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
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.
We could all use a holiday right about now. That's proven true for the past 18 months or so, and the urge to head off on a getaway is only rising. Exactly when Australians will be able to travel between every state without navigating strict border restrictions isn't yet known, and neither is when the vaccine rate will hit 80-percent nationwide, allowing international travel again — but, in preparation for both of those things happening, the Marriott hotel chain is running a giveaway that'll get you away from home for almost a whole month. The first catch: obviously, you won't be travelling until that's permitted again. The second caveat: this competition is only open to folks who've had both COVID-19 jabs. It's Marriott's way of helping encouraging vaccination, given that so much about Australia's plan to move forward during the pandemic — and to open up the travel and hospitality industries again — is based how many people have been fully vaxxed. If you've rolled up your sleeves twice already — or when you do — you can enter Marriott's 'Ultimate Marriott Bonvoy Package' contest to score one night's free accommodation at each of the 28 participating Marriott Bonvoy Hotels and Resorts sites in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia. Yes, winning this will get you zipping beyond our own shores. And, in terms of bunking down, you'll be staying at spots under a range of different Marriott brands. That includes The Ritz Carlton, W Hotels and JW Marriott — and the Sheraton, Marriott and Westin hotels, too. Also covered: some Courtyard by Marriott and Four Points spots; Signature boutique properties such as AC Hotels and Aloft; and Australia's first Luxury Collection property, The Tasman, which is set to open in Hobart this December. [caption id="attachment_815560" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Melbourne Marriott Docklands, Dianna Snape[/caption] Five winners will be selected, with each able to use their prize once borders reopen. To go in the running, you need to head to the competition website, fill in your details and explain what travelling means to you in 25 words — and also upload a pdf of your vaccine certificate, which'll then be destroyed on Marriott's end once the company has verified that you're fully vaccinated. You'll need to be a member of Marriott Bonvoy as well, but you can sign up for free while you're on the site. Unsurprisingly, this is a one-entry-per-person deal, and you'll be able to travel — subject to border and travel restrictions — between January 1, 2022–June 1, 2023. It does only cover accommodation, too, so getting there and anything you spend while you're away is on your own dime. And if you're wondering when you can start getting serious about packing your bags, winners will be notified by December 6, 2021. For more information about Marriott's 'Ultimate Marriott Bonvoy Package' competition, or to enter, head to the hotel chain's website.
When Netflix released the first season of Heartstopper in 2022, audiences found it easy to say "I love you". When the streaming platform dropped the show's second season in 2023, the same was true of this coming-of-age gem. But in the first look at the series' third season, uttering those three words is causing plenty of anxiety for Charlie Spring (first-timer Joe Locke) — so much so that he's practising what he wants to tell Nick Nelson (Kit Connor, Little Joe) in front of the mirror. Netflix hasn't quite unveiled a trailer for the upcoming third instalment of this webcomic-to-page-to-screen delight, but it has released footage as part of its date announcement. So, everyone gets a very brief sneak peek at one scene — Charlie's nerves, his sister Tori (Jenny Walser, Call the Midwife) offering advice and Nick showing up at his door — and also the knowledge that the show will return on Thursday, October 3, 2024. This season will open with an episode called 'Love', fittingly, as Charlie attempts to express it verbally and Nick also has something to say to him. Expect the pair to learn more about each other — including Charlie seeing Nick in a singlet and Nick seeing Charlie in a cap, both for the first time, as per the just-dropped clip — and also start to think about the future beyond high school. As charming as romantic comedies, LGBTQIA+-championing tales, British series and coming-of-age stories can get so far, Heartstopper has proven a show to swoon over regardless of whether you currently are or ever have been a queer teen trying to be true to yourself, navigating adolescence and riding the emotional rollercoaster that is falling for someone. Its first season proved such a hit that Netflix renewed the series for two more go-arounds afterwards — with the graphic novel's author and illustrator Alice Oseman as the show's writer (and creator, obviously). Story-wise, Heartstopper began with Truham Grammar School pupils Charlie and Nick Nelson being seated next to each other at the start of a new term, with sparks flying swiftly and overwhelmingly — at least on Charlie's part — and then a life-changing love story blossoming. In season three, a few well-known faces are joining the cast, with Hayley Atwell (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One) playing Nick's aunt, Eddie Marsan (Back to Black) as Charlie's therapist and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as Charlie's celebrity crush. Check out the first look at Heartstopper season three via the date announcement video below: Heartstopper season three will stream via Netflix from Thursday, October 3, 2024. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Images: Netflix.
It's near impossible to talk baked goods in Brisbane without mentioning Jocelyn's Provisions. At Jocelyn's, the often forgotten sister of the brownie — the Blondie — is given a chance to shine. A rich and chewy texture, abound with chunks of white chocolate and macadamia nuts should be reason enough for you think twice before judging the lack of cocoa.
The award-winning Stomping Ground Brewing Co. is set to become the first brewpub in Collingwood to go solar, joining a growing number of Australian craft breweries on the vital sustainability bandwagon. With installation underway and completion expected by the end of the month, owners Guy Greenstone and Steve Jeffares (The Local Taphouse and GABS) are proud to increase their eco-friendly factor. "We're extremely passionate about the products we produce and know that many of our customers share our commitment to environmental sustainability," says Greenstone. "Installing a solar system is another big step towards becoming as sustainable and environmentally-friendly as possible. It also helps that this will reduce our energy costs as running a brewery is a very energy intensive operation." The brewery has been well on its way towards solar panelling for some time, having previously implemented numerous sustainability measures including a rainwater irrigation system, spent grain recycling, use of biodegradable eco-straws and serving wine from the barrel. To get technical about their new efforts, Beon Energy Solutions is installing a 96.39 kW system, which features 357 solar panels and will generate about 130,000kWh a year. Or, in other words, that's enough energy to power 20 homes. Stomping Ground have also teamed up with Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), an independent organisation that helps guide individuals and businesses through the transition to solar energy. The number of solar-powered Australian breweries continues to expand, and includes Victoria's Bright Brewery, Sydney's Young Henrys and Brisbane's Helios Brewing, among others. Independent breweries aren't the only ones looking at sustainability, either — AB In-Bev has also announced its commitment to make the company's purchased electricity 100 percent green by 2025. The largest brewing company in the world, AB In-Bev has also been busy snapping up independent breweries lately, adding both 4 Pines and Pirate Life to its arsenal in 2017.
