In concurrence with the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, The National Gallery of Australia hosted its 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial last year. This major exhibition, titled Defying Empire, now makes the jump to Brisbane's UQ Art Museum from July 28 to November 11 — bringing together both established and emerging Indigenous artists from across Australia in a showcase that focuses on themes of identity, racism, displacement and country. Among the 30 participating artists are Brenda L. Croft, whose art looks at themes of home; Fiona Foley, who focuses on race relations; Tony Albert, who examines war and its aftermath; and Brook Andrew, who explores themes of ancestry. Other artists delve into heavy issues of nuclear testing, sovereignty and the stolen generations, using a mix of media from canvas painting, video and photography to weaving, sculpture, metalwork and glasswork. The exhibition reinforces the significance of Indigenous art in Australia's cultural identity and the ongoing struggle for equality. Image: Daniel Boyd by Nikki To, Megan Cope by Pat Scala/Fairfax Media.
Hankering for something sweet, fluffy and moist, but of the healthy (or healthier) variety? Finding something that ticks both boxes is usually no mean feat; however thanks to Nutri Hitt, it's about to become much easier. You could even say it's now a piece of cake (couldn't help it). The new Geebung-based shop specialises in tasty morsels that are actually good for you, which includes raw, vegan and paleo options, as well as goodies free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar. If you've been to a market or deli around town, you might've tried their wares. Now, like many a stall before them, they've made the leap to a permanent store. That's where you'll find all the guilt-free cakes that you could want, including the slice of white chocolate heaven that is the Snow White, childhood nostalgia in the form of the Rainbow Swirl, and everything from lemon, lime and coconut and tiramisu too. If you're after a smaller bite, don't despair — you'll still find slices and cupcakes at Nutri Hitt's stockists around the city. Snow White White Chocolate Cake covered in our own raw White chocolate shards #nutrihitt #nutrihittcakes #raw #rawcake #rawwhitechocolate #chocolate #snowwhite #whitechocolate #rawlife #treatyourself Posted by NUTRI HITT on Sunday, November 8, 2015 Nutri Hitt started out when owners Candi Coonan and Tamara Lord just wanted to serve delicious treats without the kilojoules. As their success shows, they've achieved that aim — and now everyone keen to have their cake but avoid the not-so-good ingredients has become a winner. Find Nutri Hitt at 8/328 Newman Rd, Geebung, or visit their website or Facebook page for more information.
You know that drinking coffee is addictive, right? Well, in Amber and Cynamon Norris' case, so is selling it. After making sure that Mount Gravatt's residents can get their caffeine fix since 2011, the Hallowed Grounds Espresso owners are about to bring their favourite hot brews to Daisy Hill. Don't expect the duo's latest coffee spot to simply replicate their past successes, though, with St Coco Cafe a brand new venture. Here, they'll be shining a spotlight on specialty beans, blends and more, including nitrogen-infused cold brews from Cold Wolff on tap. The full coffee range is yet to be revealed, but that's not all customers will find on Cupania Street come August, with St Coco offering up two types of food that are certain to excite anyone who's not so fond of a hot cuppa. For anyone after a sweet treat that's also wholesome, nutritious and vegan-friendly, Cloverly Cupcakes' baked delights will take pride of place on the menu. And, so will all-day brekkie options, much to the delight of those who like eating bacon and eggs whenever they feel like it (yeah, everyone). Find St Coco Cafe at 3 Cupania Street, Daisy Hill from August. Keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for further details. Image: Hallowed Grounds.
Spring produce and paired craft beers made Concrete Playground readers particularly happy this month, as James Squire and Concrete Playground teamed up to put on a special Spring Banquet at The Charming Squire — and we gave a group of lucky CP readers a seat at the table. Competition winners sat down to a five-course meal custom-made by executive chef Deniz Coskun, each dish paired with a specific James Squire tipple, and guests heard from Deniz and James Squire brand ambassadors on the night. Have a peruse through the gallery to see what went down (and here's an idea of the deliciousness that was served up). SPRING BANQUET MENU Green pea soup, Noosa spanner crab and fennel pollen with The Swindler Summer Ale Mooloolaba king prawns, scampi caviar, avocado mousse, Pullenvale citrus and nasturtium with 150 Lashes Pale Ale Free range pork belly, Jerusalem artichoke, spiced stone fruit and morcilla crumble with Golden Ale Slow cooked spring lamb shoulder, burnt eggplant, mixed asparagus, broad beans and pickles with Hop Thief American Pale Ale Dark chocolate fondant, new season mango, crumble, Jack of Spades porter ice cream with Jack of Spades Porter To stay up to date with future events at The Charming Squire, sign up to James Squire or head to The Charming Squire's website. Photography: Emily Jane Davies.
Sunny one day, perfect the next. Most of the time. Brisbanites will all agree that summer here, despite all its advantages can be a biatch. On days where the humidity is so stifling you feel as though you could cut the air with a knife and you have sweat dripping down you neck, chest and backs of the knees, all you crave is immediate relief. And this comes best served frozen. Whether you're looking for something healthy and nourishing, or are prepared to go the whole hog for sweet, icy, cooling deliciousness, here's our round-up of Brisbane's best. HEALTHY FROZEN TREATS PAWPAW CAFE: COCOWHIP If you haven't already heard that the Venzin Group have brought the famed BSKT Cocowhip from Nobbys Beach to the 'burbs of Brisbane, you've been living under a rock. This uber-healthy soft-serve treat takes coconut water, probiotic and maqui berry and whips it into oblivion to make a delicious, light and refreshing anytime-snack. Enjoy it with frozen mixed berries or add some granola and have it for breakfast. 898 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba KISS THE BERRY: KTB ORIGINAL BOWL Kiss the Berry really is the queen bee when it comes to who reigns supreme over Brisbane's acai bowl. No matter what flavour or toppings you choose (the Snickers Delight Bowl with cacao and almond butter; the Green Machine Bowl with spinach, kale and coconut water; or the Aloha Tropicana Bowl with mango and passionfruit), it's an option that explodes with flavour and crunch. The ultimate? The KTB Original Bowl is supercharged with superfood — just pure acai, frozen banana, strawberries and apple juice. 1/99 Creek Street, Brisbane City & 114 Grey Street, South Brisbane SKINNY SCOOP: ANTIOXIDANT BERRY BOWL Similar to an acai bowl only minus the acai, Skinny Scoop (of Jan Powers Farmers Markets) blitzes up frozen berry goodness and serves it with your choice of fresh seasonal fruit, shredded coconut or granola and goji berries. Less intense in flavour than an acai bowl, the Berry Antioxidant is cool, refreshing and exactly what your sweltering self needs after a humid morning picking out your week's worth of fruit and veg. Jan Powers Farmers Markets PRESS: PINK PATAYA BOWL You’ll be tickled pink by Press on James Street’s Pink Pitaya Bowl. The key ingredient being dragonfruit, Press blends it with other frozen fruits and ice. They fan fresh seasonal fruit out on top with shredded coconut, gojis and vegan granola. It’s very mild in flavour and perfect for a quick fix to quench your thirst or keep the wolf from the door. 18/65 James Street, Fortitude Valley COULD-PASS-AS-HEALTHY FROZEN TREATS YOFLOW: FROYO Supposedly with the same amount of sugar content as your supermarket Ski yoghurt, Yoflow self-serve froyo in Gasworks adopts the weigh-and-pay method for their regularly rotating flavours of froyo. It’s like a good old-fashioned soft-serve, with the toppings you choose dictating the level of indulgence. Pick from the likes of lime and rosewater, coconut or mango, or opt for the fail-safe natural falvour, then be as liberal as you like with what goes on top. From fresh fruit and tapioca bubbles to crumbled brownie and chocolate chips, it’s ranking on the health scale is in your court. Gasworks Plaza, Newstead BOOST JUICE: BANANA BUZZ A Banana Buzz on a hot day can usually turn your heat stress to happiness. Banana, milk, ice and 'TD4' ("to die 4") frozen yoghurt, plus honey if that’s your jam, are whizzed up into a ridiculously thick smoothie that sometimes means you almost need to resort to a spoon rather than struggle with the straw. It's the epitome of hitting the mall on a hot day. Equally thirst-quenching are the Mango Magic or Strawberry Squeeze, which can also be requested 'lite' with 30% less kilojoules. Various locations PASSIONTREE: BINGSOO Bingsoo, or shaved ice with toppings, is a popular Korean summer snack that Passiontree is bringing to Brisbane dessert lovers. Served in a giant parfait glass with toppings ranging from jelly cubes to cornflakes, it’s a quirky Asian dessert that surprises the tastebuds. For a limited time over summer, they’re also serving giant melon bingsoo: half a hulled-out melon (currently it’s watermelon), with melon juice-infused shaved ice, topped with perfectly sculpted balls of melon and creamy ice-cream. It’ll set you back $20 and is definitely an icy treat best shared between two or three. 103 Elizabeth street, Brisbane INDULGENT FROZEN TREATS LA MACELLERIA: GELATO We may not have a Gelato Messina, but with La Macelleria in Teneriffe serving authentic, artisanal Italian gelato using traditional machinery and techniques and sourcing the freshest of ingredients for their craft, who much cares? With flavours like caramello salato (salted caramel), Crema Bologna (best described as lemony-vanilla) and Castiglione (fresh ricotta with caramelised figs) there is a great mix of contemporary and conventional to suit any taste. Otherwise, a suite of sorbets, shakes and artful gelato cakes are proffered for sale. Made fresh everyday, these cups of creamy spoils are guaranteed to quash any heat-induced craving. 29 Florence St, Teneriffe COWCH DESSERT COCKTAIL BAR: NAKED POPS Cowch has stolen Brisbane’s heart with their range of indulgent desserts, wicked cocktails and up-late hours. The best treat to beat the heat? A deconstructed Naked Pop. Simply choose your flavour of ice cream (essentially a 'naked' Magnum) then DIY with the toppings. Dip it in white, milk or dark chocolate and sprinkle it with your choice of chocolate balls, nuts, honeycomb and dried berries. It’s an eyeball-roll-inducing cool-down. 2/179 Grey Street, South Bank COWCH DESSERT COCKTAIL BAR: BACON ICE CREAM At the beginning of this post, we said you could easily have the Cocowhip for breakfast. If that's too 'healthy' for you, then we suggest pigging out on Cowch's Canadienne Breakfast Waffle Bowl with Bacon Ice Cream and Maple Syrup. The salty-sweet ice cream dotted with crunchy bacon bits comes topped with a paper-thin crisp of air-dried pancetta and is served in a waffle cone bowl. Literally the whole dish is edible. And on a hot day, eat it you will. 2/179 Grey Street, South Bank
The only way is up for Bella BBQ, Brisbane's favourite purveyors of slow-cooked meat seasoned with American-style rubs. You’ve enjoyed their barbecue treats at markets since mid 2014. You’ve been following their new food truck around town since January. Now, you can help them set up a permanent base to sell more tasty meals, more often. Less than a year after bursting onto the street food scene and taking Brisbane's tastebuds by storm, Bella BBQ is looking to set up their own takeaway shop. Their newly launched crowdfunding campaign will hopefully make that dream a reality, complete with mouthwatering incentive rewards — food of course, but there's also merchandise and a chance to attend your own private BB masterclass. Indeed, Bella BBQ's story so far is the type delicious dreams are made of, and one made possible by south-east Queensland's insatiable appetite for barbecued meat. Owner Steve Hellyer had no idea that his efforts as a backyard chef would lead him to looking at opening his own store. "It has taken me by surprise, the popularity of it all," he says. "It has all happened so quickly." Hellyer always wanted to spend his days cooking good food, but was uncertain about making the leap from amateur to professional. Instead, he would go to markets with his wife, and followed his nose to stalls cooking up chorizo and smoked sausage. He decided to look into making his own at home, which inspired further research into flavour profiles for rubs for other types of meats — and an idea was born. "It turns out that I'm pretty damn good at a lot of cooking in the backyard, and a lot of eating some pretty crappy food to start with — and then just perfecting it," Hellyer explains. "I always say to people that I'm living the dream. You wouldn't put this much time and effort into cooking meat for so long unless you had a passion for it." Bella BBQ's products — brisket, pork, ribs and wings — are cooked low and slow for 18 hours, which explains the taste customers know and love. "There has to be a lot of love put in at the start, in order to have the equal amount of love come out at the end," says Hellyer. "I've always loved cooking. I've always loved creating dishes and creating tastes, and that shows." Some of Bella BBQ's best sellers actually came about because of Hellyer's overwhelming affection for his job as pitmaster — and his tendency to cook too much in an effort to perfect his smoke-infused, slow-cooked barbecue skills. "The pulled pork nachos are a dish that I used to serve because I cooked that much at home practicing cooking pulled pork, we had that much left over. Nachos were just something that I started making for myself. Then I introduced them to the markets, and they're one of our highest selling products." The demand doesn't stop there, with other additions to the menu — and offshoots with other stores — stemming from his success. Customers can even order a container of pulled pork to make their own meals, and buy Bella BBQ rubs from Barbecues and More to try to recreate the magic of American-style meat at home. Hellyer, an electronics engineer by trade, also created an app to help fans follow the van around Brisbane for their barbeque fix. Though Bella BBQ is seeking a permanent home, those addicted to rushing around town needn't worry — the food truck will still operate as a satellite store once the shop is up and running. To stay up-to-date with Bella BBQ, download their app or visit their Facebook page. Throw the BB team some dosh for their permanent takeaway joint here. Images: Bella BBQ.
First, Brent Farrell wowed Brisbane with his fine dining establishment. Then, he revamped the acclaimed inner-west restaurant, turning it into a casual eatery. Come January 2016, he's heading over to the south side of town to launch a brand new venture: Slack's Track Cafe. If you've ever enjoyed a meal at Toowong's 85 Miskin Street (or Brent's – The Dining Experience before it) — or tucked into their famed brekkie degustation — you'll know that this is good news. Think the same culinary mastery Farrell has been showcasing for more than a decade, largely focused on an a la carte breakfast and lunch menu, and served up in an even more relaxed environment on Logan Road. Yes, daytime delights will be the main attraction, though that's not all that'll be on offer. To the glee of sugar fiends in the vicinity of Mt Gravatt, Brent's winning ways with homemade sweets and desserts will also feature. Plus, once the eatery obtains a liquor license, there's talk of opening on Friday and/or Saturday evenings with a focus on a fixed-price, multi-course selection. Slack's Track Cafe won't just follow in 85 Miskin Street's footsteps when it comes to food, with its name also keeping on trend. You might not recognise the reference; however Logan Road was originally known as Slack's Track, with farmer William Slack moving his cattle through the area. Now, its namesake dining spot will move its mouthwatering morsels into your mouth. Find Slack's Track Cafe at 1293 Logan Road, Mt Gravatt from January 2016. For more information, check out their Facebook page and Instagram feed.
