of music plays. A familiar family name gets a mention. Nudity. Someone says "a girl?", "a woman?" or a similar sentiment. You spot House of the Dragon's obvious equivalent of a Game of Thrones character. You think you see Daenerys because of all the long blonde hair swishing about. Someone makes a promise everyone knows will be broken. A dragon saves the day. The show heads to a recognisable setting. A BIG GULP: DRINK LIKE YOU'RE TYRION LANNISTER ON AN ORDINARY MONDAY MORNING There's a messy marriage proposal or chaotic wedding. A George RR Martin title is mentioned. Someone is literally stabbed in the back. Someone pimps out a family member. There's yet another creepy relationship, whether due to gross age gaps, family ties or both. Someone turns out to be a bastard. You think you've figured out how the Game of Thrones credits came about. You spot a well-known Australian actor. A FEW MOUTHFULS: DRINK LIKE YOU JUST FOUND OUT YOUR BOYFRIEND IS YOUR NEPHEW Orgies! Zombies! Someone makes Joffrey look like a saint. You start predicting what the inevitable prequel to this prequel will cover. AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE: DRINK LIKE YOU'VE JUST REALISED YOU'RE AT THE RED WEDDING Someone says "you know nothing" — or is told they know nothing. It all turns out to be a dream. A Game of Thrones character appears in a vision, flashback or through time travel. Ed Sheeran pops up again. House of the Dragon airs and streams from Monday, August 22 Down Under via Foxtel and Binge in Australia and SoHo, Sky Go and Neon in New Zealand. Keen to get a sneak peek at what's in store, too? Check out our House of the Dragon review as well. Images: Ollie Upton/HBO.
In Sundown's holiday porn-style opening scenes, a clearly wealthy British family enjoys the most indulgent kind of Acapulco getaway that anyone possibly can. Beneath the blazing blue Mexican sky, at a resort that visibly costs a pretty penny, Alice Bennett (Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Snowman), her brother Neil (Tim Roth, Bergman Island), and her teenage children Alexa (Albertine Kotting McMillan, A Very British Scandal) and Colin (Samuel Bottomley, Everybody's Talking About Jamie) swim and lounge and sip, with margaritas, massages and moneyed bliss flowing freely. For many, it'd be a dream vacation. For Alice and her kids, it's routine, but they're still enjoying themselves. The look on Neil's passive face says everything, however. It's the picture of apathy — even though, as the film soon shows, he flat-out refuses to be anywhere else. The last time that a Michel Franco-written and -directed movie reached screens, it came courtesy of the Mexican filmmaker's savage class warfare drama New Order, which didn't hold back in ripping into the vast chasm between the ridiculously rich and everyone else. Sundown is equally as brutal, but it isn't quite Franco's take on The White Lotus or Nine Perfect Strangers, either. Rather, it's primarily a slippery and sinewy character study about a man with everything as well as nothing. Much happens within the feature's brief 82-minute running time. Slowly, enough is unveiled about the Bennett family's background, and why their extravagant jaunt abroad couldn't be a more ordinary event in their lavish lives. Still, that indifferent expression adorning Neil's dial rarely falters, whether grief, violence, trauma, lust, love, wins or losses cast a shadow over or brighten up his poolside and seaside stints knocking back drinks in the sunshine. For anyone else, the first interruption that comes the Bennetts' way would change this trip forever; indeed, for Alice, Alexa and Colin, it does instantly. Thanks to one sudden phone call, Alice learns that her mother is gravely ill. Via another while the quartet is hightailing it to the airport, she discovers that the worst has occurred. Viewers can be forgiven for initially thinking that Neil is her cruelly uncaring husband in these moments — Franco doesn't spell out their relationship until later, and Neil doesn't act for a second like someone who might and then does lose his mum. Before boarding the plane home, he shows the faintest glimmer of emotion when he announces that he's forgotten his passport, though. That said, he isn't agitated about delaying his journey back, but about the possibility that his relatives mightn't jet off and leave him alone. Sundown is often a restrained film, intentionally so. It doles out the reasons behind Neil's behaviour, and even basic explanatory information, as miserly as its protagonist cracks a smile. The movie itself is eventually a tad more forthcoming than Neil, but it remains firmly steeped in Franco's usual mindset: life happens, contentedly and grimly alike, and we're all just weathering it. Neither the highs nor lows appear to bother Neil, who holes up at the first hotel his cab driver takes him to, then starts making excuses and simply ignoring Alice's worried calls and texts. He navigates an affair with the