Positioned on the corner of Sandgate Road and Station Street is the newly revamped Nundah pub, The Royal. Built in 1888, it was once painted a bright sunflower yellow with a black trim, needless to say, its overall look was a little drab. Recently, it has received a major makeover that would give fashion guru Gok a run for his money. The Royal's exterior is now crisp white and the large outdoor dining area is modern and inviting. Its overall vibe is charming with a cosy feel and its interior gives a nod to classic English style pubs due to its homely fireplace, exposed brick and warm atmosphere. Our waiter, Caeser, welcomed us on arrival and was more than happy to answer any questions. While The Royal is an old English pub, its menu is solely Italian. It has a large variety of choices and is filled with classics such as pizza, pasta and gelato. For starters, the crispy fried squid, aioli and lemon ($9.90) and antipasto platter ($16.90) were selected. They went down a treat with a glass of white and both would be suitable as a light meal to accompany afternoon drinks. Fans of seafood will be pleased by the selection on the menu. The Pesco Fresco — fresh fish, blistered cherry tomatoes, roasted capsicum, red onions, white wine, EVOO and gnocchi ($26.90) was a good choice. The fish was indeed fresh and packed full of flavour thanks to the white wine sauce. The combination of a fish fillet and gnocchi is a little unusual, but overall it worked well. Another seafood option is the sand crab lasagne, abalone cream sauce and salad ($25.90). It was a little heavier yet also tasty. The salad provided balance to the creamy, flavourful sauce. The dessert menu boasts classic Italian sweets such as tiramisu and pizza lovers can please their sweet tooth with a warm chocolate pizza. But we couldn't go past the tart, as a tart featuring Lindt chocolate and salted caramel gelato is a clear winner in our books ($11.90). The inside of the tart was filled with deliciously warm molten chocolate, proving to be a perfect way to top off a winter lunch. The Royal has been causing quite a stir in the rapidly changing Nundah precinct, and most nights the inside and outdoor areas are buzzing with activity. Not only does the menu include filling mains, it caters for coffee and cake, a shared pizza lunch or evening drinks and nibbles with ease. The staff were pleasant and are clearly excited about the transformation of this elegant establishment. Images: Grace Smith.
To be released December 24, 2012, The Kombi Trail is a tale of nine students fresh out of university who embark on the journey of a lifetime with the Cold War as a backdrop and a VW Kombi as means of transportation. This book tells of who they met, where they went and what they experienced. Among bizarre and sometimes frightening circumstances the young men encountered. Written by Robert Cox, Roger Sherwin, and Tony Thompson, this is tale straight out of 1961 and over three different continents. It's an entertaining tale of the relationships between these men and those they meet. Sharing a home and life-changing experiences, these men and their VW Kombi conquer treacherous mountain passes, severely unstable roadways, and river crossings. The young men travel to Anatolia, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Here are some pictures (via Retronaut) of their travels, the people they met and of course, the VW Kombi. take a look at these photos and keep your eyes peeled for the release of the book.
The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fred again.., Skrillex and Happy Mondays have played it. De La Soul, Aphex Twin, Carl Cox and deadmau5, too. For dance music fans, and just music fans in general, The Warehouse Project's fame extends far past its Manchester home. The event itself is now roaming further than Britain as well, including locking in its first-ever Australian visit. Yes, Manchester's rave scene is heading Down Under, with The Warehouse Project announcing a big weekend in both Sydney and Melbourne across Saturday, May 25–Sunday, May 26, 2024. It's busting out a heap of talent on both dates in both cities, swapping between Bonobo's Outlier series and Mall Grab's Looking for Trouble parties. Melbourne's PICA will get its The Warehouse Project experience started on the Saturday with Bonobo, while Munro Warehouse in Sydney Olympic Park will welcome Mall Grab to begin. Come Sunday, they'll swap. On both bills is plenty of company: HAAi, Kelly Lee Owens, Paula Tape, dj pgz and Krysko with Bonobo for starters; and Effy, Jennifer Loveless and DJ Dameeeela with Mall Grab, with more to come there as well. This is a two-city tour, so if you're keen on hitting up The Warehouse Project in Australia and you live somewhere other than Sydney or Melbourne, you'll need to plan an interstate trip. The Manchester institution's Aussie debut comes after initially going international in 2023 in Rotterdam and Antwerp. [caption id="attachment_868300" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mall Grab, by Rob Jones[/caption] It was back in 2006 that The Warehouse Project first unleashed its club nights on its birthplace, kicking off in a disused brewery and then moving underneath Manchester's Piccadilly station, in a space that's also been an air-raid shelter — and also to a warehouse that dates back to the 1920s. Now, it calls former railway station Depot Mayfield home when it's on in its home city. "Following the success of our first international editions in Rotterdam and Antwerp last year, we've been having great fun putting more international plans together. Australia has always been somewhere we've dreamed of hosting The Warehouse Project," said co-founder Sam Kandel, announcing the Aussie dates. "We are also so grateful to Bonobo and Mall Grab, and all the artists both international and domestic who will each play a special part of this WHP Australia debut." The Warehouse Project Australia 2024 Bonobo Presents OUTLIER Dates: Saturday, May 25 — PICA, Melbourne Sunday, May 26 — Munro Warehouse, Sydney Lineup: Bonobo (DJ set) HAAi Kelly Lee Owens (DJ set) Paula Tape dj pgz Krysko More to come Mall Grab Presents Looking For Trouble Dates: Saturday, May 25 — Munro Warehouse Sunday, May 26 — PICA, Melbourne Lineup: Mall Grab Effy Jennifer Loveless DJ Dameeeela More to come [caption id="attachment_943890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mayfield Depot, Rcsprinter123 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Warehouse Project will hit Australia for the first time across Saturday, May 25–Sunday, May 26, 2024, with presale tickets from 10am AEST on Tuesday, March 5 and general sales from 11am AEDT on Thursday, March 7. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Rob Jones for Khroma Collective.
There's something about the combination of chocolate and hazelnut that encourages a particularly fierce strain of food fandom. If you're fond of the pairing, you don't just like it — you flat-out love it more than almost every other food there is. That's why everything from Nutella recipe books and hotels to festivals and food trucks keep popping up. It's also why almost every dessert menu seems to feature the spread these days. And, it's clearly why Koko Black has opted for choc-hazelnut as well when it comes to releasing its first beer. This brew has nothing to do with Nutella, but it is chocolate hazelnut-flavoured — as made with Belgian couverture chocolate, plus hazelnuts (obviously). The resulting Belgian stout clocks in at 6.9 percent alcohol by volume, and marks a collaboration between the chocolatier and brewer Modus Operandi. No one needs a reason to come up with this beer-meets-dessert hybrid; however, it takes inspiration from Koko Black's 'nuts to caramel' collection. Yes, that's exactly what you're meant to eat while you're sipping. The choc hazelnut Belgian stout is being released to coincide with this year's Great Australian Beer Spectapular (GABS) in Melbourne, which takes place between Friday, May 21–Sunday, May 23. It'll be pouring as part of a masterclass during the fest, but that's not the only place you'll be able to find it. Head to Koko Black's website now to pick up a hamper featuring the brew — and some chocolate, naturally — or, if you're in Victoria, you can nab a four-pack from selected bottle shops from Sunday. Koko Black and Modus Operandi's choc hazelnut Belgian stout is on sale now via the Koko Black website — and will be sold in selected Victorian bottle shops from Sunday, May 23.