Sure, you've had a Mexican meal before — but have you had a Mexican 'gastronomy experience'? We're not just talking about the usual nachos, burritos and enchiladas, as tasty as they are. We're talking about Moreton Bay Bug tostadas with avocado and avruga, wagyu beef tacos with grilled onion, horseradish salsa verde, and truffled chicken quesadillas with queso and jalapeno. They're just some of the meals set to take over South Bank's latest Mexican restaurant, Mucho Mexicano. Along with the dish they're calling 'The Mother of All Tacos' — a build-your-own brisket, pork belly and/or am shoulder concoction — everything is designed to be enjoyed communally. That certainly suits the two-level restaurant's other big drawcard: Brisbane's first-ever dedicated margarita bar (apparently), with a drinks list appropriately stacked with tequila and multiple varieties of the signature beverage. Yep, it's definitely fiesta time, whether you're after lunch, dinner or drinks every day of the week, or a brekkie fix on weekends (with Mucho Mexicano's early morning menu joining the fold in the coming months). Plus, the new eatery's name doesn't just describe its menu focus, but reflects the growing number of Mexican places making their home in this particular stretch of the city. In fact, when it opens its doors in Che Asado's former digs on June 13, Mucho Mexicano will be right across the road from both Guzman y Gomez and The Burrito Bar. Ñam ñam. Find Mucho Mexicano at from June 13. For more information, check out their Facebook page.
For years, going to Bulimba for a meal, drink or just to hang with your mates has meant heading to Oxford Street, however the inner-eastern suburb is about to get another must-visit destination. That'd be Apollo Road, current home of the Bulimba Barracks, and future riverfront community hub. Revamping the 23-hectare space (the one most people just drive past and barely give a second glance to) has been mooted for some time, but now locals can have a sneak peek of what's to come. Alongside homes and apartments, draft plans include 2.1 hectares of parkland along the river's edge, complete with a riverwalk with pedestrian and cycle connectivity. A strip of shops and restaurants, plus approximately three hectares dedicated to sport and recreation facilities, are also mooted. Nothing is yet set in stone, with the community consultation period open until November 1. If you have a great idea, now's your chance to have your say. The blueprint for the space is expected to be finalised by the end of the year. In addition, in keeping with the area's rich history, heritage buildings already in the area's vicinity will be repurposed — including turning a military fabrications shed into a neighbourhood centre with a plaza for special events. It might stay the same from the outside, but once the transformation from army land to bustling precinct has been completed, that's the only part of this patch of Bulimba inhabitants will likely recognise. For more information about the Bulimba Barracks Master Plan, visit the Brisbane City Council website.
They send coffee beans into space, shoot fireworks you can taste into the sky and make cocktails tailored to your individual DNA in Dubai. With their fantastical fusion of art and food, UK-based 'jellymongers' Bompas & Parr are basically our patron saints around the Concrete Playground office. Who wouldn't want to attend one of their playful and painstakingly constructed events? For the happy campers at Dark Mofo, that's what's set to happen in a big way. As part of the Unconscious Collective's art sleepover Wild at Heart, the duo will create a feast that nods to Pagan traditions through hunting, gathering, sacrifice, ritual and some intensely primal dishes. With our eyes wide and mouths properly drooling, we got Sam Bompas on the line for a lowdown on what to expect at his Feed the Beast feast. And even more than that, we wanted to know what a person so used to thinking laterally about the potential of food has to say about current dining trends and the Australian culinary scene. His answers may surprise you. You and Harry [Parr, the other half of Bompas & Parr] started working together as jellymongers, but I see increasingly more stories about non-jelly-related experiences you've created these days. How did that evolution happen? I think quite naturally. When we started out we just wanted to do something fun on the weekend, and jelly held the key. We set up the jelly company but within a month we were moving on to full catering, doing a 12-course Victorian breakfast in Warwick castle, coordinating a thousand calories arriving on people's plates from three separate kitchens. So we moved quite quickly from jelly into doing everything. And I think really the reasoning behind that was wanting to give people really engaging, emotionally compelling experiences and in order to do that we were looking at controlling everything, from venue and set design to uniform design to choreography, rituals, scripting, staff, right through the plates and everything else. So I guess it was pretty ambitious. Obviously it takes a much bigger team of creatives to make all of this happen. Is your workplace basically Wonka's Chocolate Factory? Like that, but perhaps a little more adult. A lot of the projects we work on, some of them are very, very child-friendly — so we just did something that Willy Wonka would be proud of, a flavour-changing chewing gum factory — but some of the projects are a lot more adult, so things like the installation we've got up at the Museum of Sex in New York at the moment, which is looking at fairgrounds and eroticism, the pleasures and perils of the erotic fairground. You've been to Australia a few times now with your work. What did you find out about Australian food while you were here? I've got to say, when the Australian chefs I know come over to London, I'm always very, very interested because I think that in certain sectors Australia leads the world by about six months or so, in things like juicing culture, coffee culture, a lot of their F&D, and I'm obviously interested in some of the more unusual ingredients as well which are just totally native to Australia ... I was amazed last time I came across, I went to Africola, the restaurant in Adelaide, and I was served up a whole cow's head with brains still in, and of course, coming from England that's about the most taboo food you could ever imagine, in the aftermath of BSE [mad cow disease], so that was a pretty feral dining experience for me and absolutely blew me away. That's great for us Aussies to hear, because we have this cultural cringe, where we presume everything we do is a bit backwards. Did your visit give you any ideas you wanted to pursue? Seeing the cow's head sparked us to push even further what was totally acceptable for us to put on the table. Everyone here is obsessed with what is called the 'unholy union' of Cadbury chocolate and Vegemite. Have you heard about this? Oh wow. Not at all. Who claims to have discovered this? Cadbury's produced it. It's on the shelves. Really? They're very innovative. I guess so. We're just discovering how deep their imagination can stretch. So would you eat Vegemite chocolate? I'm never shy to try something once. Most people's reaction is 'yuck'. So is that yuck impulse something you like to trust, or interrogate? Well I think it's always culturally constructed. I've read a lot of research that says you can grow to like anything after you become acclimatised, and actually grow to love it. So once you know that, then you're kind of up for eating anything. Quite often when I travel my host will try to put the most harrowing things on the table just to test me, but I always quite like that challenge. So whether it's live, squirming tentacles that if you don't chew them stick to the back of your throat in South Korea or strange and rare fruits in Hawaii, I love pushing what I feel are my own limits. Insects are starting to become a thing here. You've probably eaten a few insects in your time? Yeah. There's a lot of chat about it. We did a whole insect banquet as part of something around Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, god, four or five years ago now. I'm not convinced insects are the future for our diets but I do think that they might help with animal feed and animal protein. I'm much more interested in the creative potential of genetic manipulation. I did imagine that you would be more excited than worried about GM. Well of course there are ethical concerns but as long as you navigate them in a sensible and conscientious manner I think there's some good work to be done. Back to the present. There's also this rise at the moment in food that's a challenge. You know, it's either impossible to make, or it's some kind of monstrous hybrid, or it looks like it could give you a heart attack. What is that about do you think? And do you see that kind of instinct in people as fuelling interest in your own work? I think for me, it's feeding into how across the board people are using food to define their personal sense of identity and to perform identity in front of others as well. So whether that's you're eating your glucose-free, lactose-free light salads and you're telling the story to people of you as a yoga babe, or savage dude food — all of it, of course, going up on Instagram to tell people what an interesting, amazing life you have. And I think it's exciting too. What it has meant is, given that people are using food in this way, as a signifier of status and signifier of identity, there's been an increasing amount of resources put into food and concern about food and what people are eating, and generally an overall lift up in food knowledge, which I think can only be a good thing. Absolutely. Australia certainly has a big foodie culture. Probably safe to say it eclipses our interest in stuff like art and art appreciation. Your work obviously combines both food and art. So what is the connection you see between the two areas? Basically no one eats our food because they're in need of more calories — in actual fact, they're often avoiding calories. They tend to eat our food for entertainment, and personally I consider both arts and food offshoots of the entertainment industry. So if you come to one of our events rather than going to the opera, going for a nice swim, making love, sitting at the pub talking about mermaids or whatever you like to talk about, it has to be really rather compelling. I guess one of the good things about food is it's a wonderful arena to give people an interesting and emotive experience and I think that's what the best art seeks to do. Foodie culture obviously has a lot of benefits — the increased knowledge, as you were saying. But do you think there are any downsides from being too narrowly focused on food? I think you've got to look at the word 'foodie' itself, is a pejorative term. It was invented in the 1970s by Paul Levy as a descriptive of someone who's too concerned about food to the point of missing other things in life. I think it is important to have balance, but if you look at a lot of our installations, while the food is important, we address a lot of the attention to other elements as well, just to give people a total experience, one that's very legible and understandable. I find sometimes very cheffy food becomes difficult to read; it becomes something that only the food elite can possibly understand. But what I'm interested in is a much more inclusive approach to food. Your banquet in Tasmania, Wild at Heart, is based around pagan themes. It seems pretty perfect for Dark Mofo, which also includes a nude solstice swim. Is that where the inspiration came from? With the banquet we've been collaborating with the Unconscious Collective, and they set the theme, but it's a theme we've been very delighted to explore, expand on and run with. It's so hairy and muscular you can really gorge on it, as we hope that participants will be gorging on the feast as well. There are two components. On the first night, it's more of a gentle, campfire-type scenario, spiced up with flamethrowers, bombfires and roadkill jerky and drinking from actual skull cups hollowed out of a whole variety of animal skulls. And that will actually be up and remain up way beyond the original launch to ensure that everyone can pop down. Then we move on to the Feed the Beast banquet, which is exploring all the many different facets of the beast and the animals we all contain within ourselves. Sounds primal. It should be pretty savage. And it's something that I'm quite excited to explore, because when you start feeding people, you become quite aware of just how thin that line of civility is that divides us from the animal kingdom ... So what we want to do with this event and meal is give people the opportunity, the excuse and legitimacy to explore the beast within them, with things [from] blood and beating hearts to epic steaming hunks of spit roast wild deer that's actually just been hunted by [Tasmanian chef] Ross O'Meara to the more amorous side, so exploring tales of aphrodisiacs. There'll definitely be a lot of nudity. And not all of it probably our performers. One of the things we're looking at is creating an actual beating pig's heart that materialises as part of the starter, and it's literally there pumping fluids around, so it feels very visceral, very alive. We then take this live heart, slice it up and sautee it so it comes back served up for the first course. I don't know that anyone's done that before, so there should be a few world firsts. Can you tell us anything else you've got planned for the 'rituals' in the event? We've got lots of rituals around blood. Almost like a whole meditative cleanse around hand washing as well. I'm also very inspired by a chap called Grimod de La Reynière, who was kind of the first proper restaurant critic and if you ask me a far better gourmet and food writer than his contemporary Brillat-Savarin, who everyone normally refers to. And he hosted a very decadent banquet in which all the guests arrived, they had their hands washed, and then they dried their hands on the hair of all the waitstaff, which I think is really, particularly creepy. So we'll try to channel some of those energies as well. Delightful. I want to ask you about some of your past works that we've covered on the site. You recently held an anatomical whiskey tasting. So I want to know, were people more excited to drink from a 20-year-old or a 50-year-old? Well we went from 25 to 39, and I think the thing that was wonderful was as the age went up, so the whiskey got more and more elaborate. We actually had a 63-year-old volunteer to be the vessel for one of them, although the only 63-year-old whiskey we could find was going to cost us a hundred and twenty thousand pounds, which got pretty full on ... The thing that I liked was how people interacted with one another. You started off with what was originally a sort of awkward situation, twenty strangers in a room on Valentine's Day, all licking whiskey from the naked, supine body of someone who they've never met and who's just told them the story of their life in fifteen minutes, and even with that, very rapidly, galvanized by some of the world's finest whiskies, they very quickly formed bonds. What about the lava barbecue? People had to get 500 friends together to make that happen. So did anyone get 500 friends together? We're still working on that. We're speaking to a couple of people at the moment. That would be my ultimate, ultimate project. That was far and away the best week I've ever had, and far and away the quickest cook as well, given that it is blazing at one thousand three hundred and fifty degrees Celsius. So you just need to find someone who can gather 500 people? Five hundred people and quite a hefty budget. 500 people and much money. We'll work on it. And with regards to jelly, have you come across a building you couldn't make into jelly, or are there buildings that work better than others? Modern architecture doesn't work; anything with a steel core doesn't work particularly well. Towers don't work very well at all. They obviously look phallic as buildings, but even more so when rendered in jelly. We made the Empire State Building and it had to get pulled from American morning television because it was just way too threatening ... But actually the buildings that tend to work best are historic stone architecture. And the reason for that is that as it gets higher then it goes in at the top, and that gives jelly just the right amount of stability. So some of the really good jellies we've made are actually Flinders Street Station and the Melbourne War Memorial, which was a really good one. But the Sydney Opera House might be harder? It sort of tapers in at the top; it works quite well. That's a firm favourite and regularly made as jelly. You already sell 'space beans' [coffee beans that have travelled to space] on the site. Are there any plans to expand the products people can buy? We often have plans we're not totally good at realising. To do products you have to have a firm focus and keep on rolling on it for a good long while. The inception and the creative frenzy of the first bit is soon replaced by actually having to go out and sell the product. The bit we like doing is all the creative bits, which is why I guess we stick with events and things. That's reasonable. But we'll keep our fingers crossed for some kind of amazing chocolate bar. It would be fun to do. I guess we've just got way too short attention spans so far. Wild at Heart is part of the festival Dark Mofo, which is on from June 12 – 22 in Hobart. The event is sold out, so if you don't have a ticket, you'll just have to watch your friends go savage from afar.