younger Berenice (Iazua Larios, Ricochet) as well, and carries on like he doesn't have a care in the world. His sister returns, frantic and angry, but even then he's nonplussed. The same proves true, too, when a gangland execution bloodies his leisurely days by the beach, and also when violence cuts far closer to home. Tranquility, bleakness, the ordinary and the extreme in-between: it all keeps coming throughout Sundown. Yes, life keeps happening, even amid the relaxed air that breezes through the movie's aforementioned introductory moments. When there's little on the Bennetts' minds except unwinding, their comfort literally comes at the hands of Acapulco's workers. In the streets, an incendiary mood bubbles well before bodies end up on the sand. The gap between the one percent and the rest of us always stays in plain sight. The fact that a getaway as luxe as this one relies upon not the kindness but the exhaustive labour of others never slinks away. Also, that Neil's family wealth springs from slaughter isn't subtle — animals, in the pork trade — but that's never been Franco's approach. Still, Sundown is a film to soak up, riding its twists and wading through its questions, including the plethora that keep springing about Neil's actions. The last time that Roth worked with Franco, in 2015's Chronic, he turned in a mesmerising performance. Here, he's magnetic and absorbing as a man adrift by choice, through entitlement and also due to the cards he's been dealt. Some shots play up that idea with the director's characteristic lack of understatement — floating in a pool, for instance — but the point would've been plain via the film's central performance alone. Roth isn't coasting, or bobbing, or doing anything aimlessly. Sundown's audience can see Neil's behaviour as comic, heartless, troubled or arrogant, or a combination of all four and more, but Roth makes the sense of detachment and entropy behind the character's every move echo from the screen. His efforts prove all the more stark against the also-wonderful Gainsbourg, in a far smaller part. Unsurprisingly, Alice is anything but dispassionate, with her brother's subterfuge, selfishness and utter lack of care for everyone he's affecting earning her increasing exasperation. For Franco, forgoing nuance means staring head-on at the tales he's telling, the people within them and the statements about humanity that are being made — and Belgian cinematographer Yves Cape, who has a number of the filmmaker's pictures to his name (plus entrancing 2019 French film Zombi Child as well), eagerly obliges. Roving your eyes over Sundown's patient frames is an exercise in careful observation, sometimes peering so closely that you can almost count Roth's pores, but usually with a sense of distance that mirrors the space that Neil cultivates around himself. Watching this ruminative feature also requires confronting existential woes — and pondering existence — both compellingly and unsettlingly so. Franco has never had any fondness for privilege, or much for human nature; with his latest penetrating film, he's as unforgiving as always, but also as committed to unpacking what it means to define your own path.
783 million people in the world still lack access to clean water. Nearly 2.5 billion live without adequate sanitation. And it’s only going to get worse with continued climate change. So an Italian designer by the name of Arturo Vittori has come up with part of a solution: the WarkaWater tower. By harvesting water from the air, the 9 metre-high construction can collect more than 94 litres per day. Like many ingenious devices, it works incredibly simply. Stalks of bamboo or juncus are bound together to create a semi-rigid shell. Inside, a nylon and polypropylene mesh traps moisture. These form dewdrops and travel downwards, settling in a basin at the tower’s base. The design is inspired by the Warka tree, an Ethiopian native that bears figs and serves as a site for local meetings. Vittori invented the WarkaWater tower after a visit to north-eastern Ethiopia. “There, people live in a beautiful natural environment but often without running water, electricity, a toilet or a shower,” he tells Wired. Women and children walk for hours to collect water from ponds contaminated with human waste and full of worms. Not only does this mean serious exposure to disease and hard labour, it also means that children are kept from school. “WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water as well as ensure long-term environmental, financial and social sustainability,” Vittori explains. “Once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the WarkaWater towers.” Four people can build one in a few days at a cost of US$550. All necessary materials are available locally. Vittori is intending on having two towers built in Ethiopia by 2015. In the meantime, he’s seeking out financial support for their expansion. Another water-harvesting invention was launched in Lima last year. Via Inhabitat.