Think that Uber has completely transformed the idea of getting a ride from A to B? Actually, that's just the beginning. Airbus has just announced plans to start building a new kind of short-distance transportation that'll really make catching a cab completely different. Given that the company specialises in building aircraft, the fact that they're taking taxis into the sky shouldn't be that surprising. Yep, where their proposed helicopter-like vehicles are going they don't need roads — or, in a turn of events that might thrill or frighten you depending on how adventurous you are, they don't need drivers either. Their battery-powered CityAirbus will be designed to ferry about both passengers and small parcels without anyone at the helm, and will be booked and ordered via smartphone apps. The project is aimed towards easing urban congestion, particularly in some of the world's largest, most crowded cities. Of course, given that everyone is just getting used to concepts such as driverless cabs on the ground and slurpees delivered by drone, Airbus will have plenty of hurdles to scale before their futuristic technology becomes available to the masses, legal issues included. That hasn't deterred the industrious company, however, who continue to look onwards and upwards. Work started in February this year, test flights of the first protoype are slated to take place in 2017, and Airbus has stated the end product might be zooming about in as little as ten years, so watch this space — or the skies, more accurately. It seems that the world of flying cars that science fiction efforts like Back to the Future, The Fifth Element and even The Jetsons have been promising us for years might soon be a reality. Image: via Airbus.
Almost two months has passed since Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness first hit Netflix, sparking a worldwide obsession with Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and the duo's strange intertwined story. Over that time, Tiger King-related news has just kept coming, including details about competing dramatised series — one with Kate McKinnon as Baskin, another with Nicolas Cage as Exotic. And now, in a hardly surprising development, another season of the Tiger King docuseries is also reportedly on the way. As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is reteaming with the filmmakers behind the popular documentary. This time, though, they're turning their attention to a different big cat-related tale. Audiences are already going to be hearing about Joe Exotic and his blonde mullet in various guises for years and years to come, so the next Tiger King series will focus elsewhere: on the 2003 mauling attack at a Siegfried and Roy show. The incident happened in Las Vegas on Roy Horn's birthday, when a seven-year-old white tiger named Montecore attacked Roy during a performance. It left the magician and entertainer with permanent injuries, with the tiger biting his neck and dragging him off stage. The news comes just days after Horn passed away on May 8 at the age of 75. [caption id="attachment_770551" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Carol M Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] No firm details have been announced by Netflix as yet, so when more Tiger King might hit your streaming queue isn't yet known. And yes, it's likely that wild documentaries about tigers, as well as other big cats and exotic animals, will become the next big viewing trend. Via The Hollywood Reporter. Top image: Netflix.
Sick of rooftop bars and microbreweries playing host to your weekend wind down? Looking for something classier than the local pub but want to steer clear of the Valley? From the street, Cobbler Bar doesn't look like much, but opening the door to this specialty whiskey and cocktail bar is like opening the door to a world of Edgar Allan Poe with dimly lit tables, melted red wax candles and floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves filled with not books but every single genre of booze, malt and spirit imaginable. Scan the 300 odd (give or take) whiskies imported from across Europe, Asia and North America, bop your head to the sounds of 50s rock and cast your eyes over the ever-changing cocktail list, which stretches from the traditional to the tropical to the innovative and weird. The interior may be different, and the atmosphere exceptionally hipster-preppy-grunge, but the best part (and what makes Cobbler truly unique) is the BYO policy for food. These guys are so focused on pouring the perfect cocktail or sourcing the best whiskey for your palate that there's no time to think about a food menu. No no. Here, you can bring in as much cheese and quince paste as your heart desires, which leaves professional and skilled bartenders to focus on what they do best.
Kangaroo Island is known for its spectacular coastal views, wildlife, wineries and pristine beaches. It's clear to see how it got on the New York Times list of the best places to visit in 2023 and our own list of the best islands to visit in Australia. To help travellers get the most out of a trip to Kangaroo Island, we decided to create this complete guide. It highlights the best places to stay, where to eat and drink and what special activities to book ahead of time — whether you're looking for adventure or a little bit of luxury. All you have to do is get yourselves there, either by ferry or plane from Adelaide. [caption id="attachment_759309" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bay of Shoals Wine by Meaghan Coles[/caption] EAT AND DRINK Straight off the ferry? Head to Millie Mae's Pantry for a full brunch made with ingredients from the kitchen garden, or pick up something to take with you for lunch while you adventure through the island. If you've stayed in Kingscote, start the day off with coffee from Cactus. It's well worth coming back later in the day for dumplings, tacos or whatever is on the menu that night. A winery tour is a must while you're in town, so make sure to hit Bay of Shoals Wines, which boasts the closest vines to the sea in the southern hemisphere. Nearby, there's also The Islander Estate Vineyards for vino made by a renowned Bordeaux winemaker and, for balance, Kangaroo Island Brewery where you can stop for lunch and try a few local cold ones. Also worth checking out on the far east side of the island is False Cape Wines — known for its minimal intervention drops — and Dudley Wines, which has incredible views and live music on the first Sunday of the month. But if organising this alone seems like too much hassle or you'd rather someone else drive you around, then wine tours are the way to go. This full-day wine and nature tour starts from Kangaroo Island and this alternative food and wine tasting safari starts from Adelaide. On each of these Kangaroo Island day trips, you'll taste great local vinos, eat some tasty local produce and get up and close with friendly Aussie wildlife. [caption id="attachment_759308" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Penneshaw Hotel by Adam Bruzzone[/caption] For the island's best fish and chips, we have to recommend KI Fresh Seafood in Kingscote. It's attached to a petrol station, but don't let that put you off — take away and enjoy on the water's edge. For a finer affair, head to dinner at Sunset Food and Wine. The modern bistro looks out over American Beach and is owned by Jack Ingram, former executive chef of Southern Ocean Lodge, a Kangaroo Island favourite that was sadly destroyed in the bushfires of 2020. The menu is stacked with fresh local seafood and produce, including rock lobster, kingfish sashimi and Kangaroo Island honeycomb. Otherwise, the Penneshaw Hotel is perched on a clifftop and offers a decent pub feed overlooking the wide open sea. And lastly, you should check out the monthly farmers and community market day at Penneshaw Oval, which also happens on the first Sunday of the month (between October and April). [caption