One of the biggest films of 2015 sees a team of valiant superheroes do battle with a malevolent android named Ultron. A hulking hunk of metal bent on human annihilation, he’s the latest in a long line of movie robots run amuck, one that stretches back all the way to Fritz Lang’s silent Metropolis and encompasses many of the all-time great science-fiction films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Terminator and the criminally underrated masterpiece that is Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. But while Ultron is busy making life difficult for Iron Man and pals, a smaller film is offering a more nuanced take on the dilemmas of artificial intelligence. The directorial debut of writer Alex Garland, Ex Machina is a (relatively) low-budget techno thriller that poses some big, frightening questions about where humankind may be headed. Carried on the shoulders of its three central performances, it’s an intriguing piece of understated science fiction that’ll leave you pondering its content long after it comes to an end. The film follows Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer for a massive internet search engine, who wins a mysterious company-wide lottery. His prize: spend a week with the company’s eccentric founder Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) in his remote mountainside home and research lab. There, Caleb finds himself introduced to Bateman’s most incredible invention yet: a humanoid robot named Ava (Swedish actress Alicia Vikander). The purpose of Caleb’s visit, Bateman explains, is to spend time speaking with Ava, to determine whether she has truly achieved artificial intelligence. As the week stretches on, however, Caleb begins to sense that something is terribly amiss. Although it’s his first film in the director’s chair, Garland is certainly no stranger to science fiction, having previously written the screenplays for Sunshine, 28 Days Later and Dredd. Still, Ex Machina is certainly his most cerebral work — slow moving, but never dull. As Ava and Caleb grow closer and Caleb begins to question Bateman’s ultimate goals, the film forces us to consider a number of difficult ideas, from what exactly it means to be human to what responsibilities come with playing God. A big part of what keeps the film engaging are the performances of Garland’s three leads. Gleeson’s awkward, good natured Caleb strikes a stark contrast with Isaac’s macho take on Bateman, whose heavy drinking and aggressive alpha male personality adds an uneasy tension to many of their exchanges. So too is it difficult to pin down the dynamic between Caleb and Vikander’s seemingly innocent robot, especially when she begins to show hints of romantic interest in her new companion — feelings that he soon begins to reciprocate. The film is at its best when it's exploring these kinds of emotional, social and technological grey areas. Hidden character motivations leave viewers in the same spot as Caleb, feeling increasingly uneasy, and unsure of exactly where they stand. If you just want explosions, go and see Age of Ultron. But if you’re looking for something a little more intellectually rewarding, Ex Machina is the ticket for you.
Before it became a film, playwright Kate Mulvany adapted Craig Silvey's 2009 Indie Book of the Year, Jasper Jones, for the stage — and scored a 2015 Nick Enright Prize nomination and four Helpmann nominations in the process. It was one of the hardest tickets in Sydney and Melbourne when it graced those state's stages, and now it's coming to Brisbane for a limited run. It's Western Australia in the 1960s. Charlie Bucktin is a clever 14-year-old whose ambition is writing The Great Australian Novel. But he's faced with a moral dilemma when Jasper Jones, an Indigenous boy who serves as the town's scapegoat, turns up at the window asking for help. Jasper has unwittingly come across a crime scene. But he's too scared to tell anyone, because he knows he'll cop the blame, without question or fair trial. So he asks Charlie for help in solving the mystery. In the suspenseful story that develops, Jasper Jones explores race relations, the Vietnam War and small-town Australian culture, alongside teenage friendships, word play and the complexities of growing up. Mulvany deftly adapts Silvey's words for the stage, keeping the right balance of tension and humour. The Queensland Theatre production is directed by Sam Strong, with Shaka Cook playing Jasper Jones and Nicholas Denton in the role of Charles Bucktin.
For decades, the smell of beer has lingered over Milton. Thanks to the XXXX Brewery, that scent isn't about to fade any time soon. In fact, with two more breweries about to pop up in the inner-city suburb, the aroma of yeast and hops is only going to get stronger. The first new addition is Aether Brewing, who've been planning their custom designed and built brewhouse for quite some time (as their Facebook page attests). Come October, they'll be showcasing their craft tipples on Railway Terrace, making and bottling drinks like their Event Horizon Oatmeal Stout and serving it in the restaurant and bar attached to the premises. Then, when December rolls around, Newstead Brewing Co. will also be moving into the neighbourhood. You'll find them on Castlemaine Street opposite Suncorp Stadium, complete with an on-site bistro. Once the new location is completely up and running, it'll become Newstead's main base, with their current Doggett Street digs focusing on small-batch brews instead. More details about both are bound to flood in as the year progresses. Point is, whatever kind of ale or lager you like, there's a pretty good chance you'll soon find it in Milton. Indeed, if hopping between bars sounds like your ideal way to while away an evening, you'll be able to cobble together quite the sizeable pub crawl itinerary while staying in just one suburb. Via The Courier-Mail.
"Joey, there's no living with...with a killing" explains Alan Ladd's character in the 1953 cowboy epic Shane. "There's no going back from it. Right or wrong, it's a brand, a brand that sticks. There's no going back. Now you run on home to your mother and tell her...tell her everything's alright, and there aren't any more guns in the valley". Twice in Logan we hear this same passage, and it sets the theme for the entire film. Hugh Jackman's Logan, aka Wolverine, is one of modern cinema's greatest tortured souls: a near-invincible soldier of fortune forever seeking memories of better days lost to amnesia, whilst drinking to forget the ones even amnesia refuses to ensnare. Time has been no friend to the man unburdened by it, with lovers long since dead and buried, friends gone the same way, and no new mutants, we learn, born for the past twenty five years. Even his own body is at last breaking down, like an old turbine with grinding parts and blunt, malfunctioning blades. The immortal man is somehow dying, and he can't welcome it quickly enough. If it's not already obvious, Logan represents something of a seismic shift for the X-Men franchise – a billion dollar film series that has, until now, consisted largely of family-friendly crowd-pleasers. Ultra-violent and with Scorsese level foul language, Logan at long last unleashes the true, brutal fury of the eponymous beast whose gruesome deeds have, for the past seventeen years, only ever been teased out or implied. Limbs are severed and skulls are skewered with bloody repetition, yet neither the frequency nor the intensity of the violence ever feels gratuitous. This is a dark, gritty and yet soulful production that finally honours the character behind so much of the X-Men saga's enduring popularity. In the lead roll, Jackman imbues Logan with all the rage, self-loathing and pain befitting a man who's literally seen it all. With greying hair and a weathered face hidden beneath a wild, bushy beard, the actor limps and heaves his way through every scene with palpable discomfort. Alongside him, Patrick Stewart returns as the wheelchair-bound Professor Charles Xavier, now a prisoner to his own failing (yet terrifyingly powerful) mind, the implications of which are brilliantly woven into the script. Stephen Merchant, too, joins the franchise in a wonderfully soulful turn, whilst the film's villains are this time embodied by Narcos' Boyd Holbrook and the ever-reliable Richard E Grant. Then, finally, there's newcomer Dafne Keen as a young mutant named Laura, and if you've seen the film's trailer you'll likely have already guessed her connection to both this story and its key characters. In the interest of preserving what surprises we can, the less said about Keen the better, except to note that her performance is outstanding and her scenes with Jackman ground the film in a deeply personal way. This is a bold offering from director James Mangold and an extraordinary conclusion to an otherwise ho-hum trilogy of Wolverine-centric spinoffs (see also: X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine). In an age of unending sequels and computer-generated chaos, Logan is a timely reminder that for all of their spectacle, the best superhero films can begin and end with human-driven stories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH3OxVFvTeg
Come July, Brisbanites can knock back cocktails at a gin-soaked high tea, taste creations from the city's next breed of culinary wizards, and dine under the stars at Eagle Street Pier, all thanks to one event. That's right, Good Food Month is back, and it's bigger than ever. Gird your stomachs, and prepare to go gaga over gastronomy. Topping the list of must-do activities is the Tanqueray G & Tea Rooftop Garden, a tea party for grown-ups that not even the Mad Hatter could've conjured up. On top of the Fox, you'll consume traditional high tea fare of cupcakes and sandwiches with a gin twist, and pretend you're Alice in your very own wonderland. Elsewhere, you can check out the cooking skills of the kitchen stars of tomorrow is on offer at the Young Chef's Dinner, and enjoy an evening eating experience al fresco at Dine Under the Stars. Or, learn the secrets of Australian cuisine from culinary maestros such as respected Melbourne master Ben Shewry (whose Attica was just named number 32 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list), and brush up on your blogging at the tastiest Food Writing 101 workshop you'll ever attend. Yes, there really is something in the Good Food Month program for everyone. Of course, everyone's favourite Night Noodle Markets will return, complete with yum cha weekend trading hours to meet the demand. The busiest event of 2014 now boasts more chances to enjoy the hawker-style outdoor market experience, featuring 30 different stalls over 12 days and nights. Is simple dining more your thing, rather than rushing to specific outings and activities? Then you're in luck, because that's what Good Food Month is really all about. Their list of venues spruiking meal deals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks is the kind of thing foodies fantasise about. That includes concoctions crafted from seasonal delights, cheap eats that won't punish your wallet, tours of the best international cuisine Brisbane has to offer, and a showcase of mouth-watering pub fare. One thing is for certain: with all these tasty treats on offer, you'll have no excuse to be hungry at this month-long food fiesta. Good Food Month runs from July 9 to August 9, 2015. Visit the website for more information. View all Brisbane Events.
Sydney foodies, we're spoilt for choice at every turn. New top-notch eateries are cropping up faster than ever before. If you're struggling to keep up — and who isn't? — never fear Taste of Sydney 2016 is the four-day foodie festival to get to up to speed on the cream of the culinary crop. Setting up residence in Centennial Park from March 10 to 13, Taste of Sydney in partnership with Electrolux is all about bringing diners and chefs together. Ticketholders will be treated with nosh from some of Sydney's top restaurants, including Middle Eastern street food from the crew at Glebe's Thievery, Porteno's famously hearty fare, Biota Dining's sustainable modern Australian dishes, nel.'s fine dining dishes, plus fire-cooked noms from Firedoor. Also joining the deliciousness will be Kitchen by Mike, MoVida, Sake, and the newly opened Kensington Street Social, among others. But we can't wait until then. We annoyed the Thievery team to give us a recipe, NOW. NOOOOOOW. So they relented and told us how make their mouthwatering baba ghanoush with sheep's milk yogurt, pinenuts and burnt butter. You can make it too! Thievery's Baba Ghanoush with Sheep's Milk Yogurt, Pinenuts and Burnt Butter 2 eggplants 25g tahini Juice of one lemon 1 clove of garlic 25g olive oil Salt and pepper (to taste) For pinenut burnt butter 75g pinenuts 120g unsalted butter For sheep's milk yoghurt dressing 100g sheep's milk yoghurt ¼ clove of garlic 15ml extra virgin olive oil Chervil leaves, to garnish Lebanese bread Method Prick the eggplants with a fork all over. Over an open flame, using tongs, grill the eggplant whole under tender and soft. Juices should bubble and start to flow. Alternatively, roast in oven at 190 degrees until tender and soft. Cut eggplants in half, length ways, and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Allow to cool. Add remaining ingredients to the eggplant flesh in the bowl. Using a whisk, gently combine all the ingredients together, keeping the texture thick to avoid turning the eggplant into a paste. Season to taste. On medium heat, melt unsalted butter in a saucepan until butter starts to turn an amber colour with a nutty smell. Just before beurre noisette (brown butter) add the pinenuts, tossing until noisette stage is achieved. Remove from heat. Set aside and keep warm so that butter does not solidify, allowing the pinenuts to infuse the flavour. Finely grate ¼ clove of garlic. Add sheep's milk yoghurt and olive oil, combining all ingredients together in a bowl. Season to taste. Place baba ghanoush in a serving bowl. Dollop sheep's milk yoghurt dressing around the baba ghanoush. Using a spoon, mix the pinenut burnt butter and spoon over the top. Garnish with chervil leaves and serve with warm Lebanese bread.
Musicians dream of many things: playing packed-out gigs, releasing a hit album that rockets up the charts, and attaining Kanye-levels of fame and fortune, just to name a few. Getting your own beer has to be on the list as well — and that's a rockstar achievement DZ Deathrays now has covered. No, bandmates Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley haven't cooked up a batch of homemade ale (well, that's not what they're unleashing upon the world right now, at least). And no, there's no rum involved, even though the duo both hail from Bundaberg. Instead, the ARIA-award winning Brisbane outfit has teamed up with the fine folks from Sydney brewery Young Henrys to make their very own brew. If Queen and Pearl Jam can have their own tipple, why can't they? Called Pils 'n' Thrills (Wellington's Garage Project will be raising a few eyebrows, they've already released a beer called Pils 'n' Thrills), DZ Deathrays' beverage of choice is a Czech-style pilsner complete with a stripped-back, classic, compact malt bill and a surprisingly hoppy palm to the nose. If you don't speak beer speak, that means that it's flavoursome, tasty and refreshing, i.e. all the things you want in a pint. Of course, Pils 'n' Thrills is a limited-edition affair, so you'd best head to your local stockist to get your fix quick smart. Then, next time you indulge in one of life's simple pleasures — aka enjoying an ice-cold beer while listening to your favourite band — you can do it with DZ Deathrays' very own drinks in your mitts. For more information about Pils 'n' Thrills, check out the Young Henrys website. Image: Luke Henery.