It's been 18 months since Stranger Things last unravelled the mysteries of the Upside Down — or some of them, at least. Come July, the beloved Netflix show will finally unveil its latest 80s-set supernatural chapter, much to the delight of fans everywhere. And while that's still far too many sleeps away, the streaming platform has gifted fans with something to tide us all over: a first proper look at the series' new eight episodes. Stranger Things season three might hit screens come winter Down Under, but it'll be the sunny summer of 1985 in Hawkins. Yes, its ragtag group of residents are making the most of the warm weather, lack of school and abundance of free time that comes with it. The season's first trailer opens with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) returning home and reuniting with the gang, before offering a glimpse of the weird adventures to come. That includes toys, trips to the mall, trippy lighting and another monster (that doesn't appear to be just a regular ol' Demogorgon). Everyone is back, although the main crew is a little older, so expect teenage versions of Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown), Will (Noah Schnapp), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink) this time around. "We're not kids anymore," says Mike, in case this wasn't clear. "I mean what did you think, we'd just sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?" Elsewhere, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) still looks shaken, Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is still a man on a mission, and everyone's favourite walking hairstyle — aka Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) — is now working in an ice cream parlour. Of course he is. Arriving more than two months after the season's initial cryptic teaser, the trailer also serves up plenty of new bits and pieces, but we'll let you discover the rest by watching. Check out the full trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEG3bmU_WaI Stranger Things season three arrives on Netflix on Thursday, July 4. Images: Netflix.
Sun, surf and sand are all great Australian day-trip staples — but if you're looking to add some ice, snow and a bucket-list destination to your next adventure, that's achievable, too. Fancy ticking the South Pole off of your must-see list? Have a bit of spare cash to burn? Eager to head overseas just for one day? Then you'll be excited to know that Antarctica Flights is now taking bookings for its 2022–23 season. The name does indeed say it all, with these plane trips flying to Antarctica from Australia courtesy of the sightseeing group. Antarctica Flights has been hosting the rare, sky-high, one-day charter tours for a few years now, and will be taking to the skies again from November 2022 through till February 2023. And, because these trips are classified as domestic flights, you don't even need to take your passport with you. Departing Sydney (November 6 and December 31, 2022), Hobart (November 13, 2022), Brisbane (November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023), Perth (November 27, 2022), Canberra (December 4, 2022), Melbourne (December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023) and Adelaide (February 5, 2023), these flights will cruise above the dazzling Antarctica Treaty area for around four hours. Each flight path is carefully chosen to maximise viewing from both sides of the plane and to ensure the best views should the weather turn nasty, while some passengers will rotate seats to allow everyone an equal shot at the spectacular scenery below. Travelling on a Qantas 787 Dreamliner, the whole trip clocks in at around 12.5 hours — depending on your departure city — during which you'll hear from expert Antarctic explorers, talking about the polar environment and its fascinating history. Your trip includes all of that, while enjoying some better-than-average Qantas plane food, full bar service and, in the lead-up to the views, a spot of in-flight entertainment — classic flick Happy Feet, or some Antarctic docos, of course. As expected, this kind of plane trip doesn't come cheap. You're looking at $1199 to be seated without direct access to a window, for instance. Other options, including Standard Economy Class ($2199), Superior Economy Class ($3199) and Premium Economy Class ($3999), involve seat rotations throughout the flight, so passengers can spend time both close to the window and further away. Of course, you and your favourite travel buddy could drop $7999 each on Business Class Deluxe tickets to have a window seat and the one next to it all to yourselves for the entire flight. ANTARCTICA FLIGHTS 2022-23: From Sydney: November 6 and December 31, 2022 From Hobart: November 13, 2022 From Brisbane: November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023 From Perth: November 27, 2022 From Canberra: December 4, 2022 From Melbourne: December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023 From Adelaide: February 5, 2023 Antarctica Flights' 2022-23 season is open for bookings now, with flights out of Sydney, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide between November 6, 2022–February 19, 2023.