id="attachment_759315" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chapman River[/caption] DO If you're arriving by ferry, you'll get into Penneshaw — and from there you can head straight to Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari to swim with dolphins. In Lashmar Conservation Park, you can also watch out for wildlife as you kayak along the Chapman River to Antechamber Bay, where you'll find a lovely private beach perfect for a dip. Making your way west, seafood lovers should spend an afternoon at American River, where The Oyster Farm Shop will sort you out with fresh local oysters, marron, abalone and King George whiting, before you explore the protected wetlands of Pelican Lagoon. Of course, one of the best things about Kangaroo Island is the beaches: crystal clear, blue waters, long stretches of glittery white sand and lazy days spent soaking it all in. The best ones? Emu Bay on the island's north coast, where you can drive your car right onto the four-kilometre stretch of white sand and spend a day in the tranquil waters, or — a little further west — Snelling Beach for an epic sunset. Spend a day exploring the shops and sights of Kingscote, the island's largest town, just south of Emu Bay. Stop in at the Spinners and Weavers Shop for handmade natural fibre treasures, take a tour of Island Beehive and pick up some local honey, shop art at Shep's Studio and Fine Art Kangaroo Island, and visit Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Oil distillery. Be sure to make time for a two-hour blend-your-own-gin experience at Kangaroo Island Spirits. Next, you should head southwest to Vivonne Bay for surf and to sandboard down Little Sahara with the help of Little Sahara Adventure Centre. Alternatively, you cab join a quad bike tour to explore the grass and bushland before heading to the Seal Bay Conservation Park for a guided tour of the sea lion colony. [caption id="attachment_759307" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ecopia Retreat by Stirling West[/caption] STAY Kangaroo Island has lots of luxury accommodation and you can go off-grid in style at Stowaway Kangaroo Island. Imagine curling up in the window seat of a luxurious private cabin on the edge of Lathami Conservation Park and a privately owned sheep farm, soaking in views of the bush and ocean in the distance. Both of the cabins, aptly named The Nest and The Sleepy Hollow, come with a huge soaker bath with sweeping views, a hot tub out on the deck, a sauna and a local produce hamper. Otherwise, make yourself at home at Ecopia Villas on a vast property in the middle of the island, complete with exclusive access to the Eleanor River and hundreds of acres of wilderness. Or you can book an all-inclusive package with bespoke 4WD tours at the Sea Dragon Lodge and Villas, or fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs of the island's eastern-most point at Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge within the Cape Willoughby Conservation Park. If you'd rather keep it simple (and cheap), pitch a tent at one of these gorgeous camping spots that are all mere steps from the beach and have their own toilets, barbecues and picnic facilities. These stunning sites help place Kangaroo Island on our list of the best camping spots in Australia, as voted by our readers. We aren't the only ones who love Kangaroo Island — you guys do, too. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. All images courtesy of the South Australia Tourism Commission.
When you've directed two movies about zombies — the first of which you've basically become synonymous with — and also dabbled with on-screen demons, what do you tackle next? If you're Australian Wyrmwood, Nekrotronic and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner, you do battle with another classic horror concept. Sting takes its moniker from The Hobbit. The fact that its human protagonist is called Charlotte is particularly telling, however. What better name to use in a movie about a giant spider that falls from the sky, is discovered by a curious 12-year-old, then makes its growing presence petrifyingly known? Shot in the ABC studios in Sydney but set in a New York City apartment block in the thick of winter, Sting's nods elsewhere stretch across the film like a web. Lines recall Predator. Shots nod to Alien. "I pretty much copied that exact jump-scare from Alien, when Tom Skerritt goes into the air conditioning ducts, 100 percent," Roache-Turner tells Concrete Playground. He's loving about his influences, on- and off-screen. That affection for flicks gone by shows in the movie from the moment that its titular creature — he's named his spider well, too — first appears. Roache-Turner has also used himself and his own fear as a basis. Yes, he's afraid of spiders, as we almost all are. "I didn't necessarily want to confront it. It's just my job is to think of the worst thing, the scariest thing, the most-disturbing thing that could happen to me, and then put it in a script and then make you guys watch it and hope that it scares people," says Roache-Turner. "That's kind of what I do. I just sit around thinking about things that disturb me and then I write about them — and it's good because if you take your nightmares out of here and you put it down onto paper, and you spend a couple of years making a spider movie, the hope is that you might become a little less arachnophobic. So it could be therapeutic." Asked if making Sting ended up being cathartic, though, Roache-Turner has bad news for anyone thinking that they might cure their unease about eight-legged arthropods through filmmaking. "Not at all. No. I still hate spiders. Maybe it's worse now because I've had to look at so much footage of spiders, so now I'm doubly sure that I hate them," he shares. Ten years back on Wyrmwood, which he calls "one of the best things I've ever done in my life", the writer/director put everything that he had into what swiftly became his calling card. "It was three-and-a-half years of production. I shot a lot of it in my mum's backyard. It was me and my brothers and my mates just putting on zombie makeup and having fun," Roache-Turner notes. "I can't tell you how fun it was, and I still think about it almost every day. It's a huge part of my life, and it's the reason why I'm here talking to you about a giant spider movie." He's happy that it keeps coming up. "No matter what I do, people go 'you made Wyrmwood'. I think that's how Sam Raimi must feel, too. He can make as many A Simple Plan movies as he wants. He can do as many Spider-Man movies as he wants. But he's always the guy that did Evil Dead, and that's me," he advises. Roache-Turner is also still giving his all with Sting, including by drawing upon his own family setup. Charlotte, played by Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart's Alyla Browne, has an IRL analogue. So does her stepfather Ethan, with House of the Dragon and In Limbo's Ryan Corr the film's version of Roache-Turner. As happens in the picture — which features Noni Hazelhurst (One Night), Penelope Mitchell (What You Wish For), Jermaine Fowler (A Murder at the End of the World), Silvia Colloca (Wellmania), Danny Kim (C*A*U*G*H*T) and Robyn Nevin (Relic) as well — Sting's creative force had just welcomed a new baby. Similarities continue, albeit with a critter that Roache-Turner is most frightened of looming large, literally, aided by creature design by Wētā Workshop. How does taking inspiration from so much of your own life guide you when you're writing a horror screenplay? How did Sting get rolling from the idea that everyone hates spiders, not just Roache-Turner? What kind of balancing act was required to make this an unsettling spider flick, also a movie about a kid with an unusual pet Pete's Dragon and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial-style, and a picture about a family in crisis? With Sting opening in Australian cinemas on Thursday, July 18, 2024, Roache-Turner filled us in, and also chatted about his inspirations, casting Browne and Corr, and what type of primal fear that he's grappling with next. On Starting with the Idea That Everyone Hates Spiders, Then Getting the Ball Rolling "The good thing about Sting is it's a primal fear like sharks. Everybody's scared of a thing in the bedroom. Everybody's scared of the idea of a ghost. These are primal fears. And as I'm arachnophobic, I've had the image or the idea — anytime I look at a spider, I'm scared, I want to cry. But a little part of my brain goes 'imagine that was big. Imagine that was big!'