When you're on holiday, we think it's a rule that you can't leave the city without exploring the local pub scene. But often, there are so many pub options that the whole choosing-where-to-go thing can be a little overwhelming. What you need is a go-to guide that saves you a lot of research and tells you exactly where to go depending what mood you're in or what vibe you're after. Whether you're keen for a party, a chilled beverage in a beer garden, a good quality pub feed or a drink by the water, we've got you covered. We've partnered with Hahn Brewers and come up with a few failsafe options for you to visit. Never be lost for pub options in Perth again. FOR LIVE MUSIC: THE ROSEMOUNT, NORTH PERTH The affectionately-named 'Rosie' hosts national and international bands like Spoon, The Panics and Tiny Little Houses regularly in its live music room. It's the regular venue for album launches, karaoke nights and open-mic nights where undiscovered Perth talent can often make an appearance. If you're in Perth and looking to go to a gig, this is definitely the place to be. Sometimes there are food stalls and vintage markets out in the 'backyard', which consists of the 'deck' and the 'lawn'. Both spectacular spots to grab a beer to drink outside while checking out what's happening on the day. FOR THE VIEW: OCEAN BEACH HOTEL, COTTLESLOE The Ocean Beach Hotel, opposite Cottlesloe Beach, has everything — it serves coffee and breakfast from 7am, there's a sports bar, pool tables, a dining room, accommodation and most importantly, a huge, sunny rooftop with stunning views of the beach. Famous for its Sunday sessions and rooftop beer garden, it's the perfect spot to stop for a feed and a cold beer after a swim, or the perfect place to watch the sun go down over the ocean. [caption id="attachment_605929" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: The Local[/caption] FOR A FEED: THE LOCAL HOTEL, SOUTH FREMANTLE The Local Hotel in South Fremantle is one of Perth's stylish and recently renovated pubs. It's the perfect place to grab a slightly fancy pub feed, with a menu that accommodates almost every meal and appetite. There are simple cheese boards and starters, more substantial mains such as the sirloin steak, beef and veggie burgers and the grilled lamb loin. At the Local there's a public bar, a casual dining area and a whisky bar. There's also the Local Garage — a drive-through bottle shop that's been converted into a pop-up garden bar, open for breakfast on weekends and hosting food trucks in the afternoon. Should you need to stay the night, The Local also has beautiful boutique accomodation options. Each of the eight rooms are styled by local designers and offer their own light and airy features. FOR THE BEER GARDEN: THE NORFOLK, FREMANTLE Much loved by locals in Fremantle, The Norfolk is a failsafe option for a beverage in Perth. On the menu are all the pub classics like pizza, pasta, parmas and steaks, but the real highlight of the place is the two outdoor beer gardens. Leafy, half-sunny and half-shaded just like a good beer garden should be, the Norfolk is famous for its huge limestone walls. They make for a great, cosy atmosphere where you can sit back and watch some live music. [caption id="attachment_605945" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Raffles Hotel[/caption] FOR THE WATER: RAFFLES HOTEL, APPLECROSS The Raffles Hotel is located in the riverside suburb of Applecross. It's worth the trip from Perth to the other side of the river, because Raffles has beautiful views and a relaxed atmosphere where you can grab a drink and chill out by the water. Gourmet pizzas are on the menu alongside upscale pub classics like burgers, parmas and big plates of fresh seafood and pork belly to share. Raffles has multiple levels of outdoor seating, which means it hosts quite a few summer parties. Fashion launches, dinners, New Year's parties and Australia Day gatherings by the water. That kind of thing. FOR A BIT OF HISTORY: THE WINDSOR, SOUTH PERTH The Windsor Hotel in South Perth is an institution in the area. It's that classic, huge, old pub that everyone knows and occasionally visits. There's a sports bar, a beer garden out the back, and DJs that play on the weekends as well as all the classic events like Melbourne Cup, Australia Day and New Year's. The old building is surrounded by a historic verandah — a great place to settle down with an afternoon beer and read about one of the city's oldest pubs. FOR THE GAME: THE VIC, SUBIACO If you're in Perth and there's a game on (whether it's football, NRL, AFL, tennis, golf or anything else really), the place to watch it is at The Vic in Subiaco, one of Perth's popular inner-west suburbs. This place is as classic as an old-school sports pub gets, with parmas, burgers and cheap pints of beer served up in the beer garden and multiple dining rooms alongside local live music and trivia nights. The Vic packs out especially on big AFL days. The projector screens are rolled out and the building is filled with sports fans and footy scarfs. FOR A PARTY: BOTANICA BAR AND BISTRO, INNALOO Botanica boasts 'the best Sunday Session in Perth'. It's a big call, but if you're a regular you'll know that this Innaloo pub throws a few parties, and they tend to go off. During the day (or when there's no special event on, like the Silent Disco pictured), the outdoor beer garden is packed with people enjoying the sunshine, a brew and a pub feed. At night (and on Sundays) the DJs come out to play. There's also a sports bar attached to the Botanica — the crowd can get rowdy (in a good way) when there's a big game on the screens. Sign up to Hahn Brewers and settle down with a drink this weekend.
What are you doing right now? No, stop. Whatever it is, it most likely doesn’t compare to what you could be doing at this exact time next year. Sea N Beats, Australia’s first ever music festival at sea, is on March 5-8, 2016 — and if you’re into electronic dance beats and/or super chilled-in-a-chilla-way cruises through aquamarine waters (and isolated island paradises to boot), it's probably going to float your boat. The Sea N Beats ship will boast seven stages (so we know this is ain’t no dinghy), and a huge pool deck, where you’ll dance till the wee hours in the middle of the deep blue sea sea sea (hey, there’ll be no noise complaints here). Plus, included in your ticket is entry to an exclusive mystery island festival on an exclusive mystery island, somewhere off the exclusive mystery Queensland coast. After the seafaring shenanigans that went down at It’s the Ship — Singapore’s inaugural festival on a boat — last November, plus the fact that SS Coachella and the Weezer cruise are actual things that exist, it was high time we got one of these boat-fests of our own. Those festivals attracted sailors like Basement Jaxx, Lil John, Toro y Moi, Pulp and Hot Chip. No word on who’s going to be (literally) onboard for ours yet — but it’s safe to say this is going to be one hull of a party. Now's probably a good time to start training yourself out of your sea sickness. But it sounds well worth stocking up on those ginger tablets for; Sea N Beats reckon there's no other experience like this in the southern hemisphere. The ship sets sail from Brisbane on March 5 next year, and the festival runs till March 8. You know your psych-up music, crank it. Via Pedestrian. Image: Falls Festival.
For three days every September, Brisbane becomes the centre of the music industry. At least that’s how it feels when BIGSOUND, the annual music conference to end all music conferences, comes to town. In 2015, Australia's answer to South by Southwest sees Fortitude Valley pumping with events, including keynotes, panels, discussions, seminars and live gigs showcasing 150 bands across 15 venues. Everyone from former Federal Arts minister and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and rapper and activist Brother Ali to Katy Steele, Major Leagues, Muscles and Stonefield will be there — and that really is only the beginning. Of course, the official program is just part of the fun, with events happening around the main attraction always proving equally as exciting. To help you plan for what's certain to be a big few days, here are our picks of the five BIGSOUND events you should schedule into your diary.
Melburnians rejoice! Our time has come to put on our red shoes and dance the blues. David Bowie Is, the most talked about exhibition all year, has graced us with its almighty presence. Now you can all stop complaining that you only just missed it when it was in London, and get to ACMI ASAP. The exhibition features a whole heap of Bowie-related items, including costumes, sets, lyrics, album artwork, rare footage and obviously, music. Really, you had us at 'Bowie Exhibition'. You could charge $20 to come and view just one sequinned shoulder pad, and we’d still be running one-another down to get to the entrance. But before you rush too quickly out the door, you might want to prepare yourself for the onslaught of aggressively competitive Bowie fanatics who'll be lining up and no doubt loudly exclaiming various facts and quotes to out-Bowie each other. You know, the kind who will be all, "That’s not even David’s correct blood type..." So to help you stand your ground, we've put together this list of pointers. Consider this your David Bowie homework. WATCH (OR REWATCH) LABYRINTH First and foremost, rewatch Labyrinth. Or, at the very least, get your fix through one of the greatest, most terrifying moments from everyone’s childhood that is the clip above. Bask in the glory of Bowie as he dances around with a large swarm of tiny alcoholic goblin puppets. It truly is something to behold. Extra fun fact: Toby Frouder, the actor who, as a baby, quite convincingly played the baby in Labyrinth, is now a puppeteer himself. A goblin puppeteer, in fact. It's true and it's amazing. HAVE SOME BOWIE MERCHANDISE TO FLASH Drunkenly purchase yourself some Bowie merchandise in the wee hours of the morning. Not speaking from experience at all, but when your new Aladdin Sane queen-size bed set arrives in the mail, you'll thank your past boozed-out self. Take a snap on your phone and set it as your background so when you waltz around the exhibit, you can be like "lol, I’m sleeping with Bowie tonight lol lol." Everyone will love you for it and think you are hilarious and original. They will. BRUSH UP ON YOUR BOWIE CAMEOS Remember that time Bowie starred as Pontius Pilate alongside Willem Dafoe’s Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ? Yeah. That happened. Well, just in case someone quizzes you on that, you can memorise the full scene from here (but don’t, because it’s not great.) In fact, Bowie has a habit of popping up in unexpected places, everywhere from Zoolander to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwdORJVw3-o[/embed] GET THE LIVE(ISH) EXPERIENCE There’s a million videos of Davey B killing it on stage, but our personal favourite is this performance of ‘Under Pressure’ featuring Annie Lennox at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992. Unfortunately Bowie and Mercury never performed the song together live (can you actually imagine how incredible that performance would have been?), but it’s fair to say Lennox did a pretty phenomenal job. The dress, the three-piece green suit, the long loving embrace. It’s all too much. MEMORISE AT LEAST ONE BIT OF OBSCURE BOWIE TRIVIA When he was 13, Bowie was punched by his mate George Underwood over some mix-up with a girl (cuuute), and was left with a permanently dilated pupil. This story is relatively well-known and won’t earn you any Bow-n-ie points amongst aficionados. But what you may not know is that Underwood continued being one of Bowie’s best mates. Not only that, he's responsible for two of Bowie’s album covers, in Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. This proves that Bowie's a forgiving gentleman and all-round top bloke, just like we always knew he was. David Bowie Is will be at ACMI until November 1. See the full program of exhibition-related events at www.acmi.net.au/bowie. Top image: Masayoshi Sukita, The David Bowie Archive.
Called it. When more and more breweries started popping up in Milton, we were pretty sure that a brewery crawl was going to be in order. Trust Brewsvegas to make the idea a reality — and to keep it coming back year after year. There's no prizes for guessing what happens on The Milton Good Beer Trail, but there is plenty of beer. Yes indeed. Take a 1.4 kilometre stroll between The Scratch, Milton Common, Newstead Brewing, Brewski and Mongrel, snaffle a different Brewsvegas schooner at each venue, and just generally be merry. Who's thirsty? Even better — your $30 ticket also gets you a stubby cooler to commemorate your trek. And, you can make the stroll whenever you feel like between Friday, March 13 and Sunday, March 22 from 12–11pm. Top image: Newstead Brewing Co.
George Miller has done the near-impossible and made car chases interesting again. Not just interesting, mind you. Sensational. Mad Max: Fury Road is electrifying, breathtaking, white-knuckle cinema at its masterful best, and — given the entire film is a car chase — that’s no mean feat. Consider the problem. Chase sequences become interminably dull as soon as you recognise they are restricted by just two possible outcomes: ‘pursuer catches’ or ‘pursued evades’. Subject to a few notable exceptions (French Connection and Ronin being the standouts), these scenes merely interrupt the narrative and contribute little or nothing to the character arcs or overall plot. The difference is the road movie. Miller, who practically invented the genre 35 years ago, understands that everything changes when the chase is the story. It's cinematic inverted spectrum, where action is transformed from interruption to character defining narrative — an extension of the their very lives and personalities. Traditional distinctions like age and gender become irrelevant, and how a person drives, fights, shoots and stares becomes more important than what they say. Demonstrating an astonishing paucity of dialogue, the action of Mad Max: Fury Road doesn’t just speak more loudly than words — it positively deafens. In a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland, earth’s survivors now exist in a collection of militarised tribes fighting over the remaining reserves of gasoline and subject to the tyrannical rule of self-appointed demigods like ‘Immortan Joe’ (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The chase begins almost immediately when a one-armed big-rig driver named Furiosa (Charlize Theron), attempts to liberate Joe's young wives from their servitude as ‘breeders’ and Joe goes all out to recover them. Caught up in the action is Max (Tom Hardy), a wasteland loner captured by Joe’s minions and being used as a living blood bank for one of Furiosa’s pursuers, Nux (an almost unrecognisable Nicholas Hoult). Plot wise, it’s far from innovative; effectively Waterworld on sand with the design aesthetic of Fallout. Cinematically, however, Mad Max: Fury Road is unparalleled. The action is choreographed to mesmerising perfection, offering a balletic pageant of destruction with a refreshing absence of CGI. The sound, too, is staggering, with the menacing roar of V8 engines mirroring the Inception-like ‘BRAMMM’ that seems an almost constant fixture throughout. The combined effect is ferocious and irresistible, encapsulating all that makes cinema a uniquely immersive and transportive experience. Miller has crafted something extraordinary here, a modern masterpiece that could very well redefine the action standard. Don't wait for DVD on this one. See it where it's meant to be seen, and see it now.