. I've been thinking about that for most of my life, and then finally I set myself a task. It was actually after I had a meeting with James Wan's producer, and he was explaining how he and James make films. And he goes 'we do a template system, so we go: single location, one monster, one family — go'. And he goes 'we just make the same movie over and over again'. And I was thinking 'I wonder if I could do that?'. So I thought 'okay, I'm going take a single location: let's say an apartment building. I'm going to take a family: let's say my family'. So I just had a baby. I'm married. I've got a stepdaughter. I'm going to just template that so I can make it personal. 'What's the monster?' And that whole thing in my head just started echoing 'imagine a spider was big'. That's the thing that I would be most scared of to see. So I just wrote the movie that would be the scariest movie that I could possibly make. The idea of a giant spider descending on a crib was one of the first images that I got, because I just was a new father and I had a baby, and I just couldn't imagine anything worse. And so I was like 'yeah, that'll make a good poster'. That's how these things get started. And I wrote the script, and I took it around. And I don't think anybody, I couldn't really find a producer who wanted to do it because they were all scared. They're just like 'no, no, no, no, no, it's probably going to be more than about five mil'. Everybody wants to make the five-mil Blumhouse template thing. And I'm like 'yeah, I could write that, but I didn't write that in this case. I don't think we can make a giant spider movie set in a New York apartment building for five. I don't know how to do that'. So Jamie Hilton and Michael Pontin and Chris Brown [Sting's producers] just were brave enough to just go 'okay, we believe in this, we're going push it'. Once we got the ball rolling, it just seemed like a good idea, because it had been a while since we had a really decent giant spider movie. I can't even really think of one. I mean Arachnophobia, but they're little. I'm talking about one the size of a pit bull terrier. Other than Shelob, there's not really that many out there. So we had something vaguely original and we just ran with it." On How Taking Inspiration From Your Personal Life Guides You When You're Writing a Screenplay "It guides the emotion, so all of this stuff with the father and the daughter and the wife and the baby and the tension, that all came out of COVID. I was going through that. The big difference is I get on with my family really well — I'll start to make up a bunch of really horrible drama to make it interesting, but the feelings and the emotion is there. In terms of writing the thing, there's no secret to it. It's unexplainable. The structure just jumps into your head. You go 'if there's an alien spider in the building, how does it get into the apartment? How do we keep it in the family? How does it then grow big? How does it then escape so it can start eating dogs and cats? Who's the first human it's gonna eat? What happens when it attacks the family?'. One thing leads to another, and it just becomes a question of thinking your way out of situations. And then you find yourself at the end, and then you write 'fade out'. Sometimes they're good. Sometimes they're bad. Writing is the most-unexplainable thing in the world, and it's the hardest part of the whole process. But there are little tricks to making it easier, and certainly templating your own family and your own experiences is an easy way to get into an emotional truth." On Balancing the Film as a Spider Horror Flick, But Also a Movie About a Kid with an Unusual Pet and a Picture About a Family in Crisis "It's the hardest part, balancing that stuff. And because I am the person who made Wyrmwood, my tendency is to just make films that feel like they just never stop. So I really was trying to make something that has more long sections of just straight drama. I wanted to slow it down a little bit. A huge part of the writing process and the rewriting was about making the family warmer at the start so that when cracks start to appear, we care about them more — and how much drama should there be between the father and the daughter? All that kind of stuff. Yeah, it's a real balancing act in a film like this. Sometimes, I'm not sure I succeeded. Sometimes, I'm like 'did I put too much family drama in there?'. And some people are like 'yeah man, you should have had more deaths and kills'. And then somebody else would go 'god, what? No, no. That was the best thing about the film'. So it's hard to know sometimes. I think you just make a thing and you hope it's right. You do some test screenings. You work on instinct. But on this one, I wanted it to be more than just about a spider eating people, and scares and thrills. I had a personal thing that I wanted to work through with the family dynamic, and we did that, we went a little bit more dramatic with it." On Casting Rising Australian Star and Furiosa Co-Star Alyla Browne as Charlotte "We went to Nikki Barrett [the Australian casting director] and just said 'Nikki, we have a really, really difficult task for you. We need you to cast a 12-year-old star in this film that we just wrote'. And she goes 'shhhh, stop talking. Cast Alyla Browne. Just don't talk about it. Don't talk about it. Just cast her'. And she doesn't talk like that. She's usually very considered, but she was just like 'this is the person. This is the girl'. I might've just looked up a clip on YouTube. I was like 'who is this Alyla Browne?'. It was two clips of an audition she did for a film years earlier when she was like nine. She did an amazing audition where she cried. And I was like 'oh, my god, she's so talented'. Then she did the same thing in a flawless American accent and cried. And I was like 'is she available immediately?'. We didn't even audition her. I just met with her and her mother and just tried hard not to stuff it up. I was more me convincing her to be in the film. But luckily she loved the script and wanted to do it. Her mum just wanted to meet me to make sure I'm not a crazy person and so I pretended not to be, and she signed up and did the movie. She's honestly one of the most-talented actors I've ever worked with. You put the camera on her and something happens. It's a star quality — she's a 12-year-old with the star quality of Nicole Kidman or something. The whole crew would go silent and people would be looking at each other going 'just how is this 12-year-old being this amazing?'. And she made my film just 30-percent better just by being on in front of the camera — and that's something that the director prays for." On Enlisting Ryan Corr to Play Roache-Turner's On-Screen Surrogate "I'd wanted to work with Ryan for years and years. We tried and we just had a few availability issues or whatever. I've been trying to work with him for a long time. So I was stoked to get him for this one, and I'm glad it was on this one because, yeah, this was very much like he's playing me. He's not playing a guy running around jumping in slow motion, firing a gun — this is me. I wanted to be a comics artist. I wear glasses. I have a beard. Like, he's playing me. He's just playing like a heaps better-looking version of me. And every actor knows that, he read the script, he knew the deal. He's like 'yeah, this is you. I get it, but I'm going to do my own version'. With Ryan, it's like working with Brando or Tom Hardy or something. You just step back, say 'action' and watch him improve your movie. There's not much directing that goes on. The guy's a genius." On the Film's Commitment to Incorporating Practical Effects "I love CGI and we've got some sick CGI in this film. Cumulus VFX, the company that did all that stuff, it was a flawless job. But I just believe, particularly with horror, sometimes there's just a bit of an uncanny-valley thing that pops in every now and again. You're just like 'oh, there's still just something wrong with the weight of it' or 'it's not quite interacting with the shadows right', and that's even when you've just got the best CGI you can get. So it's always important for me to have a big practical element. I prefer to have a layer of practical and CGI augments what's already there. Denis Villeneuve does that on Dune: Part Two — you look at the behind-the-scenes, most of it's practical, it's augmented digitally and that's why Dune is one of the best-looking science-fiction franchises of all time. I think with this one, it was really important that we had a practical element. And when that practical element is done by Wētā Workshop, who are the best at what they do in the universe, your life is made a lot easier." On Sting's Broad Array of Inspirations Beyond Roache-Turner and His Family "Charlotte's Web, 100 percent. That's just me having a dig at a cultural phenomenon — everybody read Charlotte's Web as a kid. And I figured most people have read The Hobbit, so the sting reference I think would be nice, too, and with all the giant spiders in Mirkwood. Also The Thing, with a single location with a bunch of people stuck with one monster being eaten. And there's a comedy aspect to The Thing that I love. The tone of John Carpenter's films, I love. Very heavily influenced by Jaws, even though narratively, it's very different — but just the tone of it. Poltergeist, also in that they're stuck in a house and it's a sort of flawed family with cracks in it being terrified by an entity in a house. I really was going for a Spielberg thing. There's a tendency, I think, in today's horror to be overly arty or overly bleak, and Spielberg has a light and an adventurous touch that I really like — as well as being a really good filmmaker who understands that Hitchcockian tension. So I wanted to play in that sandbox. Spielberg is a huge influence on this." On Which Classic Horror Setup Is Next for Roache-Turner "I'm in pre-production on a giant shark movie right now, so I'm literally a couple of weeks away from shooting. I'm doing an Australian World War Two shark movie where a ship gets shot down by Japanese torpedoes halfway between Darwin and East Timor, and these guys are trapped on a raft and they're bedevilled by this giant killer shark that's eating them one by one. So I'm just making my way through the monsters." Sting opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
You may have already heard, indeed the internet has been speaking of nothing else, but Stereosonic will not be returning in 2016. They announced on Facebook that the festival will be back and bigger than ever in 2017 which, tbh, just sounds like a gentle breakup. Why would a beloved festival, a cornerstone event in the calendars of both gym bros and dinger slingers alike, clock out for a whole year? Organisers Totem Onelove say it's because they're committed to bringing fans the best festival experience possible. It may also be attributed to the tragic deaths of two patrons in 2015, or that the American company who own Totem Onelove, SFX, recently filed for bankruptcy. All hypotheticals, all 'could be's. It could be that the Year of the Monkey is just not their year. It could just be a sign of the times. Future Music was cancelled in early 2015 because it doesn't make "financial sense"; Soundwave soon followed due to poor ticket sales (although to be fair, their version of poor ticket sales was around 20k at $170 a pop – about $3.4 million revenue. And now Stereosonic has folded and the big three festival that defined the Aussie festival scene are done and dusted. The real shame here is without a big festival, and the big budgets they bring, there's one less drawcard to get the big acts out to Australia and put on sideshows. It's pretty good news for people who would rather bathe in urine than step foot into a gym-bro festival because at the same time, as you've probably noticed, boutique festivals are going boom — it's been a killer few years for the likes of Sugar Mountain, Secret Garden Festival, Strawberry Fields, Let Them Eat Cake, Inner Varnika, OfftheGrid, Dark Mofo and Meredith to name only a handful. In the place of the massive one-size-fits-all festival giants come hundreds of smaller, niche events. The democratisation of festival culture can only be a good thing right? See ya Stereo. You'll be missed, like the lost revenue from many, many Australian gym memberships this year. Image: Stereosonic.
What runs the film world right now? Concert flicks, which are having a big-screen moment again. In the space of mere months, three huge examples of the genre will play cinemas worldwide, much to the delight of folks who like getting their movie and music fix in one go. First comes Taylor Swift's Eras tour concert film in October. In Australia, Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, aka the best concert flick ever made, will return to picture palaces in November. And now RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ will do the same worldwide from December. Beyoncé is no stranger to splashing her sets across a screen, after HOMECOMING: A Film By Beyoncé did exactly that on Netflix back in 2019. That movie covered the superstar singer's time on the Coachella stage, and came with a 40-track live album as well. This time, Bey is focusing on her 56-performance, 39-city world RENAISSANCE tour in support of the 2022 album of the same name. Now wrapped up after starting in Stockholm in Sweden in May and finishing in Kansas City, Missouri in the US on Sunday, October 1, the RENAISSANCE tour featured everything from 'Dangerously in Love 2', 'Cuff It', 'Formation' and 'Run the World (Girls)' to 'Crazy in Love', 'Love On Top', 'Drunk in Love' and 'America Has a Problem'. Sadly, audiences in Australia or New Zealand haven't experienced that setlist for themselves, with the tour skipping Down Under shows so far. Accordingly, RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ is the first chance for Bey fans in this part of the world to join in without heading overseas. "When I am performing, I am nothing but free," says Beyoncé in the just-released trailer for the new concert flick, which dropped along with the news that the movie exists. "The goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free," the musician continues, in a sneak peek that includes behind-the-scenes glimpses, crowd shots and, of course, spectacular concert footage. RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ charts the tour from its first show until its last, as well as the hard work and technical mastery that went into it on- and off-stage, as 2.7-million-plus fans have seen in person. In North America, it'll hit cinemas on Friday, December 1, and play for at least four weeks from Thursday–Sunday, including in IMAX. Exactly when the film will debut Down Under hasn't been revealed as yet — nor where the movie will screen — but prepare for lift off ASAP afterwards. Check out the trailer for RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ below: RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ will start screening in North America from Friday, December 1, with opening dates in other locations still to be announced — we'll update you when Australia and New Zealand details are revealed. Images: Julian Dakdouk / Mason Poole.