For many a traveller, Singapore means three things: shopping centres, strict rules and stopovers. But, break out of the predictable itinerary, and you'll discover a more exotic side to this five million-strong island state. Beyond the CBD, tree-lined streets lead to diverse neighbourhoods, and each home to a distinctive culture. From beachside Katong, where Peranakan chefs serve up fiery laksa among heritage-listed architecture, to Little India, which is infused with incense, strung with flower garlands and draped with hand-woven silks, there's plenty more to be discovered beyond the aforementioned three S's. Here's Concrete Playground's less obvious guide to exploring Singapore. [caption id="attachment_571546" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Village Hotel Katong[/caption] STAY There's no better recovery from a long flight than a long soak. And with an oversized bathtub next to your bed (and within full view of a 46-inch LED TV) in a Peranakan Club room at the 229-room Village Hotel Katong (a 15 minute drive west of Changi Airport) you can do just that. When you're done, prowl about in 41 square metres of cool, white and blue space, splashed with Peranakan-patterned furnishings, including feature tiles and an enormous floor rug. There's also a roomy outdoor pool, a gym and a restaurant, serving up marathon multicultural buffet breakfasts and dinners. (Peranakan, by the way, refers to the descendants of Chinese people who moved to the Malay archipelago between the 1400s and 1600s and developed a famously rich culture, combining Chinese, Malay, Indian, Arabic and European influences.) [caption id="attachment_573954" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Village Hotel Albert Court[/caption] For a stay full of character on the edge of Little India (about 30 minutes west of Changi), check into Village Hotel Albert Court. The airy, marble-lined lobby is a step back into the colonial era. Order a martini and take a seat on a plush red lounge in the front bar, and you'll feel like you're in a James Bond film. The pre-war feel continues in the greenery-filled, sculpture-dotted courtyards and the classic rooms, furnished with dark wood and fitted with shutters. Some are arranged around a spectacular sunny atrium, and if you're staying above ground level, you'll be travelling via an external, glass-walled, Willy Wonka-style lift. Need to reenergise after a long, steamy day? Smash out some kilometres in the gym and relax in the twin jacuzzis — one warm and one cool. Ask about the 'Far More Perks' package for a bunch of extras, like free cocktails and canapes, private lounges, late checkout, city tours, laundry and access to a Changi Airport lounge. DO A stay at either hotel lets you in on some pretty special cultural experiences, which allow you to see Singapore through a local's eyes. If you're in Katong, it's well worth getting on the Village Hotel's heritage walking tour — if not just to get your bearings. A fun, friendly guide will lead you through nearby Joo Chiat neighbourhood. Once a coconut palm-filled seaside retreat, Joo Chiat is now full of colourful, ornate shophouses and, as of 2011, is protected as Singapore's first Heritage Town. A hawker food court, an eatery advertising 'sexy desserts', a dog-friendly cafe and an eatery dedicated to chocolate are all en route, with your journey finishing with a visit to a Peranakan heritage home and a dumpling-making workshop. Alternatively (or in addition), the Little India walking tour covers little-known Hindu temples, hidden-away street art and secretive alleyways. [caption id="attachment_574235" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Southern Ridges Walk by Kimon Berlin via Flickr[/caption] Once you've dosed up on heritage, get your art fix at the new Singapore National Gallery, which became Asia's biggest visual arts institution when it opened on November 24, 2015. It occupies a whopping 64,000 square metres across two monumental buildings — the former Supreme Court and City Hall — joined by a 'canopy' of fine metal mesh, supported by giant columns resembling tree trunks. Eight thousand Singaporean and Southeast Asian artworks are shared between two permanent galleries, and there's oodles of space left over for international travelling shows. Check out the fire truck-red grand piano in the atrium. For an island that has a reputation for being built-up, Singapore has a heck of a lot of parks. The 156-year-old, 182-acre Singapore Botanic Gardens stay open until midnight and are home to the largest orchid collection in the world. There's even one particularly delicate species named after Margaret Thatcher. At HortPark, in the southwest, you'll wander through 21 themed gardens, including one filled with butterflies. For a longer walk, take on the ten-kilometre Southern Ridges hike, an adventure through coastal panoramas, lush rainforest canopy, a 36-metre high undulating bridge called Henderson Waves and Singapore's second highest peak, Mount Faber. EAT AND DRINK At the 2013 Hawker Heroes Challenge, no amount of swearing could change the results when chef Gordon Ramsay lost to 328 Katong Laksa, a tiny joint decked with plastic seats just a stumble away from the Village Hotel Katong. Yet, while Ramsay sells at Michelin-starred prices, a few bucks will still buy you a huge bowl of steaming deliciousness here. After all, laksa was created by the Peranakans, as a fusion of their Chinese and Malay cooking. To get the low-down on where else locals queue for food, jump on the hotel's Makan Bus Culinary Tour. At a diverse array of tucked-away eateries, you'll sample numerous tasty and eye-opening morsels; try everything from fried chicken and frogs' legs to soup at the rather charmingly and perhaps too-honestly named Pig Organ. Surprisingly, vegetarians can be catered for at every stop. Back in Little India, the island's most flavoursome curries are served beneath Banana Leaf Apollo's chandeliers. Headliners include fish head, butter chicken and mango prawn, all of which wash down tidily with an icy cold beer — or a mango lassi. For the finest chilli crab in the land, grab a table at Wing Seong Fatty's. Founded in 1936, it's been a favourite with international pilots since World War II and, these days, is run by father-son team, Fatty and Skinny. Fatty's been trying to retire for years, but just can't leave the wok alone. Finally, head to Indochine's rooftop bar for a relaxed pre- or post-dinner bev. Despite being in the touristy Marina Bay area, it's worth a visit — firstly, because it's on top of one of Singapore's chronically Instagrammed Supertrees and, secondly, because the epic views across the city are like a scene out of Blade Runner. [caption id="attachment_574226" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Kai Lehmann via Flickr[/caption] LET'S DO THIS; GIVE ME THE DETAILS Singapore is around an eight to eight-and-a-half hour flight from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A number of airlines fly to Changi Airport, with return fares with QANTAS starting at $800. Jasmine travelled to Singapore as a guest of Far East Hospitality. Top image: JUJUlianar via Flickr.
Get into the festive spirit, Brisbane: Wonderland is a-coming. No, not the white kind, even if Christmas is just around the corner. With the city’s current scorching, stormy heat, winter isn’t part of the equation. Instead, for the next two weeks, Brisbane Powerhouse plays host to all things odd and amazing. A new festival making its maiden outing, Wonderland celebrates the sultry, seductive, anarchic and entertaining, in an event tailor-made for late summer evenings spent by the river. We’re talking carny folk, circus performers, burlesque, barely clad men, comedy stars and singing sirens as the iconic New Farm venue transforms into a nighttime playground. The inaugural program is bustling with shows to see, so we’re here to help. What weird and wonderful offerings should you rush to? Here's five to start with. BRIEFS: The Second Coming! The boys of burlesque are back — in their hometown, and with their new show. The internationally renowned all-male troupe described as an Aussie Cirque du Soleil meets RuPaul’s Drag Race returns for another round of outrageous entertainment in the aptly titled BRIEFS: The Second Coming. Expect their unique brand of circus acrobatics crossed with drag artistry, with ample lashings of satire, silliness and too-close-for-comfort talk and tricks thrown in for extra fun. On Friday nights, make a whole evening out of their adventurous antics with the show-stopping, sequin-clad Club BRIEFS as well, complete with a selection of guest appearances. December 3-14 Icarus Falling Even if you think that spoken word isn’t your thing, Scott Wings’ latest offering, Icarus Falling, just might prove otherwise. A one-man aural assault, his raw and personal hour of performance poetry rumbles like rap but resonates like only the best, blistering stories can, delivered with poignancy and stunning physicality. As the clearly title intimates, the famed ancient Grecian myth provides his starting point, and is intertwined with an account of the impact of mental illness through the contemplation of flight. Humour and lyricism combine in a mesmerising effort that comes back to Brisbane for the first time after proving a standout of the Edinburgh Fringe. December 5-7 Public Toilets, Private Words We’ve all been there: in a nightclub bathroom in the darkest hours of the evening, and suddenly privy to the innermost secrets uttered by those in neighbouring stalls, or scrawled on filthy walls. Slurred words turn into whispered confessions, just as scribbled notes turn into offbeat reading. In this cheeky show, they also turn into song. Public Toilets, Private Worlds turns the drunken rants, earnest musings and crude invitations from graffiti into hilarious stories and surprisingly catchy tunes. Who knows, your own experiences might even form a part of this journey into the hidden recesses of human behaviour, coming to Wonderland fresh from its hit season at the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. December 11 and 14. Grimm Reimagining fairy tales: in film and on television, everybody’s doing it. You can be excused for thinking every conceivable variation has been done before; however, ImproMafia is set to prove you wrong. Combining the art of improvisation with the bedtime stories you know and love, Grimm twists familiar tales in directions even the players on stage can’t anticipate. Every show and every night, anything can happen — and as an audience member, your suggestions could be incorporated into the performance. After wowing audiences at the Brisbane Fringe Festival, Grimm returns to swing once more from the grisly to the absurd. December 12 and 13 Pretending Things Are a Cock Look, we’re not above this kind of humour — and, let’s be honest, neither are you. Comedian Jon Bennett isn’t either, and he’s beginning to make a blossoming career out of it, collecting awards on the international comedy circuit from San Diego to Perth. The show’s title may say it all, and his more than 15,000 Facebook fans already know and love it; however, there’s more to Pretending Things Are a Cock than photos of phallic shapes made prominent for puerile amusement. Expect a slew of heartwarming stories, and a healthy slice of insight into looking at the world differently. Still, mostly dicks though. December 12-14 Wonderland runs from December 3 to 14. View the full program at the Brisbane Powerhouse website.
The Spiegeltent is a Brisbane Festival favourite for a reason. Inside its doors, all manner of performers take to the stage — and whether you're discovering new talent or witnessing an icon in action, no night is ever the same. Where else can you see Kim Gordon one evening, Kilo Kish the next, and everyone from Montaigne to Rhys Nicholson on others? And, this year Bris Fest is doubling the Spiegeltent fun with a second structure. Add the rest of the entertaining antics in the surrounding Arcadia area to the mix, and you've got yourself a festival hub, hangout, haven and all-round highlight. Image: Meow Meow's Little Mermaid.
After announcing its dates earlier this year, Moonlight Cinema has revealed the first part of its 2018–19 program. In short: pack your picnic basket and get ready to watch a heap of flicks under the summer evening sky. Kicking off on Thursday, November 29 in its new home of Roma Street Parkland, this initial lineup boasts plenty of this year's favourites, a smattering of all-time faves and a few sneak peeks at new movies coming out soon. Tried-and-tested highlights include A Star Is Born, A Simple Favour and Crazy Rich Asians, plus Halloween, Bad Times at the El Royale and Venom if you're after something darker. And it wouldn't be a movie season under the stars (or a pre-Christmas lineup) without Love Actually, Elf and Dirty Dancing, now would it? You can also catch pre-release sessions of twisted period drama The Favourite, from The Lobster filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, as well as Transformers spin-off Bumblebee. Or, opt for Viggo Mortensen-starring likely Oscar contender Green Book, or Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan battling it out in Mary, Queen of Scots. Heist flick Widows, amusing sleuths Holmes and Watson and the wizarding antics of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald are all also accounted for — as is Moonlight's usual food truck and licensed bar offering, and its reserved bean beds. Brisbane's season is actually benefiting from two big changes, with Moonlight Cinema saying goodbye to Brisbane Powerhouse after a more than a decade and settling in at Roma Street Parkland instead. Even better — it'll run all the way through until March 31 for the first time, like its interstate counterparts. UPDATE, MARCH 11: As part of Moonlight Cinema's March program, it's hosting a 20th anniversary screening of the Heath Ledger-starring classic 10 Things I Hate About You on Friday, March 15. Other highlights for the rest of the month include a sneak peek session of wrestling drama Fighting With My Family, a sing-along encore for Bohemian Rhapsody, and the return of Spice World — and general admission tickets are just $10.
Every event at Brisbane Writers Festival is special, but some are truly one of a kind. Okay, so Twilight in the Red Box takes place on both Friday and Saturday, however it's still something you won't see elsewhere (even if you can see it at BWF twice). Think of this as a conceptual event, an intersection of words and sounds in a filmic atmosphere in an electronic/contemporary classical music kind of way. We tried. Local composers Ben Heim and Connor D'Netto (AKA contemporary classical/electric duo Argo) have composed the music. Best-selling sci-fi book Illuminae provides the inspiration. When the two combine, expect an explosion of sound — and if that's not exciting enough, this type of session is actually a festival first. This event is one of our five picks for Brisbane Writers Festival. Check out the whole list.
Seasonal change is finally settling into Melbourne and with it comes one of the NGV's best annual exhibitions: the Winter Masterpieces series. This year, it's no secret they've snagged a true master, Vincent Van Gogh, the poster boy for post-impressionism and dramatic self-mutilation. Set to open on April 28 and running until July 19, blockbuster exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons has been years in the making, and is expected by NGV to draw one of the gallery's biggest audiences yet. Curator Sjraar Van Heugten has fine tuned a thematic exhibition after Van Gogh's own heart, an exploration of the seasons in over 60 works. "In the seasons, he [Van Gogh] has perceived infinity, something larger than humanity. The seasons represent ongoing life," he says. Inside the exhibition, you'll find a fascinating investigation into Van Gogh's life, alongside some of his best naturalist pieces. The artist's character, and his fluctuating mental health, often receive as much attention as his best works. The story of his life, and his death, are expounded wonderfully (and sensitively, snaps for not stigmatising mental health) through quotes, correspondence and essays. Although the collection itself doesn't feature his most famous works, you'll leave with a window into the artist's true persona and an understanding of the sheer breadth of his talent. Structurally, Van Gogh and the Seasons is broken into (you guessed it) the four seasons, that masterfully weave a narrative through the artist's life. The NGV has produced a short accompanying film, narrated by David Stratton and David Wenham, that's worth a watch before you proceed through the exhibition, as it explains the structure of the exhibition and sets the mood. We'll let you experience the exhibition for yourself, but in case you'd like a little guidance in your visit, here are five works you shouldn't miss. A WHEATFIELD WITH CYPRESSES, 1889 This painting is perhaps one of the exhibition's best known pieces. You'll see it emblazoned on all the NGV's marketing collateral and once you're standing in front of it, you can feel why. The vibrant colours and rolling cloud banks are euphoric. There's nothing more to say except this painting is worth the ticket price alone. TREE TRUNKS IN THE GRASS, 1890 The composition of this painting is a departure from the Van Gogh tradition. It's an awkward close-up of a tree trunk and surrounding vegetation but it stands out for the detail, the peaceful atmosphere, and the perfectly balanced colours. Van Gogh painted this in the spring (April) of 1890, just after a period of severe mental illness and only months before taking his own life. VIEW OF SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER, 1888 Love a good Cezanne town landscape? Don't miss this work. Painstakingly composed and one Van Gogh's more structured pieces, View of Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer will catch you off-guard. While his style was overwhelmingly more fluid and impressionist, this scene is clearly defined and an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the spring and summer pieces. ORCHARD IN BLOSSOM, 1889 This is part of a series in the 'spring' section that is collectively stunning. The delicate pastels used in this season represent Van Gogh's time in Paris, living with his doting brother Theo in Montmartre, where his style lightened and evolved into what we know today as his best works. As a lover of nature, the fertile spring inspired some of his most beautiful pieces. SELF PORTRAIT, 1887 And at the very end of the exhibition, we get a final glimpse of the man who had previously remained faceless. A small but articulate self portrait of a weary looking artist, rendered three years before he died. Van Gogh's final words, spoken to his brother Theo, were famously, "The sadness will last forever". There's a lot of sadness in this exhibition. If you can, we recommend you walk through alone and take it all in. Van Gogh and the Seasons runs April 28 to July 19 at NGV. Installation images: Tom Ross.
Park City, Utah is getting a hit of Australian coffee culture, with the tourist hotspot set to become home to the first international cafe by home-grown coffee roasters Campos Coffee. The Sydney-born coffee shop has announced that it will open its first US store in Park City in mid-December, ensuring locals can finally enjoy a halfway decent flat white. Sorry not sorry, Starbucks. "We've considered the US market for more than ten years, but never found the right fit for us," said Campos founder and president Will Young in announcing the brand's stateside expansion. "As soon as we visited Park City, we knew it would be a perfect extension of the Campos Coffee brand." Park City is known for its tourist economy, driven by multiple ski resorts as well as the annual Sundance Film Festival. "Walking around, you can see the whole town has an active, inclusive and diverse community that cares about the environment," said Young. "Add to this a significant dedication to the arts, such as the Sundance Film Festival, and the decision was made." Campos, which currently has seven stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, is following in the footsteps a number of Australian coffee brands who have set up shop in the United States. Most recently Paramount Coffee Project opened up a base in Los Angeles. Look for Campos Coffee in Park City, Utah from mid-December.
The Smith Street Band have an incredibly endearing habit of looking out for the underdog. Following their November release of their third album, Throw Me in the River, the Melbourne four-piece found themselves in the news as a result of their sold-out EP titled Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face, which features a portrait of Tony Abbott and protests the Australian government's current treatment of refugees. Throw in a fundraising gig for refugee advocacy groups in Melbourne on Australia Day and you've got one seriously outspoken Aussie band. On their upcoming tour around Australia they're keeping up their determination not to forget anyone, with the aptly titled 'Get High, See Everyone Tour', featuring an impressive 24 dates across Australia, including regional stops like Bendigo and Maroochydore and a whole heap of all-ages gigs for younger fans. The pairing of desperate energy and youthful, emotional frenzy with surprisingly thoughtful and touching lyrics have earned The Smith Street Band a loyal fan base. And, bless them, the band is going to do their best to see every one of you. Supported by PUP (Canada), Great Cynics (UK) + Apart From This.
In 2015, the Queensland Film Festival brightened up Brisbane's movie scene with a specially curated array of international cinema. It wasn't just another feast of films, it was a showcase of the kind of shorts, features and documentaries unlikely to make their way to the city's big screens otherwise. That was then — and, now, after a successful first year, QFF returns for their sophomore run with a program that's even bigger and better than ever. Doubling in size to screen 20 features and 20 shorts from July 15 to 24, the festival kicks off with Pedro Almodovar's 20th feature Julieta — however that's not the only must-see flick in the lineup. Here's seven others we think you won't want to miss. THE LOVE WITCH Films steeped in the supernatural are rarely as vibrant and dynamic as The Love Witch — and we don't just mean that in the eye-popping sense. Bright colours abound in the second feature by multi-talented writer, director, producer, editor and production designer Anna Biller, and so does a playful, comic take on what initially seems an all-too-common storyline. The feature's central witch might be looking for love, but she's also sashaying through a subversive, feminist-infused ode to '60s and '70s camp exploitation horror. THE RED TURTLE The Red Turtle is latest effort from acclaimed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, however, it's also much more than that. Telling an island-based tale of a marooned man who crosses paths with the titular creature, it's a wordless exploration of the connection between humanity and the natural world, as well as an examination of humanity's need to connect. Gorgeously brought to life by first-time feature director Michael Dudok de Wit, the end result is as visually delightful and emotionally insightful as lovers of Ghibli's films have come to expect. HEART OF A DOG If you've ever bonded with a beloved pet, reflected upon your childhood or just pondered your place in the world, then expect Laurie Anderson's Heart of a Dog to speak to you. The artist and filmmaker's first feature in three decades combines hand-drawn animation, home movies, visuals filmed from a pooch's perspective and more to pay tribute to her dearly departed rat terrier Lolabelle while still contemplating broader issues of life and loss. Fans of Anderson's husband, the legendary Lou Reed, will also find the knowledge of his passing in 2013 hard to shake in this personal and poignant cine-essay. KAILI BLUES Bi Gan's Kaili Blues is an act of transformation on several levels. Within the film, a doctor embarks upon a journey that takes him to a town where the past, present and future combine. Off screen, the Chinese poet turns acclaimed filmmaker with his debut feature, evoking the likes of Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky and Cemetery of Splendour's Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and even earning the praise of Guillermo del Toro. CHEVALIER The usual male posturing, ego-driven arguing and appendage measuring — both literal and metaphorical — takes to the sea in the latest feature to spring from Greece's new weird wave of filmmaking, Chevalier. Athina Rachel Tsangari's follow-up to Attenberg serves up yet another deadpan, offbeat delight, with its yacht-bound setting heightening the tension between its competing characters as well as the absurdity that results from their actions. And even with all that in mind, don't be surprised when the movie veers into unexpected territory. EVOLUTION The term 'dream-like' gets thrown around quite frequently when it comes to films that try to evoke a certain mood, however with Evolution, it's a description that definitely fits. Cult French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilovic creates a mysterious on-screen world solely populated by women and young boys, then charts the bristling dynamic that springs when secrets spring up between a mother and son. Favouring visual storytelling over dialogue, and emphasising a distinctive soundtrack, really is just the beginning. NAKED LUNCH When body horror master David Cronenberg takes on subversive postmodernist novelist William Burroughs, the results can only be both hallucinatory and unsettling. Seething with bugs and secret government plots, Naked Lunch was a mind-trip of an adaptation upon its initial release in 1991, and still proves so today. Plus, attending QFF's session of the film acts as a tribute to the now-lost and much-loved Brisbane International Film Festival, which would've celebrated its 25th fest this year. Queensland Film Festival runs from July 15 to 24 at New Farm Cinemas. To view the full program or buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Calling all late-night Tour watchers, cycling enthusiasts and anyone who wants to know what a 'peloton' is. The NSW Government has today announced the first ever Tour de France event to be held in Australia, locked in for 2016. Dubbed L’Etape Australia and locked in for the next three years, the upcoming race is an official offshoot of the Tour de France — the oldest and most prestigious road cycling event to rival all road cycling events. It's not the first Tour side quest, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile and Argentina have all seen their own stages. Destination NSW and the NSW Government have recruited SBS to broadcast the race, who've been your late night Tour broadcaster pal for 25 years. So where's the race going to be held? (Read: where can we place a huge CP logo on someone's rural property for sick helicopter coverage?) Designed to replicate the infamous Tour mountain stages, L’Etape Australia will weave through Jindabyne, Perisher and Thredbo. Rather than Alps and Pyrenees, riders will pump those legs through the beautifully formidable Snowy Mountains, where the Ultimate Snowy Challenge breaks people. These pretty, pretty NSW locations will inevitably boost the tourist dollar for the state; Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said he anticipated the race to deliver in excess of $4 million in visitor expenditure across the three years. So you're a bit of a mad cyclist? Get up every morning at sparrow's fart just to beat the tradies to the tar? Want to see how you'd fare in the Tour? An expected 10,000 riders of varying levels are up to compete for the legendary Tour de France yellow, green, polka dot and white jerseys, and the waitlist is now open at the official L’Etape Australia website. Riders can register for updates, pick their level of difficulty (The Race is the big one, The Ride is slightly shorter for seasoned riders, and The Ramble is the fun, easier course) and reserve their place on the start line. L’Etape Australia by Tour de France is happening in December 2016. To register or for more info, visit the website. Images: Dollar Photo Club and NSW National Parks.
Ever had a hankering for a burger, but couldn't decide which joint to visit? Thanks to Brisbane's hefty array of burg-slinging places, we've been there, and often. Trust The Triffid to come up with a solution, courtesy of a day-long dedicated celebration. On October 21, the Newstead music venue is joining forces with Stone & Wood, shutting down Stratton Street and serving up Brisbane's most delayed trend festival: the Brisbane Burger Fest. That's a big call in a year that has seen ice cream, mussels, Japanese culture, espresso martinis and specialty coffee all get their own shindigs. For those wondering about the festival's burger credentials, Ze Pickle, Miss Kay's, Ben's Burgers, Mr Burger, 5 Boroughs, Red Hook, Lucky Egg and The Triffid's own burgers will all be on offer, with each eatery whipping up their usual favourites and coming up with a special Burger Fest creation as well. There'll also be an official burger-eating competition as part of the festivities (of course there will be). If you don't think you can handle taking part, that's okay — everyone at Burger Fest will be seeing how many burgs they can eat in their own way, after all. Making a free burger street party even better, The Triffid's beer garden will be showcasing live music all day, and Stone & Wood will be taking care of the brews. Image: Lucky Egg.
Beer lovers of Brisbane, it's your time of year. Of course, there's never a bad time to sink brews in Brissie, but dedicating a ten-day stretch to more yeast and hops-focused events than you can dream of really does only happen once every 12 months. Brewsvegas has rolled around again, taking over almost every decent bar, pub, watering hole and gathering spot in town between March 10 to 19. And, as they've done for the past three years, the festival's offering up plenty of unconventional temptations to lure you into a beer-paired escapade. Putt putt, golf, a scavenger hunt, BASEketball, NES, a cartoon drawing competition, bowls, Japanese game shows, trivia, RPGs, live painting, beerlympics and an art tour... the list goes on. Want to get straight to the good stuff? Make our picks your picks.
Time flies when you're eating ice cream sandwiches. Just five short months ago, Mister Fitz was the new kid on the dessert block. Now, Damian Griffiths' chilly wonderland is one of the city's favourite purveyors of frozen goodness — and they're growing. Not content with serving up their insane ice cream and cookie creations in Fortitude Valley and South Brisbane, Mister Fitz is adding two more Queensland stores to the fold. In six to eight weeks, East Brisbanites will be able to gorge on epic concoctions at 55 Lytton Street, while Gold Coast residents can head to The Strand precinct in Coolangatta. Yep, if pink sea salt and caramel ice cream smashed between two crunchy biscuits gets your tastebuds tingling — or the winning combo of banana, brown sugar and bacon, perhaps? — you'll now be able to get your fix at two extra locations. The same jam-packed menu will be on offer at both new outlets, including Mister Fitz's signature hip hop-themed milkshakes. Fancy a Boom! Shake the Room with Nutella ice cream, anyone? Given the breakneck pace at which the ice creamery's sibling brand — aka fellow Griffiths'-owned venture Doughnut Time — has taken over the country over the last year, Mister Fitz's aggressive expansion regime is far from surprising. And with a couple of Sydney shops also in the works, plus plans to open in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, it's only a matter of time before ice cream sandwiches replace doughnuts as the nation's sweet treat of choice. Find Mister Fitz at 1 Little Street, Fortitude Valley and Grey Street, South Bank — and keep an eye on their website, Facebook and Instagram for more info on their East Brisbane and Coolangatta expansion plans.
Plan those half-hearted New Years Resolutions, the 2015 Falls Music and Arts Festival lineup is here, announced by triple j this morning. Returning to Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron for another bout of end-of-year scullduggery, Falls is back with the likes of Foals and Disclosure at the top of the bill (both with shiny new albums to boot). Expect those beloved Brits Bloc Party on the bill as well, alongside a killer collection of international gems — we're talking Gary Clark Jr, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Vile and The Violaters, Toro Y Moi, Django Django, Young Fathers and The Maccabees to start with. Even Weird Al' Yankovic will headline the opening Boogie Nights party. Random. Australia's contingent deserves two thumbs way up, from international goakicker Courtney Barnett to dancefloor dominators RUFUS and the likes of the legendary Paul Kelly (with his Merri Soul Sessions), Hilltop Hoods, Meg Mac, Gang of Youths, Hiatus Kaiyote, Little May, Alpine, Birds of Tokyo, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Seth Sentry, Halsey, BØRNS and more. Enough chatskies, here's that lineup you're after: FALLS FESTIVAL 2015 LINEUP: Alpine The Avener Birds of Tokyo Bloc Party BØRNS Courtney Barnett Disclosure Django Django Foals Gang of Youths Gary Clark Jr Halsey Hiatus Kaiyote Hilltop Hoods King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Kurt Vile & The Violators Little May The Maccabees Mac DeMarco Meg Mac Oh Wonder Paul Kelly & Merri Soul Sessions feat. Clairy Browne, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru, Vika & Linda Bull RÜFÜS Seth Sentry Toro Y Moi Young Fathers and more BOOGIE NIGHTS LINEUP Art vs Science El Vez Fleetmac Wood 'Weird Al' Yankovic and more Lorne, Victoria (18+) December 28, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Marion Bay, Tasmania (all ages) December 29, 2015 – January 1, 2016 Byron Bay, New South Wales December 31, 2015 – January 3, 2016 Via triple j. Image: Falls Festival.
Cinephiles of Brisbane, prepare to starting spend a whole heap of time at Palace Centro. If you've dropped by recently, you would've noticed that the New Farm venue is in the midst of a massive makeover — and given that they're adding three more screens, and increasing their movie lineup as a result, we really do mean massive. Come December when the renovations open to eager film-goers — and when the cinema celebrates its 16th birthday — the James Street mainstay will boast seven theatres. Two existing screens have been torn down to make way for five new darkened rooms, which will seat between 40 to 80 patrons, and allow Centro to boost their selection of content. That includes their range of Centro exclusives, which have included Swiss Army Man and High-Rise in recent months. The venue will still house a 35mm projector, too, for retrospectives and festivals. Across town in Petrie Terrace, Centro's sibling cinema at Barracks hasn't escaped the revamping bug either. Courtesy of new couches and carpet, the cinema's lobby has undergone a soft refurbishment, making having a pre-film drink even comfier. At Centro in particular, the renovations come at a time when the area around the venue is changing rapidly, with the under-construction space immediately across the road about to become The Calile, a new resort-like haunt. Palace is expanding rapidly interstate — announcing new cinemas in Sydney's Double Bay and Chippendale just this year — so future Brisbane Palace expansions aren't out of the question. Palace Centro's renovations will be completed by December 2016. It's partially open now at 39 James Street, Fortitude Valley.