Streaming platforms, superheroes and Star Wars have become modern life's new certainties, with instances of each continuing to pop up all over the place. When Disney launches its own next big venture, they'll all combine, unsurprisingly — and with the company's own streaming service set to arrive in 2019, the mouse house has begun revealing the details. The platform will be known as Disney+, and will be home to not one but two small-screen Star Wars series, as well as at least one Marvel series as well. Given that Disney owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment, it's highly likely that the service will boast an entire galaxy of shows related to each huge franchise. In fact, you could probably walk into a cantina somewhere and make a safe bet on it. There have been 10 Star Wars films and 20 Marvel movies in cinemas already, after all. Fans of the George Lucas-created space opera can not only look forward to the previously announced $100 million Star Wars series The Mandalorian from The Jungle Book, Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau (and with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi helming an episode), but also a new spin-off from Rogue One. The latter will be set before the events of the film and will focus on Rebel spy Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role from the movie. In the Marvel sphere, while a number of shows have been rumoured for months, Disney have announced that Tom Hiddleston's trickster Loki will definitely be getting his own series. Just what storyline it'll follow, or when it'll be set, is yet to be revealed. That said, it's safe to assume that it might be a prequel series as well. Release dates for both series haven't been unveiled either — and nor has any word on the other Marvel show that has long been rumoured, about Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. Disney+ is definitely going big when it comes to bringing the company's well-known properties to the new streaming platform, with a High School Musical TV series, another show based on Monsters, Inc. and a live-action Lady and the Tramp movie also on its lineup. Via The Walt Disney Company. Image: Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War. Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Photo: Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2018.
It's time for class, again. After the first season proved a huge hit, and the second as well, Netflix is bringing Heartbreak High back for season three. Then, it's time to graduate. While the revival of the beloved Australian series from 1994–99 has been renewed for a third run, the streaming platform has also announced that the next batch of episodes will be the show's farewell. "She never got the letter — but now we get to see what happens next! Renewing Heartbreak High for its final season is a major point of pride for us at Netflix," said Netflix Director of Content ANZ Que Minh Luu, announcing the news. "It has been a joy to work with the utterly cooked creative minds behind our favourite Aussie YA show and to bring our stories, our culture and our in-jokes to all the fans here at home and throughout the world. See you at muck up day." Since releasing in April 2024, Heartbreak High's second season has spent plenty of time in Netflix's charts, debuting at number one in Australia — of course — and spending three weeks in the streamer's top ten for English television shows globally. The first season was also a massive smash with audiences, and with awards bodies, turning the series into an International Emmy-, AACTA- and Logie-winner. The third season, still to be shot in Sydney, will take the gang to their last year at Hartley High. What awaits Amerie (Ayesha Madon, Love Me), Harper (Asher Yasbincek, How to Please a Woman), Darren (screen first-timer James Majoos), Quinni (Chloe Hayden, Spooky Files), Ca$h (Will McDonald, Blaze), Malakai (Thomas Weatherall, RFDS), Spider (Bryn Chapman Parish, Mr Inbetween), Ant (Brodie Townsend, Significant Others), Sasha (Gemma Chua-Tran, Mustangs FC) and Missy (fellow newcomer Sherry-Lee Watson) — as well as teachers Woodsy (Rachel House, Our Flag Means Death) and Jojo (Chika Ikogwe, The Tourist) — hasn't yet been revealed. Also not yet announced: when Heartbreak High will drop its swansong season, so there's no date to add to your diary yet. In season two, the show not only dived back into high-school chaos, but followed a love triangle, a school captain race, clashing curriculum strands, quests for redemption, new romances, a mystery, plus the impact of new students and staff — including pupils Rowan (Sam Rechner, The Fabelmans) and Zoe (Kartanya Maynard, Deadloch), and Head of PE Timothy Voss (Angus Sampson, Bump). It was in 2020 that Netflix initially announced that it was bringing Heartbreak High back — and yes, it sure is a 2020s take on the Aussie show, spanning everything from friendship fights, yelling about vaginas from the top of a building and throwing dildos at walls through to consent, crime, drugs and police brutality. The original Heartbreak High was a massive deal, and was filled with now-familiar faces, such as Alex Dimitriades, a pre-Home and Away Ada Nicodemou, and Avengers: Endgame and Mystery Road's Callan Mulvey as Drazic. It painted a multicultural picture of Australia that was unlike anything else on TV at the time. And, for its six-year run across two Aussie networks, the Sydney-shot show was must-see television — not bad for a series that started as a spinoff to the Claudia Karvan- and Alex Dimitriades-starring 1993 movie The Heartbreak Kid, too. There's obviously no trailer for Heartbreak High season three yet, but check out the trailer for second season below: Heartbreak High streams via Netflix. Season three doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Read our reviews of season one and season two. Images: Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
Anyone who’s spent a frosty morning commuting on the Underground would know that London’s not exactly the world’s friendliest city. Well, not before a beer or five, anyway. In fact, a quarter of city siders report feeling lonely often, if not all the time. But a group of talkative types has decided that it needn’t be this way. They’ve come up with a project called Talk to Me London. The aim is to encourage a friendlier culture by helping strangers to talk to one another. The first assignment is a Kickstarter campaign, raising money for London’s first ever ‘Talk to Me’ day. The initial goal of £6,000 ($10,700) has been reached. So, one day this summer, thousands of Londoners will receive ‘Talk to Me’ badges to wear, indicating that they’re ‘up for a chat’. There’ll also be events held in public spaces, like dinner parties in parks and book discussions on tube carriages, lectures on wellbeing and community, conversation-prompting public art, flash mobs to break awkward silences, ‘talk bars’ on train platforms and busking acts that depend on interaction. Mayor Boris Johnson is a keen supporter. “I love the idea behind Talk to Me London,” he said. “What an innovative and fun way to encourage Londoners to talk to each other. Conversations are a great way to share experiences and stories, increase wellbeing, and bring a greater sense of community in the capital.” Via Springwise.