And now, the end is near. And so we face the final curtain... My, what a ride it's been. 22 films, more than a dozen TV series, 80-odd main characters, $4 billion spent and close to $20 billion made. But as Tony Stark, the man whose original Iron Man film kicked this whole crazy thing off, says: "part of the journey is the end". In Avengers: Endgame, we're given an end worthy of that extraordinary journey. In the simplest sense, Endgame is a sequel to 2018's Infinity War, and the 22nd film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet, there's very little that's simple about this picture, marking as it does the extraordinary culmination of several dozen intricate and intertwined story arcs that extend all the way back to 2008. It's also, if you'll forgive the pun, a stark counterpoint in both style and content to Infinity War, presenting very much like an out-and-out drama instead of the traditional comic book spectacle. Where Infinity War was all bombast, Endgame offers reserve. Where Infinity War wrought intergalactic devastation and destruction, Endgame delivers intimacy and an examination of grief, loss and very private regret. It's comfortably the Marvel film in which the least happens, yet it never for one moment feels dull or lags — even with its 3 hour run time. Despite Disney's best efforts, spoilers are abounding online, so in the interests of preserving secrecy for those who've managed to silo themselves away from revelations, we'll keep any plot discussion to a minimum. The shock of Infinity War's conclusion, in which 50 per cent of all living things in the universe were snapped into dust by Thanos (Josh Brolin), looms large over those left behind. Survivor guilt affects everyone, most notably the remaining superheroes burdened with the additional feelings of failure, blame and empty vengeance. In one of the film's best scenes, Captain America (Chris Evans) sits in an AA-style support group, telling those in attendance it's up to them to move on, rebuild and make something of earth again. It's a beautiful speech and entirely true, but the hollowness behind Cap's eyes betrays his own failure to practice what he preaches. So too the rest of the Avengers. Thanks to the trailers, it's safe to say Ant Man (the ever-appealing Paul Rudd) plays a pivotol role in kick-starting Endgame's plan to rectify the devastation of Thanos's genocide, employing what he playfully terms "a time heist". Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely gleefully unpack some of the persistent myths of that particular device, ripping apart the plotholes of iconic chrono-cinema stories like Back to the Future and The Terminator. In Endgame, there's some impressive backtracking through the MCU's own history, which doubles as the launch pad for most of the film's lighter moments (a discussion about Cap's butt being chief amongst them). The humour, though, doesn't always land, and the main offender in Endgame, we're sad to say, is Chris Hemsworth's Thor. He's taken the failure to prevent Thanos' snap particularly badly, but save for a solid sight gag early on, Hemsworth's performance feels at odds with everything else in the film. Only when he abandons the attempted comedy does he again sizzle on screen, be it in one of the rare moments of action or in a tender moment with a key character from his past. And there are a lot of those, with Endgame drawing its cast list from the entire MCU catalogue. Most appearances are fleeting, but rather than feel like mere fan service, they serve to reinforce the scale of the franchise's achievement. With each new face we're reminded of another moment within another film from somewhere in our own past; an opportunity to engage in some time-travelling of our own as we revisit the experience of watching these films throughout the last decade. When the inevitable culmination arrives at the film's conclusion, it's so much more than a roll call. It's at once a reunion, a rectification, a resurgence and a cathartic, tearful farewell. Yes, tearful. There are deaths here, and having spent so long in the company of these characters, the emotional resonance of their departures isn't easily absorbed. Technically, the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home is pegged as the official end to Phase 3 of the MCU, but emotionally there's no question Endgame lives up to its name. When the dust finally (and literally) settles, the payoff is thoroughly earned and the emotions are heartfelt and raw. But goodbye doesn't necessarily mean gone here, and in certain cases a character's departure simply means their baton is passed on to others. A few of these are shown; others, merely hinted at. Phase 4 will mark a significant reset for Marvel, and with the recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the path now lies open for drawing in the X-Men franchise to the growing MCU roster. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, however, it'll be a while before we see the likes of Magneto and Professor X alongside Captain America. Til then, Marvel's challenge will be to build, develop and deliver the same level of complexity and pathos into its next generation of heroes as with those we've just farewelled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6hldpSTF8
Think enjoying a pint and making a difference are mutually exclusive activities? Think again. Thanks to The Good Beer Co., the next drink you knock back could help save the world — or at least the Great Barrier Reef. The Good Beer Co. is Australia’s first social enterprise beer company, with a mission to match nice drinks with nice deeds. The company aims to pair the nation's top craft brewers with worthy causes — as their maiden beverage demonstrates. That'd be the aptly named Great Barrier Beer, as brewed in Bundaberg by the local legends at the Bargara Brewing Company. Once it hits the shelves, they'll donate 50% of the profits to the Australian Marine Conservation Society. To get to that point, though, The Good Beer Co. needs your help, which is why they're launching a crowdfunding campaign. You can assist them with brewing, distributing and promoting the Great Barrier Beer, and with startup costs to get established and roll out the idea to other great causes. Backers will enjoy the warm and fuzzy feeling of supporting something good, as well as the chance to taste the tipple before anybody else. You'll also get the opportunity to have a say in future recipes, labels and causes. So if you like beer and are keen to help the planet, it really is a win-win situation. After all, who doesn't want to put their beverage consumption to good use? For more information about The Good Beer Co, visit their website. Image via Dollar Photo Club.
Three years ago, Brisbane welcomed a new film festival. While cinematic celebrations have never been far from the city's screens, Queensland Film Festival arrived with a condensed, curated program and a specific mission. Sure, every fest promises to champion movies you won't see elsewhere; however QFF's efforts were immediately evident in every film choice. In this year's lineup, for example, cinephiles can catch a candy-coloured exploration of sexuality from a Japanese provocateur, a retrospective dedicated to an influential Czech auteur and a pioneering '80s Aussie musical from one of the country's greatest female filmmakers — and, as always, that's just the beginning. Running from July 13 to 23, and primarily based at New Farm Cinemas, QFF 2017 spans teen icons, Korean masters, incisive polemics on race and brightly lit fireworks displays, with room to spare for terrorist thrillers, home-grown dramas and psychedelic reflections as well. Every film only screens once, so picking wisely is recommended — we've compiled a list of must-sees to help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KthpVP0Ppng CLAIRE'S CAMERA Another year, another film from Korean director Hong Sang-soo. Or two, actually. QFF 2017 kicks off with one of his latest, Claire's Camera and also features the filmmaker's On the Beach at Night Alone — and lest you go thinking the latter is old news, it premiered at this year's Berlinale just months before the former made its debut at Cannes. Yep, Hong is certainly prolific, however his naturalistic, breezy, observational style works well with his fondness for making as many movies as he can. And, when pumping out several features in 12 months involves enlisting Isabelle Huppert to play a teacher visiting the world's biggest film fest, well, Hong proves that he can do anything really. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MghEoBMl3E THE ENDLESS In 2014, as film festival time came round, Spring had genre buffs talking. Come for the seemingly familiar premise, stay for the twists, turns and insights that filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead offered up. Three years later, the duo returns with their next title to do the same all over again. The Endless starts as a cult drama, but, as it shifts through both horror and science fiction, it earns comparisons to the efforts of Upstream Color's Shane Carruth for a reason. Cult flicks about cults might have become somewhat common, but sometimes that status couldn't be more appropriate. BRIMSTONE & GLORY It's human nature to stare at the sky whenever fireworks ascend to the heavens. We hear the popping sound, spy the bright flashes of light and simply can't help ourselves. Set in the tiny town at the heart of Mexico's fireworks industry, Brimstone & Glory captures that feeling more effectively than anyone could've expected. Indeed, the gorgeous and immersive documentary commits the vibrance of watching colourful explosions twinkling above to film as it charts the locale's National Pyrotechnic Festival, and proves as spellbinding as the substance at its centre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7Rf9rLaLg JEANNETTE: THE CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC One of the greatest silent films ever made took on the tale of Joan of Arc. In the nearly a century since, the historical figure has been played by Ingrid Bergman twice, popped up in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and formed the basis of Milla Jovovich and Luc Besson's post-The Fifth Element effort. Still, it's safe to say that none of the many movie depictions of the French heroine have proven quite like Bruno Dumont's musical Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc. Featuring non-professional actors, the film that results is both silly and serious, and light and philosophical — and likely to be polarising, just like plenty of the Slack Bay director's other works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J122E5Ygz5s NOCTURAMA We've already noted that QFF features movies that you won't see anywhere else, and that many of the flicks on its slate don't neatly fall into easy categories, even when it appears as though they might at first glance. Add terrorist thriller Nocturama to both piles. Moody and magnetic, Bertrand Bonello's latest effort charts Parisian youths making a statement, in a film that also aims to do just that. It also plays with the narrative and visual treatment of its tale, while proving pertinent to our times — and mesmerising. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVyGCxHZ_Ko GOOD TIME Folks, thank the film gods for Twilight. Do it. Without it, we wouldn't have two of today's most talented actors making such interesting — and excellent — projects. Take the Robert Pattinson-starring Good Time, for example. The fast-paced flick mightn't offer a good time for his character, a low-level crim running around New York trying to rustle up some cash to get his brother out of jail after a bank robbery, but it's a mighty good time for audiences. Directing duo Josh and Ben Safdie (the latter of which also stars as Pattinson's brother) ramp up the energy and tension, shoot with gritty vividness, and bring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Captain Phillips Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi along for the ride. And then there's the pulsating score — trust us, Oneohtrix Point Never won the soundtrack award at this year's Cannes Film Festival for a damn good reason. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO In I Am Not Your Negro, Samuel L. Jackson lends his voice to the words of American essayist James Baldwin. He does an outstanding job at capturing the tone and passion required, but it's the text itself, rather than the star uttering it, that's truly remarkable. Stepping through the state of race relations in the U.S. by focusing on the lives and deaths of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., every syllable spoken couldn't be more perceptive — or, even though they were written decades ago, still relevant today. It's little wonder that the film was nominated for best documentary at this year's Oscars, with director Raoul Peck matching the verbal content with an illuminating compilation of footage from the '50s and '60s. Need more QFF recommendations? Here you go. We also loved Certain Women when it released in Sydney and Melbourne cinemas, were keen on The Lure at last year's Sundance, and got excited about The Untamed at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Queensland Film Festival runs from July 13 to 23 at New Farm Cinemas. To view the full program or buy tickets, head to the festival website.
Whether you're staying put or travelling interstate this summer, one thing's for sure: you won't be bored from a lack of art. A fine contingent of blockbuster exhibitions has hit the country for the warmer months, sweeping into temperature controlled galleries from Brisbane to Melbourne and all the way across to Perth. You can step into the dotty world of legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama GOMA, curl up in bed at the MCA to watch some of Pipilotti Rist's work go by and remember gone-too-soon talents Amy Winehouse and Heath Ledger (at the Jewish Museum of Australia and Art Gallery of WA, respectively). And that's not even mentioning the NGV's huge new NGV Triennial, which features a giant buddha and 100 oversized resin skulls. If you're someone who travels for art, you might want to book those domestic flights now. This is probably one of the most impressive summer lineups we've seen — and, come March, most of them will be gone. Hop to it.
Of all the ingenuity and creativity that helped make the original Star Wars films some of the most iconic sci-fi pictures of all time, one characteristic deserves credit above all others: it was a universe that had been lived in. Compared to the pristine, almost sterile visions of space portrayed by every other film of its kind, Lucas showed us something that felt entirely ‘real’, thanks to its grimy establishments, malfunctioning droids and a Millennium Falcon that only worked after a sturdy thump from its captain. Director J.J. Abrams has done well to remember this lesson. Things that were new at the close of Return of the Jedi are now old, and those that were old are now ancient, forgotten or gone entirely. Such is not just the feel, but indeed the very plot, of Episode VII: The Force Awakens. As the opening title crawl explains (yes, it's still there), Luke Skywalker has vanished and in his absence a sinister adjunct of the former Empire has arisen under the banner of ‘The First Order’. Led by a Sith-esque figure known as Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the Order is scouring the galaxy for any information as to Luke’s whereabouts so as to finally erase all vestiges of the very last Jedi. In its way (and also seeking Skywalker) stands the small yet unshakeable Rebel Alliance, now marshalled by General Leia Organa. Each side has part of a map, but neither can yet complete the full picture, and time is of the essence. There can be few things more intimidating than embarking upon the production of a new Star Wars movie. So steeped is the series in lore, so fanatical its supporters, that even the tiniest of missteps will attract the most merciless and unceasing fury the galaxy has ever seen (i.e: sternly worded blog posts). Thankfully, via his Star Trek reboot, Abrams has already proven his extraordinary deftness when it comes to blockbuster space operas, and The Force Awakens is no exception. It is riddled with allusions to the past, yet few are accorded more than a glance (you will find no stormtroopers sporting ‘vintage death star t-shirts’ here, for example, unlike the indelicate homages of Jurassic World). Instead we are made to feel right at home amongst our new heroes (the exceptional Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac) thanks to familiar musical flourishes from John Williams, the spine-tingling sound and visual effects from Industrial Light and Magic, and the return of our beloved Han and Chewie. New planets and old faces, original characters and veterans to guide them – this is a franchise reborn but not reinvented. If criticisms are to be levelled, they fall mainly upon the villains. Few cinema foes will ever match the menace of Darth Vader and his Emperor mentor, however here the film’s antagonists feel particularly thin. Andy Serkis’ CGI overlord Snoke is more distracting than daunting, Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux is surprisingly hammy and Kylo Ren, whilst evil, is underscored by a petulance that borders on comedic. Thankfully, despite being masked and heavily synthesised, his voice does remain entirely comprehensible, as distinct from the recent broken PA system that was Tom Hardy’s Bane. Not to mention that his force grip is dead-set spectacular. Given the choice between normal and 3D, the latter does actually add that little bit extra here, and whilst parents will doubtless be eager to introduce their younglings to the franchise, be warned – Abrams shies not away from the ‘wars’ in Star Wars. Gritty, intelligent and utterly electrifying, buckle yourselves in folks, because we’ve got a damned good feeling about this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE
There's a big, white container coming to South Bank. But, like most shipping containers in the city, it's not being used to transport furniture. And the word 'séance' will be written on the side in black. It's kind of ominous. Séance is actually a new installation where participants take a seat inside the tiny space, put on a headset and place their hands flat on the table in front of them. The lights go out and the container enters complete darkness. For the next 20 minutes, participants are fed 'suggestible information' through their headsets. You're probably thinking that there's something dark or supernatural about the whole thing — and going by the name, we don't blame you. But the installation's organiser assures us that 'séance' is simply a French word meaning 'session' or 'sitting'. And so Séance is a sensory experience that looks at the psychology of a group sitting together. Despite not being a horror or supernatural-themed piece, it's a scary indicator of how easy it is for confusion, information overload and the people siting right next to us to affect our judgment. Artists David Rosenberg and Glen Neath (who have collaborated in other sensory deprivation projects before) are the creative masterminds behind the project, which has been described as 'disorienting' and 'deeply unsettling'. It's not recommended for the claustrophobic or the easily frightened. The spooky installation visited Sydney and Melbourne late last year, and is now descending on the Treasury Brisbane Arcadia, South Bank Cultural Forecourt, from September 8–29 this year as part of the 2018 Brisbane Festival.
Jameson, the legendary distillers of one of Ireland's most famous whiskeys, are calling on eager filmmakers from around the world to pick up a pen and finally write out that short film script they've been thinking about. Now in its sixth year, Jameson First Shot is fostering the creative endeavours of young filmmakers — giving those who may find it difficult to break into the film industry a shot at the big time. It's a stepping stone for filmmakers who don't quite have their foot in the door yet — for those who want to break into the industry, but haven't had the chance to. It's a platform that gives talented individuals an opportunity to realise their ambition and potential, and a way for them to tell their stories. If you're an aspiring filmmaker, head to the First Shot website and submit a seven-page short film script. If your script is chosen as the winner, your film will be produced by a team of professionals that includes Dana Brunetti — he's the man responsible for Captain Phillips and The Social Network, and the brains behind getting House of Cards onto Netflix, something the world should be endlessly grateful for. Dominic West (best known for his role as Detective McNulty in The Wire) will also be the star of your film, taking the lead acting role. Winning First Shot gives filmmakers an opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in show business. Last year's winner, Jason Perini, had the opportunity to direct and work with Maggie Gyllenhaal. "The most exciting part of the filmmaking process was just watching Maggie act — her face was a special effect," he says. "What had the biggest impact on me was the result of really creative and collaborative people working together. All the crew and cast were so dedicated to making the film I had envisioned in my head. I don't think I will ever experience such ease and dedication again." Since filming wrapped, Perini has gone on to direct his debut feature film, Chasing Comets. "I never anticipated that within less than a year of winning, I'd be directing my own feature film," he says. [caption id="attachment_568922" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Image: Trigger productions.[/caption] To enter the competition, write an original piece of work, with the final draft being no more than seven pages in length. Base your script around the great, unexpected things that can happen when you get rid of your fear and invite life in. For a complete set of guidelines and a script template, head here. It isn't everyday you get the chance to have your passion project turned into a reality, so sit yourself down with a delicious whiskey and get writing. Entries close at 5pm on Monday, June 1.
We're calling it: for Brisbanites, the summer of 2016-17 is going to be the summer of Gelato Messina. Yes, we know that this year is just kicking into gear — but if there's anything that's going to get us eagerly awaiting the next annual calendar, it's the news that everyone's favourite dessert artisans are finally setting up shop in our fair city. Actually, eager lovers of cold, creamy sweets only need count down the days until October, because that's when Messina's first-ever Brisbane store will open its doors, confirmed by Messina director and co-founder Declan Lee. We predict a whole lot of hanging around South Brisbane in our futures — at 109 Melbourne Street, to be exact. It's Messina's second Queensland store after opening their first northern venture in Coolangatta. At the Brisbane store, gelato fiends will find Messina's largest site in the country, stretching out over a 200-square-metre space. If you think that sounds like more room than even these culinary wizards need to sell their scrumptious, low-fat, high-flavour wares, you'd be right. Serving up their macadamia crunch, and salted caramel and white chocolate concoctions — and blood orange and chocolate sorbets, too — isn't all that's on the menu here. Yep, the good news keeps on coming, with Messina also bringing their ever-popular classes to their new digs. Not only can you feast on icy treats whenever you like, but you can take a three-hour class on gelato appreciation and the hands-on details of dessert making in their very own classroom. They don't call these seminars a combination of info session, science lesson and degustation without good reason. Sure, Brisbane has been waiting for its own permanent Messina hangout for years, but with all this to look forward to, it seems that good things really do come to those who wait. Find Gelato Messina at 109 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane from October 2016. Keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for more information.
Can you believe it's that time of the year again? It seems like only last week that we were prowling the South Bank Forecourt for the best eats, then angling for the best vantage point of the river at the Night Noodle Markets. And yet, here we are again. Poised at the precipice of all things delicious, Good Food Month's Night Noodle Markets are back for 12 glorious days, where you can taste your way around the best Asian treats Brisbane has to offer. Going cashless this year, the markets let you PayPass your way to a full belly. Plus, puppers are welcome — as long as they're on a leash — which means that in addition to amazing food, there's also some great dogspotting in store. Win. The markets are open every weekday evening from 5pm and weekends from 4pm, and just in case you're starting to get palpitations remembering the huge array of choice from last year, fear not. We're serving up our pick of the top eats — in addition to suggested drink pairings from Beer The Beautiful Truth — to make your Night Noodle Markets trip simply spectacular. BAO STOP'S BAO TRIFECTA WITH XXXX SUMMER BRIGHT LAGER Bao comes in pretty high at the top of our list of the best things that can be eaten with one hand. This fluffy, sticky bun is the perfect steamed companion for whatever savoury filling happens to be tucked inside. In Bao Stop's case, they've gone all out and provided not one but three flavours — a veritable bao trifecta, if you will. You can nom on a veggie version with their triad of tofu bao, or sample the carnivore's trinity with chicken, pork and duck. Grab a seat and watch the night unfold as you drink a Summer Bright Lager from XXXX, a crisp match for those tasty baos. POKE BEAR'S ALPINE KING SALMON WITH KIRIN MEGUMI Poké bowls have been sitting for a long, well-deserved while in the spotlight recently, so it's no surprise they've turned up at the markets. With roots in Hawaiian cuisine, the culinary trend involves taking bite-sized bits of quality fish, marinating them and mixing them into a salad of sorts — think of it as a cross between sashimi and ceviche. You can put whatever you want with the fish really, so Poké Bear have opted to pair their alpine king salmon with yuzu miso, sesame dressing, wakami, sesame seeds, daikon, radish, wasabi and diced avocado. Enjoy the delicate, toothsome flavours of your poké bowl without overwhelming them, and pair it with a light, smooth Kirin Megumi. POKLOL'S KOREAN BBQ TACOS WITH LITTLE CREATURES ORIGINAL PILSNER Life is good when you have a warm taco clamped in your little hand and a refreshing brew in the other. Poklol has got this figured out to a T, serving up a Korean-influenced trio of the palm-sized Mexican treats, paired with a cold one. Enjoy bulgogi beef, chilli chicken and chilli pork tacos all served with pickled carrots, kimchi slaw, cucumber, shallots, and finished off with a slathering of Poklol's secret pokky sauce. Dig into the big flavours, and grab yourself an Original Pilsner from Little Creatures for maximum deliciousness. LET'S DO YUM CHA'S HANDMADE YUM CHA WITH LITTLE CREATURES ORIGINAL PILSNER It's rare the person who can walk past a yum cha stand and not stop for at least a look at what delights are on offer. Yum cha is ideal if you just want to try a little bit of everything, and with Let's Do Yum Cha's handmade yum cha offering, you get a delectable sample of all the goodies. Up for grabs is everyone's favourite, the BBQ pork bun, along with a chicken dim sim, vegetarian dumpling and vegetarian spring roll. It's the perfect platter if you want to dip a toe into the world of yum cha, or if you're a seasoned pro and just want to revisit your old favourites. Pair it with a Little Creatures Original Pilsner for out of this world tastiness. JUNK'S CRISPY PORK BELLY WITH XXXX GOLD If you haven't been drooling over Junk's Instagram or been down to visit them at their store in South Bank, Maroochydore or Toowoomba, be prepared to join the obsession at the markets. While Junk has a couple of dishes on offer, we can't go past the pork belly, especially when it's drenched in kaffir lime and dark palm sugar caramel, and paired with creamy laksa and crunchy green papaya and cashew nut salad. Beer-wise, you'll want something to balance these rich, intense flavours. Look to a light, crisp, mid-strength beer like XXXX GOLD to give you a nice refresh between bites. NOM NOM KOREAN EATERY'S KIMCHI FRIES WITH JAMES SQUIRE ORCHARD CRUSH APPLE CIDER If you're looking for some eats you can easily stroll around with, Nom Nom Korean Eatery's kimchi fries are it (and let's be honest, they should have called them kimchips). This simple combination of hot chips laced with cream cheese and the piquant kick of kimchi are just what you need to keep warm and fueled as you wander around and pick what you'll snack on next. If you're looking for another reason to order kimchi fries (as if you need one), then saddle up your high horse, because kimchi is fermented, and as you may or may not know, fermented foods are really good for you. So this dish is pretty much a wholesome snack, and when you pair it with a James Squire Orchard Crush Apple Cider, you're only compounding the goodness. LITTLE KYOTO'S PHORRITO WITH HAHN PREMIUM LIGHT The time for innovative food portmanteaus is now, and we are all things excited to wrap our eager little paws around a phorrito from Little Kyoto. You can tell your grandchildren that you were alive to see the glorious union of Vietnamese pho and the beloved burrito come to be. There's not much we need to tell you about the mashup, short of the fact that it's bound to be slightly messy to eat and entirely delicious. If you're looking for the right kind of beverage to enjoy with it, we recommend going for a Hahn Premium Light. It's crisp, light and won't overpower that phorrito flavour. VINTAGED BAR & GRILL'S ROAST PUMPKIN NOODLES WITH ONE FIFTY LASHES If you're a flat noodle fan, you're going to love the soft and tender chewiness of Vintaged Bar & Grill's roast pumpkin version. Partnered with Korean-style braised beef with pear and ginger, the dish has an earthy kick from mixed mushrooms, along with the oh-so-excellent combination of green olives and toasted pepitas for a kick of crunch. Pair the dish with a James Squire One Fifty Lashes; the fruity, cloudy pale ale is the perfect buddy for the warmth of the noodles. SAMBAL KAMPUNG'S ROTI CANAI WITH HAHN SUPERDRY Malaysia is known for many wonderful things, especially its incredible food, like the ever-popular roti canai. An Indian-influenced flaky, fried flatbread, roti canai is served crunchy yet chewy, hot and ready to tear apart to mop up a tasty curry. At the markets, Sambal Kampung is pairing their delectable roti canai with a chicken curry — you'll be keen to find a proper seat so you can pay full attention to eating this delicious combination. Make sure you also get your hands on a Hahn SuperDry to sip as you eat, the richness of the curry and the freshness of the beer are a match made in gustatory heaven. HARAJUKU GYOZA'S DESSERT RAMEN WITH WHITE RABBIT DARK ALE If you're one of those clever people who saves room for dessert, we salute you. And if you're like us and merely assume that your stomach will always have room for dessert no matter how full you are, we salute you too. Either way, you must give Harajuku Gyoza's dessert ramen a spin. We aren't going to give the game away, suffice to say your dessert ramen will be creamy, delicious and most certainly worthy of your Instagram. If you're looking for the right brew to match with your dessert ramen, you really can't go past the delicious flavours of White Rabbit Dark Ale. With a wash of malt driven ale and a backbone of toffee and chocolate, the beer is a great accompaniment for sweeter eats. Hungry for more? Feed all your cravings at the Brisbane Night Noodle Markets with expert beer pairings presented by Beer The Beautiful Truth from July 19 to 30. See the full menu here. Images: Bec Taylor.
Every day, worldwide, McDonald's feeds approximately 1% of the earth's population. Like a partially-digested chicken nugget entering your bloodstream, we'll just let that sink in for a moment. The Founder, by writer Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler) and director John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks) tells the true story of Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman from Illinois who in 1954 stumbled across an innovative hamburger joint run by the McDonald brothers (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch) and convinced them to franchise it into the 92nd largest economy in the world. Again, just let it siiiiink on in. Played magnificently by Michael Keaton, Kroc presents as a ruthless and relentless businessman for whom 'no' is just a soft yes waiting to be solidified. "Contracts are like hearts" he explains at one stage to the brothers, "…they're meant to be broken". And so it was that the McDonalds empire began to form, with or without the support of the two men to which everything was owed. It's a fascinating, heartbreaking story to behold. Offerman and Carroll Lynch are perfectly cast as a pair of brothers whose steadfast belief in the importance of authenticity and quality seems at once admirable and naive - not to mention antithetical to the very ideas that would eventually turn each of them into multi-millionaires. Of course, the fact that they only make millions, and not billions, is what forms the bulk of the film's story, as it catalogues the means by which Kroc manoeuvred himself into a position of unmatchable power over the pair via manipulative and underhanded yet entirely legal means. By the time "gentleman's handshakes" are being proposed, you already know how things are going to end, just as you lament the feeling that there's nothing else the brothers could have done to stop it. This is a slick production from top to bottom, beginning with Siegel's superb script and its equal measure of laughs and wince-inducing severity. The direction, too, is impressively restrained, allowing the performers and script to shine without embellishment. As in the recent Birdman, Keaton is the standout in a field of outstanding actors, bringing similar levels of narcissism to the role. His serpentine smile and darting eyes betray much of the Kroc personality before he ever opens his mouth. Do not be surprised to see Keaton's name appear on the nomination roll for next year's awards season. In all, The Founder is an admirable piece of cinema that's at once a character study and a history lesson, just as its lead offers an uncomfortable mix of bastardy and astounding foresight. You won't like much about Ray Kroc by the end of this film, but you'll be hard-pressed to deny his determination, business acumen or impact upon a world in which 62 million customers eat at McDonalds every day. 62 million customers. That's more than the population of Great Britain. So yeah…just let that sink in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX2uz2XYkbo
The show must go on for the folks at the Moulin Rouge. 15 years after the release of Baz Luhrmann's smash-hit movie musical, the story of doomed lovers Christian and Satine is coming to the stage. The lavish adaptation is currently in its early stages, and will be directed by two-time Tony nominee Alex Timbers. "I first encountered Alex Timbers through the remarkable and inventive production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the brilliance of Here Lies Love," said Luhrmann in a statement. "I immediately recognised the young director's creative spirit and felt we shared similar sensibilities and instincts." Writing duties will be handled by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter John Logan, whose resume includes the recent James Bond outing Skyfall as well as the Tony Award-winning play Red. "It's immensely gratifying to know that a new wave of artists will be leading Moulin Rouge! into its rightful theatrical realm," said Luhrmann. The show is being developed by entertainment group Global Creatures, who previously worked on the theatrical adaptation of King Kong and helped bring Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom to the stage. A premiere date and location for Moulin Rouge! has yet to be announced.