Outdoor music festivals aren't solely synonymous with summer, but one event takes its winter setup to great heights in more ways than one. At Snow Machine, the weather won't just be a bit cooler. Wearing a jumper won't do, either. This is both a chance to enjoy live tunes and a ski trip — and it's returning to Queenstown in 2024. It's the hottest festival for the colder months, packed with five snow-filled days of music and adventure at two mountain-topping ski resorts. On the just-dropped lineup for this year sits a reliable list of must-see names, including Peking Duk, The Rubens, Angus & Julia Stone, Bag Raiders and Cub Sport, who all help to give Snow Machine's winter wonderland a thumping soundtrack. After launching in Japan in 2020 (and returning there this year), the festival was actually supposed to make its arrival in Aotearoa in September 2021 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. It finally debuted in September 2022, then returned in 2023. Next, it makes a comeback from Tuesday, September 3–Sunday, September 8, 2024. Attendees will be treated to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events on both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, and a hefty roster of talent against the idyllic backdrop of New Zealand's adventure capital. Also dropping in to share the stage will be Atomic Blonde, Danny Clayton, Jimi The Kween, Lee Mvthews and Matt Corby — and also Montell2099, Old Mervs, Sachi, SHOUSE, Sin & Brook, Snakehips, Teenage Dads, The Knocks and the Poof Doof Ski Club. Other than the wintry backdrop, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span both five and seven nights of accommodation, and include access to all three evenings at the main arena, plus a five-day ski pass. If you'd rather make your own way or pass on the skiing, there are ticket-only options — and VIP packages if you really want to do it in style. Festival goers are also encouraged to immerse themselves in the adventure capital by adding on heli-skiing, jet boating, bungy jumping, canyon swinging and skydiving — and that's on top of Snow Machine's huge welcome party and other festivities. Another annual highlight: the Polar Bare, which endeavours to set a world record for the most amount of people heading down the slopes their swimwear. Snow Machine 2024 Lineup: Angus & Julia Stone Atomic Blonde Bag Raiders Cub Sport Danny Clayton Jimi The Kween Lee Mvthews Matt Corby Montell2099 Old Mervs Peking Duk Poof Doof Ski Club Sachi SHOUSE Sin & Brook Snakehips Teenage Dads The Knocks The Rubens Tom Tilley and Hugo Gruzman present First Base Snow Machine 2024 takes place from Tuesday, September 3–Sunday, September 8 in Queenstown, New Zealand. Presale tickets go on sale on from 12pm AEDT / 11am AEST / 2pm NZDT on Thursday, February 22, with general tickets available from 12pm AEDT / 11am AEST / 2pm NZDT on Friday, February 23. For more information, visit the festival's website. Images: Daniel Hildebrand/Pat Stevenson/Ben Lang. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
It's been just over a year since Amazon finally launched in Australia, promising an array of goods delivered quickly and affordably, as shipped from Melbourne and Sydney, and about five months since the company blocked Aussies from purchasing off its cheaper, larger international sites. Thankfully, it has just backflipped on the later. To rewind a bit, on July 1, Amazon announced that purchases from its international platforms would no longer be shipped to Australian addresses because of a change to Australian GST laws, which applied the standard goods and services tax of 10 percent to all online overseas purchases. Previously, GST had only applied to transactions over $1000. Aussies could instead shop on the Amazon Australia store, which had only around one percent of the range available in the US, or use a shipping forwarding service But this morning, Thursday, November 22 — less than five weeks out from Christmas (if you're counting) — Amazon backflipped on its decision, announcing it had reopened its US and other international sites to Aussies. In a statement published on news.com.au, Amazon said it had listened to "customer feedback" and made the necessary changes to its website to allow the company to comply with the new GST laws. The great news is the international sites are accessible right now, just in time for the Black Friday Sales. The not-so-good news is that at the moment only items that Amazon stocks and sells are available to us, while the company works out how to apply GST to third-party items. If you haven't yet started your Christmas shopping, here's a great excuse to start. via news.com.au
In the grand tradition of doing whimsical things to raise awareness about conservation and sustainability, New York City is set to be transformed next year as a part of The Water Tank Project. Carefully selected rooftop water tanks across New York will be wrapped in temporary artworks which all address the subject of water, as part of a public awareness campaign being organised by Word Above The Street. Working under the assumption that there's no art quite so powerful and affecting as public art, The Water Tank Project aims to raise awareness about the importance of water conservation. You may recall before the country started flooding that most of Australia was in drought for some time, remembered by most city folk for the dreary water restrictions put in place. And we had to do that because water, one of the things people take most for granted, can so easily and disastrously run out. The issue of simply finding water safe enough to drink is a global problem, with just 1% of the world's fresh water adequate for human consumption. Those who can't witness in person the changing New York city skyline will be able to keep tabs on the project through apps and web-based media. However, after the project's stint in New York, Word Above The Street plans to move the project to cities like Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City...and Sydney. In the meantime, supporters can donate to the project online. [Via Cool Hunting]
What's better than one of the Attenborough siblings marvelling over our planet's ancient creatures? None other than David Attenborough following in his brother Richard Attenborough's footsteps, of course. While the latter showed dinos some love back in Jurassic Park — with the now-late actor and filmmaker even uttering the iconic words "welcome to Jurassic Park" — his broadcaster, biologist and natural historian sibling has largely surveyed the rest of the earth's living creatures in his iconic documentaries. In David's next series, however, he's solely focusing on prehistoric critters. That show is Prehistoric Planet, a five-part natural history doco that's coming to Apple TV+ — and yes, fittingly, it's arriving on the small screen just before new Jurassic Park franchise instalment Jurassic World Dominion reaches cinemas in June. Even better: after revealing a few sneak peeks earlier in the month, the streaming platform has just dropped the full Prehistoric Planet trailer. Here, you'll hear David Attenborough talk through everything you need to know about dinosaurs. And, while peering back at what the earth was like 66 million years ago, he'll give the fascinating creatures the same treatment he's rolled out in past shows The Living Planet, State of the Planet, The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Blue Planet II, Our Planet, Seven Worlds, One Planet, A Perfect Planet and Green Planet (as well as Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, plus documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet). Basically, if you're always wanted to see a David Attenborough series about dinosaurs, life just found a way. And, it's clearly a must-see if you'd listen to him narrate anything and you're always awed by dinos (both of those apply to pretty much everyone). Get ready to discover little-known and surprising facts of dinosaur life, step through the environments of Cretaceous times, see how the Tyrannosaurus rex parented, and explore the ancient creatures of both the sea and sky. That's what Prehistoric Planet will cover across five episodes, which'll drop daily on Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27. Unsurprisingly, CGI will feature heavily in Prehistoric Planet — David Attenborough can do many things, but time travelling isn't one of them — but the show's special effects-created dinos will be combined with wildlife filmmaking and paleontology learnings. While the broadcaster's voice is always music to anyone's ears, Hans Zimmer will be adding rousing score to the show — fresh from winning his latest Oscar for Dune. And, if you're wondering about the photorealistic imagery that's bringing dinosaurs to life, filmmaker Jon Favreau is one of the Prehistoric Planet's executive producers. Also, the effects company behind his versions of The Jungle Book and The Lion King is doing the CGI honours. Check out Prehistoric Planet's full trailer below: Prehistoric Planet will hit Apple TV+ across Monday, May 23–Friday, May 27, with a new episode available to stream each day.
